Kitchen Notes: Crispy Pork Belly

I had visual aspirations for this food experiment. I thought it would resemble the real thing. But sadly, it seems that how my oven performed versus what it looks like from a restaurant are radically different in taste, texture, and overall appearance. I think the start of the #fail began when I picked up a random portion of pork belly from Fubonn. There was a lot of fat on the cut I got and it should have had more meat. Aside from the very top layer of the pork belly, the skin, the other two layers should be relatively equal in distribution: fat and meat. Just a thought, really. My pork belly had twice as much fat as meat. Also, I don't believe that 465 degrees F is the right temperature for the second baking phase.

What pork belly looks like after the second roasting;
the skin is really, really hard

This recipe process did not work for me: http://kirbiecravings.com/2014/08/crispy-golden-pork-belly.html

It could also be that I had the pork belly in the freezer for several months instead of using fresh pork belly. The fat content of each slice is too much for me. Ugh. #fail

Miso Ginger Fried Rice with Cherry Tomatoes

For a chilly autumn day, this fried rice dish hits the spot. It's both savory and sweet. I did not come up with the combination of the Miso Ginger and Jasmine rice, the samples counter at my local Trader Joe's did. I'm using homegrown cherry tomatoes, although they're not all that sweet but they'll add more flavor to the rice.

Serves: 1-3

Make the rice

2 c dry jasmine rice
2 1/2 c miso ginger soup

Rinse the rise under water until most of the starch washes away. In an oven-proof bowl, combine rice and soup. Bake for 50 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Stir fry the rice

1 tbsp unsalted butter
a handful of cherry tomatoes
a cup of cooked rice

Melt butter in a skillet. Add rice and tomatoes. Stir around until rice is hot and tomatoes can be squished when gently pressed with a spatula.

No added salt needed.

Roasted Cauilflower

Over the past year, cauliflower has experienced a revival of sorts and the campaign has been driven by vegan enthusiasts. I am not vegan; heck I avoided cauliflower for decades. Although I am curious as to what textures are attributed to this vegetable. It's been picked up by wheat-free eaters as a replacement for pizza dough (Rachel Ray's cauliflower pizza dough); to replace rice as a side dish (Jamie Oliver's cauliflower risotto); and as mock mashed potatoes. Flavor-wise, eating cauliflower is like eating white bread and isn't substantial on its own. But when paired with other ingredients then the spotlight appears.

Take this recipe for example. All the flavor of the dish comes from the olive oil and the nutritional yeast. The salt and pepper remind you that there's a vegetable hiding under all the mock cheesy flavor brought on by the yeast. If you take all that away, these are just baked cauliflower florets; and that is a sight sadder than seeing people eat cauliflower mashed potatoes because they want to consume fewer carbs.

Roasted Cauliflower: start to finish

The majority of the calories in this dish comes from how much olive oil you use to dip the florets before dipping into the nutritional yeast. One cup of olive oil has roughly 1,900 calories. The original ingredient ratio called for more salt (1/2 tsp salt was still too much); and I used a lot more than 1/4 c olive oil. The majority of the calories of this dish comes from oil (aka fat). A large cauliflower head is about 146 calories; that is, if you consume the inner stalk as well. The first pass of this recipe made the kitchen smell really good; but the florets came out soggy and not crunchy.

Ingredients

1 medium organic cauliflower head
1/2 c nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Use a sharp knife and cut the florets off the stalk. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together yeast, salt, and black pepper.

3. Have the olive oil in another small bowl.

4. Dip each floret into the oil, but do not submerse it and then dip it into the nutritional yeast. Place in a single layer on a glass baking dish. 

5. Bake for 50 minutes, until browned. Serve hot.

Enjoy.

P.S. There is no "mock cheese" flavor by using nutritional yeast; although, it is an interesting addition.

Dill Pickled Vegetables

So far the only candidates for this dill pickle recipe are cucumbers and carrots. I made 2 pints + 2 quarts of dill pickles and carrots; although, the carrots are only in one of the quart jars because I ran out of cucumbers. Because I lack the equipment to properly can a quart-sized jar, the quart jars became refrigerator pickles.

Ingredients

sliced, quartered, or whole pickling cucumbers (~ 2 lbs)
fresh dill leaves, roughly chopped into 4" pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed, per jar
organic carrot sticks (optional)

the brine:

1 1/2 c white vinegar
1 1/2 c filtered water
1-2 tbsp kosher salt

Bring brine ingredients to a boil in a medium pot. Remove from heat when the salt has dissolved. Set aside until ready to use.

Directions

The order of operations is pretty important. You want all the floaty stuff to start at the bottom and then wedge it all into place by packing the jar with the vegetables. First things to the bottom are the garlic and dill leaves.

Wash and trim the ends of the vegetables. The flower end of the cucumber is what makes it go soft in the brine and nobody wants to eat limp pickles. Pack each jar full. Pour brine on top and leave 1/2" space at the top. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel before placing and securing the lid and jar bands.

Start the timer when the water comes back up to a boil after adding the jars. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 24 hours before shelving.

For the refrigerator pickles, skip the hot water bath. Simply place the sterilized lid and tighten the jar band. Put in refrigerator to cure for a week before eating.

Note: This recipe assumes you have sterilized jars, lids, and jar bands ready to go.

Note to future self: Add brine to jars you intend to can. If you run out of brine, make more.

The ratio was sourced from here (ratios mucked around with since I wasn't about to make 7 quarts of pickles).

Dulce de Leche

Now that I have unused 4 oz jars, I think I should fill them up with something sweet. These would make nice gifts for those sugarholics in your life.

Dulce de leche is a caramel sauce with South American origins and likely the result of needing to preserve dairy in those pre-refrigeration days. This recipe uses the lazy method: a crockpot and sweetened condensed milk.

Food52 via Serious Eats would have you combine these ingredients, if making it from scratch:

1 quart whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

And, you'd have to slave over a hot stove for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring constantly so the mixture doesn't burn or scald. And, once you're done this mixture keeps well for four weeks in the refrigerator.

Fortunately, there's always-on electricity and products like already canned sweetened condensed milk. Here's the other not-really-from-scratch process, which comes from the Crazy for Crust blog:

Ingredients

two 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
clean glass jars with rings and lids
water

Directions

1. Evenly distribute sweetened condensed milk across the jars being used. It should fill seven 4 oz jars or three 8 oz jars. Attach lids and rings to jars.

2. Place jars (not touching each other) into the slow cooker and fill with enough water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches.

3. Set slow cooker for 10 hours on LOW.

The only problem with this method that the dulce de leche is not shelf stable because of its low acidity. This will also spoil if not used within 4 weeks and must be refrigerated, even though the jars are sealed.

Either method is a LOT better than buying the irradiated stuff from the grocery store, IMHO.