Category: Main Dishes

chicken livers; Jacques Pépin
Main Dishes, Recipe

Chicken Livers – An Interesting Way

Jacques Pépin just taught me how to make chicken livers in an interesting way. I’ve always loved fried chicken livers. Growing up, I could count on them always being on the menu. I just couldn’t get enough. But I never had chicken livers anyway but fried. Well, on Mother’s Day, that all changed. That’s when lovely Daughter #1 gave me a new cookbook – Jacques Pépin Quick & Simple. And that is when I first learned about Chicken Livers Persillade.

Hi! Chef Blondie here.

Serendipity Farmhouse

I have to admit that it was my dear Hubby who found the recipe. He and I share this love for liver of all types. As soon as he stumbled upon the recipe on page 318, he shouted, “Eurika!” or some such thing. When he showed me the recipe, my first words were, “Where can we find some chicken livers?! The SFH Test Kitchen is going to make this ASAP!”

Testing Jacques’s Chicken Livers Persillade

We had planned to publish a gardening post today. But Jacques’s cookbook with its great new recipe, combined with the availability of chicken livers and other ingredients, demanded that we disregard our weekly posting schedule. Well, to be more truthful, Hubby and I wanted to have chicken livers, and we wanted them, “Right now!”

It was to that end that we hastily mobilized the entire staff of the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen. They all assembled, and we discussed the task. We quickly came to complete agreement on the course of action and grabbed our aprons.

Using Persnickety Pierre’s Criteria of Excellence, we explored why this recipe introduces one to the preparation of chicken livers in an interesting way.

1. Level of the Chicken Livers Persillade challenge

By its very name, Jacques Pépin Quick & Simple, the title describes the level of challenge in this recipe – “Quick and Simple.” The basic technique of sautéing is at the heart of preparation of this dish. However, because Jacques recommends that the livers be cooked at high heat, the butter and oil will have a tendency to splatter. – A word to the wise, be prepared to cover the pan with a splatter screen. Cleaning up oil splatters takes time and detracts from the enjoyment of the meal.

2. Selection of good-quality ingredients

One great joy of cooking is being able to use ingredients of your own making or from your own garden. How unfortunate it was that our homegrown garlic had run out just a few days earlier. We had to use store-bought.

On the other hand, the parsley in our herb garden was thriving. So, we were able to enjoy its fresh flavor in the persillade. (Read more about persillade in Criterion 4 below.)

One big bonus in ingredient selection, was the fact that Hubby recently scored a huge success with a sourdough bread recipe. Not only had the bread come out just perfect, but for the first time, some of our own home-milled hard white wheat was incorporated in the recipe.

When toasted, four slices of this loaf became the perfect foundation for the cooked chicken livers persillade.

3. Use of cooking techniques for Jacques’s Chicken Livers

The two primary techniques used in preparing this dish are quite simple and straightforward. The liver is sautéed, and then the persillade is added. At that point, the pan is immediately removed from the burner. So simple – So elegant. This recipe can make a beginner look like a pro.

4. Development of superior taste and flavor

Persillade is a sauce or seasoning mixture of parsley chopped together with seasonings including garlic, herbs, oil, and vinegar. Jacques Pépin uses persillade in a range of diverse dishes. For example, in his Roe and Liver Persillade recipe, he demonstrates that a persillade adapts just as well to a fish dish as it does with chicken livers.

Persillade is a common ingredient in many dishes. You might think of it as a standard sauté cook’s mise en place. It is basically built around parsley and garlic. In Jacques’s Chicken Livers recipe, the persillade is added at the very end of the cooking process. That way, the garlic and parsley remain in the foreground and work side-by-side with the flavor of the sautéed livers. – Nothing is hidden.

On the other hand, if you add the persillade early in the cooking process, the parsley and garlic flavors mellow out, and they give an entirely different presentation to the flavor and aroma of the dish.

5. Presentation

Chicken Livers Persillade is a simple dish. It’s rather rustic and the use of toasted slices from a large country loaf like our homemade sourdough bread enhances the impression. So, no need to be fancy. Simply serve and enjoy.

A Couple of Practical Notes

At $1.96 for 1¼ pounds of chicken livers, Chicken Livers Persillade is a gourmet meal without the gourmet expense. According to Jacques, 12 ounces of chicken livers will provide four servings. The SFH Test Kitchen staff had no idea what it would do with the extra 8 ounces of livers. That is when I stepped in and said, “We will cook them all.”

So, we cooked them all. – – Please refrain from asking the obvious question, “Were there any leftovers?” My staff is sworn to secrecy.

This quick dish should be prepared at the last moment and served immediately. It makes a nice appetizer for a dinner, and it can also be served with salad as a main course for a brunch or light lunch.
Jacques Pepin, Main Dishes, Persnickety Pierre, Recipe, Test Kitchen

How to Cook Pork Tenderloin Jacques’s Way

The menu for the week was blank. Blondie and Ol’ Fuzz Face were in torrid disagreement on what to do. All they could find in the freezer were two pork tenderloin steaks. There was great unhappiness in the air. In a desperate move, I, the one and only Pierre LeChat, made the decision. We will learn how to cook pork tenderloin Jacques’s way.

farmhouse cuisine

No, the freezer wasn’t bare. However, over the last week, Blondie and Fuzzy had prepared beef, lamb, and chicken. They would not speak of vegetables, pasta, or fish because they had just finished a Lenten season in which they voluntarily abstained from meat three days per week.

So, they had to shop their pantry for something different, and pork tenderloin was all there was. Unfortunately, the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen had no recipes for that particular cut of pork.

The Quest for a Jacques Pépin Pork Tenderloin Recipe

Taking my decision to heart, my amazing friends searched high and low for how Jacques Pépin would prepare pork tenderloin with the ingredients they had on hand. None of their standard reference cookbooks contained such a recipe.

Ever onward, they searched through the Internet. Alas! There were no recipes that fit the bill. Blondie and Fuzzy were, to say the least, most frustrated. They needed help.

As we have come to expect, it was Mr. Monte who stumbled across a KQED episode of Jacques Pépin Cooking At Home. The dish Jacques prepared was called Pork Tenderloin Steak with Mushrooms and Corn. But, this was just a video, there was no written recipe. True, the footnotes to the video listed the primary ingredients. It was up to the viewer to interpret and remember what Jacques did and what order he did it.

That is where I stepped in and transcribed the entire episode. The recipe in this post is taken from my copious notes.

Persnickety Pierre’s Criteria of Excellence

Although this SFH Test Kitchen adventure was not planned, Chef Blondie decided to record the proceedings and make the results available to you, our esteemed and faithful viewers. Of course, the test would be conducted in accord with my personally developed – Persnickety Pierre’s Criteria of Excellence:

  1. Level of the challenge
  2. Selection of good-quality ingredients
  3. Use of cooking techniques
  4. Development of superior taste and flavor
  5. Presentation

In the SFH Test Kitchen, we take our work seriously. We test recipes under the same conditions and with the same challenges that confront any amateur home chef. The only difference is the SFH-TK staff is scientific and methodical. We record each step of the recipe process and analyze the results. Our end goal is to have a fail-proof, go-to recipe that can be listed on your weekly menu with the highest degree of confidence.

It works for the SFH-TK and it will work for you. 

Test Results & Commentary

As this was not a scheduled recipe test, the Test Kitchen staff had to make a lot of preparations on the fly. This, of course, can lead to some missteps and consume valuable time. Nevertheless, under firm guidance from Chef Blondie, every staff member performed admirably.

It goes without saying, but I shall say it anyway, Jacques Pépin has a range and depth of culinary skill that cannot be matched. This particular recipe presents both the essence of simplicity and an unusual element of surprise. The inclusion of frozen corn caught us off guard, but it contributed greatly to enjoyment of this dish.

1. Level of the Challenge

This is meant to be a simple, low-cost meal. It’s perfect for preparation in an old farmhouse or average home kitchen. Although our recipe allows 20 minutes for preparation and 40 minutes for cooking, the meal could easily be made in half that time. This is a meal that could be used by an entry-level home chef as a means to learn and perfect simple cooking techniques.

2. Selection of Good-quality Ingredients

Sometimes the recipe dictates the ingredients. In this case, however, the ingredients dictated the recipe. This is what the SFH-TK had on hand. The quality of the pork was excellent. The onion and corn were waiting for someone to use them. The mushrooms were fresh and ready take on subtle shades of flavor from the other ingredients. Unfortunately, we had no chives or suitable substitute, to use for a garnish.

3. Use of Cooking Techniques

This is meant to be a simple, low-cost meal. The SFH-TK staff encountered little difficulty in preparation of this recipe. The techniques used are simple and straightforward.

4. Development of Superior Taste and Flavor

Here is where the Test Kitchen staff deviated from Jacques’s video presentation. He chose to use V8 juice to develop a certain degree of acidity. Prior to adding the juice, he mentioned that you could use wine instead, but he did not specify white or red. The SFH-TK pantry had no V8 juice, so we opted to use red wine. We found the results to be quite satisfying. During our tasting session, we found the flavor to be well developed and we did not sense any deficiency in the level of acidity.

5. Presentation

The use of red wine changed the appearance of the dish. It made the meal components take on a reddish hue that tends to detract from the more natural colors of the pork and mushrooms. V8 juice produces the same effect, but to a lesser extent. Perhaps a good choice for us in the future would be to use a white wine.

Obviously, Ol’ Fuzz Face did not read my review Jacques’ Lentil Salad – SFH TK Test. Once again, he trotted out the Willow Pattern China for presenting this dish. Badly done, Fuzzy! That pattern is a distraction. Next time, be more careful in plating.

Remember, I’m watching. And they don’t call me Persnickety Pierre without good reason.

How to Cook Pork Tenderloin Jacques’s Way

So, without further ado, here is Jacques’s recipe. We’ve included pictures showing how the Test Kitchen employed his techniques. – If you desire to learn more about Jacques’s approach to cooking, check out his book Jacques Pépin New Complete Techniques.

S&B Golden Curry
Main Dishes, Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes

How to Enjoy S&B Golden Curry

I placed the small serving bowl filled with S&B Golden Curry at the center of the table. Beside it was a pot of steaming sticky rice. Side dishes of sliced cheddar cheese, dill pickles, and corn chips sat around the curry. Four of us sat down at the table, Daughter #2 was already in her highchair. We were ready to eat our favorite comfort food, S&B Golden Curry with beef and onions. Unfortunately for my Hubby, this would not be a regular meal.

The Attack of the Curry Monster

For several years, this particular dish had been our family favorite. Although the meal is based on a store-bought mix, over the years, we had adapted the meal with our own selection of spices and sides (e.g. cayenne, garam masala, curry powder, corn chips, dill pickles, and cheddar cheese).

We knew that one pack of curry mix would feed the entire family. In fact, there was always enough for dear Hubby to have seconds.

S&B Golden Curry

Well, on this particular evening that all ended. When the serving bowls were passed around, Son #1, took a larger portion of sticky rice than usual. Hubby looked on with concern. Then, when Son #1 had the curry bowl in his hands, he scooped an enormous portion of the curry sauce and covered the mound of rice from end-to-end.

I could see Hubby’s jaw drop and then tighten. I could read his every thought. And his every thought was right. When the serving bowls finally got to him, there was barely enough to feed our parakeet Elijah. – There would be no seconds for Hubby tonight!

It was a little boy who had come to the table that day and it was a full-fledged Curry Monster that walked away.

S&B Golden Curry – What You Need to Know

A special thanks to Hubby for doing the background research for this section.

A couple of points up front. The soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen is not sponsored by any commercial entity. The Test Kitchen gets nothing for recommending any product. – You can be sure if we say something good about a product, we mean it.

Next, if it seems that you have read about S&B Golden Curry in this blog before, you have. (See: El Camino Del Monte – Cooking with Gas and What’s Your Favorite Comfort Food?)

We have two reasons for publishing this post.

  • First, we never gave you our full, official Test Kitchen recipe before. We feel it would be a great service to our almost-huge audience to do so.
  • Second, this year, S&B Foods is celebrating its 100th anniversary. S&B Golden Curry has been the basic ingredient for literally hundreds of our family meals for almost half of that 100 years. We think that it’s only fitting for Serendipity Farmhouse to celebrate along with the folks at S&B.

今年で エスビー食品100周年！- A Little History

S&B Golden Curry

Curry spice did not come to Japan directly from India. Rather, it was introduced to Japan in its European form by the British during the Meiji Era (1868–1912)

In 1923, just a bit before Serendipity Farmhouse was built, Yamazaki Minejiro (山崎峯次郎), created Japan’s first domestic version of curry powder. The success of the spice blend, a “culinary masterpiece of its time”, led Yamazaki to found the Higashiya Company, which was rebranded S&B Foods Co. Ltd. in 1949.

S&B Golden curry was introduced into our household in the early 1970’s. It is now the SFH-TK Golden Standard.

What’s inside the S&B Golden Curry Package?

Inside the S&B Golden Curry package you will find 3.2 oz. of curry mix. The ingredients include: Wheat flour, Vegetable oils (Palm oil, Rapeseed oil), Salt, Sugar, Curry powder, Monosodium glutamate, Caramel color, Malic acid, Pepper, Chili pepper, Garlic, Disodium guanylate, Disodium inosinate, Celery seed, Mustard. – We’ll let you be the judge if any of these ingredients do not fit your dietary preferences.

What the mix does not contain is any form of meat or fish. This means it can be used with no concerns as the base for a meatless meal.

S&B Golden Curry

Is There an Alternative to the Mix?

Perhaps you want to experiment and prepare your curry a little more from scratch. Or, perhaps you want to avoid some of the ingredients in the Golden Curry mix. Well, the alternative is quite simple. Use the original spice blend created by Yamazaki Minejiro.

You will find that the names of the ingredients are all pronounceable. Here’s what’s in the container: Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Orange Peel, Pepper, Chili Pepper, Cinnamon, Fennel, Ginger, Star Anise, Thyme, Bay Leaves, Cloves, Nutmeg, Sage, Cardamom.

S&B Golden Curry Mix is Versatile

I don’t mean to go on-and-on, but there’s so much our family has done with this curry mix. The recipe at the end of this article will give you our most frequent rendition. However, there have been times when we have had to make wild changes to our recipe. For example, Son-in-law #1 is not on speaking terms with most known vegetables, especially onions. Consequently, when we introduced him to our traditional family meal, we substituted onions and beef with mushrooms and shrimp. – He’s been eating S&B Golden curry on a regular basis ever since.

Our three children each have their own particular version of curry. But each version is based on S&B Golden curry mix. – We have heard anecdotes from our children that the spawning of the Curry Monster in 1981 was not a singular incident. – Beware! There are Curry Monsters everywhere!

(We have referred the recent uptick in Curry Monster sightings to the world-renowned kaiju researcher, the Toku Professor. See some of his most classified studies here. Perhaps he can determine to what extent the world’s curry supply is threatened.)

By the way, this product’s versatility is complimented by its variety. S&B Golden Curry mix is sold in three levels of spiciness, mild, medium, and hot. We almost always use the medium and add cayenne and other curry powders to increase the heat.

Is S&B Golden Curry Mix Affordable?

There’s no need to discuss inflation here, but it’s always important to keep meal preparation costs down. S&B Golden Curry Mix can be found in many major grocery chains. Here are links to current prices at Walmart (here) and Amazon (here). Do your own homework – it’s up to you.

Summary

Now you have some basic knowledge of S&B Golden Curry and how it is intertwined with our family history. The Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen continually experiments and tinkers with variations. We’ll keep you informed on our adventures with this product and with other secrets we brought back with us from our years in Japan.

If you would like to see a Japanese perspective on S&B Golden Curry, watch this YouTube video from Kenji’s Kitchen (here). You’ll see that the SFH-TK is not alone in it’s appreciation of this curry mix.

liver and onions
Main Dishes, Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes

Liver & Onions in Honor of Tim
Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen

In March of 2019, my Hubby committed the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen to a challenge. He committed us to making liver and onions in honor of his brother Tim’s birthday. He even went out on a limb (as he often does) and said that the SFH Test Kitchen staff would attempt to master Sauté of Calf’s Liver with Onions from Julia Child’s book The Way to Cook.

My hotshot husband figured that we in the kitchen staff would all jump to the opportunity. That’s because we had watched Julia make the dish on a video. He said Julia made it look easy. Surely, we could pull it off. But, when Hubby says we, he usually means me.

So, let me tell you the story about how the SFH kitchen staff staged a mutiny. In fact, they even went so far as to maroon Ol’ Fuzz Face in a desolate and deserted kitchen as a punishment.

Continue reading “Liver & Onions in Honor of Tim” →
Julia Child Reverse Martini Upside Down Martini
Main Dishes, Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes

Upside Down with Julia Child
Pierre LeChat - the signature icon for the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen

Love of fine food filled the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen on St. Valentine’s day. Miss Blondie and Ol’ Fuzz Face returned to Julia Child’s Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne to honor this day. Meanwhile, Mr. Monte prepared Valentine Pie for his highly favored humans.

The Test Kitchen staff had two goals in mind – first, to simplify their cooking methods and second, to refine their execution of basic culinary techniques.

If you want to know if they achieved their goals, continue reading on. Should you desire to see the recipe first, just click Jump to Recipe below.

Continue reading “Upside Down with Julia Child” →
Jacques Pepin, Main Dishes, Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes

Jacques’ Lamb Stew

French cuisine is not a delight reserved only for restaurants adorned with Michelin stars. Oh non! It is an art that may be practiced even in the most humble farmhouse setting. And I, Pierre LeChat, gourmand and expert on all that is food, will demonstrate this in a most conclusive way. In this post I will relate to you how the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen (SFH-TK) recently tested, mastered, and perfected Jacques Pépin’s Lamb Stew.

If, perhaps, you are anxious to view the recipe now and wish to return later to read my most interesting test report, just click Jump to Recipe below.

Continue reading “Jacques’ Lamb Stew” →
Main Dishes, Pray, Prepare, Preserve, Recipe, SFH Food Talk & Recipes

SFH Heatwave Chicken

Hi! Mr. Monte here.

To my 23,417 feline followers, especially my many cat cousins residing in Virginia and Ohio, this has been and continues to be a very hot and dry Summer here at Serendipity Farmhouse. (Please refer to Ol’ Fuzz Face’s comments on the matter in his post SFH Journal: 2021-07-26 through 08-01 – Hot & Spicy.) As you can see by this candid photo of me, I have taken the appropriate feline approach to ensure that I remain cool and comfortable.

Blondie and Fuzzy, on the other hand, see things in an different way and have chosen to make a period of what should be a time for rest and relaxation into an unnecessarily frustrating time of tension, and drama. Rather than try to make sense of their heat-induced delirium, I will turn the writing of this post over to Fuzzy while I resume my nap.

——————————————————————-

Despite Mr. Monte’s less than flattering remarks, the staff of the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Test Kitchen had a remarkable and noteworthy week. No, I wouldn’t say it was our best week ever, but I would say it demonstrates our unique ability to bounce back from an apparent failure and turn it into a resounding success. Here’s the story.

On August 5th, our weekly menu called for us to use our Sun Oven to prepare Barbecued Chicken according to a recipe in the Solar Chef cookbook by Rose Marie Kern. But my most perceptive Wife noted that tomatoes harvested over the past few days had reached their prime and had to be canned immediately. So, we changed our plans and spent the day preparing a “new and improved” (N&I) version of our long-time favorite SFH Pasta Sauce.

All went well with the initial stage of canning of our “SFH N&I Pasta Sauce.” To our basic recipe we added homegrown garlic, Italian spice and a couple of other twists. The wonderful aroma of the simmering pasta sauce filled the house. Then we performed the required processing of the five pint jars of sauce. We retrieved the jars from the boiling water at the 40-minute mark and waited for the five pings from the cooling jars. Within seconds, we had ping numbers one, two, and three. Number four took a little longer. … … Unfortunately, ping number five never came – the jar had failed to seal. – – Dang!

Then, simultaneously, resourceful Wife and I stumbled across the same idea. – – Tomorrow, we shall use the un-pinged jar of N&I Pasta Sauce in an entirely new SFH Test Kitchen creation – “SFH Heatwave Chicken”! (Providing there is sunshine …)

Background

We purchased our Sun Oven in Idaho. We only used it once, but that was a great success because we lived in high desert with virtually no trees nearby. More often than not, the sky was very clear and our home sat on a point that was nearly a mile high. – With these perfect conditions for solar cooking, we could get that Sun Oven up to over 400°.

A couple of years ago, we attempted to use the Sun Oven to make a pot roast here at SFH. For many reasons, that was an abysmal failure. Virginia has trees and many of them reside right here on our vast estate. Even when the rare sunny day comes, those trees are dedicated to a single cause – – blocking the Sun Oven. There is one Sycamore tree that is particularly nasty and vicious because it knows it commands access to the precious southern exposure. It is a bully of a tree and I have often thought of having our local tree service remove it.

Day of Reckoning

On August 6th, the sun rose and there was some haze in the sky. The forecast indicated that clouds would move in later in the day. Our chances of success were diminishing rapidly and we knew we wouldn’t be free to start cooking until nearly 1 PM. Nevertheless, Blondie and I were committed – we were going to make this work. So, at about 12:10 I set up the oven and began preheating it. By 12:31 it had reached 275°.

Blondie took charge of preparing the chicken by adding some salt and pepper and then the layering the chicken in our untested, untried, and untasted, brand new “N&I Pasta Sauce. When she finished, I carefully took the pot to the oven and placed it on the leveling rack. The glass door was closed and sealed at 12:51 – this cooking game was now afoot.

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The red arrow in the graphic taken from the official SFH Weather Station shows that, when we began cooking our SFH Heatwave Chicken, we were already past the prime conditions we had earlier in the day. We decided we would let the chicken cook for four hours at about 325°. The question was would that work? Would we be able to get to the desired 180° internal temperature required for poultry? Only time – four full hours – would tell.

The picture above answers that big question. When the picture was taken, the gauge was still climbing and we knew our chicken was fully cooked. Later, when we sat down to eat. We found that it was not only fully cooked, but it was at the point where the meat just fell off the bone; we didn’t even need our knives to cut the meat.

So, on this 92°+ day, we sat down inside the cool SFH dining room and ate a wonderful meal of solar oven cooked SFH Heatwave Chicken, which was resting on a layer of couscous that readily absorbed the savory flavor of our own SFH New & Improved Pasta Sauce.

There are few failures in the SFH Test Kitchen, but there many ways to find paths to new successes!

 

Main Dishes, Mr. Monte, Recipe, RV Living, SFH Food Talk & Recipes

RV Trip 2021-02: I Wanna Go Home!

Hi! Mr. Monte here!

To my 23,417 feline followers, especially my many cat cousins residing in Virginia and Ohio, there are clearly defined limits to my ability to tolerate trips in my Class-C RV “El Camino Del Monte” (ECMD). You would think getting out of the hot city and relaxing in a cool woodland setting would be the goal of most intelligent humans.

Obviously, I don’t have two of those. No, I have the kind of humans that think that is fun to go someplace hotter and far less comfortable than Serendipity Farmhouse. Rather than listening to calming classical music, my humans would rather listen to the cacophonous, nerve-shattering noise of an air conditioner running 24/7. – It is my considered opinion that any common sense they may have ever had was baked out of their brains by overexposure to the infernal heat of Virginia in July.

We arrived at Shenandoah River State Park at 2:25 PM. Fuzzy completed setup in record time. By 3:12 PM, he had the weather station assembled, revealing the severity of our situation. The temperatures at the park had climbed into the mid-90s, so all windows and doors had to be shut and the sound of that miserable AC began to numb my mind. You can see for yourself that my humans had made another marvelous choice of camping dates. – What were they thinking, if they were capable of thinking at all?

Of course, the heat was followed by rain, a torrential downpour that crashed down on the roof of ECMD. The splattering of raindrops the size of golf balls shattered my inner peace and grated on every neuron of my highly tuned feline nervous system. By 8 PM, I was a useless, shivering pile of fur, incapable of reacting in any normal way. It was then that I first heard myself say, “Meoowww! I wanna go home!”

Dinner No. 1: Texas Hash

My humans apparently took no notice of my distress. Their only concern was pleasing their belly and their gut, preparing another “gourmet” meal. Granted, they prepared it to a human standard of perfection, nevertheless, its aroma and presentation aroused no interest whatsoever in my feline appetite. Yet, as the author of this post, I am required to give you details that might help those humans among my readers to recreate this culinary delight. So, here you go. The dish is called Texas Hash. The original recipe appeared in the Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book, 1950. Currently, the recipe can be found in the book Betty Crocker Lost Recipes: Beloved Vintage Recipes for Today’s Kitchen.

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As an interesting sidelight. In a moment of weakness, Ol’ Fuzz Face confessed to me that, when he was young, he thought that Betty Crocker was a real person and was devastated when he found out otherwise. Poor guy, he never learned the real truth, but I did after doing some internet searches. It turns out that Betty Crocker was a shapeshifter. Her true persona was Mamagon (ママゴン) the lovely kaiju (怪獣) of Japanese fame. You can find out more about her at the Ultraman Wiki.

As you can see below, Betty Crocker/Mamagon had nothing at all to do with the meals I was served on this trip. For me, it’s always the same old stuff. Nope, nothing gourmet quality or special for me. Nope, no ice cream or tasty treats, just the same old swill.

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The Case of the Obnoxious Fly

The second day of this misadventure was just as hot and steamy as the first. Fuzzy and Blondie attempted to humor themselves and enjoy their outing as if the weather was perfectly pleasant. It was apparent that they had spent too much time in the sun and were delusional. Blondie went so far as to pose for pictures to prove that she was having a delightful time. But, it wasn’t even a half hour later at lunch when she lost all of her composure.

Let me tell you what happened and what I saw through the kitchen window. At lunchtime, Blondie proclaimed that lunch would be served in her beloved screen tent. She opined that it would be ever so pleasant to dine outside and enjoy the sounds of nature and the gentle breeze. Blondie and Fuzzy carried all the fixings for lunch to the tent. They carefully zipped up the doorway screen and sat down to eat their midday repast. Simultaneously, two things began to happen. First, both of those “nature lovers” began to sweat profusely. They smiled at each other attempting to hide their discomfort, but moisture oozing from beneath their garments betrayed them. Second, it became apparent that the screen tent, when closed, does two things: it locks flies out and it locks flies in. In the case of my two humans, they had locked in with them the single most obnoxious fly in the entire Shenandoah Valley. It landed on their food. It landed on their beverage glasses. It did pirouettes on their ears and their noses. It caused them to swat and flail about, feverishly attempting to smush the intruder. And the obnoxious little fellow would not cease.

It wasn’t long after lunch before Fuzzy, at the bidding of Blondie, was taking the tent down, folding it up, and storing it away for the remainder of our misbegotten RV trip. Once again, I could be heard to say, “Meoowww! I wanna go home!”

Dinner No. 2: Persian Shish Kabob

There’s no real need to go into detail about dinner on the second day. Sure, the smell of the meat used for the shish kabobs was somewhat pleasant, but what cat can eat meat that was soaked in lime juice, garlic, and onion for 24 hours. Anyway, Blondie and Fuzzy exclaimed that the allrecipes Persian Shish Kabob recipe was really good and, of course, their cooking skills exceeded that of most mortals.

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Radicalized!!!

My dear feline friends, the second night was just as hot as the first. The air conditioner kept running, and running, and running. One could not hear oneself think. Of course that meant nothing to my humans because, obviously, they weren’t thinking. I mistakenly thought that it could get no worse. That was when Fuzzy and Blondie decided to add to the noise by watching a horrid British detective show. Because they couldn’t understand the British accents, they cranked the volume up to an intolerable setting. I was in pain. I was in agony. I had finally reached the point where I could stand no more. And that is when I devised my radical solution – there would be no sleep for anyone in ECMD until this cat was returned to his rightful place in the most peaceful and tranquil Serendipity Farmhouse.

I won’t burden you with the details of my actions, but you can be certain that all of the following tactics were employed: nudging, bumping, nibbling, biting, scratching, jumping, endless meowing, and repeatedly exclaiming, “Meoowww! I wanna go home!”

Let me emphasize that point by showing you how I expressed my feelings to those two insensitive humans: “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!” “Meoowww! I wanna go home!”

Despite all that, Fuzzy and Blondie continued to act as if they didn’t understand. Finally at 2 AM, out of desperation, I went to the corner where the metal door to my carrier was stored. I clawed at it and dislodged it. I dragged it out to where Fuzzy could see what I had. Then I jumped into my carrier and looked at him and bellowed, “Meoowww! Listen you jerk, Meoowww! I wanna go home!”

But it was all to no avail. Even though they could not sleep, they insisted on ignoring my pleas. It wasn’t until the sun had risen and they drank their coffee, that they would begin preparing for the trip home. Meanwhile, I was sleepless and a wreck from my encounter with their ignorant behavior. I rolled over in front of my carrier, feet up in the air, and played dead. And so I remained until Fuzzy said I should get into the carrier. I immediately did as he said, all the time wanting to take a pound of his flesh, but I didn’t want to delay our departure. Forty-five minutes later, we were home. I quietly flopped on the floor in front of the fan and refused to interact with either of them for the remainder of the day. – May it ever be so humble there’s no place like Serendipity Farmhouse!

 

Main Dishes, Recipe, RV Living, SFH Food Talk & Recipes

RV Trip 2021-01: Project Sausage

I will not lower myself to respond to the grossly erroneous and highly embellished statements made by Mr. Monte in last week’s post RV Trip 2021-01: A Very Tent Situation. Besides that, I’m not at liberty to discuss the screen tent incident due to current ongoing libel proceedings in the case of Fuzzy v. Monte.

Nevertheless, I must note that the erection of the screen tent was closely tied to a nearly month-long joint effort by the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen staff and the intrepid crew of the Class-C RV, El Camino Del Monte. This ambitious effort was conducted under the once secret code name: Project Sausage.

It all started more than a half year ago when a fellow Ohioan named Tom raised the exciting possibility of gathering a group of friends for a day of sausage making and mirth-filled camaraderie. I had no sausage making experience and Tom had very little, so it would be necessary to test the feasibility of his plan with a two-man experimental run. – It was agreed, March 20th would be the day.

While waiting for the big day, I consulted with the entire staff of the SFH Test Kitchen and we planned for a broad-based endeavor that went far beyond just the making of sausage. Project Sausage would bring together several cooking disciplines to include: sausage making, long-term storage, at-home preparation, and ultimately, RV cooking in the soon-to-be-world-famous SFH Mobile Test Kitchen.

The big day finally came. Tom was so kind as to provide the necessary equipment (grinder and stuffer). He also procured the pork butt and the hog casings. His well-appointed kitchen became both a cooking laboratory and a playground for two Ohio boys who grew up with a great appreciation for East European sausages. – It wasn’t a pretty sight (no one ever describes sausage making as that), but, oh my, it was fun!

The pictures below show some of the highlights of the day.

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At the end of this post you will find the recipe I adapted for this venture. Tom made his own adaptation. Once we had completed step number six, just before stuffing, we cooked up a small sample from each batch. That was our lunch and our chance to determine if changes to spices were needed. – We were both happy with what we had done. Our break was over and we stuffed the casings, cleaned up the mess, and each ended up with over eight pounds of homemade sausage.

The SFH Test Kitchen is no stranger to preparing foods for long-term storage. On March 24th, the Staff assembled for a quick session with the Food Saver and bagged and froze the sausages. That day, seven packs of links and two packs of unstuffed sausage were stored away in the freezer. Two links were reserved for a taste test after grilling. The taste test resulted in a thumbs-up from Blondie.

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Now that brings us to the true goal of Project Sausage. The objective was to turn our homemade sausage into a staple food for RV expeditions. We wanted to take the simple product and turn it into a fine food, suitable for Blondie’s notion of high-end glamping. In so doing, we manged to transform this humble SFH Hungarian Sausage into a dinner delight and a breakfast treasure. And to all that, we added the ambiance of eating in the bug-free comfort of our new screen tent. It was an ambitious pursuit, but, despite my minor tangle (tango) with the screen tent, it was both successful and rewarding.

Below are pictures of our evening meal served in a romantic yet adventurous way. Next you will see a simple brunch featuring SFH Hungarian Sausage (leftover from the night before) with delightfully seasoned scrambled eggs. – – Two meals, one featured item, and great taste all around. – – Project Sausage was a success!!

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Note: This SFH Test Kitchen recipe was adapted from Hungarian Homemade Sausage (Hazi Kolbasz), written by Barbara Rolek

Main Dishes, Recipe, RV Living, SFH Food Talk & Recipes

RV Cooking – Two Easy Meals

For the intrepid crew of El Camino Del Monte (ECDM), RV Trip 2020-02 was an unqualified success. (See SFH Journal: 2020-06-08 through 06-21 – Father’s Day.) After two very short and frustrating RV seasons, ECDM is now cruising and camping with a qualified crew.

IMG_20200616_173857294_editedOne of the most notable and rewarding achievements this season, is the way in which my beautiful wife has mastered the art of preparing gourmet meals in the cramped confines of our RV kitchen. She is no mere camper. She is a “glamper”. She knows how to raise the level of any common dish to the sublime. And she does so using the most simple equipment and a bare minimum of space

So, let’s take a closer look at how she has developed her skills and elevates camp cooking to “glamp” cooking.

Planning: No adventure on ECDM begins without a menu, prepared in advance, with all ingredients neatly stowed in their appointed places. Likewise, recipes for main courses must always be available for reference. Below are the menu and recipes for our most recent trip.

Food Prep: Most efficient and adept Spouse has determined that it is best to do as much food preparation as possible prior to departure. The prepared items store better in the fridge and much time is saved. For longer trips, of course, food prep has to be done as part of meal preparation. Another thing, make sure you have all the necessary spices and they are clearly labeled. – Note that there was a menu change for the second evening. – One has to be flexible.

The Right Equipment: Storage space is limited on ECDM. That means that sweet Wife must make the most out of just a few select pieces of cooking equipment. For example, we have what essentially is a rice cooker. However, we have found dozens of recipes that can be prepared in that little wonder. Likewise, you will see later on several ways in which our master chef makes use of our large sauce pan.

Don’t Overdo It: Even for my amazing Glamper, breakfast and lunch are meant to be more relaxed – especially that first cup of coffee. Mr. Monte agrees that breakfast must be relaxing, savored, and enjoyed. Please note: In the picture below, Mr. Monte immediately washed down the dinette table and sanitized all surfaces after eating. He is a most fastidious feline.

Now to the food. The first recipe is one of a host of different curry dishes served at Serendipity Farmhouse. This particular recipe has been modified and improved over a period of more than 25 years. Slight changes have been made to allow for best results on ECDM.

The second recipe came off of the side of a Frigo Parmesan Cheese container. The reason we selected it was quite simple. We had a head of broccoli from our local CSA that needed to be eaten. This recipe made that possible.

Indian Chicken Curry – The ECDM Way

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This has been a family favorite for 25+ years. There are several versions. This version has been adapted for cooking in a cramped RV kitchen.

Parmesan Broccoli Pasta