Weekend Wrap-Up: Celebrate Your Country's Independence by Smoking a Small Piece of It.

I was planning on making hot dogs for a cookout at a friends house this week, so maybe this post would have been more interesting. When it got canceled I was sort of relieved to not have to try to make sausage with it 100 degrees out.
  

It didn't mean that I was going to let it stop me from using the smoker.

 - Chorizo and Egg Tacos -

- w/ Black Beans and Anaheim/Chipotle crema -

Positive - Again been trying to get the freezer in control, used some chorizo that's been in there for a while, and anytime I use maseca it makes me feel better about buying it, and same thing with dried chilis.  I'm no Gretchen, but I've gotten better at using the tortilla press. 

The black beans from Cayuga organics are extremely good; they stay together and are creamy.
 
Negative - Why I used cheddar when we have Cotija made no sense; like these tacos needed anything richer.

The dried anaheims are good, but almost too harsh; I need to get some anchos to round this mixture out.

- Gooseberry/Blueberry Tart -

Positive - The filling tasted really good; was very sweet but the gooseberries were tart enough to balance it, and you didn't lose the blueberry flavor.

Negative - Didn't par bake the crust and prepare the filling like I normally do, but baked the filling and crust at the same time (brushed crust with egg white.  I filled the crust not thinking about how the crust usually shrinks a little bit and the filling bubbled up over the sides in a few places; made it ugly and the crust was soggy in places.  I was pissed off, picking the stems from those gooseberries is a pain, so this it was really irritating that this didn't come out perfect.

Don't go on a 44 mile bike ride and come home and eat a piece of sugary tart and drink a glass of asti for brunch - it's a bad idea; you'll feel messed up for the rest of the day.

- Sauteed Duck Breast w/ Red Currant Sauce -

w/ Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Zucchini

Positive -The duck breast and duck stock I used in this had been in the freezer for a while, so it's good to get them out of there.  The red currant sauce tasted pretty good.  I sauteed onion added the currants and some duck stock and cooked those down; then strained it to get rid of the seeds and reduced it even more.

The mashed potatoes tasted pretty good after being simmered in duck stock and I incorporated some of the stock when I ran the potatoes through the food mill. 

Negative -  I over cooked the duck which sucks.  It's pretty simple; cook on the skin side until fat is rendered and skin is crispy; flip and put it in the oven till you get to medium rare, but I still messed it up. I did it perfect last time, but just blew it this time.

The zucchini was over cooked.  There was no reason for anything to be overcooked; I was actually trying to get dinner on the table earlier.  I liked the idea for this dish, but I messed it up

- Rolls -

Kolsch Yeast

Positive - These came out pretty good; still have problems forming hot dog sized rolls, but the rolls for the pulled pork came out looking and tasting good.  I did these in about 15 minutes of active time total too; so it was easy.

Negative - Not perfect and I probably should have made more; but I can't really fit anything in the freezer.

- Squash Blossom Omelet -

- with Sauteed Scape and champagne braised onions -

Positive - Trying another use for squash blossoms, and the onions tasted good.  Omelet construction was pretty good.

Negative - Used a few too many onions and scapes for the amount of squash blossoms.  Not sure why I bought the scapes, they were clearly old and had a bad texture.

- Whole Wheat Apple Cider Molasses Pancakes -

Positive - I thought I had put way too much leavener in these since I added baking powder (since I subbed some sour cream for milk); but they actually came out pretty light.

Negative - Still getting used to the stove top; one of the pancakes was giant and didn't cook through all of the way.  I knew it, but still took it off and ate it myself.  Didn't use enough of the apple cider molasses, couldn't really taste it.  Impatient.

- BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich with Kohlrabi Carrot Slaw -

'Red Eye' Black Beans, Corn on the Cob w/ Chili Crema

I smoked some pork cheek over apple wood chips for this pulled pork.  Pork cheek is awesome since it has all sorts of fat and connective tissue in there; this one was probably a little too fatty, but still good.

Positive - The vinegar barbeque sauce was pretty good.  Just cider vinegar, brown sugar, chili flakes, pepper, and a tiny bit of ketchup.  The beans were tasting good but got a bit over reduced; they tasted good once I re-thinned with water.  These were simmered in coffee and pork stock with some sauteed bacon, ham fat, and onion; finished with a little brown sugar and cayanne.

Again, the Cayuga Organic beans are really good

Negative - Nothing I smoke tastes smokey any more; so why bother.  I check in too much and let smoke out all of the time.  The first few times I smoked meat it came out great, and now nothing.  What the hell.

I should have also used more rub (paprika, cayanne, garlic, salt, brown sugar, black pepper) and let the meat stay in the smoker longer; it had reached 180; but with so much connective tissue it should have stayed there for longer to make sure everything had broken down.  Basically my impatience got me again - this is a reoccurring thing.

- Smoked Beets -

Didn't taste smokey

Curried Bulgar Salad w/ Roasted Vegetables

Cippolini onion, radish, zucchini, Green Beans - Curry Lime Sour Cream

Positive - This worked like any other grain salad I've made.  Added some curry powder to the bulgar that I assembled a long time ago; I'm surprised it tastes like anything.  I guess when you have way too many vegetables it's good to have an idea as to how to use them all at once.

Negative - Pretty uninspired, and I could have used it to be spicier.

- Bean Puree -

Green Lentils, parsley, garlic, thyme, lemon, olive oil 

Positive - Gretchen's happy with this, and she's the one who has to eat it.

CSA

Red Romaine

Beets

Kohlrabi

Yellow Carrots

Cippolini Onions

Kale

Parsley

Broccoli

Zucchini

Red Currants

Raspberries

Blueberries

Gooseberries