Parmesan Hashbrowns

 From Gourmet magazine:

PARMESAN HASHBROWNS

7 Tbs olive oil

1/2 c finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2lb Yukon gold potatoes

1oz finely grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 1/4 c oil in 10" nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Cook onion with salt and pepper until soft, 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally; remove from heat.

Peal potatoes and coarsely grate. Squeeze in a cheesecloth or tea towel and put in large bowl. Add onion mixture to potatoes, stirring to coat potatoes and then stir in cheese. (Don't clean pan)

Hear 2 Tbs oil in skillet over moderate heat until hot. Add potatoes and press firmly into a cake, rounding edges. Cover and cook 10-12 minutes. Slide out onto a plate, cover with skillet and flip back into skillet. Drizzle final 1 Tbs oil around edges of cake, cover and cook another 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Sourdough pancakes

SOURDOUGH PANCAKES

 1c (275g) whole milk

½c (110g) sourdough starter discard

1-1/4c (160g) flour

Combine in a bowl big enough for pre-dough to rise. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on counter overnight.

In morning add:

2 beaten eggs

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs melted and cooled butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cook on griddle set to about 300-325°.

Sourdough Bread

 Simply simplifying the recipe/instructions from this site.

50-100g bubbly, active starter

375g warm water

500 g bread flour

9-11g fine sea salt

Whisk the starter and water together in a large bowl. Add the flour and salt. Mix to combine, finishing by hand if necessary to form a rough dough. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, grab a corner of the dough and pull it up and into the center. Repeat until you've performed this series of folds 4-5 times with the dough. Let dough rest for another 30 minutes and repeat the stretching and folding action. If you have the time, do this twice more for a total of 4 times in 2 hours.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise at room temperature about 8-10 hours at 70°. The dough is ready when it has increased by 50% in volume, has a few bubbles on the surface, and jiggles when you move the bowl from side to side. (If you use 100g starter, it may take less time. Also if it is warm or humid it will take less time).

Coax the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently shape it into a round: fold the top down to the center, turn the dough, fold the top down to the center, turn the dough; repeat until you've come full circle. Rest, seam side up, for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line an 8" bowl or proofing basket with a towel and dust with rice flour. Using a bench scraper, shape the dough again into a round and place, seam side up, in the proofing bowl.

Cover and refrigerate for 1-48 hours. 

Place a Dutch oven in the oven and pre-heat to 550°. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the Dutch oven.

Place the parchment over the dough and invert the bowl to release. Score the dough and use the parchment to carefully transfer the dough into the preheated baking pot. 

Lower the oven temperature to 450° and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, lower the temperature to 400° and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes.If necessary, lift the loaf out of the pot, and bake directly on the oven rack for the last 5-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before slicing.

Microwave Cheesecake for one

For those days when no cheesecake is not an option! 

Cheesecake in a mug 

3Tbs cream cheese 

1/3c sour cream 

1/2tsp vanilla 

1Tbs sugar 

1 egg white 

1tsp flour

Oreo cookie crumbs

Place a few cookie crumbs in the bottom of a microwave-safe mug. Blend all other ingredients until smooth. Add a few cookie crumbs to the batter and pour into the mug. Microwave in 15 second intervals until center bubbles. Center will be jiggly and edges more done. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for 2 hours. Enjoy! 

Salsa verde

So, we've learned to love salsa verde and so that I don't have to wade through an entire YouTube video to put this all together, I'm going to put the recipe right here.

Salsa Verde

10-15 tomatillos, husked and stemmed

5 jalapenos, stemmed

A bit of water

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp salt

a bit of cilantro

lime juice

finely diced white onion

Put tomatillos, jalapenos and a little bit of water into a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Cook until tomatillos are bursting and jalapenos are soft. Put into a blender with some of the liquid, add garlic and salt and cilantro. Blend until smooth. In saucepan, heat 2 Tbs. oil and add blended mixture back to pan, and stir in the oil until well blended. Add lime juice to taste. After it has cooled, add finely diced white onions for a bit of crunch. It will be spicy!! Freezes well.

Tacos carnitas

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo and Taco Tuesday in spite of Corona! Kent especially loves the crispy bits of meat and this recipe makes for lots of those crispy gems! The only thing we decided is that next time we need more jalapeños in the salsa Verde as this just wasn't spicy enough!

Carnitas
2 medium onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 pounds boneless pork butt (shoulder), rind removed, cut into 2-inch cubes
Kosher salt
1 medium orange
6 cloves garlic, split in half
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, broken into three or four pieces
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 medium tomatillos (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and split in half
2 jalapeño peppers, split in half lengthwise, stem removed
3 limes, cut into wedges
1 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta
24 corn tortillas
Directions
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 275 degrees. Cut one onion into fine dice and combine with cilantro. Refrigerate until needed. Split remaining onion into quarters. Set aside. Season pork chunks with 1 tablespoon salt and place in a 9 by 13 glass casserole dish. The pork should fill the dish with no spaces. Split orange into quarters and squeeze juice over pork. Nestle squeezed orange pieces into casserole. Add 2 onion quarters, 4 cloves garlic, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick to casserole. Nestle everything into an even layer. Pour vegetable oil over surface. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in oven. Cook until pork is fork tender, about 3 1/2 hours.

2.
Set large fine-meshed strainer 1 quart liquid measure or bowl. Using tongs, remove orange peel, onion, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves from pork. Transfer pork and liquid to strainer. Let drain for 10 minutes. Transfer pork back to casserole. You should end up with about 1/2 cup liquid and 1/2 cup fat. Using a flat spoon or de-fatter, skim fat from surface and add back to pork. Shred pork into large chunks with fingers or two forks. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Transfer remaining liquid to medium saucepot.

3.
Add tomatillos, remaining 2 onion quarters, remaining 2 garlic cloves, and jalapeños to saucepot with strained pork liquid. Add water until it is about 1-inch below the top of the vegetables. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until all vegetables are completely tender, about 10 minutes. Blend salsa with hand blender or in a stand-up blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

4.
To serve: Place casserole dish with pork 4-inches under a high broiler and broil until brown and crisp on surface, about 6 minutes. Remove pork, stir with a spoon to expose new bits to heat, and broil again for 6 more minutes until crisp. Tent with foil to keep warm.

5.
Meanwhile, heat tortillas. Preheat an 8-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Working one tortilla at a time, dip tortilla in bowl filled with water. Transfer to hot skillet and cook until water evaporates from first side and tortilla is browned in spots, about 30 seconds. Flip and cook until dry, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer tortilla to a tortilla warmer, or wrap in a clean dish towel. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

6.
To eat, stack two tortillas on top of each other. Add two to three tablespoons carnitas mixture to center. Top with salsa verde, chopped onions and cilantro, and queso fresco. Serve with lime wedges

Favorite tri-tip recipe

Santa Maria tri-tip roast

From NYT Cooking 

1 whole tri-tip, about 2 pounds
3 tablespoons beef rub of your choice or from this recipe (2 tablespoons finely ground coffee
1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoons granulated garlic
1 heaping teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon cinnamon)

PREPARATION
Trim silver skin. The meat may have a thick layer of fat, some of which can be sliced off, but keep a good amount to help baste meat.
Sprinkle meat with rub and massage lightly all over. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour or as long as overnight. Remove from refrigerator an hour before cooking.

To oven-roast a tri-tip, prepare meat with rub and refrigerate as instructed. Heat oven to 175°C degrees. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil or other cooking oil to a large, heavy ovenproof pan. On stovetop, heat on high until pan is very hot, then add tri-tip, fat side down. Turn heat to medium-high and sear roast for about 4 minutes. Turn the roast and put it in the oven. Cook it for about 10 minutes a pound, checking with an instant-read thermometer until it reaches 54°C for medium-rare. Let sit for 15 minutes before slicing against the grain.
To grill the tri-tip:
Prepare charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to high. Place roast on grill and sear one side well, 6 to 8 minutes, checking for flare-ups. Turn the roast and sear other side for about the same time. Then lower gas to medium-high or move the meat to a cooler part of the charcoal grill.
Turn meat again and cook another 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and cook again. A 2-pound roast will require about 20 to 25 minutes total cooking time. The roast is ready when an instant-read thermometer reaches 54°C when inserted into the thickest part of the meat.
Rest roast on a cutting board 10 to 20 minutes. Slice against the grain. The roast is shaped like a boomerang, so either cut it in half at the center of the angle, or slice against the grain on one side, turn the roast and slice against the grain on the other side.