Sorry, it has been a while since I have written, but work has kept me quite busy. I hope to be able to get some more recipes here!

Since the grilling season is upon us, I have been cooking a lot of steak. Not only is it quick in these busy times, but of course, delicious! Lately I have been working on pan sauces and quick marinades. I have begun to find that most marinating going on out there is too much. I see no need to marinate most anything over night in the fridge. Don’t get me wrong, I am just as guilty as the rest of you as I have done the same thing for years, but you know what? I have found that most of the time you can get the same results by marinating quickly at room temperature.

Think about it, most marinades have some sort of acidic component, such as lemon, or vinegar, and then an oil like olive oil or canola and then a few spices. What happens when you put oil into the the fridge? It coagulates and basically seizes. In my mind, once this happens, the marinating is over and all that is left is pickling of the meat.

The acidity and salt added to marinades kills most of your flagrant bacteria that will quickly spoil meat so why put it back in the fridge? - (More…)

Ahh yes, St. Pattys day is just around the corner, and we are already planning our party. Since the holiday is landing on a Monday this year, we are throwing the party on Sunday the 16th as probably most of you are. After our big hit party last year, we can’t wait until this St. Pattys day.

We will be making pretty much the same menu this year, but it will have one important difference. We are brining the brisket from scratch to make a truly home made dish. Our test batch last month came out wonderful so today we picked up about twenty pounds of beef brisket and got our corned beef brine going. For those of you who have never done it, you should know it requires eight days of brining so you better hurry!

Here is the recipe we use for turning 4-6 pounds of beef brisket into corned beef:

6 cups of water
2 cups beer
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
1 packed cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup pickling spice

Stir all the ingredients together in a large wide pot and make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the meat and weigh down with a heavy plate and then cover. Refrigerate for 4 days, stir the brine and turn the meat, and refrigerate for another 4 days.

You can multiply this recipe if you are using more than 6 pounds.

Now all you have to - (More…)

Pork loin can be one of those dishes that will test your patience. If you over cook it, be prepared for a dry experience; if you don’t spice it up right, a bland one. I have always assumed this is why that particular cut of meat is cheaper than most of the other pork cuts. I am of course referring to the center cut loin, not the tenderloin.

This recipe has gotten me through many a dinner with wows and exclamations on the flavor and juiciness.

Ingredients:

1 3-5 lbs. pork loin (not tenderloin).
3 cloves of garlic minced.
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (about 2 tablespoons) chopped fine.
1 tablespoon fresh thyme.
5-8 slices smoked bacon (the good kind that you get at a deli or butcher, preferrably apple wood smoked bacon).
About 3-4 cups chicken stock or broth.
About 3 tablespoons of flour.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Salt and pepper.

Preheat your oven to 225.

Take the garlic, rosemary, and thyme and if you have a small food processor, process until well combined. Add olive oil slowly until it forms a liquidy paste. About 1/4 cup.

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the pork loin.

Heat a dutch oven or any other heavy pot (that has a lid and can be used in the oven) on your stove to medium high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil starts smoking, add the loin, fat side down to the pan and sear - (More…)

Years ago, beef brisket was considered one of the least desirable cuts of meat. Cooked like other meats, it will come out tough and stringy. With no surprise, it was usually purchased by those with less money. Over the years recipes came about that made brisket one of the most sought after dishes in the Americas.

There are many ways to cook brisket, but generally all of the techniques have one common thing: low and slow cooking. By cooking (or smoking) the meat slowly, the tough connective tissue begins to break down leaving the meat soft and letting the flavor out.

One of my favorite ways to cook brisket is by braising it. This basically means cooking it slowly with liquid. Although this may remind you of a pot roast, it is really a bit different. Here is a recipe of mine that is very simple but has wowed more than a few people at my table.

Ingredients:

1 4-5 pound beef brisket (fresh, not corned).
1 large Spanish onion.
4 cloves of garlic, lightly chopped.
About a half teaspoon ground cumin.
1 - 3 cups of beef broth.
All purpose flour (about 2-3 tablespoons).
1 sprig fresh rosemary (do not remove leaves from sprig).
Salt and pepper.
Canola oil.

Preheat oven to 225.

In a large heavy pot with a heavy lid, preferably a dutch oven (must be oven safe), bring up to a medium high heat. While you are waiting, liberally salt and pepper - (More…)

Is there really anything better on a bitter cold night than enjoying a tender pot roast? This is another dish that every person in a family cooks a little bit different. There is no perfect pot roast, just like there is no perfect pie. There are just too many ways you can prepare it.

The way I prefer to make pot roast is the low and slow method. It is no secret that cooking meat slowly brings out tenderness in the most stubborn of meats. This is one reason why pot roast is popular because you can use a less expensive cut of meat, and yet enjoy a delicious dish.

I normally do not include side dishes in my main course recipes, however, the texmati rice recipe I am about to show you, really will not work without some parts of the pot roast.

Ingredients:

Pot roast:

1 3-4 large pot roast, brought to room temperature.
1 large Spanish onion, cut into a large dice.
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped.
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes.
1/2 pound small white button mushrooms (fresh and whole), cleaned.
1/2 to 1 cup of beef broth/stock.
Kosher salt.
Fresh ground pepper.
2 sprigs of rosemary, whole.
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, divided (two 1/4 teaspoons).
Canola oil.
2 1/2 tablespoons flour.

Rice:

1 cup texmati rice.
2 1/2 cups beef stock
2 bay leaves.
Extra virgin olive oil.
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves.
Salt and pepper.

Preheat the over to 220 - 225.

Liberally season one side of the pot roast - (More…)

If you read through this site for a while, you will quickly learn that lamb is one of my favorite foods. Probably the best (and most expensive) cut is the rack of lamb. The word tender is just not descriptive enough when it comes to this dish. Rack of lamb is very flavorful and is eaten all over the world.

Even if you generally do not eat your red meat rare/medium rare, you should think twice about it with this dish. A well done lamb chop is nothing much to talk about. At the most, I would stand for medium, and even then I would be a bit disappointed.

This recipe is not all that uncommon, I just added horseradish and a bit of a different technique. We enjoy this meal every so often whenever there is a good sale on racks of lamb. It can be a pricey cut, so keep your eyes peeled for sales on it.

Ingredients:

2 rack of lamb cuts.
5 cloves of garlic, minced finely.
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs.
5 tablespoons of Dijon mustard.
2 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish.
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
Salt and pepper.
Canola oil.
Olive oil.

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 450.

In a large skillet, add enough Canola oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Liberally salt and pepper each rack, on all sides.

Heat the skillet to medium high and once it is hot, add the rack, fat side down. Sear - (More…)

For some of my friends and family, the first question is going to be “What is Ratatouille?” Well, it is basically a French term for “tossed food” or “tossed vegetables”. The primary ingredients are tomatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers, and garlic. They are pretty much cooked together and produce wonderful flavors.

I decided to step mine up a bit and add some mushrooms, chicken, and grill it instead of cooking it traditionally. The flavors from the grilled vegetables will make you look at them in a different light. It is hard to believe what grilling can do to plants!

The chicken part of this dish is really not a part of Ratatouille per say, but my recipe combines the similar flavors so that the chicken goes hand in hand with the veggies.

As for presentation, the colors are so vibrant in this dish, short of serving it on a manhole cover, there really is no way to make this look unappealing.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
4 cloves of garlic.
3 bell peppers (different color for each. I use red, yellow, green), halved, seeds and stems removed.
2 medium zucchini, cut in half.
1 large red onion cut into thick rings (don’t break them up).
1 container of cherry tomatoes (about 30).
1 container small whole fresh mushrooms (about 30, I used baby bellas).
About 1 cup of white wine.
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.
2 tablespoons Herbs De Provence, - (More…)

This years early Thanksgiving was a hit. Every year we have what we like to call “Losers Thanksgiving”. It is a tradition that started about 15 years ago when talking to my best friend. I was telling him about my Thanksgiving plans I had, where I would go back home and visit the family. All of his family had moved away, and he basically told me he was not having any Thanksgiving and was just going to work through the holiday.

Feeling bad for him, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I decided to make a huge dinner, with duck, stuffing, cranberry, etc., and invited him over. Breaking his chops, I called it Losers Thanksgiving since nobody wanted him for the holiday. It’s a guy thing, we say such things to each other totally understanding it’s basis in humor.

Well, after a couple years of this, Losers Thanksgiving became somewhat of a tradition. Even though eventually my friend got a girlfriend (actually a few since then), he fell out of the tradition, but it lived on. It became a time for friends and select family to get together before they went to their traditional Thanksgiving. Every year, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we invite friends, neighbors, and family we would not see for the holiday over for an easy dinner that basically was a traditional feast.

Every year I try to make the Turkey a bit different. - (More…)

I have never really had too much flank steak in my life. I don’t know why, I just never got around to buying and trying it. So the other day I am in the supermarket just looking for something different to make. Staring at the butchers window I see this flank steak. Now I have seen them cooked on many a cooking show but I have never actually eaten it, or cooked it before.

So what the heck, I buy it and decide to try and make my own rub for it. When we sliced this up, everyone at the table was astounded how well this came out.

While I was searching for spices to make the rub, I came across one that I had never used before: Cardamom. Reading the spice guide in the store it basically had little information on it other than some people use it in pot roast. So, I figured I might be able to use it, and if not, I will try it for my next pot roast.

When I got home and opened the spice bottle of the Cardamom seeds and smelled it, I nearly coughed. It has an aroma similar to a vapor rub, i.e. vicks. I gave it the one eyebrow look and wondered if I should not just put this bottle in the back of the spice cupboard.

Well, always up for something new I - (More…)

Chicken riggies is an Upstate NY thing. I have already written about how to make the red version, so I decided to show you how to make the more common white recipe. Mostly the difference here is the cream you add at the end and you also use less herbs and different oils.

Where I come from, a bit North of Utica NY, just about every family function includes a dish of riggies. It is a powerhouse of a meal so unless your feeding 10-15 people, prepare for leftovers.

1 1/2 - 2 pounds cut up bite size boneless chicken (white or dark or both).
About 2 tablespoons olive oil.
1 large yellow onion, diced.
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped.
1 20 oz. jar of sweet peppers, drained, lightly chopped.
1/4 cup of pickled hot cherry peppers, lightly chopped.
3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
About 1/2 cup of fresh basil, lightly chopped.
2 cups or so of chicken broth.
1 28 oz can/jar crushed tomatoes.
About 24 oz of dry rigatoni, prepared as per directions on the box (reserve some of the liquid).
3/4 to 1 cup of heavy cream.
Salt and fresh ground pepper.

In a really large sauce pan, add the olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat to medium/medium high. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and cook in batches until just done in the sauce pan and remove.

Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes until onion just - (More…)