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What's for Easter?

Brendan_Lee_56950

What's everyone cooking up for Easter supper this weekend? We usually head to my wife's aunt's place where it's good ol' southern food but we are on our own this year so I'm headed to the butcher shop in a little while to see what I can rustle up.

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Sumit__65166

i'm still keeping it simple with quesadilla.

homemade (50/50 flour and corn) tortilla stuffed with sous vide chorizo (70c for 3hrs), roasted red peppers, cheddar cheese with chipotle mayo

i should make those pears with vanilla ice cream soon!

Sumit__65166

@tim look out for quark from barambah organics.

you could always make your own quark. i got my cultures from greenlivingaustralia.com.au

Tim_Sutherland_52834

Easter Sunday was a multicourse meal. First was a clarified watermelon soup with a healthy dash of Pimm's and compressed watermelon.

Course two was Octopus and smoked potato. Occy blanched in boiling water for 30 sec then SV 47C for 1.5hr then to the freezer. Spuds in water until almost cooked, peeled then to a stovetop smoker for 10 mins. The occy was sliced on a deli slicer ~1mm thick and placed on the warm spud. Extra Virgin Olive Oil was tossed on the plate after the photo.

To get lamb on the menu, I blanched lamb feet in boiling water for 2 mins before adding them to a vege stock fortified with extra onions and carrots. This mass was simmered for 3 hours. During this time I caramelised some lactose in the oven. Once the feet came out of the liquor, it was strained and milk, cream, caramel, and some liquor heated together, reduced by half and strained. The hot feet were boned, floured and fried. The feet and reduced liquor thrown in the oven and basted every few minutes for about 20 minutes. The garnish was was some of the lactose caramel.

Course four was a beer cheese and Australian Water crackers. The cheese was Stilton Blue, cream cheese and cottage cheese (I couldn't find any Quark cheese) blended with warm beer. This mixture was then poured into cheese molds and left in the fridge overnight.

The first course was from stuff I have been playing with for years; 2nd course from Mark Best at Marque in Sydney and the Roca brothers from El Celler in Spain; 3rd course straight from Mugaritz in Spain; last course form Joe Beef in Montreal Canada.

seijoed

@Jack - I've always found recipe hoarding a rather fun thing

It seems very prevalent in grilling and BBQ / smoking circles.

Here is Dinner!

Brendan_Lee_56950

Well we are all glad you have moved on from your typewriter and joined us online @jack!

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Johan, thanks. If you want some details, let me know ... This is the only site that I participate on (I'm a dinosaur, I know). I used to jealously guard recipes that I had developed/created. Because of my experience with the ChefSteps community; I have adopted a new outlook. If anyone wants a recipe or technique, I'll gladly share whatever I have. My only request is that, if you improve a recipe or technique that I provide, please share the new info ...

seijoed

Both looks awesome!

Jack_Mayer_85396

and the bay leaf, it rocks! If you want any more info, just ask ... I actually "bake" the skewers until they are about med-rare and then flip to broil on both sides. the HUGE key to this is the bread crumb/cheese/herbs mixture. Needless to say this dish came about long before any of us heard of sous vide ... like mid 1970's!

Brendan_Lee_56950

I like the meat cooked within the onion shell, totally stealing that this grilling season!

Jack_Mayer_85396

don't know why the picture didn't post ...

Jack_Mayer_85396

And for Good Friday, the meatless entree was a seared scallops over a lemon risotto with wilted spinach and grape tomatoes ...

Jack_Mayer_85396

As it was only my Dad and me this year, I asked what he wanted. This is the dish that originally got me into cooking; probably as a junior or senior in high school. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll share the story. At the restaurant where my parents first had it, they described it as a"beef spiedini." It has become a family favorite.

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Brendan - I'm so glad you kept things simple! LOL, that looks awesome!

Brendan_Lee_56950

Pears.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Here's what we ended up with. Starting top left: 1) home cured guanciale 2) strawberries with dried apricot, lemon zest, lemon juice, and bergamont lemon balsamic infused in the chamber vac 2 times 3) sauteed wild mushrooms (a mix of chanterelles, black trumpet, and a variety I can't remember, they look like bigger enoki with a darker cap like an oyster mushroom) 4) Coupole cheese (aged goats milk cheese from vermont) kinda looks like a brain 5) white stilton with preserved lemons 6) peppadews 7) some SV lamb-garlic-mint sausage and pork chorizo (60C/1hr) that I skewered after the SV cooking and cut slits along the skewer and torched to give it a nice char and some texture 8) a goat cheese terrine with pistachio topping and filling.

For dessert we had the pears. I fanned them and reduced the syrup. They were delicious.

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Able - that carrot soup rocks! I'm not that big into desserts, but banana cream pie gets my attention ...

awblakley

I made the Banana Cream pie for easter, some sous vide salmon with grapefruit fennel salad and the caramelized carrot soup from MCAH.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

Wegman's has really gone down hill in recent years.

I loved the place back in the 80's.

~Martin

Brendan_Lee_56950

I know, it's such a pain. I went to try and find short ribs from my local Wegman's who prides themselves on having a huge and helpful butcher/fish monger dept and the guy said they only get their short ribs shipped in cryovac'd and that he couldn't even order me any to butcher at the store.

seijoed

@Jack it is insanely sad, our local Safeway butcher started working in a chain, mostly for stability - he had a quite extensive

training but wasn't even allowed to sell ox-tail. His main tasks were to make kabobs and pour spices on steaks.

But then I've had some fun run-ins at Safeway too, I was in the other week asking for a block of Swiss cheese, he

refused to do anything besides use the slicer and when I asked if he knew how to use a knife he got upset.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Got the pears going. It's a reduced mixture of pinot noir, apple sake, lemon zest, ginger, cinnamon, clove, honey, and a pinch of salt.

Jack_Mayer_85396

It's truly sad isn't it @Johan! I seek out the smaller, family run butcher shops and fish shops whenever possible.

seijoed

@lostinsydney yeah, I'm friends with them as well as the

Fish monger, sadly the regular chains prevent them from doing pretty

much anything besides cutting pork chops, despite having the tools

They aren't allowed very much in terms of butchering.

Sumit__65166

i can't seem to edit my post and attach a photo. doh (dough)!

Sumit__65166

i had to do with leftovers so i made myself brie and thyme naan bread with homemade yoghurt for lunch.

i'm going to make some quesadilla for dinner tonight.

Sumit__65166

@johan you and your butcher must be best mate by now?

@jack simple is always good!

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Brendan - that sounds really nice ... low key is good!

Brendan_Lee_56950

We decided to take it easy this year so we picked up some garlic-mint lamb sausage and some chorizo and a nice variety of cheeses that we will cook up and just have a nice finger food dinner. I think the highlight will actually be the dessert since we bought a ton of fruit so I'm thinking poached pears, plums, and infused apples (rye with some cinnamon and ginger i think). And for a final touch I have some marbled soft-poached eggs sitting in the fridge which look beautiful. They have been sitting in a bath of pinot noir, apple sake, and a touch of honey.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

What else do you have for Easter, but Thumper and the basket he was carrying.

I boned the rabbit, smoked the rear leg over peanut shells then SV 72C for 4 Hrs in duck fat. The rack and the loin SV 72C until 59C internal in duck fat then seared. Carrot beer and sugar SV 88C until tender then pureed. Potato cut in to 11" sheets and baked in butter until soft. Brussels Sprouts blanched then caramelised in bacon fat. Rendered bacon and peanut garnish. The white sauce is a salted white chocolate sauce (cream, white chocolate and salt). The dark sauce is a mole (dry chiles, roasted rabbit bones, chicken stock, roasted and smoked tomatoes and tomatilloes, peanuts, three different dark chocolates and a whole bunch of herbs and spices, simmered for 8 hours). If I had pulled my finger out I would have made some Ecky-Thump and had a small disk of it on the plate.

seijoed

I usually buy the cheapest / biggest cuts of anything I can find.

The huge lamb leg roasts are often a steal and easily make

3-4 dinners for us.