Thanksgiving for friends

We have a bunch of good friends over for Thanksgiving. They are such great people. It's a joy to spread a table for them to thank them for who they are.

Cut fruit

Hummus with triscuits (hint of salt)

Meatloaf:

Turkey:

BBQ pork ribs:

Buns:

Plain wheat berries; and brown rice to be cooked in cream of mushroom:

Pies and breads:

At the prime of my life, the Lord has given strength to my hands, that I can make all these for people we love. This alone is such a beautiful gift from above, to be received with thankfulness.

Fermented black bean pork rice

We have had many hard weeks. In the middle of all such busyness, I just can't bear to see hubby running around without the proper nourishment. Therefore, after his meeting, I make this dish. It's his favorite. He finishes 2/3 of it by himself!

Recipe: Fermented black bean pork rice (for 4)

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs lean pork chop, cut into 1.5" cubes
- 2 TB fermented black bean sauce
- 1-2 TB black soy sauce
- 2-3 TB xiaoxing cooking wine
- 3 cloves garlic freshly chopped
- 1 stock green onions
- 1 cup jasmine rice, washed
- 2 TB water, just enough to cover the bottom
- 2 TB oil
- 2 tp sesame oil

Procedure
1. Marinate pork with black bean sauce, soy sauce, cooking wine, oil and garlic. Let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Spread raw jasmine rice on the bottom of a 8x8 glass pan. Add just enough water to half cover the rice.
3. Spread pork on top, uniformly on the rice.
4. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350F for about 1 hour. After the first 40 minutes, turn pork to make sure thorough cooking at the center of pan.

Results:
5:11pm, uncooked rice, washed and spread on pan:

5:11pm, height of rice:

5:12pm, pork marinated:

5:16pm, pork spread on pan:

5:16pm, pork's height on top of rice:

5:17pm, corner of pan:

5:24pm, to bake at 350F:

6:14pm, baked 50 minutes:

6:14pm, center not yet done:

6:25pm, baked 1 hour and done; details of baked dish:

Observations:
1. The rice at the side is soaked and a little over cooked while that at the center is barely cooked.

Hummus with triscuit

This is a snack for Thanksgiving dinner. I can hardly recite the recipe. It's just wild guess.

Results:
Day 1, 5:18pm, cooked beans being mashed:

Day 1, 5:41pm, mashed bean paste ready to be reheated: 

Day 1, 5:59pm, temperature of mashed beans:

Day 1, 6:03pm, ready to chill:

Day 1, 6:15pm, patterned:

Mini meat loaves

I decided to give our home a little warmth by turning on the oven and baking some goods.

Recipe: Mini meat loaves (2 loaves)

Ingredients:
- 2/3 lb lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 3-4 TB stone ground rye flour
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tp worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tp salt
- 1 tp black pepper
- 1 tp dried oregano flakes
- 2 tp dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 tp dried thyme

Procedure:
1. Beat egg with spices, herbs, salt and worcestershire sauce.
2. Use hands to mix together beef, chopped onion, bread crumbs. Then add the egg mixture and knead.
3. Add ketchup and continue kneading.
4. Use rye flour to adjust the hydration of the mixture until it forms a smooth dough.
5. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes. Cover loaf top with foil when top is dry.

Results:
12:28pm, all ingredients except rye flour:

12:40pm, mixing ingredients:

12:42pm, final mixture after adjustment:

12:49pm, mixture filled in pan:

12:49pm, mixture height:

12:49pm, to bake at 350F:

1:29pm, interior temperature reaching 160F, but loaf not holding together very well:

1:39pm, loaves baked another 10 minutes to dry off some liquid:

1:57pm, loaf 1 cooled, and opened to serve; it falls apart:

1:59pm, interior of loaf 1:

7:20pm, loaf 2 very carefully turned out:

7:20pm, loaf 2's side:

7:20pm, loaf 2's bottom:

Observations:
1. In this experiment, I have run out of bread crumbs, so I use rye flour and see what happens. As a result, this loaf does not hold together as well as the loaf that uses bread crumbs.
2. Despite that the loaf does not hold very well when it's just out of oven, its flavor is very good.

pumpkin spice hot milk

It's such a rainy cold day. I can't help thinking that we need something warm at home. Here is my homemade pumpkin spice drink. In truth, the pumpkin really matters just a very little. It's the spice and the milk. For some, it's also the sugar.

Recipe: Pumpkin spice hot milk (for 1)

Ingredients:
- 1 TB mashed cooked calabasa
- 1/2 tp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tp dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup condensed skim milk
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup water

Procedure:
Mix everything in a pot and bring to simmer for 1 minute. Serve hot. It would be even better if the calabasa is finely pureed.

Five spice beef shank

Recently, I found a new store that has quite good grocery stuff. These 2 weeks they have boneless beef shank. What's so good about beef shank is the tendon. My first experiment with their cut was so well-received that I returned for a few more packs, cooking some and freezing the others. This dish starts from my previous batch of 5-spice goods.

Recipe: Five spice beef shank (1 shank)

Ingredients:
- one 1.5 lb boneless beef shank
- light soy sauce
- dark soy sauce
- 5-spice sauce
- extra 5 spices (cloves, star of anise, cinnamon, ginger)

Procedure:
1. Dissolve 5-spice sauce and bring to a boil. Filter off old spices in the sauce. Replenish with new spices.
2. Wash beef shank. Place into the pot of 5-spice sauce. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to med-low. Cook for 20 minutes.
3. Transfer beef and sauce to slow cooker. Make sure the beef is fully immersed in sauce. Turn on cooker on high setting. Once the liquid has boiled, turn heat down to low setting. Allow to cook for 6-8 hours.

Freezing fresh boneless beef shank for future consumption:

Saving 5-spice sauce after cooking:

Seafood rice dish

This special dish is for hubby because he is special.

Recipe: Salmon shrimp rice dish (for 1)

Ingredients:
- a small piece of salmon fillet, 4 oz, about the size of the palm not counting the fingers
- 7 raw deveined medium shrimps, shelled
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 TB heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tp lemon dill seasoning
- dash of parsley flakes
- 1/3 cup uncooked white jasmine rice
- water

Procedure:
1. Wash uncooked rice and place in a small baking pan. Spread rice flat on pan. Add water, enough to just cover the rice.
2. Place salmon fillet flat on top of rice.
3. Mix mayonnaise with cream and lemon dill. Spread uniformly and generously over salmon and the uncovered rice.
4. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes in toaster oven, until mayonnaise is very lightly yellow.
5. Add shelled shrimps on top of dish, pressing slightly into the mayonnaise. Return to bake for about 5 minutes, or until shrimps are pink.
6. Sprinkle parsley. Serve right away.

Results:
Dish just out of the toaster oven:

Shrimps just cooked, taking about 5 minutes:

Interior, a very thin layer of jasmine rice absorbing all the flavor of the juice from the fish:

Cooked rice, just nice, not too soft, not hard:

Observations:
1. Only jasmine rice may be cooked this way along with the fish. It absorbs all the flavor of the seafood while cooking.
2. The amount of water is just enough to cover the rice when the rice is spread flatly on the bowl. Use a very thin layer of rice, about 1/4 inch tall.
3. The mayonnaise prevents the fish from overcooking. It's very good as a sauce.