i happen to love pumpkins

But not always as pie, so this is my take on a stuffed pumpkin for dessert

Pumpkins for dessert

·        1 medium sugar pumpkin

·        2 apples (or 1 apple and one pear), cored and diced

·        1/2 cup walnuts

·        1/2 cup raisins

·        1/2 cup cranberries

·        1/2 stick butter

·        1/4 cup brown sugar

·        1/4 cup apple juice

·        2 teaspoons cinnamon

·        1 teaspoon cloves, ground

·        1 teaspoon allspice, ground

·        1 teaspoon nutmeg

·        1/2 teaspoon ginger

hollow out the pumpkin, removing stringy interior

save seeds for roasting

hydrate the raisins in hot apple juice with butter

just pop the cranberries in the hot liquid

mix all the ingredients together and stuff the pumpkin

bake @ 325 F for  hour in a baking pan to catch any liquid

serve warn with vanilla ice cream

the analytical cook?

Whenever i try to do something,
i think about it,
research it
and try to remember my mom's or a restaraunts way...
when i eat out -
 i try to figure out
 some of the things that made a particular,
"something" so good...

here are some examples:
A bowl of chili at a restaurant, where the chopped meat was tender!
There were other difference, but i never had a bowl of chili where the meat tasted "medium rare" tender...
what did they do?
They cooked the chili "base separately, then added the beef uncooked into the hot bowl and let the chili cook it.

I was cooking dry beans and remembered some thing vaguely and tried to look it up...
No food site had anything i wanted, but several chemistry sites did...
i remembered my mom adding baking soda to the water she soaked the beans in and there was some mention in a food site of it being an old time method, but did not answer the question: Why?
The chemistry sites all pointed out that beans are neutral in pH (acidity) and that acid makes the outer shell tough!

Put these 2 thoughts together and when i make  vegetarian chili with beans and some other vegetables...
Eureka!
I have a method!

Beans are soaked in slightly basic (using baking soda) water.
they are then cooked in all the elements of my chili that is not acidic - this means any tomatoes,
onions, vinegar, beer sugar or chili peppers are cooked separately.
dry spice, water, salt, butter and other vegetables are cooked with the beans.

they are blended after the beans are cooked, usually just before serving...
the result is a vegetarian chili which was described by one meat only chili person eating it at a cook-off as surprisingly wonderful.

Moussaka

My mom's side of the family is from Greece - Cyprus and crete specifically and i love the flavors -
garlic, oregano, mint, cinnamon and others and Moussaka embodies many of those -
the Greek Cookbook that i adapted this from is one that my mom had more markers and notes than any other cookbook she owned - The complete Greek cookbook, but she added her own spin on some of these...as do i. I just made it and so this recipe is "tweaked".

Moussaka

·       2 medium eggplants, cut into 1/2" cubes

·       1/2 cup butter, melted

·       1 lb ground meat (traditionally lamb, but beef or pork my be used)

·       2 onions, diced

·       2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced fine

·       1 tablespoon Oregano, dry

·       1 teaspoon black pepper

·       1/2 teaspoon allspice, ground

·       1/2 cut parsley, chopped

·       1/2 cup tomato sauce

·       1/2 cup red wine

·       1 cup grated cheese, Kefalotyri or Parmesan

White sauce - traditional (3000 years old) way

·       1/2 cup water

·       2 cups milk

·       2 tablespoons corn starch dissolved in cold water

·       1 tablespoon butter

·       1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt

·       1 egg, whipped

·       1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

         

          bring milk, butter and salt to a boil over medium heat

          thicken with corn starch and remove from heat

          slowly mix 3 tablespoons warm milk to the egg and blend it

          add egg and cinnamon to milk and mix well

wash and salt eggplant and leave for 10 min.

rinse and blot dry

brush with oil and butter mix and baked @ 350 F for 30 min

cook onion, garlic, meat, wine, tomato sauce and spices mixing in order

reduce to near dryness or strain

layer eggplant, meat, eggplant, add white sauce

top with cheese, parsley and cinnamon

bake @ 325 for 45 min.

Brisket done a bit differently

i have been using an electric smoker for some time to make a 24 hour brisket that was out of this world, but i can not find the controller and i had to improvise.

The oven does not allow for "wet" or steamed meat, you must braise and so i arranged a liquid to cook the brisket end, but it would not have any smoke and that was not acceptable.
A new method, that was called by my friends - "the best i had ever done, was born.

The following is that method:

Brisket, Best Method

Oven and Smoke

·       1 whole brisket

·       1/2 quart 100% black cherry juice

·       1 tablespoon salt

·       1 pint red wine (merlot)

·       1/2 tablespoon paprika

·       1/4 teaspoon dry chipolte peppers

·       1 tablespoon raw sugar

·       1 spring fresh Rosemary

·       1 tablespoon minced ginger

·       Brisket Rub 2

cut large cross hatches in the fat portion of the brisket

place in a cooking large pan

Dissolve all the ingredients except the brisket rub 2 and cover the brisket

allow to soak for 24 hours

cover with foil and cook at 220 F for 10 hours

remove all liquid, decant the fat and reduce the remainder for sauce

pat the brisket with the brisket rub 2

using a cherry-hickory-maple mixture of wood, smoke at ~ 220 F for 3 to 4 hours, uncovered

remove and serve thinly sliced with the dipping sauce

the lab is open - questions about chicken livers

Ever wonder why we were told that liver needed to be soaked in milk before cooking AND the milk had to be discarded after, wasting good milk?
I did and tried to look it up and had some answers that were not satisfactory...
so lets look at what liver is an organ where all the 'toxins" (and there are many natural toxins so do not think that "organic keeps you safe, it doesn't)
It is high in iron because blood filters through it and blood should have iron in it.
Iron as a metal is good for you, BUT it is a BITTER flavor...
so how to reduce it?
In normal physiology calcium does replace and protect the body from harmful heavy metals, like lead. but that is not what is going to happen here in a dead animal.
Vinegar will reduce all metals and so reduce the bitter taste, but how long to soak it and what is the "after flavor"?

Have i gotten too technical yet?

So i started with a 15 minute soak, but found that it was too long because it continued to leech the iron out of the livers for hours after washing multiple times AND made the livers mushy...
okay this would be great for a pate, but that was not what i was looking for.

5 minutes worked well and while the rinsing was still fairly intense (5 times, soaking each time)
and then patting dry, i could live with this.

There was still a slight vinegar taste to the liver (i used chicken livers) and in the end i added sour cream to remove that, thus a cold dish.

so the reason for a milk soak is to remove some of the iron and add a creaminess to the liver...that is the lesson here and with that i give you my recipe for grilled chicken livers!

Chicken Livers Grilled

  

·      1 lb chicken livers, cleaned and rinsed

·      1 cup sour cream

·      1/2 onion, sliced thick

·      apple cider vinegar to cover the livers

·      1/2 teaspoon salt plus extra to taste

·      1 teaspoon black pepper

·      1/2 jalapeno pepper

·      1 tablespoon garlic chives

·      olive oil to coat livers

Soak the chicken livers in vinegar for 5 minutes

soak in water and drain 5 times

drain for 1 hour, rinse and pat dry

and olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper and onions

mix well

grill in a grill pan until done ~ 15 minutes, stirring regularly

place in a bowl, stir in sour cream, chives and pepper

salt to taste

serve cold

making my own

chipolte peppers

slow smoked on the grill
then slowly dried and powdered - use a mask or you WILL cough

now ready for any time use!

Strawberry salad

a friend saw this on the internet and asked me to do something a bit different, for all the recipes he saw used strawberry jello (note ALL of them have artificial flavor)...
what?  No strawberries and only a fake flavor (and loads of sugar, this is a salad for goodness sake)!
I took the challenge and it took a few tries, but i managed it!

Strawberry Salad

a somewhat healthier alternative to what you find on the internet

crust

·       2 cups crushed pretzels

          (start with 4 cups of twisted pretzels)

·       3/4 cup butter, melted

·       3 tablespoons raw sugar

topping

·       1 quart fresh strawberries

·       1 teaspoon white sugar

·       1 cup celery, finely cut

·       2 packets of gelatin

·       1 cup boiling water

filling

·       4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 block) at room temperature

·       1 cup whipping cream, fresh

·       1 tablespoon white sugar

use a food processor to crush pretzels and blend butter and sugar

press into a 9 x 9 glass pan and bake for 15 minutes at 375 F

let cool

whip cream cheese, whipping cream and sugar till firm

(optional: add 1 teaspoon vanilla)

spread onto the cooled crust

wash and clean the strawberries, but do not dry them

add 1 teaspoon sugar and let sit refrigerated over night

slice 5 strawberries and place on top of the whipped cream filling

use a food processor to grind the remainder and strain

reserve the juice

dissolve the gelatin in boiling water

add juice, celery and 1 tablespoon processed strawberries

refrigerate for several hours until it begins to gel

pour very gently and let sit

top with fresh basil, slice chiffonade style