The Kitchen Is Finished

Done.

Well...  other than a bit of hole-filling and minor detail work on the trim, it's done.  And to paraphrase Billy Chrystal, It Looks Mahvelous!

I really couldn't be happier.  It's one of those things I never thought we would do, that I (ten years ago) didn't want to do.  But it has made a huge improvement in the room.  Everything looks better.

I am going to have all sorts of fun making messes in here!

Since we had our corned beef and cabbage on Monday and sandwiches on Tuesday, I decided to marinate pork chops in soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, sesame oil, and sambal oelek.  While they were marinating, I was putting up the final trimwork.

Out to the grill I went, cooked up a bit of baby broccoli and some rice.

One more dinner and it's off to San Francisco!

There are going to be LOTS of great meals coming our way.

CAN'T WAIT!


Corned Beef and Cabbage By Any Other Name...

It was my plan all along to make some corned beef sandwiches this week.  Even before Marie's phone call.  We're heading west on Saturday so there's only so many meals to be had this week.  Tonight seemed the perfect night since the new backsplash is being installed tomorrow.  I don't know how long it's going to take or how long it will take me to finish the electrical.

I'm definitely a Reuben kinda guy.  I lovelovelove the Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and sauerkraut.  A big added plus is that it's grilled.  Victor, on the other hand, would starve to death before putting sauerkraut to his lips.  His sandwich of choice is a Corned Beef Special.

The Corned Beef Special, as far as I can gather, is pretty much a Philadelphia thing.  It's corned beef, russian dressing, and cole slaw on rye bread.  It's corned beef and cabbage in a different form.  How could it be bad?!?  Reality is, it's not bad.  In fact it's a pretty good combination.

So...  I decided to make both.

I cheated and bought deli cole slaw (and deli potato salad) but did make the russian dressing.

Russian Dressing

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup chili sauce
  • 1 tbsp horseradish
  • splash worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp minced onion
  • 1/4 tsp celery seed

Mix and chill.

There's a bazillion variations out there.  Some include vinegar or lemon juice.  I kept it simple.

And the ooey-gooey Reuben was just what I wanted.

The potato salad was barely mediocre.  I know better but was feeling lazy.

I always pay for being lazy.

But both sandwiches rocked!

And there are cupcakes and Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake for later...

 

 

 


Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake

 

When Marie brought over the corned beef, she evidently said she would bring dessert.  Victor heard it but I missed that part.  And ya can't have people over for dinner without having dessert, so I decided a cheesecake was in order.  But since cheesecake is about as Irish as corned beef and cabbage (really - it's an American invention - they don't eat it in Ireland)  I thought I would at least give it an Irish twist.  Bailey's Irish Cream.

Cheesecake is one of my most favorite desserts - real cheesecake, that is.  There should only be a few ingredients.

Bailey's Cheesecake

The Crust:

  • 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely ground
  • 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 4 tbsp butter, melted

The Filling:

  • 4 pkgs cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 4 oz melted good quality dark chocolate (I used Valrhona)
  • 1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

Ganache:

  • 4 oz melted good quality dark chocolate
  • 4 oz Bailey's Irish ream

Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix crust ingredients and press evenly into bottom of 10″ springform pan.  Set aside.

Cream the cheese until light and fluffy.  Mix in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add sugar and then the melted chocolate.  Add the Bailey's, mixing until smooth and light.

Pour into pan and bake 60 – 70 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Mix Bailey's with melted chocolate.  Spread ganache on top and refrigerate.

As if this wasn't enough, Marie brought over outrageously-good white cupcakes with coconut icing.

I had both.

 


An Early St Paddy's Day

I received a great phone call from my s-i-l, Marie, yesterday.  She said she had picked up a 5 pound corned beef brisket - way too much for her and Steve - so how would it be if she brought it by for me to cook and then invite them over for dinner?!?

Sounded like a great plan to me!

I've cooked many a corned beef in my time, from those nasty gray things we served in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club to some primo briskets.  I have to admit I have never cooked one in the oven - they have always been stove-top.  And I have never-ever cooked one for an hour per pound!  45 minutes per pound, max.  Any longer and you end up with a shredded mess.  And it really does seem like every recipe out there calls for an hour.

Every one of them is wrong!  45 minutes!  The brisket above was about 5.35 pounds.  I cooked it for almost 3 1/2 hours.  Perfect.

Another rule of thumb is to take it out of the water an hour before you plan to serve it.  Just cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit.  It will firm up for slicing but still be fork-tender.

This particular beef came with a packet of seasoning.  Maybe a heaping teaspoon.  It was pretty pathetic for a 5+ pound brisket.  I added additional bay leaves, mustard seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds, black onion seeds, garlic...

When the beef was done I strained the cooking liquid and put it back into a clean pot.  I then used it to cook the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage.

Cabbage.  Victor's least-favorite food after beets.  He turns green at the thought of eating it, yet, once again, he ate a heaping helping and loved every bite.

Go figure.

Dinner for 5 with lots of leftovers for everyone to share.

And tomorrow?!?  A Corned Beef Special for Victor and a Reuben for me.  Sauerkraut would send him straight over the edge!

 


Pear Pie

Ya know how sometimes you bake a pie and it just comes out perfect?!?

Well...  this isn't one of them.

It has chosen to break up and crumble.  It tastes pretty awesome, but those lovely slices just ain't there.  To misquote A Chorus Line, Taste Ten, Looks Three.

I actually know what I did wrong...  First was not baking off the cookie crust before filling.  The second was cutting it while it was still warm.

Oh well.  The important part is the taste.  It's a winner.

Pears are an often overlooked pie ingredient.  they really work well and can take on a variety of other flavors.  You can add raisins or walnuts change out the spices...  Just have some fun.

And if it doesn't come out in perfect slices?!?  So what?!?  Put it in a bowl with some ice cream.

Pear Pie with Ginger Cookie Crust

Crust:

  • 2 cups triple ginger snaps
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 6 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Place cookies, walnuts, and sugar in food processor.  Process until you have a fine crumb.  Add butter and mix well.

Press into 10" pie plate. Bake in pre-heated 375° oven about 7 minutes. Cool before filling.

Filling:

  • 4-5 pears, peeled and sliced
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix pears with dry ingredients.  Add butter and mix well.  Spoon into cooled pie crust.

Top with crumb topping and bake at 350° about 50 minutes.

Crumb topping:

  • 1 cup triple ginger snaps
  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

Process as for pie crust.  Sprinkle atop pie before baking.

 


Sizzling Steaks

Gee but it's good to have the kitchen almost back to normal!  It was even better coming home and not having to take something apart or put something together.  (I still have to remove under-counter lights for the backsplash install, but that can wait until Wednesday.)

I know so many people who would have milked this just to eat out every night.  I wanted it done so I could stay home and cook.

Somewhere along the line, I lost my desire to eat out.  And I don't quite get it because I love food, love different foods, love having someone cook for me, love not doing the dishes... but on some level, I just dislike restaurants.  (I'm sure it has nothing to do with all of the years I worked in them.)

But then again,  it really only applies to restaurants at home.  If I'm traveling, I lovelovelove eating out.  Next week we're heading home to San Francisco for a few days, we're staying at the Wharf, and I'm really looking forward to the restaurants.  Walking distance to North Beach...  It's gonna be great.

But given the choice of my own kitchen or something local?  My own kitchen will win every time.

So it's get the kitchen back together as quickly as possible so I don't have to go out and eat.  I don't have to deal with "Hi!  My name is Jason and I'll be your server tonight!"

So tonight's non-restaurant meal was grilled tri-tip steaks rubbed with smoked paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Buttered broccoli, and roasted mini potatoes.

Cooling in the kitchen is a pear pie with a triple-ginger and walnut crust.

More about that, later...


Counter Culture

Phase One.  New countertop installed.

After disconnecting the gas cooktop, the sink, garbage disposal, et al, my job was to RE-install all of the above.  In and of itself, it's not a difficult job.  That, of course, is assuming that everything just falls into place as it should.

It never does.

The drawer nearly sent me over the edge yesterday.  Today, it was the plumbing.

We had to wait 24 hours to install the plumbing, which was a good thing.  I probably would have take a sledge hammer to everything yesterday.

I came close to it, today.

Hooking up the faucet itself was relatively painless.  I had my plumber's tape, the right wrenches... I got everything connected.  Turned on the water, and voila!  no drips!

I turned on the faucet and Yosemite Falls magically appeared.  Actually, Yosemite Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.  Two leaks.  Disconnect, reconnect, water back on and we're down to one leak.  I take care of that one and we're done.

Now for the disposal.

Those of you who know me well know that I have the patience of a Saint.  NOT!  While it generally takes me a while to work up to sledge hammer mode, once it hits, it's not a pretty sight.

I had my plumber's putty and everything else I needed.  Ready.  Set.  Stop!

It seems the new sink drain is towards the back of the sink and everything was plumbed and set up for it to be in the center of the sink.  The supply pipes are in the way.  The drain pipe is in the wrong place.

I am not amused.

I finagle things a bit and figure out that there is enough room to get it in there, but it's going to be a tight fit.  What should be a relatively painless job is causing me much pain.  It's now been three hours since I started the project.  I'm getting tired, cranky, and hungry.

I stop to cook dinner.  I have everything but a drain.

I needed quick.  Did I mention the cranky part?  I put some rice on the stove and chicken breasts on the grill.   Roasted corn in a pot.  Cranky.

When the breasts were cooked, I covered them with enchilada sauce and shredded cheese and stuck them under the broiler to melt the cheese.

20 minutes.

I semi-cleaned up, and feeling better, went back at it.  The disposal was hooked up in 5 minutes!

I hooked up the drain pipes, turned on the water, and...  yes, you guessed it, a huge leak!  I took off the trap, put it back, and perfect.  Dry as a bone.  It was just one final little "gotcha" from the gods of water and home repair.

And the sink?!?

All ready for lots of cooking!

Thursday 3/17 the back splash arrives.  We already took off the moulding and trim around the bottom of the cabinets and I have to remove the undercounter lights before they can install the backsplash.  At least with the undercounter lights, I'm not laying on my back shoved inside a cabinet.

Working standing up is so much more civilized.


Counter Attack

May 2001.

The first thing we did when we bought our home in 2001 was to gut the kitchen.  It was the original 1950 (rusted) metal cabinets and formica counters.  It was pretty awful.

We did the layout and design.  Our contractor really wanted us to do pot lights in the ceiling and granite counters.  I said no.

The house is a 1950 ranch and I didn't want to walk from a 1950 living room into a 2001 kitchen.  I wanted a bit of continuity.  So, while we did get some pretty high-end cherry cabinets and a great floor, we opted for ceramic tile counters and back-splash.  Classic black and white.

March 2011.

After ten years of cleaning grout and watching HGTV, the tile has got to go.

It was really evident after painting and cleaning the wood that the counters really had outlived their usefulness.  There were pits and chips and the grout was never going to come clean.  For half a moment I almost semi-considered cutting out the grout and redoing it.  Fortunately, that idea didn't stick around.

In the past 10 years, the cabinets have darkened to a rich, deep, cherry color.    They really do look sharp and could only be enhanced with a decent counter.

Victor had seen an ad for granite at Colonial Marble in King of Prussia, so we crunched the numbers and went to see them.

Things worked out well.  Without them knowing, they hit our budget perfectly.  Two days later the template-maker came out and did the template.

It was really happening!

Unfortunately, that meant I had to get to work.

The sink, garbage disposal, cooktop, and dishwasher all had to be removed for installation.  Tim's Friendly Contractor Services were put into action.

Ugh.

It's not that I can't do any of this stuff, but if I don't have to...  you get the idea.

First ting was to take out the garbage disposal.  And yes, the cabinet under the sink really was that clean.  I attacked it two days before our wedding during my "I'm not nervous" phase.

It came off with relative ease, as did the sink itself.

The propane line to the cook top was a bit of a challenge only because of tight quarters to work in, but that came off, as well.

But it was all done in a couple of hours.

Off to the diner for dinner.  No dish-washing in the bathroom.

to be continued...

 

 

 


Orange Chicken and Fun Surprises

There is just nothing better than walking in the door after a crazy Saturday to the sumptuous scents of dinner cooking away in the oven.

And what a dinner.

Victor marinated chicken breasts in fresh-squeezed orange juice and a bit of olive oil all day.  He drained them, breaded them with homemade bread crumbs and toipped them with parmesan cheese.  Into a 425° oven for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, he cubed a couple of red potatoes, chopped a couple of carrots and a red bell pepper and roasted them in the same 425° oven.

The chicken really had a pronounced orange flavor that was both unexpected and totally delightful.  I really liked it.

It's definitely giving me some ideas for Spring!

In the meantime, I received a couple of real treats at work today!  Before Christmas I had been speaking with a customer about our Christmas cookies and, as she is German, was mentioning the Springerle cookies I had made.  She said she had a spice cookie that was excellent and would bring me in the recipe.  Today, she brought in the recipe for Anisplätzchen - the anise cookie, plus a short dough Butter cookie, and her mother's Kraftkuchen - a spice cake!

I am psyched!

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rainy day, so I may just have to make a spice cake!

There are just so many foods and so little time!

The second treat came in the form of a woman I have emailed with for years - my counterpart from Batavia, IL!  Finally, after all these years, I finally got to meet her in person!  Anne and I traded recipes and ideas back in the good ol' days and she has contributed several recipes to the "Quick and Easy" section.  She's even more fabulous in person!

A great day, indeed!


Alaskan Cod Latkes

When I took a package of cod fillets out of the freezer this morning, I was thinking broiled fish, rice and vegetable.  Nothing fancy, just a simple almost-end-of-the-week meal.

But while at work, I had a couple of conversations about seafood in general and cod in particular.  One fellow I work with spoke about how he likes to poach it.

It got the creative juices flowing.

Some time back I had seen a recipe for a crab potato pancake hors d'oeuvre ("crab" and "latke" don't quite go together...) and while I don't quite recall that recipe the concept seemed pretty straightforward.  Actually, it was more of a "how could it go wrong?"

Alaskan Cod Latkes

  • 3/4 pound Alaskan cod
  • 2 russet potatoes, peeled and grated
  • 1/4 cup onion, minced
  • 2 tbsp bread crumbs
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp minced parsley
  • 2 eggs
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Poach cod.  Place in simmering water for just a few minutes.  Drain and chill under cool water.

Peel potatoes and grate.  Place in kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Place into bowl with remaining ingredients.

Heat a large skillet with 2-3 tablespoons of oil.  Using scoop or large spoon,  add to hot skillet and cook until nicely browned.  Flip and continue cooking until done.

Serve with tartar sauce.

 

Tartar Sauce

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tbsp pickle relish
  • 3 tbsp minced onion
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • pinch salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients.  Chill.

I do have to admit these were surprisingly good.  And if you already have a favorite latke or potato pancake recipe, the simple addition of the poached cod would be all you need.

 


Grill Time

It's March 3rd and it's 30° outside.  The weather is saying "stew" but my mind is saying "barbecue."

That's me.  Always the rebel.

Ever since I got the propane tank filled, I've wanted to cook outside and I just happened to have had a flank steak ready to go. I am reasonably convinced that the only way one can properly cook a flank steak is on the grill.  Okay.  Not really true.    Bavette a L'échalotte comes to mind, but it's not the quickest...  I do have the luxury most nights of being able to spend the amount of time I want in the kitchen, but some nights the amount of time I want to spend in the kitchen is maybe 20 minutes.  Tops.

While I was thinking grill, I was also thinking tomatoes.  It's probably 4 months before we're going to have ripe tomatoes in the garden.  A third of a year.  I have a real aversion to store-bought tomatoes, but I saw some really good ones the other day and succumbed.  I'm glad I did.  They made a great caprese.  I used a fresh buffalo mozzarella and our really expensive Christmas-gift olive oil.

I really started craving summer!

Oh well.

I marinated the flank steak in a bit of (less-expensive) olive oil and a bit of garlic before grilling.

The pasta was a lemon pepper papardelle that after cooking, I made a simple sauce with 1/4 cup heavy cream and the juice of 1 meyer lemon.  I added a bit of lemon zest, salt and pepper, but that really was it.

And it really worked well.