Home cooking

Pork belly slices and macaroni cheese

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Greetings and salutations. It’s almost the end of January; this month has gone quickly. I must be having fun! 

Yesterday while grocery shopping, I noticed these “Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce.”

I have no idea what Tonkatsu sauce is, but I figured it might go with some macaroni cheese.

In case you’re interested, I searched Wikipedia and found some information.

Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce with jalapeño macaroni cheese

Ingredients

  • Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce
  • Penne pasta
  • Milk
  • Plain flour
  • Butter
  • Gruyère cheese (grated)
  • Gouda cheese (grated)
  • Swiss cheese (grated)
  • Jalapeño pepper (finely diced)
  • Spring onion (sliced)

Instructions

Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce

  1. Preheat Oven to 220°C fan-forced (240°C conventional).
  2. Remove pork belly slices from the packaging and arrange them evenly on a lined baking tray. 
  3. Pour the remainder of the sauce from the pouch onto the meat, coating it evenly. 
  4. Place the tray in the centre of the oven and cook uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, or until slices are golden and sticky.
  5. Remove from the oven and serve.

Macaroni cheese

  1. Boil some tap water in a saucepan*
  2. Add some salt and bring the water to a boil again.
  3. Add in some penne pasta** and cook according to the maker’s instructions for the recommended time.
  4. Drain the water and keep the pasta in a colander
  5. Make a roux with equal amounts (by weight) of butter and flour.
  6. Melt the butter in a saucier pan and ensure the water has boiled off
  7. Add in the flour and whisk for at least three minutes.
  8. Make a white sauce by slowly adding full-cream milk and whisking until it has the consistency of cream.
  9. Add in grated Gruyère, Gouda, and Swiss cheeses and stir until the sauce is thickened.
  10. Fold through the diced jalapeño pepper.
  11. Spread the cooked pasta onto a baking tray and pour over the cheese sauce
  12. Add the sliced spring onion.
  13. Fold through the pasta, spring onion, and cheese sauce.
  14. Smooth the top with a spatula***
  15. Top the macaroni cheese with some more grated cheese
  16. Pop the baking tray into the oven and cook until the cheese has turned to a golden colour

Plating up

  1. If everything has gone to plan, a large spoon through the macaroni cheese should be able to slice through and effectively carve out a good wodge**** of macaroni cheese. The consistency should be firm rather than stiff or wobbly.
  2. Move said wodge of macaroni cheese onto a dinner plate. Arrange some of the pork belly slices next to it.
  3. Give thanks to the Lord and consume with vigour and enthusiasm.
  4. The remaining pork and pasta bake should be stored in the refrigerator.

Verdict

For something new, this meal was pretty good. If you live in Australia and shop at Coles supermarkets, the pork belly slices are worth trying. I assume the other supermarket chains like Woolworths, IgA, and Aldi stock something similar.

The macaroni cheese was also pretty good. The jalapeño pepper added a bit of a kick. I reckon a bit of Tabasco® sauce or Sriracha sauce would be good on the macaroni cheese too.

Final thoughts

  1. Have you ever tried pork belly and Tonkatsu sauce? Did you like it?
  2. Do you prefer the packet macaroni cheese or making it from scratch?
  3. Do you add extra elements to your macaroni cheese for a different flavour?

Feel free to leave feedback in the comments block below this post.

*I wondered what pasta might taste like with water from different cities as I was cooking. When I worked in Darwin, a colleague’s partner would have tap water sent from Adelaide because she liked her tea made with water she was used to. I need to cook in different places to see if flavours change with the water.

**I know this is macaroni cheese; however, all I had was penne pasta, and I wasn’t going to purchase macaroni especially.

***I was recently sent a new spatula. A gift from a dear friend. It’s the best spatula I’ve ever handled.

****A large piece or amount of something

Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce with jalapeño macaroni cheese

Rump roast and pumpkin mash

Posted by Gary

Dear reader,

Happy Saturday! I hope you’re well. 

After some unseasonal, although not unusual for Canberra, cold days, the sun was shining today! If you’re a first-time reader and from somewhere in the northern hemisphere of our amazing planet, I live in Canberra, the capital city of Australia.

Belconnen Owl Statue. Canberra’s best public art!

We’re continuing to see case numbers of COVID-19 rise in some jurisdictions while the growth slope in others is falling. Unfortunately, we’re now seeing the fatality numbers rise. I’m not impressed that healthcare professionals and politicians quip that the people dying are older or have comorbidities. These are humans who are dying. Most of the dead had families and friends who loved them and would mourn and grieve. I’m not getting any younger, and I have close friends who are vulnerable, or they have vulnerable children. I don’t want to mourn the loss of a friend or family member. I don’t want to grieve with a friend who loses a son or daughter.

Enough of the moroseness. I’ve had a great week, made better by the love and kindness of those who are closest to me.

Ingredients

  • Rump roast
  • Pumpkin
  • Sour cream
  • Marmalade
  • Instant gravy
  • Frozen peas

Instructions

  1. Undress the beef from its environmentally unfriendly see-through plastic.
  2. Dry the meat with absorbent paper.
  3. Season the roast with salt.
  4. Dry brine the roast in the refrigerator. (Preferably overnight).
  5. Heat the oven to 220 °C (200 °C fan-forced).
  6. Insert the meat thermometer deep into the flesh. Ram it in up to the root.
  7. Put the meat on a rack over a baking tray and put it into the oven.
  8. Set the cooking app according to how you want the beef finished off. I like my meat rare to medium-rare. I like it to be juicy with the meat juices flowing. It gives me a bit of a thrill to give it a poke and see the juices running from it.
  9. Cook at this temperature for 15 minutes to get the surface well browned.
  10. Reduce the temperature to 170 °C (150 °C fan-forced) and cook according to the instructions provided by the app associated with the thermometer.
  11. When instructed, remove from the dish, transfer to a carving board, cover with foil and rest according to the app before carving.
  12. Lovingly sharpen your carving knife (as iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend Proverbs 27:17 NLT). I add this proverb because real friends are brave enough, to be honest with each other. That honesty is an expression of love. Honesty leads to growth and stronger relationships. I like that I can be honest with those who I love and cherish.
  13. When the meat is well-rested, carve the roast into slices. I like my beef to be thick and meaty. Resting the meat gives it an almost tumescent quality as the flesh retains its juices until you make your incision with your blade.
  14. Make the instant gravy according to the maker’s instructions. I nearly wrote “manufacturer’s instructions for use”. I’ve been using that phrase all week for advice I’ve been writing at work. I’m tired of writing it.
  15. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces and massage each chunk with some oil and marmalade.
  16. Place the pumpkin into the oven, which has been heated for the meat.
  17. When the pumpkin is soft, remove it from the oven, put it into a metal or glass bowl and begin to get a little rough with it. I use a fork, but you could use a dedicated masher or even a ricer. It depends on how you want your mash. I also leave the skin on for the extra fibre, and with all the mammal meat I eat, my bowels need all the dietary fibre I can consume.
  18. Season the mash with salt and pepper and add a dollop of sour cream. I also like some spring onions in my mash, whether made with pumpkin or spuds. I know some people like chives, but spring onions are more versatile for my cooking style. When I say cooking style, that’s overstating it. I don’t think I’m stylish at all.
  19. Cook the frozen peas. You can choose microwave radiation, boiling water, or bunging the peas into a skillet.
  20. Plate up the meal however you choose.
  21. Give thanks to the Lord.

How was the meal?

I feel like I’m in a bit of an afterglow with this meal. As I was cooking, I was thinking deeply about someone extraordinary.

When I make a mash, a lot depends on how I feel at the time. Sometimes I enjoy a more refined form of mash, almost pureed, and that’s when I’ll use a ricer or blender. Tonight I wanted something more rustic to match the rump roast.

Rump may not be as tender as ribeye; however, in my opinion, it has more flavour. While I never think of ribeye as insipid, roast rump has a more corporeal mouthfeel, and who doesn’t want corporeal mouthfeel? 😉

Final thoughts

  • How was your week?
  • What sort of mash do you like? Do you prefer potato or pumpkin? Do you enjoy them equally?
  • Do you like to treat your spuds or pumpkin a bit roughly or with tenderness for a smooth result?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments or let me know via Twitter or Facebook. 

  • Rump roast
  • Rump roast seasoned with iodised salt. Ready to dry brine in the refrigerator.
    Rump roast
  • Rump roast seasoned with iodised salt. Ready to dry brine in the refrigerator.
    Rump roast
  • Rump roast and rustic pumpkin mash with instant gravy and frozen peas and corn
    Rump roast and rustic pumpkin mash with instant gravy and frozen peas and corn
  • Rump roast and rustic pumpkin mash with instant gravy and frozen peas and corn
    Rump roast and rustic pumpkin mash with instant gravy and frozen peas and corn
  • Rump roast and rustic pumpkin mash with instant gravy and frozen peas and corn
    Rump roast and rustic pumpkin mash with instant gravy and frozen peas and corn
  • Rump roast and rustic pumpkin mash with instant gravy and frozen peas and corn
    Rump roast and rustic pumpkin mash with instant gravy and frozen peas and corn

Pastry covered pressure cooker beef brisket and roast pumpkin

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Well, here we are. It’s the middle of January. The days are warm, and the lovely La Niña has kept me moist. Oh, La Niña, how I wish you’d stay forever. That said, I’m sure those experiencing destructive floods do not find La Niña attractive.

Dark clouds over Lake Ginninderra
Lake Ginninderra

Last week I bought myself a couple of large lumps of beef, and I’ve been enjoying leftovers each day. I still have a good-sized chunk of brisket, and I wondered how to finish it off.

Beef Brisket Green peppercorn sauce
Beef Brisket Green peppercorn sauce

I haven’t been out most of today because of work, so I thought I’d put together some random things for dinner. I had store-bought puff pastry in the freezer, so I thought I’d wrap the brisket in the buttery goodness.

I massaged the brisket with mustard and coated it with pepper for extra flavour. I lined the pastry with some chopped onion and parsley. 

Ingredients

  • Leftover beef brisket which has been cooked in a pressure cooker
  • Parsley
  • Onion
  • Mustard
  • Black pepper
  • Puff pastry
  • Kent pumpkin
  • Rice bran oil
  • Marmalade
  • Rocket
  • Walnuts
  • Feta
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Instant gravy

Instructions

  1. Get all the refrigerated items out.
  2. Cut the pumpkin into chunks and massage with oil and marmalade.
  3. Put the pumpkin onto a baking sheet and put it into a moderate oven.
  4. Remove the pumpkin when a sharp probe can penetrate it easily and slide in and out of the flesh.
  5. Allow the pumpkin to cool.
  6. Rub the brisket with some mustard. It doesn’t really matter what type of mustard you use. The mustard is being used to bind the pepper to the meat. Mmm…mustard makes me want a pickled gherkin in my mouth.
  7. Grind some black peppercorns and spread them on a plate.
  8. Gently roll the meat in peppercorns and coat all the sides and the ends.
  9. Chop some parsley and onion together.
  10. Prepare the pastry as per the instructions for use.
  11. When the puff pastry is ready, line the surface with the parsley and onion and then wrap the pastry around the meat.
  12. Seal any gaps and brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle some coarse salt over the buttered surface.
  13. Put the brisket into the oven and cook until the pastry is golden brown. 
  14. Pull the meat out and let it rest.
  15. While the beef is unlikely to be moist like a slow-cooked piece of brisket, it will be tender given it’s already been cooked in a pressure cooker.
  16. Add the pumpkin, crushed walnuts, feta, and rocket to a bowl. Douse with a little EVOO and season with some salt.
  17. Slice a nice thick slice of meat, add it to a plate, and pour gravy over it. Add the salad on the side.
  18. Give thanks to the Lord and inhale the meal.

Thoughts

The supermarket shelves are still a bit random. The last time I looked, there was no chicken, minced meat, and a scarcity of snags. Like last week, there were many good-sized pieces of beef and lamb ready for roasting or slow-cooking.

Leaving the current wave of COVID-19 caused by SARS-COV-2 Omicron Variant aside, life has been good. Work is busier than ever, and non-work life is going very well.

It’s good to be happy and being hopeful.

This meal was pretty good. The meat cut easily and on the tooth, it was tender yet firm enough to keep its body. The marmalade was fantastic on the pumpkin.

Final thoughts

  • How’s life for you?
  • Do you prefer your meat to be soft and moist or a bit firmer, chunkier, and better feeling between your teeth?
  • What’s the coming week hold for you?
  • Puff pastry Pressure cooker Beef brisket
  • Pastry covered pressure cooker beef brisket and roast pumpkin salad
  • Pastry covered pressure cooker beef brisket and roast pumpkin salad

Sous vide ribeye steak with pumpkin and kale salad.

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I hope you’re doing well tonight. 

This week, there have been warnings that meat, fresh fruit, and vegetables will be in short supply because of supply chain problems. 

I stocked up on some beef to hopefully get me through the next couple of weeks. I saw a piece of steak that caught my eye and decided I’d have it with a pumpkin salad.

As an example of the shortages, I’d generally make a pumpkin salad with rocket (arugula for friends east of the North Pacific Ocean. I couldn’t get any, nor spinach, for my breakfast 😱 so I went with kale!

I hope wherever you live; the situation isn’t drastic. The spread of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-COV-2 Omicron Variant has rapidly swept through some areas. There are personnel shortages in critical areas with public health measures requiring isolation and quarantine for the infected and contacts.

I now know people, friends in fact, who have COVID-19. To keep my mind off this, I’ve been grateful for the fellowship of those close to me. I’ll always be thankful to those who I love for keeping me in good spirits.

Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.

Ingredients

  • Ribeye steak
  • Mushrooms
  • Green peppercorns
  • Iodised salt
  • Black peppercorns
  • Kent pumpkin
  • Marmalade (homemade by my friend Claire)
  • Rice bran oil
  • Kale
  • Walnuts
  • Red onion
  • Butter
  • Plain flour
  • Beef stock
  • Sherry

Instructions

  1. Carefully handle your meat. I’ve never liked seeing people on cooking shows slapping their meat around. Meat is delicate and precious. Handle it with care.
  2. Unwrap the steak and dry the surface with kitchen paper (noting it too seems to be the new toilet paper concerning scarcity in shops).
  3. Season your meat with some iodised salt and freshly ground black peppercorns.
  4. Place the steak on a rack and refrigerate overnight. This process is called dry brining.
  5. Before cooking, slice some mushrooms and place the steak, mushrooms, and green peppercorns into a vacuum bag.
  6. Seal the bag and put it into a water bath set at 54 °C for 2 hours and 10 minutes.
  7. At the end of the cooking time, remove the bag and open it. Remove the steak, mushrooms, and peppercorns. Dry the surface of the steak and in a bowl, add the mushrooms, peppercorns, and meat juices. Those juices are precious. Savour them like any juices formed with loving-kindness. 
  8. Heat a cast-iron skillet and sear steak until it forms a crust knowing this will taste amazing and add texture to the mouthfeel.
  9. Allow your meat to rest after so much fun and excitement. It will taste better for it.
  10. Make a roux with the flour and butter by gently melting the butter in a saucier pan and adding the flour. Whisk the flour and butter for three minutes to remove the taste of the flour.
  11. Slowly add the beef stock and some sherry to form a sauce.
  12. Add your meat’s juices, cooked mushrooms, and green peppercorns and finish the sauce with a bit of butter.
  13. Cut some kent pumpkin into bite-sized pieces, and with your hands, massage in some oil and then some marmalade.
  14. Gently cook in an oven set to low to moderate heat.
  15. Properly cooked pumpkin is when you can penetrate it with a smooth probe. You can move it in and out, and when you withdraw, the shaft is clean. 
  16. Remove the pumpkin and allow it cool.
  17. It’s worth cleaning the kale. I think we should all clean our veggies. While fomite transmission is not efficient for COVID-19, you never know when a wad of snot full of SARS-COV-2 might have landed on your otherwise healthy kale.
  18. Crush your nuts with something heavy. I use a stainless steel coffee tamper.
  19. I make the salad with pumpkin, kale, walnuts, sliced red onion, salt, and oil.
  20. With your fingers, pick up the steak and find the muscle plane between the deskle meat and the lean fillet. The steak will be tender enough so you can use the tip of your index finger and gently prise apart the muscle bundles and separate them. The meat is warm and moist and slippery and the bundles separate easily with a little gentle pressure.
  21. Keep the deckle meat for dinner and put the lean fillet into a container and refrigerate it.
  22. Take a sharp knife and slice the deckle meat with long slow strokes when your meat has rested. I like to draw my knife towards me, so my blade glides through my meat.
  23. Put the salad in a shallow bowl, stack some steak slices on the side, and then spoon some of the sauce on the sliced meat.
  24. This meat was moist, tender, and pungent in the aroma. I just wanted to dive in and get my lips and tongue into it and savour it slowly.

Final thoughts

  1. How has your week been?
  2. Are there supply problems for you at the moment?
  3. Are you worried about being infected with SARS-COV-2 Omicron Variant.
  • Ribeye Fillet Steak Raw meat
  • Ribeye Fillet Steak seasoned
  • Green peppercorns, Mushrooms, Ribeye fillet steak Vacuum packed for the water bath
  • I like how the marmalade has formed glistening globs on the pumpkin. The marmalade and salt give the pumpkin a lovely salty-sweet contrasting flavour. It will be delicious.
  • Coffee tamper to crush walnuts
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak. Seared in a cast-iron skillet.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.
  • Sous vide ribeye fillet steak with roast pumpkin salad and mushroom and green pepeprcorn sauce.

How about some non-food photos!

I went for a walk this afternoon.

  • The Belconnen Owl Statue taken from behind is some of Canberra’s finest public art. There are some who call this pubic art 😉
  • Lake Ginninderra blue skies and cloud porn

Pressure cooker duck breast and crispy skin

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Happy New Year for 2022.

Pressure cooker duck breast with crispy skin served with peppercorn instant gravy and a red onion, red cabbage, fennel, and cucumber salad.

This post is a quickie. While in Brisbane, I gave my eldest daughter and her partner a fast, slow cooker. We got talking, and I wondered out loud how autoclave cooked duck breast might taste.

I chose two nice plump breasts and skinned them with a boning blade because it is sharp, and the distance between the knife back and the edge is short.

I made a mistake not flattening the skin between two heavy pieces of metal while cooking in the oven. Oh well, I’ll know next time. I think the way it turned out was okay. What do you think? Do the curly skin bits look okay?

Rather than a regular recipe post, I’ll share how this came together.

I cooked the breasts sans skin and fat in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes, along with some master stock and black peppercorns.

I put the duck skin on a baking sheet, rubbed it dry with some kitchen paper, and seasoned it with coarse iodised sea salt flakes. I cooked the skin for about 30 minutes on low heat to dehydrate it and get it crispy. The skin curled, but they didn’t turn out too badly, as you can see in the photos.

I made some instant gravy stirred through the cooked peppercorns.

I made a salad with red cabbage, red onion, and fennel. I dressed the salad with lime juice and olive oil.

Check out the photos and let me know what you think.

Happy new year, and may 2022 be better than any you’ve experienced thus far.

  • Duck breasts
  • Dick Boning kinife
  • Dick Boning kinife
  • Duck breasts sans skin
  • Duck breast skin
  • Pressure cooker duck breast with crispy skin served with peppercorn instant gravy and a red onion, red cabbage, fennel, and cucumber salad.
  • Pressure cooker duck breast with crispy skin served with peppercorn instant gravy and a red onion, red cabbage, fennel, and cucumber salad.