Louisa 🍽 @Louisa@toomanycooks.social

I'm sorry if you reply to me from mastodon.social, I won't see it!

I just have to post my favorite author's words about my favorite subject, all quotes by Terry Pratchett:

📖 Sham Harga had run a successful eatery for many years by always smiling, never extending credit, and realising that most of his customers want meals properly balanced between the four food groups: sugar, starch, grease, and burnt crunchy bits. —Men at Arms

📖 A good cook is always the first one into the kitchen every morning and the last one to go home at night. —Witches Abroad

📖 A woman always has half an onion left over, no matter what the size of the onion, the dish, or the woman.  —Monstrous Regiment

📖 I wouldnae argue wi’ a cheese. —Wintersmith

#introductions

It's Louisa! I've been around the fediverse for a couple of years now, if you know me you know I love to cook and eat and talk about food

My parents are English but I grew up in the northeastern US, so my strengths are in those regions' foods, but I love to experiment and try new things

Here's some things I've made

I wanted something that used up a bunch of things I have on hand, and it came out really well

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash
8 ounces breakfast sausage (I used 4 pork patties crumbled up, could be turkey or meatless too)
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 small apple, peeled and chopped
1 bread roll, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons butter or butter substitute
1 tablespoon fresh sage (about 4-5 leaves), minced
1 tablespoon parmesan (optional)
2-3 tablespoons chicken or vegetable stock
A splash of olive oil

Instructions:

• Heat oven to 400°F (200°C), cut the squash in half, remove seeds, rub olive oil on the cut sides and the hollow, put the halves face down on a (foil/parchment lined) baking sheet, and put in the oven for ~40 minutes

• Meanwhile, put the bread cubes in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, until they dry and turn lightly golden, a few minutes. Put the bread in a bowl with the parmesan (if using) and the sage

• Wipe any lingering breadcrumbs from the pan and turn the heat to medium-high, add the butter/substitute, sausage, onion, and apple. Fry until cooked through and starting to brown at the edges, ~10 minutes

• Remove the pan from heat and add the bread mixture, adding a little stock to moisten everything and help it stick together a bit

• Remove the squash from the oven (it should feel soft if you squeeze it), turn it cut sides up, divide the stuffing between both hollows and pack it down gently

• Put the squash back in the oven for 5-10 more minutes to heat everything through, then serve as is or sprinkle with a little more cheese or sliced scallions

Notes:

Very adaptable! I think sage, onion and apple are great fall flavors but dried cranberries or sauteed mushrooms would be really nice in here too. I used quantities I had on hand, but you could change the ratios pretty easily to suit your taste

Just some easy baking tonight, frozen sheets of puff pastry are a miracle

I made the caramel first while the dough was defrosting

Sometimes I make a fancy meal just to trick myself into eating vegetables

It's barely adapted from this: https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/11/spinach-salad-with-warm-bacon-vinaigrette/

I wish I'd had mushrooms, but cherry tomatoes are a nice addition instead, I like to double the amounts of honey and dijon, also I'm out of red wine vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar

(Not a recipe for the fry-shy, it sizzles and spits a lot when you add the vinegar to the fat, you have to move fast)

I'm getting good at turning recipes into tiny versions for one (although this made 2 portions— dessert for tomorrow too)

I sort of Frankensteined a recipe together from: a brisket with mushrooms and onions oven recipe, and a sweet and sour brisket InstantPot recipe

Not bad, I used beer as the liquid because I didn't have wine, frankly I think I would have liked it better with beef stock

The broccoli is just roasted with a little chili powder

Oops forgot to follow up, and this was all in an InstantPot btw

It's a good meal— the potatoes came out soft enough to mash but they taste strangely... concentrated? I guess because they were cooked without water. The only ones I've had before that tasted this way were potatoes cooked in a slow cooker

Savory but not salty, in a way that feels almost too strong

A recipe told me I could put raw halved potatoes in a (stainless steel) bowl on top of the short ribs I'm cooking, making them ready for mashing, we will soon see if that was a mistake

Ah heck I should've put Instant Pot in the title

Cider Braised Pork Belly

* 1 small onion, peeled and cut into wedges
* 1 inch ginger, sliced thin
* 1 tbs vegetable oil
* 1 lb pork belly (without skin), cut into approximate 2x2x2" cubes
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 sprig of thyme
* 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
* 3/4 cup chicken stock
* 3/4 cup cider
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup apple butter (optional)
* 1 tbs cornstarch mixed into 2 tbs water in a small bowl to make a slurry

1. Press the “sauté” button on your Instant Pot and heat the oil. Brown the pork belly lightly on all sides, 6-8 minutes, to help render the fat. 

2. Add water just to cover the meat, then add the onion and ginger. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing” and not “venting”. Press the “keep warm/cancel” button on the Instant Pot to stop cooking. Press the “manual” button to switch to the pressure cooking mode. Change the cooking time to 35 minutes.

3. When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to a “keep warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the "venting" position to let out steam until the float valve drops down (may take a minute or two to depressurize). Unlock the lid and discard the cooking water, onion, and ginger. Rinse the pork belly under warm water.

4. Put the pork belly back in the Instant Pot and add the stock, cider, soy sauce, brown sugar, apple butter, bay leaf, thyme, and pumpkin pie spice. Cover and lock the lid. Make sure the steam release handle points at “sealing”. Press "manual" and set the cooking time to 20 minutes.

5. When it's finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to a “keep warm” mode. Slide the steam release handle to the "venting" position to let out steam until the float valve drops down and unlock the lid. Discard the bay leaf and thyme, remove the pork and set aside, press the “sauté” button and simmer on low heat about 5 minutes, until the liquid is slightly reduced. Add the cornstarch slurry a spoonful at a time while whisking, until sauce is thickened. 

6. Serve the pork over potatoes, noodles, squash, or any fall vegetables with the cider sauce. Enjoy!

A toasted kaiser roll, a melted slice of sharp cheddar, scrambled eggs, and some hoagie spread (a very spicy relish of finely chopped cherry peppers in vinegar)

I like a pinch of shredded parmesan and a splash of half & half in my scrambled eggs, I think it helps them stay moist and hold together on a roll better; American cheese does a good job at this too but I personally don't like it

I haven't tried hoagie spread on an egg sandwich before but it's great, peppers and eggs go so well together

Jealous of Noah's bagel as I make the coward's breakfast, an egg sandwich

A cut-up leftover bratwurst, some of its onion sauce, and a sprinkle of parmesan makes a great topping for a baked sweet potato

It's bratwurst in beer with onions!