November 2005 Archives

Mmm, beef. The Good Eats beef tenderloin in salt crust. I accidentally overcooked it (you can see it's well done), but the salt crust kept it amazingly moist, tender and delicious. Like "butter made from a cow rolling in the grass." Or a lot of herbs, anyway.

A three-ish pound tenderloin from the butcher's shop. Secretly, I wanted to just take a bite right then and there, but restrained myself.

A quick jump into the skillet to brown the outside.

The salt crust, made the day before and sprinkled with additional herbs.

About that "cow rolling in herbs..."

Bagged, tagged, and ready to go into the oven. Next time, really take it out of the oven when the probe thermometer hits 125 degrees.

A year ago I couldn't have imagined making chicken stock, and now I can't imagine buying it. We use the Good Eats chicken stock recipe.

Carrots, celery, onion, garlic, peppercorns, thyme.

A leek, and fresh parsley.

A strainer basket goes on top to keep everything submerged.

After simmering for seven hours, the solids have given their all. The chicken is at the bottom. I had a separate picture of just the chicken parts, but it looked a bit gruesome.

A soak in the sink with some frozen water bottles help cool down the boiling liquid before parking the pot in the fridge overnight. Skim off the fat the next morning, freeze into one-quart containers and ice trays and you're ready to go!

Charles Phan's recipe for this Lemongrass-Grilled Rack of Lamb with Tamarind Sauce can be found at Mark Bittman's web site howtocookeverything.tv.

The marinade, made from lemongrass, shallots, fish sauce, and sugar. I was impatient and the ingredients did not get as much time in the mortar and pestle as they should have.

The staff meal, as it were. These are the trimmings from the frenched rack.