Pizza

Decided to make pizzas tonight. Charlie wanted all the toppings kept separate so everyone could add what they wanted to their own.  Then he got called to work so everything was rushed.

Cassie is on a gluten free diet to see if that is the cause of her stomach problems.  I got a King Arthur gluten free flour mix and made a dough for her with it.  There was a comedian that said he got some gluten free bread at a health food store... He said he didn't know what gluten was but apparently it's delicious. LOL.  No truer words were ever spoken. It worked like play dough and didn't taste much better.  It wasn't too bad with the sauce and toppings though.

Because I made two different doughs and Charlie had to leave as quickly as possible, I was rushed and didn't have time to take pictures today.  The topping choices were ground lamb, Italian sausage, black olives, and pepperoni.  The sauce was Newman's marinara sauce and the cheeses were 'fresh' mozzarella and fresh grated romano.

chicken wing expeeriment

We had an appetizer at a restaurant and tried to duplicate it.  It was a while ago and I don't really remember how it tasted but we wrote down our impressions and gleaned what we could from the waiter and came up with this.  Son said it was a keeper and Cassie like them too.

Recipe is not exact in all ingredients. I didn't measure everything but I think this is pretty close

1C honey

3T. Chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

1 T. dijon mustard

2 T. chipotle chili powder

2 T. smoked paprika

1 tsp. black pepper

1 T Kosher salt

a handfull of cilantro

about 4 T. soy sauce (Tamari)

2 garlic cloves

about half an inch ginger

1 tsp. red pepper sauce, the Korean kind with the Rooster on the lable

mix all ingredients in blender.

Separate chicken wings into sections, discarding wing tips.  Fry in 325-350 oil until done- about 15 minutes, toss with sauce, spread out on wire rack place on foil lined baking sheet and heat @ 400º for 5 to 7 minutes until sauce has set on wings.  Top with green onion and sesame seeds.

Son made fried bananas with corn meal and ginger powder.  Would have been good with some cinnamon in it too.  It was drizzled with honey.  

Leftover ham with okra, eggplant parm and oven fried sweet potatoes

Nothing new here. Recipes all posted previously.

Ham dinner, southern style cooking meets south of the border

No pictures today. Cassie suggested a sweet baked ham, collard greens, pinto beans and cornbread for dinner today.  She made the pinto beans mixed with some mayocoba beans, some brown sugar, bacon, maybe some hot pepper sauce and I am not sure what else.  The cornbread was a commercial mix with some brown sugar added and made with eggs and milk.

Ham was a small shank end city ham with a glaze of apple cider, brown sugar, dijon mustard, honey, maple syrup and a dash of balsamic vinegar.  Collard greens were stripped of the large center stems, rinsed thouroughly, chopped, boiled with water and a ham shank bone, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes.  We ate them with some vinegar and hot sauce.

Steak and eggplant from outside on the grill

Grilled steak, japanese eggplant, twice baked potato and okra. Okra and eggplant were from the farmers market yesterday. Salad had some tomato and avocado.   Cassie made an apple crisp that was still in the oven when i took this picture. Okra was tossed in a plastic bag with about 1/4C. flour, 3Tablespoons bread crumbs, 2 T. cornmeal and two teaspoons of salt, allowed to sit 30 minutes then put in a strainer and shaken to remove the excess flour, then sauteed in vegetably oil. Twice baked potatoes had sour cream, salt and pepper, butter, cream and topped with queso quseadilla cheese and baked until heated through and the cheese browned. Eggplant grilled whole about 2 minutes per side then slit open and dressed with 2 tablespoons soy sauce 4 teaspoons lime juice 2 teaspoons olive oil (used 1 tsp. sesame oil instead) 4 Japanese eggplants (about 1 pound)

Smoked BBQ Spare Ribs again.

Spare ribs Aug 19,2011

Trim rib St. Louis cut. Save large boneless strip. Pat dry, coat with The Squeal overnight wrapped in plastic and foil.  Next day start lump charcoal in chimney, bring out ribs, coat with Oklahoma Joe rub- about 2/3 to 3/4 of recipe.  Let ribs set until room temperature and coals are ready.  Add some coals to fire pit and pour lit coals over it. When smoke chamber is about 250º add ribs, bone side down abut 2/3 of distance from fire with large end closest to fire. Lay ribs diagonally and add boneless meat on the far side of ribs (closest to flue)

 Let smoke two hours, adding a chunk of hickory to fire pit every half an hour.  

After two hours, add some more coals to top of dying fire and start another chimney full of charcoal.  Add juice from a can of sweet cherries in heavy syrup to remaining Oklahoma Joe rub and baste ribs on both sides. Wrap both pieces of ribs in heavy duty foil and flip.  Let cook in foil for another 2 hours. 

Uncover ribs, baste with BBQ sauce and let smoke another hour. Save juices from the ribs in foil and use as a sauce to pour over the ribs if desired.

When Charlie and Cassie get home from work, I'll make some corn on the cob and a salad.  Probably start on some potato salad in a minute or two. 

Oklahoma Joe's Rib Rub

Living in Kansas City, we have a wide range of BBQ joints to choose from, but our favorite has always been Oklahoma Joe's in the heart of KC! This is a mixture of flavors - sweet, peppery and spicy. You'll love it!.

by  KC_Cooker         1/2 cup            10 min 10 min prep

2 tablespoons sugar 

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper




POTATO SALAD  Boiled potatoes in salted water with some sugar added

        4 pounds russet potatoes (about 8 potatoes)  Note: used 4 potatoes,

                1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons coarse salt

                3 tablespoons cider vinegar

                3 large eggs used two boiled eggs. Cooked with potatoes.

                1 cup mayonnaise

                1/2 teaspoon celery seed

                1 teaspoon dry mustard

                1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

                3 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice (3/4 cup) Note: OMITTED Cassis does not like celery

                1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice  Note:  (1/2 cup) only had a a quarter of a green one

                1 medium onion, finely diced (1/2 cup)

                10 cornichons, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1/4 cup)

                3 scallions, thinly sliced (1/2 cup)

                2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley Note omitted

                teaspoon paprika 

after making tasted and added sour cream, balsamic vinegar, seasoned salt  and extra mayo to taste.

             1. Place potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover by several

             inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, add 1 tablespoon salt, and

             lower to a gentle boil. Cook until potatoes are tender when pierced

             with a knife, about 25 minutes. Drain into a colander. Using paper

             towels or gloves to protect your hands, peel the potatoes, and cut into

             1-inch dice while still hot. Drizzle with vinegar; set aside.

CORN

got sweet, multi colored corn, boiled for 5 minutes, cut off the cob, added salt and butter to taste.

Ribeye steak, twice baked potatoes

Dinner was grilled ribeye steak.  This one got a little too charred on this side but it was OK. Potatoes were twice baked with butter, cream, milk, bacon, cheese, salt, pepper and green onion.  Salad was fresh tomato, grated carrots and green peppers.  The bread was French bread brushed with olive oil and garlic made into a paste with coarse salt, then topped with spinach, tomato, mozzarella and romano cheeses then broiled briefly.

Unusual combination? Eggplant and sausage with kraut

As I looked in the refrigerator, I saw and opened package of sauerkraut, 3/4 of a package of fresh mozzarella and 1 1/2 eggplant that needed to be used pretty soon.  I thought it might make a weird combination to make eggplant parmesan and sausage with kraut but I went ahead and did it anyway.

the egglpant was sliced and dipped in beaten egg then bread crumbs and fried golden brown in olive oil. It was then placed in a baking dish with some tomato basil sauce on the bottom, romano cheese and mozzaarella cheese on top then more tomato sauce and baked at 450 for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile about two tablespoons each of green pepper and onion were softened in olive oil, Chicken And Apple sausage that had been boiled, then pan fried added to the skillet along with the kraut and heated through.  Next time I think I'll use red bell pepper instead of green but it was all good.

Fried chicken, two ways and noodles with alfredo

I cut up a chicken, cut the breast into boneless, skinless strips and the rest in fried chicken pieces, marinated all of it in water with salt, thyme and brown sugar, then in buttermilk, finally breaded the strips with panko, garlic powder, salt and pepper and a tiny bit of curry and fried them. I breaded the rest with flour and corn starch plus thyme and garlic powder.

Cheesesteak sandwiches

I asked Charlie and Cassie to help me come up with some ideas for meals and the one they came up with for today were cheesesteak sandwiches.  I made the bread with a French bread recipe but added an egg, some oil and sugar.  The cheesesteak filling was chopped flatiron steak, green peppers, onion and mushrooms.  There was also some bacon to put on the sandwiches along with mayo and choice of provolone or cheddar cheese sauce and jalapenos.

Pictures today are just snapshots of the ingredients. I was kind of tired and didn't take a picture of them assembled into a sandwich

chicken soup

Lunch today was clean out the refrigerator soup.  I know, I know. It's hot. Who wants soup? but I was watching Jaques Pepin and and he did a soup so I got inspired, besides I needed to use up the last of the chicken stock I made last week. I cut up some eggplant, carrots, celery and onions and sauteed them in butter and olive oil for about 5 minutes, l then added the chicken stock, and cut up tortilla strips. I tasted it and added some cooked green beans, salt, little bit of Goya Sazon seasoning and adobo and boiled for 7-10 minutes.