Slot Car Cooking

[Ember]

True enough. The intensive farmed pork is not the same as the old breeds that they were raising either. The mean from the old breeds tastes so much better.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Sounds tasty. Here's a tip for filling the halves that has saved me a lot of fooling around. Put the finished filling in a zip lock bag and squeeze it all the way down into one corner of the bag. zip the seal with all the air out of the bag, then cut the least little 1/4 inch corner off the bag where the egg mix is. Roll up the rest of the bag to give you a good grip and pipe the egg mix into the halves like a cake decorator does, with enough force to make the squeezed out egg mix fill the pocket without air getting trapped, and work your way through all of them. If you need to add some to some of them to come out even its very easy to do. If you want to be fancy, you can pulse and squish the way the frozen custard ice cream stands used to do. Works perfect every time. You can even make a smaller cut at 90 degrees, to make the piped out mix have ridges and flutes, the purpose of which is to allow you to swirl it the same way the frozen custard cones at Tasty Freeze were done 50 years ago.

[Florida_Slotter]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I saw them, but I have been very disappointed with that brand before, so I didn't give them a chance.

[ddyke]

Picked green beans, tomatoes and peppers. Wif made chili. Green beans are to be prepared as a side dish.

[Ember]

Cold weather here. Slow cook time. :D Nothing better on cold, wet nights than a bowl of good meaty stew and warm crusty bread topped with cold fresh butter.

Ox tail on the menu for tonight. Heaven in a bowl.

Trim a couple of fat chunks from the top end of the tail and throw them in a cast iron casserole to render while cutting up a couple of large onions in a medium dice.

Put the onions on in a separate small cast iron pan/skillet with a good splash of water. Place over low heat and cover with a lid. The water will cook the onions down and then evaporate off. When the onions are soft and the water gone they will begin to caramelize and become like jam (err... Jelly, conserve, the sweet gooey stuff you put on toast). Keep an eye on them, stirring occasionally while working on the other things. You want them well caramelised goo, not black.

Meanwhile, use the rendered fat to brown the tail vertebrae well and set aside.

In the big pot saute diced celery, carrots and any other root veg you may want to add. Place the browned tail piece back into the pot. Add onion jam, 2 cups of beef stock and a bouquet garni. I raid the garden for any herbs left, usually parsley stems, thyme and rosemary twigs wrapped in a large fresh bay leaf or two. A pinch of salt and a good grind of fresh black or mountain pepper, cover with lid and place in a very slow (100C is good, so around 200F) oven. Walk away and go play with toy cars for 4 or 5 hours.

When you've had enough play, check on your cooking. Taste and adjust seasoning. You can serve it as it is if you like with plenty of creamy mashed potato (not the reconstituted powdered kind please). I tend to strain most of the liquid off into the skillet I used for the onions and simmer to reduce by at least half before adding it back to the pot for serving.

Serve with topped with a spoonful of fresh gremolata.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

"gremolata" [that's the green stuff on ossobucco]

[Ember]

Yup. Basically like a pesto made with parsley and lemon zest instead of basil and pinenuts.

Bunch of flat leaf parsley
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic
Grated parma gordano/parma reggiano/pecorino or similar
Pinch of salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients in blender and blitz. Gradually add EVOO to loosen slightly. Should have a rich herb flavour with a lemony zing. If not lemony enough add a little juice.

The flavour cuts through the fatty richness and adds fresh vibrancy to osso bucco and the likes.

[Ember]

I have been known to wash and soak some pearl barley and add to the pot for the last couple of hours of cooking for something different. There's something about beef and barley that just work well together for me. But then, I just like barley.

[Ember]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

[Ember]

Your apple tree went nuts? Explains where the almond paste came from.

That apple and almond sounds so good.

My apple tree went a little bonker the first year I moved into this house. Apples everywhere. I made cider and jelly and froze stewed apples by the container until the freezer was half full of apples. I think the tree must've been in panic mode, because it hasn't produced anywhere near as many since.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Well said! My grandmother said "It just isn't right if you don't work it with your hands." Yep. She was right. She was right about just about everything.

[Florida_Slotter]

Has anyone had any experience with an Emson Electric Indoor Pressure Smoker?

At our last Central Florida Slot Car Group gathering, Pete Ross made some B-B-Q ribs up to share. They were awesome. When I asked how long he had smoked them (I am a wood smoker) and he told me about 45 minutes, I just had to know more. So I asked.

You can use the unit inside the home - no need to be cold while getting the meat hot anymore - and it looks like it will reduce the cost of smoking meat. Just think no more cutting down of trees to provide smoking wood, not to mention the need for a 4 wheel drive truck nor replacing the rear cab window in aforementioned truck!

Just looking at having great smoked meat without all the muss and fuss.