Instapot,Two Sleevers, Saturday Dinner,

Saturday I ordered my new Instapot courtesy of some very good friends who bought it for me as a kind of Valentine present. Not sure what I have done to deserve such a present, but whatever it was, thank you so much my friends. Now, of course, I have to find out what I can do with it.  I gather TwoSleevers has lots of recipes for both Instapots and Air Fryers. Sunday evening I received an email saying it will arrive on Tuesday. Great, not doing anything all day. I also got an email from TwoSleevers with some recipes for both the Instapot and the Air Fryer.  I will have to have a read. I see some of them are Keto recipes. I really don't know what that is, so I guess I will have to find out. I know it's very popular at the moment. My personal philosophy is, as you know, eat anything and everything in moderation.

I have been checking out the website of Two Sleevers and I see they have a lot about what to do with your brand new Instapot and how to operate it and what the buttons actually do. Haven't studied it yet, but will certainly go back as it seems very useful. Matt  keeps asking me where I am going to put it. Well I plan to chuck out a few pans and use the room for the Instapot.

I tried a new recipe on Saturday. I will share it, but I made a bit of a mess of it. However, we quite enjoyed it. I cooked the piece of the whole tenderloin we bought a while back, my friend and I, but Matt kept saying it was tough. That was not my fault of course. Will see what it's like cold. The meat had a "drizzle" which was supposed to be cooked until sticky, I forgot it and could have glued things together. Dabbed a bit on the meat, but.... although it enhanced the taste, it was difficult to spread. Not sure whether to try the drizzle again with the cold meat and be careful. Just to add to it, I cooked sprouts, and I over cooked them somewhat. Did well didn't I?

Monday  morning Matt has bloodwork, then we have shopping to collect, and might go bowling.

This is an interesting version of Pho which came, through Yummly, from Chef Savvy.

Spicy Shrimp Pho

This Spicy Shrimp Pho is a twist on the traditional Vietnamese soup made with hot steaming chicken

broth, shrimp, cilantro and fresh squeezed lime juice.

4 oz whole wheat thin spaghetti
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs jalapeno, minced
2 Tbs green onion, sliced thin
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 cup button mushrooms, thinly sliced
12 oz large shrimp, uncooked
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs cilantro, chopped

1. Cook spaghetti until al dente.

2. Meanwhile add oil to a large pot or dutch oven.

3. Add garlic, jalapeno and green onions. Saute for 1-2 minutes.

4. Pour in chicken stock, fish sauce and sesame oil. Bring to a simmer.

5. Stir in mushrooms and shrimp. Simmer until the mushrooms are tender and the shrimp is fully cooked.

6. Take off of the heat and stir in pepper, lime juice, and cilantro.

7. Divide the noodles among the 4 bowls and pour the soup on top.

8. Garnish with extra lime wedges and cilantro if desired.

Servings: 4

Source: Chef Savvy

Have a great day
 

Falling Wakes, Wine, Dinner, Cooking.

We did really well at the beginning of the weekend. First, having had the A/C on Friday evening, I went to bed and realised the heating was also on. Back to the living room to turn it off. Easiest light was just inside the kitchen door, the thermostat being just outside the doorway. Having turned on the light I stepped backwards and tripped over a step stool I keep handy particularly for when I need to sit whilst doing something. I stumbled into the TV cabinet and knocked stuff all over the place, broke a swan ornament I rather liked, knocked the box off the TV but luckily it couldn't fall far. Also bruised my arm. Matt never heard a thing, he was sound asleep. Then around 8 Saturday morning I heard a crash from the bathroom and there was Matt on the floor. Not quite sure what happened but he was lying there. I tried to get him to help himself up by using the edge of the bath and the toilet which were right by him. I had to disappear for a few minutes and he had managed to get up during that time. Not sure how. He said he bent down to lift the toilet seat and collapsed. A friend questioned if we were trying to outdo one another. I think this falling must be catching, I don't think I mentioned someone fell at bowling on Monday. Everyone rushed to help but in fact if someone falls you should NOT help them up. Give them help by placing a chair or something they can use but if they are unable to get up then an ambulance should be called.  You just never know whether anything is broken and you might make it worse. You also can risk your own safety by trying to help.

I don't often recommend wines, but we were recently introduced to an Australian red called Red Knots Shiraz. We find it an excellent wine. We had some with dinner on Saturday night. Talking of which I made Leeks in Vinaigrette which I enjoyed, Matt did not. Pity. I thought they were really good. There is also a Red Knots Cabernet Sauvignon but we haven't tried that. These wines are from Australia. Shiraz is particularly Australian. Same as Baco Noir appears to be in Canada. Another wine we very much enjoy.

The rest of  our weekend was fairly uneventful I am pleased to say although I have ended up with a few bruises. Matt doesn't seem to have any. I did make another batch of the Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette too, maybe I should call it Grape Tomato Vinaigrette. I am finding it goes with all kinds of things. This time I cut about 3/4 of the tomatoes in half and just left a few whole. I think it is better.

The Portuguese have a way with eggs which I am impressed with but have never tried to emulate. However, these custard tarts are simple enough except for the pastry part. The author suggests you can use bought puff pastry to begin if you wish to do so.

Portuguese Egg Custard Tarts

Part of the joy of eating these tarts comes from the contrast of the crunchy crust with the soft custardy filling. Making the custard is easy; the crust is more of a commitment involving rolling, buttering, folding, and repeating. If you want a shortcut, start with store-bought puff pastry, roll out to a 12"

square about 1/8" thick, roll into a tightly spiraled log, and follow the instructions for slicing and pressing into the muffin tin cups.

Dough
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Filling and Assembly
1 lemon
1 3–4-inch cinnamon stick
¾ cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 ½ cups whole milk, divided
6 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
Special Equipment
A candy thermometer

1. Dough

2. Using your hands, mix salt, 1 cup flour, and ½ cup water in a large bowl until a shaggy dough forms. Knead until dough is elastic but still very sticky, about 5 minutes (alternatively, beat on medium speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 3 minutes). Wrap in plastic and let sit 30 minutes to relax gluten.

3. Make sure your butter is softened to the consistency of sour cream (you can put it in a bowl and give it a stir). Generously flour (really, use a lot of flour) a clean work surface. Place dough on surface and dust with flour; lightly coat rolling pin with flour. Roll dough out to a 12" square (it will be quite thin), flouring surface as needed to prevent dough from sticking.

4. Brush excess flour off dough. Imagine dough is made up of 3 equal columns. Using a small rubber spatula, spread 2½ Tbsp. butter over the left and center columns, leaving a ½" border around the edges (it should look like a slice of toast that’s been buttered on the left two-thirds). Lift up the right, unbuttered column and fold it over the middle column, then fold the far left column over the middle, as though you were folding a letter into thirds. Rotate dough 90° counterclockwise; the sides and top edge will be open.

5. Generously flour work surface and dough. Roll out again to a 12" square. Repeat buttering and folding process. Again rotate folded dough 90° counterclockwise, flouring surface as needed. Roll dough out a third time to a 12" square (it’s worth it; we promise!). Spread remaining butter over surface of dough, leaving a ½" border. Starting with the long side closest to you, tease up edge of dough with a bench scraper and tightly roll it away from you into a log, brushing excess flour from the underside as you go. This dough is very forgiving—if there are any small holes, don't worry about it. When you get to the end, wet edge of dough just before you roll it so that it sticks. Trim both ends to clean up the edges, cut log in half crosswise, then wrap both pieces in plastic wrap (you should have two 6" logs). Chill 1 log at least 3 hours; transfer remaining log to freezer for another use (this amount of dough makes enough for 24 tarts; freeze the extras for your future crispy tart needs).

6. Do Ahead: Dough can be made 1 day ahead; keep chilled, or freeze up to 3 months.

Filling and Assembly

7 Peel zest from one half of lemon into wide strips with a vegetable peeler, leaving white pith behind; set aside. Bring cinnamon, sugar, and ¼ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan fitted with candy thermometer over medium-high heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until thermometer registers 225°. Remove from heat and stir in reserved lemon peel. Let sugar syrup sit 30 minutes.

8. Position a rack in top third of oven; preheat to 500°. Place a rimmed baking sheet in oven to heat.

9. Whisk flour, salt, and ½ cup milk in a medium bowl until combined and no lumps remain. Heat remaining 1 cup milk in a large saucepan over medium-high until it begins to boil, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk into flour mixture. Return mixture to saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, creamy, and smooth, about 5 minutes.

10. Strain sugar syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into hot milk mixture and whisk to combine. Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla.

11. Cut chilled dough crosswise into twelve ½"-thick slices. Place 8 slices on a plate and chill; place remaining 4 dough slices in 4 cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Using your thumb, firmly press the center each piece against bottom of cup, forming a wall of dough around your thumb. Using your thumbs and fingers, press edges of dough against sides of cup, turning pan as you go, until dough comes halfway up sides of cup and is about 1/16" thick (or as thin as you can get it). Repeat twice more with remaining dough slices.

12. Fill each pastry shell with about 2 Tbsp. filling (it should come about three-fourths of the way up the sides). Try not to get any on the pan itself; it may burn and stick during baking.

13. Carefully place muffin pan on heated baking sheet in oven and bake tarts until custard is slightly puffed and browned in spots, and crust is golden brown and bubbles of melted butter are popping around it, 14–16 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in pan, then carefully transfer each tart to a wire rack with an offset spatula. Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12

Author: Rick Martinez
Source: Bon Appétit

Have a great day

 

Conference Call, Saturday Dinner, Champagne, RRHA

That was pretty amazing. On Saturday a few cyber friends got together on Google Hangouts and spoke to one another. Our coverage was from Canada (me) to Mexico (Father Dragon) stopping at Virginia and North Carolina and Texas on the way. The Ninja Captain was there too  - he has a nice voice but still don't know what he looks like LOL. I always love getting in touch with cyber friends. We may never be able to meet face to face but this is the next best thing. Before this I had never heard of Google Hangouts which I was having trouble with. For some reason my web cam wouldn't work on my desktop but in the end it worked with my laptop although there was nowhere to attach it. Even tried my tablet. I was either getting a picture and no sound or sound but no picture. Of course, modern laptops have cameras built in, but mine doesn't as it is anything but modern. Still works though.

Off the cuff I invited a friend over for dinner on Saturday night. Usually I know in advance what I am

cooking for Saturday but have been humming and hawing all week. In the end I decided to do the Korean Bulgogi Beef again. We enjoyed it and I have enough flank steak for 3 or more of us so that worked out OK. Turned out well and our friend enjoyed it although she doesn't really eat enough to keep a bird alive. Maybe I should copy her. Help keep my weight down.

I have come across an article through a friend in Facebook. According to research in the UK if you drink 3 glasses of champagne a day it really helps prevent the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's. I drink champagne every Sunday but I guess I am going to have to increase it!!! I can just imagine what Matt would say about that. They are going to be testing it out on older people. I will have to go back to Britain just to get in on the study. Unless they wish to extend it to Canada.

Oops, it turns out I am guest posting on the Really Real Housewives of America this week instead of later in the month. I feel a bit bogus because I haven't been a real housewife in a long time. I have someone who comes in to clean for me these days. At least vacuuming and dusting. I just cannot manage that stuff any more. Actually, I have had a cleaner most of my life. I always remember in my 20s I lived in a two room apartment and had a woman come in to clean for me. I used to pay her half a crown an hour, peanuts today, but it was a lot to me then. However, she could afford to fly to America to see her kids, I could hardly afford to go to the local restaurant. Struck me as funny all those many years ago. My mother had a cleaner most of her married life except a period when my father was broke and we couldn't afford it. Then she worked like stink However, eventually things changed and she had a cleaner once again. I had one cleaning lady who used to come to me once we had divorced and I couldn't afford her any more and she would just come to have coffee with me and do a bit of cleaning. She was such a wonderful woman. Years later her husband said she loved me very much, I loved her too.

We both love Brie. This is a slightly different version of Baked Brie.

Herbed Baked Brie

Big group? Go for the show-stopping giant baked brie recipe. Smaller party (or can’t find the large

size)? Smaller wheels are perfect, and the cook time is the same.

1 2.2-pound wheel of brie (or 8-ounce rounds)
6 sprigs rosemary
6 sprigs thyme
2 Tbs olive oil
Cranberry-Pear Mostarda, Thyme-Roasted Walnuts, sliced pear, crackers, and sliced baguette (for serving)

1. Place brie on a plate and freeze until very firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut off top rind of brie with a sharp knife (it’s okay if you can’t get the rind off in one piece; brie will smooth out as it bakes).

3. Toss rosemary, thyme, and oil on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet until coated. Spread herbs evenly on parchment. Place brie in the center so that it covers about half of the herbs. Bake until cheese is melted, 15–20 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest to firm up slightly, about 5 minutes (if you skip this step, you risk spilling molten cheese all over your cutting board).

4. Strip leaves from uncovered herbs and sprinkle over brie. Using parchment and a wide spatula, carefully slide brie and covered herbs onto a cutting board.

5. Arrange mostarda, walnuts, pear slices, crackers, and baguette slices around cutting board; serve

Source: Bon Appétit

Hope you are enjoying your Labour Day holiday weekend.
 

Movie, Froggy Milk, Dinner,

I finally got round to seeing the movie 12 Years a Slave. A pretty horrific thing to happen to anyone and the whole story is very horrifying. I have since read that the people who sold Solomon Northup into slavery were never punished, nor was anyone else connected to his story. As a story I enjoyed it and was appalled by what happened. The film is based on a book written by Solomon Northup to whom the whole episode occurred. As a movie I was disappointed. A lot of the time I hadn’t a clue what was happening because I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  There comes a point in a movie where you have to decide on realism or comprehension and I found the latter to be somewhat lacking. There is one scene where the master is absolutely furious with the slave and I have no idea why because I didn’t understand what she was trying to say to justify her actions. This was not the only time it happened. Maybe if I was from the deep south and more familiar with the accents – but I am not the only person who will have watched the movie who did not originate in the deep south.

How absolutely fascinating. I have just read an article at How to Geek talking about how Russian peasants used to keep their milk fresh by dropping a live Russian Brown Frog into the milk container. Science has now found the reason that this works, the frogs give off a secretion which contains anti bacterial and anti fungal properties which kill off bacteria in milk , but one question they pose at HTG is how on earth anyone came up with the idea of doing this in the first place. Maybe someone had a frog fall into their milk and then couldn`t believe it when the milk didn`t go sour. Presumably they were too poor to throw the milk away.

Saturday night, which is our night for something special and a bottle of wine as well, I cooked a large rib of beef. over 5 lbs. which will feed us for a day or two. I haven’t cooked one in a while so checked out if anything had changed in the cyber world, basically it hadn’t so I did it the same way as I have done for many, many years. I also make a special gravy which starts with me stewing some onions, mushrooms, peppers and celery with sage and time plus salt and pepper. I then add a glass of red wine and later some Bisto.  I have been using Bisto since the world began and find it absolutely wonderful although once again I couldn’t get it in NC. I also add the resulting mixture to the pan in which the beef has been cooked, having drained off the fat. It’s yummy if I do say it. Too lazy to make Yorkshire Pudding (my mother used to say I was no good at it anyway) I buy a pack of small frozen puds from the local store. I think they are excellent and they only take 4 mins to cook at 400°F. The pic shows the beef after we have attacked it. As usual I forgot at the beginning. I also tried a new side dish of sautéed green beans, onions and mushrooms which was pretty good.  Matt ate a large baked potato (I had a crispy end) and we followed it with a slice of the carrot cake I talked about before. This time it didn’t seem so bland, maybe because I wasn’t expecting much.

The bowling alley give us calendars every year, guess who picks the one with recipes. This is from last year’s calendar. Not sure how authentic it is and by Mexican sausage I figure they mean chorizo. It sounds pretty tasty though.

Mexican Chicken Pepper Casserole

2 Tbs vegetable oil
3 lb chicken pieces
1/2 lb Mexican sausage, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large carrot thinly sliced and cut into squares
1 cup celery, thickly sliced
3 cups chicken stock
2 Tbs finely chopped parsley
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
2 bay leaves
1. In a large frypan over medium heat, cook chicken pieces in oil on both sides until lightly browned. Remove from pan and place in casserole dish. In the same fry pan, cook sausage until lightly browned. Add to the casserole. In same fry pan cook garlic until just softened, add stock, vegetables, parsley, rice and bay leaves. Season to taste. Pour mixture over chicken in casserole. Bake in preheated 325°F oven for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until chicken cooked. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Servings: 8

Have a great day

Inflatables, Recipe, Birthday Gift.

Friday it was a rubber duck, now we have a giant turtle in Sidney harbour. Last week, a 49-foot-long inflatable turtle cruised past Sydney's famed Opera House in celebration of a new underwater art exhibit at the city's aquarium. The floating sculpture will reside in the harbour until mid-September. I must say I would like to see that exhibit. I would like to see the turtle too.

Having posted a steak recipe on Saturday which we were planning to have for dinner, I developed a problem with my mouth so I have had to postpone cooking this for a while because I couldn’t have eaten it. Hopefully, next weekend.  Need to see the dentist I guess.

I got an early birthday gift this week. My favourite Chinese restaurant sent me a coupon for a free meal, so long as I brought three friends. So we have a couple who enjoy going there as much as I do and they are prepared to come with us. I had the option of going on the day, up to three days before or three days after. As my birthday is a Sunday this year, I certainly didn’t want to go then, we rarely go out at the weekends as there are usually too many people.

I’m sorry, but I am feeling so very sad at the moment because of the loss of our blogging friend Tina that I really am not in the mood to go recipe hunting. My apologies.

Have a great day

Trivia, Space, Dinner, Sunday Lunch.

Here’s a piece of trivia for you that we learnt over the weekend, did you know the Statue of Liberty’s nose was 4 1/2 ft long? That is one heck of a large nose.

For my scientifically minded friends, here is the Canadian, Chris Hadfield, who was Commander of the International Space Station for a while, giving a demonstration of what happens when you wring out a wet cloth.  Something which I had never thought about. I was also fascinated by the face cloths with which they are provided. Tickled me too, that the microphone was floating in front of his face whilst he was talking. We don’t really comprehend what happens in space even though we are told, nothing can take the place of experiencing it.

Saturday Matt cooked the Sichuan-Style Chicken with Peanuts dish that I posted last week. It was very good although we didn’t have any peanuts so we used pine nuts. I actually prefer those anyway. It could have done with a spot more heat for my taste, Sichuan food is very often mouth burning, this had a tingle but that was it. However, I can thoroughly recommend it. We have leftovers as it was for 4 people. It is certainly one we will make again.

Our Sunday lunch turned out to be very successful. The roast lamb and roast potatoes were delicious we were told. So many people in North America don’t like lamb it’s nice to find people who do. Unfortunately I shot the bolt when it came to my diet, they brought some Brie and crackers as a gift and I couldn’t resist. Oh well, tomorrow (today I guess) is another day.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Pine Nut-Kasha Granola and Ricotta

Contributed by Justin Smillie
8 first-course servings

© Christina Holmes

“Everyone adds nuts to salad, but I wanted to do something different,” says Justin Smillie. He tops crisp snap peas with a savory granola that includes pine nuts and kasha. Ricotta adds another layer of texture; Smillie makes his own cheese at the restaurant, but good-quality store-bought fresh ricotta is also delicious.

Granola

1. 2 1/4 cups rolled oats
2. 2/3 cup kasha (roasted buckwheat groats)
3. 1/2 cup flaxseeds
4. 1/2 cup pine nuts
5. 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6. 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
7. 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
8. 2 teaspoons kosher salt
9. 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Salad

1. 1 pound sugar snap peas
2. 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3. 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4. Maldon sea salt
5. Kosher salt
6. Freshly ground pepper
7. 1 pound fresh ricotta cheese
8. Chopped mint, for garnish

1. MAKE THE GRANOLA Preheat the oven to 325° and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the oats with the kasha, flaxseeds and pine nuts. Add the remaining granola ingredients and toss until thoroughly coated, then spread on the prepared baking sheet.
2. Bake the granola in the center of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden and nearly dry. Turn off the oven and prop the door open halfway; let the granola cool in the oven, stirring occasionally.
3. MAKE THE SALAD In a medium saucepan of salted boiling water, simmer the snap peas until bright green and crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain and cool the snap peas under running water, pat dry and halve them lengthwise. In a medium bowl, toss the snap peas with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, then season with Maldon sea salt and pepper.
4. In another medium bowl, whisk the ricotta until smooth and season with kosher salt and pepper. Spoon the ricotta onto plates and top with the snap peas. Sprinkle some of the granola on the peas and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped mint. Serve right away.

Make Ahead This recipe makes 5 cups of granola, which can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Have a great day