Simple Chinese Stir Fry
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I post tonight with the highest praise for my lovely bride. Please bear with me... this will be a little verbose and more than a little maudlin.
tl;dr: A great Italian meal, and I'm an emotional softie.
All my adult life, no Italian food I have ever eaten came close to what my late, beloved brother in law Bob used to make. Bob was my musical soulmate, we were so, so close - we lost him to early vascular dementia in early 2019 after 2-3 years that took him down swiftly and mercilessly in his mid-60s. I loved that man more than any other human to whom I was not related or married.
Bob's family originated in central Italy, and his grandparents were immigrants around the turn of the 20th century. He would make his signature ragù during every family gathering, especially on the day after Xmas, and much of the time would make his own pasta as well. Bob and my sister Juli traveled to Italy a few years before he was struck down, and I remember her telling me that she knew they were getting close to his family's homeland when the food started to taste like his sauce... it had an incredible combination of flavors, including a note of subtle bitterness that would activate the back and back-edges of your tongue. Indescribably delicious. For all those years, there was Bob's Italian food, and then there was everything else.
Here's Bob doing his magic on a couple of family gathering occasions.
Today, my lovely bride made a ragù that was virtually identical in flavor to the great BobSauce. She started with a recipe from the folks at Pasta Grammar on Youtube, Harper and Eva (an Italian woman with an AMAZING head of hair), and her insight gained over her many years of cooking and what she learned at Bob's elbow (she's standing next to Bob in that last photo).
For protein, she used a) four large sweet Italian sausages, b) two small pork coppa steaks (Wild Fork, total 0.66lb/300g), c) 8oz/225g of prime brisket point meat I had left from trimming my most recent brisket, and d) the bones + some meat I cut away from the Xmas prime rib I made for us (and whose leftover meal was my most recent SUWYC post).
Marzano style cannned tomatoes, tomato paste, diced onion, basil, salt & pepper, and 1.5c/355ml of a nice Bordeaux I had in the wine fridge. She browned the meats in smoked bacon grease, made a soffritto of the onions, and the whole shebang simmered in a Dutch oven most of the afternoon. I don't have a lot of prep pics - I know better than to get in her way when she's in the zone - but here's the DO a couple of hours into the simmer.
She plated with some rigatoni and toasted garlic bread, and oh my FREAKIN gawd! Damn near brought tears to our eyes, not just because it tasted so damn good, but because all of a sudden, Bob was with us again in a way we thought could never happen again. For a variety of reasons, all my emotions are very close to the surface lately, and this brought them all out.
Now, there is Bob's Italian, and my lovely bride's. Then there's everything else.
I am one lucky mofo.
Last edited by DaveD; January 15, 2024, 08:15 AM.Comment
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We are all our own worst critics and I am 1000% guilty of such. But, y’all……. Nailed it! Creekstone shoulder (split up… this was about 3#]. Dry brined per Meathead procedure in the book. Rubbed with Oakridge gold secret weapon pork and poultry. Standard charcoal and pecan wood. I’m still in awe! Slaw and tater salad.
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Yardbird on the SnS kettle.
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Smoked ribs on the kettle + SNS for the games (go Motown!!). Used the recipe for Ginger-Soy bbq sauce on the free side. Great hit, probably the best ribs I've ever done.
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DaveD I like to sauce them with about an hour left to cook. Gives the ribs more of a subtle, baked on, 'glazing' than a thicker 'saucing.' -
I've had some ribs in the freezer that I've been trying to figure out what to do with (I know...smoke them lol), but I've been wanting to do something other than a traditional BBQ flavor. This may very well be it.
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For those subzero days, as well as winter in general, get under a warm blanket and grab a hot bowl of soup like this Mexican Smoked Pork Posole.
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Cooked this yesterday during the games pork chops potatoes brussel sprouts used Kenders Blend salt pepper garlic.
turned out good. Much better than the Dallas Cowboy'sAttached FilesComment
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A non-chilly bowl of chili on this chilly morning.
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After smoking 4# of pork butt, I made pozole out of half and later in the weekend some Cuban inspired Mojo Smoked Pork Tacos. Served with some classic toppings on homemade corn tortillas, these were a clear winner in the Troutman house (like they disappeared instantly!).
Last edited by Troutman; January 15, 2024, 03:06 PM.Comment
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Made some shrimp and crab rolls, no cooking really but there was some marinating
Accidently bough claw meat instead of lump but the shrimp happily filled that texture void.
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Habanero ghost chili roasted pecans.
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Beef and Bacon
Peppers went seed to plate
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PBC beef ribz
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I so want to try this. I don't even know her, but I trust your wife's opinion. We get too close to the food to be objective at suppertime, I think. The family's opinions usually ring the truest for me.
You did a beautiful job with that tri-tip. Kudos to you for dry aging. I'm still too leery of that method to give it a go, so I'm living vicariously through your cook.
Kathryn -
fzxdoc, haha! my wife certainly has her preferred dietary preferences. Being that we are approaching empty nesters I tend to just cook what she requests. I too am scared of the dry aging process at home, figured I was safe wet aging this one since it was vacuumed sealed from the plant. Cheers!
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