Brussels Sprouts Fricasse

On a tip from a friend, we came across this recipe:

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=715063

It was based on a dish from this video (~12 min in):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GokR2C9wy0

As a work in progress:

Remade on:

2013-12-1

2013-12-8

2014-1-2

2016-10-29 (we thought lemon juice might be a nice idea)

Fresh Dungeness Crabs

N. bought three live dungeness crabs of a boat Pillar Pt Harbor today ($6/lb - 5lb).  They made fun pets for a bit, as they struggled to climb on top of each other in the cooler that served as their temporary aquarium in our kitchen.  After a couple hours, the activity level in the cooler rapidly decreased.  It was time to turn pets into dinner.

J. cooked them, using the following as a guide:

http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/flavors-of-the-west/dungeness-101-how-cook-crab-00400000024256/

Here's J. getting ready to cook one:

Here it's getting pushed down into our largest pot, with a vegetable steamer below it:

A cooked crab:

A gutted and halved crab:

They were served along w/garlicky chili butter.

Remade on:
2014-12-14 with three 2lb+ crabs

Sauerkraut

N. likes to ferment things. She has previously tried making sauerkraut, and was quite pleased with the results. (J was not -- he is not a sauerkraut fan, though.) Her method is taken from the book Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz.

Ingredients:

One head of cabbage

One carrot

Some salt

Some caraway seeds

Method:

Shred the carrot and cabbage with the food processor, using the slicing disc attachment for the cabbage.

Season with caraway seeds and salt

Pack ingredients deeply into a glass jar, pressing them down firmly as each layer is added

Place a heavy weight, e.g. as smaller bottle full of water, inside the jar, to ensure that all the cabbage is submerged in its own brine.

Cover with a clean cloth and secure cloth with a rubber band.

Leave the filled jar for 1-4 weeks before eating. Feel free to sample a bit along the way, as tempted.

Update: On Nov 30, 10 days after the fermentation began, the sauerkraut was amazingly delish.  Thus, it was jared and refrigerated.

Remade on:
2013-12-8 this batch, sadly, went bad, possibly due to insufficient salt :(
2014-1-9

Apple Oven Cake

We hosted a party this fall.  As decor, we bought large red apples.  They looked shiny & cute, but their taste left a lot to be desired.

Soon after the party, N. came across this recipe in an old issue of Sunset, and a use case for the sad apples was found:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/apple-oven-cake-10000001924665/

The apples were sliced:

Sauteed in cinnamon butter:

And turned into a delish frittata-like entity.  The lemon juice was key to good taste.  A bit less sugar would have been ok.

Pork Shoulder - Sunday Roast

J. decided to brave the pork shoulder roast again today.  This was roughly the recipe that was followed:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Six-Hour-Pork-Roast-102530

The project started with 6.3lb bone-in fat-on pork shoulder (Boston Butt):

The pork stayed in the oven for 5.75 hours.  In the last hour, potatoes and brussels sprouts were added to the pork juices:

The final results were delicious:

Remade on:

Feb 21, 2016