OPEN

photo by Antoinne von Rimes

The Germans have a word for it: Schadenfreude.  It loosely translates as taking pleasure in other people’s misfortune.  I experience this gleeful emotion every time I watch a show like the CHOPPING BLOCK, NBC’s reality, restaurant, cooking-game show which seems to be a blend of the Last Restaurant Standing, the Apprentice, and that fiasco with Rocco di Spirito a few years back.

The Chopping Block is back on the air after suddenly being dropped off the schedule a couple of months ago.  I guess that was because of low ratings or something, but happily for me it is back on now.

I like the show, even with the over the top monarchial attitude of host Marco Pierre White, noted chef and restaurateur.  Chef Pierre White seems to believe he is Machiavelli giving advice to members of the de Medici clan.  Chef Pierre White gives basic lectures on the blatantly obvious, but it seems to be brilliantly acute advice for these contestants.

I do not know if it is the hot lights or the cameras that make people on Reality shows lose every ounce of common sense and drains them of the ability to think.  There should be a mathematical equation which states: As the value of the prize increases, the contestant’s I.Q. and ability to reason decreases, and this is inversely proportional to their greed.

I am constantly amazed at the dumb things people do on these shows.  It is beyond me why people who have never worked in a restaurant would want to open a restaurant, and who are convinced they can operate a successful restaurant.  I can cook a mean breakfast, and can cook eggs like the no one on earth, but you do not see me jumping to the conclusion that I have the knowledge base to open a little breakfast nook someplace and make a fortune on my superior ability to roll a French omelet .

No, what I just stated to you was how I am a good cook----eggs mainly.  I did not say I knew anything about cooking eggs day in and day out for weeks on end, dealing with suppliers, employees, banks, landlords, acts of god, and the government.  No.  I said I like to cook eggy things and I am pretty damn good at it — nothing more.

The people on these shows have not taken a true stock of their situation, abilities, and limitations.  Most of them would be better situated as caters, private chefs, corporate chefs, and backyard/weekend soirée chefs.

The cowboy world of the chef owner operator is a rarified world reserved for those men and women who leap tall buildings in a single bound, pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and would slap Mike Tyson simply because it would feel good.  The kind of people who become successful chef owner operators are more than often neurotic, misanthropic, angst ridden, demon plagued, narcissistic, ego maniacs who are just as likely to end up in prison as in front of a hot pan.

These creatures called chef owner operators are akin to the frontiersmen of days of old.  Those brave psycho bastards who did not go out into the wild to discover unknown territory, but went out there to be where no one else was because they could not stand other people.

This is not the caliber of individuals who populate restaurant Reality shows.  No, these people/contestants are acting like some guy who just got his girlfriend to pay for dinner and he now thinks he can be a pimp.  Well, pimpin' ain’t easy and neither is running a restaurant.

Running a restaurant is war.  Running a restaurant is like running the U.S. State Department in high heel Manolo Blahniks and carrying a heavy tray over your head.  Running a restaurant is what God plans to do when he retires.

Running a restaurant makes for very good comedy though.  Watching the Chopping Block is as close to Three Stooges slapstick comedy as it gets.

So, watch the Chopping Block, and thank your lucky stars you are not one of those poor bastards clawing for their own restaurant to run.  I for one will be home holding my side while I laugh an even bigger stitch into it as these unprepared dreamers try to catch a tiger by the tail.

Schadenfreude... damn good word.

Mint and Curry Chicken Salad

Like Mike Tyson, Mint and Curry join together in this summer blockbuster to knock your taste buds out. This chicken salad takes only 15 minutes to prepare if you use one of those pre-roasted chickens from the grocery store... and who wouldn't.  We put it on a toasted croissant with some field greens and the results were scrumptious.

This would also rock on brioche, on wheat toast, or in a wrap.  I will eat it in a box.  And I will eat it with a fox.  And I will eat it in a house.  And I will eat it with a mouse.  And I will eat it here and there.  Say! I will eat it ANYWHERE!

Ingredients:

• 1 roasted chicken, sans drumsticks (eat those while you're making everything else)
• 1 cup chopped mint
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 red onion, finely diced
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
• 1 cup mayo, we used light
• 1 cup sour cream, we used low fat
• 1 teaspoon curry
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

Put everything in a bowl and mix it together...

Homemade Ricotta

Making homemade ricotta is incredibly easy, relatively quick (30-45 minutes), and requires literally no skill whatsoever.  It is, on the other hand, a huge crowd pleaser - and if you tell everyone, "it is quite a process," you can impress them with your dark knowledge of the culinary witchcraft called cheesemaking.

Begin with a half gallon of whole milk and a half-quart of buttermilk in a large cold pot.  Turn heat up to high and constantly stir with a heat-proof rubber spatula or wooden spoon.  While stirring, be sure to continually scrape the bottom of the pan so that the milk does not scorch. 

When the milk/buttermilk mixture comes to about 180 degrees F, curds will begin to form on the surface.  At this point, stop stirring for one minute to allow them to separate from the whey.  Remove from heat.

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and gently scoop curds into the cloth to allow to drain.  Do not push down or squeeze.  One method to allow the ricotta to drain is to tie the cheesecloth into a bundle and then to a wooden spoon suspended over a pot (see below).

Drain for 15-30 minutes.  Gently remove ricotta from cloth and salt to taste. 

One simple and delicious appetizer to make with your homemade ricotta is to add fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, parsley, chives, and/or lemon zest.  Place it in a bowl and next to a plate of crostini (that's a fancy name for toast) so that you can spread it on yourself.

Get the kids involved and show them that cooking can be magic, making a solid cheese from liquid milk.

Enjoy.

Creamy Collard Greens and Roasted Garlic Soup

This Creamy Collard Greens and Roasted Garlic Soup is a hearty soup with the addition of potatoes and cream.  It takes about an hour and requires only an emersion blender, an oven, and a stove.  It makes for a completely satisfying entrée with a little bread or toast as a side.  I garnished it here with a dollop of sour cream, a drizzle of olive oil, and a dusting of paprika.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of medium-starch potatoes, like Red or Yukon Gold, roughly chopped
• 1 pound of carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 pound of collard greens, washed well, and roughly chopped
• 1/2 pound of asparagus
• 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 bulb of garlic, roasted
• 1 cup cream
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350.  Slice bulb of garlic in half into a cross-section, rub with olive oil, salt & pepper, and place into the hot oven for about 30 minutes until it browns lightly.  While that is roasting, wash and chop all your vegetables.  Ensure the greens get a good soak, they tend to have a lot of grit on them when you get them from the store.

Bring a large pot to medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the carrots, asparagus, and onions, salt & pepper, and sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Then add the stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, then turn the temperature down to a simmer and cover.  Cook until the potatoes until they're soft and yield easily to being pricked with a knife, about 15-20 minutes.

Once you have removed the roasted garlic from the oven, squeeze it so that the cloves slide out.  They should have the consistency of pudding at this point and should slide out easily.  Drop them into the pot along with the collard greens and bring back to a boil, hold them at a boil for 5 minutes.

Once the greens have had time to soften, take the pot off the heat and blend thoroughly with an emersion/stick blender, or in batches in a traditional blender.  Once everything is blended, taste to see if you need more salt & pepper, and add the cream.  Mix well.

Serve hot and garnish with sour cream and/or a little olive oil, and a sprinkle of paprika.  Enjoy.

Make Your Own Stock

Making your own stock is easy and can save you a fair amount of money.  There is really nothing difficult about it.  Make a big pot of stock and the key is to freeze it into pre-measured containers.  Pictured above are Ziploc's Twist 'n Loc containers, I used the 4 cup (1 quart) and 2 cup (1 pint) sizes.  That way you can drop them easily into a recipe.

Save all of your vegetable scraps; tough asparagus ends, celery butts, eggplant skins, carrots that have started to go limp, your garlic that's begun to sprout, that onion half that's been sitting in the fridge for the last two weeks.  Don't worry about the texture, soft veggies make a fine stock.  Save and freeze all your bones as well and all your herbs that are about to turn. 

Keep all of these veggies and bones in the freezer until you have a good amount.  I make sure that I have about two pounds of scraps and bones for each gallon of stock that I plan to make.

Throw them all in a pot, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.  Keep that going on the stove for a few hours.  Cool the stock as quickly as possible.  One method is to fill the sink with cold water and place the stock pot in the cold water. 

Water has an extremely high volumetric heat capacity so use cold water to bring the temperature down more quickly.  Strain and pour into your containers.  Voilà!

Keftedes: Greek Meatballs in Pita

Keftedes: Greek Meatballs photo by Amy Koch

 
These Greek-style meatballs are a snap to make, delicious, and kid-friendly.  The mint, vinegar, and nutmeg make them distinctly Greek, all the while playing nice together with the oregano.  Adding them into pita bread with Romaine lettuce and fresh sliced cherry tomatoes with tzatziki (cucumber-yogurt sauce) make a wonderful entree for lunch or dinner.

This recipe was adapted from Cat Cora's but I changed the cooking method and omitted the flour since I wanted to pan fry the meatballs instead of deep fry.

Ingredients

• 3 slices white bread with crust
• 1 cup milk
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 finely chopped tablespoons of fresh oregano
• 3 finely chopped tablespoons of fresh mint
• 2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Pita Bread, white or whole wheat
• Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cube sliced bread and place in food processor, pulse until bread become coarse breadcrumbs. Place the fresh breadcrumbs in a bowl and add milk. Let sit for 1 minute then squeeze out the liquid and combine bread with the beef, onion, garlic, oregano, mint, vinegar, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper into a bowl.  Incorporate well but be careful not to overmix. Take a heaping tablespoon out at a time and roll the mixture into meatballs.

Add the olive oil to a medium-hot pan.  Brown the meatballs on all sides, cook in batches so as not to overcrowd. Place browned meatballs on an oiled sheet pan (or lined with parchment) and finish cooking in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through.

Serve warm or at room temperature in toasted pita with chopped Romaine lettuce, sliced cherry tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki:

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 cup seeded and small-diced cucumber
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 finely chopped tablespoons of fresh mint
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

49er BBQ

What's a 49er BBQ?

A 49er BBQ is something you can whip up in a small apartment on a foggy day with an electric stove from the 1960s and still have people second guess if it was done on a grill or not. Well, they'll know there wasn't a grill, but it'll be delicious nonetheless.

We made pork spareribs, pinquito beans, and Southern greens on a recent lazy Sunday.

The ribs are done using a technique I learned from Alton Brown. The pinquito beans are, more or less, Santa Maria BBQ style. The greens I kept Southern.

The ribs and the beans take at least 2-3 hours but the greens, once prepped, only take 5-10 minutes to cook - so plan accordingly. I started the beans with a "short-cook method," since I didn't soak the dried beans overnight, they needed to be par-cooked. Then, I made the dry rub and got the ribs into the oven. Last, I prepped the greens and put them aside to finish.



THE RIBS

• 1 slab of pork spare ribs
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 Teaspoon sugar
• 1 Teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumon
• 1 Teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 Tablespoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Trim fat from ribs thoroughly; these will be done in the oven and excess fat will not render as if it were on a grill. Lay out 2 sheets of aluminum foil, each of which are 8 inches longer than the spareribs. Lay the 2 sheets of foil on your workspace to make 1 extra wide piece of foil. Overlap an inch from each piece and crimp several times to form a tight seal. Place the ribs in the middle. Combine spices in a bowl, then generously rub across the ribs. Don't forget to get both sides.

Fold up the top and bottom of the foil together and crimp in the same fashion for a seal. Do the same with either side. You should have a tight 'bag' made from aluminium foil. Place on a baking sheet for easier transportation and in case of spillage. Place into the oven for 2 hours. Check after 2 hours for done-ness; gently unfurl the foil sides. A bone should rotate easily around the meat, indicating that everything is tender. If not, place back into the oven and check again after 15 minute increments.

Once ribs are soft, open of the foil so that they are exposed and turn the oven to broil. Baste the top of the ribs several times with the juices in the bottom of the baking sheet using a pastry brush. Watch closely because they will burn quickly; this will take about 5 minutes. When a good crust is formed, pull from the oven, close up the foir around them, and let them rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

THE BEANS

• 1/2 pound of dried pinquito beans, also called pink beans
• 1 teaspoon of powered mustard
• 2 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of chili sauce (I used Srirachi)
• 1/2 jalapeno (I like it spicy, but you can omit this)

Sort the dried beans on a plate or baking sheet to remove any stones.  Soak the beans in water overnight if you can.  If you are not able to soak, place the beans into a large pot, add a gallon of water [or so] and bring it to to a boil.  Kill the heat, cover, and allow to sit for an hour.  This is called the "short-cook method."

Drain the liquid once complete and continue with the recipe. Once you have soaked or done the "short-cook method" with the beans, add them into a pot and add enough water to cover them by one inch.   Add the rest of your ingredients. 

Simmer uncovered until the beans are soft, about an hour.  The level of liquid should be kept flush with the height of the beans, add water as needed.

THE GREENS

1 pound of leafy greens: kale, beet, collard, chard, etc...
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup dried currants or raisins
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon kosher salt

De-stem the greens and rinse/wash thoroughly. This may take several baths in water and several spins around the spinner. Chop coarsely. Since the greens take only 5 minutes, begin cooking only when the ribs and beans are done.

Add the butter and olive oil to a hot pan, keep the heat on medium-high. Once the butter is melted and begins to brown, add the greens. Add the currants, celery salt, kosher salt, pepper, and vinegar. Stir occasionally until softened and done, about 5 minutes.

Plate everything in neat little piles.

You may touch up a little BBQ sauce if you like. I'm not a total purist and if that floats your boat... then, who am I to blow against the wind?

Burger Snob

photo by Dave Koch

When it comes to burgers  I am a snob. I do not put things inside my burgers.  If you put things like salt, pepper, bread, eggs etc. etc., into your burgers then you are not making hamburgers you are making meatloaf…patties.  All a good burger needs is quality meat and some salt and pepper on the top while cooking.

1. The meat is everything.  The meat should be freshly ground. I grind my own with my handy Kitchenaid grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer.  I use 7 bone in chuck (please cut the bones out before you grind), and round (London broil) or sirloin steak.  If the 7bone in chuck doesn’t have enough fat for you, then pick up a package of beef short ribs for more fat content.  Remember fat is flavor.  A lean burger is a dry burger.

2. I go to neighborhood ethnic meat markets for meat.  Here in San Francisco I go to the Mission district or the little Saigon neighborhood and buy my steaks for hamburger.  The quality of the meat is good.  Although, most places carry Standard and Select cuts, not Choice, and never Prime, you will save a couple of dollars per pound by shopping in areas where the clientele is more price conscious and less into a pleasant atmosphere and getting a latte while they shop.

3. Let your burger rest at least three minutes before you bite into it.  Remember a burger is just a chopped steak designed to be eaten with your hands.  By letting your burger rest you retain all that juicy goodness.

4. A thin burger is a wasted burger. Burgers should be at least a half a pound each.  Anything less than a half a pound ends up being dry and tasteless.  Unless, you make them the size of billiard balls, and then they would be called meatballs.

5. The best burger is a flame kissed grilled burger, but if your landlord is adverse to an open flame inside your apartment then use an indoor grill pan, and heat the grill pan until very hot before you slap that precious piece of meat on it.  Putting a burger in a cold pan to cook is the same thing as steaming it.  Hot grill pan, cold meat: tasty burger.

6. As I stated above, I only put salt and pepper on the outside of my burgers, but I use kick-ass salt and pepper.  I use gray salt and coarsely cracked black pepper, think, steak au poivre.  The cracked black peppercorns roast and release an intense earthy aroma, and when you are chewing the burger the pepper and salt kick up the flavor of any condiments you put on the buns.

7. Buns: brioche is my choice.  I buy brioche buns ( I live in San Francisco, remember) split them, butter them and toast them in a medium hot pan.  If you can not find brioche buns use Kaiser rolls, or slices of challah can work too.

If you follow my burger making regime, I guarantee you that the only time you will eat a fast food burger is when you are stranded in the middle of nowhere and your only alternative is eating your shoe, or a “clown” burger

Oh, last point, there is only one time when it is acceptable to eat a fast food “clown” burger, and that is when you are in a foreign country (outside of the U.S.A) and they call burgers things like: hamburgesas, or hambughars, or American style hamburgers.

You can always trust McDonalds to give you a safe, consistent, trustworthy product anywhere in the world. Use them like you would one of those iodine pills you put into suspect water while traveling.

 

Happy burger-ing, people.

Eat More Duck

photo by Antoinne von Rimes

Eat more duck?  I don’t know why we (Americans) don’t eat more duck.  I just had a pan roasted duck breast with coca sauce, served on a bed of lentils with cipollini onions the other day at Citizen Cake here in San Francisco, and throughout the meal I could not stop asking myself why I don’t eat more duck.  I love duck.

Duck has so much more flavor than chicken, and roasted duck fat and crispy skin surpasses that king of fatty delicacies bacon any day.  And, I really love bacon.  But, duck is another realm of sensuous eating pleasure.  Duck is like an affair with an exotic beauty who barely speaks your language.  Bacon is a fling with the hot bartender around the way.

Duck is never mentioned in those poultry scares.  I cannot remember any duck recalls, bans, poisonings, or governmental white papers against it.  The only thing we hear about is the whole foie gras flap.  Is it cruel, or is it not cruel?  If I were a duck I think I would say it is cruel to force me to eat when I do not want to eat, but if I were a duck I would also feel the evolutionary need to stuff myself silly for the long flight South and would feel it even more cruel if my keeper did not feed me all I crave to eat.  Other than that duck is free from controversy (to my limited culinary focused knowledge).

So why do we not eat more duck?  Expense?  Hell yeah, that’s one reason.  Duck is expensive here in the States.  You may give the old chicken purchase the once around the brain and compare it to the cost of hamburger, but duck…that’s a stop and ponder this for awhile purchase.

Availability?  Yeah, that is also a problem in most areas.  You can’t just pop down to the market and pick up a fresh duck or duck breast.  Well, I live in San Francisco, and I can go to Chinatown and have them slaughter the duck of my choice for me.  If I was inclined to do that, and if my Cantonese was up to snuff to get it done. I assure you, I have not and it is not… so relax.  But availability is a problem because the only duck you are going to find is more than likely whole and frozen, and then you have to plan, thaw and wait.  Ok, duck seems really impractical now.

Treatment?  This is the last obstacle I see with duck.  Not the ethical treatment of them; although, that crosses my mind too.  I mean how should you cook it?  Should you butcher it and pan roast or grill the breast, and make confit out of the legs and thighs?  Or, should you break out the bike pump and fan and Peking that sucker?  That’s the dilemma.  

If I was Chef Gary Danko I could turn it into duck breast prosciutto, but there is only one Danko and I am not he.  If I was uber Chef Thomas Keller, I could create some dish out of duck that could revive the dead, but I am not Thomas Keller either.  I am just an ordinary cook who loves duck and cannot get past the Expense, Availability, and Treatment of duck in order to EAT duck.

If I lived in France, I don’t think I would have this problem.  I could buy fresh duck breasts, pay a bit more for it than chicken, go home and pan roast them, and use the rendered duck fat to fry some potatoes.  I could eat duck at will, and then ponder why I don’t eat more pheasant.  I’m still going to try and eat more duck.  

How about you?

Surf & Turf

photo by Chris Lightner

My wife Ari and I worked a little later than usual on Friday and both of us had a long week, so we were pretty set on dinner-in.  Went to Whole Foods without knowing what we were going to eat.  Scoping out the seafood section, we spotted some scallops, then checked out the meat department and couldn't resist the Aged Rib Eyes that were staring us down.

Our favorite cut is a Rib Eye - but what was difficult was whether to go with the scallops, or the meat.  Why not Surf & Turf?  We went with both.  We actually bought 2 rib eyes to begin with, but when we got home and saw how much food we had, we quickly realized that 4 scallops (weighing over half a pound) and a single rib eye (almost a pound) was going to be PLENTY of food.

The other Rib Eye is now sitting uncovered on a plate in the fridge and will be turned daily until about Wednesday.  This is a trick I learned from my buddy Sage, but have yet to try.  It is supposed to be awesome.

Browsing the produce section for a bit, we decided to go with a couple large artichokes.  We needed to make a decision quick because Ari's eagle eye had spotted the cheese samples from about 40 yds away...

For the wine, we went with a Pinot Noir since we had both red meat and shellfish on the menu.  Pinots are my "go to" when I'm not sure what to pair with.  You really can't go wrong in my experience.  Of course I'm still learning, so all wine tips are welcomed!

Give the 'chokes' a 20 minute head start in the steamer.  For the scallops, wrap them around with bacon and skewer them with a rosemary sprig.  Set them aside.  Start with heating a heavy cast iron pan (our "go-to" pan) by putting your stove on a medium-high heat.  Once it is hot, sear the first side of the Rib Eye well, about two minutes.  Give it a flip then turn the heat down a notch.

By now the pan should have plenty of juices and the scallops are ready to throw in.  Give the scallops 2-3 minutes on each of the 4 sides to thoroughly cook the bacon.  About 10 minutes total.  When everything is done, flip the steak once more and butter the top to add a little more deliciousness as well as tie in something that you'd usually have with seafood (butter).

When you serve it, put a little extra dab of butter on the other side of the steak as well; that makes for more sauce to dip the scallops in.  Ari whipped up some creamy balsamic to dip the chokes (mayo and balsamic).  The wine had been poured and given time to breath, and we were ready to chow down. Awesome meal, and about half the price of going out - which we usually do on Fridays.

photo by Chris Lightner

Chili’n Me Softly

Summer is just around the bend, and the smell of early evening BBQs (or as some of you say ‘cook-outs’), in the air is already abound. Good people, good food, good beverages, good times. While there always must be a meat, or a variety thereof to make a great BBQ, I love the sides, and one of my favorites is chili accompanied by cornbread.

It most recently reminds me of a 4^thof July BBQ at my old greasy spoon house—no offense guys—on Bay Street in San Francisco, a fun day indeed!

Chili and cornbread for a BBQ you say? Yes, and here is why. It’s the perfect side for all of your favorite meats OR vegetables. Slathering chili on your burger or hotdog immediately adds a tremendous amount of texture and flavor, and if you stock up on some small bowls, it also makes a great starter.

A pot of chili can easily stay warm if you have a burner on your grill, or even in a closed container outside. Some of you might eat cornbread with the chili, but it can also serve as a desert, which is what I prefer. Nothing better than hot cornbread slathered in butter and honey. “More please!”

My favorite recipe for chili comes from my mother Pam "Pamcake" Wilkinson, who still makes chili every once-in-awhile when I come home and visit—especially for me. And for all of you folks like me who sometimes take the easy route in cooking, Mrs. Wilkinson’s specially-kept-unrevealed-until- today secret makes it a painless process—Carroll Shelby’s Original Texas Brand Chili Kit.

And just like the saying goes, good things come in small packages, the only thing I’d add to that is, sometimes in small brown packages (as shown below). Carroll Shelby’s is usually available at your local grocery store, or you can order it online.

Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Style Chili

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 1 package Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit (contains all of the essentials below):
  • -1 chili packet for seasoning
  • -1 packet of cayenne pepper
  • -1 packet of salt
  • -1 packet of masa flour for thickness

Option to add beans (I always do, and prefer white beans, although a can of kidney would work as well)

For chunkier chili, feel free to add canned tomatoes to taste

Instructions

Brown ground beef in large skillet. Drain fat. Add tomato sauce and water. Add Large Spice Packet and salt to taste. For spicier chili, add cayenne pepper (small red packet*). Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve piping hot. Makes 5 servings.

*I like spice, so I always heat it up with the cayenne pepper

Hey history buffs, there actually is a Carol Shelby, and he’s a former race car driver that had a chili recipe named after him. If only we could all be so lucky.

And for all of you that are counting your calories, which I sure as heck should be, you can find calories and nutritional information here.

Other useful links:

International Chili Society

Chili Appreciation Society International

Chilicon carne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

chili: Food Network

Red Hot Chili Peppers Online

snopes.com: Finger in Wendy's Chili

Halibut, how do I love thee?

photo by Antoinne von Rimes

Halibut, I love Halibut so much that I eat it three to four days a week when it’s in season, and thank God it is back in season now. Halibut season runs from March until the middle of November.  The span in-between I call hell because I am deprived of the luscious white, sweet, meaty treat called halibut.

I live in San Francisco and people here go on and on about salmon and Dungeness crab, ad infinitum…ho-freaking-hum.  There is no salmon dish baked, roasted, steamed or raw that can come close to a basket of properly beer battered, deep fried, halibut.

The crisp, crunchy, golden brown exterior and the steaming hot tender fish inside is food porn to me.  I want to close the blinds, conceal myself from prying eyes while I give myself over to this unmatched sin.

A drop of lemon or lime juice with the first bite, and then a dollop of my homemade tartar sauce with the second, and I’m half way to being spent.  My deep fried Halibut is crisp and golden brown on the outside with white, nearly, luminescent flesh, shrouded in a mist of escaping steam on the inside.

My mouth knows it will be tender and sweet. It seduces me to take a bite. I bite, munch, and gorge.  Before I know it, I end the evening sprawled on my couch, flakes of fried batter clinging to my face.  A sudden rush of guilt washes over me…shame not too far behind.  I pick myself up and tell myself I will have more self control next time…tomorrow

Fresh Tomato and Garlic Sauce with Shrimp and Linguine

photo by Amy Koch

A fresh, simple, yet impressive dish for you and your loved one, or for entertaining guests.  The beauty is in its simplicity; you only need 8 ingredients.  This also takes less than a half hour to complete so you'll have more time to spend with the people you are with.

I made this to submit to SippitySup's Tomatomania contest.  Oh!  Be sure to use a white a wine that you will drink with it because you only need a little bit for the sauce.  

Ingredients:

· ½ pound of medium shrimp, 12-15 shelled and deveined

· 3 large slicer tomatoes concasséd (peeled, seeded, and chopped)

· 2 cloves garlic minced

· ¼ cup basil, chiffonade

· 6 ounces linguine

· 2 tablespoons olive oil

· Juice of half a lemon

· 2 tablespoons of dry white wine

· Salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in sauté pan, add minced garlic, sauté for 30 seconds. Add concassé of tomatoes. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until tomatoes begin break down, then add 2 tablespoons of the white wine plus 1 teaspoon of salt and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta and cook according to the box’s instructions. In another pan, heat additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season shrimp with salt and pepper, and sear for 1 minute each side, squeeze lemon juice over shrimp, then add them to the tomato sauce. Let simmer in sauce for an additional 2 minutes to finish cooking.

Toss noodles with sauce and basil. Enjoy!

Serves 2.

Fried Heirloom Tomatoes with Basil Ricotta and Red Wine Vinegar Reduction

photo by Dave Koch

We saw some really nice heirloom tomatoes at our Whole Foods the other day (we also saw San Francisco's Mayor, Gavin Newsom but that's another story) - and SippitySup's tomatomania contest was fresh in my head.  I came up with this recipe thinking about putting a new twist on the ubiquitous caprese salad.

By breading and frying the tomatoes, you get a little crunch, and their sugars begin to caramelize. Their natural sweetness is enhanced by the honey in the reduction and the acidity adds a POP that would otherwise be missing with only the cheese, basil, and tomatoes.

The key to pulling this off, is mise en place; getting everything set so that you can plate it in a jiffy, serve, and eat while it's still piping hot. Once you begin to cook the tomatoes, they’ll start to break down, so work quickly. Half the texture is in keeping a little bite to the tomatoes to contrast with the soft cheese.

Ingredients:

· 2 nice heirloom tomatoes, a red and a green preferably
· 1 cup of ricotta, I used "part skim"
· 1/4 cup of basil, minced fine
· 1/4 cup flour
· 1/4 cup bread crumbs
· 1/4 Parmesan cheese, grated
· Salt & pepper
· 1 cup red wine vinegar (homemade is best!)
· 1 tablespoon honey
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

Begin by reducing the red wine vinegar with the honey in a small pot over medium heat, this step will take the longest.  Mix your basil and the ricotta in a bowl.  Slice the tomatoes about 1/2 inch thick, thicker slices hold up better and are less likely to fall apart.

Combine the flour, bread crumbs, and the Parmesan cheese on a large plate so that you can dip the tomato slices into it easily.  Be sure to season the bread crumb mixture well with salt and pepper, about a tablespoon of each. It may seem like a lot, but not all of it will stick to the tomatoes.

I recommend a non-stick pan for this because the breading is likely to separate from the tomato otherwise.  Add a tablespoon each of the olive oil and the butter to the pan, and put on medium-high heat - you are not supposed to heat a non-stick pan dry. Once the butter begins to foam, quickly dip the tomatoes into the breading so that you get an even coat on both sides (don't do this ahead of time or you will make glue).  Place into the pan.

Fry until GBnD (Golden Brown and Delicious), about 2 minutes on each side.  Place one tomato slice on the plate, add a dollop of basil ricotta on top, then the other slice of tomato, then another dollop of ricotta.  Spoon a drizzle of the vinegar reduction around the sides.  Serve immediately.

Makes enough for 2.

Bacon, Peanut Butter, and Basil Sandwich

The B-PB-B!.  Kind of a shoddy photo for such a delicious sandwich (it was taken with my phone) but the muses were with me when I came up with it.

I know it sounds crazy but don't laugh until you try it!

The saltiness of the bacon and the saltiness of the peanut butter play nice together on the swings while the basil is is busy getting dizzy on the carousel.

There is creamy, crunchy, salty, and herbal all going on.  White bread allows all the flavors to shine but whole wheat would be good too.

Ingredients:

3 strips of bacon - baked, nuked, or fried

2 pieces of white bread, toasted

1 small handful of basil, about 6 large leaves

1 smathering of peanut butter - chunky or smooth, your call

Instructions:

Put everything in between the slices of bread.  Eat.

Lemon Confit

photo by Dave Koch

Confit is a very old method of preserving, the word confit in fact comes from confire which means "to prepare."  It most often recognized as confit of goose (confit d'oie) or duck (confit de canard) but the principles are similar no matter what you are preparing.  In the case of meat, you cook the meat in its own fat and a hefty amount of salt, and it is stored that way - stored in the fat because as it cools, it solidifies.

For fruit; however, it is sugar that drives out the moisture, not cooking with fat.  Thanks to friends of ours, we have an abundance of lemons right now and preserving them was going to be the only way from preventing them all to spoil.

This is an adaptation of Tom Colicchio's Lemon Confit from his book Think Like a Chef.

Ingredients: 

• Lemons, lots of them - for the amounts below, use a dozen
• 3 Shallots
• 8 cloves Garlic
• 2/3 cup Salt
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• Olive oil, a few cups

Instructions:

Blanch the lemons by dropping them into boiling water for about thirty seconds.  This removes any wax they might have been sprayed with, and should kill any mold spores.  Wipe clean and slice thin.  You could use a mandolin, but we weren't too picky so we used a knife.  

Mix the sugar and salt, put into a bowl.  Mince the shallots and the garlic fine, combine.  

Place a layer of the lemon slices at the bottom of a container, glass is best.  (We made this at a friends house so there are pictures of a Tupperware, but we transferred them into a glass jar when we got home).  

Following the layer of lemons, sprinkle some of the salt/sugar mixture, and then some of the shallot/garlic mixture.  Repeat until you run out: lemons, salt/sugar, shallot/garlic.  

Lightly pat down everything, we used a wooden spoon, and add olive oil until everything is covered and not exposed to air.  Make sure your container has a lid, put that on too.

Leave at room temperature for three days then place in the refridgerator.  They will keep for up to three months.  

Use in chicken, fish, or veggie dishes to add zest and color.  The acid and garlic supposedly mellow out and meld together with time.  Lemon confit and otherwise preserved lemons are common ingredients in Moroccan and Middle Eastern recipes, but I'll bet will make a fantastic condiment to almost anything.

Sunchoke Soup

photo by Dave Koch

Also known as Jerusalem Artichokes, you can make Sunchokes into a quick, easy, and delicious soup in about 15 minutes.  Interestingly enough, Sunchokes are native to North America and are one of the continent's only tubers.  When they bloom, their flower looks much like a small Sunflower.  

The name Jerusalem artichoke is from the Italian name Girasole articicco (Sunflower Artichoke) because of their plumage and because the first group of Italians to snack on them thought they tasted like artichokes.  When the name came back to the New World, Americans had difficulty saying Girasole and thus converted it to Jerusalem.

And now back to the soup.  In full disclosure, these were the first Sunchokes I have had.  I peeled them, cut off a little piece to eat raw, and was blown away by how sweet they were.  My first thought was how tasty they would be raw in a salad, much like Jicama - maybe next time, soup was already in the works...

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of Sunchokes, peeled and diced 
• 2 small carrots, or one giant one, diced
• 2 ribs of celery, diced
• 1 tablespoon of chicken or veggie bouillon, I like the brand Better than Bouillon  
• 4 cups water
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Instructions:

In a medium/hot pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil, the carrots, celery, and the sunchokes.  Season well with salt & pepper and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.  When they yield easily to being prodded with a fork, add the water and the bouillon and bring to a boil.  

Hold the boil for 5 minutes, and when complete, blend thoroughly with an emersion blender (or transfer to a traditional blender in batches).  I garnished with a dollop of yogurt, a drizzle of olive oil, and a few squirts of Sriracha Hot Sauce.

Enjoy!

Dr. Bronner's Magic Foaming Soap

photo by Dave Koch

We use a lot of soap in our house and I've always been a fan of Dr. Bronner's Magic Pure Castile Soap but the huge squirt bottle kind of sucks.  Really.  What I discovered recently is that the magic really occurs when you dilute it into a foaming hand soap pump.

Well, you've got to wash your hands, and you've always got dishes to do... so why not do them the Magic Pure Castile way?

Begin with a fancy foaming hand pump soap, we use Dial [don't you wish everyone did...?]  

Use it up.

photo by Dave Koch

I grew up on the stuff, usually the Peppermint scent.  It works great for cutting grease on dishes and it doesn't do a nasty toll on your "dish-pan" hands.  Unfortunately, it never has had a decent delivery system - until I tried putting it into foaming hand soap pumps.  Now it is complete.

We have used the Peppermint, the Lavender, and the Tea Tree Oil.  I even added a little Tee Tree Oil that I had sitting around to each batch.  Why not?  

photo by dave Koch

For each, add a small squirt (maybe an ounce or so) to the soap bottle, fill the rest up with water, cap it and you're done.  

I'm not the cheapest bastard in the the bunch but let's do the math:

A 32 ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner's costs $15 and will make about 20 batches of hand soap.  That's about 75 cents per batch and I swear it works as good as - or better than the stuff you have laying around.

Give it whirl!  I'm going to try the Rose or the Eucalyptus next...

Homemade Croutons. Duh.

photo by Matt Haas This might be the biggest no brainer ever.  

Ingredients:

• Bread
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmesan Cheese  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bread into cubes and toss with oil, salt & pepper and a generous dusting of parm.  Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Add to your soup or salad while still warm.

photo by Matt Haas

Notes: I always have some frozen bread in the freezer - maybe half a baguette, the end of a rustic loaf, whatever.  Fresh bread is fine, but this is a really great use of leftovers.  I love cooking up a small batch of homemade croutons and tossing in a salad while they are still a little warm.  Trust me.

photo by Matt Haas

Turkey Meatball Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Buns

Turkey Meatball Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Buns - photo by Dave Koch

Coincidentally enough, Chow.com's Recipe of the Day last Tuesday (March 24th) was the Meatball Sub.  This is my lighter version of the standard meatball sandwich.  I used ground turkey instead of beef, whole wheat buns in place of white bread, and bake the meatballs instead of searing them in oil.  A guilt-free, easy to prepare meal that the whole family will love!

Ingredients

• 1.25 pounds ground turkey
• 3/4 cup yellow onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup dried italian breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 Tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
• 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
• 10-12 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 6 whole wheat hoagie or hot dog buns

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl combine turkey, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, parmesan, and parsley. Mix ingredients to combine, however, do not over mix as meat will become tough.

Form mixture into balls and place on a sheet pan sprayed with olive oil. Bake in oven for 10-20 minutes, until just barely cooked through.  While meat is baking, combine marinara sauce with canned tomatoes in large saute pan and let simmer. 

Place cooked meatballs in tomato sauce and let simmer together 3-5 minutes. Serve warm meatballs in buns with slice mozzarella.

Serves 6