Anyone want some coffee pods?

I have four boxes of coffee pods for single-serving pod machines...they will work in most of the ones on the market.  Anything compatible with the Home Cafe, Senseo or Melitta machines will take these pods.

They come from Cool Beans Pods and I just got them about a week ago.  They’re good, the coffee was excellent while drinking, but they leave an aftertaste in my mouth that I can’t stand.  For some reason I am extremely sensitive to beverage aftertastes...and this taste sticks with me through teeth brushing, eating, whatever.  I don’t know if it is me or the pods, all I know is I won’t drink them.

Want ‘em?  I’ll mail ‘em to you.  Otherwise I’m just going to throw them out, and that seems so wasteful for 40 bucks worth of coffee, even though I didn’t pay for them (they were a gift).  I have 23 pods each of the City Roast and Midnight Blend, and 25 each of the Sumatra Mandheling and French Roast.  Individually wrapped for freshness and all that.

First one to claim ‘em can have em!

Which reminds me, I should mention the pod maker that I got just after Christmas. I have the Black & Decker Home Cafe, and I love the damn thing.  If I had a complaint, it would be that the coffee simply does not come out hot.  I have to run a short cycle of water to heat up the element and then the cup of finished coffee is still only 145 degrees.  Good for me since I like to drink it fast and I don’t like it hot, but if you’re a scald-my-mouth-please coffee drinker, this ain’t gonna cut it.

Other than that I love this thing.  I haven’t touched my beautiful trusty Krups machine since I got it...it’s just to fast and easy to use and clean the pod machine.  If you get the right coffee pods you can get damn fine quality as well.  I’m using Java One pods which I get here.  I highly recommend the Sumatra Mandheling and the Estate Costa Rican.

Anyone else have one of these pod makers?

Posted by JimK at 08:11 AM on January 18, 2005
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Categories: Personal,  Recipes and Food

Recipe Recommendation

OK, I’m looking to burn some meat on the grill Saturday evening.  I’m going to do some lamb chops in a garlic/lemon marinade, but I’m open to trying something else.  Something I have never done on a grill.

So c’mon...surprise me.  Gimme a grill recipe that makes me say “Yeah, I’m making THAT!”

Posted by JimK at 03:28 AM on May 29, 2004
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Categories: Personal,  Recipes and Food

Recipe: Peasant food Part 1: Boiled Dinner

I’m a fat guy.  Which obviously means I like to eat.  And what, praytell, does a fat guy like to eat? 

Peasant food.  Simple, hearty dishes, usually the one-pot kinds.  I love to cook things that take few ingredients, but provide a lot of flavor.  And nothing says peasant like the old Irish standby, boiled dinner, AKA corned Beef & Cabbage.

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My recipe could not be easier.  First off, you need to have a need to feed either many, or a few for many days.  Then, you need a big pot.  20 quarts is good.

Get two corned beef briskets.  Now, I have no high-end meat source around here, so I go to the grocery store and buy the kosher briskets with the little flavor pouch seasoning packets.  The brand escapes me.  But, if you have a great brisket hookup, use it.  The better the brisket the better the dinner.

If you can’t get those little pouches of seasoning with the brisket, it’s easy to duplicate the flavoring: it’s pickling spices.  I keep some around just in case.  The spices are essential to the broth flavor, though, so don’t go leaving them out!

Toss the briskets in the pan and cover them with water, with a couple inches to spare.  Add the pickling spices.  Measurements?  We don’t need no stinking measurements!  If I had to guess, it’s two tablespoons?  Start boiling.  When they reach a boil, turn the heat WAY down.  You may want to skim off any cooked blood at this point.

Prepare the veggies.  You want good potatoes, but not necessarily boiling potatoes.  I use Yukons because they add flavor and get nice and soft while maintaining their shape.  You can use whatever you like.  You also need carrots, onions and cabbage.  That’s it. 

Hack up the veggies.  Bite-sized, but still pretty large pieces.  I usually use about three pounds of potatoes, two pounds of carots, two to three large yellow onions and two large heads of green cabbage.  You’ll know you have the right amount because the veggies will threaten to overwhelm the pot.  :)

OK, order.  Cabbage takes for-freaking-ever to get tender.  I usually put the cabbage in about now, and plan to add the rest of the vegetable in about 90 minutes.  Just remember that the cabbage will take up about a third the space as it cooks, so stir once in awhile to make sure the hot water is reaching all of the leaves.  You may need to add a little more water, but not too much.  The less water the more concentrated and flavorful the broth will be.

90 minutes later, add everything else, as well as some fresh-ground pepper and some fresh garlic (my own addition, garlic and corned beef work wonders together!).  Not too much though, you don’t want to upset the corned beef/cabbage fusion.

Keep the heat low to medium low and stir every 15-20 minutes.  It can take from two to five hours to finish, depending on your stove, etc.  The longer the better, to be honest, you cannot overcook this.  :)

After two hours or so, taste the broth.  It usually never needs much salt, since there is so much in the brisket, but you never know.  Now is the time.  This dish is a salt-lover’s paradise...it can take it, trust me.  All that meat and starch and cabbage?  If you can take it, the dish can hold up.  :)

You’ll know it’s done when the thickest stalk portions of cabbage are soft and translucent.  If you find a crispy one, keep cooking.

This dish is so simple, but so good.  Sometimes I think it’s the thing that won my wife’s heart, and she HATED cabbage when we met.  She wasn’t too fond of corned beef either, since all she ever had was cold, boiled corned beef slices with mustard.  Now I get requests all the time.  “When are you making corned beef again?  C’moooonnnn...”

BTW, this dish is best served in extremely oversized soup bowls and microwaves GREAT for leftovers.

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Posted by JimK at 01:23 AM on May 16, 2004
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Categories: Personal,  Recipes and Food

Recipe: Easy Fried Chicken

Fried chicken.  Mmm...chicken.

It’s pretty basic.  This is for about 10-12 pieces

Dry ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon powdered garlic
salt and pepper to taste (I usually use about a tablespoon of fresh ground pepper and two tablespoons salt)
1 cup corn meal (totally optional)

Wet: 1 large or two small eggs and a cup of milk, beaten.

Preparation:  DEEP frying pan with a lid.  The lid is VITAL!

Put about a half-inch of oil in the pan...vegetable or canola.  Canola is good since it’s lighter, better for you, etc.  HIGH heat while you prepare the chicken.

Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour, then the egg/milk, then flour again.

Place the breaded chicken in the pan with it still on high...you’re trying to get a hard crust right away for just a minute or two.  Do both sides for about two minutes, then turn the heat to medium/medium-low for 20 minutes, with the lid on.  DON’T TOUCH IT!

At the end of the 20 minutes, flip the heat back to HIGH...the chicken will be soggy, so this final stage crisps it up nice.  Fry it until it’s crisp, maybe 4, 5 minutes a side?  Don’t overdo it.  Take it out and drain it.

One tip: Don’t be afraid of the salt in the breading.  Fried chicken can take it, flavor-wise, if you can take it health-wise.  You can do this skinless too...but then it’ll be something that isn’t fried chicken, but rather a pale imitation.

Posted by JimK at 10:13 PM on April 10, 2004
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Categories: Personal,  Recipes and Food

Recipe: Fresh Sauce

I have a recipe I have been making forever, it’s very simple, very easy to make and will result in mouth-watering goodness.  If it has a name, I don’t know it, in my family it’s always been simply “Fresh Sauce.”

Ingredients list:

5-7lbs tomatoes (the higher quality the better, mix some Romas and plum tomatoes in there too if you can)
Top quality olive oil
1 head garlic
Fresh basil ("busnigol" to my Paisans)
Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt/pepper
*Optional* - Fresh oregano

Before I get started, you’ll need to know this: I may be half-Irish, but my cooking comes from the other half: Italian.  This means my precise measurements are things like “a lot” and “a whole ton of.” :)

Start with about 5-7 pounds of fresh tomatoes.  Regular garden-variety grocery store tomatoes can be used, but if you want greatness, either grow your own, or buy good, ripe, hothouse or vine tomatoes.  Make about a third of them some very ripe plum tomatoes.  Me, I usually only make this in the summer when I can get the best produce, or I’ve grown it myself.

So, the tomatoes...Blanch them...then drop them in cold water *immediately* before peeling...one, to shock them into ceasing to cook, and two, to preserve that beautiful color.

Peel’em and crush them in a big ceramic or stoneware bowl.  Drain off about 1/2 - 3/4 of the water.

Add GREAT, and I mean top quality, olive oil.  First pressing, virgin, cold pressed, best you can get.  Again, measuring the amount is hard to say...maybe replace 1/3 of the water you drained.  Basically you want to add the oil, stir, and wait, when a thin (maybe 1/4 inch) film of oil forms on the surface, that’s right.

The real secret here is the fresh basil.  FRESH ONLY.  If you can’t get fresh, don’t make this.  Wash and prepare a big handful, maybe 2 dry cups worth of leaves.  Rough chop, or if you’re feeling up to it, roll the leaves in small piles and julienne them.  Throw ‘em in the bowl.

Add about a half-cup of fresh Pecorino Romano.  If you use grated cheese in a can I will find you and kill you.  Get a hunk, or at least a freshly grated hunk from the deli section.  Toss it in.

Garlic.  Lots of it.  I use an entire head of regular garlic.  If you use elephant garlic, be warned that you will sweat, burp and stink like garlic for three or four days.  Elephant garlic has a sweeter initial taste, but it literally comes through your pores later.

The only seasonings in this dish that aren’t “fresh* are salt & pepper.  Add that to taste.

*Optional - Add a small amount of fresh oregano.  Make sure you start small, this can overpower the basil/tomato balance if you’re not careful.

That’s the whole thing.  Leave it sitting in the bowl for at least two hours on the stove without cooking.  There is no cooking this.  When you taste it and all the flavors are blended together yet still retain their individuality, it’s ready.  Boil some linguini and serve with more freshly-grated Pecorino Romano.

Posted by JimK at 11:14 PM on April 03, 2004
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Categories: Personal,  Recipes and Food