Wagon's West: Beef Jerky

Welcome to Married & Hungry: The Honeymoon Series (Adventure Pants Away!)

Our journey begins in a cold April Morning in suburban Chicago.  Chicago greeted us with the most peculiar weather,  flash floods followed by light snow. 


We embarked on what will be a three and a half week trip across the American West.  Armed with a subcompact car, one and a half voracious appetites, we set off to see America's unending beautiful and bountiful tasty snacks.

Refusing to be at the mercy of the road,  we set out with some serious snacks in hand.  Adapting a beef jerky recipe found online, we made our own.

First we froze a bit of top round for thin slicing.

 Next we decided to marinate in a dry rub.  Using some Brisket of Love spice mixture we got as a wedding present, as well as some homemade concoctions once that ran out, we encased the meat in spice, then left it to marinate for 24 hours.

Six hours later: tasty time!

Fish night

We are in the last two weeks of our semester in DC...which for dinner purposes, we have run out of some things and not replaced them, making meal planning a bit of a challenge. I decided to make frozen tilapia filets tonight because it's yummy and defrosts in about 10 minutes.  My first plan was to make the tilapia with garlicky lime sauce, but I guess we ran out of garlic. Then I thought about soy ginger but actually we are out of soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil. So in the end I grilled the tilapia with cayenne and malt vinegar on top. Pretty unforgettable. 

What was delicious about the meal was this kale dish that I made from our Mark Bittman cookbook. The recipe caught my eye because at the wedding some friends left funny notes on the opposite page. The meal was really easy and delicious - you saute the kale and a tomato for about 5 minutes (with garlic, if you have it) and then just throw in some lemon juice and feta cheese. Done! This one is a keeper. 

And for a dessert treat we had doble varieties of frozen Greek yogurt from the Giant. Poll results: Eli liked them both in their own unique ways. I liked the apple cinnamon one better, the blood orange one was too much like sherbet. 

Also, Kid President meets real President!!!

 

Starch Night: Braised Potatoes

Inspired by Bittman,  braising potatoes is all the rage in the Bowen/Wykell household. After frying up some chunks of potatoes (3 peeled) in olive oil and butter, I threw in minced onion, minced garlic, minced parsley mushrooms, salt, and pepper. I then remembered the kilebasa in the fridge and threw that in too.  Wait a minute and dump in a cup of beer (Modelo this time), a cup of water, and a cup of stock. Boil then simmer. Wait 20 minutes.  Business time.  

Oh, I also threw in some sauted kale at the end.  This was a bit of happenstance, as I was testing my theory that salting kale would make it suitable for raw consumption in a salad.  That did not pan out.  But this did. . .

The Return: Cavalcade O' Dinner

Alas many of our culinary trials and tribulations have been lost to history and the computer virus on my phone.  But all is not lost. Behold some of the past weeks' accomplishments:

• Florida Avenue Gril

A super legitimate soul food diner that we discovered through Road Food.  On the menu on a recent Saturday half smokes (ostensibly D.C. speak for hot link), fried pork chops (amazing), apples cooked in something that makes them pure candy and maybe pork fat, biscuits (dense but mighty flavorful/lardful).

 

• This looks like a sad one.

As best as I recall this is overly broiled chicken sausage, chop
salad, and some kind of omelet. Whoppedeedoo.

• Bread!

• Simple Chicken dinner

Using Bittman, we made this great chicken dinner where you make a chicken soup but don't overcook the meat. Once the chicken is poached you can serve as a soup or separate into courses. The first time we made this we separately had a broth (spiced up with vinegar and egg), cabbage, and the chicken.

• I'm not sure what this is, but it looks good. Seems to have queso fresco and avocado.

• This is a baked egg dish where you bake eggs atop of potatoes, home made crutons, and spinach. 

Wildcard night: Pizza! Also, Ai Weiwei

I have always been a fan of making pizza dough at home.  When I was growing up, my dad would make pizza almost every Saturday. He would make the dough in the morning, then take us to horseback riding lessons or track meets or ballet rehearsals and by the time we got home, the dough was risen and it was easy to put together the toppings and make a quick dinner. He would put the dough in the oven to rise and put notes with funny little poems on the dial so no one would turn on the oven and prematurely cook the dough.

Eli made some pizza dough a few weeks ago that we ended up not using, so we froze it per Mark Bittman's instructions. I was a little skeptical that this might ruin the dough, but actually it was no problem. We made two pizza pies: One was argula, sundried tomatoes, and pesto (delicious), the other was chicken sausage, carmelized onions, mushrooms (DELICIOUS), and both had fresh mozzarella and a bit of ricotta cheese.

And because man cannot live on pizza alone, we went to see the Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum (which is free, thank you federal government and Smithsonian Institution). These pictures are nowhere near as amazing as the exhibit, plus I didn't even take pictures of some of the most incredible pieces -- photos of his time in New York during the AIDS epidemic, a wall with the names of the many hundreds of children who died when their schoolhouses collapsed during the earthquake in China, and a sculpture of ancient stools that I can't really explain. So you should just come to DC before March 17 and I will go see the exhibit again with you.

Images of China after the earthquake

Series of images smashing a really old vase

Rebar collected after the earthquake

The houses and the floor are made of tea! When this was first installed, it had a really strong smell, you could still get a little whiff of the tea when you were very close to the piece.

Valentines night: Seafoodstravaganza

After our trip to Chicago last week, we arrived home late on Wednesday for a meal of (of course) yuca con chicarron from our local Pollo Sabroso.

Then on Thursday we headed off to work. My office got super into Valentines Day and so I enjoyed a bounty of sweets--cheap chocolate hearts left on my desk by the building management company (or really, the cleaners), those chalky message hearts, and a really delicious cupcake from a colleague.

I was thinking about cooking some simple soup but lo and behold I came home and Eli had made a surprise feast for me! He roasted some little potatoes, cooked up some collard greens, and steamed mussels, shrimp and LOBSTER in white wine, garlic, and parsley with some lemon on top. What a guy.

Recap Night: Some Recent Happenings

The past weeks have provided various culinary adventures in and out of the kitchen that warrant summary.

• Brunch at Marx Cafe





• A Sunday or 2 ago, we ended up at this local cafe for Brunch.  While the burger and crab cake that we each had were well above average, the really noteworthy experience at this cafe was the Karl Marx theme.  And nothing says dictatorship of the proletariat like Discover.

• Around the House

• Pasta Night: As previously mentioned, for da super bowl we went super Jewish excessive and got stuff to make pizza in addition to the smorgasbord that we actually served.  Our stomachs remained unprepared for pizza, so we used all the toppings for a simple pasta night. Rather than sauteing the veggies, I roasted mushrooms, red pepper, garlic, and tomatoes, then baked everything for just a bit with pasta, feta cheese, sauteed spinach.

• Lamb Night: We put on our fancy pants and did it up with lamb chops. Broiled medium rare a la Mark Bittman (just salt and pepper) in the trusty cast iron grill pan. Roasted the asparagus. Then this polenta came along and nearly stole the entire show. Polenta is a highly undervalued side dish that can can be made quicker than rice. 2 parts liquid (I use chicken broth made from better than bouillon) to 1 part corn meal. Bring the liquid to a boil and then slowly whisk in the corn meal. Add salt and pepper, reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally until it reaches the desired consistency. Add liquid as needed. I added a bit of milk while simmering. When it was abut done I added in a little surprise,  blue cheese.  Molly says this this meal was decadent,simple, satisfying, and quick. A lovely meal on a regular old night. 

• Amish Diner

For reasons that I shan't get into, we recently found ourselves heading towards Chicago from D.C.  Anytime we drive, Molly and I turn to the books of Jane and Michael Stern, whose Roadfood books and website provide a slightly more dignified and thoughtful guide to America's down home eatery than other more popular figures. On many trips along the Indiana toll road, I have wanted to stop at the Village Inn in Middlebury, IN.  But we never passed by at meal time. . . until now. Middlebury is surrounded by Amish communities and we dodged many a horse-drawn buggy as we made our way to lunch.  

Molly ordered the fried chicken dinner with mashed potatoes,gravy, and coleslaw.  The sides were good but not exceptional.  I ordered a BLT, and corn mush. I did not know what corn mush was when ordering. The menu said it came with syrup. Our served told me that old men order it and that the really weird old men order it with headcheese (the Amish version being a thick and hot bowl of ground meat presumable from a pig's head and I'm guessing liver too sitting in a bit of warm liquid). Obviously I got my mush with headcheese. The mush itself was basically deep fired sticks of polenta. The headcheese actually had a pleasant meaty and mild flavor. My server was clearly horrified that I ordered it, but according to Molly I got approving glances from an Amish woman seated at a nearby table (I think my facial hair may have confused the situation. The BLT was awesome too.  

Then things got real.  According to the Sterns, this place is all about its pies,particularly its Old Fashioned Custard Pie, another Amish tradition.  But as our meal was ending, all the pie was starting to sell out and we couldn't locate our server.  When we finally did, they only had pecan pie.  I don't love pecan pie, and Northern Indiana doesn't seem like a hotspot for the stuff.  But then, a miracle occurred. The servers conferenced by the pie cooler and realized there was another custard pie. I triumphantly claimed a piece. In the end both pies were excellent with buttery crusts and that sense of freshness that separates the champions from the herd.  [But I still think pecan pie is an inferior overly sweet concoction, but Molly really liked it.]

We left with out bellies full and look forward to returning on one of our all too frequent jaunts down the Indiana toll road. 

Time Machine Night: Da Super Bowl

Da Super Bowl was Super Awesome.  Molly and I went superfeast on this one.  Lost in a sea of delusion  and excitement we prepared an insane spread despite only having three guests.

What went down

•   Wings (duh):   For da wings we turned to my childhood friends Max and Eli Sussman.  Despite the growing popularity of the name "Eli", whenever I see Eli we nonetheless continue to enjoy the novelty of having the same name and making others uncomfortable. Here is Max and Eli discussing their love of food. Max is the one who looks like he lives in Brooklyn because he does, and Eli is the one who looks like Michael Douglas in the movie "Falling Down."  

The recipe, available in their stupendous cookbook  involved marinating wings in a boatload of sriracha and buffalo type hot sauce (I used Crystal cause I'm no fool) along with lime zest and lime juice.  The recipe called for grilling, but it's Winter and I live in an apartment without a grill. So we turned to the trusty grill pan after 24 hours of marinating and did it up.  These were really great. The lime zest really added a nice zing and there was heat but not to the detriment of the sauce or chicken's flavor.  There are a few other recipes from these two fine Jews that we are looking forward to trying out. 

• Spreads: Here is where things start getting out of control:

• Blue cheese dip: sour cream, blue cheese, a bit of milk, pepper
• Midwestern Guacamole: We got this recipe from our friend Kelley who credits her mother with the recipe. Personally, I credit the genetic fabric of the Great Lakes with combining the great features of guacamole with dairy products.  The recipe calls for mixing 4 avocados with 8oz cream cheese, and a lime or lemon.  We subbed in non-fat yogurt for the cream cheese and used four huge avocados de hoy from our local Progresso Market Internacional.  Quite spectacular.
• Roasted Red Pepper & Garlic Dip: Home roasted red pepper and garlic w/ cream cheese. This was good, but I think cream cheese based dips is a bit much for me. I will use yogurt if we do this again.  
• Salsa: from a jar.
• Chips: Fritos Scoops (tastes like a middle school locker but somehow still delicious), Tostillos scoops, veggies, and our guest Kyle brought BLT flavored potato chips (sorry but gross, Kyle redeemed himself with a package of Reeses peanut butter cup cookies and by assuming the title of Lord of Catan during the second half).
• Drinks: Michelada: 2/3 beer (in our case modelo especial),1/3 clamato, tobasco to taste, and lime juice.  February or August, this drink is the most relaxing concoction that can be imbibed. 
• Dessert: Zack hooked us up with some brownie bites and frankly those Reeses cookies were all gone before what one could politely call dessert. 

Good times and most likely day after lower G.I. problems were had by all. 

Stay tuned for the tale of the unmade pizza.

Fish night: Mexican-inspired shrimp soup

Eli made another delish brothy Mark Bittman soup. He took the shells and heads off a pound of shrimp and used that to amp up a vegetable broth. Then we just sauteed up some shrimp, garlic, lime zest, and corn (frozen kernels from Trader Joes, not bad), cooked it in the broth, and put some lime juice and salt at the end. The whole thing was done in about 45 minutes and was really comforting and tasty.

This was a variation--I think the original recipe had ginger, lemongrass, and maybe some sesame oil instead of the corn and lime. I bet that would be good, too.

It was good this was a quick recipe because as soon as we were done eating we were off to Sixth and I Historic Synagogue to see Marc Maron live!

Sixth and I was built in the early twentieth century and so is one of the oldest synagogues in D.C. The congregation left for a new building in the 50's and sold the synagogue to Turner Memorial A.M.E. Church, which later moved out to Maryland. The building was advertised as for sale to turn into a nightclub but some historians and developers managed to save the building. Now, Sixth and I has all kinds of speakers, cultural programming, and Jewish stuff, too.

The space is beautiful (see ceiling picture to the right) and Marc Maron was awesome. The best part was when he was really thrown off by doing his show in a synagogue. The second best part was when he was really thrown off because he realized a 13-year old girl was in the audience. Check out his podcast--he told great stories about some good shows coming up.

Marc Maron

Wildcard night! Pasta night! Seafood night!

It has been three days since our last post. We have had three dinners.

Monday night: Roast pork with buttered cabbage and farro
Roast pork = DELICIOUS. On Sunday night, I (molly) marinated the roast in a mix of apple cider vinegar, red and white onions, lots of garlic, cumin, and salt and pepper. Then on Monday, Eli roasted it in a 300 degree oven for about an hour and a half. It was so, so yummy.
Funny story about this dish--on two different occasions when we have made it, the roasting dish exploded into a zillion pieces in the oven. The first time this happened was on our last night in Minneapolis and then it happened again when Eli made this dish for his Spanish school in Guatemala that spring. I think the culprit was adding cold water or liquid to the roasting pan after it was really hot. Beware.

Tuesday night: Pasta with sauce, grilled chicken breast tenderloin, and sauteed zucchini with lemon
I worked late (cuz, you know, this happened), so this was a pretty simple dinner. I am not going to tell you how we made this, I am sure you have made this dinner for yourself before.

Wednesday night: Poached salmon with vegetables and barley


Eli went to the little groceria and picked up some excellent salmon. We need to learn the Spanish words for all the seafood that they sell there, although pointing works pretty well. Then he poached it in some broth along with onions, celery, and carrots (and lemon juice, see action shot of squeezing the lemon at left). This is why Mark Bittman is so good -- it was a super simple dish, didn't take that long to make, but was extremely delicious.

For some weird reason we have gotten into making wine spritzers out of cheap wine and seltzer (and an ice cube, obvi), so that happened.
Most importantly--Eli got his Bourbon Trail t-shirt! And they even sent back his Bourbon Trail passport! Our trip to Kentucky last winter was one of my most favorite vacations and I am so glad we now have a t-shirt to commemorate it. My passport is in some box somewhere in my parents house; one day I will find it, send it in, and get my own t-shirt.

Wild Card Night: Shaksuka

As a teenager, I was consistently disgusted by the idea of shaksuka; and Israeli dish of eggs cooked in tomato sauce. But I had to rethink my outlook on tomoato sauce based egg dishes after becoming an addict of eggs diablo at the Madison Sourdough Company in Madison,WI. 

So we just followed this recipe, and made this:

It may not look purrty, but it was wonderful with pita bread and some veggies on the side. Fullness:1, Leftovers:0. 

Chicken Night: The Mysterious Case of "Hard Chicken"

In our current neighborhood here in D.C. we are dependent and lucky to be doing most of our shopping at El Progresso International Grocery (or something like that), a presumably El Salvadorian market with above all an excellent and petite meat counter. On a recent evening, I approached the always friendly staff at El Progesso to buy a chicken for a simple dinner of baked chicken pieces. After asking for a chicken, I was faced with a question no one had ever asked. "Hard or soft chicken?"  The butcher explained that the yellow toned chickens were softer than the white ones. But, I had been told yeas ago that white chickens are better than yellow chickens. Without analyzing the situation too closely, I went for the white "hard" chicken. Then he cut it up into lil' pieces with a band saw. It was awesome.

Once home, I briefly marinated the chicken in a paste of garlic, paprika  a pinch of cumin, and  lime juice and baked it up. Not thrown by our previous orzo disaster, Molly made an incredibly good farro salad from smitten kitchen with roast squash, pepitas, feta, and quick-pickled red onion. It came out wonderful, very rich and light at the same time.

Dinner was finished off with fresh tortillas, the fat homemade Central American kind that are basically just wonderful and comforting in any climate, and especially in the deep cold we are all experiencing this Winter.

Supprise! Hard chicken is really hard. Molly's hand quickly bounced back as her tiny arm couldnot overcome the strength of this little ole' hard chicken. The meat was tasty, but damn, was getting to it hard. Next time, soft chicken for sure.

The night was topped off with our first game of Settlers of Catan as Husband and Wife.  We entered as equal simple settlers, but only I left as the Lord of Catan!

Pasta Night: Baked orzo with eggplant and mozzarella (but keep reading for the replacement dinner involving Eggos)

An epic failure! I should have known that a baked pasta dish where you don't have to pre-cook the pasta was a disaster in the making. But I trusted Smitten Kitchen and tried out this recipe for pasta night: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/09/baked-orzo-with-eggplant-and-mozzarella/   

The pictures on her blog are beautiful. Stretchy cheese, toasty roasty eggplant, fresh herbs. But somehow, my dish ended up with all of the orzo in weird gluey clumps and some of it still uncooked and crispy. The bites with lemon zest were reminiscent of cleaning products and the bites without were super bland. Eli bravely ate his whole dish and even said he would take some for lunch tomorrow. I gave up pretty quickly.

BUT THEN we made second dinner and it was the best! Eli made a fried egg and sauteed a chicken sausage from Trader Joes (the best). If you look closely at the picture, you will see that the egg is heart-shaped. 

And then we put it on Eggos with barbecue sauce. And that, my friends, was a good dinner. 

Fish Night: Catfish & Greens

This week Molly and I are experimenting with making mediocre food that's not all that good for eating.

We started on Monday with this meal of catfish, greens, and leftover-rice. The greens were actually awesome, because greens are always awesome. Here's how it all went down.

I stated with the greens, sauteed and then simmered for about half an hour in all this good stuff=======>







I have never met a simmered collared green with vinegar that I did not like. [Score: no leftovers]

Now the catfish was another story. The attempt: simple sauteed catfish to serve with our leftover rice. The result; a surprisingly bland and greasy bite. [Score: edible]

That plate was kinda purrty.

Fish Night: Poached Salmon

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday is just all right for a big ole dinner.

Side numero uno: Brown Rice With Mushrooms

Take all that stuff (onions, garlic, white mushrooms, porchini rehydrated in broth) and saute it in olive oil. Add rice. Add broth used for the porchini. Cook like rice.

Side dos: chop salad- chop cucumber, tomato, radish, and parsley.

Side tres: green beans- stem 'em.

The main event: salmon poached in three buck chuck (blanco), onion, garlic, and parsley, 

Two Weeks Matrimony = Buffalo Two Ways

Enjoying a bright and sunny lazy Saturday in our nation's capitol, M'lady & I celebrated our second week of marriage (and the end of my cold) with a four mile walk to the national mall. Apparently there is some hubbub of some sort relating to Monday's inauguration. In addition to enjoying copious flags, fences, and t-shirt vendors, we made our way to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

The Museum had all kinds of performances by indigenous groups that were enjoyed. More importantly, the museum also had what its staff rightfully described as the best cafeteria in any Smithsonian institution. Overwhelmed by multiple stations representing different regions's native peoples' cuisine, and swarmed by mobs of viciously hungry tourists, and thwarted by an empty soup vat,we finally made our way to a couple stations. I wish I could tell you what culture the food represented, but given the wave of sensory information within that cafeteria, it's a miracle that we are not still there deciding what to get -  searching for the registers.

I enjoyed a really wonderful pulled buffalo sandwich that came with a side of wonderfully not sweet slaw which quickly found its way onto my sandwich (a la Memphis BBQ). Molly had a buffalo chili that was tasty even if not remarkable. She also had a succotash (not too sure what that means) made of fava beans, some other kind of bean and very fresh corn. It was fresh and delightful. A good time was had.