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!