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Cheese's Crazy Cooking

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Cheese

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Epsiode 1: The Phantom Meats

As dinner time approached I realized that I had two bundles of sexy new years meat that didn't get eaten yesterday because of all the leftovers from the New Year's Eve meal, connundrum....
What should I do with a quarter pound of ground beef and ground chicken?
I NEED to use them both today.

I also had Mushrooms, Garlic, Ginger, Onions, Green Onions, Red peppers and some random leafy sprouts to take care of. Without any kind of foresight or plan I picked up two glasses of Sake and got to work.

I took the garlic and sliced it up nice and thin to caremalize with the mushrooms. Only problem is that the mushrooms are なめこ some very sticky mushrooms and they didn't want to reduce without a lot of oil. Heck all they did was stick to the pot, even with a little salt to get the water moving.
Instead of adding the oil I just threw in the beef, YOLO right?

That made things just about perfect, mushers and dead cow are going togther perfectly, but the beef will be horridly overcooked if this continues... Need water.
So, I tossed in the onions, ginger and red peppers. Cooked quite well, all caramelized and happy.

Oh crap... the Chicken. These flavors and cooking styles are way too much for it and would make a mess. Now I had to reset the pot so it would be ready for some chicken, but how to cook it?

I decided to chop up the green onion and steep the chicken and green onion in a simmering and tiny ammount of water. Let the flavors combine without overcooking.
At this point things were turning out much better than expected and I had a real meal, but more importantly a plan going.

I made a sauce out of Sichuan pepper, red pepper powder, みりん, 辣豆酱, vinegar, and soy sauce to dress the two meat mixes. Washed up the つまみな (some kind of mustard green) and got the rice in the pot and boiling away.

At this point I also started to take pictures because it was really going well:
[bimg=Phase 1 Complete]http://i.imgur.com/ge8jbA2.jpg[/bimg]
[bimg=Meat Porn]http://i.imgur.com/o0y7hoZ.jpg[/bimg]

I got the rice up to the proper point and when it was about 10 minutes from being ready I added the mustard greens into the rice for a quick steam.
[bimg=Greens away!]http://i.imgur.com/Kn7qBws.jpg[/bimg]

Everything ended perfectly and after the greens reduced a little I put the meat back in on one side so you can take the kind of meat & rice mix you want.
[bimg=Steamy Dreamy]http://i.imgur.com/MbHYDVQ.jpg[/bimg]
[bimg=It's dinner time ladies.]http://i.imgur.com/YmLr4qg.jpg[/bimg]

That was my night.
Who's ready to come over for dinner?
As my good freind always teases me: "Someday I'll make the perfect housewife for some lucky girl."
 
Episode 2: Attack of the Cumin

Chili is something that is hard to come by in Japan. I hate that.
However its still possible to make one mean chili if you gather everything up when it goes on sale and take some time putting it together.
Yesterday was that day.

I'm sorry I wasn't thinking and didn't take any pictures until the very end. I'll remember next time.:'(

The recipe: Phase 1
3/4 a pound of large chopped chicken breast
1/4 pound of beef and pork ground
1/2 a head of garlic sliced small (I like a chunk of ginger too)
Cumin, Salt & Pepper

Start the garlic frying in the pan (with a TINY amount of olive oil) and once it bubbles around the garlic drop the chicken in. Once the chicken starts to change color and stick, add the ground meats so there is some fat in the pan. Douse everything in a good dusting of Cumin with a little tiny salt & as much pepper as you wish.
Let this render and brown, but don't overcook. Once it's good take the meat out, but drain the fat back into the pan. Drizzle some soy sauce over the meat, just a little for flavor.
*Pro Tip: Dust the meat with a little more cumin after its cooked for some layered flavor

The recipe: Phase 2
1 ginormous onion (or 2 smaller ones) sliced and 1 or 2 red peppers sliced
1/2 a head of garlic chopped in big chunks
*Spicy - 4-10 dried chili peppers

*Pro Tip: Use the fat to fry the dried peppers before the veggies go in. This way the oil gets infused with the pepper flavor and spice, but more importantly you will get a whole spicy pepper every so often in your finished chili for a real zap to the system if you eat it. If you don't fry them they fall apart and that zap can show up any time while you eat. Some people don't like that.

Get the veggies cooked down until the peppers are kinda falling apart and the onions are nice and brown. They will send off some amazing smells with all that good meaty fat so be on the look out for random guests at your door. Pretty simple process, just keep the pan moving and make sure nothing goes from brown to black at the bottom of the pan. Specs of black are ok, just not big patches.
The brown will build up, just scrape it off with a wooden spoon. The trick is to get the wetter less cooked onions & peppers on the brown spots, and the more caramelized ones up on the top.

The recipe: Phase 3
1 can of whole peeled tomatoes
2 cans of red kidney beans (any beans will do pig, any beans will do)
1 packet of taco seasoning -Meijer brand is the BEST
1/2 a good beer -None of that pedestrian Bud Bullcrap in my pot! Real Beer! (the other half goes in you)

Drop the can of tomatoes, juice and all into the pot.
*Pro-Tip: Use the tomatoes to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan, that way they get broken up and liberate lots of really good flavor.
Empty the beer into the pot and add about half the taco packet. Let it come up to a simmer and taste it, this is a great time to add any final flavor other than salt, there will be more coming no matter what brand of taco packet you use.
This is also a good time to check the water levels. If it's low, don't add water, just don't drain the canned beans as much. If it's wet, then fully drain the beans. Some people like soupy chili, I like mine a little more robust.

Once its boiling again drop the meat & last half of the taco packet.
Simmer it so it reduces down for about 20 minutes? One never really knows, and there is no "wrong answer" for how long you simmer chili.
It can be faster or longer per your taste, the done-ness of the meat (no e-coli here) and how hard the beans were from the can.

Now let it cool down some, one of the best Pro-Tips any chef can give or receive is to let things set for 5-10 minutes before you serve it. This lets the heat equalize, the flavor deepen, and really, REALLY changes how much juice is left in the meat.

Perfect or not, it will taste amazing, Mine surely did.
Nom Nom Nom

[bimg=my happy Chili]http://i.imgur.com/nKkIC7c.jpg[/bimg]

[bimg=a bowl just for you]http://i.imgur.com/C2R3UZo.jpg[/bimg]

You can see about how big everything is cut, and the chunk of ginger is in the bowl on the lower left. Ginger is magic in chili.
 
Probably should, been working on recipes for years now.
Moreover, I would love to stream my kitchen!
 
yum looks pretty good. Wish i had time to take picture of my food while cooking. I just try not setting my house on fire
 
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