Beer Cooler Sous Vide Steak

So obviously I read the Serious Eats article and had to try it out.  It worked out pretty well actually, very easy to do.  I started with a Prime Dry Aged Rib eye.  I popped that in the cooler with 140 degree water for about 45 minutes.  Water seemed to have dropped about 5 degrees when I took it out, but I was not very precise with my temperature readings either time. Then I hit it on a screaming hot cast iron skillet with some oil and butter for a minute or two on each side.  I served it with some barley, compound butter, and asparagus.

Verdict:  Damn fine steak, the texture was among the best I've ever had, very tender/unctuous, I used my fork to cut it, also the fat was very enjoyable because of this.  I had a clean beefy flavor, but left a little bit to be desired- I was missing that nice char on the outside.  Next time I will user a thicker steak as I think it will allow a little longer char without over cooking.  I might try a different char method next time.  Maybe using the chimney full of charcoal with the grill grate right on top, ya know, from Good Eats when he sears tuna that way.

Burgers

Title says it all.  Picked up a nice fatty piece of chuck from the butcher, ground it fresh, cast iron skillet, american cheese, sauted onions and peppers, burger sauce, lettuce tomato.  Oven fries.  Straight up chuck makes a great burger... it prolly won't win any best burger contests, but you could do much worse.  Enjoy the burger porn.  Bobcat Chow!

Whenever You're Feeling Good and Hungry....

It's Skyline Time!

So, I figured that since I'm born and raised in Cincinnati and frikin love Cincinnati style chili that I should have my own secret recipe.  I think my chili pallet is pretty refined, so I should be able to come up with some pretty good stuff.  This first batch turned out ok.  Consistency was right on, but it was lacking in overall flavor, especially that deep earthy goodness flavor.  For the next batch I will add some beef base, increase the amount of chili powder, cocoa powder, and cinnamon, and decrease the amount of clove and allspice.  I think i'll also cook the next batch longer.  Here's the recipe and some chili porn.

1 large onion minced
1.5 Ground beef
1 tsp garlic powder
1.5 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground clove
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
2tbls Kosher salt
1 can tomato paste

1tsp cocoa powder

2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tbls black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 ½ Quarts of Water

Procedure

Not rocket science here- combine all ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.  

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

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.

Super Bowl Eats- Course 2&3

Potato Skins and Wangs!

Potato Skins w/ cheddar, and buffalo wings bw3's style. Word! Lazy cookin and lazy postin.

Bacon Butter

Yeah. Thats right. Bacon Butter.

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter; room temp
3 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
2 scallions, sliced
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Process:

Add bacon to food processor and chop until consistency of bacon bits. Add all other ingredients and blend until combined. Keep at room temp for best spreadability.

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.

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!!!!!!!!!!!

Burger Time

Burger Goodness

Hard to beat a good burger. I like mine thin and cooked in a hot pan, more surface area to get all nice nice. I use a 3-1 ration of 80/20 Chuck to 90/10 Sirloin mixed together. Chuck is definitely the way to go as far as a nice burger, but the sirloin adds a little in the flavor department. I get about 6 thin burgers from a pound and a third of total ground beef. I season the outside liberally with salt and pepper and just a touch of garlic powder. I get my pan just about as hot as I can get it and about 3-5 minutes a side should do it. American cheese is my favorite burger cheese. It melts nicely and doesn’t over power the burger. Brown up the bun a little in the burger pan and BOOM- Burger. Don’t forget those kosher pickles and oven fries. And go for a double if you’re crazy. I’m crazy. Word.

Southern Hospitality

Southern Hospitality

Snow day number two for me today, well, yesterday work was open, but I took a personal day, but today the agency was closed J Anyway, here’s a straight southern meal for ya. I made Bobby Flay’s Ribs from this video- http://www.foodnetwork.com/indoor-grilling-guide/package/index.html They turned out pretty good, not great, but good. And for my sides I made Tyler Florence’s Collard Greens from here- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/slow-cooked-collard-greens-recipe/index.html Except I used bacon instead of ham hocks and I added some crushed red pepper. Really delicious greens. And rounded it off with some of the leftover mac and cheese I made for the super bowl which was bacon, roux, milk, about 5 cups of cheddar/Monterey jack, 4 eggs, some butter, 1 lbs of macaroni all added into a casserole dish and topped with more Monterey jack and parmesan. Pretty tasty, but I think I prefer some creamy stove top mac and cheese.

Rootbeer Bourbon Glazed Wings

For the super bowl we busted out the smoker and put these wings in there for about 2 hours. All I needed was a glaze to coat them. Thank you Emeril. I found this glaze on foodnetork.com, and it worked nicely. The smoking added a nice touch but you could easily grill or bake them.

As for the plethora of flavors, I didn't get a big bourbon flavor, so I would maybe increase that in the future. I also added 2 Thai bird chilies for some heat (I'll put some more in next time). The rootbeer I used was Virgil's microbrewed (whole foods, glad I had a couple extras to drink) and I actually found the Pick-A-Peppa sauce at world market (which by the way is a great place to buy spices). This recipe made about 40 wings and there was glaze left over.

Glaze:
2 (12-ounce) cans/bottles root beer
2 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons steak sauce (recommended: Emeril's Steak Sauce)
1 teaspoon Caribbean Pick-A-Peppa sauce
6 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 teaspoons bitters (recommended: Angostura)
1 cup bourbon
1 cup sugar
2 thai bird chilies

Method:

To make the glaze, place all of the ingredients for the glaze in a 6-quart pot or larger, and cook over medium-high heat. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once the mixture has come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and allow the mixture to reduce to a glaze consistency, about 25 to 30 minutes longer. Remove the glaze from the stove and strain though a fine mesh strainer. Reserve and keep warm, until ready to use.

Toss cooked wings in glaze and broil for 1-2 minutes while watching. These will burn quickly.

World’s Best Chicken Sandwich with Oven Fries

There are a couple aspects that do in deed make this the “World’s Best Chicken Sandwich,” and they must all be followed in order for it to officially be the “World’s Best.” 1- Cheese. The sandwich needs to have a good amount of melted cheese, and good cheese. My favorite would be some good Monterey Jack, but in a pinch Cheddar or even American will do. But just to be clear, the original and official “World’s Best Chicken Sandwich” was made with Monterey Jack. 2- Sauce. Both sides of the bun must be slathered with a combination of mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. The ration can vary based on taste, but you gotta have both to make the “World’s Best.” 3- Toppings. Your chicken sandwich will need to be dressed with the following- Iceberg, fresh sliced tomato, thinly sliced red onion, and some dank kosher pickles. Let me take a moment to elaborate on the importance of the pickle. If you are not currently using Kosher Pickles, I highly suggest that you pick up a jar. They add a whole nother dimension of flavor that you just don’t get with regular pickles and you can’t make the “World’s Best” without them. 4- Bun. You must use bakery fresh buns and they should either be warmed up on the grill, in the oven, or in the pan. 5- Last but not least, chicken. It’s best to use thin sliced chicken breasts, nicely seasoned, and cooked either on the grill or in a hot pan on the stove. There you have it, the secrets behind the “World’s Best Chicken Sandwich.” On to the details…

Recipe (Serves 2)

2- Thinly sliced chicken Breast

2- Bakery fresh buns

2- Slices (or equivalent) of Jack cheese

1- Ripe Tomato

Thinly sliced Red onion

Iceberg Lettuce

Kosher Pickles

Mayonnaise

Dijon Mustard

Jeff’s Seasoning (Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, a little cayenne, and a little onion powder.)

Procedure

Should be pretty straight forward. Pretty much all you need to do is cook the chicken then assemble the sandwich. Just make sure to season the chicken pretty well, cook it on a hot grill or in a hot pan. Throw the cheese on when they’re about done and cover until the it gets ooey gooey, and there ya have it. Warm up your bun, then put some mayo and mustard on each side, pile on the toppings s as you like, and enjoy.

Oven Fries

Oven fries are great. They’re cheap, delicious and easy to make. I probably have them with at least one meal a week. A great tip for these is to use the “Non-Stick Aluminum Foil.” If you don’t they will stick. On to the details…

Recipe

1- Russet potato per person

Enough EVOO to coat

Seasoning (Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and cayenne if you want them spicy. For the record, I always want them spicy)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 450 or 500. Cut your potato into pieces, toss them on the lined cookie sheet, season fairly liberally, drizzle with some oil, mix them all around with your hands until they are evenly coated, and toss them in the oven for 20 minutes or so. You can turn them over half way through, but it’s kind of a pain. Best served with ranch dressing IMO. That’s it- Oven Fries.