Monthly Archive: June 2007

Works in Progress

Because it’s dreadfully hot, which makes remembering I have a crockpot a Good Thing, I’m striving against boredom, and I had five pork loin steak thingies in the freezer, I am trying this recipe today. I’m not sure I’ll even adulterate it to speak of. I just happen to have a can of enchilada sauce I bout on the idea I’d make chicken enchiladas sometime, or else use it in something else. Something else it is! We also have leftover flour tortillas. An 8-pack does us for about three meals of burritos or whatnot, which isn’t bad for $1.69 plus the price of whatever ingredients.

I’ll have to report on how it comes out.

We’re about to have leftovers from last night, which is another post, once the pictures are off the camera. I had corn on the cob, Valerie’s first ever and boy did she enjoy it, so I was going to make random chicken, some rice and maybe a second vegetable. Even though I didn’t use them, the presence of egg noodles on the counter made me think of trying a chicken/gravy dish along the lines of my beef/gravy dishes I make periodically. The result was excellent – perhaps slightly overflavored – with what I thought of as a traditional chicken flavor to it. Now I know why, since Deb noted that I’d basically made chicken pot pie filling. Add the carrots and maybe other veggies and it wouldn’t be overflavored. It’s not a recipe, unfortunately, but I’ll describe what I did. It’s definitely a keeper. Stay tuned…

Rachel Lucas, Cole Slaw, Ketchup and More!

So Rachel Lucas is back to blogging, which actually does relate to food somewhat, in that I once e-mailed her and got her deviled egg recipe. I just e-mailed her, replying to the original e-mail, no less, suggesting she post it.

Which is exactly what she did with her coleslaw recipe. I have never made coleslaw, but I do enjoy eating the stuff, which has many variants. Seems like a good place to start.

The best coleslaw I ever had was probably what my brother-in-law’s late father used to make in mass quantities for gatherings. That was a variant containing pineapple, which I’m sure some would consider heresy. He learned to make it in the service, where he cooked for a crowd regularly. Hey, “enough to feed an army” is a hyperbolic expression based in fact.

What about you? Pineapple or not? Carrots? What’s amazing is how the flavor varies from restaurant to restaurant, considering it’s essentially shredded cabbage and dressing, so we’ve probably all found restaurants that excel and others that most decidedly do not.

Finally, on a subject related only by food, Rachel Lucas, and a question of preferences, I am please, proud, and downright tickled to note that she prefers Heinz and Jif when it comes to ketchup and peanut butter. The posts about those preferences have been many over the years, including more than once by me, but people always come back for more. Undoubtedly at some point when I can think of nothing better, I will resort to a “favorite condiments” post here. Until then, feel free to carry on in the comments about ketchup and peanut butter, as well as deviled eggs, coleslaw recipes and restaurant versions of same.

Herbs and Spices

Just a short note about my writing conventions here. You will see me say “spices” generically to mean both herbs and spices, which are technically two different things. However, they are both flavoring or taste enhancing ingredients used in cooking or embellishing food, achieving the same result. So please bear with me when I shorthand them, much as I might say “his” to mean “his or hers” or “people’s” generically.

Way Too Many Words About Italian Seasoning

Making spaghetti with red sauce last night made me think about Italian seasoning.

I start with jar sauce, usually Francesco Rinaldi. Wal-Mart’s store brand works too, but requires modification, whereas if I had to I could eat the name brand as is. That used to be the case for my long time favorite, Prego, preferably the chunky garden veggie variety, but a while back they changed the flavor for the far worse and sent me wandering in the sauce wilderness.

Generally I am taking a pound of ground beef, less if it’s all I have, crumbling it into a pan with a little butter and spices, cooking it up, dumping the sauce in, stirring, simmering, and further flavoring to taste. It’s never exactly the same, but it’s always good, and always within a certain range.

Anyway, a key ingredient is Italian seasoning. Was what is The Matrix Italian seasoning?

Apparently that’s a matter of opinion or taste, within a certain range. I have two brands. One is better, and the list of ingredients differs.

Before I go on, let me note that I am not at all a snob about premixed convenience mixtures of seasoning. Heck, that’s what chili powder is. Not to mention curry powder, which I don’t own (though I think I have all the component ingredients to make my own) but I know many people do. Pumpkin pie spice. Apple pie spice. Garam masala. Celery salt. Garlic salt. Pickling spice. Lemon pepper. You name it.

The Italian I use most is a plastic bottle by McCormick, subtitled “Classic Herbs.” When I open and sniff it, the smell makes me think of two or three herbs that each have a similar smell. Sure enough, one of those is first on the list, which goes:
Marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil.

The alternate Italian was part of a round spice rack, an awesome gift from my in-laws, and is one of twenty spice bottles that came with it. Speaking of Italian, we’ve entirely used and refilled the oregano bottle since getting the set.

When I open and sniff that Italian, it smells of basil. Which you’d think would make me prefer it, as basil has a sweeter taste. Perhaps I’ve been misguided all this time. Anyway, sure enough, the list on that bottle goes:
Basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and garlic.

The difference is in the lack of sage, which I think of as more of a poultry seasoning, and savory, and the addition of garlic, which I happily add – but not always, and not necessarily in large amounts – myself.

Interestingly, I’ve cooked things like what I call random chicken with exactly the spices in the McCormick Italian, except the basil. Well, except I usually include red pepper, black pepper, ginger, and maybe things like celery. Which is why I’ve taken to sometime sprinkling in a bit of that, as well as whatever individual items I include.

None of the above tells us the proportions of the ingredients in the Italian seasonings, but it’s easy to imagine mixing and matching to create your own to taste. Or skipping the blend and using the separate ingredients. In my sauce, I usually use one or more of the individual ones to modify the flavor anyway.

Still, I’m likely to buy more of the McCormick after it runs out. Too convenient, and it has an excellent flavor. I’ve used it to season chicken that was fried, or baked with a crumb coating, and in other things. Makes me wonder how many other variants on “Italian seasoning” exist in the world.

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