Twisted BLT

Started off infusing a bit of oil with some garlic. Just simmer the garlic til soft and the oil will be ready (so will the garlic)


Once cool put the garlic along with some egg yolks in a food processor and pulse to puree and combine. Add some of the garlic oil and pulse til a very tasty garlic aioli is ready.


Next step Or maybe I did this first... Cut some roma or plum tomatoes in half lengthwise. Top with a sliver of garlic, dried oregano, olive oil and salt.


Place in a 250 oven and cook till reduced in size and slightly dried. The flavor will be intense. They almost did not make the sandwich as I could not stop snacking.


Bought some fresh pork belly. Seasoned with salt and pepper and threw them onto the grill. Watch for flare ups as the fat melts. Talk about flame grilled.


Alongside the pork belly I grilled some endive. Great flavor off the grill.


Finally I made the sandwich. A good flat bread, some of the aioli, couple pieces of pork, a couple dried tomatoes and the endive. Was so very tasty!!!


Not really colorful but the flavor was off the charts.

Spicy Beer Boiled Shrimp

Kinda threw this one together on the fly. Had a recipe but did not bother to follow.

Start by sauteing a couple onions and a pound of hot sausage cut into chunks in butter.


Add in Sweet Potatoes and corn on the cob. Both cut into smaller pieces




Pour in 2 bottles of an Ale or other strong flavored beer and add 1/2 a cabbage cut into chunks.


Stir in a tablespoon of Garlic Chile paste, a Tablespoon of Chili Flakes and some Old Bay Seasoning.


When potatoes and Cabbage are tender add one pound of shrimp.


Throw in some lemon wedges and cook till shrimp are done. This won't take long.


Feel free to serve this over rice or with some big wedges of bread to soak up the broth. The end result was a spicy, sweet, citrusy (Is that a word?) broth with loads of fantastic vegetables, tasty sausage and perfect shrimp. Grab a couple extra paper towels and use your fingers to enjoy this meal.

Been busy and not posting... Sorry!!!

No recipes today. Just a simple method to make an incredible Steak dinner in an Italian style.

Made an excursion to Mazzaros (Italian Market) yesterday got some stuff and was inspired to create an Italian style steak dinner.

First up is a fine Strip steak. (aka. new york strip) I read or heard some time ago that a Tuscan style of grilling such a steak included grilling it, slicing thin, topping with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt and a nice squeeze of lemon.Whether this is authentic or not I am not sure. (If not Italians should jump on it and claim it for it is brilliantly good) I modified this by marinating the Steak in Olive oil, Salt (I found a nice Sicilian Sea Salt at the market), Black Pepper and fresh Rosemary. A fine cut of meat should not be drowned in heavy marinades. This simple marinade respects the meat and enhances it rather then overwhelm and cover.


Once ready I got the veggies prepped. A couple good tomatoes, a bunch of scallions and a few chiles. I also had a nice Pugliese loaf. I sliced this on the bias. Brushed with oil and grilled. Once it was finished I moved the bread to the warming rack and topped with a slice of Lardo. This was my first time trying Lardo and I am in love.


All that remains is for the steak to be perfectly grilled. So far its looking righteous.


Loving the grill marks.


The completed plate. Finished the steak with a squeeze of grilled lemon and fantastic sea salt.
The tomatoes became part of a simple salad with fresh basil and chunks of a fresh mozzarella that had been made hours prior at Mazzaros. Incredible cheese!!!!!!!! A nice drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some more sea salt.

Top with the other grilled veggies and bread. Dinner is served.

Enjoying the pizza kick I am on I decided to try making a calzone. Never had made one before so I kinda made it up as I went along.

I had made a sauce a few days ago for a couple Pizza's. Had plenty of that sauce left over so I was set in the sauce department. As for the filling I had a bit of fun. I started off with some onions and garlic sauteing in olive oil.


To it I added a half pound of mixed mushrooms. This mix included: Oyster, Cremini, Shitake and Baby Bella's.


Once the mushrooms had cooked down I added Mache (Mache is a small leafy green with a slight bitter/peppery flavor similar to Arugula. It is also known as Rocket.)


Cook till the Mache is wilted down and add some sauce. Not too much though.


Let that cool and take care of your crust. Roll the dough out into a thin circle. Add topping to half of it and add some Mozzarella.




Cook on a preheated pizza stone @450 degrees 15 to 20 minutes. I cut a couple slits in the top to allow steam to escape. A bit of the sauce did as well. Notta Problem.


Remove when crust is done on the top and bottom. The sauce will be bubbling as well.


The crust had a nice crumb to it.


Let cool for 5 minutes, Slice and serve with a little bit of the sauce..


This is an easy dish to make. Very flavorful and to me wasn't very heavy. Really enjoyed making this and will again soon.

Simplicity...

Simplicity...

Corn on the cob grilled with a little Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Anaheim Chiles with the same.

THICK cut bone in pork chop rubbed with Spicy Chile Sauce and soy sauce.

Absofreakinglutely incredible meal.

I must say that the simple things in life are often the most rewarding.

Who needs potato chips?

Looking for a healthy snack I came across this tasty treat. Tangy Marinated Vegetables. You could use any assortment of veggies. I used broccolli, baby bellas and carrot sticks. I also threw in a few handfuls of raw garlic.

Marinade

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbs. dried oregano
• 2 Tbs. dried basil
• 2 Tbs. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Vegetables

• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup carrot sticks or baby carrots
• 1 cup small button mushrooms, halved
• 1/2 cup Garlic Cloves
  

Directions

To make Marinade:

1. Whisk together all ingredients in large bowl.

2. Pour Marinade into 1-quart canning jar with lid or large resealable plastic bag. Add all Vegetables, and shake to coat.

3. Refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight, shaking mixture occasionally. Enjoy straight out of jar, like pickles.

Pork and Pineapple Tacos

YUM!!!

Buddy of mine cooks for Whole Foods in D.C. Today he posted a recipe for these tacos but the pork was not seasoned and it was broiled rather then grilled. All day at work today I thought about this recipe and made changes in my mind.

First I cut up some pineapple and coated it with some siracha and grilled it along with onions that had a nice coating of Worcestershire. I wanted to soften both and add a bit of flavorful char to the outside.


Next I rubbed some porkchops with cumin and lime and grilled til just done.


To finish I grilled some flour tortillas.


The tortillas were filled with some of the sliced pork, a couple spoonfulls of the pineapple and onion (which were chopped along with some cilantro) and a bit of fresh salsa from Publix.


A close up view. Although simple in nature these tacos were bursting with flavor. Sweet, Salty, and Spicy all at the same time. Also very simple and quick to make.

Asain inspired beef.

After seeing a picture with no explanation on another cooking blog I got an idea stuck in my head. Thank you, Harris Salat.

I got some thinly sliced top round and cut in half. Laid some trimmed asparagus on top along with a drizzle of sesame oil and soy. This was rolled up and sprinkled with sesame seeds and an Asian chile blend (that's what is in the fancy wood shaker, Thanks Sis!).


Cook on a hot grill till the asparagus just gets tender.


Serve with rice (If you can find it after your move, which I could not do) and with some good Kim Chi.

Carne de Res con Col (Ground Beef with Cabbage)

Carne de Res con Col
(Ground Beef with Cabbage)

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
6 peppercorns
salt to taste
1 lb ground sirloin with a little fat
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
2 jalapeno chile, sliced
6 oz tomatoes, finely chopped
4 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 cup cooked Navy beans
2/3 cups Stock
1/2 cup firmly packed, roughly chopped cilantro


Crush the garlic, peppercorns and salt together and mix well into the beef. Set aside for a few minutes to season.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet, add the onion, chile and a sprinkle of salt, and cook over medium heat until the onions is translucent, about 1 minute.


Add the tomatoes and continue cooking until most of the juice has been absorbed, about 3 minutes.


Stir the meat into the pan and cook over fairly high heat, stirring from time to time, about 7 minutes.


Add the cabbage, beans, water and cilantro and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring from time to time until the mixture is well seasoned and moist but not juicy, about 15 minutes.




Serve on tortillas, or as a stuffing for chiles or as a main course with rice.



Also good for breakfast with a single fried egg on top. The yolk mixing into the beef really enriches the dish.


I added a bit of low fat Sour Cream that was mixed with Salt, Pepper, Cumin and chile powder on the tortilla. Very tasty!

Grilled Mahi

Over the summer I got out with my good friend Geoff and fished for grouper. As we were cleaning up and getting ready to head in a small pod of Mahi Mahi swam by and we quickly threw out some hooks and the fight was on. 15 minutes of pure chaos later we had 4 small Mahi in the cooler and were on our way home to cook em.



I ended up making a marinade of lime, Molasses and Tabasco.
The marinade was:
1/4 C Lime Juice
2 T Tabasco
1 T Molasses

I upped the molasses to 2 T. Also added just a bit more lime since I felt the Tabasco was just a bit much.

This gave a good balance of flavor leaving the lime the strongest flavor, the tabasco strong but not over powering, and the molassas just detectable.

I felt like a tropical flavor so I made a nice Salsa from pineapple, papaya, red onion, jalapeno's, and a bit of lime.

Mahi was grilled along side chiles, leeks and limes.


I cooked up some coconut basmati rice to finish the meal. Just substitute 1/2 of the liquid with coconut milk.