NIce.

femdisco made a very tasty lamb tagine over couscous on Saturday night. It was easy to make. Sorry I don't have pics or the exact recipe, but it went something like this:

Lamb (cut into pieces for stew)
Chick peas
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
tomato paste
honey
golden raisins
chicken broth
crushed red pepper
cumin
salt

simmer for 30min to tenderize the meat.
Serve over couscous and garnish with cilantro and crushed pistachios.

Tasty treat...

Oh and First Mate made some amazing corned beef in the crock pot yesterday (whose leftovers I am currently devouring). We got a cut of beef from whole foods that they'd brined for a week? Two weeks? They had them out for sale in dinner-plate-sized slabs, but they were kind enough to cut one down for us to manageable, cookable (and sub-$35) size.

So it went into the pot at about noon with water, a tiny bit of sugar, apple cider vinegar, black pepper and salt. Then for the last half of the 8 hour deal she tossed in potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and frankly not much else. And it is fucking amazing. Meat is flakey tender, just falling apart.

I love tagines of all kind, but I usually use chicken due to not being crazy about lamb. Next time, mix up some ras el hanout for great Moroccan flavor. This is a starting point to play around with, ras el hanout is as different as the person mixing it up:

# 2 teaspoons ginger
# 2 teaspoons coriander
# 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
# 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
# 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
# 1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg
# 1 teaspoon turmeric
# 1 teaspoon allspice
# 1 teaspoon cinnamon
# 1 teaspoon hot Spanish paprika
# 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
# Generous pinch saffron threads

If you can get seeds for the coriander, cardamom, and allspice, toast them lightly, then grind the whole concoction up. Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary. Store in a ziploc, or some other air-tight container. Will last in your spice cabinet for a long time.

Also, Google up a recipe for preserved lemons and keep some on hand (takes 30 days before they're ready, no matter what the recipe says). I always have a jar in the refrigerator.

For her pep-pep's b'day, femdisco cooked up a nice pasta dish and I helped make some tiramisu for dessert. Good stuff.

Pasta dish consisted of chopped red onion, carrots, parsley and garlic with fire-roasted tomatoes and white-wine sauce cooked with chorizo and mussels. F'n tasty and light on your stomach.

I am about to give up on the cast iron skillet. I swear shit is sticking to it worse and worse with every use.

you probably already know this, but...don't use soap to clean it.
and you can always re-season:
http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-seasoned-cast-iron.asp#3

..or just fry something in it.

actually fuck I think we've used soap on it. I *knew* better, but it didn't stop me. I will do this tonight.

Picked up a new grill this weekend and will be making some ribs next...

As mentioned above don't use soap, just warm water, towel dry and I've found that the best thing to season them with is good ol PAM or whatever cooking spray.

My Le Creuset skillet took a long time to season so be patient. This is actually one more argument for the Lodge Logic stuff: pre seasoned (in addition to being a hell of a lot cheaper and Made in America)

PAM is a 3-syllable word in the dialect of my mom (Pa-y-um); kinda like Cree-y-us.

Totally.

i just got a cast iron skillet. haven't used it yet though.

Make bacon every day in that skillet for a month over low to medium heat.

with a bacon press, no less...
keep that shit flat and fuckin' crispy

i would probably do that.

We make bacon in it every sunday without fail, sometimes one or two other nights a week.


Come to think of it, fuck, we eat a lot of bacon.

Why don't you just leave the bacon fat in the pan to season it? I can't think of anything better.

The routine tends be:

1. Cook bacon in skillet
2. Take bacon out, leave grease in
3. Cook hashbrowns in grease
4. Look at burnt / stuck potato, onion, and jalapeno bits in skillet
5. Cry

DAILY.

Let's have a little commitment here.

Maybe add some butter in with the bacon fat for the browns. Lower heat.

But then what are you doing after you clean it? You gotta rub some oil or spray some cooking spray on there before you put it up.

Here's the instructions from the Lodge site for seasoning a pan:

Wash the cookware with hot, soapy water and a stiff brush. (It is okay to use soap this time because you are preparing to re-season the cookware).

Rinse and dry completely.

Apply a thin, even coating of MELTED solid vegetable shortening (or cooking oil of your choice) to the cookware (inside and out).

Place aluminum foil on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any dripping.

Set oven temperature to 350 – 400 degrees F.

Place cookware upside down on the top rack of the oven.

Bake the cookware for at least one hour. After the hour, turn the oven off and let the cookware cool in the oven.

Store the cookware uncovered, in a dry place when cooled.

http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-seasoned-cast-iron.asp

Yeah somebody else posted that same set of instructions too, earlier. The put-away-with-oil is key I think. I'll get it to come around. Or I'll kill myself with it.

Considering this dinner tonight:

I think I mentioned this before as well but my Le Creuset skillet took a looooong time. Stick it out, it's worth it.

I fuh'ed up mine a few months ago pretty bad. I'd never read any of the care instructions and washed it like a normal ole pan everytime and then to make matters worse took it right from the stove top hot as a muther and threw it in the sink for a soak. all the crap gelled and fused to it as well as it developing a lot of rust.

I finally got around to working the rust off it with steel wool this weekend and reseasoned it last night. Its looking pretty good but I think I'll do it one more time before cooking with it again.



Also got around to making some of these. I'm looking forward to some fine slow cooked meals next month.

OHG, and weg roasting up some marrow bones tonight.