Making Mozzarella

So, this weekend I finally tackled mozzarella. My friends Kevin and Ranae have a cow and are selling awesome raw milk to folks in the department (on the down low, of course). I didn't have great luck with making yogurt, since I had no idea what I was doing, so for some reason I decided to try an advanced cheese--mozzarella. The amazing thing is that it turned out great! I didn't take photos because it basically looked just like the ones on Dr. Fankhauser's Cheese Page. This guy is my new hero, and I urge you to check out his page before starting any dairy projects. So, the take-home message is that: yes, mozzarella can be done! Mom, you should definitely try it out because it's soooo yummy. I even got the Italian seal of approval from Toni, even though I don't have a damn water buffalo in my back yard, as the slow-foodies insist is necessary. Also, I recommend getting an old electric blanket for the incubations, because that helped me a lot and will also fix my yogurt problems. Good luck!

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Thick-cut Pork Chops

These intimidating chops were actually pretty easy to cook. They're called an "Iowa Chop", and they're just a thick-cut, bone-in, center-cut chop. I've discovered that the secret to juicy pork chops is to start with a cold pan and obsessively checking the temperature . I find they're best just under 160 degrees. Pork Chops 2 1-lb. Iowa Chops 2-3 Tbsp. salt 2 Tbsp. white pepper 2 Tbsp. dried sage 2 Tbsp. Smoked (or regular) paprika 3 Tbsp. oil Sauce (optional): 1/2 c. chicken broth 1/2 c. white wine (I used Pinot Grigio) 2 Tbsp. corn starch 1 tsp. white pepper 2 tsp. Dijon mustard 1/4 c. cold water Preheat the oven to 350. Pat the chops dry with some paper towel. Sprinkle them liberally with the salt and spices and allow them to warm up to room temperature while you start the quinoa and chop the cauliflower. Place the oil in your pan, but do not pre-heat the pan. Add the chops to the pan and place them on the stove. Heat the pan up to medium, turning the chop

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Miele Steam Oven Pulled Pork

I've been debating whether I should post some of these more niche recipes--now that we have a steam oven and a high powered stove, I am making recipes that not everyone can reproduce with other equipment. I've decided to post some of them 1) for my own records, and 2) because there are very few recipes available online for these devices (especially the steam oven). Perhaps these recipes will be of use to others. I don't have a photo for this one because I decided to post the recipe after the fact. 3-5 lb pork shoulder roast (~3 lb without bone, ~5 lb with) 1 large white onion, 1/4" slices 1 Tbsp. butter 1 chicken boullion cube 1 c. water 2 tsp. dried thyme 1 tsp. dried sage 1 tsp. whole coriander 1 Tbsp. coarse ground salt 1 Tbsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. dry mustard 1 tsp. white pepper 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. cayenne 1/4 tsp. allspice 1/4 tsp. celery seed Saute the onions in the butter in a saute pan over medium for 10 min until the onions are somewha

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Quick Turkey Meatballs

For various reasons, Melanie likes ground turkey more than ground beef, and so I've been making turkey meatballs a lot. Obviously the problem with turkey is that it can be really dry since it's so lean, but one day we made a random hippy turkey burger recipe and it taught us the he secret to making ground turkey not be gross: ground mushrooms! If you grind up the mushrooms and mix them in, they kind of cook away but keep whatever you're cooking moist and give that umami flavor that's also missing from turkey. People who don't like mushrooms won't notice their presence at all unless they're specifically looking for them. This recipe is also designed to cook up really really quickly - you can have these done in the time it takes you to boil the water for the noodles. The spices are loosely based on Lillian's meatball recipe but only use dry spices for convenience. They still come out a little dry, but especially with a wetter sauce (marinara, vodka, etc.

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