butter paneer masala

i have been on a HUGE indian kick as of late and thankfully mike has become quite the enthusiast. (sweet!)

the last time i stopped at the indian store i snagged a big bag of green chilis and a couple packages of paneer so i'd be ready when the mood struck.

tonight it struck. butter paneer masala!

the spices.



dhania (coriander powder), garam masala and red chili powder.



ginger, garlic and cilantro paste.

rough chop your ginger, garlic and cilantro. use your mortar and pestle and make a paste. sometimes i use my mini food processor but that was in the basement and i didn't feel like going down there. plus the mortar and pestle makes it chunkier and thicker. and better. (i think so anyways).



green chilis.

mmm. i found that gnarly one on the left in the very bottom of the crisper. probably past its prime but meh - i chopped it up anyways.



paneer!

paneer is so awesome. so, so delicious. it is probably one of my top ten favorite foods. YUM! i need to start making my own....



i started the onions and chilis in a little oil in a hot pan. these cooked until they were nice and brown.

notice that rice? i have always struggled with rice. it seems so easy but i have continuously fucked it up. until i finally figured it out!!

so my old method was boil the water, add the rice, simmer. this is all wrong.

now i always rinse my rice first. i don't know what this does but two bags of basmati from the indian store and ATK suggest rinsing. and now my rice is finally perfect so i rinse.

i add the water and the rice to a pot and bring it to a boil. then reduce the heat, cover it and let it simmer until the water evaporates - like 8-10 minutes.

then remove the pan from the heat and let it sit (don't touch! keep it covered!) for another 15 minutes or so. perfect!

ok, so back to the onions and chilis. here is where i added my spices and i let this cook for just a minute or two.



then i added a couple blops of tomato paste and cooked it for another minute before adding about 1/2 cup of milk and a few tablespoons of water. i covered the pan and let that cook for about 5 minutes.

then i added some heavy cream (this is americanized butter paneer masala - i'm not going to front) and simmered it for just a few more minutes so the paneer would be heated through. and i finished it with some fresh cilantro.



mmm! and look at that naan! i wish i could tell you that i made this but i didn't. the indian store sells it frozen and you just bake it for like 5 minutes. they also sell little containers of coriander and mint chutney (again, i KNOW i can make this myself but quick week night dining = frozen naan and cups of pre-made chutney).



this was really, really good. delicious!!

pot pie (kinda)

remember those steak sandwiches? well there was a ton of meat leftover so i decided to make a pot pie. except - i was too lazy to make a pie crust so i opted for a biscuit top instead.

i just made my standard buttermilk biscuit recipe. easy.

but i'd also need some gravy. and since i had no meat drippings i'd need to investigate. i went with the america's test kitchen all purpose gravy. (i got their complete cookbook for christmas a couple of years ago - LOVE it!!)

anyways, the gravy was super easy and while that was simmering/reducing i sauteed some veggies for the pie - carrots, onions, celery, parsnips and turnips - in a little butter. once those were nice and soft i stirred in the cubed beef
just to warm it up.

i stirred in the gravy and then poured it all into my big dutch oven. i topped it with the biscuit and baked it in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes or so.

look at this beauty! (and check out that extra gravy for drizzling. mmm!)



i garnished with a bit of fresh basil (from our sweet aero garden) and i drizzled on a bit of the extra gravy. i decided to wash this down with a nice cold glass of milk.



aren't my new salt & pepper shakers cool? thanks lydia!

steak sandwiches! woohoo!

yesterday we sampled our first piece of beef from our meat share. i decided to take the sirloin tip roast (aka tri tip) and roast it - maybe make some steak sandwiches.

when i said that mike said, "yes! yes! like those sandwiches with that cheese spread you did that one time!" i think he was referring to these sandwiches.

and when he was done eating - two (!!) sandwiches later - he said, "ahhh....yes. that was exactly what i wanted!"

(side note - he is trying to quit smoking. for real this time he says. this has increased his appetite like 10-fold. he ate an entire box of cinnamon toast crunch in one day. yipes!)

i leafed through my meat cookbooks and then took to the web for inspiration. i stumbled across this recipe for harissa-crusted tri tip and i thought spicy steak sammiches sounded just perfect!

first things first - the beef. mmm!



so, i didn't have any caraway seeds. but i did have cumin seeds, mustard seeds and coriander seeds. since i'd adding ground cumin later i decided to go with the coriander seeds. i love them. i always put them in my chili and i love the taste. and i'm no dummy - i know that caraway seeds and coriander seeds aren't the same.

so i toasted up those coriander seeds and then added some olive oil and a buncha garlic cloves and covered the pan and removed it from the heat. while that was hanging out i grabbed my mini-food processor and added a few heaping blops of chili garlic paste, some cumin, some chili powder and a few tablespoons of tomato sauce.

i added the coriander-garlicy-oil and pureed it and then seasoned it with just a pinch of salt.



i reserved some of the sauce (to spread on the finished sandwiches) and then schmeared the rest of it all over the tri tip.



i lined a small pan with foil and put one of my cookie-cooling racks inside. the meat went on the rack and roasted in a 400 degree oven for about 50 minutes or so until it was medium rare.

i also did some oven fries and those were in the oven for about 40 minutes. they were by far the best oven fries i've ever made and i think it was due to the higher oven temperature (400 degrees) rather than the 350-375 i usually use. and while the meat and fries were cooking i slowly sauteed onions, mushrooms and red peppers in a lil' butter and canola oil.

once the meat reached 135 degrees i took it out of the oven, covered it with foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes. during the resting period i toasted the buns under the broiler. once they were golden brown i schmeared them with cheese.

i sliced up the meat and layered them on the cheesey buns with the sauteed veggies and a little of the reserved harissa.



YUM!

you'll notice that the meat on my sammy doesn't look too rare. the ends were cooked much more than the middle which was a little too rare. i'm not sure how to remedy that. and i'd also slice the meat thinner and then maybe cut it into chunks so it's easier to eat. this was a VERY messy sandwich!

er·rat·ic /iˈratik/ adjective: not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable.

holy cow! i haven't posted anything since november of 2010! rest assured i've been cooking and eating a ton since then. what the heck?
just being erratic i guess.

maybe my new year's resolution should be to blog more than every 2-3 months. but i also dislike commitments so i better not make any promises.

i do have a goose in my freezer from the meat share and my culinary co-conspirator aka sister by choice have some big plans for that sucker. maybe once these plans come to fruition i'll tell you about it.

until then....

fucking perfection

just finished dinner. sigh....

cast iron seared strip steaks, horseradish creamed leeks (with gruyere this time. mmm.), roasted potatoes and turnips, buttery peas and great lakes christmas ales.

that is what i am fucking talking about!

experiments!

the other day i had a reeeeeeal craving for some indian food - palak paneer to be specific - but out in the sticks there is nary an indian joint. looks like i'd have to tackle it myself.

luckily the spice corner is just a hop, skip and a jump from my place of employment so the martini and i hit it up one afternoon after work. it rocks! $11 got me several different spices and herbs and paneer! woohoo! $2 for a big, frozen chunk of paneer!

armed with my paneer and new spices and manjula's wisdom i headed home to make my very own indian cuisine for the very first time.



it was easy!! and it turned out amazing!! even skeptical mike who asked, "is this like tofu? is it going to be a real meal?" liked it. woohoo! palak paneer is in the arsenal!

after the first couple of frosts i realized that i needed to complete a final harvest out in the garden. i picked all the onions and they are currently curing in the garage on a tarp. this weekend i'll stuff 'em into some pantyhose and hang 'em in the basement. i've never stored onions before - it's an experiment!

i also picked all the leeks, cut a bunch of kale and pulled all the rosemary.



remember hank? he's growing up so fast. sigh....



i washed and dried the rosemary and cut off the root ends. then i shoved it all into a freezer bag and stuck it in the freezer. sources say it will last and taste close to fresh. we shall see. it's an experiment!



kale.

we have eaten a ton of it this summer/fall and we'll continue to eat it into the winter! i removed the stems, washed, chopped, blanched, shocked and froze this kale in several small freezer bags. plus the kale is still kickin' out there! i'll probably freeze some more!



here's a sink full o' leeks!

with a few of these i tried out a recipe i found for horseradish creamed leeks. i love horseradish. i love cream. and i love leeks. seemed like a winner!



here are the elements - the edmund fitzgerald is key during leek experimentation.

first things first - melt some butter!



while the butter was doing its thing i washed the leeks and cut them down the middle but not all the way through.



mmm...leeks, butter and cream.



another look. mmm....



i removed the leeks from the pan and put them in gratin dishes. i stirred in a big blop of horseradish and some parmesan cheese into the buttery creamy sauce. then i poured the creamy source over the leeks and added a lil' more parmesan on top for good measure.



these went under the broiler for a just a few minutes until they were
brown and bubbly.

man oh man. i wish i had a photo to show you but this looked and smelled so killer that we scarfed 'em down without a thought of capturing an image.

go make this. FANTASTIC!

this weekend i...

butchered 2 roosters (mike killed/i plucked/he eviscerated)

made chicken scallopini and chipotle chicken tacos

received a delivery from and shared a beer with my meat share friend
(2 ducks, 2 chickens and some goat)

helped cut and split two truck loads of wood for the winter

picked a bushel of brussel sprouts

made and froze 40+ cups of chicken stock

and plotted and planned for my halloween costume

happy fall!!