What's for dinner?

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Cooked a fresh whole ham. After all was said and done, I packaged up the leftovers in (more or less) equal portions, including the bone. Then I got busy picking thru and cleaning 4 pounds of pinto beans. Rinsed well, covered with two inches of cold water and set stove to on position.
After reaching boil, reduced to simmer, added a handful of minced fresh garlic and a couple of red onions, and a hand full of fresh course ground black pepper (I like using my cordless drill with my pepper mill for this chore).
As I keep stirring with a spatula (to scrape the pan bottom) frequently, I can monitor the water level and add a shaker glass of cold water to keep the water level up just above the beans. After about 40 minutes or so I add the ham bone and around 8-10 cups of diced ham. We like around 60/40 bean to ham ratio.
Keeping the water level as previously mentioned, I simmer for about 3 1/2 hours, and the liquid turns to a very nice brown thick sauce like consistency.
No need for any chopped red onion and xtra sharp chedder cheese though, but it does add another tasty element!
To the foodsaver machine goes the excess.
Now with a clean double boiler, a gallon of fresh shucked medium select Gulf Oysters, a gallon of excellent fresh whole milk, a pound of unsalted butter and a hand full of fresh course ground black pepper, Oyster Stew. Cayenne Pepper and Oyster Crackers are all you need. No potatoes, no cream, nothing else.

That all sounds good Bob..    strangely especially the oysters. 

Merry Christmas to you...

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[MadBob]

Last night Daughter fired up the cast iron skillet. She pan fried in butter (unsalted of course) thin cut rib eye steaks, sauteed red onions and mushrooms, and heaped portions on a home made garlic bread made with French hamburger buns, and added Lobster Claw meat that was sauteed in garlic, butter, old bay and parsley. Quite the "house" burger!
To coin a phrase: "Bet you can't eat just one"!
Oh, and Merry Christmas to you Mike and Family!
Now on to the bacon ends and chedder/sriracha scones to add to the leftover oyster stew for breakfast!
Happy Day!

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

I personally want to hear how FlyinBrian's Christmas dinner turned out?   He was doing something special with a big rib roast (or rib eye) and I haven't heard.. 

Our dinner was pleasant, small and very cozy.   

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[MadBob]

Oysters in the shell, Grilled on the bbq, with some Ring of Fire hot sauce... Just right for out of the bottle on steamed in the shell oysters...
http://www.mikeanddianes.com/engine/cart/details.aspx?id=1
And some Kielbasa because it goes great grilled with oysters, and a crowd.
Suck it up.

[MadBob]

What could be better on a rainy day huh? Chili! (I am sure there is plenty of other stuff though).
Lessee, 3 lbs of cubed sirloin, 4 lbs of ground sirloin, unsalted butter for sauteing the meat and vegetables: parsley, red, yellow, orange, green bell peppers (I like a little color), red onions and fresh garlic, stewed, whole, and tomato puree, kidney beans, salt, pepper, cumin, brown sugar, chili powder and a little habanero tabasco (okay a hefty amount, I like the edge that it gives), and a pan of sweet corn bread.
Now, I have enough left over to portion up and freeze for a later date.

[MadBob]

Seasoned a flat cut brisket yesterday with a dry habanero based rub and then put it in the foodsaver machine to remove the air.
This morning, I fired up up the Big Rust Colored 55 Gallon Drum and set the charcoal to 250 dg.
Then, I made a tight bacon weave and put on top of the brisket, and added some soaked hickory slices and set to work smoking with indirect heat... This oughta be good.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Some of that LO five spices Sous Vide chicken thighs and some wide noodles with our garden but frozen peas and an onion/garlic/shallot ----- and vegetable melange. 



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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

I just put three racks of baby back ribs (still frozen) back in the freezer, and 4 nice salmon side I was going to cold smoke tomorrow.   I just don't have time..    And it is cold outside, and I don't want to cold smoke indoors, nor fiddle with the Big Green Egg outdoors in this 20º weather. Later in the month is soon enough. 

I so wanted to do those ribs and to smoke that salmon, but the Lord, the weather and our schedule got in the way. 

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[MadBob]

Just dialed in 3 1/2 dozen Enchiladas with the usual ground chuck, red onion,black olives, garlic, ortega chilis and cheese. Lots of extra sharp chedder and monterey jack. Layered it up 2 hi with extra enchilada sauce between the layers and the filling between the layers and on top to cover. And some Rosarito refried beans...

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

What's for breakfast..

It is so good to do home-cooked, home-grown red wattle sausage and good toast and easy-over eggs for Sunday breakfast..  Sure it is nice to go find breakfast out but relaxed is way good.

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Doing a small pork shoulder on the Big Green Egg, but NOT for pulled pork.  Going to make a regular pork roast with stabbed in garlic and rosemary.  This is a half (the good half) of a Tamworth self-raised hog pork shoulder. Doing some mashed potatoes, and an unknown vegetable with it.  I MIGHT take pictures. 

This is the last of that delicious Tamworth hog, now I move on to the more recent Red Wattle hogs that we harvested a month ago..



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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Into a nice medium hot pan goes guanciale (stuffed), but sliced thin and diced, some onion (lot's of onion) a zucchini, a part of a fennel bulb sauteed and soft.  Add to to it three slabs of chicken tenders dices and let it go for a few minutes with some white wine and some white pepper.  Turn it off and let it rest.  When the call comes from my dear working wife, I'll have time to drop the store-bought tortellini and turn the heat up on the pan of veggies and protein and serve in a one-bowl fashion.   I may plate it, but I'll see how I feel when the time comes.

Now THAT is dinner tonight. 

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

 I have some FRESH from the boat Bruswich, GA white shrimp (head on) to fix tonight. I might poach them in a broth made from the heads and shells and serve with some gingered-rice and a salad. When you 'got the shrimps, cook the shrimps.

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

If there is not a recipe for Hungarian, free-form spaghetti sauce I have invented it tonight.   

Some frozen chuck in large grind chunks intended for chile but frozen to save the chuck-meat.
carrots 2 diced
garlic 6 cloves
a huge white onion
some celery 2 ribs
a whole box of mushrooms of some kind 8oz.
some unknown vegetable that my wife will bring home (possibly fennel)
wine
jarred sauce (mushroom)

Noodles/pasta of choice.   I have a chance at 7:33 to call out an order for pasta but I think I'll go with wide Hungarian noodles. 


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[LizR]

Made a creamy saffron and mushroom dish with chicken gizzards this past weekend. It involves boiling the gizzards until tender and them combining them with a spicy sauce. The gizzards always take way longer than I think that they will and I was running behind on time. Hubby suggested the pressure cooker. I will never cook them any other way going forward. Half and hour in the pressure cooker and they were transformed into satiny little nuggets of dark meat goodness.

Found these for less than a dollar a pound at BHFM. While there was a lot of waste trimmed off, they easily made four + servings for a total of $2.