April Postmortem

So Gretchen had the baby - and we'll see how that changes what I'm cooking.  Already I find myself using the weekends to prepare for faster weeknight dinners.  Pizza and pasta dough gets made on Sunday, bread already got made once every week or two, I'm doing a lot more cooking beans, grains and greens ahead of time; you know all of those stupid hints for busy moms....I'm using them.

Well - I'd like to think that I'm just working more like a restaurant - they have all of that stuff prepped before service too, don't they?  A lot of it is just assembly.


Butternut squash, Blackbean, Bok Choy curry -

This will be the last time this year I make the thais squash curry dish - it was pretty good.  I do keep underestimating how much fish sauce I need.

Baked Butternut Squash Pancake  -

This was supposed to be a dutch baby desert, but it really didn't puff as much; I could tell that the pan wasn't hot enough when I added the batter, but let it go.  It tasted okay, but texturally wasn't great.  Decent idea though.

Chicken Sandwich - 

 Pregnant Gretchen wanted a deli sandwich.  I grilled some chicken breast; cooled it sliced it deli, put it on some white bread I made a week or so prior.  I think there was onion jam and cheddar on there too.  It was about a 6 out of 10 as a sandwich....

Apple and Spice Fritters -

Used the fritter recipe from Ad Hoc at home - but didn't have a lot of apple; so they become donuts basically.  The recipe is basically a quick bread recipe that you deep fry, nothing crazy.

Soybean and Oatcakes
white wine soy honey reduction, braised bok choy, scallions

Kind of looking for a newer vegetarian idea.  Took cooked oats, and beans mixed in some scallions, soy sauce, and some flat leaf parsley.  Cooked it like a latke or potato pancake.  They came out pretty good, I could have used more crispness.  Served them with braised bok choy and some more soy beans.

The reduction was really good .

Pan-fried Pork tail  -

I cooked the pork tail in the pressure cooker with a real typical white wine braise.  Then I crsiped up the skin in a pan.  I dipped them in a hot sauce/bbq sauce, but I can't remember what was in it!  They tasted okay, not a problem texturally, they might have been under seasoned.

Pizza Monday -
Thuringer, Roast cabbage, Asiago Pressata Pizza (Pale Ale) White wine and thyme cream -

Pizza Monday is now an official weekly occurrence.  You'll see a real trend here of using real similar techniques.  My peel sticking problems have been eliminated - now I have a cornichon problem - a lot of times it looks like a bread bowl....I'd rather have too much rise than not enough though.

Udon Noodle soup -
Deep fried pork tail -

Using the braising liquid from the pork tail, as well as some kombu dashi I made a udon noodle soup.  Added some scallion, soy beans and a few other garnishes....hard cooked egg for G, cilantro for me...I can't remember

There may have been one more meal I cooked that week, but I can't remember what it was - so I can't exactly remember the last meal I cooked before Ben was born.

Rye Berry Salad topped with a Fried Egg
Sweet Potato, Red Bean with Red Wine Vinegrette

This was the first dinner I made after Ben was born.  I was at a loss so I went to my comfort zone; which means a grain salad.  I was also cooking for my Mom who was staying with us to help out.  I get nervous enough cooking for us; so I was worried that I cook strange stuff.

I had taken out a link of the goat curry sausage the Friday we ended up having Ben - so I just decided to have that on the side - which my Mom split with me.

The food restrictions have been lifted Gretchen, so went with a runny fried egg, since she hasn't been able to eat them.

This was a little salty/harsh tasting; sorry Mom...both Mom's.

Chicken Pot Pie  -

It's been a while since I made pot pie, and I was looking for something to make that would be flexible with timing.  I used leeks and parsnip as my vegetables, and sweet vermouth sine I don't have sherry....but you really need celery in there.

The end result was okay but not great.

Pizza Thursday?
- Onion, Tomato ,Fresh Mozz - Saison Crust  -

I did a slightly better job of stretching the dough and getting the toppings to the outside but still had a little bread bowl action.  Over salted the toppings - again - what is with this week of over salting when my Mom is down!

This was the last of the frozen tomatoes from last year.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich, Sweet Potato Casserole, Roast Broccoli

Again - keeping it simple; but I'm finishing everything in the freezer, now it's the ham.  We had this on the saison white bread that I made not too long ago; topped with cheddar, the porkslap mustard, and a tiny bit of horseradish.   Grilled it all.

The sweet potatoes were again, not that sweet, so I had to add some brown sugar; and to try to fit with ham, went with bourbon, vanilla and some warm spices.  It was okay; at this point I was just looking to be able to time dinner right between feedings and make something everyone who was there would eat.

This ham was pretty good though; but kind of mild tasting; so maybe you lost that with toppings.


Hot Link, Pinto Bean, and Sweet Potato Hash (Fried Egg) -

This tasted pretty good - again, just looking for more simple dishes to make - less components - more 'one dish'.

Sirloin Steak, Roasted Fingerlings, Sauteed Kale -

Since Gretchen can now eat non-well done meat. Decided this would be a good way to come back.  Too bad I'm a little out of practice at judging doneness! This was probably a little under, but not too much, and I rather have it be under than over.

The potatoes were really great - we haven't had fingerlings in a long time and it was a nice change.

Oat/Whole Wheat Boule -

This was the best bread I've made in a while.  Pretty high hydration.  Crumb was really open and soft.  Made great toast
.
Kolsh Yeast Rolls -

I didn't let these rise enough; just when I thought I could make rolls without any problems.

Coffee Ice Cream -

This actually was really good - added some coffee syrup (the kind you use to make coffee milk) to my standard non-egg Ice Cream base; which I had steeped coffee beans in.  I think it helped taste more like coffee ice cream, and the added corn syrup helped keep the texture creamy.

Turkey Burger
Oven Fries, Salad

I seasoned the turkey burger with toasted fennel, coriander, and parsley.  Made a spread with sour cream, fennel/coriander, orange/lime zest, and lime juice; put it on one of the crappy sesame rolls with some caramelized onions.

These new potatoes from the market are really good - things are looking up for produce.  About time.

Pizza Monday - 
Thuringer, Kale, Braised Onion, Mustard Horseradish Cream, Provalone (Pale Ale Crust)


OK- this crust was the best so far - toppings were good (I know the list looks like a lot) - hitting a bit of a stride here.  Waiting for a complete disaster one of these weeks.


Sweet Potato Risotto
Kale and Bacon 

This was underseasoned, which is a shame; the chciken stock smelled/tasted great.  The sweet potatoes from the market are not very good right now.  Godd because it's about time to move on to spring and summer vegetables.


White Bean, Chard, and Tomato Ragu over Polenta -

Again, a continuation of me adjusting my expectations.  

Potato and Chard Tortilla 
with Ragu and Caramelized Onions,
Roasted Sesame Asparagus

OK - spring is finally here - there was asparagus at the market; get ready for asparagus all the time.

Again - a go to easy dish for me.....I wonder if I'm going to get board with this stuff soon.  I guess the new vegetables will keep me interested

Mustard Egg Horseradish Toast - 

 Easter lunch....at least I had one hard boiled egg.  I did have candy for breakfast.

Hennipin Braised Lamb Neck, Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus -

Easter for us usually means Keilbasa and buttered noodles - but this year I wasn't able to make the Keilbasa in time.  We went with lamb instead; keeping it seasona.  I needed a beer to braise in and a local store had Hennipin on tap for growlers.  That seemed spring-y enough, so I used that.

The braise wasn't great.  Lamb again - probably under seasoned; reduced the braising liquid, and tried to thicken with corn starch, and it never got thick as I would have liked it, and tasted less intense as well.

The potatoes from Maxwell farm are really good  - I don't like much of the stuff at their stand, but the potatoes are very earthy tasting right now.

Pizza Monday-
Saison Crust, hot link, Hennipin braised onions, Hennipin sauce, Collards

This was one of my favorite combination so far this month.  Basically the same kind of preparation as last week; but made the beschamel with beer.

Hennipin Coriander Mustard -

Haven't tried this yet - we'll se how it goes.

Egg, Hot Link Biscuit -
black bean/collard/oat salad

Common thread with a number of things - finished off some corn biscuits.  I think this cooking while trying to tend to a baby is made easier by having a bunch of stuff in the freezer.

The oat salad was pretty good - made a sort of bbq vinegrette with molasses, cider vinegar....

Sweet potato Ravioli in butter ramp sauce -
Sauteed Rapini

A strange combo - the sweet potato ravioli were pretty good; but the ramps kind of got lost. 

I wasn't thinking of ramps when I made the ravoli the weekend before, so the contrast of winter and spring flavors was odd.

Liver Pate Toast
Beet Greens, Sauerkraut, Horseradish

A good lunch - trying to finish off this crappy pate - and finished the last of some old sauerkraut.

Sauerkraut - .

I know it's old, but I wanted to make sure and make some new sauerkraut beefore cabbage complete disappeared at the market

Pale Ale Rolls - 

Getting ready for our first burgers in a long time - these came out much better than the Kolsch rolls.  Not amazing, but much better; and large enough for our burgers.  

Cheeseburger -
topped Grilled Ramp Bulbs, Creamy grilled Ramp leaf Pesto

Oven Fries, Roasted Asparaugus 

Grilled scallions are one of my favorite things; it's something I use on tons of things.  Grilled ramps ar that much better, thanks to the garlic-y leaves.

I changed my burger blend a little bit.  I usually go with half short rib, half brisket; this time I added some chuck and fat back (since the chuck was really lean).  I cooked this in suet for even more beef flavor.  I'm feeling like I can go back to my short rib/brisket mix, not sure what the chuck brought;  These were good and beef-y though; and that's all a really want out of meat - to bring me the flavor of that meat; it's not a vehicle for other things for me; if I'm killing an animal it better taste like that animal; or I''m eating it for no reason.

It was a good thing that I added the extra fat, since I overcooked these; but I do pack my burgers very loosely, which makes it hard to cook them any less than medium/medium-well.

Also - I was thrown off by the size; normally I go with a 3-4 oz patty for more of a burger stand feel; but since this was an 'occasion' I was up around 5-6 oz.  Bottom line - I need to cook more burgers.