The recipe coming after lunch today. My test kitchen will let me know if it's worthy.
Stay tuned.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Easy BBQ meat rub
It's grilling season and let's mix it up with some great dry meat rub that works great for pork ribs, brisket and steaks.
Also, some rub tips ( I learned these while tailgating as a student at the University of Georgia....BBQ and football on saturdays make me a happy person) and I believe that a great dry rub negates all reason for drowning your meat in sauce. Why, if your rub is great do you need sauce?
Many die-hard barbecuers (is this a word?) consider the rub more important than the cut of meat. And a far better option that a bbq marinade. Why? Because rubs penetrate the meat better, and create a nice crust of flavor on the outside. Want the best barbecue rub? Here are some things you should look for in a BBQ rub recipe:
A rub recipe should have a sufficient amount of salt-- this affects texture and tenderness.
A bbq dry rub should have a moderate amount of sugar. Too much and it may over-carmaelize and burn. Too little, and the texture won't be right.
A dry rub is especially good for larger pieces of meat, such as briskets or roasts. As fat within the meat helps to keep it moist while cooking, a dry rub that draws some moisture away from the surface of the meat tends to improve its texture.
I like things a touch spicy so you can adjust to your taste any of the ingredients below:
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chile powder
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry oregano
I add just a touch of olive oil over the meat and massage in the rub about 3-6 hours before cooking (slow smoked of course with hickory, for ribs) For shoulders and brisket I smoke until the meat shows signs of falling off the bone or apart, usually 5-8 hours. You have to get up early on Saturdays in Athens for a 1 pm kickoff!
enjoy.
Also, some rub tips ( I learned these while tailgating as a student at the University of Georgia....BBQ and football on saturdays make me a happy person) and I believe that a great dry rub negates all reason for drowning your meat in sauce. Why, if your rub is great do you need sauce?
Many die-hard barbecuers (is this a word?) consider the rub more important than the cut of meat. And a far better option that a bbq marinade. Why? Because rubs penetrate the meat better, and create a nice crust of flavor on the outside. Want the best barbecue rub? Here are some things you should look for in a BBQ rub recipe:
A rub recipe should have a sufficient amount of salt-- this affects texture and tenderness.
A bbq dry rub should have a moderate amount of sugar. Too much and it may over-carmaelize and burn. Too little, and the texture won't be right.
A dry rub is especially good for larger pieces of meat, such as briskets or roasts. As fat within the meat helps to keep it moist while cooking, a dry rub that draws some moisture away from the surface of the meat tends to improve its texture.
I like things a touch spicy so you can adjust to your taste any of the ingredients below:
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chile powder
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry oregano
I add just a touch of olive oil over the meat and massage in the rub about 3-6 hours before cooking (slow smoked of course with hickory, for ribs) For shoulders and brisket I smoke until the meat shows signs of falling off the bone or apart, usually 5-8 hours. You have to get up early on Saturdays in Athens for a 1 pm kickoff!
enjoy.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Pork Tenderloin with baked apples and onion:
I made some new friends at UCSD and (hopefully--hint, hint) they can get some leftovers tomorrow.
This is really easy to make as the majority of the work is prepping the onion and apples, but sure is tasty.
Here's what you'll need:
1 large pork tenderloin (about 14 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard ( I use creole mustard for a nice grainy texture)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 large onion, sliced
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup dry white wine or apple cider
Important! Remove the pork from the cold and let it come to room temperature. I treat pork just like raw chicken, be careful of cross contamination, e.g, cutting boards, knives etc. I always was my hands after touching any uncooked meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, heat oil ( I prefer grape seed oil to olive because you can get it hotter without it smoking) over medium high heat.
Brown the meat on all sides until golden, ~8 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool 5 minutes.
Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pan, return pan to heat. Add the onions and apples, brown until soft about 6 minutes.
In the meantime, rub the creole mustard over the meat and press in the fennel seeds. Arrange the meat in the middle of the apples and onions, I call it putting it to bed. Brush up the blankets next to the meat--the apples, onion.
Pop into a 400 degree oven until the apples brown or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. (about 20 minutes).
After the pork is finished cooking, remove it from the pan leaving the apples and onions. Make a foil tent over the pork on a plate to keep warm [HINT--by making a tent and not simply covering the meat, you actually keep the meat warm by it's heat liberating and heating the air around it. If you just cover the pork with foil touching the meat, the heat from the meat simply radiates through the foil and cools off fast]
After you remove the pork, add the wine to the onions and apples and just a touch of butter, less than a tablespoon, which makes the sauce creamy.
Slice the pork at an angle across the grain adding the slices on top of the onions and apples.
I would recommend a slice of onion and apple slice with a bite of meat. The contrasting sweet/onion flavor with the mustard and fennel meld very well.
I served this with roasted baby new potatoes with olive oil, rosemary and paprika. We had a salad for a green dish....
I hope you ENJOY!!!!!
This is really easy to make as the majority of the work is prepping the onion and apples, but sure is tasty.
Here's what you'll need:
1 large pork tenderloin (about 14 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard ( I use creole mustard for a nice grainy texture)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 large onion, sliced
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup dry white wine or apple cider
Important! Remove the pork from the cold and let it come to room temperature. I treat pork just like raw chicken, be careful of cross contamination, e.g, cutting boards, knives etc. I always was my hands after touching any uncooked meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, heat oil ( I prefer grape seed oil to olive because you can get it hotter without it smoking) over medium high heat.
Brown the meat on all sides until golden, ~8 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool 5 minutes.
Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pan, return pan to heat. Add the onions and apples, brown until soft about 6 minutes.
In the meantime, rub the creole mustard over the meat and press in the fennel seeds. Arrange the meat in the middle of the apples and onions, I call it putting it to bed. Brush up the blankets next to the meat--the apples, onion.
Pop into a 400 degree oven until the apples brown or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees. (about 20 minutes).
After the pork is finished cooking, remove it from the pan leaving the apples and onions. Make a foil tent over the pork on a plate to keep warm [HINT--by making a tent and not simply covering the meat, you actually keep the meat warm by it's heat liberating and heating the air around it. If you just cover the pork with foil touching the meat, the heat from the meat simply radiates through the foil and cools off fast]
After you remove the pork, add the wine to the onions and apples and just a touch of butter, less than a tablespoon, which makes the sauce creamy.
Slice the pork at an angle across the grain adding the slices on top of the onions and apples.
I would recommend a slice of onion and apple slice with a bite of meat. The contrasting sweet/onion flavor with the mustard and fennel meld very well.
I served this with roasted baby new potatoes with olive oil, rosemary and paprika. We had a salad for a green dish....
I hope you ENJOY!!!!!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Easy Saltimbocca
I just love this!
What you'll need:
4 turkey fillets or 4 veal escalopes
3 oz parma or prosciutto
bunch of sage leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
3/4 C white wine
3/4 C chicken stock
Assembly, let's do this in parts:
A. Pound the meat (escalope) to thin even slices and cut in half
B. Trim the parma ( I call it parma, easier to spell...) to fit the size of the meat and place over the meat. Lay a sage leaf on top. Roll up the escalopes and secure with a toothpick.
C. Heat oil in a skillet and saute the onion 3-4 minutes. Add the meat and cook for 5 minutes until brown all over. Pour in the wine and stock, simmer for 15 minutes (turkey), 20 minutes (veal) or until tender. Serve immediately.
Note: if you use turkey, keep a sharp eye out for the meat drying out.
I like to serve this with steamed green beans with almonds and baby corn. Simple and delicious.
What you'll need:
4 turkey fillets or 4 veal escalopes
3 oz parma or prosciutto
bunch of sage leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
3/4 C white wine
3/4 C chicken stock
Assembly, let's do this in parts:
A. Pound the meat (escalope) to thin even slices and cut in half
B. Trim the parma ( I call it parma, easier to spell...) to fit the size of the meat and place over the meat. Lay a sage leaf on top. Roll up the escalopes and secure with a toothpick.
C. Heat oil in a skillet and saute the onion 3-4 minutes. Add the meat and cook for 5 minutes until brown all over. Pour in the wine and stock, simmer for 15 minutes (turkey), 20 minutes (veal) or until tender. Serve immediately.
Note: if you use turkey, keep a sharp eye out for the meat drying out.
I like to serve this with steamed green beans with almonds and baby corn. Simple and delicious.
Friday, July 18, 2008
UPDATE...
I can't just post a recipe and not taste it. So I did the exact recipe for the ribeye.
I hope you all try it. It just was amazing. I garnished the steak with a very ripe avocado and whipped up a nice creamy mushroom risotto accompanied with three broiled asparagus twigs.
I hope you all try it. It just was amazing. I garnished the steak with a very ripe avocado and whipped up a nice creamy mushroom risotto accompanied with three broiled asparagus twigs.
Easy Ribeye BBQ
I thought of this today while I was at work. Why not take a nice ribeye steak, give it a rub with salt, pepper and a mixture of roasted (thus caramelized garlic) and a hint of chitople sauce and a touch of good extra virgin olive oil. Grill on high heat, turning 90 degrees to get those nice diamond grill marks, until [I like mine medium] but cook it until your liking.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Forget Construction: LET'S COOK!
First of all, I like to eat what I like and you all will see that in my recipes. I live in california so you might see a lot of avacado, pepper sauce and spices you might not be used to. Give it a try!
So if something sounds off, weird or just insane bear with me, try it on your friends, what ever. I wouldn't post it unless it's good. [I have a friend that can attest to being my taste tester].
Let's cook. For the inaugural easy home chef recipe I've been thinking about this a lot and I have picked....drum roll........pork pot stickers.
Ingredients.
1 package of pork carnita meat ( I usually get from trader joe's, but most bigger grocery retailers are carrying this now)
one package won ton wrappers, small
bunch of cilantro
one medium sweet onion, finely chopped
touch of butter to saute the above, to your taste
1 cup vegetable broth
salt, pepper to taste
tablespoon of hoisin sauce (or to taste, I like the color it gives plus the spicy kick)
Chop the carnita meat into small bits and saute with butter on medium heat along with the onion and cilantro. When the onion is translucent, add the hoisin sauce, salt, pepper.
Meanwhile, wet a paper towel and keep the won ton wrappers wrapped up to resist drying. I give them a quick spray of pam then heat on a non-stick pan for about 10 seconds per side to make them easier to roll. After heating the won ton...
place the meat filling into the wrapper, don't overfill, I like to fill them about 1/2 full so I have room to crimp them shut, use your imagination and make a design crimp,...roll it up, pinch it or I tried to make a decorative flower once!
Heat a pan to fairly high heat, using no oil, pan just. Add the pot stickers and cook them until they stick, being careful not to let them burn. When they are good and stuck, add the vegetable broth, enough to just cover the pan not covering the stickers, maybe a 1/4 of the way up the sticker. Cover quickly, you want the steam from the broth to both let go of the sticker and to fully cook the exposed won ton.
Turn off the heat, let stand for 4 minutes and ENJOY.
I like to garnish the plate with some colorful cole slaw or serve them ontop of lettuce leaves with a little hoisin sauce drizzled on top.
I hope you like them!
So if something sounds off, weird or just insane bear with me, try it on your friends, what ever. I wouldn't post it unless it's good. [I have a friend that can attest to being my taste tester].
Let's cook. For the inaugural easy home chef recipe I've been thinking about this a lot and I have picked....drum roll........pork pot stickers.
Ingredients.
1 package of pork carnita meat ( I usually get from trader joe's, but most bigger grocery retailers are carrying this now)
one package won ton wrappers, small
bunch of cilantro
one medium sweet onion, finely chopped
touch of butter to saute the above, to your taste
1 cup vegetable broth
salt, pepper to taste
tablespoon of hoisin sauce (or to taste, I like the color it gives plus the spicy kick)
Chop the carnita meat into small bits and saute with butter on medium heat along with the onion and cilantro. When the onion is translucent, add the hoisin sauce, salt, pepper.
Meanwhile, wet a paper towel and keep the won ton wrappers wrapped up to resist drying. I give them a quick spray of pam then heat on a non-stick pan for about 10 seconds per side to make them easier to roll. After heating the won ton...
place the meat filling into the wrapper, don't overfill, I like to fill them about 1/2 full so I have room to crimp them shut, use your imagination and make a design crimp,...roll it up, pinch it or I tried to make a decorative flower once!
Heat a pan to fairly high heat, using no oil, pan just. Add the pot stickers and cook them until they stick, being careful not to let them burn. When they are good and stuck, add the vegetable broth, enough to just cover the pan not covering the stickers, maybe a 1/4 of the way up the sticker. Cover quickly, you want the steam from the broth to both let go of the sticker and to fully cook the exposed won ton.
Turn off the heat, let stand for 4 minutes and ENJOY.
I like to garnish the plate with some colorful cole slaw or serve them ontop of lettuce leaves with a little hoisin sauce drizzled on top.
I hope you like them!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Welcome!!!!
I have experience as a line chef (in addition to my professional scientific affiliations) in a fine dining kitchen and try to invent easy, yet tasty dishes at home. I've started this blog to share and get feedback on some of the recipes that I create. As I get this site up and running full time, i'll post and put an area for feedback. More yet to come!
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