Iron Chef Barbecue

 

Kenny's leaving - being transferred to Ardmore.  This is a tough good-bye.  Kenny started our Iron Chef competitions.  While it's a good move for him, it shall leave a void in our Culinary Competitions unless someone else steps up to the plate right away.  I am bereft.  I have never won one of the competitions, but I've always walked away with a full stomach and a lot of ideas.

His last day with us is Thursday, July 3rd, so, in honor of his last day, we're having Iron Chef Barbecue.  The rules of the past competitions don't apply this time.  It's a wide-open dish-has-to-come-from-the-grill-event.  I'm ready.

Today, I made sausage.  A bit of an Asian-inspired recipe. Victor's mom - the consummate Italian Mother - was over as I was boning the pork and starting the marinade.  She could not believe I was actually putting soy sauce and other Asian-type ingredients in the marinade.  She thinks in terms of Italian Sausage.  Mild or Spicy.  Certain foods are sacrosanct.  (She wouldn't touch the Amaretto Pizzelle's I made years ago, only to begrudgingly say they were "okay" when I made them again the following year.)  But I digress...

I bought an 8 1/2 pound bone-in pork shoulder and boned and marinated it in:

  • Soy Sauce
  • Chinese Rice Wine
  • Sriracha Sauce
  • Fish Sauce
  • Black Pepper

I ground it up with:

  • Onions
  • Peaches
  • Cilantro
  • Black Sesame Seeds

And then stuffed it into casings.

I'm heading out to the grill right now to cook some up for dinner at Victor's brother's house.

Lookin' good.

And they taste GREAT!!!


Excellent Enchiladas

We've been cooking up a storm at work, recreating all of the recipes submitted for the recipe contest.  It has not been an easy task.  We actually received too many good recipes!  (okay - so everyone should have such a problem!)

And the tastes linger well after leaving work and coming home...

One recipe today did just that.  It's a Chicken and Blue Cheese Dip.   The flavors mixed well and the tasting panel really thought it would make a great filling for something like crepes, or even whole wheat tortillas (besides its original intent as a dip!)  In our personal cooking, we don't limit ourselves to a few ingredients, and the ideas were flying - crisp steamed vegetables folded in and rolled into a crepe was one of my favorites. I think it's a sign we're all pretty serious foodies (or totally nuts - you be the judge!) when the first thing out of our mouths is what else we could do with something...

So I got home tonight and started thinking about dinner, and thought that a chicken and blue cheese enchilada would be the ticket!

The only actual ingredient I had at home from the original recipe was the chicken breasts.  But did that stop me?!?  Of course not!

I poached the chicken breasts in water.  I added garlic powder, turmeric, cumin, and chipotle powder and let the chicken stew.

Into a bowl I crumbled a bit of roquefort cheese and sour cream.  I added a bit of cheddar for body and balance.  I have some Calypso Hot Sauce (really, really hot!) and added a few drops for heat.

I made an enchilada sauce from a half-jar of Salsa Autentica, a can of tomato sauce, and a bit of the simmering chicken water.

I rolled the filling in corn tortillas, topped with sauce, and baked at 350° for about 20 minutes.  I also made rice and served it all with sour cream and a quickly-prepared uacamole.

Dinner start-to-finish was about 45 minutes.

And I am pleasantly stuffed.


Salad Dressings

Salad For Dinner

'Tis the season to eat salads!  I love 'em!

Tonight was a clean-out-the-refrigerator-salad.  My favorite kind.

I started off with the greens and then added two types of plums, peaches, and strawberries.  Then there were the blue cheese and/or garlic-stuffed olives... avocados... tomatoes... grilled chicken breasts... and a creamy dressing...

It was a definite stomach-smiler!


Baked Pasta

It is so nice to have another cook in the house!  Really, really nice!

My main computer decided not to play nice the other day and I've been spending a lot of time getting things moved to the backup disk.  I auto-backup every couple of days, but... I wanted to transfer some stuff onto the laptop.  And I wanted to reformat the main computer - just in case - before bringing it in for service.  Believe it or not, I can get rather narrowly focused when working on the ol' computer.  It was fantastic knowing that someone was taking care of the culinary needs.

And Victor - fantastic cook that he is - took care of them with style!

He made a baked tortellini that was to die for!  OMG YUM!

He made a great meat sauce, with fresh herbs from the garden, mixed in tortellini, and quattro formaggio... added more sauce and baked.

And a basket of garlic bread made from the Puglia rolls I made the other day and dinner was served!

It was a perfect meal and it gave me the strength to make that phone call to {{{shudder}}} Circuit City.


Pugliese Rolls

Well... that biga from a few weeks back has been taking up space in the 'fridge, so I decided I had to do something with it,. today.  This is such a totally easy bread to make, I have no excuses.

I followed the direction exactly as stated with the original recipe but made it into rolls instead of loaves.  I baked at 450° for about 20 minutes.

And then - because I now had these fabulous rolls, I had to make sandwiches for dinner!

I marinated chicken breasts in Dale's Marinade, pounded them, then grilled.  On the rolls went Duke's Mayonnaise (which is as good as I was told!  It's my new favorite!!!) and then avocado, tomato, and roasted peppers.  The sandwiches were total messes!  It took me 4 napkins to get through - and it was worth every one of them!

I'm stuffed.  I've been doing some serious eating all day.

And there's still Peach Upside Down Cake in the kitchen.....


Hot Taco Dip

I don't often make the items we serve for Demos at home.  By the time we've tried it, tested it, and served it for several days, I'm usually looking for something else.  There are, of course, exceptions.  I would like to introduce you to one!

Jessica and I were working on Saturday and we were trying to come up with something to serve the week of July 4th.   We have our July 4th weekend covered (recipe contest winner) but we needed something right before that.  We were thinking July 4th weekend party food, and I said "Hot Taco Dip."  We have the ability to cook from raw, now, so ground beef was an automatic ingredient.  We al;so have wanted to feature our new Corn Chip Dippers - totally yummy Frito-like corn chips that are not only organic, but downright yummy!  We spoke back and forth for a few minutes and Jessica disappeared.  She reappeared not long after with one of the best damn dishes I have tasted in a long time!  It is just wonderful.

I made a batch for lunch today and Victor was swooning!  This will definitely be going to my next party - and most likely become part of the lunch/dinner rotation.  It can be changed by using different cheeses and different salsas.  But here is the perfect original:

Hot Taco Dip

  • 1 lb ground beef, cooked
  • 1 container whipped cream cheese
  • 1/2 jar Salsa Autentica
  • 1 cup Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
  • Corn Chips

Cook beef.  Stir in cream cheese, salsa, and about 3/4 of the shredded cheese.  Place all in an ovenproof dish or bowl and top with remaining cheese.

Heat at 350° until heated through.

Serve with Corn Chips and enjoy!

I ate way more than I should have.  My stomach is smiling!


Peach Upside Down Cake

We have peaches!  And for the first time in a long time, we seem to have good peaches!  My stomach is smiling!

But after all the savory peach dishes a few days ago, I thought it time to revisit an old favorite - Peach Upside Down Cake.

Pineapple may be the more traditional fruit, but absolutely anything can be used in an upside down cake.  i have used everything from Apricots to Grapes, Peaches, Apples, Bananas...  You get the picture.  They all work.

I use a 12" cake pan because I have a 12" cake pan! Otherwise, I'd use a 12" skillet like my mother used to do.

Peach Upside Down Cake

The Topping (or bottom...)

Melt between a half to 3/4 stick butter and pour into pan.  Sprinkle brown sugar on top of butter.  Arrange fruit in pan to look nice when you take it out of the pan.  Don't crowd the fruit - you want the batter to reach the bottom of the pan.

The Cake:

There are Bisquik recipes out there, sponge cakes, boiling water cakes, all sorts of things for upside down cakes.  I suppose any of them wopuld work.  It's what you're used to, I guess.

I make a basic yellow cake and replace the vanilla with whatever flavoring I'm making the cake.  If you don't have a cabinet full of flavorings, just use vanilla.  If you've never baked a cake from scratch before, this is a really easy one to make.  Or... use a mix.  BUT... choose a mix that does NOT have partially-hydrogenated fat in it. (Almost all of them do...)

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla (or flavoring of choice...)
  • 3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350°.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla or flavoring to milk. Slowly add flour alternately with milk. Don't overmix, but batter should be smooth.

Carefully pour over fruit and bake 30-35 minutes or until cake is done.

(You can also use this recipe as a layer cake!  2-9" pans, greased and floured, and bake about 20-25 or so minutes.)

It really is that simple!


Niçoise Salad

Elizabeth brought a recipe into work the other day for a simple Niçoise salad as a possible demo.  We looked at it, studied it, thought about it, and decided, It doesn't have potatoes in it - it's not a real Niçoise...  We decided against it.

But since then, it's been on my mind...

So... today was the day to take care of it!  It's a fairly basic salad.  And really good.  I had a couple of swordfish steaks in the freezer and used them in place of the more traditional tuna.  And the olives were a combination of stuffed olives we already had in the fridge, as well.

Niçoise Salad

Dressing:

  • large clove of garlic
  • 2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
  • 1/4 olive oil
  • bit of anchovy paste
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Mince garlic, add vinegar and then oil and anchovy paste.  Season with S&P to taste.

Salad:

  • small red potatoes cookes, sliced and cooled
  • green beans, blanched
  • diced red pepper
  • 1/2 small red onion, slivered lengthwise
  • Niçoise olives
  • capers
  • slivered fresh basil leaves

The Fish

  • fresh lemon juice
  • swordfish steaks

The Toppings:

  • chopped hard-cooked eggs
  • tomatoes

Marinate fish in a bit of lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper.  Grill to desired doneness.

Cook potatoes, blanch beans and cool to room temperature.  Place in bowl and add remaining ingredients - except chopped eggs.  Add swordfish (or tuna) and dressing and mix lightly.  Top with chopped eggs and enjoy!

We had enough left over for lunch tomorrow!


Iron Chef - Peach

What a day!  What a challenge.  What FUN FOOD!  Every couple of months, the folks at work get together and decide to do an Iron Chef-like competition.  An ingredient is chosen and we get to come up with fun foods.  My favorite ingrediet upo to this point was when we did pumpkin back in October.

Today was Peach.

Not as many entries as in the past, but what we lacked in quantity, we gained in quality.  This was a really unique and rather ingenious crowd!

I made an Asian Peach Salsa, served over a Pork Tenderloin.  I have to admit i did a pretty good job on this one!

Asian Peach Salsa

  • 12 Peaches, diced
  • 1/2 Red Onion, diced
  • 2 tsp Sambal Oleck (Chili Paste)
  • 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp Rice Wine
  • 1 tsp Sesame Oil
  • Cilantro, chopped
  • Basil, chopped
  • Lenon Verbena, chopped

Dice peaches and onions and place in bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and lightly mix.  Chill until ready to serve.

The salsa is great with chips, but is really really good with pork, chicken, or fish.  It's pretty spicy, but you can adjust the heat by the amount of chili paste you use.

The next recipe was just plain outstanding.  Joe Poston made a Peach Salmon Chili.  You read that right.  Peach Salmon Chili.  Definitely one of the more unique dishes I have had.  And it really worked!

Peach Salmon Chili

  • 2 jars Peach salsa
  • 2 cans White Kidney Beans, drained
  • 1 1/2 pkgs pre-cooked Salmon
  • 1 Mango, sliced ito small pieces
  • Chili powder until it is as hot as u like it

Combine ingrediets in a crock pot set on low.  Wait.  (About 6-7 hours.)  Not my recipe, but I'm sue you could let it simmer on a stovetop, too.

I was impressed.

There was also Chicken in a Peach BBQ Sauce, Peach Chipotle Ciabatta Bread, Peach Soda, a salad with a Peach Vinaigrette, and a Peach and soymilk just-like-ice-cream yummy dessert.

More info as I get recipes!

Definitely a good time was had by all!


Southern Living

Mike, Barbara, and Summer have left, but their presence shall be felt for a long, long time.  Every time I open the cabinets I'll be thinking of what fun we had, and what fun foods I'll be making next.

They arrived from South Carolina with a carload of goodies for us!

Bubba Cola.  The name says it all.  And it tastes like you would think it would.  Well... Like I thought it would, anyway.  I'm not a huge soda pop drinker, and completely eschew anything with high fructose corn syrup.  But right next to it is Blenheim's Ginger Ale - and OMG is it fantastic!  Fire in a bottle!  It is Janmaican Ginger with bubbles.  Evidently - in true Southern Spirit - it's a casual company and they make it when they make it.  Not always available, and sold out quickly when it is.  I have a case of it right now, and I plan on savoring it!  It is damn good!  (I'm drinking a bottle right now...)

Dale's Marinade is something I've wanted to try for a while.  Folks have spoken about it on the Friends of South Carolina board, and it appears to be the marinade of choice.  I was hesitant to buy it mailorder, because the minimum was a bit steep for me, but... Now I have my very own bottle.  I'm psyched!  The second-favorite (and one I did buy online) is Moore's Marinade.  THAT one was really good.  I'm really looking forward to trying Dale's.

And Duke's Mayonnaise.  We have enough Duke's in the house to make potato salad for the whole summer!  It's lookin' good at our house!   The ingredients are real - no artificial garbage or high fructose corn syrup.  It looks divine.

In South Carolina, BBQ means pork, and they have 4 distinct types of BBQ sauce - Vinegar and Pepper, Mustard, Light Tomato, and Heavy Tomato.

We start off with Maurice's Southern Gold BBQ Sauce.  I have to admit I'm not used to a mustard-based BBQ sauce and I'm not so sure I'd care for his political views - hell, I know I don't - but I've always been a fan of regional cooking - even if the cook and I disagree on just about everything in the world.  I'll give it a real honest try and report back on my findings.

Shealy's Vinegar and Pepper sauce is another true South Carolina BBQ sauce.  History states the Scots started with the Vinegar and Pepper sauces, and the German's with the Mustard.   Makes sense.  The online price for a pint of the Vinegar and Pepper is a mere $2.50.  Not bad, at all.    I'm looking forward to this one, too.  There's no online sales right now, they have to call for a credit card - but one of these days ordering it will be easier than cooking with it!

And then we have Four Oaks Farm's Stone Ground Yellow Grits.  I love grits, and really like corn in any way I can get it.  It's been a real long time since I had yellow grits, though.  I shall be making some of these up this week (along with some BBQ!)  Four Oaks Farm has just about anything you could want, from hams and bacon to syrups and jams. These look real good.

Bolied peanuts.  Who woulda thunk?!?  Boiled peanuts are South Carolina's official snack food!  Boiled peanuts are green nuts that are boiled in salty water for hours outdoors over a fire. The shells turn soggy, and the peanuts take on a fresh, legume flavor.  It takes ninety to a hundred days to grow peanuts for boiling, and they are available only during May through November.  We had two bags and are now down to one.  They go great with ginger ale!!!

And we also have a cast iron corn stick pan.  I'm definitely making corn sticks tonight.  Mike and I have had a bit of a discussion about cornbread in the past.  I've always used flour, he usually doesn't.  So...  I figure I'll just turn his cornbread into cornsticks tonight.   I'll report back on that later, as well.

Every kitchen needs Sorghum Syrup, and we have ours!  Sorghum -  contrary to popular belief - is not molasses and has a distinctly different flavor.  I'm going to have some fun with this.  Maybe a new BBQ sauce - or, better yet - some fun holiday baking.

Oh - and lest I forget (and I did forget to include them in the picture) there's music galore to get me in the mood for cooking!

Ther's The Fabulous Porkskins, Vollie McKenzie, Danielle Howle, and Drink Small.

This has been - and shall continue to be - a lot of fun!

Addendum:

Here are the Corn Sticks.  They came out fantastic.  They stuck a bit in the pan, but I'll work on reseasoning it.  YUM!


Herbs and Spices

Just got my email that my latest batch of herbs and Spices from Atlantic Spice Company is on its way.  This is a small order - I had one a few weeks ago.  But I needed Oregano.  So - I bought both Mexican and Greek varieties.  Granted, I have the oregano plant out back, (Greek) but I'm going a lot of spice blends and rubs right now - and dried herbs are the only way to fly.

I've had both at one time or another - and probably have used more Greek (or at least from the Mediterranean area) most of the time.  But as I shift back and forth amongst various cuisines, I find myself needing (or, at least desiring) both varieties.

I'm really looking forward to trying them side-by-side.  Mexican Oregano is related to verbena and, supposedly a bit stronger than its Mediterranean cousin.  We shall see!

I know that the Saigon Cinnamon is stronger than the cinnamon I had been buying.  OY!  What a fantastic difference!  Saigon cinnamon has a higher oil content than the more common Ceylon.  It's night-and-day different - and so worth the few extra dollars a pound.

It's a deep brown color that just screams rich and flavorful.  I like a lot! :)


Vaguely Korean

I grew up eating Korean food.  And Filipino food, and Chinese, Mexican, Italian... While my father had a bit of a midwestern opinion about certain foods, my mom - the consummate Californian - embraced it all with a flair that could only have come out of the 1960's.  Filipino neighbors across the street had me eating Lumpia and Adobo before I could spell them.  And we were eating Chinese food at Kwan's on Geary Street when there were only three kids in the family. (Numbers four and five were born in 1957.)

For years I lived up the street from a great Koren restaurant.  First time I walked in, I was a bit intimidated with the menu.  The waitress, sensing my discomfort, asked if I would trust her.  I said YES - and what a dinner I had.  From then on, I never ordered from the menu, I just said "Dinner for two" (or three, or four) and food would magically appear.  Magic, indeed.

While I have cooked a fair amount of Asian foods in my life, I have never really cooked a lot of Korean.  No particular reason, other than  bazillion condiments to prepare, and I always had immediate access to a really good Korean restaurant.

That was then, this is now.

Out here in my white-bread Philadelphia suburb, ethnic food of any stripe is difficult to find.  Restaurants tend to be a bit more upscale (read expensive) or national chains, which I tend to avoid at all costs.  (I generally don't care for cookie-cutter food.)

So, I tend to cook a lot at home.  It's good, because i eat healthier, but bad, because I cook for 12 when there's only two of us.  Healthy+big portions+quitting smoking=weight gain.  Yeah, I'm getting fat.

Which really has nothing to do with tonight's meal.  A Korean-inspired beef.  "Inspired" because it was about as authentically-Korean as I am, but it did have those great flavors.

I took some thin-sliced beef and marinated it in a pseudo-Bulgogi marinade:

  • soy sauce
  • sugar
  • rice wine
  • white vinegar
  • sesame oil
  • garlic
  • leeks
  • sesame seeds
  • cayenne pepper
  • black pepper

Into a zip-lock it went.  Onto the grill.  Onto the plate.  Into my tummy.

I had a bunch of mushrooms in the 'fridge that needed cooking, so I sauteed them in a bit of butter, soy sauce, a splash of fish sauce. garlic, a splash of rice wine...  they wre great!

And simple white rice to round it all out.

Now to find some good kim chee!