Whatcha Cooking today?

[worth1]

More pork roast gravy and rice.
It's what you would call a taste of home for me.
Brings back memories of feeding cows in the snow and getting home after dark to a warm house smelling of the wood stove and a hot meal ready to eat and warm up.

[worth1]

I'm starting on my used to be rasin pie.
It now includes....honey roasted peanuts.
A cup of 90 proof brandy.
Freshly grated or ground.
Nutmeg.
Mace.
Clove.
Allspice.
Black pepper.
Beef tallow.
Water.
Brown sugar.
Maybe a wee ghost pepper right before baking.
Etc etc.

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[worth1]

I decided to add the ghost pepper.
Other ingredients are.
Knorr beef bullion powder.
Black strap molasses.
Corn starch.
Any additional liquid was a simi sweet red wine because the water and brandy was cooked off or was absorbed by the nuts and fruit.
You're basically looking at a mince pie filling on steroids.
The ghost pepper is way back in the cheap seats just barely perceptible.
Just waiting for it to reduce to the right consistency.

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[pepperhead212]

A funny thing happened yesterday - I was talking to the lady, whose house I'm going to for TG, and asking if there was anything else I could make, and bring over; I was already set to bring over some brownies, and that butterscotch pumpkin pie, but she said they already had 2 pies, so I don't have to make that, but if I could make one of those dals I told her abuse the day before, that would be plenty! Not traditional TG fare, but she said she was talking to her kids about it, and both would rather have that from me than a pie! Mind you, this is the Indian lady that offered to pay me to make these things for her once a week! Another friend came by, as I was finishing this - very similar to that last dal I made, except I added some black chickpeas, potatoes, and used ghee for the fat - and I told him it was to take over there, and he thought I was trying to torture him! But I gave him one of the last two bowls from the last batch, and he thought the same thing I did - that it tasted like it had some sort of meat in it. This batch tastes even more like that, probably because of the ghee.
Dal, with butternut squash and potatoes, with kala chana - black chickpeas. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Now I have to go make the brownies, and that's easy...except only eating one, before taking them over there.

[worth1]

No telling how this nightmare will turn out.
At least I didn't cheap out.
2 cups of honey roasted peanuts and a whole 1 pound 4 ounce container of raisins.
Egg wash and my signature bird tracks I picked up from the Flintstones when I was a kid.

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[worth1]

Let the cooling begin.
With the density of this thing it'll take all night.
It weights 5 pounds 12 ounces.

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[pepperhead212]

OMG those brownies smell good!
Palm Beach brownies, for TG. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I put them on the back porch - like another fridge, plus they're out of my sight!

[worth1]

This may very well turn out to be the best dressing I've ever made.
The grain will be cornbread stuffing of the 5 minute type because it's convenient.
But this is what's going to get mixed with it.
Onions.
Carrots.
Celery.
Sage.
Mexican oregano.
MSG.
Freshly ground black pepper.
1/4 pound of butter to cook the vegetables in.
1 pound pre cooked sage breakfast sausage along with juices.

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[karstopography]

No turkey today. Turkey and the traditional sides were consumed last Saturday at the annual pre holiday gathering of relations.

Today, I’m making Elk Osso Buco. I have four meaty two inch thick cow elk shanks thawing out in the fridge. That should feed the three of us. Making a side of mashed potatoes to go with the braised meat. Wife is making a pumpkin pie, homemade crust and all.

[worth1]

@karstopography
Everytime elk is brought up can't help but remember the idiots from New Orleans I was working with outside Flagstaff Arizona.
They saw some elk and thought they were the biggest deer they had ever seen in their lives.

[karstopography]

@karstopography
Everytime elk is brought up can't help but remember the idiots from New Orleans I was working with outside Flagstaff Arizona.
They saw some elk and thought they were the biggest deer they had ever seen in their lives.

Seeing a herd of Elk makes an impression. This cow elk came out of the largest herd I’ve ever witnessed outside a national park. Must have been 125 or 150 individuals, almost all cow elk. I’d guess one mature cow like what my daughter shot is five times the size of our local whitetail deer.

[worth1]

No need for an aluminum roasting pan.
My 10.5 pound turkey fits perfectly in my 14 inch Lodge skillet.
It's resting with the wings folded back on a rack of carrots celery and onion.

[PlainJane]

I made the fresh cranberry sauce last night, and stuffing ready to hit the oven.
Cornbread, celery, onion, walnuts, roasted garlic, a few mushrooms, and the golden beets I didn’t get around to using.

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[worth1]

I have a greatly successful fresh cranberry successful experiment going on.
Not exact on the water sugar ratio because i just used what looked right.
But it was 3 parts sugar to 1 part water.
2 cups cranberries and orange extract.
Once these got to 120F I removed from heat and added 2 more cups of frozen cranberries to cool everything down.
Mind you the first batch of cranberries just started to pop.
So you have tart and sweet.
I'm not even sure they'll set up and don't really care.

[Tormahto]

No telling how this nightmare will turn out.
At least I didn't cheap out.
2 cups of honey roasted peanuts and a whole 1 pound 4 ounce container of raisins.
Egg wash and my signature bird tracks I picked up from the Flintstones when I was a kid.
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I just have to do those tracks with a turkey pot pie, to be made in a couple of days.

[Tormahto]

No elk in these parts. Deer, yes. Mostly does between 100-150 pounds. Sometimes I'll see a fawn, but not often. I don't see that many bucks, either. But many years ago I saw one that must have topped 300 pounds. It was standing on a rock outcropping, likely announcing to the world that this area is MY space. It's color was sort of a blueish grey mixed with very light tan. Its neck was like a tree trunk. It never saw me, luckily. Every few years I'll see a moose, or hear it if I don't see it. I had three hen turkeys in the garden this year. They paid little attention to me, 20 feet away.

A few years ago I had planned a short fishing excursion to one of the local brooks, but cancelled my plans that morning. I then heard the next day, that some hikers were charged at by three yaks, on the path that I would have used to go fishing that day. That could have easily been me. The largest yak was maybe 1,200 pounds.

I know the owner of the yaks, and his property, but I didn't know that he now owned yaks. He's rich, and perhaps just a slight bit eccentric. He once owned a herd of several hundred alpacas. He had one stud male that was worth $500,000. His money was made in the insurance business, so I asked him if the stud was insured. He said he never thought about it, until I asked him. I often fished the small brook behind his property. The police and the fish & game people didn't know how the yaks escaped, but I do. His property is completely fenced in on three sides, but open in the back, bordered by that brook. One year a young colt of his wandered up to me while I was fishing. Nearby, mama didn't looked pleased. So, I just stood still and let the colt approach, and very slowly reached out to pet it. I was all set to dive into the deep pool that I was fishing. If I fish that brook again, I think that I'll talk to the owner first.

[karstopography]

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First step, brown the shanks.

[karstopography]

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Done. Delicious. Gremolata served on top consisting of chopped fresh garden parsley, Santa Fe, NM conquistador ancient hard necked garlic, lemon zest and sea salt, not sure which ocean. Yukon gold mashed potatoes. We all wished we had at least a pound of the bone marrow.

[PlainJane]

@karstopography that looks absolutely fantastic.

[worth1]

My gravy and the dressing was the star of the show.
Dressing was cooked in the Lodge 12 inch cast iron skillet.
Liquid was chicken bone broth.
To make it even better I have a cast iron lid for it.

Even though the turkey came out good I could have drop kicked it out the back door and just had the dressing the gravy and the cranberry sauce.
The turkey was browned with honey and kitchen bouquet.

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