Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Thursday, April 03, 2014
How you doin’ Happy Easter!
Spring had sprung and we are so
ready for it. Can you believe the winter that this country has had? From coast
to coast it has been crazy weather. On the western slope we are ready for
hiking, fishing, picnics on the Mesa, spring on the monument and so much more.
Easter is late this year, April 20... Very appropriate here in Colorado, if you get my drift! What do you do for Easter? Do you have the big feast? Or is more about the chocolate coma? Either way I hope you are spending time with great friends and family.
Our Easter celebration has evolved over the years due to kiddos getting older (mind you I am not getting older, just the kids), we still have an egg hunt and each person gets to hide the eggs, and then there is an egg toss with raw eggs (yuck), and we try to play a game like win, lose, or draw. The goal is to spend some time together and just have fun.
As for food, we are pretty easy going, some years we have a ham dinner, and some years we just make sandwiches...this year I want to try something new. What do you do for food? Leg of lamb? Prime rib? Grill?
This is what I am want to do...
Inspired by Jamie Oliver's Roasted Shoulder of Lamb
Easter is late this year, April 20... Very appropriate here in Colorado, if you get my drift! What do you do for Easter? Do you have the big feast? Or is more about the chocolate coma? Either way I hope you are spending time with great friends and family.
Our Easter celebration has evolved over the years due to kiddos getting older (mind you I am not getting older, just the kids), we still have an egg hunt and each person gets to hide the eggs, and then there is an egg toss with raw eggs (yuck), and we try to play a game like win, lose, or draw. The goal is to spend some time together and just have fun.
As for food, we are pretty easy going, some years we have a ham dinner, and some years we just make sandwiches...this year I want to try something new. What do you do for food? Leg of lamb? Prime rib? Grill?
This is what I am want to do...
Inspired by Jamie Oliver's Roasted Shoulder of Lamb
Ingredients
6 pounds bone in leg of lamb
8 fresh sprigs rosemary
6 garlic cloves whole and unpeeled
Melted coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Lay your leg of lamb fat side up on a cutting board and score the fat all the way across the top. Do this by taking your knife and applying slight pressure with the front end of the knife run it all the way across the top of the fat and continue until the entire top fat is scored and then do it the opposite direction to create a crosshatch.
Lay 4 sprigs rosemary and 3 garlic cloves in bottom of a roasting pan and place meat scored fat side up on top of the rosemary and garlic (remember to leave the garlic cloves whole and unpeeled).
Lightly drizzle coconut oil over the scored fat part of the meat just enough to lightly coat most of it (about a tablespoon), add salt, pepper and lay the remaining whole unpeeled garlic and rosemary on top of the meat.
Tent the entire roasting pan with foil and place in the oven, as soon as you put it in the oven close the door and immediately turn the oven down to 325 degrees.
Let it roast in the oven covered the entire time for about 4 hours. Once it is done the bone should be easy to remove.
This meat is so tender it isn't really possible to slice it so it is easier just to pull it off with a fork and put it on your plate.
On the side, I am going to cook some Yukon gold potatoes in the pressure cooker, roast some broccoli, and maybe a nice salad.
Happy spring
www.cookingwithtrace.com
Saturday, March 08, 2014
Food bucket list…
Do you have a bucket list? Places you want to visit or
activities you want to do before you kick the bucket? I have a food bucket
list… that may sound strange, but I want to try different culinary options.
Whether it is location dining (France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, etc.) or glamorous
dining like the French Laundry (http://www.frenchlaundry.com/).
I think it would be exciting to eat food that is famous for being the place
where it all started like a philly in Philadelphia, Wings in Buffalo, Kansas
City BBQ, Gumbo in New Orleans, and the list goes on.
I am so surprised by the food myths that are prolific in
this country… Olive Garden is delicious, but is it really how they make Italian
food in Italy (styles varies from region to region), Tacos in the U.S. are not
like the myriad of taco types in Mexico and across Latin America, and do you
really think that the Irish all stay home on St. Paddy’s day and have corned
beef and cabbage?
This is an excerpt from the History Channel’s website:
So how did pork and potatoes become corned beef and cabbage?
Irish immigrants to America lived alongside other “undesirable” European ethnic
groups that often faced discrimination in their new home, including Jews and
Italians. Members of the Irish working class in New York City frequented Jewish
delis and lunch carts, and it was there that they first tasted corned beef.
Cured and cooked much like Irish bacon, it was seen as a tasty and cheaper
alternative to pork. And while potatoes were certainly available in the United
States, cabbage offered a more cost-effective alternative to cash-strapped
Irish families. Cooked in the same pot, the spiced, salty beef flavored the
plain cabbage, creating a simple, hearty dish that couldn’t be easier to
prepare.
Now that you are in on the secret… does that change your
menu? Nope, not for me. I have a corned beef in the fridge and a couple heads
of cabbage. It will be deliciously not original, but maybe we can elevate our
notions and try something new.
Here is what I am working on…
Corned Beef and Cabbage rolls (Rueben style) http://www.primallyinspired.com/cabbage-rolls-reuben-style-st-patricks-day/
And I will have a few beers (Irish or not) to celebrate on
March 17th. Let me know what you are doing for the holiday at www.cookingwithtrace.com or on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/cookingwithtrace
Erin go Braugh
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Valentine's Day
Do you celebrate the most romantic day of the year? Or do
who rage against the commercialism of the made up holiday?
I am in the middle, I try to make sure that I am making
extra effort to make my wife feel special, but since I am a guy it is nice to
have a multibillion dollar event to give me some ideas.
Flowers, wine, candlelight, cards, gifts, and of course
chocolate.
Chocolate is universal for Valentine’s Day and any other day
that want to make your significant other feel special. Not only is it tasty,
but it can be good for your health.
It is a versatile ingredient that can be sweet or savory, or
in this case both.
I adapted this recipe from queen of Bitchin’ Kitchen, Nadia
G. Her recipe called for milk chocolate, maple bacon, and crisp rice cereal,
but I modified it just a tad.
Don’t go bacon my
chocolate walnut heart bark (catchy name, no?)
3 ounces semi sweet baking chocolate
3 ounces milk chocolate chips
2 ounces toasted walnut pieces
6 slices of cooked bacon, minced
1 tablespoon honey
A pinch of salt
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave proof
bowl (30 seconds at a time) until you can stir the chocolate into a smooth
consistency. Meanwhile toast your walnuts in a dry skillet. Add minced bacon
and honey to walnuts and stir to combine.
Combine the chocolate and the bacon/nut mixture (keep in
mind that the mix should be about 65% chocolate and 35% bacon/nut mixture) and
spoon into a parchment lined small bar pan, ramekin, or silicon mold. Sprinkle
with a little sea salt (or fleur de sel if you have some on hand) and freeze
for about 30 minutes.
I chose the bar pan and broke it into pieces to share with
the woman I love.
Happy Valentine’s Day Brandy!
Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any cooking
questions at
www.cookingwithtrace.com
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
The cheesy meltdown of 2014 --- i.e. the impending Velveeta shortage
So everyone, ok maybe not everyone, but quite a few people have
posted about the impending Velveeta shortage, I thought it would be helpful to
set the collective minds at ease.
Wait for it…. YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN CHEESE SAUCE!
I know it seems like it would be impossible, but almost
every processed food product that you can buy started as a real recipe in
someone’s kitchen. Twinkies are sponge cakes with a cream filling, Kraft Macaroni
and Cheese was made in grandma’s kitchen without all the chemicals and fluorescent
colors (BTW kudos to Kraft for taking the artificial colors out of some of
their products).
Back to cheese… cheese sauce is fairly simple to make because
it is basically cheese gravy. Yep you read that right… cheese gravy (don’t
those words just seem to flow together?).
This concept applies to cheese sauce for nachos/fries,
vegetables, pasta, etc.
Image courtesy of
joephotostudio/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Cheese Sauce
Use this cheese sauce on vegetables, pasta, or use in other
dishes.
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons
butter
3 tablespoons
flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon
ground pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated sharp
Cheddar or smoky flavor Cheddar cheese
Options: Cumin (smoky flavor), smoked paprika (will color
the sauce, but brings a smoky heat),
jalapeno (diced or dried), your choice of
hot sauce
Preparation:
Melt butter; remove from heat. Stir in flour and seasonings.
Gradually add milk, stirring until well mixed. Cook over low heat, stirring
constantly, until thickened and smooth. Cook for 5 minutes longer; add cheese.
Stir until smooth and well blended. Serve with pasta or vegetables.
Makes 2 cups.
Go Broncos!!! Trace
Labels:
broncos,
cheese,
cheese sauce,
denver broncos,
gravy,
sauce,
super bowl,
velveeta
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
Under Pressure…
We all have been under pressure at one time or another
especially during the holidays. Pressure can be a great thing… in particular
when it is combined with heat. Diamonds anyone? Ok so hopefully your cooking
shines like a diamond, but is not as hard.
I actually have wanted to write about pressure cookers since
last spring…but I have hesitated because of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Understandably there was concern about safety and there was a national emphasis
being put on internet searches involving pressure cookers and I did not want my
blog to gain that type of attention.
I received a pressure cooker from a friend and I am
eternally grateful. These are amazing tools. I remember my grandma used hers
often, but I did not have any inkling about what she was doing. She made the
most amazing swiss steak, tomatoey, vinegary, unctuous, and comforting. I do
not have her recipe, but I have been cooking everything else that I can think
of in my new best friend.
Pressure cookers are unique and therefore they can cause
some unrest. The science behind it is that when you pressurize a vessel it
raises the boiling point of water. At sea level water boils at 212° F, under 15
psi water boils at 250° F. This allows the food to cook faster at higher temperature
without drying out. The pressure builds in the sealed pot and it makes noise
and lets off a little steam, and this can understandably cause some concern.
Many years ago there were some problems with pressure cookers not being safe
due to faulty gaskets or incorrect use, but now there are several varieties and
as long as you follow directions you should have no problem.
Why should you use a pressure cooker? It is a quick and
efficient way to cook food. Everything from mashed potatoes to pot roast can be
cooked in a pressure cooker and the results are amazing. Pot roast in the oven can take up to three
hours or more… but pot roast in a pressure cooker happens in an hour and the
taste is unmatched.
You can overcook food and therefore I recommend following
the directions exactly (or you can turn California blend vegetables into an
interesting puree). Trust me…
Check out this quick mashed potatoes recipe…
2 lbs. Idaho
Russet potatoes, quartered
1 cup water
1/3 cup half and
half
4 tablespoons
butter (1/2 stick)
Salt / pepper
Directions
Place peeled and quartered potatoes into the steamer basket
or on metal trivet of your pressure cooker. Add water to your potatoes.
Pressure cook on HIGH for 5-7 minutes, using the natural release method.
Drain potatoes, add 1/2 and 1/2 and butter, mash and stir
vigorously. The potatoes should cream together rather quickly (if you need to
you a hand mixer you can). I like to use bacon drippings and maybe some
shredded cheese to make this side dish really pop.
Now go put on your Queen record and let’s put some food
under pressure!!!
Trace
Labels:
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potatoes,
pressure cooker,
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