Men in Aprons

All good things ...

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:56:55 -0600

The year 2008 brought to myself and my family some hard times financially and socially. Almost overnight, changes in my employment and home life brought with it a halt to the posts that I had once churned out en mass. Though I tried many times to resurrect myself to the work I once did here, I could not find the energy or motivation to return.

In many ways, this weblog accomplished goals set out many years ago. At one time I set myself apart from other food sites and blogs. But over the years, MIA has become drowned in a sea of mediocre sites, recipe databases that offer no insight or personality, and a hellish host of ad-driven drivel.

It is said that all good things must come to an end. I only half-believe that. I believe that all good things morph into others as time moves on.

Call it a hiatus; call it a sabbatical, but do not call it done. Though this is the last post here, there is a voice that is telling me I'm not finished. Men in Aprons had another version way before this domain name, so I believe that this is not over.

I would like to thank everyone who had a part here. My wife for putting up with my incessant cooking and writing, my father for the last few months of comment cleaning, the host of advertisers and product pushers, and yes even you, the trollish assholes who never stopped trying to bring me down by leaving your comments.

With a heavy heart and a sigh of relief, I bring to a close this incarnation of Men in Aprons.

meninaprons@gmail.com

Proof there is a god: Baconnaise

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:22:07 -0600

Not really sure there is too much to be said about this product. The name says it all. Here's some info from one of the owners:

Baconnaise is a delicious NEW bacon flavored mayonnaise that we just launched on October 30th. To celebrate our product launch we hosted the WORLD’S 1st MAYO WRESTLING MATCH. This involved renting out a night club, plopping a fight ring in the middle of it then filling it with 6,000 lbs of mayonnaise all so a guy in a giant bacon costume could wrestle a guy in a giant mayonnaise costume. There was even a man standing on the side making free BLTs for everyone. It was how it sounds: AMAZING!

www.baconnaise.com

Do the Ulu Hul-a!

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:38:22 -0600

Thanks to behind the scenes man, K-dub for his work lately on the Men in Aprons poll. This week is about the Ulu Knife. Have you ever seen one? Do you use one regularly? It's not for the feint of heart, let me tell you. You certainly do not want any young children poking their hands up on the countertop while you're grinding away with this thing.

We featured the Ulu knife way back in 2006 as topic for the What in the Heck Contest.

The idea behind this ancient design is the the force and balance of your hand is directly over the center of the blade instead of behind it and off balance as with typical kitchen blades. The balance of this force (thank you, yoda) actually makes the task of cutting effortless for all skill levels of choppers slicers.

Check out ulul.com for more information about the Ulu Knife.

Keep it tuned to the Men in Aprons homepage for weekly updates to the poll.

Braised Chipotle Pork Chops

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:11:11 -0600

So tender, you don't need a knife.

Ingredients

4 thin pork chops
6 TBSP Oil
1/2 cup flour for dredging
1 large white onion, sliced thin
3 canned chipotle chiles, diced + 1 TBSP adobo sauce
3 cloves garlic, bashed
1/2 cup beef broth
8 oz. tomato sauce
salt & pepper
Dash celery salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the oil. When the oil is smoking hot, season the chops with salt and pepper then dredge lightly in flour. Add the chops to the hot oil and brown on both sides. Remove from skillet.

Reduce heat to medium and brown the onions and garlic. You may need to add more oil here to keep them loose. When the onions are soft and caramelly (it's a technical term), add the chipotles, adobo, celery salt, totmato sauce and broth. Bring to a simmer and return the chops to the pan, pushing them down in the mixture.

Cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil. Cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from pan and server. The chops should be fork tender.

Everybody Grills!

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:33:03 -0600

I was honored this year when I was approached by Creative Homeowner Publishing to submit some recipes for Char-Broil's Everybody Grills!
. Gladly I submitted iron skillet blackberry cobbler, grilled pineapple spears, and my maple glazed grilled wings. But I was not expecting such a beautiful product to arrive on my doorstep one day.

Out in stores now is Everybody Grills, the all-grilling cookbook from Char-Broil and Creative Homeowner. Penned by Barry "CB" Martin and edited by Lisa Khan, this thing is the end all be all of grilling cookbooks. Sporting full color photos of each dish on every page, it is nothing short of a tome of simple recipes and mouth-watering pictures.

Everybody Grills comes through in every way for my cookbook requirements. It is easy to read, has photos of the food, and the recipes are easy to make.

Aside from the decadent quality of the food and the full color quality of the book, the thing that sets it apart from others is that many of the recipes were submitted by regular dudes such as myself, so you get that sense that these recipes can be done by anyone at home. Everyday grilling for the everday dude.

Admittedly, I'm a bit biased towards this book, since my name appears in the book a few times, but after a few months of thought I feel justified in my review. It may be one of the better grilling books out there. It is a great coffee table cookbook, but practical as well. The recipes are laid out logically, and the type is set perfectly. Additionally, they are easy to follow and you really get a feeling that YOU TOO could make gorgeous food like this.

Everybody Grills is available online at Amazon.com, through Creative Homeowner and at Lowe's Home Improvement Stores.

Hatch Chile Baked Mac & Cheese

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:54:25 -0600

It's Hatch Chile pepper time again. And you know what, this recipe beat the hell out of any broccoli and cheese casserole. If you live in the south, most likely you can get Hatch chiles this time of year in your grocery store. If you cannot, just substitute a couple of jalapenos or a poblano pepper.

Ingredients:

8 oz (uncooked) elbow macaroni
1 cup Queso Asadero cheese, shredded
1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded
4 TBSP flour
4 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
2 cups milk
2 large hatch green chiles, stemmed & seeded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Puree the chile peppers in a food processor until almost unrecognizable. You may need to drizzle a bit of oil into the mixture to get the puree moving.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions to al dente tenderness.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. When melted, add the flour, salt, & pepper and whisk until bubbly. Slowly add the milk, continuing to whisk until smooth. Bring the mixture to just under a simmer and begin slowly adding the cheese a handful at a time until all cheese is melted. Finally, add the chile pureeto the mixture.

Pour the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce and stir to coat. Then transfer the entire mixture to a medium baking dish. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Braised Shortribs in Molasses/Balsamic sauce

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:13:42 -0600

I apologize in advance for the crudeness of this photo and others to come. The Men in Aprons' official camera is dead and I'm having to attempt food photography with a camera phone. YACK! The following recipe contains the perfect amount of food for two people, awesome for a date night if you are so inclined. Serve these shortribs over a bed of creamy polenta with Gruyere cheese.

Ingredients:

1 pound beef shortribs (about 4-5)
1/2 cup flour for dredging mixed with pinch of salt & pepper
5 TBSP vegetable oil
1 cup each chopped onion, celery, carrot
1/4 cup molasses
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 pinch fresh rosemary
1 Tsp. dried thyme
2 cups beef stock
1/4 Tsp. Liquid smoke
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large oven-proof pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Dredge the ribs in the flour and shake off excess. Brown them into the hot oil for a couple of minutes per side, being careful not to burn. Remove the ribs to a plate when all are browned.

Reduce heat to medium and add the carrots, celery, and onion to the remaining oil. Saute for a few minutes until soft. Add the molasses, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, and liquid smoke. Combine thoroughly and bring back to a simmer. Return the ribs to the pot and cover with foil or a lid. Put in the oven for 2 hours to braise.

Remove the ribs from the pot to a plate to rest. The meat should be fall-off-the-bone tender. Remove the used vegetables and herbs, but keep that dark and lovely sauce in the pot. You might have to strain the solids through a sieve.

Bring the sauce to simmer on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Let simmer for a few minutes to reduce. Taste and season with salt if the flavor is too flat.

Serve the ribs and top with the sauce.

Sargento Finishers

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:54:37 -0600

TheWife and I had the pleasure of trying out this lovely addition to Sargento's kick butt line of cheeses. It's really simple. Just bake your potato as your normally would, whether it be in the grill, the oven, or the microwave .. split, and add the toppings.

We tried the cheddar broccoli and au gratin. Personally, my tastes aren't much for the bitter twang of broccoli, considering a few childhood horror stories. However, the Au Gratin was pretty good.

Each finisher contains small packages of cheese and various toppings to add to your potato. The Au Gratin came with breadcrumbs and onions, while the Cheddar Broccoli was complete with bacon bits (yum)

I realized after we consumed our taters this is pretty good product for couples or people who cook for one or two. We managed to use up the package on our potatoes. Throw away the trash and easy clean up.

Pardon Our Dust Announcement

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:09:49 -0600

As we work dilligently to reboot and restore the Men in Aprons site, I just wanted to take this opportunity to apologize to any of you that may still be out there. Real life has been tough the past 9 months, what with layoffs, recession, gas prices, and a new job and new schedule that hasn't allowed much mental energy to be devoted to this site.

Now that we are taking a little time to dig ourselves out of this gigantic pile of comment spam, I'd like to share with you something that has put smiles on the faces of the employees at MIA Headquarters:

This book is coming out in September. Char-Broil's Everybody Grills' cookbook featuring over 200 recipes for the grill including 3 by yours truly (that's me). The Men in Aprons' official camera has died, so these pics had to be taken by a camera phone.

Dr Pepper Sauced Boneless Wings

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:57:37 -0600

Boneless buffalo wings are pretty much just chicken nuggets covered in sauce. But I don't care about that. The taste good anyway! I was inspired to make this recipe after eating at a local chicken wing joint the wife last weekend. It turned out very nice and I highly recommend it. :)

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into nugget sized pieces
3/4 cup flour
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp. pepper
1/4 Tsp. garlic powder
1 can Dr. pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 Tsp. Tabasco sauce
2 TBSP butter
Oil for frying

Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss the chicken in the flour mixture, coating completely. Put the coated chicken in the fridge for at least 1 hour. This will help the coating adhere to the chicken during frying.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the can of Dr. Pepper to a boil, reduce heat and simmer briskly until reduced to about 1/8th the amount. Add the brown sugar, ketchup, Tabasco and butter and simmer until a nice thick sauce. Set aside.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Remove the chicken from the fridge and fry in the oil until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. when all chicken is cooked, toss in the sauce until completely coated.

Serve and enjoy.

One Lump or Two?

Mon, 26 May 2008 20:46:30 -0600

I cannot believe I have never brought this up as a topic here on Men in Aprons. Sometimes I get so focused on other things I ignore the controversy right before my eyes. Until I was watching television the other day, I had completely forgotten that this country is dead divided on how it likes its mashed potatoes served.

I think we can all agree that almost everyone likes mashed potatoes. Heck, they're as American as applie pie or the ball park dog. But from the first day the potato was brought forth onto this country's soil, we have been fighting ever since on how to make it: smooth or lumpy? Skins or no skins?

I think the controversy is mostly a northern versus southern thing. We southerners tend to like our mashed taters with some lumps and sometimes some skins. Definitely with gravy.

Even though I grew up with the boxed whipped potatoes from the grade school cafeteria, to this day I love the lumps in my potatoes. Gives me something to slightly chew on and feel in my mouth while I savor the flavor.

So, what is your preference. Feel free to answer the poll on the main page and leave your comments below.

The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook: More Than 400 Recipes That All Use Beer

Sun, 25 May 2008 13:20:48 -0600

Guest post by Jochn Schlimm, author of The Ultimate Beer Lovers Cookbook

Now beer fans everywhere can have their favorite brew and eat it too! Dating back thousands of years to ancient Babylonia, beer is the most famous and beloved thirst quencher the world has ever known. The Bible praises it, Egyptians were buried with it, our Founding Fathers depended on it, medical journals prescribe it, and Noah and the Mayflower set sail with it. Whether, kegged, bottled, canned, free-flowing, or whipped into Golden Cheesecake, beer is all about friendship, laughter, and celebrating life to the fullest.

More than ten years in the making, The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook is an unprecedented collection of more than 400 food and drink recipes containing beer as a main ingredient. From scrambled eggs made with beer at breakfast and a cheese steak sandwich with onion rings or a beer burger and Chocolate Beershake for lunch, to a surf 'n' turf beer-infused combo of lobster and steak for dinner (and a midnight snack of chocolate-dipped strawberries), beer lovers can feast on brewskis at any time of the day. Every genre of food is included: appetizers, breads, soups and chili, salads, fruits and vegetables, sandwiches, sauces, marinades, beef, poultry, pork, wild game, stews, fish and seafood, past, and desserts.

The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook also serves as a party drinks handbook, with a comprehensive collection of recipes for mixed drinks, chuggers, shots, chasers, party punches, milkshakes, and flaming drinks — all made with beer. From the Buzzy Navel, Beer Bullet, Red-Headed Mary, and Beertini to the Woodpecker, Atomic Diva, Garden of Eden Punch, and Flaming Sake Bomb, this anthology of beer's greatest pairings is sure to leave beer lovers spinning for joy.

With an introduction chronicling beer's history, as well as hilarious beer quotes by the world's most illustrious beer fans peppered amidst the recipes, The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook is a rousing tribute to a tasty icon more than 7,000 years in the making.

Guessing the Flavor is Only the Beginning

Sat, 17 May 2008 11:50:21 -0600

Doritos has launched a new contest called Doritos Quest, which will start off with unmarked mystery-flavored product available in stores this month. In order to move ahead in the 'quest', consumers will have to try to guess the mystery flavor and input their answer on the website. If they guess right, they move onto the next question.

All you do is go buy a bag of the Quest Doritos and make your guess on the site. It took my wife a I a few tries to make a very good guess, but it wasn't until visiting the site that I finally caught on. And if you know the company that makes Dortitos, you should be able to fit it all together with a little thought.

Go now to doritosthequest.com/ to make your guess. Once you guess correctly, it begins you on a brilliant quest a la Nick Cage's National Treasure. Only the fittest will survive, so don't eat too many chips.

Our Favorite Salad

Mon, 12 May 2008 20:25:18 -0600

TheWife and I like to go a very nice restaurant here in Round Rock called Main Street Grill. It is an upscale restaurant built in an old bank building in old downtown. They even left the vault, which now has one table in it that you can reserve for a special occasion. Main Street Grill makes one of our favorite salads, the Monica Salad, and this is our version of it that you can do at home.

Ingredients:

1 cup walnut pieces
4-5 TBSP sugar
Crumbled Bleu cheese
Sliced strawberries
Fresh spring greens
Store bought raspberrry vinaigrette

In a small skillet over medium heat, begin toasting the walnut pieces. Slowly add the sugar and let it melt and coat the walnuts. When sufficiently coated, remove from heat and recover pieces to a plate to set up.

Build your salad with plenty of slices of strawberries, some bleu cheese and top with the caramelized walnuts. Gently drizzle the dressing over the top and toss to coat.

Food Network Listens

Wed, 07 May 2008 05:32:26 -0600

It would appear that the Food Network listens. Be it me, that is not to be seen at this time. However, since writing my (now world-famous) letter to the Food Network regarding the usability of its web site, there have been some changes made, and for the better it appears.

Not only has the web site been cleaned up of a lot of advertisement clutter, it's loads a bit faster on my POS computer. That was really my biggest beef with the whole thing, but with the new changes, Food Network has taken the usability a step further and centered the web site's content around the users rather than the TV shows.

Though the celebrity chefs do have a noticeable presence on the site, their appearance is toned down in the community areas. The front page is always all about certain food for certain times of years, but now there are more links to community areas and user-friendly sections for for people make their own recipe boxes and share photos.

This is certainly a step in the right direction for the Foot Network. Let the stars be on TV and let the people out here in the world get more out of the network than just sitting, glassy-eyed at Giada's cleavage or Gina Neely's ... ahem ... bounciness. People go to the web to find and share information and that's what the FN is finally letting us do.

And now, as if reading my mind, the network has introduced Ask Aida, an interactive Q & A process where you, the user, send in a video with your cooking questions to Aida Mollenkamp, and she will give you an answer. Yet another way for users to create content and interact with the network that they so love.

The site seems to be shaping up to its fullest potential and I'm excited to see what they have in store for the future. Though, I would be happy if the ads were toned down a little more. But that's just nit-picking.