Greetings Food Lovers and all things fun!
As I have previously mentioned, this weekend is the premiere of "The Walking Dead" on AMC, this is the same channel the bring us "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men", two excellent and critically acclaimed shows. I had talked about what I was planning to prepare for that night, but during the week it hit me. The Spaghetti Fit. It was useless to try and resist. When it happens I go straight to the kitchen and see what I need, and if I don't have it, I go get it. From there its time to cook...
I have always been a spaghetti fiend. When I was a kid, my mom would make it and it would be gone the next day, leftover are for suckers! I love it! And as I have expanded my horizons in the kitchen, I have developed my own interpretation on the dish. I definitely encourage you to try this one.
To start I fill my pasta boiler with water and get that boiling, then I grab a large stock pot and pour in a little olive oil and let that get warm over medium-high heat, then I take about 1 pound of Ground Beef, sometimes I'll use 1/2 pound of beef and 1/2 pound of Sausage, but for this excursion I used beef only. Once the pot is nice and war, then I add the beef that has already been pre-seasoned with salt and ground black pepper, as that starts brown and render down, I then add, depending on size, 1 or 2 Red Onions and 1 large Yellow Onion, and let the start cook along with the beef. While that is going on I will take 3-4 cloves of garlic and finely chop them up and add them to the fun. And right about now your kitchen should start filling up with that aromatic scent of good food...! Then I will take a basket or two of Mushrooms, depending on mood, and give them a very coarse or rough chop, I like to get chunks of Mushroom in every bite! Add them to the beef and watch as they all dance and blend and release their flavors...pure ecstasy.
In the past I have talked about making my own Tomato sauce, (Thanks Marcy for the Tomatoes!) but on this journey I was fresh out, nuts! But I was prepared because when I went to the store earlier I got two cans of tomato sauce, one large and one small. As well as one large can of diced tomatoes. I added that to the mixture and its magnificent! But not quite ready to rumble yet, after adding the tomato sauce I reduce the heat to a simmer and as the sauce simmers, I check to see if my pasta water is a nice boil, and since it is I salt that water and add a tablespoon of olive oil to it, the oil is the ensure the pasta won't stick, then add my pasta to the boiling water.
As my attention returns to my sauce I just need to add a few seasonings to it and we are done! As the sauce is simmering now, I add a tablespoon of Oregano, and a table spoon of Italian Seasoning. And since my mom likes hers with a little heat, I do as well, so I then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of Chili Powder to the sauce depending on my mood. I have learned that, like Gorgonzola, too much will overpower your finished product. So before adding the second tablespoon, taste it, if the heat quotient is sufficient then leave as is, if not, add a little more and taste again and once you are satisfied with the taste just let it simmer on low making sure to stir it periodically. That's to ensure an even and smooth distribution of the ingredients as well as making sure it doesn't stick to the pot.
Once the pasta is nice and done, usually about 8 minutes or so, drain all the water from it and add it to your sauce, let it all simmer together for a few minutes and then its time to grub! Serve along with a salad or some French bread and a glass of wine, and enjoy one of the simpler pleasures....
That's all for this brief one, so have a safe and fun Halloween, and I'll be watching "The Walking Dead" after the World Series, thus until next time...
Thanks for reading,
Marc-Big Sexy
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Bowling For Sushi
Greetings once again fellow fans of grub and its preparation!
Over the weekend the past weekend I finally got my stove top repaired... "What's this?" some of you may ask, its simple, last week I almost blew the house up. Permit me to explain. I was cleaning the stove, as all of us chef's do, getting ready for the next creations, and during that I removed all of the knobs from the stove top and placed them in the dishwasher as is regular custom. About 10:00 or so that night someone, I forgot who(because I would shift blame that direction) mentioned pancakes. I thought "Well that sounds tasty", so I reached into the washer and took one of the knobs out and whipped up some pancakes, which were fantastic in my opinion...but I digress. After the dish washer finished its cycle, but before it was done drying completely, I decided to remove the rest of the knobs and place them back on the cook top. (I can hear some of you now, "Uh-oh...") Around midnight I was reading and listening to podcast partner Big Ken's "Flavorfoundation Radio", http://podcast.theflavorfoundation.com/, when I heard the stove make a ticking sound that it does when a person turns on one of the burners, thinking that was weird I went into the kitchen thinking that I had accidentally bumped one into the "start" or "ignite" position. So I just made sure knobs were secured and went back to listening and reading... About 30 minutes pass and then my lights dim and there's this crackling electrical sound coming from the kitchen, I look in there and out of the cook top there is this good-sized billow of white smoke. Oops. That could be a problem. My reaction was to turn the gas off to the stove, so I reached under the cook-top to shut off the gas line. The oven is a wall mount unit so it wasn't in the way. As I reached under the cook-top, I knocked over some glasses that had been stored there, not by me....grrrr.... As they broke I cut a few fingers on my right hand, just great, but didn't reach the gas lever. At this point I remembered that I am not a professional in this field and that there could be fire that I don't see, so I called the Fire Department just to be sure. When I called I was certain to point out it wasn't an emergency but that I just wanted to sure, and they said they would send someone out. The Fire Dept. arrived at my house 4 minutes later! Wow! They came in and turned off the gas and unplugged the stove top, checked out my hand and said it was probably the igniter shorting out from the moisture of the still damp knobs....yep, it looks like I've done it again... But I was very grateful for their fast response, and as such there will be a field trip to the station with some goodies from the kitchen, I have always been a strong believer in taking care of the team, and these firefighters did their thing and made certain that Big Sexy is still in one piece, gotta show my appreciation and respect for what they do.
Since I was without my cook-top for a week, I was resorted to trying new things, so as I was rummaging through the freezer and lo and behold I found some Scallops that I had picked up a few days prior. I love scallops. I'm not kidding. I promised myself the first thing I was doing when I got the stove repaired was something with those scallops... Thus on Friday after Joe from Zajic Appliance Repair did his thing and got me back on track, I was ready to rock. But what shall it be? Scallops and Pappardelle? Been there already. I was having a Sushi fit, so I decided to do my own but with a twist, instead if doing rolls I would serve it up in small bowls, that way when those who claim to not like sushi, but have never tried anything other than California Rolls-you know who are, can try this not knowing its really sushi just prepared in another fashion. I can be a devil at times...
So as the Scallops defrosted I went out and gathered other ingredients needed, I already had some dried wasabi and soy sauce, I just needed some scallions, cucumber and and sriracha sauce for the heat. And believe this stuff is no joke, the heat is on! I also picked up some fresh Tuna just for a little contrast.
First I started my rice. To begin with rinse the rice a couple of times under some cold water to make sure its clean, when the water around it is clear then move on to the next step. Using equal parts rice and water, bring to a boil, reduce and let simmer covered the entire time and once all the water has evaporated, the rice is done. From there transfer to a big wide glass or wooden bowl, and spread it out so it covers the bowl, then using a spatula begin to cut grooves in to the rice and add some sushi vinegar, then fold the rice over and repeat until the sushi rice is done. I use 1/2 cup for this today for 3 3/4 cups of rice. From there let the rice cool, and to keep it at room temperature once it has cooled cover it with a damp cloth.
Now its on to the spicy scallops! Again, very simple, first prepare the sauce by taking some mayonnaise and the sriracha and mixing it 1 part of srirachawasabi just enough so that the Soy sauce is a little cloudy. Now its time to assemble the bowl. What I used were Ramekins that I usually use for baking but they work just as well for this application. First take a scoop of rice, enough to fill the ramekin about half full, then add the soy sauce mixture, to the top of that, then top it off with the spicy scallop mixture, and add a touch of the soy sauce on top of that and it is time to grub! I also tried this with fresh Tuna substituted for scallops and it was equally delicious. The key is not too much sriracha sauce because it can easily overpower the other flavors. And I used small bowls because I wanted to approximate the serving size of maybe half a roll, that way guests can try the scallop one then a tuna and experience other things as well.
Later on when I had prepared the Scallop and Tuna mixtures and had then in the refrigerator, Smurf came by for a visit and during her customary raid of my refrigerator she came across the Scallops and asked what it was, and after I told her I then prepared some for her and she inhaled it! It was like a wolverine! Again, I take that as the highest for m of compliment, it appears that she enjoyed her munchies!
Sushi in a bowl...magnificent!
Until next time,
Marc (Big Sexy)
Over the weekend the past weekend I finally got my stove top repaired... "What's this?" some of you may ask, its simple, last week I almost blew the house up. Permit me to explain. I was cleaning the stove, as all of us chef's do, getting ready for the next creations, and during that I removed all of the knobs from the stove top and placed them in the dishwasher as is regular custom. About 10:00 or so that night someone, I forgot who(because I would shift blame that direction) mentioned pancakes. I thought "Well that sounds tasty", so I reached into the washer and took one of the knobs out and whipped up some pancakes, which were fantastic in my opinion...but I digress. After the dish washer finished its cycle, but before it was done drying completely, I decided to remove the rest of the knobs and place them back on the cook top. (I can hear some of you now, "Uh-oh...") Around midnight I was reading and listening to podcast partner Big Ken's "Flavorfoundation Radio", http://podcast.theflavorfoundation.com/, when I heard the stove make a ticking sound that it does when a person turns on one of the burners, thinking that was weird I went into the kitchen thinking that I had accidentally bumped one into the "start" or "ignite" position. So I just made sure knobs were secured and went back to listening and reading... About 30 minutes pass and then my lights dim and there's this crackling electrical sound coming from the kitchen, I look in there and out of the cook top there is this good-sized billow of white smoke. Oops. That could be a problem. My reaction was to turn the gas off to the stove, so I reached under the cook-top to shut off the gas line. The oven is a wall mount unit so it wasn't in the way. As I reached under the cook-top, I knocked over some glasses that had been stored there, not by me....grrrr.... As they broke I cut a few fingers on my right hand, just great, but didn't reach the gas lever. At this point I remembered that I am not a professional in this field and that there could be fire that I don't see, so I called the Fire Department just to be sure. When I called I was certain to point out it wasn't an emergency but that I just wanted to sure, and they said they would send someone out. The Fire Dept. arrived at my house 4 minutes later! Wow! They came in and turned off the gas and unplugged the stove top, checked out my hand and said it was probably the igniter shorting out from the moisture of the still damp knobs....yep, it looks like I've done it again... But I was very grateful for their fast response, and as such there will be a field trip to the station with some goodies from the kitchen, I have always been a strong believer in taking care of the team, and these firefighters did their thing and made certain that Big Sexy is still in one piece, gotta show my appreciation and respect for what they do.
Since I was without my cook-top for a week, I was resorted to trying new things, so as I was rummaging through the freezer and lo and behold I found some Scallops that I had picked up a few days prior. I love scallops. I'm not kidding. I promised myself the first thing I was doing when I got the stove repaired was something with those scallops... Thus on Friday after Joe from Zajic Appliance Repair did his thing and got me back on track, I was ready to rock. But what shall it be? Scallops and Pappardelle? Been there already. I was having a Sushi fit, so I decided to do my own but with a twist, instead if doing rolls I would serve it up in small bowls, that way when those who claim to not like sushi, but have never tried anything other than California Rolls-you know who are, can try this not knowing its really sushi just prepared in another fashion. I can be a devil at times...
So as the Scallops defrosted I went out and gathered other ingredients needed, I already had some dried wasabi and soy sauce, I just needed some scallions, cucumber and and sriracha sauce for the heat. And believe this stuff is no joke, the heat is on! I also picked up some fresh Tuna just for a little contrast.
First I started my rice. To begin with rinse the rice a couple of times under some cold water to make sure its clean, when the water around it is clear then move on to the next step. Using equal parts rice and water, bring to a boil, reduce and let simmer covered the entire time and once all the water has evaporated, the rice is done. From there transfer to a big wide glass or wooden bowl, and spread it out so it covers the bowl, then using a spatula begin to cut grooves in to the rice and add some sushi vinegar, then fold the rice over and repeat until the sushi rice is done. I use 1/2 cup for this today for 3 3/4 cups of rice. From there let the rice cool, and to keep it at room temperature once it has cooled cover it with a damp cloth.
Now its on to the spicy scallops! Again, very simple, first prepare the sauce by taking some mayonnaise and the sriracha and mixing it 1 part of srirachawasabi just enough so that the Soy sauce is a little cloudy. Now its time to assemble the bowl. What I used were Ramekins that I usually use for baking but they work just as well for this application. First take a scoop of rice, enough to fill the ramekin about half full, then add the soy sauce mixture, to the top of that, then top it off with the spicy scallop mixture, and add a touch of the soy sauce on top of that and it is time to grub! I also tried this with fresh Tuna substituted for scallops and it was equally delicious. The key is not too much sriracha sauce because it can easily overpower the other flavors. And I used small bowls because I wanted to approximate the serving size of maybe half a roll, that way guests can try the scallop one then a tuna and experience other things as well.
Later on when I had prepared the Scallop and Tuna mixtures and had then in the refrigerator, Smurf came by for a visit and during her customary raid of my refrigerator she came across the Scallops and asked what it was, and after I told her I then prepared some for her and she inhaled it! It was like a wolverine! Again, I take that as the highest for m of compliment, it appears that she enjoyed her munchies!
Sushi in a bowl...magnificent!
Until next time,
Marc (Big Sexy)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Humility is a heavy thing...
Greetings and Salutations one and all!
My deepest apologies for the hiatus between blogs, there is no excuse, just small things accumulating into bigger things thus becoming a distraction keeping me away from my blog. Nuts!
Last night I had the plan to execute my menu of Crab Cakes and some Popcorn shrimp. Along with some Steak-cut fries and some Sauvignon Blanc, all had the makings for a fun evening. But unfortunately at times things happen and adjustments have to be made.
Day started off nice, late Saturday night/early Sunday morning I went out to the Sacramento Softball Complex and watched my friend and teammate on my team, Team Sexy, play with some other people. It was good to see other teams from out of the area, and see some people that I hadn't seen in a while (Hi Tiffany!). After the game ended around 2:40 or so, this weekend was Midnight Madness, 48 hours of continuous softball, too much for me to play in, I can't handle the games in the wee hours like Dre can. So on not a lot of sleep the next morning I watched some football and then began to prep my kitchen for my planned menu. I went out to Corti Brothers market for the lump crab that is called for in the Crab Cake recipe, unfortunately there was none to be located, a bad omen... Instead I picked up a couple of pounds of Crab Leg meat and would chop it back here, no problem. Gathered up some Red and Yellow Bell peppers, garlic, and other items needed and returned home did some chopping, and started to saute my onions and garlic, after that was done I set them aside to cool. While they were cooling I chopped the crab meat and mixed it with some parmeseano-reggiano cheese,parsley, green onion and Creole mustard, which was a pain to track down! Next I prepared my own mayonnaise, this was accomplished by firing my trusty KitchenAid food processor and putting in 1 egg, juice from a lemon, and while the machine is working, slowly drizzle in 1 cup of vegetable oil. Season that with some salt and ground pepper, and after a few minutes it will whip into mayo! Pretty cool...
Now its time to assemble. I first added the sauteed veggies, now they were cooled off sufficiently, into the crab mix, then fold in the mayo, no problems everything going smooth... The next thing called for was 3/4 cup of fine bread crumbs folded into the crab. Uh-oh. No bread crumbs. But the genius decided to improvise, I looked in my pantry and found dried stuffing. "Just as good as bread crumbs, they're the same thing...", was the thought that went through my mind. The stuffing was not fine it was very coarse. But I pressed on....
Once I got the mix done it was on to the assembly line, in three bowls I had some seasoned flower, the next had three eggs whisked together, and in the last some seasoned bread crumbs (stuffing). The game plan called for me to take a handful of crab mixture, roll it into a ball, then flatten it into a pattie, then in succession dredge the pattie into the flour, then the egg wash, and finally the bread crumbs (stuffing). And from there into a heated pan with vegetable oil hot and ready to go. Lay them in the pan for 4 minutes a side then transfer to a cool paper towel drain off and repeat. Sounds simple enough. However I ran into a couple of problems. First the crab mix was too moist and wouldn't really allow me to shape it and they would fall apart once they hit the egg wash. I'm concluding that because I didn't follow the game plan and used stuffing instead of bread crumbs it bit me in the butt! I got them to hold together enough to get them into the pan, once I got them in they started to firm up, but the pan was too hot so the end result was a hockey puck. Damn. I reduced the heat and gave up trying to make patties, and instead made them into balls and rolled them in the flour, then the egg wash, and the stuffing. Once the pan had cooled down a bit I put them in and they cooked and by this time I had the process down and as they cooked and flattened out into the pattie shape. After getting several done it was time to prepare the popcorn shrimp.
The game plan was simple, two eggs, two tablespoons of heavy cream, add some spices to that for the egg wash, then of course I needed more bread crumbs...grrr... So I pulled out my trusty stuffing again and added some spices. Sounds like a plan, take the shrimp, about 15 or so, let them soak in the egg wash for about five minutes until they are nice and saturated, then while they are marinating take a deep pan or stewing pot and add 3-4 cups of vegetable oil and let it get hot. As the oil is heating up, remove the shrimp from the egg wash and roll them in the bread crumbs(stuffing) and dip them in the hot oil, let em fry up into golden brown and then its grub time! Great plan on paper, but once again the lack the of fine bread crumbs has reared its ugly head. Once I transferred the shrimp to the oil, the "batter" slid right off and sunk to the bottom. Damn.
Never fear, I only need to be humbled once and I'll learn from it, I will return in TWO weeks and share with you my menu for the premiere of "The Walking Dead" this Halloween on AMC. Being a die-hard reader of the book, I can't wait for the premiere, so you know I got some pretty fun grub lined up. And as always, before I take anything out for public consumption I have to give it a test drive.
Thanks for continued reading and we will chat again in 13 days and 22 hours....
Marc-Big Sexy (..and yes that name has really stuck over the years...pretty cool!)
My deepest apologies for the hiatus between blogs, there is no excuse, just small things accumulating into bigger things thus becoming a distraction keeping me away from my blog. Nuts!
Last night I had the plan to execute my menu of Crab Cakes and some Popcorn shrimp. Along with some Steak-cut fries and some Sauvignon Blanc, all had the makings for a fun evening. But unfortunately at times things happen and adjustments have to be made.
Day started off nice, late Saturday night/early Sunday morning I went out to the Sacramento Softball Complex and watched my friend and teammate on my team, Team Sexy, play with some other people. It was good to see other teams from out of the area, and see some people that I hadn't seen in a while (Hi Tiffany!). After the game ended around 2:40 or so, this weekend was Midnight Madness, 48 hours of continuous softball, too much for me to play in, I can't handle the games in the wee hours like Dre can. So on not a lot of sleep the next morning I watched some football and then began to prep my kitchen for my planned menu. I went out to Corti Brothers market for the lump crab that is called for in the Crab Cake recipe, unfortunately there was none to be located, a bad omen... Instead I picked up a couple of pounds of Crab Leg meat and would chop it back here, no problem. Gathered up some Red and Yellow Bell peppers, garlic, and other items needed and returned home did some chopping, and started to saute my onions and garlic, after that was done I set them aside to cool. While they were cooling I chopped the crab meat and mixed it with some parmeseano-reggiano cheese,parsley, green onion and Creole mustard, which was a pain to track down! Next I prepared my own mayonnaise, this was accomplished by firing my trusty KitchenAid food processor and putting in 1 egg, juice from a lemon, and while the machine is working, slowly drizzle in 1 cup of vegetable oil. Season that with some salt and ground pepper, and after a few minutes it will whip into mayo! Pretty cool...
Now its time to assemble. I first added the sauteed veggies, now they were cooled off sufficiently, into the crab mix, then fold in the mayo, no problems everything going smooth... The next thing called for was 3/4 cup of fine bread crumbs folded into the crab. Uh-oh. No bread crumbs. But the genius decided to improvise, I looked in my pantry and found dried stuffing. "Just as good as bread crumbs, they're the same thing...", was the thought that went through my mind. The stuffing was not fine it was very coarse. But I pressed on....
Once I got the mix done it was on to the assembly line, in three bowls I had some seasoned flower, the next had three eggs whisked together, and in the last some seasoned bread crumbs (stuffing). The game plan called for me to take a handful of crab mixture, roll it into a ball, then flatten it into a pattie, then in succession dredge the pattie into the flour, then the egg wash, and finally the bread crumbs (stuffing). And from there into a heated pan with vegetable oil hot and ready to go. Lay them in the pan for 4 minutes a side then transfer to a cool paper towel drain off and repeat. Sounds simple enough. However I ran into a couple of problems. First the crab mix was too moist and wouldn't really allow me to shape it and they would fall apart once they hit the egg wash. I'm concluding that because I didn't follow the game plan and used stuffing instead of bread crumbs it bit me in the butt! I got them to hold together enough to get them into the pan, once I got them in they started to firm up, but the pan was too hot so the end result was a hockey puck. Damn. I reduced the heat and gave up trying to make patties, and instead made them into balls and rolled them in the flour, then the egg wash, and the stuffing. Once the pan had cooled down a bit I put them in and they cooked and by this time I had the process down and as they cooked and flattened out into the pattie shape. After getting several done it was time to prepare the popcorn shrimp.
The game plan was simple, two eggs, two tablespoons of heavy cream, add some spices to that for the egg wash, then of course I needed more bread crumbs...grrr... So I pulled out my trusty stuffing again and added some spices. Sounds like a plan, take the shrimp, about 15 or so, let them soak in the egg wash for about five minutes until they are nice and saturated, then while they are marinating take a deep pan or stewing pot and add 3-4 cups of vegetable oil and let it get hot. As the oil is heating up, remove the shrimp from the egg wash and roll them in the bread crumbs(stuffing) and dip them in the hot oil, let em fry up into golden brown and then its grub time! Great plan on paper, but once again the lack the of fine bread crumbs has reared its ugly head. Once I transferred the shrimp to the oil, the "batter" slid right off and sunk to the bottom. Damn.
Never fear, I only need to be humbled once and I'll learn from it, I will return in TWO weeks and share with you my menu for the premiere of "The Walking Dead" this Halloween on AMC. Being a die-hard reader of the book, I can't wait for the premiere, so you know I got some pretty fun grub lined up. And as always, before I take anything out for public consumption I have to give it a test drive.
Thanks for continued reading and we will chat again in 13 days and 22 hours....
Marc-Big Sexy (..and yes that name has really stuck over the years...pretty cool!)
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