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For the furries who cook
12 years ago
General
You know, they say you can't teach an old horse new tricks, but I gotta tell ya -- they're just wrong. Been cookin' a long time -- longer than a bunch of y'all furry-come-latelies have been around -- and I know a thing or three about putting together some edible grub. But there's a whole lot yet to learn, and it's been fun filling in the gaps in my old noggin.
Two things have recently been underscored in my culinary explorations: Real stock, and mirepoix (mere-uh-pwah). 'Real' stock is a rich broth which is slowly simmered from bones, less tender cuts of meat (hock meat, for example) sometimes organs like hearts or gizzards, and aromatics. That's where the mirepoix comes in, by the way. A finely-diced blend of carrots, onions, and celery, which is then enriched by the cook's own preferences, perhaps adding bell pepper, leeks, turnip, etc.
Now before you scoff, bear in mind that I don't have time to stand near stove while a pot of bones and herbs simmers for hours on end. This is where my kitchen workhorse the crockpot shines -- load it down with bones and good, drinkable water, set it, and forget it. Hours later it yields a nectar-like wealth of flavourful base for soup, stew, braising, or what-have-you. And the finely-diced aromatics? Well, yes, they're just carrots and onions, but something magical happens; I don't know the chemistry involved, but I suspect the dicing exposes surface area to cooking which means more taste moves from the veggies into the broth. Add a sachet of thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, perhaps some garlic, perhaps your own touches as well (fennel leaves or Italian parsley - why, yes please!) and tell me it wasn't worth the effort.
Yes, I'm long-winded by nature, and there are few topics on which I can't spin a very long and sometimes interesting Clyde's Tale, but in this instance my post was inspired by a rather successful dish tonight. My "Depression Chicken Soup" earned unanimous praise, in part because it's based on the stock I mentioned earlier. What is the recipe, and why is the dish so glumly named? Ah, dear reader, these questions must await another post. You see, I've a steaming bowl of soup to which my muzzle must now attend. :D
Two things have recently been underscored in my culinary explorations: Real stock, and mirepoix (mere-uh-pwah). 'Real' stock is a rich broth which is slowly simmered from bones, less tender cuts of meat (hock meat, for example) sometimes organs like hearts or gizzards, and aromatics. That's where the mirepoix comes in, by the way. A finely-diced blend of carrots, onions, and celery, which is then enriched by the cook's own preferences, perhaps adding bell pepper, leeks, turnip, etc.
Now before you scoff, bear in mind that I don't have time to stand near stove while a pot of bones and herbs simmers for hours on end. This is where my kitchen workhorse the crockpot shines -- load it down with bones and good, drinkable water, set it, and forget it. Hours later it yields a nectar-like wealth of flavourful base for soup, stew, braising, or what-have-you. And the finely-diced aromatics? Well, yes, they're just carrots and onions, but something magical happens; I don't know the chemistry involved, but I suspect the dicing exposes surface area to cooking which means more taste moves from the veggies into the broth. Add a sachet of thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, perhaps some garlic, perhaps your own touches as well (fennel leaves or Italian parsley - why, yes please!) and tell me it wasn't worth the effort.
Yes, I'm long-winded by nature, and there are few topics on which I can't spin a very long and sometimes interesting Clyde's Tale, but in this instance my post was inspired by a rather successful dish tonight. My "Depression Chicken Soup" earned unanimous praise, in part because it's based on the stock I mentioned earlier. What is the recipe, and why is the dish so glumly named? Ah, dear reader, these questions must await another post. You see, I've a steaming bowl of soup to which my muzzle must now attend. :D
The big problem I have is getting rid of the excess grease. It's hard to skim off while it's hot without also skimming off a good deal of the aqueous layer beneath it.
Bladehorse has a winning idea with chilling the stock to make grease removal easier!
Food is a work in progress for me, part of a lifelong culinary exploration beginning with the bland foods of the American South favoured by my folks (y'all) and given a great push forward by my discovery of Mexican cuisine around 3rd grade. (Dios mio! So hot...but soooo much taste!)
Barley is such an underrated grain! While it certainly IS delightful in stews and soups, I'm a fan of it for breakfast, too. My local Korean markets sell 'pressed' barley which looks for all the world like oatmeal but which makes a nice change of pace. :3
Baking is where I really get excited, though, and I've learned to make certain things reliably enough that I don't feel the need to buy them, e.g. bagels.