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Culinary Sandbox

Something's brewing in the kitchen….
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This process is going to take a few days, so don't turn blue on us!
 
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turd soup…… oh geesh.
 
Top pic is after browning oxtails or meaty bone scraps in olive oil, removing said bones and starting to caramelize onion and garlic in the same pan. Next pic has cumin, cloves and oregano added to the onion/garlic mix, along with apple cider vinegar and chicken stock. Not pictured is the results of toasting a chile negro, a pasilla and a NM chile and soaking them in chicken stock, as well. Add the two together and puree to get the sauce that you see coating beef (and the bone scraps) in the third pic.
 
Here it is after sitting several hours at 250F.
 
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Next step is to remove bones then slam it in the fridge for a day or two. 
 
Oh yeah…. bay leaf and fish sauce in there, too…..

Here's the deal: you want a slow-cooking cut of meat to braise but you also want the browning of the maillard reaction for the best flavor. Browning your braising meat leaves the outside over-cooked, so brown something else and solely slow-cook the "real" meat. Hence, the oxtails or meaty scrap bones get browned, while the chuck does not. Simple. 
 
Have mercy G!
 
I'm drooling gravy train at that first pic.
 
And the second pic is pure meat gold!
 
I'd eat that sheeit slapped on a tore' tillah 'cept for one 'thang....
 
It'd never make it to the taco.
 
I'd mouth fist it with extreme prejudice beforehand.
 
You go girl!
 
Thanks bunches, TB! Gotta admit, the part of putting it in the fridge for a couple days is only ok at the moment because I am STUFFED after going out for dinner and wolfing down tortilla chips, salsa, and killer tacos. And margaritas. Plural. Otherwise the aroma of this stuff cooking may well mean none of it would make it to the fridge. 
 
Little tidbit I didn't know about this particular restaurant we went to tonight (never mind I've been there before): apparently Rick Bayless worked with these guys in the kitchen before he became famous. Cool. Rick is my total kitchen hero. I'd probably be stuck following recipes if not for his kitchen wisdom. True story.

Wait…. there are chiles in adobo in there, too. Duh. Margarita talkin'…...
 
I have to admit a something that you might not like to be liking.
 
I am not a fan of Rick Bayless no how.
 
But I will say this.
 
I am a fan of Geeme.
 
Well, I also have to admit that this is not my own doing. Nope. As much as I adore Mex and Mex-style food (and I do), and as much as I love experimenting with food, so far all I'm doing is following the lead of another in this. BUT that doesn't mean the next part will do so!
 
From what I've seen G, you have no need of following anyone.
 
I've seen your work.
 
And its killermanjaro like nobody else's ' bidness.
 
I'll be following this closely.  I have made ox-tail twice in my life and it was amazing.  I can only imagine how your dish used that and then improves with everything you are doing!
 
I too am a fan of Geeme.
 
Thanks guys!
 
Ok, so I ended up not going with what was in my mind, which was to do the cheese taco shells and do things up pretty-like. No, I had a very hard work-out with my coach after work today. If you aren't a swimmer yourself, or don't know one well, I'll give you fair warning for if you ever come across one: DO NOT GET BETWEEN A SWIMMER AND FOOD AFTER A HARD WORKOUT. EVER! So yeah, pretty fru-fru tacos are nice, but all I wanted to do was get home and slam food in my face. (And yes, I do eat four meals on significant workout days!) I had about 6 handfuls of a cranberry-nut mix to try to hold back the reins while doing prep of the real deal and trust me, it wasn't enough.
 
So I started getting veggies and stuff out and started chopping…. a starting-to-ripen poblano, red bell, jalapeno wheels, green onion, and tomato. You should be impressed by the tomato. Why? Because you'll notice that it's just skin and flesh - I resisted the urge to just chop that baby without deseeding it first. We are talking some serious self-control going into that tomato.
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Shredded the beef and slapped it in the CI with the sauce it originally cooked in:
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I did manage to sautee the capsicums in some olive oil and also seasoned some black beans (which are on the bottom of the bowl below.) Slapped it all in a bowl and then I just plowed it down. 
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So not as pretty as I wanted it to be, but DANG it was tasty! That's actually a fairly good-sized bowl there - I can't usually eat that much food in one sitting but I am sure that I polished that off in no time flat. 

And yeah….. you should be impressed that I even had the presence of mind to take any pics. Seriously, I think if someone else had been in the kitchen at the time, they might not have left with all fingers intact.
 
Wow!  I see so many ways you could eat that!  I bet it would make killer tacos, frito pie, over rice, or just out of the bowl like you did.  Very nice G.
 
Thanks guys!
 
texas blues said:
I'm surprised with the training you're not carb loading too.
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I still limit starchy foods but I do eat dairy, fruits and fresh veggies every day. Generally at least 2 cups of yogurt with fruit and 4-6 eggs every day, on top of "regular" stuff. The day before a meet I'll eat more starches than usual, but that's about it. There's' a fine balance between feeding your workouts but also trying not to overdo it. It was so much easier years ago. But yeah, that age thing manages to creep up on all of us. 
 
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Baby Chick Cakes
 
1 egg yolk
1 cup cake flour *
1/2 cup condensed milk
melted chocolate
filling (see below recipe)
food color (optional)
 
Preheat oven to 350F (170C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or other non-stick liner. Mix egg yolk with condensed milk. If using food coloring, mix 2-3 drops in now. Sift then stir in cake flour. Let sit in refrigerator about 30 minutes. Prepare the filling, shaping into balls. Using floured hands, roll the dough into a log on a floured surface and cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll each dough piece then flatten into a disc. Place a filling portion in the middle of the dough then wrap the dough around it and pinch to close. Re-roll into balls and put back in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes. Working with one or two at a time, gently model into chick shapes. Pinch small beak point last. If dough becomes too soft while working with it, put it back into the refrigerator to firm up. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Once cool, melt chocolate and use a toothpick or brush to paint on eyes and wing marks. 
 
* I found the amount of cake flour to be too little. It yielded a too-soft, sticky dough that lost its shape quickly in the oven. I'd suggest starting with 1-1/4 cups then feel free to add in more until the dough is no longer sticky.
 
Filling for Baby Chick Cakes
 
almond paste, grated - about 1/4 of a 7-oz tube
dried, shredded coconut - roughly equal amount as the almond paste
cocoa powder
naga powder
cayenne powder
almond milk
 
Combine all ingredients except the almond milk, then add just enough almond milk to allow the mix to hold together when shaped into balls. Refrigerate to firm up.
 
A traditional Asian pastry filling is sweet red bean paste, which is made from Azuki beans. It may be used as-is or mixed with cocoa powder, hot pepper powder, or other mix of your choice. The bean paste for pastries is typically the "smooth" variety. It is somewhat dough-like in consistency, which allows for easy shaping. You can use alternate fillings, such as what I used, or even make another batch of dough and mix in cocoa powder or other flavoring of your choice. 
Here's the filling:
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I came across a jar of chipotle chile paste in one of my cabinets yesterday. I bought it not too long ago on the mexicangrocer.com website, thinking I'd find some use for it, but then I promptly forgot about it. Today at the grocery store I picked up some boston butt, thinking I'd use the paste mixed with some BBQ sauce on it. But when I got home and looked in the fridge, the first bottle that caught my eye was Texas Creek's Tropical Ghost so the pork is now in the slow cooker with a mix of chipotle chile paste and Tropical Ghost. I am going to add some herbs, but that will be it. I'll post after it's done cooking.
 
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