Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

THESE ARE THE BALLS!

Posted: April 9, 2014 in Food, Italian, Recipes, san marzano, tomatoes
Tags: , , , , , , ,
1

There’s something magical about a simple plate of spaghetti and meatballs. When my parents took me to an Italian restaurant as a child, a plate of spaghetti and meatballs made me feel like the luckiest kid on the planet. And even now, when I prepare a plate of spaghetti and meatballs for my 7-year-old daughter, she can’t wait to sit down at the dinner table. She’s so busy shoveling the food into her mouth, she can’t even speak. I just get a quick thumbs-up between bites! meatballs

 

Great meatballs start with great meat. I always use 80/20 grass-fed beef. I don’t use a ton of breadcrumbs as filler. And the tomato sauce is homemade as well, from canned tomatoes. I start with the sauce…

 

B.F.I.M. SAUCE

Inspired by a lovely but large Italian lady I once knew, my Big Fat Italian Mama sauce is the best tasting sauce I’ve had anywhere.

 

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, through a press

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

10 cups ground and peeled tomatoes…or 3 cans (28 oz.) tomatoes pureed in food processor

2 teaspoons each: dried oregano, basil and parsley

3/4 teaspoon each anise seed and fennel seed

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 bay leaves

1 small can (6 oz.) tomato paste

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

 

Heat olive oil in a large pot and add the onions. Cook until onions are translucent, then add the garlic. Stir for 10 seconds.

Add tomatoes and cook on high until orange foam disappears, stirring frequently. Don’t let it burn.

Add oregano, basil, parsley, anise seed, fennel seed, salt and pepper, bay leaves and tomato paste. Allow sauce to just come to a boil so that the tomato paste reaches optimum thickening power.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for at least an hour, until sauce reaches desired thickness. Stir often.

 

While the sauce is cooking, I start the meatballs…

 

THE BALLS

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs grass-fed ground beef

1 cup plain breadcrumbs (homemade are best)

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs, cracked and scrambled

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

 

Mix all the ingredients, except the olive oil, thoroughly but gently in a large bowl. Don’t overwork it.

Pour olive oil a medium-hot pan (don’t let it burn), make the meatballs, and sear them on all sides until brown.

When the meatballs are nice and brown, place them into the pot of sauce, making sure they are covered. Pour all the little bits and the olive oil from the pan into the sauce as well! Great flavor there.

Cover the pot and cook the meatballs in the sauce on low for a few hours. Pour over pasta, and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

 

AGING SPIRITS IN OAK BARRELS AT HOME

Posted: April 1, 2014 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, mixology, Recipes, travel
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Used to be that only the big distilleries were able to age their finest spirits in charred oak barrels. But now, there’s a movement goin’ on…and hand-crafted oak barrels are available to aficionados at home.

Companies like Redhead Barrels (www.redheadoakbarrels.com) are offering oak barrels for aging that range in size from 1 liter to 20 liters. And that’s where this enthusiast comes in: with a 1-liter barrel, I’m able to age my favorite spirit–vodka, rum, whiskey, bourbon, anything–in just a few weeks, elevating the flavors to levels previously unknown. For example, they claim that Crown Royal will age to Crown Reserve in 14–15 days! Imagine what it can do for any spirit–or wine–you choose.

wood

My  1-liter barrel arrived with the spigot and bung separately. The instructions say that curing the barrel is necessary before using it. You do this by rinsing the barrel out a few times to remove any loose pieces of wood chips or splinters that may still be inside. You hand-turn the spigot into the barrel until it fits snugly and you place the barrel in your sink on the included stand. You fill the barrel with very hot water…and watch. Some barrels are totally watertight and will not leak. Others may take literally a few days of repeated fillings with hot water before it thoroughly seeps into the wood, expanding it to seal the barrel.

Once there are no leaks, you are ready to go. Simply empty the water out of the barrel and fill it with your favorite spirit. Because there is more wood surface area to less liquid, as compared to the large barrels companies like Jack Daniels use, your alcohol will age faster…in weeks instead of years. Once you’ve aged it as much as you want, you simply pour it into a bottle to stop the aging process. Rinse the barrel out thoroughly, and you are ready to age yet another spirit.

I chose to age a favorite cocktail that I first savored at the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland, Ohio, the brainchild of the insanely talented chef Jonathon Sawyer. The call it a Negroski, their take on a Negroni. It features equal parts Campari, Cocchi sweet vermouth, and OYO stone fruit vodka. They make large batches of it and keep it in a barrel until they serve it. So enamoured my wife and I were with this drink, that I begged the bartender to give me the recipe. He did, and though I could easily find Campari back home, I went on an internet search for the Cocchi vermouth (found it at http://www.drinkupny.com, a great wine and spirits website) and the OYO stone fruit vodka (an Ohio product that I finally found at http://www.thepartysource.com.)

Doing the math, equal parts of each ingredient meant 1 1/3 cups of each to make a quart…which fit perfectly in my 1-liter barrel. Once I corked the top with the bung, it was time to let it age.

A slight daily rotation of the barrel gently rocks the liquid inside, exposing it to the barrel’s charred wood interior, giving it more flavor. And at the end of   a week, I was ready for my first tasting: the wood had a subtle influence, rounding out the flavors. I wanted a little more, so I waited another week.: even better, but not quite there. It took a total of three weeks before the drink reached its flavorful peak.

I poured some of the drink into a cocktail shaker with ice, stirred briskly with a spoon, and strained it into a martini glass, garnishing with a twist of blood orange peel. Delicious!

cask

What’s next for my little wooden cask? Perhaps some of my Krupnikas (http://wp.me/p1c1Nl-lq).

FETTUCCINE ALFREDO: THE ORIGINAL MAC & CHEESE

Posted: March 24, 2014 in Food, Italian, pasta, Recipes
Tags: , , , , ,
1

My first foray into serious cooking started when I bought “The Classic Italian Cookbook,” written by the legendary Marcella Hazan.

Like many great recipes, Fettuccine Alfredo is not complicated…but few restaurants that offer it get it right. Most of the Alfredo sauces I’ve had were watery, floury, and salty and had nothing in common with the real deal.
To this day, if I want a great Alfredo, I make it like Marcella.

alfredo2

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
Fleur de Sel or sea salt
1 lb. Fettuccine, fresh or dried
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper
A very tiny grating of nutmeg

Put 2/3 cup of the cream and all the butter in a large saucepan that will later accommodate all the pasta. Simmer over medium heat for less than a minute, until the butter and cream have thickened. Turn off the heat.

Drop the fettuccine in a big pot of boiling salted water. If the pasta is fresh, it will take just seconds. If it’s dry, it will take a few minutes. Cook the fettuccine firmer than usual, because it will finish cooking in the pan with the butter and cream. Drain the pasta immediately and thoroughly when it’s done and transfer to the pan containing the butter and cream.

Turn the heat under the pan on low, and toss the fettuccine, coating them with the sauce. Add the rest of the cream, all the grated cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the pepper and the nutmeg. Toss briefly until the sauce has thickened and the fettuccine are well coated. Taste and correct for salt.

Serve immediately!

CHICKEN AVOCADO BURGER

Posted: March 20, 2014 in bacon, chicken, Food, frying, Recipes
Tags: , , , ,
2

I love avocado, but I never thought of cooking with it until I saw this recipe. It was a very simple burger that had only a handful of ingredients, and so I thought: “Oh, I don’t need to write this down!” After I made the burger patties and put them in the fridge to chill, I took a look at the recipe on line and realized I forgot one of the ingredients! The original recipe called for a 1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs mixed in. My burger tastes fantastic without it…plus now it’s low or no carb. So I will leave it out.

chicken2

Ingredients:

1 lb ground chicken

1 ripe avocado, sliced into small cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

pinch granulated garlic

chicken1

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly but carefully so that you don’t squash the cubes of avocado. Form the meat into burger patties. It will be a bit sticky, but just make sure you get the avocado evenly distributed. Chill the patties in the freezer for about 10 minutes before cooking to firm them up.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a little oil in an ovenproof pan, and place burgers in it when hot. Let the burgers sear on one side, then flip them. Place the pan in the oven to finish cooking.

Serve with a slice of bacon and Awesomesauce! (http://wp.me/p1c1Nl-gT)

BURGER VIA ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Posted: March 16, 2014 in beef, burgers, Carnivore!, Food, frying, grilling, Recipes
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

Ernest Hemingway loved his burgers…and he loved to put all kinds of crazy ingredients in them. Following the basic guidelines of his recipe, seen below, I put my own spin on it.

Hemingway's burger notes

Hemingway’s burger notes

I skipped the India relish. Didn’t have it in my pantry.

Beau Monde Seasoning is readily available, but I made my own at home:

1 tablespoon cloves

1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon Bay leaf powder

1 tablespoon allspice

2 tablespoons black pepper

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 tablespoon white pepper

Combine all these ingredients, grinding to a powder whatever you have as whole pieces: cloves, bay leaves, nutmeg, etc. Store in a tightly sealed glass jar.

And Mei Yen Powder can be replaced with equal parts salt, sugar, and MSG (which I leave out.) To this I add some soy sauce.

So here’s my take on it:

Ingredients:

1 lb. grass-fed ground beef

2 garlic cloves, squeezed through a garlic press

2 tablespoons minced red onion

1 tablespoon capers

1 teaspoon dried sage

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon homemade Beau Monde seasoning

1/3 cup white wine (I use Alice White chardonnay)

1 raw egg

Combine all ingredients and let it sit in the fridge for an hour. The meat may be a bit mushy, but you can form 4 equal sized patties. Place them in a hot ovenproof pan that has a little oil and sear on one side. Flip burgers, and sear on the other side. Place pan in a 350-degree oven and cook until desired doneness.

The verdict: Hemingway was crazy! Though the burger had some exotic flavors–it tasted almost like a burger from the Middle East–my personal choice is still to go with a relatively plain burger of exceptional quality, season it lightly, and cook it to medium-rare. Toppings like caramelized onions or sautéed mushrooms are always welcome, but in many ways, less is more. Hemingway clearly thinks more is more…but maybe his burger meat wasn’t all that good and he need to mask the bad flavor. Anyway…a fun experiment!

CITRUS MARINATED PORK LOIN

Posted: March 10, 2014 in Carnivore!, Food, pork, Recipes
Tags: , , ,
0

Many of my recipes come from the fact that I live just a little too far from the nearest supermarket to simply jump in the car when I’m out of a certain ingredient. OK…actually, I’m too damn lazy. So I stand in front of the refrigerator, doors open, looking at my inventory, and when the fridge alarm sounds telling me to shut the freakin’ door, I’ve usually decided on what I’m going to do.

This is one such recipe. It works with whatever cut of pork you like, and with whatever citrus you have on hand. I’ve used blood oranges, grapefruit, you name it.

citrus pork

Ingredients:

1 5-lb. pork loin

2 garlic cloves, through a garlic press

3 cloves, crushed

1 large lemon, juice and zest

1 orange, juice and zest

1 8″ sprig fresh rosemary, cut into pieces

2 teaspoons fennel seed, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon juniper berries, coarsely chopped

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

To make the marinade, combine garlic, cloves, lemon juice and zest, orange juice and zest, rosemary, fennel, juniper berries, bay leaves, and some salt and pepper in a bowl.

Place pork loin, fat side up, on cutting board and gently slash diagonally through the fat, creating a diamond pattern.

Place pork loin in a non-reactive bowl and massage well with marinade mixture. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, let the pork loin come to room temperature. Wipe off the marinade, especially the larger chunks. Season again with salt and pepper.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

On the stove top, heat an ovenproof pan. Place pork loin fat side down and sear. Flip the loin over so that all sides sear nicely, then place in the oven. Cook with fat side up. Cook until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees.

COCKTAIL SAUCE WITH A KICK

Posted: March 6, 2014 in Food, Recipes, seafood, shrimp, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

Freshly shucked oysters and clams call for an equally amazing cocktail sauce…and this sauce kicks butt! And it features a key ingredient that you might not expect: vodka. The small amount of vodka in the mix keeps the cocktail sauce from freezing solid when stored in the freezer. Just scoop out what you need, let it thaw, and put the rest back in the freezer.

cocktail sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups ketchup

4 Tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce

5 grinds of fresh black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon good quality vodka, like Tito’s

Combine all ingredients. Store in a tight plastic container in the freezer.

REFRESHING SHRIMP CEVICHE

Posted: March 2, 2014 in ceviche, Cucumbers, Recipes, seafood, shrimp, tomatoes, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

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
Tags: , , , , , ,
2

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
Tags: , , , ,
0

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!

Older Entries
Newer Entries