Phaedra's 2023 Adventure

[Dahlia]

I am in the middle of my annual culinary learning and hands-on project. I will finish two cooking technique modules (meat, stock and sauce / seafood and desserts) from Thomas Keller, and hopefully, Baking classes from Joanne Chang.

It's now a bit like the story of 'JULIE & JULIA', and well, another kind of adventure.

Fried chicken (thighs, with bone, so lovely)
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Wiener Schnitzel (Veal, also delicious, but it's too pricy and not that worthy in my opinion)
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Hands-on that are waiting for next week include pan roasting duck breast, braised pork shoulder, oven roasted chicken, and maybe blow torch prime rib roast. They are not new to me, but it's always good to learn some advanced skills from a good chef.

At the meanwhile, I finished the second season of Star Trek: Strange New World with delight and satisfaction. DH and I both love this season, so we bought the DVDs. They did include agendas, but in a much much more pleasant and meaningful way.

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The weekly Veggie/Fruit bags were bought, too. We have enough fruits till the end of the month.
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Reading supermarket flyers is necessary for hunting goodies in the holiday season - different stores have their own amazing items. I used Apps, but there is also fun to page through those weekly colorful leaflets and do some comparisons.
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Bulk buying for those with heavy discount - some were sent into freezer (like bread) and some take time to slowly ripe.
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I also love my 'wish you grow back well' tray.
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@Branching Out The home-saved coriander seeds are germinated in the unheated greenhouse. If they were sowed indoors, it will be much quicker. I thought they might not make it after the last cold snap, but they are tougher than I thought. So, it works anyway.
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That fried chicken looks scrumptious! 😋
I have never heard of blow torch prime rib roast! Is it super raw inside!?

 

[Branching Out]

@Branching Out The home-saved coriander seeds are germinated in the unheated greenhouse. If they were sowed indoors, it will be much quicker. I thought they might not make it after the last cold snap, but they are tougher than I thought. So, it works anyway.
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Thanks for the update Phaedra. Those were the seeds that were harvested green and brought indoors to ripen and cure, right? I have been pre-germinating some seeds on my kitchen counter this week, and they will hit the dirt shortly. My hope is to sow a small, tall container of dill and cilantro indoors every week or so. 😊

 

[Phaedra]

Thanks for the update Phaedra. Those were the seeds that were harvested green and brought indoors to ripen and cure, right? I have been pre-germinating some seeds on my kitchen counter this week, and they will hit the dirt shortly. My hope is to sow a small, tall container of dill and cilantro indoors every week or so. 😊

Yes, harvested green and ripen/cured underroof.
It sounds like you would need a lot dill and cilantro in the next growing season - you will let they stay indoors or outdoors?

 

[Phaedra]

That fried chicken looks scrumptious! 😋
I have never heard of blow torch prime rib roast! Is it super raw inside!?

I also never heard of that, either. However, I bought a small blow torch today.
According to the chef, it's medium rare, and the blow torch is used for browning the surface in the beginning. The rib will be roasted eventually at 275F in the oven for two hours.

 

[Dahlia]

I also never heard of that, either. However, I bought a small blow torch today.
According to the chef, it's medium rare, and the blow torch is used for browning the surface in the beginning. The rib will be roasted eventually at 275F in the oven for two hours.

It sounds really tasty!

 

[Branching Out]

It sounds really tasty!

My husband loves prime rib, and has his welding ticket so lots of blow torches in the basement. We will have to give this a try. The only hurdle at the moment is the price of prime rib (it often goes on sale though). I love it with horseradish, gravy, and Yorkshire Pudding.

 

[baymule]

Your dogs look so cute dressed up in their finery that you made for them.

I love seeing all the bargains you get at the discounter. It’s amazing how much good food y’all get for such few Euros!

Your FIL looks happy and content. I know that is a huge relief to you and your DH.

 

[Phaedra]

I kept the online learning on and had some more hands-ons.

Braised Pork Shoulder à la Matignon / Thomas Keller

Pan-roasting: Duck Breast with Honey-Orange Gastrique Sauce / Thomas Keller

Chocolate Chunk Cookies / Joanne Chang
It's such an awesome cookie with all elements you will like! My family loves it as most of the cookies sold in the bakeries here over-use baking powder and taste like nightmare....
It's crunchy at the edges and chewy and creamy in the center, so good!

Don't know why, but MasterClass has a free video on this cookie, so please try if you want.

I enjoy the intense learning and practicing very much, and it's also a delightful combination of my two hobbies: cooking and journaling.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Love me some Yorkshire pudding!! Mother made it once a year and now Sis makes it every Xmas. Too bad we are two days drive apart!!

 

[Phaedra]

Oven Roasted Chicken / Thomas Keller
12 hours in brine, and 3 days drying in the fridge

Roasted Veggies underneath

I am also working on a blueberry pie, but I forgot to defrost my butter. Anyway, I made the filling with fresh cranberries and some leftover sour cherries.

DH has his home office today because tomorrow is their Christmas party. So, we went for routine grocery this morning and brought back two 3-Euro bags as usual. I can't think about a better way to spend such 6 Euros.

And, I love taking photos of ingredients, they are just beautiful.

I also made a small batch of Kimchi from the two napa cabbages in the 3-Euro bags. I love this recipe from Maangchi.