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New inspiration. New recipe. Great results. In an attempt to move away from my fail safe asian style marinade, I grabbed a bunch of citrus and fresh ginger and ran from there. On sale at the market was some pork shoulder cut into country style ribs. Great for grilling, and great for marinades. Since the marinade was an experiment, it took a while to get it to taste the way I wanted it too. Starting with the juice of 4 fresh lemons, I then added the equivalent of fresh orange juice. A little bit of honey, and then a lot of diced fresh ginger went into the mixture. Building on the flavor, I added some fresh cilantro (stems too because it helps with flavoring), and then just a touch of soy sauce, which turned into a bit more than a touch. I then added a couple spoon-fulls of white miso paste and finished with just a touch of sesame oil. The marinade was tasting great. The pork sat over night before it hit the grill.
Building on this meal, I wanted to do my no-mayo coleslaw but with some added twists. In the salad went shredded carrots, red cabbage, sliced radishes, cilantro leaves, thinly sliced jalepenos, and some diced mango. Dressed with a mango vinaigrette (mango, lemon juice, balsamic, olive oil, salt, pepper), and some red wine vinegar. This salad was the perfect compliment to the pork.
To finish off the meal, the pork was grilled, and the marinade was set on the stove to reduce. I added a bit of brown sugar and some sirracha to help the process. The marinade was outstanding.
Playfully added to the table was some butter lettuce and lightly seasoned rice. Wraps were made, and conversation was low. This meal turned out fabulous. Thanks to Ali, Jerry, Nick, & Keith for joining me!
In the middle of winter, sometimes you need to cook a summer meal. I have done variations on this before, however this time I decided to try the marinade from scratch and let the steak sit for at least 24 hours. Dijon mustard being the main ingredient and spice, I decided to add some fresh dill and build from there. Then some honey, lemon juice, worcestershire, a little bit of vegetable oil, and green onions. Then a few dashes of balsamic to finish it off. Letting it sit, the meat came out beautifully tender and delicious.
In accompanyment to the meat, I took some fresh ciabatta coated it in olive oil & rosemary and set it on the grill. I love grilled bread, and add a small salad of arugula and this meal is a winner.
Browsing through the TV one evening, I came across a short and sweet recipe for bar nuts. Yeah, kind of an odd thing, but it looked real simple and really delicious. Basically finding some decent assortment of mixed nuts, ideally unsalted, but lightly salted will do the trick, and putting them on a sheet pan in the oven at 350*. While they are warming up, add some butter, salt, cayenne pepper, brown sugar and fresh rosemary to a bowl. Once the nuts are nice and warm (without burning) add them to the bowl and mix. Simple as that. The result is a snack that you cant stop shoveling in your mouth!
A semi new tradition has emerged on America's sacred sunday in my group of friends. We gather around the tv, turn the volume way too high, and indulge in our favorite sport game eats. Last year I started making fried chicken. It quickly became a new tradition. Here is a pic from this years cooking line. Also not to be forgotton are game day nachos. A team effort between myself & Chris, these nachos are almost always present for Sunday football watching. Always at the first 49er game, and always at the super bowl. Great sunday guys!
Call it an early wake up, or the presence of 36 eggs in the fridge, I went out and tried something I've been wanting to make ever since visiting Spain.
My first attempt at a Spanish omelet, or Tortilla. Simple ingredients treated well and cooked slow. Started by adding shallots and thin slices of peeled potatoes to a pan with olive oil & butter. sauteed and covered to soften the potatoes. Once cooked, this was added to 8 eggs beaten with about a 1/4 cup of milk. The mixture was added back to the pan and slow cooked for about 20 min, until the eggs set. Then in traditional style, a plate on top of the pan to assist the flip of the omelet. For the 1st attempt, only a few potatoes leaked out.
Garnished with some fresh spinach sauteed in olive oil & a touch of garlic. And of course, hot sauce. People were fighting for the last piece. Next time, add bacon.
I don't often cook a large vegetarian meal mainly because I like meat too much. However, when a good friend comes to visit, who is a vegetarian, my skills get tested a bit. My dear friend Regina and her boyfriend Rachid came over to do some riding in north lake this past Thursday. With more than one vegetarian at the dinner table, my menu was amended to meet their needs. The two main dishes created for this evenings events were a butternut & acorn squash soup, and a asparagus & mushroom risotto.
The soup base was prepped the evening before by roasting the squash with some brown sugar, nutmeg, and butter. They were halved and placed skin up on a roasting pan with a bit of water in the basin. 400* for an hour and they came out beautiful. Finishing the soup by softening some shallots in olive oil, the base was added with ladles of veggie stock. Blended and finished with heavy cream. The soup (which would have easily fed 12) was completely finished by the end of the meal.
The risotto was simple, but difficult to time due to altitude. Mushrooms & asparagus added to the rice with some veggie stock and finished with some parmesan cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil.
For the experimental course, I tried to steal a dish made by the Lone Eagle Grill in Incline. Portabellos smothered in goat cheese, dredged in panko and then fried. Served with a simple tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes, and a baby spinach salad. This was a hit, and a keeper. Gone before I could even grab a second bite!
Simply added to the main course for the meat eaters was a few king crab legs which were conveniently on sale at Safeway.
What seemed like 8 bottles of wine later, a fabulous dinner with great music and conversation!
First and foremost, a huge thank you goes out to Brody for his incredible hospitality. Brody, thank you for opening your beautiful home and awesome kitchen to me. After a mellow day on the slopes, and a large evening the night before, we decided to cook in. Brody was gracious enough to thaw out a beautiful whole beef tenderloin strip. Essentially 8 pounds of filet mignon. Also on the menu to go with the filet was some brussle sprouts and yams. I had fun creating this menu. Lets start with the fliet...
Instead of just wrapping it in bacon, I used a rub I have tried before but never with this quality piece of meat. Coffee (espresso roast), brown sugar, nutmeg and cayenne pepper was mixed together and then coated the tenderloin (note: I wanted to add some cocoa powder to the mix but totally forgot until half way through the meal). With the fat trimmings, I made a simple beef stock with an addition of medium sherry. This would help flavor the sauce. For the sauce, just a simple balsamic reduction with some of the beef stock added. Also to the sauce, I added a couple pinches of the coffee rub (next time, I will add a few shots of espresso). This beautiful meat was lightly seared, the roasted at 400* for 35 min. Perfectly medium rare.
The yams. Probably my favorite creation of the night. Taking a page out of Iron Chef 2, I roasted the yams then mashed. Added bourbon, butter, brown sugar, cream, salt and a dash of cayenne. Bourbon and yams are friends. Next time, adding bacon!
Lastly were the brussle sprouts. Pan cooked with bacon and a little butter & salt. They added a perfect compliment to the steak & yams.
The wonderful meal was not without incredible wine. Brody and Travis picked up 3 fabulous bottles. Wine lovers - buy Altamera. Wow.
And then, an hour or so after our 2nd glass of scotch I stumbled through making dessert. Grilled peaches with a balsamic-honey whipped cream. Awesome meal. Awesome company. Thanks Brody! I'm looking forward to cooking in your kitchen again soon.
