Spotlight Post: Butter!

I Can't Believe it's not Butter

So remember a long time ago when I had that great idea to do posts about key ingredients and what not? Huh, do ya? Well this is one of those! I was thinking the other day, ya know, I try to use the best ingredients I can, yet I just use the cheap-o butter, and I thought there's got to be something better out there. Introduce Lurpak butter. European butters have a higher butter fat content which make them creamier and more deliciouser that regular butter, you can tell a huge difference. Go see for yourself, buy yourself some Lurpak and some nice bread, spread a little butter on there and if you're not convinced right there, then you've got issues. Price is actually about the same as regular butter, but I have seen it priced really high at places too, I paid $3.99. Anybody else out there using good butter?

Vacation Posts

Off to Market!

Post 2

So my good friend Brett Price was in town this past week. He and I were having a discussion about food and he mentioned a butternut squash risotto that he had made, so I thought, hey, I have a butternut squash, why don’t I make butternut squash risotto. First I made the best salad ever though. Findlay market had some fresh as can be Bibb lettuce that we picked up. Bibb lettuce is great, but it’s very fragile and perishable so get it the day of if you can. I made a salad of the Bibb lettuce, green grapes, red onion, candied walnuts, and goat cheese dressed with a honey balsamic dressing. I know what you’re thinking- “But Jeff, you didn’t have any candied walnuts.” Well my friends, it just takes some walnuts, some sugar, pinch of salt, hot pan, and there you have it- candied walnuts! Anyway, the salad actually turned out marvelous, the goat cheese was fantastic. I know next to nothing about pairing wine and food, but I was drinking some Pinot Noir that went really well.

On to the risotto. First I halved, de-seeded, and peeled a butternut squash. Then I cut it into a 3/4 inch dice and roasted it at 400 degrees for about a half hour. I sautéed some onion and garlic in some butter and oil, added the rice and went about making my risotto. I used Kitchen Basic’s vegetable stock, which is awesome- I highly recommend it, go get you some! I finished the risotto by adding the squash which I mashed up just a little bit, some parmesan cheese, and a pat of butter. I drizzled mine with a little bit of EVOO and a couple drops of balsamic for some sweetness. It turned out really well, risotto makes a great winter dish, I was all warm and toasty afterwards

.

For the risotto:

1/4 Red onion

1 Clove Garlic

1tbs olive oil

2tbs butter

1 cup aborio rice

1 quart vegetable stock

2/3 cup parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Vacation Posts

Off to Market!

Post 1

So on Tuesday the wife and I went down to Findlay Market to pick up some goodies. We wound up with some fresh pasta, produce, Linguisa sausage, and some fresh spices. When we got back we cooked up some of the fresh pasta for lunch. Kept things pretty simple: Kristin had spinach fettuccine with some cremini mushrooms, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, spinach and olive oil, which turned out pretty delicious. I had plain fettuccine and made a fresh tomato sauce with some onions, garlic, and tomato, served with the Linguisa on the side. This was the first time I ever had Linguisa, it’s very similar to Italian sausage with just a little hint of smokiness.

Christmas Cooking Gadgets

Anybody ask for any cool kitchen gadgets this year?

Asian Potsticker Soup

Beth's friend got her a Trader Joe's cookbook for Christmas, and this recipe came from there (with slight modifications). It turned out pretty tasty, but it will be interesting to see how the leftovers taste this week. I'm afraid the wontons will dissolve, but we shall see. It might be a recipe best served right away.

Ingredients:

4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger (or 1 T fresh ginger)
2 Dried Thai Bird Chilies, roughly chopped
1/2 package of frozen Chicken Potstickers from TJ's
1 16 oz. bag frozen Stir-Fry vegetables
1/2 Cup Frozen Edamamme, shelled
1/2 Cup Shredded Carrots
4 Green Onions, sliced
2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil

Process:

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add potstickers and allow broth to come back to a boil. Add stir-fry veggies, edamamme, and carrots and bring to a boil once more. Let soup simmer 5 minutes and finish with green onions and sesame oil. (This could easily become vegetarian by using veggie broth and vegetable potstickers)

Soup Sundays produced this delicious (and healthly) cream of mushroom soup.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped leed
2 cloves of garlic
2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 teaspoons fresh dried dill
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup fat free milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream


Directions
1.Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions, leek and garlic in the butter for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir in 2 Tablespoons of the dill, paprika, and broth. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
2.In a separate small bowl, whisk the milk and flour together. Pour this into the soup and stir well to blend. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.Finally, stir in the salt, ground black pepper, lemon juice, remaining dill and sour cream. Mix together and allow to heat through over low heat, about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not boil. Serve immediately.

Check this Out!

The wife got a book the other day, totally unrelated to cooking, but it has a picture of a piece of carrot cake on the top so I've been wanting carrot cake for like a week. So I was off today and baked one up, Crazy right! Anyway, I hate baking, and I'm not a good baker, the cake was a little overcooked, and the icing looks Horrible! Here's a link the the recipe I used with a few small modifications.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrot-Cake-with-Maple-Cream-Cheese-Icing-102155

Chicken Tacos

So, I've realized that most all my posts start with "So...," but I'm ok with that. So anyway, I made some chicken tacos. I simmered some chicken breasts in a poaching liquid that included some dried chili's, onion, garlic, bay leaf, cumin and water. Simmered for about 20 mins then I took out to let cool. I strained the liquid, shredded the chicken, and added it back to the strained liquid and cooked a little longer. I made some corn tortillas and garnished them the traditional way with some chopped white onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. I also made some salsa verde which was really good and easy- 4 Tomatillos, 1 whole serano, glove of garlic, half a lime, pinch of salt and a bunch of cilantro. Food processor for a few pulses and voila, Salsa Verde!

Turkey Noodle Soup

I hope you didn't let your turkey carcass go to waste this Thanksgiving. Our new Thanksgiving Day tradition consists of having our big turkey dinner for lunch and then putting up the Christmas tree. (Yeah, it's Beth's thing) I have also started making my own turkey stock while we decorate the tree, which allows me to enjoy Thanksgiving a little bit longer. Just hack up some of the bones, add the aromatics you roasted with the turkey (you did use aromatics when you roasted your turkey, right?) cover with water, add a heavy dose of salt, and let it boil for a couple of hours. I usually have apples, onions, garlic, celery, carrots, sage, thyme, and rosemary leftover from my turkey so I just throw it all in there for the stock, you could also use all fresh vegies too.

Check out the sweet ladle Beth got me for my birthday this year.

Ingredients

1 pot of turkey stock or 8-10 cups chicken stock
1 T butter
2 large carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks of celery
3 cups left over turkey (I use the dark meat for this)
2 cups small egg noodles
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Process:

Heat stock in large pot. In a seperate skillet, melt the butter and saute carrots, onion and celery until soft. When stock starts to simmer, add vegetables, turkey and egg noodles. Once noodles are fully cooked, add parsley and serve.

Braised Short Ribs

Got this from "Chuck's Day Off" on cooking channel. I didn't realize the pic was so bad until I had eaten my meal, so apologies for that. I'm not sure I've ever had beef short ribs, but they were very good. The red wine sauce was easy to make and I'm sure it would work with a pork shoulder or chicken thighs too. Braising is awesome.

Ingredients:

Braised Short Ribs
3 large onions, coarsely chopped
3 to 4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
4 large carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 beets, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 heads garlic, cut in half
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
6 beef short ribs
Coarse salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Canola oil
2 (750 ml) bottles red table wine
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar
Handful peppercorns
1 to 2 tablespoons butter, a nub


Process:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the onion, celery, carrots, beets and garlic. Add the rosemary, thyme, star anise, and cinnamon stick, and set aside.

Cut the ribs between the bones, and trim all the excess outer fat. Season the ribs well with coarse salt. Dredge in flour until well coated.

In a large Dutch oven or wide soup pot on high heat, pour in enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the ribs to the hot oil, and sear the ribs so they are browned well on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the ribs, and set aside.

In the same pan, transfer all the vegetables from the bowl, and stir to caramelize, and pick up all the brown bits. Add the meat back into the pot. Pour the wine over top. Ensure all is covered with the liquid and if not, top up with water.

Add the cocoa powder, brown sugar and peppercorns, and bring to a boil, cover with a lid or foil, and place in the oven until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hours. Remove the ribs to a platter, and strain out the solids to use for something else.

Boil the cooking liquid in a wide shallow pan until it is reduced by half. It will be richer, more flavorful and thicker. Add a nub of butter at the end for sheen and flavor.

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Another great Good Eats recipe by Alton Brown. It's awesome. The roux trick is a great idea if you have the extra time, and it allows you to prep all the other ingredients while you wait. The only thing I might do is cut back on the salt because I used chicken stock for the rice cooking liquid (also added red beans into the rice with some old bay seasoning.) which made it a little saltier than normal. I'm looking forward to the leftovers.


Ingredients
•4 ounces vegetable oil
•4 ounces all-purpose flour
•1 1/2 pounds raw, whole, head-on medium-sized (31-50 count) shrimp
•2 quarts water
•1 cup diced onion
•1/2 cup diced celery
•1/2 cup diced green peppers
•2 tablespoons minced garlic
•1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomato
•1 tablespoon kosher salt
•1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
•1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•2 bay leaves
•1/2 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and browned
•1 tablespoon file powder
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

While the roux is baking, de-head, peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and set in the refrigerator. Place the heads and shells in a 4-quart saucepan along with the 2 quarts of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced to 1-quart. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a container, discarding the solids.

Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Add the file powder while stirring constantly. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over rice.

Apple Cider Brine for Turkey/Pork

I used a half recipe of this for two pork tenderloins and two turkey tenderloins before I smoked them for an hour and half with some apple chips. They were both so good, we ate it before I could get a picture. Romer was here, he can vouch for me that it was awesome. I will definately brine again and the apple cider was a very nice touch. Recipe courtesy of Food.com


Ingredients:

2/3 cup kosher salt
2/3 cup sugar
6 slices fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed ( in mortar or spice mill)
2 teaspoons allspice berries, crushed ( in mortar or spice mill)
8 cups unsweetened apple cider ( or juice)
4 cups of ice

Directions:

In a 3-4 quart saucepan, combine cider with salt, sugar, ginger, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, and allspice; stir to dissolve salt.

Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook 3-4 minutes; remove from heat, add 4 cups of ice water and set aside to cool.

Let sit overnight and make sure meat is patted dry before cooking.

Steak Pics: Before and After

That's a thick ass steak!

135 degrees = medium rare. I had to finish it in the oven.

Meat sweats!

Spaghetti Cooked in Red Wine

I found this in Wine Spectator and it was pretty good and definitely makes for an awesome presentation. The broccoli rabe is great, I will be buying more of this.

Ingredients:
3/4 lb broccoli rabe
4 oz spaghetti or linguine
1/2 bottle of dry red wine, preferably Zinfandel. (other half for drinking)
2 t sugar
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 C Parmesan or Romano cheese

Process:
1. In a large pot of salted water, cook the broccoli rabe for about 3 minutes. Transfer the broccoli rabe to a baking sheet and spread it out to cool.

2. In the same boiling water, cook the pasta for 3-5 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and set it aside. Return pot to stove.

3. Add the wine and sugar, reduce by half; about 8 minutes. Add pasta to wine and cook over med high heat, until most of liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente.

4. While the pasta cooks, heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the olive oil, reduce heat and add garlic and red pepper flakes and broccoli rabe. Saute for 3-5 minutes.

5. Stir pasta water into broccoli mixture and then add pasta. Toss gently and cook until most of liquid is gone. Top with cheese and serve.

Funky fries

I made some funky fries. It's a dish that a local food truck makes,
fries topped with pulled pork and cheddar cheese. Oh yeah, and I
smoked a pork shoulder on Sunday, that shit took forever.

Old Fashion Burgers

Gentlemen - check these burgers out. I felt like a good burger the other night, and I remembered watching a video from America's Test Kitchen about old-fashioned burgers, circa 1950. I ground my own meat, made my own special sauce, and finally put my mandoline to good use by slicing some crazy thin onions. Served it with some oven fries to round it all out (shout out to Jeff). The burgers were delicious - highly recommend this recipe. Here's the link: www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=14774.

New Charcoal Grill, sorta

Well all of Simpkins mouthing got to me and I picked up a Weber Kettle Charcoal grill. I got it used off Craigslist for $20 bucks, and it's actually in great shape. It's the bigger one, 22.5" which is a bit nicer IMO. First meal I made was Urban's last meal as a free man, Bone in Ribeye, Loaded Smashed potatoes, and grilled veggies, I also added some BBQ shrimp for an app that were the Bomb, I'll post the BBQ recipe at some point. I used some Kingsford competition charcoal and added some Hickory chunks. Mighty good eating. I'm looking forward to attempting to smoke something in it. Probably start with some ribs or pork shoulder.

Cuban Style Pulled Pork with Mojo Sauce

I smoked some pork the other day on the ol' Weber grill and it turned out great. Made a spice paste out of freshly ground cumin and black pepper, salt, garlic, olive oil, and oregano. I let it marinate over night and then smoked it for about 3 hours, followed by a bake in the over for 2 hours (wrapped in foil). The mojo sauce is composed of one cup freshly squeezed orange juice, one cup freshly squeezed lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, 6 cloves of garlic mashed into a paste, and freshly ground cumin (about 2 tablespoons). Put the mojo ingredients into a sauce pan and reduce for a bit, until you get a good consistency sauce. Shred the pork once it is ready (after it rests for an hour wrapped in a paper grocery bag to steam the meat further). Serve with rice and beans and pass the mojo sauce.

Great recipe. I loved the citrusy sauce with the pork. I get tired of traditional pulled pork condiments/sauces and this is a refreshing change for the summer.

Shrimp and (why is Jeff posting this before Simpkins?) Grits

So after sleeping in until 1130 or so today I needed some breakfast, and the kitchen was bare. Then I remembered a bag of a few frozen shrimp, and some polenta way in the back of the cupboard, so with no other options I had my first go at shrimp and grits. Turned out pretty great, I can only imagine what professional (like those made by chris simpkins) S&G taste like. I didn't have any cream, but the polenta was still much better than my first attempt, also the only cheese I had was parmesean, but it is the King of cheeses, so it did the job.

Polenta was made with water, polenta, salt, pepper, butter, and parm.

For the grits I sauteed some onion, bell pepper, and shitake together. Then I added garlic and the shrimp that I seasoned with salt and cayenne. Sauteed that for a minute then I through in a splash of white wine and finished it off with a pat of butter. Poured the shrimp mix over the polenta and topped with some parm and parsley. Not bad for an impromptu first go. Would have been dank with some white cheddar and bacon fat of some sort. So come on Simpkins, show me how its done...

GARDEN GAZPACHO

Wondering what to do with all your fresh tomatoes?

I had a gazpacho recently at my parents' favorite restaraunt in Michigan, the River Crab. When my co-worker Rob gave me a bag full of tomatoes, I thought I would give it a shot. It wasn't as good as the River Crabs' but it held its own and is very refreshing in this late summer heat. It's also very healthy as it is primarily composed of all fresh and raw veggies. The only other addition I might make is some sliced avacado. (I have a feeling somebody is going to rip on me for posting 2 tomato soup recipes back to back....)

From The Columbus Dispatch
Makes 8 servings

Because a food processor (or blender) is used to puree the mixture, you need to roughly chop only a portion of the vegetables and dice the other portion for garnish.

2 pounds tomatoes, seeded
1 red bell pepper
1 green or yellow bell pepper
1 jalapeno, seeds and white removed
3 salad cucumbers
1 large shallot
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon hot-red-pepper sauce
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium or no-salt-added tomato juice or vegetable juice
1 ear fresh corn, uncooked and kernels removed
2 teaspoons sugar
4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
Fresh basil, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Roughly chop about three-fourths of the tomatoes. Place in a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a blender. Dice the remaining tomatoes and set aside.

Roughly chop half of each of the bell peppers and add to the food processor. Dice the remaining bell peppers and set aside.

Remove seeds from jalapeno and roughly chop. Add to food processor.

Peel, seed and roughly chop two of the cucumbers and add to the food processor. Leave the peel on the remaining cucumber, slice in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and dice. Set aside.

Add the shallot, garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar and hot-pepper sauce to the food processor. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.

Transfer to a glass bowl (or leave in the blender jar). Stir in the tomato juice, corn, basil, remaining diced tomatoes, sugar, half of the green onions and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary.

Chill for 2 hours. Serve in cups or bowls, garnished with a bit of the diced bell peppers, diced cucumbers, minced garlic and green onion slices. (I also added a splash of lime juice to this mixture to reduce the bite from the raw green onion)

Cream of Tomato Soup

"The New Best Recipe" cookbook is the bomb. I had a couple of cans of san marzano tomatoes sitting in the pantry and this was the best use of them I can think of. I served mine with a grilled bacon and swiss cheese sandwich.

Ingredients:

2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained, 3 cups of liquid reserved
1 1/2 T dark brown sugar
4 T unsalted butter
4 large shallots, minced
1 T tomato paste
pinch of allspice
2 T all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
2 T brandy or dry sherry (I've also used vermouth)
salt, pepper, and cayenne

Instructions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper middle position and heat the oven to 450. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Seed the tomatoes and spread in a single layer (don't forget to reserve the juices and the solids in the strainer). Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake until all the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes begin to color, about 30 minutes. Let the tomatoes cool slightly and peel them off the foil.

2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan and heat until foaming. Add the shallots, tomato paste, and allspice. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, 7-10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly until thouroghly combined. Whisking constantly, gradually add the chicken broth; stir in the reserved tomato juice and the roasted tomatoes. Cover, incras the heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes.

3. Strain the mixture into a medium bowl, rinse the saucepan. Transfer the tomatoes and solids in the strainer to a blender, add 1 cup of the strined liquid and puree until smooth. Combine the pureed mixture and remaining straind liquid in the saucepan. Add the cream and warm over low heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the brandy and season with salt and cayenne to taste. The soup can be refridgerated for 2-3 days.

Mac and Shrooms

First of all Simpkins, thanks for the foodnetwork magazine. Beth loves mac and cheese and this recipe came from the May issue. We substitued the milk for skim milk, tellagio for smoked gouda (trader joes), panko for bread crumbs, and used dried mushrooms as opposed to fresh. It was scrumdillyumptious.

Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound mezzi rigatoni
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound wild mushrooms, such as oyster or shiitake, stemmed and sliced
4 ounces cremini mushrooms,
quartered
8 ounces taleggio or brie cheese, rind removed, cubed (about 1 1/2 cups)
5 ounces pecorino cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup cooking water.

Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon to make a paste. Cook, stirring, until the paste puffs slightly, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking. Reduce the heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the sauce is creamy, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Season with salt. Push to the side of the pan and repeat with the remaining mushrooms.

4. Reduce the heat under the sauce to low and whisk in both cheeses until smooth. Stir in the mushrooms and pasta and toss, adding the reserved cooking water as needed.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and toast until golden; stir in the parsley. Divide the pasta among 8 small bowls. Garnish with the breadcrumb mixture.

Huevos Rancheros

Inspired by a recent blog post on seriouseats.com, I bought some Maseca (corn flour) and made homemade corn tortillas. By some I mean 24. With all these leftover tortillas sitting around I reminisced of my trip to Mesa Grill in New York and the wonderful Huevos Rancheros I enjoyed there. Here is my feeble attempt to re-create that.






Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 homemade corn tortillas (see maseca package for recipe)
1 can jalapeno refried black beans, warmed in microwave (trader joes brand is pretty good)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese
2 T sour cream
3 T fresh salsa
1 T fresh chopped cilantro
half of an avacado
cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400. Spray tortillas with cooking spray and bake until crisp, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile cook eggs over easy and sprinkle with cayenne. When tortillas are crisp, spread first tortilla with black beans to cover, top with cheese, half of salsa, 1 egg, and half of sour cream. Repeat layers with second tortilla, adding cilantro and avacado to garnish. I served mine with hashbrowns and hot sauce (my favorite is pictured).

Homemade Refridgerator Spicy Pickles

I went to the farmer's market and picked up some baby cucumbers for $3. Pondering what do do with them, I decided on pickles, but don't have the patience for canning yet. So, I decided on refridgerator pickles which are quick and easy. I found a spicy pickle recipe from Bobby Flay, which have an asian theme. I adjusted it a little and here is what I came up with.


Ingredients
4 cups rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 thai bird chili
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin seed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped dill
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
8 small cucumbers, washed

Directions

Combine the vinegar, honey, pepper flakes, coriander, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, cumin and salt in a medium, non-reactive saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes; remove from the heat and let sit until cooled to room temperature. Add the dill and cilantro. Place the cut cucumbers in a medium bowl and pour the cooled vinegar mixture over them. Refrigerate, covered for 24 hours or up to 4 days. (leaving them longer just makes them hotter but still delicious.) Cooking time includes refrigeration.

OU Alumni Gear: Bobcat Rocks Glass

Picked this up at the college bookstore a couple weekends ago at the Obers-Carbone wedding. It works well, I've tested it a couple of times!

Beef Tenderloin

No real recipes involved with this post, but I thought I would share my pics anyway. Just picked up some beef tenderloin in Chicago this past weekend (yes, I take a cooler with me just so I can bring the meat back safely) They have the cheapest prices I've ever heard of at a grocery store called "Caputo's." ($4.99/lb.) I bought five of 'em! I usually trim them up, cut them into a few good sized roasts, and freeze them for future use. Also, as an "fyi," ran across these garlic fries from TJ's the other day. In keeping with their wonderful tradition, TJ's came through again. They were quick and tasty. Plus, combined with my tenderloin, it made for an easy weeknight "french bistro" style meal. I added a little homemade horseradish sauce as well. Love that stuff.

Bachelor life

Adjetivo Lucia (Mexican Juicy Lucy)

I was feeling a little hungry and I've been catching up on my DVRd episodes of Man vs. Food. On a recent episode Adam travels to Minnesota (pit stop on the way to BWCA Jeff?) and eats a burger called the Juicy Lucy. Basically its two burgers with american cheese in the middle. Oooey Gooey Heaven. I put a Mexican twist on my "Lucia".

Ingredients (per burger):

1/2 lb ground beef
1 Slice of Pepper Jack Cheese for topping
Cheese for filling*
1 Roasted Pablano Pepper
sliced tomato
1/4 cup of sour cream
1 tbsp mexican hot sauce
English muffin (nooks and crannies + juices = good)
salt and pepper to taste
beer for drinking

*The original is made with a kraft single for its melting ability, but I chose a Sargento shredded Mexican blend consisting of monterey jack, cheddar, queso quesadilla, and asadero cheese.

Process:

Preheat grill (or infrared burner if you are a big baller like Jeff) Divide meat into two 4oz. thin patties. Place shredded cheese on bottom patty and lay top patty and pinch edges to form somewhat of a beef ravioli. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Throw pablano on the grill with the burger, 4-5 min per side. While burger cooks, mix sour cream and hotsauce. Flip burger and turn the pablano until well charred. With a minute left put pepper jack cheese on the burger to melt and toast the bun. Place pablano in a zip top bag while you assemble the burger, wait on the bun to toast, and open a beer. (steaming the pablano helps the skin be easily peeled). The burger is layerd as follows: bottom of muffin, sour cream sauce, burger, pepper jack, pablano, tomato slice, more sour cream sauce, top bun. Smile and enjoy.



MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!

New Grill

Since Simpkins is has issue with my gas grill I thought I'd post some pics to hopefully sway his opinion. 5 burner Kenmore, one of the burners is an infrared and it gets frickin hot! Loads of cooking space and stainless steel cooking grates. Got it from Sears on memorial day weekend and they had it priced wrong so I got a helluva deal. I'm going to start experimenting with some wood chips for some added flavor.

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Post CFA exam Smokefest 2010

Click on this pic for a close up!

After studying my brain off for 8 months I needed 3 things:
1. Beer - Growler of Barley's Ivan Porter
2. Pork - Boston butt*
3. Wet Hickory Chips

*ribs and salmon were also part of the smokefest but those were not made by me.

I made a simple dry rub (no measuring involved)consisting of:
Chili powder
Hot Hungarian Paprika
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Onion Powder
Brown Sugar
Cayenne
Dry yellow mustard
Cinnamon

I also sacrificed a PBR into the smoker for some moist heat. Don't hate on PBR.

I smoked the Boston Butt (I'm going to capitalize that from here on out), and then wrapped the Butt in foil with a half a PBR and sealed in the juices for a 4 hour braise. The temp in the smoker is 225-250 degrees, and it produced some uber-moist (thank you simpkins) pork Butt.

Cook time on the ribs was 4 hours, all exposed to smoke. The Bark on the ribs was awesome, but I think next time I will use the partial smoke/partial braise method to add some moisture. The salmon only took 25 minutes and took on some nice smoke flavor in that short amount of time. Smoke On!

Pizza anyone?

NY Style 6-11-10

Pizza anyone? So a little over a month ago I ordered some unglazed quarry tiles to use as pizza stones, and Nat (yes his name is Nat) at McSwain forgot to put my order in and so I just got my tiles a few days ago, and of course had to try them out. They actually worked out really well, and I got a nice char on the bottom of the pie that I have not been able to get with my other crappy stones.

Here's a pic of the setup.

I made some NY style pie with a 48 hour cold temp ferment using this formula.

Flour (100%): 420.75 g | 14.84 oz | 0.93 lbs

Water (63%): 265.07 g | 9.35 oz | 0.58 lbs

IDY (.4%): 1.68 g | 0.06 oz | 0 lbs | 0.56 tsp | 0.19 tbsp

Salt (2.25%): 9.47 g | 0.33 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.97 tsp | 0.66 tbsp

Oil (1.5%): 6.31 g | 0.22 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.4 tsp | 0.47 tbsp

Sugar (.5%): 2.1 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.53 tsp | 0.18 tbsp

Total (167.65%): 705.39 g | 24.88 oz | 1.56 lbs | TF = 0.11

Single Ball: 352.69 g | 12.44 oz | 0.78 lbs

I preheated the stones for about an hour at 550. Dough was stretched and topped with some sauce that I made the day before from some pureed whole Italian tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flake, and Italian seasoning that I “bloomed” in some EVOO, and also added a good does of Kosher salt and a little Agave nectar to sweeten it up. Pizza was topped with a blend of diced part-skim mozzarella, sliced whole-milk mozzarella, and a little shredded white cheddar. The whole-milk mozz was from Trader Joes and I was pretty impressed by it, good flavor and stretch to it, I’ll definitely be using it again. It was the first time I’ve ever added any kind of cheddar to a pizza, it was nice, gave it a little extra flavor, I didn’t use much, maybe a ¼ cup on each pie. My pie was topped with spinach, pepperoni, sausage, thinly sliced criminis, red onion, a drizzle of EVOO and some grated parm. Kristin’s was pretty much the same except no pep and added pineapple.

All in all some pretty good pies, enjoy the pics. Not sure why they don't show up full size, you'll have to click on each one to get the full pic.