THE Mormon Chef

The Inexpensive Filet Mignon: Flat Iron

2009-06-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

First off I'd like to apologize to anyone following the blog that I've been absent for so long. But the other day I was walking in the supermarket and was excited to see this inexpensive cut of meat among the other cuts and realized this was a great topic to do a blog post about, to help educate others about this very delicious but unknown cut of meat.

This cut of beef comes from the Shoulder area of the beast, particularly in an area not thought to be very tender. You may have seen this steak at your grocery store but not have heard about it, it is usually referred to as "Top Blade Steak". This piece of meat has been neglected for 100s of years until 2002. Researchers found a way to cut the Top Blade section in a way that removes the hard connective tissue that runs down the middle of it. As a result, you get the 2nd most tender cut of beef on the entire cow, after filet mignon. Now, what most people don't realize, is this cut of beef generally sells for HALF of what fillet mignon sells for. Imagine eating fillet mignon for half price??? Why wouldn't you pack your freezer with this meat??

This just looks mouthwatering to me, doesn't it to you!

This is typically how grocery stores are selling them seal tight.

You will have to pay close attention to your beef as most of the time the beef processors don't get all of the connective tissues and silver skin.

I used a simple boning knife to quickly clean up the connective tissues and we had this fabulous steak for dinner for you want to guess how much for? $4 for THE WHOLE THING!

Unfortunately Costco or Sam's Club doesn't sell this cut of meat...yet.

Cookbooks I want!

2009-03-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

One thing is for certain, people don't go into the restaurant industry to get rich, unless you're the owner of the establishment. As a recent culinary student grad from New England Culinary, I still as of yet, have not amassed a very good library of books. I spent today drooling threw 100s of cookbooks and culinary texts on Amazon.com this afternoon and have chosen 7 that I am most interested in purchasing or receiving as a gift. If you have one of these books and DON'T WANT IT anymore, let me know.

If you HAVE one of these books, and aren't looking to give it/sell it away tell me your thoughts about it. Was it worth purchasing, do you ever use the book, do you or don't you recommend paying full price for the book. The very first book on my list is Sauces by James Peterson. This book isn't a casual how to make a good BBQ sauce "Hi I'm Rachel mindless Ray" kind of book. The first several chapters go into detail about sauces and can be a bit technical for the average cook. What the book does though is help take meals to the next level. I stumbled on this book in my culinary school library and have been wanting it every since. However it's about $50 at Barnes & Noble. I know you can get books online on ebay etc for "half" price but I don't really like getting things used unless they're in excellent condition. I'm going to have to save up for it I guess.

The 2nd book on my list is the Flavor Bible by Karen Page. I have always been very unartistic when it comes to pairing food flavors. That is a major problem if someone wants to be chef. You have to be creative all the time, and it can get tiring or boring if you are uninspired, which happens to me frequently. I have to constantly be motived and curious. This book, I want because several people have recommended it to me as a guide to pairing flavors and recommendations on how to own the recipe as we say in the industry. Or, make it your own, make it different which can be hard if you don't have creativity. This book apparently helps with that with advice from Chefs from all over the country.

Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis is pretty much a no brainer why I want this book. Italian food made by a gorgeous 1st generation Italian cook with her own show? Yeah, plus it comes highly recommended. She's one of the very few people on The Food Network, who can actually cook in real life. Most are just personalities like Rachel Ray. I love italian food, it would be fun to get this and try out some of the recipes.

These 2 books I have lumped together for a reason, they are both culinary classics, tried and true. Generations of people have learned how to cook using these 2 books. The first, The Joy of Cooking has been around 78 years! It's gone through 9 revisions and has nearly 4000 recipes in it. Any decent chef should have a copy, for some reason I don't yet... On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee is a super classic book that should be used as a reference guide in a kitchen. Yet another classic book, I don't know why I haven't bought a copy of yet.

href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_swCeEkFhnY0/SdJ34IAeuEI/AAAAAAAAA8M/X_OALfxoJCs/s1600-h/images_7.jpeg">Charcuterie The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing is a book about a subject I am very interested in learning more about. At New England Culinary, I had a Meat Fabrication Chef who was incredible at Charcuterie. He spent 3 days once curing and making his own bacon and smoked it. It was by far the most spectacular bacon I ever had. I could only dream to ever make bacon like that again. This book is a highly recommend guide to the topic, so I'm interested in knowing your thoughts, do you own it? Have you ever heard about it?

href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_swCeEkFhnY0/SdJ34KbzKWI/AAAAAAAAA8U/zgWZS-SK7Bc/s1600-h/images_2.jpeg"> Alice Waters The Art of Simple foods has been on a list of mine since I started Culinary school and I haven't ever gotten a hold of it, mostly because of lack of cash. However, I find her very inspirational. She believes in taking the absolute highest quality of natural good food, and making simple food out of it. If you have read my post about The Best Pizza Restaurant Ever post about American Flatbread in Vermont, they emulate her passion and style. Her book explains things simply and teaches how to modify and substitute which is very important to being creative.

To eat meat, or not to eat meat? That is the question of this book. It examines the meat industry from all angles from what the animals eat, to how they're slaughtered etc. I've heard people call it a strong argument for becoming a vegetarian. My interest is purely curiosity. Among foodies this book comes highly recommended to educate oneself about the world of food.

So this is my current list. Do you have any of these? Do you have them and not want them? Send em to me! I'll take them off your hands. Do you have them and love them? Tell me why I should buy them. Are they so-so and should only get them used? Tell me your thoughts,

Until later,

Mormon Chef,

Matthew Glenn

The Best Pizza Restaurant...EVER!

2009-03-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

What makes a great pizza? Good sauce? Good dough? Good ingredients? Good Value? Well, in American Flatbread's case, try all of the above. American Flatbread is the MECCA of ALL NATURAL PIZZA. Located in the downtown area of Burlington,Vermont I discovered this little place back in March of 2007 when I returned from an internship in Charleston, South Carolina. Organic everything, mostly local (regional at least) and ever so fresh. Why am I giving this restaurant total props and national free advertising? Because this is how a restaurant SHOULD BE. There are very few negatives about this place. The pizza is even cooked in a giant wood burning hearth.If I had the money to, I would live at this restaurant, that's how good their pizza is.

How good is this place? I went to the New England Culinary Institute probably one of the best Culinary Institutes in the country, and the chefs at N.E.C.I. LOVED this place. So, if other chefs are excited about your restaurant, YOU'RE GOOD. American Flatbread has a great dough recipe which makes a great pizza, we haven't had bad one yet. Their sauce has just the right amount of seasoning and isn't over powering. It's made with slow roasted, all organic, tomatoes. The dough is made from 100% organic wheat milled into white flour, locally I might add, and uses filtered water, Kosher Salt, and fresh yeasts.

Here's a sampling of their menu which is very simple, but elegant. The Medicine Wheel Pizza: Organic Tomato Sauce, with 3 cheeses & fresh herbs is a great basic pizza for the cheese lovers. The New Vermont Sausage pizza is my personal favorite: Dulcos & Thompson Farm Fresh Pork in homemade nitrate-free Maple-Fennel Sausage, baked with Sun Dried tomatoes, Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, Cheese & Herbs. Not bad for $17.50 and it feeds at least 2 people. Pepperoni & Peppers is my 2nd favorite made with Nitrate free Pepperoni baked with Organic Green Peppers, Red Onions, Cheeses & herbs. Now, you may not be THAT impressed by these 3 pizzas, however, every week (sometimes daily) they have new pizzas that their employees create as specials. What is very cool about these, is MOST of the time they are things grown right there locally in the Burlington area. They aren't totally vegetarian either, they have specials that involve beef/steak and sometimes free range chicken.

For you NON-LDS readers, they have an incredible brewery there, where they brew 3 of their own recipe beers, right there in the restaurant. They have a window where you can see the guys working. Even more exciting for you beer lovers, is that have a huge stock of micro beers, most from Vermont locally, and even regionally. American Flatbread is located in beautiful downtown Burlington Vermont, you can see it here on google.

America's Healthiest Restaurants????? BAH!

2009-03-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

So the other day on Yahoo.com "Health Experts" David ZincZenko and Matt Goulding post a list of America's Healthiest Restaurants, fast food joints that is. To read the report yourself go here. Anyway, I about fell on the floor reading this. Really? Subway, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A????? How much did these companies pay these "Health Experts"???

Now in their defense these experts are trying to help you eat at these places and eat healthy at the same time. My question is "Why Bother?" I don't eat at McDonalds and Wendy's to "eat healthy. If I want to eat health I go to a grocery store, buy the ingredients, and eat AT HOME! Replacing the Original Chicken Sandwich, fries and the milkshake at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant, with Chargrilled Chicken sandwich, fruit and water, which brings me to my question "WHY BOTHER??" I go to Chick-Fil-A TO GET A FRIGGIN Fried Chicken sandwich, Milkshake and Fries!!! If you don't want that kind of food DON'T EAT THERE!

Okay so maybe you're part of a group and everyone else is going to eat there but you're not into that kind of food, I get it you don't want to be left out. However, if you're going solo, what's the point??? There are 1000s of other local restaurants in major cities around the world far better for your health than, this list of "Healthy American Restaurants". And if you're such a health freak that you're counting calories, FRIGGIN STAY HOME!

Heavenly Hot Cakes

2009-03-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Pancakes with sour cream? Delicish!

4 eggs
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cake flour
2 cups sour cream
3 Tablespoons sugar

Mix all ingredients until well blended, or even in a blender if you choose.

Back from Salisbury

2009-02-23T13:39:00.001-08:00

He people, if anyone cares, I'm back from Salisbury. I'll have an interesting story or food recipe up soon, I'm just starting to get my life organized again.

Keep cooking!

Matthew

To Whom it may concern...

2009-02-16T08:13:00.001-08:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything new in a few weeks. I've been out of town in Salisbury, North Carolina on a restaurant opening and have pretty much doing nothing but eat, sleep, breath, Olive Garden for the last 7 or 8 days....

There are some new items coming from Olive Garden that when I have a few more minutes I will blog about,

until then,

God Bless

Coming to an Olive Garden near you....

2009-02-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

So I've mentioned already that I'm doing an opening for Olive Garden in Salisbury, NC last week and this week. I've learned a ton about the company and the standards they have and am grateful for the chance I have to be apart of the opening.

During the week I've had the chance to see some new menu items that are coming out to a Olive Garden near you:

Lasagna Frittas: Fried Lasagna essentially. This a fried appetizer, and it's a pretty decent one at that. Platted up on a rectangle white plate with 2 ounces of Alfredo Sauce for a bed. The 3 squares are cut in half and arranged like tombstones in the sauce. Then you take 2 ounces of marinara sauce and ladle it over the top of the squares. Italian cheese blend is then sprinkled over the top of that, and it's served! It's good, though I'm not sure of the price at the moment.

Zeppoli: A dessert and basically a fried doughnut. www.allrecipes.com has a decent recipe online. On this dish, 8 pieces of dough are fried off for 3 minutes and put in a sugar bag which is shaken and put on a plate with a cup of chocolate sauce.

There is also another dessert which is pretty good and will rival the Chocolate black tie mousse.

Today's Word

2009-01-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

Today's word from the Food Lover's Companion is important if you ever plan to visit 4 or 5 star restaurants. It's actually 2, but here it is: "Prix Fixe".

Pronounced PREE FEEKS it is a french term meaning "fixed price", referring to a complete meal served by a restaurant or hotel for a preset price. Sometimes a menu offers several choices for each course for this set price.

Many upscales restaurants use this type of menu to ensure they get top dollar for their meals, however this can limit the guests willing to pay the usually higher prices. Usually restaurants that use the Prix Fixe menu change their menu daily, and offer 3 to 5 courses for this fixed price. For more info on the history of Prix Fixe see wikipedia.org on the topic.

Today's Word

2009-01-14T20:01:00.000-08:00

I hope this will be a regular feature on my blog as a way to educated myself and others about the culinary world. I found my copy of the Food Lover's Companion from my days at New England Culinary Institute, and decided that every day I would flip the book open and look for a random word I wasn't familiar with, and look it up. Hope you enjoy it:

Today's word is: Marmite: A tall, covered, straight-sided cooking pot from France, used for long-cooking stews and dishes such as Cassoulet and Pot-Au-Feu. It's usually made of EARTHENWARE. Petites marmites are identically shaped miniature covered pots used as soup bowls. Here is what a Petite marmite looks like:

Dressings: Southern Ranch

2009-01-13T10:33:00.001-08:00

Southern Ranch Dressing:

Super tasty, Super good, and oh so un-healthy!

This recipe makes a quart of dressing:

2 Cups of Mayo

1 Cup of Sour Cream

3/4 Cup of buttermilk

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

2 tablespoons of black pepper

1 tablespoon of Salt

1.5 tablespoons of fresh minced parsley

Mix ingredients thoroughly and refrigerate when done. Makes a great dip for a Superbowl Party, or for salad dressing!

Sounds Good: Maple Snickerdoodles

2008-12-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

This is a fabulous recipe I have from my days up in Vermont:

Maple Snickerdoodles, don't be cheap, get the real Vermont maple not some High Fructose garbage. You'll taste the difference.

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup margarine, softened
3 cups white sugar
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons REAL maple syrup (NOT GARBAGE)
2 egg
1/2 cup maple sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F

You're gonna need 2 large bowls for this recipe (makes a lot of cookies) and a small bowl (1 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup Maple sugar)

1st Bowl:

Flour, baking powder/Soda and cinnamon

2nd Bowl: Softened Margarine gets lightly whipped with 2 cups of Sugar until well mixed and fluffy. Mix eggs, and Maple until incorporated.

Gradually incorporate 1st Bowl into 2nd.

Now if you've ever made snickerdoodles you know what to do: Make little golf ball size balls and roll em in the sugar.

UNGREASED COOKIE SHEET

Cook for about 10 minutes. They will be a bit gooey because of maple let em cool a good 10 minutes on racks before you snack on em!

More Q & A from Mormon Apologetics

2008-12-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

I cut and paste this question and Answer from www.mormonapologetics.org because it is an important question and most people don't have a clue about cooking pork:

I love this thread! Great idea Matthew. I have a question about cooking pork. When my wife and I make pork loin or pork roast, it is tender and delicious. But when we have pork loin chops they are pretty tough. Maybe we are using the wrong recipes. I don't know. But I'd love to figure out how to make a great pork loin chop.

Well I suck at defending mormonism, might as well help feed the people who can! Do you have a cast iron pan?? This is the secret to great pork. Also, again, DON'T OVER COOK! Pork is DONE at 150ish. Better at 145. Don't temp or stick pork with anything until it has been caramelized on both sides. Use tongs not a fork. Also avoid using butter to cook it with. Use an oil with a high smoke point like Sunflower oil (450F before it starts to burn). Burning is bad. Marinading also does a world of difference, it adds flavor and moisture. I posted earlier about pork loin. If you use a cast Iron pan you can also deglaze the pan after you're done cooking it with a white wine and make awesome gravy with the flavors.

I love a well marinated cooked pork loin! Some nice glaze or sauce on top TASTY!

Question and Answers from Mormon Apologetics.org

2008-12-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

Occasionally I get emails from people on this board about Food, Cooking and recipes. Does anyone else have questions, curiosities, or even better a recipe you'd like to share???

Chef Matthew

From Lucas_S:

Sure, I've got one. I recently roasted a few chickens for dinner for myself and a few friends, and decided to use the leftover bones and skin to make stock. All the leftover chicken parts went into a stock pot, followed by about a gallon and a half of water, an onion, a few carrots, a few stalks of celery, some peppercorns, and some fresh basil. I brought this all to a boil, then let it simmer until I thought it tasted good, which ended up being about 6 hours. I strained everything out, and then reduced it a bit further, and put some of it away in the freezer for later use, but kept the bulk of it in the fridge to make soup the next day.

Now, I understand that a certain amount of stiffening happens when stock gets cold because of the gelatin released from whatever bones you're using, but this stuff basically turned to jello. Despite being gross looking, it made really good red beans and rice. Is there any way to keep the stock from stiffening up so much?

From Chef Matthew:

Once you reduce it further it started to become glace, which is even better than stock, the flavors are more concentrated. There is 0 problem freezing stock/glace. One of my favorite chefs said she bought a fridge/freezer unit that made ice cubes so she didn't need ice cube trays anymore. So she nows them for her glace (reduced stock). She then pops a block of iced glace out when she wants to make an "instant" sauce. A great time saver.

I would suggest if you don't like it so stiff to use it more quickly, or don't freeze it. It will keep in the fridge for about a week. However, the more you reduce it, the more concentrated it becomes, thus more jello like. However in my opinion, the better it is.

If you can get a hold of a local butcher, try to get cow/veal NECK bones. They may cost you a bit more, but they make fabulous veal/beef stock because of all the marrow/gelatin in the neck bones.

From LDSTORONTO:

Yes! I'm a fairly decent 'dad' cook, but something that has eluded me for as long as I've been cooking is roast chicken. Every time I make a roasted chicken, the bird comes out looking great, but the breast meat is too dry. I've tried covering it, uncovering it, even cooking it breast-side down. So my question - How do I make a juicy roast chicken?

Thanks!

H.

From Chef Matthew:

Ever have a dry turkey at thanksgiving? Most people cook their poultry to the ungodly temperature of 185 F. YUCK! While everyone says you're supposed to cook poultry to 165 most don't know you should pull it from the oven at 155. There is a thing called "carry over cooking". The protein keeps cooking even though it has been pulled from the heating source because it's still very hot. You need to pull the chicken earlier and let it "rest". Or allow the molecules to settle. I cooked a boneless turkey I got from the Church welfare system tonight for dinner and my wife was amazed at how much juice came out when I cut into it. The reason, I only cooked it till the internal temp was about 155 with the oven at 350 F. Then I let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes before I cut into it. It was freakin tasty with potatoes and gravy! I only regret I didn't take photos to show you. Maybe next time....

Sounds Good: Buttermilk Homemade Rolls

2008-12-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

Buttermilk Quick Hot Rolls

2 C lukewarm buttermilk

8 TB melted shortening or butter

3/4 C sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs, well-beaten

2 yeast packages, softened in 1/3 C lukewarm water

1/2 tsp. baking soda

6+ C flour

Mix the above ingredients together. Knead lightly. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Roll, shape dough in desired-shaped rolls. Let rise approx. 1 hour. Bake @ 350 degrees for approx. 15 minutes. Makes about 3-4 dozen rools depending on the size of the roll.

A wonderful homemade buttermilk rolls recipe made for years by my Mother

Enjoy it!

Lessons learned from Gordon Ramsey: Family

2008-11-20T23:35:00.000-08:00

LESSONS FROM RAMSEY: LESSON 1 Family

Recently, Tim Roche, a manager who I work for, loaned me an autobiography of the world famous Chef Gordon Ramsey. A man, personally, until now, I had little respect for as a Chef. I find his shows over the top, rude, drama queen, and I don't like his in your face attitude. Things can be accomplished in the same manner through better means than yelling and cursing. Every kitchen I've been in where I had a boss who yelled and cursed, I have 0 respect for. Chef Ramsey isn't any different.

Having read only the first chapter of his book so far, I have realized there are some lessons to be learned from this asshole of a Chef. And appreciating the family I have is lesson 1. Ramsey begins his book talking about the long abusive relationship he had with his dad. A man hell bent on ruining everyone's life, including Gordon's, it is truly sad what this Chef had to put up with growing up in life. It makes me sad to think that there are humans in the world as evil as his dad was to Gordon's family.

My family isn't/wasn't perfect growing up. We did move around, 5 different times before my dad, Paul Glenn, died. However, there wasn't anything compared in my life to the level of abuse and hate in Gordon's family in mine. I was raised in family that cared for my well being, who wanted me to succeed and wanted only for me to do my best. The same certainly not true with Gordon.

I would never dare to ever compare myself to Nephi of old, but I do love this scripture and in part it says some things about the way I feel about my own family:

1 Nephi 1:1

1 I, NEPHI, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

In summation, the first lesson to be learned from Ramsey: Family is important. Be good to your family, love them, help them, and try to be a good person.

Recommendations if you plan to visit Olive Garden

2008-10-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Some of you may or may not know that currently I am employed at The Olive Garden, "When you're here you're family". Which is true for the most part, at least at my location. The management at my location truly does care if you have a great experience. Having said that I would like to give my DOs, and DON'Ts, as an opinion from an employee perspective. I have had the chance to make 99.99% of everything on the menu and taste most of it. Most of the DON'Ts are because I have a problem with how the dishes are presented or their taste combos. It's not because any of them are poor quality, it's just I think they could be better.

So lets start of with the DON'Ts.

1) The new chicken Carbonara is a don't for several reasons. The sauce is very thick and pasty. It includes bacon bits in the paste already and then has pancetta added with red peppers. For me the taste isn't worth it. It's about a C+ to me.

2) Stuffed Chicken Marsala: a double lobe of chicken with a cheese stuffing in the middle. Drenched in a creamy mushroom marsala sauce this dish is a no no. Most of the employees I work with have trouble getting this cooked correctly and as a result the chicken gets served very over cooked, if not burned. The mashed potatoes that are served with it are usually prepared incorrectly as well or sometimes old. The sauce can cover up a lot these weakness, but I think there are many other items worth eating on the menu to spend money on this. I give it a C- even though my wife likes it when prepared correctly.

3) Steak Toscano: Now why on earth would ever go to an Italian restaurant and order a steak? Longhorn, at least in my area, is across the street. Getting the temperature right on this steak is often very difficult for the employees I work with because most have had little to no proper training on steak temperature. Also it comes with fried potatoes and a demi-gloss sauce. Really not worth the money. I give it a C- and you an F if you order it.

4) Pizza: Really? You're going to eat pizza at Olive Garden? Try Pizza Hut, Dominos, or Papa Johns. You don't go to an italian restaurant and eat pizza. UNLESS you are going to get it as an appetizer and share it with people. B- In taste and quality, D+ If you order it.

5) Capellini Pomodora: This, to me, is the most boring dish Olive Garden serves. Angel hair pasta, marinara sauce, and a tomato basil mix. Great for vegetarians who aren't very hungry. I give it C, for being boring.

DOs:

1) Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo: Fettucini Alfredo with spinach and gorgonzola cheese. This comes with 4 pieces of steak cooked to order. This steak is worth the price. Very tasty. I give this dish an A-

2) Lasagna Classico: Very good if done correctly. Tons of meat sauce, cheese and lasagna noodles. Super tasty. I give this dish an A.

3) Tour of Italy: Chicken Parmesan, small portion of Lasagna, and a small portion of fettucini alfredo. Super awesome A+ and if it happens to be on special for a lower price even better.

4) Braised Beef Tortellini: A very nice mix of filled pasta, sauce, and meat. Beef is good, marsala sauce is decent, and the cheese tortellini is nice. B+ is about right for this dish.

5) Seafood Alfredo: Sauteed shrimp, scallops, and fettucini alfredo. Very creamy, simple but very tasty if you like seafood. I give it an A-.

Now it is important for the reader to know that these are my opinions and my tastes. They in no way reflect the opinions of the restaurant. Also these dishes, DON'Ts and DOs can be both bad or good depending on your local employees. Unfortunately, a good portion of Olive Garden employees don't have professional culinary training. They are however trained well enough that if they pay attention and care enough, they should be able to produce these entree's close to picture perfect.

Enjoy!

Sounds Good: Salmon Steaks w/Bercy Sauce, sauteed gnocchi and green beans

2008-09-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Today was our 6th wedding anniversary. Time flies when you're having fun! To make it special, and save money, we decided to have a 5 star meal, on a 1 star budget.

I made the potato gnocchi again but I sauteed it this team to give it texture, color, and flavor. I also sauteed some blanched green beans with them. I used a fish stock from the grocery story to make a Veloute Sauce. Then, I took some Sauvignon Blanc wine with white onions, and more fish stock, and reduced the liquid to almost nothing, and then added it back to the Veloute Sauce. Combining them makes something called a Bercy sauce. Super tasty, on the strong side, but paired with a lightly seasoned Salmon Steak, it was awesome.

Below are the pictures:

If you have questions or comments, PLEASE POST THEM!

Sounds Good: Potato Gnocchi

2008-09-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

I came across this recipe in a book we've had for a long time, I can't even remember where I got it from, called "Potatoes" practical cooking. The recipe for this potato Gnocchi is on page 112 and also includes a cheese sauce which we tried as well and it wasn't to bad. I didn't like it enough to include it in this post on my blog.

If you would like more info on the Gnocchi, see here

Ingredients:

1# of Chef's or Russet Potatoes small diced
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Egg, beaten
1 tbsp milk
Salt n Pepper to taste
Parsley to garnish

Cook diced potatoes in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain well and mash potatoes until smooth and lump free. Beat in flour, egg, and milk, season with salt and pepper and kneed together until it becomes a stiff dough.

On a floured counter top, roll out snakes about a half inch thick and cut with a sharp knife about every inch of the snake. Cook in a boiling pot of salty water for a few minutes, they rise to surface when fully cooked. Be sure to have an instrument like a strainer ready to scoop them out as they get nasty if you over cook them.

Now after they're all cooked you can serve them a variety of different ways, with cream sauces, tomato based sauces. I enjoy them sauteed slightly in butter until just golden brown and tossed with Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy, please post your comments below!

Sounds Good: Parm Crusted Tilapia

2008-08-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Parm Crust: Equal parts Panko Bread Crust and parmesan cheese. For 2 filets of Tilapia use:

1/8 Cup of Panko Bread
1/8 Cup of Parmesan

Mix thoroughly

Simple Béchamel Sauce: You need just barely enough to cover both filets.

1-1/2 teaspoons butter
3/4 teaspoon grated onion
3/4 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/8 pinch dried thyme
1/8 pinch ground cayenne pepper

This recipe should just yield a few ounces of sauce, about 3 ounces.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place filets in a non stick oven pan. Cover filets in béchamel. Cover béchamel in Parm crust completely. Cook in oven until fish is an internal temp of at least 145 and parm crust begins to brown.

Recommended sides: Rice and some sauteed vegetables (julienned carrots with broccoli)

Photos coming soon: I will show you how to make this delicious dish from a well known restaurant chain.

Sounds Good: Meat is tasty tasty murder :)

2008-08-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Meat, it's delicious, it provides your body with energy and it makes you strong. Just don't consume obscene amounts of it.

Sounds Good #14 Steak Linguine Alfredo

2008-08-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately at the moment I don't have time to post the recipe, I will later tonight. For now here are the photos:

This photos what you'll need to make the recipe. I tried to make it organic as possible.

Alfredo working in the back right. Linguine bottom left. Beef bottom right.

Saute'ing the steak. Butter, Pepper, Salt.

2 Different plate presentations, 1 with everything mixed and the other with steak on top.

Close up of the bowl I thought looked more appealing!

I will add the recipe here later.

Sounds Good #13 Mushroom Risotto

2008-07-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Photo and recipe from www.allrecipes.com

I found this recipes at www.allrecipes.com and just love it so I'm passing it along.

6 Cups of Chicken broth, divided

3T Olive oil, divided

1# Portabello Mushrooms - thinly sliced

1# white mushrooms - thinly sliced

2 shallots, small diced

1.5 Cups Arborio rice

.5 Cup Chardonnay wine

Sea Salt to taste

Fresh Ground pepper to taste

3T finely chopped chives

4T butter

.33 Cup grated Parm

Cook thinly sliced mushrooms in about 2T of oil in a pan. About 3 minutes. Set aside. Use a cap full of olive oil and saute the chopped shallots and cook for about 1 minute. Add rice, stir to coat the rice kernels with the oil for about 2 minutes. This is called Nacre. When the rice has become a golden color add Chardonnay and stir until wine is fully absorbed. Add broth or stock .5 Cup at a time. Continue adding until rice is au dente (not hard but not mushy). Remove from the heat and mix in mushrooms, butter, chives and cheese. Season with salt n pepper. Enjoy!

Sounds Good #12 Italian Tuscan Soup (slightly spicy)

2008-07-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

I unfortunately do not have photos of this recipe yet.......I will add and edit this post when I have time to buy the ingredients and post photos for you. This recipe makes about 1 gallon of soup which is a lot but it's a hearty meal and if you like soup, you'll like this.

This is a modified recipe from a restaurant chain:

1# of Ground Sausage (Try to avoid sausages that have dextrose or sugar)

2 teaspoons of Crushed Red Peppers

2 oz of Ham preferably cubed or small chunks

1/2# Onions (White or Yellow).

2 oz of Green Onions thinly sliced

1T of Minced Garlic

4T of Chicken base

2.5 Qt Hot Water

2.5# of Russet or Chef's potatoes sliced thinly or into small cubes

1 Pint Cups of Heavy Cream

1 teaspoon of Pepper

Start a large pot on the stove on a medium-high heat and cook sausage. Use the fat from the ground up (or broken up if you wish) sausage to saute the minced garlic, pepper, crushed red peppers, green and yellow onions, and ham.

Cook until onions become translucent without scorching other ingredients. Lower heat if necessary. Mix hot water and chicken base and stir until dissolved. De-glaze the pan by pouring the "chicken stock" into the pot to loosen anything and unlock all the flavors. Add potatoes and bring to a simmer.

Once temperature hits at least 185 F test consistency of potatoes, to make sure fork tender (fork can enter and exit softly and with out force). Mix in heavy cream gently whisk until thickens. Once soup hits at least 185 again, turn off heat, and serve. If you wish to serve later chill rapidly till at least 32 F. When reserving make sure temperature reach again at 185.

What I love about this recipe is that it can be modified very easily. You can make it spicy, you can make it bland, you can use bacon or no meat at all. You can add greens like spinach or collard greens for a green leafy flavor, or you and other ingredients to make it your own.

Enjoy :)

5 Worst Foods for your body/10 Best

2008-07-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,,EMI8290-15254,00-A+BATATA+FRITA+E+UM+PESADELO+NUTRICIONAL.html

My wife found this article on the Brazilian News Network: Globo.com. It is a book written by an American by the name of Jonny Bowden. The article lists the 5 worst foods you can eat and lists the 10 best for your body. This caught my attention because unfortunately I eat 4 out of the 5 regularly!!! To make things worse I rarely eat any of the 10 Best foods for your body, according to this author. So, here are the Worst:

Chips/Snacks: Full of Sugar, Trans Fat, and very little nutritional value they don't really benefit the body in any real form other than pleasure.
Soda: Full of Sugar/High Fructose Corn Syrup and other chemicals. Even diet sodas are full of "sweeteners" and other chemicals that aren't found naturally.
French Fries: Deep fried in oil, that is repeatedly used, it raises the fat and trans fat levels in fries. Bad for the heart. Too bad they're so tasty.....
Cotton Candy: According to the author Jonny Bowden, Cotton Candy shouldn't exist. Made of pure sugar and other chemicals Cotton Candy is the only item on the list I don't eat.
White Bread: Pure Carbs, white bread has no real nutritional value.

Sardines: Rich in proteins, full of magnesium and other essential minerals. This kind of fish also helps out the digestive system. Bowden calls Sardines "Health Food" in a can.
Cabbage: Very high in anti-oxidants.
Beet leaves: Are almost always thrown away, however apparently are rich in vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants. Bowden also says that beets themselves are a vegetable very full of healthy vitamins and minerals. The leaves can be eaten raw just like spinach in a salad.
Acai: A Brazilian fruit is one of the fruits in the world with the highest concentrate of anti-oxidants. It is also rich in Mono/Poly saturated fats that reduce cholesterol.
Guava: Another fruit found in Brazil very rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins.
Fresh Cherries: Very high in vitamins and contains a natural anti-inflammatory. Eaten alone or with yogurt it benefits the body.
Bitter-Sweet Chocolate: Helps lower blood pressure and good for the circulatory system of the body. Contains high concentrates of magnesium.
Nuts: Cashews, Peanuts, Almonds, all can raise your calorie count but they all contain lots of minerals, proteins, and are high in Omega 3 & 9.
Cinnamon: Helps control sugar and cholesterol in the blood.
Pumpkin seeds: Full of Magnesium. They are so full of magnesium Bowden says that French studies conclude that men with high levels of magnesium have a 40% chance of suffering from premature death as compared to those with lower levels. Toast them and eat them whole. The shell is very rich in fiber.

Well, unfortunately, in my personal diet, I include very few of these items. I love chocolate, but unfortunately, not bitter-sweet. I've eaten pumpkin seeds, but I'm not a huge fan of them. I love Guava Juice but at the moment it is very expensive, about $3 a liter. I love cinnamon but usually on baked goods. I love cherry flavoring, and even the cocktail cherries but don't regularly eat them.

As far as the 5 worst things to eat, I consume 4 of them regularly and will have to do what I can to limit or eliminate them from my diet.

Sounds Good #11 Home Made Flat Bread Pizza

2008-07-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

MMMM Flatbread pizza with Mozz & Goat Cheese, and Portabello Mushrooms

MMM Creamy n Cheesy

A few slices of the flat bread and

some sliced green olives for Lisiane

1 Envelope of active dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup butter or margarine

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

mix water and yeast and let stand for 1o minutes. Mix remaining ingredients

Bake at 350 F until just golden. Remove bread and butter. Spread cheese, and desired ingredients on top and bake until melted. Remove, Cut, ENJOY!

If you drink wine, this best goes with a red wine particularly Cab. Sauvignon especially if you add portabello mushrooms and goat cheese.

Organic Food is important a short 2 minute clip

2008-07-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

I found this clip on youtube about Organic Farming and foods. It's worth watching.

Substainable Farming, A cool story about a local farm

2008-07-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

Sounds Good #10 Orange Chicken

2008-07-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

Serves 4

Sauce

1.5 Cups of Water

2T Orange Juice

.25 Cup of Lemon Juice

.33 Cup of Rice Wine Vin

2.5T Soy Sauce

1t Grated Orange Zest

1 Cup Brown Sugar

.5t Fresh Grated Ginger

.5t Minced Garlic

2T Scallions (Green Onions)

.25t Red Pepper Flakes

Slurry

1T Water

2t Corn Starch

Chicken

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts cut in .5 inch cubes

1 Cup AP flour

.25t Salt

.25t Pepper

3T Olive Oil

Pour 1.5 Cups of water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice wine vin, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat. Cool 10 to 15 minutes.

Place chicken pieces into a re-sealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours. In another re-sealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces from the other bag (after 2 hours of refrigeration), seal the bag and shake to coat.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plated lined with paper towels and cover with aluminum foil. Keep warm in oven about 200 degrees F. Mix together 1T of water and 2t of cornstarch and stir into remaining heated sauce. Pour over cooked chicken and serve.

Sauteed carrots, peanuts, broccoli, scallions, snow peas, or mushrooms can be added to make meal even better. Server over basmati or jasmine rice.

Sounds Good #9 French Crepes

2008-07-10T18:08:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from Susan Spicer and her Cookbook: Crescent City Cooking page 61 to 63

3/4 Cup of milk

2 Tablespoons of butter, plus extra for frying

3 eggs

1 Cup Flour

1/8 teaspoon Salt

2 Tablespoons of herbs, such as any combo of Tarragon, thyme, chives, and parsley

Scald the milk and add the 2 tablespoons butter, then cool to lukewarm.

Place the eggs, flour, salt, and cooled milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the herbs and pulse a time or two to mix. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator to relax and release air bubbles. If used the next day from fridge, thin slightly with a tablespoon or 2 of water. Melt a small amount of butter in a small nonstick skillet or crepe pan and when hot, pour in about 2 tablespoons of batter swirling to coat the bottom of pan. Cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook for about 5 seconds. Remove from the pan and repeat. Should make about 12-16 crepes. Wrap extra crepes in plastic and refrigerate or freeze for another time.

Sounds Good: Not forgotten......

2008-07-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

To anybody who frequents this blog I have not forgotten the major point of having this blog and that is: Recipes. Having spent to much time battling the "evil ones" on an website that shall remain nameless, I have just been to lazy to post anything new. I have tried some different things and even bought a new book that has some awesome recipes in it. If I get around to it on my day off tomorrow, I'll post one.

NECI Graduation Weekend fotos

2008-06-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I have finally finished posting dozens of photos on my blog. I had to post them in backwards order so when you seem them on the page they are in order of when they happened. Please be sure to see them all. You will have to go to the next page to see them all (older posts).

I appreciate all comments and critiques.

Matthew

NECI Graduation Saturday June 21 (Beginning of the day)

2008-06-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

The big tent where it will all take place.

A grande tenda onde tudo vai acontecer.
The last of the group. Nearly 30 us started in March 2006. Only 7 of us actually made it to graduation. However, several opted to move on to the Bachelor's program.

Os ultimos do grupo. Quase 30 de nos comeceu em Marco 2006. So 7 atualmente se formou. Porem, algums decidiram fazer o grau maior de 4 anos.
After signing in and getting my jacket, I walked upstairs to get in line to walk to the tent.

Depois cadastrando, recebendo minha jaqueta, eu subi para entrar na linha para andar para a tenda.
Walking in alphabetical order to the tent (from the hotel), to begin the ceremony.

Andando em ordem alphabetica para a tenda (do hotel), para comecar a formatura.
Walking in the tent to get things started. It's bit low, I had to duck.

Entrando na tenda para comecar o ceremonia. A tenda e' baiao, tive que baixar minha cabeca.

NECI Graduation Saturday June 21 (Middle of the day)

2008-06-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

Waiting to walk to the front to receive my diploma.

Esperando para andar para frente para receber meu diploma.
Me on the stage in the background receiving my diploma.

Eu no balco recebendo meu diploma.
My group of students throwing our chef's hat. I'm in the back on the right next to someone wearing sunglasses. You can only barely see my head.

Meu grupo de alunos jogando nossos chapeus de Chef. Estou atraz, ao lado de alguem com oculos escuro. So pode ver minha cabeca.
Me with my diploma.

Eu com meu diploma.
Gma Betsy, Eli, Sophie and Me after the ceremony finally ended. Time to eat!

Vovo Betsy, Eli, Sophie e Eu depois da ceramonia finalmente terminou. Esta na hora de comer!

NECI Graduation Saturday June 21 (end of the day)

2008-06-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

End of the graduation ceremony. The Speckarts, The Glenns, and Gma Betsy.

O fim da formatura. Os Speckarts, os Glenns, e Vovo Betsy.
Sophie playing with a balloon after the ceremony.

Sophie brincando com um balao depois da formatura.
Lisiane and I pose for the camera after I officially graduate.

Lisiane e Eu fizemos uma pose para a camera depois que eu me formei.

Lisiane and Sophie pose in front of the beautiful background of the Green Mountains.

Lisiane e Sophie fazem uma pose em frente da linda paisagem das Montanhas Verde.
Poor Sophie she had a very long hard day that started at 6:30 am and ended at about 2:30 pm.

Sophie tadinha, teve um dia bem comprido e dificil que comecou as 6:30 e terminou mais ou menos 14:30.

We visit Shelbourne Farms Sunday June 22 (The beginning of the trip)

2008-06-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

The tractor takes out to the farm.

O trator leva a gente pela fazenda
Shelbourne Farm from the tractor.

A Fazenda Shelbourne do trator.
Eli trying to catch a chicken.

Eli tentando pegar uma galinha.
MMM Creme Friache. A baby goat just a day old. I named him "Goat cheese" in french.

MMM Creme Friache. Um bebe de Cabra que nasceu um dia antes. Eu chamei ele "Quejo de cabra" em frances.
MMMM Cornish Hens. Baby chickens.

Pintinhos.

We visit Shelbourne Farms Sunday June 22 (Middle of the Trip)

2008-06-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

Lisiane putting sun block on Sophie. It's bright outside.

Lisiane coloquando protetor solar, estava brilhando fora.
Lisiane and Sophie playing on the tractor, Sophie's hair was blowing in the wind.

Lisiane and Sophie brincando no trator, e o cabelo de Sophie ficou voando com vento.
MMMM baby bacon!

Eli playing on the rocking horse.

Eli brincando no carvalo de pau.
MMMM VEAL! The Glenn family and a young volunteer holding a baby calf.

MMMM carne de bezerro! A Familia Glenn e uma joven voluntaria segurando o bezerrinho.

We visit Shelbourne Farms Sunday June 22 (end of the trip)

2008-06-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Eli learns how to milk a goat.

Eli aprendendo como tirar leite da cabra

Me learning how to milk a goat. It isn't as easy as it looks.

If you grab her wrong it can hurt her.

Eu aprendendo como tirar leite da cabra. Nao e' tao facil como parece.

Se pega no lugar errado pode machucar.

The cousins chillin out. Sophie is saying hi to Clara, while Eli relaxes.

Os primos relaxando. Sophie dizendo OI para Clara enquanto Eli relaxa.

Feeding the sheep. They flocked to me every time I tried to drop pellets in their bowls.

Dando comida aos carneiros. Ficarem loco cada ves que tentei encher as tijelas de comida

Sophie wanted to walk around in the trunk.

Sophie queria andar no porta mala.

Sounds Good #8 Vegetable Teriyaki Chicken with Peanuts

2008-06-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at making anything Asian and it turned out decent. The recipe comes from a user website called www.allrecipes.com. Search: Baked Teriyaki Chicken. This is great website and full of info. Several recipes I've tried in the past to vary everyday dishes I've gotten the recipes from other users on this website.

Ingredients:

1 T Corn Starch

1 T Cold Water

1/4 C Brown sugar

1/4 C White sugar

1/2 C Soy sauce

1/4 Apple Cider Vinegar

1 clove of minced garlic

1/2 t ground ginger

1/4 t black pepper

4 Chicken breasts

Aluminum foil an 8X8 pan and place the raw breasts cleaned in the pan. Preheat your oven to 400. Mix all the ingredients except the corn starch and water in a pan on a medium heat. Mix the corn starch and water in a separate bowl until looks like sauce consistency. Should NOT be lumpy or pasty. If it is add small amounts of water until thins. After mixture in sauce pan has simmered add the corn starch mixture (slurry) into teriyaki sauce and simmer some more until thickens. Pour hot sauce over raw chicken, foil the top of the pan, and place in the oven for 25 minutes.

If you want to vary or add to this recipe, I suggest using carrots thinly sliced into circles, small cut broccoli florets, and peanuts. I added these things after the chicken was cooked and cooked them with a little bit of water, butter, and hot teriyaki sauce so they were cooked but still had a small amount of crunch texture to them.

ENJOY!

Sounds Good #4 Southern Slow Cooking: Carnitas Tacos PART 2

2008-06-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

Pork Butt, Celery, Oregano, Salsa, Kosher Salt, an Avocado,

Pepper, Cilantro, Ham & Pork Stock

So we decided to just have the meat with rice instead of into tacos, this is what that whole 3# pork butt looks like after 12 HOURS in the crock pot. It literally just fell apart. It was a bit fatty/oily. If I was to make this again I would sear off the pork a little bit to try and cook off some of the fattiness. But it turned out very tasty.

OH MY SWEETNESS! Saturn/Donut Peach in Season!!!

2008-06-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

Beggar's Purse Crepe dessert with Donut Peach puree (class project 2007)

So I walked into the local grocery store today in Charlotte, and I caught a whiff of a familiar but I wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it was very sweet smelling. I walked around the fruit section until I found what it was. Donut/Saturn peaches are in season again, or if they have been, I hadn't noticed. Anyway I bought 3 for about $1.80.

What you must understand is, I HATE PEACHES but I love these little guys. Some of you will recall that while I was at NECI (www.neci.edu) for my final class project we used a different variety of peach for each course to tie a theme together. Mine was the Beggar's purse dessert (pictured above for those that haven't seen it yet). The sauce on the plate is the puree from this variety of peach. They are very sweet. If you can get your hands on some DO IT. Just try them, even if you HATE PEACHES, just try 1. You may have to hunt and try places like farmers markets or maybe even Trader Joe's or a specialty market but they had them all the way in Vermont and we have them now in Charlotte.

Much love

Sounds Good #7 Homemade Mac 'N' Cheese

2008-05-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Tired of Kraft Mac 'N' Cheese?? Make your own! This recipe certainly takes longer and more patience but ohhhh the taste is awesome!

You need to do several things for this recipe: 1) Make a Roux, Cook Pasta, and Make Béchamel Sauce.

1) Make a Roux: Equal parts flour and clarified butter (melt butter and pour through a strainer to remove milk solids) 2 Tablespoons clarified butter and 2 Tablespoons of flour. Heat butter and mix in flour until it thickens into a paste make sure not to burn by using a medium heat.

2) Start a pot of salted water and boil. Add enough pasta when water is boiling for quantity of people going to eat. Cook pasta until done (au Dente)

3) Make Béchamel Sauce: To make about a quart (liter) of béchamel saute a few ounces of small cut onions in a saute pan until the onion becomes translucent. Add a pint (16 ounces) of milk and a pint of heavy cream to the pan and bring to a low simmer (not a rolling boil or simmer) just barely bubbling. Allow the liquid to simmer for about 20 minutes occasionally whisking it to make sure it doesn't scald. After it has simmered mix in roux and whisk until roux dissolves and mixture visibly begins to thicken careful not to boil, burn or scald. IF mixture becomes TOO THICK add more milk in small amounts until it thins out slightly.

4) Turn Béchamel into a Mornay sauce by adding cheese. If you want your Mac 'N' Cheese to be the typical Kraft yellow then use all yellow cheese. If you want your dish to be AWESOME mix small amounts of 4 to 7 different cheeses. I went and bought a blend from my local grocery store and added some cheddar at the end so our had 7 kinds. OHHH NELLY IT WAS GOOD!

Pour pasta into cooking pan after it has been drained. Pour Mornay over pasta into pan and then pour bread crumbs over mixture, Panko Bread crumbs work best. Bake in oven at 350F for 20 to 30 minutes or until bread crumbs start to brown. Serve it up with a protein such as beef pieces or shredded chicken.

Sounds Good #6 Feijoada Burritos

2008-05-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

This recipe is my own design and makes amazing black bean burritos.

You need a pressure cooker to make this recipe

1/2# of black beans

1/2# of beef, cut in very small pieces.

1/2# of bacon

Water: Cover beans with water 2 fingers lengths above beans.

3 bay leaves

Garlic: about a teaspoon of minced garlic

1/4# pork cut in small pieces

4 large Tortillas (preferable Mission, or any other authentic tortillas)

1 Cup of cooked rice

1 Cup of shredded cheese of your choice (Jack, Cheddar, Mozzarella or all 3)

Options to vary:

1) 4 ounces of a red wine (Cab Sauv, Pinot Noir, or Merlot if nothing else available)

2) Use less beef and add a Bouillon beef cube

Load pressure cooker with beans, beef, pork, water, garlic, bay leaves, and add in variations such as wine or Bouillon. Hold out bacon until end.

Time on this recipe largely depends on your personal pressure cooker model. Most American cookers can take several hours anywhere from 2 to 8. My best advice in using an American cooker is to cook beans until they become very soft and not chewy. Also when the water they are cooked in starts to turn grey/black and thickens into a salty liquid it is done. I would not recommend salting this recipe at the beginning. Salt and pepper are best added when the beans are done cooking and are used more to season the liquid.

When feijoada is done remove bay leaves and set on a low simmer on stove or on a low heat in the pressure cooker. Use a large saute pan to cook bacon. Cut bacon in small pieces cook on a medium/high heat to remove most of the fat. Keep fat and cook bacon separate and remove bacon to bowl with several paper napkins or paper towels to absorb any extra fat. When bacon is dry mix into the feijoada. By cooking bacon separate you can remove a large portion of the fat in this recipe.

Lay out tortilla and place a spoonful of cooked rice down on tortilla. Use a slotted spoon or slotted ladle to remove enough feijoada (but not much or any of the liquid) to cover the rice. Cover beens in cheese and roll up burrito in a way that it creates an envelope to hold your delicious burrito!

Beef Tenderloin how to cut Filet Mignon Part 2

2008-05-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Clean up flap of fat
Remove silver skin carefully from heel to tip of the boning knife.
Be careful not to cut away meat.
Clean loin of beef
Chain meat. Some people say the time it takes to clean and separate silver skin and fat from meat takes to long and isn't worth it but taking a few extra minutes and being careful can pay off in the long run and give you back a lot of meat to use for stir fry, fajitas, or even burritos.

Look at all that meat!!!! Well worth the extra 10 minutes it took to clean the chain.

Beef Tenderloin How to cut Filet Mignon! Part 1

2008-05-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Remove Tenderloin from plastic carefully not to spill blood.
Pat down tenderloin to remove access blood.
Remove and save chain from main part of loin.
Set chain aside and remove flap from loin or not if you desire a larger cut of filet.
Remove fat and bone spurs from bottom of loin, clean up any fat on the bottom.

Sounds Good #5:Orange Blossom Vinaigrette

2008-05-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I got from a chef in Charleston, SC when I was on internship.

This is a large recipe it makes 2 quarts of vin.

1 Small red pepper

1 Small green pepper

1 Small yellow pepper

2 oz red onion

1/4 bunch of cilantro

1/2 quart of honey

2 quarts of blended oil

1 Cup of Rice wine vin

1/4 Cup dijon mustard

1/2 Cup Whole Grain mustard

1/2 teaspoon Cumin

1/2 Tablespoon Chili Pepper

1/2 Tablespoon Salt

1/2 Tablespoon Pepper

Blend everything together in a Cuisinart or a Blender if necessary.

Sounds Good #4 Southern Slow Cooking: Carnitas Tacos

2008-04-29T23:29:00.000-07:00

You need a slow cooker to do this recipe. This recipe is from Bon Appetit April 2008 page 76.

2# Boneless pork ribs, shoulder, or pork butt. Cut into 2 inch pieces

2 Teaspoons of salt

2 Teaspoons of pepper

2 Teaspoons of dried oregano

1/2 Onion cut into 4

1 Avocado halved, pitted, sliced

Cilantro sprigs

Sliced red bell peppers

Corn tortillas

Toss pork in bowl of slow cooker with salt, black pepper and dried oregano to coat. Place

quartered onion on top of pork. Cover slow cooker and cook on slow setting for about 6 hours or until meat starts to fall apart.

Using a slotted spoon transfer pork to a plate and discard onion pieces. Shred pork meat. Cover tortillas in a damp kitchen towel and microwave until warm. Serve carnitas meat with tortillas and any other additions like rice, beans and/or tomatillo salsa or all of the above.

Stay tuned for photos of this recipe, I'll be making this on my day off Thursday! Can't wait to try it out!

Sounds Good #3 part 2:Buffalo Salmon

2008-04-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Out of the oven, notice the creamy white part of the flesh? Salmon when it

is done starts to ooze fat from between the layers. It's DONE. If you like your fish

not as dry, cook till an internal temperature of about 140F. If the meat gets to

165 it's going to start to get dry and flaky.

Our dinner plated! Buffalo Salmon with herb rice and steamed veggies!

The panko bread crumbs were hard to find but we finally found a supermarket with an international section that happen to have it for $2.50 a pound.

Sounds Good #3:Buffalo Salmon

2008-04-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

I love hot wings and I love Salmon (cooked medium). What could be better? Buffalo Salmon, why not?

Today's recipe comes from the May 2008 of Gourmet Magazine, page 144.

Buffalo Salmon:

Serves 6 takes about 30 minutes

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 Cup hot sauce such as Frank's Redhot

1/3 Cup Panko bread crumbs

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

2# piece salmon fillet with skin on

Preheat oven to 425F with rack in upper 3rd. Lightly oil a shallow baking pan. Melt butter with hot sauce and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper over medium heat. Set aside 1/4 cup sauce. Toss panko with oil in a bowl. Put salmon skin side down in baking pan and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, then brush with remaining sauce. Sprinkle panko evenly over top of fish, then bake until panko is golden and fish is just cooked through, 16 to 22 minutes. Serve skin side down.

Wow, think I'm going to have it tonight with some sauteed veggies!

Sounds Good #2: Scallop edition

2008-04-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

Okay well here's another recipe that sounds awesome. This one comes from the March 2008 issue of Gourmet, page 83.

Seared Scallops with Tarragon Butter Sauce

Recipe serves about 4

1 1/4# large sea scallops

7 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into Tablespoons and divided

2 Tablespoons finely chopped shallot

1/4 Cup dry white wine

1/4 Cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon

Pat dry scallops and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper (total).

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a 12 inch nonstick pan over a medium heat until foam subsides then sear scallop turning once till golden brown and just cooked through (about 5 minutes total). Transfer to a plate and add shallot, wine, and vinegar to skillet and boil, scraping up brown bits and reduce liquid until 2 tablespoons. Add juices from plate and if necessary boil until liquid is reduced to about 1/4 Cup. Reduce heat to low and add 3 Tablespoons butter, stirring until almost melted. Then add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and swirl until incorporated and sauce has a creamy consistency. Stir in tarragon and salt to taste; pour over scallops.

Wow sounds awesome. The sauce is very buttery obviously but it is a bastard buerre blanc sauce or a butter pan sauce.

Matthew Glenn's Grapity Grape Ice Cream

2008-04-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Grape Ice Cream (Minus candied grapes. Didn't have the $$$)

Frustrated that I couldn't get a hold of Grandma Glenn's Purple Ice Cream I decided to create my own.

This recipe works perfectly with any ice cream maker but the recipe is tuned to work with our 2 quart Cuisinart Ice Cream and Yogurt Maker.

2 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Cup whole milk

1/2 Cup of reduced grape juice

1 cup of candied red/purple grapes

To make the reduced grape juice take a liter of concord grape juice (Welch's or Kirkland Costco brand) and on a medium heat simmer to boil the liquid till it gradually becomes thicker. Reduce liter of liquid to about 1/2 a cup. Should take about an hour depending on how high a heat/fire you're using.

I am experimenting still with the recipe, my mother has suggested trying concentrate from a can, I may try that on the next batch.

To make the candied grapes you need to make a simple syrup. 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar heat on a medium heat till the sugar dissolved and it starts to thicken. Add the halved grapes into the liquid and cook (simmering) until they're candied. Should take about 5 minutes. Remove grapes and cool. Add grapes in the last 2 minutes of churning.

In a mixing bowl mix sugar and whole milk till sugar dissolves. Add Heavy cream and whip till nearly becomes whipping cream. Add to the freezing cold ice cream machine and start to churn for 20 minutes and the ice cream starts to thicken to near soft serve consistency. Add in the reduced grape juice and mix well, should immediately start to darken and turn purple. Add candied grapes in the last 2 minutes. Mix for a total of 30 minutes. Transfer to container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Should be grapity delicious!

Sounds good #1

2008-04-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

This is the first of many recipes I'll probably post from one of the several magazines I get about food. Today's comes from Bon Appetit May 2008 issue page 89

Chicken Fried Steak with country gravy:

Serves about 4 and goes well with green beans and biscuits

1 Cup beef broth, divided

1/2 Cup all purpose flour

4 4-5 inch pieces of skirt steak

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Fully cooked breakfast pork-sausage (1 ounce) finely chopped

1/2 Cup whipping cream

1/2 Teaspoon dried sage

1/3 cup chopped green onion (scallions) tops

Pinch of ground cloves

Pour 1/2 cup broth into shallow bowl. Place flour in another shallow bowl. Sprinkle steak pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. Dip steaks into flour, then into broth, then into flour again, coating each time.

Melt butter in large nonstick pan over high heat. Add steaks. Saute until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Pour off butter from pan into bowl. Add 1 teaspoon flour from bowl. Whisk in remaining 1/2 cup of broth, sausage, cream, sage and pinch of ground cloves. Boil gravy until nappe (thick enough to coat spoon). Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Mix in green onions. Spoon over steaks.

MMMMM TASTY!