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Dinner with my daughters last night was nothing photogenic - just hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, and sweet potato fries. But, the real star of the meal was homemade peach pie made by yours truly. To cut to the chase it came out fantastic and was a real hit. It was tastier than it looks - I botched the even distribution of cinnamon sugar on top:

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And of course, one cannot truly enjoy peach pie without vanilla ice cream -

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Now, what you might find most remarkable is that is a gluten-free crust made using a King Arthur gluten free pie mix. All you do is add butter and water and you have a dough to work with. The dough was actually quite easy to work and to roll out, much to my relief.

The crust was light and flaky and not dry or crumbly. This is a tough act to follow for a gluten-free crust. Just thought I would elaborate on the crust for any fellow badgers that are gluten intolerant as one of my daughters is. Give King Arthur a try.

Tim
 
Last night I threw a cast iron skillet on the Weber added butter and sweet onion. when the onions were about caramelized, threw hamburger patties in to cook medium rare in the butter with a nice crust from the pan. Served on a toasted bun with a slice of fresh tomato and left over chimichurri pasta salad from Sunday night.
 
Dinner with my daughters last night was nothing photogenic - just hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, and sweet potato fries. But, the real star of the meal was homemade peach pie made by yours truly. To cut to the chase it came out fantastic and was a real hit. It was tastier than it looks - I botched the even distribution of cinnamon sugar on top:

View attachment 1324198
View attachment 1324199

And of course, one cannot truly enjoy peach pie without vanilla ice cream -

View attachment 1324202

Now, what you might find most remarkable is that is a gluten-free crust made using a King Arthur gluten free pie mix. All you do is add butter and water and you have a dough to work with. The dough was actually quite easy to work and to roll out, much to my relief.

The crust was light and flaky and not dry or crumbly. This is a tough act to follow for a gluten-free crust. Just thought I would elaborate on the crust for any fellow badgers that are gluten intolerant as one of my daughters is. Give King Arthur a try.

Tim
That pie looks fantastic!!!!! How close are you to Kansas City?
:a29:
 
Taco Tuesday! Today was chicken”asada.” Marinated chicken breasts in carne asada recipe. Almost know it by heart. Garlic, chopped jalapeño, freshly ground cumin, cilantro, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, a little vinegar and a half cup of fine olive oil.
Butcher your tacos how you like them.😏
There is never any left over.
 
That pie looks fantastic!!!!! How close are you to Kansas City?
:a29:

Unfortunately for you, Danbury CT is not a stones throw away from Kansas City. But, I can 'send' you the recipe I followed -


I think using fresh ground nutmeg, high quality cinnamon (in my case, Penzeys Vietnamese fancy), and Cognac Dupuy really highlighted the peach flavors and made them more complex. Oh, I also used dark brown sugar in place of white sugar.

Tim
 
Unfortunately for you, Danbury CT is not a stones throw away from Kansas City. But, I can 'send' you the recipe I followed -


I think using fresh ground nutmeg, high quality cinnamon (in my case, Penzeys Vietnamese fancy), and Cognac Dupuy really highlighted the peach flavors and made them more complex. Oh, I also used dark brown sugar in place of white sugar.

Tim
Too bad you're not closer. And thanks for the recipe, now I don't have to ask you to mail me a slice.
:jump:
 
There's a small bar/restaurant next to my office building here, called SOHO 51, and they have a promotion on Botanist gin, so I occasionally stop after work for a snifter. Wife and I did so last night and after a couple noticed they have revamped the menu which is now mostly tapas so we tried a few: Sichuan style beef jerky, pork-stuffed dumplings with melted Camenbert and Korean sweet and sour glazed fried chicken. Not bad.
 
Had a city council meeting last night (in person again) so shot down to Burger King for a fish sandwich and onions rings....onion rings were ok, fish sandwich was not so ok, another bad decision on my part.... another meeting tonight but BK is out.... decisions decisions.....
 
Spaghetti al Limetta...

The more traditional recipe is '[pasta of choice] al limone' (with lemons), but I only had limes on hand. Turns out the lime version is equally delicious, although with a distinct flavour.

One of the more useful cooking techniques I learned during the pandemic is the art of mantecatura.

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Last night was a throw together of some old (leftovers) and some new. The tilapia filet (new) was seared with some seasame oil and butter in an iron skillet along with a mix of cilantro, basil, mint, and scallions (old). I also chopped up some veggies (peppers, scallions, zucchini, Japanese eggplant, and mushrooms) and sautéed them with a hoisin sauce based stir fry marinade.

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The fish came out great, though I little mild in flavor. The mixed veggies tasted better than they might look. However, I was not a fan of the texture - too mushy.

Too mushy seems to be a common theme with my attempts at making stir fried vegetables. I think one thing I am going to stop putting in a teaspoon of cornstarch, which many recipes seem to call for.

Hopefully, someone with the magic touch or, at least, more experience than me can explain how to keep the veggies crisp but cooked.

Tim
 
Too mushy seems to be a common theme with my attempts at making stir fried vegetables. I think one thing I am going to stop putting in a teaspoon of cornstarch, which many recipes seem to call for.

I've struggled with mushy veg in the past as well. A few thoughts based on my own experiences:

- Medium-high heat and shorter cooking times may be the short answer. In most circumstances I'd rather my vegetables come out a tad on the crisp side than slightly overdone; also remember that they will continue to cook a bit after they've come off the heat. With stir-fry and sauté, keeping things moving in the hot pan is a key part of those techniques, although I sometimes like to let things sit for a few minutes on one side first to get that blackened/charred quality -- the real way to do this is with a scorching hot pan (+/- flambé, if you're feeling daring), but those conditions are harder to achieve in a home kitchen setting).

- Mushrooms are usually best prepared separately (as long as you have the time) and then incorporated into the rest of the dish for just the last minute of cooking to warm them back up -- I usually either make them at the start and set aside, or give them their own dedicated small pan. The big issue with mushrooms is that they are porous and have a tendency to absorb oil/butter from the pan, leading to oily mushrooms. One way around this is to first place them in a hot pan with a splash of water, which gets absorbed, and then add your fat (butter, oil) and cook from there. Stir occasionally and try to get them browned. The water at the start sounded weird to me at first, but it honestly works.

- Eggplant has a similar issue with absorbing cooking fat and becoming too oily. I don't think I've ever solved this issue in a completely satisfying way, although admittedly I cook with it far less than mushrooms. Maybe a similar approach with water would do the trick -- I honestly don't know. Last time I made it, I think I opted for a non-stick pan, med-high heat, and very minimal cooking fat. Roasting or grilling might be a good alternative.
 
Tonight was Panko crumbed chicken breast fingers, browned in a skillet and then set up in a casserole dish. Over the chicken I layered sliced tomato from the farmers market and then sprinkled over it some herbs (chopped basil and cilantro), scallions, and grated smoky Gouda.

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Paired with some southern biscuits (not homemade, just Pilsbury) and we had quite a filling meal this evening.

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The bonus is that I have some leftover biscuits. :em2300: Those 'puppies' are going to be the vehicle for eggs and pork sausage patties for tomorrow's breakfast. :em2200:

Tim
 
We had a nice afternoon snack of pate and sparkling wine so we just had “spargelsuppe” for dinner. My wife used an asparagus soup packet from the German food section of the Ft. Bliss commissary and added a jar of white asparagus.
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Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Hopefully, someone with the magic touch or, at least, more experience than me can explain how to keep the veggies crisp but cooked.

High heat, movement, and sorting the ingredients are the keys for me.

During the warmer months when I can cook outside I haul my monster steel wok (about 36 inches across) out and clank it down on top of the largest propane burner I have. I use a high smoke point oil. I heat it gently at first, so as to toast sesame seeds, nuts and other spices that are then removed. Then bring it up a little and scare the protein a little and take that out.

Then I punch the afterburners and start tossing things in starting with the things that need the most heat and longest cooking first. Onions first, then carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, soft greens and finally the wet stuff like tomato chunks or mushrooms. Spices go in from the first, the protein usually just needs a quick blast to finish. A little finishing sauce (pique, soy sauce, nuoc cham) and it's dinner.

Inside during the cold months I use a smaller cast iron wok. Different technique to some degree but heat's still the key.

O.H.
 
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