I did the sweet potato/black bean salad from NY Times 2 weeks ago (Mark Bittmann recipe), grilled marinated pork chops, and sauteed/pan roasted brussels sprouts. MMMMMMMMMMMM love brussels sprouts!

knocked out my best chicken and dumplings last night(chicken, and gravy was as good as ever, but the dumplings were excellent). I used a Bobby Flay recipe for dumplings sans nutmeg. I was worried how they would turn out, but then went for it knowing Bobby can cook... The recipe called for no baking soda, etc, simply milk, melted butter, flour, salt, and eggs. The dumplings turned out great, more like small pasta balls, light, and alot of flavor. I took some pics and will post them asap(not tonight, gotta get the last ride on the John Deere tractor for the year, and lay down the winter fertilizer.)

tonight will be scrambled eggs with pan fried mortadella...

I made a couple nice meals over the weekend utilizing beef ribs. The first was Korean short ribs inspired by an episode of Primal Grill that was on Saturday. I butterflied the ribs I grabbed from Westbrook Market into thin steaks and marinated for about 2 hours in soy, sugar, and sesame oil. I grilled them up along with some jalapenos, red pepper, and green onion. I made a simple cucumber salad for the side. I made a dipping sauce with soy, rice vinegar, and a bit of sugar. I wrapped everything in some romaine and dipped it. A great little meal and one I'll definitely make again.

There was quite a bit of meat left on the rib bones so I browned the bones, pulled them out and drained some of the fat. I put an onion and garlic mix in the pan and once sweating added about a cup of wine. I reduced the wine and went in with 4 fresh tomatoes from the Farm in Westmont and a handful of basil. I added some salt and let it simmer for about 4 hours. I pulled the meat apart for a nice meat sauce served over rigatoni with a loaf of bread machine Italian. 2 delicious meals from one $9 package of beef ribs.

Rewarming some leftover chicken and ribs from Honey 1 and having some corn on the cob and sauteed swiss chard (with garbonzos and fresh tomato).

Swiss Chard recipe from
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Swiss-Chard-with-Garbanzo-Beans-and-Fresh-Tomatoes/Detail.aspx

I've been on a really tight deadline for the last couple of weeks -- lots of 14-hour days -- so I've been concentrating on easy stuff that I can just dump in a bowl and eat at the computer. Now, that's not as awful as it sounds, as there are a lot of wonderful, slow-simmered stews and such that have worked very nicely within these parameters. (Made ropa vieja last week -- very nice.) But tonight, I had a cold dish that turned out to be mighty tasty.

Yesterday, I made a sauce/paste sort of thing loosely based on the pesto concept, though I think garlic and olive oil were the only ingredients you'd actually find in pesto. Instead of basil, I used a huge bunch of cilantro and six scallions. Instead of pine nuts, I used walnuts. I left out the cheese and added a bit of sherry vinegar and some red chile flakes, for bite. I puréed it all, poured it into a large bowl, and added about a pound of frozen, cooked shrimp. I let the frozen shrimp thaw/marinate overnight in the cilantro/garlic sauce. Tonight, when I was ready for dinner, I scooped about 1/3 of the shrimp into a bowl and headed back to the computer. I must say, it was mighty tasty. And happily, there's more for tomorrow.

Inspired by the Burger Lab post at Serious Eats and craving a burger, I ground up some sirloin and oxtail meat on Saturday and made cheeseburgers. As is my habit, I made way too much - so tonight I pulled out some of the ground meat from the fridge and fried it up, topping it with 11 year-old cheddar I picked up on Saturday.

Uncooked Patty


Finished Burger


I've learned that removing meat from raw oxtails is difficult (I will finally purchase a boning knife), but that custom-blending your own burger meat really can result in an uber-beefy experience. Next time I'll definitely grind the oxtails through the small die (I may do the sirloin through the large still... we'll see) to better disperse the fat and mince up any connective tissue. I also discovered that I'm out of hardwood charcoal, so this was done in cast iron - I think the blast of heat from hardwood coal would really take this thing to the next level, adding a much better crust.

-Dan

last night was scrambled eggs with some mortadella, served in flour tortillas with cheese, some sliced up ABT's from the weeekend, and sour cream. Damn good.

dansch wrote:I also discovered that I'm out of hardwood charcoal

Dan,

Burger looks delicious, and I'd guess using small/oxtail, larger/sirloin die will add to flavor and texture. A few years ago Trixie-Pea made Heston Blumenthal's "Perfect Spaghetti Bolognese", which calls for a pound of oxtail meat. She boned her fingers to the bone culling that amount of bony bovine tail.

Next time you run out of lump charcoal feel free to give me a call.



Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:If it's not worth getting obsessive about it's not worth doing

Your signature has never rung so true.

You're now officially on my "call if I run out of charcoal" AND "where to go in case of the apocalypse" lists.

-Dan

dansch wrote:Inspired by the Burger Lab post at Serious Eats and craving a burger, I ground up some sirloin and oxtail meat on Saturday and made cheeseburgers.

So that's what you were doing with raw oxtail meat. Looks great. Who or what was your source for the oxtail?/

aschie30 wrote:So that's what you were doing with raw oxtail meat. Looks great. Who or what was your source for the oxtail?/

Yup.

In a mad rush for burger raw materials, I rode up to Edgewater Produce, who had oxtails on-hand. I don't recall the price, but it all seemed very reasonable*. Given how well they came out, I'd like to poke around GCM and see if I can find some grass-fed oxtails and sirloin for my next go-around.

Of course, the biggest problem there tends to be buying small amounts - I was able to buy 3 oxtail segments and 1lb of sirloin at Edgewater, whereas at GCM I might be stuck with a frozen package of 6-8 oxtails and a 3lb sirloin roast.

-Dan

* I'm often astounded that oxtails are >$5/lb at grocery stores, which given how little meat is on them makes them a very expensive cut

dansch wrote:* I'm often astounded that oxtails are >$5/lb at grocery stores, which given how little meat is on them makes them a very expensive cut

Why don't you try a dedicated meat market. I'll bet you could easily beat that price (and have a better selection) at places like Peoria Packing and/or Chicago Meat.

dansch wrote:Given how well they came out, I'd like to poke around GCM and see if I can find some grass-fed oxtails and sirloin for my next go-around.

stevez wrote:

dansch wrote:* I'm often astounded that oxtails are >$5/lb at grocery stores, which given how little meat is on them makes them a very expensive cut

Why don't you try a dedicated meat market. I'll bet you could easily beat that price (and have a better selection) at places like Peoria Packing and/or Chicago Meat.

I buy oxtail a few times a year for kare-kare. Heartland Meats at Green City Market usually has oxtail for, I think, $7 a pound. They tend more often to sell out in fall, but of course they'll set aside some for you if you call in advance. Though variable in quality, if I need oxtail right away, I go to Viet Hoa. For the the LTH Filipino dinner a few years ago, I needed a large quantity of oxtail, which I bought from Al's Meat Market in Wilmette. I'm sure Chicago Meat (if you don't want to go to Peoria Packing) would beat their price though. If you ever need oxtail out in the suburbs, my mom has almost savant-like knowledge of where to get oxtail in the northwestern and western suburbs. It's quite impressive, really.

stevez wrote:

dansch wrote:* I'm often astounded that oxtails are >$5/lb at grocery stores, which given how little meat is on them makes them a very expensive cut

Why don't you try a dedicated meat market. I'll bet you could easily beat that price (and have a better selection) at places like Peoria Packing and/or Chicago Meat.

To clarify, I'm surprised by its relative price. I guess I'm just surprised when I see it at 2X the price of chuck or 4-5X the price of pork butt. I mean, oxtails are delicious, and sometimes I find myself willing to pay the premium, but I guess I'm just surprised that there's enough demand to drive up the price.

I can't comment on the price at Peoria - though based on the beef I've seen there, I'm not sure I'll be back to find out. I'd be curious to hear from someone who's see the prices there recently to see what the relative price at Peoria is of oxtails vs. other benchmark cuts.

happy_stomach wrote:I buy oxtail a few times a year for kare-kare. Heartland Meats at Green City Market usually has oxtail for, I think, $7 a pound. They tend more often to sell out in fall, but of course they'll set aside some for you if you call in advance. Though variable in quality, if I need oxtail right away, I go to Viet Hoa.

Thanks for the tip - as you know, I'm just around the corner from Viet Hoa and will definitely give that a try. I'm planning on hitting the GCM tomorrow, so I'll look around and see what I can find and report back.

-Dan

Best price I've seen for oxtail is $3.99/lb - IIRC that's what I paid at Peoria Packing last year (though there you have the option of getting them whole, which might make the de-meating process easier) I can't really speak to quality differentials in oxtail, though - seemed to me Bossy's oxtail was no different from cheap oxtail, but I didn't exactly do a side-by-side comparison. I mean, heck, that's one part of the animal that gets the same amount of exercise whether it's pastured or locked up in a barn!

Korean and ethnic markets seem to offer them in that range as well. Too bad the word's out; I loved the good 'ol days when nobody ate offal and there was more for me!

Mhays wrote:I can't really speak to quality differentials in oxtail, though - seemed to me Bossy's oxtail was no different from cheap oxtail, but I didn't exactly do a side-by-side comparison. I mean, heck, that's one part of the animal that gets the same amount of exercise whether it's pastured or locked up in a barn!

You're very right, Michele. I honestly haven't noticed any difference in the oxtail (cooked, in the final product) I've purchased from, say, Viet Hoa vs. Green City vs. Valli produce out by my mom. The variability I alluded to upthread has more to do with the frozen-ness of the oxtail. Often times, I'll get to Viet Hoa when the oxtail is just being cut up, and I have to wait for it to be packaged. Occasionally, I'll get there, and all they have is what's in the freezer, usually looking dismally freezer-burnt. At Valli, where it seems the oxtail turnover is much less, I'm just aware that it's been on that freezer shelf longer than, say, at an Asian market.. All in all, probably none of this matters since I have to cook the heck out of the oxtail for kare-kare.

Mhays wrote:I mean, heck, that's one part of the animal that gets the same amount of exercise whether it's pastured or locked up in a barn!

My concern over Peoria's quality was less about the pastured vs. feedlot thing (though that's always worth keeping in mind), but more over the amazingly unappetizing Utility-grade chuck steaks I saw on offer there, with the stringy meat separating and pulling apart. Gary, responding to my post in the Peoria GNR nomination mentioned that he won't buy beef there after his experience, so at least I'm not completely alone in my opinion of their beef.

Who knows whether the tails they sell come from the same cows as their chuck - if they're getting in packaged primals of beef, they might be very different sources (I know they start with whole hogs, but given the limited cuts of beef on offer, I don't know about whole cows). Either way, I think I may have just been turned off of Peoria beef in general and this may all just be my irrational issues.

-Dan

dansch wrote:
I can't comment on the price at Peoria - though based on the beef I've seen there, I'm not sure I'll be back to find out.

Actually, Chicago Meat would far and away be my first choice. I just put Peoria in there becasue it's popular with so many people.

dansch wrote:Gary, responding to my post in the Peoria GNR nomination mentioned that he won't buy beef there after his experience, so at least I'm not completely alone in my opinion of their beef.

Its true I am not a fan of Peoria Packing's beef, though I should point out, as the above implies otherwise, I am a fan, an avid fan, of all things pork at GNR nominated Peoria Packing.

Enjoy,
Gary

I have had Peoria oxtail, it seemed they had pretty good turnover and the stuff seemed fresh, not frozen (to address happy_stomach's point) and I was sure happy with the Oxtails and beans I made with it, but since I cooked it until the meat was slurpable, I don't have a good idea of how it would work in hamburger. It was interesting to get it whole, though I think I had them cut mine.

I get the impression that offal-type cuts (they had a big tub of tongue) are pretty good at Peoria, regardless of the animal they came from or its grade, but YMMV. I would differentiate between them and the beef, which I'd agree about the questionable quality, but I don't really consider the progeny of the cow when I'm eating things like tongue (again, gets worked just as much whether the cow is standing or lying down) I didn't get the impression that they were a steal, though - just normal lower-end grocery-store price, so I wouldn't make a special trip. The way I see it, if you're headed in for a side of pig, it wouldn't hurt to load up on the nasty bits of cow while you're at it.

G Wiv wrote:

dansch wrote:Gary, responding to my post in the Peoria GNR nomination mentioned that he won't buy beef there after his experience, so at least I'm not completely alone in my opinion of their beef.

Its true I am not a fan of Peoria Packing's beef, though I should point out, as the above implies otherwise, I am a fan, an avid fan, of all things pork at GNR nominated Peoria Packing.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

Sorry - didn't mean to imply that. I included the link to your post so that hopefully people would see your comment in context.

-Dan

Breakfast: some cold from the fridge BB's from last nights snack:



Lunch: homemade cream of broccoli soup, and a club sandwich

Dinner: Roasted chicken and sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, brocoli, and for dessert, a Peach/raspberry cobbler mae with the rapbberries we picked yesterday.

Also probably going to bake some cookies, should be a full day of cooking/eating.

Tibetan lamb and turnip stew

Roasted Pheasant:



Potatoes and Garlic, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Raw Cranberries, Fig-Maple Gastrique:

Beautiful Fall meal, Kenny.

A couple questions, if you don't mind.

--I've never cooked a pheasant before. Did you roast it un-trussed as it appears in the photo?

--Roasted Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite dishes. Can you expand on "raw cranberries"? Do you literally mean "raw" as in "uncooked"? That sounds aggressively tart.

Best,
Michael

Thanks Michael. It was a tasty meal, though I have to say I liked the accompaniments better than the pheasant itself. The bird was moist, but to say that pheasant tastes like chicken does chicken a disservice, in my opinion. Pheasant is pretty bland.

eatchicago wrote:--I've never cooked a pheasant before. Did you roast it un-trussed as it appears in the photo?

Indeed, and actually I roast chickens that way too. Someone once suggested to me that trussing slows down the cooking of the thighs, and since thighs in general cook so much more slowly than breasts, leaving birds untrussed makes sense to me. At some point during the process when the color looks right, I wrap the ends of the legs and wings in foil to prevent burning.

eatchicago wrote:Roasted Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite dishes. Can you expand on "raw cranberries"? Do you literally mean "raw" as in "uncooked"? That sounds aggressively tart.

Fully uncooked. I love the crunch and tart flavor of raw cranberries, and I think they're a perfect match for the slight bitterness of brussel sprouts. I give them a whirl in the food processor with a few tablespoons of sugar to cut through the tartness. In this case, I also drizzled some reduced fig-balsamic with maple syrup, emulsified with olive oil, over the sprouts and cranberries. That balanced it out further.

nice looking bird there Kenny, I also do not truss my birds.




heres what we had for Sunday Supper:

stuffed bird:


giblet gravy:


my plate:


peach/raspberry cobbler:

Kenny - wanted to ask if the pheasant was a pen-raised (commercially available) bird or of the wild variety? Judging by the size of the breast and the crispiness of the skin, I would guess pen-raised, but I wanted to ask. I have tried roasting wild pheasant (I'm a hunter) a few times but even when I lard the thing a la "The Joy of Cooking" it never turns out like the thing of beauty you display. I have resigned myself to other cooking methods with wild birds, and they turn out quite good.

Thanks for sharing photos of a wonderful fall meal!

Davooda

Davooda wrote:Kenny - wanted to ask if the pheasant was a pen-raised (commercially available) bird or of the wild variety? Judging by the size of the breast and the crispiness of the skin, I would guess pen-raised, but I wanted to ask. I have tried roasting wild pheasant (I'm a hunter) a few times but even when I lard the thing a la "The Joy of Cooking" it never turns out like the thing of beauty you display. I have resigned myself to other cooking methods with wild birds, and they turn out quite good.

Thanks for sharing photos of a wonderful fall meal!

Davooda

Thanks, Davooda. It was pen raised at MacFarlane Farms in Wisconsin, and I bought it at Fox & Obel. The skin did turn out out nicely, which is perhaps impossible with wild birds. I simply brushed it with melted butter before roasting, then seasoned it and left it alone - no basting, wrapping, etc. 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Then slowwwww roast at 200 degrees for an hour and ten, then cranked up to 425 degrees for the final 10-12 minutes to crisp up the skin. I do chickens pretty much the same way, unless I'm in a hurry.

Thanks for your recipe Kenny! I will be trying again with a wild bird this fall. I had been using olive oil instead of melted butter and maybe that will make a difference.

If you have a chance to try wild pheasant, I think you will find it much more flavorful than a pen-raised bird. There is a dark meat turkey-like richness to the meat, though less pronounced in the breast meat. My kid's favorite way to eat wild pheasant is in mcnugget fashion - lightly breaded and deep-fried. The fave or Mrs. Davooda and I is to pound the breasts into cutlets, dredge in egg/seasoned flour and cornmeal, then pan fry and top with Sauce Hongroise - a bechamel flavored with both sweet and hot paprika. It's also good slow-cooked whole in a crock pot with root veggies.

Wish pheasant season opened sooner than November 7!

Davooda