Kates Pad Thai

This is my absolute favorite thing she makes. She found the recipe in a book called "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch". Notice how I stopped filming when she asked me to? She is going to kill me.

6oz rice noodles (cooked and drained accorsing to directions)
1/4 cup agave nectar (ya-I know but its worth it)
1/4 cup mirin
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoons sriracha
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
14-16 oz extra-firm tofu
1/2 red onion cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 scallions halved lenthwise and cut into 2 in. pieces
2 cups bean sprouts
1 carrot shredded
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup roasted peanuts-chopped
4-8 lime wedges
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1. In a bowl mix the agave, mirin, ketchup, tamari, lime juice and sriracha and mix and set aside
2. Heat coconut oil in wok- add the tofu and stir fry for 4 minutes
3. Add the red onion and stir fry for 30 seconds
4. Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds
5. Add the noodles and mixture to wok and cook until noodles are soft and coated
6. Add rest of ingredients and stir fry for a few more seconds
7. This is good stuff... enjoy!

Nancy Was Right Mac And Cheese & A Party

My friend Kate from the office was having a birthday dinner party the other night for one of her friends and asked me for a few recipes and some help with dinner ideas. The mac&cheese is bottom right in the picture.

One of me and my wife's favorite recipes is called, "Nancy was right mac&cheese". Kate and I were just dating and Nancy was her roommate. They were kind of a package deal. A long time ago Nancy and I were cooking dinner and she wanted to make this recipe. My first reaction was of utter disgust. Who puts cottage cheese in something like this? I was dead wrong and now this recipe is one of my go-to's. Thank you Nancy!


8oz Cheddar (shredded)
1 3/4 cup macaroni
1 cup plain yogurt
1 beaten egg
3/4 tsp salt & a few decent sized pinches of pepper
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
paprika (I actually use cayenne)
Italian Bread Crumbs
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1. cook pasta according to box, drain
2. in a bowl add cheese,yogurt,egg, S&P, cottage cheese and mix
3 Pour past into the bowl and mix
4 add pasta mix to a lightly buttered casserole dish, pan or whatever
5 bake at 350 covered with tin foil for 40 minutes
6. remove and top with bread crumbs and lightly sprinkle paprika
7. bake for about 5-10 more minutes
(use paper towels to blot out grease that will accumulate on the sides occasionally)

Easy dinner-Stuffed shells

One of my favorite things to make is stuffed shells. Its pretty easy to make and I seem to go through periods when I make it about once a week and then don't make it for a few months. My wife and daughter love it-and its a sneaky way to get my daughter to eat spinach.
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1.Mix chopped spinach (drained-it has a lot of water in it) with ricotta cheese, a pinch of salt & pepper, and 1 beaten egg
2. Your large shells should be in the colander draining already
3. Spoon the cheese mixture into the shells
4. Cover the bottom of a casserole dish or whatever with a thin layer of sauce (I make my own with some hot Italian sausage)
5. Line the shells up in the dish and cover with sauce
6. Add some Parmesan and mozzarella
7. Bake it at 350 until the cheese is nice and melted
eat it

OK, fine! I love Rachael Ray!

So, on the subway to work today I was reading my Rachael Ray mag. My wife got it for me, OK!


I saw this recipe for Minestra (I guess Minestrone) with Sweet Sausage. I checked the website and it isn't up. I'm sorry Rachael but I want to make this- it looks fantastic!


Minestra With Sweet Sausage


2Tbs Sweet Sausage

1Lb Sweet Sausage (really? No hot?)

1 Onion Chopped 3 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1 15.5 oz can cannellini beans

2 Bunches escaraole-coarsley shredded

S&P

Nutmeg

4 Cups Chicken Stock

3/4 Cup whole wheat penne or ditalini

2 Tsp grated lemon peel Grated Pecorino Romano/Parmesan


1. In a soup pot, heat EVOO, 2 turns of pan, over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 2 minutes, the stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and escaraole; season with S&P and a little nutmeg. Add the chicken stock and 2 cups of agua, cover and bring to a boil.


2. Uncover the pot, stir in the pasta, lower the heat and cook until the pasta is al dente, 6-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon peel. Load on the cheez!


OK, so this is my dinner on Friday. Let me know if you try it first.


Also, I totally stole this picture from Perez Hilton and the recipe from HER magazine.

A girl? What? She can't grill!

So, Christy of What We Eat and I are now official nerds.

She has a blog about cooking, etc. as well. Recently, we were talking about who could make the best burger and we have differing opinions. So, its up to you my friends. Whose burger looks the best!

No pressure.... since girls really aren't supposed to be allowed to touch the grill! Ok ok ok-who cares, let the pictures tell the thousand words. Good luck to Christy.

Check out both of our sites to see the burgers and then vote for the one you like best over at her site.

My burgers were made with finely diced raw onion, Mexican hot chili powder, cumin, and S&P. I roasted some jalapenos and a pasilla pepper (of which for some reason I just have a pic of but no video). I also added some fresh chunky salsa from Trader Joe's, pepper jack cheese and red lettuce.

BUT FOR HONESTY IN COMPETITION.... I forgot the freaking avacodooooo!!!!!!!!!!

But who cares....

Pulled Pork Sandwiches!!!!!!

My wife, The Friday Chef, used the crock pot again and made pulled pork sandwiches, with home made cole slaw. We can freeze a few portions of this and eat them later. So, our freezer is getting stocked lately. Also, I found a good article on food shopping on washingtonpost.com . Some good thoughts there.

Basically I put a 6 lb pork butt (Boston Butt) into the crock pot with some cut up onions, S&P, a shot of bourbon, and some hot sauce for about 6 hours on low. While I was at work I had Kate drain the liquid from the pork, chop it and put it back into the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce on low. I can tell you that the house smelled awesome when I got home from work.

Kate quote :"It looks like the meat is talking to you". Funny.

The pork was good. I made the cole slaw when I got home and we toasted some buns and had pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. Im having one for lunch today as well....At least I brought my fish oil pills and am going to swim before I eat lunch.... cuz you know.... I'm on a health kick....?

Chicken Soup with Rice

When my fist kid was born I started to do the Freezer Cooking thing. I remember it being quite simple. Lasagnas, pasta sauces, chicken soup, tortilla soup, beef stew, and Brunswick stew. I love all of these recipes and will start cooking them all again. Although I need to buy a lot more Tupperware soon. The first thing I am going to make is Chicken Soup with rice- and I have no recipe so I taste it constantly. My kids love the book and my wife sings that song to them every night before bed.

Enough water to make a decent amount of soup

Enough chicken bouillon cubes to make the broth

About 2 handfuls of rice (be careful since rice expands and suck up water and too much will make your soup mushy)

Bay Leaf

Thyme

Bone on chicken (skinless)

Curry powder

Carrots (diced)

Celery (diced)

Pepper

Dried parsley

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Put chicken, bay leaf and water in pot and boil it for a while

Go have a drink and watch tv, play with the kids, read the paper

When the chicken looks completely cooked remove it from the water

Remove meat from bones and toss bones back in water

Chop the vegetables

Shred the meat or chop it-whatever

Throw in the chicken bouillon (use the directions each cube is usually for 2 cups of water)

Put the meat and veges in the pot

Put the spices and herbs in

Put the rice in and simmer until the rice is done

Taste and re-spice if needed

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As far as the bruise goes........ I fell down the basement steps when I was playing paddle ball with my dad in the backyard. You never would have guessed that huh!?

I'm the Kitchen Nazi

So my wife is going to be a stay at home mom. Along with all of the crazy shit that she is going to have to put up with day to day I decided to concede some control in my kitchen. I do all of the cooking in the house. Its not that she can't cook but more along the line of it's what I enjoy doing. So I decided that Friday dinner is all hers from here on out. She can plan all week for it. She must be rusty since she and I have been living together (over 10 years) she has not really had to do much in the kitchen. So last night I tossed her the softball and asked her to hit it out of the park for me.

I looked up a recipe for a crock pot chicken dish and pulled all of the spices out of the cabinets, the measuring cups, the crock pot (my mistress-they had to meet sometime), vegetables and sent her an email detailing my explicit instructions on how to change the recipe a little. In case you are wondering- YES, I am totally having some loss of control issues. I checked in from the office a few times today and found out that she didn't start the crock pot until 3:30! Holy Shit! What have I done? She didn't get to the few other things that I asked her to do either! I broke out in hives and had to breathe into a paper bag. We are going to all starve and die!

I got home at the regular time. The house smelled great. ( OK- I admit I added a little curry powder to the crock pot when she wasn't looking) The kids were fed and happy. I took off my coat and tie and sat down with my family. As it turned out, dinner was great. Life is good. I need therapy for my control issues.

She even took pictures so I could post about it. Isn't that special?

Chicken Pot Pie

I love that scene from Just Shoot Me. I love to make Chicken Pot Pie. Here are the directions with pictures...Chicken pot chicken pot chicken pot pieeeeeeeee.

4 cups vege mix (peas/carrots etc)
1 1/2 TBS veg oil
3 TBS butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
3TBS flour
1 TSP curry powder (I use a boatload more)
2 TBS parsley
1 TSP Salt & 1 1/2 TSP Pepper
2 cups cubed chicken (boil first)
2 store bought pie crusts
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1. Oven 400 degrees
2. Toss veges in oil and spread on a sheet pan cook until browned
3. In pan heat 1 TBS butter & sweat the onion & celery
4. in separate saucepan slowly bring milk & broth to simmer
5. add last 2 TBS butter to celery & onion mix until water is gone
6. add curry & flour to celery/onion mix. cook 1-2 minutes
7. whisk in milk/broth and cook until thick
8. add parsley & pepper

9. Add everything to pie crust that you baked for about 5 mins in oven
10. Cover with 2nd pie crust


11. Cook it for 25 mins.

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Fajitas?

Who doesnt love fajitas? I make them often. Today I made both chicken and beef.

1. The chicken breasts I marinated in mojo sauce for a few hours. Mojo is great becuase it gives a nice garlicky/citrus flavor to meats. Its also AMAZING on pork.The steak I rub with chili powder, garlic powder and S&P.


2. I slice an onion and a bell pepper and some chili peppers thinly and put them in a frying pan with olive oil and hit em with high heat at first just to brown some of them a bit. Then I turn the burner on low and cover until they are nice and soft.


3. I obviously light the grill. And grill the meats.


4. I also like to make rice and beans as well.
   

Fajitas are a very good dinner and are quite simple to make.

Taste of Summer on the Grill

Want to make an amazing taste of summer on the grill? I made something like this the other week for my mother in law. But tonight I decided to add some other stuff to it. Here it is:

Add all of this into a bowl with salt, olive oil & pepper:
3 Green squash - slice thinly like in the picture.
2 Red pepper - halved
3 ears of white corn
1 onion halved (think the equator)
4 Pasilla Peppers

Turn to coat.

The pasillas just need to blacken on all sides then move to the indirect heat side.

The onions go on the direct heat side and blacken both sides a little and then move to
indirect. But keep them close to the heat as onions take a while to really soften.

Red peppers need to blacken then move to indirect.

The corn needs to be burned a little on 2 sides and move to indirect.

Cook the squash directly until both sides are done (light green & soft should be gone). Move to the indirect & the coolest part of the grill.

Cover the indirect cooking veges (but make sure there is still a lot of air coming in) and use your best judgement.

Shave the ears of corn into a bowl.

Remove the charred skins from all the peppers.

Cut the rest (whatever size you like) of the vegetables and mix with corn in bowl. I added a few drops of the hot sauce as well.

Also: If anybody is listening.... This is what I want to do for Fathers Day. Just give me an hour alone and I will make you a nice dinner.

Seriously..Whose Yer Daddy!

OK, so this recipe is amazing. Not only that but it is ridiculously easy to make and you will wind up looking like a total Rock Star. Thanks for the recipe Rachael Ray.

First get a London Broil (about 1 1/2 -2 pounds). Then in a bowl mix salt, pepper, chili powder, minced garlic and onion powder-go heavier on the S&P than the other ingredients. Rub the steak with the mixture on both sides and wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
Salt and pepper
One 1-inch-thick top round London broil (about 2 pounds)
2 large red onions, thickly sliced
4 baking potatoes, sliced lengthwise ¼ inch thick (Think mini-potato plates)
3 cubanelle peppers, quartered lengthwise and seeded
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1. Preheat the grill to medium. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brush the steak and the onion slices with some of the seasoned oil. Place the potatoes and peppers on a baking sheet and toss with the remaining seasoned oil. 2. Arrange the peppers and onion slices on the grill, cover and cook, turning occasionally, until charred and crisp-tender, 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Arrange the steak and potatoes on the grill, cover and cook for 9 minutes on each side for medium-rare.3. Coarsely chop the peppers and onions; return to the bowl. Thinly slice the steak against the grain and add to the mixture. Add the basil and toss. Serve the steak, peppers and onions on top of the potatoes.

It's now summer.... Beers & Brats anyone?

Ya, she makes me think of German culture too.

Okay, so seriously, who doesn't like bratwursts? I happen to LOVE them. There is nothing better than brats. I am sure that since they are associated with Germans and Oktoberfest, many associate them with the waning days and chillier temperatures.

Not me brotha! It's hot, you feel the need to grill out. Lets do this right. Good call. Here is how I do it.

Get an onion or two (not that sweet vidalia crap either), and some green bell peppers. Slice them thin.

Place in a skillet and salt them. Add just enough olive oil to coat after you flip them in the pan a few times.

Burner=HIGH.

Once you have them sizzling and some of the bottom ones are a little browned, turn the burner to low.

Cover and let it sit while they soften.

While you are doing this you need to have a pot on the other burner going. This needs to have all your brats (with a pinhole prick on each end) on the bottom and covered in beer (come on man-use St. Pauli).

You just need these to bubble - DO NOT BOIL until their color says, "I'm cooked!"

OH and by the way, I like to use a small amount (as much as will fit in the center of your palm) of curry powder in the beer. Your call.

While these are slowly getting their tasty on, you need to light the grill and have it ready. Once the Brats are ready (and you have turned off the softened onions and peppers and removed from the heat), throw them on the grill and blacken them slightly as well as toasting the buns.

Just put them all together with some grainy mustard before you add the pepper and onion deliciousness to the brat and take a trip to Bavaria.

I totally stole this recipe from Rachael Ray

This picture cant be real.... it would be a better show though.

Chicken Marsala with Rice & Parmesan Bake

I've made it. It's easy. It's good.

Okay... so I read her magazine cover to cover. Bite me!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
10 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup marsala wine or white wine (MARSALA MARSALA)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (I used dried)
Salt and pepper
1 cup long-grain rice
2 packed cups coarsely chopped rotisserie chicken (or boil a breast and chop)
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (I used a lot more)

Cook it!

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat until just melted. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir in for 1 minute. Stir in the marsala and cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in 2 cups water, the parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

2. In a greased 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole, spread the rice in an even layer; top with the chicken. Pour the mushroom gravy on top. Cover snugly with foil and bake until bubbly, about 35 minutes. Discard the foil, sprinkle the parmesan on top and bake for 5 minutes more.

Real men do eat quiche

I have some great childhood memories of my mom making quiche on special occasions. I always helped and I ALWAYS ate it.

This brought me to the conclusion the real men can eat quiche.

I am not quite sure where that absolutely stupid phrase came from, but I can tell you that if somebody won't eat this because of a dumb saying then they are definitely not a real man.

One thing I have learned is that you should try new things and not be limited by others' opinions.

As I said earlier, my mom would make this and I remember it quite fondly. Well, it's fantastic. I love this recipe.

But sorry mom, the student has surpassed the master on this one.

My quiche is better than yours.

My mother is as competitive as me and I am sure I will hear about this.

OK SO HERE GOES...

Ingredients:

Deep dish pie crust (buy the store one and save the hassle)

6-8 strips of bacon (Bacon tastes good - with a Cain from Kung Fu reference it all comes full circle)

1/2 cup of the green part of a green onion (chopped)

1 cup of cubed swiss cheese

1/4 cup parmesan

3 eggs (beaten)

1 1/2 cups cream

S&P


Cook it!

1. Preheat oven to 450


2. Cut bacon into tiny pieces and cook in skillet


3. Put the pie with tin in oven for 5 minutes


4. throw the green onion into the skillet with the bacon & grease


5. Once scallions are dark green and even a litle blackend remove from skillet


6. Put bacon and scallions on paper towels and squeeze to remove most of the grease


7. remove pie from oven


8. add cheese


9. beat eggs, cream, onions, scallions and S&P together


10. thrown into pie


11. 15 minutes in oven


12. reduce the temp in oven to 350


13. use a paper towel to remove excess oil that has risen to top (just blot)


14. cook until a knife comes out clean and top is browned a little


15. Its OK to use broiler for a minute

Dad's public service announcement: Bacon is good. Eat it often.

Corn Pablano Pizza

So, after a few years my cooking chops have become much better. I can actually make just about anything and it generally it turns out quite well.

Although, sometimes Kate likes it and I throw a total hissy fit and refuse to eat it since it didn't turn out the way I wanted.

I think I got this attitude from when I worked at a very famous DC restaurant and watched the chef and his sous chefs ply their trade.

I was the back bartender which means that I got to make the drinks that go out to tables when the people order them with their meal. I can tell you that I have served libations to the likes of Warren Christopher and many other important DC types. Trust me that they are very opinionated about their lunch drinks.

One time the kitchen was totally slammed for a Sunday brunch and I was asked to do some chopping of vegetables.... And got yelled at for a sub par performance. So once again, I'm not going to be beaten. I improved. I watched. I learned. Now I can julienne like a mofo!

Now to the recipe of the day.... Corn Pablano Pizza . I got it from Cooking Light but changed it a bit over the years.

Trust me, this is an amazing recipe. Its simple. No meat (although my brother calls me the ultimate carnivore). But I can tell you that once you try this you won't be able to dream about summer without having this.

Also, I like a little heat so I add some cayenne pepper to step 9.

Ingredients:

2 Pablano Peppers

Cooking Spray

1/2 cup of finely chopped green onion (the white parts are fine too)

2 cups of fresh corn (about 4 ears-trust me fresh is best and I'd grill it a bit first then shave it)

1 garlic clove (mined-or just go buy the jar of it and be done with it)

1/2 cup of 1% milk

2 large egg whites (if you're new to cooking, here's how to do this)

1 large egg

1/2 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp of pepper

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (sharp)

Pizza dough (I used Trader Joe's with herbs)

Cilantro finely chopped (to your taste)

Cook it!

1. Broil or grill the peppers until blistered (trust me-if they blacken a little then it only adds flavor).
2. At the same time grill the corn directly over the coals to brown it.
3. Put the peppers in a zip lock baggie for 10 minutes. Skin the pepper and remove seeds and ribs.
4. Chop finely.
5. Preheat the oven to 425. Roll the dough out into a square and place on a pan that has been floured.
6. Cook the dough until it is pretty firm and then remove for the next steps.
7. Coat a skillet with Pam or whatever and add the corn, green onion, garlic and saute until browned.
8. Stir in milk and cook about 2 minutes until the milk is pretty much gone
9. Mix eggs and salt & pepper in bowl and add peppers, corn, cheese, cilantro and then what was in the skillet to it.
10. Put it on top of the pizza and spread it out (the dough should be firm enough to rest directly on the grates in the oven and bake until browned and the bottom of the dough is crispy).
11. EAT.