Cooking At Home Part 2

Looking back at some of my posts, I found one that I never finished. I cooked some oxtail back last summer and never completed the post. Oxtail is one of my favorite meats.  When cooked right, it can be very tasty and super tender. You can turn the meat it into a ragu for pasta, leave it whole and make soup with it, the possibilities are endless. I'm going to show you how to braise it down whole and use it as an entree. Most people like to use red wine when braising it which makes it just as good, however I didn't have any in house so I just used my chicken stock. Also, I apologize in advance for the bad photos. I was still using a Blackberry back then!

First season the oxtail with salt and pepper on both sides.

Next, in a hot pan, sear the oxtail on high heat in a little oil on all sides.

You can also lightly dust them with flour to help them get some color. Once they are seared on all sides, remove them from the pan. If you were using red wine, now would be a good time to deglaze the pan with it.

Cut up your mirepoix and add a couple of whole crushed garlic cloves.

Hard sear(high heat) your mirepoix so it has some nice color on it and it's just starting to break down.

While your mirepoix is searing, get your aromatics together. I like bay leaves, black peppercorns, and fresh thyme.

Add your chicken stock once your mirepoix has softened and picked up some color, then bring it to a boil.

Put the seared oxtail inside of a braising dish that won't crowd them and pour the hot stock/mirepoix on top of them. Add your aromatics on top, cover with foil, and bake at 325 for about 3-4 hours. You'll know there ready when you can take a fork and pull the meat away from the cartiledge.

During those 3-4 hours, find a way to occupy your time.....

Once there done, remove the oxtail from the braising liquid.

Take the braising liquid, place it in a small pan and reduce it a little over half. Leave in all of the "good stuff" that you braised the oxtail with as this will give your sauce more flavor.

 

Serve it with mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, whatever you like. I have to say that in this picture it doesn't look like the most appetizing thing in the world but I assure you it is! I'll make it again soon and use my Galaxy 3 which has a great camera!

Pier 39

Yesterday Andi and I took a trip across the bay to Pier 39. Mostly it's a large tourist trap with overpriced seafood, cheap souvenirs, and hobo's begging for money. However, there were a couple of highlights.

 The pier is home to dozens of sea lions.

This isn't the best video as my phone had trouble recording in the correct direction(or I did! :P) but you can hear the seals!

 

Ms. Andi posing by the water with the Golden Gate Bridge 

and a huge ship in the back.

 

We did find one really cool place-a museum of vintage arcade games!

Creepy......

 

This one was Andi's favorite. You put a quarter in, the doors open and.....

.....you get to see someone get their head cut off!!

They also had newer games within the last 30 years. One of Atari's first!

I remember playing this Star Wars game as a kid at the Jersey Shore.

Spy Hunter sucked up a lot of my quarters....:P

 

We also found an old Wack A Mole game!

 Wait for the end of this video....Andi's reactions our funny!!

 

Lake Tahoe Day 2

On our second day, I signed us up for a guided snowmobile tour on one of the mountains just outside of South Lake Tahoe.

Ms. Andi getting ready for our ride.

The route they took us on was a closed off road that had a MAD amount of snow on it as you can tell from the buried road signs.

Us on the trail.

Andi posing on our snowmobile.

 

We stopped several times along the trail but this was the only good photo I was able to get. It's amazing traveling along the trails and not seeing a single animal. Most our scared away by the noise or hibernating. It's really quite peaceful.

After the snow ride, we drove into Nevada and saw the lake from the east side.

Also found a cabin that had the lamp from The Christmas Story!!

 Our driving partner on the way back!

And as with any trip we take, my narcoleptic wife passes out.....

Lake Tahoe Day 1

So finally after all the craziness at work, I was finally able to take a little time off. Andi and I decided to plan a trip to Lake Tahoe where we booked a hotel right on the lake.

 

 

 

The mountains and lake are absolutely breathtaking. In the picture above, I labeled the rock on the left "nipple rock!"

 

Andi and Sophie having fun in the snow!

 

 

 

This picture is actually of the sand at the bottom of the lake. You can't even tell there is water it's so clear!! 

We scoped out a fine dining restaurant in Tahoe City on the west side of the lake called Christy Hill.

We started off with Pan Seared Gnocchi with Bourbon Braised Pork Belly, Chanterelles, Glazed Baby Carrots, Port Jus & Circulated Organic Hen Egg. I felt the dish had all the components to be great but just didn't come together well. Everything was crammed onto a small rectangular plate and could have benefited by a little sea salt.

Next we had Hamachi tartare with Apple, Radish, Cucumber, Pinenuts,
Chilis, Avocado, Cilantro, Wakame & Ginger-Ponzu Vinaigrette. Really good! Everything complimented each other perfectly!

 

Andi's entree was Slow Roasted Breast & Duck Leg Confit, Chinese Long Beans,
Caramelized Root Vegetables, Herb Salad & Port Jus. The duck was cooked perfectly but overall the dish was nothing special.

 

This photo didn't come out to great. It was my entree which was Braised Short Rib of Bison with Horseradish Potato Puree, Bloomsdale Spinach & Red Wine Shallot Jus. Once again, not much going on here. I was expecting the bison to be slightly gamey(which I enjoy) but if you would have put it side by side with beef short rib I couldn't have told the difference.

 

Side dish of Salt Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Herbed Aioli. Roasted perfectly, well done with the aioli.

 

For dessert, I had a Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding with a nice, crisp, glass of ice wine. Not as heavy as I would have thought and went perfectly with the ice wine. But hey, what doesn't!!

 

Andi had an Espresso Cheese Cake that was super dense but very tasty!

Overall a great first day! :)