What are you Cooking the Week of November 1, 2020?

[Joan Simpson]

Chocomouse the way I make pimento cheese is use yellow american cheese from deli I got the girl to cut me about 1 inch thick slice which I grated with half of a small jar of pimentos that were diced,I put half the juice or water also to cut down on the amount of mayonnaise only thing I add is lots of black pepper mayo, pimentos and cheese, stir till smooth, it's better as it sits up.That made about 1 & 3/4 cups.

Tonight we had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and fries.

I want to go to ya'lls table too.Ya'll cook stuff I have no idea about.

[Italiancook]

For lunch, I made Egg Drop Soup. Dinner will be sirloin steak, baked potato, and my first ever attempt to make caramelized onions. I'm using Spanish onions, and I think it's supposed to be sweet onions. So I may end up wasting butter and onions. I thought about frying onions for a crispy treat, but decided to try caramelized onions.

[BakerAunt]

For dinner on Friday, I made black-eyed peas, starting by soaking them overnight. I cooked them today with a ham hock. Once they were done, I removed the ham hock, took off the meat, and put it back with the black-eyed peas. I added 1 ½ tsp. Penzey’s dried onion. I cooked brown rice separately in my rice cooker. I sauteed celery and some garlic in grapeseed oil in larger pot, then added the black-eyed peas and the rice. I snipped some parsley and mixed it in, then added freshly ground black pepper. It is delicious, and we will have at least three more meals from it.

I've found that it is better to cook the rice and the black-eyed peas (or any bean) separately, then combine with the vegetables, as there are differences in the cooking times.

I was pleased to find smoked ham hocks for 99 cents per pound. The usual price in our store is $2.99 per pound, which is pricy for what is usually considered a less desirable cut. I froze a second one to use later for pea soup.

[chocomouse]

Thanks for that information, Joan. I'm going to try it after my next grocery shopping trip.

Our dinner tonight was ribs on the grill (it got up to 72* this afternoon!!), brussels sprouts, and buttercup squash.

[Mike Nolan]

We had a lavash pizza for supper, and I've got a ham marinating in pineapple juice for the weekend. I'll need to make some rye bread.

[Italiancook]

My caramelized onions turned out good in spite of my missteps. I used instructions from Food Network Kitchen. They said to use all olive oil in the pan. But I've seen a Food Network chef use butter. So I used a tablespoon of butter with the olive oil. Next time, I'll use only olive oil. The FNK directions didn't include sugar, but some of the recipes did. I didn't use it. If I ever make this again with Spanish onions, I'll put 1/8 teaspoon sugar between each layer of onions and see if that improves the flavor. Probably a quarter teaspoon would be better, but I have an aversion to adding granulated sugar to savory food. I still think caramelized onions would be best with sweet onions, but we enjoyed what I made.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you for the report about your caramelized onions, Italian Cook. It's a recipe that I would like to try. Knowing that olive oil works--and that I should use sweet onions--is helpful.

[Mike Nolan]

When I caramelize onions for French onion soup, I use regular yellow onions, they're plenty sweet. I did a batch with some sweet (aka Vidalia) onions once, they were really too sweet for a savory soup after caramelization.

I just fill up a pot with sliced onions (a 5 pound bag just about fills up a 12 quart stock pot), cover it, throw it in the oven at 350, and stir it every half hour or so for 4-6 hours That give me about 2 inches of perfectly caramelized onions for soup. No sugar or oil needed. If you do it on the the cooktop, then I do recommend some oil or butter to help disperse the heat and keep them from burning, on a very low heat, with a lid. You can also use beef or chicken stock as a braising liquid, in which case the oil/butter is optional.

Sometimes we intentionally char some of the onions, it adds a complex flavor.

Something I don't do often is make grilled onions, which are also essentially caramelized onions, but done without a lid so they don't get soggy and stay a bit firmer. But they are excellent on hot dogs and burgers. (In some parts of Chicago, it just isn't a Chicago Dog without grilled onions.)

[Italiancook]

That's good to know about the Vidalia onions being too sweet for caramelization for a savory soup, Mike. I don't like them to start with, but now you've saved me from buying a big bag of them at Sam's. Thanks. But don't get me wrong -- I enjoyed the finished onions with my steak even though they were made with yellow onions. So did my husband, who claims to not even like onions.

It's interesting you mention a lid. I debated whether to use a lid. But the Food Network Kitchen article and video didn't use a lid, so I did not. The article said to leave the pan of onions alone for 15-20 minutes. I went with 15 but next time, I'll let it cook for 20 minutes before stirring. Altogether, caramelizing the onions stovetop (glass stovetop) took 40-45 minutes, but my meal timing was off. The steak turned out to be thicker than I had anticipated. So my onions cooked longer and became a deep, deep brown. Not off-putting -- actually pretty and still tasty.

I don't make French Onion Soup, but I've heard on Food Network that caramelized onions will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. Somewhere I read they can be frozen, although I wonder if they lose flavor in the freezer. So it's good to know how to do a large batch in the oven. Thanks, Mike. I'm now sold on caramelized onions.

[Mike Nolan]

I've never tried to keep them in the freezer, but French onion soup freezes very well, so I suspect caramelized onions would, too.

I make French onion soup using chicken stock instead of beef stock, it makes the onions the star. (Besides, commercial beef stock is often heavily over-salted.) It is also a more traditional way of making it, French onion soup is a peasant dish, and peasants couldn't afford beef, but they often had a few chickens.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm making a small meatloaf for supper tonight, a simple one with onions and peppers, but no black beans or mushroom.

[Joan Simpson]

We had pancakes and sausage tonight.

I've been under the weather for a few days went to doctor,not Covid thankfully,got a bunch of meds and am on the mend.I felt so weak and dizzy,and stuffed up.

[BakerAunt]

Best wishes for a quick recovery, Joan.

On Saturday, I made another batch of yogurt.

[chocomouse]

Sorry you've not felt well, Joan, and glad you're on the road to recovery now.

Our dinner Saturday night was chicken thighs on the grill, squash, and green salad. And my husband had a baked sweet potato, too. I froze the rest of huge buttercup squash; this year it is the most flavorful we've ever grown.

[Italiancook]

Joan, I'm so glad you don't have Covid. I hope you completely recover soon.

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