Pork Roast

Does anyone remember when meat did not come already seasoned? I mean, this pork roast was tender but WAAAY too salty.

Beef Stew

This recipe, mainly.


The liquid I added was not beef broth, though. It was the braising liquid from the short ribs which was used to make a pot roast later. So this is THREE BEEF broth. And darn tasty.

The Letter B

Today's meal was brought to you by the letter B:


Roasted Beets and Brussel Sprouts with Braised Beef Short Ribs.

We also had apple crumble for dessert with (wait for it) Breyer's vanilla ice cream for dessert.

My Awesome Sister

So my sister lives very far from me. And my mother recently went to visit her. And she returned with this:

These are the cutest Shinzi Katoh Bento Boxes EVER!

Thanks Stinky!

Foodie Magazine

As you can ascertain, I read a good many foodie magazines. November and Decemeber are the best months for foodie magazines. This year, for Thanksgiving it is all about the turkey:




I think the editors of Gourmet and the Martha Stewarts have a some esplaining to do.

Leftovers

When you cook as much as I do, there are perpetual leftovers. I find that if I take whatever is leftover, put it in a tortilla and cover it with copious amounts of cheese:


That is black beans, chili, cheese, onion and pork on the inside.

Then you bake it until the cheese is melted:


And it makes it quite tasty.

Remember, when in doubt --add more cheese.

All About Pigs

So for dinner, we had baby back ribs.



It's pork week here are Beef and Chocolate.

Dinner and tomorrow's lunch

Dinner and tomorrow's lunch


Roast Pork, Black Beans, Broccoli and Roasted Turban Squash


In a Square for lunch.

The last of the basil

This is one of the last leaves of basil from the garden.



I picked the last of the basil to make pesto. Which made a tasty snack with frozen ravioli.



This is my pesto recipe.

Minjenah's Pesto

Eight Handfuls of basil leaves
One handful of pine nuts
One handful of walnuts
One handful of garlic cloves (this is nine in my handful)
Two handfuls of Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Salt
Pepper

Blitz the first five ingredients in a food processor, pouring the olive oil until you get the consistency of ranch dressing. Salt and pepper to taste.

I guess you could freeze this but it has never made it to my freezer.

Guess What I Had for Dinner?

I also used garlic, salt and water.

Apple Walnut Bread or how I wing it.

So I decided to make some apple bread. I normally look at a few recipes and wing it but this time I am going to explain my thought process when I wing it.

I orginally took this recipe for Date Spice Loaf and modified it. Everyone should make the original recipe though. It is delicious and I have made it twice since I made it the first time oh A WEEK AGO.

Here is the original ingredient list from the great Smitten Kitchen

2 cups coarsely chopped dates (10 ounces pitted)
1/3 cup orange liqueur such as Cointreau or Triple Sec
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 oranges)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans


But see I had fresh apples and walnuts. So I took the two cups of dates and made it two and a half cups of shredded apples. I shredded the apples because I hate finely chopping anything because I am not good at knife work.

I did not use the orange zest because I thought it would be overpowering to the apple flavor.

Instead of the orange juice, I used apple juice.

And I used a stick of butter because the dates have a sticky, moist quality that are imparted on the bread and the apples would meld into the batter more. And I REALLY like butter. I also melted it because who has the time to wait until it gets to room temperature?

I then added a teaspoon of ginger to the spices because well, I like ginger.

So here is the modified recipe:
Winged Apple Walnut Bread

2 1/2 cups coarsely shredded apples

8 tablespoons (one stick) butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup apple juice
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts.

This is the end result:

Really good with more butter and apple butter.

Creative Chicken

So I made up a recipe:



Chicken Breast with basil, roasted red peppers and mozzarella.

I give it a six out of ten.

Date Nut Bread

I have never tasted Date Nut Bread. It is just something that I did not get as a child and when I had the opportunity to get it as an adult, I would order something else, like a chocolate chip muffin.

Well, it is really good! I mean REALLY GOOD. Like smells like cookies (as yohboh said) good.



The link has the recipe that I sorta followed.

When I try a recipe, the first time I make it, I follow it fairly closely. The next time I make it, I will experiment. The only thing I did differently from the original recipe is I put more cinnamon and nutmeg in it. Because I like them.