First things first, my apologies for the large gap be+tween posts, my trusted HP dv9035 laptop have given up the ghost, so if you please, a moment of silence for a trusted friend.... No laptop meant not updating, I could do it from the desktop, but I like to use that machine for business and professional pursuits only, and my laptop for my creative things. And now I proudly welcome into the fold my new laptop, the MSI A6400! I'll spare the technical details, but will say it's a much better machine and I'm quite happy with it!
This week I did a little shopping for new goodies for the kitchen> I was at Selland's with Smurf the other day, and I asked Evan where I should get a new Stainless Steel frying pan. He told me that Randall gets all of his equipment at Economy Restaurant Supply, and since Randall is the owner of my absolute favorite restaurant, The Kitchen, if I can get my goodies where he does maybe some of the magic will rub off...:)
The first thing I saw when I got there was that the place is HUGE! Everything anyone could possibly need for their kitchen, personal or commercial, is there for you. I was shown too an area where there were rows of Aluminum this and non-stick that, and then to the stainless area. Yeah baby, this is how I roll... I needed to get a 12" inch frying pan and a new cutting board. The last cutting board I got was from IKEA about a month ago and is crap. Yeah, I said it! The thing began to warp in a month! I was shown a stainless frying pan that must weigh 10 pounds, its perfect! Then I was taken to the area where the cutting boards are and I selected one that has nice thickness and smooth grain and good density. And of course I couldn't wait to get my new utensils back to the house and get started!
I prepped the board with the supplied oil and let it set up, and once that was all done I thought the best way to see what I had was to cut up some onions, mushrooms and jalapeno peppers and then caramelize them in the new stainless frying pan. The cutting block was solid and sturdy, didn't slide around the counter like that cheap-ass one from IKEA did...it felt like a cutting board should feel like. From there I put a little butter and Olive Oil in the new pan and put in the onions, peppers and mushrooms, and put the stove on low to simmer and left it alone for about 20 minutes to let them caramelize...and once they were done I took a look and they were evenly browned, it was a thing of beauty...this is how it should be. I've said that I will never use non-stick again, and now I'm gonna double-down on that and say that I will never buy my kitchen equipment from any other location. I used to get my equipment from various department stores, no more, I shop where the professionals shop, and I love doing so!
Today was football Sunday, (can't believe we lost to Tim Tebow...) and I was feeling like something more out of the ordinary, no Hot Dogs or Nachos or Chili today. Today I was feeling the need for a Shrimp Louie, so as the Raiders stunk out the building by a complete lack of tackling skill, I started boiling the eggs for the Louie dressing. The entire process is fairly simple:
- 1 pint mayonnaise
- 1/2 pint tomato ketchup
- 1/2 cup sweet relish
- 1/2 cup chopped black olives
- 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Crab Louie Salad:
- 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 8 to 12 ounces fresh picked Dungeness crabmeat
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced lengthwise thinly
- 3 tomatoes, quartered
Combine the mayo, ketchup and relish with the eggs and olives for the dressing. From there make a bed of lettuce, and sprinkle the shrimp, and in this case crab, over it then add the tomatoes and avocado, and from there pour the dressing over the top and POW! you have a Crab/Shrimp Louie! Very simple and tasty! And I needed a pick me up after watching my beloved Raiders stink today. And they stunk like bare feet in Topsiders in Arizona in July kind of stink. Just awful. But the Crab/Shrimp Louie helped to ease the pain... I needed it
Next time I try and re-create a Pit Pie I had at The Kitchen back in September! Step by step I will take you tough the journey and hopefully we will make it at least edible...:)
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