Meatfull Sunday

The day before Meatless Monday is Meatfull Sunday, I guess.

Last night I made a boneless leg of lamb with a berbere rub.
Served medium rare.

I also made a really great rice dish.
Basmati rice with dill and pistachios. It turned out really good.

Who Loves Pate?

I love pate. Oh, so tasty. But it is also so easy. Even you can make it (for the next time I come over).

Start with half a stick of butter, half an onion and a clove of garlic. Saute until soft.

Take one pound of chicken livers. Trim, rinse and pat dry.
Chicken livers are great. We get high end, organic, free range, local livers for $2.50 a pound. That makes pate a super cheap high end appetizer.

The chicken livers go in with the onions and are sauteed to a light pink inside.

Then add 1/4 cup of cognac or other brandy.

Cook for two minutes to remove most of the alcohol.

The whole mixture goes into a food processor along with 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg, a pinch of allspice and salt and pepper.

Puree until smooth.

Meanwhile, take 1/3 cup of currents and reconstitute them with boiling water. Drain and add to pate mixture.

Mix together and put in a crock.

Put in the fridge for a few hours to firm it up. Then bring to room temp before serving.

Easy BBQ Pork

BBQ Pork Sandwich with Coleslaw and Homemade Baked Chips.

This is so easy, it takes a long time, but it is easy.

Cut a pork shoulder into chunks, it doesn't matter what size really. I cut them about 1 inch by 3 inches. Place them in a very wide pan and cover with water. I also added about a half of a chopped onion and a couple teaspoons of salt.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for an hour.

After simmering, take off lid and bring back to a full boil. Boil off the liquid. When it gets down to where the pork is starting to fry a little (most of the water gone), drain off the remaining liquid.

Here's the tricky part. Go to your fridge, grab a bottle of barbecue sauce and dump about half in. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes and break apart the pork.

Serve on buns with coleslaw.

Peanut Stew

African Peanut Stew with Chicken and Potatoes

I got this recipe from The Soul of a New Cuisine by Marcus Samuelsson. It is the most beautiful cookbook I've ever seen. It is beautifully written with lots of information about Africa, its food, and its people.

The stew was good. The recipe called for one teaspoon of salt, but it needed at least two tablespoons. It also called for half white meat, but I only did one quarter white meat and next time, if I make it again, it will be all dark meat.

The cookbook has lots of interesting recipes. I'm looking forward to trying the Ethiopian recipes most. It has too many high end recipes, I think, but it is a great table book none-the-less.

Lamb Shanks with Lemony White Beans

CJ really liked this dish, I liked it a lot too. The recipe came from Cooking Light, which I have newly subscribed to. The lamb was very tender and the bean mixture was tangy and tasty. Unfortunately it takes 3 hours to make, mostly inactive time, but not a weeknight meal.

Meatless Monday

(Spicy Indian Chickpeas with Basmati Rice)

My New Year's Resolution is to eat less meat. Specifically, I want to stick to a vegetarian diet once a week. Therefore, in comes Meatless Monday.
Meatless Monday is a "nation health campaign to help Americans prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer..." According to wikipedia, it dates back to a government movement during WWI for families to eat less meat to save money for war bonds.

If you know me, you know that this is not why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because Americans eat too much meat. Meat, produced under most circumstances (including organic), is much worse for the environment than how most veggies (especially organic) are produced. Also, meat takes a lot more inputs of energy and water than veggies. And we all know that our next war will be over water, we are already fighting over energy.
Plus, veggies, grains, and beans are tasty. It helps expand my collection of recipes. And, it is good for our health.

So, today was my first Meatless Monday of the year. Or, should I say, our first Meatless Monday.

These chickpeas were great. Spicy, a little tart, and a bit tangy, they really hit the spot on a cold Minnesota evening. They were also super low fat and have lots of fiber. Served on rice, they make a complete protein. Even CJ liked them.

Greens- I Love Them

(Balsamic Greens and Pork Chops)

I love greens. I love kale, mustard greens, chard, and collard greens. CJ likes greens, but they don't like him.

I love curry. Vietnamese curries, Thai curries, Indian curries, Malaysian curries, all types. CJ likes curries, but they don't like him.

I love dairy. Ice cream, cream soups, custards, gratins, everything. CJ loves dairy, but dairy doesn't like him.

I love spicy food. Vindaloo, hot peppers, chilies, hot wings, hot sauce in general. CJ likes spicy food, but it doesn't like him.

You get the picture.

It drives me crazy, but it also gives me a challenge: how do I come up with interesting and tasty foods that we can both eat?

I love a challenge in the kitchen. Bring me your vegans allergic to soy and wheat, I'll make a great meal. Give me your picky eater, your onion hater, your allergic to garlic neighbor, and I'll come up with something. I love it.

But sometimes I have to have my greens. So CJ and I compromise. I make foods that don't like CJ on Fridays and Saturdays, and pair it with something CJ really likes, like pork.

It works out pretty well.

Happy New Year

Well, we brought in the New Year with a bang. Aside from the leaking dining room, I had two accidents in the kitchen in two hours. The first, I was peeling a squash and jammed the veggie peeler into my finger. That was the first time I drew blood in the kitchen. It hurt, it was bloody, it sucked.

Two hours later, while chopping an onion, I slipped with the knife and took off a large part of my left middle finger. While there was A LOT of blood, I didn't need stitches. I did get very gun shy around the knives and didn't finish my last dish.

But, New Year's Eve went well. We had a small gathering at our house. We thought CJ was to work the next day, but find out at the last minute that he didn't have. That was great news.

I started with a couple apps, Chicken Liver Pate and Fingerling Potatoes with Caviar.



The pate came from the new Martha Stewart New Classics cookbook. The cookbook is totally messed up and so was the recipe. I had to improvise because the recipe doesn't make sense, but it came out really well. We have been eating it since (it made a lot).

I stole the idea for the potatoes from Emily at a birthday party she threw. Thank God for Ikea and Asian supermarkets for low cost caviar.

Well, in all the excitement, I forgot to take pictures of the rest of what I made. We had a carrot soup that was very good, but like all carrot soups, reminded me of baby food. I made a large batch of roasted veggies, always easy and delicious. Finally, I made goulash. I base it on this recipe. Usually it is very good, but served on egg noodles, it just wasn't that great.

In addition to this, our fine guest brought delicious and awesome food. We had a red pepper spread to die for and an awesome chocolate and peanut butter pie. CJ made Kir Royales and there was lots of wine and champagne.

...

One more thing, CJ and I finally finished the living room. That means for the first time in almost a year we are eating dinner at a table, a dining room table.

Tonight it was trout and risotto. Tasty.