Monthly Cooking Thread - December 2018

[Jamestown1630]

We will be away this Christmas and probably won’t be cooking a big holiday meal. But one thing I’ve always wanted to try is a crown roast of pork – just because it’s so beautiful.

Especially this time of year, you can often purchase a crown roast that is already boned, trimmed, frenched and tied. Depending on where you are, you may have to order well ahead, and will certainly pay a pretty penny, but it will save you a lot of work – and this is definitely a Very Special Occasion or Holiday dish.

Here from Taste of Home is a recipe with Apricot/Apple stuffing:

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pork-crown-roast-with-apricot-apple-stuffing/

If you want to buy two rib halves of pork loin and do-it-all-yourself, Jimmy Kerstein, author of ‘The Butchers Guide: An Insiders View’, has an excellent video (all of his videos are very succinct and informative):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_rXxawB6Og

(Those pretty little paper decorations on the bone ends are called 'chop frills' and are easy to find on the Web.)

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I don’t know if this is new, but I just discovered it a few months ago – Rice a Roni has a Cilantro/Lime flavored rice now, and it really is very good for a prepared, boxed item like this. If you have spent a lot of time and effort on a great Mexican or other dish and need a quick and unusual starch to go with it, you might appreciate this.

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Chef John of Food Wishes has an interesting little ‘pudding’ dish that would make a nice lighter dessert for a fancy meal, and sounds and looks very Holiday: Lemon Gingersnap Posset:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_933Sthfx5c

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Finally, one of my favorite holiday things is in the stores now - the Kraft Roka Blue Cheese Spread, which comes in a little jar that you can use as a juice glass later. We only seem to see this in our local stores from Thanksgiving through Christmas, and it's displayed on special stands in the dairy department (not refrigerated). They also make other versions, including an Old English one. This year there's a little flyer with coupon and recipes on the display.

-JT

[V K Lee]

:-) They do resemble one another, speak the same language, and one is just as tall as the other. Perhaps there will be a Husbands Foodi Club sprout up across the nation. Chicken and good steak being DH’s favorite meals, he would use this for chicken wings every night of the week if given the opportunity. Now in the process of finding sleeping quarters for our new friend, R2D2 and waiting for C3PO to make itself known.

[Jamestown1630]

That’s one drawback - you want the largest one you can deal with, but these things are BIG. We recently rearranged our small kitchen to accommodate ours, but now it’s on top of the fridge, easy to grab and use, instead of stuffed in a closet.

[V K Lee]

And you must have overhead clearance in order for the attached lid to be opened. That it comes with two lids, no problem. However the crisper lid stays attached and can only open in one direction. Not accommodating for overhead cabinets in some instances. We’ve placed ours on a kitchen side table. When we redo our kitchen this year, hope to assign his bed to him.

Are you telling me that they make these in larger sizes? LOL, just wish to cook in it, not have it as a night watchman when we’re not home!

[Jamestown1630]

I don’t know about the Foodi, but we got the largest Instant Pot we could (8 qt) for the versatility. Good for big cuts of meat, and large batches of soup/broth. (You can buy a lot of accessories, like stacking inserts to cook two dishes at once.)

[V K Lee]

Believe this is 8 quarts, the actual quart size is nowhere to be found (either on the unit or the literature). It came with both lids and the artillery needed for cooking with either lid: racks, basket, pot, etc). One you tuber mentioned 8 quarts, the only reason this one is thought to be.

I do love the fact it is so easy to clean. The pot comes out and is then poured empty and wiped with a clean paper towel. It can be popped into your dish washer along with the fryer basket and rack. The lids come clean with just a paper towel wipe. The fact that there is NO GREASE spattering to land on kitchen surfaces is a cook’s dream come true!

At one time thought an electric smokeless broiler might be the answer. No longer. For any broiling the Foodi would be the helper to fill the bill.