annaraven - more random update stuph

[Denim Deb]

So? I often eat leftovers for breakfast, so why not make dinner for breakfast?

 

[Hattie the Hen]

So? I often eat leftovers for breakfast, so why not make dinner for breakfast?

Hi DD

It was very early in the morning over here in the UK & it was lasagne that I fancied & that would have taken me at least 3 hours to defrost& cook the meat & assemble the lasagne plus heat it through.......so instead I compromised & finished up the braised rabbit & winter root vegetables I made the previous evening......I too often eat dinner for breakfast......

Hattie

 

[AnnaRaven]

Chicken livers and stock make a really yummy pasta sauce. Especially with some nice minced onion. Cheap too.

Oh.....I definitely agree...!! I sometimes use rabbit or duck livers in the same way....I save them up in the freezer.
I often add bits of crispy bacon at the end, on top of the pasta. Here in the UK I can but giant packs of smoked bacon mis-cuts which are so cheap & delicious.

Anna, do you add chicken livers to ground beef when making a meat sauce for lasagne......I do as it gives such a depth of flavour to the dish & even the most finicky eater can't detect it is in there as the liver is ground up (or chopped finely) before cooking. I was taught to do this by a wonderful old farmer's wife in the hills above Spoleto. It was years ago, in the 1970's & she still cooked in the ashes on her hearth (in a heavy Dutch oven with hot ashes piled on the lid). Oh, It tasted so good.........
Oh dear now I am really hungry for that dish & it is breakfast time over here..........!!!!

I have to process my surplus cockerels any day now as they are driving me crazy with their crowing & fighting.....I just need the right weather....!!

Hattie

DH (who grew up in Bologna where they invented lasagne) hates lasagna. So I don't make it. But I do add livers and other bits and pieces to the ragu bolognese that I make. Right now, I've got a pork shoulder roast braising in milk. Can't wait for dinner - it's gonna be so good!

Bolognese cooking is high on butter, lard, milk, eggyolks; far less on olive oil. Also high on pasta. Definitely not a low-carb OR low-fat diet. Yet people there are pretty darn healthy and aren't overweight. Guess it's all the walking and biking they do.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

chicken livers in the meat sauce!!! AR you are brilliant!

well now.. this changes everything.. hum....

ps adding the milk just really does something to the sauce doesnt it?

 

[AnnaRaven]

chicken livers in the meat sauce!!! AR you are brilliant!

well now.. this changes everything.. hum....

ps adding the milk just really does something to the sauce doesnt it?

Actually, I'm just doing what the voices tell me. I mean, I'm following traditional Bolognese cooking.

Ragu Bolognese:

Start with the soffrito: 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, chopped fine, lightly salted and sauteed in butter (*NOT OLIVE OIL*) until tender but not brown.

Add 1 kilo of ground or finely chopped meat - a mix of veal, pork, prosciutto ends, and offal (chicken parts including livers). Brown briefly, just to take the pink off. DO NOT pour off the fat - you'll need it for the meat to not get dry.

Add a cup of dry white wine. Cook until the wine is evaporated and almost no liquid is left. Add a cup of milk (whole milk). Cook until the milk is almost gone (this will take a while and the milk will "curdle" but don't worry about it. )

Add some stock to cover the meat - a mix of beef and chicken is best, if possible. Add a *little* bit of tomato - one small can of paste or diced tomato. This is NOT a "red" sauce. At most, it should be pink.

Simmer for a couple hours on low (or toss into the crockpot to cook the rest of the day).

At the end, about 1/2 hour before serving, add ground nutmeg (freshly ground). Add a bit more broth if necessary for consistency.

This should be a very tender, very meaty sauce. Not deep caramelized flavors, but more smooth and buttery flavors.

Serve over an egg pasta like tagliatelle or pappardelle. NOT over spaghetti. No bolognese would ever serve a meat sauce over spaghetti.

 

[BarredBuff]

 

[AnnaRaven]

I finally decided to make my own pasta today. It worked great. And the best part is - it didn't spike DH's blood sugar. Guess 1 egg per 100grams of semolina flour is enough to balance out the carbs...

 

[AnnaRaven]

Lupe, my contractor (I have the BEST contractor ever! DH and I just love him), was here today replacing the ballast in my living room ceiling light. We were discussing a couple new shelves for the kitchen and I showed off my new eggs from my Welsummers, and the new teapot I got. He told me "you belong in the country". I agreed but pointed out that this is where the jobs are. "No, really. You cook, you can, you garden, you have chickens, you like country stuff... you belong in the country." So my mexican-born, farm-raised contractor thinks I'm really a country gal at heart. Kewl. I consider that quite a compliment.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

I finally decided to make my own pasta today. It worked great. And the best part is - it didn't spike DH's blood sugar. Guess 1 egg per 100grams of semolina flour is enough to balance out the carbs...

Homemade will always be better.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Friday plans:

* wait around for the delivery truck all day because I have a package coming that I have to sign for

* plant the shallots and seeds that can go out now

* prep the brooder for the new chicks coming on Satyrday

* make harissa

* start the tri-tip marinating