I got this recipe off another food blogger website, can't remember where. . . tried it, liked it, made some changes to better suit my taste.
So, here's my version of eggs & salsa for the rise-n-shine festivities.
Jalapeño, minced, 1
6 whole eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
Sliced mushrooms – ½ cup
Sliced negi (scallions) – ½ cup
Diced red bell pepper – ½ cup
Diced yellow (or orange) bell pepper – ½ cup
Chopped tomatoes – ½ cup
Diced red onion – ¼ cup
2% milk – ¼ cup
1 tbsp lime juice
1 bunch cilantro (½ cup cilantro leaves)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
(Fried ham and/or bacon go really well with this, whether chopped and added to the mix or served as a side.)
Combine ½ tbsp. EVOO with jalapeno, lime juice, and pepper. Wash the cilantro (this is optional, some people find that cilantro overpowers other flavours and choose to omit the ingredient). Pinch the leaves off the stems and coarsely chop. Toss thoroughly in seasoned EVOO/lime juice mix. Cover and refrigerate.
Smear a non-stick medium sauté pan with ½ tbsp of the EVOO, place on medium heat. Sauté mushrooms, onions and peppers, tossing them occasionally, about 2 minutes, or just until the onions begin to caramelize.
Whisk the eggs, salt and milk together in a small bowl until uniform. Add the remaining 1 tbsp. EVOO to a separate pan, and place over low-medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes (you’re just looking for them to start firming up, and no longer be runny or see-through).
Transfer the partially cooked eggs to the pan with the vegetables and cook everything together for another 1-2 minutes, stirring consistently.
Serve the eggs with toast or fruit on the side, and have plenty of thick salsa to pour on top.
Friday, September 5, 2008
I made this for some holiday or family get together, can't really remember which. No one complained, regardless of reason. While this 'menu' is admittedly a little more pricey, each of the recipes can easily be made seperately.
(I made this menu without a grill, obviously, everything here can easily be grilled, even the sweet potato fries if you put them in a foil packet)
Beef Tenderloin
1-2 lb. loin (or individual filets, 1-2” thick)
½ lb. proscuitto (or bacon, I prefer turkey bacon here)
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. soy (low Na)
1 Tbsp. Worchestshire
Marinade for 1-2 hrs.
Wrap loin in proscuitto/bacon, using toothpicks to pin ends in place
Wrap individual filets around the circumference
Sea salt and course ground black pepper
Roast for 20-40 min. @ 350 F – depending on desired doneness (I always like my beef more juicy, so I would usually roast for 20-25 minutes only)
For individual filets, with about 2 minutes remaining, place a small slice (~ ¼”) of butter on top of each filet (herbed butter works really well here! but plain is quite good too)
Crab Cakes
2 lb. crab (jumbo lump, backfin preferred)
½ c. oyster crackers (finely crushed)
1 large egg
½ tsp. Tabasco
2 tsp. seafood seasoning
1 tsp. Worchestshire
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. prepared spicy brown mustard
1 tbsp. mayo (light works fine)
½ tsp. chopped green onion (completely optional, I just like the little extra, plus the color)
Place on sheet or plate, drizzle with drawn (or clarified, your choice) butter
Broil on low for 8-10 min.
Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
1.5 lb. sweet potato (cut into wedges or strips)
3 tbsp. EVOO
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash
½ tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. white pepper
Coat sweet potatoes in EVOO and seasonings evenly
Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer
Roast for 40 min. @ 350 F
Basil and Garlic Sea Scallops
1-2 lbs. sea scallops
1 tsp. chopped, dried basil
1 tsp. chopped, dried oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
Skewer 3-4 scallops together (use bamboo or wood skewers that have been soaked in cold water for at least an hour)
Drizzle with drawn butter and seasoning mixture
Fry (or grill, everything is really better on the grill) on medium-high heat until the edge just starts to get opaque (~30-45 seconds)
Flip and repeat
Bake for 5-7 min. @ 350 F
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The Just Hungry Omnivore’s Hundred
This list is copied from the blog/website http://www.justhungry.com/, one of my favorites. Really great recipes, especially if you, like myself, love all culinary things Japanese and Asian-inspired.
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out/italicize any items that you would never consider eating.
(I’ve marked ones I really love in red)
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at Very Good Taste linking to your results.
So, here goes…
1.Venison
2.Nettle tea (I don't really know what this is, certainly never had it, but of course I'd try it, it's tea)
3.Huevos rancheros
4.Steak tartare (No, surprisingly, since I love beef, and rare at that.)
5.Crocodile (Especially crocodile poppers, breaded fried chunks, perfect coastal bar food.)
6.Black pudding
7.Cheese fondue
8.Carp (Can't say that I have, catfish is probably the closest.)
9.Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush (I despise eggplant, so this is definitely out for me.)
11. Calamari (This may be my favorite appetizer of all time.)
12. Pho (If you've never had traditional, home-made Pho, I suggest making friends with some Vietnamese people as fast as possible.)
13. PB&J sandwich (Not in many years, they kind of seem gross to me now.)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (All I'm going to say, and those of you in the know will understand, is CHICAGO.)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. This one was missing, so I'll just say, I'm usually up for whatever new and interesting comes along.
19. Pistachio ice cream
20. Heirloom tomatoes (Is anybody else out there like me? The taste of raw tomato, not only overpowers anything else eaten with it, but often brings me to physical nausea. . . and no, it's not an allergy, as I love tomato sauce and cooked/stewed tomatoes.)
21. Fresh wild berries (My grandmother used to make fresh blackberry pie!!)
22. Foie gras
23. Rice and beans (In so many different configurations and recipes, still delicious - Oishi desuyo!)
24. Brawn, or head cheese (I don't like those kinds of textures, and the idea is a little repulsive.)
25. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (Everyone who loves spicy peppers probably does this once, and ONLY once.)
26. Dulce de leche
27. Oysters (Fried only.)
28. Baklava (This was my first introduction to Greek cuisine, and I've yet to get over my instant and massive infatuation.)
29. Bagna cauda
30. Wasabi peas (They're ok, I much prefer Edamame for a good snack.)
31. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
32. Salted lassi
33. Sauerkraut (Used to hate it, but then I had a Rueben, and it's been all down hill ever since.)
34. Root beer float (Not since early adolescence, somewhere around 14 or 15, I lost my taste for sweets.)
35. Cognac with a fat cigar
36. Clotted cream tea
37. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (I went to college, enough said.)
38. Gumbo (Creole cooking, Cajun cooking, New Orleans may be dirty and smell bad, but the food is so rich and unbelievable, I just don't care.)
39. Oxtail (No, but it does sound interesting.)
40. Curried goat
41. Whole insects (Only the chocolate covered kind, and not in a great while.)
42. Phaal
43. Goat’s milk
44. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (Everyone should try it once.)
45. Fugu (NO, and I'm still not happy with my wife about it, Fugu definitely topped my list of foods to eat when I went to meet the in-laws. . . oh, well, looks like we'll have to go back =).
46. Chicken tikka masala
47. Eel
48. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (It's quite the experience, if you've never been nauseated, gaining weight, and on a sugar high at the same time, maybe you should try it. . . I for one, won't do that to my body again.)
49. Sea urchin
50. Prickly pear
51. Umeboshi (My mother-in-law fed this to me with NO warning my first day in Tokyo, everyone else thought it was hilarious, me, not so much.)
52. Abalone
53. Paneer
54. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (Although I always feel sick afterwards.)
55. Spaetzle
56. Dirty gin martini
57. Beer above 8% ABV
58. Poutine
59. Carob chips (Not very good though.)
60. S’mores
61. Sweetbreads
62. Kaolin
63. Currywurst
64. Durian (Might try it, but I'm just not sold on anything that 'smells like diapers'.)
65. Frogs’ legs
66. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
67. Haggis
68. Fried plantain
69. Chitterlings, or andouillette
70. Gazpacho
71. Caviar and blini
72. Louche absinthe (Very interesting flavor, and quite potent, at the least the stuff my wife bought for my birthday last year.)
73. Gjetost, or brunost
74. Roadkill (If the venison is fresh, does it matter if you shot it or hit it with your car??)
75. Baijiu
76. Hostess Fruit Pie
77. Snail
78. Lapsang souchong
79. Bellini
80. Tom yum (Still looking for my own recipe by the way, but quite amazing.)
81. Eggs Benedict (Although I prefer to use parmesan-hollandaise and fried eggs.)
82. Pocky (The 'Mens' version, with dark chocolate.)
83. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (No, but wouldn't I love to!)
84. Kobe beef (Again, not yet, but I WILL before I die. And, this is for all you baka gaijin like me, no matter what the menu says, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 'AMERICAN' KOBE!!! What they're advertising is a cross-breed between Angus and Wagyu cattle most of the time, and even if it's straight Wagyu, it hasn't been raised and kept in the traditional Kobe manner, so it's NOT Kobe!)
85. Hare
86. Goulash (I miss my grandmother's goulash, even if we arrived for Christmas break at 3AM, she always had some hot and waiting, really wish I had that recipe.)
87. Flowers
88. Horse (Not on purpose, but Taco Bell doesn't serve 100% beef all the time, at least they didn't used to. Whatever, it could be rat for all I know, still gives me the runs.)
89. Criollo chocolate
90. Spam
91. Soft shell crab (Not a chance, that's just gross.)
92. Rose harissa
93. Catfish
94. Mole poblano
95. Bagel and lox (Amazing little place called Spiro's on Solomon's Island, reminds me I need to stop back by.)
96. Lobster Thermidor
97. Polenta (Of course.)
98. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
99. Snake (I'm pretty sure I've had rattlesnake out west, seem to remember it was pretty good, if a little chewy, might have been the preparation, since I've no other experience to compare it to.)
So, I've had some good culinary experience, obviously lacking in a few important categories, and with some exceptions, am pretty open to trying and experiencing new foods . . . it's an adventure on a plate. How about you?
Rich, Red-Sauce Ribs
4 cups tomato ketchup, preferably low-sodium
1/2 cup prepared mustard, yellow or brown to taste
½-3/4 cup granulated brown sugar, could use the Splenda ½ & ½ blend here
2 Tbsp. worchestershire sauce
The ribs can be prepared in the oven, using a foil-covered roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 325 F, lay the ribs in a single layer in the pan and cover with foil. Cook at low heat for 2-3 hours, depending on size and thickness. (I’ll assume here that you’re familiar with preparing ribs, and how to remove the connective tissue along the back. . . if not, a quick google search on preparing ribs should give you all the information you need.)
A trick I learned from a friend, who makes simply amazing ribs by the way, is to put a little bit of liquid smoke, maybe a Tbsp. or a little less, into the bottom of the roasting pan. While this isn’t traditional, and I’m certainly not claiming true artistry like a good, old-southern BBQ man, this gives the ribs a little extra without the specialized smoker setup and 14+ hours of cooking time.
Once the ribs are almost ready to come out of the oven, you can begin preparing your sauce. (Note, I, personally, can’t help but add a little bit of garlic powder, hot sauce and/or onion powder to the sauce, but trust me, the simple 4-ingredient recipe, is still rich and tasty.) Combine the ingredients into a med-large saucepan and bring to a quick boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to low, let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Take the ribs to the grill, along with the sauce pan, dip them well in the sauce to coat, and grill over med-high to high heat for 10-12 minutes. Give the ribs a final dip in the sauce, and place back on the grill for a minute or so.
Serve, preferably with grilled corn or steamed veggies, and, cold drinks (I choose beer, usually).
