Tetsubin

As I'm sure all of you are aware, I have a certain fondness for Japanese items. Today I purchased a cast iron tea pot (not kettle!) from Teavana. It was on clearance and I've had my eye on a cast iron tea pot ever since the Good Eats episode "Trew Brew II".

I purchased four cast iron cups to go along, but instead of the wave pattern I decided to go with the hob nail pattern. I felt that the hob nail pattern would add a little... shall we call it friction? I wanted it to contrast ever so slightly against the pot to add visual and textual interest.



I brewed some sencha which I also purchased at that same store. It wasn't fantastic, but it made a good pot. I will probably look other green loose leaf teas or look at more matcha. To be honest, I'm not sure if matcha is supposed to be brewed in a pot or mixed in directly to the cup, which is going far more into chado than I feel I can do alone.

In any event, I had added another cast iron creation to my kitchen collection. Isn't it pretty?

Oh the adventures I have had

Another Christmas present is something that I've had on my wish list for quite some time. An enameled cast iron dutch oven.



I made Beef Burgundy using the Cooks' Illustrated recipe. Essentially you put all the ingredients you would use to make a stock (onions, carrots, so forth) and you bundle them in cheese cloth. Then, after you've browned your beef and made a roux, you pour in a bottle of red (preferably a Burgundy) and some chicken stock. Then you stick the bag into the broth and stick the whole thing in the oven for hours. Finally you fry some mushrooms and pearl onions and add them in just before serving.



The pictures don't do the stew justice. I swear the broth matched the color of the enamel before it went in the oven.




They suggested serving it on mashed potatoes or buttered noodles, but I chose some buttered rice. The other swerving was that I only added half the beef called for in the recipe, as the grocery bill was starting to reach new heights.

The other nice thing about this is that I have plenty of left overs. One recipe makes a lot of portions, especially if you're serving it over some carb. I think it might be nice with a little cheese grated over the top, but that might be getting excessive.

My opinion on the recipe as a whole is just as The Boyfriend put it. "This is real good stew".

Brussels Sprouts, my favorite green child

Okay, so maybe it's creepy to call a food your favorite child. I just liked the way it sounded.



But I do love Brussels sprouts. It seems that no matter what I do to them, they are delicious. I've steamed, boiled, fried, broiled, baked and am considering raw (shredded in a slaw), and it's all delicious. And I know what you're thinking. "Sarah, you just like things coated in hot fat". Wrong! Well, I mean that that's a separate matter. They're just so good.

I made a pretty good dinner tonight of kippered herring, sweet potato, and steamed Brussels sprouts. I must've eaten ten of those tiny cabbages. I ate them as though they were going to be taken away from me.

Anyway, if you're not a Brussels freak like myself, here's a thing I've been known to do with them that might swing you closer to my persuasion.

After cleaning a good number of sprouts (remember to buy the smallest ones you can, they are sold by weight and the smallest ones are the sweetest) cleave them in half and pan fry them in a cast iron skillet in regular olive oil until they have a nice bit of brown on them and a fork will go through them with minimal force. Then sprinkle with salt, and grate Parmesan cheese on them. Put this under your broiler (I mentioned the broiler, right?) until the cheese starts to brown. Pull from oven. Remove from pan (cast iron holds a lot of heat) and eat as soon as you can avoid burning yourself.

That "recipe" also works with a variety of vegetables.

In short, there is not a sprout that I will not welcome. Is it so wrong to call it my favorite child?