How a Chicken Nugget is made

I may never eat a chicken nugget again.

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Fillet of Beef and Gorgonzola Sauce

There is nothing in the world I would rather eat than steak. We usually only allow ourselves one red meat course a week and half the time I will opt for some kind of steak dinner. There is nothing that matches the flavors of high quality beef matched with fire. Some of the best and most disappointing meals that I have had, steak was involved. It is very easy to surpass the quality of restaurant chains at home with a good cut of meat and a few briquettes or hardwoods.

Today was the day that I had been waiting for all week. Fillet with Gorgonzola sauce. I had just gotten home when it started to rain. There goes the plans for grilling. What to do, skip to tomorrows meal plan or make do with what resources I had. I decided to cook the fillet the way most restaurants do…in the oven. As sacrilegious as this sounds you can make a great cut of beef taste good straight out of the oven with a little prep work of course. So let me show you what I mean.

Pick up the freshest cuts of fillet you can get. If you have a butcher that’s ideal, if you need to go to the grocery store the fine people in the meat departments usually cut there beef daily then package it at the end of the day so go for one behind the glass and not one that’s been sitting on the shelf for a few days.

You’ll want a light season of the fillet when it cooks. An easy one is 1tsp of mixed peppercorns and 1 tbs of mustard seed. Using a pestal and mortar grind up your spices. Add about a tsp of sea salt to the mustard and pepper and rub on the fillets. Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes while you prepare your Gorgonzola sauce. Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz of Gorgonzola cheese
• 3 oz cream cheese 1 tbs mayonnaise (recommended recipe)
• ¼ cup green onions
• 1 tbs sour cream
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Put Gorgonzola in food processor and pulse to until cheese is broken into dime sized chunks. Place the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth. Keep in a small serving dish at room temperature.

Now for cooking the fillet. Heat a cast iron pan as hot as you can get it. Add a tbs of butter in the pan and immediately place in both fillets for one minute and flip continuing to cook for one minute. Both sides should be seared. Remove fillet from cast iron and place on a cookie sheet. Place in oven and cook for 25 -35 minutes (medium rare at 25 to medium well at 35 minutes). Remove steak and place a foil tent over them for 10-15 minutes. This will let the juices redistribute and will continue to cook while setting. Serve with sauce and enjoy. The Gorgonzola sauce is also great with asparagus or broccoli.

I do still prefer the grill as the taste of a fire grilled steak is second to none but in the case of a rainy afternoon and no chance to go outside this will still be a close second in terms of taste. Don’t go crazy with the sauce as it can easily overpower your tender fillet if you add too much. I hope you all enjoy this as it is as easy to make as it is delicious. Enjoy.

On another note I’ve been taking my pictures with my iPhone.  Sorry about how washed out some of  them look.  I’m looking into other options in the mean time.

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Steamed Clams and Mussels

One New England treat enjoyed as a youngster was steamed clams and drawn butter.  For this recipe we took that idea and ran with it a bit.  This is an easy 30 minute or less meal that you’ll want to make again and again.  This recipe uses clams, mussels and shrimp and surprisingly but happily welcomed, andouille sausage.
First we’ll start by choosing what kind of clams to choose.  Typically the smaller the clam the more tender and sweeter the meat will be.  I use Cedar Key Clams as there some of the best you can buy at your local fishmonger.  You’ll want to find clams that are fully closed when on ice and smell fresh with no hints of ammonia. You’ll want to scrub the clams and rinse with water.  To store clams put in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth in the fridge until you are ready to cook.

The mussels will be picked out the same way but your choices will be limited to typically black or green mussels with the green mussels being much larger and much more expensive.  The black mussels come from Canada and can be found live almost all year round where the green mussels are imported from New Zealand and are usually found frozen.  You need to de-beard the clams and purge the saltier water out of them.  Here’s a link to prepare your mussels.

For this recipe you’ll want to get at least 16-20 count shrimp.  The larger shrimp take longer to cook and won’t overcook when steamed with the rest of the ingredients.
Now lets get to cooking.  Here’s what you’ll need;
Ingredients:

• 5 tbs butter
• 1 small onion chopped
• Parsley – handful
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 bottle dry white wine
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flake
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 lbs Cedar Key clams
• 2 lbs Live mussels
• 1 lb shrimp
• 2 lbs Andouille sausage

Directions:
In a large stock pot melt butter and saute the garlic and onion until they brown slightly.

Add  white wine, vegetable stock and red pepper flake and bring to a boil.  Add clams, mussels, shrimp and sausage and cover.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5-6 minutes until all the clams and mussels have opened up. Take pot off heat as you don’t want to overcook your clams or mussels or they may become tough.  Transfer all meat and shellfish to soup bowls.  Strain the broth through a cheesecloth to get rid of any purged sand.  Transfer broth to the soup bowls over your clams and mussels and add parsley.  The clams and mussels are best enjoyed with a little broth or you could also draw some butter but try the broth first, you won’t be sorry.  Enjoy.

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Recipe request – Red and White Shrimp

For my first recipe request here’s my Red and White Shrimp dish.  Granted it’s not “mine” as I got it from Chinese the essence of Asian cooking by Linda Doeser (now on Amazon for only $5).
This is an easy recipe for the most part but preparedness is of the most importance as the cooking process goes extremely fast.  I like to have all my ingredients measured out and put in some prep bowls (thanks Colleen).  So lets start.

What you need:
1 lb shrimp
1/2 egg white
1 tbs cornstarch paste (1/2 tbs cornstarch 1/2 tbs water)
1/2 lb snow peas or sugar snap peas
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable or peanut oil
1 tbs scallion
salt
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs Rice wine
1 tsp chili bean sauce (recipe to make your own-add half a fresh jalapeno to recipe if you want some heat )
1 tbs tomato paste (recipe to make your own)

Directions:
Peel and devein the shrimp and mix with cornstarch paste and egg white and add a pinch of salt.  Trim snow peas if needed.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a preheated wok or fry pan and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  Add the brown sugar and a little salt and stir for 1 more minute. Remove and place on a warmed serving platter.
Add a tablespoon of oil to the wok/fry pan and cook shrimp for only a minute on high.  Remove and drain. Add scallion and ginger to the wok/ fry pan.  Return shrimp to the wok/ fry pan and stir-fry for 1 minute then add soy sauce and rice wine.  Blend the mixture and cook until the shrimp are all cooked through.  Transfer half of the shrimp to the warmed plate with the peas.  Add the chili bean sauce and tomato paste to the remaining shrimp in the wok/ fry pan.  Blend well and place the red shrimp on the opposite side of the platter.  Enjoy.

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Day 30 – It’s been a month

It’s been a month and I’ve learned a lot.  This project will not be easy but will be extremely rewarding.  In the coming months we will try to bring you ways to get off the convenience of chemicals.  I will add a FAQ page that will outline my official “rules”, although I hate to call them that because it sounds so strict and limiting instead of fun and freeing.  

Another feature I’d like to implement is a request feature.  Maybe voting for what recipe you’d like to see made from scratch or just how to get something cooked just right. I’ll try til I die is my motto. Thanks for checking the project out so far, let me know what you think of it and if you learned anything or what direction you’d like to see it go.  Thanks.

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Day 28 – Curry

When we think of Curry it conjures images of a different culture halfway round the world somewhere near New Delhi but instead we should be thinking somewhere closer to London.  It was in England that curry powder was invented to simulate the taste of Indian food.  Curry is in fact England’s National Dish.

Curry is a dish that is traditionally made with a curry powder.  There are many different flavors of curry but the most common in America is Green Curry made with coconut milk.  This dish is relatively easy to make using store bought paste or with a little prep time you can make your own.  I’ll show you how to prepare the paste from scratch and have a delicious curry from scratch.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
• 1-3 green chilies  (If you can’t find green chilies Jalapenos or Serrano peppers will work)
• 1 shallot (substitute purple onion if you can’t find shallots)
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece of ginger
• 1 compressed cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves & stems
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp shrimp paste (substitute 1/2 tsp salt)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 3-4 tbsp coconut milk

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor, chopper, or blender and blend together until you get a good puree.  At this point your paste can be used on vegetables, as a sauce on meats or to make Traditional American Curry.

This is how your paste should look;

Now let’s make some Coconut Curry Chicken.

First warm 28oz of coconut milk until slightly boiling.  Add 4-6 tbs of fish sauce, 4 tbs of brown sugar and all of your curry paste you’ve made. Stir until blended and  reduce heat to med-high.  Let cook for 10-15 minutes then add your vegetables (I prefer mushrooms, sliced red peppers and peas).  Slice 1-2 breast of chicken and add to curry. For a fall apart chicken texture, tenderize chicken by beating with a meat tenderizer until chicken starts to break apart on it’s own.  Let cook for 20-25 more minutes.  Serve on Jasmine or Brown Rice for best results.  Enjoy.

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Day 23 – Bread Wars Part I

It has been almost a month and I thought I’d never make bread worth eating.  I’d almost given up and had been content on eating my lunch-meat with tortilla wraps from here on out.  Then my buddy Mark sent me an easy, no-knead bread recipe.  This renewed the challenge and I then also scoured the internet for a sandwich bread recipe as well.  If I’m going to fail again, better make it a twofer.    After two earlier failed attempts at bread making and swearing the devil lived in my oven I had to give it at least one more try (honestly I would keep trying until the end of my days, having too much pride to be defeated by yeasty flour).   It was on.

I had decided to try the no-knead recipe first as it was the least involved, just mix it and set it. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour
¼ tsp instant yeast (rapid rise)
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups of warm water
Cornmeal or wheat bran
Coated cast iron Dutch oven

Directions: In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients.  Stir in water slowly.  Mix with hands until you have a doughy consistency.  Place in bowl covered with towel and let rest for 12-18 hours.

After 12-18 hours have passed, lightly flour your work surface.  Place dough on work surface, sprinkle with flour and fold over once or twice. Shape the dough into a ball.  Coat a cotton towel with corn meal or wheat bran.  Be generous or your bread will stick to the towel.  Put the dough seam-side down on towel, sprinkle with cornmeal.  Cover with another towel and let the dough rise for 2 more hours.

About a half hour before the dough has fully risen place Dutch oven into the oven and preheat at 450 degrees F.  When oven has preheated place dough into Dutch oven and cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove and place bread on cooling rack.    Let stand for 10-20 minutes then serve.  Bread can be stored in the freezer for a month sliced or whole.

This recipe makes for nice artisan style bread great for serving with dinners or eating on its own.  I prefer a softer crusted bread for sandwiches and will show you how to make that in Part II of Bread Wars.

*original recipe source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU

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Day 21 – Pulled Pork

One of my favorite things to cook now that I got my new grill for Christmas is Pulled Pork.  There is nothing like meat that has been smoking over low heat all day.  I will attempt to share my recipe with you and things I’ve learned along the way.  Here’s what you’ll need;

A smoker– I use a charcoal grill with a smoke box attachment.  Different smokers will cook differently so use the directions your smoker comes with. 

A Picnic cut of pork- this is the lower shoulder traditionally used in smoking pulled pork.  Lower valued cuts like the Boston butts are also used but don’t have the same flavor you’ll get out of a shoulder due to the higher fat content (you need a good amount of fat to break down and make your pork juicy and tender). 

The Dry Rub– The quintessential ingredient that give BBQ its bite.

The Mop- a basting liquid used while you’re cooking/ smoking your pork

The Smoke– Different woods different flavors.

The Prep work (the night before smoking):  You’ll want to trim some of the skin off of the shoulder, not any of the fat, just the skin.  You’ll want to remove the first 1/8 inch off the parts of the Picnic that won’t have direct contact with the grill.  Next you’ll want to rub your picnic very liberally, you’re gonna get dirty, they call it a rub for a reason.  After your picnic is covered in spice you’ll want to wrap it in cling wrap and let it sit overnight in the fridge.

My rub recipe:

• 8 tablespoons paprika
• 6 tablespoons garlic powder
• 6 tablespoons salt
• 5 tablespoons black pepper
• 3 tablespoons cayenne
• 3 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme

 The Smoke– Traditionally the fire is made of the coals from the hardwood you’ll be using to smoke your pork but to save a few hours time we can use charcoal briquettes as long as they have no fuel additives, which can impart a horrible flavor to your pork.  I use a chimney starter to light my charcoal and get up to a high temperature in a relatively short amount of time (15min).  I add the coal to my smoker box and start adding a few smoking logs.  You want to get a steady temperature between 210-230F.  When your temperature stabilizes you’re ready to add your pork. 

What kind of wood should I smoke with?  I’ll let you check out this article  and let you know my favorite so far is mesquite.  If you are using logs there is no need to soak them before putting them on the fire, if using small chunks or chips you’ll want to soak them for a few hours before using them. 

Smoking the Picnic:  This is the part where you’ll need to spend a lot of time tending to your craft.  When we get a nice stable temperature, 210-230F, we can place the Picnic fat side down.  Cover and tend to the smoker.  You will smoke the Picnic for 1-1 ½ hours per pound.  If your smoker gets to hot you can open the cover to let some heat out.  You can use a BBQ mop to baste the Picnic every 2 hours or so. This will help retain moisture and add a nice flavor in addition to your rub. 

Mop Recipe:

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup beer
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients.  Brush over Pork every 2 hours.

Some people will smoke for the whole cooking process while others prefer to only smoke for half of the time and wrap there picnic in aluminum foil and return to smoker or oven to cook the rest of the way.  Meat can become bitter if over-smoked according to some but I have yet to hit this threshold.   

When your meat reaches an internal temperature of 180-190F it is ready to be pulled.  You should wrap the meat in aluminum foil and let rest for about an hour.  This will help redistribute the internal juices and make for juicier pork.  Remove from foil after an hour and start pulling apart large pieces with 2 forks.  Add your favorite cole-slaw and BBQ sauce and you’re done.  Enjoy. 

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