What's cooking?

Yup, so much crap is made today. We have a Bosch cooktop also. The first one had a huge flaw in the design, grates that would easily move under weight. I informed the seller and Bosch and they came and replaced the entire unit with one with a proper set of grates that weren't hazardous to use.

Crap cooking appliances... We replaced out electric cooktop and oven not all that many years ago. How soon I forget the names of the guilty; I think it was a Frigidaire gas oven that we bought first. But the name isn't important because any consumer oven of the sort we bought were all made the same (as we later found out). We didn't think that we bought junk until shortly after we began using it. First the springs that the swing down hinges used bound up and had to be replaced. Then the hinges themselves became an issue, they were held in place with sheet metal screws screwed directly into the light sheet metal of the oven, they stripped out and had to be replaced with larger ones. Then the hinge parts themselves were made of such soft steel that they began bending. The door became very hard to open and close. Then one night I had something in it and a guest over for dinner. The door opened maybe 8 inches and wouldn't open further. That was the end for that oven. I put enough pressure on the door and totally destroyed it. During this time we had to replace the electronics twice. They were placed in the hottest part of the oven purposefully, so that they would cook. Good riddance to bad garbage. In our search for a new oven I explained to the salesman what I didn't want, (either a deaf or brain dead salesman) and he kept showing us models that appeared to come out of the same factory in China as the one that pooped itself. That's why I wrote above that the brand didn't matter. Same model with different emblems put on it for the various brands. So I began my own search. The problem I had is that our oven needs to be small to fit into the space allotted to it. That made the search difficult as not every manufacturer makes an oven that small. I finally found Blue Star. It's a commercial grade oven. No electronic controls to cook, side opening door so one can get close to the food to remove it, rugged and simple. I love the thing. It's actually larger inside than the one that pooped itself, is better insulated and still fits in the opening. One negative. The wife is short and it's a built in and is at waist height and higher for me. The control dial is too high for her to see since it indexes at the top. That's not really the fault of the oven.

Anyway, my point is that there's lots of junk made today and one doesn't realize it oftentimes until much too late. Clearly our first gas oven was made to fill an opening in the cabinet and not for much else. The first oven required many service calls, the Blue Star has absolutely no issues whatsoever.

(Blue Star is basically the old Garland if anyone is familiar with that brand.)

Tonight had Corned Beef and Cabbage, which is a real treat. Tried a new "quick cook" corned beef I sampled at Costco and then purchased. Brand is Bill Bailey's and comes in 2.5 to 3 lb packages. Mine was 2.65 lb. You cook it in the microwave for 6 minutes per pound. It is pretty spectacular for the price, and quick cooking method. Pretty lean (after cutting off the top fat) and surprisingly very tasty. I steamed fresh cut cabbage (quartered a head) and baby carrots to serve with the beef. Also baked some biscuits for this meals carbohydrate. The whole meal took about 18 minutes cooking time from start to finish. Since this was my first time with this brand, I wanted to make sure it was good. Next time I will take some pictures.

You have me salivating.

I absolutely love either red or grey (salt cured) corned beef! It's one of my favorite meals of all time and both are very different tastes. Yes, it needs carrots, potatoes , and cabbage, but I insist on the boil water for them. Hey, I'm an old fart! I haven't seen MW corned beef yet, thankfully, since the "broth" lends flavor to the veggies and I tend to fortify the broth with all sorts of spices and herbs. The house gets very aromatic when I do a CB boiled dinner and ours is coming up.

I always stock up on CB when it's sale priced at this time of year. It makes excellent, and it's easy to convert it into, red pastrami.

Asparagus Tarts

My wife thought the recipe for these looked good so we made them last night.

Cut a sheet of puff pastry into thirds. Score the outer edge of each piece. This allows itto puff higher and create a holder for the contents.
Spread dijon mustard, a few slices of deli ham, sprinkle a shredded cheese and top with asparagus spears tossed in olive oil and salt.



Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Quick and easy.
And quite tasty.



ML done good!


Phil

That looks good - some caramelized onions on top would be nice too. That frozen puff pastry sure is great to work with, we use it to make samosas spanakopita.

That does look delicious, PhilNH5 and, Marko, I like your idea of the addition of some caramelized onions.

Before retirement a gent I worked with approached me one day and pulled me aside. He asked me if I ate asparagus, to which I replied that I did (I love asparagus!). He then proceeded to tell me that he tried it for the first time last night and it made his urine stink, and was that normal? Yup, that's one drawback for many folks. But the veg' sure does taste good!

Looks good Phil! I'd make it but the wife hates asparagus. I'd have to swap another veg' for her. Actually being married to her is good. I don't need to share any of the really good stuff!* Fiddlehead season is coming and that's something else I won't need to share. Fiddleheads would be excellent on that I'd wager! FWIW, I have the only patch of fiddleheads on the mountain on my land. They weren't there 30+ years ago, but the neighbor got some fill hauled in by the town and it had fiddleheads in it. The dirt went over onto my land and now I have a yearly crop. I'm not complaining.

* I joke about that, but I really wish she'd eat more varied vegetables. Same goes for meats... I bought a meat goat years ago and killed it and dressed it out. She just knew without any prior knowledge that she wouldn't like it. I worked it into many things and asked her if she knew where the goat went to after a year or so? She looked in the freezer and couldn't find any. At that time I told her that she liked it in this recipe, and that recipe, and another recipe, yada, yada. She didn't believe me, but couldn't find any cheval in the freezer. Maybe she thought I ate all of it when she wasn't looking? FWIW, goat is delicious, even the wife thought so. Over the years we had a discussion about a Greek dish we used to buy when at a mall shopping (souvlaki) She swore that the meat was pork, I told her that it was goat. We tried it as pork and it wasn't the same. I made it with goat (not with her knowledge) and it was the exact same flavor. Yup, it was goat that we used to buy as souvlaki, she just didn't know. Not knowing, it was delicious. But there's no way I can do that with asparagus or fiddleheads. She's not blind. BTW, she still thinks that she doesn't like goat.

Thats too funny ShadowsDad , years ago when my son was small, I got him to eat asparagus by telling him it would make his pee smell funny. He was intrigued by that and has loved asparagus ever since. About your wife's reluctance to try different foods - I think that is imprinted in childhood. My wife did a good job making sure the kids were offered a variety of foods, meats, fish, vegetables when they were very young. They'll eat almost anything. I can remember one vacation on the west coast that featured picking oysters. At 8 years old my son's favourite memory of that trip was picking up oysters off the beach and eating them. Its the hunter gatherer in all of us. If you're only offered a very limited selection, usually because "its all they'll eat" the chances are you won't stray far as an adult.

New foods have to be offered to children 3, 4, 5 or more times before they decide they like it. The key (for you young parents out there) is not to make a big deal out of it. If they reject it, fine move on but try again. If you make it a battle of wills then you're in for it. Kids will initially not like new food for all kinds of reasons, its new, taste, texture, smell, appearance but after a few times it becomes familiar. Its parent's duty to ensure that their kids are equipped to eat a healthy, varied diet and its always a cop out to give them chicken fingers and pizza bites because "its all they'll eat" - kids will never willingly starve themselves although they may engage you in a battle of wills.

I suspect you're absolutely correct. We had no options growing up. If it was on the table that's what we had to eat, period. Dads rule, and I hated it as a child, but there was wisdom in it, was, if you took it you ate it all. If we put some on your plate you must eat 1/2 of it. No matter what was on the table each plate got at least some of everything. I can eat most everything today. But mom was a good cook and I think she could turn an old boot into something delicious.

There are still some things I don't like though. Cooked rutabaga is one of those, but I like to munch on it raw. But cook it and it's just horrible. I just recently learned that an older brother absolutely hated mom's ham and bean soups. I loved them and still make them today. Strange how our likes and dislikes work.

One of my absolute favorite meals... tonight I had a boiled dinner of red corned beef, potatoes, and carrots. Super simple and for me totally hit out of the ballpark. Since my earliest memories I have always loved corned beef, either the red type or the grey (salt cured) type. My preference is for the least healthful... point cut. It has the best flavor by far. One only goes through life once and living another persons idea of what my life should be doesn't really interest me. I do what my Dr tells me to a certain extent, but there are times when I just let things go and do what I want. Everything in moderation. My cholesterol and triglycerides are fine. Moderation; it's all about that with an understanding of ones body. If I knew that it would kill me I'd just eat a smaller portion and throw the dice. I'd savor every bite. Again, life is to be lived as we wish to live it.

Lots of sandwiches (or meals) to be had from the leftovers. Lots of potatoes and carrots to be had from those as well. I love veggies cooked in the CB boiling liquor. When I get tired of those I'll make CB hash; the real stuff and not from a can. It's not Michelin star quality but it sure is tasty. I'm not a chef and have no pretensions in that direction; I'm just a cook.

I love homemade CB hash with 2 over easy eggs from the ladies, my name for our hens, on top of the hash. A toasted and buttered English muffin helps but is too much for me anymore unless I have a really big day ahead of me.

Tomorrows breakfast is pancakes and sausage. While we have plenty of the real deal maple syrup on hand (I live in Maine after all) I'll use Polish strawberry syrup on them. It's just fantastic stuff and the real deal from actual strawberries (Vavel brand). Their Black Current syrup is also excellent as is Polski brand Raspberry syrup.