Fall 2023

A holiday-heavy stretch — Friendsmas and Christmas feast prep, turkey, stocks, and a French onion soup that “was great!” — alongside a chicken burger weekend comparing brined breast patties, ground chicken patties, and pork schnitzel. A meatball-and-marinara combo both turned out “very good,” a mayo-based chicken skewer marinade worked well as a pure marinade, and the go-to wing sauce turned out to just be the standard Korean-fried-chicken red sauce all along.

Undated. About July to December; the original notes grouped these as Fall.

Friendsmas

• Turkey
  • 219C 2-3 hours
    • Put dark meat in a bit earlier
  • Break down into 2 trays
• Potatoes (mash)
• Veg (roasting)
• Stock
  • Gravy
  • Stuffing
• Mac & cheese
  • Bacon

2024 goals and ideas

• Potato casseroles (texture, flavour)

Christmas feasts prep

• Roast chicken dinner
  • Potatoes
  • Cheese sauce
• Steamed veg
• Stock
  • Chicken → Chicken or turkey stock
  • Beef → Beef stock
• Stew → Beef stew
• French onion soup (was great!) → French onion soup
  • Finished the lazy way: crostinis + cheese, atop hot soup

Prep order:

• Friday: stock, chicken, beef cubes
• Saturday:

Food prep, early December

• 2x beef (no stock) → Beef base
• Ideas
  • Gratin recipe
  • Start developing a pho broth for the pressure cooker
    • Waiting on cheesecloth
    • Beef bones or knuckles
    • Beef balls
  • Asian style dressing (quick)
• TODO
  • ✅Chicken skewers (video, recipe)
    • ✅Mayo Marinade → Mayo marinade
      • 50 g mayo
      • 4 garlic cloves (20g of minced garlic)
      • 20 cranks black pepper
      • Large spoonful (about 2 tsp) dried oregano
      • Lemon zest (or juice)
      • 6g salt (1.25%)
      • 2g msg (~10% of salt)
        • Recipe calls for salting the chicken before, but testing as a pure marinade.
        • Pure marinade worked
        • Slightly salty, but very tasty
        • Mayo worked well
  • ✅Chicken ramen stock → Basic chicken ramen stock
    • (no celery, but with ginger, finish with kombu/bonito)
  • Beef balls

Writing

• Ranking food quality
  • (relates to quality generally)
  • (note danger of writing about quality)
  • Axes?
    • Perfect balances (SAFH),
    • interesting combinations,
    • textures,
    • layers,
    • experience,
    • Comfort,
    • Sources (local, in-season, responsible),
    • price/value

Learning

• Learn more about tadka
• Square pan pizza is something I should try again
• Lentil curry
• TODO: map of curries using a base
  • Butter chicken / murgh makhani → Butter chicken
  • Rogan
  • Vindaloo
  • Korma
  • Tikka masala
  • Saag
  • Dal

Back home

• Poboys or Burgers
• Tacos and wraps (cabbage, roast carrots)
• Make bread dough for focaccia snacks Sunday
  • Roasted garlic, oil, balsamic
• Bolognese
• Moroccan roasted carrots
• Yogurt/chicken for Nan wraps
  • Chicken tikka (or the no yoghurt method)
  • Chana masala
  • Coconut curry
• Soups
  • Minestrone
  • Pesto soup
  • Bean/kale soup

Weeknight meal ideas

• Squash ravioli, mushroom/spinach/homemade sausage sauce
  • Rolled pork sausage (fennel?)

December menus

• French onion soup
• Indian curry
  • Pakora
  • Butter chicken
  • Vindaloo
  • Naan (buy)
• Pho
  • Beef balls
  • Sliced roast
  • Extras
  • Broth
  • Noodles (buy)
• Ramen
  • Fresh noodles (TNT)
  • Broth (shoyu?)
    • Weissman’s 3 broths
• Christmas breakfast
  • Hash browns
• Food for friends & family
  • Stew?

Next up

• Pressure cooker:
  • Pho
    • Broth (SE1, SE2)
      • “two parts oxtail for the base flavor of the broth, along with one part each of chuck and brisket”
    • Meatballs (R1, R2, R3)
  • Ramen broth
  • Vindaloo
• Weeknight quick meals
  • Butter chicken
• Hand pulled noodles

Wing sauce (nothing new under the sun)

→ Gochujang wing sauce

It turns out my go to wing sauce is just the standard K(orean)FC red sauce:

• 1/4 cup gochujang
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (I use sake)
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar (lazy me uses maple syrup)
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or jarred)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Roux/gravy ratios

• 3tbsp:2tbsp:1c flour:fat:stock
• 100ml:66g:500ml

Soup ideas

Tomato soup (from a Reddit thread): → Tomato soup

• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped into ½" dice
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (28 oz/780ml) can of whole peeled tomatoes in juice, roughly chopped
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• ½ teaspoon sugar, plus more to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup heavy cream, or more to taste
• Parmesan Crisps

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 7-8 minutes until translucent and slightly golden. Add the garlic and stir for about a minute.

Add the tomatoes, including the juice, along with the broth, sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently until liquid reduces slightly, 12-13 minutes. Remove from the stove and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Pour the slightly cooled soup mixture into a blender (or food processor) and puree for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Add the cream and blend for 10 seconds more. Taste and see if it needs more salt, pepper, or sugar and adjust accordingly.

An alternative is proposed, too:

• 28oz can of whole peeled San marzano tomatoes
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• Handful of fresh basil
• Splash of milk
• Splash of balsamic vinegar
• Crushed red pepper
• salt & pepper and maybe some msg if you’re feeling wild
• sometimes I’ll throw in a carrot instead of sugar for some sweetness
• Optionally - I add a can of navy beans and blend for extra protein, fibre, and thickness

Chicken burger weekend

New plan: chicken burgers.

• Chicken breast patties
  • Brined
    • 100g kosher salt, 10g MSG
    • 50g sugar
    • 1L water
    • 1L vinegar
  • Breaded (flour, egg, breadcrumbs)
• Ground chicken patties → Chicken patties
  • Brined/mixed
  • Breaded
  • Seasoning (per kg):
    • 25g kosher salt
    • 5g MSG
    • 10g granulated sugar
    • 1 tablespoon grated onion
    • 1 teaspoon sage powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pork schnitzel
  • Dry brined (salt, pepper)
  • Breaded

Burger weekend?

• My fav burgers
  • Deluxe burger
  • Double bacon
  • Mozza
  • BC burger

Sweet Ice tea, take #598,954,038,345

→ Bruce’s cold-brewed iced tea

• 2L cold brew tea (black tea, 6 bags, 12-18 hours)
• 3.25 scoops white sugar (3 is better)
• 6 squirts lime / 1 squirt lemon (too much, aim for 4)
• Stir
• Drink over ice

Small foods for fam

• Meatballs
  • Adobo seasoning mix → Adobo seasoning mix
    • 2 tablespoons salt
    • 1 tablespoon paprika
    • 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
    • 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
    • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
  • Beef/pork
  • Gluten free bread for the panade
  • Meatball recipe ← very good → Meatballs
    • Panade was a bit wetter than normal: worked well
      • (milk, cream, sour cream instead of buttermilk)
  • Sauce recipe ← also very good → Simple marinara
    • minor adjustments (added fire-roasted tomatoes + balsamic instead of sugar, and sake instead of wine)

September post vacation food thoughts

• Ramen eggs 1:1:½:½:½ (water🍶soy:mirin:sugar) → Ramen eggs (ajitsuke tamago)

September post vacation food thoughts

• Need to learn to make various
  • Hot & sour soups
    • Soto Ayam Madura (2, 3)
    • Hot and sour
  • More pasta dishes
  • Curries
    • Rendang / Sumatra (1, 2)

Food prep

• Chicken stock (4x chicken bones)
  • Roasted
  • Garlic roasted
  • Ginger
  • Onion (2 small)
• Chili

August entertaining

• Red curry → Red Thai curry
  • Roast sweet potatoes / carrots
  • Peas
  • Standard red curry method (second point of reference)
  • Make a chilli oil/sauce
    • Red chillies
    • Garlic
    • Shallot
    • Ginger
    • Salt/sugar
• Shrimp
  • Brine
    • “a quick brine of salt and baking soda. It may sound minor, but the combination works wonders: the salt helps keep the shrimp nice and moist as they cook, while alkaline baking soda delivers a crisp, firm texture. You’re looking for about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for every pound of shrimp; give it a quick toss and rest the shrimp in the fridge for anywhere from 15 minutes to about an hour.”
  • Garlic/ginger/shallot/salt/unspciy chilis
  • Broiled (2-3 minutes per side)
  • Note: I didn’t brine these, but I did:
    • Lightly seasoned with Momofuku spicy salt
    • Broiled for ~2 minutes per side
    • Should have dried them off first, tossed in oil
• Chicken thighs
  • Pound out
  • Same treatment ^^
  • 20 minutes
• Rice + cinnamon (and salt)

Weekly cookery (July)

• Fettuccine, roast veg, chicken, pesto
  • Pesto from Linda Rempel
  • Needs a touch of acid/salt next time, otherwise fantab
  • Chicken slightly underdone; check next time if it’s frozen from the market
• Lunch meat
  • Roasted turkey “loaf”
    • Dry brine / rub (1 hour)
      • Used a prepared spice mix from momofuku
    • 135C → (45 minutes) 45C
    • 205C → (15 minutes) 62C
    • Moderate seasoning
    • Fridge (12 hours)
• Simple rice dish for dinner
  • Rice (mix of wild, short, long to clean up the cupboard)
  • Rough mince asian pork mix from the freezer
    • Quick fry to heat up
    • Cabbage on top
  • Soy + chilli crispy
  • → This was fantastic, also great with the pork breakfast patties below
• Pork breakfast patties
  • (WIP)

Learned:

• patties bake in the oven nicely + quickly (chicken or pork at least), and make a quick meal with noodles. Rice, buns, etc. This is a great time hack/
• Roasted meats (brined) are a decent sub for lunch meats, cheaper, and can be frozen sliced in small containers (to take out the night before)
  • Deli meats are ~$3/100g ($30/kg) vs from whole cuts at ~$1.5/100g (or better on sale)
  • Can also control salt/nitrite levels better

Jerky jerk jerk

→ Jerk chicken

(haven’t made this yet, just logging it for Sunday)

• 6 scallions
• 10-14 sprigs thyme
• 2 scotch bonnet peppers
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Pimento (allspice) powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 lime
• 1 lemon
• 4-5 thick slices of ginger
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 medium onions

Ideas

• Asian beef for soup and noodles for the freezer
• Pork attempt (chops) 1089g
  • Smash/dice pork
  • Garlic / ginger / onion or shallot
  • tbsp goju garu / szechuan
  • Sauce 2:1:1:.5
    • Oyster sauce
    • Black vinegar (balsamic/red wine/water)
    • Soy sauce
    • Msg
    • Sugar
  • Method
    • Cook pork (in oil) until brown, remove
    • Cook aromatics
    • Add goju garu (cook for a bit)
    • Add pork + sauce
    • Stir to combine
  • Top with
    • Green onion
    • Sesame

Pork and other ideas

• Everything salads were good (coriander/sesame chicken)
• Pork ideas
  • Quick pork Momofuku
  • Another garlic chili noodles

Long weekend Burgers and prep

• Beef patties ($12 / 7 = 1.71 ~ 1kg)
• Veg patties (try something new?)
• Beef mince
  • Basic 1.2kg / 10.58
    • 5*500ml
  • Taco
    • 5*500ml

Momofuku noodles and crunchy chilis

Yum

Snacks and sauces

• Korean style wings (gochujang)
• Hidden fraser valley ranch
• Salad rolls (ate out) ← need to make more of these

T&T!

New finds at T&T:

• Mango crepe cake
• Kiki noodles (which also work well in soup)
• Jongga kimchi ← very clean tasting + crunchy!