Peruque Pecan Pie

So much pecan

The Story

This the recipe from Fisher Nuts. https://fishernuts.com/recipe/fishers-signature-pecan-pie/

I used the recipe. Fisher Pecan Halves are the finest money can buy. Only a fool would try and shell pecans for ingredients. I can assure you of this because I spent FIVE hours shelling pecans to get 3 1/2 cups. I got maybe four “halves” the rest was “pieces”. I spent another half hour with my readers on looking for usable pieces.

It was a ridiculous amount of work. The careful reader will note that I added a full extra cup of pecans to my recipe because I don’t read good.

I bought some Missouri pecans from a neighbor who lives down along the Mississippi River. Two bags. Small, pretty pecans. Here is the thing I love about this story. The Peruque Pecan was discovered and cultivated along the banks of Peruque Creek in Saint Charles county, Missouri. Rain that falls on our home flows directly into Peruque Creek the joins the Mississippi on its was to New Orleans. (I should probably check the woods for pecans.) I am going to using my artistic license and describe the pecans I bought as Peruque Pecans.

https://northernpecans.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-history-of-peruque-pecan.html

The Taste Test

I waited until the next morning to try it. It is great, very pecan forward. Thanksgiving is flavored with the suffering of the cooks and this pie is carmel and creamy flavored suffering. The pieces of the shell that I missed are very astringent. Luckily, there are very few. For some reason, probably the overload of pecans, this pie has a nice mound shape.. Most pecan pies seem to collapse towards the center. The filling is denser along the edges and more caramel goodness towards the center. It needs a little tactical fork work to get a perfect bite. Worth the effort.

Smoked Turkey Breast

• Preheat smoker to 225F
• Remove all the packaging from a thawed turkey breast.
• Blot dry with paper towel
• Make a boat of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet that fits nicely in the smoker.
• Put the turkey breast in the foil boat.
• Cover with Olive Oil.
• Heavily season the bottom and top of the turkey breast
• Insert temperature probe in the thickest part of the breast.
• Load the smoker.
• Dress the probe cords towards the bottom of the smoker.
• Connect wires to wireless thermometer
• Connect the iPad in the the house to the thermometer
• Let it cook till the turkey is 165F
• Remove from smoker
• Let the meat rest for 15 minutes.
• Cut and serve

JonTheBruce Turkey RUB

• Thyme,
• Oregano,
• Pepper,
• Garlic powder,
• Onion powder, and
• Pepper.

The Story

A tale of two turkeys

Second time smoking turkey breast. It went pretty well. Today was chilly, high of 49, low of 33. I have an electric smoker by Masterbuilt. I had a heck of a time with the heat. The smoker was on the driveway. There was a little bit of a breeze. The heat would not get up to temperature. BUT. The turkey was cooking. I ended up using the Overland Rig to block the wind. The truck was an excellent wind block. The temperature was struggling to get to 170F. Once the truck was in place, the temperature rocketed up to 265F. Crazy.

I had two turkey breasts. Toweled them dry. Put them on aluminum covered small baking trays. Inserted a temperature probe in each. Rubbed with Olive Oil. Then sprinkled them with Rub. One was Kinder’s Lemon Pepper. The other was a basically equal parts thyme, oregano, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper.

The Lemon Pepper was a big hit with Mrs. JonTheBruce the first time we tried this. 

The Inkbird thermometer makes this so much easier. I had a probe in each breast and another at the top of the smoker box. Here is the new version. https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Wireless-Bluetooth-Thermometer-Probes%EF%BC%8CRechargeable/dp/B07R9RLR11?ref_=ast_sto_dp

I try to smoke at 225F degrees. Get the turkey to 165F.

But wait there is more!

I tried something different to reheat this thing for dinner today. I had wrapped up the whole breasts. I didn’t want to lose anything. I needed to reheat it. Oven and microwave sounded horrible. I did a little google-fu. Fired up the Sous Vide machine to 131. Bagged the turkey breast. And let them roll. They warmed up and held temperature for three hours. I didn’t check to see how long it took to heat up. I am going to guess that it was ready to serve in way less than an hour.

This allowed me to carve meat that was table ready right before we served dinner. On time! On Demand! I don’t know the exact moment I became a fancy restaurateur.

Cold Soaked Oats

Cold Soaked Oats

This is dumb simple recipe. I usually make them in a 32 ounce container. About 3/4 full of rolled oats. and then fill up the container with Almond Milk. Enough to just cover the oats.

I put them in the fridge overnight. I turn it over to make sure the almond juice is getting all the oats.

They can be eaten cold. I prefer to heat up about 3/4s of a cup in the microwave for a minute.

All kinds of oats can be pretty boring. Best thing is to spice them up with a banana or raisins or candied pecans or Vietnamese Cinnamon.

Definitely, not the worst idea I have tried. This has stayed in the rotation for quite a while.

This is so boring. I haven’t documented it with photos.

20230708 Smoked Pork Loin

Smoked meats

Finally, got back to the smoker. I got a Pork Loin from Costco. They are unwieldy, so I cut some pork chops. I also did something I consider clever. I got a rack out of the smoker because I wasn’t sure how wide I could keep these things and fit on the racks. I was planning on trying two different “rubs”, so I cut it into two two loins.

Loin One got covered in Kinder’s Lemon Pepper then put in a ziplock bag filled with Apple Juice. I used enough juice to cover the whole thing.

Loin Two got covered in Weber Salt Free Chickem Seasoning then put in a ziplock bag filled with Apple Juice. I used enough juice to cover the whole thing.

I let them marinate for a half of an hour while the smoker warmed up. I made two boats of aluminum foil to hold the loins, in case there was any drip.

For reference, a boat means a piece of aluminum foil, folded so that it can contain liquids. Did I use origama corners? Yes. Did i make a slanted lid so that it would get dripped on from above? Yes. Did work out great? YES.

Once the smoker was warmed up, I loaded it with mesquite wood chips. I poured off the marinade, loaded the loins into the boats, and put them into the smoker. I also added thermometer to each one and set a digital thermometer to monitor the temp at the top of the smoker. I briefly considered coating the loins with more seasoning. I didn’t.

I have a six port digital thermometer. I bought it for frying turkey. It is MADE for barbeque. I had one on the top tray of the smoker and one in each loin. Once the sun went down I could monitor the cook from inside the house because the display is that big. (Next step) get it on camera so I don’t have to get up!) I just added an Amazon link. Apparently, it is wifi. I need to do more research. https://a.co/d/anZGb9f

Thermometer update – I figured out what app. BBQ Go. I wrote that on all sides of the thermometer. Hopefully, next time, I can spend more time not checking on smoker.

I added the remaining Apple Juice to the water tray of the smoker after two hours. I had downloaded the smoker manual and happen to read that was a choice. I might start with juice or water in the tray next time.

The goal with pork loin to get it to 145 degrees. The smoker was at 225 degrees. After 2 and a half hours, the bottom piece was getting close. The piece on the higher shelf was following close behind.

Once the lower part was at 145 I checked a couple of other spots with another thermometer then pulled it to rest for 10 minutes. After five minutes, Merryweather showed up and was ready to try it. Everybody gave it a thumbs up.

The top piece finished about 20 minutes later. It was better. I couldn’t raise enough enthusiasm from Merryweather to decipher which marinade had flavored which loin. For now… The second one was better.

Brown Rice

I have been on a “whole plant” diet (kinda). Brown rice is a whole plant food. White rice is modified. Don’t Ask Me. Look it up.

Brown rice in the instant pot is a miracle. It is so much easier than white rice. I may never cook white rice again. I haven’t had a bad batch yet. It cleans up easier. It’s ridiculous.

No rinsing. Uses less water. Better for the planet. Maybe healthier.

Here is how it is done.

Add Brown Rice and Water in a ratio of 1:1 (one to one) into the instant pot. I have loaded it up with three cups of rice and water. It didn’t overflow. Somewhere more than that is the danger zone.

• 15 minutes at high pressure
• 5 minutes Natural Release
• Quick release
• Stir it a little bit while putting in another container.

And then?

Brown rice maybe the best thing for fried rice. It looks right. It’s maybe less sweet. I have only tried it twice, but very please with the results.

Mainly using it sparingly for Red Beans and Rice.

Mashed Potatoes & The Immersion Blender

IMMERSION BLENDER- RUN BUY IT NOW

Run Buy It Now! An immersion blender. Mrs and I are messing around with Thanksgiving food today. I made mashed potatoes in the instant pot. The immersion blender creamed the potatoes instantly with no effort.
Here is the one I bought.

Hamilton Beach 59765 Immersion Hand Blender with Blending Wand, Whisk and 3-Cup Food Chopping Bowl, 3-Piece, Silver and Stainless Steel https://a.co/d/461CgKX

Regular Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes

Ingredients

Four large baking potatoes halves then 1/2 chunks

1/2 stick of butter

1/4 cup of sour cream

Salt & pepper

Recipe

• Throw potatoes in instant pot
• Cover with water
• High for 10 minutes, instant release
• Dump water, return to instant pot
• I put most of the butter on the bottom to melt
• Immersion blender the taters
• Sour cream, salt and pepper to taste

Suffering may be an important of the delicious flavors we enjoy during the holidays. Try mashing your potatoes by hand if you need more flavor.

Jon Bruce

Plant based mashed potatoes

• Steal a cup and half of potatoes from above
• Tablespoon of minced garlic from the Costcos
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Next time I would probably throw the garlic in a skillet first, add some green onions.

See Also

Amy & Jacky also documented their Mashed Potato Journey. https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-mashed-potatoes

Make your own Ranch Dressing / Ranch Dip

You can make your own Ranch Dressing. Buttermilk and a Ranch seasoning packet. This is how people did it back in the 70s when salad wasn’t invented. You can also make Ranch dip with Sour Cream and a ranch seasoning packet.

This seems to be right on the edge of a forgotten skill.

Bonus Tip- you can make onion dip with powdered onion soup packet and sour cream.

Make it fresh.

Father’s Day Bonus Round 20210621

The Story

Conan was asked “what is good?” My answer… “To see your children driven before you and hear the lamentations.”

We had a perfect day to clean up storm damage. Friday it was 103 degrees. Today is was 72. In between, we lost the rest of the pear tree in the south field.

Last year, we lost about one third of it. This weekend, we lost the rest of it. It fell all the way down to the stump.

I loaded the saw in the truck and headed down. I made pear tree firewood for a couple of hours. I also cut a path into the woods. After dinner, Merryweather came out and pulled the tops inside the tree line. I stacked fire wood. We had a beverage.

After the sun set, we made a level line on the side of the house with lasers for a different project. Being a dad is awesome.

The Satur-Deluge Before

We were planning on dinner with Clark and Mrs. Clark. There was a big storm just north of the house. Mssrs and Mrs. Clark were wind bound. We had carry out that needed picked up. On the map, it looked like I could skirt the storm to the restaurant and pick up dinner. In reality, I drove into the storm and ended up parked on the curb of an empty building to avoid the sideways rain and hail.

On the way back, I damn near hydroplaned into the center divider on the highway. It was like the movie we had to watch in middle school. I just remember the hydroplaning and getting in trouble for laughing at the tear jerker after school movie.

Hail damage and a near death experience is a small price to pay for Pappy’s Barbecue. It’s still in my top 5. There is a location less than 15 minutes from my house.

The Sunday Before

I had rolled out the pool cover before the Satur-Deluge. It was filthy, but there was enough water on the cover to give it a good scrubbing. Mssrs and Mrs. Clark came over. The pool was used. We were heading out for dinner. We stopped and harassed Merryweather at his JOB. Our initial dinner plan was denied. We went to Salty’s Fresh Mex. instead. It was delicious.

Conquering the Spice Drawer

Or how a $10 jar of cayenne pepper turned into a $200 spice drawer revamp.

When we moved to the new house, it seemed obviously that the spices were going in a drawer. We had kept them on a shelf in the way that had been passed down by our ancestors. The trick is… The new house has a ton of cabinets, and a relatively small number of shelves. The shelf that was the obvious candidate was taken down, because we were updating appliances.

This brings us to the drawer. I had initially just dumped everything in there. Covid resulted in a lot of additions. Indian spices. Greek Spices. No salt spices. I had to get a handle on it.

I had three sizes sorted alphabetically. Organized. Kinda.

I was at a graduation party the other day. The host had a cool spice drawer organizing insert. I started looking around at a way to take my spice drawer to the next level.

I have about thirty 4 ounce (regular store bought size) or smaller. I have another fifteen Costco sized or larger. I just got a jar of cayenne pepper that is ridiculous. A lifetime supply. It’s so big that I should probably just call this story. I over bought cayenne pepper and now need to over-buy spice drawer organization.

Current System – Three Sizes Sorted Alphabetically

It’s not awesome. Those tiny MCormicks might as well be in the trash.

Next System – Two sizes , alphabetically then Vertical

This is not nearly as bad as I thought. I did run into an early problem. Simply Organic Curry Powder and Garam Masala are about the same width as regular spices, but taller and two of them were breaking up my beautiful, orderly columns right at the start of the alpha sort. I pulled them out. Stored them separate which made the columns work. So now I am standing over here getting ready to do it again including the overly large “regular” jars.

Oh Me of Little Faith

Of course, Simply Organic Curry Powder and Garam Masala fit. You just have to believe it will fit. Have confidence in your systems.

When was the last time you went through your spice drawer?

Take a look. Throw out anything older than four years. We have moved a couple times in the past 10 years. The first time we moved it was Purge City. We didn’t move any food stuff. Look again. Update the ground pepper in your pepper shaker. Or upgrade to a pepper mill. Did you get a spice rack as a wedding gift? How long ago was that? Inherit a spice collection from somebody? Forget about fresh.

Every time I go through the pantry, or the fridge, or the spice drawer, I am surprised by something that has been around too long. The USDA has a https://www.foodsafety.gov/ for more information. There is also a USDA app called Foodkeeper. Just in case, you want to do a deep dive.

• Apple — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/usda-foodkeeper/id978186100?mt=8
• Google Store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.usda.fsis.foodkeeper2&hl=en

What is next

I am going to bide my time. Amazon has several beautiful things I might try. My main concern is beautiful systems don’t have crazy tons of spices. I don’t want to throw things out for the sake of a system.

Every time you see a lovely staged photo, there is a pile of shit that didn’t fit in the picture stuffed some where. Don’t make yourself crazy.

Hummingbird Food

Hummingbird Food

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Hot water
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

• Stir granulated sugar into hot water.
• Let Cool
• Pour into recently cleaned hummingbird feeders.
• Enjoy your happy hummingbirds

Keep the 4 parts water to 1 cup sugar. Don’t change the ingredients. Don’t add coloring.