New Eats

Peppered Bacon Mary

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:18:00 +0000

Ingredients:

fresh ground black pepper
1 oz bacon flavored vodka
8 oz tomato juice
bacon strip
medium tomato

Prep: In frying pan, fry a strip of bacon until crisp. Consider using a weighted bacon press to keep it flatter. Drain. Consider using bacon strip while still warm for added flavor!

Add 10-15 grinds of black pepper to glass. Add bacon flavored vodka. Combine with tomato juice. Garnish with bacon strip and fresh tomato and a grind of black pepper.

Bacon Vodka Smootie

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:31:00 +0000

Ingredients

6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup bacon flavored vodka
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
ice cubes

combine all together in blender. blend. drink.

* makes two servings, and yes, it's "smootie"

Bacon Vodka Screwdriver

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:24:00 +0000

Ingredients:
orange juice
bacon strip
bacon flavored vodka
ice

Prep: In frying pan, fry a strip of bacon until crisp. Consider using a weighted bacon press to keep it flatter. Drain and cool bacon.

In a 6oz glass, fill with ice. Add 1 oz of bacon flavored vodka (or two if you LOVE bacon!) and fill with orange juice. Nibble on the bacon strip as you enjoy!

Bison Burgers & Buffalo Nachos

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:19:00 +0000

Bison Burger

1 lb ground bison
medium white onion
worcestershire sauce
1-2 cloves of garlic

coarsely chop half white onion, slice garlic, a few shakes of worcestershire sauce and combine with ground bison. create patties and grill as normal. top with lettuce, tomato, bbq sauce

Buffalo Nachos

1 bag plain or buffalo wing flavored tortilla chips
1 lb ground bison
1 lb cheddar cheese
celery
white onion
ranch dressing
buffalo wing hot sauce

cook ground bison in frying pan. place tortilla chips on oven sheet. cover with cheese and bison. add chopped onion and buffalo wing sauce. cook 400 degrees until cheese is melted. top with ranch dressing and chopped celery.

* Tip: serve with Guiness draught!

Tiki Torches

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:47:00 +0000

Ingredients:

fresh pineapple
coconut or dark rum
brown sugar
skewer sticks

Directions:

Cut fresh pineapple into large cubes. Ideally about 1.5" x 1.5" (maybe 2"x2")... large pieces anyway. Place in a bowl or tray where you can soak them in the dark rum. Ideally soak them overnight in the freezer, but a couple hours in the fridge should do as well. When ready to cook, place 3-4 pieces onto the skewers. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Grill on high for a few minutes until warm and slightly charred.

Warning: the alcohol may ignite and flare up during cooking. Especially with the dark rum. But that's half the fun, and why they're called Tiki Torches. they will ignite and flame a bit until the alcohol is burned out.

I prefer these frozen, then grilled so they will be warm on the outside and cool in the middle.

Salmon Bean Chili

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Ingredients
1 can salmon
1 can pinto beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
i can black beans
1 oz of hot sauce
juice of 1 lime
fresh ground black pepper
salt

Directions
Combine all into saucepan, drain salmon but do not drain beans. Stir to breakup salmon. Simmer until thickened, season with salt and pepper to taste.

V8 Barley Soup

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:09:00 +0000

Ingredients:

1 cup dried pearl barley
1 cup rice
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
salt
pepper
dried basil
12 oz V8 juice
water
chives

Directions:
Put about 4 cups water into large pot. Boil and add barley and a few pinches of salt. This should cook for about 30 minutes to soften the barley. Add rice and cook for another 10-15 minutes or so, until rice and barley are al dente, or almost done. Add about 10 grinds of fresh pepper, 3-4 shakes of basil and the vegetables. Add more water as needed or boil it off to create the consistency you desire. More water will be more soup-like, or if you boil more off, it will be a thicker stew. Once you have your desired thickness, stir in the V8 and cook a minute or so more to make sure everything's heated.

garnish with fresh chives, and salt & pepper to taste

PB & Brown Sugar Oatmeal

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:44:00 +0000

I created a spontaneous concoction this morning...

3/4 c plain quick oats oatmeal
1 spoonful of brown sugar
1 spoonful of crunchy peanut butter (or smooth)

Put oatmeal in bowl. Add brown sugar, then get your spoonful of peanut butter. Add boiling water, and stir all together with the peanut butter spoon.

Add some banana slices if you'd like!

Korean BBQ

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:36:00 +0000

This is a recipe that I recently learned while scuba diving! After we'd done a couple of dives, one of the student diver's husbands had hot, fresh Korean BBQ waiting for us... right off the grill!

Ingredients
1c sugar
1c water
1c soy sauce
4-5 cloves fresh garlic
fresh grated ginger
1/2c chopped green onions / chives
2-3 tbsp sesame oil
1 onion, diced or food-processored
1 lb short ribs, ideally sliced the long way as to eliminate the bones. however any thin sliced beef will do. or other meat for that matter.

combine all ingredients and let the meat marinate in this for 6-24 hours. (I chose to take this camping and put it all in a wide-mouthed, 32oz water bottle) keep chilled while marinating. when time to cook, remove meat from bottle and grill it to medium or however you like it.

Rum Yukka / (original) Yukka

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:40:00 +0000

I recently learned of this "tradition"... I've put the original below, but have also tweaked it a bit for my personal tastes.

Rum Yukka

1 handle coconut rum
4-5 large limes or 1 fresh chopped pineapple*
1 cup sugar
ice
sun tea container (1 gallon or so) with dispensing spout

* if fresh pineapple isn't available, or not very juicy, consider using 100% pure chunked pineapple from a can. One 16oz can should work well.

Put the rum and sugar in the container. half the limes, squeeze the juice into the container and toss in the rest of the lime. fill with ice (this should end up filling the container).

Next, take the container around to everyone at the party. have them give the container some shakes. you might wrap the container with a towel, as it will become cold and possibly slippery. after EVERYONE has done their shakes, time to drink! keep shaking to mix well and to help the juice come out of the fruit.

How to drink the Yukka.

Have a server and a recipient. The recipient sits in a chair, head tilted back, mouth open. The server holds the container over their mouth and pushes the dispense spout button. When the recipient's mouth is full or when they don't want anymore, they "tap out" by tapping the server. Consider using the shake towel as the ceremonial Yukka bib incase there is any miscommunication with the tap out.

Enjoy!

***

Original Yukka

1 handle Vodka
2-3 large lemons
1 cup sugar
ice
sun tea container (1 gallon or so) with dispensing spout

Put the vodka and sugar in the container. half or quarter the lemons, squeeze the juice into the container and toss in the rest of the lemon. fill with ice (this should end up filling the container).

Next, take the container around to everyone at the party. have them give the container some shakes. you might wrap the container with a towel, as it will become cold and possibly slippery. after EVERYONE has done their shakes, time to drink! keep shaking to mix well and to help the juice come out of the fruit.

***

As usual feel free to try your favorite alcohol and fruit.

Strawberry Shortcake (drink)

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:41:00 +0000

Ingredients:
3-4 scoops vanilla ice cream (or strawberry ice cream)
1 cup milk
fresh strawberries
1 oz amaretto
whipped cream

blend ice cream, milk, a few straberries and amaretto to create a milkshake. garnish with whipped cream and a strawberry.

enjoy!

Fire Shot / Fire Bomb

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:34:00 +0000

Fire Shot

Ingredients:
tapatio
vodka
lime (juice)

In a shot glass, fill about 3/4 full with vodka. shake in 5 shakes of tapatio. squeeze lime juice over top. Enjoy!

Fire Bomb
For the Fire Bomb, make the Fire Shot and then drop it into a glass of your favorite beer! Enjoy!

Fire Brittle

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:55:00 +0000

Ingredients:
Peanut Prittle recipe
2 tsp chipotle powder

Take your favorite peanut brittle recipe. Follow as directed. When at the point of adding peanuts, add chipotle powder. Finish as directed.

The chipotle will add heat in the middle/back of your mouth. For a more front-of-mouth heat, use cayenne powder instead. Or add one teaspoon of each for a little bit of both.

Recipe courtesy of Michael Dambach.

Chicken, Bean & Pasta Salad

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:44:00 +0000

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can corn
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (12.5 oz) can chunk chicken
8 oz fusilli (spiral) pasta
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil

directions:
cook pasta as directed on package. put cooked pasta into large glass bowl. add cans of drained beans/chicken to bowl. salt and pepper to taste. add a few tablespoons of olive oil, or keep one of the cans un-drained and add that, juice and all. combine. serve hot or cold.

variation:
for a bit of heat/spice add a tablespoon (or more to taste) of your favorite hot sauce like tapatio and mix in.

Yorkies

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:30:00 +0000

ingredients:
Brownie mix
mini-muffin pan
York peppermint patties

instructions:
Make your brownie batter according to the instructions. spoon batter into mini-muffin pan (not quite to the top). cut peppermint patty into quarters or thirds, and place them point-down into each . cook about 25 minutes. try to err on the side of over cooking (without burning!) as the mini-muffin pan will create a virtually all-edge brownie... and with a peppermint patty center!

wait until brownies have fully cooled to remove from pan. to help, try slowly twisting them in the pan before removing.

variations:
substitute the peppermint patty with your favorite chocolatey candy: flavored hershey kisses, mint m&ms, white chocolate chunks, carmels, peanut butter cups, etc.

Pummelo Colada

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:24:00 +0000

Per serving:
1 oz rum
1 Pummelo fruit / juice
Pinq Colada mix
ice

make your basic pina colada, but substitute 1 oz of the pina colada mix with 1 oz of freshly squeezed pummelo juice (or substitute equal parts mix/juice to taste... depending on your pummelo, you might use a whole fruit worth of juice). don't forget your rum! serve blended or over ice.

the pummelo is sweet grapefruit sized citrus fruit, nicely sweet, not very tart. a pummelo is to a grapefruit, what a meyer lemon is to a lemon.

alternately, you can use any sweet citrus fruit juice... orange, pineapple, meyer lemon, etc.

Irish Car Bomb Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:55:00 +0000

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1 oz / 1 shot) of Bailey's Irish Creme
1 cup Guiness
1 cup white granulated sugar
"just-add-water" pancake mix
maple syrup (optional)

Bailey's Irish Pancakes
Mix one serving (2-4 pancakes) of your pancake mix, substituting 1/4 cup of the water for the irish creme. Cook as directed.

Guiness (Simple) Syrup
Mix one cup of sugar with one cup of Guiness in saucepan. Heat and stir about 10-15 minutes until it thickens. Very similar to a simple syrup. For stronger flavor add more Guiness or to tone down the flavor, mix together equal parts maple syrup with the Guiness syrup. Caution: when heating the guiness and sugar, it boils/foams up easily. keep on medium-high or slightly lower heat.

Enjoy your ICB pancakes!

Pumpkin Pie Brulee

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:43:00 +0000

Ingredients:

1 pumpkin pie (already made)
3" mini pie crusts/tarts shells
white granulated sugar
butane torch
egg nog (optional)

Scoop out pie filling from pumpkin pie. Spoon filling into small shells until full and smooth out top. Sprinkle sugar on top of mini-pies and shake off excess. There should be a light layer of sugar covering the top. Use the torch to melt and carmelize the sugar until it is melted and brownish. Let cool.

Serve cold or warm it up. Goes well with a small glass of egg nog.

Peanut Butter Fudge

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:59:00 +0000

Chunky & Chocolate
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 oz powdered sugar
6 oz dark chocolate

Creamy Coconut
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp coconut extract
16 oz powdered sugar
1 cup flaked coconut

For either recipe:
Put butter (chopped) and peanut butter in large microwave safe bowl. Cover with plasic wrap, poke a few holes in the wrap and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove and stir to help combine. Microwave an additional 2 minutes. Add extract. Sift powdered sugar into liquid and stir until all combined and has a dull looking texture. If adding coconut, add about 3/4 cup of it to the mix and combine, leaving 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top later.

Line a 8x8 dish with wax paper and press & smooth mixture into the dish. Sprinkle with coconut or if using the chocolate: melt chocolate in a double boiler for a few minutes until smooth. Pour chocolate over the top of the fudge in dish. Store in fridge until chocolate is cool.

Store in fridge.

Suggestions:
Use wooden / bamboo spoon for stirring. Use all natural peanut butter and dark chocolate for a slightly "healthier" fudge.

Pieces de Vu

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:29:00 +0000

Ingredients
1 cantaloupe, sliced and sectioned
1 pkg proscuitto
1 container fresh olive-sized mozzarella balls (plain, not marinated)
Colored toothpicks

Cut cantaloupe in half, long-ish way. Scoop out all the seeds and insides. Cut each half into about 5 crescents. Cut the rind away from each crecent and then cut each crecent into about 6 cube-ish pieces. Feel free to snack on the tips of the crecents as you go! Set these all aside on your serving dish.

As you go, cut the proscuitto into 2"x4" pieces or so. Next, fold or wrinkle the piece of proscuitto and stick it with a toothpick. Next put a mozzarella ball on one end of the toothpick. Finally poke the toothpick into a cantaloupe piece, mozzarella ball side up so you have cantaloupe on bottom, proscuitto in the middle and mozzarella ball on top.

Hopefully you will have a little bit of toothpick sticking out of the top to act as a pickup point (and some party color). And depending on the size of your cantaloupe and mozzarella balls, cut sizes accordingly.

When eating, try to get the whole thing in your mouth at the same time. The proscuitto adds just a hint of salt to the cantaloupe and finishes with a great taste of cheese goodness.

* "Pieces de Vu" came from a dream when I was trying to figure out a name for these. Loosely translated it means: highly regarded pieces

Patty Pocket

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:39:00 +0000

9" tortilla / wrap (warmed)
3-4" cooked burger patty (approx 1" thick, meat of your choice)
sliced cheese, tomato, onions, lettuce
other burger condiments

mix up your favorite recipe for a burger. create patties about 1" thick and 3-4" around. cook on grill as usual. when burger is ready, place warmed tortilla (if not warm, it may crack/break when folding) on plate and place burger at the 6 o'clock position. fold left third of totilla over middle third. fold right third over middle third. fold top half of tortilla (12 o'clock position) over the bottom half (6 o'clock position).

you now have a patty pocket! one half of your pocket will have the burger and you will have another half of the pocket to put in your favorite toppings and condiments. place in one hand and enjoy! notice there are no open edges for your toppings or juice to drip out!

after you've mastered the art of the fold, feel free to boast to others the pure genius of your perfect patty pocket:
"it's more fun without the bun!"
"if you don't fold it right, you can't hold it right!"
"the meat's in a pleat and the veggie's in a wedgie!"

Tapatio Mary

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:00:00 +0000

12 oz tomato/vegetable juice
1 oz vodka
juice 1/2 lime
tapatio
celery
ice

this isn't much of a remaking of a bloody mary, but just the way i make them.

put tomato juice in a glass with ice. add the vodka and lime juice. finally add 3-5 shakes of tapatio hot sauce. stir together with celery stalk. enjoy!

Basil Jack Scallops

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:16:00 +0000

Ingredients:

large scallops
fresh lime
fresh basil, chopped
pepper jack cheese

heat olive oil in frying pan and begin to brown scallops on one side. medium heat, about 5 minutes or when browned on bottom. squeeze lime juice over scallops while browning. flip scallops and squeeze fresh lime on browned side. (feel free to add any extra lime juice to oil while cooking for added flavor) place a pinch or two of the fresh basil on top of the scallops, and then place a small slice of pepper jack on top of the basiled scallop. cover to finish browning and help melt the cheese a bit. serve and add some fresh ground pepper to taste.

Soda Swizzler

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:59:00 +0000

Favorite can of soda pop
Fruit popcicle

On a hot summer day, take a can of your favorite soda pop and cool it down while giving it some flavor. Choose a cola or a lemon-lime (even diet). Pour the can into a pint glass. Take your favorite fruit popcicle (whole or half-bar style) and stick it upside-down into the glass of soda. Use it to stir and add flavor to your soda as it melts and cools your soda instead of ice.

Try these flavor combinations:
Cola soda & lime popcicle
Lemon-lime soda & cherry popcicle
Root beer soda & coconut popcicle
Orange soda & orange creamcicle
Cola soda & fudge popcicle

Brer Rabbit: Tar Baby style

noreply@blogger.com (tomeloph) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:13:00 +0000

Ingredients
1 rabbit (approx 3 lbs), quartered
1 bunch rainbow carrots

Tar Baby sauce
1/2 cup molasses
Juice of one large orange
A few spoons of brown sugar

Tangy Tar Baby rub (optional)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp brown sugar
(this rub will cover one of the rabbit quarters. multiply the rub recipie by the number of quarters you wish to season)

Directions
Mix sauce ingredients in bowl. Set aside.

Combine rub ingredients and mix thourghly. Apply rub to rabbit. Press / rub thouroughly. You can do this a few hours ahead of time to allow it to marinate a bit. Keep refrigerated until ready to cook.

Set grill heat to low and place rabbit on grill. It's best to cook slowly and with indirect heat to prevent over drying of the meat. While grilling, brush on sauce. Brush on multiple coats as you flip, until covered. Cook about 20 minutes, but be sure to check with thermometer (~160 degrees) to determine doneness.

A carrots to grill and cook them as well. They will take about the same time to cook, depending on their size. Cut large carrots in half long-ways to cook quicker.

Grill over mesquite wood or with mesquite chips for extra flavor.

On left: with Tangy Tar Baby rub
On right: Tar Baby style (no rub)