Weekend Evaluation: I Don't Have Time To Bleed

We weren't at home much this weekend, like most summer weekends.  I guess it's a bad time to start documenting how much cooking you do when it's not a time for being indoors.

Besides, I have no room in the freezer for projects right now.  The project these days is to clear out the freezer; I got the chicken livers and mole out of there.  Maybe I'll have room for the ice cream maker soon, we were out of ice cream for the hottest days I can remember.

I haven't made breakfast for the both of us in weeks, and I'm missing that and making bread; but I'll have all winter to do that.

Blueberry Basil Jam

I've been getting a little sick of having blueberry oatmeal for breakfast, so I decided to make jam.  I really wanted to make a pie, but didn't really have the patience to make crust; not that it takes a long time.  I just wated to get outside, despite it feeling like 100 degrees.

Positive - This set up pretty good, even though I didn't add pectin.  I think getting the temp of the sugar up high enough makes a big difference.  

Negative - This boiled over a couple times, I'm still getting used to the stove.  The burners on the left are kind of touchy; they're either really hot or not hot enough.  Even though I added some buckwheat honey I don't think you can taste it; same thing for the basil.  I think I probably over cooked this.

Chicken Mole 

w/black bean and corn salad

Despite spending months in the freezer this mole tasted pretty good, and I finally remembered to order chicken from the CSA.  

Positive- After braising the thighs and legs I pulled the skin off and crisped it up to make cracklings.  Big surprise, fried animal skin and fat tastes awesome.  Finished the dish with the fried skin and fresh herbs, gave it some brightness.

The salad was good, the black beans tasted pretty good after cooking them with some bacon skin, garlic and onion.  The corn is really coming into it's own right now.

Negative: Should have braised the chicken for longer, not all of the connective tissue in the joint area broke down.  It was done, and tasted pretty good, but could have been a braised a little longer.

The mole still tasted pretty good, but it was definitely lacking the complexity it had before.  When made fresh this tasted like raisins, chilis, smoke, and a little (not a ton) of bitter chocolate.  This time it was just kind of smooth and spicy.


I also did a bad job breaking down the chicken, so the breasts are kind of uneven and the one is messed up.  I really need to make stock, the freezer has feet, necks and a few carcasses in it.
 

Caponata/Ratatouille served over Pappardelle

w/ grilled chicken livers w/balsamic reduction

Gretchen usually won't eat eggplant; but she will when my mom makes it.  I finally decided it was because it was peeled, so I decided to give it another shot, figured if it was stewed and all broken down, then served in a pasta it might get through.

Positive - Seemed to cook the livers right and they were very creamy; I think the pate is going to be good once it ripens.

The pasta came out better than the last time, I went with my instincts on the moisture content of the dough and was right.  It rolled out pretty good, and I had no problems with them sticking.  Once you know how to do it, making pasta is easy.

Tomatoes are getting closer to being really good, they're not quite there yet, but close.

Negative - Water dropped way below a boil when I put the pasta in.  The water had been boiling for a while so I turned it down, but didn't turn it back up before putting the pasta in.  Thomas Keller would make me throw the pasta out.

The casserole/gratin could have been more reduced, the flavors would have been way more concentrated.  I forgot the smoked breadcrumbs on the dish; I'm sure the picture Gretchen took will look terrible.

Basically, this thing fell short in all sorts of ways; it didn't taste bad, just boring, and kind of a disservice to the ingredients.

Egg Poached in Black Mole

Positive - I like eggs in purgatory, so figured this was a good idea.  This used up the mole and anything with and egg is good.  Finished the dish with some cilantro and pickled onions; ate it with some bread.

Negative - I turned the heat down (again I still don't get the left side of my stove) before I cracked the egg in the pan, and it totally killed the heat, the bottom of the egg took too long to cook so the bottom was too done.

Chicken Liver Pate

In a continuing effort to finish a lot of the meat in the freezer I decided this weekend I was going to use the chicken livers that have been in there.  I wanted to try some new applications, but took the easy way out and made pate; which at least continues to extend the shelf life.


I normally use more of a custard technique; not cooking the livers, just pureeing them with the rest of the ingredients, straining them through a chinois and cooking them in a bain marie. Again, don't know why I decided this was my technique, I just thought it seemed more French. In interest of time while the ratatouille cooked I browned them, pureed them with everything and put them right in the jar.  This is easier, but I'm not sure if the flavors will be as clean.

Here I sweat some onion in butter, used bourbon and quatre spice that I had in a jar from the last pate I made; that can't taste like anything.

Lentil Puree w/ Coriander, fennel, thyme, onion and garlic.

This tasted like a lot of coriander, we'll see what Gretchen has to say about it.


CSA
Napa Cabbage
Zucchini
Onions
Red Potatoes
Basil
Cucumber
Beets
Basil
Peaches
Blueberries