Joel's Food

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

2012-02-29T22:45:00.000-06:00

No picture tonight, sorry, but this was an easy dinner that just turned out amazing, so I figured I'd share it. And of course, you can do same thing with homemade pie crust and gravy, if you like, this was just a relatively simple dish when I didn't feel like putting a lot of time in the kitchen

Simple Chicken Pot Pie
1 9" deep dish frozen pie crust
1 9" refrigerated pie crust
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1.5 tsp coarse black pepper
1.5 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 jar chicken gravy
1/2 cup canned sweet corn

Preheat oven to 425F
1. Put oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent
2. Add spices, carrots, celery and chicken to pan. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring regularly
3. Turn off heat, and stir in corn
4. Put hot mixture in frozen pie crust, and cover with gravy
5. Put refrigerated pie crust over top. Crimp edges and cut off excess. Cut slits in the top of the pot pie
6. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let sit for ten minutes before serving
8. Enjoy!

This turned out SO good. I could have eaten the whole thing myself, if I didn't have to share.

Missing in Action and a New Project

2012-01-09T20:41:00.000-06:00

So the last year has obviously been crazy busy with various projects, and my posts have been way down. I'm working on fixing that, but while you wait, you can see one of the new projects I've been working on. Joel's Food is now on Etsy. I will be posting some of the most popular recipes (or at least, ones that can survive shipping) on Etsy. Have a cookie recipe from this blog that you love but don't want to make yourself? You'll be able to order a batch. Curious about some of the other projects or food I make? Beef jerky and bath bombs, straight from my kitchen, are there too. Take a look and let me know what you think, but bear in mind, this is very much a work in progress. I felt it was important to get items out there for my readers first, and then "pretty it up" afterwards.

Anyway, visit my shop and let me know what you think. Of course, you can also feel free to order something, too!

Joel's Food on Etsy

Lamb and Cress Salad

2011-09-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

Lamb and Cress Salad

3 cups upland cress
1/8 cup mint, finely chopped
1/4 cup sliced almond
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 lb lamb chops
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp dry mustard

1. Put cress, mint, almond, shallot and cheese in a large bowl and toss.
2. Apply salt and pepper to lamb chops (I used shoulder chops), and cook to medium rare in a hot pan with a bit of vegetable oil. This should take about 2 and a half minutes on each side, getting a good sear. Set aside to let the meat rest.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil and mustard.
4. Serve the salad mixture out on two plates. Divide the sliced lamb between the two plates. Add dressing to taste, but be rather sparing, as it is a sin to overdress a salad.
5. Serve this salad with a nice pinot noir, and enjoy a healthy, delicious meal

Only in Canada

2011-06-10T13:43:00.000-05:00

If you're not from Canada, you may never have heard of the dish poutine. At its most basic, poutine is french fries, cheese curds and gravy. If you're like me, the very idea sounds unappetizing. But as I was visiting Canada for the first time this week, I felt that I had to at least sample the dish.

Once I'd made that decision, it was a matter of deciding where to try it. A friend had actually told me where to go, but I foolishly forgot to write down the name of the place (interestingly, I ended up going there anyway through my own methods), so I had to try to find a good place myself. To do this, I went with one of my tried and true methods of sampling a regional dish. First, via google, recommendations of friends, coworkers, etc, find the restaurant that they all agree is the best place in area for said. Then, choose their house specialty or the item that your waitstaff recommends. Simple, and always seems to work well for me.

Following this route, I ended up at Elgin Street Diner in Ottawa. At first glance, this place is nothing special, just a rather typical small diner. But I've found that places like these are often hidden gems, with some of the best food I've ever tasted, so I went in. Looking at their menu, they had one whole section for poutine, with at least 5-10 variations. Rather than get plain poutine, I got their house specialty, the ESD poutine. This adds carmelized onions and crumbled bacon to the basic recipe. Served with a cold Canadian beer, of course.

To get the best experience, I made sure to try just the fries, cheese curds and gravy by itself, and then with the additional toppings. I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed this dish, but I do think it was better with the onions and bacon. The fries were hand cut and crispy, the onions perfectly caramelized without being burned, and the bacon nice and crispy. The combination of flavors with all of the items together was perfect. The serving size was also large enough that I had it for dinner one night, and then ate the leftovers again the next.

All in all, I highly recommend that you give poutine a try, no matter how hesitant you are about the idea. If you happen to be in Ottawa when you decide to do it, head to Elgin Street and try it at the Elgin Street Diner. You won't regret it

Spiced Iced Tea

2011-02-23T16:56:00.000-06:00

This recipe is another simple one, and while it is definitely not chai, both because of the spices I used, and the lack of milk, it was inspired by various chai recipes I've looked and at drinks I've had over the years.

Spiced Iced Tea
2 black tea packets of your choice (I used Bigelow Constant Comment)
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 whole cloves
1/2 cup sugar

1. Put all ingredients in a small sauce pan with 2 cups of water and simmer for 15 minutes
2. Pour through strainer into a 2 qt pitcher. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Top off container with cold water and put in the fridge
4. Wait until tea has cooled and enjoy!

Homemade Ham Salad

2011-02-16T21:02:00.000-06:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't think I've ever been to a meal where ham was served and there wasn't leftovers, no matter how many people were attending. One use for leftover ham that I love is ham salad sandwiches, but I'm really not a fan of most premade ham salads. Here's a pretty basic ham salad recipe that you can alter to match your own tastes.

Ham Salad
3 cups cooked ham, chopped
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup sweet relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise (add more if needed to make salad spreadable)
2 tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 tbsp sage

1. Put ham in a food processor and chop to desired consistency
2. Put ham and rest of ingredients in a bowl and combine.
3. Serve in a sandwich, preferably on fresh sliced bread. Garnish with tomato, lettuce, or anything else that strikes your fancy.
4. Enjoy!!

Chicken Biryani, aka, What can I do with these Leftovers

2011-01-24T13:25:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week I was looking around for a new recipe to try. We had some leftover rice in the fridge, and I had some cooked chicken, and I wanted to come up with a way to use them. Stir fry has been done to death, and of course I've already done burritos here for the blog, so it was definitely time to try a different tack. In my search, I came across biryani. Every culture has their own version of this, but generally is a dish made with rice, meat or veggies, and some kind of spiced sauce. I based mine loosely on a variety of chicken curry recipes I've tried.

Chicken Biryani
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup almond slivers
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp madras curry powder
2 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 can chickpeas
1 cup cooked chicken
1/2 cup chicken broth
2-3 cups cooked rice

1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. Put oil in wok or pan over medium-high heat. Saute onions, almonds, garlic and ginger until onions are golden brown.
3. Turn heat down to medium and add garam masala, curry powder and tomatoes. Cook until liquid from tomatoes had evaporated.
4. Turn heat to medium-low. Add chickpeas (with the liquid), chicken and broth to pan. Simmer 3-5 minutes, or until all ingredients have combined into a nice, smooth sauce.
5. Take a baking dish (I used a regular 9x13 dish), and begin layering the ingredients, starting with the rice. Continue until you have used all the ingredients (I was able to get one layer of each, but in an 8x8 pan, you might get two layers of each), making sure to end up with curry on the top (so the sauce cooks down through the rice).
6. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes.
7. Mix the layers together before serving. Enjoy!

Beef Pot pie

2010-12-13T12:09:00.001-06:00

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that I often buy a package of refrigerated pie crusts for something (ie making a tart, etc), and only use one and then I'm stuck with one left in the package. Or I'll make dough from scratch, and end up with one left over afterward. That happened yet again this week, so I decided to see what I could throw together from that crust and a few other things I had around the house

Beef Pot Pie

1 pie crust
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 pound beef stew meat (or chuck steak cut into bite-sized pieces)
2 medium red potatoes, cubed
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 beef bouillon cube
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 packet gravy mix

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spread pie crust into a cool 9" pie pan and set aside
2. Put the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add stew meat and onions, and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste
3. Put potatoes, carrots, and bouillon in small sauce pan with enough water to cover by 1" and bring to a boil. Cook until tender
4. When stew meat and onions are cooked, put them in crust, spreading to cover the bottom.
5. Put the tomato and celery over the meat and onion mixture, then drain potatoes and carrots and add to the pie pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper over all.
6. In the pan that you used to cook the meat, prepare the gravy mix as directed. Spread 1/2 cup of gravy over the pie and put in oven.
7. Cook for approximately 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown
8. Enjoy!

Feel free to use this as inspiration for other types of pot pies, or even just as a more basic prompting to try to adapt something like a leftover pie crust, which some people might throw away, into the base (literally), for a great meal!

A Pleasant Surprise

2010-10-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

If someone invites you to a bar in a college town, you're likely going to expect burgers, nachos, wings, etc. If so, The Headkeeper in Greensburg, PA will come as an absolute shock. The first thing that most guys will notice will be the wall of beer. To quote our bartender, it's an "adult candy store." But don't waste your time even thinking about beer until after you peruse the menu. How often do you see words like balsamic reduction or truffle oil on a bar menu, especially in a town that is home to four different colleges and a variety of trade schools?

My friends and I were absolutely thrilled when we saw the menu, and we had some trouble deciding what to order, so we decided to each get something different and let each other try them. The first thing we had was prosciutto-wrapped roast asparagus with a balsamic reduction. While the asparagus was properly cooked, and the prosciutto was nice and crispy, the key here was the tips of the asparagus. They had crisped up during the cooking and tasted of roast pumpkin seeds. The effect, especially with a bit of the balsamic reduction, was delicious.

Next up was a five-spice pork tenderloin with chipotle beurre-blanc. This item was suggested by our bartender. I haven't used five-spice in a couple of years, and never would have paired it with chipotle, but man did it work. The pork was succulent, the spices just right, and it was all balanced well, no one flavor overpowering the rest.

Last up was my favorite, which also happened to be my first exposure to truffle oil. Petite filet mignon, medium rare, with crisp straw fries drizzled with truffle oil. The presentation was great, as you can see. These straw fries weren't just on the plate as a side, but were part of the presentation and taste of the dish. Unlike I often see, the fries were actually crisp and flavorful. The steak itself was seasoned and cooked excellently, and the truffle oil just capped it all off.

All in all, these are better dishes than I've gotten in expensive and upscale restaurants for a lot more money. Good recipes, well executed, and great presentation. All with the little touches that separate a chef from a cook. Definitely stop by the Headkeeper if you're ever in Greensburg.

Burrito Casserole

2010-10-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

I know that a lot of my readers are mothers who are always looking for a recipe that is simple but tasty and healthy, to allow them time to chase their kids and still know that they're feeding them right. Another whole group of you are single working people who are interested in dishes that can be made on the weekend and then frozen in single servings to warm up later in the week. This one works for both of you. Like most casseroles, it's not the most photogenic thing in the world though, so I couldn't get a picture I liked. You'll just have to imagine it. Until you make it yourself, of course.

Burrito Casserole

1 cup white rice
1 can tomato soup
1 pound ground beef (or other cooked meat)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp mexican oregano
1 tsp cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package taco seasoning
1 can sweet corn
1 can Rotel tomatoes with diced chiles
1 can of black beans, drained

Preheat oven to 350F

1. Wash the rice and put in 9x13 casserole dish. Add fluid from tomatoes to the tomato soup, and if necessary, add enough liquid from the corn to make 2 cups, add then add this all to the casserole dish.

2. Brown the ground beef with garlic, oregano, cilantro and onions. Then cook the meat in the taco seasoning according to package instructions. Add to casserole dish.

3. Add the tomatoes, corn and beans to casserole dish, and mix everything together. Top with shredded cheese.

4. Cover with foil, and cook for one hour at 350. Remove foil, and cook for another 15 minutes, or until fluid is absorbed and rice is tender.

5. Enjoy!

Note: If you use something besides ground beef (cooked round steak works GREAT), then you can of course skip the browning step. Just put the meat, seasonings, garlic and onion in saucepan with the taco seasoning and follow the instructions from the taco seasoning packet.

A Foodie Review

2010-10-22T15:17:00.000-05:00

Every time I've been in Pittsburgh, my foodie friends have asked whether or not I've been by Primanti Brothers yet. For those who don't watch the Food Network or the Travel Channel, Primanti Brothers is a famous restaurant here in Pittsburgh. They are known for their sandwiches, which are huge concoctions with everything on them, completed by a handful of french fries.

Heading up to the door, you can hear music playing. They had the radio tuned to a classic rock station, which is always a plus in my book. Heading inside, you see a sandwich counter on the right for carryout orders, a bar area on left, and then regular restaurant seating past a wall behind the bar. In general, other than the sandwich counter, it looked just like any neighborhood sports bar.

The hostess came over and sat me, and then a minute or two later my waitress came by to get my order. Being the person I am, I had already looked at their menu online and knew what I was going to get. I ordered the Pitts-Burgher Cheese Steak sandwich, which is labeled on menu as their #2 best seller and has the top and most prominent position in the sandwich section of the menu (I forgot to ask what the #1 was). This consists of a sirloin beef patty, provolone cheese, fries, cole slaw, and tomatoes on fresh italian bread. On my waitress' suggestion, I also added onions to the sandwich.

As you would expect in a sports bar, there were several big screen TVs around the room showing various games. As a nod to their position as a food destination, there was also one TV that was tuned to Bizarre Foods on Travel Channel. I didn't have much time to watch TV though, as my order came out surprisingly quickly.

As you can see from the picture, this is one massive sandwich. You might think that this was done just for the sake of notoriety, or in interest of being different. I certainly thought so when I first saw these sandwiches on television, but I was pleasantly surprised. The combination of the saltiness and starch from the fries, with the sour/sweet vinegar cole slaw and the sweetness of the tomatoes made for a great compliment to the grilled meat. The meat itself was a rather typical grilled sirloin patty, but had just the right amount of salt and tasted great. The tang and sweetness of the onions completed it all perfectly.

Now, would I eat at Primanti brothers every day? Certainly not. This single sandwich was a huge meal. Do I recommend that everyone try it at least once? Absolutely. Besides just being a well known food icon, this was a very good, very reasonably priced experience. I highly recommend that anyone coming through the Pittsburgh area stop at one of the Primanti's locations and try one of their sandwiches.

Rabbit-Mushroom Risotto

2010-10-18T13:40:00.001-05:00

Rabbit-Mushroom Risotto

4 cups chicken stock
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
1 large onion, medium dice
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups rice
2 cups champagne
1.5 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1 cup cooked rabbit (or chicken), cut into bite size pieces
salt
pepper

1. Heat the stock in an electric teapot set on low.
2. In a large pan, heat 2tbsp of olive oil and the first 2tbsp of butter. Add onion and mushrooms and cook for fifteen minutes on medium-low, taking care not to let the onion to brown.
3. Turn heat up to high and add rice. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. The rice should be coated with the oil/butter mixture during this process.
4. Carefully add champagne, rosemary and thyme. Cook until champagne is almost all absorbed, stirring continuously
5. Turn heat down to medium-low and add 1/2 cup of stock and the salt. Continue stirring the rice as it cooks, as this helps release the starch, which makes the risotto creamy.
6. Continue adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously until the stock is absorbed. Do not add the next batch of stock until previous addition has been absorbed
7. Once all stock has been added, and you taste rice to ensure that it's properly cooked, remove from heat. Stir in remaining butter, rabbit, and parmesan, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Something New - A Review

2010-10-12T13:30:00.000-05:00

My lovely wife has been telling me for a while now that I should start doing restaurant reviews as part of the blog. We don't eat out often, so I kept putting it off, but I'm finally giving in and admitting that it is a good idea. I figured the most appropriate place to start was with a review of the restaurant where we had our wedding reception just recently.

Salutos Italian Restaurant- Gurnee

This is one of those places I'd driven past countless times, but never actually been in the restaurant. I asked my sister to find a place for our dinner/reception after the wedding, and she chose Salutos. I'm glad she did, as it was a great experience.

As soon as we walked in, we had several people congratulate us on our wedding. The staff seemed genuinely happy and friendly, and that always is a nice way to start an experience at a new restaurant. The menu itself is pretty typical of what you would expect in an Italian restaurant. While not cheap, everything was reasonably priced. The wine options were nice and reasonable too.

As our group began to order, a couple of people chose the Steak Salutos. This dish uses their special sauce, which is not to everyone's taste, so our waitress brought out samples for everyone at the table to try. This allowed the people who had ordered it to decide if they wanted to change their order (I couldn't tell what all was in the sauce, but I really enjoyed it personally, though I ordered something else). No one changed their order though.

I ordered the Shrimp Alla Frankie. This dish has shrimp (tail-on), artichokes and olives in olive oil over angel hair pasta. The sauce had a nice bit of zip, and the pasta, while not perfectly al dente, was not soggy. Portions were definitely on the larger side. We also had brought along our wedding cake, and our waitress was more than happy to put the cake in the fridge while we ate our meal, and then bring it out and cut and serve for us.

Overall, we were very happy with the whole experience. At the end of a long week, and the most important night of our life, it would have been easy for things to go badly at the restaurant and have things end on a sour note. Everything went great though, and Salutos is definitely on our list of restaurants we will continue to go to.

Red Wine Brownies

2010-09-28T11:57:00.001-05:00

Red wine and chocolate are a classic combination, so I've decided to combine the two. You can't taste the wine distinctly, but it adds a savory component to the results (I've made these brownies with both wine and water, and I can tell the difference)

Red Wine Brownies
3/4 c. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. boiling red wine
1 c. sugar
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Stir cocoa and soda together.
3. Blend in oil and add wine. Stir until mixture thickens.
4. Add sugar and eggs, stir until smooth.
5. Add flour, vanilla and salt. Blend completely.
6. Pour into lightly greased 13"x9" pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Note: For a nice change on this recipe, try adding 1/4 cup of flavored gelatin (cherry or raspberry work great) in with the cocoa at the start of the recipe.

Meat in a can?

2010-09-22T09:24:00.002-05:00

A couple of months ago I was working on a Spam recipe for a contest. Every time I mentioned it on Facebook, I always got a ton of comments/responses. Outside of Hawaii, most people think of Spam and just cringe. I figured I'd share this recipe to show that you can get great food out of that famous can. To make it a little safer for the rest of us, I used cooked ham (country ham, in this case), instead of Spam. If you want the original effect though, replace the ham with a 12 oz can of low sodium Spam, cubed. One advantage of the Spam, or most processed ham products, in this recipe is that they will carmelize a bit during the sauteeing, which really helps improve their taste.

Ham and Asparagus in Sparkling Cider Sauce

1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 medium onion, large dice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1.5 cups cooked ham, cubed
1 cup sparkling cider
18 stalks asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

1. Put oil in pan over medium low. Add onions, garlic and seasonings and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (don't let the onions burn!).
2. Add the ham and turn the heat up to medium. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Remove pan from heat and carefully add the cider. The cider will splatter a bit when it hits the hot oil, so be careful.
4. Put pan back on burner and turn heat to high. Add asparagus and cook for 4-6 minutes until asparagus is cooked, but still firm.
5. Serve! This dish is great with brown rice, or served over an end of crusty bread, as I did in the picture (though you can't see it under the meat and asparagus)

Defending a dirty word

2010-09-19T11:05:00.000-05:00

I bet you want to know what word we're talking about here. Sorry if it disappoints, but the word in question is buffet. In modern parlance, buffet has become a dirty word. I'm sure your first thoughts on hearing it were cheap, low quality food, all you can eat options encouraging gluttony and laziness. I'd like to present some arguments that support the institution of the buffet though. Try to have an open mind and bear with me on this one.

Buffets can offer some definite advantages, and not just the ones that you think of. Sure, you get more choices and options when you're at a buffet. This advantage in itself can mean a night without arguments if you're dining with kids or whiny adults. :) There are other advantages you should consider too, though.

Freshness: When you order a regular entree at a restaurant, you hope that it was freshly prepared, but don't know. When you're eating at a buffet, you can look at a tray, see it's almost empty, and assume it has been out there for a while. Then you can choose to pass it by until they bring out a fresh pan (you might have to be quick if it's a really popular item, though). You can also see freshness on things like wilted lettuce in salad bars, congealed sauces on dishes, etc.

Quality: One of my pet peeves is ordering food that is fried, but instead of having a nice crisp bite, I get something soggy. Buffets let me avoid that. It is easy to tell with a quick tap of the spoon or tongs whether the food is still crispy, or if it has gotten (or always was) soggy. Vegetables are the same way. Before putting them on my plate, I can test to see whether they are still crisp/firm, or if they've been overcooked.

Spontaneous Choices: How often have you seen or smelled something someone else was eating and instantly wanted some? Pictures and descriptions on a menu just aren't the same thing. At a buffet, you have the extra input of sight of the actual food, not a picture, and the smell to go with it. You might suddenly realize that while you thought you wanted chicken, the only thing that would really hit the spot is that delicious smelling mongolian beef you see on the other side of the buffet.

Now, are buffets perfect? Of course not. But try to consider the previous points next time you're in a buffet, and realize that there are some real advantages to this way of selling food. As to the amount of food? Just use some self restraint. I'm bad about that myself at times, but you have no one to blame but yourself. Find the best items they have and enjoy quality, not quantity, even if it is a buffet.

Quick Pork and Beans

2010-09-14T21:19:00.002-05:00

We're coming to the end of barbecue season, and one good standby is always pork and beans. I'm not a big fan of pork and beans from a can though. They tend to be too salty, often use mediocre hot dogs, and not enough of them, and the sauce is never my favorite. This is a simple solution to all of those problems

Easy Pork and Beans
2 16 oz cans baked beans
1 1/2 cup chopped, cooked ham
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 tbsp chili powder

1. Put all the ingredients in a medium sauce pan over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Serve!

Didn't I promise you easy? :) Of course, if you use homemade baked beans or barbecue sauce, the results will be even better.

Asian Mayo

2010-09-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of Alton Brown. So of course when I needed a mayo recipe, I started with Alton's recipe and worked from there.

Asian Mayo
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 pinches sugar
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/3 cup sesame oil
2/3 cup vegetable oil

1. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, salt, sugar, ginger and garlic.
2. Combine the vinegar and lemon juice in a separate bowl. Add half of this to the yolk mixture and whisk it thoroughly.
3. Combine the oils in another bowl.
4. While whisking the yolk and acid mixture briskly, start adding the oil a few drops at a time. The mixture will begin to change color and consistency. When this happens, you can start adding the oil a little faster Once you've added about half of the oil, add the rest of the vinegar and lemon juice mixture.
5. Keep whisking until all the oil has blended in. Let sit on counter for 1-2 hours, and then refrigerate.

Notes: This recipe was written for straight sesame oil. If you use a blended oil, you'll want to change to ratio of sesame to vegetable oil to 50:50, due to the lighter flavor of the blended sesame oil.
Using whisk attachment on your mixer will make this whole process easier. Some people may consider it cheating, but it definitely makes things easier on your arm.
There is some risk of salmonella, of course, due to the use of a raw egg yolk. Always buy fresh eggs and keep them properly refrigerated to help reduce this possibility.

OK, now that we have some mayo, we need something to do with it. I used mine on a simple grilled tuna sandwich.

Grilled Tuna with Asian Mayo
4 ahi tuna steaks
1 cup white wine
1 tsp honey
4 slices of cheese
2 tbsp asian mayo
8 slices bread

1. Combine white wine and honey, stirring well to dissolve the honey (if needed, you can warm up the wine a bit to help dissolve the honey).
2. Pour white wine mixture over tuna in a container and put in the fridge to marinate for 3 hours. If need be, turn the tuna over halfway through to make sure both sides get marinated (or you can just use a zip-top bag)
3. Bring up the heat on your grill to high. Cook tuna for 3-4 minutes on each side.
4. Use 1/2 tbsp of mayo on each sandwich as you put them together.
5. Enjoy!

Shrimp Fajitas

2010-08-31T21:08:00.000-05:00

Why yes, I'm still here. Give this one a try for a nice tasty meal.

Shrimp Fajitas
Marinade Ingredients
3/4 cup seafood stock
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb frozen shrimp, thawed
juice from one lime

1 green pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 tsp ancho
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1 package burrito tortillas

1. Put shrimp and marinade ingredients in the fridge for 15 minutes in a covered container (if you leave it in there too long, the lime juice can "cook" the shrimp and turn your fajitas into ceviche). Remove the shrimp from the fridge and drain, saving the marinade.
2. Put 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add onion, pepper and spices into pan and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Carefully add 1/2 cup seafood stock from the marinade to pan (you may want to remove pan from heat while you do this), and then turn heat up to medium-high. Cook for 6 minutes.
4. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until cooked (do not overcook).
5. Serve out into tortillas and enjoy!

Day 53

2010-08-18T11:54:00.000-05:00

Did you guys forget about this wine? Since it's been sitting on my dining room table, I couldn't forget about it. That also led to my house being nicknamed "The Winery." Clearly, I'm running this process a bit longer than the 30 days it claims on the package, but that only helps. I normally actually take 90-120 days from time I start a wine kit until the time I get it into the bottle. That changes the process a bit too, but I will detail that in a future series of posts.

The fermentation has now completed, and the wine is starting to clear up a bit, as you can see. But if we leave the clearing to happen naturally, it will take a long time. To speed things up, most wine kits come with some type of clearing agents. Clearing, or fining, is the step we are on now. There are three causes of cloudiness that this step will deal with; those are positively charged particles, negatively charged particles, and gas (specifically, dissolved carbon dioxide).

If you remember my very first post on winemaking, you will remember Kieselsol and Chitosan. These fining agents will bond with the positive (or negative) particles, and create heavier molecules that more easily fall to the bottom of the carboy, instead of continuing to float. Because Kieseolsol has a negative charge, and chitosan has a positive charge, they allow you to clear out both kinds of particles. That being said, make sure you pay attention to the directions in the kit. You will NOT be adding these to the wine at the same time, or they'll just bond to each other, and leave the cloudiness behind. Generally, you will add the Kieselsol first, which will take care of the positively charged particles (as the song says, opposites attract), and then after thirty minutes or so, you will add the Chitosan. There's nothing complicated about these items. Just add them in the proper order, stir well, and make sure you wait between them as directed.

Now let's talk about dissolved gas. As we discussed previously, yeast releases carbon dioxide as part of the fermentation process. Most of this just escapes from the top of the carboy as bubbles. It can be soothing to watch (and listen!) to the bubbles of carbon dioxide escaping from the airlock (if you've forgotten, this is the S-shaped plastic piece filled with water that allows carbon dioxide to escape, but keeps air out). Some of this carbon dioxide will stay dissolved in the wine though. This may sound a little strange, but you've seen this before when you opened a bottle of soda. After the cap is removed, you see some bubbles rising to the top of the soda, but not a lot. Shake that same bottle, and the release of bubbles will generally make a mess that someone is going to have to clean up. Those bubbles being released after the shaking are carbon dioxide that was dissolved in the soda. Shaking allowed the particles of gas to join together into large enough bubbles to escape from the hold of the soda.

You're obviously not going to pick up and shake a 6 gallon carboy of wine, as it weighs more than 50 pounds. Also, if you just shook the wine as it was right now, you would expose it to too much oxygen, which will damage the taste of the wine. These issues will actually be dealt with in reverse order. To start, you will be transferring this wine from the carboy it is currently in, which has sediment at the bottom from the fermentation. Obviously, you want to leave this behind, as no one wants a cloudy wine in their glass. Once the wine has been transferred to the new carboy, you will add potassium metabisulfite. This powder helps protect the wine from oxidation during storage, and during the degassing (removing of the dissolved carbon dioxide). This process, at least when you first start making wine, is accomplished very simply, by just stirring the snot out of the wine. This stirring process, like shaking up a bottle of soda, allows the dissolved carbon dioxide to gather into larger bubbles and escape. Be careful when you're doing this, as it can explode out the top of the carboy, just like the soda. This makes a big mess, but more importantly, wastes wine, which is a travesty! The simplest tool for degassing is just a big plastic spoon or paddle, but you can progressively get more complex, including power drill attachments or vacuum setups. Those are objects for another day though.

Your wine has now entered the final stages of clearing, and is almost ready to bottle. If you're trying this at home, please make sure you follow the directions from your kit. Every kit works a bit differently, and I have reorganized some of the steps you will take here to make it easier to read and group together like topics. Any questions, of course, are always welcome. We'll have wine in the bottle soon, then it's just a matter of seeing how patient you can be before you open the first bottle and pour!

Tex-Mex Lasagna

2010-08-16T21:02:00.000-05:00

As everyone knows by now, I love lasagna. It is one of my favorite foods, and I love the versatility of it. Change your meat, change your sauce, change your cheese, even change the noodles, and you can change the whole meal. So when I came across a recipe contest that wanted a recipe using tortillas, lasagna was one of the first things that came to mind. A bit of thought, some input from Jen, and this is what I came up with:

Tex Mex Lasagna
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
juice from 1 lime
1 tsp cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ancho chile powder

15 oz requison cheese
1/2 tsp mexican oregano, crumbled
2 oz shredded queso quesadilla cheese
1 large egg

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Brown ground beef. Drain fat. Add onion, tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, jalapeno, lime juice, cilantro, cumin and ancho chile powder. Simmer for 15 minutes
3. In a large bowl, combine requison, 2 oz of the queso quesadilla, egg and oregano. Set aside
4. Trim three sides of tortillas to fit in a 9x13 pan. Fourth side does not need to be trimmed, as overlap in the middle is fine.
5. Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
6. Put down two tortillas to cover pan. Cover this with 1/3 of the meat and sauce mixture.
7. Put down two more tortillas. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture on top of these tortillas.
8. Put down another two tortillas, and repeat, alternating layers, until you end up with last layer of the meat and sauce mixture on top. Over this, sprinkle the remaining 6 oz of queso quesadilla. Cover with foil, and put in oven on center rack for 40 minutes.
9. After 40 minutes, remove foil, and cook for another 5 minutes.
10. Enjoy!

Pork Chops with Cranberry Mushroom sauce

2010-08-07T10:30:00.001-05:00

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 thick cut boneless pork chops
1 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Put vegetable oil in a pan, preferably stainless steel, over medium heat. Once pan is hot, put in pork chops. Cook chops 3-4 minutes per side, until cooked. Remove pork chops from pan and put on plate covered with foil to rest.
2. Set heat to low, then CAREFULLY add cranberry juice and scrape bottom of pan to deglaze.
3. Set heat back to medium and add rest of ingredients. Cook for ten minutes or so, stirring regularly, until most of liquid is gone.
4. Enjoy!

This recipe goes great with wild rice

A Cookie for a Contest

2010-08-02T06:40:00.001-05:00

As a lot of you know, I've been submitting recipes to various contests lately. I've only done two or three so far, and no success yet, but it's kind of fun. With this particular recipe, I had already planned on a banana nut cookie, since I love banana nut bread, but then came across a contest for recipes using California walnuts just a couple of days before I planned on trying this recipe out. So it worked out perfectly.

These cookies are inspired by banana nut bread, of course, but the recipe itself is based on my mom's persimmon cookies recipe.

Banana Walnut Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Set aside
3. Cream together shortening and sugars.
4. Add eggs and bananas. Mix
5. Add dry ingredients to bowl approximately 1C at a time, mixing each until combined. Do this with all of the dry ingredients.
6. Add the walnuts, mix until thoroughly combined.
7. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet. Bake 11-13 minutes, until golden brown.
8. Enjoy!

Rabbit on a Roll

2010-07-27T12:29:00.001-05:00

Prosciutto-wrapped Rabbit Roulade

1 large onion, finely chopped3/4 cup mushroom caps, chopped
1 large carrot, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup raisins or zante currants, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh thyme
4oz package of prosciutto, thinly sliced
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2-3 lb rabbit, boned
Cooking twine

1. Combine onion, mushroom, carrot, garlic, raisins, wine, rosemary and thyme in a bowl to make the filling. Put in fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 325F
3. Lay out the prosciutto on a piece of wax paper, overlapping each slice 1/4-1/2". Slices should be laid vertically, and line up horizontally, so that final layout is longer than it is tall. After you have laid out all the prosciutto, spread the mustard over it, taking care not to pull up the pieces of proscuitto.
4. Tenderize the rabbit, flattening to approximately 1/4" thick. Lay pieces flat (trimming if necessary), to cover the prosciutto. The mustard will act as a type of glue to hold these two layers together.
5. Spread the filling over the rabbit. Carefully begin rolling the roulade. The easiest way to get it started is to actually pick up the edge of the wax paper, and begin rolling the dish about one inch. Then peel the wax paper back, and do this again, repeating until the whole dish is rolled up.
6. Use cooking twine to tie the roulade firmly and put in a roasting pan. Cover with foil.
7. Cook for 1-2 hours, until center reaches 165F. Cooking time varies based on density of the filling, how tightly the roulade is rolled, and how thick your roulade is.
8. Slice into 1/2" thick slices and serve over brown rice.
9. Enjoy!

Note: This recipe can also be made with chicken (though you really should try it with rabbit :) ). Try it with some boneless chicken thighs though in place of the rabbit, and you will still have a great dish.

Cooking with Leftovers, again

2010-07-21T10:51:00.000-05:00

So if you're like me, you'll often have food leftover after a big meal. Maybe some grilled chicken, an extra steak, etc. One of my favorite uses for leftover meat (as long as it's not really strongly seasoned in some way that would keep it from tasting good in this recipe), is to make a stir fry. Since leftovers also tend to mean I just cooked, and probably want a break from that, I use mostly canned and frozen ingredients on this one to keep it quick and easy.

Leftover Stir Fry

1 tbsp sesame oil
1 cup cooked meat
15 oz can baby corn, including liquid
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup frozen brocolli
1/2 cup frozen soybeans
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1. Put sesame oil in wok or large pan set to medium-low.
2. Cut meat into bite size chunks and put into pan. Stir for 2-3 minutes until hot
3. Carefully pour contents of can of corn into pan (the liquid will sizzle when it contacts the hot oil, but this avoids having to add stock, which I normally use in my stir fry. Again, keeping things simple and quick)
4. Add rest of ingredients to pan, turn heat up to medium. Continue to stir for 8-12 minutes, or until everything is hot through.
5. Serve with slotted spoon to leave behind any remaining liquid.

Obviously, this is one of those recipes that you make up as you go along, and use whatever you have in the kitchen that day. If you have a frozen stir fry blend, that will obviously work and will be more traditional than mixed vegetables. If you have some mushrooms or green onions around, chop them up and throw them in. The combinations are endless, as are the flavors, so whip some up and have fun with it. I generally will serve this over rice or soba noodles.