Bert the Cook

Bangers and Mash from The Olde Ship

2012-01-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

Greg had the Bangers and Mash from The Olde Ship British Pub and Restaurant last time we were there for darts. Here is a picture of what it looked like halfway through....

The onions under the bangers were good, at least that is what I thought I heard Greg say between bites and between the "mmmmhhhggh, mmm, yummmm" sounds.

I think he liked it!

So Cal Crawfish Connection

2011-10-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Before darts this past Tuesday, my son took me to his new favorite restaurant, Socal Crawfish Connection, to have some crawfish.

Entering into this place in the strip mall on the corner of Brookhurst and Hazard, I looked around and saw that it was a clean place with big TVs on the wall showing Auction Hunters and tables with disposable plastic tablecloths with a basket of half-sheet paper towels tore from the roll.

We were greeted by our waiter/owner/really nice guy who informed us that crawfish were out of season but they had other great food. A little disappointed but hungry, we sat down and I let Greg do the ordering for us as he was here before and dinner was on his dime!

He talked to the tatted waiter and decided on shrimp and clams in a milder sauce as he had his old man's acid re-flux to contend with. Along with this, our waiter, Mike Tran, described what magic they do to the Dynamite Mussels, so Greg got an order along with some Holy Crab! Poppers to start us off.

The appetizer came failry quickly and they were cream cheese and crab wraps with a little kick in the end. Very tasty dipped in the sweet sauce on the side.

Mike came back a little later and dropped off a foam plate with a small container with a mixture of salt and pepper, a big mug of cut limes, and our bibs. I followed Greg's lead and squeezed some limes into the s&p container to be used as a dipping sauce, but we figured out a better sauce later on.

Mike came back with our "bag of goodness!"

A double plastic bag with a pound of clams and a pound of shrimp, head and shell on. Just dig in with your hands and go for it! The sauce it was cooked in was full of garlic and all sorts of good spices. The clams were not overcooked and the shrimp was cooked perfectly. As the contents went down you were stuck with a bag of sauce with clams out of the shell hiding in that sauce, along with a buried shrimp I found. Next time we are going to add a side of rice to put the sauce on.

Dynamite Mussels

These arrived after we were just getting into the "Bag". Hot of the oven with a crispy perfectly spiced topping, with the mussel just warm enough and still tender, dang these were da bomb.

The carnage with the half empty basket of paper towels

When we were done, another worker came by and gave us a Wet One to get cleaned off and we were 2 happy campers.

I can't believe I ate the whole thing

They clean the table by removing the basket and folding up the contents left on the table, presto, mess is gone. I will be back to this place, it is awesome.

New Item at The Olde Ship

2011-09-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Playing @TheOldeShip, my son ordered an item off the menu named Crisps.

Mighty fine fresh potato chips, excuse me, crisps. They were great. Thank you for sharing Greg.

Brisket and BBQ Beans

2011-08-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

It is now 20:30 (8:30 PM for you people who don't know how to tell time using a 24 hour clock) and the brisket is on the smoker.

Brisket is ready to go on the smoker

The brisket is coated with kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, papriki, pepper, and sugar. I gave it love and massaged it gently using rubber gloves.

Once the fire was started, mesquite charcoal, I put the brisket in the smoker fat side up, placed some soaked mesquite chips on the fire, made sure the pan I have in the cooking part had some water and 2 heads of garlic.

The vents are set and the temp will be monitored to stay at 225. Now it is time for slow cooking and monitoring the fire and smoke. Stay tuned as this blog will continue for a lot of hours and I still have my sauce to make and the beans to prepare.

The BBQ sauce is now simmering. I make my sauce with ketchup, and.....well if I tell you the rest of the mixture I will have to kill you and cyber space is a big place so use your own imagination. Anyway it is simmering.

I will start the beans around 02:00 so until then it is tending to the fire, placing more chips on the fire and maintaining the 225 temp.

I have one batch of sourdough going through the rise and the second batch going through the proofing stage. I plan on making sourdough rolls to go with the rest I am preparing.

Fire still holding at 230-225 and just the right amount of smoke to get that ring that all good BBQr's strive for. And it is only 21:45!

The first batch of rolls came out of the oven but I left them in a little too long as shown below,

A little brown but the insides are still good. I think they will work out great as the juices from the meat and my BBQ sauce should soften them up a little bit. Hopefully the next batch will be better as I reset the timer on my phone to compensate.

2 more hours and then I can start the beans and wrap the brisket in foil so stay tuned you 3 readers of this blog.

I ran out of smoking chips so I thought I would prepare the beans and wrap the brisket up.

I cooked some bacon ends and pieces and put them in the beans with my other seasonings, BBQ sauce, honey. brown sugar, and other stuff.

In the bacon grease I wilted some onions and fresh garlic. Once done I put them into my beans.

Here are the beans all ready to go into the smoker with the brisket resting on top of them on a rack.

And here are the beans and the brisket going to sit in the smoker for a few, almost 12, hours. It is 01:55 now and now I get to take short cat naps for 30 minutes until my alarm goes off for me to get up from watching Young Frankenstein (or napping) to check on the fuel and temp. Later on I will start the other batch of bread.

The second batch of bread is doing it's rise thing and the fire has been fed. It is now 07:40 and about 6 more hours to go.

The second batch of bread is out of the oven and it looks a lot better:

All that is left is to grab the meat and beans out of the smoker and head on over to my daughter's to gobble it up.

All went well as there was no leftover brisket and just a wee bit of beans left. Here we are scarfing up the food. By the way Al, great pasta salad as always.

Sourdough Bread Rounds

2011-06-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

My sourdough starter is really nice and is producing some good bread (as long as I remember to put the salt in). It likes how I take care of it and I am finding out some more about how to prep it prior to dough making.

I just have to remember to take my time as this rises slowly compared to the yeast based bread I make. 3 hours start to finish for my white bread while the first rise on the sourdough is about that long.

GB&D

I made a couple of rounds to be used as bread bowls, that is if they last that long.

Spaghetti Sauce

2011-05-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today I made some spaghetti sauce for dinner and to have for other things later on.

I used 3 green bell peppers, 2 large onions, a few cloves of garlic. I rough chopped them and put them in my food processor and pulsed them until it was finely chopped, almost like a soup.

In my stock pot, I heated EVOO and cooked the "soup" with some kosher salt and pepper. After it cooked a few minutes I added a pound of hamburger and 6 Italian sausages. After the meat was cooked, I added some Italian seasoning and mushroom seasoning.

I then added 4 cups of chicken broth, a large can of tomato paste, 2 cans of chopped tomatoes, and 2 cans of tomato sauce. To this I added about an eight cup of sugar and a quarter cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Oh yeah, just a quarter stick of butter. I let it simmer for a couple of hours and I was ready for the rest of the dinner.

I made some garlic bread from my homemade sourdough bread and cooked some green beans. I cooked some pasta and ta-da, dinner is done.

I made enough sauce to put two meals worth in the freezer and another portion in the 'fridge for some lasagna, possibly tomorrow.

Sourdough Bread Part 2

2011-05-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well Blogger.com had problems yesterday and the post I made got lost.

Here is my hedgehog loaf that I ended up with yesterday.

It looks funny but tasted great.

I did make some more today and I will post better loaves when it comes out of the oven.

These are the bread bowls I made. Now where is the chili?

Sourdough Bread

2011-05-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

I have made another starter for sourdough bread from this recipe Sourdough Bread Recipe. I have started the starter on Monday and today it looked like it was ready so here I go.

I started the sponge around 08:45 and now it is wait, wait, wait until the yeast starts to do its thing. I have not put any yeast in my starter, just using the natural yeast that is in the air and flour.

Stay tuned....

Almost an hour into the development of the sponge.

It is not ready yet. Hopefully this warm day will speed up the process.

Looks frothy to me (09:30)

Added the flour and kneaded the dough, more waiting....

Well it rose finally (12:45) and now one more rise before baking

Happy Easter! Ham, Potato Salad, & Fruit Salad

2011-04-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to my two readers, OK maybe three.

It is time to cook my "famous" Ham. I had my daughter pick up a whole ham, a big 20 pounds, fully cooked heat and eat ham.

At 08:30 I started my fire using charcoal and my chimney .

As I waited for the fire to start, I prepped the ham by making slices across the entire ham.

After the charcoal got started I dumped it out of the chimney and put some non-soaked hickory hunks to get the smoke going and the fire up to temp quickly.

I placed the ham in the smoker, closed the hatches and set the vents and waited until it got to temp.

I actually had to reduce this by half in order to maintain temperature.

I like to do a ham around 250-275

And I got a good amount of smoke.

After 30 minutes it is time to apply the first coating of brown sugar and honey.

I apply the sugar with love and rub it into all the cracks that have opened from slicing the ham earlier.

Ready for the honey

I like the combo of honey and brown sugar.

More dry hunks and wait a half an hour.

From now on the hunks will be soaked.

#0 minutes later, flip and rotate the ham, show it some love.

I put some charcoal and soaked hunks and now it is the waiting game.

Ham is progressing nicely.

The potato salad was made last night soe the salad could mature in the fridge. I used Patty my pressure cooker to steam the small russet potatoes in two batches at 25 minutes each for the 10 pounds. I scrubbed the outside of the potatoes with cold water and a scrub pad.

Yes I named my pressure cooker. I am not ashamed of it as I finally figured out Patty's quirks and how to get around them. She needed to be named.

After the potatoes were cooled off, Lynda removed the skins and cut them up. 2 small jars of mayonnaise, some sour cream, dill, chopped up bread and butter pickles with some of the juice and all of the spices from the jar, a squirt of mustard, a little chopped sweet onions, and some kosher salt and black pepper. Lynda said she thinks this is the best batch she ever made.

The fruit salad was also made last night. 5 things. Crushed pineapple, fruit cocktail, sour cream, mini marshmallows, and shredded coconut. Drain fruit, equal parts, mix well and stir 2-3 times before serving the next day.

The rain has not effected the smoker at all, still holding at 250.

Al brought his most delicious pasta salad and added to the feast...

Meatloaf Dinner from Centerfield's

2011-03-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Darts took me to Centerfield Sports Bar & Grill and I decided on getting the meatloaf dinner for $8.95

It came with a salad which was in a large bowl!

The meatloaf was very good, browned on the flattop to give it a good crust and the potatoes were not from a box. The brown gravy that went with the meat and potatoes tied everything together.

The green beans had toasted garlic in them and it was a great side.

I recommend this place as the food is good, portions huge, and a great place to watch sports.....and throw darts.

Corned Beef and Cabbage from Throwbacks

2011-03-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

Since it was St. Patrick's day, it is fitting I eat CB&C. I was at Throwbacks Sports Bar & Grill and of course there was CB&C on the special menu.

The CB was OK, a little chewy, the cabbage was done but the core was not cut out of it. The potatoes were a variety and were pretty good.

The only thing wrong was there was no mustard and the bread was supposed to be toasted but it was only warm and dried out.

At least there was Green Beer..........

BTW, real Lakers Fans do not wear green on March 17th. Ashley the bartender is NOT a fan of the World Champs, she was wearing Celtics garb....the horror!

Food Network Recipe Time

2011-03-05T19:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight was a meal inspired by two chefs from Food Network, Alton Brown and Ina Garten. I did Pan Seared Rib Eye, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and my own hash browns.

I cut the brussel sprouts in half and only cooked them for 22 minutes and they came out great.

I used Yukon Gold potatoes as that is what I had in the house for my hash browns.

The steaks were wonderfully marbled and had canola oil and BSS on them.

I took my time cooking the potatoes so I had them end up GB&D on both sides. Kosher salt and black pepper is all the seasoning used.

Cooking the steaks this way was so easy and everything came out great.

Thursday Special @TheOldeShip

2011-03-04T08:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted something different tonight so I decided on one of The Olde Ship’s specials. Thursday’s specials are liver and onions and lemon peppered cod and shrimp. Hmmmmm lets see………

I do not do liver so I chose the fish. It was cooked well, the shrimp we a tiny bit overcooked but the seasoning on them was excellent. The sides were good and I did not eat all of the carrots, I am bad.

No Darts, What to do for Dinner?

2011-03-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

Darts got cancelled so there goes my Taco Tuesday. I came home to three hungry Fridley boys that did not want mac 'n' cheese. I grabbed some tortillas and some cheese and pretty soon they were dipping the quesadilla into Jack's salsa and loving it.

I cooked some torts and then added some leftover chili and some cheese for burritos for myself.

The Ben and Jerry's Cake Batter ice cream was my dessert.

Another Costco Quick Meal

2011-03-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here is one thing at Costco that I like to have in the fridge for quick meal times.

This takes 10 mins in the microwave and it is full of flavor.

After 10 minutes in the microwave, lots of gravy.

Some asparagus with garlic and boiled Yukon Gold potatoes makes the meal.

Short Rib Chili

2011-02-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

Short Ribs Chili. Being cold nothing sounded as good as a bowl of chili and beans with some cornbread.

I used 7.5 pounds of ribs
2 Onions
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup garlic
1/8 pepper
2tbs cumin
2tbs chili
1tbs corrinader
1/8 cup sugar

Cut the ribs into cubes.

Season with the spices mixed together.

Dust with flour and brown in a hot skillet.

Cook on all sides until browned.

After all the meat is cooked, I added the chopped onion and more chili powder and cumin and sweated the onions. I added the meat, onions, 2 cans of chopped tomatoes and 2 cans of tomato sauce with 3 bay leaves in my pressure cooker. 45 minutes under pressure and I romoved the contents and put into my stock pot.

One Onion

1 cup of chopped bell peppers

2 heads of roasted garlic (350 until the garlic is soft after cutting the top of the heads off the garlic and drizziling with EVOO and Kosher Salt).

Saute in a pan with EVOO and butter, Place in the pressure cooker with 2 pounds of pinto beans that have been soaked overnight and drained. Add 4 cups of chicken stock and a bunch of cilantro, chopped. Pressure cook for 35 minutes.

Add the beans to the simmering meat mixture, now fully shreaded into the "gravy" and enjoy with some hot cornbread.

Beatrice had 3 bowls of it!

Busy Cooking Weekend for Me

2011-02-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

It looks like I will be doing Sunday dinner at Jennifer's. I am going to do chili and cornbread on the side. I am going to use beef short ribs for the chili and pinto beans, both done under pressure.

Tonight I have some pork loin chops that I will cook like my chiken, under pressure.

Hopefully my pressure cooker will last.

Dart Night Dinner, 2-24-11

2011-02-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

Another dart night and another place to eat. This time it is at Michaels Sports Pub & Grill. It wasn’t busy so I got my order taken right away! Something that doesn’t happen that often there.

The special sounded good and I was hungry enough so I went for it.

The cream of potato soup was good, but I thought it needed a little pepper after I tasted it. The pepper was the key.

The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and it was delicious. I told the waitress to take the A1 away and she told me I knew how to eat a steak, without the cover-up. The onions and mushrooms were cooked perfectly and went well with the baked potato. The vegs we OK, the broccoli and carrots needed to be cooked a little longer but the two varieties of squash were done. Good meal overall!

Whooo Hoooo! The Pressure Cooker Started Working Again!

2011-02-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

I took a chance with using my pressure cooker, ready to go to fall-back if necessary.
I browned 6 boneless skinless thighs in EVOO and unsalted butter, of course seasoning both sides with BSS.

I removed the thighs, browning them in batches, then added chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic with S&P. After the onions became translucent, I added 2 cups of rice. Stirred well to make sure the rice was coated then added 4 cups of chicken stock. I put the thighs back on top of the rice then locked the lid in place. I set the cooker for 25 minutes and hoped for the best. I was so happy to see the timer goto 24 after the pressure was up!

And this is what came out after the pressure was released after the cooker went "beep, beep, beep". Chicken and rice, it is so nice.

Lamb Shank from The Olde Ship 2-22-11

2011-02-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night, dart night and we were the home team at The Olde Ship British Pub & Restaurant. I had no lunch so I was hungry and I know what would hit the spot.

Slow braised lamb shank with good mashed and vegs. The peas and carrots are fresh and are great.

This is what happens when you lift the bone with very slight persuasion with your fork, the meat falls right off. I forgo the mint sauce and just enjoy it like it is, moist, flavorful, and tender with the wonderful gravy combing everything together.

Speaking of bones.......

Gracie Lou likes it also!

Monday Dinner 2-21-11

2011-02-22T08:58:00.000-08:00

Lynda wanted more catfish but I wanted different sides. I went with cheesy grits and asparagus.

I took these shallots and garlic cloves and minced the heck out of them.

I like the Pampered Chef chopper, makes quick work of this task.

Unsalted butter in a pan and get it hot.

Cook the shallots and garlic for a bit then add.....

I container (4 cups) of chicken stock. Bring to a boil then add 1 cup of grits. Cook the grits like you normally would and after they have cooked, add a cup to a cup and a half of grated cheese. I use cheddar/jack mix. I added some mozzarella also and it was OK.

For the Asparagus I trimmed them and then placed in a microwave heat and steam bag. I cooked them for 2 and a half minutes on high. In a pan I added EVOO and sliced garlic. When the garlic just started to wilt, I added the asparagus and salt and pepper. Keeping the pan moving I toasted the garlic while finishing the asparagus.

Another sucessful dinner in the books.

Corned Beef Night 2/19/11

2011-02-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

I took this and placed it in a large pot. To that I added a quart of chicken stock then added water until the brisket was covered. Bring to a boil then drop the heat to med. Cover and cook for 2.5 hours. I then added peeled potatoes then after 45 minutes I added a head of sliced cabbage.

15 minutes later....dinner.

Cheated on Dinner 2-18-11

2011-02-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Tired, lazy, didn't feel like cooking, so.....

I got the new Alfredo and spinach

And an Italian Meat special.

They were OK with the spinach one the best.

Cooking tomorrow so stay tuned...

Another Dart Night Dinner 2-17-11

2011-02-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

Another dart night and another meal at The Olde Ship.

Tonight I decided on the special grilled turkey sandwich, actually it was Matt the bartender who asked me when I walked in "A Coke and a special grilled on sourdough?" It sounded good so I took him up on a grilled sandwich with turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese, and mushrooms on grilled sourdough bread with a side of "chips". Good food!

Another quick meal 2-16-11

2011-02-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

I decided to have a quick meal for dinner.

Ciopinno from Costco. It is frozen and real quick to fix. I cooked some linguini and followed the instructions on the packaging to prepeare the ciopinno. A little fresh grated parm cheese, some garlic bread and a quick meal.

The seafood was good and the sauce was very tasty.