the pragmatic chef™

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February 2, 2009

This is insane. Really.

Just click and marvel already. I'll wait.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 12:21 PM | Comments (4)

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December 4, 2008

Indian food blogs

John B. in Chicago sent a link to a bunch of curry blogs I thought I'd share, in case you'd like to take a shot at some of my favorite dishes. I don't know how good the blogs are, but there sure are a bunch of them! Take a few minutes and let us know if you think a few stand out.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 6:48 PM | Comments (1)

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October 29, 2008

A Great Bread Blog

(Photo and bread by: Steve B, BreadCetera.com)

Steve B is possessed. Which is a good thing.

I was doing some research last night and stumbled across Steve's blog, and I recommend it highly. With any eye for achieving professional results from home equipment, Steve puts a lot of effort and passion into his baking, and I must confess that I really miss having a professional baking kitchen at my disposal these days.

I guess I'll have to study up on the workarounds he suggests.

Check it out. Bookmark it. You can smell the bread coming off your computer monitor. Almost.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:13 PM

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October 8, 2008

Chilebrown's burnin' his butt off again

Doesn't he ever learn? The habanero burger we had when they were in town sure sent me to the sidelines for a bit.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:28 PM | Comments (2)

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September 8, 2008

Bob's BBQ report from Surprise, AZ

Bob sent me a quick email raving about a quart of BBQ sauce a friend brought him from Texas:

JUST RECEIVED A SPECIAL DELIVERY OF A LARGE BOTTLE OF RUDY’S BBQ SAUCE FROM AUSTIN, TX. THOUGHT I WOULD USE SOME TONIGHT. I ATTACHED A COUPLE OF PICTURES. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks promising in progress, and the kebabs look great. Say, that chicken could've used a little Survival Spice®, don't you think? Hopefully I'll be able to do a no-sodium version one of these days. It does have a lot less sodium than the vast majority of rubs out there, though.

I've been cooking a lot of skinless chicken at home lately myself, mostly out of convenience. What's your favorite- boneless/skinless, or au natural?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:02 PM | Comments (1)

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August 9, 2008

Dr. Biggles turns 44!

Okay, it was yesterday and I just noticed. Many, many more, my cyber friend! Go over there and help him blow out the candles.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:42 AM | Comments (0)

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July 7, 2008

Steve & Star's Grilled Chicken, grilled veggies & penne

Man, I wish they would have invited me!

Scott,

Fourth of july dinner. bar-b-qued chicken with a plum-chipotle marinade, grilled vidalia onions, zuccini, and corn. penne with red hatch chile and portobello sauce. Sorry I didn't take pictures of the Survival Spice rubbed london broil and fixins' from the night before, but it was really good too.

Steve and Star

I'd like to know more about the sauce on the penne, it sounds great. No pictures of the London Broil, sadly, but here's a version of mine done in a marinade of Tibvrtini Extra Virgine di Oliva, Tibvrtini Aceto di Vino Blanco, and some Survival Spice™ that's simple and amazing.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)

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April 14, 2008

Chilebrown nearly tries Tofu

At least he cooked it, in a really interesting way. Check out his Cedar Planked Roasted Tofu.

And kudos to his BIL John for having the cajones to try the finished dish! You really do want to spend a few days incorporating flavor into tofu, and if you don't have that luxury cubing it into smaller pieces or poking holes into a larger piece helps the marinade or seasoning permeate it more efficiently.

Uh, was that a galvanized nail?...

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:40 AM | Comments (2)

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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 9:26 AM | Comments (0)

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February 6, 2008

Star & Steve's Kobe Beef Burgers

An email from Steve with some pictures of an amazing looking burger:

The pictures may not be the best but the burgers were good. Kobe beef burgers with onions, mushrooms, red and yellow peppers,and jalapenos sauted' in tiburtini olive oil and garlic, on french bread. It's too bad Star only cooks as a hobby.

Well, cooking for a hobby is a lot more fun that doing it for a living, at least. Great job, I'll bet that Kobe beef and our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva is a wonderful combination.

What a nice looking plate:

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:47 AM | Comments (10)

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January 15, 2008

I wanna hang with Chilebrown

Looks like good times, and I dig the beer glass. I like Boddington's a lot, especially on tap, but the gassed-up cans work really well. I didn't get a shot once they were done, but with Survival Spice® I know he was off to a great start!!!

No time to cook lately, and I've only been making the usual stuff because I'm swamped with work and life these days. Kitchen time is coming, thanks for hanging in there!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:30 AM | Comments (2)

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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 8:56 AM | Comments (4)

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October 2, 2007

John in Chicago's "Polenta Dreams"

(Photo: John B, of the Benetti women)

Here's a terrific follow up to yesterday's polenta post:

I grew up on polenta , my grand father would let me stand on a pickle bucket and stir the pot, the same when he made risotto. He would make the polenta then bring the pot out to the table where a big cutting board was laying w/ cheese cloth, and he would pour it on the cheese cloth about 2 inches thick and then he would scrape off sections to put on our plates. He would have sometimes a rabbit ragu , or a meat tomato sauce he would "build" all week by cooking roasts (pork, beef, chicken) to make the dishes for sunday dinner. The sauces that were left over from the roasts were saved for ideas to be incorporated on sunday. On sunday we (20 of us) wouldn't eat at the table because it would be filled with the dishes he would create for us. He had his places where he could pick his asparagus, radicchi (dandelion leaves), mushrooms, wild onions, wild herbs. He had his buddies that would make homemade ricotta, salumi's, he would shoot doves and pigeons and rabbits and most of this happened in the city limits. (He guarded his mushroom and asparagus locations to the grave) so in essence everything he cooked during the week fit a plan he had for sunday. His taking sauces such as a chicken drippings from chicken vesuvio might end up in a wild green bean, wild musroom and sautee'd cippollini onion dish. The criss crossing uses of sauces are endless, and it all goes back to a peasant mentality of use everything. I can see the Benetti women in this pic making gnocchi in the kitchen as I come back from church, and the men in the back yard laughing, sputtering italian and drinking home made wine from grape jam glasses.

Polenta is just cornmeal and water but its really a social glue when in the context of family. PS. my dad would make his special eggs basted in marinara with polenta sauteed in butter for the next morn breakfast.

I really enjoyed reading that, John. Isn't it powerful how food triggers such great memories?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:11 AM | Comments (1)

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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 7:57 AM | Comments (5)

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September 17, 2007

Chilebrown says "Survival Spice is on the winning team!!!!"

(Team Chilebrown- Mark, James, Ms. Goofy and Paul "Chile" Brown- holding the $300 check, of course...)

WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Team Chilebrown kick some major butt this past weekend, winning the Rodeo Chili Cookoff this past weekend. They used Survival Spice® as part of their prize winning Tri Tip Chile:

UPDATE: I think we'll run a secret "Team Chilebrown" Survival Spice™ Sale. If you leave a comment here, and place an order, I'll double your tins for the next week or so!

Dr. Biggles has lots more pics, and he actually got to taste it. I'm jealous. So did this guy, and he seems to be enjoying it, notice the cool little Desert Island Foods®.com plug we got on the sign on the wall:

Congratulations to Chile and his team. When Paul lets me know the names of the other team members, I'll update this.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:25 AM | Comments (3)

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September 12, 2007

Chilebrown's making... well, Chile.

(Photo: Paul Brown, of his Grilled Tri Tip)

The aptly named Paul "Chile" Brown has entered a chile cookoff:

Well I am waiting for my trial batch to finish. I made over a gallon of chili. I am going to use Survival Spice... I will spike it with a little salt. I hope you do not mind.

I don't mind at all! I spent a lot of time developing Survival Spice™ to be great all by itself, or as a base for whatever fresh flavors you'd like to add- lemon/orange zest, toasted cumin seeds, etc. I put as little kosher salt in the blend as I could, and people on reduced sodium diets have thanked me for that. Also, I think it's a ripoff that most blends have so much salt in them, I'd much prefer that you added extra salt 'to taste' as Paul does.

Sorry to hear about your partner flaking out, Chile. I'd have been proud to be your sous chef.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 6:53 AM | Comments (2)

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September 6, 2007

Diana's Survival Spice® Rubbed Porterhouse

(Photo: Diana)

Diana grilled a kick ass porterhouse and some grilled veggies recently, and posted it for us to drool over. Man, if you think they don't grill it up north of the border, you've got another think coming! Click on the link to check out the whole meal, but here's a teaser:

Then I slap the steaks on for about 5 minutes per side, leaving the hood open. The timing, of course, depends on the thickness of the meat.

Forgive me ... I carved out the filet(fr.) for myself. Nice 'n spicy.

Lots of nice pics, so check it out!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:51 AM | Comments (1)

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September 4, 2007

Chilebrown's in A World of Dumplings

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown)

Paul "Chile" Brown is excited about a new dish:

Man I am alive!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zukerman potatoes and Three Twisted Sister's Bacon from Chandler. Going to fire up the smoker with some beef ribs and beef loin. I got some applewood chunks off of E-bay. The kroppkakor is a Swedish Potato and Bacon Dumpling. I have a new book called "A World of Dumplings "

The book looks interesting, making dumplings is something I've had decent success with, but I've never really taken the time to really make the effort to perfect my technique.

Here's Paul's finished dish, sadly he didn't invite me over... I got a lot of good emails, y'all have been cooking up a storm!!!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:49 AM | Comments (7)

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August 24, 2007

Lokkii here- Chilebrown's making Ribs

Looks like Paul's found himself a new BBQ toy to play with:

I saw it and said what the heck. I am always interested in new Barbeque products. The website http://lokkii.com/ says it is organic.(Whoopdiedoo). I think Mesquite charcoal is the same. I ordered a six pack. The shipping ended up the same as the product.

I had a Corned Beef Brisket and some Beef Ribs. I rubbed them with Survival Spice™ and started cooking it with one brick. I wanted to cook low and slow. When you first light these suckers it smells like pine. Maybe that is there secret ingredient. Once it is lit the smell goes away. I had to light a second log after an hour. They claim it will cook for two hours. I had it in a Weber Kettle.

What do I think?. Can you trust a product from China? Do you want to pay shipping? I give it a thumbs down.!! I would only recommend it you were backpacking because of the convience. It had a Pine smell when you lit it. I do not trust that this was an organic lighting system. There was some chemicals. The only plus I found was convience.

Now to the Highlights of the Dinner. Corned Beef and Beef Ribs rubbed with Survival Spice. Creamed Corn with Bacon (A&B Market,Bend Or,) Tomatoe with Pt.Reyes Blue Cheese, and a whole lot of Lovvin!!!!! Peace, Paul.

I wonder if that smell was resins they probably add as a binder, to keep it from falling apart during shippping. Interesting idea, if wonder if they're selling a lot of them? It is a great idea for campers, and people using public grills that don't want to haul around a bag of charcoal. Chile said that they're about 4 1/2" across.

Man, those ribs look good enough to eat!!! Ribs + Survival Spice® = good times.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:03 AM | Comments (2)

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August 8, 2007

Chilebrown's "The Best Dinner Ever"

Chilebrown proves once again the Good Ingredients + Good Cooking= Good Times:

We had a little Ham. that we picked up from our last Meat Adventure. Ms. Goofy, Reverend Biggles, Cookiecrumb, Cranky and I went to the 'City', to a Polish Meat Market. The butcher smoked his own bacon, sausage and ham. I picked up a bunch of stuff including this small ham and some Hot Russian Mustard.

It has been overcast in Sunny California. It was a good excuse to fire up the Beehive Oven. I built a fire of Almond Wood. I scalloped some potatoes and drowned them in the richest cream I could find. I wrapped the ham in some thick cut bacon. I am still learning about cooking in the Beehive. I closed the door on the oven. and the temperature soared to 900 degrees. Whoa, it is a good thing I checked. I opened the door and covered the potatoes with foil. I cooked it for 20 minutes, rotating the dishes once.

The Potatoes were very rich and delicious. The Ham with the bacon was smoky good. A little smidge of Hot Russian Mustard made it come all together.

Peace, Paul

By the way, I do believe it's Dr. Biggles' birthday. Click on over and wish him well. You might have to speak up a bit, though, he's getting older...

Okay, aren't we all?

Great job, Paul:

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:54 AM | Comments (3)

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August 6, 2007

Steve's Survival Rubbed Ribeye

This dispatch in from beautiful Flagstaff, AZ:

Pictures of last night's dinner. Barbequed Survival rubbed rib eye and veggies, and a beer. I'm roughing it up here. Steve

"Roughing it" with Survival Spice™ and a great Chimay. I think I'm due for some roughing it, myself.

How was your weekend, cook anything good? I always love to get emails of great food that you're making!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)

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August 1, 2007

Janella's proud of her Veggies

(Janella's Ginormous Green Pepper)

Wow. Looks good enough to eat! Or frame:

Just wanted to share a picture of the green peppers I picked from my garden! Too bad they don't let adults show their produce at the fari! I would have been the grand champion.

(Photo: Janella, of her Grilled Chicken and Veggies with Survival Spice™)

Here's a plate of grilled chicken with veggies straight from my garden - green peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes.. What are they seasoned with?!?!?? Why - Survival Spice, of course!

Geez, I never get invited for dinner. Great job, Janella. That's some good stuff.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:33 AM | Comments (0)

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July 26, 2007

Going Whole Hog- Lots of porky goodness

John in Chicago sent me a link to a food blog that seems to be primarily focused on pork. Which is good.

There's currently a slide show of a pig being processed that's a bit graphic, so skip over that if you're a bit squeamish.

Thanks, John! Some good stuff there.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:28 AM | Comments (0)

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July 25, 2007

Chilebrown's Gravestein Apple Pie

Chilebrown sends this report from the Bay. He's even got an oven in his back yard. Is there no end? Heh.

It was too hot to turn on the Oven in the house. I just happen to have a Portable Oven. It is only a couple of steps away from my Gravestien Apple Tree. I had to do it.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:23 AM | Comments (3)

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July 9, 2007

Steve's Survival Seared Albacore and grilled veggies

(Photo: Steve's Survival Seared Albacore and grilled veggies)

Here's a cool use for Survival Spice™, sent in by Steve while we were out of town:

The photo is tonights dinner. Seared Tuna w/survival spice rub, and grilled veggies. The picture isn't very good but the meal was great.

Looks good to me, thanks!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:20 AM

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May 14, 2007

Chilebrown's Honeymoon Risotto

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown, of some great looking risotto, and what looks like some smoked tri-tip.)

Okay. For those of you who don't know, I'm getting married next month. I haven't mentioned it here previously, because it's not food related, and I'm a fairly private guy when it comes to my own life, away from running Desert Island Foods®.com. Chilebrown, great email pal that he's become, finally dragged it out of me the other day, which is what inspired the title of his post today:

Man, I envy you.! You are in love and getting married. I am still in love with my wife and cooking. When you get back from the Honeymoon, I hope you get back to business. We miss you!

I'm in the Midwest this week, helping my fiance get packed for the move to Phoenix, and getting her house ready to put on the market. I'll head back the first week of June for the move, and then we fly back to the Midwest together later in June for the wedding.

Honeymoon? HA!!! We'll have to content ourselves with hanging out by the pool, because I'll head right back to work. My food business, along with another business interest that has become a second full time job, have resulted in a lot of 80+ hour work weeks over the last year. This blog has suffered for it, for which I apologize. I'm really looking forward to spending more time in the kitchen, once the wedding is done.

Did I mention that I'm going to try to cater my own wedding reception? Okay, I could be nuts.

Stay tuned, and truly, thanks for hanging in there with me!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:14 AM | Comments (4)

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May 8, 2007

Chilebrown's Sausage and Stuffed Artichokes

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown, of his Stuffed Artichokes)

Man, I'm eating vicariously through Chilebrown these days:

Three types of sausage and two "Hooters" of Artichoke. I boiled the chokes and BBQ the sausage. Tonight, Potato Sausage, Smoked Bratwurst and Pipkin's was on the grill. I stuffed the artichokes with breadcrumbs garlic. I also used this very fancy olive oil. (Tibvrtini NOVELLO TPC note: the link is to Tibvrtini's Extra Virgene, because the Novello is only available once a year). This Oil of course is from http://www.thepragmaticchef.com/ Peace, Paul

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown)

Beautiful shot, Chile. I'll bet an artichoke stuffed with a few of those grilled bangers would be a beautiful thing, too.

Been cooking? Email me!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 6:20 AM | Comments (1)

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April 16, 2007

Rick Lee- Produce blogger

(Photo: RIck Lee

Wow. I followed an Instapundit link to something Glenn called produce blogging. When I clicked the link, I found lots of really cool food pics from a professional photographer named Rick Lee. I like the 'happy accident' of this inadvertant self-portrait:

In this first shot, that's actually me over in the corner. I caught myself in the mirror behind the vegetables without realizing it.

Check it out, I think it's really insprirational to all of us who aspire to take better food pics, and they're just flat-out cool to those who don't! Lots of pictures if you click on the first link, too.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:25 AM | Comments (2)

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April 4, 2007

John's Speck Stuffed Pork Chops & Gnocchi

John from Chicago's been at it again:

pork chops stuffed w/ Speck, coated w/ pankos, & gnocchi in a sun dried tomato & garlic sauce. Speck is smoked proscuitto!

plate dusted with "you know what"

Nice dish, John. And there's nothing redundant about stuffing pork inside pork, believe me. I don't think I've ever posted it, but I used to serve a pork tenderloin stuffed with hot sausage, and it was wonderful. Hmmmmm.... I need to make that, soon.

Thanks, John!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 6:30 AM | Comments (1)

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March 26, 2007

John's Salmon Lasagna- updated

I've added some of the great pictures that John sent along with his Salmon Lasagna recipe last week. He really did a great job documenting this terrific dish, thanks again!!!

Anybody else cook anything this weekend?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:48 AM | Comments (2)

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March 21, 2007

John's Salmon Lasagna

UPDATED: PIctures added below the fold.

I'm going to add to this, because John did a great job of sending lots of pics, but this should get you drooling...

I used nice Wild caught Alaskan salmon (2 big Tail sections), I seared one side , cooled set aside. Take 2 lbs of whole milk ricotta cheese (mine was from chelino's of joliet,il. - the best) and added pureed garlic , chopped fresh basil and grated a pile of Reggie Parm , did the elmixto w/ 3 eggs and set aside. I blanched 1 lb of spinach , shocked and chopped , set aside. Cook off the lasagna Noodles less than al dente , tossed in gods own olive oil (you know which one) set aside. Then I browned a bag of Panko crumbs in a saute pan with mucho butter & the big T olive oil. I then made a bechamel sauce and added Parm chz at the end w/ more pureed garlic

Assembly : Oil the casserole dish in thats right you guessed it " the big T" olive oil. (TPC note: That would be our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva) Lay down a layer of the pasta , then a layer of the ricotta mixture , then a layer of Salmon , and dot the whole pan with the spinach , toss around a bit o' butter and layered with the bechamel sauce .................. then repeat ................ add your 3rd layer of pasta and pour more bechamel sauce and pour and smooth the Panko crumb mixture all over the top. Then you guessed it ................. drizzle the Panko's w/ more olive oil and pop into the oven at 325 degrees for 45 minutes covered .................... then cook for 30 minutes at 350 uncovered (check after 20 min.) ..........................rest for 15 minutes after pulling out of the oven ...................................... use the reserve bechamel sauce to drizzle upon serving

I have to make this. Soon.

Continue reading "John's Salmon Lasagna"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 4:02 PM | Comments (2)

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March 19, 2007

Chilebrown's Corned Beef w/ Survival Spice

Paul sent some pictures of his St. Patty's Day corned beef that he rubbed with Survival Spice™, which I've never tried, I'm ashamed to say!

He also made some amazing looking jalapeño cheese corn bread. I wonder if he used any of the Novello version of the Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva I see there?

Okay, Chile, give it up. How about a few recipes?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:39 AM | Comments (2)

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March 5, 2007

John's first attempt at Madeleines

(Photo: John, of his Traditional Madeleines)

Monday again. I haven't gotten my London Broil steak grilled off yet, but it's marinating and it'll make it to the grill tonight.

In other news- Wow, John's going for it, he even went out and bought the special scallop pans to bake his madeleines in:

dusted and un-dusted ............................................4 + coffee = $5 ( uh its snowing a bit here ) ps don't tell me aboot yer pool

I'm not saying a word... I am headed off to a Cactus League game today, and the weather's in the low 70s, but I didn't mention the pool.

Oops.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:20 AM | Comments (1)

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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 5:27 AM | Comments (2)

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February 26, 2007

Biggles goes Cajun on us

From the comments on Friday:

I made a gumbo! Well, okay it was more of a roux stew. The only pictures of it I have are on MH where I'm making a roux and browning some sausage.

Hooboy it was great.

Biggles

Check it out here, and if you don't read Meathenge regularly, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Didja save me some, Guy? I didn't think so, crap.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:13 AM | Comments (1)

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February 19, 2007

This has great potential...

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown, of a pork butt rubbed with Survival Spice™)

Paul sent along this picture, along with this:

Guess what is going into my Smoker tomorrow. I do not know if there will be any follow through pictures. Ms. Goofy is taking the camera to our nephews first birthday. (Man, I am glad I am not going). We will probably have 200 pictures of the baby wearing a funny hat and drooling cake. I personally think a Pork Roast would make a better shot.

Geez, how about a compromise- a shot of your nephew eating the finished pork?!?

Thanks, Paul. I'll bet it was really, really good.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 3:15 PM | Comments (3)

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February 7, 2007

Julie's Sauteed Veggies and Tofu

(Photo: Julie)

Julie sent in this dish, a basic but really good looking veggie and tofu saute. She mentioned that she added Survival Spice™ after she snapped this picture:

It was: snow peas, zucchini, tofu, red pepper, red onions and tons of garlic and stir fry sauce. It was pretty good.

Pretty impressive cooking, considering that she didn't cook at all until she started reading this blog!!

Thanks, Julie, keep on cooking!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:16 AM | Comments (4)

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February 5, 2007

Chilebrown's Beer Can Chicken

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown, of his Beer Can Chicken)

I see Chile's been playing with fire again, and from the looks of this bird he roasted this sucker in his clay oven.

The skin's a bit fried, but I'll bet it was really tasty. No word if he used Survival Spice™, but I think he usually does.

Man, my mouth's watering. When's lunch?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:40 PM | Comments (2)

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January 29, 2007

John and Caroline throw a Dinner Party

Man, this is one of those times when Phoenix is way too far from Chicago, as I found out when I read this email from John recently:

Caroline (Frenchy) is making her famous Boeuf Bourguignon, and here is a pic of the Chocolate Pave Cake that I made. We are having a few folks over tonite and wish you were here.

She said she simmered the beef for 7 hours, and to tell you her accomps were endive and walnut salad w/raspberry vinagrette, and snow peas teased in butter /boiled potatoes w/ butter basil

What a terrific menu, lots of great combinations of flavors, and nice simple side dishes that do what they're supposed to do- accompany the entreé without adding conflicting flavors.

For those who may not know, a pavé cake is ususally a layered cake with buttercream and frosting. It's called a pavé because it resembles a paving stone, rectangular and not too high.

Y'know John, with a little notice I can probably make your next bash. Kudos to you and Caroline for a great job!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:10 AM | Comments (2)

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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 6:47 AM | Comments (4)

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January 1, 2007

Happy New Year!!!!!!

(Photo: Chilebrown's Prime Rib)

Happy New Year!!! I'll be home midweek and haven't been cooking much, but Paul has. Check out the prime rib he emailed me a picture of recently.

Have a drool over that, and I wish everyone the best for 2007!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:07 AM | Comments (4)

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December 20, 2006

Chilebrown- nuttier than a fruitcake?...

...or just making some?

Paul's been busy in the kitchen lately:

It is a one cooking day. The fruitcakes are out and getting marinated, and so am I!

His looks more authentic that the fruitcake I attempted last year, maybe I just wasn't drinking enough... What's your take on this Christmas "classic"? I have a friend who actually makes a fruit cakey- loafy thing I really like.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:54 AM | Comments (5)

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December 6, 2006

Chilebrown's making pizza

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown, of his wood fired pizza)

Paul's been working his new beehive oven (here in the Southwest, we would call it a horno) hard:

Maybe a picture of the pizza cooking in the oven would be cool. I did a beer can chicken rubbed with Survival Spice™. Ms. Goofy said it was some of the best chicken she ever had. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of it. There is a picture of the leg and thigh. It does not do it justice.

That's some fine cooking there, Chile! He's really making me want one of those ovens. Bad.

If you've been cooking and want to share a picture, email me!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:17 AM | Comments (6)

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December 4, 2006

Chilebrown has a new toy

(Photo: Paul "Chile" Brown, of his new toy)

It's a beehive oven, and I want one- BAD! It looks pricey, though, maybe there's one out there that's less expensive, and lots of people build their own.

Paul sent some pictures of what he's been cooking that I'll post soon. I'm still too swamped to cook much, though I am working on a new lasagna recipe these days. Anybody else been cooking? Share a picture or two with us, we all love to see them!

Man, a fella could have some serious fun with one of those...

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:33 AM | Comments (2)

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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 7:23 AM | Comments (1)

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November 27, 2006

Bob's Thanksgiving Menu- WOW!!!

Bob, in Surprise, AZ, emailed me Friday with the menu he served on Thanksgiving this year. Wow! Lots of good stuff to peruse, and I dig the fact that he did a variety of poultry to feed all his guests, instead of just a turkey or two. The nicely printed menu they took the time to do is really cool, too. He sent along a picture of his Southwestern Turkey, and I'll post that next.

Thanks, Bob! Nicely done, sir.

If you've got a Thanksgiving pic to share, email me, and we'll help you show off your creation!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:33 AM | Comments (2)

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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 6:07 AM | Comments (0)

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October 19, 2006

Dr. Biggles and the Salt Lick

(Photo: Guy Price, Meathenge.com

Our buddy Dr. Biggles is a grilling monster, even when the marinade ain't right. He says it was too salty, but you wouldn't know it from the great picture he sent along.

You do read Meathenge regularly, don't you. Shame on you if you don't!

Hey,

Here's what I had for dinner. Not exactly last night, but quite recently.

After a busy day selling boat glue to pirates (no really) there's nothing simpler than firing up the charcoal grill with my Custom Charcoal (takes 10 minutes to get ready) and getting dinner done.

The other night was Bud's Custom Meat's Santa Maria marinated (read: salty) grilled over applewood charcoal. I'm sure I had some veggies to go with it, but they weren't all that memorable. Neither was the chicken. While I found the chicken to be an excellent Petaluma variety, the marinade was a salt lick.

Next !!!

Why do they make most marinades so frickin' salty? It makes me crazy, sheesh.

What did you have for dinner last night? Email me, we love hearing about successes and disasters, and believe me, we've all had plenty of both, right?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:15 AM | Comments (3)

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October 11, 2006

Rube Goldberg would be proud...

... of the "new" grill that Chilebrown picked up at a garage sale recently:

Hey check out my new toy. I bought it for 25 dollars at a garage sale. It is solid. It is very custom. It originally was water heater. Oboy, Oboy, Oboy!!! Ribs and Freedom Sausage, YES!

We had some good friends come down from Sacratomatoe and we brought them to the Ferry Plaza in the city. We bought some fresh Masa. Dinner was:Marinated Chicken thighs,Flank Steak, Salsa, Rice and Beans. One of the best ingredients was grilled fresh tortillas. Yeah!!

Very cool grill, sort of a Santa Maria style, where the grill is raised and lowered by a winch. Lots of cast iron to keep the heat constant, I'd say it's a real score!

Paul sent along a picture of his wife, who wasn't as excited about the addition of his fifteenth grill as he was, but I won't post that one... I will post a shot of the chicken and fresh tortillas, though!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:21 AM | Comments (3)

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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 8:01 AM | Comments (2)

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August 31, 2006

Chilebrown's Gravestein Apple Pie

Chilebrown is making pie:

I put in 11.5 hours at the Salt Mine yesterday to pay for Bacon and Charcoal and Beer. Today is the start of another grueling two weeks of R&R.

Waking up, I went to the backyard and picked some Gravestien apples and whipped up a pie. Now, I am going to head into Oakland and pick up my fresh pork belly. (Rind Off). I will have all the important food groups taken care off. I am hoping to smoke it with our custom applewood charcoal. YES!

A few tricks I learned about making pie crusts is to use super cold butter, and don't overmix it, because the little chunks of butter wil melt as the crust cooks, leaving little air pockets. This is what makes a good crust flaky and tender. Also, a friend years ago recommended replacing a tablespoon of water in the crust with vinegar, which gives it just a little extra zip, and I've been doing it since.

Nice pie, Chile! Paul also mentioned that he got a lot of compliments at the Apple Festival on his Desert Island Foods™.com "I can't live without it" T-shirt!

I wish I had a slice for breakfast. Where'e the ice cream????

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 5:21 AM | Comments (2)

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August 17, 2006

Biggles does Tri Tip

(Photo: Dr. Biggles)

Biggles, the Bay Area's foremost meaticologist, sent me an email the other day that he was nice enough to let me share:

Hay,

Got my dinner meez in to place and at the last moment found a
fresh tritip in the fridge I'd forgotten about. Today okay,
tomorrow it would have been tossed. It was huge too, so I
couldn't let it go or freeze it. So, I swapped out the other
beef ball-tip roast (tough life, I know) and Survival Spiced
(TM) the sob.

From drab to badass in a few moments.

Thank you sir.

Guy didn't mention how he cooked it, but you get the idea. I love tri tip, and our Survival Spice™ barbecue rub does a great job of adding awesome flavor and creating a great crust on grilled meats.

Thanks, Biggles!!! You da man.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:37 AM | Comments (1)

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August 15, 2006

Paul's Makin' Bacon

Chilebrown's been up to his old meaty tricks again:

I think that is beautiful! Some people paint with a brush. I use Kingsford and Apple Chunks.

I've heard of artists working with charcoal, but this is over the top. Paul cured and smoked 14 pounds of pork belly, and this is the result. He's got BLT pictures to share too, along with an apple pie he made recently. No wonder he calls himself "Mr. Vacation"- great work, Paul!

If you've been cooking, email me! It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it's just fun to see what everybody's doing in the kitchen and on the grill, no matter how simple or basic.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 6:43 AM | Comments (1)

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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 9:44 AM | Comments (3)

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July 12, 2006

"Mister" Chilebrown is "still" cooking

Do you know what this is? It's vodka infused with a simple syrup and green walnuts. Paul, aka "Chilebrown" is not one to let something edible go to waste, which of course I applaud!:

Not the greatest picture, but there is cooling mist. I got a walnut tree so why not!

I'll be curious to know how it comes out, Paul! Sounds like you'll be having a party with your hootch under that patio when it's ready. His recipe for "Green Walnut Liquor" is below the fold, as is his "cool kitty" shot of his patio misters.

If you've been cooking, share your pics! Email me your latest creations.

Continue reading ""Mister" Chilebrown is "still" cooking"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:09 AM | Comments (5)

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June 2, 2006

Mary's Chicken Piccata and Capellini w/truffle oil

(Photo: Mary, of her Chicken Piccata and Capellini w/truffle oil)

This was the entreé for the Italian night we had recently. My friend and photographer Mary had us begging for mercy when she served this terrific combination. A classic piccata, with breaded and browned off thin chicken filets, and a pan sauce of olive oil, marsala wine, capers, lemon juice and parsley.

She served it with some angel hair pasta she tossed with chives and truffle oil. Between this, a terrific Caesar salad, and my tiramisu, this quality of this great meal was equaled only by the friends I shared it with.

It's such a great way to have a party. Pick a theme, plan a menu and let each guest bring a part of it. A highly recommended low-stress way to entertain, I think.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 1:23 PM | Comments (3)

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June 1, 2006

John's Survival Frites

(Photo: John's Survival Frites)

I'm finally getting around to posting the Survival Frites from the great dinner party I attended in Chicago in May. These amazing frites were dreamed up by John, who also made the veal piccata that night.

The potatoes were deep fried until really crispy, then dressed with olive oil, minced garlic, Survival Spice™, extra kosher salt and parsley. I shot this picture while they were still in a work bowl, the oil and flavor soaked into the potatoes as they sat.

They were unbelievably, mind-blowingly good. When I raved about them as we were eating, John mentioned that the secret ingredient was the Survival Spice.

I didn't know until he told me. Amazing what a little of this stuff will do to a dish. I'll definitely be making these, soon. I just hope I can do John's idea justice.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:59 AM | Comments (2)

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May 24, 2006

Biggles Belated Birthday

(Photo: Biggles, of his Ball Tip roast with butter, rosemary and Survival Spice™)

Man, I'm lame. A great blog buddy had his third blog-birthday and I was too busy stupid to note it at the time.

I know most of you know Guy Prince, aka Dr. Biggles, from his Food Fight entries and great comments, so I won't introduce each of you individually. Plus, that would take a really long time, but Guy is really passionate about great ingredients and taking the time to prepare them properly. His blog is filled with fantastic pics and a folksy writing style that communicates well his intensity and passion for food. He's never been a pro cook, though I know a lot of fans in the Bay Area that wish he was!

Get over there and wish Meathenge a Happy Birthday, will ya? And take a few minutes (or a few days) to peruse his wonderful archives full of meaty goodness, if you've never taken the time to do it. I'm honored to know him.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:59 AM | Comments (3)

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May 22, 2006

Chris Cooks Healthy

Here's an email from Chris, past Food Fight winner and Desert Island Foods™.com fan:

I made a couple simple things today, and thought I'd share.

First up was breakfast. This is mini bagels with a salmon cream cheese and fresh spinach. I was wishing I would've added a little red onion and capers. A step further would've been plain cream cheese and more smoked salmon.

Next up lunch. After getting some exercise in, we just wanted simple. This is bow tie pasta, with a little red onion, handful of black beans, and pesto, romano cheese. Maybe I like red onion too much. Could've left the black beans out, though.

As I read Chris's email, being the hedonist that I am, I kept thinking of things to add- grilled sausage to the pasta, sauteeing the spinach and adding a poached egg to make a sort of Eggs Florentine, etc., but then I stopped long enough to admonish myself; "Hey, idjit, he's trying to cook healthy!"

I need to do more of this myself. Thanks, Chris! His breakfast is below the fold.

Got food pics to share? Email me!

Continue reading "Chris Cooks Healthy"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:05 AM | Comments (1)

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May 19, 2006

John's Veal Piccata

(Photo: John's Veal Piccata)

John really nailed this. I wish I had taken a picture of it plated, but after a long, frustrating day of engine trouble on my flight, which resulted in a six hour delay in Kansas City, I was ready to relax and drink some wine.

John makes his piccata the old fashioned way, pounding out veal cuts, dredging them in flour and sauteeing them off, then making his pan sauce with butter, capers, parsley and lemon juice, then adding the veal back to the skillet and bringing it all together.

The frites he served with the piccata were spectacularly good, I'll post them next week.

Update 6/1/06: The Survival Frites are posted here

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 1:59 PM | Comments (7)

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May 18, 2006

Butch's Red Pepper Soup

(Photo: Butch's Red Pepper Soup)

Busy day here, but I want to continue with some pictures from a great dinner I had while in Chicago for the Fancy Foods Show. Sorry I don't have more info on this yet, but I'll update this when I get it. It's a really nice pepper-based cream soup garnished with a fried shrimp and I think some julienned leeks. I easily could have made a meal out of this and Carolyn's awesome salad, but there's more to come!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 1:40 PM | Comments (0)

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May 17, 2006

Carolyn's Salad Nicoise

(Photo: Carolyn's Salad Nicoise)

I'm back. Tired yet invigorated by all the great food and experiences of the last 10 days.

Pathetically, I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I did have my camera with me one night at a dinner party with some friends in Chicago. They have a great loft downtown with a huge kitchen, perfect for a pro cook like John. The menu was a red pepper soup, salad nicoise, veal picatta, frites, and chocolate mousse. I was done with my camera by dessert, so no pics of the mousse, but I'll post a few pictures over the next week or so.

Carolyn made a great salad Nicoise, which means in the style of Nice, and because Carolyn is French, so much the better! Filled with organic greens, corn, potatoes, cucumber, olives, tomatoes, green beans, eggs, thinly sliced onion and chopped parsley, she made a wonderful vinagerette of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and mayonaisse to dress it.

It was a great party, casual, great wine and conversation with cool people I hadn't met before, and with the priority where it needs to be- the food, IMHO. Carolyn's salad was a great start, more soon...

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:47 AM | Comments (3)

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May 3, 2006

Paul's Methuselah Ribs and Marinated Tri-Tip

Paul, aka Chilebrown, has sent in another really creative dish. Naturally, I have to applaud anyone with the good sense to use Survival Spice™ on ribs, of course...

This is a creation I call Methusela. It was ribs coated with Surival Spice. I baked it in a spiral, in the oven. and served it with Fresh Asparagus and Rice Pilaf. The Tri Tip came marinated from the butcher. It was a sweet marinade with flavors of Soy Sauce. The Truffled oil was served over the Pilaf and Asparagus.

Nice, Chile! His truffle oil was made from Oregon truffles and our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva. Truffle oil is a great thing to have in your pantry, it gives a lot of dimension to a dish without being too intrusive, plus it's much more cost effective than buying truffles, though Paul mentioned that they were pretty reasonable.

Here's his marinated tri-tip, cooked just right:

Email me your food pics! We love to see them, especially because I'm going to be too busy to be cooking much for the next few weeks.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:43 AM | Comments (4)

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May 1, 2006

Carin's Dutch Baby

(Photo: Carin)

Carin sent me this shot of the Dutch Baby she made recently. The original recipe I posted is at the link above, and Carin's turned out beautifully. She used strawberries instead of the fruit compote I made, which sounds like a great idea. The dough itself isn't sweet, but you could easily make this more of a dessert by adding whipped cream.

Carin didn't say much, but here's her review:

It was de-lish :)

Short and sweet.

Thanks, Carin! If you have a picture of a dish you'd like to share, email me.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:11 AM | Comments (2)

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April 26, 2006

Chris's Stuffed Corn Bread

(Photo: Chris)

Chris, who won one of the first Food Fights, sends in this pic of some stuffed cornbread he made for Easter. It's his version of an Emeril recipe, so I won't post it here, but here's where you can find it.

I stumbled on this on foodnetwork.com while looking for a cornbread recipe to try out. I saw this one and said to myself "cheese..... bacon.... jalapenos.... this is a no brainer." When I made it for myself the first time, I err... kicked it up notch myself and used thick cut bacon, double the amount of cayenne, and added a little more jalapeno and didn't cut the seeds out. It had great flavor, nice heat, and so comforting with the melted cheese and bacon. It goes great with a tall cold beer in a frozen mug. If I remember right, the first time I made it, we had some poppers, wings, and brats with it too.

Thanks, Chris, this looks like something you could really customize if you wanted to. I love corn bread, and I like to make it in a cast iron skillet if I'm making it in family-sized batches.

Got a food pic you want to share? Email me!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 4:56 PM | Comments (2)

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April 24, 2006

ManCamp

(Photo: Carl Juste, Miami Herald, of Val Prieto and ManCamp)

Val Prieto and Steve H. finally take their rightful places as the poster children of the Men's Leisure movement:

This is ManCamp, Prieto's answer to the Average Joe's age-old nemesis: lack of private, personal space at home. And ManCamp is enough to make Al Bundy and his fellow members of the Married . . . With Children's No Ma'am group cry tears of joy.

As crude as ManCamp's design may seem on the surface, trend experts say Prieto is ahead of the curve in a growing movement of guys -- mostly married men -- who want their privacy but not at the expense of their ''manly'' credentials.

Indeed ManCamp, which was built and ''furnished'' with donated materials, boasts storm-proof ''counter tops'' constructed of railroad ties secured to the ground with steel rods. And there are five barbecue grills of different sizes and styles. On this day, two of the grills are loaded with Polish sausages and bacon-wrapped prawns.

I've been following the adventures at ManCamp for a few years now, through the blog of a ManCamp regular, Steve H. Graham, who writes Hog on Ice, along with other humor and political humor sites. Lots of partisan politics if you look beyond the link I posted, so be warned if that stuff isn't your cup of tea.

Guys, do you have your own version of ManCamp? Ladies, do you have your own space, or just wish that he did?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:17 AM

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April 20, 2006

Dennis' Green Gruel

Here's a great looking stew "gruel" sent in by Dennis. Flavored with amazing Hatch green chiles and Survival Spice™, it's a simple way to give a fantastic southwestern flavor to a traditional dish. Thanks for the idea, Dennis!:

This "gruel" is almost too easy. I just put some beef stock, onions, garlic and loads of hatch green chiles (hot), then brown some pork cubes coated in SS, hamburger, then add whatever vegetables -- I like to add potato, a little corn and green beans, celery, carrots and if I have any some red or yellow peppers. Trying to think of anything else but that's it, other than adding Survival Spice to the whole thing until it achieves the perfect flavor!!

Have a dish you're proud of? Email me!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:32 AM | Comments (2)

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April 14, 2006

Culinary in the Desert

(Photo: Joe, of Culinary in the Desert's Barbecue Meat Loaf)

I recently added Culinary in the Desert to the blogroll in the sidebar. Joe, who's also here in Phoenix, does a terrific job of turning out great weekday meals in a seriously prolific way. Check it out and bookmark this when you get a chance.

Uh, Joe, the meatloaf looks really, really good, but it might be even better with Survival Spice™!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

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April 12, 2006

Janella's Grilled Tilapia with Survival Spice™

Here's a great picture sent in by Janella of some Tilapia filets she grilled recently with Survival Spice™:

Well, since everyone takes pictures of their creations, I took one of mine. These are talapia filets, rubbed with EVOO and then coated with Survival Spice!!! These were grilled for 5 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other and they were goot! AND we usually don't like fish!!! All we could taste was the Survival Spice!!

That does look really 'goot', Janella! And for those who do like the taste of fish, you can cut back on the Survival Spice™ a bit. When using SS on fish, or anything really, you should vary the seasoning to suit the amount of flavor in the fish. Oily fish like salmon can really take a lot of seasoning, but subtle fish like halibut and tilapia don't need as much.

For more fish ideas and grilling tips, visit our archive here.

What did you have for dinner last night? Email me if you've got pictures!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:37 AM | Comments (1)

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April 3, 2006

Chilebrown does Truffles

Have you ever eaten or cooked with truffles? Pricey, sure, but there's nothing quite like them.

I got a series of emails from Paul, aka Chilebrown a few weekends ago that I'm just getting around to posting, where he used truffles for the first time. I gave him a few tips, but the main one regarding truffles is the importance of pairing it with fat, be it oil, butter or even foix gras to help carry the flavor. Truffles are tricky devils, the flavor is usually just about gone by the time you've swallowed it, so one of the things that fat does in a dish is to help hold flavor to the tongue, and to both spread flavor across more taste buds and hold it there longer. Paul also infused our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva, which you can see in the picture, with his left over truffles. I can only imagine how good that is, Mmmmm....

If you have pictures of a dish you're made, share them!

Continue reading "Chilebrown does Truffles"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:14 AM | Comments (3)

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March 24, 2006

Great appetizer ideas from Sue and Lloyd

I've had a few really good emails this week I thought I'd share. The first one is from Sue, a professional cook in the Los Angeles area who teaches cooking classes all over the country, who uses Survival Spice™ in really creative ways:

Used the SS lightly dusted on small slices of fresh pinepple...

Transformed an old James Beard recipe from late 30's or 40's when he catered. Pierce a tiny tomato with a toothpick, dip in salt (kosher or sea) and then in vodka - my updated version: add a perlini (tiny, tiny mozzarella cheese ball ) to tomato, dip in tequila and then in Survivial Spice! I use antique salt cellars or tiny sake cups.

Yesterday, in a Spring Chicken class - SS in a Fickle Marinade - curry, chile sauce, dijon, soy, and honey....a light dusting of SS.

Good stuff, Sue! Here's a great pork rind idea from Lloyd, who also gave us the idea for Parmesan Survival Corn:

On the subject of spicing up pork rinds; I think I've just about got it. I ordered this mister from Amazon, then I went down and bought a coffee grinder at the general store. So what I did is, put 4 tablespoons of the green parmesan (I tried the really good stuff but it was too wet) and 1 teaspoon of Survival Spice™ in the coffee grinder and turned it into a powder. Then I took a bag of pig skins and dumped them into a big bowl and misted them while flipping them around. I then put them back in the bag and dumped in the powder. I shook the bag up really well and commenced to sample.

It’s kind of f@#$ed up though, because I don’t think Atkins meant for you to eat a whole bag of pork skins in one setting. Oh well. Next time I’ll grab some of the wife’s really good parmesan and dry it out in the oven first.

I put up a link to the mister that Lloyd recommended. Disclosure: I would get a small commision if you bought one through the link, but it costs you nothing. Is that so bad? And why not refill it with our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva?

Got an idea for using Survival Spice™? Email me!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

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March 8, 2006

Trader Joe's

Interesting write up in the NY Times about Trader Joe's:

The stores are small, the selection is uneven and the corporate culture can be described as dorky. But because its products are often not available anywhere else; because they mysteriously appear, disappear, then reappear on the shelves; or perhaps simply because they often taste very, very good, Trader Joe's has become tremendously popular among Americans who like to be entertained and educated by what they eat, as well as nourished by it.

For those who aren't familiar with TJs, or who aren't lucky enough to have a store in their area, Trader Joe's has been around since the 70s. For the 20 or so years that I lived in LA, I was thrilled to have one in my neighborhood. They're eclectic, but man do they have the goods at a reasonable price. Their introduction of "Two Buck Chuck" a few years back created a huge buzz. They've done a fantastic job with their private label products, too.

Read the article for more on these great stores. Thanks to John for the link! If you have a cool news story to share, email me, just don't forget to take out the REMOVETHESEWORDS from the email address that are there to prevent spam.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:20 AM | Comments (1)

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February 10, 2006

Diana's Bison Teriyaki

(Photo: Diana's Bison Teriyaki)

Diana was nice enough to send some more information about her bison purveyor and why she likes bison so much:

Canadian "regulations" have eliminated the term "Porterhouse" ... it must be "T-Bone", 'cause ... that's what the bone says. However, I still call it a Porterhouse 'cause it has the filet still attached. "T-Bone", to me, is the steak without the filet. My butcher, Saslove's Meat Market, provides an amazing array of organic, anti-biotic free product and other delights.

There's not much of a "game" taste to bison. Much more like "pure" beef. It always leaves one wanting more. You don't know "tender" 'til you've tasted this.

Now, what to do with that leftover "Survival" bison steak that I happened to cook at the same time ;P

Diane has provided an example of how dovetailing your weekly home menus is a fun and great way to get a number of dishes out of one basic ingredient, in this case, the organic bison she bought and used previously for the Bison Steaks she made with Survival Spice™ the other day.

This really looks wonderful, Diana. I thought her comment about calling a porterhouse a T-bone was interesting, too. The porterhouse cut is the large end of the loin, and it does have more of the filet than the T-bone end, which is the tail end of the tenderloin.

Continue reading "Diana's Bison Teriyaki"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:39 AM | Comments (2)

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February 9, 2006

Pork chops with spaghetti squash and baby peas

Here's what Shell made for dinner recently:

Broiled Survival Spice™ chops with spaghetti squash (it's a fave around here), baby peas and horseradish sauce with dill. Just to prove we can't live with out it! LOL!

Hey, that looks really good. Nice plating, Shell!

What did do have for dinner last night? Email me!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:46 AM | Comments (2)

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February 7, 2006

Diana's Organic Bison Steaks

(Photo: Diana's Organic Bison steak with rice pilaf and sauteed carrots)

Another terrific email from our North of the Border foodie friend, Diana. Who could forget her Everyman's Edible Slider w/homemade Chili Sauce, or the Puffy Corn Omelet that she entered in Food Fight Four?

Diana's lucky enough to have a local butcher that has organic bison steaks, so she grabbed what looks like a porterhouse cut and the Survival Spice™ and went to work. Served with a rice pilaf and some sauteed carrots, I have to say it's a great meal, even if she was rooting for the Seahawks...

What did you have for dinner last night? Email me a picture with a description!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:20 AM | Comments (9)

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February 2, 2006

Chilebrown's Chile Verde

(Photo: Paul Brown)

I love chile verde, so I was glad to see that Paul came up with a great version using Survival Spice™. I think he was smart to add the oregano and cumin, they're important flavors in Southwest dishes, including the Traditional New Mexico-style Pork Chile I've posted here before. It also is a good example of how you can use Survival Spice™ as a starting point, and add whatever you want to customize it to a particular style of cooking.

And dig all of Chile's grills. I was up to 6 setups when I moved a few years ago, but he's hardcore!

What have you been cooking? Email me some pics and a description!

Continue reading "Chilebrown's Chile Verde"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:25 AM | Comments (1)

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January 26, 2006

Chilebrown is really cooking (again)!

Update 9/6/07: The Rotal Barby discussion continues here.

Man, a busy morning here at Desert Island Foods™.com, so I'll raid the Inbox for another cruel yet drool-worthy email from Paul, aka Chilebrown:

Tonight we are cooking a 'beer can chicken'. It is on a Weber setup which I cannot begin to praise. You rub it, (Survival Spice), impale it, and forget about it. An hour or so later it is done! I also threw in some home made Bratwurst!

Survival Spice™ is a natural for beer can chicken. Paul didn't send a picture of the finished bird, but Jerry sent a pic of some birds that he did last year that looked absolutely amazing, put your bib on and check out these!

Continue reading "Chilebrown is really cooking (again)!"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:58 AM

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January 24, 2006

Survival Spice and Tofu

We're proud of Survival Spice™, our 2006 Scovie Award winning barbecue rub, but it really picks things up around the office when we get customer emails. Here's a great one from a customer in Mesa, AZ:

My 6 year old daughter is a Vegan (for the most part, a matter of taste). Her favorite dinner food is Tofu, sliced thin (1/2 inch), brushed with an Herb Flavored Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar with Survival Spice sprinkled on it - Broiled til golden brown in the oven - with MORE dipping oil on the side. I ran out of Survival Spice a while ago and tried different "Mrs. Dash's", my own sorry mixtures - she knew. She KNEW!

In fact, last night's dinner was the motivator to order more Survival Spice; "Mama, this isn't like it used to be, it smells wrong and it isn't pretty". ROFL!!!!! I knew exactly what she meant.

Have something to say about Survival Spice™? Let us know!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 11:32 AM | Comments (2)

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January 17, 2006

Paul's making Pasta

Paul, aka Chilebrown, whipped up a great looking batch of home made pasta recently and was nice enough to send some pictures. Or is he just torturing us?

Whatever. Paul's technique is spot on. In the first pic, which also shows off the amazing Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgine di Oliva we carry at Desert Island Foods™.com, he's using a traditional 'well method' to mix his eggs and flour. He didn't send his recipe, but classically it's about 1 egg per cup of flour, then adjust it bit to the humidity as necessary. It yields about one portion per egg.

Continue reading "Paul's making Pasta"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:38 AM | Comments (0)

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December 16, 2005

Cooking for Engineers

This is such a great site, I feel badly for not highlighting it sooner.

Cooking for Engineers.com was created by Michael Chu, a Silicon Valley engineer, as a way to store his recipes. It has lots of good stuff, recipes and techniques with great in-progress photos, without being horribly geeky. I particularly like his tabular method of presenting recipes, which apparently he's filed for a patent on.

An example is here. Dig all the great pictures and the tabular recipe at the bottom.

Ya know, this site could be more like that if I wasn't so darn lazy. Maybe I've found my first New Year's resolution. Naaaaaah...

I will be doing some work on the banner for this site, though, so things will probably look a bit strange from time to time.

Update: I've added Cooking for Engineers to the blogroll on the right, joining some darn good food bloggers. Check them out often...

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:14 AM

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December 9, 2005

I think he's right...

Great email from Carin:

I made "your" pork chops last night. They were ymmmmm ymmmm good. My hubby says I owe you a (wet) t-shirt picture.

Sadly, no picture enclosed, but I'm hopeful...

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:46 AM | Comments (1)

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Chilebrown's Rockin' Crab Cakes

(Photos: Paul Brown)

Emails like this just make my day. Paul "AKA Chilebrown" Brown sent in a delicious looking crab cake recipe using Survival Spice™, which as I've noted before, adds wonderfully to the flavor of crab, accentuating the sweetness of the meat and adding succulence with a little zip.

If you're not fortunate enough to have access to fresh lump crabmeat, using a mix of 1/2 lump and 1/2 shredded is a good substitute. It's important to be gentle when mixing these, so you don't break up your expensive lump crab meat, and as Paul noted, giving them time in the refrigerator to set up before cooking them will help keep them together.

Paul, you rock. Here's his recipe:

Continue reading "Chilebrown's Rockin' Crab Cakes"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 6:45 AM

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December 8, 2005

Interesting concept

Don't know what to make for dinner?

Dinner Dudes.com is a team comprised of a chef, who creates recipes, and a non-chef partner that tests these recipes to make sure they can be replicated by home cooks. For $5.95 a month, you get a newsletter complete with recipes and shopping lists.

Would you pay 6 bucks a month for this? I think it's interesting, at least.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:13 AM

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November 23, 2005

What are you cooking for Thanksgiving?

(Photo: Mary)

What are you cooking for Thanksgiving this year? I'm making a few side dishes, a special sausage, Bosc pear and pine nut dressing, a killer fresh cranberry/apple/orange sauce, some green beans almondine with crispy bacon, and the corn risotto I've posted before.

I think I'm getting off easy this year, I might have to come up with something else...

Okay, make us all drool! What's on your menu?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:11 AM | Comments (3)

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November 22, 2005

Food surfing...

(Photo: Dr. Biggles' Tomatillo Chile with Pork

Okay, bibs on, everyone! I've done a bad job staying in touch with my blog homies lately, so here's what some of my favorite food bloggers have been up to:

Dr. Biggles at Meathenge keeps cranking out the good stuff. This Tomatillo Chile with Pork he's torturing us with looks good enough to eat. And eat. And eat...

Meg has been out on the town, eating up Seattle one dish at a time, only this time she was a bit disappointed. Oh well, win some and dim sum...

Shauna, most likely still hopping around on a broken foot, continues to keep my stomach growling with eye catching photos and descriptions to match. Check out her Chicken Thighs with Pomegranate Molasses. I'm a thigh man myself.

Owen over at Tomatillo, made a great looking South-East Asian Lamb Braise with Orange-Basil Rice dish for the latest Paper Chef. If you haven't checked out his book, Digital Dish, click on the link in his left margin. It's a really interesting compilation of posts from food bloggers around the world. Lots of great stories and some really great looking recipes.

That should give you something to do! Sorry I've light on the postings this week, but a lot going on getting Desert Island Foods™.com ready for the holiday season.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:51 AM

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November 11, 2005

Cool email from Ana

(Photo: Ana's Harvest Moon Grilled Cheese, link below.)

I got a great email from Ana recently. Man, she can cook! Her Food Fight entries, killer falafel with pita bread and her Harvest Moon Grilled Cheese, actually made me glad to be alive. She's found a new use for Survival Spice™, using it on popcorn, which we hadn't heard of until now:

The Survival Spice came in the mail today. It's all that and a bag of chips. Hits all the tastebuds. That and I think it's organizing the other spices and teaching them how to walk in formation--like a little marching band. Sprinkle liberally on buttered popcorn, scrambled eggs, soup, dip. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Thanks, Ana, you rock. Though I just noticed you're not on our Frappr map yet, along with a few regulars... ;-)

We love to get reactions to our products! Please email me if you have one.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:47 AM

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November 9, 2005

Flourless chocolate cake, butter toasted walnuts and kona bittersweet chocolate sauce

(Photo: John, in Chicago. TPC logo is only to thwart dastardly image robbers...)

Gawd, the stuff I find in my inbox at 5:00 in the morning! Today's "drool til you're satisfied" moment is brought to once again by John, in Chicago. John's offering/torture is a flourless chocolate cake, with butter toasted walnuts and a kona bittersweet chocolate sauce. It was a sin to crop this picture, just seeing the full shot of this chunk o' heaven brought chocolatey tears to my eyes.

BTW, John has a really cool photography website called Open Tune.org. I'm begging him- post some of your food pictures, too!

Email me your food pics and recipes, I'm going to arbitrarily start awarding an occasional tin of Scovie Award winning Survival Spice™, especially to those submitting for the first time. Remember, simple or elaborate, I don't care, the only criteria I ever use revolves around "Does it taste good?"

Continue reading "Flourless chocolate cake, butter toasted walnuts and kona bittersweet chocolate sauce"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:06 AM | Comments (0)

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October 27, 2005

Jim's "Halloween Survival Seeds"

Wow, what a cool munchie idea for a Halloween party. Sent in by customer Jim, in Los Angeles:

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 8:57 AM

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October 19, 2005

Beef Brisket- by John

A great email from John in Chicago:

got off early and what the heck, a brisket is in order! I'm slow roasting it @ 250 degrees slathered in survival spice, rockin. jb

John seared it on a large grill pan before he put it in the oven. This is a great technique when you don't have an outdoor grill, it's too frickin' cold to grill outside (perish the thought!), or you just want something different. Survival Spice™ works really well, indoors and out. More pics in the extended entry.

Continue reading "Beef Brisket- by John"

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)

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October 7, 2005

I Heart Bacon turns one!

Congratulations to Meg over at I heart bacon, who's celebrating her blog's first birthday! Her home page is listed under 'Food Blogs", check out the cool simple syrups she made to flavor cocktails.

The super-cool elk salad she made for Food Fight Four is here. Go visit and wish her a happy blog-birthday!

You have voted on your favorite interpreted dish, haven't you?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:05 AM | Comments (2)

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August 26, 2005

Bacon Binge Blogging

(Photo: www.smokehouse.com)

Drat. I thought I had found a bacon blog that even Meg at I heart Bacon didn't know about, but when I checked her blogroll, there it was. I did notice that I'm on there too, so I better get mine together, pronto.

Anyway, here it is. Commited to providing a bacon recipe daily, Bacon Show's mission is noble and their motive pure. Check it out, there's some good-looking recipes, especially if you've got a few pounds of bacon in the fridge that need some lovin'.

Big shout-out to Chuck for the link, who's always known good bacon when he Z's it.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:34 AM

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August 3, 2005

Food talk around the Net

(Photo credit: Hog on Ice)

It's a slow news day, so I thought I'd take a lap around the 'Net and see who's cooking. Note: I refuse to lump politics together with food, if someone has something interesting to say about food, I'm happy to read it. This blog is all about food, so leave your politics at the door, please!

Okay, here we go:

Dr. Biggles has found the ultimate bacon.

Hog in Ice has been working hard on his Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy and Cinammon Roll recipes. Definitely not for dieters or the politically faint of heart.

Meg at I heart Bacon is on fire. Just go to her main page and start drooling. She's recently done a North African feast, a tea braised pork in a doufeu, and roasted a whole wild boar for her birthday party.

Barrett at Too Many Chefs has made a Kale and Summer Squash Quiche.

That's it for now. Made something good lately? Email me and let me know. Feel free to attach a picture.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 9:57 AM

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July 12, 2005

Great review of Per Se over at Kiplog

(Photo: Courtesy Paul McCann, of Per Se's Rib-Eye of Nature Fed Veal)

Terrific review of 'Per Se' over at Kiplog. Done with a terrific photographer's eye and a true food lover's palate, it's the next best thing to actually getting to eat there, and a lot less expensive.

Per Se, for those who don't know, is a Manhattan restaurant offering by Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame, which consistently receives a 5 star rating as well as 'best restaurant in the world' in 2003-2004.

Here's a link to the French Laundry cookbook, too. While a beautiful coffee table book and a great representation of perfection in food, don't expect to be able to re-create any of these dishes exactly unless you have serious kitchen chops, a lot of the right equipment, and some serious time and cash to throw at it.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:53 AM | Comments (8)

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July 1, 2005

Hot Doug's

Now this is a hot dog stand! A commenter over at Hog on Ice, which although extremely political is also extremely funny a lot of the time, mentioned Hot Doug's and I'd never heard of it. Come to think of it, it's also where I heard about the Belgian Fry site I mentioned yesterday.

Hot Doug's is the ultimate gourmet hot dog joint and a Chicago treasure. Check out the specials, Cognac-Infused Smoked Pheasant Sausage with Apricot-Orange Mustard Cream and Crumbled Blue Cheese, Cherry Ostrich Sausage with Fruity Port Sauce and Chopped Smoked Almonds, and more. More traditional choices are available for the less adventurous. Don't skip the hand-made french fries, which are fried in duck fat on Friday and Saturday.

I mean, this is a frickin' sausage, right? Amazing.

What's your favorite hot dog?

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)

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June 30, 2005

Belgian Fries

Man, is Michel (aka King Cone) obsessed with French Belgian Fries! Here's a Belgian website dedicated to the fried potato. The site includes a section dedicated to the "frietkot" or fry shack, little booths that serve only fries.

He also includes the recipe for preparing and cooking a proper fry, which I endorse. The twice cooked method is the ultimate way of insuring a crispy fry that's tender inside. Unfortunately there's no direct link to the recipes section so follow the main link above and click on 'recipes' in the left sidebar.

BTW, a Belgian fry is never served with ketchup or vinegar, only mayonaise. Okay, he kinda loses me there...

Check out the site, this guy is really into it!

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 7:52 AM

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May 24, 2005

The Reluctant Gourmet

Here's a link to a guy who's doing a good job educating home cooks. Check out The Reluctant Gourmet when you get a chance, there's some good basic information and recipes there.

Posted by The Pragmatic Chef at 8:27 AM