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