Cooking Time, Part 3

OK, I got off on the cookware tangent yesterday.  I still want to mention my cooking.  LOL!

I'm no chef.  But I have been cooking for myself, and others at times, for almost 50 years.  I pretty much cycle though a couple dozen recipes using chicken, pork, beef, ham, shrimp, and pasta (I hate fish).  I can can pretty much do a decent stir-fry with whatever is in the refrigerator.

The stir-fry was a challenge for years.  The sheet-steel woks were always hard to manage and too large for one person.  I kept searching for a small true cast iron one.  I finally found it.  Wonderful thing.  As cast iron, it holds heat.  At 9", it is perfect for one or 2 servings.  It sits solidly on a gas or electric burner.  And it comes pre-seasoned.  I get nothing for saying this, I just like good stuff.

So I buy Boston Butt pork and slow cook it it in the oven at 250F for hours or smoke it outside and cut it all up into cubes I freeze in portions later.  Or buy beef short ribs and sear them to make beef stew (much more taste than stew beef).  I bake or pan fry chicken thighs.  I sear and pan-fry chicken breasts.  Sometimes I make my own "Shake&Bake" mixture, sometimes I just saute them skin side down.

I like searing fully-cooked 1/2" ham slices for later use in tossed salads or with roasted peppers.  I saute or M/W marinated shrimp for dipping in homemade cocktail sauce or commercial tarter sauce (I just can't make decent tarter sauce) or stir-fries.  I buy meatballs at a deli, but I make my own sauce (large canned crushed tomatoes and a small canned roasted diced tomatoes (with crushed fresh garlic, oregano, and dried red pepper).

Pork stew is great.  The diced Boston Butt stays moist and tender.  3 oz of pork, one diced potato, one dived carrot, one diced celery stalk, and I add a spoonful of "Better Than Bouillon" (and the low-sodium version when I can find it) chicken paste. And others.  At least, I never get bored.

I bought a Big Mac and a McChicken sandwich last week.  First time in years.  I was horribly disappointed...  So, I'll stick to my home-cooking for another few years.

I make pizza sometimes.  The pizza stone really helps.  I think I will aim toward thicker softer crusts though.  A little extra yeast in the bread machine recipe should help.

I made nachos for the first time a few months ago.  Too much cheap cheese and soggy chips.  The last time (a week ago), I used crushed hot italian sausage, added some salsa with black olives scallions, and sour cream of course), and used "scoopables" chips.  THAT worked out great.  I'm new to nachos.  Many of you are probably laughing at my simplicity.  That's OK...

I make tollhouse cookies routinely from scratch.  Well, actually, I make tollhouse cookie BARS.  I finally figured out how to convert the cookie recipe into a bar recipe.

Have you ever made banana cake?  I don't mean banana bread.  There is a difference.  You make it in a angel food cake pan and it involves separating the eggs yolks and whites and folding the whipped whites into the batter, etc.  My mom made it and I adored it.  She would never give me the recipe (saying "you will never visit if I tell you.  I'll leave it to you in my Will").  Turns out she got it from Dad's Mom.  Mom finally did send it to me.  3 times.  And every version was slightly different, LOL!

For dinner last night, I made a stir fry of marinated shrimp, asparugus, hot peppers, and mushrooms; served over broken up angel hair spaghetti.  With a splash of dry sherry, soy sauce, and sesame seed oil.  With a baked red beet and a tossed salad with ranch dressing.

When Dad was living with me, he was amazed I made "Sunday Dinner" every day.  Well, why not?  I have the time and the interest.  There is no point in not eating well, and I don't have to go to restaurants to do it.