Greek Style Pork

My infatuation with the Greek theme continues with this dinner I will highlight today.  This dinner was highlighted by the fresh veggies that Shells has brought home from the farmer's market.  Asparagus, purple eggplant, yellow squash and zucchini made up the base for this plate which was topped off with a pork chop.

For the pork I used a dry rub of greek seasoning on the chop and then sliced each one open towards the bone.  I stuffed the chops with some slices of Halloumi and then grilled them over medium-high heat until they were cooked through.  I topped them with a bit of Tzatziki sauce, try it and enjoy!

Greek Cheese Fries

This year I got Sunday Ticket and ended a 14 year tradition of watching Chicago Bears games at Buffalo Wild Wings when in Richmond.  After 14 years of Coors Light, wings and fries every Sunday, I've been trying all sorts of different snacks this year.

For the game a couple of weeks ago Shells asked me to do something Greek, so I went with Greek style lamb fries.

Greek Style Lamb Fries:

2/3 lb lamb shoulder, boneless

1/3 cup crumbled feta

2/3 cup shredded Halloumi cheese

3 tbsp Tzatziki sauce

1 tbsp diced mint

Ore-ida Waffle Fries (about 25 fries, enough to cover the plate in 1 layer)

1/2 tbsp Greek seasoning mixed with 1 tbsp olive oil

Season the lamb with the seasoning by rubbing the oil mixture all over the lamb.  Preheat the oven to 350F and roast the lamb, wrapped in foil, for about 1.5 hours.  Remove the lamb, raise the oven temperature to 425F, transfer to a new plate and cover.  Once the oven comes to temperature, cook the fries per the instructions, removing from the oven about 5 minutes before they are done.

While the fries are cooking, shave and/or roughly chop the lamb.  Layer the fries on an oven proof plate and then top with the Halloumi cheese, lamb and feta.  Return to oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese (or until fries start to blacken on the edges).  

Top with Tzatziki sauce and mint, serve and enjoy!  Oh, and watch the hot plate!

The Wife Makes Plum Upside Down Cake

A few weeks back I was making my weekly farmer's market run.  I saw some beautiful fresh fruit and felt the urge to do some baking.  

Thanks to Epicurious I was able to find a Plum Upside Down cake recipe while I was browsing the market.  

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup packed golden brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

6 large plums, halved, pitted, each half cut into 6 wedges

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup milk

Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir 6 tablespoons butter, brown sugar and honey in heavy medium skillet over low heat until butter melts and sugar and honey blend in, forming thick, smooth sauce. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Arrange plums in overlapping concentric circles atop sauce.
• Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 6 tablespoons butter in large bowl until light. Add sugar and beat until creamy. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in extracts. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing just until blended. Spoon batter evenly over plums. Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool in pan 30 minutes.
• Using knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Place platter atop cake pan. Invert cake; place platter on work surface. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently lift off pan. Serve cake warm with whipped cream.

Hints

I followed the recipe pretty closely.  My pan did not have 2 inch sides but it still came out perfectly fine.  Definitely serve warm and I served with ice cream instead of whipped cream.

                                     

It's getting cold ... time to start braising things!

Every year as it starts to transition from fall into the ice-age I find myself drifting a little further down the meat counter, away from the nice lean fillets that go on the grill while sitting outside and towards the heavy shanks and osso bucco cuts.

Lamb shanks are one of my favorites because of a solid meat to fat ratio as well as the subtle flavor that develops during the long cooking process.  For this dish, I used a very simple, one pan, approach to cook these shanks.

Braised Lamb Shanks
2 Lamb Shanks
1/2 box Pomi crushed tomatos
1 14.5oz can Cannelloni beans
4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 small yellow onion (chopped)

First things first, preheat your oven to 325F, we're cooking low and slow (so make sure you have a few hours to prep this dish).

Start a braising pan (or a dutch oven or other covered pan that is oven proof and large enough to fit all ingredients) over medium high heat with a little bit of olive oil.

Once the pan is hot, sear the lamb shanks for about 1 minute per side and then remove the pan from the heat.  Add the tomatoes, onions, beans and garlic to the pan (try and aim for a somewhat even distribution).

Cover the pan, place it in the oven and then set your timer for about 2.5 hours.  Once the timer is done, remove from the oven and remove the lid.  At this point the meat should have pulled tight and look like it's falling off the bone.

Use tongs to remove the shanks to a cutting board to sit for a minute.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beans, onions and garlic to the plates and then top with the lamb.  Finally, pour the tomoato sauce from the pan over the top and serve, enjoy!

Coastal Carolina Sushi

For this dinner I decided to take a play on the Carolina Sushi I made for a menu years ago (Carolina style pulled pork, coleslaw, wrapped in a mustard green leaf) and went with a healthier, coastal, version that was fish driven.

This dinner was pretty simple in the execution:

Ingredients
1 bunch collard greens
1 package Carolina yellow rice
3/4 pound fresh red snapper.

I broiled the snapper and made the rice according to the recipe.  With about five minutes left I chopped the stems off of four large collard green leaves (and shaved down the rib a little bit) and then steamed them in a covered sauté pan.

Once the leaves were steamed through, I laid them flat and then put a quarter of the fish and a large spoonful of the rice (spread flat) on each leaf and then rolled it tightly.  I the sliced them into 1 1/2 inch pieces (slicing with the roll so not to unravel them) and then plated and served with Frank's red hot as a dipping sauce.  It turned out amazing, try it yourself and enjoy!

                             

Spicy, Southern Rice & Pork

I know that pork is the other white meat, the healthy low-fat meat and the perfect pairing with everything.  I agree with all of those points, but because of those things, it needs some help from tasty sides.

For this dinner I made one of my new favorites which I am calling "spicy, southern rice."  I'm not in love with the name though, let me know if you can come up with something better?!?!

Spicy, Southern Rice

1 pkg. yellow rice (I like Carolina brand)

Fresh okra (we buy it in a dry pint at the farmer's market ... you want about two cups when cut)

1 long hot pepper (or other spicy pepper like jalapeno)

2 cloves garlic

Chop the okra into rings about 1/2" thick.  Smash the garlic cloves and then roughly chop.  De-seed the peppers and then chop them as well.  Add the the above and the rice to a cold pan, follow directions on rice package for the amount of water to add.  Stir well, increase heat to medium-low and then cover.  Once the rice comes to a simmer, turn the temperature down to low and cook, covered, until the water is absorbed by the rice.  Stir occasionally.

Once the rice is fully cooked, allow to sit off the heat, covered for about 10 minutes and then plate and enjoy!

Grilled pork loin w/ spicy, Southern rice, avocado puree and sautéed collard greens.

Sunday Steak Night

Shells and I have been trying to reduce our red meat intake, but I still tend to enjoy Sunday night "steak night."  With that said, I agree that an eight ounce filet is much better for me than a 16oz dry aged ribeye.  Don't get me wrong, I would prefer the ribeye any day ... I'm just talking purely from a health perspective.

In an order to healthify (is that a word?) our steak intake, I've gone to 4-5 oz filet for Shells and a 7-8 oz filet for me.  The other trick to making the steak night healthy is to look for better sides.

For this dinner I went with home-made potato chips, baked of course and a veggie mix.

For the chips I used 1 medium baking potato, sliced thinly & evenly (I used a knife, you can use a mandolin if you struggle to slice evenly).

Chips go onto a non-stick baking tray (use a little baking spray if needed) at 425F.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes (until browned evenly), turning every 5 minutes to ensure they don't burn or stick.

Tasty, and healthy, side.

For this second dinner I went with one of my traditional standbys, garlic white beans.

These beans are simple to make: 1 14.5oz can Cannellini beans (with liquid), 1/2 can of water, 4 garlic cloves (smashed and chopped).  Put all ingredients in a pot and cook over medium-low heat (stirring frequently) until the water has evaporated and a gravy has formed.

The beans stick to your sides and provide a filling and healthy side that paired well in this dinner with the steak and steamed veggies.  Try them both and enjoy!

My take on Veggie Hash

The traditional hash, at least as I think about it, is chopped up potatoes with some corned beef and onions served for breakfast with runny eggs over the top.  For this dinner I decided to do something a little different and went with a potato+veggie combination.

For this dish, feeding two, you'll want the following:

2 small-medium white potatoes

1 small red bell pepper

1 small yellow bell pepper

1 large green tomato

1 avocado

I started with small white potatoes, cut into french fry style strips and cooked them in a sauté pan with a tablespoon of light olive oil.

While the potatoes are cooking, slice the peppers with a similar size.  Once the potatoes have started to brown toss in the sliced peppers and allow the mixture to continue to cook for about five minutes.  Continue to agitate so that things don't stick.

After the five minutes of peppers cooking, add the chopped green tomato and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

If there is still water in the pan after 10 minutes, cook until water has evaporated and then remove from heat and plate.  I served it with a white fish, avocado and sautéed squash, but you can serve it with whatever you'd like, enjoy!

The leaning Mexican Scallop "tower"

I decided to have a little fun with an appetizer here and built out a Mexican themed scallop stack.  This was the day after I had made our last Mexican themed night so I still had a bit of Pico and limes left as well as some tortillas.

The concept here was pretty simple, U-10 scallop + tasty accompaniments.  I sliced the scallop in half and then pan seared it (about 15 seconds per side) until just cooked and still a little clear in the very center.  I then built the dish starting with a slice of avocado followed by tortilla, scallop, tortilla and scallop.  I topped off the "tower" with some fresh Pico de Gallo.  I finished the plating with a bit of charred long hot pepper, a lime slice, and Valentina hot sauce.

Try it and enjoy!

Grownup Mac and Cheese

I'll be one of the first to admit that sometimes everyone just needs some Mac and Cheese.  Face it, whether that goopy stuff that they served in school, Velveeta shells, lobster mac from that trendy place down the road or Kraft EasyMac ... Mac and Cheese is always good!

For my Mac and Cheese I go a little overboard with the cheeses, feel free to choose to do so or not.  For this dinner I didn't have a lot on hand so it was a mix of cheddar, mozzarella and gouda .. typically I love mixing it up with a blue or a brie.  Also, this recipe is surprisingly easy.

Grownup Mac and Cheese

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup assorted melting cheeses (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Brie, Blue, Gouda, etc.)

4 cups cooked orecchiette

Frank's Redhot (or a similar hot sauce), optional

Start off by melting the butter into a sauce pot and then whisk in the flour to build your roux.  Once the flour and butter are well combined, slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture has thickened into a sauce.  Next add the cheese and continue to whisk until well melted and mixed.

Finally, add the orecchiette and stir well.  Yep, that simple.  You'll have to play with the mixture of cheeses a little bit as some will add more oil or water to the mixture and can throw it off.  If that happens you'll have to make a bit more of the roux and milk mixture in another pot and slowly add until the consistency is correct.  Try it and enjoy!

Grilled steak, Searzall'ed

I know that I've posted a million pictures of a steak (or pork, or onions, or you get the idea) and the Searzall ... I thought that it might make sense to talk a little bit here about my infatuation with it.  The Searzall was invented by the resident geniuses at Momofuku's Booker and Dax food lab and  I was introduced to this miraculous device by Chef Nick Pfannerstill at Dovetail NYC.  While used by many restaurants to get that perfect sear on meats that have been cooked Sous Vide, I have found other uses for mine as well!

What you're seeing in this picture is a one inch thick, dry aged porterhouse steak from Whole Foods.  I grilled it over high heat for about 8 minutes (2 minutes, quarter turn, 2 minutes, flip, 4 minutes) and then onto a cutting board covered with a light towel to rest for 5 minutes.  Then it was time to sear!

I brushed the steak with a bit of browned butter that I had infused with a Harissa spice mix and then used the Searzall until the steak was sizzling and a bit of crust had formed.  Immediately I sliced the two cuts off of the middle bone and then plated over white beans ... medium rare filet for Shells and rare (pictured to right) NY Strip for me.

If you've made it all the way through this post without purchasing your own Searzall yet, good for you and your commitment to reading this blog ... now off to Amazon with you and enjoy!

Mexican night, with a little helpful inspiration

I was leafing through the September 2015 issue of Food and Wine and came across an article about Mexican chef Enrique Olivera.  I realized that Shells and I hadn't done a Mexican dinner in a while, so for this meal we broke out the masa and drew inspiration from the article for a different take on some old favorites!

For the first course I put Shells to work with the rolling pin and a plan to make 8 inch corn tortillas.  It was easier said than done and I quickly had to lend my hands to helping flatten out the corn.

While she was rolling I sautéed a batch of mushrooms (I used shiitake for this), shredded some Oaxaca cheese and made a Pico de Gallo. Mushroom quesadillas are something we used to eat on Friday's for lunch in Leon.  While there was a recipe in the article, I kept mine simple with just mushrooms and garlic.

I cooked the tortillas on a cast iron skillet and once I had crisped the first side I added the cheese & mushroom mix, carefully folding the tortilla over to make the quesadilla.

 For the main course I tried a variation on one of my favorite Mexican dishes, Carnitas!  For this version Olivera used pork belly instead of the traditional pork shoulder.  I knew that the extra fat in the pork belly would make this a much different dish!  The full recipe can be found here.

The highlights were a slow braising of the pork belly in an oil and shortening mix (I only used the olive oil) with onion, garlic and morita chiles.  Typically I have braised in a water mix, so I was curious to see how it came out!

After the braising, the pork was cooked in a hot skillet to get the crispy skin and then sliced for tacos.  I served it with lime wedges, Queso Fresco and fresh corn tortillas ... and some ice cold Pacifico, of course!

While this didn't replace traditional pork shoulder carnitas for me, it was a very good incarnation ... try it and enjoy!

The Wife Makes Lemon Basil Popsicles

After having an amazing Lemon Basil Popsicle from King of Pops (Richmond, VA) I decided that I could most likely create an at home version.  The day I had the pop was an extremely hot day and it was so refreshing.  Now I will say that my pop is probably not as good as the King of Pops version but it was still pretty good.  I found the recipe on this site.  There are a few other pops that I think would be fun to try as well.

I bought the Tovolo Popsicle molds at Whole Foods.  They are pretty large molds and I honestly haven't been actually finishing the whole pop (that is probably because it gets quite tart!).

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar (for my 2nd try I replaced with Truvia natural sweetener for baking...use the natural sweetener directions for measuring equivalent...mine was 1/2 cup of Truvia to 1 cup of sugar)  I used about 3/4 cup of water still to make the syrup
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup fresh sweet basil leaves
• 1 1/4 cup cold water divided
• 1/2  cup fresh lemon juice (depending on size it will be 3 - 4 lemons)

Directions

• In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup cold water. Stir over medium heat until all of the sugar is dissolved. It's not necessary to boil. Remove from heat. Tear basil leaves, stir into syrup and allow to steep in syrup for 2 hours.
• Strain cooled syrup to remove basil leaves. Measure out 3/4 cup of the basil syrup and combine with lemon juice and 1 1/4 cups cold water. Pour into ice pop molds and freeze for at least 4 hours or until solid.

These pops are extremely easy to make. Just allowing for plenty of time for the basil syrup to steep is the most challenging part of the process.

Keep an eye out for more posts on different pops we try in the future!

Various summer pastas

Summer time for me means fresh veggies, sitting at the pool and eating outside.  Luckily the three go together, as I'll highlight below, in making for dinners that don't make you feel ashamed to doff your shirt.

We take advantage of the farmer's market to get all sorts of fresh veggies, and then I add some fish and pasta to make a simple and not too filling dinner.

For this first pasta I did a very basic mix of sautéed shrimp and scallops over bucatini.  I cooked a bunch of baby squash (green and yellow) along with asparagus to make the veggie mix, and then hit it with a little white wine at the last minute to make a "sauce."  I then topped it all off with basil and shaved parmesan cheese.

For this second pasta I went a little heavier, but still summertime light.  I sautéed onion, shiitake mushrooms and fresh hot and mild peppers.  I once again used bucatini as the base, but this time I topped it with a piece of broiled grouper and some sautéed king crab.

No matter what you put on top, keep it light and you can't go wrong ... enjoy!

Seafood Delight!

Do you know what the downside of having a bunch of Dungeness crab in your freezer is?  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!  Got a dinner that doesn't feel like it's going to be everything you were hoping for?  Dungeness crab will solve that problem.

For this dinner I broiled a piece of red snapper and served it over yellow rice cooked with okra.  I topped the whole thing off with some pieces of Dungeness crab that had been sautéed in butter.  I recommend keeping some crab in your own freezer just so you too can do things like this, enjoy!

Feeling like a trip to the Middle East

I'm going to start this post with a caveat ... despite flying over it a couple of times and spending 7 hours worth of layover in the Doha airport ... I have never REALLY been to the Middle East or Northern Africa.  Therefore, if this post is completely off, just roll with it.

As some of you may remember from prior posts, I love Harissa as a spice mix so when I found a jar of pre-made Harissa sauce at the local Whole Foods I knew what I was making for dinner!  I swung by the meat counter for a couple of lamb rib chops, of course.

I had found a dry Harissa mix at Whole Foods previously, and being a believer of the mantra: "If a little is good, a lot is better" I dusted the chops lightly with the Harissa powder before grilling them.  After the flip on the grill I started slathering on the Harissa sauce mix, with a final flip to make sure I got some sauce on the side that had started upwards.  These chops were smelling great!

For the sides I didn't do anything fancy; I whipped up a batch of Israeli couscous and sautéed some kale to go with the chops.  It may have taken longer to plate then I did to eat. Try it and enjoy!

Pasta ... looks as good as it tastes, half the effort!

Some nights you just don't have the energy in you to go all out, but you still want people to believe you did.  Viola, Pasta!

Almost all facets of pasta can be pre-made and just combined and it still looks and tastes almost as good as home-made.  In this dinner I used pre-packaged chicken meat balls, frozen tortellinis and even a little bit of Bertolli white sauce to set this dinner up.

I started a sauté pan on medium and then in went onion and sliced shiitake mushrooms.  As those began to cook down I rough chipped some garlic and two large roasted red pepper pieces.  Once the onion and mushrooms had cooked down a bit I added the garlic and roasted red pepper and the meatballs.

Into the boiling water went the pasta and then I sliced some Ciliegine to top the pasta with.  Once the pasta was ready, I drained it and then I put a smaller sauté pan on the stove and added half of the veggie/meatball mix, half of the pasta and about 2/3 tbsp of the white sauce.  I tossed it all around until well mixed and then plated and topped with some of the Ciliegine.  I repeated the process with the other half of the pasta and then we were ready to enjoy!

"Fried" bread ... a perfect pairing

Often the most important part of dinner is the steak that you've meticulously prepared or the pork that you've slow roasted for hours on end; sometimes though, it's what you put with it that matters the most.

Take a simple one like bread, for instance.  75% of the time I just wrap it in foil and throw it in the oven, but other times I do something different like grill it, panini press it or in the instance of this picture I "fry" it.  Hot pan + melted butter (or olive oil will do too) + hearty pinch of salt and pepper ... put the bread in and cook for about 2 minutes per side, perfection!

Bastille Day 2015

Most of you by now realize that I default to French themed cooking when I am without other inspiration, but Bastille Day requires that nothing else even be considered!  For those that might have missed last year's dinner, you can find it here.  For those who just want to see what this year brought, keep reading!

I still had a bunch of duck and french salumi from a previous D'Artagnan order, so I popped over to Whole Foods for a few other items and then was ready to go.

Charcuterie plate

The first course was a charcuterie comprising French cheese and salumi as well as sliced fresh baguette.  We enjoyed this course with a little bit of Champagne.

Broiled mussels

 For the next bit of fun, I did baked mussels that were topped with chopped garlic & Jambon de Bayonne (French prosciutto) and then finished off with some thin slices of cheese.  Into the broiler the mussels went along with two pieces of baguette that had been brushed with melted butter.  Once the cheese had gotten nice and crispy I pulled out the mussels and plated with the baguette (cut in half and served standing).

Duck three ways (crispy skin, poached egg and confit) with garlic white bean puree)

For this next course I had a little fun with one of my favorites, duck!  First I used the Vitamix to blend warm white beans and garlic into a puree, setting aside.  I started a pot of water boiling, with a little white vinegar, so I would have a poaching bath.  Next I took a confit leg and carefully removed the skin and the large chunks of visible fat.  I then sliced the large meat portion of the leg from the bone so that I could cut it into strips.  I also cut thick strips of the skin.  I heated a saute pan and then tossed in some of the duck fat, allowing it to melt down before putting the skin into the pan (fat side down) to cook like bacon.  Once flipped I added the chunks of meat to warm as well.  At this point 2 duck eggs went into the poaching bath and then I began plating the rest of the dish.  As I finished plating it was time for the eggs to come out and I added them to the dish and it was ready for consumption.

Lavender ribeye w/ mashers, roasted garlic and ratatouille

The final course in this dinner was centered around a Shell's find ... Lavender ribeye (source & recipe here)!  This required finding thick-cut bone in ribeye steaks as well as dried lavender.  Luckily for me, Whole Foods had both ... although I did substitute dry aged boneless ribeye and it took a bit to find the lavender (it's by the bulk foods if you are looking for it).  It was well worth the hunt for lavender though as the steak had a very unique flavor that made the steak taste lighter than a grilled ribeye normally does.  I served the steak over whipped mashed potatoes with a ratatouille of fresh Farmer's market veggies and a baked garlic bulb.  I highly recommend trying this one, you'll enjoy!

Sautee, Poach and Braise ... yeah, sounded weird to me too!

For this dinner I decided to have some fun with Harissa, and to try a new way of cooking.  As I have previously written about, Harissa is an awesome northern African spice that I love both cooking with and eating.  For this dinner I went with a bone-in pork chop that I started by searing, then poached and then moved into the pot to braise.  To start, pre-heat the oven to 375F.

I started with a 1" thick, bone-in chop, with both the loin and tenderloin side on it.  I sautéed the strip over medium-high heat for 3 minutes in melted butted and then flipped it and reduced the heat to medium-low.  I added 1/4 cup of white wine to the pan and lightly poached the chop for another 3 minutes before removing from the heat.

For the braising sauce, I made up a batch of Harissa paste by mixing a dry spice blend with water (I did 2 tbsp of each.  I then stirred that into 1 cup of Pomi crushed tomatoes and poured that into the braising pot along with six skinned garlic cloves.  I covered the pot and then put into the oven.

I braised for 20 minutes at 375 and then reduced the heat to 325 for another 5 minutes.  I then removed from heat and rested for 5 minutes, still covered.

I served the chop sliced over Israeli cous-cous with the garlic cloves and braising sauce as accompaniments.  Try this and enjoy!

Another reason I'm Not allowed to bake

For this dinner I was once again reminded why I am not allowed to bake.  I attempted to make a batch of red pepper corn bread to serve with our grilled steak and Brussel's sprouts.

I popped open a bag of cornbread mix and followed the directions to a tee adding the exact right amounts of water, oil & egg.  I used a whisk to mix to the right consistency and then chopped up a fresh bell pepper and stirred that into the mix.  I poured it into the baking pan and baked for the prescribed period of time, testing with a toothpick to ensure it came out clean.

Everything looked good until I flipped it over onto the cooling rack and it promptly fell apart.  What I had neglected to account for what the additional liquid that would bake out of the peppers and completely throw off the mixture.  Yes, that's why what was supposed to be cornbread looks surprisingly like rice in the picture.  On the bright side, it was still tasty, albeit a little mushy.

Steak and Crab ... a tasty combination!

Whole Foods has had Alaskan King Crab legs off and on here for the last few months, and every now and then I just can't refuse.  For this dinner I went with a filet topped with the crab served alongside sautéed kale and stewed white beans.

To make the crab topper I sautéed the crab in butter with sliced fresh garlic and just before finishing I hit it with splash of white wine to loosen everything up.  I plated everything else and then topped off the steak with the crab mix ... it was amazing, try it an enjoy!

David Chang is an incredibly innovative chef and his line of Momo Fuku restaurants are not to be missed.  

Recently Shells found that Chang had started to bottle and sell his Ssam Sauce online.  Ssam sauce, at its core, is a mix of fermented bean paste and spicy chile paste.  For this dinner I found a nice meaty rack of ribs at Whole Foods and had them cut longwise into three strips.  I slow roasted the ribs at 325F for 3 hours covered and then added sauce and cooked them, uncovered for another hour.

I served the ribs with roasted wedges and salad.  The savory and spicy Korean flavor of the sauce adding a unique spice (no pun intended) to an otherwise very American dinner.  I highly recommend either making your own (recipe here) or buying some (much easier option) and trying this out.  Give it a try and enjoy!

Full meal on the grill

On of the great things about summer is that it's so easy to sit outside and just fire up the grill.  For this dinner that's just what I did with a whole collection of food: kale, garlic heads, bread, scallops, steak & even twice baked potatoes!

I turned on the left two burners of the grill and left the right two off to enable me to use indirect heat on some of the ingredients and direct heat on others.

The bread and garlic cloves went on the top rack for about 25 minutes before the steak went on.  The kale was on the lower rack, but as far away from the heat as it could be.  The 25 minutes was spent with the lid closed.

After the 25 minutes were up, on went the steak and potatoes.  For the potatoes I put them in a roasting tray away from the heat.

The steak, a dry aged NY Strip, went on direct heat.  After five minutes of cooking I rotated the strip 1/4 and then flipped it after another five.

Once the steak was flipped, I added the scollops to the grill.  After five more minutes of cooking I removed the steak to a cutting board and covered with a light towel.  At this point I also flipped the scallops and allowed them to finish cooking (they should not be translucent except in the very center).

After the scallops finished cooking, everything came off the grill and then it was time to plate.




I plated with the kale as a base to build on and then plated the potatoes, steak, scallops and garlic head in circular fashion around the plate.  It tasted as good as it looks in the following picture, try it yourself and enjoy!

The wonderful flavors of Pork!

I suspect that each week you go to the grocery store and buy basically the same things, I know I do.  And don't get me wrong, I love doing grilled pork chops during the week ... but I don't want to do the same boring thing each week.  I'll bet that you don't either.  With that in mind, I thought I'd share a couple of dinners we've done recently that use basically the same ingredients but feel very different.

For this first dinner, I used a base of kale as the veg component and then made baked wedges as the potato.

For the pork in this meal I did a pickle juice brining (soak the chops in pickle juice over night, flipping once) and then grilled them.  I used Stubb's spicy Bar-b-que sauce to give a sweet and spicy glaze to offset the savoriness imparted by the pickle juice.

For this next pork chop I coated it with an Italian seasoning and then grilled it.  I topped the chop with a mix of roasted red peppers and thin slices of fresh mozzarella cheese.  I used the SearzAll to melt the cheese on the top; however you could always use a broiler in a pinch.

For this dinner I served the chop once again with baked wedges and sautéed kale.

I changed the base up a little bit for this dinner, using sautéed collard greens and mashed potatoes.

For the pork I went with a grilled chop that I hadn't pre-treated in any way.  This is the toughest way to grill a pork chop because it can dry out quickly.

The "sauce" I made for this dinner was made with the bulbs of two spring onions that were lightly sautéed and then simmered for an hour with about 2 cups of beef stock.  At this point it was well reduced and was the perfect finish to this dinner.

For this final dinner I went with a Chimmichuri rub made combining a chimichurri mix and olive oil.  I grilled the steaks and then topped them with thin slices of parmesan cheese.  I melted the cheese down with the SearzAll, but as above you could use a broiler if you needed to.

I served this dish over mashed potatoes with roasted brussels sprouts.




So there you have it four fun ways to try and spice up your pork dinners, try one and enjoy!

Back with a vengeance ... or at least dinner

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but that didn't mean that when Mom and Dad came to visit we weren't able to cut back and cook some fun food.

We started with a raw bar set up, oysters and clams on the half-shell.  For the oysters I had a little fun and made a puree of avocado, lemon juice and a little bit of white wine.  The clams we ate with a traditional cocktail sauce.

Next up came Mom's contribution to the festivities, grilled octopus salad with seasoned potatoes and baby lettuce.  The marinade on the octopus helped to break down some of the chewiness and the grilling firmed up the outside just enough to give it that perfect texture.

What meal could be complete without Foie Gras?  For this I did a simple preparation of seared foie in a cognac glaze.   The trick with foie gras is to cook it in a nice hot pan so that it can warm all the way through and get a crispy exterior; all the while remembering that foie gras is a fat and will cook down to oil if you cook it too long.  I added a grilled spring onion and some sautéed shiitake mushrooms too!

The last dish was a take on a recurring favorite at our house, with the addition of a little twist; look there on the right.  The main was grilled dry aged NY Strip steak, finished with truffle butter and the searzall of course, served over white beans with greens.  And as a little treat I bought a small summer truffle and served shaved slices of truffle to finish off the dish.