New Years Eve 2009

Lachance Avenue

Peabody Drive

Blizzard 2009

WTF !

posted pictures of Blizzard 2009 @FB, it’s over now, got up about 8am, Diane had some of the snow shoveled and we got the Toyota and Renee’s ranger dugout. She got to work late , but they didn’t mind. The plow went by so the streets were passable.

Went out to RT2 to Sams about 1 pm via post road and 117, the roads were passable and I took my time, therewasn’t much traffic at all. So much for the snowfall . This is New England ….

Tomato Beef with Red Peppers and Brocoli

One of my favorite recipes modified from “Tomato Beef and Green Peppers” from Chinese Cookery by Rose Chen and Michele Morris

6 week raisin bran muffin mix

mix this recipe up and have a six week supply of raisin bran muffin mix to bake muffins as needed.

This is lighter than a full bran muffin mix

ovencam: muffins baking

coolin' off

mugged

comp-u-mug coffe mug, status: retired, cracked handle

I think that the line from the decision block “is boss looking” ,no, should go to the block “take coffee break”.

computer laws mug, status: retired, handle broke off

doctorate mug, status:everyday use, one of the few mugs with printing on the inside

bahrain mug, Status: collectable

Beef Wrapped in Dough

Beef Wrapped in Dough

Beef Wrapped in Dough

If you make bread often and want a new way to cook a piece of beef, try wrapping it in a piece of dough.

I didn’t take any pictures as I made this dish but here is the basic instructions:

Beef

Mushrooms, and or onions

bread/breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
dough

Make sure the beef is up to room temperature.
Saute some onions and or mushrooms in oil, butter etc.
Add some diced bread or bread crumbs, and mix to a stuffing consistency, season to taste.
Roll out enough dough large enough to wrap the beef.
Place the beef and stuffing mixture in the center of the dough.
Wrap the dough to cover and seal the beef.
Place on a baking sheet and in a 400 degree oven.
Cooking times depend on the size of the beef, usually these are made in a single serving size each.
Of course there are many variations of this recipe, beef en croute, beef wellington etc.
The basic idea is to seal the meat or filling in dough so it retains the moisture.
Try it with chicken, sausage, or vegetables.

Side order spinach: after cooking the stuffing mixture reserve a small amount in pan.
Add spinach, heat to wilt, season to taste, serve.

PAN SEARED NEW YORK STRIP STYLE MOOSE STEAKS

PAN SEARED NEW YORK STRIP STYLE MOOSE STEAKS WITH BLACK GRAPE REDUCTION

SERVED WITH BAKED POTATO AND BLANCHED BROCCOLI FLORETS WITH PARMESAN CHEESE

• Moose Steaks
• Black Grapes
• Onion
• Garlic
• Broccoli Florets
• Parmesan Cheese
• Salt (fresh ground sea salt if available)
• Pepper (fresh ground if possible)
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Vermouth, or Wine
• Butter, non salted

Select the moose steaks

Crust with Sea Salt and Pepper

Prepare Ingredients

Microwave a good size potato for about 10 minutes then wrap in foil

,
boil water and blanch the broccoli for about 3-5 minutes

Over high heat with olive oil sear the moose steaks with weight,

only a couple of minutes per side for medium rare

Remove seared moose steaks to a platter

To the pan, de glaze with vermouth, add olives, onion and garlic
season lightly add olive oil and a splash of Balsamic Vinegar, sauté slightly

Add the grapes and crush

cook to a boil then simmer , add more liquids to taste, simmer, reduce, adjust seasonings to taste

strain the broccoli

plate it up !
Butter the potato, grate cheese for broccoli Garnish the steaks with the reduction sauce and top with the chopped onions, olives, garlic and grapes

thanks to Chuck Vasi for the moose meat, I can brag I have it flown in, (my mother just happened to be on the same flight) for this meal.

I plan on posting the pictures of the actual moose hunt in a later posting.
The final result

serve with a frosted mug of beer

smoked chicken sandwich

smoked chicken breast on home made bread, side of parm reggiano and black seedless grapes.

recommended drink: hard lemonade

ran the smoker tonight, a moonlight finish, whole brined and rubbed chicken ,3 hrs smoked on vertical roaster, oak and hickory wood pellets added to charcoal. also smoked a small amount of salmon.

Roast Your Own ! (green coffe beans)

There are many ways to roast green coffee beans. I have used the fry pan method with good results and there is many other ways to roast green beans and even counter top appliances made specifically to roast the green beans. One method is to use a hot air popcorn popper and there are many websites that describes this process. This is how I roast green coffee beans. I’m using a old Salton Model PC2 ,1200 watts hot air popper.

SALTON PC2 HOT AIR POPCORN POPPER

You don’t need the hood on it on at all but it helps to channel the chaff that the beans give off as they are roasting. Since I roast the beans in the basement workshop I let the chaff blow on to the floor and sweep it up later. The best design would be a deflector that channels the chaff to a container of water. The amount of beans you an roast at one time varies depending on the beans, some are heavier and overload the hopper and won’t let the beans circulate while roasting.

The beans become lighter as they roast and experience will dictate the amount of beans to load in the hopper. Start up the popper and add the beans. Allow for adequate ventilation as the beans will smoke as they roast. If you have a stopwatch or timer use it to gauge the amount of time to roast the beans for future reference.

A thermometer is optional but this popper gets up to the 425-450 degree F, past 1st crack stage, you can usually hear some of the cracking over the noise of the popper but color is the best indication of how dark you prefer you beans to be roasted.

The beans circulating and changing into a mocha color.

The finished product next to the green beans.

I have been roasting beans for at least a year or more after reading about it on-line. There are many ratings of coffee beans and if you research it, It is similar to the wine industry, what the experts recommend or rate as the best may not be your cup of coffee (or affordable cup that is!). Descriptions really do no justice to actually tasting the coffee. Since I don’t drink my coffee black I don’t have always have the same palette or impressions that professionally tasters have. But I have to agree with some of the descriptions of the different taste of single origin coffee. Coffee, like wine, is grown in certain regions and certain conditions and locations produce different types of coffee beans. When you order green beans your can specify single origins or blends. I usually order by single origin to taste. Most of the coffee normally consumed or purchased from your coffee shop is a certain blend thats to their own specifications.

Why go through the trouble of roasting green coffee beans?

• Freshness, their is no question of how long it’s been since the beans have been roasted.
• Taste, this is subjective, but generally the taste is smoother, less after taste bite. more on this later.
• Cost, I don’t know if this is an advantage because you have to add the energy to roast the beans. Green beans are definitely cheaper that roasted beans. Even if it cost the same in my opinion the quality is worth it.
• Convenience, Again this is subjective, I order the green beans on-line, I may roast once or twice a week. usually I drink one cup in the morning and maybe a cup or an expresso later in the day. No drive through coffee stops needed.
• Storage, you can stock an ample amount of beans green beans without worrying about losing the freshness, they have a reported shelve life of about 2 years.

The green bean coffee taste.

First impressions: Fruity, your former taste of coffee goes out the window. It’s more like a , fruity, mocha taste. Also note: I use a small amount of heavy cream along with a small amount of simple syrup so there’s no graininess from undissolved granulated sugar in the cup . No harshness and after bite as you get with a low cost ground coffee. ( I still drink other coffee other than roasted green beans from time to time). Generally the higher priced green beans have a brighter (again subjective description), fruitier flavor if you like that. Some beans have a definitely more robust and earthy, filling flavor. Some beans I swear that I’ve prepared a cup of hot cocoa, and have a mocha taste, really smooth and filling, satisfying. That’s about it as a start, as there are many variables, roasting times and temperatures, and the blending of beans adds many possibilities to your cup of java. If you are looking to expand your preparation of the serving of beverages and if coffee is one of your daily rituals then green bean roasting is worth a try.

Other notes : mostly I have used http://www.coffeeproject.com for beans and the two pound random order they offer, for a very reasonable price, will get you two different origin pounds of green beans of their choice, some choices being coffee beans so expensive I would not have ordered the beans by pound alone.

Crumb Top Apple Pie

Crumb Top Apple Pie

Instead of the tradition double crust apple pie, I have been using this style for a while. Make a one crust pie dough recipe, season the apples, I used granny smiths, lightly with cloves, allspice etc.,lemon juice and a slight bit of sugar, preferable honey or corn sryup with a thickener ,constarch etc. If possible let the apples meld with the spices overnight. The top crust is a crumb topping, a combo of butter, brown sugar,  finely chopped nuts, (pecans) and flour. Assemble the pie as usual and top off with the crumb topping distributed evenly over the top . Bake at about 400 for 15 then reduce heat to about 350 till done. the top should be slighly brown and you should hear the apples bubbling slightly. If you like the apples with a slight crunch don’t over cook. This recipe works well because the apples are not overly sweet and more natural tasting with the contrast of the crunchy sweet topping like a strudel. You could also serve it with cream, ice cream, or whipped cream and garnish if you want to raise it to another level.