So, my last entry in Iron Chef did not win - I lost by 3 points. I was disappointed in myself, if only because I didn't feel I gave it my all, and didn't bring my 'A' game.
But, that's OK - there's a new Iron Chef challenge for me...
Now, there's 8 of us (normally) that participate, so, we normally have two people in each category. It breaks down to Appetizer, Entree, Dessert, and Drinks. The drinks portion is normally a separate flavoring from the main secret ingredient, as it's sometimes difficult to figure out how to put peas into an appetizing form that one would want to imbibe... The last time we pulled, dessert and drinks were given to the same person...
This time has been no different, and I have been given Dessert and drinks. I already know the secret ingredient - Bacon.
To that end, I'm going to put together a medley of tasty bacon-based desserts to see which would stand out the most on a plate, and which will fail and burn in a fiery death of shame and woe...
I have such ideas as these:
Orange-cream puff pastry, dipped in chocolate, with bacon brittle
Apple filo dough with maple-glazed bacon
Pear and bacon tartlet with sugared bacon crumbles
Bacon carrot cake with a macadamia nut bacon brittle
Bacon chocolate chip cookie sandwiches with maple ice cream
I think these are all fairly good ideas and they should translate fairly well throughout the tasting...
If YOU have any ideas that you think would do well, let me know and I will consider mixing them in...
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Street Vendor Tacos...
About five years ago, I did an externship at a local Caribbean/Florida/cum Northwestern restaurant and catering company.
Prior to that, while I had gone through "International Cooking", I hadn't had too much in the way of understanding much of anything that was regional in the way of Hispanic foods. I knew they were spicy, and I knew that I liked a lot of it. I also knew that most of what I got in the so-called "Mexican" restaurants (read chain restaurants like Azteca and the like) were *not* Mexican at all, but a Tex-Mex blend of ideas and components that, while tasty, really had nothing to do with South or Central America or its eating habits.
Imagine my surprise when the five women and four men I worked with at my externship showed me what different regions did, even within a 100 mile radius of Mexico city. I learned there how to make street tacos, and they quickly became my favorite treat in the world. I normally didn't have a way to make them for just myself, as it has a lot of condiments involved, and I don't necessarily want to eat 20 of them at a time...
So, since last night I was guaranteed to have at least 3 people besides myself to feed, I figured it was a perfect time for me to make tacos.
Makes about 20 small street tacos
20 small soft corn tortillas
2 lbs chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
optional toppings:
cotija cheese crumbles
queso fresco (mild white cheese)
pico de gallo
salsa
guacamole
sour cream
lettuce
Cook the chicken with the chiles and garlic salt in the olive oil on medium high heat until they are just brown.
Remove from the heat and steam the corn tortillas until they are pliable.
Add chicken, and your optional toppings.
Enjoy!
Prior to that, while I had gone through "International Cooking", I hadn't had too much in the way of understanding much of anything that was regional in the way of Hispanic foods. I knew they were spicy, and I knew that I liked a lot of it. I also knew that most of what I got in the so-called "Mexican" restaurants (read chain restaurants like Azteca and the like) were *not* Mexican at all, but a Tex-Mex blend of ideas and components that, while tasty, really had nothing to do with South or Central America or its eating habits.
Imagine my surprise when the five women and four men I worked with at my externship showed me what different regions did, even within a 100 mile radius of Mexico city. I learned there how to make street tacos, and they quickly became my favorite treat in the world. I normally didn't have a way to make them for just myself, as it has a lot of condiments involved, and I don't necessarily want to eat 20 of them at a time...
So, since last night I was guaranteed to have at least 3 people besides myself to feed, I figured it was a perfect time for me to make tacos.
Makes about 20 small street tacos
20 small soft corn tortillas
2 lbs chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
optional toppings:
cotija cheese crumbles
queso fresco (mild white cheese)
pico de gallo
salsa
guacamole
sour cream
lettuce
Cook the chicken with the chiles and garlic salt in the olive oil on medium high heat until they are just brown.
Remove from the heat and steam the corn tortillas until they are pliable.
Add chicken, and your optional toppings.
Enjoy!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Drinks!!!
In honor of my "fabulous" daytime job, I have opted to post mixed drink recipes. Whoot!
Nutty Irishman
1/2 Irish Cream
1/2 Hazelnut Liqueur
Mix in whatever proportions deemed necessary, and serve.
Black-Hearted Wench
2 shots Captain Morgan's spiced rum
1 cup Sunny D or Tampico orange drink
Mix and serve.
Raspberry Vodka Sour
2 shots raspberry vodka
1 cup sour mix
2 shots grenadine
To make it a sparkling sour, remove the grenadine, and add a cup of Sprite.
Basic Sour Mix
(yields 2 cups)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 c lemon juice (more or less)
1/2 c lime juice (more or less)
Heat water and sugar on the stove until the sugar is dissolved
Add about 1/2 cup of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of lime juice - or thereabouts - until the desired flavor of the sour mix is achieved.
Stick it in the fridge to chill.
Nutty Irishman
1/2 Irish Cream
1/2 Hazelnut Liqueur
Mix in whatever proportions deemed necessary, and serve.
Black-Hearted Wench
2 shots Captain Morgan's spiced rum
1 cup Sunny D or Tampico orange drink
Mix and serve.
Raspberry Vodka Sour
2 shots raspberry vodka
1 cup sour mix
2 shots grenadine
To make it a sparkling sour, remove the grenadine, and add a cup of Sprite.
Basic Sour Mix
(yields 2 cups)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 c lemon juice (more or less)
1/2 c lime juice (more or less)
Heat water and sugar on the stove until the sugar is dissolved
Add about 1/2 cup of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of lime juice - or thereabouts - until the desired flavor of the sour mix is achieved.
Stick it in the fridge to chill.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Grilled Lamb Loin...
Today is our anniversary, so I thought I'd do something a little special... Grilled, marinaded loin of lamb, cous cous, and some sauted green beans.
As a side note, lamb really should be served medium rare to rare. It is delicious and tender this way.
Marinade:
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
4 long sprigs Rosemary
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
Trim the lamb and butterfly it so that it lays fairly flat and is cut fairly even, about 1-2" thick.
Place it into the marinade for up to 4 hours, turning every hour or so.
Heat the grill to about 250-300 degrees, and place the lamb onto the grill.
Let sit about 8 minutes, then turn 40 degrees clockwise.
Let sit about 8 minutes, then turn over.
Let sit about 8 minutes, then turn 40 degrees clockwise.
Let sit about 8 minutes, then remove from heat and place on a warm plate.
Cover loosely with tin foil and let sit about 5-10 minutes for carry-over cooking.
Slice against the grain of the meat to create long strips.
Serve with your favorite side dishes.
As a side note, lamb really should be served medium rare to rare. It is delicious and tender this way.
Marinade:
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
4 long sprigs Rosemary
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
Trim the lamb and butterfly it so that it lays fairly flat and is cut fairly even, about 1-2" thick.
Place it into the marinade for up to 4 hours, turning every hour or so.
Heat the grill to about 250-300 degrees, and place the lamb onto the grill.
Let sit about 8 minutes, then turn 40 degrees clockwise.
Let sit about 8 minutes, then turn over.
Let sit about 8 minutes, then turn 40 degrees clockwise.
Let sit about 8 minutes, then remove from heat and place on a warm plate.
Cover loosely with tin foil and let sit about 5-10 minutes for carry-over cooking.
Slice against the grain of the meat to create long strips.
Serve with your favorite side dishes.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Delicious home-made Crock-pot Beef Stew
I haven't been able to run test recipes for a while now, and for that I apologize. It seems like whenever I get the chance, two seconds in something happens and I have to put everything on hold. *chuckle* This recipe is for those who think that those beef stew packets are all that... :-) You don't need to spend so much money on those things, though. Trust me.
Dredge mix:
2 c flour
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder
salt
black cracked pepper
2 lbs beef, cubed into bite-sized pieces
5 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp Butter
4 c water, beef or veggie stock
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
6 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped
5 large potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp lemon juice
3 cups frozen petite green peas
Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
Dredge beef well in the flour, then add, a little at a time, into the skillet.
Cook until brown and place into the waiting crock-pot.
Repeat until all the beef is done.
Add all the vegetables, withholding the garlic and peas.
Melt butter into the hot skillet and add remaining flour mixture.
If needed, add a little extra butter or flour to make the roux paste.
Cook until the flour smells nutty and turns a dark brown. Be careful not to burn it.
Slowly add your water/stock about 1 cup at a time, and stir until mixed with no lumps. As it gets more soup-like, you can add more stock at a time until completely mixed.
Add the sauce to the crock-pot, turn on high, cover, and leave sit for about 3.5 hours.
Test the potatoes with a fork, and if almost fork-tender, add the garlic and lemon juice.
Let sit another 30 minutes.
Add frozen peas, and remove from heat, stirring.
Serve with crusty bread.
Dredge mix:
2 c flour
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder
salt
black cracked pepper
2 lbs beef, cubed into bite-sized pieces
5 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp Butter
4 c water, beef or veggie stock
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
6 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped
5 large potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp lemon juice
3 cups frozen petite green peas
Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
Dredge beef well in the flour, then add, a little at a time, into the skillet.
Cook until brown and place into the waiting crock-pot.
Repeat until all the beef is done.
Add all the vegetables, withholding the garlic and peas.
Melt butter into the hot skillet and add remaining flour mixture.
If needed, add a little extra butter or flour to make the roux paste.
Cook until the flour smells nutty and turns a dark brown. Be careful not to burn it.
Slowly add your water/stock about 1 cup at a time, and stir until mixed with no lumps. As it gets more soup-like, you can add more stock at a time until completely mixed.
Add the sauce to the crock-pot, turn on high, cover, and leave sit for about 3.5 hours.
Test the potatoes with a fork, and if almost fork-tender, add the garlic and lemon juice.
Let sit another 30 minutes.
Add frozen peas, and remove from heat, stirring.
Serve with crusty bread.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Potato Stir Fry
I couldn't figure out what to serve with my Thai Chicken bites, so I looked in my pantry to see what I had... I found red, yukon, and russet (Idaho) potatoes, and I knew I had a bag of stir fry veggies. So, I figured I'd just see what happened.
Serves 4 hungry people (when served with the Thai Chicken Bites)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 red potatoes, diced
1 large yukon gold, diced
2 russet potatoes, cleaned and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 sage leaves, minced
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 16 oz package stir fry veggie mix (your choice)
salt
pepper
Heat olive oil to medium high.
Add all potatoes into the pan and let cook, stirring after 5 minutes, to allow for browning.
Add garlic, sage and red pepper.
Continue to cook until potatoes are mostly browned.
Add stir fry veggies, and cook until completely heated through.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4 hungry people (when served with the Thai Chicken Bites)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 red potatoes, diced
1 large yukon gold, diced
2 russet potatoes, cleaned and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 sage leaves, minced
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 16 oz package stir fry veggie mix (your choice)
salt
pepper
Heat olive oil to medium high.
Add all potatoes into the pan and let cook, stirring after 5 minutes, to allow for browning.
Add garlic, sage and red pepper.
Continue to cook until potatoes are mostly browned.
Add stir fry veggies, and cook until completely heated through.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Thai Chicken Bites
I created the Thai Fried Chicken a while back, and it was such a tasty treat that I wanted to make it more regularly - but without the super deep fry of the original. So, last night, I tried a pan fry of it, and was happily surprised at the results. This has a very mild flavor of sweet chili sauce - if you want more, simply let the chicken marinade in it for several hours before you crumb and cook it.
**Oil should only come up about a 1/4" at most in the pan you're using - I prefer a larger pan, 14" in diameter.**
Serves 4 hungry people when accompanied with the potato stir fry
2 large chicken breasts, cut to 1/2" thick slices
The wash:
1/2 cup sweet Thai chili sauce
1/2 cup honey mustard
1 egg
1/4 c milk
salt
pepper
3 cups Panko bread crumbs (or thereabouts)
Heat olive oil in a large pan to medium-high heat
Set oven to warm, and have a capture tray out
Combine all wash ingredients together in a pie pan.
In a separate pie pan, place the panko bread crumbs.
Take your chicken slices and dip them into the egg wash, then transfer them to the panko.
Cover completely with panko, then lay gently (away from you, please) into the oil.
Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and repeat.
Please into the capture tray, and place into the warming oven until all chicken is done.
Sprinkle with a bit of your favorite salt, and serve.
If you want, serve a side of the thai chili sauce/honey mustard mix for a dip.
**Oil should only come up about a 1/4" at most in the pan you're using - I prefer a larger pan, 14" in diameter.**
Serves 4 hungry people when accompanied with the potato stir fry
2 large chicken breasts, cut to 1/2" thick slices
The wash:
1/2 cup sweet Thai chili sauce
1/2 cup honey mustard
1 egg
1/4 c milk
salt
pepper
3 cups Panko bread crumbs (or thereabouts)
Heat olive oil in a large pan to medium-high heat
Set oven to warm, and have a capture tray out
Combine all wash ingredients together in a pie pan.
In a separate pie pan, place the panko bread crumbs.
Take your chicken slices and dip them into the egg wash, then transfer them to the panko.
Cover completely with panko, then lay gently (away from you, please) into the oil.
Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and repeat.
Please into the capture tray, and place into the warming oven until all chicken is done.
Sprinkle with a bit of your favorite salt, and serve.
If you want, serve a side of the thai chili sauce/honey mustard mix for a dip.
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