My Thanksgiving Dinner

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

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

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.

www.thecookingguy.com
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

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

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

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

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?"