Pulled Pork Phase One

I am beginning my annual summer food quests. Going to try to perfect the pulled pork sandwich. This one turned out fairly well. The pork was super tender but the sauce was a little too sweet. I will have to work on getting a sauce that is a little more tangy. Suggestions are welcomed. Sauce recipe was two cups of Diane's Regular BBQ sauce, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of water, 4 teaspoons of granulated coffee. I slow cooked the pork in a slow cooker with one can of root beer. Stay tuned for phase two.

Cavanagh's Crappy Weather Pasta Recipe

Got home from work last night and actually had to turn on the heat in the house. Feeling somewhat depressed by this cold rainy weather I went to the Serious Eats community looking for a crappy weather recipe that would raise my spirits. dmcavanah of the community posted this recipe for a true comfort meal. The end result was great. I do think I would up the heat a little with medium hot sausage and maybe some red pepper flakes. Served this with some good red wine and bread.

Here is DMC's recipe:

Cavanagh’s Crappy Weather Pasta Recipe


Here’s one I did the other night, and I wound up sharing it with some friends at work. Saute 3 cut up peppers (I like reds) in a little oil oil. Set those aside and then saute some sweet Italian sausage which I remove from the casing and break into small chunks. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and lightly saute 2-3 chopped garlic cloves. Add a 28 oz. can of good quality crushed tomatoes, a teaspoon of oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Heat for just a couple of minutes to make a nice sauce. Now, add the cooked sausage and peppers back to the sauce along with some baby spinach and some already cooked cavatelli ( or any cut of pasta you like. penne works well) and heat through until the spinach is cooked down. You can also add some fresh basil leaves if you like. Serve with a generous finish of parmesan.

Chicken Stir Fry

I came across this stir fry recipe at http://alittleyum.com/2011/01/20/stir-fry-of-chicken-vegetables/ I made some modifications since I like more veggies in my stir fry. This is an excellent recipe. Since I am watching my carbs, I did not add any rice or noodle.

Ingredients


1/3 cup chicken stock

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch or more to thicken

2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

½ tsp red chilli flakes (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

vegetables I used 2 carrots chopped, 8oz mushrooms sliced, broccoli about 2 cups, snow peas, 3 green onions chopped, one green pepper sliced, one red pepper sliced.

1 1/4 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breast cut into ½ inch cubes (have the butcher at the store do this)

salt and pepper

Method

1. Whisk together water/stock, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch till cornstarch and sugar are dissolved

2. In a large frying pan or wok heat the oil. Add the chilli flakes, is using and garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes

3. Remove chicken and fry the vegetables for 2-4 minutes (depends on vegetable you are using and how much crunch you like - I would add the carrots, mushrooms, green and red peppers first then the broccoli and green onions right at the end.

4. Add chicken and basil to wok and stir-fry for 30 seconds

5. Pour over the whisked mixture and bring to a boil and simmer for a couple to minutes. Ready to eat!

Quest for the perfect Nachos

Friday nights are always cheat nights for me. I eat healthy all week long but on Friday's I like to take out the deep fryer cook up some wings, onion rings or zucchini or cook up some stuffed hamburgers with my homemade specialty fries. This Friday I decided to go with Nachos. The basic recipe is seasoned cooked hamburger, onions, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, salsa and a tex-mex cheese mix. The problem I have is keeping the nacho chips on the crispy side. They tend to get a little soggy. I have also noticed this in restaurants. My quest is to get the chips to stay crispy. I will let everyone knows how this goes.

Horseback Steak Sandwich Award Winning Recipe

This recipe for a steak sandwich by Sylvain Girard of The Arrogant Chef recently won a BBQ challenge cook off at the Cornwall Spring Home Show. Although I was only taking pictures, I did get a chance to sample this outstanding steak sandwich. Great job Sylvain!!!

Horse Back Steak Sandwich – Award winning recipe – Sylvain Girard


Steak Sandwich with Balsamic Onions, Mushrooms and Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Cream

Ingredients:

½ cup sour cream

1 ½ oz. sun-dried tomatoes, well drained and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbl finely chopped basil leaves

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 white sweet onions, Vidalia or Spanish

1 cup of sliced Cremini mushrooms

2 tbl spoons of olive oil or as required

2 tbl balsamic vinegar

2 tbl of sherry

1 tbl brown sugar

Triangle shaped focaccia bread(white…I would not use grains)

14 oz. of filet steak, 1 inch thick. Marinate in olive oil overnight. Let stand 40 minutes before cooking.

Quail eggs, 1 per serving

Season salt

Serves 4

1. Preheat bbq to medium-high direct heat. Mix the sour cream, sund-dried tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice in a small bowl and season the mixture to taste.

2. Thinly slice the onions and mushrooms and toss with olive oil. Sauté for a few minutes on side burner in a frying pan. Combine balsamic vinegar, sherry and sugar and add to frying pan. Sauté for approximately 10 minutes or liquid is gone. Remove and keep warm.

3. Brush the steaks with some olive oil. Season with season salt and crack pepper. Grill the steaks for 3 minutes per side for medium to medium rare.

4. Lightly brush olive oil on the bread and warm in foil packs on the bbq or oven(you can warm prior to bbq the steak).



5. Remove bread and plate the steak. Lightly butter the buns with sauce. Bread-Sauce-onion/mushrooms-Steak-quail egg. Can Serve open face or as a sandwich.



6. Small amount of butter in a frying pan. Fry quail eggs sunny side up. Do not overcook. Have the sandwich plated and ready. Remove the egg, place on top of the steak and serve immediately. Make sure the egg is just cooked. Do not make the egg over easy. Quail eggs are tough to break, I use a paring knife and slowly remove the top. Empty each egg into a small ramekin or bowl. Pour into frying pan.

7. Most importantly….Enjoy!!

Wings and Rings

There is just something wonderful about the smell of deep frying on a Friday night. I know some people take offence to the smell but how can you not like it when you know the wings and rings that are being prepared are going to be delicious. Here is a picture of my Friday night wings and rings. The wing recipe is already on the blog. Here is the onion ring recipe.

Onion Rings

2 large sweet onions sliced and separated into rings
1/2 a quart of buttermilk
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 cup of flour
1 tsp of celery salt
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of paprika

Soak the rings in buttermilk mixed with the cayenne.
In another bowl mix the flour, celery salt, garlic powder, and paprika.
Drain the onion rings and drop them in the seasoned flour.
Remove and deep fry a few rings at a time until golden brown and crisp.

Scallops with Tarragon Cream and Wilted Boston Lettuce

As promised here is the recipe for Syl's scallops with a few more pictures.

Ingredients:


2 tbl unsalted butter

¼ cup minced shallots

¼ cup red bell pepper

½ cup of Late Autumn Riesling (Inniskillin)

1/3 cup whipping cream

4 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon

1 ½ tsp. Pernod

8 large sea scallops(rinse well and pat dry)……do not use the cheaper bay scallops. No matter what!!

1 small head of butter lettuce, leaves separated.

I usually serve 2 to 3 scallops person depending on the size

Melt 1 tbl of butter in small skillet over medium heat, Add shallots, red peppers and sauté(few minutes). Add wine and reduce by half(2 min). Add cream and 3 tsp. of tarragon, Pernod. Simmer until the sauce coats back of spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

Cooking Scallops:

Rinse and pat scallops dry. Season with kosher salt on both sides.

Melt 1 tbl of both unsalted butter and vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan. Heat on high until just about smoking. Do not overcrowd scallops. Use several frying pans if need be. Add scallops and cook for about two minutes…they should turn a golden brown, develop a little crust. Do not touch them within that couple of minutes. Turnover and cook another minute. DO NOT OVERCOOK SCALLOPS. Better off undercooked…it is ok. They will turn to rubber if they are overcooked. Once again, DO NOT USE bay scallops as you will be wasting your money…they taste like garbage. They will be a third of the price, fight the temptation.

Remove from frying pan with a slotted spoon. You will cook the lettuce in the drippings. Add lettuce and cook until wilted….maybe a minutes, maybe.

Now plate the lettuce and scallops and add a generous portion of sauce next to the scallops…ENJOY!!!