Grilled HedgeHogs

No, not real hedgehogs, but hedgehog potatoes. These potatoes are sliced crosswise like hard-boiled eggs, but without quite cutting them apart, so they fan out when cooked.

We will reinforce the fanning, by inserting slices of red onion and bacon into the slits. The slow indirect cooking, will soften the interior of the potatoes, crisp the outside, (see my post on ultimate baked potatoes), the onions will caramelize and add a sweetness, and the bacon … Well, bacon makes everything taste good. For an extra flavor boost I’ll dash on some herbes de provence, and a dash of salt.

As said prior :

Potato Secret #1
Choose your potato wisely! In baking a potato, it is best to use starchy potatoes. These tubers are white and starchy and do not have a sweet or strong taste to them.

• They should be firm
• They should be smooth skinned and free of sprouts.
• Use medium-sized potatoes

Potato Secret #2
Scrub, scrub, scrub… Make sure the potato is clean, as with all vegetables, potatoes grow in the ground and as such are quite dirty. (Besides grit between the teeth adds sooo much to the meal…)

Potato Secret #3
Oil them there spuds… Use oil (canola or olive oil). Oil your potatoes generously by tossing in a bowl with several tablespoons of oil in it. They should be shiny, but not dripping wet.

Potato Secret #4
Salt, Kosher salt. Lightly coat the oiled potato with salt.

Potato Secret #6
Preheat the Grill! Preheat the oven to a temperature of 400 degrees. (Indirect heat with the hood closed) Your potatoes should be ready in 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Deposit the potatoes directly on the rack. A potato is fully cooked when its internal temperature reaches 99 °C (210 °F)

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Chicken Fricassée

It is a funny half hot / half cold day, where in the morning you want a hefty jacket, in the afternoon you want a t-shirt, and by early evening you are back in the bomber jacket…

My tastes are that way as well, I wanted a heavy breakfast, a light lunch and a meal with staying power for dinner.

I remember a wonderful dish I had at a local french restaurant, it was a chicken, broken down and browned then simmered in a broth along with vegetables to make a really wonder full sauce. Think similar to a beef stew with really big chunks of meat and veggies… The gravy was so thick and wonderful I was soping it up with the french bread on the table. (Yes, I know it sounds soo uncivilized, sooo unsheik, but it seems everyone else at the table was doing the same thing….)

Do note: Do not try this with boneless chicken breast, it just does not work well…

Wikipedia says:

Fricassee or Fricassée is a catch-all term used to describe a stewed dish typically made with poultry, but other types of white meat (like veal, rabbit, or Cornish game hen) can be substituted. It is cut into pieces and then stewed in gravy, which is then thickened with butter and cream or milk). It often includes other ingredients and vegetables.

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Beer Cheese Bread Bowls

Three things that go so well together, the yeast of the the beer, with the flour of the bread and the creaminess of the the cheese. This is a natural to go with chili. And as I have leftover charsiu, and I have some chuck steak, and I always have spices, it would be a safe bet that I will make chili tonight and serve it in these bread bowls …

A bread bowl is a round loaf of bread which has had a large portion of the middle cut out to create an edible bowl. Bread bowls can be used to serve chili, and other thick stews (often, but not always, with a cheese or cream base). Soups with thinner bases are not generally served in bread bowls, as the broth would make the bread get too soggy too quickly.

The bread becomes flavored as it absorbs some of the stew’s base, and can be eaten after the stew has been eaten.

I first had this is a U.K. pub, and it has been a favorite since then,

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Soup Fromage a Bière de malt

Winter is now HERE!.. It is now officially cold. When it gets this cold one needs protein, in an easily digestible form, and the delivery mechanism also needs to impart warmth. It does NOT hurt if the protein is flavorful so a reasonable amount can be consumed, may with a bit of spice to impart a feeling of warmth to the taste buds.. We are talking soups and stews here, and in this specific case we are talking a soup.

What I have in mind is recreating a wonderful soup I had in Atlanta. A hearty soup made with Guinness, extra sharp cheddar cheese, a good chicken broth, fire roasted peppers, some very finely minced veggies, a bit of Worcestershire sauce, but instead of the traditional shot of hot sauce, a couple of table spoons of grated horseradish…

As spoken prior :

Soup is a food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables in stock or hot/boiling water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth.

Traditionally, soups are classified into two broad groups: clear soups and thick soups. The established French classifications of clear soups are bouillon and consommé.

Thick soups are classified depending upon the type of thickening agent used:

• purées are vegetable soups thickened with starch
• bisques are made from puréed shellfish or vegetables thickened with cream
• cream soups may be thickened with béchamel sauce
• veloutés are thickened with eggs, butter and cream

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Blackend Prime Rib Steak

Ok, I admit, I am a hopeless carnivore.. And of all I love Steak, crust / crunch on the outside, tender melt in your mouth on the inside.. Now add a good bit of Cajun flair and you have the delight of delights …

Since I just completed my annual holiday dinner, where I dry aged two prime ribs them smoked them only to have half the guests beg off due to snow. I now have about 20 1″ thick rib steaks, just “prime” for blackening…
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Chicken Pot Pie Bake

We have a nor’easter here, it will be raining, the wind will be blowing, and the temperatures will be low, not freezeing, just low enough to really make you sick. Combine that with the badwolf global pandemic of Swine Flu, Chicken Flu, and cat sneezes, it means really hearty fair, with massive does of W’Burg penicillin. Think about that one, the home of heavy food, for big boyz, is talking about really hearty fair.

One absolute favorite, as in fight for seconds, is chicken pot pie. Not the store bought little pies, we are talking a large casserole dish, lined with pie dough, a thick chicken stew, and topped with puff pastry. Take that, and replace the puff pastry with mashed potatoes, kick the stew up a good bit with mixed boneless chicken parts, some shredded, some cubed, big chunks of carrots, big chunks of celery, kernel corn, green peas, and perl onions, all in a gravy made from homemade stock.

Lets start with the pie crust, I’ll take my biscuit mix, and make a dough. We’ll roll that out very thin and fit to a buttered casserole dish.

And let’s tackle the topping of mashed potatoes. Make twice what you think you will need, they keep well in the fridge, but do not seem to last long..

For the Stew

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Taking Stock

Yes, it is that time of year, I smell the crispness of the air, it’s there lying just under the humidity, waiting for a temperature drop to break free. Soon it will be soup and stew weather, and that means stocks, real stocks.

Our grocery stores are crammed with canned, cubed, and powdered soup stocks. (all loaded with enough salt to preserve a side of beef.) Pre-packaged broths have made it quick and easy to whip up a big, flavorful pot o’ soup, rather than an all-day affair. But if time isn’t an issue, why not do it the old-fashioned way and make your own stock from scratch? The flavorful rewards are worth the extra effort involved. Your choices for flavor are limited only by the contents of your vegetable crisper, your leftovers and your imagination. Stock provides a background to soup, so the ingredients you choose should be supportive, not overwhelming. There are several keys to good, basic stocks.

Best Bets

Stocks are not compost heaps. If you wouldn’t eat that moldy old mushroom or aging chicken as is, then don’t use them! Yesterday’s, or even last week’s, vegetables are fine, as long as they’re still healthy. The beauty of stock ingredients is that the ideal ingredients are usually the trimmings from the soup you’re about to make (leek roots and leaves, tiny, end-of-the-head garlic cloves, potato parings, celery leaves, parsley stems, etc.)

More Tips

Use a stockpot that is tall and narrow to help slow water loss from evaporation. To extract the most flavor from your stock ingredients, start with cold water. Meat stocks benefit from long, slow cooking. Vegetable stocks do not. Quick vegetable stocks should take 25 to 30 minutes; basic vegetable stocks, 45 minutes to one hour. Chicken or beef stocks can take anywhere from one hour to five–longer if you’re using a slow cooker. Certain herbs and vegetables will turn bitter as they steep. Strain as soon as the stock is finished.

Dos and Don’ts

Some vegetables should be avoided altogether in stocks. The cabbage family (turnips, rutabagas, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) does not do well in stock. Nor do most powdered herbs, ground black pepper, artichoke trimmings, or too many greens. Use whole peppercorns and bay leaves, as these are easy to strain out.

Cool your strained stock by filling the kitchen sink with ice water. Place the pot in the cold water bath, and stir every once in awhile, or until the broth is tepid. Store in the refrigerator for up to five days, or in the freezer for up to three months.

Essential Roasted Tomato-Jalapeño Salsa

The first time you hear that gravelly, rock-against-rock rotation of the mortar, the first time you smell the irascible aroma of crushed roasted garlic and chiles, the first time you taste the jazz band of seasoning playing through the juicy ripe tomatoes – you’ve come face to face with the real Mexico. It’s a simple first step, partly because it looks like what we think of as “salsa,” partly because we can find the ingredients so easily.

But do go to the extra effort to buy good tomatoes. Then roast them and the garlic and chiles with a confident hand – that’s the technique that sets these flavors apart. With a lava-rock mortar from Mexico, you’ll feel centuries of tradition as your hands work the ingredients together.
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