Sausage Sandwiches

I found some interesting lamb & mint sausages on my latest trip to the Dekalb Farmers Market.

I grilled these up along with red onion and red pepper.  Everything got cut up, covered with havarti cheese and served atop a fresh roll.

I finally learned the trick to cooking sausages on the grill is to keep them away from the fire and let them cook slowly at a lower temp; then just before removing, move them over to the high temp area and let them get a bit of color.  They turn out much better this way (thanks Jamie Oliver!)

Roasted Tomato & Asparagus Pizza

A simple summertime pizza with asparagus and roasted tomatoes.

The sauce is just a mixture of olive oil and roasted garlic.  Mix it together to form a paste and lightly coat the dough before adding the other ingredients.

The tomatoes are sliced, seasoned and slowly roasted at 350 until they dehydrate a bit and the flavor is concentrate.  Asparagus is blanched so it will be soft and retain it's color.  Last, top with some slices of fresh mozzarella.  Simple but delicious.

Bananas Foster

There are a handful of things that make me nostalgic about where I grew up, the food of New Orleans being one of them.  From my early childhood, yearly trips to the Big Easy were a chance to explore all the culianry delights the city had to offer.

As I've grown older and geographically farther away, I'm constantly trying to recreate these classic dishes that I love so much.  One of these is Bananas Foster; one of the most popular desserts in the city.  It's truly a New Orleans creation as it's genesis can be traced back to Brennan's on Royal Street

It's an incredible fun and easy dessert to make; especially if you have an inner pyro like me.  And, keeping with the Brennan's tradition it's just as much about the show as the taste (they still prepare the dessert table-side).

All you need are

1 Ripe Banana (the more ripe the better) - split in half length-wise then cut into small chunks

1/4 cup Brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Butter

Cinammon to taste

1 oz. Rum (or banana liquer) -use a decent quality

Vanilla Ice Cream

Lighter or Open Flame

a fire extinguisher in the vicinity is also probably a good idea

The above will make a small serving for 2 people, adjust accordingly.

Allow a shallow skillet to heat up, then add in the butter.  Once the butter is melted add in the bananas and brown sugar and allow to cook/soften for 1-2 minutes.  Season with cinnamon to taste.

Now comes the big finale, remove from the heat and add the alcohol and add the flame; be sure to have you and your guest stay back from the pan as it will ignite and make culinary fireworks.  For a beginner, I recommend using a stick lighter, however with experience you can just use the open flame from a gas stove.

Once the flame subsides you can spoon it over the ice cream and enjoy.  Serve immediately because the warm mixture will melt the ice cream quickly.

Tilapia Meuniere

Tilapia done meuniere style.  This most French of dishes is one of my most favorite to cook and eat.

Tilapia is dredged in wondra and then pan fried.  You can't be afraid to let it go a little brown; that's when you really get great flavor.

The sauce is a lemon butter sauce with capers.  I have to be honest I went most of my life disliking capers after I tried them when I was young and had a bad experience.  However, after hearing my brother go on-and-on about them I thought I would give them another shot.  Turns out, I really like them; I guess it's one of those taste you have to grow into.

The sauce is made by reducing white wine (or Vermouth) in a pan until the volume is half.  Then add capers and lemon juice and let simmer for about a minute.  Finally, whisk in softened butter (use good quality) until the sauce is emulsified and smooth.  I would love to give you more exact directions but it's really something I've learned to do by feel.  If your looking for measurements I would recommend Julia's book; like I said this is truly classic french.

The Tilapia was accompanied by roasted Brussel sprouts.  These were simply tossed with oil, salt and pepper and roasted until soft and brown.  These turned out great and I'm planning to create a roast brussel sprout salad that I will detail later.

Marscapone Ravioli w/ Pork Belly & Sweet Pepper Chutney

I'm continually trying to perfect my pork belly & pasta recipe; the latest interation being marscapone ravioli w/ pork belly and sweet pepper chutney.

I prepared the pork belly as usual:  It gets a light sear on each side and is then added to a cast-iron pot where it's braised with a little water in the oven very slowly (275 degrees) for a few hours.  When the pork belly is done it will simply fall apart at the touch.

Next, for the sweet pepper chutney, about a half a jar of sweet peppers are needed (8-9 peppers).  Any type of pepper can be used as long as they are not spicy, however, if your peppers aren't slightly pickled then a small of amount of vinegar or lemon should be added to the chutney.  Next, one of the most important steps is removing all seeds from the peppers.
Once the peppers are prepped they can be added to the blender with the other ingredients:
1/3 cup of tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. oregano
salt
pepper
Everything is then blended to as smooth as possible; but,even with the best blender the mixture will still be a little chunky.


Finally, the ravioli.  Homemade pasta is filled with a mixture of marscapone, parmesan and chives.  Once the raviolis are boiled they are then tossed in a light sauce of crème fraîche, garlic and mushrooms.  The ravioli and sauce were great the filling however was not a success.  It definitely needs something to bind it so it doesn't turn so liquidous during cooking.



All in all a successful dish.  The chutney with the pork belly is defintely worth making in the future.

I must give credit to the Iberian Pig for inspiration of this dish (The Castellucci's new restaurant in Decatur).

Refried Black Beans

Homemade refried beans are amazingly easy and take about as much time as opening that can of pre-made beans.
Simply add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil to a pan and heat on medium.  Add some minced garlic and stir for a few seconds.  Before the garlic begins to brown add a can of black beans (beans and liquid).  While the mixture is bubbling about use a masher and mash up the beans until you get the desired consistency.  Turn off the heat and season to taste with salt.

Once you get the basic beans you can expand by adding onions or chipotle peppers.  I also recommend getting the low-sodium beans and seasoning them yourself with salt, chili powder and cumin.

Shrimp Tacos

I picked up some homemade tortillas at the new farmers market up the street and decided to make grilled shrimp tacos.
The seasoned grilled shrimp are served up with cilantro, creme fraiche and a roasted tomatillo and avocado sauce.

Roasted tomatillo and avocado sauce:
4 Tomatillos
1 poblano pepper
handful of cilantro
1/2 an avocado
2 Tbsp. Lime juice

Dry roast the tomatillos and poblano pepper in a cast iron skillet until charred and softened.  Let cool and add to blender with cilantro and lime juice, puree until smooth.  Cut the avocado into small chunks and add to the blender, continue blending until creamy and smooth.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for about an hour before serving over the tacos.

Specialty Ingredients

I have quiet a few specialty ingredients that I often use so I thought I would start a new section to highlight some of these (and supply links for acquiring them).  On the right you'll notice a NEW PAGE for specialty ingredients; I hope to keep this section as an archive and periodically update it.  To kick it off I've included three great items I use all the time.

BLT

Sometimes the simplest things are the best.  A simple BLT can be extraordinary with high quality ingredients.

The summer really is the only time of year to have a BLT as having great tomatoes are crucial.  Also, you have to use great bacon; this was thick-cut, applewood smoked.  The tomato and bacon were put on top of sourdough with some Bibb lettuce.  Finished off with some NY cheddar and Dijon mustard (I'm not a mayo guy).

Spread the Word!

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.