eeeeeps, I wonder what this title is going to do to my stats.
What? oh.. you thought we had a chocolate fondue…
hmmmm. no?
eeeeeeps again.
nooooooooooooooo
I cooked the cottage roll on the weekend. It was easy I did so in the crock pot. So the title perhaps gives away the reviews…
What to blog about today
food
ok well then
Olympics
darn.. searches for another blog idea.. oh I know.. reaches for my phone and sends a text.
hums while I wait for the answer… I am a good hummer, I know all the words…
psssst I asked Aimee what kind of wine is the most sought after.
woo hooo, she answered.. darn I can’t copy and paste from a text message.. oh well…
oh, it won’t take long to copy her answer….
Ambersssss it is a long weekend.. who cares.
*giggles*
oh well.. it is though, for us anyway. It is a civic holiday.. *nods* some famous person crossed a river and discovered something and his name was Mr. Civic….. wait.. googles to check.. darn that is not it either.
Oh well, it is a long weekend, so off to the cottage for us. *smiles eagerly* and not long before we leave too… woo hoo
Well I know Aimee will pick some good wines for the weekend. we are cooking a roast in the crock pot. it is going to be very hot again and humid, so that will give us a nice meal or two without heating up the house. I will bbq it a bit before I put it in the crock too. And we will make some wine coolers too. omg we have made some good ones this summer.
Oh and we can watch the olympics. I heard that golf is going to be an event in 2016… hmmm, bites my tongue.
Oh Tae Kwon Do is coming up, think it is five days away now, that will be an exciting event to watch. *nods lots* *sighs too* But I will be watching. *gets ready to cheer*
Have a great long Weekend everyone… or just a great weekend for those that are stuck with a short one. psst I am stuck with a short one too… oh oh, I am going to get a punch for that one…. *giggles*
*giggles and checks the clock again*
yup, so easy in the crock pot.
peel your potatoes, slice them thin, try to be sure they are the same thickness and put them in the crock.
Chop up an onion and mix it with the potatoes. Celery if you want, and mushrooms if you want.
ok, now you want to know how much, sorry I never measure or follow recipes. lol.. that makes it hard for you I know.
so how many potatoes? I have no idea, are you cooking for a small army or yourself? Don’t make too much of this as I find frozen potatoes are not nice. So you will need to eat all that you cook in the next couple of days.
So use enough potatoes for the number of people you are going to feed, I am sure you can figure that out, perhaps one large potato for each person?
maybe 1/2 an onion for each 4 potatoes you add.
some garlic is nice too, but it is best if you add it after a couple hours of cooking so the flavour shows more. Garlic becomes bitter if you cook it too much.
Now, make a white sauce, enough to cover your potatoes completely. … oh oh.. you don’t make white sauce.. ok, cheat and put in a tin of cream of mushroom soup. add maybe a 1/4 of a tin of milk to thin it. If you used a lot of potatoes, you will need another tin. Cream of celery works great too.
1/4 to 1/2 cup of white wine is good, stir it in. Don’t make the white sauce too thin with the wine.
Now if you have some ham left over from a roast, it is fantastic in the potatoes. chop it up and add it. the smoky flavour really works here. Some will use bacon, but trim off most of the fat.
thyme, salt and pepper, basil and the lid.
Turn the crock on low and wait until the potatoes are tender, it will take a few hours. maybe 4 or 5.
after three hours add some chopped garlic. (maybe two cloves/segments)
When it is cooked, the potatoes will be very tender.. add some chopped parsley, turn off the crock and leave the lid on, you can keep it warm that way and serve it when everyone is drooling from the smell.
It is hot again, it is going to be hot for a couple of weeks. too hot to cook, but not too hot to eat.
Ribs cooked in the crock are soo tender.
Now, you need to buy some ribs, so side or back? Side ribs are from the belly of the hmmmm well pig. They are fattier but cheaper, close to where the bacon comes from.. omg bacon comes from a pig? lol. If you use these you may want to trim off some of the fat.
Back ribs, well come from the back, closer to the loin. They are not as fat and some think more tender. But maybe not more flavour. They cost more too.
Because they are going to be slow cooking, there will not be massive taste differences or tenderness issues. So get the ribs you are happiest with.
I cut them up into single rib portions. Trim off some of the fat.
Heat a pan with some oil in it and brown the ribs, Don’t cook them, just sear them, it doesn’t lock in the juices, but adds some flavour. All four sides please.
Drain off the oil from this and put the ribs in your slow cooker/crock pot.
Now I cheat a bit.. psst, don’t tell anyone, I get a honey garlic bbq sauce and pour it over the ribs.. but I dont stop there. I add a bit of honey too, and more fresh garlic. And some red wine, probably half a bottle, it depends on the quantity of ribs you are cooking. I found they disappear fast… so I cook lots. I also add some thyme, basil, maybe an onion chopped up…
flip it on low and walk away. Every hour or so baste them with the sauce if they are not covered. Stir them up so the ribs at the top go to the bottom so they sit in the sauce.
How long to cook? hmm, shrugs.. lol.. I just check them to see when they are very tender, maybe after 5 hours I will start to check.
When the meat falls off the bone with a gentle pull, they are ready.
Wait… come back, you aren’t finished yet.
Drain off all the sauce. Let it sit for just a bit and remove the oil from the top. It rises faster if you put it in the freezer in a narrow container. Put the ribs back in the crock on low to keep them warm.
Now put it in a pot and simmer, well almost boil.. to reduce it. Get it nice and thick. Sometimes I may add more honey and fresh garlic now as well, possibly more wine too. Stir it lots so you don’t burn it, and because there is a lot of sugar in it, don’t over cook it, or it hardens. When it is finished chop up some Fresh parsley or Fresh dill and toss it in. As much as you want. Wait.. not a bushel.. eeps.
When it is thick you are ready to serve, you can serve the ribs on one plate and your fantastic sauce in a bowl. It is good with rice, the sauce on the rice is so yummy.
See, it is easy to make a yummy meal.
Now, you can use beef short ribs for this as well, and they are great!
Or buy a pork roast or roast of beef and cut it into small strips, it is leaner and cheaper, you don’t cook it as long too. Then you have boneless, but don’t forget to sear the strips first.
sensuousamberville 