Every since those infrared grills have been coming out, I keep reading stories on-line that lament the fact that you can’t get a good sear on a steak when grilling on your average gas/charcoal grill. My response to all of this is “Since when?”

It really sounds to me like there is a campaign on, pushing this new technology down the consumers throat. Like if I don’t use an infrared grill, I can’t make a good steak. Yeah, right!

I make London broil on the grill all the time and it comes out just as seared and beautiful as it would in any steakhouse I have been to. Now my photography skills are lacking, so view this next photo with that in mind. I cooked this steak up today on my regular gas grill and you be the judge:

As you can see, there are perfect grill marks, the outside is seared just as it should be and the entire steak is screaming flavor. I let this beast rest for about 10 minutes and then I sliced it up. It was dripping wet and a perfect medium rare.

Now don’t get me wrong, you will have an easier time in a steakhouse getting this result, but doing it on your own grill is simple. Just spice up your steak as you – (More…)

There are about as many recipes for garlic bread as there are for meatloaf. Lately I have been experimenting with a few creations of my own.

Maybe it is just me, but I cannot have any Italian dish that has a tomato based sauce without some sort of bread. Garlic bread was made just for soaking up that left over sauce if you ask me.

A lot of people buy the pre-made frozen breads and if your in a rush, it is no major crime to use it, but if you want GREAT garlic bread then try this recipe that I through together a while back:

1 loaf of Italian bread.
1 head of garlic.
Extra virgin olive oil.
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened.
About 6-7 large fresh basil leaves, chopped.
About 5-6 grinds of pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the top of the head of garlic off. In a lightly greased muffin pan, place the head of garlic head side up. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the garlic is soft. Let it cool for about 10-15 minutes.

Take the remaining ingredients except the bread and garlic and mix them together until all incorporated in the butter. Squeeze the garlic out of the casings, into the butter. Mix well.

Cut the loaf in half and spread onto the cut part of both halves. Bake at 400 degrees until the edges – (More…)

Cooking with liquor can be rewarding. One meat that really seems to soak it up well is chicken. I have had many chicken dishes prepared with Southern Comfort, Tequila, etc., that I have lost count. Seeing as how there was a big sale on chicken this week, I bought quite a bit of it, so I started searching for some new recipes.

After a while, I just got tired of looking and decided to create a new dish. I was beyond shocked when I finally tasted this one. I started by blowing the dust of the liquor bottles in my bar and smelling the flavors of some of the more sugary alcohols. I finally settled on Amaretto and Triple Sec. Going on just “step at a time” flavoring, this is what I came up with.

3-4 pounds chicken, cut up.
2 shots of Triple Sec.
1/4 cup white wine.
1 shot of Amaretto.
Two tablespoons fresh ground coriander, separated in half.
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, separated in half.
Salt and pepper.
1 teaspoon brown sugar.
1 small shallot minced.
2 jalepeno peppers minced.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling.

For the coriander, I just use an old pepper grinder and put the seeds in it. You can also get it pre-ground if that is all you have.

Put your chicken in a large casserole dish and sprinkle each side with salt, pepper, and also cover with the one tablespoon of coriander – (More…)

I whipped up this side dish while I was making my Roasted Rack of Pork a couple of Sundays ago and the wife and kids just loved it. I have seen many incarnations of glazed carrots so after searching around I finally pieced something together that really worked. It was one of those first try successes.

When I was making this, my wife asked me an interesting question, she asked why I did not peel the carrots. When I grew up, there were two things we rarely peeled in our house and that was carrots and potatoes. The skins are not only packed with vitamins, they are delicious! Of course, it is up to you, but my recipe does not call for the carrots to be peeled.

1 pound of carrots (7-8 medium carrots) cut into 1/4 inch slices (jullienne)
2 tablespoons honey.
2 tablespoons butter.
Pinch of salt, 3-4 turns on the pepper mill (or just a pinch of pepper).
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.
1/4 cup Bourbon (Jack Daniels)

Cook the carrot slices in boiling water until fork tender, about 5-7 minutes and then strain.

In a medium skillet add all of the remaining ingredients except the carrots, taking care NOT to add the bourbon from the bottle (add from the cup). Always be careful when cooking with spirits as they are flammable. Mix together and then add the carrots.

Cook over medium/medium low until most of the liquid is gone and – (More…)

Yet another Sunday dish we are fond of here is roasted rack of pork. The real secret to this dish is getting the right cut of meat. You want the part cut from the loin rib section with the bone. Here is picture of a raw cut:

This meat is delicious. You will never believe how tender it is. There are those who will brine this cut and there is nothing wrong with it, but in my opinion it isn’t needed.

1 4lb rack of pork.
2 cups Bourbon which in other words means Jack Daniels. 🙂
3 1/2 cups chicken stock.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter.
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
2-3 tablespoons Canola or vegetable oil.

Preheat oven to 425.

Generously salt and pepper the rack on all sides. In a large skillet (I use my cast iron skillet as it is perfect for this recipe), heat the oil to medium high heat.

Sear the rack on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. The searing helps hold in the juices.

Place into the oven with a meat thermometer until the temperature reaches 145, about 30-40 minutes.

Remove skillet from oven and remove roast to rest. This is a key moment. You MUST let this roast rest. Even though the next step takes 15-20 minutes, do not worry. The roast will – (More…)

In the world of creativity, there is no room for the absolute. Being a creative process, cooking is no different. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that I must cook dish X this way, and only this way, otherwise you don’t know what you are doing. If everyone followed along like this, then there would be very few ways to cook say, chicken for example.

Having a drink with my Aunt over vacation, she wanted me to have a try at this single malt scotch she received from a friend. I said OK, let me get a glass and some ice. Now she told me up and down that I must have it straight, no water as that is the only way to drink good scotch. Well, I basically said that I do not believe in such truisms. Enjoy things as you enjoy them, not as others. Could you imagine if we could only each ground beef as steak tartar? There would go the hamburger right there. In the end, I talked my Aunt into having it with ice, and I therefore enjoyed every minute of it.

I think the worst offenders are barbecue and chili cooks. They swear up and down that you can’t add say, tomatoes to chili for it to be “real chili” or you can’t add ketchup to a barbecue sauce for it – (More…)

My family and I just returned from our vacation in Boonville New York, deep in the heart of the Adirondacks. This is Black River Valley country and the home of my birth. Most of my family (on both sides) reside in the region and whenever I get a chance, I take the three hour trek upstate.

Last year about this time, my wife (fiance at the time) and I were up there getting ready to be married. The ceremony took place at my aunt Marjorie’s summer home that we like to call the riverhouse. It is a small camp style home resting right on top of the black river. In fact, you could sit on the back deck and cast a fishing line into the water if you wanted to. It is a perfect location and for those looking for rest and relaxation, the riverhouse is where you can find it.

We decided to spend another week there this year as my aunt invited us to stay there. After such a crazy year, it was a godsend. Nice warm days where the kids could play in the river, roam the shaded woods, or just look for childhood trouble were abundant. The nights were cool, but not cold, and usually we enjoyed a campfire outside and/or a fire on the hearth inside.

We entertained a few times while at the riverhouse. We had my aunt – (More…)

Usually this time of year, I have a few planters out with some tomato plants in them. Nothing major, just a few beefsteaks hanging hanging around. This year we decided to start a vegetable garden in a spot in the lawn that gets sun about 95% of the day. This required a lot of work removing the turf, turning the soil and adding fertilizer.

Since we are just getting started, I made the garden small, 10 X 10. This was enough for quite a few tomato plants (plum and beefsteak) along with some peppers and a row of cauliflower. In a bid to not rip up the lawn completely, I made it this small and if I feel the need to grow more, I tear more sod off.

Now it has been years since I had anything to do with gardening. It is a skill that decays over time and you forget the amount of work it takes. Now that I am done, I am glad I did not go much bigger. Next year we will expand that garden to include more vege’s but for now, this is a good start.

Now I got looking at my tomato plants and many of them already have fruit on the vine. I can see I am in for a lot of harvesting this year. If you add up all of the tomato plants in the – (More…)

As I wrote earlier this year, I started my kitchen herb garden. I did not plant them in the ground, but in several planters I purchased at a local Agway. These particular planters are about 2 feet long by 1 foot wide. They have a groove along the bottom that fits the railing on my front porch perfectly. You can get different planters for different size railings.

Depending on the herbs, you can pack quite a few in there. You do have to keep in mind that some herbs are a little more aggressive than others. In one planter, I have a spearmint plant that short of putting the entire thing in the oven, nothing can stop it. I prune it weekly even if I don’t need the herb right away. Since this is the case, I only planted two other plants (basil) along with it.

As you can see in the above photo, the planter closest to the camera shows what I mean. The mint plant in the center was brutally pruned just last week and it is already back in full force.

Dill is another herb that just grows like crazy.

Yes that big monstrosity in the center is the dill plant. I am about ready to whack it down as it is taking over the box. A good – (More…)

For me, this is the summer of the grill. My poor neglected stove barely cooks a meal anymore. Lately I have been trying different recipes for side dishes. I finally decided to start playing with grilling potatoes.

It has been my experience when it comes to potatoes on the grill, that many people just wrap them in foil and throw them on long before they cook the meat so they will be done in time. Well, sorry, that just bores the heck out of me.

After tinkering a bit, I came up with a simple recipe that will cook just a little longer than a steak and is at least 3 times more delicious (by all accounts) than plain old potatoes.

4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed.
1 1/2 sprigs of rosemary, stem removed, lightly chopped.
About 8 – 10 sprigs of thyme, roughly chopped. (leave stems on).
1 tablespoon of salt.
About 15 turns of the pepper mill (fresh pepper).
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil.
1 small bag of baby red potatoes (about 20 potatoes).

In a large glass bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except for the potatoes.

Cut the potatoes in half, if there are some really large baby potatoes, cut them into thirds. Add them to the glass bowl and toss completely into the marinade. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour, stirring from time to time to make sure all the potatoes – (More…)