an inspirational quote

"like life, a recipe requires a proper pattern to achieve its goal of culinary greatness."

red meat and i.

So there I stood, smearing my prints on a glass box, drooling considerably. The pink and fleshy lumps of meaty delight beckoned me. I decided then and there - I will make steak! 

However, I failed to remember that I am absolutely awful at cooking beef. Chewy beef is never good! You grow impatient gnawing on it, give up, and choke on the remains. Then get water, choke on that. Then someone hits you or breaks your rib or something. So on and so forth. This is never a good time, and should be avoided at all cost.

(When choosing a steak, select deep red cuts with streaks of tallow.)

Well, I bring this slab of marbled beef home, and unwrap it. Naturally the dogs are both standing at attention, figuring I'm going to break down to their pitiful attempts at begging and give them my dinner. No sir, not today. They wiggled rumps the entire time the meat was unwrapped to devoured, to no avail! Ha! Okay, I lied. These dogs are spoiled rotten, and their butt stink will testify.

I have this habit of washing meat, and I'm sure it's not a bad idea, but make sure you pat it dry with a paper towel before you season it. Otherwise you'll end up with this messy liquid spice you can't do anything with. The seasoning I sprinkled on this time was a generous mixture of rough ground garlic powder (with parsley), black pepper, and seasoned meat tenderizer. Be careful with the tenderizer, it's usually quite salty. I enjoy salty, so if I say it's salty....it's quite possibly salty..

I would suggest clipping your fingernails before cooking hands on with meat. I didn't obviously think this one through. Rubbing the spices into the steaks was an awkward hell for me. I'm a bit ocd about my nails, and having foreign objects under them activates a twitch. It's awesome, really. 

 

In the mean time I had some oil heating in a pan, at high, waiting anxiously to brand the meat. The warm and spicy aroma wafted through the kitchen, and the dogs begin to stress their already intense begging ritual. Ignoring them has become a sport for me, really. Though only on the pan for a couple minutes, the meat began to sear. After both sides were brown and crusty with spices, I put it in a Pyrex casserole dish with the oil from the pan (add some if it seems too low), shoved it in the oven at 250-300 degrees, and had me a drink.

DRINK!

The difference between this steak and the other slabs I bunked was just a bit of patience. I checked the oven often, flipped it over once, added a little seasoning here and there, and let it be.

I didn't, however, have enough patience to wait until the meat was fully done. Nabbing a chunk before putting the dish back in the oven, I cut and greedily chewed. Fresh from the oven, it was incredible. Not to give myself to huge a pat on the back, of course. Each bite exploded in my mouth before melting in what ways meat can. Instead of being overwhelming, the black pepper and garlic crust accentuated and complimented the velveteen pink interior. 

At this point I was literally sitting there as a mother hen would - ruffling her feathers, and beaming quite proudly at that ivory toned creation between her webbed toes. Only this time it was a steak.

the diversity of honey

i have never been a fan of honey. the texture and flavor used to always throw me off. i suppose i have always associated it with being sick and having it in tea, which i never enjoyed as a child. a friend recently posted on facebook that she acquired some buckwheat honey, a thick molasses style concoction, and asked for some suggestions of what to use it for. it made me think: what could i do if i had some honey?

the first thought that came to mind was honestly the wing sauce recipe i created one drunken night. it consisted of molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, and some crushed red pepper - all simmered together until they turned into a drippy liquid. as it cooled, the sauce was easily drizzled or brushed onto wings/legs/thighs of chicken as they roasted on a grill. i personally enjoy drowning the (already fried) wings in the sauce and bake them in the oven. they turned out to be sweet and tangy with a sticky spice towards the end of each bite. every time i make this sauce (which hasn't been often) it is always a hit.

so why not use honey instead of molasses? i dont know the health benefits of either, but honey might make it a bit less bitter, and more sweet. and perhaps, instead of crushed pepper...maybe a little diced jalapeno? so many ideas to play with!

here are a few other ideas involving honey:

- a glaze with some nutmeg and brown sugar for ham, completed with pineapple and cranberries.

- drizzled over wild carrots, roasting in the oven with some rosemary.

- oven roasted almonds with a little honey drizzled for a sweet flavor.

- corn muffins with a honey and cinnamon glazed topping.

- slices of apple, baked with honey, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

- a peppered honey sauce for pork chops, with a side of apple sauce and potato.

- a strong, vibrant mess of honey, basil, lemon, and turkey drippings as a sauce for a roasted/baked turkey.

- caramelized white onion slices with honey as a topping for a burger.

- honey/beer batter for fried fish or chicken.

- a banana nut bread with a little honey and orange rind glaze.

- a honey and green tea lemonade.

- instead of sugar cookies - HONEY COOKIES!

jalapeño chicken corn chowder

for those of you interested, this is my stupid silly recipe that ive never written down until this moment. you can substitute canned for fresh, obviously, but i'd suggest mashing 2/3rd of the corn if you do.

3 cans of cream style corn
2 cans of whole kernel sweet corn
1 can of chicken broth
1 large chicken breast, trimmed of fat, and cut into chunks
6 small/med potaters, peeled and cut into chunks
4 large cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
1 medium white onion (diced)
1 fat red pepper (diced)
2 jalapenos (minced)
2 'cans' of whole milk (used as measuring system ha)
2 packets of cheddar soup mix fake as hell cheese
salt
pepper

the first thing we did was sautee the chicken with the chopped onion and minced garlic, and a touch of veggie oil at a low heat. the chicken can still be a little pink when you put it in the soup (i've found it makes it less chewy if you do this). basically i wanted the onion and garlic to be a little cooked before putting it in the soup, and give the chicken a little subtle flavor. add a little salt and pepper to your liking.

while the chicken is cooking (with the lid on the pan to retain moisture) i combined the chicken broth, cans of corn (with juice), and potatoes in a tall soup pot - and let simmer at a low heat while occasionally stirring. let that sit for a while.

when your chicken is nearly done, add the diced red pepper and stir it up to cook evenly. *don't overcook the chicken or it will become tough* when all this is said and done, dump it in the soup pot, stir obviously, cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes. then stir in the two cans of milk, raise the heat a little bit, and let sit. well okay stir occasionally.

after a while you will notice the soup getting a little frothy. when this happens raise the heal a little more, and cover. the frothiness ends up helping the soup become a little thicker. don't be afraid to stir, but use a wooden spoon or something so you dont crush the taters.

it's totally okay to let your soup reach a boil at this point. remember, froth = gooood. your soup now has rabies.

the last two things to add are the jalapenos and cheese. the jalapenos are option obviously, but i really enjoy the little tang it adds to the combination of flavors. the cheese mellows out the sweetness of the corn, and brings out some of the chicken flavor. somehow. and makes it thicker. i use the powdered crap because it's cheap and i get it at Adams and i probably won't die. i hope.

so anyway, dice the hell out of your jalapanos, set the flame to very low and let the soup go down to a simmer. stir in some of the frothiness. when it's calmed down, add the jalapenos, and then gradually stir in the cheese.

remember, the longer you simmer the jalapenos, the less spicy they are!

hope you enjoy :)

chicken penne alfredo

pay no attention to the booze.

the ingredients are pretty self explanatory

chop and cook the onions over a low flame until they soften

add the cubed chicken breast

cover and cook on a low flame until chicken isn't pink

hopefully you didnt forget to make the pasta

add the cooked chicken and onions

sugar snap peas seemed like a good side to this heavy dish
however, i can't steam vegetables. at all.

croissant roll garlic knot

a few entries ago, i mentioned making garlic knots. i thought of a cheesy idea using fresh minced garlic and pre-made croissant dough to roll into. it worked! they melted in your mouth and were great for scooping out that extra sauce at the bottom of your bowl.

i used a little too much [olive] oil this time, not realizing how buttery these croissants would turn out. but it added a juiciness and crisp layer to them that i shamelessly enjoyed.

they come 8 to a package. i removed four and cut them in half.

sprinkle in some minced garlic

match the closest corners

and roll :)

you should probably use less oil than me

before

after!

nom nom nom nom...

margherita's and fresh guacamole!

well obviously you can't have a cinco de mayo gathering without a margherita! we enjoyed some delicious salt-rimmed beverages while we pondered what task to attack next.

 

i don't remember the exact spices matt used to make this amazing guacamole, but it was really perfect. we didn't make nearly enough of it for everyone to enjoy!

avocados are delicious.

 

white onion

cilantro?

gently mash