A Lovely Fall Day + Green Chile Posole, Split Pea & Flaken Soup, Rosemary Lamb Kofte With Creamed Corn, Milk Stout Cupcakes

Yesterday was a lovely fall day. The trees are turning and we had a low key day.

Larr and Ethan went on a walk over Loveland Pass. Once they were done with the hike, they drove down into South Park and back home, going past George Town.

Kohlton finally got his truck all in order, so Ellie and Kohlton did a bit of shopping on their own. Then they hung out here and we went to the thrift store to consider Halloween costume options. They are as of yet undecided. For a while they were going to be Batman and Wonder Woman. Then they considered being Jay and Daisy from Great Gatsby, or Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Nothing really seemed to fit the bill.
They did find a costume for Remmie at Target. He will be a linebarker.

We regrouped and had dinner. I made Lamb Kofte and served it with homemade creamed corn with lime and mashed potatoes. It was a hit. Then we had a fire and relaxed. I loved sitting together, relaxing, knitting while Kohlton played the guitar.

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Green Chile Posole
via: Tasting Colorado by Michele Morris

Pork:
4-5 pnd Pork Should Roast
5 TB Mesquite Liquid Smoke (I will use the liquid smoke from William-Somona, my favorite)
1 tea. Salt
2 tea. Cumin, ground
1 tea. Coriander, ground
2 tea. Chili Powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Spear the roast all over with the fork. Place the roast on two layers of foil. Combine the spices and liquid smoke. Rub the mixture all over the roast. Seal the roast in the first layer of foil and then the second layer of foil.

Place 1" of water in a broiler pan. Place the roast in the broiler pan with water and cook for 3 hours.

Remove the roast from the oven. Let it cool in the foil. Shred or cut into bite size pieces. Discard the fat.

Posole:
14 oz. Beef Stock
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 can of 28 oz. Hominy, drained
4 oz. Tomatillos, pureed
28 oz. Tomatoes, Mexican Stewed
3 bunches Scallion, finely chopped
1 tea. Cumin, ground
Salt and Pepper
28 oz. Green Enchilada Sauce
1/2 pound Roasted Chile Peppers
Cheese

Place the cooked pork in a stock pot. Add everything but the cheese. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour. Top with cheese before serving.
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SPLIT PEA AND FLANKEN SOUP
Via: Wall Street Journal, recipe by Jesse Schenker

Active Time: ½ hours Total Time: 3 hours Serves: 6-8

1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh thyme
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 pounds marrow bones (I could not get this, so I used soup bones instead)
2 pounds beef flanken or short ribs
Salt
2 Spanish onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bunch celery, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 pounds carrots, chopped into 1-inch pieces
5 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 pound green split peas
½ pound barley
5 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Croutons for garnish, optional

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Make spice sachet: Place peppercorns, bay leaves and thyme on a cheesecloth square, gather ends and tie closed with kitchen string.

2. Roast marrow bones: Place 1 tablespoon oil and marrow bones in a large, lidded, heavy stockpot or Dutch oven. Toss bones to coat with oil. Roast in oven until golden, 30-45 minutes. Carefully remove pot from oven and place on stove top. Remove marrow bones and set aside.

3. Sear ribs: Season ribs with salt. Add remaining oil to stockpot and set over high heat. Once hot, add ribs to pot and sear on all sides, 12-15 minutes total. Remove meat and set aside.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic to pot, stir and cook until onions are translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes more. Return marrow bones and ribs to pot. Add red wine and deglaze pot by scraping browned bits off bottom. Add spice sachet, split peas, barley and enough beef stock to cover marrow bones and ribs. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

5. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer until meat is tender and falls off the bone, about 2 hours. Remove all bones and sachet. Season soup with salt to taste. Before serving, stir in fresh dill and parsley. Garnish with croutons, if you like.

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Rosemary Lamb Kofte With Creamed Corn
via: Wall Street Journal, recipe by Jessica Koslow
Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4

Lamb Kofte -
2 teaspoons toasted cumin seeds
2 teaspoons toasted coriander seeds
2 teaspoons toasted fennel seeds
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1½ pounds ground lamb
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper, optional (4 parts sweet paprika and 1 part cayenne)
8 thick rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped from half of each

Creamed Corn with Lime -
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Kernels from 4 large ears corn
½ cup cream
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon sumac, optional (sub. lemon juice, if needed)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use a mortar and pestle or grinder to grind toasted spices to a fine powder. Transfer powder to a large bowl. Add paprika, 1 tablespoon salt, cayenne, garlic, lamb and 1 teaspoon Aleppo, if using, to spice mix and stir to combine.

2. Make kofte: Evenly divide seasoned lamb into 8 parts. Mold lamb around portions of rosemary sprigs stripped of leaves to form uniform cylinders.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Once hot, lay 4 skewers into pan and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes total. Transfer skewers to a paper-towel-lined plate. Wipe pan clean, add remaining oil and repeat with remaining skewers.

4. Place browned kofte skewers on a baking sheet and transfer to oven. Roast until center of meat is just a touch pink, about 5 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in corn and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to medium and stir in cream, remaining Aleppo, if using, lime zest and sumac, if using. Sauté until cream thickens and kernels are tender, about 4 minutes. Off heat, season corn with lime juice and salt to taste.

6. To serve, divide corn among 4 plates and top each serving with 2 kofte skewers.

** Cook's Thesaurus (see below) says that a good substitute for aleppo is 4 parts sweet paprika and 1 part cayenne. I find this resource very helpful, in general. Link: http://www.foodsubs.com/SpiceME.html

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Milk Stout Cupcakes
via: Tasting Colorado by Michele Morris

Cupcakes:
3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Flour
1 tea. Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
12 oz. Milk Stout Beer (Left hand Brewery)
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 TB Vanilla
3 Eggs
8 oz. Sour Cream

Frosting:
8 oz. Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 pnd Powdered Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the muffin tin with either cupcake liners, or by buttering and flouring the cups.

Combine the cocoa powder, sugar, flour, baking soda and salt (I omit the salt).
Whisk the beer, melted butter and vanilla. Add each of the three eggs one by one. Add the sour cream. Blend this into the dry mixture gently. Be careful to not over mix.

Fill the muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.

To make the frosting, beat the powdered sugar into the cream cheese.