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Monthly Archives: February 2017
Tonight I went old school… very old school. This throwback meal is from my childhood and I will readily admit it was not a favorite – until I was able to enjoy mine with rice instead of toast (shingles). I never was a fan of ‘wet bread’ (and still am not) so the proverbial S.O.S. was a stomach churner until rice entered the picture. Once I paired it with rice… well, the game changed and this dish became one I make on a moment’s notice when I can’t think of anything else. This version of the recipe is augmented with sauteed chopped mushrooms and ground lamb. It is slightly involved, but you will see it comes together quickly…
Tonight I decided to prepare seared ahi, a dish I regularly enjoyed ‘back in the day’. But as you all should be used to by now, I wanted to try something different and preparing it using sous vide sounded like a wonderful way to go. So after doing some research, I opted to use the information provided by the Serious Eats crew for preparing ahi using sous vide. The beauty of this dish is it’s simplicity, it’s richness, and it’s versatility. And for this preparation, I opted to cook the ahi with no seasoning or oils until time to sear. This decision allows me full latitude to enjoy the tuna as well as indulge whatever flavors that pique my tastebuds…
I made this sauce for the Sous vide Seared Ahi dish and just knew I had to share it as a separate post. This sauce is beyond description – slightly sweet, slightly sour, slightly spicy and simply amazing. I decided to use some local honey (my neighbor keeps bees and always a shares some of his honey with me!) instead of sugar to simplify this sauce from a standard gastrique. I thought sweet and sour are great and all, but I wanted to add a bit of heat to it… and hot red chilis were available at my local store. So I added them to this sauce and kicked it up just a little bit, which I think you will enjoy. Give it a try on seared…
Wow, I cannot believe it has been a month since I last posted a Sunday Picture Post, so maybe I will just make that a monthly feature! Here are some of the meals I made that did not become posts in their own right. Most of the time it is because I remade something I already posted (or more than likely I tweaked something I already posted!) or it was a true experiment. I hope you enjoy these pictures of tasty meals and that they inspire you to unleash your culinary creative side! Pasta, what more can I say? Sous vide shredded chicken enchiladas and Spanish rice, a tasty experiment to become a post in the future! Spicy prawn stir fry with rice flakes – a tweak of…
Hoooray! It’s Friday and that means a new cocktail post! Tonight I wanted to showcase a French liqueur, St. Germain. St. Germain is an elderflower liqueur which has a pronounced floral fragrance and tasting notes. Combined with a reliable blended scotch, the flavors are robust and nuanced all at the same time and very enjoyable. Save Print Elderflower Thistle Prep time: 5 mins Total time: 5 mins Serves: 1 Ingredients 2 parts scotch 1 part St. Germain dash of Angostura bitters twist of lemon peel Instructions Add ice to a highball glass. Add the scotch, St. Germain, and bitters. Stir to combine. Twist a lemon peel over top and drop in. 3.5.3226 But wait… everyone should know that if…
Tonight’s dish is a request/challenge from a friend of mine. He told me this recipe for Chili Verde from Chef John is the best he ever tried and he thought I could ‘massage’ the recipe so it could be made for one. Well, I did some additional research and came up with the tweaked recipe below. Normally, chili verde is made with pork, but tonight I was feeling like chicken so that is what I used. Of course, you could substitute pork into this recipe and it would be great. Next time I will make this recipe with pork, maybe adjusted for sous vide to up the challenge. And since it is National Margarita Day, I paired this meal with a Mexican Mule…
Are you ready for another ‘comfort food’ dish? Tonight, I made spaghetti and meatballs. To fit the bill for comfort food and satisfy my hunger, I wanted the meatballs well seasoned and the sauce flavorful. For the meatballs, I used a mixture of beef and pork spiced with traditional Italian flavors of onion, garlic, parsley, basil and oregano. I then made a green pepper and fire roasted tomato sauce with sweetness from a grated carrot and a spicy hint of smoked paprika. This dish fires on all cylinders for me – tender and flavorful meatballs under a blanket of robust red sauce on a bed of thin spaghetti, accented with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese. To be honest, I should have made this dish on a…
As promised last week when I made kimchi, I came up with a radical new dish that uses it. I am taking liberties with my earlier Rouladen recipe by marinating some thin beef round steak in bulgogi marinade that will be wrapped around the kimchi and then seared. Served simply with steamed rice, more kimchi, and green onions as a garnish, I want this rouladen to be the star. Are you ready for a German/Korean fusion dish? I am… so let’s get cooking! Save Print Bulgogi Rouladen Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 1 Ingredients 1 6oz thinly sliced beef round steak, approximately ¼ inch thick 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp…
I know you all have a friend that reminisces about something from their childhood or neighborhood where they grew up. My friend from Chicago routinely grouses about not being able to enjoy a Chicago-style Italian Beef Sandwich. Being in the Pacific Northwest, he just has not found anything that claims to be Chicago-style Italian Beef compare to what he enjoys back home. So, after a lot of research I decided to take the challenge to silence his fussing and try to satisfy that taste of his hometown. Now I have never been to Chicago so I have no way to compare, but this sandwich was delicious, incredibly delicious, insanely delicious… so I think it was a success. His take on it… a solid thumbs…
Tonight I am making a simple, but tasty Hungarian bean and sausage soup – bableves kolbásszal. Since finding this gyulai kolbalsz at a local international market, I searched for recipes to try with it. This recipe is a mash-up of several I found on Hungarian blogs and web sites. I think the sausage is the star, but do not count out the supporting players, These supporting ingredients bring a wonderful depth of flavor – turnips, parsnips, carrots, onion, parsley, garlic and of course… bacon! Add sour cream and vinegar and this soup has pizazz! Give this hearty and flavorful soup a chance and you’ll be celebrating Hungarian cuisine like me! Save Print Bableves Kolbásszal Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: …