Making the Most of Fennel at Home

 Trimmed fennel, the bulb about the size of a baseball.

I really appreciate fennel.  I have never had it in a form or flavoring that I didn’t fully enjoy.  Unfortunately it is relatively expensive especially if trimmed and prepped in a way I have done in restaurants in the past.  I got one small head of fennel from the West Side Market earlier this week and it cost a solid $3.  I didn’t core it, and used a lot more of the stalk portion than I’ve ever used in the past.  There were no adverse results as I expected there to be some tough or stringy pieces.  This was not even close to one of the larger heads of fennel I’ve seen so this might not be the case for all sizes of fennel.  Also, I was able to successfully stretch out the flavor of the fennel with an equal part of green cabbage cooked in the same way as the fennel.  Lastly I seasoned the whole mess with fennel salt from Spicehound. 

 Caramelized Fennel at Home

One head of fennel

Equal amount green cabbage

One garlic clove per head of fennel

Half one orange per head of fennel

Fennel salt and pepper

I remove the top two inches of the fennel stalks, assuming your whole piece of fennel included bulb and fonds, if not just remove a thin slice.  Chop the stalks into rounds the same thickness that you slice the bulb.  Slice the cabbage to a similar thickness but keep separate.  Rough chop garlic and also hold separate.  Start by deeply caramelizing the fennel on med-high heat in a 50/50 mixture of oil and butter.  After removing the fennel from the pan sear the cabbage on high heat in a similar mixture of fats.  Toss garlic with seared cabbage and cook over reduced heat for one minute then squeeze orange over pan of which the fennel and seasoning have been added.  On low heat cook for another 5 minutes.  Pairs well with sweet potatoes, red meat, or hearty fish.

Winter Roasted Cauliflower

Fresh vegetables have become somewhat scarce at the supermarket this time of the year, and simply boiling out of season flavor lacking vegetables is not all to appetizing.  I like cauliflower and the vinager, corriander, garlic flavor combination plays off the wholesome sweetness of roasted cauliflower in a very pleasing way.  I've also come to appreciate the results of microwaving cut potatoes.  They keep a nice texture, are time effeciant, clean, and are still accepting of flavors after a quick cooking.

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

Half a large head cauliflower, cut into two inch pieces

Four large cloves of garlic, sliced thin

One tablespoon ground coriander

One teaspoon sugar

Two tablespoon olive oil

One generous teaspoon sherry vinegar

Salt & pepper 

Optional:

Twelve ounces potato, cut into wedges

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you are adding the potatoes I cut them in wedges no larger than an inch and microwave for 4 minutes so they take as long in the oven as the cauliflower.  Toss everything in a bowl together and lay out onto a cookie sheet on a single layer.  Bake for 18 minutes then increase heat to 500 degrees and cook another 5 minutes. 

How to Make the Perfect Jell-O Shots

"Hello, this is Konrad.  Yes I've started the Jell-o shots.  Telegram all your friends this shin-dig should be outstanding."

You can catch this quick little video on Chow, or you can follow my even easier 12 step method to making the perfect Jell-O shots:

1.       Procure your favorite booze.  Usually vodka is used for making Jell-O shots, but anything works.

2.       Have a long pull off that freshly opened bottle then find your favorite flavor of instant Jell-O.  It will most likely be in the very back of the cupboard and dusty.

3.       Take a sip of booze and set measured amount of water to heat.

4.       Take a sip of booze, and then dissolve Jell-O mix into water.

5.       Take a sip of booze and reconsider adding any to the Jell-O at this point.

6.       Take a sip of booze while finding a proper container to portion the Jell-O.  One large bowl will be fine.

7.       Take a sip of booze, and make room in the refrigerator to chill the Jell-O.

8.       Take a sip of booze before retiring to the recliner for a nap.

9.       When you wake up you will have only a little bit of booze left and none in the Jell-O.  Not a problem!

10.   Take a final sip of booze as you will only need about 4 ounces to finish things off.

11.   Using a whisk stir the Jell-O into chunks and mix in the booze left that didn’t get drunk.  It only has to be enough to add bite.

12.   Spoon this spiked mixture into shot glasses and get a good laugh off the person who gets WASTED from your Jell-O shots.

Coconut Curry Chicken and Carrots

This is a quick and easy recipe that brings some international flavor to a nice week-night diner.

Four pieces boneless chicken thighs

Twelve ounces carrots cut into inch chunks

One tablespoon chopped garlic

One medium sweet onion, sliced thin 

One tablespoon curry powder

Four ounces each chicken stock, coconut milk

One heaping tablespoon spicy mango chutney

 Trim chicken of skin to your liking.  I like some crispy skin, but usually trim chicken thighs by placing them skin side down on the cutting board and trimming any skin or fat that is not under the meat.  If you are completely removing the skin  then quarter chicken thighs because they will brown more and cook slightly quicker.  Using a non-stick skillet start chicken thighs skin down and cook until some fat is rendered then increase heat to medium-high.  I do this because the skin browns and crisps nicely opposed to putting them in a hot pan in which the skin tends to burn before it turnings crisp.  Season the chicken meat with salt and curry powder.  Once the skin has nicely browned flip then add the carrots, garlic and onion and cook this for about 5 minutes, but be sure not to burn the garlic.  Add the liquid to the chicken, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes.  Finally add the chutney and increase heat and reduce till liquid in quite thick and coats the chicken.

Serve with plain brown rice and hot sauce.  If you have fresh ginger or coriander go ahead and use them, but I don’t keep them on hand at my home.

Creamy Brown Rice, Braised Greens, Pork Sausage

 
Creamy Brown Rice with Greens and Pork

Two slices bacon, cut in one inch lengths

Half pound spicy Italian sausage

One sweet onion, diced

Six garlic cloves, sliced

One bunch mustard or turnip greens, cut in one inch strips

One tablespoon honey 

Three cups water

Two cups chicken stock

Half cup brown rice 

In a heavy bottom pot begin to render the bacon.  After 5 minutes add the sausage and break up into small chunks and brown.  Sautee the onion and garlic over the meat until soft then stir in greens.  Add honey, liquid and rice then bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for an hour and half or until the rice has begun to break down.  Lastly, season with salt, black pepper and tobacco sauce to taste.  Serves as a meal for two or a side dish for four. 

Brown rice (or "hulled rice") is unmilled or partly milled rice, a kind of whole, natural grain. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier and more nutritious than white rice.

Eggs Ghetto-dict

The origin of classic Eggs Benedict is somewhat fuzzy.  There are two conflicting stories that seem to be about 30 years apart in age.  Ironically almost everything else in either story is the same:  A banker type named Benedict wants something ‘different’ making  the kitchen produce a dish to their whim of which the maitre d’ ends up manipulating and respectively names Benedict and puts it on his menu.  Seems almost sarcastic as if to say, and I imagine it in a very snotty French accent, “You want to make up your own dish, fine, I will change it and forever connect your name with this horribly annoying preparation.  Ha.”  I’ve never had Eggs Benedict at a restaurant that I’ve actually enjoyed, but I do enjoy the idea of a poached egg on an English muffin.

Unlike what I’ve received on the local restaurant brunch buffet I like my muffin toasted, egg warm, and sauce to be more like a sauce and less like a cloying stabilized pad of cheap butter.   Since making Hollandaise sauce at home for a single portion is totally unrealistic toss that out the window.  Other than that I enjoy my ghetto Eggs Benedict.

 That’s right….Freshly toasted English muffin, runny poached egg, microwaved sandwich style ham, good ole’ American cheese topped with Sirachi hot sauce presented on a fine paper plate.  Hmmmm Hm!

Savory Fall Quick Bread

Apple-Fig & Blue Cheese Quick Bread
with Port Wine Curd

For the bread:

Two cups AP flour
One tblsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
One tsp black pepper
One half tsp thyme

Three ounces crumbled blue cheese
One and a half cups tart local apple, grated
One half cup dried figs, rough chopped

Three eggs
Two thirds cup milk
Four tblsp melted butter
Mix dry ingredients before tossing in cheese and figs till the pieces are separated and coated in flour. Wisk eggs and mix with other wet ingredients before gently combining with four mixture. Be careful not to overmix and be aware the batter will be very thick. Cook in a nine by five inch loaf pan that has been coated with butter at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning it out to rest until cooled to room temperature.

For the curd:
Two cups port wine
One each star anise, cinnamon stick
Three whole cloves

One and one third cups sugar
Four whole eggs
One and three quarters sticks of butter (seven ounces)

In a heavy bottom saucepan combine wine and aromatics, reduce wine over medium heat by half. Remove aromatics from wine. Off heat add sugar and butter. Return pan to low heat and add the eggs once the sugar has dissolved. Whisk constantly until curd is thick enough to hold marks from the whisk. Push this mixture through a fine sieve and chill with a cover of plastic wrap pushed onto the top of the curd in an effort to prevent a toothsome skin from forming.

Focaccia at home

Bacon-Onion Focaccia Bread

One package instant yeast

One and a half cups warm water
One tsp honey
Five cups AP flour
One tblsp salt
One tblsp black pepper
Six tblsp EVOO
One tblsp Italian seasoning blend

Seven slices of bacon, medium dice

One sweet onion, medium dice
Four garlic cloves, rough chop
One and a half cups mashed potatoes

Bloom yeast in water with honey. In a sauté pan brown bacon and onion, add garlic and cook another 3 minutes, lastly add the herbs. I used yesterday’s mashed potatoes so I put them in this pan to warm up. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl then the water. Kneed this mixture for 6 minutes. Blend in the bacon mixture and work the dough another 2 minutes. Return to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let raise 2-3 hours.

After the dough has risen turn it out into an oiled baking dish about 18x11x3 inches and bake in a pre-heated oven for 35 minutes until golden. After removing dish from oven let the bread rest in the pan for ten minutes before removing it to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Crispy Italian sausage with spaghetti squash, sweet potatoe and carrots

With a pleasant chill in the air these fall flavors just begged to make it onto my dinner table.

One pound bulk Italian sausage
One two pound spaghetti squash
Three carrots cut into inch lengths
Three sweet potatoes, medium diced
One small onion sliced
Two garlic cloves sliced

For the apple-mustard sauce…

Half sweet onion small diced
One tablespoon honey mustard
One small local apple peeled and diced
Three quarters cup chicken stock or apple cider
Two tablespoons chilled whole butter

While I’ve been cooking at home much more these days I’ve become even more interested in being extremely efficient and clean. I think this procedure emphasizes this.

Wash the squash of any dirt. Slice into one inch think disks. Do not cut length wise because the strands that resemble ‘spaghetti’ run in a circular pattern and would all be cut in half if you cut the squash length wise. Scrape the seeds from the squash donuts and discard. In a large skillet place the squash donuts and a cup of water, cover and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling add the carrots, salt and cook for ten minutes adding water if necessary so it never totally evaporates. Remove the vegetables to a plate and cover allowing to cool. Wipe out the same pan and crisp the Italian sausage in a small amount of oil. I like to pinch small free form meatballs into the pan. Cook on med-high heat. While that cooks use a spoon to scrape the squash pulp away from the skin. On a paper plate microwave the sweet potatoes for 90 seconds covered with a paper towel. Remove the sausage from the skillet; add a small pad of butter, the onion and garlic and let cook on med-high for about 3 minutes. Add the squash, carrots and sweet potatoes and let caramelize on one side. Flip, add sausage and reduce heat as low as possible just to keep warm, season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.

For the sauce caramelize the onion in a generous amount of butter, add the apple and cook another few minutes. Combine the mustard and stock allowing the mixture to reduce by half. Off heat add two tablespoons of butter and season.

Pressure Cooker Experience

It was my foodie sister’s birthday recently and I pulled the trigger and gifted her a pressure cooker. I had never used one, and they almost sounded too good to be true. She has mastered the art of the slow-cooker/crock-pot but I thought taking the cooking times in a different direction might widen the array of dishes she prepares. We both have a mutual and deserving respect for hand crafted stocks of which I thought a pressure cooker would be quite effective. I am happy to see how well this gift has worked out.

The earliest pressure cooker was designed by Frenchman Denis Papin in 1679. The devise is most often used during the process of canning in the United States. Outside the food industry worldwide hospitals and laboratories use modified pressure cookers to sterilize their equipment. On top of those two very trivial and not so inspiring facts most all our mothers assure us that we are going to blow up the kitchen dare we even fathom the use of a modern food quality pressure cooker. Fortunately this has not happened just yet to us.

I purchased a 6 quart T-Fal pressure cooker through an E-bay store. It has three built in pressure safety devices which erased any lingering idea I had that Mom was right about catastrophic failure. The 6 quart is a very handy size for making meals for 3-5 people. Eight quarts might be ideal for making slightly richer/larger batches of stock, but then finding a place to store it becomes an implication. Meat sears nicely in the pot before braising which is great not to have multiple pans involved. To my surprise it takes only one minute to reduce the pressure of the unit enough to remove the lid. On the other hand the unit works great on our flat glass topped stovetop. It comes to heat nicely and it didn’t take long to find the lowest possible temperature to hold the pressure steady. This has as much to do with the quality off the stovetop, but the directions included with the pressure cooker warn of complications using a flat glass topped unit. We experienced none.

For our first experience we cooked boneless western style pork ribs with apples, potatoes, cinnamon, coriander, thyme and smoked pork neck bones. We seared the seasoned meat in the pot then nearly covered it with chicken stock and cooked it following the procedure described in the unit’s instruction book. This involved cooking the meat for 20 minutes, reducing the pressure till we could safely remove the lid then we added the apples and potatoes and returned to the heat and cooked another 10 minutes under pressure. Under running tap water for about 30 seconds the unit can be disassembled. This was no big deal in my opinion. After cooking under pressure for 30 minutes (about 40 total) the meat was very tender, juicy, and flavorful. The apples completely disintegrated, but the potatoes come out perfectly cooked. We strained out the solids and returned the quite flavorful liquid to the same pot and thickened with cornstarch. I was very surprised by how well the final meal came out, but even more impressed with the ease and speed of using the pressure cooker.

A lot of home cooks seem to have a misguided romantic relationship with their slow-cooker and instinctively think that the amount of time spent cooking increases the quality of the final product. Personally I find that sometimes using a slow-cooker with disregard for cooking times leads to meat that is in fact overcooked meaning they are either dry, lacking in texture or both. I’m sure you can end up with the same problems in a pressure cooker, but at least you only invested an hour or so! Secondly, using a single pot to sear, braise under pressure, and reduce/thicken broths is infinitely more efficient than starting 4 hours out, searing in a sauté pan, transferring to a slow-cooker, waiting, and finally using another pot to create a sauce. On the other hand you have plenty of time to clean dishes while the cock-pot chugs along like the little engine that could….I think I can…I think I can.

We also used the pressure cooker to make a quick corn stock with corn cobs and vegetable scraps to complete corn chowder. In nearly 20 minutes we had a stiff corny broth to use. This leads me to believe a rich roasted chicken stock is in the near future.

If you have ever thought about using a pressure cooker I suggest you give it a try. They are priced reasonably, come in an array of sizes, and deliver as promised. I’m sure you’ll find more than a handful of gadgets around your kitchen that see much less use.

Summer Vegetable Pickle

I have been waiting for just the right set of ingredients to become available in order to put a large batch of local baby vegetables under a pickle. The stars have finally aligned and in a few short weeks we will have a batch of beautiful pickled veggies.

As you can see I went for a varied assortment of vegetables. I was lucky to come upon some absolutely heavenly small yellow cucumbers that had not developed much of a skin or toothsome seeds. They are just perfect. I also found wonderfully sweet Mars Onions. They are rather small, red, mild and sweet. There are also some finger length green zucchini, carrots, whole local garlic cloves, and lastly sugar snap peas. I've never pickled peas so we will have to cross our fingers on how they come out.

I acquired a standard pickling spice blend from Spicehound and added that to my standard pickle ratios along with a handful of thyme, sage and rosemary. I put a layer of lemons over the whole mess for a little added twang and put a "do not disturb" label on the bowl and set it away to magically transform.


My standard pickle ratios are very simple; equal parts sugar, water, and vinegar. I usually prefer rice wine vinegar as it has a smoother tartness in my opinion compared to wine or cider vinegars. In this specific batch I used three parts rice wine to one part cider vinegar because I planned on adding a full assortment of other strong flavored herbs and wanted to assure a strong tang in the end product.


Pickled Summer Vegetables


Four cups finger sized baby summer vegetables
Six garlic cloves
One lemon sliced

Two cups each sugar and vinegar
Two cups cold water
Two heaping tablespoons pickling spice
One teaspoon salt
One quarter ounce thyme
One large sprig each rosemary and sage


The amount of liquid is roughly the amount needed to cover the amount of vegetables. This may change with regard to the size of the vegetables and/or the container but what is really important is the ratio of sugar, vinegar and water. I start by heating the sugar, vinegar, garlic, and pickling spices over medium heat. Once the sugar dissolves remove from heat and add cold water to chill the liquid and set aside while preparing the vegetables. As long as the liquid is room temperature when added to the vegetables it will work fine, but steer away from adding hot pickling liquid over the vegetables as this will make for a very limp and soft end product. That's all, pack it up and let it sit for about two weeks. Feel free to stir it up every so often.

Summer Squash

The past few weeks our local farmers markets have been overflowing with summer squash. Be it zucchini, yellow squash, patty pan and even a few sizable 8-ball varieties have been available in great supply. It seems every week the price goes down and their size increases which I consider a good thing. It is quite easy to simply sauté a sliced up squash or toss planks on the grill. But there a lot other ways to use this summer fruit, yes like tomatoes summer squash are botanically considered a fruit. The key to working with summer squash in most of recipes comes down to controlling the moisture level. This can be accomplished in a few different ways; quick high heat cooking is the simplest way to accomplish a plate of squash that hasn’t turned into a pile of mush. There is the physical method of removing excess moisture from squash which would be to simply squeeze the hell out of it. Lastly there is the chemical method off leaching out moisture which would be allowing squash and salt to come together which after some straining results in a very useful squash product.


Summer squash has it’s ancestry in the Americas. Lewis and Clark in 1804 observed great quantities of crookneck summer squash being raised by southern Indian tribes. After a trip to the Italian country side where the culinary use of summer squash became very popular it returned to the U.S. in the early 1920’s when Italian immigrants brought it to our tables and planted a large variety of squash which we are all thankful for today. While overwhelmingly abundant in the U.S. today summer squash are enjoyed worldwide in classic dished like French ratatouille, Mexican squash flower dishes, Turkish zucchini pancakes and Greek stuffed squash.

I recently acquired a rather large yellow squash. It made it into two preparations that hopefully give you a little nudge to grab some on your next trip to the market

Summer Squash Pancakes

Two pounds squash grated
Two tablespoons salt

One egg
One quarter cup flour
Pinch sugar
One tablespoon mix fresh herbs
Fresh cracked black pepper

Combine the grated squash and salt in a colander and let sit for half hour. Squeeze the squash in a clean dishtowel before combining the remaining ingredients. Working in a pan on medium heat sauté tablespoon dollops of batter in butter. Serve warm with sour cream, yogurt, topped with cheese or your favorite tomato based condiment.

Baked Yellow Squash

Large diameter squash cut into inch thick rounds

Two cloves fresh garlic chopped
One teaspoon fresh thyme
One third cup each bread crumbs and parmesan cheese
Good quality olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Coat disks of squash with oil, salt and pepper. Top with cheese mixture and bake in hot oven for about 8 minutes.

Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin & Sweet Corn Potato Cake

Saturday night was my turn to cook dinner for the family. We had a lemon-garlic pork tenderloin earlier in the week that my sister cooked on the grill to absolute perfection. I wanted to do something different not only with the pork, but I've tired of corn on the cobb and baked potatoes. This meal was all about doing something a little different from what we've done the past few weeks.





I made one extra large sweet corn potato cake. The important thing when cooking one of these collosal potato cakes is controlling the temperature so the potato cake is cooked fully through. Using a non-stick skillet I started on medium heat until I got a nice color then turned the heat down even lower allowing for a total cooking time of nearly half an hour.





Sweet Corn - Potato Cake


One sweet onion
Three ears of corn kernals
Four medium sized starchy potato
One Tablespoon corn starch
One Teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
Salt and Pepper



Grate the onion and the potato in to a bowl. Cut the corn kernals off the cobb and use the back off a knife to scrape the cobb giving up some of it's sweet juices. Season well with salt and pepper, mix in thyme and corn starch.


Using a pre-heated non-stick 12 inch skillet press the potato mixture into the pan to form a solid large pattie. The best way to flip the cake after about 10 minutes is to place a plate over the cake and flip the whole pan over so the potato sit on the plate and can be slid off back into the pan. I used a bit of butter after the first flip to help add some depth of flavor and color.

After the first flip.

Spice Rubbed Pork

Two Tablespooons smoked paprika
One Tablespoon chili powder
One Tablespoon ground corriander
Half Tablespoon each garlic powder and cumin
One Tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Coat the pork with oil and roll in spice mixture. Cook on a medium-hot grill for about 15 minutes or untill an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Remove from the heat and let rest a solid 10 minutes.

Potato cake ready to eat!

Black and Blue Mussels

Blue Moon is a great light summer beer and mussels are a great light summer meal. It is something of a classic to cook mussels in beer, but by adding ingredients that highlight the flavores of Blue Moon this dish brings the beer’s character to the for front.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound mussels rinsed and cleaned
6 ounces Blue Moon Beer
2 shallots sliced
Zest and juice of one orange
1 teaspoon ground corriander
3 tablespoons butter, split
pinch of sea salt and black pepper
Parsley, rough chopped

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat a large sautee pan or pot over med-high heat. Sautee shallot in 1 tablespoon butter untill soft then stir in coriander for about 20 seconds. Top this with orange zest and juice. Add the mussels and Blue Moon Beer top with salt and pepper and cook on high for about 5 minutes or untill the liquid has reduced by 1/2. Gently stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and parsley over high heat for another 2-3 minutes or until the butter has melted. Serve with a hunk of crusty bread to soak of the perfect Blue Moon broth

This recipe is part of the The Great Beer Recipe Challenge. Click here to vote for my recipe and view others featuring Blue Moon Beer.

Best BBQ Chicken I've Ever Made

I normally don’t like boneless skinless chicken breasts. They always seem to turn out tasteless, dry, and demanding some heavy sauce to cover up those shortfalls. I did a little research and came up with this treatment for some B/S breasts we caught on sale last week.

BBQ Chicken Breast

Three to four pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

Brine:

One cup water
One quarter cup sugar
Two tablespoons salt if fine ground, one quarter cup if course
One large garlic clove smashed
Twenty cranks of fresh ground black pepper
Assorted herbs, a few twigs of thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil

Three cups ice water

Half cup BBQ sauce


Pound out the chicken breast. They don’t need to be paper thin, just so they are an even thickness throughout.

For the brine combine all the aromatics, salt and sugar with one cup of water and bring up to heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the ice water. This should cool the brine enough that you can add the chicken now. I brined the pounded out breasts or one hour and they turned out very nice.

Heat your outdoor grill to high. Cook the chicken on one side with the cover down on the grill for about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and immediately apply a thin layer of your favorite BBQ sauce. Return the cover to the grill and cook another five minutes. Flip the chicken again and apply a thin layer of BBQ sauce return the cover to the grill wait one minute then turn the grill off. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes while you get the rest of the meal to the table.

Bananna Pancakes

I had some browning soft banannas on hand and was in need of a breakfast that didn't consist of eggs on bread. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on some pancakes. The recipe makes enough for 4 people. We didn't have any maple syrup but blueberry jam and maple-pumkin butter worked even better.

Bananna Pancakes

Two eggs
Two cups milk
Two tablespoons sugar
Three quarters of a stick of butter, melted

One and a half cups flour
One teaspoon baking soda

Two banannas large dice

Mix the wet items then add the dry. Don't overmix. Stir in the banannas and let sit for five minutes. I used a electric flat top griddle set at 350 degrees and they came out perfect. To keep them warm I put a wet paper towel in the microwave for 30 seconds to creat a moist warm box and held the done cakes on a plate in the microwave until they all got griddled. No need to actually microwave them.

Baked Beans Master

It occured to me that perhaps I've been hogging up all the space on this blog so I decided to ask my sister who is the self declared "Baked Bean Master" to share her recipe. She was nice enough to prepare the following as my first Guest Blogger. And now.....Michelle Walsh.

As the "Baked Beans master" I've been asked to share my top secret recipe with
the blog world...so here it goes. I'm not good at making things up off the top
of my head so I usually start with a basic recipe and make my personal changes
from there. Just about any baked bean recipe calls for canned beans, brown
sugar, maybe some bacon and onions, and throw it in the oven for about an hour. Much too simple for me...and why bother baking something for an hour that can be done on a stove top quicker? Although my most recent beans were done in a small crock pot...it was too hot to stand over the over oven!

I've never really measured the additional ingredients, just add and taste. The measurements will be my best guess at how much of what I added this last time I made them. I used to just open the fridge and grab condiments to throw in, but recently I've noticed that a little less of everything is much better, adjust to your own liking.

Ingredients
1 28oz. can good baked beans (Busch's)
2 11-12oz cans plain Pork 'n Beans
1/2 lb. (6-8 slices depending on the cut) Bacon
1 small or 1/2 large onion chopped or diced, your preference (I prefer sweet
Vandalia, but a yellow cooking onion will do)
1/4 tsp. Liquid Smoke
1/4 c. ketchup
2 TBS. Mustard...yellow, Dijon, honey Dijon...whatever's in the fridge
1 TBS. Worcestershire sauce...A-1 will work too
this last time I used about 1/4 c. leftover BBQ sauce (usually I use the same
amount brown sugar, but the BBQ sauce came out good this time) Depends on how sweet ya want it...use both!

Cooking it!
I ALWAYS start with the bacon first, using Kitchen scissors, 'cause it's easier,
I cut it right into the pan, rendering as much good stuff as I can, some people
call it Fat, I call it Flavor. Cook over medium heat until just crisp, about 10
min. Add Onions and cook a few minutes longer, until soft. This part is
KEY...add the Liquid Smoke to the pan or pot. I never drain the "liquid" from
the pan...there's that nasty "F" word again...Flavor not Fat. Continue to cook
the bacon, onion and smoke together until the house is nice and fragrant! Time
for the Beans! Add beans to crock, pot, pan...whatever. Mix. Time to squirt and
dash in the rest! Mix in ketchup, mustard, A-1, brown sugar/BBQ sauce.
Don't mix to vigorously ya break up the fragile canned beans! If you do stove
top, bring to a slight boil and reduce, taste, and adjust flavor (I find Hot
Sauce works good you've gone too far sweet). On the stove top, 20-30 min
cook time is plenty, stirring gently, occasionally, until beans just start to
break down a bit. The crockpot I set to High for about 2-3hrs, until it all just
started to breakdown and set to "keep warm" until ready to serve. I've never
done the whole "Baked" in the oven kind so you're on your own with times and
temps...generally I've seen 350 for 45 min. - 1hr...good luck with tasting that
though. The beans need to warm through to get a good taste, that's why I prefer
the stove top method, even the crock gave me a chance to adjust flavors if
needed.

That's my first/best recipe...so take it as you will, add or subtract whatever
you like...I saw a recipe that called for a whole bottle of chili sauce...not
gonna go there but the next batch may have a couple tablespoons in it. Also
wanted to try adding a can of pinto or kidney beans next time, just to mix
things up and maybe add a different texture. Remember a recipe is just a guide,
don't be afraid to mix it up a little and call it your own!

Foie Gras Butter

If you enjoy the flavor of Foie Gras you will like this recipe. First, it is a great way to stretch a relatively small amount of very pricey Foie. Secondly, there seem to be a lot of people who have trouble with the texture, and this technique eliminates that issue. The main ingredient is obviously Foie Gras. There is no need to seek out the most perfect piece of grade A super fresh liver. When I can find them Foie Gras Pieces (company’s trim from portioned slices) work great especially in light of their price point which is usually a third of the price as whole/portioned pieces. Also, don’t skimp on the booze. Use whatever you like, but don’t cheat yourself. Most liquor stores have a variety of pints if not little ‘airline’ bottles. Take the time to find what you want.

Foie Gras Butter

Eight oz room temp. Butter

Four to six oz Foie Gras

One shallot, sliced
One tsp thyme
One tblsp brown sugar
Two to four oz booze, I like Jack Daniels, port works well, scotch if you like, even sherry.

Salt and Black Pepper

Sear the Foie just as if you were preparing it to eat meaning one to two minutes per side. Strain the solids away and chill while returning the rendered fat to the pan. Over medium heat caramelize the shallots, and then add the thyme and sugar. Deglaze with the booze and remove from the heat as soon as the alcohol has burnt off. Chill this mixture to room temp.

You can use a fork to mix this up if need be but a food processer works best. Blend everything together at room temp. Roll this mixture up into a log with plastic wrap and refrigerate. This log of Foie Gras goodness can be frozen and used straight from frozen with great effect.

How to use Foie Gras Butter you might be asking. This recipe was designed as a compound butter to top steaks with. It would also work great in mashed potatoes, on a piece of tuna, over vegetables, or in a soup. If the butter is heated too much all the fat seems to separate, which isn’t totally bad, but just be warned.

Michael Rhulman recently had a nice post about eating Foie Gras at home. I hope we can open people’s minds to such a wonderful product.

Re-visiting Winters Pleasure

The current winter blast has blown off the zombie like hand reaching out of the frozen tundra reaching for those ramps, fiddleheads, and morels. So be it lets warm up next to the fire for what be the last time of the season with a nice warm artichoke dip.

I live to lightly fry pita bread as a side, but it’s defiantly a more healthy option to reach for some crackers or pretzel chips.

Artichoke Bake

one eight ounce can of artichoke hearts
one ounce of parmesan cheese
one heaping tablespoon each mayo, ricotta and sour cream
a bit of thyme chopped up
one leek diced and sautéed with.....one half of a red bell pepper

Sautee the leek and pepper in butter adding the thyme at the very end. Chill this mixture before combining everything. Top with some more parmesan in a baking dish and cook until warm and golden on top, most likely about 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Guinness Mac & Cheese

With the upcoming celebration of a mass snake killing I’m putting forth my most thought out ‘Irish’ themed items. Let’s go with the supper hipster Mac & cheese. M&C is the culinary equivalent of tight jean'd black skateboarders in neon Nike’s speaking lyrics about tough times in the suburbs. Completely under the radar, but somehow it’s cool.

Guinness…I’m so hipster I’m not even going to lower myself to investigating it…you know what a search engine is so bing it out damn hipsters. Hopefully you won’t spill your $8 mucho grandee café’ NOT.

Guinness Mac and Cheese

Three pints of Guinness beer
One large teaspoon cornstarch
One quart heavy cream

One large onion diced
One pound thick sliced bacon
One cup of cheddar and whatever other cheeses you enjoy

One cup bread crumbs
A bit of herbs like thyme, parsley, basil, ect.

One pound cooked pasta

I totally wrote the recipe in a mixed up order because that is So Fucking Hipster! Wait a second while I reposition my bow tie over my flannel shirt and slick back my dome after laughing so hard at my statements. You guys owe me a new keyboard and grandee gaucho café because I’m so hip I spit my coffee all over my lap top…ok, ok, ok, enough is enough.

Cook the bacon till almost crispy, then caramelize the onion in this bacon/fat mixture. This is a great effect that allows the bacon to caramelize yet keep a chew factor instead of turning into ‘bits’ Add the beer and cornstarch. Reduce this mixture to about one cup, add the HC and bring to a boil reduce the heat and add the cheese. Toss with pasta and bake with breadcrumb/herb mixture on top.

I suggest having light American lager with this dish, maybe a Bud Light or a Miller High Life…NOT.