Kevin's Watch

Dinner is probably going to be bacon and fried mushrooms on toast. Cooking is still a bit hit or miss right now since half my kitchen appears to still be in bubble-wrap. The GF insisted that planting the garden and hanging curtains and pictures were more important than being able to open a drawer with the reasonable expectation of finding a saucepan in it.

--A

With winter approaching, what all did you plant at this time of year?

Frost-hardy stuff. A lot of star jasmine (mostly in pots), ground and wall covers, (Uh, irish moss, creeping foxglove, some type of ivy), a bed of MR Lavender alternated with rosemary, sage, origanum, and thyme (and lemon thyme), clivia and agapanthus, and some other stuff. I dunno, I'm not a gardener...I just pay for it.

--A

Avatar wrote: ↑ Frost-hardy stuff. A lot of star jasmine (mostly in pots), ground and wall covers, (Uh, irish moss, creeping foxglove, some type of ivy), a bed of MR Lavender alternated with rosemary, sage, origanum, and thyme (and lemon thyme), clivia and agapanthus, and some other stuff. I dunno, I'm not a gardener...I just pay for it.

Well, dinner tonight (for me) was pan-fried pork filet, (loin?) sweetcorn and baked potatoes cut up and then quickly pan-fried. The GF had a vegetable pasta.

--A

We got our winter panting mostly in now ~ beets, brussel sprouts, cabbage, spinach (actually silverbeet) is pretty much an all year rounder for us, carrots

Down under our agapanthus are played out by now. They’ll sit dormant throughout winter and flower again next summer.

Last night was turkey meatloaf with acorn squash. We killed a small plate of sushi as an appetizer, cause we are weird that way.

Last night was home-made buffalo chicken dip (90%) chicken, a handful of tortilla chips, 3 beers and 2 tequila shots.

Last night, we were going to go to a wood fired pizza place in Lake Geneva, WI, but when we got there, the road was under construction and we couldn't park close; a must since my wife doesn't have the range to walk since she broke her leg a few years ago. So we wound up going to Noodles & Co. It was allright, but it was no woodfired pizza.

Fired up the grill last night for chicken thighs kissed with applewood smoke and sauced sweet-and-spicy. Served with steamed broccoli for all, plus an ear of corn for Dam-sel.

Savor Dam wrote: ↑ Fired up the grill last night for chicken thighs kissed with applewood smoke and sauced sweet-and-spicy. Served with steamed broccoli for all, plus an ear of corn for Dam-sel.

It was yummy!
Although I believe you skinned the thighs? I see them being rendered down for schmaltz, which we are low on, but otherwise why were they skinned?

Menolly wrote: ↑ why were they skinned?

After the myriad iterations I have done what is domestically called "charby chick", I have found that getting crisp skin on a smoked-and-saucy thigh is not consistently achievable. Saturday's grilling of skinned, but still bone-in, pieces turned out better, nu?

Savor Dam wrote: ↑

Menolly wrote: ↑ why were they skinned?

After the myriad iterations I have done what is domestically called "charby chick", I have found that getting crisp skin on a smoked-and-saucy thigh is not consistently achievable. Saturday's grilling of skinned, but still bone-in, pieces turned out better, nu?

For me that’s debatable. I like chewy flaccid skin for the richness added on top of the dark meat. But, I’m not the only taste to be considered.

Future food. Crockpot will be rolling for about 24 hours making bone broth. Sure smells nice in here!!

SoulBiter wrote: ↑ Future food. Crockpot will be rolling for about 24 hours making bone broth. Sure smells nice in here!!

I bet!
I use the Instant Pot for bone broth. Takes about 12 hours for two 5-quart batches in my 10-quart IP, using the same bones so they totally crumble at the end. An overnight chill, and then stove top simmering for about an hour. So, all told, it also takes about 24 hours for 10-quarts of bone broth.

Menolly wrote: ↑

SoulBiter wrote: ↑ Future food. Crockpot will be rolling for about 24 hours making bone broth. Sure smells nice in here!!

I bet!
I use the Instant Pot for bone broth. Takes about 12 hours for two 5-quart batches in my 10-quart IP, using the same bones so they totally crumble at the end. An overnight chill, and then stove top simmering for about an hour. So, all told, it also takes about 24 hours for 10-quarts of bone broth.

Do you skim the fat and cook it down as tallow? I''m thinking of doing that and trying it.

Dinner was a rump steak, a couple baked potatoes, and a gem squash all drowned in my justly famed red wine and balsamic pan sauce.

--A

Dinner last night was left overs

Swiss Steak
Green beans
Acorn squash

SoulBiter wrote: ↑

Menolly wrote: ↑

SoulBiter wrote: ↑ Future food. Crockpot will be rolling for about 24 hours making bone broth. Sure smells nice in here!!

I bet!
I use the Instant Pot for bone broth. Takes about 12 hours for two 5-quart batches in my 10-quart IP, using the same bones so they totally crumble at the end. An overnight chill, and then stove top simmering for about an hour. So, all told, it also takes about 24 hours for 10-quarts of bone broth.

Do you skim the fat and cook it down as tallow? I''m thinking of doing that and trying it.

I do chicken bone broth, both golden and brown, rather than make beef bone broth. I use the brown chicken stock in place of beef; it does not substitute for golden chicken stock but works great for a beef stock substitute.
By the time I use the poultry bones for bone broth, there’s not much fat left, and what is there is tainted by the aromatics I put into the Instant Pot, mostly root vegetables, to make decent schmaltz.
You can try rendering the beef fat from beef stock to make tallow, but from what I harvested in the past when I did it, it tended to come out grainy.


Brown chicken stock on the left, used as a substitute for beef stock
Golden chicken stock on the right