Tag Archives: dinner

by karllueck | April 26, 2013 · 5:13 am

Karl’s I Don’t Do Casseroles

I don’t do casseroles, especially tuna casseroles, too many years of church socials growing up. Jan, on the other hand, loves tuna casserole, although she has a problem with its portion control. You cannot take less of the starch and more of the veggies, since everything is mixed together. The other problem with casseroles is that the ingredients do not cook at the same rates. Some things will be under done or others will be way over done. Somewhere there had to be a solution.

Karl’s I Don’t Do Casseroles

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Karl’s Vietnamese Summer Rolls (Gỏi cuốn)

Jan has gone to three conferences in the last week, a dean’s conference, the Southwestern Anthropological Association conference and a Google conference. As a result, her eating habits have been completely disrupted. Google especially fed her some very strange things, but one of the things she liked was a Vietnamese summer roll with lamb, instead of the usual shrimp or pork.

Karl’s Vietnamese Summer Rolls (Gỏi cuốn)

You can make summer rolls as a vegetarian dish, but I usually make them with shrimp and/or thin slices of Chinese barbecued pork. The idea of using lamb intrigued me. Could I make a summer roll with tender, flavorful slices of lamb like I can picture in my head?

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Filed under Lamb, Main Dishes, Salads

Tagged as dinner, food, Philosophy of Cooking, recipes, salad rolls, summer rolls, Vietnamese cuisine

by karllueck | April 15, 2013 · 4:09 am

Karl’s Cajun Jambalaya

In the 1970’s I was working for a diving company based in Belle Chasse, LA. I have been thinking about that time lately (it probably has something to do with Lent and Mardi Gras). I can’t think about N’Orl’ns (one word) without thinking about the food. For two years I lived off of Muffulettas, Shrimp Etouffee, boiled crawfish, and Jambalaya. I have had a sudden desire for the flavor. Louisiana food generally falls into two main cuisines Creole and Cajun, which roughly corresponds to city and country.

Karl’s Cajun Jambalaya

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Filed under Main Dishes, Pork, Poultry, Seafood

Tagged as Andouille, Cajun cuisine, chicken, dinner, food, jambalaya, pork, recipes, seafood, Southern cooking

by karllueck | March 18, 2013 · 2:24 am

Karl’s Roasted Salmon with Leeks

It is St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, and no one in this household likes what is sold as “corned beef” in the supermarkets (I understand that if you can find Italian corned beef it is much closer to the original). In fact, except for Chris, my son-in-law whose family is from Boston, we do not favor “boiled dinners” (everything thrown into the same pot and boiled). For us the classic Irish main dish is the Salmon of Knowledge.

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

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Filed under Main Dishes, Seafood

Tagged as dinner, food, leeks, recipes, salmon, St. Patrick's Day

by karllueck | March 11, 2013 · 4:55 am

Karl’s Pork Tamales with Mole Poblano

Some assembly required. Many cultures have a festival dish that is something wrapped in dough that can be stored and then cooked quickly (so the moms can enjoy the festivals). The Hispanic countries have tamales, the Asians have jiaozi (pork dumplings) and the Eastern Europeans have perogi. However the price for this festival freedom is sometimes days of preparation. Making the dough, the filling(s) and assembling the final product are painstaking tasks. Usually this is made easier by making it a group activity. In China we would be treated to jiaozi parties. Our host would bring over the prepared meat and dough and then everyone would pitch in to make (and eat) the jiaozi. For a fun idea of how the Mexican culture does this, I recommend the children’s book Too Many Tamales! (for the hearing impared.)

Jan and I were watching Triple D and one of the featured restaurants was a Mexican place that always has 15 different moles. Jan loves mole and the show expanded my mind on what was possible in the way of mole and how to use it. One of their signature dishes was tamales with mole.

Karl’s Pork Tamales with Mole Poblano
Karl’s Green Mole Rice
Karl’s Refried Beans II

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Filed under Main Dishes, Pork

Tagged as chilies, chocolate, dinner, food, Mexican cuisine, mole, pork, recipes, tamales

by karllueck | March 11, 2013 · 4:35 am

Karl’s Mole Poblano

A few months ago I had tried making molé for the first time, based on a recipe by Ty and Juels. This was one of our Sunday challenges before I started writing this blog. I found Ty’s recipe, but I could not help myself, I had to make some changes. That is just the kind of cook I am, I even have trouble following my own recipes. I rarely make the same dish the same way twice, I am constantly tinkering.

Mole Poblano

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Filed under Sauces and Spices

Tagged as chocolate, dinner, food, Mexican cuisine, mole, mole poblano, recipes, sauce

by karllueck | March 11, 2013 · 4:27 am

Karl’s Green Mole Rice (Arroz Mole Verde)

I wanted a new side dish to go with my Pork Tamales with Mole Poblano. In Mexican cuisine beans and rice are the standard side dishes. Refried beans do not really lend themselves to a lot of variation. This left me to do something with the rice, but I wanted to do something other than my usual Mexican Rice. I thought about making a green mole rice, but when I Googled “Mole Verde” most of the recipes were on how to use this sauce on chicken with rice as a side dish.

Karl’s Green Mole Rice (Arroz Mole Verde)

Green Mole (Mole Verde)

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Karl’s Refried Beans II

Adapted from a recipe by Chelsie Kenyon, About.com Guide

The epazote is a key ingredient to this dish adding a distinctive flavor. It is a Mexican herb that when raw smells reminiscent of citrus, savory, or mint, but is not any of them. It culinary purpose is as a carminative, i.e. it helps stop gas from forming. Left over epanzote may be used as a tea, like fresh mint.

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Filed under Side Dishes, Starches

Tagged as beans, dinner, food, Mexican cuisine, recipes

by karllueck | March 8, 2013 · 7:02 am

Karl’s Slow Roasted Pork

I am planning to make Pork Tamales with Mole Negro this Sunday, but I have used all of the roast pork I had in my freezer. As a result, I need to roast some pork this week. If I am going to spend hours, if not days, making roast pork I see no reason to cook only a pound or two for the one meal. Go big, there are lots of things you can do with left over roast pork. It is a sad task, but someone will have to eat it.