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Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Incredible Last Minute Meals...Red Beans & Rice With Spiced Cornbread

So the other day I had one of those moments. You know, one of those moments when you think you have more time on your hands than you actually do. I had company coming over and I planned on making some food for all of us to enjoy during the visit, but as fortune would have it, I simply ran out of time. I thought they were coming at noon (which normally means 1 or 2pm) but in this case it actually meant 11:45 am. Luckily I had enough laying around the house to make a quick, but memorable meal for us...

On the menu today: Red Beans & Rice w/ Spiced Cornbread


There's a trick to doctoring canned products, I call it layering flavors by adding texture to the ingredients that you are cooking with. Here's an example; adding a crust to the meat that you are placing in your canned red beans. Something as simple as this 3 minute trick completely changes the nature and outcome of the dish. It's simple, it's easy and it's time saving.

This is a recipe that is both fail-proof and easy to make if you are pressed for time. Is it better to make the beans fresh rather than using the canned beans, you might ask? I'd have to say yes it is, but I can also tell you that by layering the flavors of what you are cooking, you will be hard pressed to know the difference in flavor yourself, let alone any of your guest.

Red Beans & Rice Ingredients
  • Light Kidney Beans (1- 26oz can)
  • Dark Kidney Beans (1-26 oz can)
  • Diced Tomatoes (1-8oz can)
  • Minced Garlic (2 Tbs)
  • Sweet Onion (1 each)
  • Sweet Bell Pepper (2 each)
  • Kielbasa Sausage (1 each)
  • Andouille Sausage (1 each)
  • Bay Leaf (3-5) 
  • Fresh Thyme (3 twigs)
  • Cayenne Pepper (dash) 
  • Salt & Pepper (TT) 
  • Green Onions (as garnish) 
  • Chicken Stock (32 oz) 

Process

Start off by slicing both types of sausage into coins and sauteing until a slight crust forms before taking them out of the soup pot and placing them to the side for later use. Now add the diced onions to the same pot and allow to brown slightly before adding the diced bell peppers and finally the garlic. Next add the diced tomatoes and both cans of beans (1 drained) to the pot before returning the sausage and adding the bay leaves, thyme and cayenne pepper. Add the chicken stock and allow to cook for 1 to 2 hours on medium. Once cooked, taste and then add salt and pepper to taste (TT). When plating add a healthy portion of cooked rice to a bowl and pour the beans over them. Finally, add the green onion as a garnish...


Spiced Cornbread

Spiced Cornbread Ingredients
  • Krusteaz Cornbread Mix (1 box) 
  • Bacon (3 slices) 
  • Cheddar Cheese (1 cup) 
  • Jalapeno (3 each) 
  • Jalapeno Juice (1/2 cup) 
Process

Start off by mixing the cornbread as directed by the instructions on the box. Next, dice the bacon and allow it to render until crisp before reserving both the bacon and the grease for later use. Dice the jalapenos and add them to the cornbread mixture along with the jalapeno juice. Finally, add 3/4 of the cheese and the bacon to the mixture and bake as directed (be sure to add the bacon grease to the baking dish). Once the cornbread is set (about 3 minutes before it's done cooking) add the remainder of the cheese to the top of the cornbread.





Do you really need a recipe for rice??? I'll just add this, replace the water with vegetable or chicken stock for your rice preparation.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

El Jefe... Fried Calamari Two Ways...

The other day I watched the movie Chef and it made me think about my boy Dontaye Ball. A few years back we worked together at Google and have remained friends since that time. Unfortunately, we both moved on and haven't worked together since. Damn we used to burn...

In the movie Jon Favreau, the chef basically works for an owner that doesn't allow him to cook with his heart, choosing instead to keep the same old favorites that he thinks his customers want. Problem is most chefs cook with passion, that sometimes requires thinking outside of the box and taking risks. In the end, the Chef decides that he will open a food truck and cook with his heart, the result, a happy chef equals better relationships with those people that matter most in the first place. Here's the connection to my man Dontaye; when we were burning we were learning. There were jokes, laughs, fights, misunderstandings and a lot of other things that happened daily, but the one thing that was consistent was great fucking food and a challenging, learning and family environment. Cooking is fun, painful, tedious, beautiful, tiring, frustrating and rewarding. When you find a kindred spirit with food however, I'd say that cooking is probably a life altering series of lessons that can be applied to the rest of your life. My man Dontaye is one of the most talented chefs that I know. Never fearful, always bull headed but ever learning and inspiring, even to a brother that 3,400 miles away. Dontaye, it's time we opened a food truck together and toured the states dude. You know what it is. Love you brother...

On the Menu Today: Fried Calamari Two Ways

Traditional
Vietnamese Style





Cut into rings


Fried Calamari Ingredients
  • Whole Calamari Cleaned (2 pp) 
  • Lemon Juice (1 lemon)
  • Lime Juice (1/2 lime) 
  • Thai Chili Peppers (7-10 each)
  • Garlic (3 cloves) 
  • Soy Sauce (2 Tbs)
  • Beer (1/2 cup) 
  • Olive Oil (2 Tbs) 
Onion Strings
  • Sweet Onions (1-2 each) 
  • Milk (2 cups) 
  • Garlic Powder (2 Tbs)
  • Lemon Juice (1/4 cup) 
Directions  

Slice the onions thinly with a mandolin or a knife. Add the garlic, milk and lemon juice to a bowl large enough to hold the onions and marinate for 15 minutes to an hour. Drain and coat the onions as seen below before frying in the deep fryer in the same fashion as the calamari. This will go by mucg quicker than the calamari so be sure to pay close attention.


Marinade

 Flour Mixture
  • Flour (1 cup) 
  • Old Bay (2 Tbs)
  • Lemon Pepper (1 tsp) 

Floured Calamari & Onion Strings


Cocktail Sauce Ingredients 
  • Ketchup (2 cups)
  • Horseradish (3 Tbs)
  • Worcestershire Sauce (2 Tbs) 
  • Lemon Juice (1 Tbs)
  • Old Bay (1 tsp)
  • Dill Weed (2 tsp)
  • Tabasco Sauce (1 Tbs) 
Directions

Add all ingredients together and stir.




Fried Calamari Directions

As seen above, start off by taking the cleaned (skinned) calamari and cutting it into rings. Dice the chilies, mince the garlic and add the other ingredient together to make the marinade. Marinate the calamari for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Drain the calamari and add to the flour mixture to coat before deep frying in a fryer preheated to 350 degrees. Plate as desired and add chopped green onions.

Calamari & Onion Strings With Cocktail Sauce

Vietnamese Style Calamari Ingredients
  • Mae Ploy Sauce (2 cups)
  • Lime Juice (1 each) 
  • Thai Chilies (4-7 each)
  • Green Onions (3-5 each) 
  • Sesame Seeds (1 pinch for garnish)
  • Lime Zest (1 each for sauce and garnish)


Directions 

Chop the onions and thai chilies and add them to a sauce pot along with lime juice, zest and sweet chili sauce. Heat and toss the fried calamari into the sauce to coat. It's best if you slightly overcook the fried calamari first so that it remains somewhat crunchy as you eat. Plate as seen below and garnish with sesame seeds, green onions and lime zest. Eat immediately.

Glazing Sauce
Glaze
Vietnamese Style Calamari

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Simplicity Perfected... Grilled Sardines With Wilted Savoy...


With the weather starting to warm up now in DC, I think perhaps it's grilling season again. Funny thing is, in my house it grilling season any time of the year. Figuring that I'd start out light this spring, I'm going with Sardines and finishing with Clams Baltimore style.

Clams A la Baltimore
On the menu today: Grilled Sardines




Sardines, as you all know, are normally canned, but despite that fact, delicious. What if I told you that they are so much better when freshly grilled? They don't need much seasoning or prep, I'm happiest when they are simply grilled with a bit of lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper. Seriously they can't be beat.

Grilled Sardines Ingredients

  • Cleaned Sardines (2-3 pp)
  • Garlic (1 Tbs)
  • Olive Oil (2 Tbs) 
  • Lemon Juice (3 Tbs)
  • Capers (2 Tbs) 
  • Lemon Zest (TT)
  • Savoy Cabbage (1 head)
  • Salt & Pepper (TT) 
Marinating
Directions

Take the cleaned sardines and marinate them in the minced garlic, capers, olive oil and lemon juice. Allow to sit for 20 minutes. Grill and cover for 3-5 minutes or until done. Cut the savoy cabbage into ribbons and place on the plate with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place the grilled Sardines on top of the cabbage (this wilts them) and garnish with lemon zest, olive oil and a dash of salt.

Grilled Sardines
Plated with Roasted Fingerlings



Bonus On The Menu Today: Clams on the half shell Baltimore style...

A couple of years ago, I headed to Baltimore with my sister and stopped by the market to have some clams. It was a hot day so nothing could have been better or more appropriate than the brininess of raw clams and an ice cold brew to wash it down. That's what I thought at the time. As we ate and look around, we couldn't help but notice the fact that these strange ass Baltimoreans were eating slices of boiled eggs on top of their raw clams. We asked the bartender what the hell the deal was and he said better you find out for yourself, handed us a few slices of hard boiled egg and set it on top of a freshly shucked calm along with a dollop of cocktail sauce. What came next was one of the most unexpected treats that I have ever had. Not being one to keep shit to myself, I've shared this recipe with everyone that I have clams with. Trust me it's delicious.  

Cocktail Sauce Ingredients 
  • Ketchup (2 cups)
  • Horseradish (3 Tbs)
  • Worcestershire Sauce (2 Tbs) 
  • Lemon Juice (1 Tbs)
  • Old Bay (1 tsp)
  • Dill Weed (2 tsp)
  • Tabasco Sauce (1 Tbs) 

Directions
Add all ingredients together and stir.
Clams 
Simply shucked and a sliced, warm hard boiled egg.

Garnished with Lemon Zest



Ready to eat