Cookin again

[Dannyalcatraz]

Days before Dad’s birthday party (02/22/2022), I needed to cook a big meal so we could eat AND have leftovers while we were prepping the house for the gathering. I bought a chuck roast…but when I got it home, I realized my USUAL recipe wasn’t going to be a great idea.

Most of the time, I use chuck roasts to make what we call “Stoup”- a soup/stew that is based on Hungarian goulash and veggie beef soup. It’s very tomato heavy…and the party menu was primarily Italian.

So to avoid tomato overload, I tried making a soup based on French onion soup, but with chuck added in.


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My chuck roast, sliced & seared


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Sautéing the onions, garlic and portobello mushrooms in a stick of unsalted butter and the rendered fat from the seared chuck roast

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The soup in the pot

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The soup close up. At this point all the ingredients are in the pot, including bay leaf, pepper, parsley, thyme, beef stock, a can of cream of mushroom soup and an equal amount of Sauvignon blanc.

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Plated, topped with melted gouda butter-slathered toasted sourdough.

 

[Zardnaar]

Crumpets not an American thing?

These are a bit different than locally. Cream cheese and jam.


6:35 mark.

Might have to go for a trip.....

Last night's chicken katsu burger. Was nice enough but wouldn't get it again.



On the fence about dining out. This place was very good with distancing and vaccine pass.

 

[CleverNickName]

Maybe not everywhere in America, but we can get crumpets here in the Pacific Northwest pretty easily. They're especially popular in Seattle, IIRC, and a couple of bakeries here in Portland have them. I like 'em with maple butter for breakfast, or with a sharp cheese for lunch.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Crumpets aren’t too big in the USA, but they’re available in most of our major cities. That said, I don’t think I’ve ever had one.

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm not that big on them but they're nice enough.



Wife's meal should have ordered that it was delicious but she didn't love it. Said it was good at least.

 

[Thunderfoot]

What's a crumpet??? No seriously, most Americans have no clue.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Dad just hit 76 yesterday. Among other things, Mom & I put together a nice antipasto on a 14”x20” turkey platter for his party. I chose the ingredients, she did the layered plating.

INGREDIENTS:
Provolone
Mortadella
Genoa Salami
Thinly sliced red onion
Castelvetrano olives
Kalamata olives
Heart of palm
Marinated mushroom slices
Marinated artichoke hearts
San Marzano tomatoes
Sopressata
Diced mozzarella
Sweet Capicola

DRESSING:
Red wine vinegar
Lemon juice
EVOO
Dijon mustard
Rosemary
Oregano
Thyme
Basil
Parsley
Black pepper

It came out damn good. But there were hiccups. The brand of artichoke I prefer was out of stock, so I was kind of guessing when I chose a substitute. They were tasty, but they did have a little bit more of the tough, inedible outer leaves still attached.

Similarly, the sopressata I chose had an inedible casing, but I couldn’t SEE it. So people were pulling little strips out as they ate .

Still, it was tasty. And- leave it to my creole family- several took the antipasto and slapped it between pieces of the buttered toast we had provided and made faux mufalettas.

FWIW, I had that on a sandwich today. Toasted some sourdough, then the bread with Mayo & brown mustard. It tasted great, but the ingredients were too coarse to properly stay on the bread. There was significant spillage.

Essentially, it was a faux, messy muffuletta.

 

[Zardnaar]

What's a crumpet??? No seriously, most Americans have no clue.

Like a spongy biscuit/scone/savory pancake.

Best served toasted with butter, golden/maple syrup, or jam and whipped cream.

English. Not sure if they made it to Aussie/Canada but they made it to NZ.

Fun fact apparently the relative lack of fish and chip shops and Indian restaurants in the USA is because they came out after 1776 in the early 19th century. So Australia and NZ get savory pie shops, bakeries, and fish and chip shops USA not so much.

Think there's an NZ pie shop in Colorado as expats opened one. They're also diversifying from ye olde English pie with things like butter chicken or Thai green curry pie.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Like a spongy biscuit/scone/savory pancake.

Best served toasted with butter, golden/maple syrup, or jam and whipped cream.

English. Not sure if they made it to Aussie/Canada but they made it to NZ.

Fun fact apparently the relative lack of fish and chip shops and Indian restaurants in the USA is because they came out after 1776 in the early 19th century. So Australia and NZ get savory pie shops, bakeries, and fish and chip shops USA not so much.

Think there's an NZ pie shop in Colorado as expats opened one. They're also diversifying from ye olde English pie with things like butter chicken or Thai green curry pie.

Well Fish and Fries or (hush puppies) is just good ole fashioned comfort food. Not something you really 'go out for' you just make 'em.at home. (Long John Silvers and Capt. D's being the major exceptions) and Indian food is one of the fastest growing markets of takeout in US. (Love me some Chicken Tikka Masala and Paneer).

A crumpet sounds like an English Muffin, except edible. lol (I prefer buttermilk biscuits..which is like a scone... but not) Damned language barrier again. lol

 

[Zardnaar]

Butter chicken, paneer naan and mango lassi large town NZ. Right at start of the video.

There's some epic food places up there road trip last year dined nearby.