Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

REFRESHING SHRIMP CEVICHE

Posted: March 2, 2014 in ceviche, Cucumbers, Recipes, seafood, shrimp, tomatoes, Uncategorized
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I’ve never met a ceviche I didn’t like. Sometimes, nothing can stop a serious seafood craving like sushi, sashimi or ceviche. They require the freshest seafood and veggies you can get your hands on. And other than some fine chopping, they require little else.

The acid in citrus juices basically “cooks” the seafood in a process very similar to applying heat, but when I use shrimp in ceviche, I place them in some boiling salted water first…although very briefly.

Crazy colored shrimp, thanks to blood oranges.

Crazy colored shrimp, thanks to blood oranges.

Ingredients:

For the poaching liquid…

2 quarts water

1/4 cup salt

For the ceviche…

1 pound raw wild-caught American shrimp, peeled and deveined

juice of 2 lemons

juice of 2 limes

juice of 2 oranges (I had blood oranges this time)

1 cup diced seeded peeled cucumber

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 cup diced seeded tomato

1 avocado, chopped into 1/2″ pieces

1 tablespoon roughly chopped cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Fleur de Sel

Combine water and 1/4 cup salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and immediately turn off the heat. Let the shrimp sit for just a minute, drain and transfer to a bowl of ice and place in fridge to cool.

Remove cooled shrimp from fridge and drain. Chop shrimp into 1/2″ pieces and place in a medium non-reactive bowl. Add lemon, lime and orange juice. Stir in cucumber, onion and pepper flakes. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Stir in the tomato, avocado, chopped cilantro, olive oil and Fleur de Sel into the shrimp mixture. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired.

CORNED BEEF AND PASTRAMI BASICS

Posted: February 26, 2014 in barbecue, beef, brining, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, Food, Recipes, salt, smoking, Uncategorized
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St. Patrick’s Day is about 3 weeks away…just in time to make your own corned beef!

It takes about 3 weeks to make corned beef, but it’s not difficult to do. Doing it yourself gives you a better quality product than that nasty slab from the supermarket that is full of chemicals and preservatives.

Corned beef has nothing to do with corn. ‘Corning’ is a technique for preserving raw meats for long periods by soaking it in salt brine. This method was used before the days of commercial refrigeration. Back then, the large salt kernels used in the brine were called “corns.”

Brining is a time-honored way of preserving and it prevents bacteria from growing. Both pastrami and corned beef are made by this method. Both corned beef and pastrami usually start with a brisket of beef. Corned beef is then cooked–usually boiled–and served. Pastrami is made when the brined meat is rubbed  with more spices and smoked to add extra flavor. So corned beef and pastrami are the same meat, just treated differently.

Saltpeter is an ingredient that has been used in brining beef for years. It adds the traditional red coloring to the corned beef and pastrami meat. But since saltpeter can also contain carcinogens, I leave it out. The meat may not be the usual bright red color, but the flavor and texture of the meat will not be affected.

Brining the beef brisket

Brining the beef brisket

Step one: corned beef…

Ingredients:
beef brisket (about 8-10 pounds)
2 tsp. paprika
1/4 cup warm water
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices
3/4 cup salt
2 quarts water

Place the brisket in a large container made of non-reactive material, like glass or plastic.

In the 1/4 cup of warm water, dissolve the sugar, minced cloves, paprika and pickling spices.

Dissolve the 3/4 cup of salt in the 2 quarts of water. Pour in the sugar/garlic/paprika/pickling spices mix and stir everything together. Pour the mixture over the meat in the container. Make sure the meat is totally beneath the surface of the liquid. (You may need to weigh it down to do this.) Cover the container.

Refrigerate the container and contents for 3 weeks, turning the meat once or twice per week. At the end of the third week, remove the container from the refrigerator and take out the meat. Soak the meat in several changes of fresh cold water over a period of 24 hours to remove the excess salt.

At this point, if you want corned beef, prepare and cook it using your favorite recipe. But I’m all about the pastrami!

Step two: making Pastrami…

pastrami

Ingredients:

Brined and rinsed corned beef brisket from above recipe, patted dry with paper towels

1/4 cup Kosher salt

1/4 cup paprika

3 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds

1 tablespoon white peppercorns

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Combine coriander seeds, black and white peppercorns and mustard seeds in a spice grinder and grind coarsely. Place in a bowl. Add salt, paprika, brown sugar and granulated garlic. Mix well.

Rub the mix into the brisket well, covering all sides.

Heat smoker to 225 degrees and smoke for several hours using a less intense wood, like oak. When the internal temperature of the meat has reached 165 degrees, it’s done. It isn’t necessary to smoke pastrami as long as you would a regular brisket because the long brining time makes the meat tender.

It is very important that absolutely everything that comes in contact with the meat is very clean. (This includes your hands.) Also, make very sure that every inch of the meat reaches the 165 degrees before it is removed from the smoker. The corned beef is now pastrami.

DIY TACO SEASONING

Posted: February 22, 2014 in beets, Food, morocco, Recipes, taco
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It’s so easy to make taco seasoning at home, so why would you buy the spice factory floor sweepings that they use for packaged taco seasoning sold in supermarkets? I’m not a huge fan of Mexican cuisine, but every once in a while, I crave a good taco. As you’ll see, my tacos don’t resemble most, but that’s OK. It’s all about making it your own.

My taco seasoning recipe is for 2 lbs. of grass-fed ground beef…

Yes, I put my taco seasoning in a Moroccan tajine pot. But it looks cool, so cut me some slack!

Yes, I put my taco seasoning in a Moroccan tajine pot. But it looks cool, so cut me some slack!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 Spanish onion, finely chopped

olive oil

2lbs. grass-fed ground beef

Combine all the spice ingredients in a bowl.

Saute the onions in a bit of olive oil until translucent. Add the beef and saute until cooked, mixing in the spice mixture a little at a time until you’ve used it all.

You can also mix the spices with 1 cup of flour and use it to season chicken before frying…or mix the seasoning with strips of chicken breast or beef for fajitas.

My tacos are a bit unusual. Although I use a soft flour tortilla and my seasoned and cooked ground beef, I use my Awesomesauce  and roasted golden beets. Recipe here: https://livethelive.com/2014/02/19/awesomesauce/

Tacos with roasted golden beets, baby Romaine salad mix, and Awesomesauce

Tacos with roasted golden beets, baby Romaine salad mix, and Awesomesauce

For the beets: I wash the beets and quarter them, cutting the top and bottom off but leaving the skin. I place them in a sheet of aluminum foil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. I combine the ingredients to coat the beets, wrap the foil tightly into a package, and roast in a 400-degree oven for 1 hour. After roasting and the beets have cooled a bit, I slice them into smaller pieces for the tacos.

Slices of avocado go really well with this, too!

AWESOMESAUCE

Posted: February 19, 2014 in barbecue, beef, burgers, crab, Food, grilling, New York City, Recipes, seafood, shrimp, Uncategorized
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The inspiration for this sauce was my attempt to replicate the “Shack Sauce” they use at Shake Shack , a high-end burger joint owned by restaurateur Danny Meyer. Since it opened in New York City’s Madison Square Park in 2004, Shake Shack has expanded to many other locations around the world.

I don’t know if I captured the Shack Sauce secret. But I do know that my Awesomesauce makes every cheeseburger I grill taste amazing. It’s also fantastic for shrimp, crab or lobster salad…a dip for veggies or boiled shrimp…a dressing for tacos…and great on salads.

Awesomesauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon ketchup

1 Tablespoon yellow mustard

1 tablespoon dill pickle relish

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Pinch cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate covered for a few hours to blend flavors.

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU DO WITH LENTILS?

Posted: February 15, 2014 in Food, Recipes, Soups
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You make soup! And really tasty soup at that! The great thing about this soup is that you can pretty much add anything you like to it–ham, bacon, chicken, or keep it meat-free–and you just can’t go wrong.

Me? I had a couple of pigs’ feet in the freezer (seriously) and I plunked those suckers down into the soup as it cooked, removing and discarding the feet at the end. I chose not to pick the meat out of them…they had imparted a delicious porky flavor into the soup by then anyway.

I always use homemade chicken stock instead of water for extra flavor.

Lentil soup, with a pig's foot waving hello.

Lentil soup, with a pig’s foot waving hello.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

8 cups chicken stock

2 cups dry lentils

1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)

2 tbsp vinegar

1 cup spinach, rinsed

salt and pepper

Put olive oil, carrots, onions and celery in a large soup pot and place over medium heat. Add a little salt and pepper. Once the onion has softened, add the garlic, bay leaf, oregano and basil. Cook for a couple of minutes and add the chicken stock, lentils and tomatoes. Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat. Let it simmer for an hour.

Before serving, add in the spinach and cook it until it wilts. Then stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

THE BEAUTY OF BONE MARROW

Posted: February 12, 2014 in beef, Carnivore!, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized
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I don’t exactly know when my love affair with bone marrow began, but suffice it to say that if I see it on a restaurant menu, I have to order it.
A 2 ounce serving of beef bone marrow has over 500 calories, so diet food it is not. But it has some calcium and “good” fats, especially if the cow was grass-fed.  Each 2 ounce serving has over 54 grams of fat, although most of it is unsaturated. How much protein it has depends on the marrow, but there are those carnivores out there that swear by bone marrow’s almost magical health food properties.
But whether it’s good for you or not, the main reason to eat bone marrow is taste. And I’ve found that when it comes to eating it, there are no gray areas…people either love it or are grossed out by it.
marrow
 
Bone marrow played a very important role in the development of mankind as a species. Long before we had the skills to hunt for our own food, about 2 million years ago, we feasted on the bones of fallen prey…or more accurately, what was inside the bones of fallen prey. A diet of fatty, high-calorie bone marrow meant that early man didn’t have to rely on the digestion of roughage alone to survive, and it allowed for the “luxury” of the development of larger brains.
Fast-forward to today, where the only critters that appreciate bone marrow are our dogs—if they’re lucky enough to get a bone—or foodies like us!
Aside from higher-end restaurants, bone marrow might be difficult to find at first. But you can certainly ask your local butcher for some—he’ll even cut them lengthwise or into short cylinders for you for easy access. I get mine online, with bones from grass-fed cows.

Cooking bone marrow couldn’t be simpler: a little salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, then bake in a hot oven until bubbly and caramelized. Spread it on toast in the morning with your eggs, smear it on top of your steak instead of butter, or just scoop it right out of the bone.

THERE’S PORCHETTA…AND THEN THERE’S PORCHETTA!

Posted: February 8, 2014 in Carnivore!, Food, Italian, New York City, pork, Recipes, restaurants, travel
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Porchetta is a savory, fatty, herby, delicious slab of pig that is slow roasted…a favorite in Italy. Porchetta is also the name of a small eatery on the Lower east side of New York City, the baby of chef Sara Jenkins, where they serve this Italian classic almost exclusively, with lines of people winding down the block, waiting for their taste of pig heaven.

porchetta1

Traditional porchetta is made from a hog that is butchered, boned and roasted. Porchetta in New York City takes the pork loin, wraps it with the belly and skin, and slow roasts it in their special Combi oven. The result is nothing short of fantastic.

porchetta2

Both methods are way too big for my kitchen, so I took a page out of one of my favorite cooking magazines, La Cucina Italiana , where chef Jenkins described how a homemade version of porchetta was possible using boneless pork shoulder.
Well, I didn’t have a boneless pork shoulder, dammit! I had two beautiful pork tenderloins…not nearly as fatty, and no pork skin to wrap them with. I knew that I would have to be extremely careful not to totally dry my pork out.

Before...

Before…

Ingredients:

10 small fresh sage leaves
3 fresh small rosemary sprigs, leaves only
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons wild fennel pollen (see below)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/2 to 3 lb total)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine

Heat oven to 250 degrees.

Finely chop the sage, rosemary and garlic. (I place them in a food processor.) Place mixture in a small bowl and add fennel pollen, salt and pepper. Stir together well.

Rub the herb mixture all over the 2 tenderloin pieces. Tie the tenderloins together with butcher twine. (Usually one end of the tenderloin is fatter and the other thinner. Line them up so that one fat end is tied with one thin end, making the pork package of equal thickness.)

Set pork fat side up in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil.

Roast the tenderloins, basting with the wine and pan juices every 15 minutes. Cook until pork has an internal temperature of 140 degrees.

After!

After!

Despite that it came out somewhat awesome, I plan on using a pork shoulder next time. Leftovers make great sandwiches!

PANCAKES MADE WITH FRESH RICOTTA

Posted: February 4, 2014 in breakfast, curds, Food, Iron Chefs, New York City, pancakes, Recipes, restaurants, Uncategorized
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These pancakes, based on a recipe from chef April Bloomfield (The Spotted Pig and The Breslin in NYC), are made from fresh homemade ricotta cheese. Light as air…and really delicious! I made my first-ever batch of homemade ricotta cheese the other day, following a recipe from Iron Chef Michael Symon. He used lemon juice and zest in the recipe, which gave the cheese a stronger lemon profile than I had hoped for. But once I realized I could use that ricotta in a pancake, the lemon flavor really took the pancakes to a whole new level.

I use raw milk for my ricotta cheese. It’s not available here in Rhode Island, but it is in neighboring Massachusetts. If you can’t find raw milk, use organic milk. Just avoid anything that is ultra-pasteurized.

milk

Ingredients:

1.2 gallon of raw milk

juice and zest of 8 small organic lemons

salt

sugar

Always have top-notch assistants at your side to make sure you're doing it right!

Always have top-notch assistants at your side to make sure you’re doing it right!

In a saucepan, heat the milk to 180 degrees. Remove from the heat. Add lemon juice and zest, salt and sugar. Stir once and then let it sit for 5 minutes.

Pour the curds (solids) and whey (liquid) into a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a bowl. Discard the whey, if you choose, then place the remaining cheese in the fridge overnight to further continue drippage.

The next morning, the ricotta is ready to use!

Homemade ricotta cheese

Homemade ricotta cheese

Once you have the fresh ricotta, it’s time to put these beautiful rustic pancakes together…

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups milk

2 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup fresh ricotta

 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, ricotta,  and egg yolks. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

In a large stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff, but not dry. Fold gently into the batter.

Spray a non-stick griddle with a little cooking spray and drop about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes per side, until golden and fluffy.

pancake

FRIED CALAMARI

Posted: January 31, 2014 in Food, frying, Recipes, seafood, Uncategorized
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On an episode of “Top Chef,” Wolfgang Puck had the competing chefs make an omelet, something you would think they could do blindfolded. They all failed. An omelet may be a simple dish, but creating a really great omelet is an art form. It’s the same with fried calamari. When I see it on a menu, I almost always order it, because it’s my litmus test for the meal ahead. If the chef screws it up, I know he or she either doesn’t have the chops, or doesn’t care, and that will reflect on the other food served as well.

To me, what makes great friend calamari are three basic elements: it needs to be wild caught in the US and properly cleaned…it needs to be fried at the right temperature for the right amount of time so that it’s perfectly cooked and not greasy…and the coating needs to be light and crispy. This recipe does it for me…

calamari

Ingredients:

1 lb. wild caught cleaned squid (thaw if frozen)

2 cups flour (I use 00 flour, but all purpose is OK, too)

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup milk

1 large egg

oil, for frying ( I use non-GMO canola oil or peanut oil)

Thaw the squid and slice into bite-sized rings. In a bowl, whisk the milk and the egg together. Toss in all the squid pieces into the bowl to coat. Place the bowl in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

In another bowl, combine flour, oregano, paprika, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Fill a large pan halfway with oil…or use a deep fryer if you have one. Preheat the oil to 350 degrees.

Working in small batches, remove the squid from the milk and egg mixture, let some of it drip off, then place the squid in the flour mixture and toss to coat. Shake off any excess flour and place immediately into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 4 or 5 minutes. Serve immediately with tartare sauce, tomato sauce, hot peppers, whatever you like.

Commentary on oil: I cook almost exclusively with olive oil. But for hot frying like this recipe requires, I go with non-GMO canola oil…or peanut oil if that’s not available. Despite what you read, most oils that are hailed as “healthy:” regular canola, corn, soybean, sunflower, safflower…are bad for you. But if you fry your food at the proper temperature using good clean oil, very little oil will stay on your food.

PASTA WITH LOBSTER SAUCE

Posted: January 19, 2014 in Food, Recipes, seafood, tomatoes, travel
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One of the most incredible dishes I’ve had on the beautiful island of Santorini, Greece, is lobster with pasta. It’s one of those dishes that takes time to prepare, because the pasta lobster sauce they make is a labor of love…time consuming and so spectacular.

To try to replicate that lobster sauce we had in Santorini, I started with a kick-ass lobster stock. It’s simple but flavorful:

Stock ingredients:

clean, empty claws, tails and bodies from two 1-1/2 lb. lobsters

12 cups water

1/2 onion

3 celery stalks

1 carrot

Place all ingredients in a large pot and set on high heat. Crush lobster shells with potato masher. Cook until it is reduced by half.

Strain the stock, discarding the lobster shells and veggies. Bring the stock back to the heat and reduce until all you have left is 1 cup of intense stock.

Cooking the stock

Cooking the stock

Now that I have the stock, I can make the sauce!

Sauce ingredients:

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

pinch of Italian red pepper flakes

teaspoon parsley

extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup lobster stock

1/4 cup San Marzano tomato sauce (see below)

splash of white wine (I use Alice white Chardonnay)

salt and pepper

1/2 lb. cooked pasta

Add some olive oil to a pan and saute the onions until translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and cook for 10 seconds. Add the red pepper flakes and parsley.

Add 1/4 cup of the lobster stock and let it cook, reducing by half. Add the other 1/4 cup of lobster stock and the tomato sauce. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and add the white wine. Cook for a few minutes more.

Cook pasta and drain even before it reaches the al dente stage. Place the pasta in the pan with the sauce, heating and coating thoroughly. Serve immediately.

For the San Marzano tomato sauce: I take a can of San Marzano tomatoes and place it in a food processor or Vita-Mix and blend until I get sauce. Pour into a pan and reduce over medium heat by half, until sauce has thickened.

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