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kickahaI haven't cooked much recently, (like the last couple of years) mostly because I just kept getting frustrated. I used to be a *wonderful* cook (humble too), but the last few years I've been less and less feeling like I was 'in touch' with what I was making. Spicing would be off, I'd rely more on the cookbook than my own taste because I didn't trust my judgment, etc, etc.
A few months ago I realized that I'd been cooking dishes that weren't *my* preference. Indian, N African, Japanese... I *like* these cuisines, but they aren't the ones that make my body go "*OH* yeah...".
No, I like savory foods. Game, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, root vegetables, vinegars, brines, yeast... You can keep your cream sauces and such, I like peasant food. Roast meats, fresh greens, warm bread, cold cheese.
So tonight I decided that with the snow, I was in mood for beef stew. So I made 7 qts, from scratch, without a recipe. (I did check a couple to ensure that my hunch that browning the beef cubes in flour would be a good approach to adding a slight bit of thickener...)
And darned if it didn't come out pretty wonderfully.
1.5 lbs of organic angus stew beef in 1-1.5" cubes
2 white onions
8 cloves of garlic
1 tsp ea of ground basil, thyme, marjoram and sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of dry barley
4 celery stalks
2 *large* carrots
2 russet potatoes
2 turnips
4 cups organic chicken broth
2 cans V8 (don't laugh - it was perfect)
2 bottles Yuengling Black & Tan ale (one was used to deglaze the pan after browning to start the stock - I needed more liquid later, and it added just a touch of yeastiness towards the end)
*This* is the kind of cooking I can do by the seat of my pants - simple, playing with subtler spices and earthy flavors.
I love curries of almost any kind, and chiles are a wonderful diversion for spice, but when it comes down to it, I'm a sage and thyme on roast meats kind of guy. With a flagon.
I feel so... so... WASP.
A few months ago I realized that I'd been cooking dishes that weren't *my* preference. Indian, N African, Japanese... I *like* these cuisines, but they aren't the ones that make my body go "*OH* yeah...".
No, I like savory foods. Game, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, root vegetables, vinegars, brines, yeast... You can keep your cream sauces and such, I like peasant food. Roast meats, fresh greens, warm bread, cold cheese.
So tonight I decided that with the snow, I was in mood for beef stew. So I made 7 qts, from scratch, without a recipe. (I did check a couple to ensure that my hunch that browning the beef cubes in flour would be a good approach to adding a slight bit of thickener...)
And darned if it didn't come out pretty wonderfully.
1.5 lbs of organic angus stew beef in 1-1.5" cubes
2 white onions
8 cloves of garlic
1 tsp ea of ground basil, thyme, marjoram and sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of dry barley
4 celery stalks
2 *large* carrots
2 russet potatoes
2 turnips
4 cups organic chicken broth
2 cans V8 (don't laugh - it was perfect)
2 bottles Yuengling Black & Tan ale (one was used to deglaze the pan after browning to start the stock - I needed more liquid later, and it added just a touch of yeastiness towards the end)
*This* is the kind of cooking I can do by the seat of my pants - simple, playing with subtler spices and earthy flavors.
I love curries of almost any kind, and chiles are a wonderful diversion for spice, but when it comes down to it, I'm a sage and thyme on roast meats kind of guy. With a flagon.
I feel so... so... WASP.