Back to Main
July 02, 2008
Roasted Shallot Risotto
For me, risotto is a very romantic dish, which is why I made it for our anniversary last week. Not a lot of ingredients are necessary to make a great risotto- this included lots of roasted shallots, homemade chicken broth, thyme, a few peas, and a generous amount of grated parm and a splash of Tibvrtini Novello Extra Virgene once it was off the heat.
For more on my classic risotto technique, see the post here, this version definitely had more ingredients in it, but simple is just as good, really.
Sadly, that was the last of my chicken stock. Time to roast a few chickens to make more, I reckon...
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:19 AM | Comments (5)
Back to Main
April 14, 2008
John in Chicago's Slow Baked Survival Ribs
Apparently it's still too cold in Chicago for John to fire up his grill, but it didn't stop him from coming up with a great rib idea:
Its been a while since I've posted anything so here's 3 slabs I cooked off yesterday. I took the slabs and rubbed then w/ Survival Spice and wrapped them in Film and refriged for 24 hrs. I heated the oven to 280 and then dusted them again covered them with foil and popped them in with a pan of water (seperate of course)in the oven to add moisture. One and half hours covered then uncover , redust and pop back in checking every 20 minutes and marinate w/orange juice , pureed garlic (lots) , honey , and get this ............ a glop of Safeway's mango-curry sauce /// its 2.79 a bottle and really can add accent to a variety of dishes , no shit try it .............................. great w/ home made frittes ................... which I made along with a Thai Jicama salad.I've been on a diet so this was a
treat , urp.......................I cooked them for 4 hours..... dusting them every hour w/ survival spice so
that it was embedded into the glaze.
Sounds like some serious flavor going down there! I like the idea of layering the Survival Spice®, too.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:26 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
April 07, 2008
Survival Grilled Tofu
In an ongoing effort to "take care of ourselves", whatever that means, we've been eating more vegetarian dishes lately. To most people who have tried tofu, most think of it as a large pencil eraser in terms of a flavor profile, but it certainly doesn't have to be that way.
My technique for our weekly tofu night is still evolving, but lately a few days before we're going to eat it I've been slicing a package of extra firm tofu in half, then gently pressing as much moisture as I can. I rub all sides generously with our Survival Spice® barbecue rub, then put it in the fridge for a day or so.
The morning I'm going to grill it I slap together a simple of marinade of soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, which to me gives a more 'meaty' flavor, and Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva; turning the tofu slices a few times to marinate them evenly.
Though it will never top some of the meat dishes I've featured here over the years I have to say, it tastes great!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:59 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
February 18, 2008
"Three S" chicken
Whoo boy, this was good.
I took a few minutes yesterday afternoon to marinate some chicken breasts in soy sauce, sesame oil, and Survival Spice® for about 3 hours, then grilled them off on our gas grill with a little pecan wood.
Not sure the picture does it justice, but they had a beautiful color, and they were incredibly moist. I made some basic fried rice and grilled some asparagus to go with it.
Fortunately, there are leftovers. Life is good.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:47 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
January 25, 2008
Can you make a sauce from this?
Today's food experiment included a desperate search through the pantry for something fast. I've never used canned soup in a sauce, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
I rubbed two chicken breasts with our Survival Spice® barbecue rub, which of course works like a champ, then roasted them along with some sliced onion and peppers, until they had some good color, then dumped in the cans, seasoned them with more Survival Spice®, then let it all simmer along until it was done. Made some smashed parsley buttered potatoes, and plated it all together.
How was it?
Answer:
Good. I knew it might be salty, so I took it easy on the salt when I seasoned the potatoes and it worked out fine. I might use less stock if I did it again, which is certainly possible.
Been cooking? Email me pics! I'll admit I've been getting to them slowly, but they're still around here somewhere...
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:52 AM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
January 17, 2008
Sauteed Cod with Red Pepper Beurre Blanc
This is a quick and simple dish, relatively speaking, with minimal prep required, which these days is about at the top of the priority list. A beurre blanc sauce, literally 'white butter', is done with whole butter, white wine, lemon juice, parsley and shallots at its most basic form, but is really easy to embellish with things like red bell pepper, capers and whatever else you feel like throwing in there. My ratio of butter to lemon juice wasn't high enough to make this a 'textbook' beurre blanc, but this slightly lighter version was still amazing.
The main trick to a beurre blanc is to not heat the butter to the point of splitting. I dimly remember that being around 137º from my culinary school days, but the basic technique to this pan sauce is to give your skillet a quick wipe after you've removed whatever meat you've cooked, then adding the shallots, and sweating them a minute or two. Deglaze with a shot of white wine, reduce this to 'au sec', or nearly dry, then add your whole butter. Alternate between on and off the heat, swirling your pan almost continuously, until the mixture emulsifies. Thin with lots of lemon juice, toss in some chopped parsley if you like, or cilantro, then plate 'er up.
The acidity of the white wine and lemon juice makes this sauce much lighter than you'd expect. As far as the fish goes, all I did was season it with a bit of Survival Spice® and sauteed it in our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, then kept it warm on a sizzle plate.
If you want to keep playing with butter sauces after you've tried this, a beurre noisette, or browned butter sauce is absolutely amazing, but that's another day.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:00 AM | Comments (2)
Back to Main
December 27, 2007
Christmas Survival Glazed Ham
I took a different approach to the glaze I used on our Christmas ham this year. In previous versions I made it more orange flavored, using frozen orange juice, but for this year I took a different approach, and I'm happier with it.
I used maybe a cup of brown sugar, a goodly amount of dry Colman's mustard- at least a tablespoon or two, about an ounce or so of our Survival Spice® barbecue rub, then just enough fresh orange juice to create a paste. I slathered it on in two layers about 15 minutes apart during the last half hour, keeping a close eye on it because of all the brown sugar, and it came out beautifully.
How was your Christmas? Did Santa bring you anything good?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:31 AM | Comments (2)
Back to Main
December 22, 2007
Easy Oven Roasted Chicken w/Rosemary potatoes and Asparagus
Unfortunately these days, it would seem, on the rare evening that I get to cook anything at home, my focus is more on words like 'simple', 'easy', and 'quick' than my old goals of 'astounding' and 'unforgettable', but the news isn't all bad. Indeed, as I do everything I can to minimize prep time and shopping hassles I'm rediscovering how good simple meals can be.
For this no-hassle oven fried chicken I replaced a traditional breading station like the one at the link with a zip-loc bag. The basic steps were the same, but simpler- for a change I started with some organic chicken breasts and some Tabasco sauce in the bag, coated them, hit it with some more Tabasco, then added a mixture of flour and Survival Spice®, tossing it well to coat it fairly evenly. I didn't use bread crumbs because, well, I didn't have any on hand and easy was the point here, remember?
I prepped some red potatoes, tossing them with kosher salt, Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, cracked black pepper and some dried rosemary and put it all in to roast. While the chicken and potatoes were roasted, I trimmed up some asparagus, coating it with some more of the amazing olive oil, and with about 10 minutes to go I popped them in the same cast iron skillet with the potatoes and gave everything, including the chicken, a good squeeze of lemon juice, which really makes all the flavors pop.
Two cast iron skillets, one EZ-Hook®, and a one quart Ziploc® bag. Simple. And really, really good.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:21 AM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
December 12, 2007
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Well, I was hoping this would be a longer post, but with the holiday crunch being what it is, I'll just have to hope that I'll have the time to add to this later. (UPDATE: I added some extra images and fleshed it out a bit more, for your dining pleasure.)
This is a spaghetti squash, halved, roasted along with some garlic, a small onion and a red pepper, then the good stuff flaked out with a fork and roughly chopped. I took the empty skins, which are quite robust, and ladled in some marinara sauce and some parm reggiano.
The veggies were tossed with some Survival Spice®, pine nuts, dry herbs, and more parm then stuffed into the skins. These roasted until it was hot, then I topped it with some home made bread cubes and a blend of mozz, asiago, provolone and more parm, then broiled it until it was brown and bubbly.
Served with a small steak on the side, it was great. I'd like to try this again soon with some crumbled sausage of some sort.
I will add to this, I took lots of pictures in the process. Really...
By the way, the seeds were terrific, roasted with some Survival Spice® and some of our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 04:19 PM | Comments (2)
Back to Main
December 04, 2007
Barley soup with rosemary focaccia
I made some smoked turkey stock from our Thanksgiving turkey last week, and put together a veggie barley soup with some of the stock. We had eaten at Monti's Saturday night, and ate an absurd amount of their rosemary focaccia, so I decided to make some to have with the soup.
Good and good for ya.
The Gordon Biersch Marzen is a decent beer, especially on sale, but it would probably pair up better with a burger.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:09 AM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
November 12, 2007
Ommegang... Ohmahgod, it's good!
This is a great beer, and it added a wonderful dimension to the pan sauce I put together last night.
I was determined to keep this as simple as possible, in terms of flavors, so I decided to create an utterly simple pan sauce. Fortunately, I still had some of the "semi-glace" that I try to keep on hand, and that's really all you need, but rather than crust my top sirloin with crushed black peppercorns, ala au poivre, I figured that I could just deglaze the pan with some butter, a few cubes of semi-glace, and some crushed peppercorns.
The steak was simple, too, I used some amazing Hawaiian sea salt on the steak before pan frying it in our Tibvrtini Novello organic olive oil, and some butter. Pulled it once it was medium rare, and let it rest on a plate.
Happily, as it turns out, I didn't have enough sauce to deglaze the size of the pan I used, so I needed to add some more liquid. I was planning on drinking the Ommegang Abbey Dubbel anyway, so I splashed a bit of it in the skillet, swirled to deglaze the fond, and reduced it until it was nappé.
Serving it with the rigatoni and cheese seemed like an unlikely match, but it was great, and the sauce worked really well with the pasta, too.
This was almost unbearably good, and pretty simple to put together. Here's another picture of the finished dish:
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:00 AM | Comments (5)
Back to Main
October 23, 2007
Apple Stuffed Turkey Breast w/Polenta & Brussel Sprouts
Well, it's finally starting to cool down here in Phoenix, and I've found myself cooking more meals inside that outside lately. Not that there's a foot of snow on the grill or anything, but it's usually dark when I get home, so cooking inside just feels right.
This dish was a piece of cake- I guess I could have made a pan sauce, but after stuffing a turkey breast seasoned with Survival Spice® with apples, it stayed nice and moist. I added some polenta wedges to the cast iron skillet during the last 20 minutes, and some steamed brussel sprouts finishied it off really well.
Been cooking? Let's hear about it!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:53 AM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
October 19, 2007
John in Chicago's Mo-rockin' Pizza
John sent this in a while back around the time of the wedding, I missed it because it didn't have a subject line, I think. Shame on me:
here is a shrimp and morrocan olive pizza , I took eggplant, onion , sun dried tomatoz , portabello mushrooms , fennel , garlic and grilled all of them on my rangetop grill pan . then I hand chopped them rough ,then I mixed in capers and chili peppers. Then I added 1 small can of tomato paste and loosened it with h2o to get the desired pizza sauce thickness. then I added a bit of pesto .......take shrimp and 1/2- horizontal -soak in bit o melted butter................... crust : 4 cups ap flour , 1 stick butter melted , 1 pkg yeast added to 1 cup h2o bit o sugar , salt ........mixo .....bit of parm cheez........... oven set to flank speed , ..............@ 15 miuntes take za out of oven and garlic butter the crust , pop back in til med well done , re-garlic crust , eat
Wow, I'll bet that crust was rich. The whole thing is just mind-blowing.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:56 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
October 08, 2007
Creamy Fettucini alla Puttanesca with Salmon
Okay, I hate to start the week with something so racy, but let's get the juvenile part of this out of the way- "Puttan" means "whore".
To me, the most credible explanation of the origin of "alla Puttanesca" is that because it's a dish that can be thrown together using only pantry ingredients so quickly, the working girls could have a quick meal in between dates. I've also heard that the aroma would draw in customers. Maybe one led to another, who knows?
Our dinner last night is not the classic version. I make a classic puttanesca the way that I was taught- by sauteeing some roughly chopped tomatoes, garlic, chopped anchovy, capers, olives, with a chiffonade of parsley and basil. Then I add some cooked pasta, toss, then take off the heat, along with a good drizzle of Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva.
I started out to do the classic version last night, but because we wanted to incorporate salmon with the fettucine, the Alfredo option came to mind. Being me, instead of doing one or the other, I decided to try to smash the two sauces together.
I was lucky enough to have some leftover artichokes on hand, so in they went into a saute pan with tomato concassee, black Greek olives, red bell pepper, green onions, and copious amounts of garlic. Once the veggies were done I browned off some cubes of a nice salmon filet. Once the fish was out of the skillet, I deglazed the pan with some white wine, reducing it 50%. I added a little chicken stock, reduced it a bit, then finished it off with some cream. I added back the veggies, seasoned the sauce and then added back my pre cooked fresh fettucine. Quick toss, then a few minutes with the fish back in the pan, and it was all done, ready for lots of Parm Reggiano.
It was really, really good and I didn't have to cook it under a red light...
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:23 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
October 01, 2007
Polenta Cakes with Sauteed Vegetables
I picked up a package of polenta the other day, similar to the one I have linked here. I'd never worked with pre-made stuff, and Julie had never had polenta, so a side dish experiment was in order.
I had a sneaky feeling that Survival Spice® would pair up well, so I heated up a skillet, sprinkled some slices of the polenta, and fried them up while I sauteed a mix of red peppers, Chimayo chiles, yellow squash and white onion.
Man, it worked like a champ. Apparently you can puree this with liquid to make a smooth polenta, which is more what I'm used to. I'll have to try it, but having a few of these in the fridge sure makes life easy. Easy is good these days...
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:57 AM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
September 19, 2007
John's Torturing the Neighbors Again
(Photo: JB, of his "Neighbor Killer" Lamb Kabobs)
John in Chicago is killing his neighbors:
"time enough to live, time enough to cook"I took a costco boneless leg o lamb and cut it up into grande cubes for brochette. I marinated 1/2 for 24 hrs in : olive oil , zest of 4 oranges , 6 lg garlic cloves smushed into a paste, fresh mint and rosemary minced, 1 nice pinch of saffron mixed w/ 3 parts survival spice - 1 part madras curry - and 1 part smoky paprika (el ray de la vera - delevera.com) I grilled these babies off, and as you can see I had more smoke than my faux fan could handle.
(Photo: JB)
Man, you're looking at a textbook sear right thar, folks.
I opened the winders and the big doors leading out of the loft and the smoke wafted out and up the stairwell 4 floors and within 10 minutes people were gathering outside the door like pod people , muttering "Carmelization"! I almost had to sic the dogs on em ! well here's a few pics just before they hit the plates and disappeared before I could take a pic, served w/ a mideastern rice dish and triple chocolate dove bars. I took the other 1/2 of the leg and ground it w/ pork shoulder and pancetta to make sausage and pot stickers to freeze.
I really like the way that John used Survival Spice® as a base, then Currified it up by adding saffron, curry powder, and some smoked paprika. That's really what Survival Spice® is all about. I developed it as a stand alone seasoning, but left plenty of room in the recipe for using it as a starting point for customization. I'm always flattered when I get an email from someone apologizing for adding other flavors, but really, it's totally cool, and it's gratifying as hell.
Fricking awesome, John. And triple chocolate Dove bars? Yer killing me.
Been cooking? Email me some pictures!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:57 AM | Comments (5)
Back to Main
September 10, 2007
Steeler Wings- Victory!
Well, the football season got off to a good start- my Pittsburgh Steelers beat up on the Cleveland Browns until they couldn't take it any more. And no, I'm not a fair weather fan; during the 60s I was a fan when they were far and away the worst team in football.
What's football without hot wings? Nothin'.
I like to grill my wings, but I was getting over some kind of bug, so I had to content myself with seasoning them well with Survival Spice™, then roasting them on a parchment lined sheet pan until they were crispy:
As they were in the oven, I mixed some hot sauce, butter, more Survival Spice®, and a bit of chipotle BBQ sauce in a sauce pan, got it all melted and bubbly, poured the sauce into a work bowl, then tossed the crispy wings with the sauce. Taking a fine suggestion from Julie, I plated them on a Steelers platter.
Mmmmm... spicy, crispy and full of flavor. They tasted great with a few cold beers.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:15 AM | Comments (10)
Back to Main
August 31, 2007
Greco-Mexican Salad
This is two of our favorite salads smashed together- guacamole, and a Greek salad. It took a little bit of thinking to figure out how to do it, but I settled on a deconstructed guacamole- avocado, shaved red onions, cilantro, and lemon juice, with some radishes added for some zip. The Greek salad has a few common elements- onion and lemon juice; so all I had to add wass some of the organic butter lettuce I had, feta cheese and some black Greek olives.
For the dressing, I decided on more of a Greek type dressing with some of our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, and a blend of Tibvrtini Aceto di Vino Blanco and lots of lemon juice. I added some liquified garlic, dry oregano, and kosher salt and pepper.
It was awesome, and I have to say that the organic butter lettuce was really good, it had a much firmer texture than you find in most of the more delicate lettuce you see in the market.
Was it worth $3? Eh...... maybe once in a while.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
August 16, 2007
Grilled Survival Garlic Chicken, Sweet Potatoes & Brocolli
In another of a long-running series of "What Did You Have for Dinner Last Night", here's a quick rundown of a quick dinner.
I threw a bunch of minced garlic in Ziplock bag, along with the ever present Survival Spice™ and a few all natural chicken breasts to marinate, while I fired up our gas grill. I took a nice sweet potato and cut it into 4 wedges and threw it in the microwave for about 2 minutes, so it could cook through while I got a steamer basket ready for some organic brocolli crowns.
Once the sweet potatoes were tender, I drizzled on a bit of our organic TIbvrtini Extra Virgin Olive Oil and seasoned them with some kosher salt and pepper.
Okay, brocolli's in the steamer and the chicken and sweet potatoes are ready to go on the grill. I grilled the taters on medium high, to get some grill marks and carmelize the sugars, then turned them down to finish cooking while the chicken was cooking. A few pecan wood chips made it all nice and smoky.
Sorry, nothing fancy about this, but it was wonderful.
Been cooking, especially with Desert Island Foods®.com products? Email me!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:25 AM | Comments (3)
Back to Main
July 23, 2007
Blueberry Pancakes and Bacon
When life deals you blueberries, make blueberry pancakes...
Part of the fun of getting married (actually a month ago today), is having someone else come home with new things to play with in the kitchen. I tend to get into a bit of a rut with what's on hand, and though there are zillions of ways to combine them, eventually they start to resemble each other way more than they should. Sure, it's tasty and works out just fine, but it's generally not very blogworthy.
So when my new bride showed up with some blueberries last week, using them in pancakes came immediately to mind. So did things like making a blueberry demi-glace for some pork tendeloin, but pancakes seemed much more doable, with life being as busy as it is. Remind me to make the blueberry demi one of these days though, wouldja?
So here are the blueberry pancakes, with some crispy bacon on the side. Not a very original recipe, but I'd be glad to post it if you like. I would have used some buttermilk if I had it on hand, but regular ol' milk worked just fine.
There are a few tricks to great pancakes- don't overmix the batter, and let it rest, especially if you do. Lumps are fine, as long as they're not filled with dry flour if you break one open. Griddle heat is also key- a few dancing drops of water on the griddle is a good sign. You need a good amount of heat to activate the leaveners- baking powder, baking soda, and the eggs themselves, but too much heat will cook the 'cakes before they're done rising. Make some extra batter, so if you screw up a few you'll be covered.
Cook anything good this weekend?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 01:05 PM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
July 18, 2007
Grilled Survival Carnitas
(TPC's Grilled Carnitas)
As promised, here's a closer look at the carnitas I made over the weekend.
I like to double cook pork when it's a big piece like a shoulder or butt- a slow cook, to render fat and add a base flavor, then cooking it again on a higher heat to crisp it up. I've used this technique before- on the Masitas en Puerco I made for Cuban Night, and I do it for spare ribs occasionally.
I simmered a pork shoulder in orange juice and limes, along with some water and a sliced head of garlic, salt and pepper for a few hours until it was cooked through, then let it sit in the broth as I was prepping the rest of the meal. There's a picture of it just getting going below the fold, because some people are a bit squeamish about looking at raw meat.
After an hour or so, I took it out of the broth and sliced into pieces a little more than an inch thick, rubbing each slice with Survival Spice™. I grilled these pieces over some pecan smoke while I roasted a head of garlic and some jalapenos.
Wow. Just. Wow. It was a really great combination- pork simmered in a very Latin way, but with a great grilled flavor to boot.
Try this. I'm begging you.
Continue reading "Grilled Survival Carnitas"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:05 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
July 06, 2007
Grilled Summer Salad with Shrimp and Eggplant
I hope you all had a great Fourth of July!
My menu planning for yesterday was dictated by the 116º scorcher we had. You know me- I love to take a day to smoke a big ol' hunk of meat, but after a day outside sunnin' and funnin', the last thing I wanted to do was spend a lot of time over a hot grill.
So... with operating parameters set, what to make? On hand- shrimp, leftover brown rice, tomatoes, a red onion, cilantro and a globe eggplant. Easily obtained at the market- red bell peppers, anaheim chiles, lemons, and jalapenos. Aha! I have a plan...
I cut the eggplant in wedges, removing about half the skin and salting them fairly liberally, then cut the peppers into wedges, too. Into a one gallon ziploc bag they went with the red onion, with an obscene amount of crushed garlic, some Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, a spash of Tibvrtini Aceto di Vino Blanco, and some kosher salt and black pepper. I left them at room temperature to marinate while I tossed the shrimp into another bag with some more garlic (okay, a lot more) and plenty of Survival Spice™, which absolutely rocks on grilled shrimp.
All that was left to prep was to concasse some roma tomatoes, and clean some cilantro. Into a work bowl they went.
I built a hot fire with pecan wood, and let it settle down a bit. Once everything was marinated, I emptied the bag of veggies onto the hot grill, then went about getting some serious color on the veggies. The eggplant got special attention, blackening the skins and filling the eggplant wedges with tons of pecan flavor.
Once the veggies had great color, but were still between al dente and fully cooked, I took them off the grill, chopping them coarsely and adding them to the cilantro, brown rice and tomatoes already in the work bowl. I added a glug of Tibrtini Novello, about half a lemon's worth of juice, and seasoned to taste.
While that sat, I grilled off the shrimp at high heat just long enough to change the color, and squeezed some lemon juice on them before I took them off the grill.
Plated it up, and man did it hit the spot. Light, but huge flavors, and just the right temperature on a scorching day.
Try this technique with whatever you have on hand. It's the perfect summer meal.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:01 AM | Comments (3)
Back to Main
April 02, 2007
Poolside BLT
Summer's coming, and for me a classic summer sandwith is the BLT. Okay, I think it's a great sandwich in spring, fall and winter too, but a great BLT really shines on a hot day.
My prescription for decompressing at the end of a too-long work week?
Thick cut bacon, cooked slowly in cast iron, turned to perfection with an E-Z Hook®; some cold, crisp organic greens, vine-ripe tomatoes that actually smell like tomatoes, not some vaguely tomato-like substance that's been warehoused along with K-rations from World War II until duty calls, all cradled lovingly in 2 slices of all natural toasted whole grain bread. Slather some mayo on there if you want- better yet, make your own, but I don't need it.
Add a lounge chair, a cold adult beverage, and a good book. Repeat as necessary. Often.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:47 AM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
March 28, 2007
Sprouts Market Pork Tenderloin w/Survival Spice®
Nothing fancy here, but it was darned good.
This is an all-natural pork tenderloin I picked up at Sprouts Market the other day. I've been shopping there a lot recently. They have a nice blend of healthy stuff at a reasonable price point, which I find very pragmatic, indeed.
I oiled it lightly with our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, then rubbed it with Survival Spice™.
While I preheated my oven to bake at 350º (convection), I got a cast iron skillet hot and seared the tenderloin, making sure I browned it all the way 'round. Once that was done, I popped it into the oven until it felt like it was starting to firm up, but not all the way there. Sadly (pathetically), a lot of people won't eat pork until it's the consistency of a baseball bat, and it's a shame. This was still just a tiny bit pink in the widest part of the piece, and was outrageously juicy.
I let it rest while I took some pictures, and sliced it to put on a green salad.
Fortunately, there are leftovers. Is it too early at 7AM to eat dinner?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:07 AM | Comments (5)
Back to Main
March 09, 2007
Friday Flank Steak
Happy Friday, everyone! Forgive the alliteration in the title, and the infrequent posting this week. There's nothing funny about this London Broil steak, but it was really good.
If you recall, I stumbled on a marinade of Tibvrtini Extra Virgine di Oliva, organic Tibvrtini Aceto di Vino Blanco, and some Survival Spice™ that I thought would work with this flank steak, and it did. I rubbed the steak with Survival Spice®, and put in a one gallon baggie, and made a mix of 2 parts or so Tibvrtini olive oil, and one part white wine vinegar, and poured it in to the bag.
I let it marinade for about two days, than pulled it out of the marinade. I'll rub it with more Survival Spice® before I cook it next time, because what the beef didn't absorb basically got washed away, but hey, it was a first attempt! I let it come to room temperature while I got the fire going, then grilled it over a medium hot pecan fire. I let it rest a few minutes, then sliced it across the grain, to cut as much connective fiber as possible.
This is really good stuff, and really simple- no chopping onion or garlic or measuring stuff, just rub it and give it enough marinade it to get it wet, then turn it twice a day or so.
Have a great weekend! Cook something good, willya? Email me a picture of something you feel like sharing.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your patronage of Desert Island Foods®.com.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
February 28, 2007
John's Leg of Lamb
(All photos: John in Chicago. The top one needed a little sharpening in Photoshop, perhaps John, who's a tremendously good photographer, got into the port a little early... ;©))
John in Chicago has been cooking again, and I can smell (and practically taste) it from here:
take leg o' lamb & slather survival spice allllll over the inside with fresh marjoram , tie up , sear the piss outa it on the grill pan , take off grill pan , slather the outside with survival spice and slow roast at 275-300 till the probe says 150degreez ............................... dust again w/ survival spice , rest for 10 minutes or 1 beer (samuel smith nut brown ale) then cut away the string and attack flanked by goat cheese basil garlic mashers, oh and a sauce from the pan drippings w/ the addition of a bit of Setubal. (TPC note: Setubal is a Portuguese fortified wine, and I'll bet it was incredible in the sauce.)
Great technique, John! So many people grab for the rosemary by default any time they're prepping lamb, and although it's a wonderful combination of flavors, frankly, it's been done and overdone, in my book. I know from experience that our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub complements lamb wonderfully. (End shameless plug.)
Awesome. Here's a few more pics:
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 05:27 AM | Comments (2)
Back to Main
February 26, 2007
Steak Kebabs with Survival Vinagerette
I like kebabs, kabobs, however you like to spell it, (both are correct, actually) don't get me wrong. They're really party friendly, easy prep you can do well in advance, and the simplicity of plunking down a kebab or two on a plate and not have to have a lot of side dishes is great. The problem with mixed kebabs, however, is that generally you get a bunch of burned and raw stuff on the same skewer, because each individual item takes different times to cook.
There are two ways to solve this: either make your kebabs seperately, entire skewers made up of the same ingredient, which I prefer; or par cook items to the same state of doneness, then make up mixed skewers. This was how I made these- I cut an onion in half and zapped it on the microwave for about 2 minutes, then cut it into wedges. The beef and the red bell pepper needed no pre-cooking, I knew they'd both be done in about 15 minutes.
I lucked into an amazing marinade for this, that I can't wait to try on flank steak. I combined our Tibvrtini Extra Virgine di Oliva, organic Tibvrtini Aceto di Vino Blanco, and some Survival Spice™, and was blown away by how good it was. It might even make a quick Italian-type salad dressing- I'll be playing with that soon.
These got about 15 minutes over a medium charcoal fire, and I served them on some brown rice. I'm going to be making these again, soon, and a flank steak is definitely on my shopping list.
Do any cooking this weekend? I got some great pictures in over the weekend that I'll be posting soon.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:16 AM | Comments (5)
Back to Main
January 23, 2007
Jack Bauer loves Meatball Sandwiches
Okay, I have no idea if Jack loves them or not, since no one on that show ever eats, but that's what I made last night. There are lots of varieties of meatballs, along with meat choices- beef, veal or pork, but for a meatball sandwich I like straight 100% beef. I mixed the beef with some homemade bread crumbs, eggs, fresh parsley, lots of garlic, and enough salt that it doesn't taste bland.
I browned these off on a sheet pan while I buzzed up some crushed tomatoes with an immersion blender, then added uber amounts of garlic, some parsley, and seasoned it with dry thyme, kosher salt, and copious amounts of crushed red pepper and Survival Spice™, which adds a lot of flavor to tomato sauces, while keeping it recognizable as an Italian sauce. I added the meatballs to the sauce, and let it simmer for a few hours.
Got some good rolls from the bakery, and sliced them, along with some pepper jack cheese, making sure that the sandwich would sit flat on the sizzle plate. If you line the sides of the roll with cheese, the sandwich won't soak through as quickly, and don't overdo the sauce if you don't want to wear it! I topped it with a little greated parm cheese, got it hot in the oven, then turned on the broiler for a few minutes at the end.
Jack would be proud. I hope he wouldn't kill me for it.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:10 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
January 15, 2007
Chilebrown's Beef Brisket
(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown, of his beef brisket)
Chilebrown is a patient man:
I woke up at 3:30 am to put this baby in. It is only up to 152. I got the hardly can waits.
I'll bet it took a while. Brisket has lots of connective tissue, and it's not uncommon to cook one at low heat for 8 hours or more to fully break down the fibers. Follow the link to learn more, or just scroll down to drool over the finished dish...
I emailed him to ask him what rub he used on it:
Yours, of course. Man it was the bomb.
Pretty serious looking brisket, Chile, I'll bet it was worth the wait. How long did you end up cooking it for? Let's hear some details!
(Photo: Chilebrown's Smoked Beef Brisket)
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:47 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
January 09, 2007
Survival Tip with Onion, Portabello and thyme oil
(Crazy plating, I know, but ya gotta try stuff...)
I just had to have a steak for the Florida/Ohio State (blowout, as it turned out) game last night, so I grilled off a nice strip of tri-tip, rubbed with our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub. I've mentioned this before, but grilling tri-tip, even a strip like this where you're tempted to sear it off, is much better cooked over medium heat so you've got time to break down the connective tissue instead of tightening it up.
I was going to just grill the red onions and portabellos, too, but then I had a bit of inspiration. I sauteed them instead with a bit of thyme, using more oil than I normally would. What did I do with the oil after the veggies were done? Poured it over the steak, of course. You've got all this lovely infused mushroom, thyme and onion flavor going on, why waste it?
It was awesome. Survival Spice™ by itself is all you need, of course, but the extra flavor wallop from the oil was a nice change.
Been cooking? Email me what you've been making!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:18 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
January 03, 2007
Japanese Style Salmon and Brussel Sprouts
Travel Day again today, but finally I'm headed home, ready to get back to work!
This was a pan-fried salmon filet that I marinated in soy, mirin, lemon juice and some chili/garlic paste. I'll admit, brussel sprouts weren't exactly the traditional Japanese accompianment, but they tasted good! I just steamed them, and added some butter and S&P.
Now, if I had eaten like this the whole time I was in the Midwest, my jeans wouldn't be so tight.
Say, are those Christmas cookies?...
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:12 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
December 29, 2006
Pepper Jack Basil Burger
Happy Friday, everyone! I'm traveling this week in the wonderful MIdwest, but here's a shot of a burger I made recently. The basil really added a lot of flavor, and worked with the cheese and the Survival Spice really well.
Another 'made up' meal, but sometimes those are the best ones...
Sorry for the light posting, but it's been a fun and busy week. Enjoy the weekend, and cook something good, willya?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:33 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
December 18, 2006
Weekend Wings
I had a hankering for wings over the weekend. Actually, I hanker for wings far more often than that, but I just happened to be at the grocery store when this particular hanker began, so it was an easy hanker to satisfy.
Wow. I just used the word 'hanker' three times in a sentence. Is that a record? Try it sometime, it's not as easy as you think...
I like to grill my wings, rather than deep fry them. Grilling them over wood imparts smoky flavor to chicken, as oppposed to deep frying, where the only flavor to be picked up is the delightful essense of the Mrs. Paul's fish sticks you threw in there the last time you used it. No, thanks.
I grilled these with our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub, low and slow, to render out the fat and get them nice and crispy. In a skillet, I whipped up a "kitchen sink" sauce of butter, Frank's Red hot, Tabasco, Sciracha, hot chipotle bbq sauce, and more Survival Spice™.
Quick toss in the sauce after the wings were done, and life was good.
Don't ask me why I cropped the photo so close, there was just something mesmerizing about the glaze on the wings.
Cook anything good this weekend? Give it up!!!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 04:13 PM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
December 11, 2006
Meat Lasagna for wussies
(Photo: TPC's family meat lasagna, shot with my new Canon Powershot A530
I'm working on a simple, inexpensive, family friendly meat lasagna recipe. The ground rules- no fancy ingredients- sob, no San Marzano tomotoes, parm reggiano, fresh herbs, etc.
I'm using a mixture of ground beef and mild Italian sausage, so it isn't too spicy, and because a lot of people don't care for ricotta I'm mixing it with eggs and parmesan cheese to firm it up and give it more of a parm flavor profile. I also put the ricotta mixture on its own layer, so it stays in pieces that can be picked away by fussy diners.
The first attempt was successful. I think I'm going to up the garlic a bit and use a touch more crushed red pepper next time around. It's tough cooking for all ages, but I'm feeling pretty good about this approach. Next- a 3 or 4 cheese version.
Cook anything good over the weekend? Let's hear about it, and email me a picture to share, if you're so inclined!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
November 29, 2006
Bob's Southwestern Turkey
Bob, as part of his Thanksgiving feast, sent along this shot of his Southwestern turkey that he rubbed with our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub and smoked over mesquite. Mmmmmmm....
I really like the fact that he also incorporated our rub into his "Green Baby Beans"- sauteed with mushrooms, red onions, garlic, Survival Spice and a cabernet wine sauce over polenta. A lot of imagination and hard work went into this, Bob. Well done, sir!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:23 AM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
November 16, 2006
Tri-tip burrito
Here's a thrown together meal that turned out pretty well, another of my "crap, it's dinner time what do we have in the fridge and what can i make out of it" situations, which sadly have become the norm.
I had some tri-tip cut into strips on hand, so I hit them with Survival Spice™ barbecue rub, and grilled them off with some onion, while I heated up some black beans, and sliced some Colby cheese. Threw some large tortillas on the grill after I removed the beef and onions, and made some quick burritos.
The trick with tri-tip cooked this way is to not overdo the heat, just a nice medium fire until they're medium rare.
The photo's not that good, I know, but the burrito was!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:19 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
November 13, 2006
Honey Scaryaki Salmon
Here's a refinement on the Scaryaki sauce I've posted about a few times here so far, with an adjustment for the salmon I had on hand.
I wanted something a little more traditional in terms of the sweetness a typical teriyaki sauce has, but with the heat in my "scaryaki" version, so I added a touch of honey to the usual blend of soy, hot chili garlic paste, and Sriracha hot sauce, with just a touch of sesame oil. After letting the fish marinade for about half an hour, I drizzled a bit of canola oil on the fish as my skillet was heating up. Why do I oil the fish, and not the skillet? Because if you do it this way, you'll have far less spattering, because there's no extra oil in the pan.
The honey I added this time forced me to change my cooking technique somewhat- instead of being able to sear the salmon at high heat, which of course would burn the honey, I settled on medium to medium high heat this time.
I served this with brown rice and a salad similar to the one in the Scaryaki Halibut post. Mmmmmm.....
So, cook anything good this weekend? Give!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:29 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
November 06, 2006
Easy Meat Loaf
I've made meat loaf a lot of different ways, but this is the easiest yet so far! As much as I like meat loaf with chopped onion, or celery, or carrots, or even pine nuts, after getting home from work late one night I knew none of that was going to happen, and the results were still terrific.
This is so simple, but packed with flavor. A couple pounds of 80/20 ground beef- don't use that stuff packed in a cylinder so you can't see what you're getting, get something you can look at, or grind it yourself. Add an egg, a good glug of dijon mustard, a handful or two of parmesan bread crumbs I always keep on hand in the freezer, and of course plenty of our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub. Mix it well together by hand, but don't pack the heck out of it, you don't want a brick, this stuff is dense enough as it is!
Pack lightly into a loaf pan, and bake at around 350º for 40 minutes, then take it out and pour off the released grease and juices, so it can brown and not boil. Top it generously with ketchup and more Survival Spice, then bake at 375 until the loaf is done and the ketchup/SS mixture is browned nicely. Let it rest for 5 minutes, slice and serve.
This stuff makes amazing sandwiches, if you've got any left over. Which is unlikely, so make two, just in case...
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:17 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
October 31, 2006
Great pumpkin seed recipes
Happy Halloween! I got an email from Denise the other day, mentioning how she incorporated the seasoning idea for Parmesan Survival Corn into a pumpkin seed recipe:
I rinsed the pumpkin seeds, but didn't totally wash off all of the little bits of pumpkin. Then I tossed the seeds in a mixture of parmesan/romano cheese (just from the can), Survival Spice™, and olive oil until coated. I spread them on a cookie sheet and popped them in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Good stuff!I don't have the camera dock all hooked up and I know I wouldn't get a picture to you in a timely manner....sorry.
But the pumpkin seeds turned out pretty good. The only thing I would probably do differently would be to add some kosher salt, which I don't have on hand.
She didn't send a pic, but this one is from Jim's Halloween Survival Seeds last year, along with his recipe:
Here is a new recipe and some pics:Contains olive oil, sesame oil, Survival Spice™, and worchester sauce. Wash seeds, add rub, oil, and worchester sauce. Then 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Don't rush this one.
Best, Jim
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:07 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
October 30, 2006
Gumbo- Before and After
Here's a before and after shot of the chicken, sausage and shrimp gumbo I made yesterday, using some of the chicken stock I made recently. I've described my gumbo technique before, so the only thing I'll point out is how thick the roux is as it begins to cook. Dark rouxs use more flour because the starch cooks out over time, so don't panic and add more oil, it will loosen up as it cooks.
Lots of chopping and whatnot, but it was worth it!
(Photo: Mary)
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
October 16, 2006
Taking Stock in Tortilla Soup
There's nothing like homemade soups, sauces and gumbos, but a critical ingredient to all of these dishes is starting out with a great stock. I know- it's time intensive, it's a pain in the butt, etc., granted; but if you make a larger quantity and freeze it, you'll find yourself enjoying a great bowl of 'whatever it is' far more often this winter.
I actually had an afternoon last week to do a little cooking, so while I was getting other stuff done around the house, why not make stock?
Continue reading "Taking Stock in Tortilla Soup"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:34 AM | Comments (2)
Back to Main
October 13, 2006
Friday Funny- Lemon Breast Chicken
Happy, happy Friday the 13th, all! I hope you've got something culinary-oriented going on this weekend, email me some pictures of what you're cooking and eating to share!
We have an ususual Friday Funny this week, it's a fowl joke/recipe from Kathleen, thanks! The recipe and photo of the finished dish is below the fold.
Have a great weekend, everyone. Please contribute to our "Two For the Troops" effort for Operation Gratitude by clicking in the sidebar ad for more information, and please help us spread the word.
Continue reading "Friday Funny- Lemon Breast Chicken"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:28 AM | Comments (0)
Back to Main
October 10, 2006
Chicken Cacciatora
The good news- there was absolutely no Spam® in this...
My buddy Bob gave me a bunch of home-grown basil the other day. I wasn't in the mood for pesto, so I decided to make some pasta sauce with it. You know my M.O. for basic pasta sauce- lots of sauteed garlic in Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, crushed to order tomatoes, crushed red peppers and basil only- so I won't go into detail on that.
To make the cacciatora, I oven-roasted some chicken legs and thighs seasoned with our Survival Spice™ until they had a nice color and were nearly cooked through, and also sauteed some mini red and yellow peppers along with a chopped red onion. I deglazed these with some white wine, then added them to some of the tomato sauce. Once the chicken was ready, I added it as well, then simmered the whole thing for an hour.
Boiled some penned until it was al dente, then garnished with parmaseano reggiano and a sprig of Bob's be-YOO-tiful basil. Thanks again!
Bottle of red, and some crusty bread. Life was good.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:45 AM | Comments (1)
Back to Main
October 04, 2006
Pork chops with Chipotle Cream Sauce
Wow, Chilebrown hooked me up. He sent me some home smoked chipotle peppers, and I knew immediately what I wanted to do with them.
Continue reading "Pork chops with Chipotle Cream Sauce"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:04 AM | Comments (4)
Back to Main
September 20, 2006
John's Lobster with Ugga Bugga Lobster Sauce
John in Chicago sends along a really fantastic-sounding lobster dish using copious amounts of Survival Spice™:
I made a sauce by taking butter and adding fresh lemon verbena & garlic and warming it to infuse the lemon verbena ................................... I grilled the lobs w/ survival spice and redusted when they came off ........................... ugga bugga
Wow. Sounds like that hits all the right notes! I've mentioned Survival Butter and how amazing it is with crab, but John took it at step further by adding lemon verbena. Nice touch! He didn't mention if he clarified the butter, but you certainly don't have to.
I'm not sure exactly what "Ugga Bugga" meant, but I assume that means it was good!
Been cooking? Email me!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:01 AM | Comments (2)
Back to Main
September 18, 2006
Roast chicken with Survival Stuffing
It's starting to cool off here in the desert, and I found myself craving a Thanksgiving dinner. By cooling, I mean temps under 100º, but it makes a huge difference here in Phoenix.
Well, it's not Thanksgiving yet, and I didn't have a turkey on hand, but this stuffed chicken dinner satisfied my "turkey jones" nonetheless.
Continue reading "Roast chicken with Survival Stuffing"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 01:30 PM | Comments (3)
Back to Main
September 11, 2006
Whatchacallit
I have no idea what I made last night, but it was good.
Another of those market basket days, where I had a bunch of ideas what to make with what I had on hand. Pork chops and a French style mushroom cream sauce, maybe a Southwest influence with the addition of pasilla chiles; a simple pork and sausage gumbo; hot Italian sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions- my head was filled with possibilities.
I think you know this, but this is my favorite way to cook- inventory what's on hand, then make something up. What could you make with these ingredients?
Continue reading "Whatchacallit"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:58 AM | Comments (2)
Back to Main
September 06, 2006
Grilled Corn on the Cob with Survival Butter
Grilled, boiled, whatever, I love corn on the cob, which to me is one of the best things about summer. I've talked about Survival Butter before, but until Ana mentioned using it on corn on the cob, and raving about the flavor, it really hadn't occurred to me to try it.
Here's a shot of the Labor Day feast, where I tried it for the first time, and I have to say I loved it, too. I'm all for being a purist with corn, even omitting butter most of the time, but try this for a great change.
Thanks, Ana!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:11 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Back to Main
September 05, 2006
Grilled Pork Chops and Corn on the Cob
Pork chops and corn on the cob- sure sounds like Labor Day to me!
There's a few ways you can go with pork chops- super thin, so you can cook them quickly on high heat, leaving a nice crispy bit of pork goodness. You can also go with a thick-cut pork chop that you can still cook quickly, or smoke nice and slowly.
These were grilled over pecan wood, which is my default grilling wood these days, at a fairly high heat. I lot of people like their pork cooked to death, but I'm not one of them. For them, go the thin/crispy pork route.
Sigh. I have to talk about this for a minute, so indulge me. I really, really hate to even bring it up, because it's such a rare thing anyway and a serious buzz kill, but seriously, it's okay to eat juicy pork chops. Really. They can even be a bit pink, and still have no chance of containing trichinosis. By the time your pork is medium rare to medium, it's fine. Want to hear numbers? Okay. Trichinosis, even in the incredibly remote chance of infection, is gone at 138º. Medium rare pork is right around 145º. Even medium, around 150º, is still moist. If in doubt, use an instant read thermometer, and relax. Sorry for digressing, but the whole "pork paranoia" is so pervasive, it makes me crazy, and I think knowledgable people don't talk about it enough because it's unappetizing. Hope this helps.
Where was I? Right, chops. I rubbed them well with our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub, which is so good on pork that even the chops will send you a thank you note!
After they came off the grill, I let them rest a few minutes. Pork chops, because they're generally so lean, really benefit from resting 5 or 10 minutes or so before service.
Man, they were good. The sauce you see on the side is from a friend's company that I'll talk a bit about later in the week, but suffice it to say it's one of the best bottled sauces I've had!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 06:41 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 24, 2006
Paul's Talkin' Turkey
Paul, aka Chilebrown, sent me this terrific picture of a turkey that he smoked on his Weber recently. He didn't send any information, but grilling or smoking a turkey on indirect heat is a great variation from traditional birds, though I recommend that you don't stuff them. Many times on Thanksgiving I've both oven-roasted and smoked a bird to provide variety, and the smoked turkey was always gone first. The leftover meat and carcass makes an awesome smoked turkey soup, too, try it!
This doesn't look rubbed, but our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub is awesome on turkey, chicken, and Cornish hens, too!
If Paul checks in, hopefully he'll provide some details, but I'd say this picture speaks for itself. Well done, Paul!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 23, 2006
How to cook a hamburger- or Survival Burgers, my way.
Who wants a burger? We had a cookout at a friend's house recently, and I whipped these Survival Burgers up. And yes, the way that I see it, a cookout is plain grilling- burgers, dogs, brats, etc. No smoke, no low and slow, that's barbecue, thankyouverymuch. Gas grills work fine for cookouts, but a handful of soaked wood chips makes a world of difference, try it. These were grilled by my buddy Tim, who did a great job of making sure everybody got the burger that they wanted, the way that they liked them cooked.
For these burgers, I started with 5 pounds of USDA Choice 22% fat beef, and about 2/3 of a tin of our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub, mixing it in with the beef. Nothing wrong with just sprinkling it on top, mind you, but if you're doing it ahead of time, it'll give it time to add some great flavors.
I like a fair amount of fat in my burger meat, because they basically become self-basting, the fat dripping through the meat on its way out. You end up with a moist, flavorful burger that really doesn't have much more fat that it would it you started with the 7% uber-lean beef that is remarkably similar to a hockey puck once cooked, especially if you proceed with the utterly charming "smash-the-crap-outta-it" technique with your turner.
Don't do that! What the hail's wrong with you?
Sorry. I'm sure there's some logic to pressing all the flavor out of a piece of meat that you paid good money for, but it eludes me. Want it crispy? Make it thinner. As you pat it out, let there be some gaps in the edges, then use a super hot fire. The thinner bits will have a nice crunch to them, but you'll still have a moist patty where it counts.
And if you're making burgers for a gang, take the time to carmelize some onions, or saute some mushrooms and sweet peppers, and seek out fresh tomatoes and lettuce. Nothing wrong with a basic burger, but don't let the condiments be an afterthought.
Burgers. I love 'em. You?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 22, 2006
Mixed Survival Nuts
Wow, I'm totally addicted to these already. Definitely a great snack, and really easy.
I preheated my oven on convection roast at around 250º, while I put some mixed nuts I've been buying at Costco on a sheet pan, and gave them a light spray of some canola oil. I'm not sure this was necessary, because the oils in the nuts are released when they're heated, but for a first effort I wanted to do all I can to make sure the Survival Spice™ adhered to the nuts properly.
Once they were hot, I dumped them into a work bowl, added some Survival Spice™, and tossed. I'll be curious to see if the flavor intensifies over the next few days, if it doesn't I'll add more next time.
Oh, and there will be a next time. Definitely.
Try this! Especially if you're watching carbs.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 14, 2006
Pot Roast with Carrot, Green Chile and Mushroom Gravy
(The gravy is unusual looking, I'll admit, but tasty...)
Sometimes, I just like to make dishes up. Okay, I do it a lot, actually.
Part of what I love about cooking, other than the eating (of course), is starting a dish without a clear idea of how it's going to end. Having a clear idea of what you're making is naturally more efficient, and there's a certain comfort to knowing that you're going to have predictable results. This is particularly true when you've got company coming over.
There was none of that involved with last night's dinner, so why not 'take the gloves off' and make it up?
Continue reading "Pot Roast with Carrot, Green Chile and Mushroom Gravy"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 10, 2006
Grilled Ribeye and Corn
I took this picture in front of the chiminea by the pool. Chiminea's are a sort of ceramic outdoor fireplace, great for taking the chill out of the nighttime Arizona air during the winter. I'm looking forward to firing it up again soon!
Ribeye's are one of my favorite steaks- packed with flavor, and incredibly tender and juicy when cooked properly. I marinated this in worcestershire sauce, Colman's mustard, and tons of freshly ground black pepper, which enhances the flavor of the beef while adding a nice zip and depth of flavor. I grilled it, along with an ear of corn, over mesquite until medium rare.
I cook corn in different ways, depending on my mood and how many ears I'm grilling. Often I'll flavor the finished ears with butter and Survival Spice™, which does a great job of bringing out the natural sweetness. This time, though, I just peeled back the husk and removed the silk, removing the outermost husks. I then wrapped the corn up with one of the husks, tying a clove hitch to hold it together. Geeky, but effective...
A small green salad, and a nice bottle of Burgundy on the side. Big flavors, good times.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:26 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 07, 2006
Sunday morning Salmon Survival Scramble
TPC note: Oops, this didn't publish yesterday for some reason, sorry! Here's the post:
Okay, it's Monday. Let's make the best of it!
Here's breakfast from Sunday morning- forgive the alliteration, but it was good. A simple use of some leftover wild caught salmon I had grilled Friday night, with some organic brown eggs and green onions. Scrambled up with a touch of milk and some of our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub to add to what was on the salmon, and it was ready for some toast and jam.
How was your weekend? Cook anything good?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 04, 2006
Survival Halibut with Veggie "Noodles" and Avocado Salad
Here's another in a series of healthy, yet utterly delicious dinners I've been making lately.
The fish dish, Alaskan Halibut (thanks, Lloyd!) was lightly oiled and seasoned with Survival Spice™, then just coated with fresh bread crumbs mixed with more Survival Spice™. Fried over medium heat in a cast iron skillet with a squirt of lemon juice, it had a great crunch on the outside, and was nice and moist throughout.
As for the side dishes, I was craving pasta but didn't want the carbs, so instead I sliced red onion, Italian zucchini and yellow squash in thin, noodle-like strips and sauteed them in Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva and plenty of lemon juice. I talked about the Poolside Avocado Salad the other day, and the cilantro vinagerette I drizzled over the plate really gave it a nice fresh flavor, and brought the whole thing together.
The "noodles" were really a great alternative to my pasta craving, try it!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:30 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 02, 2006
Cast Iron Pork Chops topped with Mushrooms and Red Onions
As you well know, I've been eating a lot of veggie dishes lately. There have been days recently that as I posted a dish I could just feel the carnivores begging for a nice hunk of meat.
I've been jonesing too, I guess, so last night I grabbed this nice thick-cut pork chop, basically a pork porterhouse because it has a nice sized tenderloin attached to it, and heated up a trusty cast iron skillet. As the skillet got hot, I lightly oiled the chop and generously rubbed it with Survival Spice™, which gives pork all the lovin' it will ever need. I roughed chopped a red onion and sliced some regular white mushrooms, and other than prepping a simple green salad, I was good to go.
I wanted this to be simple so I did everything in the same skillet, but if you want a nice crust to your chop, the last thing you want to do is dump everything in at once. Other than the fact that your veggies would be done far too soon, your mushrooms in particular are going to release a lot of liquid, which would keep your chop from getting beautifully browned. And we love a nice crispy crust, don't we?
So, into the medium hot skillet the chop went, nicest side down. I gave it plenty of time to get nice and crispy, and to let the Survival Spice™ work its magic. Once I flipped the chop, I added the onions to give them a head start, then the mushrooms a few minutes later. The chop was done, so I transferred it to a plate and then topped it with the mushrooms and onions.
Oh man, was it good. Juicy, crispy, and tender, and wonderfully complemented with the veggies on top. Don't forget, I had a salad, too...
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 08:11 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Back to Main
August 01, 2006
Simple Appetizer- Poolside Avocado Salad
Busy, busy around here today, but I wanted to share something I made as a side dish yesterday- an modified form of guacamole.
I don't know what made me do this- I was going to make traditional guacamole, but the avocado halves kept their shape and looked so great after I cubed them, I decided to just fill the cavity where the seed was with diced red onion, lemon juice, cilantro and some Survival Spice™. If I had fresh tomatoes, I would have done a concasse, but I didn't. Such is life, I guess.
I was generous with the lemon juice, and to give it another dimension I made some cilantro oil with a bunch of fresh cilantro, some Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, which made it absolutely magical, and a little lemon juice and kosher salt. A quick drizzle of that, and it was good to go.
And it went. Quickly.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 03:15 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Back to Main
July 27, 2006
Paul's Chicken Chilebrown Bleu
(Photo: Paul's Chicken Chilebrown Bleu. I had to sharpen this a bit in Photoshop, possibly something "went wrong" with Paul's camera lens during an afternoon at the grill, indulging in a few adult beverages...)
Well, Biggles started it. After sending me a sneak peek at the Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu he had made, we got to emailing about how to do it differently, and through that afternoon we had convinced ourselves that not only should he post it, but that I was going to give it a try using a different approach.
Paul, aka Chilebrown, of course got wind of this, and deciding that a venture involving poultry, pork and cheese was a noble undertaking indeed, sent me this:
You guys were killing me with your Cordon Bleu. I am giving it a stab. I am kicking it up a notch. I boned the chicken and stuffed it with "Paul Bertoli's Italian Sausage". I then put a layer of home smoked 'Buckboard Bacon"with a center of Jack Cheese. I then rolled and tied it. I finished with a sprinkling of everybodys favorite rub. (TPC note: Survival Spice™, of course!) It will be baked in the barbeque tonight.
Nicely done, Paul! This was another approach that we had talked about, but I decided to do the "stuff the skin" method first. There are more pictures below the fold.
Continue reading "Paul's Chicken Chilebrown Bleu"
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:44 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Back to Main
July 26, 2006
Pesto and Chicken with Whole Wheat Rotini
Here's a simple dish I made last night, after seeing bunches of fresh basil at the market. It's fun to just shop, then let whatever I find inspire my meal ideas, because most of the time I don't really crave anything in particular.
In keeping with the low-glycemic lifestyle that reality has thrust upon me, I found some whole wheat rotini that were really good. The idea behind eating whole wheat, as opposed to a pure white flour, is that the bran tends to slow down the conversion of the starch to glucose, so that your blood sugar levels don't spike as much.
While I was pan-frying some boneless chicken breasts in Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, lemon and S & P, I mashed 5 cloves of garlic in my mortar and pestle with a little kosher salt. I added a few handfuls of the fresh basil and pounded my frustrations away. I toasted a small handful of pine nuts, beat the crap out of them as well, then added a handful of grated parmesano reggiano, a generous glug of the wonderful Tibvrtini oil, salt and pepper.
I drained the pasta, put it back into the pot, added the diced chicken, gave a quick toss with the pesto, and dinner was good to go.
What did you have for dinner last night?
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:06 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Back to Main
July 25, 2006
This would make a Vegetarian out of Dagwood
I love roasted veggie sandwiches. When I have time I like to grill them first, but this version was a simple sauté. I cooked the veggies in two batches- first, baby red, orange and yellow bell peppers, Anaheim chiles, Italian zucchini, and a red onion in some Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva until they were nice and tender. Towards the very end of their cooking, I seasoned them and added some balsamic vinegar to give them a little acidity and to bring out the natural sweetness of the veggies.
Next, I repeated the process with some with some crimini mushrooms. You can do them at the same time, but because they release so much moisture and cook away to nothing so quickly, I've learned that it's well worth your time to take this extra step.
I sliced and toasted an 8" square foccacia with some fontina cheese, sliced a few Roma tomatoes (salting them seperately), and assembled my Veggie Dagwood.
What a great sandwich. I'm a carnivore, but I've found that with some veggies dishes, such as pizza and curries that have so much flavor, I really don't miss the meat.
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 09:09 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Back to Main
July 21, 2006
Stuffed Grilled Squash
I made these to serve along with the Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu last weekend, and I'm going to do it more often.
It was a busy weekend geeking on the chicken technique, so I was really scrambling for a side dish. Fortunately, I had some Parmesan bread crumbs in the freezer from the Kid's Parmesan Chicken Strips I made a while back, which made my job a lot easier. Once again, making extra and freezing it saved the day!
I just halved some yellow squash, then scooped out the middles, saving it to mix with the bread crumbs. I lightly oiled the squash lightly and seasoned them with Survival Spice™. Next, I just rough chopped the squash bits, mixed it with more Survival Spice™ and the bread crumbs that had already been mixed with parm and some dried herbs, then filled the squash.
They took about 15 minutes on a hot grill, and were amazingly good. Try it!
Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 07:00 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Back to Main
July 19, 2006
Pork Shoulder Salad
Busy days don't doom you to a horrible dinner death, as long as you cook when you can and keep the basics in your pantry and in your fridge. This was a 5 minute dinner I made last week that was not only amazing, it was healthy and inexpensive, too.
Starting with some of the