I went for Cajun and Cajun-inspired dishes this week, particularly because that let me have red beans and rice, which is fabulously cheap and extremely filling–good stuff for end-of-the-month groceries :)
Tonight, however, was a treat for the lady-friend. Salt-and-sugar brined, blackened chicken breast with roast asparagus and white-and-wild rice pilaf featuring carrots and (not pictured, but eventually) sunflower seeds.
Took the opportunity to polish off the last of last week’s cornbread. Also, over the weekend, as a lead-in to the Cajun shenanigans, I made a shrimp/potato/corn chowder with Monterrey Jack and plenty of Tony Chachere’s to spice things up. The gf’s taking awhile to work her way through the soup, so I paired my chicken-and-rice plate with a bowl of that.
Not pictured: the red beans and rice I’ll probably be having the rest of the week while she munches on chicken, rice, and chowder, because red beans and rice as prepared by me is thoroughly unphotogenic ;)
Grocery store had rib steaks and shrimp on sale. WELP.
Shrimp scampi (Garlic, white wine, lemon juice, butter, parsley)
What have I GRATIN myself into? :P (Cauliflower with a beschamel/parmesean sauce, then a bread crumb / gruyere mixture over the top to give it a nice crunchy top :))
Rib steaks are awesome. It’s like a ribeye with a bone sticking out of it, but they go on sale a lot more often. :D
RichVR
3404
Dutch oven, in the oven, beef stew.
Eric, Rich, I am equally envious of your households today. Those dishes look incredible. There are few things as deeply pleasing as a good beef stew, in particular. Eat well, gentlemen!
You know, this just reminds me that I still need to get a dutch oven. One of those things I’ve just never gotten around to adding to my toolkit.
RichVR
3407
It’s a kitchen workhorse. Get the best you can afford and it will last forever. You will wonder how you lived without one.
Just got one myself this weekend, the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron 6 qt Amazon sells. America’s Test Kitchen recommended a couple others that were hundreds of dollars, but in the world of sanity and budgets, the Lodge was their pick. Runs $55 to 60 depending on color. Got it because they seem to use Dutch ovens in like, 90% of their non-slow-cooker recipes. I will be posting about stuff I have made with it this weekend, just got one or two more cooking sessions to knock out.
Timex
3409
The lodge cast iron dutch oven and brazier are VERY good pans. I posted about them in the kitchen gadgetry. There is no discernable difference between them and an expensive la crussette pan. Lodge knows how to make cast iron, and their enameled version is high quality.
As a follow up to my old post when I got the dutch oven (I got the 7.5 qt one, and it is now my go-to pan for virtually everything), I actually forgot I was reducing some stuff in it, and ruined the pan… Cooked it dry, and some sauce turned into black lava, bonded to the pan, and the ceramic cracked.
No pan would have survived what I did to it, so having it only be a waste of $70 rather than $300 was nice.
Strictly speaking, the more expensive enameled cast iron Dutch ovens are supposed to have multiple layers of enamel formed onto them, making it more resistant to chipping than the single-layer ones like the Lodge.
I say this as the proud owner of a Lodge enameled cast iron Dutch oven that has not yet been chipped by my carelessness :). And hell, it was an Xmas present left in a closet accidentally for 6 months and it came from a factory outlet in the first place.
Scuzz
3411
Probably a stupid question (i don’t cook, I eat), but what does a Dutch Oven do that a Crock Pot doesn’t do? Get hotter so you can do sauces better?
RichVR
3412
It maintains heat longer and more evenly. When you put it covered into an oven it cooks what’s in it from all sides, instead of just from the bottom.
Edit: And yeah, usually cooking at a higher temp than a crock pot. Although, depending on your oven, it could go as low as 200, 175 degrees. I made that stew at 325 for two hours after browning the meat and starting it boiling on the stovetop.
It doesn’t plug into anything :)
Meaning, among other things, you can move it from stove top to oven.
That’s a big one to me. Being able to sear my spice-rubbed pork butt, then flambe it in whiskey, then drop it into the oven, all with one big tool, was awesome.
RichVR
3415
I don’t think we need you bragging about your privates here, Armando. ;)
I’ll be the judge of what information about my privates you do and don’t need, Rich!
Timex
3418
But the thing is, the enamel didn’t crack all the way through when I ruined the pan. It wasn’t like it exposed the bare iron.
The lodge had plenty thick enamel… Only a little layer on the top of it actually cracked and came off. But that ruins the pan anyway, because then you’re left with little spots of rough enamel on the bottom instead of a smooth surface.
So I’m not sure that there actually is anything different… Maybe the guy making the $300 pan says there is, but I’m 99% certain that what I did to that pan would have ruined it no matter how expensive it was.
RichVR
3419
A crack doesn’t ruin the pot. Since it’s cast Iron the crack will eventually be seasoned in the same way that any cast iron does. You might want to use a salt and vinegar soak or even coca cola to clean the pot. I’ve used alka-seltzer to clean burnt buildup. Acid and bubbles can work wonders.
Scuzz
3420
Okay, I thought of that after asking the question. It does sound more versatile. How easily do they clean up?
