Today I decided to experiment and grill a roulade. Working with ingredients I had at home, I created this recipe using a butterflied flat iron steak, prosciutto, asparagus, and shredded Italian blend cheese. The meat was marinated in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Italian seasoning, minced onions, minced garlic, salt and pepper for an hour before assembly and grilling. For such a seamingly upscale dish, it went together quickly and easily – and it was enjoyed just as quickly and easily! Give this dish a try and impress that special someone with your culinary…
Let’s kick off the Memorial Day weekend with what I consider to be an interesting martini variant – the Citadelle Germain. This cocktail features the flowery fragrance and herbaceous flavors of Citadelle Gin and St. Germain. The Lillet Blanc is a wonderful supporting player to balance out all the herbaceous sweetness from the other two ingredients. With summer coming on strong (finally!) here in the Pacific Northwest, this cocktail is a perfect pre-dinner sipper; a delicious tipple to enjoy while the sun crests into the West. If you like martini variants, I strongly…
Tonight’s dish is the test for my new Loki Smart WiFi Meat Thermometer – a smoked pork shoulder. This dish is one that has many uses – pulled pork for sandwiches, pork fried rice, or even chili verde enchiladas. What would you like to see me make with this dish? I started with brining the meat like I did in this post, except I substituted 1 1/2 teaspoons of Berbere spice blend for the myriad of spices I used earlier. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I plan to spend more time…
Today I want to share with you a cool product I recently received from a Kickstarter I supported. The Loki smart WiFi meat thermometer from Loki Products is a great tool for monitoring your roasted, grilled, and smoked dishes. The Loki app allows you to connect to and control the thermometer, freeing you to do other things while your food does it’s thing – like get tasty in a smoker box – which is today’s test. Here are some pictures of the unit and a few links to learn more about this…
Easy, baked donuts? Yes, please! I found this recipe on Jennifer Meyerling’s blog and tweaked it by adding cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. The only challenge is buying a donut baking pan (and waiting patiently for it to arrive). I found mine on Amazon – standard and mini donut sizes. These donuts are perfect for a party because they are so easy to make, so easy to personalize, and let’s face it – so delicious! They are great for satisfying your sweet tooth as well if you cut the recipe into thirds to…
It looks like warmer weather has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest and with it, I am ready to enjoy one of my favorite warm weather cocktails – the Mojito. Originally from Cuba, this cocktail is popular nearly everywhere now. This drink is easier to make than you may think – the basic recipe is lime, mint, simple syrup, rum and club soda. Naturally, I like to make small adjustments as in adding a little bit of lemon when muddling the mint and lime. Depending on your tastes, this drink can be prepared strained or…
Tonight I made alcatra – a simple, but incredibly flavorful Portuguese beef stew made with beef shank, onions, some spices and wine. I researched many recipes and decided to go with the extremely simple recipe on the America’s Test Kitchen website, but I plan try a few of the others I found too. Several of those are family recipes from Terceira, an island in the Azores where this dish originated. I am intrigued by the myriad of variations, so watch for new posts in the future. Believe me, this stew would pair nicely with…