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So we've had a bit of an increase in traffic lately and I hope to keep everyone coming back with more post and less gaps.
A couple of things you can do to help:

Spread the Word on Facebook and Twitter.  You'll notice new links on the right side (under the favorite food sites links) that allow you to share the blog on facebook and twitter.  So please help spread the word.

Flank Steak Stir Fry

Stir fry is easy enough but I have a couple of tricks to take it out of the realm of the ordinary.

I like flank steak in my stir fry and my secret is I don't cook the steak in the pan/wok. I like to marinate my steak overnight in soy, lemon juice and worcestershire then grill it. I let it cool and slice it up before adding it to the veggies. You get a much better char and flavor from the grill you can't get from a pan.

Also, I like to cook my broccoli separate as well. I saute it then add a little broth and let it steam until done. This allows it to be cooked correctly and the steaming helps it maintain it's bright green color.

My last trick is one that makes it look great on a plate. One of the main differences in the 5 buck chinese buffet down the street and $15 an entree Asian joint with the Feng Shui decore is presentation. To make it look a little better stuff your serving of rice inside a ramekin and then invert it onto a plate. Remove the ramekin and you have a nice mound of rice that is not all over the plate.

Shrimp Lettuce Rolls

Guys don't like salad, that's pretty much a statement of fact. Not sure if we were born with some anti-lettuce gene but nonetheless most guys I know try to avoid the stuff. Well in my household salad avoidance is not really an option so the task is making the salad good/interesting without pouring a pint of ranch dressing on top.

Which leads me to making Shrimp Lettuce Rolls, which is basically a salad rolled up in rice paper. The concept is not unique, you've probably had them at your local Thai or Asian fusion hangout. However, they are so cheap and easy their is no reason not to make them at home.

The key ingredients are Rice Paper (found at the Asian Mkt), lettuce, basil, steamed shrimp and something to dip them in like soy or ponzu sauce.

Just soak a rice paper in hot water for 10 seconds then fill with shredded lettuce, basil and top with a steamed peeled shrimp. Roll it up tight and your done.

Once you master the basic the possibilities are endless: you can use more basil, less lettuce or other herbs such as mint. Also, some shredded carrot or celery would be a nice addition.

New Design

So we've got a new design. Yep that's a cutting board back there.

I'm also hoping to get back to regular updates. The plan is to have something new up each weekend. I've got a couple in the hopper that I'm pretty excited about; let's just say there is some pork belly in there and you can never go wrong with that.

Beef Short Rib Stroganoff

Classic Beef Stroganoff only made better by using braised Beef Short Ribs.

The seasoned Short Ribs are seared then slowly braised for 3-4 hours at a very low temp (~225). Once they are falling off the rib tender, let them cool enough to handle then pull the meat into strands.

The short ribs are served over buttered egg noodles and smothered in a classic stroganoff sauce.

Pork Belly Tacos

Pork Belly Tacos.

Slowly braised pork belly; so good it can turn a vegetarian. Fresh flour tortillas are filled with pork, guacamole, cilantro and jicama slices.

Irish Soda Bread

St. Patrick's Day !

A nice warm loaf of Irish Soda Bread served with some Kerrygold Butter. Being that both Colleen and I have somewhat of an Irish heritage I thought it was only a propos.

Roasted Chicken

Roasted Chicken with heirloom carrots, button and shiitake mushrooms.

I picked up a wonderfully fresh chicken on my latest trip to the Dekalb Farmers Market.

I brined the bird for about 7 hours in a water, salt, brown sugar, peppercorn brine. It was roasted with the veg and basted with butter along the way.

Sherry & Cream Pasta

Fresh made Rotini pasta, sliced prosciutto and green peas tossed with a sauce made of creme fraiche, parmesan, garlic, tomato paste and sherry.

Dinner Challenge

So Colleen was instructed to go to Fresh Market and buy any ingredients and I would turn it into a meal. Kind of a recipe challenge type thing.

Swiss Chard

Pork Tenderloin

Shallots

2 Slices Thick-Cut Bacon

Mushrooms

Gulf Shrimp

What it was turned into:

Seared Pork medallions with apple and shallot relish

Creamed chard with Shrimp & Bacon

Israeli Couscous w/ toasted pine nuts, mushrooms & dried fruit

HomeMade Pasta

I've been making my way through Michael Ruhlman's latest book Ratio, which is a great read on the beautiful simplicity of how to cook great food. It details how the understanding of simple ratios is what is at the core of basic cooking; master these ratios and the possibilities are endless.

Here is some pasta made by using the simple pasta ratio ( 6 oz. flour & 4 oz. egg). I cooked mine up and added some EV olive oil and some parmesan.

There's also a handy Iphone app which is nice to have on hand for quick reference in the kitchen.

Skillet Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler -> StoveTop -> Oven -> Table

Apple Braised Pork w/ Pasta & Parmesan Cream Sauce

The blog has been on an extensive break due to the holidays and my current recipe project I've been working on. But here is a really good creation I came up with a few weeks ago, apple braised pork with pasta and parmesan cream sauce.

This dish was inspired by something similar I had at a local restaurant Sugo. They serve braised pork belly with medallion shaped pasta and a truffle cream sauce. My version uses the much more accessible pork shoulder and is braised in apple cider. It's pulled and placed atop pasta and a parmesan cream sauce (truffles are little pricey). I added a little crunch by garnishing with diced red pepper.

Caramel Apple Tart

When I was a kid I loved the carmel apples you could get around Halloween; with that in mind I came up with this Caramel Apple Tart.

The crust is a classic short pastry crust rolled thin.  It's topped with Granny-Smith apples that were cooked in butter and brown sugar until soft.  The pastry and apples are baked until the crust is golden and the apples are warm.

Once cooled the tart is topped with homemade caramel sauce.

No Knead Bread

No Knead Bread baked in a Dutch Oven.

Simple bread dough of flour, water, yeast and salt.  The dough is flavored with thyme and rosemary.  Once the dough does it's 18 hours process of rising and re-rising it's put into the pre-heated dutch oven to bake.

Fire Roasted Vegetable Bruschetta

Fire Roasted Vegetable Bruschetta:

Oven Roasted Tomato combined with Roasted Corn,  Roasted Pablono Pepper, Roasted Red Pepper and Smoked Paprika.  Just combine, chill and then place spoonfuls atop toasted baguette slices.

Tomato Soup

Quick and easy tomato soup.

Saute 1 onion with a bay leaf.  Add 2 cans of whole tomatoes (good quality).  Cook for a minute and then remove from heat and mash-up.

Next add three slices of white bread (crust removed); cook for 5 minutes and then blend mixture.  Add olive oil, chicken broth and sherry (amounts to your taste).  Garnish with fresh basil.

This recipe was adapted from Jacques Pepin and takes less than 10 minutes to make.  Resist the urge to buy the Campbell's stuff and give this a try, it's worth the few minutes.

Vegetables Provencal

The parade of French dishes continue, summer vegetables provencal, a traditional baked vegetable dish.

The key is to make sure the vegetables are very, very dry.  To do this, take the sliced & salted squash, zucchini and tomato and place on paper towels and press them dry.

Next, layer the squash then tomatoes into the gratin dish.  Cover with caramelized onions, garlic,  olive oil, fresh thyme and pepper.  Bake for 40 mins.

To make the topping, add diced shallots and parmesan to bread crumbs.  Cover the vegetables with the topping and bake until browned.

Mussels

I've been making a lot more French Mediterranean dishes lately; today was steamed mussels.

Once the mussels are thoroughly cleaned, just saute shallot & garlic then add the mussels to the pot.  Next add vermouth (or white wine) and cover and let them steam for a few minutes.  Once they're all open just transfer to a bowl and garnish with parsley and green onion.

I serve with a good baguette (to soak up the broth) and lemon slices.

Chicken and Wild Rice

Chicken and Wild Rice,  a Robert St. John dish slightly modified.  The basic ingredients are wild rice, grilled chicken, pepper, mushroom, shallot, grilled pineapple and my sauce (soy, sesame, white wine, sherry, garlic, ginger, worcestershire & chicken stock)