salt packed then dried on ah cotton thread in the direct southern coastal sun…lawd lawd…we have fallen in th time warp ain’t we?
You know, sometimes a situation being good, or bad, is entirely in how you perceive it. How you approach it. What you do with it. I apparently live in a lonely corner of “Culinary Perdition “. But when I get onto something I want to try, I have no preconceived ideas on what it should be, or taste like. Which leaves me free to just…create deliciousness. Peri-Peri Chicken. The “Texas Edition”. Peri-Peri is a sauce, like Tabasco is a sauce. I just can’t get it here. (I know because I looked in 5 different stores.) But in the age of the internet, you can find out ANYTHING. and I went there…and just kept going. In place of bird eye chilis, I’m going with Serrano and Guajillo for a smoky heat. These ingredients are just getting cleaned and cut into large sections. Then they get flash seared in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil along with a couple of spoons of fresh ghee. This gets very generously covered in the spice blend from earlier. Cook time is only 3-4 minutes tops, and you need to stop the cooking near instantly, pour into a cooled bowl, something…(I set my pan on a cookie sheet layered in ice to arrest the frying effect in mere seconds at the end but don’t do that with your cast iron or carbon steel ok?) Then put the cooled sauté in a blender and pulse it into a thick paste. You can use it as a marinade, a dipping sauce, a spread like for egg sandwiches…super versatile.
Mine is going to be more casserole like, and finish with brown rice rather than the peirogies or stuffed dumplings that are recommended. My UnO compadre. It’s funny that my feet know to go “UpnOver” without my brain actually saying it as a conscience thought. Using my largest cast iron Lodge superheated to solar eruption temperatures, just stage things in to get here. Again it’s really fast. 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes…bang em in and keep stirring like a madman… Then kill the heat, stir/mix in chopped greens, rice, and peri peri sauce ( mine was approximately 1-1 1/4 cups worth) and into a 350F with a lid for 25-30 minutes. It was freaking delicious! Like crazy good! We SO over ate. Easy chair and cold beerski time…
Afghan Pressure Cooker Y.A.B.S. (Yet Another Beef Stew) Big old chunk of tough as nails Chuck roast , about to get slayed by the BR Shining Mountain Bowie EVOO into the Afghan pot, seared the meat in small batches Purple onion (cuz they are purple! Not red! ) chunked up, along with loads of garlic, Serrano peppers, and a big ol tree branch of rosemary quick sauté, add the seared beef back into the pot, along with soup stock, coriander, cumin, black pepper, Himalayan pink salt . Good stir, clean the gasket surface off, cinch the lid down and time to simmer! The two valves burp themselves every once in a while, or you can manually burp them. The aroma was intense in the apt, not to mention the whole building. You could even smell that delicious stew outside. Cooked it medium low for about an hour, then released the valves. Waiting for the pressure to drop fully and undid the lid. Beautiful brown gravy beef stew, very aromatic and flavourful. Exact same recipe I've done in cast iron pots, yet this one in the Afghan pressure cooker tasted way more flavourful. Meat firm on the fork but falls apart / melts in your mouth.
Experimenting with the Afghan Pressure Cooker wanted to see if dried chickpeas would cook tender . If it doesn't work, I'm only out $1.50 for the beans, and the crows will chow on them water in, dried beans in, gasket and lid on, heat on. now I wait to my surprise the Afghan cooker cooked the dry beans (with added waters/ spices ) perfectly soft, almost mushy Gonna drain these , cool, and make hummus in the morning.
I’ve been looking for a braiser/rondeau pot for a while now and I preferred a stick stainless one everything is so expensive and my pocketbook is light. Luckily for me, I found an enamel cast iron one at a steal of a price. It’s from a new company that makes quality stuff, Misen. The pot goes for $140 but I got it off a nice woman for $25- still new and unused. She got it as a Christmas present, opened it up and realized it was heavy as HECK. Good deal for me but bad deal for my gf who washes the dishes after I cook! Lol
This is what happens when the black fly of creativity sneaks in and bites you.. It 11 pm on a Friday…What th heck am I doing? This! Ok, So this is gonna require a few steps…. Then again, Maybe not. “Faultlines” Chicken Pot Pie. Even has homemade cream of chicken in it. Item #926 that I need for my kitchen..18” pizza peel. Yeah….
thats my idea of a fun Friday night. If I ever need a spice, I know who to ask! thank you brother but it’s not 1/1000th as cool as that pressure cooker of yours. It’s a work of art!
Tuneric and spice seasoned rice from the Afghan pressure cooker. Took like 10 minutes 3 big ol steaks, seasoned with black pepper, coriander, cumin, Himalayan pink salt and garlic powder, seared on a billion degree Lodge skillet over the propane burner, drenched in butter , garlic and rosemary cubed up with the little tiny SYKCO key chain blade , into the Afghan pressure cooker with onions, garlic, rosemary, curry spices, turmeric, celery , carrot and ginger pulp from my juicer , & broth Sealed up, heat on, steam pressure blast off in 15 min, release pressure valves, open lid, mmmmm Mix with the flavourful rice - presto ! curried beef with curried rice
what a great cooking report! I loved it it felt like we were there with you getting a tutorial thank you brother
Went fast and loose with a hankering for Korean Bulgogi. I really do have a recipe for this…I just didn’t stay on it! I’m in the kitchen…my feet suddenly were weighed down. This was where the recipe was completely lost..left on a slow boat to Tanzania…. I used a teaspoon of ghee, just wanted a touch of color, slightly softened.. then super low, add the liquid, barely simmering for just a few minutes. Then set aside to cool..
this piece o pork is going to get quartered lengthwise, then cut into thin slices… Add the sauce, which was pulse blended after cooling. Then into the refrigerator. Anything close to 2-3 hours will work. Mine sat for almost 30 hours. now some killer filler. You could use bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, pineapple, broccoli…I’m just using stuff that’s on hand to avoid going to the store.
then utilizing the most excellent Lodge 15” and a couple more teaspoons of ghee (because doomsday prepper lady keeps giving it to me ) 45 minutes at 425f…. Well that was a hit. I might have to make a bigger batch next time!
^ oh it's on! Throw down! promised my buddy I'd wow his taste buds with some curried tiki masala / tandoori beef stew. some steaks and a Chuck roast sliced thiccc outside on the tailgate, propane burner heating the massive lodge cast iron skillet hot for a searin' meat rubbed with EVOO and generous amounts of Himalayan pink salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper and garam masala I wish you all could smell the aroma in the night air, wafting thruout the neighbourhood, making the kale eaters cry, the carnivores drool.... Once seared , back inside the apt, cold Reebs opened, Ministry "Just One Fix" cranked loud. Time to cube the meat big ol stainless mixing bowl of beefy cube onions, garlic, loads of fresh rosemary all chunked up Meat into the Afghan pressure cooker secret sauce mixes. This are heaven in a pouch - basically slow cooked simmered down tomato sauces, full of Indian spices, garlic, love. INTENSE FLAVOURS, and very very versatile in use Mixed well in the cooker, lid on, pressure on, more Reebs opened, VNV NATION "Honour" cranking loud 25 minutes, pressure blast off, let the steam out / pressure drop and we have intensely flavourful curried beef stew. my buddy is East Indian and he freaked out at how good this was. Wanted some to home to his mom! (The ULTIMATE compliment) got lots left - going to make rice and eat with roti
