Eat Something Good

I’ve been going to deli’s forever.  The main owners in my area are of Italian decent.  In NYC, you”ll find a lot of Korean owned deli’s - usually with a pretty good selection of things.  Well, long ago, I decided something about sandwiches.  In my mind, the more meat it had, the better.  I also felt like you were getting better value per dollar spent.  So, I was always seeking deli’s that made huge sandwiches.  Recently, that has changed.  I had a thick, meaty sandwich this afternoon as well as yesterday. They were good, but I have to admit that it was too much.  Way too much meat.  My jaws hurt.

Lately, Steve’s been  hounding the idea of thin sandwiches in to me.  I think it settled in his mind soon after he decided to get paninis for lunch.  They’re pressed thin in a machine and served sorta smashed much like the cubano is.  For the cubano, I layered pork loin, ham, swiss, pickle slice, mayo & yellow mustard.  So, the pic.  Clearly, the cheese could’ve been melted more and it should have been.  The sandwich should be flatter as well.  The bread shouldn’t poof as much.  That was Steve’s dept and unfortunately, it didn’t go over as well as it could have.  Steve didn’t heat it on the grill long enough with a heavy cast iron pan holding it down.  The sammies are wrapped in foil before the smashing commences.  That’s how we make them at home.  I’m not sure what they use in a restaurant but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something like a panini press.

Steve, guest & I ate the sammies.  Well, Steve didn’t finish his because he had thickness issues with it meaning he wanted a thinner sandwich.  I went thinner than I usually do but I guess I’ll have to use less next time.  Me?  I loved it.  I did wish that it was hotter in temperature, but for me, it was good as is and I’d eat one again any day.  When later asked, guest had even forgotten that he’d had a cubano.  Then I reminded him of what it was and I was met with sounds of approval.

Cubanos are often sold in areas or sections of town that cater to a large latin community.  I don’t remember my first cubano experience or why I became interested in trying one.  I don’t even remember liking it all that much.  But I kept trying bites of Steve’s here and there and each time I like it.  And I definitely loved that cubano in the pic.  *big bite* Okay, take care guys and as always, Eat Something Good!

Well, Those of you who are regulars will have noticed I have not been keeping my M,W,F posting schedule. Truth of the matter is I haven’t been feeling well and am just not up to writing now. Postings may be sporadic for the next couple weeks. I appreciate your patience and support, and hope to see you shortly.

-Grace

Despite my inability to cook pork chops, I can cook up a decent pork tenderloin.  In the past, I’ve used a pre-mixed dry rub.  It was red in color; maybe a little brown.  It had a southern theme to it.  Perhaps even southwestern.  Unfortunately, I threw out the empty container a long time ago.  Instead of going into the details of the dry rub, I’ll just give you the gist.  Basically, it was good.  Not great, but good.  And there’s plenty of salt in it to thoroughly season the tenderloin.  Maybe even throughout the whole thing.  So the first time I made a pork tenderloin and several times thereafter, I used the aforementioned dry rub.  Then one time, Steve had the bright idea to pour maple syrup over the cooked  bacon wrapped pork tenderloin.  That was good.  Steve’s mom loved it.  As much as I’ve enjoyed the previous recipes, I was excited but not too excited by the latest recipe.  The reason why I wasn’t too excited is because I’m a little played out on the red wine thing in foods.  Sometimes I want, for instance, a basic beef stew.  Simple, familiar flavors, which to me, is like “Mom’s” cooking.  Of course not my mom and not a lot of moms but some.  But when I want the red wine, it’s a very welcome guest.

Here’s what I did.  And it was way easy by the way.  Minimal chopping, not even mincing or anything time consuming and brain energy sucking’ing.  The recipe calls for the pork tenderloins to be washed under cold water then dried.  I liked that.  It made me feel clean’ish (but I’m 100% certain it was neither clean nor bacteria free.)  So here we go.  To a pan, I used the everyday pan, I added a little oil (canola for me) & butter.  As the recipe states, let the butter bubble up a bit.  I used a little too much oil and the bubbling did not occur as much as I imagined it would.  Despite that, I knew that it was hot.  Before I threw the tenderloin into the pan, I seasoned it with s & p.  Then I added, 3 cloves of garlic (recipe called for 2), 1  1/2 ‘ish teaspoon dried thyme (recipe called for fresh sprigs but didn’t have any on hand.)  I browned the pork tenderloin on all sides with the garlic & thyme in the pan.  Then I added chopped shallots, swirled it around for like 30 seconds.  Then I cranked up the heat to high, added 1/2 cup of red wine (the recipe called for 1/3) and got to scraping off some residue.  I didn’t get much so it was a snap.  Finally, you turn the stove down as far as possible.  I mean low, real low.  Put a cover on it and let it do it’s thing for about 35-40 mintues (recipe called for 45 minutes.)  Oh, don’t forget to turn the meat over half way through.  When you do, you’ll see how beautifully colored it is.  It was very pleasing to the eye.  And finally again, throw the cooked pork tenderloins onto whatever you normally cut on and then to the pan, add a teency bit of water and reduce the heck out of it.  If you heat it to death like I did, you’ll get more of a thick, oily sauce (sounds bad but wasn’t).   But I recommend that you ease up on the heat and serve it thinner than a gravy but thicker a stock or broth.  I know there’s a huge leap there but I can’t think of a good comparison at the moment.

pan-roasted pork tenderloin

To serve, I sliced up the pork tenderloin into little medallions and served the reduced red wine sauce on top.  On the side, I made Uncle Bens rice with chicken stock, water, s & p.  For the veggies, we had green beans.  Canned.  I asked Steve what kind he thought it was.  He guessed Shop Rite which was weird because it was Shop Rite brand.  But it wasn’t the only brand I used.  I also added a can of Green Giant.  You know, the luxury canned green bean.  First I emptied the Green Giant one into a sauce pan and noted that the cuts green beans were mostly intact and of a good color.  Then I opened up the Shop Rite canned green beans and guess what?  They were almost exactly the same.  Makes ya think, doesn’t it?

The verdict.  Thumbs up from both of us.  I really enjoyed the meat.  It was tender (not too tender) and definitely nowhere near dry.  Even the pork tenderloin ends were moist and very edible.  I enjoyed the red wine sauce mostly because of the shallots and thyme.  Steve wants this one in the rotation but if I make it again, I’m going to use fresh thyme instead.  It will completely enhance the flavor.  I’m absolutely certain of that.  And I don’t feel that way about all herbs.  I’ll save that for another blog.  And lastly, I must mention.  I like washed my hands no less than six times while preparing dinner.  There’s always that fear of poisoning Steve (and others) and in this case, giving them trichinosis (sp?)  Sorry to leave you on an unpleasant type note.  I can’t think of a good joke so I’ll just say, Take care guys, and as always, Eat Something Good

Recipe: Pan-Roasted Pork tenderloin from Cooks.com

We’re overdue for a major grocery shopping.  We’re out of even the basics like sugar in the raw and splenda.  We’ve been “suffering” without out the sweet stuff for over a week now.   So I’m searching around the kitchen and I find some red skin potatoes that I’d eventually peel and make into little cubes or rather messy rectangles.  Anyway, I was pretty happy with the discovery.  Then it was time to check the refrigerator and comb each shelf, even in the back.  The foods that make it to the back usually don’t get used and eventually thrown out.  So, I checked around and I found one whole tomato, 1/2 onion, eggs of course and after checking cheese door, I had the final ingredient Pepperjack cheese.  Steve got me into it.  At first, I didn’t like it just like I didn’t like chili all that much.  But I’ve learned to enjoy the combination of them.  So while the diced tomatoes were sitting there I sprinkled a small amount of dried oregano on it and more.

breakfast scramble & home fries

Steve likes his home fries well done.  Whenever we go to diners, he orders one cheeseburger (with out fries), 2 eggs over and home fries well done.  And just like anyone would be, he gets upset when they’re not done enough and sometimes doesn’t finish it.  So, I was aiming for the crispies, nicely brown potatoes.  At first, I wasn’t sure if the red potato was the wisest choice for home fries.  I was always under the impression that diners  used russets (or baking) potatoes.  I hit the potatoes with a very slight hint of paprika and then an even smaller hint of chili powdered.  I got the idea to use chili powder because I thought of the pepper jack cheese.

I was curious and nervous about how the scramble would turn out.  I don’t think I’d ever made one.  Nonetheless, I gave it a shot.  First I sauteed the diced tomatoes with oregano.  Seasoned.  Oh, I always use butter when I’m cooking eggs.  Any style and so does Martha Stewart if that means anything to you.  Then I added the eggs that I’d scrambled.  I moved the eggs around with my large wooden spoon  As it was getting less liquid’ee and started to set up, I had Steve shred the  pepper jack cheese.  I hit the breakfast scramble with cheese and mixed it in.  I’m always on the fence on this one.  Cheese hitting the frying pan makes me feel like it’s going to stick like crazy and ruin the dish.  But, no, it came out really nicely and the cheese mixed into the eggs and flavored it well with a little hot kick.  There were no gobs of cheese but if you want more then by all means.  Oh, I hit the potatoes with a little salt & black pepper.  I think it worked out nicely.  And he said that I moved up in the ranks and made home fries better than he did.  Just as a note, I used a decent amount of vegetable oil but not too much.  It wasn’t swimming in grease.

Ok guys!  Take care and as always, Eat Something Good!

mrs. t's pierogies

I sent Steve to the store last night with very, unappealing options.  We were thinkin’ burgers or eggs or something simple alongs those lines.  When I became a little flustered, Steve said ‘leave it up to me’.  I worried a little but I had no choice but to trust his judgement in this case.  When he came home, I looked in the shopping bag and my face lit up.  That lovely blue box called Mrs. T’s.  They’re pierogies, little dumpling-like things filled with stuff.  And the kind we got is potato & onion.  I’ve been really enjoying the potato & onion combination lately.

Let see, hmmm, *rub head*, how did the pierogi thing start for me.  Oh yes, it was when I was living in the East Village (NYC).  I lived in an area with Polish and Ukranian diners.  Not one typical Greek diner around.  Up in these parts, you go greek or nothing at all because you don’t have any options.  Okay, so the thing to get in a polish diner is keilbasa and/or pierogies.  But, I’m not one for keilbasa (neither is Steve) so I usually go for other things like soups, simple sandwiches and breakfast items.  There was a Polish place (actually two right across the street from each other: Teresa’s and Polania) right around the corner.  But the preferred place, Teresa’s, served better entrees.  I used to get their stuffed cabbage.  Yum!  With mashed potatoes.  Or their giant chicken cutlet.  The food was very homey and I liked that alot in NYC where you can have like anything in the world to eat.  It was nice to take refuge there.  When I first went there, it was really like 50’s ish looking.  Dive’ee.  Later, while I was still in the East Village, they remodeled and fancied up the place.  But what was funny is that the food stayed exactly the same which is a good thing.  So it was served in a modern, artsy atmosphere but all you got in your salad was lettuce and tomato slices (Like as though they sliced it for a sandwich.)  I thought the black, artsy interior didn’t match the food but I’m glad they didn’t glorify and beautify (is that a word?) the food.

So, to continue about Mrs. T’s pierogies.  My favorite ones are the potato & cheese (above pic) or the ones we had last night, potato & onion which is the most typical one.  The other one I like, and get this, is sauerkraut & mushroom.  I had it either at Teresa’s or Veselka’s.  Don’t recall.  I know, I know it sounds disgusting.  But trust me, it was good.  At least I liked it.  I’m not sure what possessed me to try it that day but I wasn’t at all displeased.  The sauerkraut was more tender than what you’d typically expect and not as sour, sauerkraut’ee.  Okay, this leads us back to Mrs. T’s.

mrs. t's pierogies

I haven’t had too many different varieties of pierogies.  I’m a novice.  And Mrs. T’s is really, the only brand we buy.  I completely turned Steve onto these.  He loves them with fried onions & sour cream.  It was my idea to fry up the onions for it last night.  You usually get a choice of apple sauce or the above combination for the pierogies at a restaurant.  These little dumplings can be deep-fried, sauteed, baked, and boiled.  I really like them boiled and it makes me feel a little healthier eating them that way.  Next time I’d like to try baking them.  For one, it’ll make me feel healthier’ish and it’s less mess.  No grease, no splatters and stuff.  What we, well Steve, wound up doing was what he does best - pan fry.  His mother is a great fryer of things so I guess it’s in his genes.  Anyway, ours came out with its outer shell being a little too well done.  It was not really crispy/crunchy and it wasn’t too difficult to eat, but, like Steve said - he would’ve liked for the edges of it to be softer.  But overall, Steve did a good job pan frying  and we enjoyed them a great deal.  I prefer to go the way of fried onions & sour cream versus apple sauce, but I’m sure the apple sauce is really good with it as well.

Now that’s I’ve blogged all this, I’m in the mood for pierogies.  I think we’ll eventually be making a trip to Teresa’s (polish) or Veselka’s (ukranian).  Veselka’s serves similar fare but they also offer ukranian meatballs that I’ve been interested in for over a decade.  Why do I deny myself simple pleasures, I will never know.  Oh, I must mention, both of these places aren’t too expensive.  Most dishes are around the $10 range and breakfasts are even cheaper.  They serve breakfast all day long.  Oh, one other pierogi experience I must mention here.  Several years ago, another restaurant came and went at what I call the death spot.  Okay, I just made that up but you get the idea.  At one point, it turned into a polish restaurant.  I thought that was kinda odd considering that where I am now is sorta, how can I say this…Well, it’s mostly Italian restaurants.  Tons of pizzerias.  And greek diners.  So there isn’t much diversity up here.  This fancy polish restaurant ( and I’d never seen a fancy polish restaurant - never even thought one existed cause I was so used to diner’ee type places), this place up here a ways from what probably feels like civilization had awesome pierogies.  Steve said they were the best he’d ever had.  I tried some and had to agree.  It was your  lucky day if they still had pierogies by dinnertime.  Okay guys, that’s my latest, take care and as always, Eat Something Good!

open pit BBQ sauce

I was feeling a little adventurous last night and made dinner without a set recipe.  I read through a few for suggestions and ingredient ratios, but nothing stood out or I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand.  So, before I tell my tale, I have to tell you a little thing about barbecue sauce in this household.  Basically, I love it and Steve almost hates it.  More recently, he got wild and tried McDonald’s barbecue sauce and actually liked it.  I was so surprised.  Maybe even shocked.  But, in general, he’s a hater and I’m a liker.  So when I was growing up, my mom would buy Open Pit brand barbecue sauce.  I disliked it a great deal.  It wasn’t my idea of barbecue sauce.  And one of the main ways I ingested the stuff was with chicken mcnuggets.  Yeah, I put it in the same class as KC Masterpiece and Sweet Baby Rays.  I used both last night so Steve could try the Open Pit brand.  For some reason, it’s been in my thoughts as a positive thing.  I think it happened after learning the basics of the types of BBQ that existed in different states like Tennessee, Georgia, Kansas..etc.  Well, I’ve finally put the notion out of my mind that it’s not real barbecue sauce if it doesn’t taste like KC Masterpiece or Sweet Baby Ray’s - cause it is.  It’s just different.  Some have spicy rubs, sweet sauces, honey, and my latest interest, the sour’ee, vinegar’ee ones.  So we had a little taste off and I’ll tell you later, our deep thoughts on the subject.  Ha!

Okay, so here’s what I did.  I took boneless chicken breasts and had Steve pound them out.  He used wax paper and a medium sized frying pan to smack the crap out of them.  Actually, he didn’t go too thin.  Maybe 1/2″.  I threw em in the oven with s & p. Well, they cooked a lot faster than I expected and so I smeared some barbecue sauce on top to slow down the cooking.  And I took it out of the oven.  I was crossing my fingers for this one.  As a side, I made roasted red new potatoes that had been cut into big’ish pieces with the skin on.  I shook the babies up in a plastic bag with extra virgin (as per usual) olive oil, fresh roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley, salt, pepper, and then I through onion slices on top.  I also used the same sheet pan and the same ‘marinade’ for the cauliflower.  I haven’t worked with fresh cauliflower much.  I don’t know if I will again.  The only type of dish that I think I’d like it in is like a cheesy, cream based sauce.  I think I’ve had it in a spicy Indian dish before and liked it.  Anyway, I tore the little florets off like an insane person.  The bottoms aren’t evenly cut.  I stirred up the potatoes once but didn’t touch the cauliflower.  And?

sweet baby rays BBQ sauce

First of all, the contest.  Sweet Baby Ray’s vs. Open Pit.  Steve & I ultimately decided to give it to Sweet Baby Ray’s.  It’s the type of sauce I’m most familiar with and so I was accustomed to it.  It has a long sweet finish that’s sorta satisfying.  Actually, it may be a little too sweet.  The Open Pit.  I was enjoying it until Steve pointed out that there was no finish to it at all.  It was true.  It started with sour and then it just disappeared except for a little heat.  (Black pepper may be have responsible.  I don’t know.)  It was also a thinner sauce and orange’ee in color.  Not a bad look, but not the familiar thick, brown sauce.  So, there ya have it.  That’s what we thought.

BBQ chicken, roasted red new potatoes & cauliflower

The roasted red new potatoes turned out pretty good.  I was so happy that I added the sliced onions.  I threw that on at the last moment.  I would’ve liked for more of the pieces to have caramelized and I wouldn’t have even minded some charred pieces .  But the simplicity of the dish and its flavor won me over.  Oh, it also would’ve been nice if the potato pieces browned more so that it formed a crust.  My potatoes had the occasional piece but for the most part, it was soft.  I was so glad I stuck with my decision about not using powdered garlic.  Sometimes I’m on the fence with that one.  Prior to this recent streak, I only used it occasionally on pizza.  If the pizza is really good, I don’t use any.  If it’s eh to *dry heave* then the garlic powder may make an appearance should I decide not to suffer any more than I have to.  (That was dramatic, yes?)  Okay and finally, the cauliflower.  It needed some salt, but it was cooked well.  It wasn’t mushy (but I know some people prefer it that way) but it wasn’t hard.  It held its shape and was tender on the inside.  My fork went through it without too much of a problem.

So, there ya have it!  A meal made up by me, cooked up by me and savagely eaten by me.  The dinner was easy in the sense that I used two sheet pans and the oven only.  (Well, the cutting board and stuff, too.)  The red new potatoes were on one side of the sheet pan while the cauilfower was on the other.  And then I had a separate one for the three pounded out chicken breasts.  No messy pots & pans.  Yey!  Alrighty guys, take care and as always, Eat Something Good!