What's Eric Cooking?

Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:14:00 +0000

I have been on a homemade pizza kick lately. Once you get the hang of making your own pizza dough it becomes an easy, affordable, and delicious meal to make at home. Making your own dough is especially easy when you can use a electric stand mixer like the Kitchen Aid my wife got for Christmas this year. Here is the basic pizza dough recipe that I use.

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast ( or 2-1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2-1/2 -3-1/2 cups all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a warmed mixer bowl. Add salt, sugar, olive oil, and 2-1/2 cups of flour. Mix on low speed using dough hook attachment for 1-2 minutes.
Allow the mixture to rest for 15-20 minutes before adding additional flour.
Continue to mix on low speed adding the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture starts to clean the sides of the bowl and stick to the dough hook. Continue to knead on low speed for 2 minutes more.

Place the dough in a bowl greased with olive oil, turning to grease the top of the dough as well. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. The dough can also be placed in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours for future use. This recipe makes enough dough to make 2-14" pizzas.

To make one pizza, half of the finished dough gets turned out onto a floured surface and made into your desired pizza style. For my first pizza I was going for a very thin and crispy crust so I just worked pressing down from the center to the edges until it was about the size of the pizza peel that I was working with. Using this method will press some of the air out of the dough and allow you to get a think and crispy texture. I put the dough onto a pizza peel that is dusted with corn meal before beginning the topping process. The corn meal is needed in order to allow your finished pizza to slide on and off of your pizza baking stone. Another option is hand tossing the crust which will give you a thicker airy crust with a little more body to it.

A pan pizza is also easy to make if you have a cast iron skillet. Grease the pan with several tablespoons of vegetable oil and pat your dough into the pan to spread out the dough and bring edges all the way up the sides of the pan. Baking will take a few minutes longer than normal because the pan is not been pre-heated prior to baking.

Assembly

Instead of a traditional pizza sauce, I roasted fresh chopped garlic in olive oil and used that as the spread for the pizza. The dough was then sprinkled with a little dried oregano and the toppings were added.

Roasted chicken, mushrooms, red onion, fresh tomato, and parmesan and mozzarella cheeses were added.

These pizzas were baked on a pre-heated pizza stone at 475 degrees for about 12 minutes.For the second pizza I hand tossed the crust to maintain the round shape and it was topped with spinach, mushrooms, grilled chicken, and roasted rosemary potatoes.

Beef Tenderloin Roast

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:00:00 +0000

For Christmas dinner this year I made a stuffed beef tenderloin roast. It was a whole beef tenderloin that I butterflied open and stuffed with a mixture of herbs and vegetables.

I started by sauteing chopped crimini mushrooms, onions, and garlic in a mixture of butter and olive oil until they were softened. I then de-glazed the pan with some red wine, added some fresh rosemary and thyme, and cooked the mixture until it was slightly reduced.

The beef was seasoned on all sides with salt and pepper and then the mixture was spread out on one side. With the some help, I tied up the beef with butcher string to close it up and create a roast.

The roast was then rubbed with a little vegetable oil to get it ready for the grill. I prefer to use vegetable oil over olive oil when I am going to cook something over very high heat because its smoke point is so much higher and it will hold up better during the cooking. I cooked the roast over lump charcoal on my grill. I started by searing all sides of the roast over high direct heat to develop a crust. Then the roast was moved off to one side and cooked with indirect heat until my remote thermometer registered 135 degrees. The roast was then pulled from the grill and wrapped in foil. Once wrapped in foil to rest the temperature continues to climb 5-10 more degrees.

We chose some simple side dishes for this meal. I made roasted broccoli and criss- cross potatoes.
The broccoli was made by marinating it in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt, pepper, chopped garlic, and rice wine vinegar. It was roasted on a foil lined sheet pan at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes until some of the edges started to get a nice char on them.

The potatoes are made by first slicing large baking potatoes in half. Then you can slice shallow cuts through the potato in opposite directions. Rub the potatoes with salt pepper and good paprika and then baste very liberally with melted butter. The potatoes get baked at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until crusty and tender.

Coconut Shrimp with Mango-Ginger Dipping Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:12:00 +0000

Coconut Shrimp are a popular appetizer that is easy to make at home.

For this recipe I used one pound of fresh wild caught pink gulf shrimp in the 15-20 count size range (15-20 shrimp per pound). I highly recommend using fresh shrimp for this recipe if you can get your hands on them. There is a huge difference in the taste between wild caught gulf shrimp and some of the frozen farm raised tiger shrimp you may find that are a product of Thailand. One pound of shrimp will be more than enough as an appetizer for 6-8 people.

Start by cleaning your shrimp if needed. The fresh shrimp will need to be peeled and de-veined. I remove all of the shell except for the last part of the tail. Removing the veins on these shrimp was a easy step because I was going to butterfly them anyways. After removing the shell, just slide your knife down the back of the shrimp about 1/8"-1/4" deep and this will expose the vein that can be removed and washed away under some running water.

With the shrimp washed, I seasoned them lightly with salt and fresh black pepper. I then began the breading process by rolling the shrimp in flour. The flour is followed by a egg wash, and then our breading mixture. For the coconut breading I used a 2/3 mixture of shredded sweetened coconut and 1/3 panko or Japanese bread crumbs. After the shrimp are breaded they can be covered and placed in a cookie sheet in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.

The shrimp are fried in enough vegetable oil to cover them at 350 degrees for about 4-5 minutes. Cooking times will vary based on the size of your shrimp. When the shrimp are golden brown remove them and place them on paper towel to drain.

A simple and delicious dipping sauce for these shrimp is reduction of mango and ginger. Peel a fresh ripe mango and cut up all the flesh into small cubes. Place the mango into a stock pan with 1/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (any vinegar on hand will do), and salt to taste. Cook the mixture to boiling and let it reduce and simmer for about 15 minutes. Finish by blending the mixture in a blender until smooth.

Homemade Egg Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:13:00 +0000

With cold and flu season upon us, there is likely to be homemade chicken soup in your future. The best accompaniment with chicken soup is some nice thick egg noodles. They are very easy to make and turn your soup into the ultimate comfort food.

Start by making a mound on a clean surface consisting of 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix the dry ingredients well and make a well in the center of the mixture. To the well add 2 whole eggs and 3 tablespoons of water. Scramble the eggs with a fork gradually working the eggs into the flour. Bring the mix together with your hands and knead for a few minutes until it all comes together as a workable dough. You may need to add a few more tablespoons of water to make this possible depending on conditions. Move the dough to a floured surface and roll out to your desired thickness. I rolled my batch out to about 1/8" thick. We like our noodles a little thicker, almost on the verge of being a dumpling. Keep in mind that the noodles are going to just about double in size when they are cooked. Slice your dough with a pizza cutter into your desired width of noodle. Drop the noodles into boiling broth or soup and cover to let simmer for about 8-10 minutes until they are done. The end product will blow away any store bought noodles, and its a great way to add a little comfort to your meal.

Jaeger Schnitzel

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:40:00 +0000

To help celebrate Oktoberfest this year I was in the mood to try to make a traditional German dish called jaeger schnitzel. The recipe consists of cutlets of pork, veal, or beef that are pounded out thin, breaded, and fried. The cutlets then get topped with a rich and creamy mushroom gravy. Schnitzel translated to English literally means chip or cutlet. The word jaeger translates to hunter, which my pay homage to the act of hunting the wild mushrooms that were traditionally used in the recipe.

I made this recipe using slices of pork tenderloin. The pork was pounded out to about a quarter of an inch thick and seasoned with salt and pepper. I then used the traditional breading method of flour, followed by beaten egg, followed by bread crumbs. I used panko bread crumbs for a little extra crunch. I then shallow fried them in a cast iron skillet a few minutes on each side until golden brown. The schnitzel were then topped with a creamy mushroom gravy that I made using crimini mushrooms.

For side dishes I made some traditional roasted potatoes and some not so traditional roasted broccoli. The potatoes were large diced, tossed in olive oil, and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried rosemary. The potatoes were cooked at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes and tossed about every 15 minutes during cooking.

The broccoli was a new twist that I felt like trying out. I tossed the large broccoli spears with sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, crushed garlic, pepper, brown sugar, and sesame seeds. The end result was a basic teriyaki marinade. I cooked the broccoli at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes turning half way through cooking. It really turned out well as the sesame seeds toasted nicely lending a nice nutty flavor to the broccoli.

I served the dish with traditional German garnish of fresh lemon and chopped parsley.

Hush Puppies

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:20:00 +0000

Is there anything better to accompany fried food than hush puppies? I think not. The origin of the hush puppy is debatable. Stories range from fisherman throwing balls of corn meal to their dogs during fish fries, to southern civil war soldiers tossing the balls of fried corn meal to quiet their dogs upon the approach of union soldiers with the command "hush puppy".

Although I do not know the true origin or the hush puppy, I do have a pretty good recipe.

Ingredients:

1- 16oz can cream style corn
1 egg - beaten
3/4 cup corn meal
1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 white onion -finely diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Combine all the ingredients well in a bowl and let set for 5 minutes. Drop by the rounded tablespoon into preheated 350 degree vegetable oil. A good batch will consist of 8-10 hush puppies. After about 4 minutes you can flip them similar to frying donuts. This will encourage even browning. They should be done after about 8-10 minutes. You may want to take out a "tester" to see that they have cooked through. Place the cooked hush puppies on paper towel to drain and lightly salt to taste. Please be careful, as I know these have been known to overshadow the main dish on several occasions.

Mussels with white wine, garlic, and basil

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:35:00 +0000

Mussels have long been a staple of diets in Europe. It seems to me that currently in the U.S. mussels remain an under utilized item. Mussels are now readily available fresh in most of our modern supermarkets. Here is a simple and delicious application for one of my favorite mollusks.

Plan on using about 1 pound of mussels per person. When you get the mussels home wash them in cold water. Discard any that are open, or do not close when tapped on the counter. You may also have to tear of their "beards". Mussels have a small stringy extension outside of the shell that they use to attach themselves to things in the ocean.

There is not much of a recipe here just a list of ingredients. For two pounds of mussels, I start by sauteing one half of a finely diced red onion, and 8 cloves of crushed garlic, in olive oil over medium high heat until softened in a large stock pot. After a few dashes of salt and pepper, slide in the mussels, and 1 finely diced medium tomato into the stock pot along with 2 cups of white wine and cover. I usually prefer to use a nice chardonnay for this. The wine does get sweeter as it cooks so you want to start with something that is a little on the dry side. Let the mixture cook for 5 minutes, stir, and add 1/4 cup of finely sliced fresh basil and continue cooking for 5 more minutes or until all of the mussels have opened and the liquid has slightly reduced.

The best presentation for this meal is with some warm and crusty french bread and the same nice white wine that the mussels were cooked in. Be sure to serve with extra broth as it is great for dipping the bread in.

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:33:00 +0000

With summer upon us there are so many great light appetizers that can be made while we are getting the grill ready for the main course. One of my favorites is a lettuce wrap that is filled with grilled marinated chicken, fresh veggies, and topped with a spicy peanut sauce.

This basic recipe would work with 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts. A good portion is to start with 1/2 a boneless skinless chicken breast per person. After a quick wash and trim I marinate the chicken for a least an hour in a mixture of 1 can coconut milk, 1/4 cup teriyaki marinade (substitution would be 1/3 cup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons brown sugar), the zest and juice of one lime, two cloves crushed garlic, 4 tablespoons sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds.

While the chicken is marinating you can prepare the spicy peanut sauce which will be the dressing for the lettuce wraps.

1 cup fresh smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup hot water

4 cloves garlic, finely minced and mashed 2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix the ingredients well and set aside. After allowing the sauce to rest for a few minutes, taste for seasoning. You may want to add more cayenne pepper for spice for may need to add a little more water to reach the desired consistency. A good consistency for this sauce would be comparable to a salad dressing.

Grill the chicken in whole pieces until well done with a nice char and slice thin for serving.

Fillings for the wraps can vary but for these we used fresh bean sprouts, thinly sliced carrots and cucumber, and green onions. It all gets wrapped up and eaten like a taco, but in place of the tortilla we use a nice leaf of butter, bibb, or romaine lettuce. Top with a splash of lime juice and a drizzle of the peanut sauce.

Beef Brisket

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:05:00 +0000

Beef brisket is a very affordable and forgiving piece of meat to bbq. The brisket comes from the chest of the cow so it is a very large and tough muscle that requires long and slow cooking.

I start with the large primal cut that comes in its original packaging. These usually weigh 12-18 lbs. I would say that the main factor that limits when you can cook a brisket is the cooking time. I started with a 15lb brisket and ended up with a total cooking time of about 12 hours. Start by washing the brisket and seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You can also use your favorite bbq rub in this step. Keep in mind that most commercial bbq rubs contain a large amount of sugar that will burn on the grill. This will require you wrapping the brisket up with foil to protect it sooner than normal.

For cooking such a large piece of meat the grill needs to be well preheated. We are looking for 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit. I use both the side fire box and the main chamber on my grill. Once the grill is up to temperature and the dampers are closed down it will maintain its heat for several hours at a time. Having the extra coals in the main chamber come into handy for cooking appetizers or other side dishes over direct heat if so inclined. You will need to check and add fresh coals to the to the grill every 1-2 hours during the cooking process to maintain a constant temperature. The first 2 times that I add fresh coals I also add some mesquite wood chips that have been pre-soaked in water.

Above is the brisket after 8 hours of cooking with indirect heat. At this time you will notice that the outside of the brisket starts to form a thick layer that is called "bark". To prevent the brisket from overcooking and also to further aid its cooking, we wrap it in foil. This process is known as the "Texas Crutch" on the competitive bbq circuits. This is similar to the process I use with my ribs. I wrap the brisket up in heavy foil with equal parts apple cider vinegar, apple juice, and water. Make sure that the brisket is well wrapped and no liquid escapes. The brisket is then left on the grill over indirect heat for 2-3 more hours. After a few more hours on the grill the brisket should be done. I like to unwrap the brisket and give it one last quick sear over direct heat to give it a good final crust on the outside. Remove the brisket from the grill and tent with foil to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Thinly slice the brisket across the grain to serve. It will be pull apart tender, and juicy. You can serve it with your favorite bbq sauce if you want, but it really does not need any.

***Notice the pink ring around the outside of the meat. This is from the smoke penetrating the meat while cooking.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:42:00 +0000

At my house we always say,"If you already have the grill going, you might as well be cooking something." My favorite appetizers to cook on the grill while waiting for dinner to finish cooking are bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.

Ingredients

16 Jalapeno peppers, washed and dried
1 Block of cream cheese
1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 Green onions, chopped
Dash each salt, pepper, and garlic powder

16 Strips of thick cut bacon
16 Toothpicks, soaked in water for 10 minutes

Start by combining the cheeses, green onions, and seasonings in a bowl and set aside.

Slice about 1/3 of the peppers off lengthwise. I like to leave the stems intact so that you have a handle to pick them up with. Scrape out the seeds and white membrane inside the peppers using a small spoon. Wash the peppers with water to get out any extra seeds and set aside. I suggest wearing some latex gloves for this step. The oils from the peppers do not wash off your hands very easily. You will find this out the hard way if you are a contact lens wearer like myself.

Spoon and pack the cheese mixture into the peppers. Wrap each pepper with one slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Make sure to wrap the bacon around the pepper so that most of the cheese filling is covered.

I like to cook my peppers on a charcoal grill but these can just as easily be prepared on a gas grill. These are usually something I like to make while I am slow cooking a pork shoulder or a beef brisket.

Start by putting the peppers on the grill over indirect heat meaning that the heat source is off to one side of the peppers. Cook the peppers over the indirect heat for 20-30 minutes or until most of the bacon has begun to render down. This also gives the peppers a chance to cook through.
After the bacon has cooked down and the peppers are starting to feel softened, move the peppers over to the direct heat for just a few minutes to give them a quick char. Be very careful to watch these when they are over direct heat because the bacon can burn very quickly. Remove the peppers to a platter to cool. It is best to let the peppers rest for a minute or two before serving because the filling will be extremely hot.I promise that you will always find yourself saying that next time you need to make more!

Chicken and Dumplings

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:04:00 +0000

Chicken and dumplings is old school classic American comfort food. There is just something about its wholesome simplicity that I find myself craving from time to time.

The base of the dish is really good chicken broth. I start this by simmering a whole organic chicken with carrots, celery, onion, parsley, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Start with cold water, just enough to cover the chicken, cover, and bring up to a simmer until the chicken is cooked through. I pull out the chicken and set aside to cool. The broth gets strained and added into a clean stock pot. Once the chicken is cooled it gets pulled into large chucks with the skin removed and set aside.

The broth is brought up to a simmer and thickened slightly with some corn starch.

Diced carrots, celery, and onions get sauteed in some butter until softened and then added into the stock pot along with the chicken.

The stock can now be brought up to a low boil in preparation for cooking the dumplings.

The dumplings are a simple recipe consisting of flour, baking soda, buttermilk, butter, and salt. I roll the dough out into about a 1/2"thickness and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. The strips are added to the boiling stock, covered, and allowed to cook for 10-12 minutes.

We garnish with a little fresh parsley and black pepper.

Now that is some good classic comfort food.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:26:00 +0000

The votes were tabulated from the poll I had on my blog and the dish that people most wanted me to make was herb crusted rack of lamb. This lamb dish gets seared on a hot grill, coated with lots of fresh herbs, and then finished in the oven. The end result is super tender lamb with a crispy flavorful coating.

We were serving 4 people so I started with 2 small racks of lamb. The racks had already been frenched, meaning that the extra meat and fat around the bones had been removed. Having the bones exposed makes for a more impressive plate presentation as well as making them easier to handle and cook evenly.

The lamb was given a good coat of salt and cracked black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil to get it ready for the grill. We grilled the lamb over high heat on all sides. What we are looking for here is adding some good color and flavor to the meat. The lamb is removed from the grill while it is still rare and set aside to rest while we make our herb crust mixture.

I start the herb crust with some fresh bread crumbs. I used a store bought loaf of French bread that I sliced, toasted in the oven, and ground into crumbs using a food processor. The crumbs get set aside so that we can next make the herb mixture in the food processor. I started with a handful each of fresh mint and flat leaf parsley. I added in the leaves from a few sprigs of fresh rosemary 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/4 cup of fresh shredded parmasan cheese and gave it a few pulses. Next I added in 3 cups of the fresh bread crumbs and began to combine while adding a drizzle of olive oil to bring it all together. The end result is a bright green speckled breadcrumb mixture.

It is now time to bread the racks of lamb. I began by well coating the lamb with dijon mustard. The mustard is the glue to hold on the crumb mixture. Then I coated the lamb with the bread crumbs and pressed them tightly with my hands. The lamb is now ready to be finished in the oven. I placed the lamb into a 375 degree pre-heated cast iron skillet with a light drizzle of olive oil. After 10 minutes of cooking, I flipped the lamb and continued to cook in the oven for about a total of 20 minutes. I used an instant read thermometer to make sure we pulled the lamb from the oven when it was about medium rare. After allowing the meat to rest for about 10 minutes, I sliced the lamb into individual chops and served.

We served the lamb chops with a porcini mushroom risotto, mashed potatoes with parsnips, and toasted sesame seed asparagus.

The Great Chili Cookoff

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:43:00 +0000

I want to thank all of my friends and family that came out to support me with their votes at the Habitat for Humanity Chili Cookoff. I won first place in the people's choice category with my "Green Monster" Chili. With trophy finally in hand, I am happy to share my recipe with everyone. CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

My entry was a white chicken chili that was full of roasted green chilies, grilled chicken, and northern white beans.I started my chili by roasting 2 pounds of assorted poblano, anaheim, jalapeno, and serrano chilies with tomatillos. You can adjust the heat of the chili by playing around with the types, and the quantities of each of the chilis that you use. Keep in mind that using fresh chiles in a recipe is not an exact science. The heat of a particular variety of chile can vary greatly based on where, and, when it was grown, and the time of the year.
I gave them a rub with vegetable oil and roasted them in a 375 degree oven until they looked like this....

After roasting, the chilis get placed into a plastic bag to make them "sweat". The skin of the pepper and the seeds are easily removed under cold running water after only a few minutes. I then chopped the peppers and the tomatillos and set them aside in the large stock pot that the chili will be put together in.

The base of the chili started with rendering down 1/2 a pound of diced bacon in a saute pan.

The crispy bacon bits are removed from the pan and set aside to be added back to the chili later. I then added 1 diced green pepper, 1 diced onion, and 6 diced celery stalks to the hot bacon drippings. This is a traditional Cajun style base for many recipes, otherwise known as the "holy trinity" of creole cooking. There is a definite extra depth of flavor that is added to the chili by cooking the vegetables in the bacon fat. Hey, I am trying to win a chili cookoff, not count calories! The vegetables are cooked until softened and added to the stock pot with the chopped chilies.

The next step was getting the chicken ready for the chili. Several pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts were butterflied and seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. The chicken was grilled over very high heat until well done. I was looking for good color and a little charring to add extra flavor to the chili. In this step you do not have to worry about the chicken getting too dry because its going to be diced and added to the chili.

The diced cooked chicken was added to the stock pot with several cans of northern white beans that had been rinsed and drained.

With all of the ingredients in the pot it was time to finish it by adding the liquid and dairy ingredients. For this large batch I added 2 quarts of chicken stock, 1 can of salsa verde, and two cans of green enchilada sauce. You will want to taste the mixture at this point to determine if it has enough chicken flavor. Depending on where it is at I usually add some additional instant chicken stock or bouillon cubes at this point to get the flavor where I want it. I then bring this mixture up to a simmer and add some additional dried seasonings. One teaspoon each of cumin, black pepper, and garlic powder are added to the pot along with a large tablespoon of dried oregano. At this point we can re-incorporate the bacon bits that we cooked earlier and move onto the step of adding the dairy ingredients. First one softened package of cream cheese is added to the pot. It is important to have the cream cheese soft enough so that it will easily mix into our chili mixture. The final ingredients are 1 cup of heavy cream, and one cup each of shredded sharp cheddar and monterrey-jack cheeses. The pot is given a final stir to incorporate and then the chili is brought to a simmer on low heat for at least an hour for the flavors to incorporate. The chili is great served with some accompaniments such as fresh cilantro, diced onions, shredded cheese, and sour cream. Feel free to email me if you would like a more detailed ingredient list and instructions for this recipe. Thanks again to everyone that voted!

Chicken Tinga Tostadas

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:51:00 +0000

Chicken tinga is a traditional Mexican recipe that was taught to me by two friends that I met while living in Virginia. They loved this recipe and made it quite often since moving to the U.S. from an area near Acapulco, Mexico. This is a quick and easy recipe that delivers big authentic Mexican flavors. This recipe is made by first poaching 3-4 bone-in chicken breasts with the skin removed in chicken broth with a mixture of 1 chopped onion, 4 chopped tomatoes, garlic, and oregano.

When the chicken is cooked all the way through it is removed from the broth, shredded and set aside. The broth mixture goes into a blender with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The amount of chipotles you put in is up to your own personal taste. The broth mixture gets well blended and then poured into a pan.

The chicken and the chipotle sauce are combined and brought to a simmer on the stove. Once some of the liquid has evaporated and the chicken mixture has thickened it is ready to serve.

I serve chicken tinga on a warm tostada with onion, cilantro, queso fresco, sour cream, avocado, and a lime wedge. It is also equally delicious if you choose to serve it as a filling for tacos or burritos as well.

Red Velvet Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:33:00 +0000

For Valentines day I made my wife a red velvet cake. I am not much of a baker but I tried. I used the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I made 2- 9" round pans and cut the two cakes into separate layers to create a four layer cake. The only adaptation I made to the recipe is that I added a couple thin layers of dark chocolate truffle while I was putting together the layers. This was an easy recipe and it turned out great. I will make it again for another special occasion.

Red Waldorf Cake
Prep: 45 minutes Bake: 30 minutes Cool: 1 hour Stand: 1 hour

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring (1/4 cup)
2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour or 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 recipe Creamy Frosting
Directions
1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and flour two 9x1-1/2-inch round cake pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set pan(s) aside. In a small bowl stir together cocoa powder and food coloring; set aside. In another small bowl stir together flour and salt; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla to shortening; beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating on medium speed after each addition until combined. Beat in cocoa mixture. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating on low to medium speed after each addition just until combined. Stir together baking soda and vinegar. Add to batter, mixing until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, about 30 minutes for 13x9x2-inch pan, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans; cool thoroughly on wire racks. Or, place the 13x9x2-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly. Frost with Cream cheese Frosting. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
4. Makes 12 servings

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
2 - 3 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Green Curry Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:35:00 +0000

If you are looking for huge complex flavors in a simple to prepare dish, curries are a great place to start. Here is a taste of the green curry that I made. I used a canned green curry paste as my base and its primary ingredients are ground green chiles, shallots, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass. The heat of this dish can be altered to taste based on the amount of curry paste you wish to add. We prefer ours a little spicy so we use a ratio of 4 teaspoons of curry paste to 1 can of coconut milk.

My ingredients were sliced chicken breast, red onion, red, orange, yellow, and green bell pepper, baby eggplants, Thai eggplants, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro, Thai basil, lime, green curry paste, chicken broth, and coconut milk. Perhaps the hardest to find ingredient in the list is the lime leaves but they are worth a trip to an Asian supermarket. They have an intense citrusy lime aroma that is hard to compare.

I started by simply stir frying all the vegetables in a very hot wok until they began to soften. Then a couple teaspoons of the curry paste and all the other aromatics such as lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and kaffir lime leaves go into the wok. Heating the curry paste up with the vegetables will give it a chance warm up and bloom its flavor a little bit.

Next we add the chicken broth, coconut milk, basil and cilantro. Once this mixture comes to a simmer we add the sliced chicken breast allow it to poach in the liquid until it is done. The lemongrass stalks can be removed from the mixture and a fresh sprinkle of basil and cilantro can be tossed in to finish the dish. I served it with lime wedges and a fresh scoop of rice from the rice cooker.

Pad See Ew

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:26:00 +0000

Last weekend I took a trip to the Asian supermarket. I found some great ingredients that will keep me cooking for a while. I brought home some Chinese broccoli, baby bok choy, Thai eggplants, Thai basil, lemongrass, baby purple eggplants, fresh bamboo shoots, fresh bean sprouts, fresh rice noodles, green and red curry pastes, coconut milk, garlic-chili sauce, and dark sweet soy sauce.

I decided the first dish I would put together would be Pad See Ew. Literally translated it means "fried with soy sauce." It is a stir fried rice noodle dish that is popular both as street vendor food in Thailand, and as a traditional Thai restaurant staple here in the United States. The basic ingredients are fresh sheets of rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, garlic, eggs, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and chicken or pork. It is a process similar to making fried rice. It can be made all at the same time in your wok or in a series of steps. I prefer to cook each ingredient separately at first and set it aside as I go so that I can make sure each is cooked the way I want it.

<---I start making the sauce by sauteing garlic in toasted sesame oil. To that I add a few tablespoons each of light and dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce. I bring it to a boil and then taste for seasoning. I usually add about a tablespoon of sugar to lighten up the taste a little bit.

The chicken, Chinese broccoli, and rice noodles take their turns getting stir fried in sesame oil.

Once the chicken, Chinese broccoli, and rice noodles have been stir fried we can assemble the dish. Everything gets tossed back into the hot wok along with the sauce. I make a opening in the bottom of the wok to add an egg. The egg gets scrambled in the wok and mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. You have to work everything together as fast as you can as the noodles will begin to soak up the sauce and the mixture will begin to thicken up quickly.
Here is the finished product. It is served with traditional Thai condiments such as sriracha (ground chili and garlic sauce).

Italian Beef Sandwiches

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:00:00 +0000

During my time in Chicago I was introduced to something that is as Chicago as the hotdog is but without the same notoriety. I am talking about the classic Italian beef sandwich. It can be found at corner hot dog huts and sandwich stands across the city. The first names that usually come to mind are Portillos or Al's #1 Italian Beef. Both of these companies have multiple locations across the Chicagoland area. The idea for the sandwich is quite simple really. It consists of very thinly sliced roast beef that is soaked in a rich beef stock that is heavily seasoned with Italian spices. The meat is piled high on fresh Italian buns. Toppings are optional and are limited to cheese and a choice of peppers (sweet bell or hot giardenara).

My choice cut of beef for this recipe is the eye of round roast. Its a little leaner than some of the other options and if you prepare it properly it makes great Italian Beef. For this recipe I started with a large 6-1/2 pound roast...I know thats big but hey its Superbowl Sunday!

How Is It Made???

First I rinse and trim the roast of any visible fat. Then the meat gets a light coating of vegetable oil followed by heavy doses of dried oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. I then sprinkle with a very light amount of salt. I give the roast a quick rub to distribute the spices evenly, and its ready for the oven.I put the roast on a rack and into a 475 degree oven for 7 minutes per pound, so 45 minutes total for this bad boy. After 45 minutes, I removed the roast from the rack and placed it in a pan with a few cups of good beef broth. I then insert my digital thermometer, wrap with foil, and return to the oven at 325 degrees. I watched the readout of my thermometer and pulled it out of the oven when it read 125 degrees in the center. I allowed the roast to rest on top of the stove under its foil tent for 30 minutes and the temperature continued to rise until it peaked at 142 degrees in the center, which is perfect for what we needed. The larger the cut of meat the more the temperature will tend to rise after pulling from the oven. I put the pan with the roast and broth into the fridge to chill until we were ready to eat. It is much easier to thinly slice meat once its given a chance to cool. In the meantime I prepared the sweet peppers by steaming green, yellow, and red bell pepper strips in a little bit of reserved beef broth.

C'mon...Lets Eat!

I removed the roast from the fridge and combined the juices from the pan with the juices from the peppers into a large pot and brought just to a boil. I then turned the heat to low. Meanwhile, its time to get out the heavy equipment. There is nothing like using a real meat slicer for when you need to finely shave meat. I have made this recipe by hand before, it just takes a little extra effort and a sharp knife. I thinly sliced the beef and added into the broth mixture to heat back up to temperature as well as soak up some of the flavors in the broth. A toasted Italian roll with provolone cheese is the perfect place to stack this creation. Pile the meat as high as you can and top it with some of the sweet peppers. Authentic Italian beef houses in Chicago will give you the option of having your bun dipped in the "gravy" or what we called the broth. We usually opt to serve the sandwich with a little cup of the broth on the side for dipping. This is big city comfort foot at its finest.

Sushi Feast

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:16:00 +0000

Saturday night Trisha and I attended a multi-course Asian themed dinner party with three other couples. My contributions were a large sushi platter and a seared sesame crusted tuna appetizer that was served over a spicy Asian vegetable slaw with a blood orange reduction.

We Are Making Sushi...

My fish was special ordered from Dirk at Dirk's Fish on Clybourn in Chicago. My order was shipped out Fedex next day Thursday night and I received in on Friday afternoon. We ordered salmon, red snapper, and two types of tuna. Dirk always does a great job of getting you what you need. I just tell him what I am making, and how many people I need to serve, and he takes care of the rest. Dirk also carries a full selection of any other types of seafood you could be looking for. The fish arrived boxed and packaged within a heavy styrofoam cooler with freezer packs.

<--The fish came trimmed and ready to use.

Cooling the rice before adding the traditional seasoning mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt -->

Tools of the trade-->

Rolling an inside-out California roll
I made a wide assortment of sushi. Pictured are traditional nigiri with tuna, salmon, and red snapper. The rolls consisted of spicy tuna, salmon, California, and inside-out California. I also made a few decorative square rolls (pictured) but they do require a little extra effort. I added a "barrier garnish" to separate the raw sushi from the California rolls, because I was not sure if everybody would be up to trying the raw fish. Of course the tray was served with the traditional accompaniments of soy sauce and wasabi. I am happy to report that we had several people try raw sushi for the first time! Everybody said that it was some of the freshest and best tasting fish they have ever had in their lives.

Seared Tuna with Spicy Asian Slaw and Blood Orange Reduction
For our first appetizer I made seared sesame crusted tuna with a spicy Asian slaw.

I started by making the slaw. It was a mix of finely shredded napa cabbage, red savory, carrots, red onion, bean sprouts, and red peppers. The dressing was a vinaigrette style made with rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds.

I made a finishing sauce for the tuna out of the juice of blood oranges. I took the juice of several blood oranges, lime zest, and a few teaspoons of sugar and reduced it by about half over medium heat on the stove. In another saucepan I sauteed ginger and garlic in toasted sesame seed oil until the garlic just started to brown. I de-glazed the pan with a little sauvignon blanc and soy sauce. I then combined the two pans into one and let it simmer until it reached a slightly thicker consistency.

For the tuna, I used the same fresh sushi grade tuna that I used to make the nigiri and sushi rolls with. I started by quickly marinating the tuna in the same vinaigrette used for the slaw, and then crusting it with toasted sesame seeds. It was then quickly seared on both sides on a hot griddle. We removed the tuna from the griddle while the inside was still perfectly rare. I served the tuna family style over the Asian slaw with a light drizzle of the blood orange reduction.

The Rest of the Story...
What really made the dinner lots of fun was that other guests also contributed with their own great dishes as well. Here are details of our other courses.

Egg Drop Soup

Traditional freshly made egg drop soup garnished with green onions.

Pot Stickers with Plum Sauce and Chinese Mustard

Wonton wrapped pork dumplings that are fried and then perfectly steamed.

Beef with Cashews and Snow Peas

Thinly sliced beef sauteed with garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, cashews and snow peas. This was outstanding. For many of us it was the first time we have had the combination of beef with cashews and it went together well.

We finished off the evening with a refreshing homemade lychee nut ice cream and fortune cookies. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much at the dinner that we are already trying to decide what our next theme will be!

Babyback Ribs - Two Ways

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:53:00 +0000

In Search of Perfect Ribs.....

I decided Saturday night would be rib night. I received Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA cookbook for Christmas and it was time to try some recipes. I went with 2 different recipes. A dry rub style and a jalapeno jerk style with a homemade pineapple-ginger bbq sauce. I did each recipe with one rack of baby back ribs- back membrane removed. Here are my results...

The jerk ribs were marinated in a mix of pineapple juice, jalapenos and cilantro for 4 hours. To the right is a picture of the bbq sauce started with pineapple juice, fresh ginger, and cilantro.

Rubbed and ready...

Starting the coals... I use a mix of natural lump hardwood charcoal and traditional briquettes to get the best of both worlds. The lump burns quicker and hotter, while the briquettes will last a little longer.

The perfect smoking temperature. 225-250F. 3-4 hours at this temperature delivers perfect results.

I cooked these using indirect heat on a rib rack over a water filled drip pan. Twice during cooking I added some wet mesquite wood chips to the coals.

The perfect rib? Juicy, pulls away from the bone, and there is a noticeable pink smoke ring.
We came away very impressed with both recipes. The dry rubbed ribs were great and Trisha said that the jalapeno jerk ribs were the most flavorful meat she has ever tasted.

The Chili Cookoff

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:38:00 +0000

So my church hosted a chili cook off that raises money for habitat for humanity. Of course I had to enter. I entered last year and did not place in the top three. It was a hearty chili made with shredded beef, homemade ancho chili powder, with a hint of cocoa. I got rave reviews but no dice in the judging corner. This year I took a different approach. Fat is flavor. I made a white chicken chili.

I started by rendering some bacon. (how many great recipes start with this step?)
Sauteed celery, green pepper, and onion until soft.
I roasted a a few of each of the following peppers in the oven. Poblano, Anaheim, Serrano, and Jalapeno. I let the rest in a plastic bag after roasting to make it easier to remove the skin then I chopped them up and added to the chili.
Added a couple cloves of chopped garlic.
Added chicken stock, tomatillo salsa, and green enchilada sauce.
Seasoned with cumin, salt, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and dried oregano.
Added seasoned and grilled chicken breasts, that were diced into chunks.
Finished by added cream cheese, the reserved bacon bits, and shredded Monterrey jack cheese.

This recipe was enough to win first place with the judges, land me a silver spoon trophy, and send me onto the city championship on 2/28/09. I will keep you updated on how I do.

Oysters.....

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Ahh...Oysters. If you have never tried them raw, or have not tried them lately you should. There is nothing better than a fresh oyster on the half shell with a light squeeze of lemon and a small dollop of cocktail sauce. One thing that I don't think people realize is the broad variety of oysters that are available. Do not let one bad oyster ruin it for you. They can very greatly in size, shape, and texture between East and West coast varietals. While most raw oysters do have a soft and slippery texture that some people do not care for, there are those that are a little more on the dry and meaty side. The most delicious and meatiest oysters that I recall having were actually from Louisiana and not the traditional Eastcoast Chesapeake variety you may think of. You can always start small with fried oysters or everyone's favorite Oysters Rockefeller. In this style they are actually baked in the shell with bread crumbs, spinach, parmesan cheese, and bacon.

These oysters pictured were fresh from Raymor's Fish Products in Muskegon. These were flown in fresh just after Christmas this year and were outstandingly fresh and tasty.

Prime Rib

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Hoffman) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 20:11:00 +0000

There is nothing quite like the classic prime rib. Prime rib is something that anybody can make at home with steakhouse quality results. First make sure you are starting with a quality cut and grade of beef. You are looking for a quality bone-in rib eye roast. The grades of beef that you will find in the supermarket are typically going to be Prime, Choice, and Select. Only 2-3% of the beef produced in the U.S. is graded out as Prime, and typically it is only found in the high end restaurants and butcher shops. I have always had great results with the Choice Black Angus cuts that we find locally here at Plumbs Markets. A call ahead to the butcher will land you a nice roast that is pre-strung, trimmed, and ready for the oven like the one pictured below. I always order the roasts from the smaller end meaning bones 10-12. This gives you a nice sized 3 rib roast like the one pictured. (Do not be afraid to ask your butcher for help.) The meat at this end is still very well marbled but will not have that very large vein of fat running through it that you can get with some cheaper end roasts.

It is worth grinding your own spices to get a really flavorful spice rub. For prime rib I use a mix of kosher salt, rosemary,black peppercorns, and coriander. Grinding the spices a little will allow them to release all of their flavors. The coriander is one of my favorite spices to use fresh ground. It is actually the seed of the cilantro plant and has a similar peppery citrus flavor.

The easy way to make prime rib is to liberally coat the outside with vegetable or olive oil and your fresh spice rub. If using olive oil use a lighter style versus an extra virgin variety as it my actually burn at the high temperatures. I start the roast out at 475 degrees for 30 minutes and the lower the temperature down to 325 degrees. I use a digital thermometer and pull the roast when the center internal temperature is around 135 degrees. Then I tent the roast with some foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. The internal temperature of the roast will continue to rise during this time. You will be left with something for everybody. Medium-well ends and a perfect medium-rare center.

My favorite side dish to serve with beef is a classic potato gratin. It is layers of thinly sliced potatoes, onions, Parmesan cheese, fresh thyme, and cream. I like to use these small cast iron pans for individual serving dishes.

Here is a look at the final plate. We served this with homemade rosemary focaccia bread, sauteed button mushrooms, roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, and the potato gratin. Of course it would not be complete with out a little au jus and fresh horseradish sauce on the side.