So I relapsed, what's the big deal ??

I put it all away, jars in rubbermaid tubs marked according to size. Canners back in their boxes. Accessories stowed safely away. Jars of food lining the cabinet shelf just perfectly.

And then I remembered. I still have a pot of mushroom cooking liquid and a big bowl of stem trimmings. Oh no.....here we go again. Drag out the pressure canner. Drag out the pint jars. Here we go again.

Last night I spent a couple hours working on mushroom stock. I sauteed the stem ends with a couple cloves of smashed garlic and ohhhh maybe a quarter of an onion, sliced. Got them to cook down and brown nicely. Then I added a little additional water, some salt and pepper and let that simmer away til it was mushroomy and rich. I thought about adding other seasonings at this point but decided against it, since I don't know yet how we will use the stock or in what dish and I didn't want flavors that don't go well with the other ingredients. So I kept it very basic. I added the mushroom liquid from the canning marathon and brought it all to a boil while I heated jars and assembled my jar assembly line and readied the canner. 

Straining a huge pot of boiling liquid proved to be a logistical nightmare so I used a tiny strainer that fit right in the jar opening and a small Pyrex measuring glass to scoop the broth into the jars and strain at the same time. Worked like a charm ! I ended up with 8 pints of mushroom stock and virtually no waste except the discarded mushroom ends (most were too woody to use for eating).

Now the best part- all winter long we'll have this mushroomy secret hidden away in the cupboard. Stews,  soups, gravies - all can have an unexpected flavor boost !!! 

Unfortunately though, this will not be my only relapse. It makes me want to go buy bones. Chicken bones. Beef bones. Ugly vegetables. I want to make STOCK and literally stock the pantry with stock !!! I have fallen off the wagon folks, and I'm totally ok with that !!

Dinner guests ?? Why yes we do !!

I love Joe's Day Off. Why ?? You would think that on his day off the last thing he'd want to do is COOK but nope, my chef loves his home kitchen as much as his restaurant kitchen. We have all the fun toys and all the interesting ingredients. Fresh produce. Lots of different kinds of meat to choose from. Almost endless options.

At home though, he likes to cook the comfort food classics. Tator tot casserole. Chicken and noodles. Hot roast beef sandwiches. Just like childhood memories. Only kicked up Joe style.

Today he decided on a classic my mom used to make often when I was growing up but she never made it quite like this !! It was such a big occasion that not only did I let Joe use the precious Le Creuset but we also invited my sister and nephew, and our neighbor and his daughter for dinner.

Joe's Salisbury Steak

2 lb ground beef
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs (more if meat mixture seems too wet)
salt, pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
3-4 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2 cup milk

Mix all ingredients for steaks in large bowl until well combined. Cover with plastic and let sit in fridge for 1 to 2 hours to soften breadcrumbs and meld flavors.

Shape into 8 patties. Place on foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until almost cooked thru (medium). Remove from onion and set aside.

Mushroom Sauce

small onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms (we used used home canned, if using fresh use about 1 1/2 cups)
salt and pepper
3/4 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup cola
2 cups mushroom stock*
2 1/2 tb high quality beef base
1/2 cup red wine
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
roux for thickening or cornstarch- whichever you prefer

In large pan or dutch oven heat 1-2 tb oil. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook an stir until softened and onion is translucent. Add crumbled bacon.

Pour red wine over and deglaze pan. Add coffee, cola and mushroom stock.

Bring to boiling and thicken sauce. When sauce is thickened, add baked steaks to pan, cover and simmer until meat is cooked through.

Served with mashed potatoes and whatever vegetable you like, and if you're really lucky, some homemade bread !!

Joe was kinda mad that I didn't let him garnish my plate all fancy but seriously- I wasn't waiting !! I wanted to dig in right away !! And our guests- it was a thumbs up all around.

*Mushroom Stock-  I canned 20 lbs of mushrooms over the last two days and had to hot pack them. The end result was a stockpot full of richly flavored mushroom stock. The Chef used some for this recipe and the rest will be canned tomorrow for future dinners. If you don't have mushroom stock use beef stock or beef broth and omit or greatly reduce the amount of beef base in the recipe.

Bread Making 2.0

After the bread failure last time I broke out the bread machine I decided it was time to set out and find the perfect bread recipe. I found a totally new recipe this time and it wasn't quite PERFECT but it was much much better than the last bread making experience.

I started my search online. I have a bread making cookbook SOMEWHERE in my Room of Doom in a box, but finding it would be just about impossible. So an online search was my only option. The website www.food.com had a great and simple recipe and I had every ingredient on hand, so that's what I went with.

Country White Bread

1 cup water, plus more
1 tb water (70-80 F)
1 large egg
4 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 1/4 cup bread flour, plus more
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast


I layered the ingredients in my bread machine as the manual says, flour in the middle, sugar, salt.
In a small bowl I beat the egg lightly and mixed in the oil and poured that on the side of the flour
mixture in the pan. Then I added the water all around and made a small indentation in the flour
and added the yeast.

Then setting my machine on the white bread cycle, I walked away and enjoyed some of the
beautiful sunny day on the patio.

Three hours later I had pretty nice little loaf of bread to go with dinner !!

Settling into fall

Tomorrow is the FIRST Football Sunday of 2012. It's also the Chef's day off. Which means COOKING. The canning marathon is pretty much done for the year. I may do a few more tomatoes if I come across some, I may not. I might try potatoes on a boring weekend day. I might not. But for the most part, I'm ready to put everything away for now and just enjoy some fall weather.

Soon the leaves with be changing, cool nights will keep us chilled, a first fire in the chiminea will happen, and before long those cold, windy, blustery wall days will whisk our leaves away and send the garden to it's demise. I won't be too heartbroken about that either. It's been a terrible year for gardening. The excessive heat and drought conditions made it nearly impossible to keep things alive. Thank God for the Amish farm up the highway with their pick-your-own produce or we might be in dire straights in the middle of the winter.

A drive around our lake today showed some very sad sights. The water level at the main boat dock is probably 5 feet lower than it should be. There are places you can walk across the lake without getting your shorts wet, it's become so shallow. We need not only rain but a pretty significant snowfall to bring the water level back to where it should be. The oppressive heat kept the fishing poor this year. Just hasn't been a very good summer this year.

So as we're winding down the summer and looking forward to fall, it's time to reflect on things we're thankful for. I have much to be thankful for. I have the most incredible, caring and generous children any mother could ask for. They have spouses and partners who are just more kids as far as I'm concerned- and just as loving and kind. I have 3 amazing grandchildren that are growing too fast !! I have a caring father and sister I can't imagine living without. My friends are the best friends any person could ask for. My job is amazing. My furkids are wonderful and so much a part of our family. I have a roof over my head and food in my cupboard. We have a military that keeps us safe from terrorism and protects our rights, with such personal sacrifice most people can't imagine. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it, and I try to be thankful all year long and not just one day.

And with that, I'll say goodnight and God bless all of you and with you many years of happiness and prosperity and love.

The Baker and The Chef

Holy Hot Sauce, Batman !!

Things are going to get verrrrrry interesting around here this weekend. My foodie friend Paula, who makes some of the hottest pepper sauces on the planet, has graciously sent me some samples of her hottest sauces, one with ghost chili as the primary pepper and the other with Trinidad Scorpion chili as the main ingredient. I am going to put some serious thought into how to best use these to get the best flavor, most impact, and the best possible review, so stay tuned for that update !

Until then, I hope you'll enjoy the jalapeno salsa I've been making this summer. Last year I made a salsa that was awfully heavy on the vinegar and we didn't love it. Didn't hate it, just didn't LOVE it. So this year I searched and searched for something a little different, a little more like commercial salsa but with plenty of HEAT because we love our hot peppers around here. I found this recipe on the University of Wisconsin Extension website and it turned out PERFECT.

10 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

5 cups diced peppers (I used 4 cups diced jalapenos WITH seeds and 1 cup diced red bell pepper)

1 cup chopped onion

6 cloves garlic, mined

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 Tb salt

1 Tsp cumin

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (I used parsley)

Combine all ingredients in large saucepot, bring to boil. Boil gently for 10 minutes.

Ladle hot salsa into pint or half-pint jars with 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims, fix seals and rings. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

The Chef and I love this salsa so much we made a first batch and have already eaten 3 jars! I think this recipe is going to be a family favorite.

Church Cookbook Food and Memories

As I've gone through my canning adventures this year, I've tried to find some new things to make and not just stick with the same basics. I came across this recipe in a canning group that I belong to on Facebook and it reminds me so much of coleslaw my grandmother used to make. Unlike the creamy, mayonnaisey coleslaw many of us are used to, this one is a sweet and sour vinegar dressing. It kind of reminds me of Perfection Salad, which is something my grandmother made for every family occasion. I call these dishes "church cookbook food" and many of them I have great memories associated with.

Grandma's Vinegar Coleslaw

1 medium head cabbage, shredded
1 large carrot, shredded
1 green pepper, finely chopped
(or use 1/2 red, 1/2 green)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tsp salt

I resisted the desire to break out the fancy slicing attachments for the Kitchenaid, opting instead for the trusty Wusthof and board for slicing cabbage.

Sprinkle salt over vegetables, allow to rest 1 hour.

Drain any water from vegetables

Syrup:
3 cups vinegar
3/4 cup water
6 cups sugar
2 tsp celery seed
2 tsp mustard seed

Bring syrup ingredients to boil for one minute. remove from heat.

Pack vegetables in jars, cover with syrup. Wipe rims, adjust lids and rings. Process in BWB 15 minutes.

Like pickles, I think this is a recipe best left to mellow and mature for a few weeks before opening jars. Hopefully I can wait that long !! I can't wait to try a little of this slaw piled onto a pulled pork sandwich.

These old classic recipes are starting to make a comeback as more and more people get into canning and food preservation arts. I know alot of die-hards wouldn't even consider canning an old fashioned recipe that's no longer considered safe by Big Brother but for me......if Gramma fed her family, it's good enough for me.

Jelly Belly !!

Lots of jam is coming out of this kitchen right now, partly because I have too many bags of fruit in the freezer and also because I have alot of jelly jars for some reason.

Anyway, the other night I thought I'd so a little experimenting so I came up with Cherry Peach Jam and here is how the jam came to be:

I had cut up peaches and cherries in the freezer so I thawed 2 cups of each to make 4 cups of fruit. I placed the fruit in a saucepan and added about 1/4 cup of lemon juice and a box of powdered pectin, bringing it to a boil. Then I added 5 cups of sugar (winging it from instructions for Bing cherry jam and peach jam, trying to hit the right balance) and bringing back to boil, then boil hard for 1 minute. Ladle into hot jars, seal and BWB for 10 minutes. I thought I had some pics of the finished jars, but honestly, they look like every other jar of jam. I think I'm going to try this one more time with 75% peaches and 25% cherries and see if I can get that nice coral color.