Fruits in Home Cooking

It has been a peachy summer! I have to give credit to a former coworker who introduced me to my first peach cobbler. She warned me before my first bite that I was getting a real treat because doughy cobbler is hard to find. I was hooked since then and luckily for me I was able to find the recipe online. Now that I have my own kitchen I've made this Peach Cobbler "The Pastry Version" about 4 times and it's darn good.

I double the dough recipe and add an extra peach or two. I like fresh peaches and I prefer to buy organic because peaches rank high in the pesticides department. Leftovers reheat well in the microwave, about 2 minutes. It pairs well with plain vanilla ice cream. I've also learned that a blueberry compote, warm or cold, goes well with this dish.

I had some extra blueberry compote from my pancake adventure yesterday.

This was Saturday's breakfast. Orange Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Compote.

I woke up and made coffee and got to work. Nothing like manually whipping egg whites into peaks to wake you up (and make you feel like your arm is about to fall off).

Thank goodness I tackled the compote first. The success of that recipe motivated me to make pancakes from scratch. Next time I'll try and substitute lemon for orange, as suggested by the source.

The pancakes were smaller than I expected. Next time I'll pour 1/2 cup of the mix.

In case you were wondering, yes I bought an electric hand mixer after this experience. I earned it!

I then decided to do Dunlop's Smacked Cucumber in Garlicky Sauce. I of course did the sweet and sour variation. It was good but I'd probably play around with the ratios next time.

Lastly this was my pork belly (cured in maple syrup) hash. Good dish but it'll be better next time.

I'm not going to bother curing the pork belly next time. I'll just fry it on cast iron to get the crispy texture and definitely without oil because the pork releases enough of it.

Also I left my russet potatoes in the pot too long. I learned 10 minutes in boiling water is too long for small to medium sized potatoes. I should have poked one of them to check around the 5 minute mark. Another thing I'd do differently is cook it in less butter afterwards. Once I threw the onions in I saw why the recipe called for so much butter but I think I may be able to get away with half the amount.

I am feeling inspired to cook and it was kickstarted by my ebook acquisition of the Bubby's Brunch Cookbook.

Sinigang/Bulalo Style Beef Soup

I bought a Kuhn Rikon 7.4 quart pressure cooker because this dish made me a believer. Unfortunately my first run was so bad it took me a while to cook this dish again.

1 inch ginger sliced
1 tablespoon of shallots sliced
1.5 lbs of beef, the bones and marrow was a must have for me and the easiest for me to obtain was beef shank, I also threw in some neck bones and chuck
1 teaspoon of salt
3 medium sized corn, halved
2 Idaho potatoes sliced with about a half inch thickness
4 pieces of green cabbage leaves

In the pressure cooker put the ginger, shallots, beef, and salt. Add water to cover just above the other ingredients.

I have no idea how it works with the other pressure cookers but this is what I did with mine. Allow the water to boil, top lid off, then lock the lid in place. Allow the cookware to reach high pressure. Time for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the pressure release naturally, supposedly beef does not like the other methods. Do not force the cookware open and follow manufacturer instructions.

Season as desired (salt, pepper, soy sauce , Tamarind, etc). Add corn and potatoes. Allow to boil with lid off then lock the lid in place. Cook in high pressure for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.

I couldn't wait anymore so I pressed the top of my valve per manufacturer recommendation to release pressure. I threw the cabbage in the mix and turned the heat on low simmer.

I forgot how oily this dish can be. Anyhow I'm happy I got my homemade soup in this cold weather. I would have liked to have had some taro and bok choy but my hunger dissuaded me from making another trip. Next time!

Spicy Citrus Beef with Celery and Carrots

Someone, aka "my loving boyfriend" as he calls himself, made this dish for me super spicy a few weeks ago. I was at the bottom of the stairs and I was coughing a bit from the ground thai pepper. I also had a bit of the sniffles while eating it that night. The above photo is my version of the dish.

The recipe from that night's dish is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I have the iOS app and I found it in the Variations section for Stir-fried Beef with Basil. I think it's the same recipe but I haven't looked at the two side by side to confirm. Anyhow since I wasn't confident I tried to find a similar recipe and found Spicy Dry-Fried Beef in Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge. I decided to make a dish based on the two recipes.

2 tablespoons of peanut oil

0.6 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced

-I'm too lazy to look it up but I would guess sirloin or strip steak will be a
softer cut. I did cut the meat at an angle and against the grain and I still wish it was softer. The next time I make this dish I'm going to use my meat tenderizer

1 whole zest of a large orange

0.75 teaspoon of grounded Thai chiles

3 cups of carrots and celery cut in julienne

1 tablespoon of ginger, diced

1 tablespoon of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of sesame oil

1 tablespoon of fish sauce, I happen to use the Golden Boy brand

1/2 of a lime's juice with some orange juice
-adjust the distribution between the two by taste preference

1 stalk of scallions, thinly sliced

Mix the orange zest with the beef. I didn't have a zester but I did have a Microplane Spice Grater. I believe it's finer than the Classic Zester. I'm not sure how much that affected the taste, but I would recommend using the right tool whenever possible.

Heat the wok at medium heat. When it's hot enough for drops of water to evaporate on contact add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil. You may need 1-2 tablespoons depending on your wok's seasoning. Increase your stove's heat to high and allow the oil to get hot.

Put the carrots in an even layer and stir fry. After a few seconds you can add the celery. I don't like carrots raw so I tend to give it more time before I throw the celery. After about a minute take them off the wok and set aside on a plate.

Add another tablespoon of peanut oil. You should only have enough beef to cover the bottom part of the wok in one layer. Each beef should be touching the wok and the more sizzle you hear the better. Otherwise you're losing too much of the wok's heat. Do not touch the beef for a minute.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of grounded chiles on the beef. Flip the meat to the other side. Water is going to start coming out of the meat. Allow it to evaporate.

Add the ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Put the carrots and celery back into the wok. Add the fish sauce and lime and orange juice. Allow the liquid to reduce and place the scallion into the mix.

This dish wasn't as dry as I wanted so I need to tweak this recipe. For my family this was too spicy so I would cut it back next time.

Stove Top Skirt Steak

I'm a Costco fan and for the past month I've been eyeing their cast iron enameled pan. I succumbed to temptation and sure enough in the same trip I bought skirt steak instead of flank. The first steak run didn't go so well but I'm happy with the last two results that I've decided to keep a record of it here.

Defrost the meat in the refrigerator- if it was originally in the freezer I like to make sure I cook it within 24 hours. If it's an outside skirt steak trim as much of the fat and any skin film on the meat. Put salt on each side and some pepper if desired- coarse salt and freshly grounded pepper recommended. Leave it out for 30 minutes or so but not for hours on end.

Preheat the skillet. Once the cookware is warm, put a little bit of oil to coat the pan. I use olive oil. Allow the oil to get hot which is about 5 minutes.

Note the grain before you put the meat on the skillet. I like my grill marks to be perpendicular to the grain because it's easier for me to see the grain on raw meat than one that is cooked. Cutting against the grain is essential for a not chewy skirt steak. Also put the meat on the center of the skillet.

Do not touch it for 6 minutes. Use a heat resistant tong and flip the meat on to the other side. Allow for another 6 minutes and add additional minutes depending on doneness that is desired. Depending on the thickness of the steak, 6 minutes on each side may just get you to medium rare or medium. I like mine to be medium to medium well and I find another 2-4 minutes on each side does the job.

Let the meat rest for at least 4 minutes and it's ready to eat.