Cool New Gadgets

Here are some cool cooking gadgets I have recently accumulated:

1. Honey Jar: Keeps it accesible and easy to dispense.



2. Sipping Stones: Stones that keep your bourbon cold without diluting it.



3. Cutting Board Conditioner: This works great. I will be buying more.

Turkey Hash

Turkey Hash is a great use of leftovers from thanksgiving. This will be a go to recipe for years to come.

Ingredients:

Potatoes
Brussel Sprouts
Onion
Turkey - Dark Meat
Eggs

Fry potatoes and onions for 5-10 minutes. Add brussel sprouts and turkey until warmed through. make a well and add egg. Cook 2-3 minutes more.

Urban Thanksgiving 2011

Pretty standard fare this year. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, turkey stock and pumpkin pie.

The one thing I did differently on the turkey is butterfly it. It worked geat. Just cut on either side of the back bone to cut out the back bone. Flip the bird over and press down to break the breast bone so the bird is flat. Then you also have the turkey back to make stock with.

Little Vegas Cup 2011

Here is the spread Jeff and I made for the Fantasy Football Draft. It consisted of:

Smoked Pulled Pork (one boston butt and one shoulder, Simpkins)
Baked Beans
Coleslaw
homemade pickles
buffalo chicken dip
skyline dip
soft pretzels and nacho cheese
3 types of BBQ sauce. Honey Mustard, Memphis, and Carolina


Pork:

Dry Rub (see below) smoke with apple, pecan and alder for 14 hours:








The smoked beer can chicken was for the chefs only:




Topped it all off with a keg of PBR!




Rub Recipe:

•1/2 cup paprika
•1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
•1/4 cup sugar
•2 tablespoons mustard powder
•1/4 cup chili powder
•1/4 cup ground cumin
•2 tablespoons ground black pepper
•1/4 cup granulated garlic
•2 tablespoons cayenne

Beans Recipe:



•1 pound smoked brisket or bacon cut into 1/4-inch slivers
•1 can (15 ounces) black beans
•1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans
•3 cans (each 15 ounces) baked beans or pork and beans
•1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
•1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
•1 poblano pepper or green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•3 to 6 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced (for hotter beans, leave the seeds in)
•2 cups sweet red barbecue sauce (your favorite commercial brand)
•1-1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar, or more to taste
•1/2 cup Dijon mustard, or more to taste
•2 teaspoons liquid smoke (optional; see Note)
•Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

You'll also need: 1 large (turkey-size) or 2 medium-size aluminum foil pans; 2 cups wood chips or chunks (preferably pecan or hickory) soaked for 1 hour in hot water to cover, then drained.

1. If using bacon instead of brisket, place it in a large skillet over medium heat and fry until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour off all the bacon fat, saving a few tablespoons for the beans, if desired.

2. Empty the cans of black and kidney beans into a colander and drain. Rinse the beans under cold running water and drain again. Place all the beans (including the baked beans or pork and beans) in a large nonreactive mixing bowl and add the onion, bell and poblano peppers, garlic, and jalapenos and stir to mix. Add the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, mustard, liquid smoke, if using, and brisket or fried bacon and stir to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar and/or mustard as necessary, and salt and black pepper to taste; the beans should be very flavorful. Transfer the bean mixture to the aluminum foil pan or pans. (If you used bacon, you can drizzle a few tablespoons of bacon fat over the beans for extra flavor.)

3. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium-low. If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips or chunks in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and run the grill on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium-low. If using a charcoal grill, preheat it to medium-low, then toss all of the wood chips or chunks on the coals.

4. When ready to cook, place the pan of beans in the center of the hot grate, away from the heat, and cover the grill. Cook the beans until they are thick and richly flavored, about 1 hour. If the beans start to dry out, cover them loosely with aluminum foil. Remove the beans from the grill and let them rest for 15 minutes, then serve.

Note: If you cook the beans in a gas grill, you probably won't be able to generate enough smoke for a strong wood flavor. Add the liquid smoke in this case.

Thai Pizza

Not sure what was on this pizza but it looks like:

Trader Joes Peanut Satay sauce
Jalapeno
Carrot
Cilantro
Chicken
Peanuts
Onions

Paella

Can't remember how I made this, but it was awesome.

UPDATE: Just made this again. Different version using crab and no scallops but it was equally delicious.

Ingredients:
4 links chorizo - crumbled out of casings
1 medium onion - diced
2 jalapenos - minced
1/2 roasted red paper - diced
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 C abroio rice
1 1/2 C vegetable stock
1/2 C water
1 t hot paprika
pinch of saffron
1 16 oz. can of lump crab meat
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup of chopped cilantro for garnish

Process:
1. In a small saucepan, heat the vegetable stock, saffron, and water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer.

2. Add chorizo into a large cast iron skillet and brown with olive oil for 3-5 minutes and remove to cool. Add onion, jalapenos, red pepper, and paprika and saute and scrape up fond from bottom of the pan, another 3-5 minutes. Add garlic for another 30seconds.

3.Add rice and toast rice for 2 minutes. At this point you're basically making a rissoto. Ladle in 1/2 cup of broth at a time until absorbed. The whole process should take 20 minutes. Half way through (10 minutes for all you math wizards) add half of the crab and half of the chorizio back into the pan.

4. When the rice is tender, finish the dish with the rest of the crab, chroizo,peas and cilantro. Serve with red wine.

Moroccan Steamed Mussels

This meal seems impressive, but its easy and actually pretty cheap to make. The broth is delicious, make sure you have crusty bread on hand for soaking it up.



Ingredients:
2 T EVOO
1 T garlic, chopped
1 T paprika
1 T coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 C tomato juice
1/2 tsp chili flake
3/4 lb yukon gold potatoes
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 2 lb bag of cultivated mussels
2 tsp chopped cilantro
Pinch of saffron

Process:

1. In a large pot, combine oil, garlic, paprika, coriander and cumin, cook on medium heat for about 1 minute. add tomato juice, chile flakes and 2 cups of water. Bring to boil. Add potatoes and and carrots, return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Place mussels in bowl and rinse. Remove any that have gaped open slightly. If they close the are alive and save to eat.

3. Increase heat to high and add mussels to pot, cover and cook for 5 minutes. remove lid and discard any mussells that remain closed. Add cilantro and serve with crusty bread.

Ham and Potato Chowder

We have a cafeteria at work and they make a ham and potato soup that is pretty good, but you can tell they are using some campbell's cream of ____ soup in there. I threw this knockoff together without using any of those pre packaged soups. Its one of my favorites now.




Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 can of corn
1 cup diced cooked ham (buy a ham steak in the deli section)
3 1/4 chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste (go easy here, the ham is pretty salty)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups skim milk


Process:
1.Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, carrot, ham and chicken broth in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper.

2.In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk so that lumps don't form and until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3.Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.

4. Top with cheddar cheese, chives, and bacon if desired. Serve immediately.

McGowen BMT Sliders

My buddy Cliff made these tomato sliders for one of our dinner club parties and I promised him I would post them. That was in June. (I'm a little behind on the blogging).

Simple and quick recipe was really tasty and a great way to take advantage of fresh veggies in the summer time. Fresh basil, marinated mozzarella, tomatoes, and carmelized oninons. We also topped half with bleu cheese instead of mozz and they were even better. Grilling the buns is key

Humbolt Fog and Hot Pepper Jelly

We had a few people over for brunch today, and I made a cheese tray. Thought I would share it with everyone. I included one of my favorite goat cheeses, Humbolt Fog from Cypress Groves in California, and served it alongside my very own Hot Pepper Jelly (recipe below). The jelly is delicious and super easy to make. Put all the ingredients in a pot, boil until the jelly reaches 220 degrees, and then ladle the liquid jelly into jars. I also made the cheese board myself. I picked up an old tin platter from the thrift store for around 2 bucks and painted it with chalkboard paint. Cheese boards have never looked so good...

Hot Pepper Jelly:

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
1 green bell pepper, same
3 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dried, red chile flakes
1 3oz. packet of liquid pectin

TURDUCKIN TIME!!

Well ... I have officially made a turduckin from scratch. My father-in-law (Doug) and I made it over the weekend; it was a two-day process. On the first day, we deboned the turkey, duck, and chicken, leaving only the leg bones and wing bones of the turkey. (You can imagine my initial shock when Doug asked me to join him for a boning party. No ... seriously ... he could barely get it out because he was laughing so hard.) Next, we brined all three birds to make sure they didn't dry out during cooking. On the second day, we made two different stuffings - one traditional with cornbread and one with andouille sausage. All that remained was assembling the birds. Turkey on bottom, followed by layer of cornbread stuffing. Duck on next with another layer of cornbread stuffing. Chicken on top with a layer of andouille stuffing. We then rolled all of it up and stitched it shut with butcher's twine and a huge sewing needle. Walla ... you've got a turduckin!

Smoked Ham

I made this twice in the past week (once for Friends Thanksgiving and again for the long weekend).  It was one of the better hams I have made. 

I used a 10 lb bone in ham shank, dry rubbed in a cajun seasoning.  I added some apple cider vinegar in the bottom of the foil for some acidity and to keep it moist.  I smoked it uncovered for about 2-2.5 hours and then put foil over it and let it cook for another 2 hours to get it up to temp.  It was really juicy and had great flavor.  I smoked it with cherry and hickory wood. 

Kansas City Barbeque Society

Well 3 of the 4 of us are now Certified Barbeque Judges...I wonder which person isn't?  To clear up any confusion see below. 

http://www.kcbs.us/judges.php?str=simpkins&search=Search

http://www.kcbs.us/judges.php?str=urban

http://www.kcbs.us/judges.php?str=romer-jordan

Also, if you need any distinction between competition barbeque and your grandma's Sunday cooking just ask one of us we would be happy to share!  It was a great experience and can't wait to judge a competition.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

So, I made some pizzas the other day. The dough was kind of a hybrid between a New York thin crust and an American style crust. I dig Goat Cheese on pizza and this was no exception.

Assembly was as follows....

Dough> Olive oil and minced garlic> Caramelized onions> Mozzarella> Asiago> Sausage> Goat Cheese> Thyme

Dough Formula as follows....

Flour (100%): 377.65 g | 13.32 oz | 0.83 lbs
Water (62%): 234.14 g | 8.26 oz | 0.52 lbs
IDY (.5%): 1.89 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.63 tsp | 0.21 tbsp
Salt (3.0%): 11.33 g | 0.4 oz | 0.02 lbs | 2.36 tsp | 0.79 tbsp
Oil (3.0%): 11.33 g | 0.4 oz | 0.02 lbs | 2.52 tsp | 0.84 tbsp
Sugar (3.0%): 11.33 g | 0.4 oz | 0.02 lbs | 2.84 tsp | 0.95 tbsp
Total (171.5%): 647.67 g | 22.85 oz | 1.43 lbs |
TF = 0.101
Single Ball: 323.84 g | 11.42 oz | 0.71 lbs

Bonus cheese pizza pic!!!

Sufferin' Succotash

So Urban commanded we all contribute a Thanksgiving post, and who am I to not comply? I was designated to bring a corn dish to the Brune family feast, so I went with a nutritious and delicious Succotash. Pretty straight forward dish, everyone seemed to like it. I’ve posted a “Chili-Lime” version before, and since I forgot to snap a pic of this batch, you can check it out here.

Makes 10 servings…

Ingredients
1 small onion (Diced)
½ Green Bell pepper (Diced)
½ Red Bell Pepper (Diced)
2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
1 Bag frozen lima beans
1 ½ Bags of frozen Corn
4 Tbls Butter
1 tbls flour
½ Cup Chicken Stock
¼ chopped parsley
Salt
Pepper

Procedure

1. Grab ya a large skillet, melt the butter, and sauté together the onion and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper- about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook 30 secs, then add the lima beans and corn, stir well to combine.
3. Sprinkle the mixture with flour and continue to cook for 1 minute.
4. Add chicken stock, simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add chopped parsley and check seasoning.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Cedar Papers

 

Check out the salmon on the back of the grill. I got these cedar papers for christmas and finally got to use them. They work well and are probably more economical than buying a whole plank. Next, I am thinking about grilling some burgers on them with a red wine reducion. Anybody else used these?

Smoked Turkey BBQ Pizza

 

I smoked a bone in turkey breast after brining it overnight. Layered that on top of some Trader Joes BBQ sauce (awesome by the way), cherry tomatoes, provolone, jalapenos, and freshly roasted corn. Awesome.

Morel Mushrooms

I included some pics from my recent mushroom hunt. I found these on my sister's property a couple of weeks ago (actually she found 3 of the 4. Thanks sis!). We cut them in half, soaked them in saltwater to kill any critters and had them for dinner. The recipe was pretty simple, just as my Grandpa Weber used to do. Flour, salt, pepper dredge and saute in butter. They tasted pretty darn good but next time I'm going to try something a little more complex that will let the flavor of the shrooms come through.




Before



After

Eggs Urbanedict

I woke up at 4:30 on Saturday morning and made the best of the day. I got a good 3 hours of study time in before made this masterpiece at normal breakfast time. It will make an appearance at our next get together/homebrewfest/pizza fest. The key is the sirracha hollandaise. This was one of my best dishes. I guess I should wake up early more often.

Ingredients:

1 english muffin split and toasted
4 strips of bacon (TJ's has awesome uncured bacon with no nitrates)
2 eggs
1.5 T sherry vinegar
1 tomato
bacon drippings (I keep mine on hand in the freezer at all times)
1/2 cup of arugala
pinch of smoked paprkia

For the Sirracha hollandaise:
1/3 Cup of mayo
1 T lemon juice
1 T siraccha
1 T dijon mustard

Process:
Start by laying the bacon strips on a cooling rack on top of a foil lined baking sheet. Put into a cool oven and turn oven to 400. Bacon should be done in about 18-20 minutes. Start boiling 4 cups of water for the poaching liquid.

Meanwhile, combine hollandaise ingredients in a glass measuring cup and whisk until incorporated. I hold the measuring cup over my simmering water to create a double boiler effect to bring the sauce up to temp slowly. Slice the tomato very thin.

When bacon is done, move it to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve 1 T of the drippings in a medium sized bowl and add 1/2 T of sherry vinegar and a teaspoon of mustard and whisk. Toss arugala into vinegarette and set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon of vinegar to boiling water and slowly drop in eggs. I like mine at about 2 to 2.5 minutes. While eggs poach. Build your sammy. Top each half of the english muffin with a couple slices of the tomato, 2 bacon strips, and half of the arugala salad. When eggs are done, scoop out of water with a slotted spoon and gently transfer to a kitchen towel to remove any excess water. Add eggs on top of each muffin half and top with a drizzle of the sirracha hollandaise. (you may want to put hollandaise back on the "double boiler" for a minute to reheat. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and enjoy.

Egg Drop Soup

Inspired by Kenji's post on seriouseats.com, I decided to give egg drop soup a try. As usual, his recipe turned out very tasty and satisfying. Next up, hot and sour soup.

1 quart homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
4 ounces chinese ham, chinese dried sausage, or slab bacon - I used 3 strips of bacon
6 scallions, greens thinly sliced, whites left whole
1-inch knob of ginger
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
Kosher salt
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 whole eggs

1. Combine stock, ham, scallion whites, ginger, and peppercorns in a small stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Strain broth, discard solids, and season to taste with salt.

2. Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and mix with a fork until homogeneous. Whisk into broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low.

3. Whisk together eggs and remaining teaspoon cornstarch until homogeneous. Transfer eggs to a small bowl and hold the tines of a fork or two chopsticks over the edge of it. Swirl the soup once with a large spoon, then slowly drizzle egg mixture into soup. Allow soup to sit for 15 seconds, the stir gently to break up the egg to desired size. Sprinkle with scallion greens and serve.

Hot Dog Challenge- 7 Layer Dog

Jeff proposed the challenge and all but one of us has answered...

For my entry think taco dip meets a Nathan's hot dog.  On a tangent, after thinking about this and maybe bc everything in my life right now circles back to kids, is that if you make these kind of dogs for kids they will love them, sorry I got off track. 

Anyway, I heated some chorizo refried beans, yes I said chorizo (shout out to Urban), taco sour cream, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, salsa, and a hint of cilantro because I love it. 

Ingredients:

2 Nathans Dogs
2 Buns
1 can of Chorizo refried beans (or regular for you veggie lovers out there)
Sour cream
Taco Seasoning
Smoked Paprika
Chopped Lettuce
Pepperjack cheese
Salsa
Cilantro

Mix the sour cream, paprika and taco seasoning to taste in a bowl. Smear the refried beans on one side of the bun and sour cream mixture on the other, layer the dog, cheese, lettuce, salsa and cilantro and enjoy!

We also made a 7 layer dip with the left over ingredients and enjoyed it late night after beer making with Fritos.  Can't let all that goodness go to waste!

Hot Dog Challenge - Big Green Monster

Jeff, are YOU ready for a throwdown?

Jeff laid out a hot dog challenge, and on Saturday, Romer and I answerd that challenge. Here is my entry. It consists of a grilled Nathan's all beef dawg (surprisingly delicious on its own), spicy tomato and green chili cream cheese, a freshly roasted pablano pepper, cilantro, and crushed fritos.

Ingredients:

2 dogs
2 buns
1 freshly roasted pablano (peeled and seeded)
cilantro
jalapenos
crushed fritos
1 packet cream cheese
1 10 oz can of tomatoes and green chilis
1 T sirracha

Mix last 3 ingredients to make a schmear. Spread schmear (yes, shcmear is a noun) on bun. Layer dog, more schmear, half of pablano, jalapenos, cliantro and fritos. Enjoy and then call Jeff and tell him how good it is.

Hot Dog Contest Anyone!?!?

Sooooo, I love hot dogs. No reason to hide it. Some of you out there may frown upon the lowly hot dog, being that it's bits and pieces of this and that. Well guess what... that's pretty much what every sausage or ground meat is, but I digress. Covered in chili, microwaved with ketchup, or hot off the grill with kraut, I don't discriminate. So if any of you think you're man enough, lets see those hot dogs!

Deep Fried Hot Dogs with Goat Cheese and Habanero Relish

So my entry in the contest, which I currently enter into without any known competitors, are these beauties. A never deep fried a hot dog, so I wanted to try it. Simp left some dank goat cheese at my house and I wanted to use. I like hot stuff, so this is what I came up with, think Tempest (you cool people out there know what I'm talking about.)

So basically I deep fried a couple Nathan's hot dogs, which turned out OK, I think I prefer grilled though. I topped them with some of that lovely goat cheese, some habanero relish I made (recipe to follow), and some crispy bits of bacon. Bottom line- these were pretty frickin good. In hindsight I could have added something with a little sweetness, such as mango ketchup or even a drizzle of honey. The habanero relish was quite fiesty and definitely regretted it the next day, much like the tempest.

Habanero Relish

2- Habaneros (less or more to your liking)

1/2- Red onion

2- Cloves Garlic

1/2 Red Bell pepper

1- teaspoon or so of sugar

2- tbls or so of white wine vinegar

salt

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend to your hearts content. Boom- Habanero relish.

Poached Eggs on Toasted Baguette with Goat Cheese, and Black Pepper Vinaigrette

I couldn't let these ingredients go to waste so I made my Sunday brunch on Saturday. This was awesome. I will be making this next time I have overnight guests.

Ingredients
•Baguette, sliced lengthwise*
•Olive oil, to brush
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•3 ounces fresh goat cheese
•2 thinly sliced heirloom tomatoes
•4 large eggs, poached
•1 cup micro arugula
•Black Pepper-Tarragon Vinaigrette, recipe follows
•Fresh chervil leaves, to garnish
•*Cook's Note: Not the super skinny kind of baguette
•Black Pepper-Tarragon Vinaigrette
•1/4 cup white wine vinegar
•1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
•1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
•1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
•1 teaspoon honey
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DirectionsHeat a grill pan and broiler.
Brush the halved baguette with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Put the bread onto a hot grill pan and grill cut-side down over high heat. Remove the grilled bread and spread the top of the bread with the goat cheese. Place the bread under the broiler and broil until the cheese is lightly golden brown. Top each slice of bread with a few slices of tomato and a poached egg. Cook's Note: Break the yolks on the sandwich.
Put the micro arugula in a bowl and toss with a few tablespoons vinaigrette and season with salt and black pepper. Top each egg with some of the greens and drizzle with more of the vinaigrette.
Vinaigrette:
Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, tarragon, and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil, until emulsified. Whisk in the honey and black pepper.