Tofu Bake

As most of my readers know, I was vegan for many years, and this was one of my favorite comfort food dishes I invented about 7 years ago.  Meat lover or not...this is simply good food that's pretty good for you.  It's a great dish to keep in your arsenal if you need to provide a dish for your veggy / vegan friends.

INGREDIENTS:

1 BLOCK OF EXTRA FIRM TOFU CUBED
2 CUPS OF BROCCOLI FLORETS
1-1.5 CUPS OF MUSHROOMS QUARTERED
1-1.5 CUPS OF QUARTERED SMALL RED POTATOES

Ingredients

1 CUP OF ASPARAGUS CHOPPED
3 TABLESPOONS OF PEANUT BUTTER
3 TABLESPOONS OF TAHINI
1 TABLESPOON OF KOREAN CHILI PASTE
1 TABLESPOON OF CHILI PASTE / SRIRACHA
1 TABLESPOON OF SESAME OIL
3 TABLESPOONS OF SOY SAUCE OR BRAGGS
WATER TO THIN AS DESIRED

First step is to chop all your ingredients.  What I listed as my veggies is what I like, but feel free to change it up and add or subtract what you like.  When using potatoes as I do, it's important to cook it longer so the potatoes get done!

Mix in a large bowl

In a large bowl add the peanut butter, tahini, Korean chili paste, sriracha, sesame oil soys sauce and some water.  You want a consistency that is somewhat like the thickness of a good paint.  Once this is mixed, toss in all your prepared veggies and toss to coat everything in the sauce.

Pour entire mixture into a baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake at a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and cook for a while longer until you see a bit of color on the top of the bake.

Serve this over brown rice with a nice glass of white wine....it's YUMMY.

Camping Grub

 Who says you can't eat well when you are camping!  This past weekend several of us descended on Fredericksburg, TX to enjoy a weekend away from the hustle and bustle.  We decided to fix a Caprese salad and pork tenderloin in a caper cream sauce.

Caprese Salad:

Such a great salad to have in the summer!

Slice Tomatoes
Slice Mozzarella around the same thickness as tomatoes
Chiffonade a few leaves of basil

Dressing:

4 Tablespoons of Balsamic
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground mustard
Pinch of salt
While whisking, drizzle in olive oil.  Add enough oil to slightly thicken.

Drizzle dressing over the salad, sprinkle the basil and serve!

The Pork Tenderloin is a tried and true recipe of mine.  This version we grilled the tenderloins to 155 degrees and served it with a caper cream sauce....it was a crowd pleaser!

Asian Style Ribs

ASIAN STYLE RIBS:

I found a frozen rack of ribs in my freezer, left over from some giant meat fest I did earlier this year.  I've been wanting to play around with ribs done in the oven, and decided on something Asian inspired.  After looking through several recipes, I got the general idea of what I wanted to do.

1.  Line a baking sheet with foil (really reduces clean-up later.)

2.  On another piece of heavy duty foil, place your ribs, either whole rack or cut in half as you see in the pic.  Liberally salt and pepper them, then seal them up in foil.  Before you close it up, add about 1/4 cup of water so there is moisture in the foil pack.  Seal, place the pouch on the covered baking sheet and put in a 300 degree oven for two hours.

3.  Glaze:  I basically used equal parts of:  Honey, Hoisin, soy and rice wine vinegar.  To that I added 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger and 1/2 teaspoon on chili flakes.  More if you like it hotter.

4.  Open up the foil pack of ribs, exposing them completely.  Leave the pouch on the lined baking sheet and brush with the initial coating of your glaze.  Put the ribs back in the oven UNCOVERED  for another hour, re-basting every 15 minutes.

These ribs were so tender, and the glaze was just perfect.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Eat Well!

Kevin

Easter Turkey - Injected and Smoked

I suppose you could call Sunday's turkey a bit of an experiment, only because I've not injected a turkey before, nor have I smoked an entire bird.  I will say, the results were quite tasty, and i'd do it again in a heartbeat.  An acquaintance of mine suggested trying Tony Chachere's injectable marinades, he thought they were pretty tasty and produced a moist flavorful bird.  So let's give credit where credit is due...here is the link for Tony Chachere's marinades:

Here's what I did:

1.  Rinse and pat dry a turkey.  I don't recommend going over 12-13 lbs for smoking, it will simply take too long.

2.  Using the injector, inject marinade in several spots in the breast meat, legs and thighs.  You will notice how the meat of the bird puffs up with the injection liquid.

3.  I used a BBQ rub over the entire bird, then let it sit for about an hour.  during that time, I got the smoker up to temp...around 225-250 degrees.  I used Apple Wood for this recipe.  I think it's a milder smoke and usually is my go to wood for poultry.

4.  My bird smoked for around 7 hours to get the deepest part of the breast meat up between 165-170.  I took it off and let it rest for about an hour while we made the other goodies to go along with the bird.

NOTES:  I think the bird came out very well.  The meat was amazingly tender and juicy with tons of flavor.  I think next time I will make my own marinade and try different flavor profiles.  The injection syringe is something that you can use over and over again, but for goodness sake, put it in a safe spot...the point is super sharp!    I recommend this method, it's fun and produced a great end product!

Eat Well!

Stuffed Pork Loin Chop

Inspired by my trip to the Farmers Market this week, I decided to make dinner for my folks Sunday evening.  Along with the greens that I posted in the previous entry, I also served Kohlrabi sautéed in garlic and olive oil and a tomato and mozzarrela salad with garlic oil, balsamic and saffron salt.  Stuffed chops are super easy, and can be assembled ahead of time to keep kitchen mess at a minimum.  This recipe requires brining the pork which is listed in a previous entry.

http://kevsculinarycreations.blogspot.com/2013/07/to-brine-or-not-to-brine.html

Stuffed Pork Loin Chop:

1.  Brine the pork as listed above.
2.  Make a mixture of diced ham and shredded cheese.  Use whatever cheese you like...no rules here.

3.  Make a pouch in the chop.  This is done by using a paring knife to carefully cut a cavity in the chop.  Then pack as much of the mixture in the cavity you just created.   See Pic

 






4.  Seal or close the pouch with a toothpick...just remember to remove the toothpick before you serve it!

At this point you can cover the chops, put them in the fridge and keep them ready for when you want to prepare them.  

Preparation:  

Salt and Pepper your chops.  In a pan, heat up a mixture of butter and olive oil and sear one side of the chops to a nice color.  Flip the chops and finish in a 400 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes.  You don't want to overcook these.  When done, let them rest and plate.  I served mine with a dark balsamic vinegar drizzled over it...it was fantastic.  The darkness of the balsamic almost makes the chop looked burnt...but trust...it wasn't!  

Be creative with your stuffings...I've used all kinds of cheese, spicy sausages, and even traditional surfing mixtures.  

Enjoy, and Eat Well!

Kale, a Great Side Dish

I love greens of all sorts, Kale being one of them.  It's such a hearty green that can stand up to long cooking times, and really takes on the flavor of the liquid you are cooking it in.  I will most likely post a few things today...goodness knows I need to do a bit of catch up on my blog.  Tonight I'm making stuffed pork chops, and this little green has been invited to the party.

How I like to prepare Kale is pretty simple.


1 Bunch of Kale
3 slices of bacon diced
About 1/4 of an onion diced
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
2-3 cups of water
Tablespoon of Chicken Base, or instead of water and chicken base, simply use chicken broth.
Salt to taste (be mindful of the chicken base...it's pretty salty!)
Vinegar of your choice to finish

Prepare your Kale.  Now, some people actually pull off just the leaves, and don't cook the stems.  I on the other hand like the texture and keep most of the stem on the plant.  In the pic above you will notice where the leaves start...cut the stems off below that...those are a bit rough.  Next wash and cut up the kale.  Keep in mind, your kale will shrink a LOT when cooked, so small cuts are not necessary.  I usually kind of chiffonade it like i do basil but in 1/2 inch strips.

In a sauce pan, sauté your bacon till almost crisp, then add in your diced onion and cook that for a few minutes.  When the onions are starting to cook add in your greens, red pepper flakes, water or broth and cook for a while.  Now, it's your choice how long to cook greens, I don't like them complete mush, so I check on them now and then till I find the texture I like.  Usually my favorite texture takes about 45 minutes  No rules at this point...it will just depend on your preference.  When I'm ready to serve, I slash some red wine vinegar into it to add a bit of brightness, taste for salt and serve it up.

Eat Well!

Separating Eggs Yolks

Ok, this little video is pretty amazing and I can't wait to try.  Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

http://wisemindhealthybody.com/separate-egg-yolk-easy/

How Do you Buy Spices

Hello Everyone!  I suppose today's blog entry is more of a tip than anything else, and I promise full of savings!  For most of my life when I needed spices, I'd go to the spice isle, look up and down until I found what I wanted, then usually chose the least expensive brand because I found some of those jars of goodness really expensive!

What most people don't realize, spices have a shelf life of 6 months to a year, beyond that they have lost quite a bit of their flavor and "power" so to speak.  When I learned this and actually did an inventory of my spices, I found some that I had in my cupboard that were there since college...well beyond the 1 year mark!  So, I'd like to recommend you change up the way you deal with spices, from storage to acquisition.

1.  Purchase a set of generic spice jars.  These come in all sorts of sizes and shapes, and most all include labels for a variety of spices.  If they don't come with labels, pull out that old label maker you have laying around and don't know what to do with..OR..use a dry erase marker to write on the top of each jar.  Here is an example:  This is on Amazon.com, just search for spice jars.

2.  AVOID the canned spice isle.  Go to a supermarket that has spices in bulk.  You will quickly find you can fill a spice jar for less than a dollar vs. several dollars on the pre-packaged type.  You can also buy the amount you think you will use in a year vs. a jar that may last until the end of time!

3.  Now that you have jars that are all the same size and shape you can arrange them in a variety of ways that fit your cupboard.  I purchased a wire tray and line mine up in there...it's awesome and so easy to access.

Once you get used to getting spices in the bulk spice area, you will never go back to the spice isle.  I'm not saying that on occasion I don't use pre-packaged rubs and odd spices, but 90% of the time I can get what I need in the bulk area.

Eat Well!

Salmon Deviled Eggs

So my boss at my last job and I had several discussions about deviled eggs, and the fact he just didn't care for the "egginess" of the filling.  After giving this some thought I decided I'd change it up a bit by adding smoked salmon to the mix.  I thought the smokiness of the salmon would help mask the pronounce yolk flavor that you have in so many recipes. So David...this recipe is for you....give it a try!



INGREDIENTS: 

1 DOZ EGGS
3 TBSP DICED ONION
1 TBSP CAPERS
1 PACKAGE 1.25 OZ SMOKED SALMON (SEE PIC)
1/2 TSP DILL
3 TBSP MAYO
1.5 TBSP SOUR CREAM
PINCH OF SALT
PINCH OF PEPPER

1.  You want to hard boil your eggs.  Now I've cooked many things in my days, but I will admit publicly that I hate making hard boiled eggs.  I know...some of you are pros and the shell just slides off....well not me!  Hey, we all need to strive for something..mine is an easy peel hard boiled egg.  Here's a link that may help.  http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_perfect_hard_boiled_eggs/print/

2.  Once the eggs are boiled and peeled, half the eggs and put the yolk in a food processor.  Along with the yolks, add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Once this is complete, put your mixture in a plastic zip lock bag as seen in the pic.  Cut the end off and pipe the mixture into each egg half.

3.  At this point the hard work is over.  For presentation and a little added flavor put a bit of caviar on each egg.  Not only does it look nice, but it really adds a briny element to the deviled egg.

There really aren't rules to deviled eggs....give this one a try or share your favorite idea with me!

Eat Well!

Mjeddrah - Palastinian Street Food

This is one of my all time favorite side dishes to make...and bonus..it's completely vegetarian.  I'm dedicating this post to my friend from St. Louis, Kay Yoon who lived in the Middle East for several years, and brought this recipe home with her.  If you research this dish, you will find many variations, and her's is a bit different as well, but oh so Yummy!

You can do this without a pressure cooker, and most versions of this recipe don't call for one.  Kay however, taught me that it give a great texture to the dish and is done in 1/2 the time.


INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 ONIONS MED DICED
1 CUP OF ORANGE LENTILS
2 CUPS OF BASMATI RICE
6 CUPS OF WATER
TABLESPOON OF SALT AND PEPPER

1.  In your pressure cooker, add the oil and caramelize the onions.  This step takes some time, but is critical for the taste of the dish.  Do this on a med heat so you don't burn the onions.  Caramelization is good, burnt is yucky!

2.  While this is going on, rinse your lentils.  Many recipes call for brown lentils, but kay insisted on using the tiny orange / red lentils.  They really break down into nothing, giving this dish a very dense outcome.

3.  Once the onions look as they do in the picture, add the rice, lentils, salt, pepper and water to the pressure cooker.  Seal the cooker, and when it begins to steam, pressure cook for 17 minutes.

After the 17 minutes have passed, let your cooker cool, and open it up.  At this point, you need to determine taste and consistency.  If it's too soupy, then continue to cook on the stove until it tightens up.  If it's too think, simply add water and stir until it loosens up.  Taste it as well...it will most likely need some additional salt.

Kay explained to me that this was a very basic street food in Palestine.  Most of the recipes call for fried onions on the top, though I never add that step to the dish.  Kay always served this dish along side a salad with a garlic acidy dressing.

In this version, the consistency will be thick like mashed potatoes...the rice and lentils really break down.  I LOVE that about this version...and the simplicity of the flavors are amazing.  It re-heats well, and again...if it sets up too thick...just add some water and it comes right back to life.  ENJOY!

Roasted Cauliflower

Pretty much roasted anything is yummy, but lately I've really been enjoying Roasting Cauliflower.  Take a head of cauliflower and cut the florets into small pieces.  Some of them may have to be cut in half or even quartered as seen in the attached pic.  Once you do that, put them in a big ol' bowl to prep for some roasting.  I like to drizzle some olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and coriander over all of it, toss and put in a shallow roasting pan or cookie sheet.  Place in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees and let it roast until it starts to brown nicely.  You'll be able to tell...and quite honestly some of those dark edges are the best part of the dish!  Roasting maintains some nice crunch / texture, and the seasoning is really tasty!

Smoked Chicken

So as a follow up to my post about my nifty electric smoker, I thought I'd share the latest adventure in smoking.  My Dad has been saying how much he would like to smoke a chicken on his smoker, but just hasn't done it yet.  So I invited Mom and Dad out to the house and tested a recipe out to see if he would liked it.

When I smoke chickens, I use simple fryers.  I try and get birds that are hormone free, or as naturally raised as possible.  A fryer will range in price from 4-8 bucks a bird, depending on where you buy it and how "naturally" raised it was.  When I get it home, I split the bird down the back by cutting down it's backbone.  I like to use kitchen shears for this..it's easy and quick.  Once you slice down it's back, open up the bird to it's basically laying flat.  I rinse the chicken off, getting any remaining blood, and trim off the huge fat flaps near the backside.  After a basic clean up, I pat it dry with some paper towels and get the chicken ready for seasoning.  At this point,
you can pretty much season the chicken as you wish.  This run, I used a seasoning that my brother gave me for Christmas called "Butt Rub".  Pretty basic rub flavors and worked well.  Once seasoned liberally on BOTH SIDES, take the birds out and get them on your smoker.  If you are running at 225-250 degrees, they will take about 4-5 hours.  you want the temp to be around 170 and juices to be clear.

I've done this recipe many times and it's always a crowd pleaser.  Enjoy!

My Trusty Smoker

I'd like to share with you a product that I have found to be extremely reliable and good at what is does, and that's my Brinkmann Electric Smoker.

I purchased this at my local Mega Hardware Store for less than 100 bucks, and it's been one of the best products I've come across.  Due to the fact it's electric, you can plug it in and not worry about maintaining the proper temperature.  This little baby keeps a constant 225-250 degrees for as long as it's plugged in.  I make foil packets with soaked wood chips that I rotate in every 45 min or so to keep smoke going...and PRESTO, the end result is always yummy.  I love the idea of a big smoker, and goodness knows, they can get pretty amazing.  But is you want a simple product that hits a home run every time....check out the Brinkmann Electric Smoker!

Chorizo Onion and Cheese Omelet

Good Morning Everyone

Well it's been a while since I've posted on my blog, and I'm going to try and do a better job of being more regular.  I injured my arm earlier this year and just didn't have the motivation to cook while in a cast.  I'm happy to say that all is well and I'm back at it.

For you folks that are trying to lower your carb intake, this is a really yummy omelet.  Making Omelets are somewhat tricky, if they are to come out light, fluffy and full of flavor.  In my opinion, there is nothing worse that an overcooked flat omelet.

The basics are to sauté your ingredients in an omelet pan first, so a little prep is needed.  For this I diced up some onion and Chorizo, and threw it in the pan.  No need for oil, there will be plenty that cooks out of the sausage.  Once some of the fat is rendered out of the sausage and the onions have a little color on them, add in two beaten eggs.  At this point you need to lift up portions of the edge of the Omelet and tip some of the uncooked egg under the omelet.  This is what builds height.  Go around the pan and do this on all sides.  Once most of the egg mixture is cooked, you need to flip the omelet over for not even a minute.  This finishes cooking the egg.  Not flip back, add your cheese, fold over and put on a plate.

ENJOY!