Late Night Meat and Cheese for Two!!!

I had the day off Monday. Renee had to work, she would be gone from 2pm till around 10pm. I thought it would be a great idea to show her some appreciation by having a meat and cheese tray ready for us when she got home from work.
I had run a variety of errands earlier in the day, going to different markets around town. I was able to get some sliced prosciutto, some marinated artichokes, a Mediterranean blend of olives, a raw milk bleu cheese, a great brie and another hard goat milks cheese. With all of this i needed a nice freshly baked french baguette. My last and most important choice was what type of wine did i want us to have with this wonderful snack? White? No, i was in the mood for some red wine. i found a great bottle of Malbec that would compliment the array of food on out meat and cheese tray.
Once all purchased i just had to wait. i had text her ealrier in the day to have her text me when she was on her way so i could take out the cheese and let it get to room temp. The cheese wold become creamy and delectable.
Below are some photos of our nice spread. We used the leftover brie cheese in the omelets the next morning, and i made myself and Renee salads for lunch with the leftover raw milk bleu cheese.

Prime and Tender Meats

Prime and Tender Meats is located in Hinsdale, Illinois. It sits a little ways off from the side of the road and i even missed the turn as i just saw the sign for it out of the corner of my eye.
As i approach there is a sign in the windows saying they sell Boars Head Deli meats and cheese. They make a good quality deli meat, but tend to cost more per pound then other brands.
As i walk in I see only one other person and myself in the market.I turn to my left and walk past a cooler with whole sirloins, tenderloins, pork loins, you get the picture.
I walked around the store checking out what was in the freezers, cooler and on the shelves. It is a small market, but has some great variety. In the freezers I noticed alot of from homemade meals to go, stews, soup, sauces, pasta dishes, even jambalaya. The shelves had your typical deli market items, gourmet mustard, horseradish, BBQ sauces, salad dressings and dips. A great variety of product for anyone to spice up the normal grilled brat or burger, etc.
That leads me to the meat counter. There they sold house-made burger patties, with some variations, turkey burgers, stuffed chicken breasts, Italian sausage(mild and spicy) and homemade brats. I myself grabbed a package of brats and Italian sausage. I have only been here this one time and plan on going back sometime in the near future, however i have one more stop to a deli that is closer to my apartment. Even so, Prime and Tender Meats deserves recognition for putting out some good quality meats, soups, etc. Folks in Hinsdale should be proud of there local deli and should help out there local community.

Home Pickling-Day Two

Sunday evening, i was able to get in some pickling. I decided to make some jardiniere. I love jardiniere on my hot dogs, brats and Italian beef. I found a great recipe and tweaked it a little to suit my taste.
This was just not a task of sliceing cucumbers for pickles. There was are over 4 different vegetables in this recipe. I even added some radishes to a batch that i created, hope they turn out great.
The liquid needed to pickle the jardiniere is intense. I had to open my windows and doors, it has a lot of vinegar in it and even started to make my eyes water. In the end it was well worth it. I made 9 jars total, 5 of the regular recipe and 4 with radishes, some dill and i simmered a smoked jalapeno in the liquid. Again we will see if this was good and or bad. Will need to try them out and or give them away to see the results.
On this day i also made some more dill pickles and I also made some more pickle relish. This time i diced them even smaller and i added some onion as well. I am sure this will come out great. I have received many great compliments on my pickles and it is greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to making some more pickles knowing i put a smile on others faces.
Below are some pictures of my creations!!!!!!

Canning not Pickling Info

Just wanted everyone to know that my recipes so far are for pickling, not canning. After some research online, looking through cookbooks, etc. I have learned that to can items like asparagus in water and salt, you need a pressure caner/cooker. Reason being, ALL veggies have a low pH. In laymans terms low acid. With this being said, you need the pressure caner to get up to 240 degrees or higher.(Read your pressure cooker manual and or a guide to canning and pickling is available as well.)
The reason being is with the veggies low acid, even though they are being canned, the heat does kill the bacteria, but not the spores. The spores can cause botulism in your cans. This is not good for anyone.
Everything that i have done thus far is pickled and a water bath works because the vinegar in the recipes heightens the acid, removing bacteria and spores from the cans.

Recipe: Scooters Dilly Delis

Recipe yields: 12 Half-Pint Mason Jars

7 each Cucumbers
2-3 bunches Fresh Dill
1/4 cup Pickling Salt
1/2 cup White Vinegar
8 cups Water
12 each Garlic Cloves

Method:

1. In a pot, combine the salt, water and vinegar. Place on the stove until it begins to boil and all of the salt is dissolved. Turn off and let cool for 10-15 minutes.(For more flavor, add some dill to this)

2. Wash cucumbers, remove each end of cucumber, discard. Slice cucumbers as thin as you want and keep them all the same thickness. If you have a mandolin, use it to make a nice thin pickle.

3. By now your jars are clean and sanitized, place a garlic clove in the bottom of each jar.

4. For each jar, pinch off some dill into each jar, what 1 teaspoon chopped would look like*.

5. Place the cucumbers into each jar, and pack them in!!! When they go into the water bath they will shrink, once cooled you will have a dead space in your jar that has no pickles, such a waste!!! Leave a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar.

6. Ladle in your hot liquid into jar to cover the pickles, leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Remove all air bubbles and adjust head-space, you may need to add more liquid.

7. Wipe rim of each jar and place the lid on the jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, from here get the jar fingertip-tight.

8. Place jars in your pot of water on the stove, ensure that they are fully submerged by water. Bring them to a boil, reduce heat and keep at a consistent 180 degrees for 30 minutes to pasteurize your pickles. Turn off burner, wait five minutes. Remove jars, cool and store.

They will last up to a year in a cool, dark place. I doubt they will last that long, anyway enjoy and please let me know how your pickles turn out!!!!





*If this is too much, add less, if you want more dill flavor, add more, just take note of what you like so you can replicate it again.

Note: Before you start this recipe, have your jars and lids sanitized and ready for canning. Also get your canning pot on the stove.

Home Pickling-Day One

I have mentioned in past posts about canning at work with items from the garden, well this year i decided to do some of it in my own kitchen or lack there of. I did my research on the items i would need to get started. Yes they do have a starter kit that has a 21 quart water bath pot, a metal rack to put inside the pot so your jars don't clatter on the bottom when the water boils and you can use it to left all the jars out when your done. It also comes with a jar lifter, lid lifter, funnel, and bubble remover. This kit can range in price from fifty-too-seventy dollars. However if you have a stock pot, this will work as well, just put a mason jar of your size in it and if it fits with at least one inch of head space your fine. Jar lifter is a must, tongs work, but you can drop the jar and get smothered in hot pickle juice as it shatters. The funnel is cheap and works great, the bubble remover, just use a butter knife of a Popsicle stick. After getting all the tools to do the job with Renee, we had to look at what i was going to make and what i needed. I knew i needed pickling salt, next jars. I got one case of half pint jars and a case of four ounce jelly jars. 12 jars come in a case, between fourteen-too-eighteen dollars for basic mason jars. I wanted to make pickles and some pickle relish. I bought 6 pickles and some dill and a gallon of white vinegar. I finally had everything i needed. Finally at home Renee and I unpacked our groceries and all of our ingredients we get to work. Renee breaks down the recipe i had, its meant for a large batch, i was only going to do twelve jars, six of each. Once this was done i had my picking mixture on the stove and my jars and lids being sanitized. I sliced the cucumbers very thin, about 4 pickles total. I then diced the cucumbers brunoise, about two and half cucumbers total. Renee peeled the garlic, then put a clove in each half pint mason jar. I sliced the garlic for the relish and put three slices in each four ounce jar. Renee and i packed each jar, carefully maneuvering each slice or piece into the jars. You literally cram as mush as you can in the jars leaving about three-quarters of a inch to the top open. We then poured the warm pickling juice over top, remove air bubbles, add more, repeat until cucumbers were submerged, leaving juice almost all the way to the top. Screw on tops and place in water bath for 30 minutes to pasteurize them at a constant 180 degrees, this is important. Remove them from the water and repeat with each jar until they are all done, let cool on a cloth. You will hear the occasional popping noise of them sealing, this is normal. If they don't pop, check them if the top lid pops when you touch it after they have completely cooled don't freak out. place in the fridge and use within a week or so. Below are some photos of our first canning venture, recipes to follow in a upcoming blog post as well as more writing and photos of canning.