With today being Halloween, I knew I wanted to put up something on the sweet or dessert side. So here is an oatmeal raisin cookie that Kris baked a little while ago. They were light, chewy, and hot right from the oven. She doesn’t add too much sugar to these cookies because of the sweetness from the raisins. A giant glass of milk and 5 or 6 of these cookies is a great way to settle in to any night, Halloween or not.
Have a safe night.
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is here!!
A few months ago Mike and I were dining out and he ordered a seared sea bass in a clam broth. He loved it! Being Mike he decided to try and do a variation of that dish. What he created was wonderful. He spent an entire day simmering fresh vegetables into a stock which he used as a base for a roasted tomato broth. Next he pan seared pieces of panko crusted haddock. Then he filled a bowl just so with the tomato broth and nestled the haddock into the flavorful liquid. I have had reoccurring dreams of this dish and request it weekly.
Making ham stock
1 ham bone
1 large onion quartered
2 celery stocks cut in half
2 carrot cut in half
1 bay leaf
Peppercorns
Place all items in a large stock pot with enough cold water to cover the bone and gently bring to a soft boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer for 4 hours. Strain well and set aside.
Making the soup
4 cups ham stock
1 cup chicken stock
3-4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed about ½" x ½"
2 cups of diced ham (trimmed from ham bone before making stock from it)
1 onion, fine dice
1 celery stock, fine dice
1 carrot, fine dice
4 cloves of garlic, fine dice
1 cup of heavy cream or half and half
Butter
Salt and pepper
Fresh chopped parsley
Sweat onions, celery, carrots, and garlic with 3 tablespoons of butter in medium stock pot for about 5-7 minutes. Add cubed uncooked potatoes for about 3-5 more minutes. Deglaze pot with chicken stock, cook for 5 minutes. Add the ham stock and bring to a soft boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender about 30 minutes. Add diced ham and chopped parsley. Now split the batch in two halves. Use a hand or stick blender on one batch to puree. If you don’t have one you can use a stand blender, just be careful. Add the cream to the puréed halve. Then mix the two batches back together. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley or fresh chopped chives.
One of the first questions we're asked when we get to a competition is "where's Maggie?" Or "are you bringing Maggie?" Most of the comps we did this year allowed dogs, but we only brought her to Peter's Pond. She spent most of her summer in Maine; swimming, sleeping, and playing with her cousin Roxy. We are very fortunate that Kris' parents have a place on Sebago Lake in Maine and love to take Maggie up there. When I'm getting stressed at a comp it's nice that I can think of my dog relaxing on her favorite chair. So, to Al and Phylis: thanks...oh, by the way, what are you doing next weekend?
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it yet, but I must say that I consider myself a fortunate girl! My husband has many amazing qualities, one of them being that he is a great cook. He can whip up a gourmet dinner like it’s nobody’s business; he will research a dish for a week just to wow me for no particular occasion. He will search from one end of Mass to the other for just the right ingredients for a meal. But, cooking a good burger has eluded him for years. Until now! In his quest for wonderful dinners he sometimes has difficulty keeping it simple. But to me the perfect burger is exactly that – simple. He started with a good ground beef with just the right amount of fat for flavor, added just a pinch of salt and pepper; and then introduced the star of the show, a well seasoned cast iron skillet. After just 3 minutes per side these very palatable patties were perfectly rare on the inside and had a delicious crust surrounding the outside. He just touched the buttered buns on the skillet, and then served.
Finally, the perfect burger!
Well, Unibroue does it again. Another great beer to add to their already impressive line up. To say I like all of the Unibroue beers is an understatement. I crave them, I have a need to drink them, I ponder each sip with curiosity...I know it's just beer...but it's damn good beer!
Sometimes the simple recipes turn out the best. As someone who loves to cook it's sometimes hard to show some restraint. I always want to add a little this and a little of that, do a reduction of something, or do an emulsion, an infusion, or a fancy drizzle of sauce on the plate like the chefs do. Don't get me wrong, I do my fair share of that stuff too. But lately I'm noticing the less I fool with the food, the better it turns out.
“Is the beer ready?” I hear that a lot.
“Nope.”
“Well…how long does it take?”
That’s a tough question to answer. I usually tell them, “when it’s ready, we’ll drink it.” It’s kind of the same thing with BBQ, when it’s done it’s done. My friends and family have grown to love and sometimes hate my hobbies.
As some of you know I brewed a batch of beer on August 30th. Certainly one month is enough time to make beer, isn’t it? Yes, it is. Most pale ales can be ready in a couple of weeks. But, on the other hand, some strong lagers can take up to 9 months to fully age. I brewed a double bock once that was 10% alcohol and aged it for more than a year! This hobby takes patience. The beer I brewed in August was a strong ale; it had an original gravity of 1.072. That’s just a simple measurement of sugars in the wort pre fermentation. If fermentation goes well (it did) this beer should finish around 7.5% alcohol. So this beer needs some time to age. Can you drink it now? Sure. But, it will be better in a month, so why not wait? Knowing when to serve the beer is almost as important as the recipe itself. The similarities between BBQ and brewing are remarkable. You can have the best meat, injection, rub, wood, and sauce, but pull that brisket too early…and man does it suck! Well, not suck, but not as good as it could have been. So, yes, theoretically the beer is ready. Will I be serving it anytime soon? No.
