My breakfast of champions: home-cured and smoked bacon, organic garden lettuce and tomato, Wishing Stone Farm free-range egg, on a genuine NYC everything bagel! (Hellman’s mayo a must.)
Cheers!
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL BACON DAY!
Posted: September 5, 2015 in UncategorizedTags: bacon, food, international bacon day
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OVEN-FRIED CORNMEAL-COATED CHICKEN THIGHS
Posted: August 30, 2015 in buttermilk, Carnivore!, UncategorizedTags: chicken, cornbread, food, pancakes, recipes
My blueberry buttermilk cornmeal pancakes are delicious (see my previous blog), but the recipe leaves some leftovers. So I froze the extra pancakes, not really knowing what I’d do with them later on.
Later in the week when I thawed a pack of chicken thighs, I decided to thaw some of the pancakes as well, planning to use them as a substitute for bread crumbs. Worked out pretty well…a crispy, flavorful piece of chicken. If you don’t make the pancakes, using store-bought cornbread will work just as well.
5 lbs. chicken thighs
8 oz. cornbread (or leftover pancakes)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
2 eggs
oil, for frying (I use avocado oil)
Break the cornbread (or pancakes) into smaller pieces and place them on a sheet pan in a 200-degree oven. Bake until they dry out but don’t burn, about 30 minutes. Let them cool to room temperature, then place them in a food processor and process until they resemble breadcrumbs. Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl.
Add the salt, garlic, onion and tarragon to the breadcrumbs and mix well.
In another bowl, crack and whisk the 2 eggs.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat a frying pan with 2 inches of oil to medium-high. Roll the thighs one at a time in the egg and then in the breadcrumb mixture. Press the breadcrumbs onto the chicken so they stick. Gently place the breaded thigh in the pan with the oil. Fry until golden on one side, then flip the thigh over and fry on the other side. When the thighs are golden and crisp, place them on a sheet pan covered with non-stick aluminum foil. Repeat with all the thighs.
Place the sheet pan with the thighs in the oven and bake until cooked through, about 35 minutes.
PULLED PORK: A LABOR OF LOVE
Posted: August 7, 2015 in barbecue, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, Food, pork, Recipes, UncategorizedTags: barbecue, cole slaw, food, pork, pulled pork, recipes, smoker
When I used to go to my favorite barbecue place and asked for a pulled pork sandwich, I didn’t realize just how much work went into making it. Now I make my own, and I have a whole lotta new respect for those barbecue folks…
First, I get the pork butt. I buy a heritage breed, like Berkshire (also known as Kurobuta), from a farm that humanely raises them. That’s better for the pig and also better for my family.
Going to a supermarket for pork is what many people do, and the names of the cuts of meat can be a bit confusing. Despite its name, pork butt is not from the back-end of the pig. It’s the shoulder. And the pork butt (or pork shoulder) picnic is a lower cut of the same area. These cuts can also go by: Boston shoulder roast, Boston butt, Boston roast, shoulder butt, and shoulder-blade roast. Whatever the name, these are all nicely marbled hunks of pork that usually weigh in anywhere from 6 to 8 lbs, and are easy to find. Bone-in is for purists…boneless if you’re not.
Once I’ve got my slab, I need to season it. I’ve found that a simple rub is the best way to go for the sauce I’m going to use later.
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup paprika
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder
Place all the ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake it up to blend.
Once I’ve made the rub, I generously sprinkle it all over the pork, and rub it in really well. I have a digital smoker at home, which lets me cook and smoke my pork butt all in one place. I place it on a rack, put a drip tray underneath it to catch the grease, and set the smoker for 225 degrees. I cook the pork for about 6 hours, and then I add hickory chips to the smoker and smoke the butt for another 2 hours. The marbled fat in the pork butt slowly melts over time and the pork becomes incredibly tender and flavorful.
I remove the pork butt from the smoker and let it rest, covered with aluminum foil, for at least 20 minutes before pulling the meat apart with a couple of forks, shredding it into beautiful meaty bits.
While the pork is cooking and smoking, there’s plenty of time to make two other very important parts of this recipe: the sauce and the cole slaw.
2 cups ketchup
3/4 cup water
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
6 tablespoons white vinegar
6 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temp. If you store it in an airtight container in the fridge, it’ll stay good for a few months.
COLE SLAW
My cole slaw recipe uses pickle juice. Just a splash from your favorite jar of pickles is all you need.
1 package of cole slaw veggies
splash of pickle juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise (more to taste)
teaspoon celery seed (not salt)
salt and pepper
There are no real specific measurements for cole slaw, because I’ve found that some people like it dry, others wet…some peppery, some not. Play around with it and make it your own. I prefer a more mayonnaise-y cole slaw, and usually err on the wet side.
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. When ready to use, re-mix, and taste for seasoning before using.
OK…time to make that sandwich!
Drizzle the barbecue sauce on the pulled pork and mix well…trying not to over-sauce the pork! Take a nice amount of pork and place it on a freshly baked bun. Place the cole slaw right on top if you prefer the Carolina method, or on the side if not.
Whether you decide to go through all this trouble to make pulled pork or not, just remember that if you’re at a barbecue joint, someone else did. Whatever you pay for that pulled pork sandwich is a bargain!
This is what all the hard work in the spring is all about: walking into my garden and picking 4 varieties of tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, Chiogga beets, and fennel.
Now, I’ve got some cookin’ to do!
COCKTAIL SAUCE WITH A KICK
Posted: July 13, 2015 in Food, Recipes, seafood, shrimp, UncategorizedTags: CLAMS, cocktail sauce, food, oysters, recipes, seafood, shrimp
Freshly shucked oysters and clams–or in this case–beautiful boiled wild-caught American shrimp, 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.
2 cups ketchup
4 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Frank’s Red Hot, 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 the ingredients. Store in a tight plastic container in the freezer.
THE BEST MOJITOS ARE BY THE PITCHER
Posted: July 10, 2015 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, mixology, Recipes, UncategorizedTags: blueberries, cocktails, food, mixology, mojitos, raspberries, recipes, rum
My raspberry plants are producing a ton of fruit right now, and when that happens every season, I could turn my attention toward tarts, jams or even ice cream. But I prefer to focus on Mojitos!
Very often, I’ll use raspberries alone, but Mojitos are even better when you combine the raspberries with blueberries. Frozen fruit works well, too. Make it by the pitcher and you’ll never make it any other way again!
The ingredients
Make ahead of time…
1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lime juice
1 1/3 cups turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
Mix both ingredients together and let stand at room temp. Shake until dissolved. The mixture can be covered and refrigerated for several weeks and ready to use any time. Shake well before using.
For the Mojitos…
1 cup sugar/lime mixture
1 cup mint leaves, packed
1/2 pint blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 pint raspberries (fresh or frozen)
3 or 4 cups white rum, preferably Don Q Cristal rum
3 or 4 cups club soda
Combine mint leaves and 1/2 cup of sugar/lime mixture in bottom of a pitcher. Muddle mint up very well to release mint oils. Add blueberries and continue to muddle.
Add remaining sugar/lime mixture, rum and raspberries. Mix well. Just before serving, add club soda and ice. Stir. Pour into glasses.
Or…for drinks one at a time, fill a tall glass with ice. Fill one-third to halfway with club soda. Top with Mojito mix. Garnish with mint leaf.
Cheers!
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GREEK-STYLE SHRIMP
Posted: June 27, 2015 in Food, restaurants, Santorini, seafood, shrimp, travel, UncategorizedTags: food, Greece, recipes, saganaki, Santorini, seafood, shrimp
Though it may sound Japanese, the word “saganaki” refers to a small frying pan used in Greek cooking. The most famous of these dishes, simply called saganaki, is a fried cheese, often flamed at the end with a little ouzo.
Shrimp saganaki is one of my favorite Greek dishes, and it usually involves cooking shrimp in a tomato-based sauce with plenty of feta cheese sprinkled in. It’s a simple yet fantastic dish if the ingredients are fresh. Doesn’t hurt to be sitting in a taverna on the beautiful island of Santorini while eating it, either!
Graviera cheese
I had a slab of Graviera cheese from my most recent trip to Santorini, and decided to recreate shrimp saganaki using that instead of feta. It was pretty damn amazing…
Melty, gooey, delicious!
300 g grated Graviera cheese
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes
1 lb (about 24) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium onion, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, through a press
pinch red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons Ouzo
salt and pepper
Peel and de-vein the shrimp. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 of a lemon on to the shrimp and toss. Set aside.
In a large pan, saute the onions in the olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds more.
Crush or puree tomatoes and add to the pan. Add red pepper flakes, dill and oregano, and salt and pepper. Add Ouzo.
Let this sauce cook down for a bit until all the flavors have blended together.
Pour a layer of the sauce on the bottom of a metal broiler-proof pan. Lay the shrimp in a single layer into the sauce. Cover the shrimp with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle the grated Graviera on top.
Place the pan in the broiler and cook until the cheese is brown and bubbly.
WHAT YOUR FOODIE FATHER WANTS FOR FATHER’S DAY
Posted: June 8, 2015 in barbecue, CHARCOAL, Cocktails, Drinks, Food, grilling, MARTINI, mixology, Recipes, smoking, UncategorizedTags: cookbooks, Father's Day, food, gifts, grilling, smoker, smoking, wood chips
Skip the necktie. If your dad’s a foodie, he wants something cool this year! All of these ideas have been rigorously tested by our panel of experts (OK, just me), and get a big thumbs up. This article was originally published a few years ago, but I’d still be happy to get any of these for Father’s Day!
Masterbuilt Electric Digital Smokehouse: I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to grilling. I refuse to use a gas grill because I think there’s no difference between that and my kitchen stove. I use real hardwood charcoal, with real smoke and real flavor. But when it comes to smoking meats, basic smokers require constant maintenance so that the temperatures don’t fluctuate. With an 8-year-old daughter to take care of, that’s something I don’t have time for, especially if I’m cooking something low and slow for about 12 hours. So I have a digital smoker. I plug it in, set the time and temperature, and then periodically add wood chips through a side drawer to smoke the meat. I can literally set it and forget it. I have it cook through the night, so I wake up to a beautifully smoked slab of meat in the morning.
Cognac! How can you go wrong with booze for Father’s Day? But if you’re looking for something really special to give Dad (or your favorite blogger), it’s Kelt XO. What makes Kelt XO special is that before bottling, they place the barrels of cognac on board ships that sail the world for months at a time. During this time, the cognac gently rocks back and forth in the barrels, slowly acquiring a smoothness you can’t find in other spirits. Each bottle even comes with a tag that tells you exactly what ports around the world your cognac has been to. Worth the search at high-end liquor stores.
Jack Daniels smoking chips: Whether you have a smoker or not, these chips will make anything you cook taste better. Made from the old oak barrels that they use to age Jack Daniels, you get a serious hit of whiskey in every bag…and in your food. Simply toss a handful of chips you’ve soaked in water for about a half hour, and they will infuse the food on your grill with flavor. You can also use them dry, on charcoal or gas grills.
Cookbook favorites: “Jamie at Home,” by Jamie Oliver (a great combination gardening/cookbook), “Charcuterie,” by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn (the best book on how to cure and smoke meats), “Barbecued Ribs, Smoked Butts, and Other Great Feeds,” by Jeanne Voltz (my absolute barbecue Bible!), and “Martin Yan’s Feast: The Best of Yan Can Cook” by Martin Yan (the authority on Asian cooking.)
Redi-Check Remote Cooking Thermometer: Even someone who has barbecued all their lives runs the risk of burning or undercooking a roast or a large bird. Opening the grill and jabbing the meat with a thermometer several times causes the juices from the meat to run out, leaving it dry…and every time you open the grill, you lose precious heat. This is the better solution: You stick the needle into the roast or bird and leave it in there the entire time it cooks, so no juices leak out. You plug it into the monitor which then calls you when the meat is ready (from as far as 100 feet away!) You set the time or temperature, and then get to join your guests for the party.
Smoking Gun: There are times when you don’t need a full-on smoker. All you want to do is smoke a small piece of fish or a hunk of cheese. You simply take some of the finely ground wood chip powder (comes with the gun) and place it in the pipe-like bowl. Light it, and the Smoking Gun will blow that smoke through a hose into the Ziploc bag where your piece of fish is waiting for its magical transformation to smoky deliciousness.
Mason jar cocktail shaker: A fun new way for Dad to make his martini. https://wandpdesign.com/search?q=mason+jar
CHIVE TALKIN’
Posted: May 26, 2015 in Food, garden, pizza, UncategorizedTags: beef, CHIVES, food, garden, pizza, recipes
This is the time of year when the chives in my herb garden are busting out with blossoms. Before they pop, I head out every few days and snip the larger ones off the chive plants, wrap them in freezer bags and freeze them.
I use those blossoms over the course of the year on my signature marinated beef and chive blossom pizza. I just take a packet of chive blossoms out of the freezer, and sauté them in olive oil and salt and pepper, then sprinkle them on the pizza before baking.
My signature marinated beef tenderloin and chive blossom pizza.
Pick ’em and freeze ’em in May!
Chive blossoms not only add great flavor, but they look cool on the plate, too. I’ll add them as a side to almost any meat dish, or chop them after sauteing and sprinkle them in rice or quinoa.
Live the Live ™ 