What goes with bar-b-que? Shiitake and avocado slaw anyone?

So I'm just going to start off with an apology, there is no picture of this meal b/c Christyn ate it all ... just kidding, Shells & I just forgot to take a picture.

I got home from Phoenix and had not yet come up with a side for a barbecue that I had committed to bringing a coleslaw type side for.  You all can probably guess by now that I wasn't buying (or making basic slaw) so I decided to head to the store and see what hit me.  At the gym, while lifting, I decided that shiitake mushrooms were going to be the base of this "slaw."  After my run, avocados were going to play a part as well.  So now I just had to figure out the rest.

I ended up with a cool and funky slaw that went well with burgers and Carolina style barbecue, and I got the greatest compliment of the night when someone came up to me and said "I loved your slaw, and my husband loved it too ... he hates mushrooms and didn't believe me when I told him they were in there!"

Shiitake & Avocado Spicy Slaw
15 large shiitake mushrooms
2 avocados
2 limes
1 Serrano pepper
1 bag slaw mix
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup soy sauce + 1 tbsp soy sauce (seperate measures)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp (or more to taste) fresh ginger

Wash and trim the stems from the mushrooms, slice into thin slices.  Heat a saute pan over high heat and add a bit of olive oil.  Once the oil runs clear, add the mushrooms and use a wooden spoon to agitate frequently to ensure they don't stick and that they cook on both sides evenly.  Once the mushrooms have released their water and then brought it back in, toss in the tbsp of soy sauce, stir vigorously and then toss in a bowl.

Chop the serrano pepper (removing the seeds if you want to tone down the heat) and add it to the bowl while the mushrooms are still hot.  Allow to cool.

In a smaller bowl, juice the lime and then add the ginger & vinegar.  Slowly add the soy sauce and then sesame oil while continuing to whisk together.  Once the mushrooms have cooled, add the slaw mix and cube and add the avocado (Avocado Cube Training).  Add the liquid over the top, mix (gently) well and then put into a container to settle for an hour or so.  Serve and enjoy!

New territory for Shells...Chorizo & Potato tacos!

So I branched out last night and took a chance on a new recipe that I have never tried as well as hitting on the type of food I don't ever cook.   Tom lived in Mexico for 6 months and can cook amazing Mexican food...but Tom is traveling so why not give a try.  I found a recipe on Food and Wine that I thought look interesting.  Tom actually makes a great Chorizo from a Bon Appetit recipe but this was a bit different with the addition of potatoes.  Here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fresh-chorizo-and-potato-tacos

I followed the recipe except for a few small changes.  I used ground turkey instead of ground pork and I substituted roasted garlic for the mince garlic.  I was hungry while in Whole Foods and found a container of already roasted garlic technically made for pasta adds.  I'm a sucker for whole roasted garlic so I thought it might fun to add to my meals this week...and plus Tom isn't around to smell my breath so it is all good!  PS I used tonight with my sauteed vegetables (squash & asparagus). YUMMY.

First pic is the cooking of the potato and the pork mixture.  The recipe calls for two skillets and I highly suggest following that point.  It was a bit tight and took a bit longer to cook.

Overall I think this was a very good recipe if you appreciate the additional texture of potato.  I served with a chopped salad, salsa, cheese and tortillas.  Here are a few pictures of the final product:  

I enjoyed not following the recipe exactly.  I'm the baker in the family so for those of you who bake you will understand the challenge that comes with being open for changing it up and not following the "rules"!

Bon Appetit

Skirt steak ... we talked about how to cut it ... now how to eat it!

Skirt steak is best served chargrilled with a bit of a marinade (preferably for 24 hours) to soften it up before throwing it on the grill.

The key thing with skirt steak though is finding the things that go well with its texture.  Dirty rice and beans are a good carb side ... they hold up with the texture of the beef, and provide complimenting flavor.  I like to do either a dry rub of goya seasoning, or a wet marinade of soy and black pepper, either one is well complimented with a nice avocado salsa topper.

Vegetables are another important part to think through with your skirt steak.  You don't want to serve an previously frozen veggies, and you definitely don't want to just go with corn or a salad.  For this dinner Shells came through with a bounty from the farmers market ... peas & broccoli and I pulled some kale from the back yard garden (ok, it's just a pot, but hey ... we got something).  I like them sauteed, but grilled and steamed would also work here.  Just remember, don't over cook them ... and not too much seasoning ... a little salt and pepper (and fines herb) goes a long way.

So now that you know how to cut it, and eat it ... enjoy!!

A new pasta recipe....Orecchiette with Brocolli & Tomatoes

As Tom knows all to well that my go to meal when he travels is a vegetable and chicken sausage pasta.  I was even getting sick of the same pasta, so I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of all the food emails and magazines we get and try a new recipe.  So I found a healthy pasta from Food and Wine that I thought I would give a try.  Here is the recipe link:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/orecchiette-with-broccoli-and-tomatoes

So I pretty much followed the recipe but added a few extra vegetables.  I added asparagus, peas, and chicken sausage.

Overall I thought it was a great meal and definitely worth giving a try.  It was light and had a nice flavor!  It did take me two stores to find Orecchiette.  I was finally able to find it in Whole Food's.  It would definitely work with other pasta types but it was great to try something new!

Here is the final product!

It's summer squash season....stuffed squash

I haven't had the opportunity to post my cooking in awhile as Tom has not had to travel too much! Tom will have a busy few months of travel so I shall be back at it again.  Last night I took advantage of the start of summer squash season.  Every week in the summer I go to our local farmer's market in the west end and buy vegetables for the week.  This week I knew I would be cooking on my own and thought I would make another attempt at stuffed round squash.  I have tried a few times but still knew I needed to work on timing and stuffing choices.  Let's start with preparation.  You can go two ways with preparing the stuffed round  squash.  You can cut the top or halve the squash.  I went with cutting the squash in half.  I thought that this might help with cook time.  

I used a spoon to scrap out the squash pulp.  These squash had a lot of seeds so I chose not to incorporate into the stuffing.  You can easily blend or mash the pulp to add back into the stuffing.  

For my stuffing I went with one chicken sausage, about a tablespoon of diced red onion, ~1/4 of shredded cheese, ~1 tablespoon hot pepper.  I wasn't super pleased with the stuffing but I did like incorporating the sausage.  I think I need a little more spice to up the flavor a notch!  The key is to have cheese and/or panko in your stuffing to ensure it stays together while cooking. You can get pretty creative with the stuffing.  I hope to be able to test out more options as the summer goes on!

 

I set our small over to 350 degrees and put the squash in for ~45 mins.  You will want to make sure that the squash has started to soften a bit and your stuffing has browned.   I served with black beans and rice.  

Potatoes with a fungus ...

When you look at this picture, the first thing you will probably see are the greens and pork chop ... yep, still doing those!  But the main point of tonight's post is the potatoes.

Potatoes with fungus (for 2)
~20 mini "popper" potatoes
6 large crimini mushrooms
1/2 small yellow onion
2 tbsp pimento cheese
Olive oil
Lawry's seasoning salt
Garlic pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400F (I'm using my counter-top mini oven for this of course).  Put the potatoes in a roasting pan, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and agitate them to spread the oil around ... put into the oven for 10 minutes.  While the potatoes are cooking, trim the stems on the mushrooms and then cut them into six pieces each (first cut it in half and then cut each half into three).  Slice the onion into strips about 1/4" thick and then cut them in half.  Once the first 10 minutes for the potatoes are done, add the mushrooms and onions to the tray, drizzling with a little more oil, and then season with garlic pepper & Lawry's to taste.  Put the tray back into the oven and cook for another 20 minutes.

Once done, divide the mixture between the plates and use a fork or a small potato masher to pop the potatoes, top the mixture with the pimento cheese and then plate your protein on top.  Enjoy!

Beef ... it's what's for dinner

I am a major fan of the dry aged beef at Whole Foods and while Shells prefers the leaner cut of the NY Strip, sometimes I just feel like a ribeye.  Once I found out that Shells had bought a big bulb of fresh garlic at the farmers market, I knew it was a beef night so I bought one of each.

For this dinner I fired up the grill and then got started on the fixings.  To go with the beef I did smashed potatoes (roasted popper potatoes, roasted onions, roasted garlic & parmesan cheese) & sauteed veggies.  For the sauteed veggies I cooked up some broccoli and sliced shiitake mushrooms.

I tossed a couple of the smaller shiitake caps and a few of the garlic cloves in a little oil, and then put them on a small oven sheet that I don't mind putting on the grill.  The steaks each got a little salt and pepper and then onto the hot grill they went.  The ribeye went on a couple of minutes ahead of the NY Strip as I wanted the latter to come out medium rare, while a ribeye should be a little more towards medium to make sure the marbling renders well.

I served the steak over the smashed potatoes with the broccoli on the side.  For the strip I sliced it and served sliced, the ribeye went onto my plate whole.

Snapper, Ameri-Mex style ...

So I call this ameri-mex ... I don't know if that's a real thing, but really it's just a nod to my friend Freya who you all may remember from a prior post as the proponent of the belief that "American food just means that you took someone elses and added cheese to it."

In this instance the cheese for this dish was an awesome habanero queso fresco that Shells found at the farmer's market over the weekend.

This dish combined broiled red snapper (topped with some BW3s Desert Heat dry rub) topped with habanero queso fresco and tomato sauce and served over "re-fried" white beans.

The beans were definitely the highlight of this dinner.

"Re-fried" white beans:
14.5 oz can great northern beans
3 oz tomato sauce
1 tbsp diced green chiles
1/2 tsp garlic pepper

Put all ingredients in pan and cook over medium low heat, stirring continuously until all the liquid dissolves.  Once the liquid dissolves, transfer the contents to a hot non-stick saute pan and mash with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute.  Divide evenly and serve.

Favorite part of summer, grilling fresh fish!

So as I was walking through Whole Foods the other day, I saw that the first batch of fresh wild salmon was now in stock.  Despite Shells' disdain for salmon, I couldn't resist so I picked up a piece for myself and a piece of Chilean sea bass for her.

I served the fish over mushroom rice and sauteed kale.  For the rice I sauteed thinly sliced button crimini mushrooms and then added them to a pot with rice and some chicken stock.  I simmered the rice on low heat, stirring every couple of minutes and adding more stock as needed, until the rice was nice and fluffy.  Once done, I covered and set aside until I was ready for it.

Skirt steak, the way you slice it ....

Skirt steak is one of my favorite dishes ... but only when it's prepared correctly.  There are many things that are important to cooking a steak, but the most critical things about skirt steak is the slicing of it.

First things first though ... a nice marinade (I like my Arachara mix, Magi sauce and black pepper) is critical to loosening up the skirt steak.  I like marinating it for about 24 hours, but any amount of time will do.  Once it's marinated, cook it on a hot grill, depending on the thickness about 5 - 8 minutes per side for rare.  Also, as always, remember to let your steak sit a minute so that all the juices don't come out as soon as you cut it.

Now, the two single most important things about slicing the skirt steak are the knife and the direction.  For the knife, you want a razor sharp, long bladed slicing knife.  I have an 8" Wusthof that I prefer for this, but a chef's knife will work in a pinch.  For the direction, as counterintuitive as it seems, you should always slice against the grain.  I've highlighted with the knife here which way you should be cutting.

Now, when you start slicing you are going to want to cut against that grain, which is going to leave you cutting on an angle.  Now, if you want to get really clever, you can cut at an angle back away from the majority of the meat too to create angled slices on two planes, but for now just cut as I am here, strait down with the angle against the grain.

A pair of tongs (as you can see behind the knife blade here) can definitely help with the cutting process.  Always remember to cut thin slices, as they will keep it tender.

Once the steak is cut, serve it over your favorite carbs ... I used dirty rice and beans here.  Enjoy!

OBX 2014 - Bourbon Tasting (No cooking involved here :-))

We realized pretty quickly that our house at the beach had quite a collection of bourbons for the week.  It was decided pretty early on that we should do a tasting to see what everyone likes or think they like.  As I have never been a fan of bourbon I volunteered to lead the tasting.  We had 5 bourbons to go into the tasting.    

Woodford, Lexington, Blanton's, Basil Haydens, & Elmer T. Lee (Pictured above)...Even though I was so tempted to do so there were not pictured in order of the tasting glasses :-)

I kicked the group out of the kitchen and I poured out ~1/2 ounce of bourbon in each plastic glass label 1-5.  Each participant had their own sheet labeled 1-5 with an area for comments as well as a ranking. 

Everyone had the opportunity to sip straight as well with an ice cube.  It was definitely interesting to hear people's thoughts and reactions to bourbons they had assumed were their favorites and they were not liking at the time!

Overall, everyone got the opportunity to try different bourbons blindly and think about what they really enjoyed!  This could easily be done with other liquors, wines, or even sodas!  

OBX 2014 - Steamer Pot From Cravings

Over the course of the week in the Outer Banks I'm pretty sure our house of 8 made a nice dent in Coastal Cravings pre-Memorial Day revenues.  Tom and I with another couple enjoyed a nice lunch their with fantastic crab cake sandwiches.  We decided to go back one night when we didn't feel like going out but also not cooking an elaborate meal.  So the Cravings steam pot seemed like a great idea.   This place was highlighted on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives for their scallop dinner and their steam pots.   A number of restaurants do steam pots but from the few that I researched this was the only one that included sausage, corn and potatoes with your steam pot.

The steam pot is great.  You order 30-45 mins in advance at a minimum, tell them how many people, what pot you want, and you are done!  You pick up a steamer pot (or aluminum can with a hole in the top) with instructions on how to cook.

This was so easy.  You take out the butter, shrimp and cocktail sauce from pot and sit on high burner for 20-25 mins until steams (see first picture).  Then timer another 25 mins, then put shrimp in and wait another 8 minutes.  Drain the pot and you are good to go!

This was a perfect meal for Tom and I and so very easy to do.  I would highly suggest getting a steamer pot while on vacation if available.  The Cravings pots were easy to use included a full meal with vegetables and protein and were delicious!