Hungarian breakfast for dinner. ;)

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Smoked bacon. Cut Hungarian campfire style & fried. Served with eggs over easy & toast.

Ian

Thank you, I am assembling the ingredients tomorrow in preparation for NY Eve. If I can make it tomorrow night and keep it, should be that much better on Saturday night.

I have downloaded your link information and also a few others, including:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PrnXvE9Fqdo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I am watching, reading and researching more tonight.

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There's a dozen ways to make the dish and none are like Thomas Keller's way. I haven't watched Julia Child's video, but if it describes the classic French method, I'd avoid it.

My suggestion would be to make it the way it's done at Bouchon. There's a reason they do exactly what it is they do. I like the end result much better, as it has a strong beef flavor and not much from the wine. And, the vegetables will be much, much better than in the classic method. What you want to do is cook each component of the dish in the optimum way for that component, then combine them at the end. I go a little further, in that I do the final seasoning of each component separately, just before combining them. Make sure also to follow his directions on how things are prepared, cut, etc.

The classic French methods yield either a stew with a strong wine flavor, or meat that either has a strong wine flavor, or is bland (depending on the choice of marinating it, or not) and the vegetables are usually cooked to death, with poor flavor and horrible texture.

There is a lot to learn from this simple dish.

Good luck,
JR

I will heed your advice and will post results.

I just cut off a thinnish ribeye from the roast, sauteed, pulled and now I have some onion and garlic roasting in the pan in the oven. Will pull half, other half will get a splash of balsamic.

Anyway, I gnawed a bit on the steak and have to say, for a piece of meet with mediocre marbling, it has some excellent flavor. I'm guessing if nothing else, grassfed up in VT.

Paul Prudhomme mentions some techniques in some of his cookbooks where veggies, stocks and meats are prepared separately then combined for a bit to get the love going before serving...

Also in some of his recipes veggies will be partially cooked then discarded after they have lent flavor to the sauce or stock...then fresh veggies are added to such that they cook add flavor and still are toothsome..

5kg of Australian Blue Mussels
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^^^^ Nice mussels. I hadn't heard of blue ones, before.


Those are what's known as "stunt" veggies. Keller take sit a step further in that he cooks them in ways that are more appropriate to cooking a vegetable. It's hard to get a properly seasoned vegetable from one cooked in a stew.

Another bit of advice... I use what the French call a paleron for this stew. It's a cut of meat that means nothing to the average US butcher, as the French cut up cows in a different manner than we do. Here, you might look for a chuck eye roast. Anyway, I don't cut it into the large chunks typical for this dish. There's 2 reasons for that. One, I want my pieces to be bite sized, so there's no cuttting needed when eating them. Secondly, this gives them a greater relative surface area for their volume, so they taste better. If you cook meat a long time in a braise, any seasoning on the outside of the meat will be long gone by the time you eat it. The "gravy" may be tasty, but as you chew each piece that taste doesn't last and the meat ends up tasting bland before you swallow it. Seasoning the meat at the end of the cooking process, while out of the stew, helps greatly. Having smaller chuncks helps just as much. It also gives you a lot more surface area to use when browning the meat, if that's what you choose to do. Browning=flavor.

Make sure you remove all imputies along the way as you cook this stuff. Keller cooks his in layers, separated by cheesecloth, to make removal of things like stunt veggies and the bouquet garni easier.

It's worth it to read his books, as there are discussions of techniques that are not always repeated in the individual recipes.

JR

FWIW, J. Pepin is going to have a TV program in 2012.

He's already had several, including one that is airing now. He's a great guy, with a very distinguished history.

JR

a new one -- IIRC, it will be on simpler techniques

Found this in my spam file.....ironically....:rolleyes:

----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

Title: FRENCH FRY SPAM CASSEROLE
Categories: Main dish
Yield: 8 servings

1 pk Frozen french fry potatoes,
-thawed (20 oz)
2 c Shredded Cheddar cheese
2 c Sour cream
1 cn Condensed cream of chicken
-soup (10 3/4 oz)
1 cn SPAM Luncheon Meat, cubed
-(12 oz)
1/2 c Chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c Chopped green onion
1/2 c Finely crushed corn flakes

Heat oven to 350'F. In large bowl, combine potatoes, cheese, sour
cream, and soup. Stir in SPAM, bell pepper, and green onion. Spoon
into 13x9″ baking dish. Sprinkle with crushed flakes. Bake 30-40
minutes or until thoroughly heated.

That sounds barfably delicious !!!

Today's breakfast...
 

Homemade malt waffles with fresh fruit and whipped cream....

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Art, I'm coming to your house for breakfast tomorrow!!! :)

So it's pretty clear I should have started this on Thursday, in truth only got the veal stock done yesterday. Way too busy.

Here's the start, it's been in the oven for 2 hours how, will take it out at 8PM. Have a lot of pics, and video of this crazy leek piston, but rushing around now for the night.

Happy New Year everyone!

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Leeks make everything good!!!

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The boeuf bourguignon turned out phenomenally great, thank you JR, but I don't think you'll be happy with how far I deviated from Keller. My story in pictures below.

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this is it after 4 hours at 250. Removed the foil and did another 30+ minutes at 325.

THe best "bite" of the entire dish would be a spoonful of meat, broth and onion. That combination was sweet and otherworldly flavorful. I could see doing all this work just for an appetizer. One cube of meat, two onions, one carrot, velvety sauce reduction.

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I'm glad you liked it. You'll have to do it again though, the Keller way, because his version will blow you away.

JR

Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers clone modified by JB


This clone recipe may be for the whole hamburger, but anybody who knows about Tommy's goes there for the chili - and that's the part of this clone they seek. That's also the part that required the most kitchen sleuthing. Turn out it's an old chili con carne recipe created back in 1946 by Tommy's founder, Tommy Koulax, for his first hamburger stand on the corner of Beverly and Rampart Boulevards in Los Angeles. Daddy JB worked there back in the late 40s and early 50s before getting drafted and going to Korea. BTW, Tommy's only had 'chips' until the 80s. AFAIK this was the place they parodied on SNL.

By adding the right combination of water and flour and broth and spices to the meat we can create a thick, tomato-less chili sauce worthy of the gajillions of University of Southern California (Yes, Sammy USC!) college students that make late-night Tommy's runs a four-year habit. And if you don't live near one of the two dozen Tommy's outlets, you can still get a gallon of Tommy's famous chili shipped to you. But I hope you really dig the stuff, because you'll shell out around 70 bucks for the dry ice packaging and overnight shipping. And don't expect to see the ingredients on the label since the chili comes packed in a gallon-size mustard jug.

Chili
1 pound ground beef (not lean) 70/30
1:1 to 3:1 flour versus poured off fat depending on how thick you want it....I do 2:1, this is the BIG variable
1 1/3 cups beef broth aka 14 ounces
4 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons grated (and then chopped) carrot
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon of black or red pepper

Roux. Something good can come from the French without having to surrender. :eek:

1. Prepare the chili by first browning the meat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Crumble the meat as it browns. When the meat has been entirely cooked (7 to 10 minutes), pour the meat into a strainer over a large cup or saucepan. Let the fat drip out of the meat for about 5 minutes, then return the meat back to the first saucepan. Cover and set aside.

2. With the fat from the meat, we will now make a roux - a French contribution to thicker sauces and gravies usually made with fat and flour. Heat the drippings in a saucepan over medium heat (you should have drained off around 1/2 cup of the stuff). When the fat is hot, add 1/4 cup flour to the pan and stir well. Reduce heat to medium low, and continue to heat the roux, stirring often, until it is a rich caramel color. This should take 10 to 15 minutes. Add the beef broth to the pan and stir. Remove from heat.

3. Meanwhile, back at the other pan, add the water to the beef, then whisk in the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour. Add the roux/broth mixture and the other chili ingredients and whisk until blended. Make sure your grated carrot is chopped up to the size of rice before you add it.

4. Crank the heat up to medium high. Stir often until you see bubbles forming on the surface of the chili. Turn the heat down to medium low, and continue to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thick. The chili should be calmly bubbling like lava as it simmers. Be careful....it WILL burn like lava if it hits your skin. When it's done cooking, take the chili off the heat, cover it, and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour before using it on the burgers. It should thicken to a tasty brown paste as it sits.

Burger hints....

Cooking....

1. Preheat grill on high if using a gas unit don't ask about fried....I doan fry burgers.....

2. Burgers should be thick, sprinkled with Lawry's and garlic

3. 6-7 minutes a side.

4. Last 45 seconds apply cheese

5. Last 30 seconds toast buns

Assembly......

1. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of diced onion onto the chili which is on top of the burger with or w/o cheese.

2. Arrange 4 to 5 pickle slices on the onion....I skip the pickles....just my preference.

3. Place a thick slice of beefsteak tomato on next.

4. Spread mustard over the face of the top (I like my toasted as noted above) bun and top off your hamburger by turning this bun over onto the tomato.

5. Eat, then hope your date ate the same thing.....or brush yer teeth.

chili with ground meat??

my Texan grandparents would shoot people fer less n' that

Ain't MY recipe Webbie....just some dumass Greek that made millions of dollars.

The original Tommy's craphole was a shack on the corner built in '46. Open 24 hours. They have limos arriving with wasted rock stars at 4am. He built an annex on the original site about the same time he started serving "fries"......

Slow cooked beef stew.

Beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, green peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, a little Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaf and a few other seasonings.


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French Onion Soup

Box of Beef broth, pkg of Lipton Onion soup mix, 4 medium size onions. French bread and Parmesan cheeze.

Shred onions, add Beef broth and Onion soup mix, bring to boil, simmer for a couple hrs adding water as necessary. Slice bread and toast. Sprinkle Parmesan on top of bread.

Feed to Joe Bob when he drops in....... enjoy :)

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That is just dying for a bottle or two of Guinness Stout.

I had never heard of this until your picture. Made it for dinner last night. My husband, who doesn't usually like soup, thought it was great. Thanks.

Boring ole prime rib roast with roast potatoes, carrots & Yorkshire pud. I leave tomorrow for 2 weels + . . . CES (Vegas) & NAMM (Anaheim so I wanted (and made) comfort food. Very, very yum.

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And a '04 Rioja Gran Reserva . . .

Ian

Crap....That looks insane. Wow

nice

BTW Ian - maybe you'd like to start a thread on the CES...

It was very good & surprisingly easy. I am disappointed that my puffy Yorks collapsed on oven exit however . . . ;)

Randy: I see very little of the show. You will learn more watching show reports on YouTube. Two years ago, I didn't leave the Mirage for 3 days.

Ian

My first paella in probably 25 years. Turned out pretty well.


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Delicious looking paella and yorkies! I have never made Yorkshire pudding but have a friend who grew up in Yorkshire, so intend to make some for her. I think the theme will be "boneless". Read about how to debone a chicken while leaving said chicken whole, want to try it, probably stuffed and roasted. Also will debone some whole trout, thinking splayed flat and pan fried, head-on. All this would be just for fun.

Seeing Shaun's beef stew reminded me of this episode of Americas Test Kitchen. They mention Thomas Keller and come up with a quick variation. I haven't made the stew but I made the second recipe, chicken and duplings and it was THE best c&d that anyone had ever had..
America&rsquo;s Test Kitchen :: Watch Our Show

You know, I like that show and I watch it a lot. But, that recipe for beef stew....

Not. Even. Close.

You guys really ought to try the real Bouchon recipe. It doesn't take 4 days; you can do it in two and a lot of that time you can be doing other things, while you're making stocks and whatnot.

It's really that good...

JR

Did something fun tonight. Deboned a whole chicken. Was pretty easy, took about 20 minutes.

Brined the now boneless chicken. Made stock from the bones and other stuff. Made stuffing from couscous cooked in that stock, spicy Italian sausage, browned mushrooms, wilted spinach. Stuffed the chicken and sutured it up with paper clips, tied up with random bits of string (we're in a vacation house).

Roasted at 350 F, while glazing with a brown rum, sugar and butter mix.

Very popular!

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The chicken was well sealed up, it held pressure, got bigger during the roasting, I was watching through the oven window when the chicken popped a leak and squirted juice - funny.

Only problem is I should have used a higher temp, it took too long at 350 F.

love the technique and ingenuity. no pics of finished product?

I'm continuing to roast 3 pound chickens at 400. Some say higher, but that just dries out the outer layer I've found, even when reducing time.

When roasting a chicken, you can start it at 475 for 15 minutes or so, then drop the heat to 350 to finish it. Rotate it during cooking. Baste it when you rotate it. Have a little white wine in the bottom of the roasting pan. If any of the skin starts to get to dark, cover that part with foil.

If you brine a bird, or rub a compound butter under the skin before roasting, it should stay moist.

JR

Start with 2" thick boneless rib eye and a simple BBQ dry spice rub, lots of fresh ground cracked black peppercorns, 20 minutes low and slow on the BBQ, last 5 minutes, top with thick slices of blu cheese and let drizzle melt while meat is resting uncovered.

Side dish was teryaki rib-eye sticks.



Blu Cheese is amazing on steaks,



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