Cooking

Friday, are you here yet?

/ Claire / 1 Comment

Since it’s almost Friday and that’s all I can think about at the moment, I thought I would post to get my mind off the fact that my mom will be here tomorrow. Can’t wait for the weekend, yet again!

All this week, Jamey and I have kickstarted our revamped diets with a variety of healthy foods and dinners. (Based on our verbal reports to each other, it sounds like he’s been doing even better than me for lunch options. Everyone give him an internet pat on the back for staying strong!)

Since my mom is coming into town Friday night (Hello, Husk!), I can already predict our weekend will be full of wonderful, rich and local food choices. I hope she has braced herself for a yummy weekend!

In the meantime, here is a picture of our sous vide teryaki pork with a side of sautéed garlic spinach.

A homemade dinner is just as good as any night out.

By the light of candlelight, glasses of wine and my Valentine’s Day roses, it was a lovely dinner to spend mid-week together. These kinds of meals are always my favorite.

Now bring on Friday, my momma and Husk!

Pork butt and dominoes

/ Claire / 3 Comments

Apologies for our lack of posts around these parts; the real world has been interfering with a blogger schedule.

However, Jamey and I did manage to make time for a little dinner, games and fun this past weekend.

The pork butt and all its juicy goodness.

Saturday night, our friends Brigid and Kyle came over (and brought their new baby Connor!)

Jamey got up at 8 that morning to put a pork butt in the smoker, and arguably it was the best we’ve tasted yet with that contraption. (The pork we previously smoked was also delicious, as was the smoked chicken we worked with last week.)

Honestly, the food we put into this thing just keeps getting better and better. Our next attempt will probably involve some sort of stuffing, which we plan to mix with the mortar and pestle Jamey also got for Christmas. (I told you he got a bunch of cooking contraptions this past holiday, for which we are extremely grateful.)

We paired the meat with a side salad, some fresh green beans, a delicious sampler cake that Brigid and Kyle brought, and of course plenty of spirits.

You can read more about Brigid’s take on the night on her blog, as well as see some interesting pictures of Jamey and me. (It’s ok, we are secure in our level of attractiveness…although Kyle, Brigid and Connor’s normality may make us seem that much more ridiculous.)

But Connor chilled on our floor all night! It was more than precious.

We finished up the evening with a game of Mexican train dominoes, and I dare to say that we might have started a new board game addiction for the Hines family. (I think the Lenenskis and Monahans can truly identify. 2 a.m. domino games anyone? Dad?)

Dominoes by candlelight (and wine).

All in all, it was a stellar evening for an all-around relaxing weekend. Can’t wait to do it again.

Chuck Roast in the Sous Vide

/ Claire / 9 Comments

I probably didn’t need to break this into two videos, but you can deal. One day I will have these videos figured out and will get all the information into one video with one take, and maybe then we’ll be Youtube sensations for our cooking techniques. Who knows. At least I finally turned the camera the right way, right?

Before we hit the road on Saturday, we put a chuck roast into the sous vide Friday night. It cooked for two days at 141 degrees in the sous vide, but according to Jamey, food in the sous vide can last up to five days anyway. (Maybe we can persuade him to write a post on the art of the sous vide, since he is the master here.)

It was great on Sunday to come home to this sizzling hunk of meat for dinner:

We also made the gravy with the meat juice, and served it with a side salad:

All in all, it was a delicious, reasonably healthy meal.

What should we sous vide next? I am open to suggestions and recipes from our audience!

Smoke ’em if you got ’em

/ Jamey / 6 Comments

I got a smoker for Christmas from my parents that is absolutely fantastic.

Smoker!

Fully assembled and heating up for the initial run.

The first item we smoked was a Boston butt. I rubbed it with what I can only describe as nectar of the gods in barbecue rub form.

I discovered Uncle Yammy’s with my friend Cameron last Spring when we went up to Pawley’s Island. Cameron discovered it in the store there and it was a hit.

I had to go to seven grocery stores to find it in Charleston, but find it I did!
It is a standby.

Here’s the initial Butt in the smoker: Continue reading →