Hi,

If summer was hot days intermittent with cool days, I would like it so much more.

Saturday night was cool, which allowed me to make a cold soup for Monday and Tuesday's hotter weather.

On Saturday's tour of the south side, I bought a small almost four-pound pork shoulder picnic with the skin on. I ended up braising the pork in milk, because I had milk whose freshness date was June 4th. While it was nowhere near spoiled, it might be by the time we came closer to finishing it. Plus I could rework the leftovers a few ways, though I might just eat it as-is.


I recently commented I had a collection of Solo fruit, almond and poppy seed tins. I acquire them, but almost never make anything.


I threw in an outlier chestnut filling, too.

I needed to break the spell, so I made today a poppy seed cake straight from the back of the can. Just as I was about to put it into a bundt pan, my sister drops by, sees it is poppyseed and hopes it may be Lemon Poppyseed cake. If it were a mere exchange of vanilla to lemon extract, it might have happened. The recipe I checked for reference had 1/4 cup lemon juice. I decided to stick with what I started.


Sometime ago, I had read of pan preparations where instead of butter and flour, they were using vegetable spray and sugar. I tried this today, then later read best practices when using Bundt cake molds. Fortunately, I began on the right direction.

I also conferred for the correct temperature range to declare a cake done: 205-210. If you go higher, then the cake releases moisture causing it to dry.


This was removed from the oven at 206 degrees. I am glad I bought a Thermopen, though I now wish I had bought it earlier.

This cake tasted a bit like spice cake, though there were no spices beyond vanilla. The crunchy texture from the sugar on the exterior we really enjoyed.

Time marches on!

Regards,
Cathy2

Burger (and sausage) night, mostly on the Weber . . .


Onions
Prepping the onions with a new friend. I actually cooked these indoors, hot and fast, with a little butter (okay, a lot ) and a little leftover pork glace.


On The Plate
Truth be told, I am really sick of asparagus (this was grilled on the Weber, btw). When it first becomes available each spring, it's really exciting. But now, as we approach mid-June, I'm ready to move on. Also on the plate (and on the burger) are the onions from the pic above and some whole cremini mushrooms that I sauteed with garlic and red wine.


Alternate Plate
It's hard to only cook one meat once I fire up the grill. The burger above had American cheese. This one had white cheddar.


Cucumber "Som Tum"
Bright, funky, sour, refreshing, crisp, spicy . . . a nice addition to the meal.

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Looks good. Is your new friend carbon steel ?

Lesson 3. Baby Back Ribs. Anyone have a suggestion for reasonably priced lump charcoal within range of Evanston?

bw77 wrote:Lesson 3. Baby Back Ribs. Anyone have a suggestion for reasonably priced lump charcoal within range of Evanston?

Looking good on the baby backs! I try very hard not to shop there but in a pinch, Home Depot carries 15-pound bags of Royal Oak lump charcoal.

lougord99 wrote:Looks good. Is your new friend carbon steel ?

Thanks, Lou. It's a Konosuke Fujiyama FM Gyuto, 210mm. Yes, the edge is (reactive) Blue #2 steel, with soft iron cladding. It was extraordinarily sharp out of the box, with the edge actually getting stuck in between the grains of my edge grain cutting board. I'm still getting an overall feel for it but my initial impressions are favorable.

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Walmart also carries Royal Oak.

You may want to call to learn the price in advance. If you, please report back on prices.

I used to go to Berger Brothers just off Division. I have not been back since they declined to sell to me. There was a shortage or something, but it left an unpleasant memory.

Regards,
Cathy2

bw77 wrote:Lesson 3. Baby Back Ribs. Anyone have a suggestion for reasonably priced lump charcoal within range of Evanston?

Great looking ribs! Really nice!

As Ronnie mentioned, big box hardware stores. I picked up 8/lb bags of Royal Oak lump at Menard's a few months ago. In a pinch most Ace hardware have lump charcoal, but price varies widely.


Low & Slow Baby Back Ribs, count me a Fan!

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions!

Depending on where in Evanston you're at, and how in to BBQ you are, Backyard Barbecue Store is just north of the border on Green Bay Rd. They aren't a value-based option, but I doubt they make their money juicing coal prices. Just another option in case you weren't aware of it.
Backyard Barbecue Store
535 Green Bay Rd (just south of Wilmette Ave)
60091

Pretty sure I saw Royal Oak at Marketplace on Oakton. Call first.

bweiny wrote:Depending on where in Evanston you're at, and how in to BBQ you are, Backyard Barbecue Store is just north of the border on Green Bay Rd. They aren't a value-based option, but I doubt they make their money juicing coal prices. Just another option in case you weren't aware of it.
Backyard Barbecue Store
535 Green Bay Rd (just south of Wilmette Ave)
60091

I like these guys a lot and have bought a couple of grills from them over the years. Dan (the owner) is a great, very knowledgeable guy. I only didn't think of it because it's a bit beyond my typical radius these days. Zier's Prime Meats (also) in Wilmette carries Royal Oak in a couple of different sized bags. Not the least expensive option but a great place to shop for meat and related needs.

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Zier's Prime Meats & Poultry
813 Ridge Rd
Wilmette, IL 60091
(847) 251-4000
Open Tuesday-Saturday

bweiny wrote:Depending on where in Evanston you're at, and how in to BBQ you are, Backyard Barbecue Store is just north of the border on Green Bay Rd. They aren't a value-based option, but I doubt they make their money juicing coal prices. Just another option in case you weren't aware of it.
Backyard Barbecue Store
535 Green Bay Rd (just south of Wilmette Ave)
60091

I recently got Fogo brand lump there. Excellent quality, but at $28 for a 17.5 Lb. bag, I consider it overpriced and I think this was the only brand they had.

Dan from Backyard BBQ Store and Dave from Zier's Prime Meats are two of the nicest guys in the biz. Neither place is for those looking to save a few bucks but tip-top-tier quality all the way.

Dave, Dan, count me a Fan!

G Wiv wrote:Dan from Backyard BBQ Store and Dave from Zier's Prime Meats are two of the nicest guys in the biz. Neither place is for those looking to save a few bucks but tip-top-tier quality all the way.

Dave, Dan, count me a Fan!

I am in complete agreement with you. I feel that we rarely pay more than a product is worth. I completely misspoke in my post saying that the charcoal was overpriced. I should have said that I was not willing, in the future, to pay up for that much quality.

lougord99 wrote:

G Wiv wrote:Dan from Backyard BBQ Store and Dave from Zier's Prime Meats are two of the nicest guys in the biz. Neither place is for those looking to save a few bucks but tip-top-tier quality all the way.

Dave, Dan, count me a Fan!

I am in complete agreement with you. I feel that we rarely pay more than a product is worth. I completely misspoke in my post saying that the charcoal was overpriced. I should have said that I was not willing, in the future, to pay up for that much quality.

In general, it's understandable to be price-conscious with charcoal because it's widely available, and paying more for a brand you can get at a bunch of places doesn't usually make sense. But the reason I'm willing to go out of my way -- and pay more -- for some items at some specialty shops is because the quality of those goods -- and the services those places provide -- are exceptional, and rarely matched elsewhere.

I used to willingly trek over to Backyard BBQ just to get Wicked Good charcoal, which can be tough to find. And they would load it into my car for me. However, they no longer carry it. But when they did have it, I thought it was absolutely worth the extra effort and expense. I've tried the Fogo brand and I'm just not a fan, so I wouldn't buy it, even if it were cheaper.

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Hi,

I am backing up Cathy's cooking clock to Saturday evening. It was a cool evening with a great cross breeze. I made a cold soup for the hot days expected on Monday and Tuesday.

I made a Lithuanian recipe I first encountered at the Illinois State Fair in 2009: Saltibarsciai (salt-tib-bar-sky) (third recipe from the top).

This cold soup begins with boiling beets in water to cover until tender. Once cooked and cool enough to handle, the beets are cut into half-inch cubes. A large cucumber (sometimes two, depending on size) is deseeded, then cut into half-inch cubes, too.

The beet cooking water is poured through a very fine sieve to remove any dirt. A pint of sour cream is stirred into this water along with 1/4 cup of vinegar, salt, pepper, diced cucumbers and beets. At least a half-cup chopped dill is added, then the soup is adjusted to taste. I usually end up adding far more vinegar than suggested.

This soup is then placed in the refrigerator to chill overnight. I deliberately made it a few days in advance, because I really did not want to boil anything on a hot day, if it could be avoided. Plus the ventilation in my kitchen just does not wick heat away adequately. I really wilt when hot.

Today when it was warm and humid, this cold beet soup really was refreshing.


This soup is often served with diced fried potatoes mixed with more dill and chopped greens from a green onion. I have the boiled potatoes in the refrigerator, though I was too hungry to wait a few minutes longer.

If sour cream is not favored, this could easily be made with buttermilk. Just for fun, I think I will give that idea a shot next time.

The summer is still young.

Regards,
Cathy2

I have been buying that soup (or one very like it) for years from Village Market on Dempster and it is wonderful in hot weather. It never occurred to me to make it. Now that you have provided the recipe, I will make it this summer. Thanks.

There were three major successes this week.

First, at the local 99 Only store, they had a variety of specialty mushroom brands all packaged under the Gian's brand. I picked up some oyster and shiitake mushrooms. This allowed me to make a good mushroom risotto.

On Sunday, I roasted a cornish hen in my air fryer. It is something that I have wanted to try for three months but finding a cornish hen in Arizona has been nearly impossible. The results were excellent. I roasted the bird at 350F for 35 minutes until it reached an internal temperature of 175F. With five minutes left, I glazed the bird with a soy-maple sauce. The bird was moist and very tender. I served the pan sauce as a dipping sauce.

Yesterday, I made Mango with Sticky Rice using the recipe from Pailin Chongchitnant of Hot Thai kitchen. I had a 4# bag of sticky rice in my kitchen. The results were very good despite the mango being overripe. It is a much more complicated dish than I expected and quite time consuming.

https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/mango-sticky-rice-mini/

Dry-ass Chicken Parmesan (completely user error) but it tasted pretty good and photographed nicely . . .


Chicken Parmesan and Spanakopita

Caution: Food appears more delicious than it actually was.

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jlawrence01 wrote:Mango with Sticky Rice using the recipe from Pailin Chongchitnant of Hot Thai kitchen.
=-=-
It is a much more complicated dish than I expected and quite time consuming.

I've done the Hot Thai kitchen recipe a couple of times. Pain in the a#% to make but tasty. Plus it give me an excuse to use my sticky rice cooker/bamboo hat setup. Of which, I somehow, have two.

G Wiv wrote:

jlawrence01 wrote:Mango with Sticky Rice using the recipe from Pailin Chongchitnant of Hot Thai kitchen.
=-=-
It is a much more complicated dish than I expected and quite time consuming.

I've done the Hot Thai kitchen recipe a couple of times. Pain in the a#% to make but tasty. Plus it give me an excuse to use my sticky rice cooker/bamboo hat setup. Of which, I somehow, have two.

I used a two part steamer pan. Then, I cut a piece of cheese cloth to cover up the holes. In December, I bought a lifetime supply of cheese cloth at a "going out of business sale" in Las Vegas

Fortunately, the rest of my menu was a salad that I made the previous day and the soup was frozen

The refrigerator and freezer are full these days between our Tomato Mountain CSA, the taste of summer Sitka Salmon CSA and a recent Costco run. The NY Times food newsletter had a recipe for roasted salmon with miso rice and ginger-scallion vinaigrette that sounded delicious and was super easy. We used a hunk of Pacific cod because that's what we had. Cooked basmati with white miso, roasted the fish, made the vinaigrette with rice vinegar and low sodium soy with ginger and scallions. Served the rice alongside thinly sliced cabbage, topped with the fish, vinaigrette, a drizzle of sesame oil and additional scallions. It was a lovely meal.

Using the Google with random ingredients I had in the fridge, I came up with phyllo wrapped salmon with spinach and cream cheese.

Dave148 wrote:Using the Google with random ingredients I had in the fridge, I came up with phyllo wrapped salmon with spinach and cream cheese.

Nice - looks great!

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ronnie_suburban wrote:

Dave148 wrote:Using the Google with random ingredients I had in the fridge, I came up with phyllo wrapped salmon with spinach and cream cheese.

Nice - looks great!

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Thanks! Tasted great too.

jlawrence01 wrote:The results were very good despite the mango being overripe. It is a much more complicated dish than I expected and quite time consuming.

https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/mango-sticky-rice-mini/

I have used the following recipe for Mango Sticky Rice. Far easier and delicious: https://www.thespruceeats.com/mango-sticky-rice-dessert-3217361

Ms. Ingie wrote:

jlawrence01 wrote:The results were very good despite the mango being overripe. It is a much more complicated dish than I expected and quite time consuming.

https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/mango-sticky-rice-mini/

I have used the following recipe for Mango Sticky Rice. Far easier and delicious: https://www.thespruceeats.com/mango-sticky-rice-dessert-3217361

I do not have any mango left as it was a great fete to get ahold of the two that did use. However, I think that I will try this recipe tomorrow as I have about a pint of coconut milk left in the carton and the stuff has about a five day shelf life.

Panzanella Salad, grilled shoulder lamb chops = dinner.





Panzanella, Grilled Lamb, count me a Fan!

G Wiv wrote:Panzanella Salad, grilled shoulder lamb chops = dinner.

Beautiful! That lamb doesn't look half baaaahd! Seriously, though. It looks succulent!

We hosted an in-person, socially-distanced happy hour on our back deck tonight. I knew it would end kind of late, so I wanted to plan a dinner that I could cook quickly after it ended. I prepped all the mise in the afternoon, after which I thoroughly enjoyed happy hour. When hh ended, I came in, fired up the wok and 12 minutes later, we were enjoying our meal . . .


Clean-Out-The-Fridge Fried Cauliflower "Rice"

Home-smoked/cured duck breast, leftover smoked sausage, onion, garlic, fresh shiitake mushrooms, leftover sauteed mushrooms, peas, carrots, egg, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, homemade G Wiv Chili Oil, white pepper


Clean-Out-The-Fridge Fried Cauliflower "Rice"
Don't forget the scallion, adeptly accordian'd by yours truly.

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jlawrence01 wrote:I do not have any mango left as it was a great fete to get ahold of the two that did use. However, I think that I will try this recipe tomorrow as I have about a pint of coconut milk left in the carton and the stuff has about a five day shelf life.

I think it would be lovely with ripe peaches.