My passion for cooking came late in my life. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college in St. Augustine that I first got the flare for it. I was fortunate enough to have a rather eccentric art major as a neighbor. He had this weird obsession with the food network. Which at the time I put on par with the weather channel for networks I wanted to watch. Oh how the times change.
This neighbor Ned gave me some of the best advice a burgeoning cook could get. He told me once, cook with reckless disregard, don't be afraid to experiment, test and try everything, get to know your flavors, treat spices like paint and cover your canvas. And hey if something you make sucks, well you're in college and you have tons of poor starving students for friends - they'll pretty much help you finish off anything..."
A tad dramatic I know but it really helped me be more willing to take chances. The follow recipe was my first such venture. Though not overly crazy, it resulted in one of my favorite dishes and was a hit among my friends.
Ingredients:
Chicken Thighs (skin still on)
1 Bottle of Beer
2 cups of water
1 onion diced
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp chicken bouillon cube
Fajita Seasoning*
Your first task is to mix the onion, salt, beer and water into a pot. Turn the heat onto medium. Meanwhile prep your chicken legs by gently pulling back the skin, use a generous amount of the fajita seasoning to dress the naked thigh. Pull back the skin tightly.
Slowly add the chicken to broth on the stove. Bring to a boil and let cook for 15 minutes. While boiling the chicken preheat your oven's broiler to 500 degrees.
Remove the chicken with tongs and place them on a baking sheet - be very careful!!! Dust the thighs with some more fajita seasoning and place into the oven. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the skin is golden brown.
Serve immediately. Goes great with mashpotatoes and green beans. But then again, what doesn't?
Enjoy!
*Fajita Recipe
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin
- mix together thoroughly -- come on did I really need to tell you that?
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
My take on a hot and sour/tom yum soup
So I've been a long time fan of soups in general. And while I love the very classic, msg ridden, American-Chinese dish - Hot and Sour. I've spent years revamping it. The soup itself is very resilient and makes for a great tapestry to paint flavor with.
When I lived in Korea, some of the ingredients were limited, for instance I only found celery once the entire time over there. So I ended up using chopped cabbage instead.
Any long story short, feel free to experiment. I posted this just to give you some basic guidelines to start. Enjoy!
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS
14.5 ounces of chicken broth (1 can - feel free to use vegetable broth if so desired)
14.5 ounces of water
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of ginger powder
1 tsp of white pepper
.5 tsp of cayenne pepper (to taste - beware it is spicy)
2 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1/3 cup of diced mushrooms (I prefer shittake or oyster but button mushrooms work fine)
1 clove of garlic crushed
.5 yellow onion chopped
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot (shredded - I usually use a vegetable peeler to make this happen)
1 egg
1 cup of chicken or tofu diced
Combine chicken broth, pepper, white pepper, ginger, and cayenne pepper into a medium sized sauce pan. Turn heat to medium and let the mixture start to simmer. Meanwhile chop, crush and dice your vegetables. Once the water is simmering you want to add the celery first, wait five minutes, then add your onions and garlic, wait three minutes and add your shredded carrots, and finally after another few minutes add your mushrooms.
If using chicken, be sure to cook thoroughly in a frying pan while simmering your vegetables. Once the chicken is white all the way through and its juices are running clear, you can dice it and add it to the soup almost whenever.
Likewise if you are using tofu, you can fry it up first to give it texture, or you can crumble it and combine it with your soup from the get-go. It really all comes down to preference when you using tofu.
After you've added the chicken to the mixture, add the water, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Bring the water back to a boil and let sit for 3 minutes while you scramble the egg.
Remove the soup from heat and wait one minute. Slowly drizzle the egg into the soup while stirring.
When I lived in Korea, some of the ingredients were limited, for instance I only found celery once the entire time over there. So I ended up using chopped cabbage instead.
Any long story short, feel free to experiment. I posted this just to give you some basic guidelines to start. Enjoy!
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS
14.5 ounces of chicken broth (1 can - feel free to use vegetable broth if so desired)
14.5 ounces of water
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of ginger powder
1 tsp of white pepper
.5 tsp of cayenne pepper (to taste - beware it is spicy)
2 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1/3 cup of diced mushrooms (I prefer shittake or oyster but button mushrooms work fine)
1 clove of garlic crushed
.5 yellow onion chopped
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot (shredded - I usually use a vegetable peeler to make this happen)
1 egg
1 cup of chicken or tofu diced
Combine chicken broth, pepper, white pepper, ginger, and cayenne pepper into a medium sized sauce pan. Turn heat to medium and let the mixture start to simmer. Meanwhile chop, crush and dice your vegetables. Once the water is simmering you want to add the celery first, wait five minutes, then add your onions and garlic, wait three minutes and add your shredded carrots, and finally after another few minutes add your mushrooms.
If using chicken, be sure to cook thoroughly in a frying pan while simmering your vegetables. Once the chicken is white all the way through and its juices are running clear, you can dice it and add it to the soup almost whenever.
Likewise if you are using tofu, you can fry it up first to give it texture, or you can crumble it and combine it with your soup from the get-go. It really all comes down to preference when you using tofu.
After you've added the chicken to the mixture, add the water, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Bring the water back to a boil and let sit for 3 minutes while you scramble the egg.
Remove the soup from heat and wait one minute. Slowly drizzle the egg into the soup while stirring.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
During my senior year of college, two of my friends from Annapolis had moved to St. Augustine. The entire situation was very serendipitous and none of us knew that we were living in the same town.
We had a chance encounter one Wednesday night at the Tavern on St. George Street. And after reminiscing a bit we decided to have a potluck dinner at their house over on Anastasia Island.
The two were very strict vegans, and I'll be honest the prospect of a vegan potluck was a little scary. But my fears were quickly allayed. After a few cocktails the cooking began and I learned this lovely recipe.
I found that using a balsamic reduction really helped to cut the sweet out of the sweet potatoes, and the textures really melding together amazingly well.
All you need is a nice side salad and you've got yourself an excellent. The casserole also makes for a very unique accompaniment to your Thanksgiving Feast.
Enjoy!
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 Average Sized Carrots
1 Yellow Onion (diced)
2 Stalks of Celery (chopped)
2 Caps of Portobello (chopped)
1 Clove of Garlic (crushed)
.5 cup of balsamic vinegar
.5 cup of water
.5 cup of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of powdered ginger
3 tablespoons of oil
Directions
Mix the celery, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and onion together into a zip lock bag. Pour the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, water and oil into the bag. Shake thoroughly and let sit to marinate.
While the vegetable hodgepodge is marinating, chop up the sweet potatoes and carrots. Add to a pot of boiling water. Cook until soft (usually about 30 - 40 minutes). Remove from heat, drain the water, cover the pot and let them rest.
At this point you want to saute the vegetables in the marinade. Start cooking on high, once you have a nice simmer, turn down the heat and let the marinade reduce. Be sure to stir often.
Meanwhile mash the carrot and sweet potato mixture. When you've finished mashing them, top with the vegetable mixture.
We had a chance encounter one Wednesday night at the Tavern on St. George Street. And after reminiscing a bit we decided to have a potluck dinner at their house over on Anastasia Island.
The two were very strict vegans, and I'll be honest the prospect of a vegan potluck was a little scary. But my fears were quickly allayed. After a few cocktails the cooking began and I learned this lovely recipe.
I found that using a balsamic reduction really helped to cut the sweet out of the sweet potatoes, and the textures really melding together amazingly well.
All you need is a nice side salad and you've got yourself an excellent. The casserole also makes for a very unique accompaniment to your Thanksgiving Feast.
Enjoy!
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 Average Sized Carrots
1 Yellow Onion (diced)
2 Stalks of Celery (chopped)
2 Caps of Portobello (chopped)
1 Clove of Garlic (crushed)
.5 cup of balsamic vinegar
.5 cup of water
.5 cup of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of powdered ginger
3 tablespoons of oil
Directions
Mix the celery, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and onion together into a zip lock bag. Pour the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, water and oil into the bag. Shake thoroughly and let sit to marinate.
While the vegetable hodgepodge is marinating, chop up the sweet potatoes and carrots. Add to a pot of boiling water. Cook until soft (usually about 30 - 40 minutes). Remove from heat, drain the water, cover the pot and let them rest.
At this point you want to saute the vegetables in the marinade. Start cooking on high, once you have a nice simmer, turn down the heat and let the marinade reduce. Be sure to stir often.
Meanwhile mash the carrot and sweet potato mixture. When you've finished mashing them, top with the vegetable mixture.
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