Comfort Food, Literally

What do you do when your furnace is FUBAR, you're contemplating a giant investment that feels like a rushed decision due to the ever looming possibility that your water pipes may freeze, your house is already at a nippy 48º F, and tonight's low is predicted to drop to 28º? Make a frittata, of course. And think of other recipes to bake, or any excuse to keep the oven on for a while.

The idea behind this recipe was to clean out the fridge and freezer. I found a half of a bag of frozen spinach, a handful of frozen peas, a few sun-dried tomatoes, a couple cloves of garlic, a bit of half-and-half, six eggs, a sorry looking chunk of onion that had been hanging out in my fridge door for a while, and a nice chunk of handcrafted provolone from the Amana Colonies.

This dish is dead simple. First, sauté the diced onions and minced garlic in butter before adding the spinach, peas, and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook off any excess water from the spinach. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with about a cup of half-and-half. Season this mixture with salt, pepper, paprika, and a bit of cumin. Pour into the spinach mixture and stir gently to evenly incorporate all the fillings. Top with the shredded cheese, reserving a bit. Bake in a preheated oven at 350º F until the filling is nearly set. Top with the remaining cheese and broil until lightly browned.

Now, I know the isn't technically a frittata, but rather a "savory in baked egg" as I learned in culinary school, but saying frittata sounds less pretentious. The main difference is that a true frittata doesn't have the liquid component of the milk or cream, and is partially cooked on the range before finishing under the broiler. I, however, wanted to use up the leftover half-and-half in my fridge and keep the oven on for as long as possible. Also, my method makes the frittata much easier to remove from a stainless steel pan.

Anyway, my new furnace should be installed Monday, and today is much sunnier than yesterday allowing my house to reach a more comfortable 56º F. On, the upside, my new furnace is more efficient, but I probably won't use it enough to realize any actual savings.

Free Doughnut!

Some Krispy Kreme shops are giving away star-shaped doughnuts with patriotic sprinkles, but the franchise here in Peoria is simply handing out one free doughnut to anyone sporting an "I Voted" sticker. I chose the pumpkin spice doughnut, which was pretty tasty - just hope I don't relapse into my dark doughnut addiction.

Need a New Camera

Buddy by the Lake

Recently I've been taking a lot of pictures with my iPhone. It's 2MP camera takes only a fair picture, but is always available when I need it. What I need is a 5MP or better camera with a slim profile that I can keep with me at all times to catch those fleeting moments that seem to be happening lately. Ideally, it would have a fully manual mode; something that seems to be lacking from many lower end point and shoot models I've seen. Also, it would be sleek and unobtrusive enough to keep in my pocket all the time, and a price tag that doesn't exceed $150. Oh well, a person can dream, huh?

I was able to remove some of the noise from this photograph while sharpening it a bit (not and easy feat), and also increase the exposure a bit. Anymore tweaking would really bring out the digital noise, but it's OK because I kind like the underexposed shot; I think it works for this near dusk setting. (There, I hope I've successfully justified this mediocre photo.)

...

-Bertolt Brecht

Q on the Cheap

Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some decent pork butt for 99¢/lb. I purchased two for school, and one for myself while carefully planning my method of attack. I faintly recalled Alton Brown smoking some salmon in a cardboard box, and wondered if it would work for pork (he smokes his pork in a terra cotta planter). My main concern was not being able to keep the temperature up to 210ºF on such a chilly day (Hi 57ºF). I decided to move forward with the plan and collected the various things I would need: a medium sized cardboard box, a couple of wooden dowels, a cooking rack, a drip pan, an electric burner with extension cord, a cast iron skillet, a digital probe thermometer, and hardwood shavings.

First, I cut a trap door in the box for easy changing of the wood shavings. Then I punched holes in the sides and inserted four pieces of dowel to support the drip pan and the cooling rack. In the bottom, through the trap door access, I placed the electric burner and the cast iron skillet full of cherry wood shavings. I punched the probe of the thermometer through the top of the box so that I could monitor the air temperature inside, and closed up the box with the burner set on high to preheat.

Meanwhile, I removed the pork from it's 8 hour brine (a 3% salt and sugar solution), and patted it dry. I assembled a rub from freshly ground chile de arbol, chipotle, guajillo, and pasilla, along with powdered habanero and paprika. I also added a bit of freshly ground black pepper, coriander, and cumin to round out the flavors. Donning a pair of latex gloves, I liberally applied the rub to the pork ensuring that all surfaces were thoroughly coated. I put the pork into the smoker and sealed everything with tape.

I was able to get the smoker up to about 195ºF for short burst of time, but largely unable to maintain a temperature of over 200ºF. I decided the best course of action would be to build a second box that surrounds the main smoker, leaving a two inch air gap between the two boxes. This worked remarkably well, allowing the internal temperature of the smoker to cruise up to a stable 205ºF. I smoked the pork in this environment for about 7.5 hours, changing the wood shavings about every 90 minutes. When I took the pork out of the smoker, the internal temperature of the meat was 140ºF. I wrapped the meat in aluminum foil and continued to cook it in a 325ºF oven until the internal temperature was 170ºF. Alton calls for 190ºF for pulled pork, as it will shred more easily at that temperature. However, I prefer sliced meat at the lower temperature to the sometimes dry pulled pork. I will admit that the brine absolutely ensured juicy BBQ, and I was more than happy with the results.

To finish off the Q, I whipped up a vinegar based sauce from Valentina Black Label hot sauce, rice and cider vinegars, honey, black pepper, and a pinch of brown sugar. I prefer the tanginess of a vinegar based sauce to the thick, sweet, tomato based sauces found at the store. If you need a recipe, there are tons available online.

Hot 'Lanta

Last weekend was a fantastic voyage to Atlanta which was centered around visiting the world's largest aquarium and spending valuable time with good people. Various meals were consumed, but none especially blog-worthy. The Fernbank Museum was largely underwhelming, the Zoo a bit depressing, but the Aquarium was stellar. It was really tough to get decent shots in the aquarium with the low light levels, but I got a few that I'm happy with. Without further ado...


Gators!


Little Yellow Fishes


Jenny at Fernbank


Blowing Bubbles

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Jamaican Jerk Chicken is one of my favorite dishes to grill. I usually marinate the chicken for about 24 hours, but it's not absolutely necessary. This is not 100% authentic, if such a thing even exists with this recipe. And none of the recipes I've seen call for tomatillos, but I think they add a great citrus quality and a nice tang. When you make the sauce, it's better to roast the chilies, garlic, and onion over a fire until they are a bit blackened. The garlic can be roasted in the paper, and peeled afterwards. It's really just like making a salsa, except we are going to puree it a bit more.

For the Salsa:
5         medium tomatillos -  husked, roasted, and halved
1/2       onion - roasted, peeled, and diced
3-4       garlic cloves - roasted, peeled
1-2       habanero chilies - roasted, stemmed, and halved
1         large lime - just the juice
1/2 tsp   allspice, ground
1/2 tsp   cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp   thyme, dried
2   tsp   ginger, fresh, minced
1   Tbsp  brown sugar, dark
1   Tbsp  rum, dark 
1/2 cup   fresh cilantro, or fresh herb of your choice
TT        black pepper
TT        salt

In a blender, chop up the garlic, habaneros, and lime juice. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until nearly smooth.

For the Chicken:
Marinate the chicken in this sauce for about 24 hours. Grill the chicken over hot coals until it is charred. Move the chicken to indirect heat and cook with the grill lid on until done. While the chicken is cooking, heat the marinade until boiling and reduce it slightly. Dunk the chicken in the sauce before serving, and serve a bit more of the sauce on the side for dipping.

Serving suggestion:
Add a couple of tablespoons of the Jerk Sauce to your favorite rice pilaf recipe. (Make sure the sauce is boiled before consuming to kill any bad bugs from the raw chicken.)