Pepper Coast Meatloaf

March 29, 2016

Sprinkle Plenty and as much David’s Devil Dust as you like!

I was on a temporary restriction to eat only soft foods so why not meat loaf?  I made our Pepper Coast Meatloaf no nuts this time.  One pound of beef, one pound of dark turkey. Lots of spinach and arugula in the middle, a 5 oz package. I wanted something hotter so I added one tablespoon of David’s Devil Dust in with the Sprinkle Plenty. Did not quite fill 9 x 5 pans I picked. Could have used the slightly smaller 4 1/2 by 8 1/2 or whatever they are. Convection Roast at  350 F for.  55 mins.  

Not any drippings to pour off. Made gravy with oil, flour, chicken stock and then added Super Mole sauce I get from Mexican Grocer. Super simple, really good.   Did our favorite Italian Asparagus with Lemon, used a good bit of diced up preserved lemon. I made some preserved lemons back in the fall, and sometimes when I dice some up there are leftovers. So I keep them in small jar and find all sorts of opportunities to use them.  Was good.  

Here is the recipe I created long ago, that is still my guide.  

Pepper Coast Meatloaf Servings: 8  

  • 3/4 lb ground chuck (your choice)
  • 3/4 lb ground turkey
  • 1 1/2 c onions, chopped
  • 1 c salt free seasoned bread crumbs
  • 2/3 c ketchup
  • 2/3 c parsley sprigs, chopped
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 jalapenos, chopped
  • 1/2 c pine nuts, toasted
  • 3 tbsp Sprinkle Plenty
  • 1/2 lb spinach, chopped
  • 3 scallions, chopped  

  You can choose a combination of ground meats such as chuck, round sirloin and/or turkey. Place all of the ingredients except the spinach and scallions in a large bowl and kneed with your hands until everything is blended but do not over mix. To assemble place one half of the mixture in a well greased loaf pan, add a layer of chopped spinach and chopped scallions, finish with remaining meat mixture, mounding in the center. Bake in oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours at 350 degrees. Pour off any excess fat and let stand 15 minutes before serving.

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Feather Dustings Fire Roasted Chicken

March 26, 2016

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Butterflied a Bell and Evans 4 1/4 lb chicken, lots of Feather Dustings mixed in olive oil on the chicken and under the breast skin. Putting marinade under the skin keeps it from getting quite as crisp, but oh is the meat juicy!  Cooked off fire for near to an hour, turning from time to time. For a short while skin down but mostly skin up. Also cooked neck and back for stock.
Lots of board sauce to go with it. Board sauce had parsley, shallots and diced serranos.
Made a salad that is a take off on the Kale Caesar I have been making. With escarole, radicchio, and arugula. Grated one hard boiled egg, some ricotta salata cheese, and used the leftover dressing for this salad from January. Very good!

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Pan Fried Duck Breasts with Crispy Sage and Apple Peach Chutney

December 28, 2015

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Oh, this was really tasty! The duck breasts were seasoned with salt and French Kiss, one of our seasonings that we are considering putting on the market someday; Herbs de Provence with a kick! I cook the duck breasts with the fat and skin on, and there is some duck fat that remains after they are removed. Just a coating  on the bottom. Then I place fresh sage leaves (Yes, we are still getting lots of nice sage) on the bottom of the pan and let them get crispy, turning once or twice. Then I remove them and add shallots, parsley and thyme to the pan, cook a bit, add some wine, cook a bit and them some cream or creme fraische. Plate the duck breast and pour sauce over, top with crispy sage leaves.

But the real hit was the chutney that Kathy made for Christmas giving from a Chris Schlesinger book with dried apples, peaches and raisins. What a perfect paring!

The crispy sage offers a need dimension of texture, a fun small crunch in an otherwise soft textured meal.

On the side there you see some fennel sauteed with peppers and onion.

 

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Rotel Queso Avocado Omelet with Pomegranate

December 27, 2015

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Once again I am in that Sunday morning dilemma of what to do for our omelet. I have some mushrooms, but not a cheese that inspires me or other leftovers. Humm. There is the Rotel and Velveta Queso Dip from Christmas Eve. It was a big hit with everyone but we did not finish it. And I’ve got some ripe avocados, lets do it it. Lots of queso in the center of the omelet, half a sliced avocado, fold it twice to the center and turn it on to the plate a few moments later. Topped with cilantro and pomegranate seeds.  Yum!

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Market Basket has monkfish.

November 13, 2015

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Kale with Kielbasa and Egg

November 8, 2014

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This is a meal I took from Nigella Larson’s book How To Eat back when I was first making up “Late Night Suppers” for times that Kathy would be getting home late. In this case we returning from Albany, New York on a cold winter day and wondering what’s for dinner and I said, “Hey I have the stuff to make this new dish with kale and chorizo.” Kathy quickly agreed. Actually I had kielbasa but that works too.

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I start with a precooked turkey kielbasa, you know, one of those horseshoe shaped plastic wrapped things in the refrigerated case. Feel free to upgrade if you like. We have found we prefer the lighter turkey version. Start heating up a 10″ non-stick skillet and slice the kielbasa on the diagonal. Puts some oil in the skillet, either plain olive oil or vegetable, no need for EVOO here and toss in the turkey slices. Add more oil if it is dry and lots of smoked paprika.  I like lots of color here but use your judgment. Let some color develop on the meat, the good tasting stuff. Set the heat to low to keep warm.

While that is working get out a couple of large eggs and the kale. Let the eggs come to room temperature.

Put a large pot filled with water on the stove to bring to a boil.

Slice the kale leaves from the thick skins. I hold the end of the stem and pretend I have a machete and whack down one side and then the other. It goes very fast. Then cross chop the kale about 3/4″.

Now is  good time to make sure you have some plates warm in the oven. Big bowl type are fun.

Add some salt to the water and the kale. Let it cook for about 6 minutes, turn off the heat and then remove to a strainer set over a bowl.

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Add a good glug of plain white vinegar to the pot. Crack each egg into a ramekin (techno speak for a small dish) and then gently slip it into the water. The vinegar makes sure it holds together. Really fresh eggs don’t need it so much, but older eggs that are still perfectly good do. Let them cook about 3 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

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Add the kale to the pan with the kielbasa and it it looks dry, add a bit of the reserved water back. You can be the judge.

Place the kielbasa and kale on the plate and top with egg. Salt and pepper the egg. You are done!

NOTE: You can use a lot more kale if you like, in this instance this was all I had from the CSA farm.

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Balsamic Glazed Salmon with Creamy Leeks

November 7, 2014
Balsamic Glazed Salmon
This is a recipe I discovered in Hannaford’s Fresh magazine they give away at the store. Used to be it had some really snappy stuff but not so now. But still interesting so pick it you if you are shopping in a Hannaford and give it a read. Most of their recipes are on line so you can find this one there. I will let you look it up there and here I am going to give you my adaptation of the same dish, with a bit of Pepper Coast Products thrown in.
 
This dish has three parts; the salmon, the glaze, and the leeks. Lets get going.
 
Heat the oven to 400F. 
 
Leeks:
 
The original recipe calls for 6 cups of leeks sliced, yes, that is a lot, and you can use less if you like. Clean them and slice them thin across. As you go up the stem you can pull off the dark green leaves and keep slicing. One good size leak makes a lot in a measuring cup. You also need a shallot minced. Heat a medium sized non-stick skillet on medium. Or maybe a large one, something that holds the leeks comfortably. Something in 9 to 10 inch range. Add some olive oil, EVOO is not needed here, let it heat up and and add the leaks and shallot, some salt and pepper and let them cook. We are looking for about 10-12 minutes cooking time here, if they start to take on too much color, turn down the heat. At the end add some wine and water, about 3 tablespoons each, let bring to a simmer, then a tablespoon of butter and turn off the heat after strining in. This part is done. 
 
Glaze:
 
Start making this up while the leeks are simmering. I have used many different jams and chutneys for this and they all work. So get a small bowl, one you can micorwave if you need to and put in a few tablespoons of what you have on hand and want to try. I have used Nervous Nellies Cranberry Peach Chutney, NN’s Rhubarb Ginger Chutney, Bornco Bob’s Raspberry BBQ Sauce, Red Currant jelly as they suggest, Shiriacah,  you get the idea. Some sweet with fruits, and some heat. Mix this together, use the MW if necessary.
 
Salmon:
 
I recommend only wild caught salmon, sorry there are too many issues with all of the farm raised salmons. You want to check it for pin bones. Most of the bone are gone when it gets to to you and they are tiny, but take the time to pull them out. Run you fingers along the middle part of the fillet and you will probably notice them. Use heavy tweezers or needle nose pliers. Its easy. Then I salt it and give it a good coat of Finessence and spray it with a bit of oil so the seasonings will mingle with the  fish. I usually leave the skin on and place the fish on some foil in a baking pan, whatever fits. Then before going in the oven coat the top with the glaze you made earlier. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes and then finish under broiler to glaze the glaze.
 
Finishing:
 
To plate up place a bed of leeks on a warmed plate and then a chunk of salmon on that. Add extra glaze if you like. 
 
We made this first in 2008 and have made many times again when we have a source of good salmon and plentiful leeks. 

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Bittman Makes Cover of Time!

November 7, 2014
Time Magazine, October 20, 2014 did a cover feature “The Truth About Home Cooking” by Mark Bittman. I love this guy, so down to earth and straightforward with his comments. I do have to admit that it was my wife that introduced him to me. She heard about him online, then got one of his smaller cookbooks that she used as her primary cookbook for two years while she was going to school and working away from here. We have since acquired more of his books and use them frequently.
 
His current focus is getting us back to our kitchens and actually cooking our on meals. He and others, Michael Pollan comes to mind, are perplexed by the American obsession with all things cooking, cook books, gadgets and 24×7 cooking shows. But are people really cooking? Considering how unhealthy we have become as a nation, and the shear numbers of fast foods meals sold everyday, perhaps not. 
 
I would like to dig a little deep on his claims. He says the stores and farmer’s markets are filled with good stuff if you would just take advantage of it. I say if they are full of good stuff people are taking advantage of it. We had a recent experience here where all the suppliers of one of our local grocery store chains went on strike. I went into one of the stores about a week later just to see what it was like. I did not expect to see what I did. The shelves were stripped bare. So that stuff does not just sit there. True, fresh stuff spoils and gets thrown out, but a lot of it goes home with someone.
 
Sometimes I watch what is coming out of other’s grocery carts at the check out counter. Sometimes I wish I could go home with them just to see what yummy things they will make of that. At times the clerks ask if they can go home with me. So I know some are cooking up some good meals. But over all I think Bittman is right. Some are enthusiastically cooking up good meals, many are just observing. 
 
The great thing about Bittman is that at every opportunity he encourages you to get creative. Start simple, then embellish a bit if you like. 
 
I recommend you find this article, read it and let me know what you think.

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Cooking on Stone

October 3, 2014

5 July 2014

I’ve been having fun with cooking on stone this year. I read about it, and looked for cooking stones, there are a number of them available but its not clear how long they last without cracking. I have a bunch of cut offs from a slate floor we did a few years back, Why not? Turns out to work just fine. The slate separates into layers after a few times, but still works for a while, and after all, it’s not usable for anything else so I feel good about using it.

This is a take off on a recipe I found in Men’s Health about he-man grilling. Sometimes Market Basket has whole cleaned trout which is good, but you have to deal with the bones. Not a big deal, if properly done, the bones come out easily. But this time they had fillets, so I bought four and then reassemble the with string and bacon. Kathy called it pure genius.

They are stuffed with red onion, lemon slices, fresh thyme from the garden, Finessence and salt. I tried lime once but that did not work. Too sharp. Make some small slits in the skin so more flavor gets in and they curl less. Wrap with bacon slices then tie with kitchen string and add a bit more Finessence.

I made a good bed of coals in the Weber and put on the small grate that actually sits down on the coals, and then added the slate. Let it get hot and then put the trout. The hot slate nicely fries the bacon while the fish cooks. I turned often and basted with a baste of oil, parsley, serranos, shallot, salt and pepper. Took about 17 minutes, Perfect!

I have served this with a green salad, Red Cabbage Slaw or Radicchio and Fennel salad, all of which have been good.

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Coming Soon to Kittery!

July 17, 2014

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I heard we might get to taste some brews in a few weeks.

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