Beef Wontons

Pan fried Beef Wontons

Wontons are easy to make. They can be stuffed with a variety of fillings; sweet or savory. Wontons are one of those dishes that everybody just loves.Whenever I make them, I make a huge batch so I can whip some up whenever the mood strikes me.

The Daring Cooks' March 2012 Challenge - Brave the Braise!

 

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

Braving the Braise! My very first Daring Cooks and certainly not last.

The March, 2012 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Carol, a/k/a Poisonive – and she challenged us all to learn the art of Braising! Carol focused on Michael Ruhlman’s technique and shared with us some of his expertise from his book “Ruhlman’s Twenty”.

"Ghetto" Sous Vide

Inside shot. Perfect medium rare all the way through. The meat was like butter. Served with some homemade ciabatta.

Sous-vide is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for a long time. The intention is to cook the item evenly, not overcook the outside while still keeping the inside at the same 'doneness' and to keep the food juicier.

Typically it's done in these expensive machines that circulate the water and maintain it at precise temperatures. They go for about $1000, but you can get a small home version for about $299.

Not wanting to drop so much money on a device I won't be using often, I discovered on Serious Eats a hack, if you will, to cook items sous-vide, without spending lots of money. They suggest using a large beer cooler to help maintain your desired temperature in order to cook your food of choice.

I thought it would be easier for me to just use a large pot of water on a stove and a thermometer and just adjust the heat from time to time.

Pulled Pork

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich

I had President's Day off. What better way to spend a day off than slow roasting a whole pork shoulder for hours and hours?

I absolutely love pulled pork because it's so cheap and easy to make! I got a 5.5 lb pork shoulder from my local grocery store for about $6!

You can't get any easier than seasoning a shoulder and then literally placing it into a low oven and walking away.

I decided to go a little more complicated with my seasoning though. I made my own rub using salt, sugar and various spices such as paprika, cumin and garlic powder.