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I have received many requests for my recipes for CS Bread Braid (Challah) and CS Pot Roast. (https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Bread-Braid.pdf and https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Pot-Roast.pdf) The bread braid I added a little sourdough starter, but you don’t have to0, just add the amount of starter you would as water to the water amount in the recipe. But we liked the slight tinge of sourdough in the breade. And to the pot roast I added some button mushrooms quartered. You can use any mushrooms you want.These recipes were fun to develop and are very good, IMNSHO (In My Not So Humble Opinion).If you try them, let us know what you think, or what you changed. And it is perfectly OK to say that you didn’t like it, just tell my why. Here are the photos of the final products.
CS Bread Braid. Great toasted or as French Toast.
French Toast using the Bread Braid I made
CS Pot Roast on Black Truffle Oil Mashed Potatoes and a Fresh Green Salad with Grapes and Mic5ro Greens
About a week ago while watching the Today Show, they made a spatchcocked chicken dish with tarragon. Spatchcocking is defined as a chicken or other type of bird that has been cut open down the backbone from tail to neck, pressed flat, andcooked, either in the oven, stove top or grilled. An interesting process that takes some skill, either by kitchen shears or a chef’s knife. So I took their process and recipe and altered it to our liking. I added some sliced button mushrooms and a little more wine. I also used Celtic sea salt and fresh ground Tellicherry black pepper. Here is our recipe: https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Tarragon-Roasted-Chicken.pdf.
The chicken has been spatchcocked and it is in a large (12″), deep (2″) cast-iron skillet. It has been salted and peppered. The garlic is placed under the chicken.
After cooking in the oven for 30 minutes at 450 degrees F and the skin is browned – I should have added about another 10 minutes – add the sliced mushrooms and a liberal amount of white wine.
Then pour the heavy cream, chopped fresh tarragon leaves and Dijon mustard mixture all over the bird. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees Ft and cook for another 30-40 minutes.
After all that work, just follow the recipe, plate it up with some corn on the cob, pour a glass of good chardonnay and sit down, relax and have a delicious meal. As a note, 1 bulb of garlic sounds like a lot, but it will cook down, become sweet and delicious.
The other product that I have working on for the past several months, is BBQ Sauce. And I think we are there with this one. https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-BBQ-Sauce.pdf It is a mix of St Louis Style and Texas Style. Can be spicy if you want, just add more Aleppo Pepper. And there is a sweetness to it that is not over powering. The longer you keep it refrigerated, up to 6 months, the better it gets. And probably the strangest thing in it is Pomegranate Molasses. Not much because it can be powerful, but enough so you sayu, “What is that?”
Hope you have enjoyed these recipes and give them a try. Let us know what you think. Chau!
There are times when one feels really challenged in the kitchen, whether it is perfecting a dish, Creamed Spinach for example, where something just does not come out as you had planned or pictured. And at other times you want to create something kind of different with pan drippings. Or you want to create a dish that can be daunting or challenging. Well here are 3 that did just that. Let’s take a look. (Click on the images to see them enlarged)
This one was, I thought, just a basic baked chicken and rice dish. But then I thought, plain Jasmin rice with a good baked chicken can be sort of mundane, so why not add some green onion – a very Oriental twist – and fresh spinach? That spinach was a surprise to some who ate it. And the pan drippings of the rosemary and sage can create a differently good gravy. It did! Even added a little to the rice, which gave it a whole new twist. I think, and use it quite often, that it is sinful to “dump the pan drippings” in the trash, so I used it. Not many in the household would do such a thing. Use those drippings!
Potatoes. They are good, but if it were up to some other cooks that need potatoes at every meal – you know who you are – at least change them up from peeled, water logged piles of something that resembles pablum, to maybe some good, crispy hash browns that don’t need to be only served at breakfast. And to, add something green, like the creamed spinach pictured here. Add some mushrooms to the pan dripping gravy from the seared pork chop. Don’t be afraid to be creative and adventuresome in preparing a meal. If nothing else, it’s fun!
Here is another adventure. Steak with Mushroom and Onion Pan Gravy, Asparagus with Lardons and Green Onion and Smashed Potatoes and Gravy. (I used an hand masher and left the potatoes a little lumpy and as always, left the peels on.)
I guess I like to “mix things up” in the kitchen and try different variations of a given dish. Have fun when preparing and use your imagination. And, I might add, most of the products here came from the Boise Farmers Market.
Been trying some4 different recipes, most of which are Use What You Have In The Kitchen. You end up with some interesting combinations and meals.
For instance, I really hate to throw away the sourdough starter. Seems a waste to me both in time and ingredients. S I came across this recipe for http://www.rockinrs.com/Sourdough-Blueberry-Muffins.pdf – Sourdough Blueberry Muffins, that are really good and easy7 to make. Not particularly easy, but fun and delicious. Give it a whirl and see what you think, I haven’t tried, but why not change the fruit, strawberries, apricots or blackber4ies, for instance?
And if you have made some sourdough bread, why not make Sourdough French Toast? This was really deliciously different.
And here is a very basic Salisbury Steak dinner with Pan Gravy made with Apple Brandy and Caramelized Vidalia Onion and Button Mushrooms. Corn On the Cob and Steamed Asparagus on the side. Then add a slice of homemade Sourdough Bread.That sauce with the apple brandy was fantastic!
And this one, a Pork Loin Chop in a Brandy-Apple-Pear-Herb Sauce with Corn On the Cob. It was delicious! Apples and pork with fresh pears is an awesome combination. Just be sure to caramelize the apple and pear The pears should break down to act as a thickener. slices with some brown sugar in the unsalted butter.
And as an endnote, the sourdough recipe that I have been using I named Anna’s Sourdough and it comes from my Granddaughter In-Law, Anna Shaner. You can find her recipe at http://www.rockinrs,com/Annas-Sourdough.pdf
Sorry for the long delay in getting articles or recipes posted. It’s been a crappy Fall, but things are returning to normal now. I will create this post, as I have done in the past with all posts, with a good description of the dish and a link to the recipe that we have created. Most of the recipes, however, are original only to the point that we have altered the original recipe to fit our needs. Most of the recipes presented here and on this blog, have a note attached to them “Source: adapted from (some other recipe)“. At least then, you know where you can find the original recipe. Please, as in the past, feel free to use and try any recipe presented and let us know how it came out and if you liked it or not.
Let’s start with a great soup. Did you ever see the movie Tortilla Soup? Well here is the recipe for that soup, Tortilla Soup http://www.rockinrs.com/Tortilla-Soup.pdf. I’m sorry I don’t have a photo of it. This is fun to make – you can make it as spicy as you want – and great eating. We love it!
And to start the main course off, how about Roasted Prime Rib of Beef? Really easy to do, but be sure you follow the cooking directions exactly. Recipe – http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Prime-Rib.pdf. This recipe calls for an herb butter and we used our Herb de Provence, http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Herbs.pdf. Use it liberally and mix well with room temperature butter. I even went so far as to, after adding the herb butter and salt, to dry brine this in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Came out great!
And here is a great leftover prime rib dish, Leftover Prime Rib Beef Stroganoff. (recipe – http://www.rockinrs.com/Leftover-Beef-Stroganoff.pdf) The original recipe called for Baby Portabella mushrooms, but we had some dried Morel mushrooms collected this past Fall and I reconstituted them in a little vodka and used some of the liquid in the sauce.
Leftover Prime Rib Stroganoff
Total time to make this dish is about 20 minutes, not counting preparing the egg noodles or rice. If you would prefer not to use noodles, you can always use rice. If you use rice, I would probably use Basmati or Jasmin. Either way, we loved this and will make it again. Delicious flavors and easy to do. I even had someone tell me they have made a similar stroganoff with leftover meat loaf.
For the last of the prime rib, you can also make a delicious and scrumptious Prime Rib Soup. This is almost a one pot meal. Hearty with the barley in it. Great on a cold winter day. Just takes some time to make, about 3 hours and 15 minutes. But well worth it. Great herb combination in it. Here is the recipe – http://www.rockinrs.com/Prime-Rib-Soup.pdf
Prime Rib Soup
It takes a little time, but well worth it. The barley is really a great addition. That pretty much uses up the prime rib leftovers. But, there are 3 different meals from this cut of beef.
This is a big, hearty meal that will satisfy most big appetites. The speck gives a wonderful flavor the the spaetzle a great texture. We used a store bought spaetzle because I don’t have a spaetzle maker. We bought the spaetzle and the speck from a German shop here in Boise.
A great shortbread treat full of toasted pecan bits, almond extract and a little rum, that is not in the recipe. I don’t usually do this, but our neighbor has a cookie business and they are good. Her business name isCrumb by devlyn and can be reached at (910) 405-4718 or emailed at crumbbydevlyncookies@gmail.com (No. I made the shortbread cookies!)
Enjoy these dishes. They are all good and worth a try. gutes Essen in German or biadh math is Gaelic. That covers my heritage.
We recently made/created a version of the classic Beef Stroganoff as pictured above. (The recipe can be found here – http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Stroganoff.pdf). The original recipe did not call for vodka. But this is a Russian dish, so vodka is a must. We did not, however, use the traditional potato based vodka, but rather a corn based. An entirely different flavor level and profile. Seems to me to be more inline with White Lightning. The button mushrooms cut into about 1/4″ slices. Also, we added some chopped fresh rosemary, which was awesome.But look at the recipe and see what you think. We are always open to suggestions.
And then one morning, Robin asked for an Avocado and Tomato Omelet. Never thought of this combination, but it was really good. No, did not cook the avocado or the tomato, Serve with a good fresh fruit mix. In this case, blueberries and cantaloupe. CROW bread toasted from Acme Bakeshop in Boise. Great combination.
Pappadelle with Red Wine Ragu and Toasted Sourdough with Garlic
We came across this recipe from two different sources, one was Chef Jacques Pepin, and then we adjusted both recipes to make this one. It was delicious! We added a little chervil (French parsley) and Herbs de Provence, which we blend ourselves. We also added a little ground pork. Next time, too, I may add some diced garlic cloves. It is missing in this recipe, excerpt for the Garlic Toast (Acme Bakeshop Sourdough).
The other item that you may want to contemplate is the type of Passata – tomato sauce – you use. I like Cento Traditional, but I also like Rao’s Traditional and Mutti. Any of these are good, but if you prefer to use your own that you have made from all those seasonal Roma or San Marzano, then do so. Please though, when you puree the sauce, leave the skins on.
Not long ago, we made a Mahogany Beef Stroganoff and it was surprisingly good. Even with some totally different ingredients. Hoisin Sauce for one. But there were two questions: (1) What makes it mahogany? and (2) Is it Russian or Italian or French? Well, the answer to the first question is sort of easy. The mahogany color comes from the addition of the Hoisin Sauce, a Chinese BBQ sauce. Question #2. The short answer is “Yes”. Wikipedia says,
The dish is named after one of the members of the influential Stroganov family. Elena Molokhovets’s classic Russian cookbook “A Gift to Young Housewives” gives the first known recipe for Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju, “Beef à la Stroganov, with mustard” [typically French], in its 1871 edition. The recipe involves lightly floured beef cubes (not strips) sautéed, sauced with prepared mustard and broth, and finished with a small amount of sour cream: no onions, no mushrooms and no alcohol. A competition purported to have taken place in 1890 is sometimes mentioned in the dish’s history, but both the recipe and the name existed before then. Another recipe, this one from 1909, adds onions and tomato sauce, and serves it with crisp potato straws, which are considered the traditional side dish for beef Stroganoff in Russia. The version given in the 1938 “Larousse Gastronomique” includes beef strips, and onions, with either mustard or tomato paste optional.
Mahogany Beef Stroganoff
Sautéing of beef Stroganoff
After the fall of Tsarist Russia, the recipe was popularly served in the hotels and restaurants of China before the start of World War II. Russian and Chinese immigrants, as well as US servicemen stationed in pre-Communist China, brought several variants of the dish to the United States, which may account for its popularity during the 1950s. It came to Hong Kong in the late fifties, with Russian restaurants and hotels serving the dish with rice but not sour cream.
And from Cooksinfo, we learn,
There are at least two popular theories about how Beef Stroganoff originated.
One is that it was created in 1891 in St. Petersburg, Russia, by Charles Brière, a cook who worked for Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov. Brière reputedly submitted the recipe in that year to “l’Art Culinaire” (presumably the magazine whose full name was “La Revue de l’Art Culinaire”.) This is the version proposed in the 2001 version of the English language “Larousse Gastronomique”. If this is so, it would seem to be just about Brière’s only claim to fame. His recipe called for shallots (now onions are used.)
The second is that it was created by an unknown cook for Count Grigory Stroganov (1770-1857), because the Count had lost his teeth and couldn’t chew meat. Beef Stroganoff, though, is probably just a more refined version of similar, pre-existing recipes…The last prominent scion of the dynasty, Count Pavel Stroganoff, was a celebrity in turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg, a dignitary at the court of Alexander III, a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and a gourmet. It is doubtful that Beef Stroganoff was his or his chef’s invention since the recipe was included in the 1871 edition of the Molokhovets cookbook…which predates his fame as a gourmet. Not a new recipe, by the way, but a refined version of an even older Russian recipe, it had probably been in the family for some years and became well known through Pavel Stroganoff’s love of entertaining.
There are also variations made with chicken or pork, which to me, looses the original likeness. I have made it with chicken, but always go back to beef. You be the judge. And just to note: we served this with a 2002 Ridge Vineyards Dynamite Hills Petite Syrah and I marinated the beef cubes in a little Hoisin Sauce, garlic powder and Worcestershire Sauce for several hours before browning it off. The marinating really made it rich. We also had it over medium wide egg noodles and topped the dish with sour cream and chopped parsley. Delicious!
Oh yes. And some awesome new wines! Chef Storm and his friend Chef John Mercer (see This Post) did a super, awesome job preparing these goodies. This was a special dinner put on by these two very talented Chefs. It will not be available at all times. Their Prime Rib, though, is just as good. Look at what we enjoyed today. (Left Click any of these photos to see them enlarged!)
Chef John and Chef Storm
2016 Reserve Merlot was awesome and went very well with the pork and brisket.
Omelet with Local Mushrooms was terrific!
Double Cut Pork Chop Mostarda $24.95
A Smoked and Seared Double Cut Pork Chop with House made Green Grape Mostarda
(a savory Italian Jelly made with fruit, sugar and horseradish),
Sweet Potato with Gnochetti in a Brown Butter Sauce and Sautéed Carrots and Fennel
Even the leftover pork chop was great!
Wine Braised Brisket alla Giudia $24.95 8-oz Cut of Brisket Slow Braised in Sweet Red Wine with a Crown of Fried Artichoke, Sweet Roasted Garlic and Sautéed Carrots and Fennel
Boise Foodie Guild 