Jock's Good Grub

Orange Honey Glazed Chicken

2010-08-01T13:44:00.002-04:00

I have been waiting and waiting for big sis to post this recipe for about a year now but I guess she is too busy posting graduations, planning weddings, traveling to New York City and who knows where else to post food blogs. Not that those things aren't important but come on, we are talking about food here, the basic ingredient to life.

She introduced me to this recipe a year ago after bragging about how it was her favorite chicken recipe for

months prior. I got to admit it's pretty darn good and well worth a post on this blog.

There are a couple of differences from the recipe posted below. The first being I used thighs instead of breast (a change big sis made and I continued with it) and the second is I used orange juice instead of tangerine juice because I can't find tangerine juice.

Let's take a look at this weeks cast of characters........

First things first and we must make the glaze. It's an easy glaze to make just combine the thyme and orange juice in a sauce pan and cook down. Remember to leave enough time to reduce the orange juice because it took me 45 minutes or so to get the orange juice reduced to what the recipe calls for.

Now that the hard part is done it is time to FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!

It really is pretty simple from here, start by cooking the thighs, brush on some glaze and take off the thighs before they are over cooked. If you do that and follow the directions below here is what you end up with.

A delicious chicken recipe that is so simple to make it can be cooked for a weekday dinner. My for rating for this recipe is 4.25 forks out of 5. The only reason it is 4.25 is I think the recipe has too much cumin (personnel preference). The next time I will cut the cumin in half and the rating will be higher, I have no doubt about that.

So in the end it looks like big sis really did have a good chicken recipe, even if she didn't get around to sharing it with everyone, and one well worth keeping around in the recipe box.

Bobby Flay’s Winner of a Chicken Dinner

Chicken With Tangerine-Honey Glaze

(Printable Recipe)

3 cups tangerine juice or tangerine-orange juice (not from concentrate)

5 fresh thyme sprigs

1/4 cup clover honey

Kosher salt and black pepper

3 Tbsp Spanish paprika

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp dry mustard powder

2 tsp ground fennel seeds

2 Tbsp canola oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 oz. each)

2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

1. Combine the juice and thyme in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 1/2 cup; remove the thyme stems and discard. Whisk in the honey until incorporated and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

2. Heat grill to medium-high.

3. Stir together the paprika, cumin, mustard powder, fennel, and 1 teaspoon each of the kosher salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Brush both sides of the chicken with the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Rub the top of each breast with some of the spice rub and place on the grill rub-side-down. Cook, without touching, until they’re lightly golden brown and a crust has formed, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the breasts over, brush the tops liberally with some of the glaze, flip them, and continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 155°F. Remove from the grill, brush the spice-rub side with more of the glaze, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4. Per serving: 460 calories, 39g carbs, 48g protein, 12g fat, and 125mg cholesterol.

http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/food/recipes/parade/090719-bobby-flay-chicken-dinner.html

Grilled Salad

2010-07-25T15:01:00.001-04:00

"Grilled salad?" That's is the reaction of most people when I tell them I grill salad. I used to grill salad as a side dish but it is so good we decided to use grilled salad as a main weeknight meal. And why not, it so easy to make and quick too, perfect for a weeknight meal when both spouses work.

There really isn't recipe for grilled salad it is whatever you like on your salad. As you can see the cast of characters in the photo below what I prefer on my salad.

This is pretty typical what I normally like on my salad expect this time I wanted to try the radicchio lettuce (that's the purple and white thing on the right for those of you not familiar with radicchio). Usually I use romaine lettuce but somewhere, I think it was Bobby Flay, I watched a show about grilling salad and this is what they used. I never used it before because it can be hard to find in the store.

I start out by cutting up the onions and peppers and tossing them into a bowl with the tomatoes. I add extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, toss and skewer on wooden bamboo skewers. I skewer the tomatoes by themselves because they don't take as long to grill as the onions and peppers.

You may be asking yourself "But what exactly does he grill?" The answer is everything and yes, even the lettuce. The heat from the grill totally transforms the lettuce into something completely different. Any bitterness that was present in the lettuce will be gone after it hits the grill. The heat brings the sugar out of the lettuce, or so that is the way I understand it.

I always grill a few extra onions and peppers. They are excellent by themselves after they have been on the fire. They are also good the next day cold, out of the frig.

Our choice of salad dressing was vidalia onion and peppercorn, salad dressing my son, John, picked out the last time he was visiting. Overall I rate this salad 4.5 out of 5 forks for taste and 5 out of 5 crayons for color (I added the green onion because it lacked green color). The radicchio lettuce isn't as good as the romaine, in my opinion and the wife's opinion too, but it sure does make up for it in color.

The next time you are trying to figure what to make for that weeknight meal don't forget about that grilled salad. The recipe is simple, whatever you like, the salad dressing is simple too, again whatever you like. This is a regular on our summer platters.

Fire Up the Grill!!!!

2010-07-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!! It feels good to be able to say that again. I haven't been able to do that for over a year now ever since I left Wisconsin. The wife and I have been living in an a condo, well really a two story apartment, where grilling wasn't allowed. We decided to live there for a year so we could scout the neighborhoods here in Rockville and decide where we wanted to live. Needless to say, the scouting is done, we're moved and thanks to my mother my grille is here in Rockville with us. But this post isn't about my trusty Weber grill, this post is about my new Weber Smoky Mountain smoker.

A couple of years ago Weber redesigned their smoker and decided to build it in a 22-1/2" model, the same as their every popular charcoal grill. Since I first saw the smoker online I knew someday I would have one.

This wasn't the maiden voyage for the smoker today, last week I tried a new way (at least for me) to cook a steak, which I will share in the near future, and I cooked a cranberry glazed turkey breast, which really needs to be a post for another day too. You can see from the photo above this baby has the ability to hold a lot of charcoal for those really long smoking days. As soon as I can find a delicious looking beef brisket recipe and a good beef brisket I am going to find out how long the charcoal will last in this baby.

But today's meal isn't about beef brisket or turkey breast, no sir, today we are talking about the number one food group, baby back ribs. As most of you know, that take the time to actually read this blog, on my bucket list is to enter a barbecue contest and to win it. The ribs have been a work in progress for the past 5 years with two steps forward and one back, or so it seems at times.

Trying to hide behind the ribs are some baked beans. The wife and I got the idea for these beans from reading the ingredient list on the back of baked beans we use to buy at a meat market in Wisconsin. Cooking them on the smoker is from a bbq show I once watched on The Food Network. Once everything is on the grate it is time to sit back and watch the smoke do its job........

......and watch the temperature so it stays between 225 and 250 degrees. The extra temperature probe you see today is being used to watch the temperature on the lower rack to see how different it is from the upper thermometer. By the way just as a note do not trust the upper thermometer as I found out when I checked the upper thermometer against my digital it was about 15 degrees off.

Two hours later it's time to pull the lid and see what we got. Oh boy, it sure does smell good and starting to look pretty darn good too. While the lid is off this would be a good time to mop a little sauce on the ribs.

45 minutes later I repeat the process all over.

Oh we are so, so close now but you can't hurry perfection. Another 45 minute wait, that's 3-1/2 hours for anyone trying to keep score, and we can finally open the lid on the smoker for the last time. Let's get a close look this time, beans........

.....and baby back ribs.

I should note the ribs are finished off over hot coals and some of my "secret" barbecue sauce.

On the traditional fork scale these ribs rate a 4.75 out of 5 forks. I can't give them a 5 because they were a little saltier than I like. I used a commercial seasoning mix, which I really like, but it contains 75% salt. The good news is I found the recipe online and now I can start adjusting it more to my liking. I believe this is the last item to complete for baby back rib perfection and entry into a bbq contest. That will be one more item off my bucket list.

Throwdown Time!!

2009-12-19T11:48:00.003-05:00

Christmas is almost here and that means it's time for another throwdown. This years throwdown ingredient, rice. The rules, according to niece Shae: Must use rice in the recipe. I like it, short, sweet and keeps big sis from finding ways to cheat.

I did my final trial run last weekend for Sunday Dinner and thought I would give everyone a sneak peak.

I'll have to reread the rules but I fairly certain I followed all the rules of the throwdown. Let me see, must include rice, check, I did that. I think I'm good to go.

Watch out I'm ready and playing for keeps this time.

And just in case you're not sure what I am making here is the recipe

Ingredients:
Rice

Directions:
Cook

Good luck to all.

Ice Cream with Cranberry Syrup

2009-12-12T14:20:00.002-05:00

We all have vices and bad habits we would like to break and I am no exception. Years ago I thought I drank to much soda with caffeine so I swore off caffeine for a few months and 18 years later and I still haven't had a sip of caffeine. 12 years ago I went a step further and swore off all kinds of soda and haven't had a sip since. But there is one food item I can't quit and never will, ice cream. I'll admit my weakness, I love the stuff, if I am ever on death row you can bet it will be part of my last meal if not the entire meal.

I like just about any type, cookies and cream, cookie dough, moose tracks, I could go on and on, but my favorite overall is probably plain old vanilla ice cream. You can do so many different things with vanilla ice cream, eat it plain or cover it with toppings. Everyone has their favorite toppings, chocolate, carmel, nuts, and fruit but I think my favorite all time topping is maple syrup. Yep just maple syrup, simple.

If you remember a few days ago I posted cranberry pancakes with cranberry maple syrup that I made. Now here is an idea, how would that syrup go on some of that good Alden's Ice Cream we have? Well I didn't really know but I knew I was going to find out. It doesn't get much easier to make, start with some vanilla ice cream and top with the cranberry maple syrup and enjoy.

Turns out to be some pretty good stuff. A while back the wife made some cranberry jam and now I know what I can use it on, along with some maple syrup of course. That's one habit I will never break.

Mongolian Beef and Shrimp

2009-12-10T18:36:00.002-05:00

I took an extreme right turn for this weeks Sunday Dinner Episode from where we have been for the last month or so. This week we are taking a shot at chinese cooking. Chinese food, one of my favorites, for some reason is one the the hardest types of food for me to cook.

Back in the day when I used to work in Midland Michigan once a week or so we would go to one of the chinese restaurants in town. Midland was fortunate to have two fine chinese restaurants, one being Pi's and the other China Palace. It was a toss up for peoples favorite, mine is China Palace. Whenever I went to the China Palace and didn't eat the buffet I would order either the mongolian shrimp or mongolian beef. I loved the stuff and it is still my favorite of all chinese food. Since I have left the Midland area and went to other chinese restaurants in other towns I have found out how hard it is to find mongolian beef or shrimp. I did find mongolian beef at P.F Changs in Arlington Virginia but I have yet to find mongolian shrimp at any restaurant.

I have tried to duplicate the mongolian beef and shrimp recipe for the last three years with little luck. It's been a few months since I tried so I thought I would give it another shot. I searched the internet and finally came up with a recipe that is suppose to be the one P.F Changs use. I did change it a little because the Mongolian meals I had at the Midland restaurants didn't have mushrooms. This cast of characters are as follows.........

Not a big cast this week and I like that.

I followed the recipe below and I will admit I was a little disappointed when I finished. The dish was good, it just wasn't what I was hoping for which is something close to the mongolian beef from the China Palace.

Next I thought I might as well try with shrimp and make a couple of changes. First I decided not to to use the cornstarch and coat the shrimp. Most recipes I find on Mongolian shrimp or beef use a light dusting of corn starch but I don't remember the mongolian shrimp at the China Palace having any type of coating. The other change I made was to slice up a half of onion and cook with the shrimp. I also added more ginger to the shrimp while it cooked but used the same sauce as the mongolian beef. I should add I threw in a few red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch because after all mongolian shrimp can be a bit spicy at times. What I ended up with was mongolian shrimp dish that is getting darn close to the China Palace one. I think the ginger might be the difference.

At the end of the day my search for the perfect mongolian shrimp or beef continues and maybe someday I'll find what I am looking for but until that day I think I may have found something close that I can use.

Mongolian Beef

(Printable Recipe)

1 lb flank or skirt steak, sliced in thin strips
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tsp vegetable or peanut oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable or peanut oil
1 bunch green onions, green part only, cut in half

Dust steak pieces lightly in cornstarch and set aside while preparing the sauce. In a small sauce pan heat oil over medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic. Add soy sauce and water to the ginger and garlic before it browns. Add brown sugar and whisk until dissolved. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and reserve.

In a wok heat 1 cup oil over medium high heat. Working in batches, add the steak a few at a time to the hot oil. Cook about 1 minute without touching the meat then flip each piece and cook 1 minute more.

Remove meat while still rare inside, and continue with next batch. Once all meat is browned, pour off oil and wipe out skillet.

Add steak to the hot pan and cook about 1 minute. Add sauce to the pan and simmer and toss meat and sauce about 1 minute. Add green onions and heat 1 minute.

Serve over rice.

Jock's Roasted Corn Chowder

2009-12-08T19:27:00.001-05:00

Every year I make a pot full of corn chowder. I am a little late this year because I normally make corn chowder while corn on the cob is still fresh. I can find corn on the cob all year round these days but its still not as good as late summer or early fall. When I first made corn chowder I used frozen corn and there is nothing wrong with that, but for the last few years since corn is available on the cob I use that instead. One reason I like to use corn still on the cob is I can roast the corn giving it a sweeter flavor. Last year I roasted the corn on my charcoal grill but this year since I don't have my grill I roasted the corn in the oven. It's still good from the oven but not near as good as when it comes off the grill.

First things first and we must introduce the cast of characters....

I do have one new member to this years cast and that is cheddar cheese. I found a chowder recipe recently that used cheddar cheese and thought I might give it ago this year. Other than that it's a pretty standard cast for corn chowder.

Everyone has their favorite way to make corn chowder and so do I. I like my thick, the thicker the better. I also like lots of potatoes in mine. I use russet potatoes because after they cook they start to break down and make the soup even thicker, just be careful because you will end up with mash potatoes if you aren't careful. Some people like their chowder thinner and if that's you I suggest to cut back on the butter/oil, flour and use either red potatoes or yukon golds, they hold up better to the cooking process.

You can also make corn chowder by replacing the milk with chicken broth and then using a pint of cream or half and half at the end of cooking. That will give you a little lighter chowder but still pretty flavorful. What this all comes down to is it is your chowder make it as you please.

You can also change this to a vegetarian dish by omitting the bacon but in my opinion all good things start with bacon. Where would we be without bacon?

The best thing about corn chowder? It is one of those one dish meals and that's never a bad thing.

When all is said and done this is a good, hearty, thick corn chowder. The sweetness of the corn is enhanced by roasting the corn first. I could tell something was different with this corn chowder too, probably the cheddar cheese I added. I think next time I will add more bacon to get more of a smoky flavor, which is never a bad thing either.

The second best thing about corn chowder? Leftovers later this week, never a bad thing.

Jock's Roasted Corn Chowder

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1/2 pound of bacon, cut into 1/2” pieces

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup of olive oil or bacon drippings

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

7 cups milk

4 large ears of corn on the cob

4 large baking potatoes, peeled an cubed (about 4 cups)

1 leek, cleaned and sliced, white part only

3 cloves garlic. minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 -1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap corn in tin foil and roast in oven for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and after cooled cut corn from the cob and set aside for later.

In a large dutch oven cook bacon until browned, remove bacon and set aside for later. Add butter, oil. leeks, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook garlic and leeks for 5 minutes. Add flour and stir until smooth light blonde color. Gradually add milk and stir until thickened. Add potatoes and simmer for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add corn, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and bacon (reserve some for garnishing) and stir until cheese is melted. Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve and garnish with remaining bacon.

Cranberry Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

2009-12-06T10:53:00.007-05:00

If you follow me here or Facebook you know I like my pancakes. We don't eat them for breakfast we eat them for dinner, unless I'm at big sis's then we eat them for breakfast. I've tried different types, plain, whole wheat, blueberry, banana and pumpkin but since it is holiday time I got this brilliant idea to try cranberry pancakes. But I didn't stop there I thought as along as I'm at it (and I have cranberries left over anyway) why not make some cranberry maple syrup.

First let's get the cast of characters out of the way.....

Like said above I have tried all kinds of different pancakes (by the way banana is my personal favorite) and different combinations of flour. As good as pancakes are using plain old all purpose flour I found by mixing in 50% whole wheat flour most people don't even know the difference, and it's good for you too (well better for you than if you just use plain all purpose flour). If you notice in the above pic the canister to the right and in the back, I keep pancake mixture (Alton Brown calls it "Instant Pancake Mix") around at all times so when I need it all I do is grab it and mix in the wet ingredients, it's a big time saver. My pancake mix is adapted from Alton Brown's recipe with a couple of modifications. Oh I used to use the store bought pancake mix and even made some mix myself (with very limited success) but until I watched Alton Brown of Good Eats in his Flap Jack Do It Again episode I never really understood how a good pancake was made. If you really want to learn how to make a good pancake I urge you to watch the video, it changed my pancake world forever.

Most fruit when cooked in pancakes is introduced raw but I was afraid if I did that with cranberries they would turn out tart and only partially cooked. I decided to cook the cranberries first and then fold them into the pancake mixture. I wanted to try and keep the cranberry as whole as possible so when they started to burst I pulled them off the stove. I let cranberry mixture cool down before I introduced them to the pancake mixture so they wouldn't start cooking the pancakes before I wanted to cook the pancakes.

Now that everything is assembled all that's left to do is cook the pancakes. I have learned with my stove (gas by the way) I have to cook my at a medium low temperature to get the pancakes cooked through without burning the outside. I also find that it takes about 5 minutes on the first side and approximately 3 minutes on the second side to cook properly. I also use a cast iron griddle that I set over two burners, although this time I used cast iron skillets to cook the pancakes. No real reason I did that I was just trying something different. I think the main goal here is to use a heavy bottom pan or griddle to help spread out the heat more evenly.

In the end the cranberry pancakes turned out beautifully, no tart cranberry flavor just sweet cranberry goodness. And then to top it off with the easy to make cranberry maple syrup will put you in heaven. These pancakes will definitely join our pancake rotation in the fall when we can find fresh cranberries.

Cranberry Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

For the cranberry mixture:

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 cinnamon stick, halved

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (or defrosted if frozen)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the pancakes:
1 cup all purpose flour – sifted
1 cup whole wheat flour – sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter

For the cranberry maple syrup:
2 cups maple syrup
1 cup fresh cranberries

Directions

For the cranberry mixture combine all the above ingredients except the cranberries in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the cranberries. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the berries burst, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the berries cool. Remove the cinnamon stick.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

For the pancakes combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and all the wet ingredients in another. Whisk dry ingredients together and then whisk wet ingredients well. Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix to the count of 10. Gently fold in the cranberry mixture from above.

For the cranberry maple syrup add maple syrup and cranberries to a sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until cranberries burst. Remove from heat and let cool.

Heat stove top or griddle to medium heat or 350 degrees. Wipe with butter or spray with light coating of non-stick spray. Pour approximately 1 cup of pancake mixture on griddle and cook until golden brown on first side. Flip over and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Place in warm oven until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Flavored Milkshake

2009-12-04T18:17:00.001-05:00

As I promised I said I would do a recipe with pumpkin. I like pumpkin but not like big sis, she is a fanatic about it. I think the best pumpkin anything I ever had was a couple of years ago in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when I bought some pumpkin fudge from one of those little fudge shops on the main street of Houghton. In fact that just might be the best fudge I ever had, it was soooooo good. If I remember we were lucky and got the last of what they had for the year.

I didn't make pumpkin fudge, since I am not a baker, but I decided to make a pumpkin milkshake. I originally came across the idea from searching through web sites one night and saw a picture and thought that might be pretty good and since it looked simple enough I decided to give it a go. I came across a lot of recipes for pumpkin shakes, all about the same, but finally decided on the one below.

The cast of characters is fairly simple........

One different idea I found in another recipe was instead of using graham crackers was to use ginger snaps.

There is one character in this cast I want to introduce you to that deserves mention......

This is the absolute best vanilla ice cream you can buy. Aldens Ice Cream is made with real cream, real, honest to goodness cream with real honest to goodness vanilla bean specs throughout. This vanilla ice cream is good all by itself. We find it at Whole Foods Market, I'm not sure if it is available anywhere else.

As far as making the milk shake it pretty simple, put everything, except the graham crackers, in a blender and blend it all together. Crush up the graham crackers on top and insert a swizzle stick, in this case a cinnamon stick.

Pumpkin Flavored Milkshake
(Printable Recipe)
1/2 cup pumpkin, canned or homemade
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch cloves
1 pinch nutmeg
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 cup vanilla ice cream
1graham cracker.
1 cinnamon stick for garnish.

Directions:
Put everything but graham crackers and cinnamon stick in a blender. With the normal household blenders it works best if the ice cream is soft.

Sprinkle with crushed graham cracker crumbs and add cinnamon stick before serving.

Pasta Carbonara

2009-12-02T19:06:00.001-05:00

CATION: DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO GAIN 2 POUNDS!!

The surgeon general should require that label be put on all Pasta Carbonara recipes. I mean just look at the cast of characters for this episode.

Pasta, butter and bacon, how can you go wrong?

I'll admit I have never had Pasta Carbonara but I have heard a lot about it and how good it its. I used to work with a guy that said his wife made the best Pasta Carbonara in the world (but he said that about everything him or his wife cooked) and he got me interested. It wasn't long after that I was cruising through Pioneer Woman's cooking blog and came across her recipe for Pasta Carbonara. It certainly sounded good, looked good and more importantly the comments people left said it was some of the best Pasta Carbonara they ever had. I was sold, I had my Pasta Carbonara recipe.

I did tweaked the recipe a bit by using ingredients I had on hand so I didn't have to go the store and the recipe at the bottom is how I made the Pasta Carbonara. I used fresh thyme instead off parsley and of course I used some of that good Traders Joe's Pasta, lemon pepper this time.

This is really a pretty simple recipe to make and another bonus is it doesn't take very long. I think the longest wait was for the bacon to cook. While the bacon is cooking it gives me time to slice some garlic, lots of garlic, so much garlic you won't have any trouble with vampires for the night.

It is hard to beat the smell in the kitchen while cooking, bacon and garlic. Do they make a candle scent for that? If not maybe they should.

My biggest worry making Carbonara is the raw eggs you mix the pasta with. I guess the idea is to put the pasta in the egg mixture while it is still hot and it will cook the eggs and give a nice, thick, creamy mixture. So how bad could it be anyway? I once watched Rocky down some raw eggs while he was training for big fight so I figured a couple of raw or partially cooked eggs couldn't hurt me. But as I found out the hot pasta will cook the eggs and all turns out fine in the end.

It sure did look good when I got done but the real test was yet to come, the taste testing. It's hard to rate this recipe because I have never ate Pasta Carbonara before but I can tell you I liked it, liked it a lot. I will definitely make this again, just not to often because I think I gained another 2 pounds writing this post.

Pasta Carbonara

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Smoky Bacon

8 oz. Linguine Pasta

1 whole medium Onion, diced

4 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 cup White Wine (or Substitute Another 1/2 Cup Of Stock)

1/2 cup Chicken Stock
2 whole Eggs
3/4 Parmesan Cheese
1/4 stick unsalted Butter
1 Teaspoon fresh Thyme
½ to 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Slice up bacon into pieces about one inch wide. Cook until browned and crisp.

Bring to as boil salted water and add linguine and cook until al dente, tender-firm.

After the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon. Add the diced onions into the bacon renderings. Stir and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, remove from the pan and discard the bacon renderings.

Turn the heat up to high and as soon as the pan begins to smoke, pour in the white wine. Whisk until pan is thoroughly deglazed and add 1 cup of chicken stock. Return bacon, onion and garlic back to the pan. Turn heat down to medium and let simmer.

Crack eggs into a large bowl and add the Parmesan cheese and thyme. Leave a little Parmesan Mix well.

Drain the pasta being sure the pasta is very hot. Add the pasta to the egg mixture and then add the bacon/onion mixture, add butter and mix it all together well. Pepper to taste. Garnish with parmesan.

Scallops with Garlic Basil Linguine

2009-11-30T19:40:00.004-05:00

Yippie kay yay the wife is gone and it is time for some seafood, well not yippie kay yay the wife is gone but YIPPE KAY YAY it's time for seafood. It is a tough call which I like better shrimp or scallops, probably comes down to what day you ask me, some days I will pick shrimp and others scallops.

When I lived in Wisconsin, or for the matter Michigan, fresh seafood was hard to come by. There was a good seafood market in Sheboygan but they certainly didn't have the choices we have here in Maryland. Here in Maryland I have choices, I can go to the Maine Avenue Fish Market in D.C or one of the local Whole Foods Markets. The Whole Food Market is easier but if given the chance I go to the Maine Avenue Fish Market.

This episode starts off with very few and simple cast of characters.

I chose the garlic basil linguine for this meal because 1) when I saw it at Trader Joe's a week a go it looked good and 2) it was already in my refrigerator (yes we keep our pasta in the refrigerator and don't ask me why because I can't tell you).

We start by browning the scallops in the olive oil and butter. To get the tasty caramelizing on the scallops make sure you dry them off before you put them in the pan because if you don't all they will do is steam.

Once the scallops have the wonderful caramelizing on them it's time to remove them from the pan and deglaze the pan with a little white wine. I'll be honest here and tell you I am not a wine drinker, if fact I can't stand the taste of the stuff but I do like cooking with it. Tonight was a special because I got to open a new bottle of wine. I use the wine to clean all those delicious brown bits of goodness off the bottom of the pan so you can pour it over the top of the scallops and finish them off with style.

Not only are scallops my favorite seafood item (at least for today) I think they are my favorite type of food period. The scallops have succulent sweet flavor unlike anything else you have ever eaten. This particular meal had a hint lemon flavor (probably because I used lemon juice huh?). I have to rate this meal a 5 out of 5 forks because after it is scallops and how can you go wrong with that. I should mention the linguine from Trader Joe's was good too. The basil flavor really came through the linguine and I could also taste a hint of garlic. I would definitely use it again and I will probably use it in other meals as well.

Scallops and Linguine in White Wine Sauce

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound fresh scallops

8 oz. Linguine Pasta

2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 cup White Wine

1 fresh lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

Bring to as boil salted water and add linguine and cook until al dente, tender-firm.

Preheat skillet over medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Meanwhile dry off scallops and salt and pepper. Add scallops to skillet and cook for 2 minutes or until browned. Turn over and cook for 2 more minutes until cooked through being careful to not over cook. Use ½ of lemon over scallops and remove from pan.

Add white wine and deglaze pan, reduce for about 1 minute and add other half of lemon juice.

Start with linguine on plate, add scallops, pour reduced white wine from skillet over scallops and garnish with parmesan cheese.

Open Face Turkey Sandwich with Cranberry Bread

2009-11-27T21:31:00.010-05:00

Well the big day finally arrived, the day when you can eat whatever you want and not feel guilty. This is the real Thanksgiving, the day when food is king. The wife and I had our Thanksgiving early this year because she was going back to Michigan to visit the little granddaughter while I decided to stay here and work, really, well not on Thanksgiving but the rest of the weekend. Like everyone else I too had to plan my Thanksgiving meal but unlike most mine was already half made. Yep I had leftovers from our Early Thanksgiving Dinner. Instead of calling this Leftover Wednesday this week we can call it Leftover Thanksgiving it's just a day late and happens to be Thanksgiving.

Since I am getting tired of posting Thanksgiving meals we are going to cruise through this entire meal in one post. This is a warning because I have lots of pictures and two recipes down below ready for you to try. So without further adieu let's roll.....

The first cast of characters we will start with today is the gravy. Yeah I know I might have just lost some of my family because of their distaste of gravy but this gravy recipe is worth it.

This is another recipe from the Tyler Florence cooking show we went to in downtown D.C. a couple of weeks ago and once again after I watched him make this I knew I had to try it. If you read the recipe down below you will notice that recipe calls for roasting the turkey wing first but at his show he used smoked turkey wings, that's what caught my attention. If you do use smoked turkey wings you don't have to roast them again (just thought I would throw that in there just in case you were wondering).

The gravy is really pretty simple, start with cooking the veggies and herbs for a few minutes and then after that everything goes into the pot, just like cooking stock. One other change I should note is when Tyler cooked this gravy at his show he used chicken broth instead of water like the recipe below. I used some of my special homemade chicken broth I made about a month ago along with a little water. I wasn't too worried about having extra broth left over because I can always find uses for it. From here it was time to watch some football and let this simmer away on the stove for about 2 hours.

After a couple of hours I strain all the extras out and then use my gravy separator to get rid of the fat. Now this can be set aside because we got other things to do and introduce another cast of characters.

I'll admit if you look at the above pic and look at the recipe below you will notice not all the characters are in the photo. The problem was I had a recipe for cranberry bread I had found on a blog that sounded pretty good but when I got everything mixed together something didn't seem right. The batter (for all you bakers out there is that what they call it) seemed real dry. This was heading for disaster real quick. What to do, what to do? Quickly I went to the Food Network website and went to my recipe box (if you don't know you can keep your own recipe box on the Food Network website) where I had saved a cranberry bread recipe from Emeril. Sure enough Emeril's recipe called for much more liquid than the one I was using. Time to adapt, overcome, persevere and I did just that. Like I said above I had already started with one recipe so what I did is combine Emeril's recipe with what I already started. My recipe below is the results.

When everything was said and done it reminded me of pancake batter. Hm-mm, I wonder? Maybe another post for another day? Let's wait and see.

Doesn't look to bad for a first timer now does it? With all the drama involving the first batter I made I wasn't too sure what I was going to be left with in the end but so far this is looking like a loaf of bread.

Now that the cranberry bread is made we can get back to our turkey gravy. We left off with our broth made and now it's time to finish the gravy. The first thing to be done is to make a roux. For you first timers out there a roux is nothing more than equal part fat (in this case olive oil and butter) and flour mixed together over medium heat. Some people think you have to use a wooden spoon but I'm not sure that really matters but what does matter is to keep stirring until you get the color of roux you want (this is really important if you are making gumbo).

Now if you just hang with me a little longer we are almost finished. To the roux we can now add the broth we made earlier with the smoked turkey wings until it gets to the desired thickness we want.

Here is where the leftovers come into play. If you remember a couple of days ago I posted our main entree from our Early Thanksgiving Dinner, Sausage and Cranberry Stuffed Turkey Roll.

This is our chance to use the rest of the leftover turkey up. I gently slide the turkey into the gravy we just made and let it take a 15 minute bath to warm it up a bit.

We are almost there and this is the fun part, we get to put the whole thing together. First we slice up some of the good looking cranberry bread up.

Lay a couple of pieces (or more depending how hungry you are) on the plate and top with the warmed up turkey and gravy (pretty simple eh?). Of course I am not done there I got a little side to put with it. Remember Part I of our Early Thanksgiving Dinner? If you need a reminder here it is....

Yep it's Jock's Cranberry Sauce, what a better way to compliment and Open Face Turkey Sandwich with Cranberry Bread. Now everything is in its place and here is my Thanksgiving Dinner...

Mmm, mmm, now that's good grub.

As far as ratings go I am giving Tyler's Turkey Gravy a hearty 5 out of 5 forks. Simply put this is the best gravy I have ever ate. The smoked turkey wings added a whole new depth of flavor to the gravy, something that just can't be duplicated by roasting the turkey wings. If you ever decide to make this definitely find smoked turkey wings it will be worth it.

Now for the cranberry bread, it gets a 4 out of 5 forks only because I need to go back and follow Emeril's recipe a little closer next time. If you notice I made the cranberry bread with raw cranberries mixed directly into the batter, Emeril cooks his cranberries first in his recipe and I think this may take out a little of the bitter taste my bread has when you bite into a cranberry. It is only a slight bitterness so it really isn't too bad. (And yes dear, I still have some cranberries left over so I can make you some cranberry bread when you get home because I know you will want to try it.)

That pretty much does it for this Thanksgiving year and I think it is time to move on to other things. I'm not sure where we will head but I have a couple of ideas like one more thing with cranberries and possibly something to do with pumpkin.

Stay tuned.

Jock's Cranberry-Pecan Bread

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (or defrosted if frozen)

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 cup of unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon grated ginger

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 1/4 by 5 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan.

Combine the all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients together and mix thoroughly. Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry and mix together. Fold in the cranberries and toasted pecans.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Turkey Gravy

(Printable Recipe)

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Prep Time: 10 min

Inactive Prep Time - Cook Time: 2 hr 45 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 5 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds turkey wings

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, halved
4 carrots, chopped
1 head garlic, smashed
2 sprigs fresh sage
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
8 black peppercorns
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the turkey wings (also backbone and neck if you have it) into a small roasting pan and roast them until they are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, herbs, and peppercorns and cook for 5 minutes. Add the turkey wings. Pour some water into the roasting pan and scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom; add this to the pot. Cover everything in the pot with cold water by 1-inch and bring to the boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Strain out the solids and discard. Wipe out the pot and put it over medium heat. Melt the butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the flour. Cook this roux, stirring frequently, until it is golden brown. Slowly whisk in the strained stock being careful to work out any lumps. Cook until the gravy has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Thu Nov 26 2009
© 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Sausage and Cranberry Stuffed Turkey Roll

2009-11-26T09:50:00.005-05:00

Finally we have arrived to the final episode of the Early 2009 Thanksgiving Episode and as with any grand finale we finish with the star of the show, the turkey.

Since it is only myself and the wife we really don't need to cook a whole turkey, besides everyone else cooks whole turkeys and I wanted to do something different. Our choice this year was to cook a turkey breast. We searched store after store the weekend before Thanksgiving not having much luck until I walked down the street to our local market and found one, figures maybe I should have started there. The turkey breast is a good place to start for two people but that is still a lot of meat plus a turkey breast by itself is hard to stuff and I wanted to do some sort of stuffing this year. What to do, what to do. After much thought I finally came up with the idea of filleting half the breast off the bird, pound the breast out, and then roll the stuffing up inside the turkey. Another plus is I still have another half of boneless turkey breast for a future episode of Good Grub.

Once the one half the the turkey breast is ready it is time to think about the stuffing. The cast of characters for the stuffing include:

I had an idea for stuffing that included sausage and cranberries, not just any cranberries but my cranberry sauce. Now you know why I had to start this four part series with the cranberries. I made the cranberries ahead of time with the stuffing in mind. The problem I ran into was finding a recipe for stuffing that included cranberry sauce and sausage. I searched and searched the Internet with no luck so I did the next best thing, made one up myself based on some ideas I found from several other recipes. As you can see I wanted to keep it simple, I'm all about simple, not only for the ease of making the stuffing but I also knew I wouldn't be able to fit a complicated stuffing into a rolled up turkey breast. I also knew using traditional style croutons would be out of the question so I came up with the next best thing and made bread crumbs with the food processor. I thought this was a good compromise for stuffing with the only question being should I toast them or not. In the end I decided not to toast them I was afraid if I did toast them it might dry out the turkey breast and as we all know it is a fine line between nice moist succulent meat and dried out shoe leather.

After the ingredients for the stuffing were decided on it is only a matter of preparing them for the bird. Obviously the sausage had to be cooked ahead of time so I decided towards the end of cooking the sausage I would add the cranberries, sage and bread crumbs.

It sure looked good and it even tasted good, good enough to make a meal by itself but let's not get sidetracked, maybe another day.

The real problem we face now is how to get the stuffing into the turkey breast. I did find a couple of recipes that described pounding out the breast, similar to what you would do with a chicken breast, and if I was going to stuff this bird that is what I was going to have to do. Since I don't own a mallet for pounding our meat I used and can from the pantry, works for me. First I covered the breast with plastic wrap and then pounded the breast out. Next put the stuffing mixture on one end and then roll the breast up to form a turkey roll.

The only thing left to do is get get this bird in the oven but before I do that I decided to put some smokey bacon on the turkey roll up and see if it would help keep the breast moist. I actually got this idea from Tyler Florence when we went and watched his cooking demonstration a couple of weeks ago in downtown D.C. I wasn't really sure about this step but I wanted to try it and beside if bacon is involved it can't be a bad thing.

After letting it cook for 1-1/2 hours at 350 degrees I pulled it out of the oven.

I think we are making progress now. All there is left to do now is to get this thing on the table after we give it a little rest. After a little nap time we can cut and serve.

Looks pretty good for something I pulled out of my ~~ass~~ head. I'll have to give this a 3.75 out of 5 forks. It had good flavor and the bacon gets credit for that. I think I overcooked the turkey just a little but the breast still was moist.

I think to make it better next time I will use a little less sausage and a little more bread crumbs, cranberry sauce and sage but I think I am on the right track. Next time I will brine the breast before I start too. I almost always brine my turkeys because I think it makes them much more moist and juicy but I decided to cook this one with brinning. Also why we are on next times I think next time I will omit the bacon because the skin doesn't get nice a crispy like turkey skin should be. And besides I won't need the bacon once I get my charcoal grill back that will impart all the extra good smokey flavors I want.

Overall a pretty darn good Early Thanksgiving Meal with an overall rating of 4 out of 5 forks.

My goal this year was to do something a little different than normal and I think I accomplished that. In Sportscenter fashion let's recap this years Early Thanksgiving Meal:

First we started with my version of cranberry sauce which is getting great reviews from other family members.
Next was the Honey Wheat with Rosemary Dinner Rolls based on a recipe I got from Big Sis's blog called Don't Blink.
Then the real surprise of the meal was Tyler Florence's Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Bananas with Honey recipe. This is a definite must try even if you don't like sweet potatoes like me.
Any finally we finish up with today's Sausage and Cranberry Stuffed Turkey Roll.

Happy Thanksgiving and don't eat too much.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Bananas with Honey

2009-11-24T21:50:00.002-05:00

Tonight is part III of our Early Thanksgiving Dinner and it features something we watched Tyler Florence make a couple of weeks ago when we went to one of his shows in downtown D.C. He put on a great show by preparing a Thanksgiving meal for us. He made the normal turkey, dressing, cranberries and Whipped Sweet Potato and Banana with Honey dish. Whoa there, what did he just write? Whipped Sweet Potato and Banana with Honey? Yep you read that right that's what I said and if you know me you know I don't even like sweet potatoes.

Tyler promised if you make this it will forever change the way you make sweet potatoes, he said this is the ultimate in sweet potatoes. After watching him make them I decided this is something I would have to try, after all how can you go wrong with bananas and honey.

I didn't change anything from his recipe because I wanted to sample his version exactly the way he made it that day. The cast of characters is pretty normal with the only odd ball being those pesky sweet potatoes.

As you can see lots of good ingredients, bananas, butter, pecans, brown sugar, starting to sound more like a dessert than a side dish for Thanksgiving.

The first thing we have to do is roast the potatoes and bananas. Tyler told a funny story when he was preparing this recipe about the first time he went to his future in-laws house for dinner. His soon to be mother-in-law put the sweet potatoes in the oven and it wasn't long until they starting hearing exploding sounds coming from the kitchen. Apparently she didn't poke holes in the potatoes and they exploded in the oven. Tyler said they had no clue who he was or that he was a chef so when this happened he said "Move over, professional chef here, let me take over." Pretty funny story when he tells it. Anyway the moral to the story is to always pierce your potatoes before you bake them.

If you noticed in my ramblings I said to roast the bananas too. I'll admit I have never actually heard of roasting bananas until that day. Tyler did explained that they will look terrible when they come out of the oven but on the inside will be sweet banana delight. What can I say he was right.

Once everything is roasted the banana and sweet potato goes into a mixing bowl (of course you scrape the insides out of the skins) along with the honey and butter, it just keeps getting better.

We still need to make a topping for the sweet potatoes and bananas and this is where it really reminds me of a dessert, not that that is a bad thing. The topping consist of more butter (EGADS!), pecans, and brown sugar, a tough combination to beat over anything.

How did it turn out? I am giving this one a 4.75 out of 5 forks, after all it still has those pesky sweet potatoes in it. Tyler really came up with a winner here and I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes or dislikes sweet potatoes. This recipe turned out to be the star of the entire meal this year and will certainly find a place on our Thanksgiving Dinner table for now on.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Bananas with Honey
(Printable Recipe)
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

You can roast the potatoes and bananas ahead of time, then put it all together just before serving. Then heat it up in the oven.

Prep Time:20 min
Inactive Prep Time:--Cook Time:1 hr 5 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 10 to 12 servings.

Ingredients
•5 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed
•4 bananas, unpeeled
•1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•1/4 cup honey
•Kosher salt
•1/2 cup all-purpose flour
•3/4 cup dark brown sugar
•1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, put them in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Toss the bananas into the pan and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes, until both the bananas and potatoes are very soft. Remove the pan from the oven but don't turn the oven off.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a large mixing bowl. Peel the bananas and add them to the bowl along with 1 stick of the butter, and the honey. Season with salt and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until everything well combined and the mixture is fluffy. Spoon into an oven-proof serving bowl and smooth the top.

In a separate mixing bowl, use your fingers to rub together the remaining stick of butter, the brown sugar, flour, and pecans until the mixture is the consistency of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the sweet potatoes and return to the oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the crumbs are golden. Serve hot.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Sun Nov 22 2009
© 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Honey Wheat and Rosemary Rolls

2009-11-23T19:07:00.005-05:00

Part II of this years Early Thanksgiving Dinner Episode begins with Big Sis's Rosemary Dinner Rolls, which she borrowed from Pioneer Woman web site, with my twist. I really didn't want to put my own personal twist to this recipe since it looked simple and looked like it would taste good but I didn't have a choice. You see for reasons unknown to me we can't find frozen dinner rolls around here. For that matter we can't even find frozen bread dough around here, go figure. So what do you suppose I do? How about make them myself and while we are doing that we might as well do something different.

Since I know little to nothing about baking my first task is to find a recipe I can follow or at least get started with. My choice was to go the King Arthur Flour web site and see what I could find there. After a long search through their recipes I finally found one I could use or at least adapt to the ingredients I had on hand. I decided on King Arthur's Honey Wheat Rolls. Since I am trying to get more wheat flour in my diet I thought these rolls would be a good place to start, besides honey in anything can't be a bad thing. I did say adapt because if you look at their recipe it includes instant potatoes and dry milk, a couple of items I don't have on hand and don't intend to have on hand. So I adapt, overcame and conquered and this is what I came up with....

There is one odd ingredient, at least to me, and that is the orange juice. Orange juice? I am just as surprised as you are. In the comment section fore the recipe in King Arthur's web site someone said the orange juice takes out some of the bitterness of the wheat flour and you won't taste the orange juice in the rolls either. Hm, since I really don't know I'll take their word for it.

I probably don't need to go through all the motions on the hows and whys of bread making but if you really need to have better directions I suggest you visit the King Arthur web site, a real fine web site for breads, rolls and many other good foods.

I will say I always sift my flour regardless of what I am making. It helps to get rid of any flour "balls" that seem to show up in bags of flour.

I also use our Kitchen Aid mixer with the bread hook for kneading the dough too. Once the dough in kneaded I goes in a lightly oiled bowl to take a nap for a couple of hours. This is the part I like because I get to sit down and watch some football, hard to beat that. I probably don't have to preach the virtues of cast iron either, you have all heard or read it before. So if you are wondering how they came out I would have to rate them a 4 out of 5 forks. For my second time every baking rolls I know I can improve but I think I am on the right track. I like the wheat flour mixed in with regular white flour, and of course the honey doesn't hurt either. The rosemary on top adds something a little different which I like because after all rosemary is my second favorite herb (with basil being number 1).

And just in case you can't find those frozen rolls this is an easy, good, alternative to the frozen rolls.

Honey Wheat and Rosemary Rolls

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 packet "highly active" active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

3 tablespoons honey

1-1/2 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1-1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Sea salt

Directions

:Dissolve yeast with lukewarm water. Let the yeast and water sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Combine the dissolved yeast with the all of the ingredients except rosemary, sea salt and melted butter. Mix and knead everything together until you've made a smooth dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, until doubled in size about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

While the dough is rising, lightly spray a 10” cast iron skillet with olive oil.

Punch dough down and divide into equal balls, approx. 16. Place the 8 rolls in the 10” cast iron skillet, spacing them evenly so they won't touch one another. Cover the pans with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the rolls to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. They'll become very puffy, and will reach out and touch one another. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, and tent them loosely with aluminum foil. Continue to bake until they're mahogany-brown on top, but lighter colored on the sides, an additional 10 to 13 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce

2009-11-22T20:43:00.003-05:00

It is almost Thanksgiving again and since the wife will be back in Michigan while I stay here in Maryland this year we thought we would have a small early Thanksgiving meal for this weeks Sunday Dinner Episode. I decided I would go item by item this year and let you know how we gorged ourselves this year.

If you tuned in expecting to see a traditional style Thanksgiving you will probably be disappointed. Since it is only me and the wife we don't need to make a large meal or even a whole turkey. Last year if you remember I made a smoked turkey breast. This year will be a little different since I don't have my charcoal grill yet, but for the turkey episode you will have to tune in later because first we need to prepare cranberry sauce before we get to the turkey.

I know a lot of people like to open up a can of cranberries, dump them in a bowl and serve them. Making cranberries really isn't much more difficult than that and they will taste so much better. All it takes is a few simple ingredients.......

Looks fairly normal, nothing to exotic unless you count the ginger but even that is readily available in stores these days.

Now you have just witnessed the hardest part of making cranberry sauce, lining up the cast of characters to take a picture. I'm serious because now all that's left to be done is dump all the ingredients into a pan and let cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Oh so good and the ginger gives the cranberries that little extra kick so people will think "There is something a little different going on here but I can't quite put my finger on it."

I'll give this cranberry sauce a 5 out of 5 forks. I love cranberry and anything cranberry I just wish fresh cranberries were available all year around.

Now stayed tuned for the rest of the 2009 Early Thanksgiving Episode because this is only the beginning for the cranberry sauce. Tomorrow night we will revisit Big Sis's Rosemary Dinner Rolls but only with my own personal twist.

Jock's Cranberry Sauce
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients
1 12 oz. Bag fresh cranberries, washed and dried
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 orange, zested and juiced

Directions
In a medium pot, combine the above ingredients. Stir to blend. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until cranberries burst

Grilled Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper and Spinach Pizza

2009-11-19T22:08:00.003-05:00

Over the last few years I have come to realize how lucky or spoiled I was durning my high school years and young adult years. Back in those days we use to cruise the small town of Clare and by the end of the night it would usually end at the local pizza shop, B & J's and later the Corner Store. Both had great pizza with the Corner Store pizza having my most favorite crust. Rumor had it their secret ingredient was sugar, I don't know what it was but it sure was good. Since my earlier adult years I have had several pizzas for many different places and there is only one place I would rate close to these two eateries. Believe it or not it comes from the little ole town of Plymouth, Wisconsin at a place called De O'Malleys.

De O'Malleys had good pizza with the crust just the way I like it, traditional style or soft, chewy type. I'm not a fan of the thin, crispy type of crust and that is what you typically find here in Rockville Maryland. Oh sure I can find traditional style crust but the pizza is something I wouldn't write home about. For me I like a little more crust under my pizza toppings and I like the edge of the crust to rise up like bread when it cooks. I like that golden chunk of cooked pizza dough around the outside a good pizza it reminds me of fresh bread that just came out of the oven.

I know a pizza can't be good without good toppings but the foundation of the pizza begins with the dough. I have been trying for years to make a good pizza dough without much success until lately. Recently I came across Emeril's pizza dough from the Food Network web site. It is a simple recipe with ingredients found in the normal persons kitchen. I made the dough a few weeks ago and I though it was alright but it was missing something to be that outstanding pizza dough. I started to do some experimenting and here is what I have come up with so far, a blend of 50% all purpose flour and 50% whole wheat flour. I'll bet you are wondering how whole wheat flour can be part of a great pizza dough? I'll be honest the pizza dough is better without the whole flour but I am trying to eat healthier these days and if I want to eat pizza this is my compromise.

The other change I made from Emeril's dough is I use honey instead of sugar for a sweetener. I also put a little fresh garlic in the dough this last time I made pizza. What I came up with was a tasty little crust with a hint of garlic. I think the honey goes well with the whole wheat theme too and when honey is involved that's never a bad thing.

If you notice in the photo to the right I also cook my pizzas in a cast iron skillet. Why? Well, as big sis found out in her Rosemary Dinner Rolls when bread dough is teamed up with heavy cast iron the bread, rolls or in this case the pizza crust comes out golden brown and delicious. For me the cast iron makes it almost fool proof unless you totally neglect the call of your kitchen timer or the obnoxious screaming of your smoke detector.

From here on out it's all downhill with the toppings you can choose almost anything you like. No more are pepperoni, ham, mushrooms or mozzarella cheese must use toppings. Pizzas come in many, many different varieties these days and lately my choice for toppings have been grilled chicken and roasted red peppers. I have been experimenting with different cheeses lately with my favorite so far being asiago. But for this particular pizza I found some fontal cheese at Whole Foods Market this week. It is similar to mozzarella with a little more distinct flavor than mozzarella. This pizza also included a handful of spinach (since I didn't have any fresh basil and the spinach was sitting in the ice box begging to be used) and I topped it all off with a little grated parmesan reggiano cheese.

Overall a pretty good effort on the pizza front for me I think I am making progress.

Jock's Grilled Chicken Pizza

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 cup warm water, about 110 degrees F

1 packet dry yeast

2 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups general purpose flour

1 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced fine

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

Emeril's Essence

1 small jar roasted red peppers

1 cup pizza sauce

8 oz. asiago cheese. sliced

1 cup fresh spinach

½ cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

To the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the warm water and yeast and honey and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the olive oil, flour, garlic, and salt. Mix with the dough hook until the dough comes together and climbs up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the mixer and, on a floured surface, form into a smooth ball shape. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a clean towel. Place in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Meanwhile sprinkle chicken thighs with Emeril's Essence liberally. Place chicken in oven and cook for approximately 30 minutes. Or better yet cook outside on grill for 30 minutes. Let chicken cool and slice.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to desired size. Spray or brush 12” cast iron skillet with olive oil. Place dough in cast iron skillet and let drape over the edges. Cut dough around top of skillet and fold down along edge to form an edge for the pizza. Spread pizza sauce over dough, layer cheese, add roasted red peppers, chicken and spinach. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Place pizza in oven and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and slice.

Sauteed Beef Tip with Shiitake Mushrooms

2009-11-17T20:47:00.002-05:00

This past weekend as I was cruising through the Food Network web site looking for Sunday Dinner ideas I came across this little ditty. My first thought was this looks quick and easy and something I could easily do on a weeknight. Of course it didn't hurt my man Emeril was the author of the original recipe.

I made some minor changes like substituting yellow onions for the shallots and instead of veal stock I used beef broth, in both cases it is what I had on hand and I wanted to use it up. I also added the rice, which I cooked in beef broth, to lay the beef tips on. You could also use noddles if you choose.

Overall I would rate it 4 out of 5 forks. My only complaint was the cream taste was stronger than I like, I think next time I will use half and half and that should take care of the heavy cream taste.

Sauteed Beef Tips with Shiitakes Mushrooms

(Printable Recipe)
Recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse and the Food Network

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound beef sirloin tip, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup sliced Shiitake mushroom caps
1 medium yellow onion sliced
1 cup cleaned spinach leaves
1/2 cup white wine
3/4 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper
Chopped green onion for garnish
Cooked rice

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then sear it in the hot oil, making sure to brown it on all sides. Add the mushrooms and onions, toss, and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add the wine and reduce 1 minute. Add the spinach and stock, reduce for 2 minutes. Add cream, butter, and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with green onions.

Serve over rice.

Asian Style Baby Back Ribs

2009-11-16T22:00:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite meat groups, baby back ribs. There was a time I was intimidated by pork ribs, I wasn't sure how to cook them, afraid they would turn out tough (actually happened) and overall just wouldn't measure up to the fine ribs the real barbecuers' cook. Since then I have come along way with my rib cooking and I think I can cook ribs with the best of them when I have my grill, a real charcoal grill. At this moment I don't have a grill so I have to make do with the next best thing, my oven.

I am always looking for different ways to cook ribs so when the wife said there was a baby back rib recipe in her new Taste of Home magazine I was interested. The photo certainly made the ribs look good as it should, the ingredients were easy to come by and the recipe had an asian flare, always a good thing in my book. (If you are interested in the original recipe from Taste of Home magazine you can click here and print it.)

Let's get started with this weeks Sunday Dinner Episode with introductions of the cast of supporting characters. Looks like a fairly normal cast this week of which most of the ingredients can be already found in most pantries. Like I have said before I don't like looking all over creation for my ingredients. It's the kiss principle Keep It Simple Stupid.

Now of course if you are an astute reader you will notice one character has yet to be introduced and that of course is the baby back ribs. I buy my baby back ribs from Whole Foods, simply put they have the best, always fresh, they aren't injected with anything, and a lot of times the tough skin on the back of the ribs is already removed for you. Sure you pay a few extra cents per pound but in the end it is worth it.

The first order of business is to make an initial glaze to put on the ribs at the beginning of cooking. This glaze starts with molasses, never a bad thing. To be honest it's the molasses that got my attention when I read over the recipe. The glaze gets brushed on, both sides of course.

Once the ribs are in the oven it's time to make the final glaze for the ribs. It's pretty simple, toss all the ingredients in a sauce pan and reduce. This is where I decided to change the recipe more to my liking. I thought the sauce was a bit "tangy" for what I wanted so I made an executive decision and added 2 tablespoons of molasses and 2 tablespoons of honey. Yep that did the trick for me, a little sweeter and I like sweet.

One hour later I pulled the ribs out of the oven, yep you read that right 1 hour later. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical since I have always cooked my ribs the real barbecuers' way, low and slow. That's the way I learned how to cook ribs but I was willing to try a new method, I was praying I wouldn't ruin them in the mean time too.

Since I am without a grill at this time I put the ribs under the broiler for the final 10 minutes. The outcome? Well I was pleasantly surprised. Were they as good as cooking them on the grill, no, but they are certainly a good alternative. With keeping in mind they were cooked in the oven and trying not to compare them with ribs cooked on the grill I rate these a 4 out of 5 forks. I'll certainly make them again and can't wait to cook them on a grill. I think the grill will give them a completely different flavor.

Asian-Style Baby Back Ribs

(Adapted from Taste of Home Asian Style Baby Back Ribs)

(Printable Version)

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds pork baby back ribs
4-1/2 teaspoons molasses
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

GLAZE:
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons pineapple juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons honey
Chopped green onion

Directions

Pat ribs dry. Combine the molasses, garlic salt, onion powder and Worcestershire sauce; spoon over meat. Place ribs on a rack in a small shallow roasting pan. Cover and bake at 350° for 90 minutes or until tender.

In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce, pineapple juice concentrate, vinegar, hoisin sauce, ketchup, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, molasses, honey and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Coat grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Brush ribs with some of the glaze; grill over medium heat for 8-12 minutes or until browned, turning frequently and brushing with additional glaze. Serve remaining glaze on the side.

Garnish with onion.

Beef Stew and Some Special Rolls

2009-11-15T20:45:00.006-05:00

Don't you just love the fall, it gives us all a good excuse to make that comfort food we have wanted since summer. There's something about eating comfort food when the weather cools down, it........it just goes together like apple pie and ice cream, and baseball and hot dogs. That's why on this cold rainy Saturday I decided to make some beef stew.

Everyone has their own recipe for beef stew and they think it's better than anyone else's, kind of like chili recipes. Mine is no different than others I start with the basics of beef stew, beef, potatoes, carrots, onions. I do add on item, taught to me by my grandpa, one or sometimes two whole yellow onions. Do you see it in the photo to the right? Swimming lazily in a sea of gravy.

The other reason for making beef stew? I get a chance to try Big Sis's Rosemary Rolls. Of course I got to give the real credit to the blog she got the recipe from and that is Pioneer Woman web site. If you want to see "real" photos of these rolls I suggest you visit both of their blogs because both are much better at picture taking then I am, but I manage to get by.

Hard to beat beef stew and homemade rolls on a cool, rainy Saturday afternoon while football games are on the T.V.

And look that onion is still enjoying life in gravy......but not for long.

Chicken, Shrimp and Smoked Sausage Gumbo

2009-11-12T18:37:00.009-05:00

Sorry no Wednesday night leftover episode tonight due to there is only so much you can do with Shepherds Pie. But just so you don't get to bored I went and found this little episode from my previous blog. I guess if you want you can call this a rerun.

I love the fall and fall cooking. It is a time of year when on a chilly fall Sunday afternoon, football games are on in the background, Lions getting their ass kicked, you can put the dutch oven on the stove and let it brew up a Sunday Dinner all afternoon. This week is a good example of a meal for that chilly day. What is it? Let's take a look.

Now do you know what it is? It's GUMMMMMMMBOOOOOOO time. I love my gumbo there are so many different ways to cook it. You can put ham in it, turkey in it, chicken, shrimp, crab, sausage, okra, or just about anything else you can think of. For this week I chose chicken, shrimp and sausage, just take a look at this weeks cast of characters.

Once again can you tell what ingredients I forgot? Well if you can stayed tuned long enough the answers are down below.

Gumbos are pretty simple to make, really. The hardest part is making the roux and if you follow Alton Brown's way even roux is pretty simple. The traditional way of making roux is to use equal parts oil and flour and stir with a wooden spoon over medium low heat for an eternity. As Emeril says it takes two beers. In other words as long as it takes the average person to drink two beers is how long you need to stand by the stove and stir. There is a better or simpler way however. There might be some gumbo purest out there who will disagree but for me this is a no fail way to make roux. There is nothing more annoying than to stir roux for 20 minutes or more and end up burning it in the end. But no fear there is the Alton Brown method of making roux. First preheat the oven to 350 degrees. stir up equal parts of oil and flour, stick it in the oven for 1-1/2 hours and give it a stir every 20 minutes or so. In 1-1/2 hours this is what it will look like.

Almost perfect every time.

Once the roux is made put it back on the stove over medium low heat or so and add the chopped up veggies.

I'll admit once again I don't remember if this is a trinity or mirepoix. Does it really matter? Nope.

Cook those veggies for a few minutes and dump in the meat. In this case boneless skinless chicken thighs and andouille sausage. I should mention that I browned the chicken thighs and sausage in the dutch oven before I cooked the roux. Mix everything together, add the seasonings, in this case bay leaves and fresh thyme.

Now it is time to add some stock. My choice is shrimp stock. You can use chicken broth you buy from the store or make your own but since I had a bag full of shrimp shells saved in the freezer I decided to use shrimp stock. Shrimp stock is easy to make just dump the shells in some water and let simmer for a hour to a hour and a half.

Don't forget when you are about a 1/2 hour from the end to make some rice.

Ahhh good eye if you said there is one of the forgotten ingredients.

Let all this goodness simmer on the stove for an hour and a half or so and then add the shrimp.

Don't forget don't let that shrimp cook to long or you will over cook it. Once the shrimp is cooked here is what it will look like.

Now it's time to add this stuff.

Oh another good eye if you said this ingredient is missing from the above photo too. Do you know what File' Powder is though? I will let everyone guess or google it and leave your answer in the comment section.

Right now it is time to take a look at the finished product though.

Mmmmmm good. I will rate it a 4.75 out of 5 forks. I made better gumbo the last time I made it so I can't rate this one as high.

If you have never made gumbo don't be afraid to try. Follow the instructions above for making roux and after that it is as easy as making microwave popcorn.

That was a pretty good rerun I may have to make some gumbo this weekend.

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo with White Rice
Clcik here for a printable version of this recipe.

Prep Time:
30 min
Inactive Prep Time:
0 min
Cook Time:
3 hr 30 min

Level:
Intermediate

Serves:
6 to 7 cups, 6 to 8 servings

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pound smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, cut crosswise 1/2-inch thick pieces
4 pounds chicken thighs, skin removed
1 tablespoon Essence or Creole seasoning, recipe follows
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 bay leaves
9 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1 tablespoon file powder
White Rice, recipe follows
Hot sauce

In a large enameled cast iron Dutch oven or large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until well browned, about 8 minutes. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Season the chicken with the Essence and add in batches to the fat remaining in the pan. Cook over medium-high heat until well browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan, let cool, and then refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the remaining 1/2 cup oil and the flour in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, to make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate.

Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and cook, stirring, until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the reserved sausage, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Stirring, slowly add the chicken stock, and cook, stirring, until well combined. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Add the reserved chicken to the pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, skimming off any fat that rises to the surface.

Remove the pot from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken thighs from the gumbo and place on a cutting board to cool slightly. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Pull the chicken meat from the bones and shred, discarding the bones and skin. Return the meat to the gumbo and stir in the green onions, parsley, and file powder.

Spoon rice into the bottom of deep bowls or large cups and ladle the gumbo on top. Serve, passing hot sauce on the side.

Shepherds Pie

2009-11-10T18:10:00.013-05:00

Shepherds pie, what is it exactly? Here is the answer I got from Wikipedia.

"Cottage pie, also known as shepherd's pie, refers to an English meat pie with a crust made from mashed potato and beef. The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791 when potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage" meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers).

"In early cookery books, the dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined with mashed potato as well as having a mashed potato crust on top. The term "shepherd's pie" did not appear until the 1870s, and since then it has been used synonymously with "cottage pie", regardless of whether the principal ingredient was beef or mutton. There is now a popular tendency for "shepherd's pie" to be used when the meat is mutton or lamb with the suggested origin being that shepherds are concerned with sheep and not cattle, however this may be an example of folk etymology."

What the heck does etymology mean? Whatever it means now you know more than you ever wanted to about Shepherds Pie.

I was watching my boy Alton Brown from Good Eats fame on the Food Network awhile back and he made Shepherds Pie. I was a little curious since it is rare I eat lamb, in fact I can only think of one other time I ate lamb and that was about a 1-1/2 years ago when I tried lamb chops. They turned out okay but nothing to write home about or on a blog for that matter. But Alton made this look good, it had all the necessary ingredients for a good meal, meat, potatoes, and vegetables. I mean how bad could it really be? The only iffy part was the meat being lamb. Since I was able and willing I thought why not and I also knew I wouldn't get Shepherds Pie out of my mind until I made it.

So let's roll by introducing the supporting cast of characters first......

.......and of course the star of this weeks episode (we hope anyway).

It looks like hamburger to me. How bad can it be I think the wife was a little skeptical when I told her I was buying lamb because she really didn't care for the lamb chops when we cooked them. I told her we have to stay true to he original recipe and give it a try. I think reluctantly she agreed so when Saturday rolled around we jumped into the car like we do every Saturday and headed for Whole Foods I wasn't sure where else I could find lamb but I knew Whole Foods would have it.

Did you notice that jar in the cast of characters pic above? A couple of weeks ago I decide to make my own chicken broth, it is easy to do, chicken parts, celery, carrots, onions, pepper and a little salt. Pretty simple list of ingredients and from there let it simmer away on the stove for awhile. Since I now have my pressure cooker here with me I can can chicken broth again. It is so much richer than what you can buy out of the store, not to mention you can control the amount of salt that goes into it too.

First things first and we need to make a load of mashed potatoes. I really don't think you need instructions on making mashed potatoes so I will just get on with it. These mashed potatoes won't be served on the side, oh no, these potatoes will be served on top of the Shepherds Pie.

It already looks good enough to eat but we aren't done yet. To the oven we go and let it cook until the top browns, about 35-40 minutes.

Not bad, maybe a little to many potatoes this time but still not bad. I think I will give it a 3.75 out of 5 forks. Is lamb my favorite? No and that is why I can't give it a higher score. The lamb certainly did have a different flavor than beef and I think it is worth eating just because it is something different so I will make it again. If you are into comfort foods and like lamb this is definitely worth a try.

Shepherd's Pie

For the original recipe please click here.

Jock's Cranberry Glazed Chicken

2009-11-07T21:00:00.018-05:00

This last week I made some cranberry glazed chicken for dinner and decided it looked so good I would post a picture on Facebook. Little did I know the Porcupine Press folks were watching and asked me for the recipe so they can put it in their Just Shut UP and Eat It section. I guess you can say this post is for the Porcupine Press people. Now I got something to look forward to every month when my UP Magazine arrives.

I will admit even though the recipe below calls for the chicken to be cooked on the grill I cooked this particular glazed chicken inside on my cast iron grill over the stove top. The recipe works well cooked both ways but it is hard to beat if you can cook it over real charcoal.

Another note to make is regarding Emeril's Essence, you can purchase it in the grocery store or make it yourself by going to the Food Network web site and getting the recipe. I make my own so I can control the amount of salt that goes into it. The other choice is to use whatever seasoning you like I just prefer Emeril's Essence.

Jock's Cranberry Glazed Chicken
(Click here if you want your own copy of this recipe.)

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1/3 cup chopped ginger
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup water
6 Chicken thighs
Canola oil
3 Tbs Emeril's Essence Seasoning
1 Cup Hickory Chips

Glaze:
Combine the cranberries, ginger, orange zest, sugar, orange juice, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes, or until cranberries burst and sauce is very thick. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Use right away or store in the refrigerator for up to one (1) week. Reserve some cranberry glaze for the table.

Chicken:
Fire up the charcoal grill and once coals are ready arrange on ½ of the grill. Sprinkle the hickory chips on the hot coals and cover until smoke starts to develop.
Meanwhile remove chicken from refrigerator and pat dry. Coat lightly with canola oil and sprinkle liberally with Emeril's Essence. When the grill is ready place the chicken skin side down over the hot coals, with lid on, until browned, about 2 minutes. Turn over and repeat. After chicken is browned on both sides move over to the cooler side of the grill skin side up and glaze with cranberry glaze from above. Place lid back on grill and cook at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 170 degrees. With about 10 minutes left turn chicken over and glaze bottom side. With 5 minutes left turn chicken back over to skin side up and glaze one more time.

Serve with reserved cranberry glaze drizzled over top at the dinner table.

Hot Pork Sandwich

2009-11-07T08:44:00.005-05:00

It is hard to beat a Sunday Dinner that produces Wednesday Night Leftovers and this week is no exception. If you remember last Sunday I made a pork roast and just in case you don't remember here is a reminder......

One of my favorite meals is hot sandwiches whether it is hot turkey, hot beef or in this case hot pork, they are all good.

I start with the gravy, either from a can (if you really want to make this simple) or from scratch, which is the method I always choose. Once the gravy is ready I drop the meat in the gravy to warm it up a little.

I also like my hot sandwiches with toasted bread. A few years ago I ordered a hot sandwich from a restaurant and they toasted their bread and I have been doing the same ever since. I think the bread holds up better in the gravy too.

What we end up with is another quick, good Wednesday night meal from leftovers. I'll give it a 4.5 out of 5 forks, simply delicious.

Roasted Pork Loin with Brussells Sprouts, Shallots, Garlic

2009-11-04T18:28:00.006-05:00

I'll admit it, I am a Food Network junkie. I like nothing better than to get up early on Saturday and Sunday morning and see what is coming up that morning on the Food Network. The weekend mornings are the only time I can watch shows on the Food Network about cooking anymore. It seems at night during the week it's all about Food Network Challenges, Throwdowns and visiting backwoods Diners.

A couple of weeks ago a new show came on Sunday morning called Alex's Day Off starring Alex Guarnaschelli. I knew right off the bat I was going to like this show because of two things; the first was the executive producer was Bobby Flay, never a bad thing, and the second was on the very first show she cooked breakfast and she cooked her eggs in the left over bacon fat. Yum, yum. Now I don't cook my eggs in left over bacon fat (at least not anymore) but there is not a better way to cook them. Needless to say she had my attention and I couldn't wait to see what else she would be cooking in the future.

This weeks Sunday Episode is from Alex's second show which featured Roasted Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts, Shallots, and Garlic. Normally I will go with the original recipe the first time I cook it but this time I couldn't resist so I added potatoes, in the end I think that was a good thing.

As usual we start with this weeks cast of characters.........

.......and now introducing the star of the show.....

...........the pork loin or better known as the center cut of the loin.

The shallots and garlic all need to be peeled......

......and we need to get the brussels sprouts and potatoes ready. Like I said I added the potatoes and I chose fingerling potatoes. They were about the same size as the other veggies once they were cut in half so I thought they would cook about the same rate.

The pork loin needs to be browned, my favorite part.

We are almost to the part where we can sit back and watch a little Sunday afternoon football. Pile all the veggies in the pan.........

........and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes. I don't now why I am giving directions since he recipe is below and you can read it for yourselves.

But next I mix up the glaze, or whatever else it may be called, for the pork loin......

....and after the veggies got a good carmelization going put the roasting rack over them and place the pork loin on the rack and spread the glaze over the top.

Look what we got about an hour later..........

This is when I differ from the directions below, if you notice Alex says to cook to an internal temperature of 125 degrees but I always cook my pork roast to 147 degrees. I don't like my pork undercooked and I know if I go much over 147 degrees the pork will dry out real fast. I find 147 degrees almost perfect for me.

Ahh, roast pork and vegetables, it don't get much better than that. I think the veggies were just as good if not better than the pork. I think I will rate this a 4.25 out of 5 forks. Alex didn't disappoint.

Stayed tuned for Leftover Wednesday later this week.

Roasted Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts, Shallots, Garlic

Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli

Prep Time:
--
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
1 hr 10 min

Level:
Intermediate

Serves:
8 servings

Directions

I love this recipe because it elevates a lean cut of pork and makes it rich and tender.

Whenever I roast a whole cut of meat, I also love to include "built-in" vegetables. These vegetables end up with a wonderful flavor after cooking in the oven. It is important, however, to make sure the pork roast has enough air circulating around (and underneath it) as it cooks. Use a roasting pan fitted with a grill rack so the meat is slightly elevated as it cooks.
Ingredients

* 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
* 1/4 cup grainy mustard
* 1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus 1 lemon, zested and juiced (2 lemons total)
* 8 sprigs fresh thyme
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 pork loin, preferably center cut or relatively "even" in thickness from 1 side to the other
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 12 cloves, or 1 head, garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
* 2 cups Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and dry outer leaves removed
* 14 to 20 small shallots, peeled
* 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
* 1 slice rye bread, diced
* 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, add the Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, the zest and juice from 1 of the lemons, the fresh thyme and the butter. Whisk together and set aside. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat and add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to the pan. Season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper, to taste, and gingerly put the pork loin in the hot oil. Brown the pork, without moving it around, for 3 minutes. Use a pair of kitchen tongs or 2 large spoons, to gently, but firmly, rotate the pork a 1/4 turn in the oil. Repeat this process turning the pork every 3 to 4 minutes. The most important thing? Be patient. Get the other vegetables together as the meat browns.

For your "Built-In Vegetables":

Meanwhile, toss the garlic cloves, Brussels sprouts and shallots in a bowl with the remaining 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt, to taste, and stir in the chili flakes. Heat a roasting pan over medium-high heat. Arrange the vegetables evenly in the bottom of the roasting pan and cook just until the vegetables begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes.

When the pork is browned on all sides, remove it from the skillet and put it on a rack in the roasting pan, flesh side up, fatty side down.

In the same cast iron pan that was used to brown the pork, discard some of the leftover fat, leaving about 1 to 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add the diced bread and toast over low heat. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and set aside until service.

Take care to disperse the vegetables so the heat in the oven can circulate around and under the pork as it cooks. Pour the mustard mixture over the pork. Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F and put the roasting pan in the center of the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Test the temperature in the center of the loin. You are looking for an "ideal" internal temperature of 90 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Roast for 10 to 15 additional minutes and test again. You are looking for an ideal temperature of 125 degrees F. Remove the pork from the pan and allow it to "rest" for 10 minutes.

Put the roasting pan on top of the stove, over low heat, and add the vinegar and the juice and zest from the remaining lemon. Stir to blend with the vegetables. Taste for seasoning.

Arrange the pork in the center of a platter (sliced or whole) and spoon the vegetables and any cooking liquid over the top. Garnish with croutons and serve.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Wed Nov 04 2009

© 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved
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Chicken and Noodles

2009-11-01T09:13:00.013-05:00

As promised here is the premiere episode of Wednesday Night Leftovers. The great thing about the internet is you will never know what night I actually eat leftovers because it doesn't come at you live. I can tell you this though, we do normally eat leftovers on Wednesday and sometimes Thursday night. Since I need a title for this series I chose Wednesday night because it sits right in the middle of the week.

Time to roll.......

Remember this little diddy from last weeks Sunday Dinner Episode? Chicken Pot Pie and as normal we have leftovers.

It is hard to completely change a meal from leftovers but there are little things that can be done to at least give a different type of meal than making it seem like you are eating the same old thing from Sunday. A good leftover meal shouldn't take much effort to prepare especially during the week when the last thing you feel like doing is cooking.

Enter tonights stars, leftover chicken mixture from Sunday and egg noddles. Notice the whole wheat noodles. We only use whole wheat pasta and noodles now because they have improved it so much from a couple of years ago and we don't even notice the difference anymore.

The toughest part of the tonights dinner has just been completed, getting the everything out on the counter, from here it's all downhill.

The only thing that could make tonights meal easier is if it could be cooked all in one pan. Since the noodles need to be boiled in some salted water we must use a second pan. My choice is my trusted double boiler that I use for all my pasta cooking.

At the same time the chicken leftovers go in a pan and warmed up, this is so easy even a caveman can do it.

By now you probably realize where I am going with this so we can spare all the suspense and show the final scene.

Looks good, eh? And mere minutes to prepare. On a leftover scale I give it a 4 out of five forks. I can't give it 5 because some leftovers seem to gain flavor as they sit in the refrigerator but this really didn't.

Still pretty good and even better, so easy to prepare.

Chicken Pot Pie

2009-10-26T17:50:00.008-04:00

It probably started 6 maybe 7 years ago with the wife telling me she wanted chicken pot pie. I said "No! I can't stand that that crap." Of course I was talking about the frozen variety you buy out of the store. You know the the kind I'm talking about, the crust resembles anything but a real crust and tastes closer to dried cardboard than good crust. I couldn't help but think about frozen pot pies everytime she brought the subject up. Imagine her surprise this week when she asked what was for Sunday dinner and I answered Chicken Pot Pie.

"But you don't like chicken pot pie" she exclaimed.

"Well I don't like the frozen ones and I don't think I have ever had a real homemade one before so I am willing to try. Besides I am making it more for you because you have been bugging me about making it for a few years now." At least that was my angle I was taking for an excuse to give chicken pot pie a try.

My thought as I was trying to find a good recipe to try was let's go to a master at comfort food cooking. I know there are a couple of good cooks on Food Network that make good comfort food but after looking at recipes I chose Ina Garten's recipe, besides Ina is one of those cooks that makes everything look better when she gets done.

It's time to roll and here is this weeks cast of characters.....

A fine looking cast this week.

First we must roast the chicken breast so we spray them with a little olive oil and cover them with salt and pepper. Don't be afraid to be generous here because you will be throwing the chicken skin out anyway.

Let's take a look at the chicken after an hour of roasting in the oven.

At this point I am thinking "Who needs chicken pot pie when I can eat the chicken breast straight from the oven." As tempting as that may be I need to stay on point and make the chicken pot pie.

Next we need a cooking vessel or vessels. A quick trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond, well not a quick trip since the first Bed, Bath and Beyond didn't have any. The nice clerk in the store looked up on the computer to see if they had any ramicans and they didn't but she checked the other stores in the area and found some in Gaithersburg, only about 10 miles from home. One of the great things about living here is we have three Bed, Bath and Beyonds' within 10 miles of our place and that's no exaggeration.

I thought I would throw in a black and white photo, I don't get a chance to do that very often.

This is the part of the show where I cheat a little bit, instead of making my own pastry (just in case any of you don't know I don't bake) I used store bought. In the original recipe below Ina makes her own pastry and if you really want to go ahead, like I said the recipe is down below.

Another character that deserves a photo all its own is the frozen pearl onions. When I was reading reviews many of the reviewers omitted the little frozen wonders and all I could ask was "Why?" These little pearls are one of my favorite items for comfort food. Next time you make beef stew add these to the pot and you will be hooked, I promise.

Let's get back to why we are all here today, chicken pot pie.

Chunk up the chicken.......

.........make a roux, after all this is the base for our pot pie.......

......add the remaining cast of characters.

That went fairly quick, next top with puff pastry. Start by folding the pastry out of the cutting board........

.......and find something to cut a nice round circle about an inch larger than the ramican. In this case a cereal bowl worked just fine.

Fill the ramicans up with delicious chicken pot pie and top with puff pastry.

A little egg wash, salt and pepper and we are ready for the oven.

Cook until golden, brown and delicious or as Alton Brown would say GBD.

Time to open one up and see what we got...........

.....and a little bit more............

I'll confess not bad, not bad at all. These were nothing like their distant cousins from the frozen food section of the grocery store. The tops were nice a flaky and the and inside had plenty of chicken flavor and good vegetables including those sweet little pearl onions we talked about earlier. I will give it a 4 out of 5 forks because after all it is still chicken pot pie.

The good news is there was leftovers so starting this week will be the series premiere of Wednesday Night Leftovers.

Stay tuned.

Chicken Pot Pie
2005, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved

Serves: 4 individual pot pies
Ingredients
3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched or 2 minutes
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For the pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and sauté the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Thu Oct 2, 2009
© 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC.
All Rights Reserved

Penne Pasta with Braised Beef Short Ribs

2009-10-20T18:36:00.010-04:00

Since the blogs have really slowed down from everyone except big sis I thought it might be time to bring back my Sunday Dinner Episodes. I have been thinking about starting the episodes back up for some time now and since fall is here this is a good time. It's been busy the last couple of months with the bike riding vacation and another weekend spent in Pittsburgh with big sis. Other weekends were spent making apple butter and cranberry glaze, all for later.

But this past weekend I finally had time and thought I would get started on Season 2 of Sunday Dinner. Season 2 promises to be hipper, smarter, more colorful, and down right tasty. Well maybe not the first 3 but definitely more tasty. I will be trying recipes I stumble across, see on Food Network and maybe even a couple of my own concoctions I dream up.

I hope everyone is ready because it's time to roll....................

This weeks Sunday Dinner comes from our good friend on the Food Network Giada and is called Penne Pasta with Braised Beef Short Ribs. I watched this show a couple of weeks ago on Giada's new show called Giada at Home. As soon as I saw her pulling out the beef short ribs she had my attention. If you have never had beef short ribs you are really missing a treat.

I discovered beef short ribs by accident about three years ago when I was looking for oxtail for a recipe by Emeril. I couldn't find oxtail that day so the next best thing I found were the beef short ribs. Once I cooked them up for me and the wife we were both sold and have been cooking with them ever since. The wife will even tell you they are here favorite type of meat (me personally I still consider a thick ribeye steak my favorite type of meat).

Enough BS let's get on with this weeks episode.

First we must introduce this weeks cast of characters.

I think I got everything into the picture this time. To be honest I normally forget an item or two and if you can keep a secret I will tell you one. I actually had another Sunday Dinner Episode that was to be my season premier but I forgot one of the main ingredients in the cast of character lineup. Not only that but I was going to do an episode on the cranberry glaze and I forgot one of the main ingredients in that cast too. Yep, now I know how big sis feels.

If you notice in the above photo the beef ribs are whole lengths. Normally you will find them cut into 2 to 3" pieces in the store but when I went to Whole Foods to pick these up the other day their band saw was broke and I had to take them whole, and beef ribs aren't something you just cut with a knife. If you notice in the next photo I am using my cast iron frying pan to cook in instead of my cast iron dutch oven. The ribs wouldn't fit in the dutch oven and barely fit in the frying pan after a little trimming here and there.

Start with a little oil in the pan, I always use extra virgin olive oil.

Brown the ribs....

Chop up some onions.......

.....and garlic while browning the ribs.

Start cooking the onions and garlic while......

....chopping up the tomatoes.

Dump everything into the pan, if you want the real directions read the recipe at the end of this post.

And 2-1/2 hours later, presto look what we have.

Take the meat out, get rid of the fat on top and blend the rest in the food processor. I got to be honest if the food processor is involved I'm there, I like watching the food processor do its job.

Pull the meat from the bones, shred.......

......and return the meat back to the pot or in this case the frying pan.

Now it's time to cook up the pasta. I don't think you need directions on how to cook pasta but here is an action shot of pasta cooking.

Pretty exciting eh?

Next we cut up some parsley and shred some fresh parmesan-reggiano cheese.

Put it all together and here is what you got.

Look good?

Here is a closer look.

Mmmm, it was good, good enough to rate a 4 out of 5 forks. Changes? Sure I will make changes to suit my taste next time but like always I try to stay true to the original recipe the first time.

If you want a real treat make enough so you will have leftovers for a quick meal on a weeknight. After we eat a meal like this on Sunday we always mix the pasta and whatever we fixed with it together and stick it in the ice box. That's what I did this time and when I pulled it out last night to warm up I thought it was looking a little dry so I went to work.

The first thing I did was open the ice box and staring me straight in the face were fresh mushrooms. 'Click' the light bulb goes on, "Mushroom gravy" I say. Quickly I make up some mushroom gravy and dump it in the pan with the short beef rib mixture. It's good but I am thinking what else can I do? I open the ice box again and what do you know staring me in the face again was sour cream. "Oh yeah" I think "Here we go, this will kick it up a notch." I throw in a couple of spoons of sour cream, ok so they were big spoons. I let everything cook for a couple of more minutes, throw it all on a plate and call it Tuesday night leftovers.

But wait a minute, "HOLY COW" I say to the wife "This stuff is good, real good." Amazing what you can do with leftovers. I had to give it a 4.75 forks out of 5. Why not 5 forks? Well I got another idea for that last 1/4 of a point and you will just have to wait for a future Sunday Dinner Episode or maybe I should call it Tuesday Night Leftovers and tell you about it then.

Penne with Braised Short Ribs

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
4 pounds beef short ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
5 Roma tomatoes cut into eighths
1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 pound penne pasta
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the sauce and add to the pasta. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pasta. Toss well and thin out the pasta with more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Sat Oct 17 2009

© 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Caring for Cast Iron

2009-04-23T18:55:00.008-04:00

So you finally broke down and bought your first cast iron pan but you're not sure what to do with it. It said on the package "preseasoned" but is it really? You want to use it but you're not sure about cleaning it. Well this is the place for you because I am going to tell you how I take care of my cast iron. You might find people that will argue with my methods but I can tell you I don't have any problems with food sticking to my pans and they are as easy to clean as any other pan you can buy.

I have used preseasoned cast iron pans out of the box and they perform fine but if you want to go up one more notch and make your cast iron pan truly non stick then read on.

First of all take a good look at the pan straight out of the box.

Run your finger across the bottom of the pan, feel that? Feel the roughness of the surface and some areas may even feel like a sharp point? That's because the finishing process in the factory isn't perfect. When they break the cast iron pans out of the sand molds they were formed in they then either sand blast them or roll rocks around them (or something like that I'm not really sure) to get a "smooth" surface before they preseason the pan. I like the idea of buying my cast iron pans already preseasoned but I don't like the roughness of the surface from the factory so what do I do?

I sand the surface of the pan. Yeah I know it ruins the preseasoning of the pan but I would rather reseason the pan myself and have a truly non stick cast iron pan then put up with the possible struggles of cleaning the pan straight from the factory. And trust me it makes a big difference.

I start with a medium grit sand paper or like you see in the above photo scotch brite pad. I sand all the rough peaks off and then I switch to a very fine sand paper or scotch brite pad.

Now run your finger across the pan and feel how much smoother it is, big difference huh? I only sand the inside of the pan not the entire pan. There is no reason to since you only cook with the inside portion of the pan.

At this point since you have taken the seasoning off the pan you can wash it with soap and water you want hurt anything. Make sure you get the pan clean because there will be a lot of cast iron dust left behind from the sanding process.

Now we can reseason the pan and I will explain how I do mine.

I use vegetable oil for seasoning my cast iron. This is where you might find some arguments with other people on what is the best thing to use for seasoning cast iron. I have read where all you should use is vegetable shortening and other articles that say you should use bacon grease or lard. I guess I am not really sure what is best but I can tell you I have had extremely good luck using vegetable oil so I stick with it, and it's easy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees........

.....and get ready for a long day.

Next coat the pan with vegetable oil and place the pan upside down in the oven for one hour at 350 degrees. You may want to place a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom rack to catch any oil that may drip off the pan. After one hour turn the oven off and let the pan cool off in the oven for about 2 hours. Once cool coat the pan with oil again ,only this time with a thin coat, and repeat until you have done this for three times. The last time for me is normally at night so I let the pan sit in the oven over night to cool off.

When you pull the pan out of the stove the next morning you will have a pan with a rock hard smooth finish and a pan that is ready to cook with.

Let's take another look.

Remember what we started with?

Even in the photos you can see the difference.

The next question is how do I clean the pan after I use it? You may be surprise how easy it is to care for cast iron after you clean one a couple of times. Here is how I do it. I clean the pan right after I use it because it is easy and fast. First put the pan back on the stove so it remains hot. Next pour a little water in the bottom, I normally use about 1/2" or so in the bottom. The water will boil right away and at this time I use a soft nylon brush and quickly scrub the pan being careful not to burn myself. Then I dump the water down the drain and put the pan back on the stove and most times I will repeat this step a second time as a rinse for the pan. After the "rinse" cycle it is back on the burner again to dry. I will normally wipe the pan out with a towel and then pour 1 teaspoon of oil in the pan and wipe it all around the bottom while the pan is hot. From here I just leave the pan on the stove until cool. Once the pan is cool if I see any oil laying on the bottom of the pan I will wipe it out before I put it away.

There you have it how I take care of my cast iron pans. If you follow these directions you will end up with a pan equally at home over an open camp fire or cooking your most elegant meals. I will guarantee you once you have the cast iron pan mastered you won't want to go back to your coated non stick pans plus you will have a pan you can hand down to the next generation.

Emeril's Sausage Chili

2009-04-21T20:38:00.002-04:00

This post originally aired on my other blog but since I had a request for the recipe I thought I would post this again on the blog.

It's that time of year again when the sun starts to slowly sink farther to the south making the days shorter and shorter. That means the mornings are getting chillier and the days are getting colder. It also means hunting season is here and it won't be long until deer season opens. Even though I haven't gone deer hunting for the last couple of years it doesn't mean I can't cook some of the food I normally cook for hunting season. The one meal I like to cook this time of year when the temperatures cool off is..............

......Chili.

Just so you know I am not a big fan of "normal" chili, by that I mean burger, chili powder, beans, tomatoes and water. A few years ago I was watching an Emeril Live Episode and he made chili, not just any type of chili but sausage chili and instead of using water he used beer. Needless to say he got my attention. It wasn't long and I decided to make it and ever since then I make sausage chili once if not twice a year. I did make one slight change from his recipe Emeril used andouille sausage. Since I could never find andouille sausage when I lived in Michigan I decided to use chirizo instead. If I was the only one eating the chili I would only use chirizo but since I was afraid it would be too spicy if I did only use chirizo sausage I decided to use half chirizo and half sweet italian sausage. I will mention that I did use all chirizo once and ended up winning a chili cook off. Grand prize was a $25 gift certificate from WalMart. Lucky me eh?

Let's get started with the good stuff. First let me introduce you to this weeks cast of characters.

First we must start by browning the sausage and then add some the this weeks cast in the browned sausage.

Now it is time to add the beer.

Okay so I didn't use all beer this time like I normally do I decided since it was just me and the wife I would only use a half of bottle of beer and a half of box of chicken broth.

Bring this to a boil and time to add some more stuff.

Let this cook for a hour to and hour and a half and it should look like this.

Nice and thick and tasty just the way chili should be.

Now that we have the chili cooked we need to decide what type of bowl to serve it in. We might choose one of these...

Nah that bowl is for cereal.

How about this one?

This bowl is normally used for soups, chowders and stews. I suppose it can be used for chili but I think I have a better idea. How about this....

You don't think that looks like a bowl? How about if we do this then?

Now does it look like a bowl? It is hard to beat a bread bowl but try to find one that is the right size. Normally they are to big or to small I can never find the right size. This particular one is a little big but it will do.

I think it is time to fill it....

Don't forget to add the shredded cheddar cheese and green onions on top.

How about a little different angle......

I'll rate this chili a 4.75 spoons out of 5 only because I used chicken broth instead of just beer.

The big bonus with this meal is you get to eat the chili soaked bowl afterwords too. Now how can you beat that no bowls to wash.

How about one more look at this weeks episode.

Perfect meal for a cold chilly Sunday but the only problem was it was 65 degrees on Sunday. Oh well can't be perfect.

Sausage Chili

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds Andouille, or other spicy, smoked link sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Essence
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed, and their juices
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
6 cups cooked red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated cheddar cheese, garnish
1 cup finely chopped green onions, garnish

Directions
In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, chili powder, Essence, and cumin and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 4 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the beer and cook until the foam subsides, about 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and kidney beans to the pot. Stir well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the chili from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a thermos. To serve, ladle into bowls or thick cups. Sprinkle each serving with grated cheese and green onions, and serve hot.

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Shrimp and Grits

2009-04-01T13:20:00.003-04:00

Anybody out there watch Throwdown with Bobby Flay? I do and it is one of my favorite shows on TV. A couple of weeks ago he did a throwdown with a guest from Georgia and the throwdown was shrimp and grits. I have never had the pleasure of eating shrimp and grits, shoot I have never eaten grits but I have been wanting to make them for sometime now. Once I watched the episode I knew I wouldn't get them out of my mind until I finally tried them.

Let's get busy and introduce the cast of characters:

Pretty simple cast this week.

I wasn't to sure about the grits part but what the heck all they are is cornmeal cooked with some sort of broth. I had two choices on how to cook them Bobby Flay's way or the real way his throwdown partner cooked them. Since I really didn't need all the butter and cream in the second way I choose Flay's way which was with shrimp stock and cheddar cheese.

I did all my stirring with a wooden spoon just like the show suggested. I'm not real sure what the wooden spoon has to do with anything but I stuck by the directions. One change I had to make was I had to use yellow cheddar cheese instead of white because I couldn't find the white cheddar cheese in our grocery store. Hard to believe since I live in Wisconsin the supposed king of cheddar cheese.

Once the grits are cooked it's time to start on the shrimp portion of this episode. Start with browning up some bacon......

....finish up with the garlic and shrimp....

....and it's really that easy.

All that's left is to put everything together.

A pretty fine meal and one I will be making again in the near future. The grits could have been creamery and next time I think I will add another 1/2 to 1 cup of broth so they aren't so thick. I am rating this a 4 out of 5 forks because the man from the south ended winning the throwdown episode against Bobby Flay. I have to admit the southern shrimp and grits did look better but there were so many bad things in it, like cream, butter, more cream, I just couldn't bring myself to make them. I also think next time I will use andouille sausage instead of bacon and I will come up with a different type of sauce to pour over the top. I think I will use Emeril's Essence on the shrimp before I cooked them too.

Bar American’s Gulf Shrimp and Grits

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients
Grits:
4 to 5 cups shrimp stock
Salt
1 cup yellow stone ground cornmeal
1 cup grated white Cheddar
Freshly ground black pepper
3 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Sautéed Shrimp:
1/2 pound thick double-smoked cut bacon, cut into lardoons
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
20 large (21 to 24 count) shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
For the grits:
Bring 4 cups of the water and 2 teaspoons of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Slowly whisk in the grits and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the grits are soft and have lost their gritty texture, whisking every few minutes, 15 to 20 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add remaining water and continue cooking until absorbed. Add the cheese and whisk until smooth; season with salt and pepper.

For the shrimp:
Place bacon in a medium pan over medium heat and cook until golden brown and crisp and the fat has rendered. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan and place back on the heat. Add the olive oil and increase the heat to high Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, and add to the pan with the garlic. Sauté until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove shrimp to a plate. Reserve the garlic oil to drizzle over the finished dish.

Divide the grits among 4 bowls and top each with 5 shrimp. Drizzle the top with some of the bacon-garlic oil (that the shrimp were sautéed in) and sprinkle with some of the green onion.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on Sat Mar 28 2009 © 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC.
All Rights Reserved

B-L-T Pasta

2009-03-23T20:36:00.004-04:00

Every now and then I get a stray magazine showing up in my mailbox and recently I received a magazine called Cuisine at Home. It looks like a good magazine with plenty of good ideas and tips and of course some good looking recipes. I eyed this recipe a couple of weeks ago and decided to give it a try. It combined two of my favorite meals, bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches and anything pasta hence the title B-L-T Pasta.

Now let's face it, anytime you throw a little pork fat or bacon in anything it is bound to taste better and that's why this recipe caught my eye.

My pictures don't look as appetizing as the pictures in the magazine but you'll get the idea.

Let's get started with the cast of characters:

A pretty darn good looking cast other than the hot dog buns. Hot dog buns? What is he doing with the hot dog buns? Well, since I was too cheap to buy the french bread called for in the recipe and I had some left over hot dog buns guess what I did? Yep I improvised, overcame, adapted and made bread crumbs from hot dog buns. I actually saw this once on Food Network, probably Good Eats.

I cut up and toasted the buns first.........

.......then I put them into the food processor along with a clove of garlic and pulsed them into bread crumbs.

While the hot dog buns were toasting I took the time to cut up some garlic and bacon.

Once the bread is toasted it is time for the bacon.

After the bacon it is the tomatoes turn and then the leeks.

Next add the cooked spaghetti, thyme, and spinach.

Finally I think we're done.

Pretty darn good meal too and well worth making again, even with the hot dog buns substituted for the fancy french bread. Don't make this without the bread crumbs it really makes the dish. I am rating this meal a 4.5 out of 5 forks.

B-L-T Pasta

For the garlic bread crumbs:
1 clove of garlic
1 cup French bread cubes
1 tsp olive oil
Salt to taste

For the pasta:
2 strips thick sliced bacon – diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
½ tsp sugar
½ cup thinly sliced leeks
¼ cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth
1 tsp red wine vinegar
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
4 oz. dry bucatini or spaghetti
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
¼ tsp minced fresh thyme

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the bucatini.

Mince garlic for the bread crumbs in a food processor. Add cubed bread, and process until coarse. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium; add crumbs and toast until golden, 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and set aside.

Sauté bacon for the pasta in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook until crisp and then drain pieces on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tbsp drippings.

Caramelize tomatoes and sugar in the drippings over medium heat. Cook until tomatoes begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add leeks, sauté until wilted, 3-4 minutes.

Deglaze skillet with wine; simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated. Add the broth, vinegar, and pepper flakes. Simmer until liquid is reduced by a third, about 5 minutes.

Cook bucatini in boiling water according to the package directions. Add spinach, thyme, and bacon pieces to sauce. Transfer cooked pasta from cooking water to the skillet using tongs. Toss to coat with sauce. Season with salt and then divide pasta between plates. Sprinkle pasta with reserved bacon pieces and bread crumbs before serving.

From Cuisine at Home Magazine Free Preview Issue

Jock's Buffalo Wings

2009-03-10T21:08:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since I've been here so I think it's about time I posted something. I do have a few future posts ready to go like chili fries, sausage chili and of course the banana nut french toast. I will get to all of these in due time plus others.

Tonight though it was time to get out the grill and do the type of cooking I like best, grilling. How can you not like the hot coals, rolling smoke and the sweet smell of grilling whether its a nice thick juicy rib eye steak, the sweet taste of shrimp, the long slow bbq of baby back ribs or tonights choice chicken.

Tonight the chicken was all about the wing or better known as buffalo wings. There are many versions of buffalo wing with the most popular being deep fried and finished off with hot sauce and butter. My version and my most favorite is grilled chicken wings with buffalo wing sauce.

Let's get started with tonights main cast of characters:

That's a pretty fine looking cast if I do say so myself. Normally I will buy the whole wing and cut them up myself, I discard the wing tip, and that is what I did tonight for most of them. I cheated on the last few because the other day I was at Whole Foods and you can buy just the drumette from Whole Foods. Have I ever told you how much I like Whole Foods?

Next it is time to dust them with a little Emeril's Essence.

Once the seasoning is on the wings it is time to go outside, with a coat on because it is 30 degrees outside today, and..........and.........AND.......... AND.......

"FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!"

God it feels good to say that again.

While the charcoal is getting ready I might as well go ahead and make the sauce for the wings. I start with some melted butter, unsalted of course.

Then I add hot sauce (my choice is Frank's Red Hot) and honey.

Mix it all together........

......and I am left with this beautiful orange colored sauce.

Now it is time to throw the wings on the grill and take in the smells of the coming summer.

Don't you just love the smoke coming from the grill? Tonights choice of wood was Hickory. Hickory is all I have been using lately and I think it is fast becoming my favorite type of wood to use.

Aren't those starting to look good? Let's take a look at what they look like finished.

That glob in the left is baked beans I bought from the local meat market. Ever since the wife and I found them I can't imagine ever making baked beans again, these are so good.

I give these wings a 5 out of 5 forks, they are hard to beat when they are grilled.

Once you try these you will be hard pressed to ever want to deep fry again.

Recipe

Some chicken wings
Cooking spray
Emeril's Essence
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
4 Tbsp of Frank's Red Hot Sauce
3 Tbsp of honey

Spray the wings with cooking spray and dust with Essence. Cook chicken over medium hot coals for about 6 minutes per side or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees at the bone.

Meanwhile mix butter, hot sauce, and honey together. When the chicken is done pour the hot sauce over the wings and mix all together.

Enjoy.

Giada's Classic Italian Lasagna

2008-12-29T20:10:00.003-05:00

If you remember a couple of weeks ago we made some simple tomato sauce that could be used in a variety of different ways. This is one of the ways to use it. The recipe for the tomato sauce is at the bottom of this post just in case you missed the episode where I made it a couple of weeks ago.

This is another Giada recipe and I must say one of my favorites from her. I made this lasagna a couple of weeks ago and froze it to take it with me to Michigan for one of our meals during Christmas week.

If you have a fast internet connection you should be able to keep up with me but if you have a slow dial up connection good luck. There are over 20 pictures in this episode so we better get this show on the road if we want to finish tonight.

We must first introduce you to the cast of characters for tonights episode.

Quite a good looking cast this week eh? I don't make this very often for one big reason, it's very time consuming. Let's keep rolling.

We start by making the bechamel sauce.

It's not very hard it just takes some stirring. Once it is all cooked I add a cup and a half of our tomato sauce we made a couple of days ago. This makes it turn a orange color as you will see in a few more pictures.

Next, time to brown the sausage. This is where I differ from Giada's recipe because I use a 1/2 pound of Hot Italian Sausage and 1/2 pound of Sweet Italian Sausage.

Next it is time to drop the pasta noodles in some boiling water. My choice today is whole wheat. I find the whole wheat is a good balance to the whole milk, cheese, and real butter in this recipe to make it somewhat healthy. Well maybe not but it makes me feel better.

After our meat is browned and the pasta is cooking it's time to mix up the ricotta mixture.

Now it's time to assemble, try to keep up if you can.

Here is everything we need to assemble our lasagna.

Notice the orange sauce in the upper right corner? That is our bechamel sauce with the simple tomato sauce added.

First a little bechamel sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Next a layer of noodles.

Meat....

Now cheese, in my case provolone.

More noodles.

Ricotta mixture.

Spinach. More healthy food.

More bechamel suace.

More noodles.

Are you still with me?

Some more sauce and ricotta mixture. If you actually read the recipe down below you will realize I got a little out of order but does it really matter in the end?

More cheese on top.

Yippe Kay Yayee where done assembling and time to cook.

As much as I wanted to eat this as soon as it came out of the oven I knew I had to save it for the following week. This lasagna was traveling to Michigan to be eaten during Christmas week by the family.

Time to fast forward to the following week and once again we catch the lasagna coming out of the oven once again only this time it is 450 miles from the original oven it was cooked in.

Pretty simple from here just stick it in the oven, set the table.....

....cut into nice squares.....

...and eat.

Pretty darn good too. This is my favorite lasagna I love the spinach in it. If you have the time and you like lasagna I would recommend this recipe to you.

Classic Italian Lasagna

Béchamel Sauce:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk at room temperature
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
Salt and white pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground chuck beef
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Béchamel sauce:
In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a sauté pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the béchamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the béchamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining béchamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

Simple Tomato Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on 11/12/2008 © 2008 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Simple Tomato Sauce

2008-12-17T18:59:00.003-05:00

As promised the other night after showing everybody the lazy persons version for making spaghetti and meatballs I thought I should show you how I make spaghetti sauce or as some people (Italians) say Red Sauce. This recipe comes from Giada Delaurentis and is so simple that even a slow, middle aged white man like myself can make it.

Let's start with the cast of characters.

Pretty simple don't you think? Like I said simple and something that can be done in just a little bit of time.

First things first and cut up veggies we must.

Garlic to the left of me and onions, celery and carrots to the right. That was the hard part.

Start with the garlic and onions simmering away in some olive oil.

Next add the celery and carrots and let cook for a few more minutes. I should add I don't really worry about the size of the veggies because they are going to end up in the food processor anyway.

Can you keep up because if you can't I can slow down. I know this is getting pretty complicated.

Add the crushed tomatoes and seasonings. If you notice in Giada's recipe she used nutmeg in her tomato sauce. I don't use nutmeg I use anise seed in mine. The anise gives it a bit of a licorice flavor which I like. I suggest you do whatever floats your boat.

And stir everything together and let simmer away on the stove for about and hour or so.

Now is the fun part where we get to use the power equipment, the food processor.

Process until smooooth.

Looks good and this will last me for about 6 months in the freezer. There are many, many ways to use this sauce and in the next few weeks we will explore some of the ways I use it.

Mario Batali has a good recipe for basic red sauce if you are interested too. His is real simple and takes no time at all to make. If you are interested go to the Food Network site and do a search and I'm sure you will come up with it. Below I have provided Giada's recipe.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_993...

Easy Spaghetti and Meatballs, Sort Of

2008-12-15T19:00:00.002-05:00

This was a post I meant to do a couple of weeks ago but when I went to our little store here in Elkhart Lake after work they didn't have any spaghetti sauce. This store is not a super market but it's no party store either so imagine my disappointment when they didn't have any spaghetti sauce. Now I do know how to make spaghetti sauce and it really isn't that hard and it really doesn't take that long but the reason for this post was to show how easy it is to make a quick meal when you're being lazy like me that night. Well to make a long story short I ended up making my own spaghetti sauce that night and I didn't do the post on my blog as you may noticed. If you stick around for the next couple of nights though I will be posting how to make easy spaghetti sauce or as some call it red sauce since I just made a big batch of it yesterday.

Time to get on with today's meal the lazy man's way to make spaghetti and meatballs, sort of.

Let me introduce you to today's small cast, and I mean small, of characters.

Five, count em five ingredients. And if you are really being lazy or just cheap you can get this down to three ingredients by eliminating the "meatballs" and olive oil.

You have probably noticed by now that I'm not using spaghetti noodles and that's because I'm not a big fan of the spaghetti noodles. I prefer these rotini noodles because of their spiral shape and their ability to hold sauce. Plus rotini noodles are a lot easier to find in the whole wheat version. That's right I said whole wheat because with the way I love pasta I have to do something to try and eat healthy pasta. It is a little different than regular pasta but after a couple of meals with the whole wheat version you get use to it.

I suppose you have noticed the Johnsonville Sausage too? Well to be honest I have never found a good frozen meatball to use in spaghetti and I dare anybody to find a meatball as good as a Johnsonville Sausage. It just can't be done. Now there is always the option of making meatballs but that would take many more ingredients and much more time and since this is the lazy and cheap man's version of spaghetti and meatballs, well it just wouldn't fit here now would it?

Time to cook. Start by browning the sausage or should I say our future meatballs.

Once browned dump a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce in the pan with the sausage.

Now look at that we are already half way done and we are barely even started. I let the sausage simmer in the sauce for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile the hardest part of making this meal is timing the noodles to be done at the same time as the spaghetti and 'meatballs.' Real tough eh?

After 45 minutes the sausage will be cooked and the sauce has thicken up a bit.

We will take care of the sauce in a bit but first the sausage. Take those bad boys out of the pan and set them on a plate or counter if you prefer. Let them rest for a couple of minutes and then......

....cut them up into meatball size chunks. Don't you love how easy it is? And good, the best you will ever have.

Time to put them back into the sauce.

If you like thick sauce you are done but if you want to thin the sauce out a little bit add some of the pasta water in it like I do.

My understanding of the pasta water is it is suppose to help the sauce stick to the noodles better by adding it back into the sauce. I saw Mario Batalli explain it one day. I am not sure I explained that right but I do know ever since I started doing it the sauce sticks to any type of noodle I use. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Add the noodles.

Stir.

And serve.

Easy, peazy and very good. Just a great meal for when you are being lazy.

Lazy Man's Spaghetti and Meatballs

1/2 pound of Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage
1 drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 box of whole wheat rotini pasta
A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese

Drizzle olive oil in skillet over medium heat and brown sausage.

Add the pasta sauce.

Cook pasta according to instructions on the box.

Remove sausage and slice into meatball size chunks.

Add back into sauce and add one cup of pasta water and mix.

Add pasta and fold everything together.

Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Throwdown Special

2008-12-08T18:24:00.004-05:00

With the impending throw down coming up over Christmas vacation I thought I would do an update on how I am coming along with my entry. When I found out about the throw down a couple of weeks ago I immediately began searching and thinking about what I could cook. Since this category is anything you can eat with a spoon I had many, many choices. I thought of cereal and believe me it doesn't get much better than Cinnamon Life cereal or the new maple flavored Life cereal. That just seems too easy and I think I need to find something a little more substantial. Now where can we go from here? How about some sort of vegetable or chicken noodle soup? Or how about some chili? I actually won a contest once with my chili could I do it again? Or how about a chowder? I do love my chowders but I'm not sure everyone else does and after all I do have to appeal to everyone to win. Such choices, what to do what to do.

Well this weekend I did the trial run on my choice. Let me introduce you to the cast of characters.

Interesting choice don't you think? I'll bet you are wondering how I am going to put all this together? Well follow along.

This isn't some kind of cold soup we don't have to cook so for my choice of cooking vessel I think I will choose.......

.......my small cast iron chicken fryer. Since I am here by myself right now I don't need to make a whole lot just enough to find out if I'm on the right track.

Anyway I end up throwing a little of this and a little of that in there and sooner or later we end up with this.......

Looks good eh?

Now come on let's get real you didn't really think I was going to let everybody in on my throw down choice now did you? Not a chance it will be a surprise. I will tell you this though it was pretty good and if anybody out there decides to enter something against this entry they will have their work cut out for themselves. BRING IT ON I'M READY!!!

Ok I'll show you a picture of the finished entry.

Opps I forgot to take off the lid.

ARE YOU READY FOR A THROWDOOOOOWWWWWWWN?

I am.

Recipe to Win a Throwdown

A little of this
A little of that

Throw together

Cook for awhile.

Leftover Turkey Salad

2008-12-01T21:40:00.003-05:00

It's the end of an era my Thanksgiving turkey is gone. I used up the last of it tonight for dinner.

I like to make salads for dinner so simple, so fast, and so good. What it really comes down to is I was to lazy to cook anything tonight so what could be better?

One more bonus for a lazy night I only dirtied 4 things tonight, 1 fork, 1 knife, 1 bowl and one glass for my milk. The only meal I know better for dirty dishes is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

One last look and then the recipe at the bottom.

Cranberry Glazed Turkey Salad
Salad greens
Leftover Thankgiving cranberry glazed turkey
Favorite salad toppings
Favorite salad dressing

Mix together.

Serves 1.

Cranberry Glazed Turkey

2008-11-30T19:01:00.003-05:00

Finally I am posting the turkey recipe I had on Thanksgiving. The reason I'm 4 days late is I needed time to digest everything. Well not really I've been a little busy working on a project for the last 3 days. My plan was to work again today but my brain didn't kick in until mid to late afternoon. Since I already wasted most the the day I thought I might as well sit down and take care of this all important meal. Let's get rolling.

Just as a reminder in case you were to lazy or just didn't want to here is where we left off on turkey day.

Cranberry glazed turkey cooked on the grill. Just in case you get hungry for this turkey, which I doubt since everyone by now has had their fill of turkey until Xmas, there is a full blown recipe at the bottom of this post. I made a couple of minor changes and I will let you know where as we take photo trip through this meal.

First thing first and I think the best way to start a turkey anymore is to brine the turkey. The cast of characters is as follows:

The brine keeps the turkey nice and moist for when you get ready to eat. I know there is a lot of salt but remember the salt does not soak up into the turkey. I'm not sure what really happens but I think the salt seals the pores of the turkey to keep the moisture inside while cooking. If you really want to know the hows and whys watch Alton Brown because on one of his shows he explains the reasons. This brine is real simple, no cooking involved, just mix all the ingredients and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Now just add the turkey breast side down and find a place in the ice box.

Since it is Wednesday night and the night before Thanksgiving and the turkey is brining away in the ice box we might as well make the cranberry glaze tonight before we sit down with a cold beer for the night. Again it's not really all the hard but before I show you how easy it is I need to introduce you to the characters involved.

This is one of the places I didn't do as the recipe below suggests. I didn't use any orange liqueur like in the recipe. I have a hard time buying all the different liqueurs and spirits some of these recipes call for. If I did I would have a better stocked liquor shelf than most of the bars and taverns here in Wisconsin. What I did is use more orange juice in place of the orange liqueur.

One again dump everything into the pot and cook. This is what it looks like in the beginning.

And here is what it looks like after its cooked.

From here strain it and stick it in the ice box too.

On Thanksgiving everything gets put together. What I liked about this meal since it is only a turkey breast we are cooking is it only takes 1-1/2 to 2 hours to cook.

The final cast of characters for this meal are as follows:

Notice that one ingredient to the right? Nope that's not dressing, although I've had some worse, it's hickory wood chips. This is the other difference from the recipe below I cooked mine on the grill. So for the final time this year let's "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!"

Yippe Kay Yay is there nothing better? Notice the snow and the snow shovel? I had to shovel off the deck earlier in the week so I could use it today. It was a struggle too with the cold and wind blowing, not ideal grilling weather.

While I'm waiting for the grill I sprinkle the bird with some Emeril's Essence.

When the turkey has about 20 minutes left to cook it's time to brush it with some of the cranberry glaze I made last night. That's right just like brushing on barbecue sauce. After the turkey is cooked let it rest and slice it up.

After cooking a turkey breast like this I'm not sure I would cook a whole turkey again. The white meat was so moist and favorable and remember it only takes 1-1/2 hours to cook. This is a 5 out of 5 forks recipe.

I have to give credit for this recipe to Emeril. I had another recipe all picked out when I was searching on the Food Network web site for some other recipes and came across this one. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to make it I mean after all whats better at Thanksgiving than turkey and cranberries.

Cranberry Glazed Breast of Turkey
(Emeril recipe from the Food Network Web Site.)

Brine:
3/4 gallon water
2 cups white wine
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped ginger
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme

Turkey:
1 (6-pound) whole turkey breast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Essence

Glaze:
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1/3 cup chopped ginger
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Combine all of the brining liquid ingredients in a large non-reactive container (a stockpot works well for this) and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Rinse the turkey well under cold running water. Place the turkey in the brine, cover, and refrigerate, turning occasionally, for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.

While the bird is brining, make the cranberry glaze by combining the cranberries, ginger, orange zest, sugar, orange juice, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cranberries burst and sauce is very thick. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a mixing bowl to cool. When cooled, add the liqueur and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to glaze the bird. (Make sure to return the glaze to room temperature before serving. If the glaze gets too thick, thin it with a bit of water.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the turkey from the brine and discard the brine. Place the turkey, breast side up, in an aluminum foil lined roasting pan. Pat dry with paper towels. Rub the turkey with the vegetable oil and sprinkle on all sides with Essence. Roast the turkey until it is golden brown and almost done, about 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven and brush all over with about 1/3 cup of the cranberry glaze. Return the turkey to the oven and continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast registers 160 to 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes longer. (If the turkey begins to get too dark before it is cooked through, cover loosely with aluminum foil until it reaches the desired temperature. Transfer to a platter and let rest at least 15 minutes before carving. Carve into thin slices. Serve with the remaining glaze passed at the table.

My Thanksgiving Dinner

2008-11-27T20:30:00.003-05:00

Introducing Roasted Garlic Cheddar Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Next we have the Creamy Pearl Onions

And the main star of this show Grilled Turkey with Cranberry Glaze.

I'm stuffed, time for a nap and some football.

Sarah's Balsamic Pork Chops

2008-11-25T20:49:00.003-05:00

A while back our Irish friend, Megawatt Miler, posted some of her favorite things. One of the items was Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette. Since balsamic vinegar is my favorite type of vinegar I thought I should give this stuff a try. I know she doesn't know if a switch and light bulb are on the same circuit, I know she doesn't travel well, but I figured she had to know something. After all she did graduate from Notre Dame. So I decided to take a chance and see if this was her time. Guess what? It was. This may be the best vinaigrette I have had so I dedicate this post to her and this meal to her. From here on and evermore this meal and recipe will be called Sarah's Balsamic Pork Chop.

Let's get started.

Act 1 of this episode starts with this cast of characters.

If I was going to use balsamic vinegar as the main character I thought I should marinade the pork chops with it. I use a thicker pork chop (actually easier to cook) but a thinner pork chop can be used. I used about a half a bottle to marinade 2 pork chops. I marinaded the chops for about 4 hours but I think it would be better if they were marinaded overnight. When it comes time to cook the pork chops take the chops out of the refrigerator and remove from the marinade. I then sprinkle them with Emeril's Essence and let them come up to room temperature. This will take about 1/2 hour or about the time it takes to get the grill going.

"FIRE UP THE GRILL"

Stick those chops on the grill and cook with the lid on. Once again if you want to "Run with the Big Dogs" and take the chops to the ultimate level add a little wood to it. My favorite, so far, with pork is apple.

Start with the chops over the fire for the first 2-3 minutes on each side and then move over and cook with indirect heat the rest of the way. Cook the chops to 147 degrees. Like I have said before if the temperature gets above 147 pork will start to dry out fast.

Act 2 of the episode starts with this cast of characters.

A simple salad made of romaine lettuce with a twist, it's grilled. Start by cutting the head of lettuce in half and leave the end on so it stays together. Next brush a little olive oil on the lettuce and sprinkle with pepper.

Let's head to the grill.

Lightly grill the lettuce just so it warms up a grill marks appear. Take it off the grill, cut off the end and spread it out on a plate. Add some grape or cherry tomatoes (I prefer cherry), maybe sprinkle some parmesan/reggiano cheese on top and hit it with balsamic vinegar.

Introducing Sarah's Balsamic Pork Chop.

I gave it a 4.75 out of 5 forks. I forgot to sprinkle the parmesan/reggiano cheese on the salad. Pork chops are so tender they can be cut with a fork. This may be my new favorite way to cook pork chops. I will definitely do it again.

Scallops with Green Onions and Hoisin Sauce

2008-11-23T20:13:00.002-05:00

Every so often you know it's going to happen, you know what I'm talking about, disaster in the kitchen. It has been a while for me but tonight disaster found me and nearly ruined my dinner. I suppose it is one of the hazards of cooking with a new pot, like my cast iron wok, and learning how to use it.

This particular meal comes from a web site called Sam the Cooking Guy. This is my first recipe from his web site. I like his recipes normally easy with easy to find ingredients, just the way I like it. And if Sam happens, by some remote chance, see this I'm sorry I will try to do better next time.

This meal is Scallops with Green Onions and Hoisin Suace. For some of you out there that don't like scallops you don't have to tell me "I don't like scallops" because I don't care, it only means more for me. It doesn't mean you can't cook this all you have to do is substitute chicken for the scallops. Ok? Ok.

This is the only picture of the meal on a plate because one of the disasters tonight was how it looked on the plate when I got done.

Here is the cast of characters.

Now with a simple cast like that how in the world could I screw this up? Just follow along.

Since I knew it would only take only 3-4 minutes to cook the scallops and green onions the first thing I needed to do was cook the rice. Normally rice is fairly simple to cook, twice as much water as rice, bring to a boil, cover, let set for a half hour or so over real low heat, take off heat, fluff and serve. I think I screwed up the "real low heat" part tonight. When the rice was done it was done a little more than it should have been on the bottom. Let's just say about 1/4 of the rice ended up down the garbage disposal.

While the rice is cooking and everything seems fairly normal right now I get everything ready so when I cook the scallops I have what I need in front of me. Like I said earlier it only takes 3-4 minutes to cook this meal. (If Rachael Ray did this meal she would have 25 minutes of dead air time.) This meal is so simple (so I thought) the only prep work is the rice and making the sauce for the scallops.

Another one of those great actions shots in the kitchen.

Once the rice is done and ready on the plate it's time to start the scallops and green onions. Add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil to a hot wok and then add the scallops and green onions.

After the scallops are cooked add the sauce we mixed up earlier.

Now doesn't everything look nice and calm in the pictures? Well trust me they're not. I have a hot wok that burns food if allowed to sit in one place very long (maybe that's why it's called stir fry), I have a camera on a tripod right in front of the stove and to my right, I'm trying to take pictures with one hand and stir with the other. I just learned tonight I'm not coordinated enough to do that. I have a camera that uses no flash inside the house plus I have the shutter set up on a 2 second timer so I'm not touching the camera and I get no jiggling of the camera when the shutter snaps. Take the 2 second delay, plus the time it takes me to find the shutter button to push it, plus the 2 seconds for the shutter on the camera to stay open because of the lack of light in the kitchen and this ends up being an eternity when cooking stir fry. Somehow I survived all this without knocking over my camera, burning myself or burning down the house.

Once everything was cooked I realized I now have another problem. How do I get everything in the wok onto my overcooked rice on the plate? Keep in mind this is a cast iron wok that weighs 14 pounds to pick it up with one arm, tip it up over the plate and scrape out the scallops isn't easy. Another thing I learned tonight I'm not strong enough to this with my left hand or for that matter my right either. Keep in mind I said cast iron not only is it heavy but it retains heat too. Once the wok is hot it takes quite a while to cool down so waiting for it to cool down wasn't an option or setting on the kitchen counter because I was afraid it would burn the counter. So I did what I had to and grabbed it by both handles and shook the scallops out of it and on to the plate. Just one problem if you ever had scallops you know they are kind of round in shape. When they hit the plate they had enough momentum they didn't stop there they kept on rolling right onto the floor. Panic starts to set in as I watch my dinner roll across the floor so with some quick thinking I tip the wok up and slow the momentum down of the scallops coming out of the wok. Keep in mind the scallops were covered with Hoisin sauce so they weren't hard to find on the floor, just follow the trial of Hoisin sauce across the floor.

After everything was back on the plate where it belonged I started taking pictures and I thought the plate looked like such a mess I decided I couldn't use the zoomed out photos so this is all I'm left with.

Over all a good meal and I will rate it a 4.25 forks out of 5. The next time I cook it I am going to start the scallops first and after a minute or so I am going to put the green onions in.

And if Sam the Cooking Guy does happen to see this I apologize next time I will do better.

Scallops with Green Onions & Hoisin

Ingredients
1/2 lb scallops, defrosted and dried on paper towels
1/4 cup Chinese Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
6 scallions (green onions)
1 tablespoon peanut oil

Steps
1. Trim green onion ends and cut into 1" pieces
2. Mix together Hoisin, soy, and sherry
3. Heat wok with oil until almost smoking
4. Put in green onions and scallops - stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes until scallops are cooked
5. Add Hoisin mixture and stir all until thickened and heated through, about a minute
6. Sprinkle with finely chopped green onion and serve over rice.

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Copyright © 2008 Sam the Cooking Guy. All Rights Reserved
Sam the Cooking Guy- Scallops with Green Onions & Hoisin http://www.thecookingguy.com/cookbook/recipe.php?id=174
1 of 1 11/15/2008 1:22 PM

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

2008-11-22T20:17:00.005-05:00

I don't bake and I don't even pretend to bake so when desserts show up on this blog you can bet I probably didn't make it. I will take credit for the pictures but not the desserts.

I was scanning through the wife's Taste of Home magazine the other day when I came across a different way to make pumpkin pie. I thought it looked pretty good so I said to the wife "Hey where ya at? I found something you should make for me." She asked me "Why don't you make it?" So I replied "I don't bake, you do and I can use it for my new blog." I finally talked her into it and last weekend she made what is called Turtle Pumpkin Pie.

I got to tell you I can't really explain or describe what is really going on here because remember I don't bake. Hopefully the photos will help.

Let's first introduce the cast of characters.

Sure looks like a simple cast but if you want a complete list the recipe will be at the bottom of this post.

Next she had to start with a crust.

Even though the recipe at the bottom says to use a store bought one she made her own. At least I think she made her own like I said this baking is like a foreign language to me.

Now it's time to line the crust with some kind of nut. Pretty technical eh? Like I said read the recipe at the bottom for more or accurate information.

Once the pie crust is ready she makes the best part of the pie the filling.

Here is an action shot.

You don't see a lot of action shots in the kitchen and maybe the above photo explains why. Not real exciting.

Next she spreads the pie filling around the crust while I lick the whisk from the mixer and scrap out the what I can out of the mixing bowl to eat.

Sure is starting to look good but it's not finished yet. Next it goes into the ice box for awhile and then she adds the cool whip, caramel and nuts to the top to finish the pie.

Now it is really looking good, time to cut a piece of pie and check it out.

Here is where the problem starts, not with the pie per say because it just might be the best pumpkin pie I ever ate, but trying to get a good photograph of just one piece of pie. I think we tried for three different nights and this was the best we could come up with. I'm not sure what to do to make it look like the one in the magazine but I will figure it out in time.

Nope that photo just doesn't do the pie justice.

Turtle Pumpkin Pie
(From Kraft Foods advertisement in Taste of Home October and November 2008)

¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 Honey Maid Graham Pie Crust
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp Planters Pecan Pieces, divided
1 cup cold milk
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Instant Pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Pour ¼ cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with ½ cup pecans

Beat milk, pudding mixes, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1-1/2 cups Cool Whip. Spread onto crust.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Top with remaining Cool Whip, caramel topping and pecans just before serving.

Chipotle Shrimp

2008-11-21T21:15:00.007-05:00

I love chinese food and even though I will probably never master the art of cooking chinese food it doesn't mean I can't try. You can cook chinese food in a regular frying pan but for some reason it just isn't the same as cooking it in a wok. I have a wok already but to be honest it is one of those tephlon coated cheap models. For the last couple of years I have been looking for a real wok, a cast iron wok. I have been told the cast iron woks will make all the difference in the world when it comes to chinese cooking.

Whenever I found a cast iron wok it usually had a round bottom on it to be used on gas cooking stoves. Now imagine my pleasure last weekend when I did a search for cast iron woks and up pops a Lodge cast iron wok, not only a Lodge cast iron wok but a Lodge cast iron wok with a flat bottom to use on electric stoves. Yippee ky yay. It took me about 5 seconds to talk it over with the wife and I had it ordered.

Fast forward to Thursday and while I am home eating lunch the UPS driver shows up with this.

Another yippee ky yay. Isn't that just a thing of beauty? Fourteen pounds worth of beauty. These preseasoned Pro Logic cast iron pots and pans are just the cats meow from Lodge. I like them because I can take them out of the box, wash them, and use them right away. No more seasoning the pans myself and stinking up the whole house for a day.

Of course I needed to use it right away so tonight I decided to try and make Mongolian Shrimp. The only problem was the store didn't cooperate with me so I was stuck with making up my own recipe tonight with ingredients I already had. It turned out ok in the end. I think I will call it Jock's Chipolte Shrimp.

This is what it looked like in the wok just before it was finished.

And this is what it looked like on my plate just before I devoured it.

Tomorrow I think I will go to Fond Du Lac and see if I can find the ingredients so I can make Mongolian Shrimp.

Stay tuned.

Jock’s Chipotle Shrimp

½ pound shrimp (or ½ pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into cubes)
Emeril’s Essence

Sauce mixture:
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp chipotle sauce
2 clove garlic, minced

6 green onions cut into 1-inch lengths
1 small to medium yellow onion, sliced
1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp peanut oil cooking.

Combine sauce ingredients separately

Heat wok and add oil. Sprinkle the shrimp with Essence.
When wok is hot add the shrimp.
Cook stirring constantly for about 2 minutes or until the shrimp are done.
Remove the shrimp. Add the yellow onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the sauce mixture and let it reduce over high heat for 1 minute.
Add the cornstarch/water mixture and cook until the sauce is the right
consistency. Add the green onions, cook for 1 minute and add the shrimp
back in and cook for another 1 minute.

Serve over rice.

Beef Short Ribs with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2008-11-19T21:23:00.004-05:00

Beef short ribs who would ever thought they could be so good. A few years ago while watching Emeril Live he made a recipe using oxtail. It looked good so I went to the grocery store to buy oxtail. There was just one problem, it's hard to find oxtail and after looking and looking I finally decided to use beef short ribs instead. The beef short ribs soon became one of the wifes and my favorite meals. I did make some changes to the original recipe to better suit our tastes but the overall idea is still pretty close to the original recipe.

This is winter time comfort food at its best. I know its still fall but here in Wisconsin snow is already blowing in the air and we have had some on the ground too so I think that's close enough.

Let's introduce this weeks cast of characters

Pretty simple ingredients this week. I'll bet most people have this stuff already in their cupboard other than the short ribs and wine. The wine can be substituted with extra beef broth if one prefers.

We must first start by browning the short ribs in our trusty cast iron dutch oven.

While the short ribs are browning we might as well make good use of our time and mince up some veggies with the food processor.

Pretty sad excuse for a food processor eh? Hey it gets the job done even though it takes three loads to process the veggies. Once the short ribs are browned it's time to start cooking our minced up veggies we worked so hard to get ready. After the veggies cook for a few minutes it's time to add tomato paste and flour.

Next we add the wine and let cook for a couple of minutes and then the beef broth. Like I said earlier if you don't want to use the wine just use all beef broth. The original recipe from Emeril actually used beer instead of wine. Since I am trying to be a little more sophisticated these days I chose the wine plus I already had a partial bottle in the refrigerator already.

It's time to bring everything up to a boil and then turn down the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes or so. Now it is time to add the beef short ribs back to the gravy and let cook for 2 hours, with a lid on of course.

After everything in the dutch oven gets happy it's time to serve over garlic mashed potatoes.

Mmm that's some good grub there folks. I make this 3 to 4 times a year and never get tired of it. And the big bonus is it's so simple to make.

Beef Short Ribs Over Mashed Potatoes

. 2 tablespoons olive oil
. 3 pounds Beef Short Ribs
. 2 teaspoons salt
. 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
. 1 cup diced onion
. 1/2 cup diced carrot
. 1/2 cup diced celery
. 1 tablespoon minced garlic
. 2 teaspoons minced ginger
. 1 tablespoon minced green onion, white part only
. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
. 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
. 1 cup red wine
. 1 1/2 cups low-sodium canned beef broth

Directions
Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven and heat over medium heat until hot. Season the short ribs with the salt and pepper. Brown short ribs on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Set the seared short ribs off to the side.

Mince onion, carrot and celery in food processor.

Once all the short ribs are browned, add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan. Sauté the vegetables until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, green onions and ginger to the pan and sauté for 1 minute, stirring often. Add the tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine to the Dutch over and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the stock, stir, and return the short ribs to the pan. Return the pan to a boil and place the lid over the pan. Once a steady stream of steam is emitted from the pan, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook the short ribs until tender, about 2 hours in a Dutch oven. Remove the lid, and serve immediately over mashed potatoes. Garnish with green onions or chives.

The Ultimate Barbecue Chicken

2008-11-18T22:19:00.002-05:00

First I must apologize to Tyler Florence for stealing the title to one of his shows but this really is the "Ultimate" bbq chicken. I'll admit this is similar to Tyler's recipe with one major change, I cook mine on a charcoal grille while he cooks his on a grille on top of the stove and finishes it in the oven. While his way of cooking chicken is excellent (I use his method in the winter when I want bbq chicken) let's face it, you can't beat chicken cooked on the grille. And if you ever get into a throwdown with Bobby Flay cooking bbq chicken using this method you will win, guaranteed.

So without further adieu "Are you ready for a throwdown?" Opps, sorry, I thought Bobby Flay was in the audience. Let's get started.

Start with a brine. "A brine you say?" Yes a brine, now don't be afraid of the salt, it doesn't soak up into the chicken in any way. From what I understand the brine or salt actually helps to seal the pores of the chicken to hold the moisture in to give the most moist bbq chicken you will ever have.

Here are the main players in this episode.

Start with a quart or so of water in a sauce pan, add a 1/2 of handful of Kosher salt (1/4 of a cup if you must measure), a 1/2 handful of brown sugar, and a table spoon or so of peppercorns (you can use just plain old black pepper too but peppercorns are suppose to do something, I'm just not sure what). Oh you want to know about the green stuff in the picture eh? Rosemary, I just happened to have it in my "garden" this year. I love the smell of that stuff but you can use any herb you like or none at all, use what you like and like what you use. Bring everything to a boil on the stove while stirring and turn off the heat. Next add the ice cubes and cool back down, after all if you add hot brine to the chicken it will start to cook and that is a bad thing. I should mention this is for one chicken, if you cook two chickens double it and three triple....aw forget it you get the idea.

Put everything in a one gallon zip lock bag.

Next add the brine mixture, cooled off of course.

Put everything in a bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours but preferably overnight would be better. Oh what is the bowl for? Just in case the bag springs a leak you don't want chicken brine all over your ice box. The chicken police would have to be called in and you would have to throw everything out in your refrigerator.

Fast forward to the next day.

Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and take out of the brine. Save the brine and serve it instead of milk during dinner. Just kidding, dump it down the sink. Dry the chicken off with paper towels. Another trick is after you dry it off is stick it back into the ice box on a platter for a 1/2 hour. You want the chicken dry because this will help to give a crispy exterior. Once the chicken is dry dust with Emeril's Essence.

Now do you know what time it is? It's time to "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!"

Move the charcoal over so it only covers 1/2 the charcoal grate and place the chicken over the charcoal and brown both sides.

DO NOT walk away. It will only take a minute or so to brown the chicken. If you don't watch the chicken it will burn fast, real fast, take my word, trust me, I'm telling the truth, I have the experience to prove it.

Now it is time to move it over to the indirect side of the grille, see that's why you only put charcoal under half of the cooking grate, smart eh? This is how chicken is cooked without burning it, take my word, trust me, I'm telling the truth, I have the experience to prove it.

This is where you separate the men from the boys, the women from the girls, and the dogs from the pups. This is the point where you make the ultimate bbq chicken, this is the point where people will tell you "This is the best bbq chicken I have ever had." How? Add a little bit of wood on top of the hot charcoal, soak the wood in water first. I prefer apple wood or hickory but you can use anything you want, just remember use what you like and like what you use. Cover the grille and let cook.

DON"T PEAK!

Keep the grille temperature around 350 degrees, 375 is ok and even 400 will work. I know it is hard to regulate the temperature of the grille but with a little practice it can be done. I would also suggest a thermometer mounted in the top of the grille for watching the inside temperature of the grille. I think this is the single most important piece of equipment you can have as a griller.

It will take about a hour to cook but I urge you to use a digital thermometer. Most recipes I have come across say to cook to 165 degrees but I cook chicken to 170 degrees just because I want to be sure it is cooked.

The chicken is done and now is the time to sauce it up. The way I do it is brush sauce on the top side and flip it over onto the coals and then sauce the bottom side. Wait for about a minute, could be more, might be less, just depends on how much heat is left in the coals, keep an eye on it and then turn it over and let the bottom side cook until done. You can sauce the skin side again if you want but it isn't necessary. Use any bbq sauce you like, the sauce I make is excellent on chicken, or use Sweet Baby Ray's or Billy Bones, just remember use what you like and like what you use.

Let the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes after it is taken off the fire and this is what you are left with.

Grandma Williams would be proud. Even the white meat is moist after cooking it like this, in fact you might only grill white meat after trying it this way.

There you have it my ultimate barbecued chicken, my secret is out, just might be the best you ever had.

After you cook chicken this way don't be surprise if someone comes up to you and says "Are YOU ready for a Throwdown?"

Grilled Meatloaf

2008-11-17T22:52:00.003-05:00

After last weeks Sunday dinner I knew I would have a hard time trying to come up with something better than the pork roast. I'm not sure I will ever come up with anything better because that dinner was the best I have ever done.

But we must move on and this weeks Sunday dinner is grilled meatloaf. This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe I found on the Food Network web site.

Now this isn't just any ole meatloaf recipe (see below) this recipe has a link of chorizo sausage in it. The main players in this episode is as follows:

Like I said the link of chorizo sausage goes in the middle of the loaf.

And then cover it up with the other half of meatloaf.

Now it's time to "FIRE UP THE GRILLE!" Cook at 350 degrees with a few chunks of mesquite wood that have been soaked in water and cook for 45 minutes to a hour.

I am going to give it a 4 out of 5 forks. Very tasty, not spicy at all (I expected a lot more spicy than it was because of the chorizo). If you are looking for something a little different give this a try. If you do try this recipe just be careful of the chorizo you buy because there are some real spicy stuff out there.

The wife made the side pasta salad called Sweet Pea Salad. She found it in her Taste of Home Cookbook. It is a very good recipe but the next time she is going to add some fake crabmeat to it and then it will be excellent (her idea not mine but I did agree).

Here is the recipe. There is a bonus at the bottom, Emeril's Essence if you don't already have it. I only use half the salt he suggest in his recipe and I use Kosher Salt.

Mr. John's Meatloaf
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 to 1 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
Vegetable oil
8 ounces chorizo, halved crosswise
1 cup bottled chili sauce, optional

Preheat the grill, or an oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, pork, onion, bell pepper, garlic, eggs, cream, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and Essence, and stir with a wooden spoon to blend thoroughly. Divide the mixture into fourths. Form 2 pieces into a loaf shape about 9 by 4-inches. Lay one sausage down the middle of each loaf. Mold the remaining 2 meatloaf portions over and around the sausages to cover it completely, and seal into 2 oblong loaves.

Rub the entire surface of the meatloaf with vegetable oil and make sure the grill is well oiled. Place on the hot grill and brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning with spatulas. Transfer to the rack above the grill, and top each meatloaf with 1/2 cup chili sauce. Close the grill lid and cook until the meatloaves reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 45 minutes.

Remove from the grill and transfer to a cutting board or serving platter and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. (Alternately, the meatloaves can be placed on a lightly greased baking sheet and roasted in a preheated 350 degrees F oven until an internal temperature of 160 degrees F is reached, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting occasionally with the pan juices.)

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Intermediate
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
User Rating: 5 Stars

Episode#: EMSP27
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Pork Roast Stuffed with Provolone Cheese, Mushrooms, and Spinich

2008-11-16T20:41:00.004-05:00

When we started our grilling season this year my goal was to cook something different every Sunday. Even though I may cooked pork ribs more than one Sunday I won't cook them the same way twice. For the first few weeks this is an easy task but as time goes on it starts to get more difficult. I am always looking for ideas (if anybody has some please send them along.) Most of my ideas come from either the Food Network or from several bbq blogs I have saved on my google reader. Sometimes I will take an idea I have seen from somewhere and adapt it to the grill and sometimes I will try to copy something I may have seen. Either way it is always fun to try and a challenge.

This weeks idea came from one of my bbq blogs I read. I didn't use the ingredients posted on the blog I used my own, but it is the same basic idea.

This weeks Sunday dinner.............Stuffed Pork Roast.

When we went to the grocery store on Saturday my intentions were to buy tuna steaks and finally try cooking them on the grill. But something happened when I walked by the meat counter there was a pork roast in there saying "Buy me!" I tried to ignore it but it kept drawing me back there and saying "Buy me." Finally I caved in and told the butcher to give me an average size one. Now I have to confess this wasn't just any normal pork roast this pork roast was already marinated in a sweet bourbon marinade from the store. Normally I wouldn't consider buying anything already marinated because I feel as though I should be doing all my own marinading, it really isn't all the hard to do. I just couldn't help myself this time I was intrigued by the name alone.

On Sunday when it came time to prepare the roast I opened it up and just stared at it. I wasn't sure what to do with it. I had the recipe for the stuffed pork roast but I wasn't sure I really wanted to try to do it. Finally after about 10 minutes I asked the wife what I should do. She said "Stuff it!" I wasn't sure she was talking about the roast or not but I figured I might as well give it a try.

That was the easy decision, the hard part was what to stuff it with. (You got to love all the preplanning that went into this meal.) I didn't have any of the items the original recipe called for so it was time to improvise. I opened up the refrigerator and started looking. Hmm, the recipe called for olive oil marinated mozzarella cheese, I see some provolone, I think that will do. What else? Oh, how about spinach? Yeah, just bought this yesterday at the Farmers Market in Elkhart Lake. Now the recipe called for three items...let's see....hmm.....no, not that...not sure what that is so let's skip that too....."Hey think we should clean this refrigerator out sometime?" (That is the hint to the wife maybe SHE should think about cleaning out the refrigerator)......oh, look at that, fresh portabella mushrooms, yeah that will do.

There you have it, the ingredients, pork roast marinated in a sweet bourbon sauce, provolone cheese, spinach, portabella mushrooms and olive oil. (Forgot the olive oil in the picture.)

Next stuff the roast. One problem, can't stuff it in its original state in the picture, got to cut the roast in half, well almost. Slice through the roast leaving about a two inch hinge and open the roast up then slice it again in half leaving about a inch and open it up again. From here put ingredients on the flattened out roast, roll it back up and tie it up to hold it together.

"To the grill!" 350 degrees for a hour to a hour and a half until the internal temperature is 145 to 147 degrees. If pork gets beyond 147 degrees it starts to dry out fast.

The tin foil packets will be for future posts. Hey I need ideas too.

After about 1-1/2 hours this is what you are left with.

Just take a look at that masterpiece. Makes you drool doesn't it? See the provolone cheese oozing out the top and the right side. You can even see a mushroom trying to escape out the left side. I wish I could post the the smell of the roast while it was cooking, truly one of the best smelling foods I have ever grilled.

Here is the finished dinner plate.

This is a 5+ forks out of 5 fork meal. This may be the best dinner I have grilled yet, I am not sure what could be any better. If you have plans to cook this meal please do it on the grill, the oven just won't do it justice. If you do it on the grille (even if it is gas) add a chunk of apple wood to the fire it will make all the difference in the world.

Peach Cobbler Dump

2008-11-15T17:02:00.002-05:00

The reason for tonight's post is this:

I know of a couple of hoodlums out there will know what all this is for and I hope they are drooling right now. This is the peach cobbler we used to make when we were at the cabin or out camping. I think this could possible be one the the best smells in all the world, peach cobbler cooking over an open fire at night. Brings back memories.

This is one of the simplest cobblers to make. Just follow the pictures.

Start by lighting a fire in the chimney starter.

Dump everything into the dutch oven.

Cook. Oh the smells when it is cooking.

Take off the fire when done.

Serve with ice cream and enjoy.

I wanted to make this tonight because I haven't made it for a couple of years. And believe me it was worth it.

Grilled Salmon

2008-11-14T22:53:00.001-05:00

If you haven't noticed by now every Sunday the wife and I try to fix ourselves a tasty meal and today was no exception with grilled salmon with lime butter, grilled asparagus with sesame, lime butter, jasmine rice and key lime pie (made with regular limes because we couldn't find key limes.)

As you can see from the above photo things I cook on the grill don't always work out right. When I flipped the salmon over the lower right corner stuck to the grill and I lost some of those beautiful grill marks.

The salmon with the lime butter was good with a overall rating of 3.5 forks out of 5. The only reason I don't grade it higher is I think I can do better. The salmon was cooked almost perfectly but I think I can come up with better flavors with the salmon. I think if I add some hardwood to the fire next time this will also improve the salmon. Normally I would do this but I wasn't sure how much smoke the salmon would absorb.

The asparagus was good too, it had the good ole grilled flavor. I mixed up some lime butter with orange juice, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. The asparagus really soaked in the lime flavor and ended up being quite tasty with just a hint of sesame flavor too. I will give it a 3 out of 5 forks only because the asparagus was not as favorable as the stuff ma used to grow out at the house. If I could get fresh asparagus (I mean picked that day) I am sure the rating would go up. This asparagus was fresh, organic kind we bought from Whole Foods on Saturday but still not the same.

As far as the jasmine rice is concerned, well it is jasmine rice, simply the best rice for cooking with and using as a bed for anything you cook.

The key lime pie is hard for me to rate since it is the first key lime pie I have ever had. It was tart, maybe a touch to tart for me, but it was good. The wife and I discussed it and decided the next time she makes it she will cut down on the amount of lime zest she puts in to it. If I was to rank it it would have to fall somewhere between mincemeat (being the worst) and rhubarb (being the best). I will give it a 3.5 compared to all other pies.

All in all a good Sunday meal, something different for us since I don't cook fish as much as I should. It is hard to find good fish locally around here. The salmon came from Whole Foods too and that is 50 miles away in Milwaukee.

If anyone wants recipes let me know and I will give them to you. The salmon recipe came from the free loading Deen boys (Paula's sons), the asparagus came from Paula Deen herself, the jasmine rice came from the back of the container, and the key lime pie came from big sis who got it from the Barefoot Contessa.

Sweet and Sour Pork

2008-11-12T22:24:00.002-05:00

Anyone who lives around Midland knows they have the best Chinese restaurants and if you aren't aware of that just move anywhere else and you soon will be aware of it. We have lived in both Virginia and Wisconsin and we have never been able to find any chinese restaurants equaled to he ones in Midland.

I love my chinese food and I have withdrawal pains when I don't eat it every now and then. Since we can't find good chinese restaurants around here naturally I thought maybe I should try to make my own. Most of my forays into chinese cooking so far have been disappointments but one dish I have started to figure out is Sweet and Sour Pork.

Let's introduce the cast of characters.

I think I got everything in the picture this week.

If you want to make good sweet and sour pork you first need to have a good sweet and sour sauce. Sometimes when I am making this at night I reach in the cupboard and grab this stuff....

That's kind of like cheating for todays meal so I decided to go the old fashion way and make my own. It really isn't all that hard and I actually have all the ingredients already in the cupboard.

The sauce is garlic, ginger, apple cider vinegar, pineapple juice, sesame oil, ketchup, soy sauce, red pepper, and brown sugar. Bring all this to a boil and add sherry or red wine vinegar with corn starch to thicken it up a bit. It's as easy as that and in five minutes I have a pretty darn good sweet and sour sauce.

Time to cube up the pork and start browning it.

Now if you really know your sweet and sour pork you will already know the pork is usually coated with corn starch and deep fried. Since I'm not into deep frying and really don't need any more deep fried foods than necessary I brown mine on the stove. I know it's not really classic sweet and sour pork but since I'm running this operation I will cook it anyway I find fit.

Since the pork is browned now things start to happen. I crank up the heat and add the onions and green peppers.

Mix them in with the pork and let cook for a couple of minutes.

Quickly add the sweet and sour sauce I made earlier.

Stir everything together and bring up to temperature and then add the pineapple and green onions.

Time to plate up this delicious meal, start with some rice.

Every now and then I forget to start the rice but not this time.

Now add the sweet and sour pork to it.

Mmm good stuff if you like sweet and sour pork. Here take another look....

Go ahead and smell it. Smells like chinese, probably because of the sesame oil I used.

My next chinese meal I make will be Mongolian Shrimp, my favorite. I have tried to make it before but always been disappointed. In that true Porter spirited though I will not give up, sooner or later I will figure it out and when I do you can be sure to find it here or my new blog.

Stayed tuned.