Posts Tagged ‘food’

CHIVE TALKIN’

Posted: May 20, 2014 in Food, garden, pizza, Uncategorized
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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 blossoms off the chive plants and wrap bunches of them in Ziploc bags and freeze them.

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I use those blossoms over the course of the next 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 for just a bit in olive oil and salt and pepper, then place them on the pizza before baking.

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The chive blossoms not only add great flavor, but they look cool on the plate, too. Great as a side for almost any meat dish.

 

SOY AND HONEY GLAZED CHICKEN THIGHS

Posted: May 18, 2014 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, grilling, marinade
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Soy sauce, citrus and honey is always a winning combination with chicken. The addition of toasted anise seeds adds that touch of licorice without overpowering it. The sugar in the honey can make these thighs burn, so keep an eye on them. But I do like a touch of char on my chicken!

chix thighs

 

Ingredients:

 

2 teaspoons anise seed
4 cloves garlic, through a press
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
8 chicken thighs (about 4 lb), skin on

Toast the anise seed in a small dry skillet over medium heat, tossing until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let it cool to room temp and then grind with a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. (I have one I use just for spices.)
Combine anise seed, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce and honey. Pour into a large Ziploc bag and add chicken thighs. Squish around to make sure thighs are well coated.
Marinate for several,hours, or better: overnight.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
Cover a sheet pan with non-stick aluminum foil and place thighs skin-side down on foil.
Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, then flip thighs over and cook another 15 to 20 minutes.

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS AND SAUSAGE

Posted: May 14, 2014 in asparagus, Carnivore!, cheese, Food, Italian, pork, Recipes, sausage
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asparagus pastaAsparagus season has arrived in my garden. This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
Ingredients:
4 mild Italian sausages, sliced into pieces 1/2″ thick
1 lb penne pasta
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 cup chopped fresh trumpet mushrooms (white button mushrooms work, too)
2 cups fresh asparagus, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, passed through a garlic press
1 cup homemade chicken broth
6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Have the pasta water boiling, and add pasta, cooking until just a bit more undercooked than al dente.
Heat a large pan, and drizzle in some olive oil. Sautee sausage pieces until browned and cooked through, but not over cooked. Remove sausages from the pan and place in a separate bowl. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat left behind in the pan.
Place pan back on stove and saute onions until translucent. Add garlic, and saute for 10 seconds. Add sage, and saute for 10 seconds, stirring. Add chopped mushrooms and saute for a few minutes, then add chicken broth, and simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Pour contents of the pan into the bowl with the sausages.
Return pan to the stove, add a little more olive oil, and on medium heat, saute the asparagus pieces. Cook until they are al dente, not too soft. Once the asparagus has reached this stage, return all the contents of the sausage/mushroom bowl to the pan to heat through. Drain the pasta, and add it to the pan as well, combining all the ingredients. If it looks too dry, add a little pasta water to the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
Make sure you serve this hot, with grated Parmigiano Reggiano on top, and drizzle lightly over the top with extra virgin olive oil.

 

LIKE BUTTAH

Posted: May 10, 2014 in Food, Recipes
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Butter is like Play-Doh for foodies: you can mold it and mix it with whatever ingredients you like. Go to a fancy steakhouse, and you’ll get a slab of their “house butter” with your bread, or melted on top of your hunk of beef.

It’s incredibly easy to make your own at home…and there are no rules: add whatever you like and leave out what you don’t.

My buttah…

butter

 

Ingredients:

 

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon each: fresh rosemary, thyme, and oregano…finely chopped

pinch of granulated garlic and onion powder

 

Let the butter soften. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine well with a fork.

Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it down on the counter. Smear the butter mixture onto the plastic with a spatula, forming a rough log. Roll the plastic wrap tightly lengthwise, tightening the log into a nice long round cylinder about 1 1/2″ thick. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to remove any air bubbles.

Freeze and slice a piece off when you need it. When cooking a steak, simply let the warmth of the beef melt the slab of butter while you eat…

SLOPPY JOSE

Posted: May 6, 2014 in beef, burgers, Carnivore!, cheese, Food, Recipes, taco
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My name for a messy yet delicious taco on a bun. I had leftover taco meat and leftover barbecue sauce…recipes from two previous blogs. Putting them together with a sprinkling of Mexican cheese on a bun with lettuce and tomato made for one sloppy but delicious sandwich!

sloppy jose

How to make one…

For the barbecue sauce, I used the sauce inspired by Franklin’s Barbecue in Austin, Texas, as featured in my last blog: http://wp.me/p1c1Nl-qX

For the seasoned taco meat…

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.

 

For the sandwich…

Take some of the taco meat and place it in a small non-stick pan and heat on medium. Squirt in as much of the barbecue sauce as you like, mixing thoroughly. Sprinkle some grated Mexican cheese on top, mixing thoroughly and letting it all melt together into one warm, gooey mess. Throw it on a bun. Add lettuce, tomato, avocado slices, whatever you like!

 

REUBEN SEUP

Posted: April 24, 2014 in bacon, cheese, Food, Recipes, sauerkraut
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Why have soup and a sandwich when your soup can be your sandwich? I had all the ingredients to make a Reuben sandwich. But I wanted soup. So I made Reuben Seup…I mean Soup!

Think French onion soup, but using Reuben ingredients…

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Take an oven-proof soup bowl. Line the bottom with some rye bread.

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On top of that, place a nice helping of sauerkraut. I use sauerkraut that’s been rinsed and drained, then sauteed with some onions and bacon until lightly caramelized.

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Slice pastrami as thinly as possible, and simmer it in a pot of homemade chicken stock until tender. Season stock with salt and pepper, if needed. Pour the stock and pastrami over the sauerkraut.

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Layer slices of Swiss cheese over the top of the bowl. Place under broiler until melted.

melty

Eat!

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It satisfied my soup and sandwich craving!

 

NOT MY MOM’S PORK CHOP

Posted: April 13, 2014 in Carnivore!, Food, frying, pork, Recipes
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Pork chops were a favorite of mine growing up, but my Mom cooked them only one way: breaded and fried in a pan full of oil. They were good, but they were greasy, and my Mom was not big on seasonings. It was time to improve on the original.

chop 1

 

Ingredients:

2 Berkshire pork chops

1 egg

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

olive oil

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Set up 2 bowls. In one, crack and scramble the egg. In the other, combine salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, granulated garlic and onion powder.

Place an oven-proof pan on medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. Once the oil is hot, cover the pork chops in the egg wash and then coat with the bread crumb mixture. Place in the hot pan to brown and sear. Do this with both chops.

After a few minutes, flip the chops over in the pan and place the pan in the oven to finish cooking.

chop 2

Remember, good pork does not need to be cooked until well done!

 

 

 

THESE ARE THE BALLS!

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

 

GARDENING SEASON HAS BEGUN: THE BASICS

Posted: April 7, 2014 in Food, garden, Rhode Island, Southern New England, Uncategorized
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Here in New England, it’s time to seriously think about what to plant in your garden. I’ve already sowed peas, arugula, radishes, broccoli raab, and turnips back on St. Patrick’s Day. They can be sown in the garden now, as soon as the soil is workable. Simply, that means you take a handful of soil and squeeze it. If it stays in a hard, wet clump, it’s too wet and not ready. If it crumbles apart, get gardening!
That doesn’t give you a green light to plant all your veggies, however. Many need to wait until temperatures get much warmer.
I’m currently taking courses at the University of Rhode Island to get my certification as a URI Master Gardener. Gardening can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it, and if you’re starting out, the task of deciding where to put your garden may not seem like an easy one. It varies with every home, every yard. But there are some basic things to keep in mind, and all of it is common sense. Do you have any common sense? Good. Then you should be fine…
Greenhouse greens

Greenhouse greens

You want your garden to have all the benefits possible for the best chance of success. Just remember this easy acronym: LSSDA. OK, it’s not that easy, but I couldn’t figure out how to spell anything with those letters.
Location: You need to decide if your garden is going to be something you want to see every time you look out your window, or view from your deck as you smoke your cigar at the end of a satisfying gardening day…or something that is more practical than beautiful, and therefore something that you might want to have on a side of the house where it doesn’t block an already enjoyable view.
Sun: Where you put your garden must depend on the sun. You may think you have the perfect place for a garden bed, but if it doesn’t get a full day’s sun, you can pretty much forget about growing those amazing tomatoes you drool over when you go to the local farm stand. You can always shade your garden if there’s too much sun…it’s highly unlikely you’re going to set up a bank of klieg lights if you don’t have enough.
Size: In the beginning, this may be tougher than it seems. If you’ve got an old-fashioned garden envisioned in your mind, with long rows of veggies 2 or 3 feet away from each other, you’re going to need a huge space, which means huge work. If you go with the method that I suggest: small (8-foot by 4-foot) raised beds with intensive planting, not only are you going to need a lot less space, you’ll find that you’re requiring a lot less work to get the same results. I use the Square Foot Gardening method originated by Mel Bartholomew many years ago, and I’ve never had a reason to change. I get the most food in the least amount of space. (www.squarefootgardening.com)
Distance: This means the distance from all those tools and your water source. Sure, you may be pretty damn excited about your garden in the beginning, and you’ll happily drag water 400 feet to your remote garden location…until about June. Then you’ll start making every freaking excuse under the planet to avoid watering or working in your garden…and that kind of defeats the idea. Unless you have some motorized means of hauling all of your tools and buckets out there, try to locate your garden near a garage or shed and a water source so you spend more time in your garden and less time going back and forth to your garden.

Access: Make sure you pick a place that you can easily get to. If your garden requires that you go through an archway or similar structure, you may not be able to fit certain tools, bags of peat moss, wheelbarrows, or even your own fat ass at certain times.

These are the basics to setting up properly. I have 6 raised beds that measure 8-by-4 feet, giving me a total of only 192 square feet, and yet I grow more veggies in that space that my family of 3 can possibly eat. The idea is to get more vegetables per square foot of gardening space, not per plant. When you plant things closer and more intensely, you will get better results with less work and cost. And if you can time it so that you have new plants ready to take the place of those that have been harvested, you’ve got more harvests in even the shortest of seasons. But that’s a discussion for another time.

“AUSSOME” AUSSIE MEAT PIES IN BOSTON

Posted: April 4, 2014 in beef, Food, lamb, restaurants, travel
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It’s interesting how we sometimes stumble upon great food finds. After taking our daughter to the Boston Museum of Science on a recent Saturday, we decided to eat at a small family run Italian restaurant in a blue-collar neighborhood in East Boston, one that was featured a few years ago on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” with Guy Fieri. It’s called Rino’s Place, and we’ve been waiting for the opportunity to try the food there for a long time.

Rino’s Place opens at 3PM. We got there at 3PM. The line was out the door and down the street, with a 3-hour wait. (They don’t take reservations for parties smaller than 6.) I don’t care how good the food is supposed to be…I’m not going to wait 3 hours to eat pasta. So, disappointed, we drove off, hoping to perhaps visit Rino’s on a less popular weekday some other time.

Meanwhile,  my wife, the artist, was scanning the neighborhood and found an interesting art gallery, Atlantic Works, nearby. We decided to check it out. There wasn’t much to see, but the ladies that ran the joint told us that Rino’s, in their opinion, was good but overrated. The exposure Rino’s got from DDD was so huge that they even bought the convenience store across the street from the restaurant and converted it into a bar for those that chose to wait for their tables. Total cash cow.

Just down the road from the Atlantic works, the ladies told us, was a funky little joint that made authentic Australian meat pies. That sounded good. They said it was tucked away inside a funky old marina that featured bizarre metal sculptures on the roofs of the buildings. That sounded intriguing. Off we went.

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A few lefts and rights…a little loss of GPS at one moment…and we arrived at the Boston Harbor Marina. Definitely the slow season, as many of the boats were still shrink-wrapped, but you could see this place had potential in the summertime, with huge metal sculptures of fish and mermaids on the property. And sure, enough, tucked away in a far corner was KO Catering and Pies, our Aussie meat pie joint.

pie2

It was cold and windy outside, but some brave souls were sitting at the picnic tables outside, enjoying their meals. We chose to buy a bunch of frozen pies and take them home to re-heat.

They were awesome: beef with cheese, braised lamb shank, beef stew…all surrounded by some of the most delicious and flakiest pie crusts you ever bit into.

more pie

KO has another location in south Boston as well. Either one is worth a visit. Start here: http://www.kocateringandpies.com

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