Venison Rib Eye with Creamy Mushroom Pilaf

I use a select few commercially prepared condensed soups to make sauces and dips but I always  substitute my home canned stocks and broths when a recipe calls for the commercially canned versions.  The reason being is home canned or simply home made stocks and broths are less expensive but have better flavour.  Stocks and broths add a wonderful flavour to rices so unless I need plain white rice for a particular dish, I always cook rices in stocks (eg. beef, chicken, vegetable, tomato).

The guys had a successful hunt camp which translates into me having a bit of venison in the freezer.  Venison is wild game that can have a gamey edge to it if not cooked properly.  This is mainly due to the meat being very low fat and the mouth feel of what fat there is.  For this reason, venison is usually cooked with pork or bacon fat.

We pan fried the venison rib eye steaks in a little bacon grease in one of our new ceramic coated non-stick EcoPans.  The pan was amazing to use to the point my restaurant grade Teflon coated have officially been retired.  I served the venison steaks with home canned green beans and a creamy mushroom pilaf.  The recipe called for using part of the Parmesan cheese and parsley as a garnish.  I omitted both as venison is a very rich meat so I wanted the pilaf to complement rather than compete with that richness.

Creamy Mushroom Pilaf
modified from: Campbell's, Simply Delicious Recipes (1992), Pp. 130

3 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 c fresh sliced mushrooms
1 c uncooked long grain white rice
1¼ c homemade stock
¾ c water
¼ c dry white wine
¼ tsp pepper
¼ c sour cream
½ c fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Place the onion, mushrooms, rice and butter into a 2-quart saucepan.  Cook until rice is lightly browned on medium heat, stirring often.  Stir in broth, water, win and pepper.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce the heat to a low simmer.  Cover and cook 20 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the sour cream and half of the cheese.  Cover and let stand 5 minutes.  Stir.  Garnish with remaining cheese and parsley if desired.

Rice - My Cooking Nemesis

Everyone who cooks regardless of their experience or training will face a cooking nemesis.  The difference between a home cook and a professionally trained one is the professionally trained cook/chef is forced to cook the same dish over and over until they have it mastered to perfection.  The home cook has easy options to practicing a dish though so it is easy to never have to face your cooking nemesis.  My cooking nemesis is rice.

Rice is a staple in most pantries because it is a good value for your food dollar.  It can be enjoyed plain or seasoned as a side and there are a lot of easy recipes that using rice as an ingredient.  However, I cannot cook rice the way I would like to.  As a newlwed I used instant rice or Rice-a-Roni but then we bought our first microwave oven, I started experimenting with long grain rice.  It cooked the rice reasonably well but my gosh the spill over resulted in a huge mess every time.  I finally bought a rice maker.  I'm now on my second rice maker.  I make rice a couple of times a week and the consistent problem has been scorching.  It is the same problem I had trying to cook rice on an electric stove.

I developed several methods to deal with the scorching problem.  I've added butter, cooked in stock and unplugged the rice maker as soon as the rice was cooked.  Each time I carefully spoon out the unscorched rice then tossing the scorched rice but to me that was acceptable.  Finally as soon as the rice cooker clicked off, I removed the cooked rice and set it on a trivet then covered with a lid to keep warm until being served but there was still a bit of scorching.  A few days ago, it dawned on me that the problem with the rice scorching was the residual heat in the burner of the rice cooker or electric stovetop.  The natural gas stove removes this problem so I was on a mission to finally learn how to cook rice on the stovetop.

I consulted my much used and beloved Betty Crocker's Cookbook (circa 1969).  There is a chart to refer to for the amount of rice you want to cook.  I used ⅓ c long grain white rice, ⅔ c water and ¼ tsp salt.  The instructions said to mix together in a sauce pan, bring to a boil then reduce to simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 14 minutes.   Once the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, fluff the rice, cover and let steam 5 to 10 minutes.

I am rather pleased and encouraged with my first test batch of cooking rice on the stovetop.  I experienced two minor problems but the rice was still nice and fluffy.  It has a nicer texture than rice cooked in the rice cooker.  First, there was a bit of spill over shortly after I put the lid on.  I'm still getting used to the settings on the gas stove so I had the burner turned too high.  Now I know to turn the burner down even further.  Second, there was a bit of sticking on the bottom of the pan.  It wasn't scorched, just sticking.  There wasn't as much wastage as there is using the rice cooker but still a bit of practice should solve that problem.  I used a stainless steel saucepan so worst case scenario I could buy a non-stick saucepan for cooking rice.  I prefer not to do this though so will be practicing cooking rice several times over the next few days.  This really is going to be an exercise in patience but I'm determined to master cooking rice on the stovetop!

Kitchen Quick Tips - Preventing Sticky Rice

For light fluffy rice, rinse the raw grains to remove surface starch then cook.  When your rice is cooked, remove from heat.  Remove the lid and cover with a clean T-towel then replace the lid.  Allow the rice to sit off the heat for 10 minutes.  The T-towel will soak up steam preventing sticky rice.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Rice

Rice has been a staple in many countries and is the most commonly consumed grain in the world, second only in North America to wheat.  In general rices tend to be a very inexpensive starch, certainly less expensive than potatoes.  In comparison to wheat an 8 kg bag of long grain rice cost me $6.99 but has the potential to make almost 4 times that amount with little more than water making rice an extremely frugal starch choice.  Currently rices in my pantry include: Basmati, brown Basmati, Arborio, white long grain, Jasmine, Calrose and Thai sweet rice.   This week's Frugal Kitchens 101 focuses on rice and why it is a frugal choice as a side or ingredient.

• price - Rice regardless of the variety is quite inexpensive, even less expensive than potatoes.  In general plain long grain white rice is the cheapest but even more expensive short grain varieties and converted rices.  White rice has been stripped of most of it's nutrients so a more frugal choice is brown rice that has a higher nutrition value yet the price is fairly close to that of white rice.  My experience has been that rice regardless of the variety seldom goes on sale but the nice thing is the price of larger bags of rice tends to stay fairly consistent.  An initial outlay of about $30 will give you enough rice to feed a family of 4 for well over a year!
• storage - Most rices keep well in cool, dry locations for years.  The exception to this is brown rices that have more rice oil in them so they can become rancid but that problem can be solved by storing the rice in the freezer or refrigerator.  Buy rice in bulk in large sized packages then store in a cool, dark location in metal or heavy plastic bins to protect from water and/or rodent damage.
• versatility - Rice can be used as a meat/soup extender, appetizer, side dish, salad, basic ingredient, or base for a dessert.  Leftover rice reheats nicely and it can be frozen for later use if desired.  Leftover rice can also be tossed into soups and stews. 
• easy cooking - Rice can be cooked on the stove with nothing more than a saucepan with lid or in the microwave over or a rice maker.  I personally prefer a rice maker for convenience.  Uncooked rice can also be added to casseroles, soups, meatballs and similar dishes where it will cook along with the other ingredients.

Chicken with Mango Chutney

Yesterday I wrote about an easy chicken and gravy with rice dinner using boneless, skinless chicken breasts and Thai sweet rice.  This sticky rice is often paired with mango slices then surrounded by coconut milk as a desert.  I decided to take a savory spin on the sweet rice and mango combination by using mango chutney to create an entrée.

Mango chutney has a deep, warm, spicy flavour with slightly sweet high notes.  It has a chunky texture similar to thick salsa.  It really is delightful!  Mango chutney pairs wonderfully with chicken adding a lot of flavour. 

Pictured is the easy to make chicken with mango chutney.  I cooked the Thai sweet rice in chicken stock while the chicken was cooking.  I seared the chicken on both sides then covered the pan and allowed the chicken to continue cooking on reduced heat until the juices were no longer pink.  This kept the chicken nice and moist.  To serve I placed the chicken on a bed of sweet rice and topped with mango chutney.  It was an easy, low fat yet wonderfully flavoured meal.

Easy Chicken & Gravy with Rice

Chicken is a versatile frugal meat choice.   Chicken can bought deboned and skinned or can easily be deboned and skinned at home for more savings.  If you debone and skin at home you have the meat plus the bones for making stock.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are very versatile so they are one of my freezer staples.  They are great pan fried or grilled.  Quite often I will cook up several then slice for use in chicken wraps and salads.  Once sliced I package them into meal size portions and vacuum seal them, then freeze for quick meal starts. 

One of my favourite ways of cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts is pan frying.  I sear the meat on both sides on high heat for a nice golden brown then reduce the heat and season as desired.  Pictured is the chicken dinner I made a couple of nights ago.  I started the chicken in the same fashion then after reducing the heat I seasoned lightly with garlic pepper then poured in about a half cup of water stirring to loosen the bits of chicken from searing.  I let the chicken cook until the juices were no longer pink then removed from the pan to make the gravy.  I added about a cup of chicken stock to the remaining drippings brought to a low boil and stirred in a corn starch slurry to thicken. 

While the chicken was cooking, the Thai sweet rice (Sanpatong) was cooking in the rice cooker.  Thai sweet rice is a sticky rice  In Thai the northern and northeastern regions of Thailand, this rice is eaten in place of long grain rice.  There it is traditional eaten with your hands by making the rice into a little ball and dipping it into other dishes.  Thai sweet rice should be soaked for 10 minutes before cooking.   When cooked the rice will be translucent.  I used chicken stock for the cooking liquid.  Rather than forming into balls, served the rice topped with a chicken breast with the gravy poured over it.

Turkey and Mushroom Pie

Quite often the starts of a casserole is inspired by an ingredient that catches my eye when I'm in the pantry. One of my purchases in my recent foodie finds was Nishiki rice. This is a new medium grain rice variety that is ideal for sushi. As things sometimes happens with foodies, I was pouring the rice into a mason jar for vacuum sealing when a strong craving for sticky rice came over me. I was off on another tangent. I set up the rice maker to make 3 cups then waited patiently for my sticky rice. When the rice was cooked I scooped out a cup, added a pat of butter and just a dash of salt. While I was eating my delicious little snack I got a what if moment for using up the rest of the sticky rice. Here's what I came up with.

Turkey and Mushroom Pie

Sticky rice is called sticky because the higher starch content causes it to stick together, a rather desirable trait when making sushi. Based on that same principle I reasoned that sticky rice could be shaped into a crust then filled. I decided to use left-over turkey from the freezer in keeping with using something from the freezer daily. The end result was a lovely, casserole type dish that had a lot of flavour!

Turkey and Mushroom Pie
recipe by: Garden Gnome

2 c cooked sushi rice
3 tbsp butter
2 c cooked turkey
½ small onion
½ c frozen peas
½ tsp garlic/onion seasoning
½ tsp Old Bay Seasoning
2 cans condensed mushroom soup
⅓ c milk
1 c sliced sautéed mushrooms

Cook the sushi rice. Mix 2 tbsp of the butter with the rice while still warm then press into glass pie plate. Set aside. Chop the onion then caramelize in the remaining butter. Remove from heat and drain. Sautée mushroom slices in a little butter. Remove from heat and set aside. Cut turkey into bite sized pieces. Pour turkey pieces into mixing bowl then stir in onions, seasonings, soup and milk. Stir in peas last. Pour the filling into the prepared rice shell. Top with sautéed mushrooms. Bake at 180ºC/350ºC until centre is hot. Remove from oven. Serve.

Bon Appétit!

Braised Beef Ribs

There have been a few new things going on in the kitchen but as you can see from the pictures, the new ceramic tile still is not installed. Instead it is sitting neatly in boxes by the kitchen entry between the kitchen and family room, right perfect for stubbing toes. I'm not impressed! Two new pieces of kitchen cookware have joined the kitchen while at least one has left.

Old & New

I have talked of my pressure cookers and canners before. After much debate I decided to splurge and buy a new All American 921 (21.5 qt) pressure canner from Pressure Cooker Outlet. There isn't a lot to go wrong on pressure cookers or canners except most models use gaskets. Gaskets wear out and need replacing which adds to the cost of operation. The gasket for my Mirro is not available locally so I ordered it online and always kept a spare on hand but I worried that at some point the gasket would not be available. So even though the Mirro performed nicely and was very dependable, it was the pressure canner targeted as leaving the kitchen first. The All American has an exclusive metal-to-metal seal that does not require a gasket.

Pictured are my old and new All American 921 pressure canners. All American has now gone to a weighted-gauge system so the new canner has a dial gauge and a round, muli-selection weighted-gauge. Unlike the Mirro, the weighted-gauge is one piece with three different drilled holes to set the weight at the appropriate psi. The dial gauge is used as a visual to keep the canner at pressure. Pressure is determined by the level of heat. Unlike the older All American there is no petcock and the dial gauge needs to be tested yearly which can be a problem in some areas. I've found anywhere that fixes radiators should be able to test the gauges but I think this is why All American gave up on the petcock. The old All American has a dial gauge and a petcock. It works like a charm and is ever so quiet but my concern is the overpressure plug is metal instead of rubber so if it ever blew it would act very much like a bullet! If I can replace the overpressure plug with one of the new rubber ones, I will continue using this canner as a back-up canner.

Braised Beef Ribs

Last night I made braised beef ribs for dinner. These were long, meaty beef ribs with a fair amount of fat. I cooked on low heat (200ºF/95ºC) in the countertop roaster. I sprinkled with a little Montreal Steak seasoning, added a sliced onion, bay leaf and Worcestershire Sauce. Then I poured in about 1 cup of water and let them cook for about 3 hours before pouring a bottle of Diana Sauce. This is a sauce I use quite often when I want a quick sauce. I let the ribs continue cooking for another hour or so. The end result was very moist, flavourful ribs with meat falling off the bone. They really were good and got rave reviews however, they were fattier than I would have liked.

Through the miracles of Photoshop you don't have to look at the countertop that is still waiting to be replaced which would be bad except yours truly made a lot of marker marks for where the new sink is going. Anyway, I wanted to tell you the story behind this small platter. It is actually the base for my soup turine. When my kids (circa 1985) were quite young one of my hobbies was ceramics. I would bundle them (not telling how many) into the pram them walk to the ceramic shop where I would pick up two or three pieces of greenware then carefully make my way back home. Anyone who has worked with greenware can appreciate how easily it breaks. While the kids napped I carefully cleaned each piece then made the same trip the following day with the kids in tow to get the pieces fired while bringing back more. I made an entire eight piece setting of dishes including goblets, cream and sugar, salt and pepper and candlesticks this way. For years, the set was on display in a 1950's cabinet I restored then for the past almost 15 years the dishes have been packed away. I'm now bringing them back out for use always pausing to enjoy the memories they bring.

Plated

The braised beef ribs would have been wonderful even if served on paper plates. I served the ribs with basmati rice, corn and a tossed salad keeping the attention on the ribs themselves. The ribs were a real success, definitely the belle of the ball! They were from the beef quarter we recently bought.

Risotto

Rice is always a nice variation from potatoes. There are many kinds of rice so the possibilities are endless and versatile. I will admit the majority of the rice I make is cooked using a rice cooker. Risotto is cooked on the stovetop. It takes a little more effort and a bit less time but the results are well worth it.

Risotto

Risotto has a rich and creamy texture from the starches yet the rice grains are al dente from the way it is cooked. A short-grained round or semi-round rice are best for making risotto. These inclued Arborio, Vialone, Nano, Carnaroli and Originario. Long grained rices do not make a good risotto because the grains stay separate. Minute rice also will not work because it won't absorb the liquid yet the grains remain separate.

I used Arborio rice for the risotto and turkey stock for the liquid. When the risotto was al dente, I stirred in sauteed mushrooms. I omitted adding Parmesan cheese because I was serving the risotto with fish. The result was a nicely flavoured, creamy risotto accented with mushrooms.

Method: Chop 1 small onion then sauté with herbs (if desired) in a good layer of olive oil. Remove the onion and herbs leaving the oil in the pan. Stir in rice and sauté until the rice is translucent about 7 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent rice from sticking. Return the onion and herbs to the pan. Stir in a third cup of warmed* dry white or red wine. When the wine has been absorbed, stir in a ladle of simmering broth. Add another ladle of both before the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding broth in this manner as the rice absorbes it until the rice barely reaches the al dente stage. Stir in a tablespoon of butter. If you want a richer risotto stir in a quarter cup of heavy cream**. Cover and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Just before serving stir in fresh grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve.

* Cold liquid will shock the rice causing it to flake on the outside and stay hard at the core.
** Risotto that has had cream added is called mantecato. It is remarkably smooth.


Pan Fried Perch with Risotto

We catch perch along with other fish for fresh eating and stocking the freezers. Then when we don't have fresh caught we turn to our freezers where several meals worth of we caught are are waiting. Last night I decided to continue on our fish theme using perch. Fresh perch is a family favourite. The small fillets have light almost sweet flavour. They are best pan fried but can be prepared other ways. What ever method you use, do not over cook as perch will dry out very quickly because of it's small size.

Perch is usually dredged in a light flour coating or can be dredged in cornmeal for a slightly textured coating. I used a slightly seasoned flour for dredging then fried the perch in a cast iron fry pan until golden brown. I served the perch with risotto and steamed rutabaga. I would have served with spinach but the rutabaga needed to be used up. It was a nice, mellow meal.

Important Canning Note & Last Night's Dinner - Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Ribs

Things are a little slow in the kitchen right now so a bit of housekeeping and chit chat.


An Important Note on Canning Recipes: Altitude Adjustments
It has been brought to my attention that I haven't mentioned the need to adjust processing times if using a boiling water bath (BWB) canner or pressure canner at altitudes higher than 1,000 ft (305 M) above sea level. This is an oversight on my part based on the assumption that anyone using my recipes would know to adjust the processing if they live at a higher altitude. We live below 1,000 ft (305 M) above sea level so like many canning recipes found online, mine are written to be processed at that level. At higher altitudes, the length of processing needs to be increased BWB canning and the pressure needs to be increased for pressure canning.

I created the altitude adjustment chart image in Photoshop CS2 using USDA recommendations and information from the charts found here. I liked the incorporation of both Imperial and Metric measurements for a universally useful resource. I will be going through the archives to note the canning recipes with a link back to my chart but this will take some time. I will also be adding a link in the sidebar to the altitude adjustment chart.

Tossed Salad

A good portion of the meals entries on this blog don't include pictures of sides like salads and the other foods that go into making our meals. Salads are one of those sides that are usually served at most dinners and quite often are served by themselves for dinner. This time of year really makes me yearn for fresh picked salad greens. Being in a cold winter climate that isn't always possible unless you grow a few pots of salad greens on a windowsill. Unfortunately I don't have salad greens grown but have herbs planted in containers. I started one larger pot of mescalin mix so hopefully will be clipping that in another couple of weeks. So we are relying on store bought greens for salads.

This tossed salad was made with iceberg lettuce as a base. Iceberg lettuce while popular for the crunch has very little nutritional value. It's not something that I grow or use very often. When I do, I like pairing it with darker raw green vegetables like sweet peppers and broccoli. Cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and just a little cheddar cheese completed the toppings. A sun dried tomato and oregano dressing was the finishing touch.

Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Ribs

On my quest to use one food item from the pantry and another from the freezer, I decided on pork loin ribs. These are large meaty ribs with no bones so ends up being a rather frugal choice for meat. It reheats well and can easily be froze.

This was a rather large package of pork loin ribs at just under 11 kg (5 lb). I decided to use a sweet and sour sauce on the ribs much the same I do with chicken wings. This is a slow cook process. The sweet and sour sauce is ideal for chicken or pork and works just as well in a slow cooker as a roaster although it does not caramelize to the same degree in a slow cooker.

Method: The meat goes in a covered roaster with just about a 250 ml (1 c) water at 135ºC (275ºF) for about 3 hours. It is important to leave the meat alone without lifting the lid. At the end of 3 hours, remove the roaster and drain most of the liquid. Reserve the liquid for cooking rice. Mix the sauce (recipe follows) then pour over the meat. For this amount of meat I used 2.5 times the recipe amounts. Increase temperature to 150º (300ºF) for about one hour. Increase temperature to 177ºC (350ºF), remove lid and continue cooking for about 30 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan to a serving platter. Drizzle sauce over top.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 c ketchup
¼ c vinegar
¼ c brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ finely chopped onion
1 tsp prepared mustard

Mix together. Pour over meat and bake or roast.
*Recipe easily doubles.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

We grill year round in good or not so good weather. Like the mailman rain, sleet or snow will not deter us from grilling! During the summer I use the grill much like an oven so any oven baked dish is fair game. Part of the fun of grilling is the creativity but our philosophy for the most part is KISS (keep it simple silly).

I had a craving for pineapple to the point I picked up a fresh one at the market even though I had no idea what to use it for. It sat nicely decorating the counter until the craving became stronger. Every time I caught a whiff of the pineapple smell the craving grew. So here's what I came up with.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Kabobs are just a fun way to grill and present food. They are perfect for entertaining as guests can assemble as they please. Simply set the components up in separate dishes and let your guests choose. Be sure the pieces are fairly similar in size for grilling times.

Wooden skewers are very inexpensive but because they are wood, they need to be soaked in water prior to using and they should be considered as disposable. I like leaving the grilled kabobs on the skewer for presentation. I used chicken pieces from the recent chicken session. These were about 1 inch pieces, three per kabob. Other ingredients included: red pepper, yellow pepper, whole mushrooms, red onions and fresh pineapple chunks. The kabobs were grilled on medium heat and brushed lightly with Italian dressing each time they were turned. The kabobs were served with arborio rice cooked in chicken stock, a dash of saffron then lightly stirred with butter along with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Yummy and oh so simple!

Spare Ribs & Rice

Well, by now you have figured out my plans for yesterday went astray! I was in the dentist's chair from 10 am to 1:15 pm and still didn't get the wisdom tooth extracted! He gave me two freezings plus a buccal freezing and I still jumped when he was doing a filling so he decided against pulling the tooth. I am sporting two nice white fillings and talk about an ego boost. They look so much nicer than the old amalgam. I am proud to say I only teared up but no actual crying and I did not bite him so that's progress! I go again on Thursday for the first of four cleanings since they divide the mouth into quadrants. He thinks will be easier for me to deal with.

As a treat, I popped into the grocery store a couple of doors down an bought a package of spareribs. We had used Stubbs™ barbeque sauce on the pork rib chops so my husband really was itching for ribs. So ribs sounded pretty good for dinner

Rice Maker

This is my rice maker. Sorry but I seldom cook rice any other way. I've tried the stove method and the microwave with horrid results. The problem was we really like rice but I don't cook it right! Then I discovered rice makers. My first rice maker had two settings, cook and warm. On larger batches it would make a mess and after about 15 years of faithful use it started browning the rice on the warm setting so I replaced it wtih the Aroma® that came with a small recipe book by Martin Yan from Yan Can Cook.

There are a couple of things I like about using a rice cooker. First I know I'm a good cook but am smart enough to realize when something just doesn't work for me regardless of the reason. Using a rice cooker ensure my rice is perfect each and everytime without worrying about it. Second, the rice maker keeps the rice warm until ready for serving. That means I can stir in other ingredients or leave as it but know it is always hot and ready for the table. So, if you are like me getting frustrated over rice failing, check these small appliances out. You will be pleasantly surprised at their performance and price! Then buy your rice in bulk for more savings and wherever possible cook your rice using something flavoured like chicken stock.

Ribs

I do ribs one of two ways, the first being grilled and the second in the oven but they always start off the same way. Done this way, the meat is very tender, fall of the bone and juicy.

Method:
I like to use fresh ribs but if using ribs from the freezer, I thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then I place the ribs in a roasing pan and pour in 1/2 c of water, nothing else. The ribs are then covered and baked at 250º for about 4 hours. baking - Carefully drain the water and pour on your favourite barbeque sauce. Turn the temperature to 350ºF and let bake about 1 hour.
barbequing - Carefully drain the water and place the ribs on the hot grill. Using a silicon pastry brush, slather on barbeque sauce on one side, grill about 10 minutes, flip and repeat..

Either way these are mouth watering ribs sure to please!