Tasso Penne Pasta

So I purchased a new stainless steel cookware set with my 2^nd place fantasy football winnings.  Cookware is by Tramontina, and is sold online through Walmart.  It is Tri-ply and from all the reviews I read very comparable in quality to All-Clad, and costs about 1/3 the price.  They offer two sets, the one I bought has a 12qt stock pot, 5qt dutch oven, 4qt pot, 2qt pot, 10in sauté, 12in sauté and lids for everything but the sauté pans.  The main reason I chose this set is because it included a 12” skillet, and I’ve been wanting me a big ass skillet.

 

Tasso Penne Pasta is not a name I came up with, but rather the name given to a pasta dish on the room service menu at the Marriott River Center where Kristin and I basically lived for 4 months before we got our house.  She probably ordered it 3 times a week and occasionally she has a hankerin for it. It’s a pretty tasty dish and is one of my favorite pastas as well.

Serves 5

Ingredients

Penne (12-15 oz)

2 Chicken breasts

1 cup diced tasso ham (or any smoked ham you can find)

½ large onion- diced

½ red bell pepper- diced

2 cloves garlic

1 can whole or diced green chilis

1 cup white wine

2 cups chicken stock

1 small carton heavy cream

Knob of butter

½ tsp cayenne

½ tsp paprika

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 green onions

1 tomato- diced

Parsley

Olive Oil

Salt/pepper

1.    In a 12” stainless steel skillet cook your chicken breasts in the oil, about 6 minutes on each side.  Remove and set aside.  If you don’t have a 12” stainless steel skillet go get you one!

2.     Add diced ham to the skillet and allow to brown, add onion and bell pepper, cook until translucent then add garlic, green chilies, cayenne and paprika.  Cook for a minute more then add the wine and scrape up the goodies. 

3.      After wine has reduced add chicken stock and allow mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes while you cook the penne.

4.     Add the cooked penne, heavy cream, and sliced chicken back to the pan, cook for 5-10 minutes, adding the butter at the end.

5.      Garnish pasta with feta cheese, diced green onion, tomato, and chopped parsley.

6.      Serve with some dank ass garlic bread and enjoy

No Butter Chicken and Whole Wheat Rotis

Decided to make a little healthy Indaian food tonight. The no butter chicken was very easy and quick. This is the first time I've made roti wich is a Indian quick bread stuffed with cauliflower, cilantro, chilies, ginger and corriander. Brush it with a little garlic infused olive oil and you're money.

Have the tums ready. The butter chicken was SPICY.


No Butter Chicken

Ingredients

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cut into cubes
1/4 cup low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup water
Serving suggestion: Serve with roti or rice

Process:

Put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it starts to get hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 4 minutes, or until the onion is golden. Add the tomato paste, brown sugar, cumin seeds, garam masala, red chile flakes, turmeric, and salt and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken cubes and stir well to coat. Add the yogurt and water and cook, stirring until the chicken is done, about 8 minutes. Serve the chicken with roti or rice.

Whole Wheat Roti

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
1 cup finely grated fresh broccoli
1 cup cooked mixed lentils
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup water

Process:

Combine the whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, spinach, broccoli, lentils, ginger, and water in a large bowl and mix by hand until well combined. Continue to knead the dough until the dough has a smooth consistency, like bread dough. Remove a piece of dough, about the size of a golf ball and roll it into a round flat disk. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and then using a lightly-floured rolling pin, roll the ball into a thin patty (like a tortilla).
Place a nonstick pan over medium heat and gently place the rolled roti in the pan. Cook until it starts to bubble and then flip the roti over and cook the other side. The roti is done when there are brown spots on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes total. Continue to roll and cook all the rotis.

Happy New Year

Contrary to what some people thought was possible, I got up at 7:30am after Jimmy's wedding (great time by the way) and New Year's festivities to start the day off right.  Cooked a 8lb Boston Butt and 5lb Brisket. 

I got them from a local butcher down the road from me.  Thanks to a little research from Urban found out they get all local, never frozen to animals and it looks like a pretty good find.  Here is their website:
http://mosleysmeatmarket.com/Mosleys_Meat_Market/Welcome.html

I will be back soon I am sure.

I decided to go with one round of charcoal first thing for some flavor then on to just smoke....used hickory this time.  One thing to note, if you are gonna use the charcoal with the electric smoker you need to rig a little stand above the heating element so it doesn't overheat and short out your outlet...I will be making one this winter for the spring...

On to the food, I just did a simple dry rub the day before of:

Salt
Sugar
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Fresh Ground Pepper
Cayenne
Chili Powder
Dry Mustard

I put the food on at 8:15am, let it get open smoke for about 5 hours then covered them in foil to lock in some moisture.  The Brisket got a total of 8 hours and the Boston Butt got 10 hours and I don't know if I would change much...it was pretty good.  5 hours was plenty of time to incorporate a good smoke flavor but not overwhelming and as you can see a great crust on the meat that locked in some moist tender pork. 






To top it all off Urban made a quick homemade BBQ sauce which was great. 

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.