Fun on YT

  My partner and I started a YouTube channel, I'll be posting fun food videos. I know the first ones here aren't the best, but they will get better as I learn more about making videos. 

 Enjoy! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFtOibpu6cc&t=20s 

I'm back, baby!

 Been a weird couple of years, but I am back in the kitchen to create some porn! 

 This week's experiment, homemade sauerkraut. 

 The taste is definitely different from store bought. This has cabbage, Himalayan pink salt and a little water and nothing else. Now I need some brats to go with it. 

Steamed Hams!

   I saw this post from Gastro Obscura about a regional dish from central Connecticut, the steamed cheeseburger. Being a burger lover I knew I had to give it a try. 

 I didn't document the process because you can find tons of recipes and videos online showing you exactly how to do it. However, here is the result: 

 The flavor was a bit bland despite my slathering the bun with ketchup, mustard and mayo as recommended by one of the videos I watched. Texturally it was a bit dense, but kind of spongy too. I definitely missed the caramelized outside you get when you cook a burger in a skillet or on the grill. The steamed cheese however was awesome, I used a nice aged cheddar and it melted in the steamer a lot better than it would have in the microwave. 

 All in all it was fine, and if someone gave me one I would happily eat it but I don't think I will make them again. 

Birthday waffle fun!

   What's a foodie to do on their birthday? Make awesome food of course! I was watching Youtube this morning and stumbled across a guy using a waffle maker to cook other things like an omelet and a quesadilla. The only actual waffle he made had ham and cheese cooking into it. Having leftover BBQ pork belly and ribeye from Friday's grilling bender, my trusty sous chef whipped up some basic waffle batter so we could give it a try.

 Two year old cheddar, I grated it to make it easier for it to melt. 

 Grilled ribeye and BBQ pork belly. 

 Loading up the waffle maker. I put a little batter on the bottom, then the ingredients, then another sparse layer of batter.

 Ta-da!

I threw together some honey mustard dip for the pork and some garlic aioli for the steak when I realized they might be a bit on the dry side without something to dip them in. 

We enjoyed both, my favorite was the BBQ pork belly. The recipe is definitely a keeper, I look forward to stuffing all kinds of things into waffles now. 

Powder fun!

 So in my rambles online I came across a page for something called Flavor Gods, different flavors of powder you can sprinkle on things. Intrigued, I went to their page and was looking at all the exciting flavors, then I clicked on the nutrition info. Loaded with sodium, which is something that I am not supposed to have. And they were very expensive, $15+ for 5ish ounces. 

 After a couple of weeks of thinking about the tasty sounding powders, I went back to their page, read the ingredients and decided to reverse engineer some. I picked up supplies and was off and running. 

 The first flavor I made was buttery cinnamon roll with the butter powder and honey granules and a good amount of cinnamon. My husband (who functions as my taste tester) said it did taste very much like a cinnamon roll. 

 

 Next up was pizza, hubbs said it tastes just like a pizza roll. 

 Nacho cheese, BBQ and honey mustard soon followed. 

  Chocolate donut and chicken and waffles were next.  

 We liked all of them so much I decided to branch out with my own creations, strawberries and cream, honey butter and butter chicken. 

 

 Taste testing on white beans and no salt pretzels. We like them all so far, and I will be branching out into other flavors like bacon, beef bourguignon, BBQ brisket and smoked chicken now that I have a bag of hickory powder. 

 All in all, I spent less on supplies than I would have buying the Flavor Gods versions, and they are salt free. So yay, this experiment was a huge success. 

 

That's one sexy chick!

   Today we're going to talk about hot chicks. No, not that kind, the spatchcocked kind cooked on a grill. This was my first attempt at spatchcocking a bird, and my first at grilling a whole chicken. Should be a fun time! 

 Here's the birdy after being spatchcocked, which is removing the spine and flattening the bird so it will cook evenly.  

  

  I gave it a bit of dry rub with garlic, smoked paprika and black pepper and popped it on the grill with some cherrywood chips for smoking. Here's the finished product:

  That is one sexy chicky! 

It's been awhile.

  I've been MIA due to life, but I am back! Here's a Bored Panda post of some wild looking food to get the ball rolling. Enjoy! 

https://www.boredpanda.com/weird-food-wreckless-eating/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic

Fun With Jackfruit

 A few weeks ago I read an article on jackfruit, how it is being touted as the new superfood to end world hunger. The fruit is massive, growing up to a hundred pounds, and is chock full of vitamins and other good things. When I saw them for sale in our local HEB grocery store, I couldn't resist giving it a try.

I brought the 23 pound behemoth home and spent the rest of the day scouring the Internet for jackfruit recipes. Not being able to decide on one, I instead watched videos of how to break down and process it. 

 The initial cut. Some people said to cut it crossways, others longways. I went for long.

 The rind is hard and thick, and there is a tough fiberous core I had to cut through. Note the rags ringing the cutting board. There is a reason for my madness. Jackfruit is full of latex. For those of us who were in theater, it was pretty much a bit thinner version of the liquid latex we used for makeup. After my hands started sticking to everything and leaving slimy snail trails of rapidly hardening rubber, I grabbed gloves.

The inside is bright yellow and white, with the pods of fruit surrounded by white stringy fibers. The fruit pods have large seeds, and all of it is edible except the hedgehog-looking rind. 

 It took me about 3 hours to completely break this thing down. There was a lot of it that went in the compost, as the white 'rags' turned out to be a pain to separate, and like potatoes started to oxidize nearly immediately even though I had it in a bowl of acidified water. It is supposed to make an acceptable vegan 'pulled pork', but I decided it just wasn't worth the hassle. 

 I ended up with five quart freezer bags of fruit, a fair amount seeds, and a little bit of rags to experiment with. This is a full size commercial baking sheet 26 by 18 inches. The fruit is about two by three inches, and fleshy. It reminds me of thick yucca flower pods. The seeds are covered in a white membrane, I boiled them for 20 minutes to get it off and make them ready to use.

 Time for the taste test. The fruit smelled like a mix of different things, mostly a generic tropical fruit smell. Several people have likened it to Juicyfruit Gum, although I didn't get that. I mostly smelled a pineapple/guava scent, very sweet. The taste was not like anything I have had before, again, a general 'tropical' taste, exactly like you would expect a fruit whacked off of a palm-type tree would taste like. A bit blandish, and very sweet. I look forward to trying it in recipes. The seeds have a taste and texture of mealy boiled potatoes, I'll be using those later in a curry. 

  It was in interesting experience, but I can safely say I most likely will not buy one of these again. I'll post when I actually use it in something. First up: jackfruit margarita! 

BBQ in Taylor

 We took a little half day trip up to Taylor for some local sightseeing, and to try this local place, Louie Mueller BBQ. (Sorry about the fuzz picture, I wasn't the photographer.)

 A typical Texas BBQ joint, you go to the counter in the back which is perched just in front of the pits. They give you a paper covered cafeteria tray, and you tell the guys behind the counter what you would like. They pull out the massive slabs of smoked meats, and carve your portion while you watch. 
 I opted for a beef rib and a pork spare rib, with the usual sides of potato salad and cole slaw and a cup of sauce for dipping. The traditional accompaniments of raw onion, dill pickle and some cheap white bread to wipe the sauce off your hands rounded out my selection. 

  Everything smelled great, the meat so tender it was sliding off the bones as I tried to maneuver the massive pound and a half slab of moo on my paper. (Most of it came home for supper, no way I can eat that much any more!) I tried the sides first. Major disappointment. I never have understood why BBQ places put so much work into the meat, and so little into the sides. The slaw was weirdly flavored, sour and vinegary and a bit bitter, not the sweeter version I prefer. The potato salad was bland, I've had better from the grocery store. 
 I then tried the ribs. The spare rib was all that the appearance and aroma said it would be, tender, juicy, not too fatty, with a good smoked flavor. The dry rub was tasty, a little salty as is can be. 

 I dipped a bit into the sauce, and had yet another disappointment. The only way I can describe this 'sauce' was a cup of colored water with some red stuff floating on top.Might have been grease, might have been hot sauce, I'm not really sure. 

 The beef rib was next. Beef ribs are my go-to in a BBQ restaurant, I am the Empress of Beef Ribs. Sadness, while tender, it was lacking in any flavor except salt and way too much black pepper. I would have billed it as a 'black pepper crusted beef rib'. Lots of greasy fat as well. As $25/pound, I do not feel it was worth what I spent, more quantity over quality. I will most likely be using the remainder in a pasta dish with some more diverse seasonings and lots of veggies to cut the grease. I probably should have opted for the turkey, I love my turkey breast crusted in cracked black pepper.

 Last thing was banana pudding, that staple dessert of BBQ joints everywhere. After the mediocre rest of the meal, I wasn't expecting much as I opened the lid to the Styrofoam container. A heavy smell of cinnamon hit my nose, and I was afraid the pudding would be totally overwhelmed by it. The pudding was lighter colored than the usual variety. I dipped a spoon in, and went for a taste. 

  All I can say is......WOWOWOW! The pudding was actually a banana mousse, not the heavier pudding I expected. We wiped out most of it before I even thought to take a picture. While where were no banana slices, they really weren't missed. The mousse had the usual Nilla Wafers, and a hefty dose of cinnamon, but it totally did not overpower as I expected. The texture was smooth and the flavors delicate, but defined, I could taste everything I expect to taste in a banana pudding, and more. It was outstanding, and the best thing I had today.  

 As I was looking around, I spotted these on the wall by our table. We seem to be inadvertently following Guy Fieri's trail through local restaurants.

 So far, I have been fairly underwhemed with any place that was on his show. If I had known this was one of them, I would have probably gone to the little diner around the corner. 

 On the restaurant overall, they use entirely too much black pepper, and I love pepper, and the quality of the sides severely lacking. I would drive back out there for the banana pudding, however, so it wasn't a total bust. I'm going to have to give Louie Mueller a B-, the banana pudding being the only thing that kept it from being lower. So the Salt Lick is still in my number One spot for local BBQ. 

The Salt Lick and Bison Ribs

  Headed out for a day of badly needed R&R, spent the morning touring a local Hindu temple, which is right down the road from famed BBQ joint The Salt Lick. We haven't been to the Driftwood location since the Round Rock location opened, so some years.
 I saw a picture of bison ribs on the Salt Lick Facebook page, and knew I had to try them.  Bison is one of my favorite meats. It is juicy and not much in the way of fat, although that does tend to make it a bit tougher than beef. It does not taste like beef, not really, it has a distinct taste all its own.
 The Salt Lick bison ribs come on a choice of three plate options, bison rib and brisket, bison and beef ribs, and just a bison rib. The usual sides accompanied the meats, the Salt Lick's versions of potato salad, beans and cole slaw. White pull apart bread, pickles and white onion wedges on the side. I went for the bison beef rib plate.

 The bison rib was a bit small, but I expected that, since I figured they would be using cuts from younger animals. First bite was salty, because of the dry rub they use. A bit tougher than beef, but the taste was marvelous, rich and just a hint of gaminess. There was little fat, just enough to flavor the meat, and deliciously smoked. As always, a fabulous turnout from the Salt Lick pitmasters. I highly recommend the trip out to give them a try.    

Farmer's Market Haul!

 Went to pick up our CSA box at Funkytonk Farmer's Market this morning, and pimp out some sourdough bread. With the sale/barter of bread, all this was picked up for about $40. All organic, the meat is free range as well.

 Having joined a CSA, I have been way too busy creating food porn to post about it, but I will try to be better about that, as I have some pretty spectacular things coming out of the kitchen right now.

More to follow soon!

Nanner time!

 What to do with a giant $2.00 banana bag? Nanner chips! Nothing but bananas, sliced and dehydrated.

There's always time for cake

 A break from bakery remodeling to make a birthday cake for a friend. I'll be doing another for someone different later this week. Busy days!

 Devil's Food with Capt. Morgan's Black chocolate buttercream. Outstanding!
 

Sunday Afternoon Relaxation Risotto

So how many people do you know think that making risotto is a good way to relax on a Sunday afternoon?

 Mushroom Brown Rice Risotto. 

 

 

 



 I had some homemade chicken broth, and several partial bags of rice that needed to be used up, so it seemed like a good recipe for it. Throw in some onions and baby Portabellas, stir constantly for 45 minutes, while adding broth a ladle at a time and you've got risotto. Top with some fresh grated Parmesan, and feed to the hungry household. It was a hit with everyone, definitely a keeper.

A terrible confession....

 I have a confession. I have a problem. A liking, a fondness, even maybe an addiction, of sorts. Is it drugs, you ask? No, I'm too old, did all my drugs in my youth like you are supposed to. Alcohol? Nah, I seldom drink, maybe 3-4 times a year. Sex? Well, maybe, but no, not that either.

So what is it, you are asking yourself? What is this horrible secret I have carried for years and years? What is this thing, this monkey on my back, that I am finally willing to face, and put out there for all to see?

 

The faint at heart, look away now............

.....the horror, the horror.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mashed potatoes. Specifically, INSTANT mashed potatoes. Any kind, most any flavor. Expensive, cheap, doesn't matter, as long as it is instant potatoes.


 So what's the big deal? Well, I'm a chef, and I am also a supporter of non-GMO crops and Slow Food. And I have this horrible addiction to a plastic-like food substance.

I love them. I love them so much, that if I have a box, I will eat them every day, sometimes every meal, until they are gone. Breakfast, lunch and supper. Instant mashed potatoes. The Devil. Evil, evil stuff. How I love it. The ease of slapping some potato powder, milk, water and a little butter into a big Pyrex measuring cup, and nuking for 2 minutes. The wallpaper paste texture. The patently artificial taste. I love it all.

 My favorite meal is a mound of instant potatoes, some sort of veg, like peas or corn, layered with shredded BBQ meat of some sort. Maybe a little cheese if I feel like it that day/meal. Quick, easy and oh-so good!

 So you are sitting there thinking, 'So make some mashed potatoes, what's the big deal?' The hassle. The peeling, the chopping, the cooking. All of it. When I'm in the middle of a busy day at the bakery, this fast food abomination takes little time to fix, not too much longer to eat, and I can be on with my day. Yes, I know they are bad for me. But I still love them, and I will most likely continue eating them until I can't eat them any longer. Pray for me.

 

Radish Chips!

 We are trying to incorporate more veggies and fruits into our diet again. We got really meat/starch heavy for awhile, so I have been buying more vegetables. One of the things I bought is radishes. I used to grow them, they are super easy, and you can harvest a crop every 3 months year-round here. So I'd like to grow them again, but I needed something to do with them besides slicing them up and putting them on a salad. Roasting them turned out really good, very mild and turnip-y. I found this recipe and thought I would give it a try. Here's the results:

 
 The smaller chips in the front are radish, the larger ones are red potatoes. Slicing was a breeze with my mandolin slicer, I dredged them in olive oil, and sprinkled the chips with sea salt and pepper. The potatoes came out perfect, crispy and salty, with a bite of fresh ground black pepper. The radishes were good, a bit more spicy due to the radishes themselves, but they shrunk really bad, and since they have to be turned halfway through the baking, they are way more labor intensive than I have the patience for on a regular basis.

 All in all, the experiment was a success, I would give radish chips a C+, and the potato chips an A-, as they were easier to handle.

Happy Labor Day!

Day 3 of our Food Porn marathon!

 What do you do with the nut pulp after you make nut milk? Dehydrator cookies, of course!
 

 Lemon and Carrot Dehydrator cookies. These aren't your grandma's cookies! These little gems are flour free, raw and vegan, and are chock full of protein. They are great for low blood sugar, or just no time to grab a meal. They will last a week or more in the fridge, and if you want to be really decadent, you can put glaze on them.

 

     

 

Raw cookies and chocolate almond/cashew milk, a great way to start the morning!

And even more pork...

 And to wrap up today's mid-holiday weekend viewing: Pork Enchiladas!

 

Lovely Fresh Sausage!

 For the first time in many weeks, the HEB had packs of pork ends and pieces for $1.49/pound. One batch was browned up and destined to become enchiladas. The other batch became this:

 

 With the addition of some herbs and spices, the humble ground pork became this:

 

 

Italian sausage, and this:

 

 

breakfast sausage. No filler, not too much salt, made fresh and ready for the freezer. How's that for a productive Sunday morning?