Pork Loaf With Mushrooms And Pistachios

This pork sausage cooked in a water bath has ingredients similar to country pate but is not spreadable. It's very good at room temperature with crusty bread or as a filling for sandwiches. The seasoned coarsely ground pork is mixed with dried mushrooms and pistachios with a layer of chicken livers and strips of ham in the middle of the loaf. Really yummy.

Pork Loaf With Mushrooms And Pistachios
1½ pounds ground lean pork
½ pound pork fat, cut into small cubes
½ tablespoon kosher salt 
1/8 teaspoon pink salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 shallot, finely minced

½ cup white wine
¼ cup brandy
½ cup small pieces dried wild mushrooms, rinsed well
½ cup pistachios
chicken livers
strips of ham

• In a medium bowl, mix well all the ingredients except livers and ham. Fry a teaspoon of the pork mixture, taste, and adjust seasoning. Transfer the mixture into a covered container and leave overnight in the refrigerator. 
• The next day, line a loaf pan with plastic film with a 4-inch overhang on both long sides. Spoon half of the meat mixture, tamp down with a spoon. Arrange the strips of ham right down the middle, leaving space in between. Fill the spaces with chicken livers. Spoon and press the rest of the meat on top. Cover with the film overhang. Cover the top of the pan tightly with aluminum foil. 
• Place the loaf pan in a Dutch oven, fill with hot tap water up to half an inch below the pan. Turn heat to low, cover, and cook slowly for 2 hours. (You may also bake it in a bain marie in a 300°F oven for 2½ hours. Do not line loaf pan with plastic film.)
• Remove pan from water bath and let cool for 1 to 2 hours. Remove the pork sausage from pan, slice and enjoy with plenty of crusty bread.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Old Man Winter got busy dumping wet snow in the Washington D.C area. We had a few inches last Tuesday which melted by Wednesday then it started snowing again mid-morning Friday and continued to snow all day Saturday until sundown. There's over 2 feet of the white stuff all over and the limbs of trees look like they are about to snap due to their heavy load. 

Just looking at it makes me want to slurp some hot soup. Not just any soup but the ones I used to have back in the Philippines, the chicken noodle soup that comes in packets [with tiny noodles and barely visible chicken pieces] that you boil in water. It's a good thing I have frozen bars of homemade chicken broth ready to be thawed for times like these. Homemade chicken stock tastes so much better than canned and probably will be healthier too if you defat it and don't add MSG and too much salt in it.

Chicken Stock
6 cups water
1 whole chicken, quartered and rinsed well
2 onions, quartered
4 carrots, cut into 4 pieces
3 celery sticks, halved
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole white or black peppercorns
2 teaspoons sea salt

• In a large Dutch oven, heat the water and chicken over high heat and let come to a full boil. Skim off all the foam that rise to the top and discard. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. 
• Remove and transfer the chicken pieces into a container, cover, and refrigerate. When the chicken has cooled, debone them, discard the bones, and cube or shred the meat, set aside. 
• Strain the stock and discard the solids. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight or until the fat solidifies. Remove the layer of fat on top and discard. Transfer stock into plastic containers together with some of the chicken meat and freeze. Transfer into vacuum bags and leave in the freezer until needed.

I used fideo noodles for the chicken noodle soup which are available at the International section of grocery stores. They are thinner than angel hair pasta and already cut into 1-inch long pieces. We usually eat soups in large coffee mugs which retains the heat of the soup much longer than shallow soup bowls.

Chicken Noodle Soup
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup cubed or shredded cooked chicken
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced or shredded
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
¾ cup fideo noodles or angel hair pasta (cut into 1 inch pieces)
sea salt and ground white pepper, to taste

• In a Dutch oven over high heat, combine stock,  water, chicken, and onion, and let come to a boil. Cook on medium heat, covered, for 5 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and noodles. Simmer, uncovered, until vegetables and noodles are tender. Taste and add seasonings. Serve immediately.

And when mother nature hands you 2 feet of snow, you make snowballs for a massive snowball fight. Enjoy!