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An Instant Pot is diverse and fun to use. It cooks many styles and methods. I love ribs done on a grill, but this method is quick and somewhat easy. The recipe is a little involved, but if you follow it, your ribs will come out great. Especially at the end where you caramelize them under a broiler. Here is the recipe we use. I like Baby Back Rib, but you can use any ribs. A good gameday treat. https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-IP-Ribs.pdf . In the photo below, we served them with fresh off the cob corn, or you can leave it on the cob, and doctored Bush’s Beans.
Just watch your time in the Instant Pot. 23 minutes should be enough. I went 25 minutes and that was a little long. The ribs fell off the bone when I got them out to go under the broiler. Let us know what you think and if you liked them.
As you can see, I have changed the opening graphic. I was playing around with AI and came up with several of these. It fits with the Captain’s Shack. Robin and I thoroughly like scallops, especially sea scallops – the larger ones. We also enjoy brazing them, over medium low heat, and that is important. Here is the recipe. I know, there are several recipes available for a Viognier Sauce, but this one is one I came up with. https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Scallops-Viognier.pdf. The recipe is scaled for 2, but you can easily adjust the recipe to suit your needs without adjusting the sauce.
Braised Scallops with Viognier Sauce
Notice the light braise on the scallops and it is served with Creamed Spinach. A good combination. I always put fresh grated nutmeg in all by white sauces and a cream sauce is a white sauce. If you make these, and it is not difficult, just watch the heat and cook 2-3 minutes per side, and let us know how you liked them.
I have had several questions about the difference between crab back fin and claw meat. Are they not from the same animal? Yes they are, but like different cuts of beef, they come from different parts of the crab. I hope this short discussion will clarify the question. I prefer to use Blue Crab over any other type. Here is a recipe for Crab Cakes. http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Crab-Cakes.pdf (Tartar Sauce – https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Tartar-Sauce-Best.pdf)
Crab meat can be found in different parts of the crab, and each type has distinct characteristics. Here are the key differences between claw meat and back fin meat:
Crab Cakes
Claw Meat
Texture: Claw meat is typically firmer and more fibrous than back fin meat. This is because the claws are used for defense and feeding, requiring stronger muscle fibers. Color: It often has a darker color compared to back fin meat, with a slightly reddish-brown hue. Flavor: Claw meat tends to have a stronger, more pronounced flavor, which can be slightly sweeter. This makes it a favorite for dishes where a robust crab taste is desired. Use: It’s commonly used in dishes where the crab flavor needs to stand out, such as crab cakes, soups, and stews.
Back Fin Meat
Texture: Back fin meat, also known as lump or body meat, is usually flakier and more delicate than claw meat. It comes from the crab’s body and the area where the back fins attach. Color: It is typically whiter and more translucent compared to claw meat. Flavor: The flavor is milder and less pronounced than claw meat. This subtle taste makes it ideal for dishes where a delicate crab flavor is preferred. Use: Back fin meat is often used in salads, cocktails, and more refined dishes where the presentation and texture of the crab meat are important.
Each type of crab meat has its own culinary uses and can be chosen based on the desired texture and flavor profile of the dish being prepared. The crab cakes pair well with a Parma Ridge Winery Avielle.
I do like pork! But I really need to change my preparation of the meat. If not the preparation, then the plating of it. What to serve with it? Sauerkraut is a pretty standard plating. But I wanted to change that, And o I came up with this. I used red cabbage, snow peas and carrot rounds, to sweeten it a little, and a little balsamic glaze to soften the cabbage flavor. I brazed it with just a little Aleppo pepper. The combination worked well and folks enjoyed it. Then I took parsnips and chunk diced them and braised them also.
The pork. Braised it over medium heat so not to burn it. Initially and before cooking I used our Pork Rub, (https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Pork-Rub.pdf) all over the tenderloin and did not “skimp” on the amount. Then pat it into the meat and let it sit for about 30 minutes. The 2020 Parma Ridge Winery Boys Blend was superb with this dinner!
After braising the pork, I removed them from the heat and deglazed the pan (cast-iron skillet) with about 2 ounces of Tarragon Vinegar that we made a while back.Then a little butter in the drippings and some flour. Brought the roux together and added whole milk and about 2 T of Plochman’s mustard and stirred to combine and thicken. I then returned the tenderloin to the pan and spooned some of the sauce over it. After plating, I added a little more if it was needed. Everyone seemed to enjoy it – there is none left!
I love a good Shepard’s (Shepherd’s) Pie! Much better than a Cottage Pie. Maybe that’s because I do like good lamb. And as a side point, lamb is one year old or younger, while mutton is older than a year, just in case you were wondering. But also, it intrigues me as to the origin of these dishes. I always thought it originated in the Basque country of Spain. But after researching for this article, I am wrong!
Shepherd’s Pie: This dish is believed to have originated in Scotland or northern England (Ireland) during the late 1700s to early 1800s. It was initially made with leftover roasted lamb or mutton, and the term “shepherd” in its name reflects the traditional use of lamb meat.
Cottage Pie is thought to have originated in England, particularly in the Midlands or northern regions, around the same time period as shepherd’s pie. It traditionally uses minced beef, and the term “cottage” likely refers to the modest dwellings of the rural working class, who would have commonly prepared this dish. The cottage pie was the precursor to shepherd’s pie, which was coined in the middle of the 19th century. For a while it was used interchangeably with cottage pie. However, as time went on, a distinction was made: shepherd’s pie referred to a dish made with lamb (because sheep are tended to by shepherds!), and cottage pie referred to a dish made with beef.
This is a Shepherd’s Pie that I made this past week. And I think it was really good. Good robust herb and vegetable flavors. And the ground lamb was awesome with no “wild” taste that you can get with mutton. And it was from a very local farmer. Meadowlark Farms in Nampa, Idaho to be exact. The crust was a combination of Russet (Idaho) potato and Red Potato. I did not have and Harvest Gold potatoes so I made my own! The browning on the top was from a combination of the potatoes and Parmesan cheese. So, if you are interested, here is the recipe I came up with. Feel free to try it. Just let me know how it came out and how much you loved it! https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Shepards-Pie.pdf
The flowers here are some I bought Robin (my wife) a few days ago. They are springy, and we all know we can’t wait until Spring! I hate to throw away food with a passion. And if there is anything Robin has taught me over the past 40 years, is to use the leftovers, She was a magician with les restes, leftovers. So, a week ago I made a Tarragon Roasted Chicken (https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Tarragon-Roasted-Chicken.pdf) that was awesome. We had some left over, so I thought about what to make. How about a Chicken Salad? And I’m glad I did. It was differently good with the addition of the tarragon and the cream sauce that went with it. Add un-peeled shredded carrot, diced celery, a little mayo and serve over chopped iceberg lettuce.
To the plate add some sliced tomato, corn on the cob and grapes and a wonderful dinner. Well, it’s almost Spring. Why not rush the season? I’m all for that! Voila!
I have been working on some new recipes for the past several weeks. I have 3 that I will post here. Hope you like them. Let me know. The3re will be at least three new recipes. My favorite oven bbq pork ribs, a really good bbq sauce in the Memphis style – slightly tart, but also with a sweetness. A Memphis style bbq rub that is great on ribs, beef, pork and chicken. Then a side dish – corn fritters, since corn is now in season. I grew up on these and love them. Almost as good as a corn pie! Most, but not all of the ingredients in the posted recipes, come from the Boise Farmer’s Market (BFM) and I am grateful for their products and information. Use your local farmer’s markets. Enjoy!
Starting with the Oven BBQ Pork Ribs, I have created our version of a Memphis style bbq rub. Sweet, but tangy. Best to be very generous with this rub and the longer it “cures”, stays refrigerated for awhile – I let the ribs I was doing to rest (cure) in the refrigerator for 24 hours. But that length of time is not essential. 8 hours will also work. Don’t forget to let the meat come to room temperature before you cook it. This rub is full of sugar, sea salt, onion powder and garlic granules, Aleppo pepper, cumin and smoky paprika. Great on the pork In did and super on chicken.
The BBQ Sauce I came up with, https://www.rockinrs.com/CS-BBQ-Sauce.pdf, CS BBQ Sauce, is thick and rich. Slightly smoky. Slightly tangy. It includes red onion, minced garlic, ketchup, dark brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and pomegranate molasses among some other ingredients. Check the recipe by clicking the link.
Now, IMNSHO, In My Opinion Not So Humble Opinion, are super good! And they are done in the oven. (Can these be considered truly BBQ Ribs?) As plated here, we added some of our Doctored Baked Beans and a Corn Fritter. Drizzle some CS BBQ Sauce over the ribs (even go well with the beans) and Yum-O! They fall of the bone and have great flavors from the rub and the sauce.
And since I mentioned Corn Fritters, they go really great for breakfast with eggs. The eggs above are basted. A very Pennsylvania Dutch (German) treat. I was raised on these and they were aq hit when I made them for folks. Not hard to do. Fresh corn works best, but frozen corn can also be used. Here they are served with fresh fruit and homemade sourdough bread toast.
The last item I want to share is a sourdough bread we have been working on since January of this year. Created our own starter and it takes a while to develop and experiment making bread and other treats. Sourdough Blueberry Muffins, for one. (https://www.rockinrs.com/Sourdough-Blueberry-Muffins.pdf) This bread I have baking in a Romertopf Clay Pot and it comes out just great.It is a full flavored sourdough. Robust. Makes great toast and sandwiches. Great grilled cheese.
So there you are. Try these and let us know if you liked them or not. If not, let us know why. Cheers and Good Eating!
We had a great time this past week, developing some recipes and grilling. Never have done a Tri-Tip, so it is time to dive in! And this one was superb. Great grill taste and smoke that did not overpower the beef, as smoking does. Good smoke ring and cooked, I think, to perfection. Juicy and succulent and medium rare. Here is the recipe we came up with. Enjoy! http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-Grilled-Tri-Tip.pdf And to go along with the BBQ, one needs to have a good BBQ Sauce. I prefer a KC Style sauce and here is what I came up with. Enjoy with your BBQ. http://www.rockinrs.com/CS-BBQ-Sauce.pdf
Here is the Tri-Tip on the grill with some roasted corn.
This is the sliced Tri-Tip. Good color and smoke ring.
Dinner is plated with the Roasted Corn and the BBQ Sauce.
I know from our FB page and from the emails I have received, that folks are interested in some information about a Tri-Tip. So here is some. From steakschool.com,
Tri tip is a triangular cut of beef cut from the bottom of the sirloin. Named after its triangular shape with a tapered “tip”, tri tip might just be one of the most flavourful cuts of meat that you’ve never heard of.
Often confused with brisket or picanha, tri tip is most popular in southern California, so you can be forgiven if you’ve never come across it before. It is also called a California cut, a bottom sirloin butt, a Newport steak, a Santa Maria steak or even referred to as a “poor man’s brisket”. But unlike brisket – which comes from the front of the cow, below the chuck – tri tip is actually considered a steak.
Tri tip dates back to early 19th century America, where it was a write-off and ground up to be used in hamburger meat. It wasn’t until the 1950s when Bob Schutz, the then-owner of Santa Maria Market, upon receiving an excess of hamburger meat, decided to prepare and eat it like a steak. The result was well received and the rest, as they say, is history.
So you have some “stuff” still in the refrigerator that you don’t quite know what to do with. Don’t throw it out, unless, of course, it’s green and fuzzy. It’s not exactly Réchauffé – a dish of warmed-up leftovers, but more like Utiliser les restes – using leftovers. We have strawberries that need to be used, so we make Strawberry Waffles. And there is some Pork Belly, “… pork belly is uncured meat (while) bacon is a cured meat…(it is) the boneless cut that remains after the loin and spareribs are removed.” (pork.org) Just in case you wanted to know. So why not make an Idaho Benedict or a sautéed cabbage and apple to go with a Malheur River Meals ( https://malheurrivermeats.com ) pork chop? (Or you can get their products at the Boise Farmers Market or at Lark and Larder in Boise Good idea! So let’s take a look. Bon appetit!
Strawberry Waffle
Strawberry Waffles are so delicious. I have made waffles from scratch but here I used Krusteaz, because I had some that needed to be used. Just altered it slightly with strawberry jam and 1 egg in the batter. Then when I cooked it, I put sliced strawberries in the batter plus more sliced strawberries on top of the waffle before serving. A dusting of powdered sugar, too. You can use other fruits, also, like blueberries.
Malheur River Meats Pork Chop with Braised Apple and Cabbage
This was a yum dinner. A Smoked Bone-In Pork Chop with Braised Apple and Cabbage. Caramelized the apple first in butter and brown sugar over med-high heat and watched it carefully so as not to burn the apple. Just golden brown. Then added some chopped cabbage and caraway and sautéed it all together. There were no left-overs from this dinner!
Idaho Benedict
Shredded potato in egg ring form
Potatoes browned
This was so differently good! If you like Eggs Benedict, try this version. Instead of a toasted English muffin, I used a potato pancake, of sorts. More like a latke than a pancake. I had the “cake” keep its shape and form by using an egg ring. Worked well. Cooking was a challenge to keep it from burning. Med high heat and used the rendered pork belly fat – some of it – to cook the potato in. Turned it over carefully when I noticed some browning on the edges. It really came out fine and was cooked all the way through. Then for serving, placed potato on plate, then one strip of thick cut pork belly broken in half, poached egg and finally Hollandaise Sauce. ( CIA Basic Hollandaise Sauce )
So there you have it. Another fun week in the kitchen!
I think this week we really hit the Jackpot with some meals that we made. These are a real surprise and delicious. We liked them all! But then too, Shepard’s Pie is a favorite of every ones. I don’t particularly like yogurt, but the Mango Lassi that I had at a local Indian restaurant, the Bombay Grill in Boise, was absolutely delicious. And the Shrimp Omelet for dinner was a treat. Look at these. Enjoy.
The Breakfast for Dinner was simply a Shrimp Omelet with Campfire Potatoes, Toasted CROW Bread from Acme Bakeshop here in Boise and some Mandarin Orange sections. A standard 2 egg omelet, some 16-20 count shrimp cut into fourths and sauteed in butter with garlic powder and Old Bay seasoning and Eric’s Campfire Potatoes. No particular recipe. Play Chopped of the Kitchen and make do with what you have. I use an 8″ porcelain skillet for mine and clean the pan between omelets. (We have been on 5 cruises and I always watched the Line Chef make omelets to see how it is done. They always used a fresh skillet between omelets!)
Mango Lassi
I do not like yogurt. But now, I can’t really say that anymore. This was delicious and I was introduced to it at the Bombay Grill, an Indian restaurant, here in Boise. The recipe, Mango Lassi, is really easy and the ingredients are probably available at your local grocery store. You can use either fresh mango or you can use mango pulp. Just remember that mango pulp has sugar added, so taste the pulp before adding sugar in the blender. Chill the drink and enjoy! It’s delicious!.
Celery, Candied Pecan and Apple Spring Mix Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Now this salad is absolutely delicious. The celery is cut super thin on the bias and the apple is sliced thin also. Not a difficult recipe and including getting everything prepped, it it takes about 30 minutes to make. Love the Spring Mix greens. Different flavor levels and textures. The recipe, Celery, Pecan, Apple Salad. And the recipe calls for Candied Pecans, so make your own Candied Pecansf. Not hard to do. You will love this salad. We have pared it with a Classic Shepard’s Pie as pictured above.
Classic Shepard’s Pie
And this Classic Shepard’s Pie was fantastic! Here is the recipe Classic Shepard’s Pie Such a classic meal and one that we all like. Easy to do. Traditionally it was made with lamb, but some folks mix 50/50 lamb and beef. They also use 100% beef. But we prefer the traditional lamb way. The potatoes are not peeled and are cut into small chunks to cook. Makes them easier to mash when they are smaller pieces. Just make them creamy smooth so they spread on the top easily.
Boise Foodie Guild 