Tag Archives: Onion

My take on corned beef | Avoiding the canned stuff

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When I was in Atlanta I had my first (and second) Reuben sandwich. I’ve been wanting to make one ever since. Before I get there though I wanted to practice cooking corned beef. I’ve done it before but it was a long time ago.

The task for today was to simply cook some corned beef that I could have for dinner and also make as a filling for toasted sandwiches at work.

The whole process took a few hours from start to finish.

This is the piece of meat I used

#dinner Image 1 #cornedbeef #experiment

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I soaked it in some tap water with some star anise, cloves, bay leaves, brown sugar and vinegar

#dinner Image 2 #cornedbeef #experiment soaking with bay leaves, star anise and cloves

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After soaking I cooked the meat in a pressure cooker

#dinner Image 3 #cornedbeef #experiment after one hour in the #pressurecooker my favourite cooking tool

In my youth I would cut the fat layer off and put it between two well buttered pieces of white bread and add some mustard and then inhale. Nothing tastes as good as silverside fat from corned beef between buttered bread.

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I wanted to add some caramelised onions

#dinner Image 4 #cornedbeef #experiment softening onions and caramelising them

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I finished the cooking by putting the onions, corned beef and a cup of the cooking fluid from the pressure cooker into a casserole and cooked in a low oven. Half-way through I took it out to add a little curry powder and a potato for my dinner.

#dinner Image 5 #cornedbeef #experiment part way through cooking in a casserole in a low oven #potato added for tonight's dinner

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For comparison. I wasn’t going to open the can, but the shot is for comparison (sort of).

#dinner Image 6 #cornedbeef #experiment comparison between what I cooked and a can from the supermarket. I prefer mine.

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This is a large bowl that I will use for toasted sandwiches at work this week.

#dinner Image 7 #cornedbeef #experiment Shot for the blog. This is what I'm keeping for sandwiches this week.

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This is so much cheaper and easier but way too salty and oily

Image 8 for the blog. For comparison with my homemade hashed #cornedbeef #experiment

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Tonight’s dinner. My take on corned beef and vegetables. No white sauce here :-(

#dinner Image 9 #cornedbeef #experiment Tonight's dinner It was #yummy My take on corned beef and vegetables. 😃😃😃

This wasn’t too bad. The meat fibres pulled apart easily. It wasn’t too salty or oily like canned corned beef. It was sweet with the onions.

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The next step when I feel confident is to try a Reuben sandwich. That’s a dish I want to make well so I can share it with Bron.

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XXXX Gold braised roast pork Ping @Nigella_Lawson

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This week I watched an episode of Nigella’s Kitchen where she cooked pig hocks. While I didn’t have a pig hock it was easy enough to buy a rolled piece of pork with some rind on it. I knew it would require gentle cooking and could not be treated like a hock.

I placed the pork on some onions in a baking tray and then placed into a hot oven (220 °C) for 20 minutes to sear the skin. I pulled the pork out and poured some XXXX Gold ale over it and added a quartered royal gala apple and a potato. I put some foil over this and placed into a moderate oven (160 °C) for 90 minutes. I then pulled the meat out and turned the oven back up to 220 °C, uncovered the meat and returned it to the oven for 20 minutes.

I pulled the meat, apple and potato out and then heated the onion and juices to make a sauce. This was by a simple reduction.

The crackling was crisp and the meat was okay. It wasn’t as tender as I’m sure Nigella’s hock would be. It had a nice flavour.

Next time I’ll use an hock.

 

XXXX Gold Beer

Pork from Coles

Pork in a baking tray sitting on onions

Ready for the oven after a quick blast and after the beer has been added

Nearly finished

Carved ready for my plate

Plated up with the gravy

The crackling was pretty good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fusion food

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I’m not making a claim to understand the advantages or disadvantages of fusion cuisine and more because I can than being creative tonight’s dinner is a fusion meal. I crumbed some veal in fresh bread with mixed herbs and GOA beef curry powder and served it with a stir fry of onions, ginger, lup chong, asparagus, broccolini, coriander, spring onions and carrot. This was served with some noodles.

Click on the image for a higher resolution version

Crumbed veal and stir fry

Of course the day started brilliantly with morning tea with Bron. She brought me a pistachio macaron from the Lindt café in Darling Harbour.

Coffee and a pistachio macaron

 

I’m a Spike convert | Shout out to the Salmon Fishing Queen

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In Late May Barb from Life in the Foothills blogged that she spiked a chicken. I wrote a comment that I’d not heard of Spike and I’d have to go looking for it. Very kindly Barb sent me a bottle from the US to Australia. The website describes Spike as 39 different herbs, spices and vegetables all lovingly blended with just the right amount of salt! The original version contains salt crystals (earth and sea), nutritional yeast, hydrolysed soy protein (NO ADDED MSG), mellow toasted onion, onion powder, orange powder, soy granules, celery leaf powder, celery root powder, garlic powder, dill, kelp, Indian curry, horseradish, ripe white pepper, orange and lemon peel, summer savoury, mustard flour, sweet green and red bell peppers, parsley flakes, tarragon, rose hips, safflower, mushroom powder, parsley powder, spinach powder, tomato powder, sweet paprika, celery seed ground, cayenne pepper, plus a delightful herbal bouquet of the best oregano, sweet basil, marjoram, rosemary and thyme.

I’m very grateful to Barb for sending me this bottle (Nikon D90)

On Sunday afternoon I prepared a slow cooked pork belly dish for lunches this week at work. I Spiked it.

This was my lunch container today at work (iPhone) Also on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/Mj8YQYxNLh/

On Sunday evening I prepared pumpkin soup. I Spiked it.

I love pumpkin soup. (Nikon D90)

This evening I roasted a Chicken Maryland. I Spiked it.

This is the way Barb explained to use Spike. Rub in oil then rub in Spike. (Nikon D90)

This is the way Barb explained to use Spike. Rub in oil then rub in Spike. (Nikon D90)

Again, thanks Barb. I have more chicken this week and Spike will be used.

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Scotch fillet steak take two

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Last night I cooked a nice piece of Scotch fillet steak. In last night’s post I mentioned I’d bought two pieces and I’d try something different tonight. Well tonight I didn’t really use anything different but I did do a few different things with the same ingredients.

Tonight I sliced the sweet potato and sliced some cheese and put in an oven with some white wine to get some steam action. The onions were the same as last night. The steak was simply touched to the hot fry pan and then put in the oven for a few minutes. I like my steak rare. Some friendly tweeps have made cow noises when I posted an image to instagram.

Let me know what you think.

Scotch Fillet steak Click on image for more detail (Nikon D90)

Scotch Fillet steak Click on image for more detail (Nikon D90)

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Scotch fillet steak with onion, sweet potato, peas and corn

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On returning yesterday I did a little grocery shopping and bought a couple of steaks for tonight and tomorrow night. I’ll often do this, make the same dish twice and see how I can make the second night better. Sometimes I’m so impatient on the second night I just cook the meat :-)

Tonight I shaved some sweet potato put it into a shallow tray with some grated cheese and softened in an oven. I caramelised the onion and at the end added some frozen peas and corn. The steak touched a hot pan for a minute and then was turned and the heat turned off.

Fillet steak (Nikon D90)

 

Fillet steak (Nikon D90)

Yes, I know there was some butter leaching through the bottom. I cook with butter.

 

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Pie again and again it was good

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Okay today has been good at work. Busy but entirely manageable. I spent some parts of it thinking about dinner. I had a boneless and skinless chicken thigh in the refrigerator along with some vegetables. I bought some puff pastry from the supermarket.

I finely chopped some onions and sliced a part of a leek very finely. I also finely diced some salami I had too. While that was softening in a wok I floured some diced chicken meat and then added that. While that was cooking I grated some sweet potato and Gruyere cheese. After tossing the chicken around a bit to brown it off I added a little white wine and cream to thicken the sauce. I combined the sweet potato and cheese with a packet of French onion soup. To this I added the chicken salami, onion and leek. This all went into a Pyrex dish and I added some peas and corn and a little more cheese.I added some Tabasco sauce and chili flakes to add some kick to the hot salami. I covered this with the puff pastry brushed with an egg wash and then covered in freshly ground pepper. The dish was put in a moderate oven for 45 minutes.

It tasted good. It was really nice.

Just ready for the oven

Just out of the oven

It's not a pie without sauce :-)

I cracked the pastry and the creamy cheesy goodness oozed around inside

I want more :-)

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Picnic lunch and then sausage rolls

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Today Bron invited me to a picnic lunch at Yerra Beach on Lake Ginninderra. There’s not much better than homemade sandwiches at a picnic or at the beach. To be honest, they’re always better on a sandy beach where there is surf. I’m sorry if I sound like a snob, I really do prefer surf beaches.

The weather was a little cool so I was wearing a hoodie and a pair of shorts. Bron had bought some nice crusty rolls, French onion dip, hummus, pesto, carrot sticks, brie, tasty cheddar, ham, salad leaves and tomatoes. We were able to assemble sandwiches at the Lake. After lunch we had Weston’s Wagon Wheels.

Yerra Beach. TAMS needs to come and cut the grass. The grass seeds had my allergies going.

Another view. The grass is lush.

There's playground stuff too.

And here is the sandwich. Bread smeared with French onion dip and filled with ham, brie, baby spinach, tomatoes, and cucumber.

Tonight I had some sweet potato and thought I’d do fritters again. I mentioned to Bron I still had puff pastry from last night and she suggested sausage rolls. I went and bought some pork mince, a pear and an onion. I still had some diced prunes from last night.

I made a potato and sweet potato bake with some Gruyere cheese and cream. The sausage rolls were simply the pork mince, onion, pear, prunes, some chilli flakes, pepper and an egg to bind.

Lots of ingredients to make sausage rolls and a potato bake.

The potato and sweet potato bake with Gruyere cheese.

This looks disgusting but it was full of goodness.

Sausage rolls ready for the oven.

The potato and sweet potato bake out of the oven.

Side by side. My main dishes for tonight.

Two hot logs of goodness.

Plated up.

On my dining table.

This was a pretty filling meal. I’ll have left overs tomorrow night.

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Another one of those days, using a distraction to help me cope

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It’s been a long couple of days at work with a few issues taking all my attention. They were sufficiently different to make focus and concentration difficult. To help me focus better, I used a technique that I learnt many years ago. Whenever I felt a bit stressed I thought of something I wanted to do and built up a picture to appreciate. I knew I had a piece of steak in the refrigerator. By the end of the day I had a meal composed and cooked in my head. The problem was I had little time. I left the office at a reasonable time however, my bag was full of work and my e-mail inbox replete with unread messages. On top of that I had a week’s worth of ironing I had to do tonight.

The best time saver in the kitchen is the pressure cooker. I’ve blogged about my pressure cooking before when I made jook (congee) and pork belly.

In my mind this morning I started with a piece of steak that I diced. In the pressure cooker I put some roughly cut onion, ginger, potato and the steak. I also added a little red curry paste and water. I cooked this for 30 minutes. In a wok I sauteed onions and ginger in olive oil. When the onion had softened I added some diced tomatoes and then the rest of the red curry paste I had. While that was simmering I added peas, beans and carrots. When the meat was finished I added it to the wok and combined everything through. I added some coconut milk and while that was coming to a simmer I prepared some noodles. I added a little lime juice and coriander as I served the curry on the bed of noodles.

These thoughts kept me sane today. The meal turned out well and I’ve now finished the ironing and completed a good portion of my homework.

My dinner tonight was a red beef curry

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Roast lamb and smashed potatoes

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Some time ago I had the best roast lamb at a friend’s house. It was an awesome dinner party. This week I’ve eaten a good share of lamb (Australia Day dinner. Yes it’s lamb again. and Lamb cutlets with mint sauce and radish salad) and just feel the need for more. I didn’t feel the need to buy a shoulder, rather Coles had cheap lamb bones on sale which I thought would be good enough since they were ribs. Intercostal muscle is always tasty although it can be tough, so it needs long slow cooking.

Following my friend’s advice I laid down a bed of garlic and rosemary and overlaid that with lamb. On top I put in more garlic and rosemary and then covered snugly with aluminium foil. I placed the tray in a hot oven 240 °C for 30 minutes and then turned it down to 150 °C for a few hours. When it was ready I pulled the tray out and allowed the meat to cool enough for me to pick the meat from the bones and then put on my dinner plate.

These were cheap as at Coles.

There was lots of garlic. I pity friends who sit near me tomorrow.

The smashed potatoes were made by boiling a few spuds until just tender, allowing them to cool, ‘smashing’ them with your hand and then covering with salt, pepper, herbs and butter.

After boiling and smashing, in the tray.

The spuds should be boiled to just soft enough to smash with the heel of your hand.

Cover with salt, pepper and your herbs of choice. I chose oregano.

The potatoes need to be seasoned well.

Butter is also important.

As I’ve said before butter (like bacon) makes everything taste better.

The bones came out with the meat soft enough to pull away.

It is always a feeling of accomplishment when meat is cooked the way you like.

Plated up lamb and potatoes.

I should have made some gravy, but in truth it wasn’t necessary.

Poh does a nice rendition of this which can be found at the ABC website.

For alternative guidance on smashed potatoes here’s a youtube video to assist.

The images were captured with Lumix point and shoot AVCHD Lite.

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