When Safeway has a half price sale on hams (after a holiday) I buy a half a ham and cut it into ¾ inch ham steaks to freeze for later. A ham steak is pretty much just a slab of meat. The trick is what glaze do you put on it to dress it up. I have been experimenting with ways to use my marmalades—in other ways than just slathering it on toast and pancakes in the morning.
Karl’s Ham Steak with Lemon Marmalade
Filed under California Fusion, Main Dishes, Pork, Weeknight
When my family does not issue me a challenge—a new cuisine, a particular meat, or an untried vegetable to explore—I sometimes struggle to come up with something new for my Sunday dinners. This dish came up in a roundabout way. Jan, my wife, mentioned the other day about how she really liked fresh pea soup. You might ask, “How does pea soup turn into Asian cabbage rolls?”
Karl’s Asian Cabbage Rolls
Filed under California Fusion, Chinese-American, Main Dishes, Pork, Sauces and Spices, Vegetables
Jan asked for this dish in the morning, as a result, I was not able to pre-soak my beans overnight. This left me with the “quick soak” method—bring a pot of water and beans to a boil and then let them rest for an hour off the heat. My variation to this method is that I make a rich ham broth and then soak the beans in this flavorful, salty liquid.
Karl’s Guinness Ham and Beans
Filed under Beans, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Pork, Stews
I made meat loaf recently and both Jan and Eilene complained that there was too much “loaf” and not enough “crusty bits.” To make up for this deficit, I decided to make mini-meatloaves. These would be small enough so that they would be all crusty end bits.
Karl’s Mini-Meatloaves
Filed under Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Pork
Jan requested that I make meatloaf for dinner. Both Jan and Eilene like the outsides of the loaf to have plenty of “crusty bits.” One way to please them is to make mini-meatloaves. A second, easier, way is to not make the loaf too thick—a low thin loaf. Add some fry bread and a salad and you have a really nice meal.
Karl’s Meatloaf with Orange Marmalade Sauce
(on the right)
Filed under Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Pork, Sauces and Spices
Adapted from a Penelope Casas recipe
I am making a Spanish tapas dinner for this Sunday. Jan picked this tapas out of one of my cookbooks. Although I did not follow the recipe, it had some techniques for the fillings that I found interesting.
Karl’s Tapas: Champiñones Rellenos de Cerdo y Piñones (Mushrooms Stuffed with Pork and Pine Nuts)
Karl’s Tapas
Champiñones Rellenos de Cerdo y Piñones
Mushrooms Stuffed with Pork and Pine Nuts
Filed under Pork, Side Dishes
I made ham steak the other day and, after the meal, I had half a pound of ham left. By itself it was not enough to feed three people, but with some creativity I could make a meal of it. Stretch the meat with some vegetables—add an interesting sauce and some rice—and you have something new and different.
Karl’s Leftovers:
Karl’s Ham and Baby Bokchoi Stri Fry
Filed under Main Dishes, Pork, Sauces and Spices, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Sunday, we had Venezuelan pernil arepas and South American slaw for dinner. The question is what do I do with the leftover pork, cabbage salad, and tomato slices for a weekday meal? If I was just by myself, I would go for mixing the meat and tomatoes into a savory rice dish—something that Jan would instantly describe as “too heavy!”
Karl’s Leftovers: Venezuelan Pernil Summer Rolls
(Pulled Pork)
Filed under California Fusion, Main Dishes, Pork, Salads
A while ago, Jan went to Napa and came back raving about Pica Pica’s arepas. She demanded that I learn how to make these make these South American pocket breads. I did my best, based only on her description and what I could find on the internet. Last week, we went up to San Francisco and I actually got to try one of Pica Pica’s arepas.
Karl’s Venezuelan Pernil Arapas
Filed under Main Dishes, Pork
I had bought meat to make tacos al pastor for dinner, but Jan said wanted something lighter—code word “salad.” A few weeks ago, I made a chicken taco salad that was a raging success, a dish sure to become a regular family meal. However, it doesn’t always have to be exactly the same, I thought about trying that as an al pastor taco salad.
Karl’s al Pastor Taco Salad
with Hot-Pan Salsa
Filed under California Fusion, Main Dishes, Pork, Salads, Vegetables
karllueck
Miriam