Here’s a peak at what I’ve been cooking up over the last couple months…from grinding meat, to Australian feasts, to Portuguese chicken. Some of these will turn into full posts, so let me know which you’d love to learn more about!
Oh hey, I got a meat grinder attachment for Christmas! This was my first experiment, using up some beef chuck roast that had been in my freezer for longer than I care to admit. Easy, and delicious.
One of my goals is to buy responsibly, locally raised meat as much as possible this year. I picked up a single lamb shank from Butcher & Larder, a whole-animal butcher shop inside Local Foods, to dip my toe in the water – and braised it simply with carrots, leeks and red wine.
I have a giant tub of miso sitting in my fridge that I’ve been using tablespoon by tablespoon in dressings, sauces and soups – but in Cooks Illustrated’s Miso Salmon, the miso is the star. I made a few tweaks – subbing rice vinegar and Chinese Shaoxing wine for the sake and mirin, reducing the sugar – but it was really simple and delicious.
For Australia Day (January 26th – wait what, you don’t also celebrate that?!), I made a feast of stuffed lamb breast, Yorkshire puddings and traditional root veg and peas on the side. The lamb – which I stuffed with dried apricots, fresh bread crumbs, pine nuts, mint and rosemary – was extremely fatty. I heard of the lamb breast cut from Gordon Ramsay and was inspired to try it, as it’s a cheaper cut of meat that is supposed to be conducive to long/low/slow roasting and braising…but it wasn’t my favorite. Overall the meal still turned out well, though, and the Yorkshires especially were a triumph. Thanks for the bomb recipe, Kenji!
I made Deb’s ‘Depression cake’ (thus named because during the Depression, eggs, milk and butter were a rarity) for my friends’ going away dinner, which was perfect because 1) they’re vegan and it’s vegan and 2) if I hadn’t told anyone, they would have never known. I’m usually not a cake person, but UM HELLO this cake was pretty amazing. Moist and deep flavored but still light and not too sweet. I used 72% dark chocolate and reduced the sugar even further. (If you’re more in the mood for ice cream, check out this recipe)
Montreal and Quebec City. Must do a whole post related to that…needless to say, ate some amazing food on this trip!
Sushi making class. Learned a new method for cooking the perfect sushi rice, and had fun rolling up different combos.
I tried my hand at Portuguese (piri piri) chicken – another inspired-by-Deb recipe – spatchcocking a bird and marinating it in a spicy, flavorful paste then roasting it in the oven. Paired with a tangy, slightly-sweet coleslaw which knocked back the heat a bit, this one was a winner.
Michael Pecoraro says
You are amazing. I picked the wrong time to read this post (just before lunch) and now i am starving with little to eat in the fridge. Awesome update.
Annie says
haha never a good idea to look at recipes/read food stuff while you’re hungry or while you’re grocery shopping…
Kristen says
This was such an enjoyable read! Absolutely chock full of wonderful foodie treats. It certainly seems as though you transformed a frigid Chicago winter, filled with wind, sub zero temps, and snow, and turned it into an opportunity to linger inside over warm, cozy soul-filling treats! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Annie says
thanks! 🙂