Recipe Reduction 169...167

I am vindicated!  Maybe not a Top Chef yet, but at least I got something right.

The recipe I'd saved was called Blue State Mississippi Roast.  You brown the meat, put it in a slowcooker with lots of pepperonici, then top with a home-made ranch dressing. Cook for many hours and it's supposed to be heavenly. Oh yeah--did I forget to mention the butter?

So, instead of wasting my entire chunk of grass-fed chuck roast on a weird recipe, I chopped it in half and used only half of it. It came out tough, greasy, and peculiar.

The other half I put in the oven with onions, garlic, beef broth and a chopped jalapeno. Cooked at 275F with a lid on for about four hours. It came out tender--almost melt-in-the-mouth--and delicious. I found it hard to stop sneaking just one more bite while it rested on the counter.

Sometimes you got to go with your gut.  And never, ever, put butter on beef.


Italian Risotto

I've always been scared of making risotto, or any other dish that requires constant stirring for 25 minutes. You can't image how delighted I was to discover Alton Brown's oven-baked roux--no stirring; perfect product. But finally I bit the bullet and made Italian Risotto.

And now I know the secret of risotto. It's (whisper) books on tape. If you are going to stand in one spot moving your arm around for forty minutes (that's how long it took), you'll be a lot happier if you're listening to the exciting climax of a murder mystery.

How'd it taste? Good, nearly great, but the tomato and onion didn't add anything--I'd have preferred it plain. Also a little bland--since I've never eaten it before and haven't a clue how it's supposed to taste, I'd have loved a hint about how much salt to put in it.

Dear, kind, people who share recipes, can't you at least provide a hint for how much salt to use? Give the amount you use and add a disclaimer. PLEASE?


Miso roasted tofu with sweet potato
By Jennifer Joyce

Well-pressed tofu cubes doused with white miso, mirin, and lime juice; sprinkled with sesame seeds and toasted in the oven. I could stop right there but it was served over sweet potatoes and peas. Three of my favorite things!

Actually the recipe called for green beans, but I prefer peas. Peas & sweet potatoes = mmm. But if you run out of peas and decide to pour in half of a bag of edamame instead--don't. Just because they're both small and green doesn't mean they taste the same. At all.



One comment I should provide--you were supposed to put the tofu cubes on a baking sheet and drizzle with glaze. And as you'll see in the picture below, doing that wasted a lot of the glaze. Shame!  She should have had you toss them gently in a bowl. It was sad to throw away the parchment paper with all that burned-on glaze. I guess I could have cut it into strips and served it on the side; you could scrape it off with your teeth like artichokes with butter.