Home cooking

New Year’s Eve 2022

Posted by Gary

Brisket

Avoid this palaver and go to the recipe.

This year had it's ups and downs. The big dip in November was a doozy and had long term health complications.
This year had it’s ups and downs. The big dip in November was a doozy and had long term health complications.

Resolutions for 2023

Is it worth writing these down? I don’t know. How often do people make a list and then forget about it? I would guess it’s most of the time.

The one thing I want to push myself to do next year is to seek clarity in everything. Because I’m partially deaf and because of my tinnitus, I often mishear things. Rather than ask for the words to be repeated, I smile and pretend I understand. I’m also too proud to seek clarity when someone says something that sounds like a good form of words, but I don’t understand what they’re saying. I know some people who are good with words but aren’t very clear. Context is everything; sometimes, context is assumed when it shouldn’t be.

I’m guilty of this myself. I will use a technically correct word or phrase rather than plain language. Next year, I aim to always add an explanation to any technical phraseology to ensure I’m understood. I always try to make the context plain.

There are other aspects I need to improve, and I mentioned those last week. If you liked last’s week’s meal, there’s a follow-up with the leftover KFC.

How will I celebrate New Year’s Eve?

I had no plans. I figured I’d cook a meal, watch TV, and then go to bed.

The meal is a piece of brisket. I bought a portion that will provide a meal tonight and meat during the week for lunches. I’m looking forward to cold brisket and warm gravy sandwiches. I’ll post a story to Random Yummy in the next few days.

The dessert was ice cream and granola.

My dessert Tweet

Recipe

Equipment used

  • Pressure cooker
  • Saucier pan
  • Toaster oven

Ingredients

  • Brisket
  • Potato
  • Carrot
  • Celery
  • Onion
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Butter
  • Flour
  • Beef stock
  • Red wine

Instructions

  1. Roughly chop and dice the potato, carrot, onion, and celery.
  2. Heat a frying pan and add some neutral oil.
  3. Dry the surface of the brisket with some absorbent paper.
  4. Place the brisket into the pan and sear the outside surface.
  5. Put the brisket into the pressure cooker.
  6. Sauté the potato, carrot, onion, and celery until the vegetables soften a little and take on some colour.
  7. Put the potato, carrot, onion, and celery into the pressure cooker.
  8. Deglaze the pan with red wine and add a cup of beef stock.
  9. Pour the wine and stock into the pressure cooker.
  10. Cook under pressure for 45 minutes and then allow the pressure to reach equilibrium naturally.
  11. Cut the Brussels sprouts in half and rub them with olive oil.
  12. Put the Brussels sprouts on a baking tray and cook at 200 °C for about 30 minutes.
  13. Remove the brisket and place it in a shallow dish. Cover it with some aluminium foil.
  14. Pass the cooking liquor through a sieve and keep the liquid in a jug for making gravy.
  15. Make a roux with equal amounts of butter and flour. I used 20 g of both butter and flour.
  16. Gradually pour the filtered cooking liquor into the roux and make gravy.
  17. Slice a couple of pieces of brisket and put it on a dinner plate.
  18. Put the Brussels sprouts next to the brisket.
  19. Drizzle some gravy over the brisket and Brussels sprouts.
  20. Give thanks to the Lord.
  21. Enjoy the last dinner for 2022, watch some TV, and look forward to some creamy vanilla ice cream with granola.

Photographs

Brisket from Coles
Celery and potato
Onion and carrot
Brisket ready for searing
Seared brisket
Cooked brisket fresh from the pressure cooker
Beef brisket with Brussels sprouts and gravy. New Year’s Eve.
Beef brisket with Brussels sprouts and gravy. New Year's Eve.
Beef brisket with Brussels sprouts and gravy. New Year’s Eve.
Beef brisket with Brussels sprouts and gravy. New Year’s Eve.
Beef brisket with Brussels sprouts and gravy. New Year’s Eve.
Beef brisket with Brussels sprouts and gravy. New Year’s Eve.

Final thoughts

  • I hope you have a great New Year’s Eve and a Happy New Year 😃
  • May 2023 be the best year you’ve ever lived.
  • I’ll see you next year.

Endnotes

Roux. Making a roux is simple. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in all the flour, and whisk for three minutes. Three minutes will ensure the taste of raw flour is removed. You can make a dark roux with a hot pan and a lighter beige roux with a moderate pan.

Brussels sprouts. Why only one vegetable? I wanted a small meal because I had a big bowl of ice cream planned for dessert. I also had a large serving of hot chips for lunch.

My lunch Tweet

Pork ribs and noodles

Posted by Gary

Hello Reader,

I had difficulty knowing if I’d write anything this week. I have had a busy week. When I wasn’t working, I was in contemplation and meditation. 2022 has been a big year. I’ve been journaling and processing. I find writing helps me think and develop answers to questions and problems.

I’ve also been reading about specific health matters for personal rather than professional reasons. One of the best resources for evidence-based medicine is up-to-date.[i]

Food and cooking were far from my thoughts for much of the week. It wasn’t until I looked back at one meal and thought I’d try a variation. On Wednesday night, I bought dinner and had pork ribs with slaw and hot chips. A mate from Darwin was visiting for a meeting he was attending, so we went to a local restaurant.

Fenway Public House Pork ribs with slaw and chips

Recipe

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker
  • Saucepan

Ingredients

  • Pork ribs
  • Chinese five spice
  • Star anise
  • Sesame oil
  • Soy sauce
  • Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
  • Noodles
  • Vegetable stock
  • Fennel (diced)
  • Bok choi (chop the stems into small pieces)

Instructions

Pork

  1. Place the racks of ribs into the pressure cooker.
  2. Add the stock and spices over the pork.
  3. Add a splash of soy sauce.
  4. Cook under pressure for 45 minutes.
  5. Allow the pressure to reduce to atmospheric naturally.
  6. Remove the ribs and set them aside in a shallow tray or a bowl.
  7. Pass the cooking liquor through a sieve into a saucepan.

Noodles

  1. Boil the cooking liquor.
  2. Put the noodles into a bowl and add the fennel and Bok choi stems.
  3. Pour the boiling cooking liquor over the noodles.

Plating up

  1. Place a rack of ribs and Bok choi leaves over the noodles.
  2. Drizzle a little sesame oil over the ribs.

Serving

  1. Give thanks to the Lord.
  2. Eat with chopsticks and a spoon.

Final thoughts

  • Do you like pork ribs?
  • Do you have a preference for Asian style or non-Asian style pork ribs?
  • How has your week been?

References

[i] https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/uptodate/how-we-help

Photographs

Pork ribs
Bok choi and fennel
Bok choi leaves
Cooked pork ribs
Pork ribs and noodles
Pork ribs and noodles
Pork ribs and noodles
Pork ribs and noodles
Pork ribs bones

Braised lamb and eggplant

Posted by Gary

Hello Reader,

Last night I made a pumpkin and feta salad with some lamb.

Tonight, I’m using the leftover lamb and extending it with some eggplant plus some older vegetables from my refrigerator. I will hopefully have enough food for dinners throughout the week. 

Instead of a traditional slow braise, I’m using a pressure cooker. I like using my pressure cooker. As a kitchen appliance, it’s versatile and suits my needs.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker
  • Frying pan

Ingredients[i]

  • Lamb (leftover rolled boneless shoulder meat)
  • Gravy (leftover and made from the cooking juices of the lamb with roux)
  • Hot chips (leftover from Friday night’s chicken and chips dinner[ii])
  • Potato (diced)
  • Eggplant (diced with the skin left on)
  • Stock (leftover lamb cooking juices)
  • Red wine (to deglaze the fond from the frying pan)
  • Onion (old cut onion from the refrigerator)
  • Spring onion (cut roughly)
  • Celery (cut roughly)
  • Carrot (cut roughly)
  • Parsley (old and ready to be discarded)
  • Fennel (old and ready to be discarded)
  • Vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Add some vegetable oil to a hot frying pan and gently fry the meat to give it more colour. Remove the meat and add the “hot” chips, onion, spring onion, eggplant, celery, carrot, and fennel. Cook these vegetables until they caramelise, and leave some fond in the bottom of the frying pan.
  2. Deglaze the pan with a small quantity of red wine, whisky, or cooking sherry. It doesn’t matter. Water would also work, but I have wine, whisky, and sherry, so I may as well use it. 
  3. Transfer the contents of the frying pan to the pressure cooker.
  4. Add the meat, leftover gravy, and stock to the pressure cooker.
  5. Don’t forget to toss in the old parsley.
  6. Cook under pressure for 15 minutes[iii].
  7. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the pressure cooker to reach atmospheric pressure naturally. The natural equilibration allows the flavours of the foods to combine longer and make this meal an equivalent of a slow braise in terms of flavours.
  8. Open the pressure cooker, and with a large spoon, aliquot the contents into separate containers for refrigeration.

Serving suggestions

  • During the week, I’ll take a large spoonful of lamb and eggplant and serve it with noodles or rice. One night I might also place it on top of some sourdough bread and heat it in the oven.
  • I can mix various things with the lamb and eggplant each night to keep the meals enjoyable. I’ll work that out each night.
  • This approach gives me meals that can be quickly prepared when I get home from work.
  • If I’m using noodles or rice, I’ll heat the lamb and eggplant with microwave radiation. I know some readers eschew the use of microwave radiation; I’ve read limited evidence that this form of cooking can cause damage or harm to humans[1]. In my personal and not my professional opinion, I remain happy using microwave radiation for personal use.
  • While I’d generally try to spend more time each night on a meal, I’m currently unable to, so this approach is what it is. 
  • I hope you have a good week.

References

  1. Michalak, J., et al., Effect of Microwave Heating on the Acrylamide Formation in Foods. Molecules, 2020. 25(18).

Photographs

Lamb
Shoulder of lamb
Lamb rubbed with curry powder
Shoulder of lamb
Rolled boneless lamb shoulder
Rolled boneless lamb shoulder with gravy
Chicken with chips and gravy
Chicken with chips and gravy
Eggplant
Braised lamb and eggplant
Braised lamb and eggplant

Endnotes

[i] Many of the ingredients were ready to be discarded. Rather than waste them, I cooked them. This is why I like my pressure cooker. A pressure cooker can be used like an autoclave. An autoclave is used to sterilise things, like surgical equipment or media for growing microorganisms and for food. I was recently involved in a food incident involving poor food handling by a commercial catering company. It was a reminder to think about food safety. 

[ii] Friday was a challenging day. I was mentally exhausted by the time evening came, so I decided to eat chicken and chips. Chicken from Coles. Chips from the fish shop. Gravy from a bottle. 😉

[iii] Fifteen minutes is the standard duration for most autoclave cycles. The lamb has already been cooked, so it doesn’t need a longer cooking time. The eggplant only needs between 10 and 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes at standard pressure will kill bacteria, bacterial spores, fungi, and parasites. It will also render all viruses incompetent. I try not to use the term kill for viruses because viruses are not alive. Viruses are mobile genetic elements. Viruses are either competent or incompetent.

Roast pumpkin and feta salad

Posted by Gary

Hello Reader,

I hope you are well. Summer has arrived, and it’s good knowing the next few months will be warmer.

I hope you enjoy winter if you’re living in the northern hemisphere.

Christmas is nearly upon us. Department stores will play Christmas carols, and the shop displays will be full of images depicting the smiling faces of children and adults. As you prepare for Christmas, I hope you will also be smiling.

Shoulder of lamb

Recipe

Equipment

  • No specialised equipment is necessary for this recipe.

Ingredients

  • Pumpkin (see instructions on how to prepare this)
  • Feta (crumbled between the tips of your fingers and thumb)
  • Walnuts (crush with a heavy metal implement, I use a coffee tamper)
  • Speck (cut into small pieces and fried in a bit of oil in a hot frying pan)
  • Pear (slice thinly with a mandolin, wear a glove to avoid cutting off the tips of your fingers)
  • Black peppercorns
  • Iodised rock salt
  • Rocket leaves (in other countries, this might be known as arugula)
  • Lime (use the zest and the juice)
  • Olive oil
  • Honey
  • Red onion (chopped coarsely)
  • Parsley (chopped)

Instructions

Pumpkin

  1. Cut a pumpkin into bite-sized chunks. I also leave the skin on for some extra fibre.
  2. Rub each chunk with some olive oil.
  3. Spread the pumpkin pieces across a baking sheet and then drizzle some honey and oil over each piece.
  4. Place the pumpkin into an oven and cook until the edges and corners of the pumpkin begin to change colour.
  5. Check the pumpkin is tender with the sharp end of a paring knife.
  6. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and allow it to cool on a bench.

The salad

  1. Once the pumpkin has cooled, it’s just a matter of adding it and everything else into a large mixing bowl and gently tossing the salad.
  2. I’m happy dressing this with olive oil and maybe a little lime juice.
  3. Transfer some to a plate with some form of meat.
  4. Eat with a fork and gaze out the window.
Pumpkin and feta salad

Dinner plate

I enjoyed this salad with lamb shoulder I’d cooked earlier in the afternoon. I dressed the lamb with gravy made from the cooking juices.

Final thoughts

  • How do you feel about the elements in this salad? I know it may be a weird combination. Part of me was tempted to use gorgonzola instead of feta. I think blue cheese would be equally satisfying.
  • Are you a big fan of Christmas?
  • Would you eat this salad as a meal or have it with something else more substantial?

Photographs

This is a gallery of photographs

Kent pumpkin cut into small pieces and rubbed with oil
Pumpkin
Kent pumpkin cut into small pieces and rubbed with oil cooked in a hot oven
Pumpkin
Pumpkin and feta salad
Lamb
Shoulder of lamb
Lamb
Shoulder of lamb
Onion, carrot, and celery
Onion, carrot, and celery
Lamb rubbed with curry powder
Shoulder of lamb
Rolled boneless lamb shoulder
Rolled boneless lamb shoulder
Rolled boneless lamb shoulder
Rolled boneless lamb shoulder with gravy
Pumpkin and feta salad with lamb and gravy
Pumpkin and feta salad with lamb and gravy
Pumpkin and feta salad with lamb and gravy
Pumpkin and feta salad with lamb and gravy
Magnum Ice Cream

Compound butter

Posted by Gary

Hello reader,

I thought I’d try making compound butter with my steak tonight. I’ve never made compound butter before, so I started with something simple. A butter made with spring onions and chives. Spring onions are called scallions and green onions in other parts of the world.

As a child, we called them shallots.

I am cooking the eye fillet steak underwater at 55 °C for 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad. Focus on six pomegranate arils for Persephone.
Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad. Six pomegranate arils for Persephone.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Water heater circulator
  • Water bath
  • Butane torch
  • Mandolin
  • Food processor
  • Mortar and Pestle[i]

Ingredients

  • Eye fillet steak
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Butter
  • Spring onions
  • Chives
  • Whisky[ii]
  • Fennel
  • Red onion
  • Radish
  • Parsley
  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil

Instructions

Steak

  1. Season the steak with some salt and pepper.
  2. Place the steak into a plastic bag and vacuum seal the bag.
  3. Cook the steak in a water bath for 2 hours at 55 °C.
  4. Remove the bag and open it.
  5. Remove the steak and pat it dry.
  6. Heat a cast-iron pan and sear the steak.
  7. Place a disc of the compound butter on top of the steak. Apply the flame from a butane torch to melt the butter and sear the surface of the steak.
  8. Remove the steak from the cast-iron pan and allow it to rest.
  9. Keep the melted butter in the pan for later.

Butter

  1. Bring the butter to room temperature.
  2. Finely slice the chives and spring onions.
  3. Place the chives and spring onions in a jar and add about 10 mL of whisky.
  4. Infuse the whisky into the herbs using a vacuum chamber and refrigerate the jar for a few hours.
  5. Remove the herbs and put them onto absorbent paper to remove as much moisture as possible.
  6. Put some whole peppercorns and rock salt into a mortar and pound with a pestle until the salt and pepper are coarse grinds.
  7. Process the butter, chives, and springs with the salt and pepper.
  8. Mould the butter in some plastic wrap and refrigerate the butter.
  9. When it’s time to use the butter, cut a disc about 1 cm thick and use it for the steak.

Salad

  1. With a mandolin, slice some fennel, red onion, and radish.
  2. Chop some parsley.
  3. With the back of a cook’s knife, beat the arils out of a pomegranate.
  4. Be careful when you beat the arils out; the juice will spray and splatter, and it may stain your clothes and any bench tops.
  5. Mix a little lime juice and olive oil for a salad dressing.
  6. Toss the salad and season it with some salt to taste.
Pomegranate
Pomegranate SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/40sec, ISO 1600
Pomegranate arils for lunch
Pomegranate arils for lunch

Plating up

  1. Slice the eye fillet steak with a sharp knife and lay the slices onto a warmed dinner plate.
  2. Spoon some salad next to the meat.
  3. Spoon the butter from the pan over the meat and drizzle a little over the salad.
  4. Give thanks to the Lord.
  5. Eat with a fork; the meat will be tender enough to make a knife redundant.

Concluding thoughts

Today was the first spring day warm enough for shorts and a T-shirt. It was a lovely day outside.

This steak with salad was a fantastic meal for a warm night.

[i] If you can’t remember the pestle and the mortar, remember you Pound with the Pestle.

[ii] I used Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad
Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad
Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad. Focus on the salad.
Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad
Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad. Focus on the cut surface of the steak.
Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad
Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad. Focus on the cut surface of the steak.
Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad