The Home Gourmet thread
#1689
Marinaded Pork Kabobs
This is one of our favorites. We typically do this when we go car camping or if we are just enjoying the day outside (beach, local park, lake, etc).
Important note: I do not measure out ingredients - I eyeball them and then taste in order to refine further.
Ingredients:
- pork shoulder (not too much fat, but not super lean either)
- white vinegar (about a cup or so for amount of meat pictured)
- salt
- pepper
- couple of yellow onions
- water
Prep:
- cut meat in 1" cubes
- cut off fat and elastin/gristle
- cut onions into rings or half-rings
Put meat, onions, spices into a metal, ceramic, glass bowl and mix it well. Make sure to squeeze and jam the meat and onions together to break the onion slices and release the juice. Add vinegar and enough water to bring the total liquid level to the top of the meat in the bowl and mix it all again. Now taste the marinade. It should be somewhat acidic and salty.
Now put a cover of plastic wrap and put the bowl into your fridge. As the acid and salt start to work the magic, meat will turn grey on the surface.
For very light marinade taste: 2-3 hours
For medium marinade taste: ~6 hours
For strong marinade taste: 12+ hours (also half way through take it out and mix it well again)
Get proper flat meat skewers (no bamboo sticks - meat will rotate on them) and shank that meat. For best, most delicious results - use wood grill (mangal style). You can do this over charcoal or gas as well, but doing it over high heat wood charcoal will give the best flavor as fat and juice drips down, evaporates and infuses meat with that smoke. Make sure to remove onions from meat as it will burn. Wait until wood burns through and there are no flames - just hot glowing ambers or pre-heat gas grill to about 500-550 degrees and place skewers on direct heat. These cook pretty quickly. You will want to turn them only one time, once the first side develops golden color.
Now, i hope you didn't throw away all those onions - that's the special treat here. Before you put the meat on the grill - take the onions out and put them on frying pan with some unsalted butter. Let them brown over light to medium heat while the meat is cooking.
Once they get soft and lightly golden brown - take them off the pan.
Take kabobs off the grill and either put them on the serving plate as is or take the meat off the skewers by sliding a fork over the skewer and sliding the meat off.
And here the result- pork kabobs with butter buckwheat, ajvar, fried onions and cabbage+dill+sun-flour oil salad.
Important point #1: If you discard the onions instead of frying them - a SWAT team will knock your door down and federal judge will charge you with being a girly man and will ban you from cooking. It's a serious crime, don't do it.
Important point #2: You can eat this with ketchup instead of ajvar, ajika, hot mustard or other appropriate condiments, but you will be seated at the children's table.
This is one of our favorites. We typically do this when we go car camping or if we are just enjoying the day outside (beach, local park, lake, etc).
Important note: I do not measure out ingredients - I eyeball them and then taste in order to refine further.
Ingredients:
- pork shoulder (not too much fat, but not super lean either)
- white vinegar (about a cup or so for amount of meat pictured)
- salt
- pepper
- couple of yellow onions
- water
Prep:
- cut meat in 1" cubes
- cut off fat and elastin/gristle
- cut onions into rings or half-rings
Put meat, onions, spices into a metal, ceramic, glass bowl and mix it well. Make sure to squeeze and jam the meat and onions together to break the onion slices and release the juice. Add vinegar and enough water to bring the total liquid level to the top of the meat in the bowl and mix it all again. Now taste the marinade. It should be somewhat acidic and salty.
Now put a cover of plastic wrap and put the bowl into your fridge. As the acid and salt start to work the magic, meat will turn grey on the surface.
For very light marinade taste: 2-3 hours
For medium marinade taste: ~6 hours
For strong marinade taste: 12+ hours (also half way through take it out and mix it well again)
Get proper flat meat skewers (no bamboo sticks - meat will rotate on them) and shank that meat. For best, most delicious results - use wood grill (mangal style). You can do this over charcoal or gas as well, but doing it over high heat wood charcoal will give the best flavor as fat and juice drips down, evaporates and infuses meat with that smoke. Make sure to remove onions from meat as it will burn. Wait until wood burns through and there are no flames - just hot glowing ambers or pre-heat gas grill to about 500-550 degrees and place skewers on direct heat. These cook pretty quickly. You will want to turn them only one time, once the first side develops golden color.
Now, i hope you didn't throw away all those onions - that's the special treat here. Before you put the meat on the grill - take the onions out and put them on frying pan with some unsalted butter. Let them brown over light to medium heat while the meat is cooking.
Once they get soft and lightly golden brown - take them off the pan.
Take kabobs off the grill and either put them on the serving plate as is or take the meat off the skewers by sliding a fork over the skewer and sliding the meat off.
And here the result- pork kabobs with butter buckwheat, ajvar, fried onions and cabbage+dill+sun-flour oil salad.
Important point #1: If you discard the onions instead of frying them - a SWAT team will knock your door down and federal judge will charge you with being a girly man and will ban you from cooking. It's a serious crime, don't do it.
Important point #2: You can eat this with ketchup instead of ajvar, ajika, hot mustard or other appropriate condiments, but you will be seated at the children's table.
#1691
Cauliflower Fried 'Rice'
Cauliflower Fried ‘Rice’
Vegetable/Avacado oil
2 Lg eggs beaten
Salt
3 Garlic cloves
1 tbsp Minced ginger
1 2lb head of Cauliflower
4 tbsp Soy sauce
¼ tsp Red pepper flakes
1 tsp Sugar
1 ½ cup frozen mixed vegetables
½ cup Red onion chopped
1 ½ cup chopped meat of your choice (I used leftover smoked pulled pork)
1 tsp Rice vinegar
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 cup chopped Scallions (optional)
¼ cup chopped cashews (optional)
Grate the cauliflower in a food processor and set aside (I pulse a couple times as it chops quickly and you don’t want it too fine).
Heat 2 tsp oil in a stovetop wok (if you have one). Add the eggs and scramble until cooked, 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add 3 tbsp oil to the pan and over medium heat saute the onions until slightly soft then add the garlic and ginger to cook another 2-3 minutes.
Add the grated cauliflower, 4 tbsp soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and sugar. Cook stirring often for another 3-4 minutes.
Add the frozen vegetables and cook until the “rice” is tender-crisp and the vegetables are warned through.
Add the chopped meat and cook until warm through, 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the rice vinegar, sesame oil, eggs, chopped cashews and scallions (if using).
Serve hot.
This was surprisingly good especially with the smoky flavor of the pulled pork.
#1696
Forgot to take a pic, but I made a very, very lazy dinner last night (girlfriend is in FL so I don't much care to cook for just myself anymore).
1. Oven to 400.
2. Block of Feta, put in baking dish.
3. Drizzle of olive oil and cracked black pepper.
4. Healthy slathering of strawberry preserves and red pepper flakes.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
6. Whilst baking, toast Pita bread.
Consume. It was damn tasty.
#1697
I have an international food store by our house and they recently opened a bakery/restaurant there. The food is really good, inexpensive and different from all the usual California favorites (mex, chinese, thai, pizza, burgers, etc)
Persian Meatballs - Kufteh ( or Koofteh)
This thing is big, like seriously sizable.
Outside:
- lamb and rice with Persian spices on the outside
- mildly spicy sauce with vegetables
Inside:
- pitted date
- hard boiled egg
- walnuts
- barberries
- more spices
A single meatball with sauce and bread will fill you up no problem.
Persian Meatballs - Kufteh ( or Koofteh)
This thing is big, like seriously sizable.
Outside:
- lamb and rice with Persian spices on the outside
- mildly spicy sauce with vegetables
Inside:
- pitted date
- hard boiled egg
- walnuts
- barberries
- more spices
A single meatball with sauce and bread will fill you up no problem.
#1698
Made some fresh hummus earlier today... soaked about a cup of dried chickpeas overnight, then baked in the oven for about 2 hours with salt, onion and garlic powder, and dried red pepper flake.
Ended up with 3 cups of cooked chickpeas. Plus the juice of one lemon and 6 tablespoons of tahini, plus salt and a bit of the reserved cooking liquid.
Used this as a bed for some thinly sliced grilled chicken breast seasoned with paprika and chipotle powder, plus some of my fresh salsa de arbol and garnished it with cilantro.
Simple and tasty.