Alejandro's Kitchen

Update again...

2010-01-14T22:11:00.003-06:00

I just didn't cook very much in 2009. Various personal life things, going through a phase I guess. But lately the cooking fire have been relit, just the writing fire have not caught up. I've actually made a few new dishes I have not wrote about and they were good. I didn't take pictures, so I'll write about them next time I cook them.

I also have been in a very entrepreneur mindset lately. Once I outline a good idea on a direction to take the blog, I might reset the whole thing. I'll pick the best recipes, rewrite them in a new way and try to actually turn this into a business. But that's further down the line. Until then I hope to be less lazy about writing and put up more good stuff.

-a

La Cruisine De Reference

2009-04-29T07:22:00.002-05:00

This is the biggest, most complete illustrated cookbook I ever came across.

La Cruisine De Reference

Too bad it is in French and I cannot read it. If someone want to translate it for me, you will be my hero.

-a

Chorizo lettuce wrap

2009-04-05T14:20:00.000-05:00

I've been on a chorizo kick lately. I've probably had it at Mexican restaurants 3 or 4 times in the last week. I decided to make some at home. Well, not making chorizo, but using them to make stuff. I didn't want to make tacos, or burritos because I can get them at restaurants and they can make them better than I can. So I'm making lettuce wraps with them.

1 lb of chorizo
a small yellow onion
garlic powder
cilantro
romaine lettuce

This is beyond easy to make. Take the chorizo out of the casing and put it in a large pan on medium heat. Add garlic powder and smoosh the meat. Let that cook for a few minutes. Once fat is rendered add the diced onion. Cook for about 4 minutes or until the onion is soft.

Take the pan off of the heat and add chopped cilantro and fold it in evenly.

Check out my brand new pan. Bought some new stainless steel pots and pan.

Then take a leaf of lettuce and wrap the chorizo in there.

This stuff is delicious. It is a mess to eat though. The leaves I got is not nearly big enough to wrap the meat neatly. By the end of the meal I was covered in orange grease. Absolutely worth it.

-a

Hot Doug's

2009-02-06T13:11:00.002-06:00

Hot Doug's is a hot dog joint. I've heard of a place with various gourmet hot dogs and on weekends they have duck fat fries. Friends that told me about the place couldn't produce the name of the place or the exact address. I kind of forgot about it.

Last week on No Reservation, Anthony Bourdain visited Chicago. One of the places on the episode was Hot Doug's. Now I know what the place is called, I can look it up and go check it out.

When I got there at 11:30 am on a Friday there was a line out the door. I've been warned about this so no problem. The line was kind of quick, took about 15 minutes to get to the front to order. I got the foie gras and duck sausage hot dog and an order of the duck fat fries.

The duck sausage hotdog was absolutely awesome! I don't even know how to describe it. The duck fat fries was good. It's may be the best fries I ever had. The thing is though, duck fat fries sound so out of this world that I was expecting a life changing experience. In that sense I was disappointed. At the end of the day, it is just fries. Compare to other fries, the crisp is perfect and there is a certain richness to the taste.

There are so many other very good sounding sausages and hot dogs there that I will be going back there. The duck fat fries is worth trying once. Will I go wait in line just to have it? I don't know. Maybe if I'm bringing someone else there to try it I will. The real star of the restaurant are hot dogs. I will go back probably on a weekday to avoid the line.

-a

Bacon Explosion

2009-02-06T13:05:00.005-06:00

Haha. This recipe have exploded on the internet in the last month. Here is the original recipe: Bacon Explosion

I made one for the Superbowl party I went to. Mine is a bit different. I didn't use barbeque sauce, and my rub is only cumin, paprika, and ground pepper. I also added sharp cheddar on the inside. I don't have a smoker, so I baked mine like a meatloaf, 2 hours at 375.

I'm not gonna repost someone's recipe on here but here are a couple pictures of my version of the bacon explosion. It was delicious but no one wanted to eat more than a slice of it. Everyone values their health and livelihood a bit too much.

-a

Lamb chops - Holiday Party

2009-02-06T12:55:00.003-06:00

This is a late post. Been busy (read lazy) lately and didn't have a chance to write much. I made lamb chops for the holiday party for the family. This is a recipe from the Meat 101 class I took a long time ago at the Chopping Block.

2 racks of lamb
sea salt
fresh rosemary
olive oil
garlic

First I chop up some rosemary and mix it with the salt.
I cut the racks of lamb into chops and brush with olive oil and rub the rosemary salt on the chops.

I seared the chops on a cast iron skillet until it is a nice brown on both sides.
This should leave the chops at a nice rare/medium rare. Very easy, very good from what I remember from the class.

Well, mine turned out a bit too salty. Too much salt, otherwise very good.

Here's the rest of the holiday dinner. It was awesome.

-a

No Bake Peanut Butter Cookie

2008-12-20T16:40:00.002-06:00

I'm going to a friend's holiday party and it is a cookie exchange party. So I have to make some cookies. I haven't done any desserts before, it's time I try.

I google and looked at recipes and decided that baking and dough handling is not what I want to do right now. I found a no bake cookie and it looks good. Here goes.

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

First, I boil the sugar, butter, and milk in a sauce pan. When I first put everything in the sauce pan, it didn't make sense to boil this solid mass of sugar, but it worked. Crazy. Boil it for a minute then take it off of the heat.

Mix in everything else and stir it until it become a uniform blob of brown.

Spoon little patches onto a big piece of wax paper to cool and set.

Once set, eat!

This turned out a lot better than expected considering how easy this is. It's a little too sweet for me, but I wouldn't know how to make just as much with less sugar. Would I use more milk? Either way, I'm happy.

-a

Chili with Poblanos and Pozole

2008-11-27T12:06:00.002-06:00

This is my favorite chili from the Chopping Block class I took a couple weeks ago. This is a thicker chili that can be served in a tortilla or in a bowl.

2 Onions
3 garlic cloves
1 and a quarter pounds of tomatillos
2 and a half pounds of cubed pork shoulder
cumin
cilantro
3 poblano peppers
2 jalapeno peppers
a can of hominy
salt and pepper

First I put the quartered onions, the tomatillos (removed husks and rinsed), the jalapenos, and the poblanos in th broiler to char the outside a bit on all sides. I added the garlic cloves near the end because they burn easy.

I browned the pork in a big pot in two batches because there are so much. Then I set the pork aside.

I take the vegetables out of the broiler and put the onions, jalapenos, tomatillos, and garlic in a blender. Save the poblanos for later. Blend the vegetables into a puree.

In the big pot add cumin and the vegetable puree in the pot and add the meat back in.
I add just enough water so all the meat are touching the liquid. Add salt and pepper to season. Bring it to a boil and simmer for two hours.

While the chili is simmering, I peel the charred skin off of the poblanos and cut them into strips. Rough chop the cilantro and set everything aside.

After 2 hours of simmering, I added the poblano strips, cilantro, and hominy in the chili and turn the heat off. Stir everything up and let it sit for a few minutes.

I served it with tortillas and made tacos. It was delicious. My favorite chili from the class. Favorite chili I ever made.

-a

Chili Class

2008-11-22T13:54:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago I took another class at the Chopping Block. We learned to make 3 different chilies and corn bread. Fun class. I got lazy about writing but I will be making my favorite of the three chilies today. Will post about this.

Recent failed experiment = Ginger candied carrots. Don't ask.

-a

Update

2008-08-25T23:52:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted in a long time. This have just been a crazy-busy-fun-at-times-painful-at-times summer for me and I just haven't had the chance to really make anything new and interesting or have the motivation to write much. Cooking haven't been a high priority lately. Summer is almost over and I will cook more stuff for the blog in coming weeks and months.

I did make a few new things I didn't write about. I don't even remember how they were made, I just have some pictures. I'll post them here.

I made pork ribs one time. It was good.

I made some beef short rib. Marinaded it too long and it was too salty.

Split pea soup was a sucess. I will redo that one sometime.

Then, I went off the deep end with the bacon wrapped salmon (terrible).

I am looking to go a different direction with the cooking blog and have a more specific theme. I might concentrate on "cooking on a budget" recipes, maybe more seasonal recipes, more technique based blog entries instead of recipes, mix in some restaurants and product reviews, maybe more vegetarian dishes, or I might go nuts and turn this into a kitchen laboratory and make up crazy stuff like bacon wrapped salmon. You got to play to win right? Cooking is my toy anyway why not really have fun with it? Right now I don't know. I am planning on taking more classes to get more ideas.

-a

Shrimp Boil

2008-07-13T13:18:00.003-05:00

It's been a while, I know.
Yesterday I made shrimp boil. I used a store bought premade spice pack to make this.

1 box of seafood boil spice pack
2 lbs of shrimps shell on
some salt
3 corn cobs
4 smoked sausages, I wanted to use andouille sausages, but I can't find them at the store
2 lemons

I fill my big dutch oven with water to about 2/3 full. Add the spices and some salt to taste. Bring the water to a boil.

Chop up the potatoes and corn. I cut them into big chunks. Add them to the boil. Return to a boil and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Chop up the sausage into big chunks as well and add to the boil. Let that sit for about 10 minutes.

Add the shrimps and bury the shrimps to the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat off and let it sit for 5-7 minutes.

Then it is ready to be serve. I took all the food out of the water and into a big bowl and squeeze the juice of 2 lemons on everything.

This was pretty good. Lots of work to eat. I think if I had shrimps with head on it would be better. Next time I think I will try crawfish and or crabs.

-a

Saffron Rice with Shrimp

2008-06-08T14:32:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since the last entry. I've been busy with work and other stresses. Been cooking old stuff and haven't done any new recipes in a while.

This new one I found in a free little recipe book in a rice cooker that my mom gave me. The dish sounds very easy to make, so I changed the vegetables up a bit and added shrimp because I like shrimps. The shrimps and rice are made separately.

First for the shrimps.

1 lb of shrimps shell on
garlic powder
red curry powder
olive oil
red pepper powder
salt and pepper

I throw everything listed above in a ziplock bag and let in marinade for about an hour.

Next is the rice.

2 cups of white rice
a box of chicken broth, about 30 oz.
5 stems of asparagus
2 stems of green onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 serrano peppers
a tiny tiny bit of saffron maybe a tenth of an oz.
salt and pepper to season.
some cilantro for later.

The ziplock bag in the picture is the shrimp marinading.

The saffron is expensive. I bought a half oz package of it for 27 bucks. Whatever it is, it better good.

I chop up all the vegetables small and all the rice ingredients except for the cilantro into the rice cooker and cook.

I pan fried the shrimps and it smelled delicious.

The rice was not ready but I cannot wait so I ate a couple of the shrimps.

Once the rice cooker is done, let it rest for about 15 minutes. This is suppose to let the moisture get absorb back into the rice.

Now it is ready to plate.

This is very good. The shrimp was perfect. The rice taste great, maybe a bit too wet, but not bad. I still can't identify the taste of the saffron, but if it is the general goodness of the rice, then it was worth it. At 27 bucks a half oz, this is like the most expensive spice in my cabinet.

The rice cooker is great. At first I thought I used too much broth, but the rice cooker just cook the broth away without burning the rice. What's left is a very flavorful rice.

-a

Pizza Potpie

2008-04-30T21:39:00.003-05:00

I saw this one on the food network. Some restaurant around here does this. It looked fun to make. It is a pizza that is cooked upside down in a bowl.

Pizza dough
slices of mozzarella cheese
pasta sauce (I choose one that has sausage in it)
mushrooms
pepperoni
Basil leafs

First I prepare the bowl by spraying some cooking spray on the inside.

Then I stack the cheese on the bottom of the bowl. On the cheese I added a layer of pepperoni, then 4 or 5 whole mushrooms, more pepperoni then I pour on the sauce. I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese.

This next part, I have no idea what I am doing. I have to make a pizza crust with this pre-made pizza dough. I rip a small chunk of dough and started making a ball. Then I flatten it and try to stretch out the dough as evenly as I can. I used some flour to make it more workable. The crusts I made was very ugly, but it's ok. I am only using them as lids to the bowls.

Bake the bowl at 435 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Pull the bowls out and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

Serve it by putting the bowl upside down on a plate and dump the pizza on the plate.
Easier said then done. I either didn't use enough flour or I didn't grease the edge of the bowls. One of the two crust got stuck. I had to cut it out of the bowl and it didn't look any good. Luckily the other bowl came off easy.

The pizza tasted like a pizza, nothing impressive. I didn't cook this for taste but just thought it would be fun to make pizza this way. In Chicago here I can order a pizza a hundred times better for less than I spend on making this.

There is one big problem with this, the sauce inside got watery and it was more like a tomato soup on a thin crust than anything. So it got messy.

I have to make the sauce thicker. Since it is cooked covered, the sauce didn't have a chance to dry. I would have to use tomato paste instead maybe? Maybe add corn starch? This just didn't turn out that good. Not worth the effort. Maybe I should go to this restaurant to try it.

-a

Ox Tail Soup

2008-04-09T21:01:00.003-05:00

This one is from the OG. I added some mushrooms to make it mine.

3 lbs of ox tail
A bunch of black Chinese mushrooms (been soaking overnight)
lots of green onions
a few cloves of garlic
salt
parsley

First trim the excess fat off of the ox tail. Ox tails are fat. Trim them a bit.
Then chop up the green onions and throw them and the garlic in a dutch oven. Then put in the ox tails. Add as much water as the dutch oven will allow. Add some salt. Bring to a boil.

Boil it at medium heat (not simmer) for 3 hours. Skim off the fat that floats to the top, there will be a lot.

I made the mistake at hour 2 when I tasted the soup and it tasted bland, so I added more salt. Stupid me.

After three hours, I added the mushrooms too. Let that boil for about 45 minutes.

I made rice to eat the soup with. Made a minced ginger in soy sauce for a dipping sauce for the meat. Topped the soup with fresh parsley and some raw green onion.

I over salted the soup. It distracted the beef broth taste. It was disappointing. The beef broth would've been really good. Damn it. The rice really came in handy here. The oxtail was delicious though. The ginger soy sauce is great for meat.
I really want a do over with this one, this could've been so good.

-a

Catfish with Black Bean Paste

2008-03-30T21:26:00.004-05:00

This is one of my favorite dish that my mom makes. I'm adding some heat to it.

a pound and a quarter of catfish nuggets
a couple spoon fulls of black bean and garlic paste
some minced ginger
2 stems of green onions
1 jalapeño pepper

Chop up the green onions and pepper. Toss the green onion, ginger, and jalapeño in a skillet with oil in medium heat and toss it for a few minutes. Add the fish and the black bean paste mix is well so all the fish pieces are covered in sauce. Saute for about 6 to 7 minutes.

This is delicious, it's a bit salty so I served it brown rice and green beans.

Just like home, but with a bit of heat which I think makes it even better. This is awesome and cheap to make too. I'm going to end up making this every week.

-a

Shepherd's Pie

2008-03-23T13:13:00.002-05:00

I made Shepherd's Pie over the weekend.

4 lbs of premade mashed potatoes (it was on sale at the store, otherwise I would try to make my own, and I felt lazy)
2 lbs of grounded beef.
1 can of corn
1 can of green peas
a couple cloves of garlic
1 can of mushroom gravy.
3 shallots

This is another easy and cheap recipe. First I brown the ground beef in big skillet. I added some cumin, salt, and grounded pepper on the beef as it browned. While the beef was browning, I chopped up the shallots and garlic. Put the browned ground beef and all of the vegetables in a casserole tray and mix them up.

Pour the gravy evenly on top of the beef and vegetables. Then layer the mashed potatoes on top of everything. Smooth it out so it is nice and even.

Bake the shepherd's pie for 45 minutes at 350.

This is much better tasting than it looks. The picture above looks kind of gross.
Every ingredients in this just fits together. I probably could use an extra can of gravy. Actually the next day after I put it in the fridge, it stay together better and it wasn't a mixed up blob like the above picture.

This is something that I can try and experiment with different vegetables, different spices on the meat or even different types of beef. I can see pot roast working great on this. Maybe next time.

-a

Corned Beef and Cabbage

2008-03-16T13:03:00.002-05:00

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day besides drinking myself silly, I'm making corned beef and cabbage. I found this recipe through Google and it seem very easy.

a 3 lbs piece of corned beef brisket
a big head of cabbage
5 carrots
7 red potatoes.

First, I put the corned beef and the flavor packet that came with in my dutch oven. I put enough water in the dutch oven to cover the brisket. I let that simmer for about 2 and half hours.

I then put in the chopped carrots and potatoes. The recipe said to put in the potatoes whole, I had to chop mine because they are bigger and my dutch oven is not that big. Everything have to fit. I let that cook for about 20 minutes.

Then I took the brisket out and put the chopped cabbage in. Again, I have to do this because my dutch oven is not big enough to fit everything. Cook all the vegetables for about 15-20 minutes.

Let the brisket rest for 10 minutes, then carve.

Put everything together and eat.

This was very easy to make and pretty damn good too. One of those can't mess it up recipes. I might do this more often than just having it during St. Patrick's Day.

-a

Chinese Mushrooms on Bok Choi

2008-03-08T14:09:00.003-06:00

This is a pretty common dish when I go out with my family to dinner in Chinatown.
I'll try to make it with my own little twist (bacon).

A big bunch of baby bok choi
three hand full of dried Chinese mushrooms (soaked overnight)
a half pound of bacon
2 cloves of garlic
some green onions
a bit of oyster sauce
a couple cups of beef broth
a bit of corn starch

First cut the bacon slices into little pieces then brown them in a medium skillet. Take the bacon out and leave the bacon fat in the skillet for later.

Mince the garlic and put in the bacon fat. Add the bok choi, add a bit of water and salt, cover and let simmer for about 6-7 minutes.

Now the mushrooms, put them in a pot add the browned bacon, chopped green onions, and beef broth. I also added some of the water I used to soak the mushrooms in. The water smelled good and I thought it would be good. Let it come to a boil, then in a separate little dish mix the oyster sauce, corn starch and a couple spoon full of water and mix them. Add that into the boiling mushrooms. Continue to let it boil and reduce it to about about 2/3.

Uncover the bok choi and toss it a bit for a few minutes and put them in a plate. When the mushroom sauce reduced to a nice thick sauce, pour it over the bok choi.

I served it with rice.

This was pretty good, the sauce is different from what I have had in restaurants. I think they didn't use beef broth and just cooked in water and oyster sauce and corn starch. I like what I made though. I was impatient and didn't brown the bacon enough. I would have liked it to be more crispy. Next time, I'd brown the bacon more and maybe use less beef broth and more oyster sauce to change th sauce up a bit.

-a

Meat 101 Class

2008-02-28T21:10:00.002-06:00

I went to another class at The Chopping Block. This one was about cooking meat.

It was a lot of fun. We made a "Red Wine Beef Daube" which is a braised beef stew type thing. This was ok, I think if the class was longer and it had more time to cook this would taste a lot better. The beef could be a bit more tender. The sauce was good though, it was red wine and a bunch of veges and spices. I forgot exactly what.

We also made a "Sausage and Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin". This was pretty good. My group kinda made it too big and it took a little longer to cook than everyone else's. I was already full by the time this was ready. I probably learned the most cooking this dish. Learned to butterfly a loin the right way; learn to deglaze and make sauce. Although we didn't brine the pork, we talked about it and I will have to try that sometime.

Lastly we made a "Grilled Lamb Chops 'Scottaditti'". This was my favorite. Delicious and easy to make. It's probably expensive though, it uses a rack of lamb.

Like the knives skill class I took, this reminds me of all the kitchen equipment I need to buy. I'm gonna have to go shopping soon.

-a

Cold Soba With Peanut Sauce

2008-02-23T10:43:00.003-06:00

I had to make something vegetarian for a little get together at my place, because one of my friends is vegetarian. I like when I have guinea pigs to try my experiments.

one pack of soba noodles (about 12 oz precooked)
two handfuls of dried Chinese black mushrooms
half a head of red cabbage
a few stems of green onions
a pound of baked tofu
a handful of shredded carrots
lots of sesame seeds
Sesame oil
Peanut sauce
soy sauce

The mushrooms takes a bit of preparing. I had to soak them in water overnight. When they're done soaking, they're nicely plumped and soft. Cut off the stems and cook. Boil them in water for a little while. Drain and rinse in cold water until they are cool.

Cook the soba in boiling water for a few minutes. It only takes about 3 or 4 minutes. Then drain and rinse in cold water until the noodles are cool. Set the noodles aside.

Chop up the cabbage, green onions, tofu, and cooked mushrooms. Throw them and the carrots in with the noodles. Sprinkle a lot of sesame seeds, I used about a half cup and probably could've used more. Add some soy sauce, not too much. Add sesame oil, a good amount. Toss and add peanut sauce, use a lot. Use as much as necessary. I tasted it as I toss to make sure I'm using enough.

Either put the whole thing in the fridge for a little or just let it chill in room temperature. Then serve.

Haha. This turned out very good. I liked it, my guests like it (or at least that's what they said). This dish is probably better for summer, but it was good anyway. The cabbage adds a nice crunchiness to it. The sesame oil adds a very nice smell, it goes great with peanut sauce.

I always thought vegetarian dishes are hard to season and stuff, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

-a

Garlic Shrimps

2008-02-13T21:37:00.002-06:00

I saw this recipe in a magazine. It seems simple enough and I like shrimps.

1 bunch of shrimps (about 20)
4 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeño pepper
lots of olive oil
salt
a bit of dry rosemary

I had frozen shrimps, so I defrosted them by running cold water over the shrimps in a strainer.

Chop up the garlic and jalapeño. Leave the guts and seeds of the pepper in, you want this spicy. Throw them in a skillet and drench them in olive oil. I used a lot of olive oil, about a half cm deep.

Let the oil get hot over high heat. The idea is to sear the shrimps so it is a bit crispy on the outside. After the oil is nice and hot, put the defrosted shrimps in the skillet. Give it a few minutes on each sides. Add salt and rosemary on each sides of the shrimps as they cook.

I ran into a little problem here. I think the shrimps are not completely defrosted or maybe they are just too wet. The shrimps started sweating. Water started coming out and the shrimps are not searing. They just kinda boiled in oil and water. I didn't want to overcook the shrimps so as soon as the shrimps looked cooked I pulled them. Because of the water coming out of the shrimps, the shrimps didn't pick up the flavor of the garlic and the pepper very much.

I put the shrimps on a bed of spinach because veges are good for me.

It didn't taste great, it was ok. I think I can do better next time. I didn't pick up the spiciness and the garlicness. It is not crispy like how I intend it to be. Boo!

Next time, I will defrost the shrimps ahead of time in the fridge, then maybe pat it dry on paper towel before I cook them. I will post an update. Hopefully it will be better.

-a

Pulled Pork 2nd attempt

2008-02-06T21:36:00.000-06:00

I liked it so much last time, I made it for a superbowl party this time.

3.5 lb pork shoulder
liquid smoke
3 cloves of garlic
a stem of green onion
Chili powder
Salt and pepper
1 mystery hot pepper (not that hot)
some vinegar
lots of barbeque sauce

This time around, I marinaded the pork before cooking it. I marinaded the pork in liquid smoke, smashed garlic, hot pepper, chili powder, salt and pepper overnight.

Then I put it on a baking tray and wrap that tight with foil. It is important that very little moisture escape. Bake it at 325 for 4 and a half hours.

Next is my favorite part, ripping it apart. Use two forks and go to town. Tear it into shreds. When it is all shredded up, I pour on the barbeque sauce. I used a lot.

I love pulled pork. This one was good. The marinade adds a lot of flavor. The liquid smoke is ok, but since I don't have a smoker, this will have to do.

Too bad I had to take it to the party. Over the course of the game, this got cold and was not as good later on. But next time I make this for myself, I will try to do the same thing. Maybe try a different hot pepper.

-a

Seared Tuna - 2nd attempt

2008-02-06T21:13:00.001-06:00

I made seared tuna again. This time I added some more fanciness to it. I bought a new cast iron skillet and now I can sear things at super hot temperature. This is perfect.

2 pieces of tuna steak
soy sauce
a lemon
2 stems of green onion
salt and pepper.
sesame oil
sliced almonds

First I marinaded the tuna in soy sauce, salt, pepper, and juice of a half of a lemon. Last time I marinaded overnight and it was too salty. This time, I only marinade for an hour.

I heat up the skillet nice and hot with cooking spray. Then I sear the tuna for just about 2 minutes on each side. I want to leave it rare on the inside.

When it's done, I top it with sesame oil and sliced almonds just to add an extra touch. Something to make it mine. Hehee.

I made green beans and rice as sides. Use the other half of the lemon for extra juice.

I liked this dish. Much better than last time. Tuna picks up flavor pretty good, it taste almost like red meat. I gonna experiment a bit with some new marinades next time.

-a

Braised Ox Tail

2008-01-26T14:49:00.000-06:00

I didn't even know how to cook this. I went to the store and saw this and thought it would be interesting. So I bought all the stuff I thought I would need to cook ox tail and throw it all together and see what happens.

3 lbs of ox tail
1 yellow onion
a couple stems of green onion
a few slices of ginger
a handful of shredded carrots
a half box of beef broth, about 16 oz.
lots of soy sauce, between a half cup and a cup
lots of sugar, about 3 tablespoons
a splash of worshire sauce.

First, I brown the ox tail a little in a big pot. Just barely cook the outside a bit. Then I threw in the ginger and chopped up yellow and green onions. Let that cook for a few minutes.

Then put everything else in, the carrots, broth, sugar, soy sauce, worshire sauce. Stir it a bit to mix it up and let it simmer on low heat for 3 hours.

I made rice to have with it because the flavor is gonna be strong with all the soy sauce I used.

For not having a plan, a recipe to follow, I'm proud of what I made here. It is actually pretty damn good. Braising it for 3 hours make the ox tail very tender. The flavor is good, very beefy taste. Goes great with the sweetness of carrots and all the sugar I used.

I tossed the bones, I probably could have saved it to make broth. Maybe next time.

-a

Ham and Cheese Rolls

2008-01-24T20:16:00.000-06:00

This is a snack thing that I made. I had this before, I just don't remember when and where.

Sliced ham
Cream cheese
Cucumber
Tortilla

There is really no cooking involved with this. I just had to put it together. I'll make it up by taking more pictures.

Cut the cucumber into strips, not too thin. Cut them about a quarter inch thick square and about the length of a half of the tortilla.

Lay a tortilla flat and spread the cream cheese on top of it. Use a lot, cover the entire tortilla. Put a couple slices of ham on top of that. Leave about a quarter of the cream cheese uncovered away from you. Put a couple strips of cucumber on the edge, line them up like the picture below.

Roll it up around the cucumber. The extra cream cheese at the end will make it stick. Then cut it into thick slices.

I made a bunch. I like it.

This is a good easy snack thing to make. I will probably try variations in the future. Maybe add avocado, maybe try flavored cream cheese, turkey, smoked salmon... I don't know, possibilities are endless.

-a

Honey Almond Chicken Breast

2008-01-24T19:58:00.001-06:00

I feel like chicken tonight.. Actually it was last night.

First I marinade chicken breast in salt, pepper, and lemon juice in a zip lock bag.

A couple hours later, I added the honey and sliced almond.

I took the chicken out of the bag and put them on a oiled up piece of foil on a oven plate. I brushed the honey on top of the chicken evenly and thoroughly. The idea is that the almonds have to stick to the chicken. So I used a lot of honey. Sprinkle on the almonds, I used a lot of that too. These are big pieces of chicken.

In the oven at 350 for 40 minutes and it's done!

The honey kinda melted and didn't all stay on the chicken. The almond did stick though, but not well.

It tasted pretty good, the chicken managed to stay a bit moist. That's good. I usually don't like chicken breast because they get dry. This didn't. The lemony taste and the honey makes a nice combo. I like it... Still not a big fan of white meat chicken though.

-a

Chili 2

2008-01-21T10:37:00.000-06:00

It was a zero degree cold Chicago weekend. Chili sounds appropriate. This time I made the chili a little different than last time. Lets see how it turns out.

1 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 jalapeño pepper
1 poblano pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 medium size white onion
1 can of corn
2 cans of black beans
a bunch of cilantro
a lb of grounded beef
a lb of grounded turkey
a bottle of bock beer
cumin
chili powder
salt and pepper
liquid smoke
worshire sauce

First I browned the meat in a pot, add salt, pepper, cumin, worshire sauce and liquid smoke. I didn't measure anything, just threw some in. After they are cooked I set them aside in a bowl.

Next I cook the vegetables. Chop everything up, gutted the peppers. Only use about 2/3 of the cilantro. Saute the vegetables in the pot for about 6-7 minutes. I added some cumin, more salt and pepper and some chili powder to the vegetables. After the vegetables start smelling good, I added the meat back in.

After the meat goes back in the pot, I added the rest of the ingredients too. The tomatoes, beans, and beer. I added more chili powder and stir. Let the chili cook for a couple hours and stir occasionally.

When it was ready, I served it with cheese on top and a little of the cilantro that I had left.

The chili this time is good. I liked it better than the last time. The cilantro was a good call. Though the meat last time with grounded pork and beef was a bit better, the liquid smoke really added a good smell to the chili. It is a bit spicier this time, even though I use a milder pepper with the poblano, I used a lot of chili powder this time. Just enough heat for me. Good stuff. This may be the last time I do chili this season though. Then again, who knows.

-a

Curry Shrimp

2008-01-12T13:32:00.001-06:00

Last night I hosted a little get together. Played Monopoly, I dominated. I also cooked dinner, I kicked some ass doing that too. I'm awesome.

I made curry shrimp.

2 pounds of shrimps
2 cans of coconut milk
2 table spoon of curry powder
unmeasured about a table spoon of chili powder
a couple hand full of sliced carrots
2 cucumbers
a medium sized onion
2 stems of green onions
a hand full of cilantros
some salt
jasmine rice on the side

Cook the rice first, that takes about a half hour, this curry dish only takes about 20-25 minutes to make.

First, chop up all the vegetables. In a pot add oil and saute the onion, green onions, and ginger for a few minutes to get it smelling good. Pour in the coconut milk, curry powder, chili powder, cucumber, and carrots. Bring it to a light boil and mix it and add salt, taste and add more until it taste good. Let that simmer for about 12-15 minutes. Add the shrimps and mix again. Let it cook for about 5 minutes and adjust salt again. Keep mixing. give it another minute, take it off of the heat. Add a bunch of chopped cilantro and it's done.

I served it with the rice that is just finishing up.

This was good. Got good reviews from my friends as well. Maybe they're just being nice. So I'm the ultimate judge and I liked it. If I was cooking for myself I probably would've throw in a couple hot peppers. But I know not everyone can handle the heat, so I skip that part.

This is better than the curry chicken. I like curry and will definitely continue to try different curry dishes. This is an 8, the chicken was a 6-7.

-a

Holiday Party - Leg of Lamb with Potatoes

2007-12-26T21:47:00.000-06:00

I hosted the Christmas party for my family this year and made it pot luck. There was only the five of us so nothing too crazy but it was a fun time. I made leg of lamb.

One 4.5 lb leg of lamb (bone in)
some dried crushed rosemary
salt and pepper
three cloves of garlic.

This recipe that I found online was so easy, I figure it was the safe thing to do. I chopped up the garlic and mixed it in the rosemary, salt and pepper. Rubbed it all over the lamb and stabbed small slits in the lamb to push the garlic pieces in.

Then it was just the matter of cooking it. The recipe I found saids to cook it low and slow. 250 for four hours covered and 2 more uncovered. It is not going for medium rare. It is cooking it til it falls apart. I like this kind of cooking; it is kind of like the pulled pork and the lamb shank that I've cooked before. I like both of those.

After 6 hours of cooking the lamb and my condo is smelling delicious, tear the meat apart, rip the bones out, and let it sit. The lamb should be tender enough where you can use two forks and rip the meat apart. I actually cut them into slightly bigger than bite size pieces(chopstick friendly size) with my brand new kitchen shears because we are having it Chinese family style. The meat soak up some of the juice that the meat have sweated out. Moist meat is good.

It's time to make the potatoes.

5 small red potatoes
Lots of salt
Some dried rosemary
A little garlic powder (not pictured)
Enough olive oil to cover all the potatoes

I quartered (cut into fourths)the potatoes with my brand new santoku. Did I mention I bought a brand new knives set? It is sweet. The knife glided right through the potatoes with no effort. Best purchase of 2007 for me.

Throw the chopped potatoes in a baking pan and add the rest of the ingredients. I mixed it all up by hand make sure every pieces are covered. Bake the potatoes at 450 for 30 minutes, toss them a bit at 15 to make sure all sides get a bit of browning.

The lamb kind of cooled a bit so I put everything on the plate and put it all back into the oven a to keep warm as the oven cool back down from 450. About 10-15 minutes later, it was nice and warm and ready.

It was a pot luck and my parents brought sticky rice and Chinese broccoli. My brother brought desert, chocolate dipped strawberries. Dinner was awesome.

Happy Holidays!

-a

Chili

2007-12-19T21:53:00.000-06:00

I just thought it's about time I learn to make chili. It's winter time, there is nothing better than coming in from the cold to a hot bowl of chili. ...Well, I can think of a couple things, but this blog is about food.

2 pounds of grounded beef/pork combo
1 big red bell pepper
1 white onion
1 jalapeño
1 cubanelle pepper
2 cloves of garlic
28 oz can of diced tomato
10 oz can of kidney beans
10 oz can of black beans (later added)
6 oz can of Tomato paste (later added)
grounded pepper
salt
chili powder
cumin
a bottle of sam adams winter lager

First I seasoned the meat with cumin, pepper, and salt, then brown the meat in a big pot on high heat. Take the cooked meat out but leave the meat fat in the pot. Finely chop up the vegetables and in the pot they goes. Cook the vegetables on medium heat season with chili powder and more cumin, salt and pepper. When they start to smell good, put the meat back in and stir. Oh this is important, when chopping the jalapeño and cubanelle, take the middle guts and the seeds out and throw them away. That is where the death heat are. You don't want any of that.

Then I pour in the beer, diced tomato, and kidney beans and bring to a boil.

This was originally all the ingredients I had. The consistency seems off. It was too thin. So I made a quick run to the store for a can of tomato paste. I also picked up a can of black beans to add. I added the new extra ingredients and now it looks right.

I keep tasting to test and season accordingly. I let it simmer for about an hour and a half and it's done.

The chili was good. For a first time chili, I was please with what I made. Just the right amount of heat. The proportions of meat to sauce to beans to vege was just right. Good job Alex!

Chili is one of those things that can be adjusted every time until the perfect mix is created. So I will definitely make chili again sometime and change it up a bit next time.

-a

Pan-seared scallops

2007-12-03T16:17:00.000-06:00

This one I saw on TV once and it seem easy to do.

a pound of big sea scallops
non-stick canola oil spray
salt and pepper
mango salsa, I bought store bought stuff because I'm lazy and these store bought ones are actually fresh and good.
shredded carrots for garnish
a lemon for juice

Defrost and rinse the scallops, pat dry. Sear each side for about 2-3 minutes with the non-stick spray on medium high heat. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on each wide while it cook.

THAT'S IT!. The rest is just garnish and side stuff. Put it on a plate with the salsa on the side and carrots the half lemon for juice. Easy.

This is one of the more fancier dish for the effort. This is good if you like scallops like I like scallops.

-a

Knife Skill Class

2007-12-03T16:14:00.000-06:00

Last week I went to a Knife Skill class at the Chopping Block. My bro gave me a gift certificate from there for my b-day a while back and I finally get to use it.It was a nice class, taught me how to use a chef's knife and learn about other knifes. Now I'm dangerous. I've been holding a knife the wrong way all this time. This class also let me know that my knifes at home sucks. I will be getting new knifes hopefully soon.

-a

Curry Chicken

2007-12-03T15:57:00.000-06:00

OK it's been a while. Lately, I've been repeating recipes and been busy haven't updated in over a month. And I've been lazy, I have 2 dishes with pictures and I just haven't written about them. Here is one I repeated, Curry chicken. Last time i made sauce and poured them on a cornish hen. This time I do it properly, bite size chicken pieces and heated in the sauce.

About 2 pounds of chicken thighs cut into small bite size pieces
Salt
Curry powder
2 cans of coconut milk (I only used one in the picture and decided I needed both later)
1 large onion
1 large potato
chopped carrot and celery
a couple slices of ginger.

First marinade the chicken with just salt for a day. Bake the chicken at 350 for a half hour. After that, drain the chicken, set it aside for a little bit.

Chop up and boil the potato for about 10 min. Chop the onion and ginger and sizzle in a pot with oil for a minute. Pour in the coconut milk and add about 1 and a half table spoon of curry powder. Drain the chopped potato and add to sauce. Add the chicken after about 15 minutes. Let the potato pieces break down a bit to thicken the sauce.

Cook everything for about another 15 min and it's good. I served it with rice.

I liked this, I'm glad I made a lot and this fed me for a few days. This time the vegetables was a welcomed addition. Everything in a sauce was better than pouring the sauce on top. Will do this again. Next time more potatoes.

-a

Steamed Cod with Bok Choi

2007-10-27T09:16:00.000-05:00

This is a something my mom would make. Not sure if cod is really used in Chinese dishes, but steaming is how Chinese cook fish. I always liked steamed fish.

1 lb of cod filet
a couple slices of ginger
a couple stems of green onions
oil
some bok choi
a clove of garlic

Put the ginger on top of the fish and put it on a plate and steam it for 30 minutes.
While that is cooking, make the bok choi. Just cut it up and put it in a pan with oil toss it a little, toss in the garlic, and put a lid on it let it cook for about 6-7 minutes. Easy.

After the fish have been steaming for 30 minutes, take that out and drain it. Chop up the green onions and put that on top of the fish. Put some soy sauce on top of it. Heat up some more oil, make it hot, pour that on top of the fish. This will semi cook the green onions just barely.

This is freaking delicious. The fish is tender, falls apart when you try to take it off the plate.

It is a very subtle taste, this whole dish is not about rich flavors. Good stuff though.

-a

Eggplant Parmasan

2007-10-25T21:00:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy at work lately that I haven't been able to put much thought into making new dishes. I have been repeating stuff so not much new stuff to write about.

Here is a vegetarian dish. My first for the blog.

1 big eggplant ( I forgot to take the picture before I cut the thing)
a bunch of mushrooms
a jar of tomato-based pasta sauce, I used one with olives
a lot of mozzarella, a lot of parmasan cheese
bread crumb and crackers

I didn't bother with using egg to make the bread crumb stick, i decided to just make it like a pastaless lasagna.

I coated a oven tray with non-stick spray and layered the cut-up eggplant on th bottom. Then next layer is mushrooms, then breadcrumbs and crackers. On top of that I poured on the mozzarella. I had a bunch leftover from the mac and cheese from that last entry, so i used a lot of it. Pasta sauce is next. I didn't intend to use the whole jar, i wanted to cover the entire tray and it just worked out that way. On the very top I added parmasan cheese, also leftover from before.

I baked the eggplant parmasan for an hour at 350.

Looks good. Taste pretty good too. Lots of cheese, lots of mushrooms, I like that. The sauce is really nothing special though. Maybe next time I'll try to make sauce from scratch and add some crazy ingredients to it.

I've always stayed away from vegetarian stuff before because I thought it would take some creative seasoning. Well, it didn't just go buy some pasta sauce. Haha. OK next time I won't cheat and make my own sauce. First vegetarian dish is a success.

-a

Ai Quattro Formaggi (Mac n Cheesex4)

2007-10-10T18:56:00.001-05:00

I wouldn't put mac and cheese on here unless it is half fancy. So here is my 4 cheese mac and cheese:

1 lb of penne pasta
3 cups of cream
approx 1 cup of mozzarella
approx 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
approx 1 cup of sharp cheddar
approx 1 cup of a "3 pepper" cheese
a clove of garlic
a handful of parsley
some butter
bread crumb

First cook the pasta in water with salt until it's cooked. Then drain and dump it in a buttered baking pan.

Then make sauce. Heat some butter in a sauce pan and sizzle the garlic and parsley for a little bit. Add the cream and the cheese and heat it until it's all melted and become sauce.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix it good. Throw some bread crumb on top and add more cheese on the top. Put it in a 350 preheated oven for 30 minutes and smell the awesomeness. Sniff it in. yea..

The mac and cheese is so much better than kraft pre-made, package stuff. The baked crust is great, everything else is great. Not gooey enough, but i just made more sauce and that's solved.

Ohh man, and filling too. I have enough to feed me for like three, four days.

-a

Curry Cornish Hen

2007-10-04T20:43:00.000-05:00

I had one more Cornish Hen that was frozen in my freezer, time to use it.
I always like curry chicken, this will be the first time I ever make it.

One Cornish Hen cut in half, marinaded in salt and pepper.
a can of coconut milk
one and a half tablespoon of curry powder
a small onion
a bit of ginger
a potato
Rice as a side

Internet recipes all cut the chicken in pieces and cooked in the curry. I'm using a Cornish Hen and my knifes sucks, so I'm cooking the chicken separately and pouring the curry sauce on top of it.

Throw the chicken in the oven, 450 for 30 min. I want it crispy, I covered the chicken with olive oil and bake at high temp. Man, I need better ventilation in my condo, I got the place smokey.

Skin and chop the potato into cubes and boil it for 10 minutes. Put oil in a pot and brown the onion and ginger for a few minutes then pour the coconut milk in. Add curry powder and some salt. Drain the potato and dump that in too. Let that simmer for about 15 minutes. The house is starting to smell.

When everything is done, take the chicken out, rice on the side and pour the curry sauce all over the chicken and rice.

It taste pretty good, not enough salt. I added more salt and it taste great. It's the kind of food that I don't really want to use the effort to eat the meat off the bone. I understand why I should have used boneless small chicken chunks. Not too spicy, kinda sweet. This is good stuff. After venting the condo with open windows for an hour, I'm very happy with this dish.

-a

Soy Sauce Ribs

2007-09-21T18:47:00.000-05:00

I messed up my ribs last time, this time I'm redeeming myself. I have help this time. I got a recipe from my parents. This one is from my homeland, Mother China. Soy sauce ribs, aka 1-2-3 ribs you'll see why.

1 tblspn wine (I used sherry)
2 tblspn of vinegar (forgot to include this in the picture)
3 tblspn of sugar
4 tblspn of soy sauce
a bit of oil
a couple stems of green onions
a couple slices of ginger
2 lbs of spare ribs

First in a pot, add the oil and sizzle the green onions and ginger for a few minutes. Then mix the sauce ingredients. Throw in the ribs and sauce and brush the sauce all over the ribs. The recipe said to simmer for about half an hour. The juice from the ribs made the sauce light. That's not suppose to happen.

Oh well, I'll taste it anyway. It's a lot of ribs, I'll just have half of it. I'll continue to cook the other half.

It is blandish. The ribs itself is a little tougher than I like too. Let see how the other half turns out.

I cook the ribs until the juice almost all evaporates. the sauce is now dark and thick.

I had the ribs the next day and this is how it is suppose to be. Good stuff, taste sweet and soy saucy. More tender than yesterday too. So the idea is to cook it until the sauce is thick and dark, skip the recommended time in recipes. Judging my eyes is how to do this.

-a

Empty the Fridge Beef Stew

2007-09-17T19:56:00.000-05:00

I have accumulated a lot of vegetables in my fridge and it's time to empty the thing.
Time to make stew, I'll only have to fill in th blank with a few things. The rest are in my fridge.

2.5 lbs of cubed stew beef
4 stalks of celery
2 cloves of garlic
2 yellow onion
2 potatoes
a box of mushrooms
2 jalapeños
3 sticks of green onion
some fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Curry powder
4 cup container of beef broth
Dried rosemary
some red wine...
yes. this will last me a while.

First, I was suppose to brown the beef and sauté the onions and celery. I tried, but the pot I have is not that big. Oil and beef and onions and celery in the pot, medium/high heat. Some of it got brown, other parts kinda cooked, other parts starting to burn. It's time to move on. I dumped the broth and other stuff in. Other stuff includes everything but the potatoes and the mushrooms. If I had carrots, that would wait too. Simmer for about an hour and a half, the beef needs to get tender. After that put the rest of the ingredients in. and simmer for another hour.

The stew should get thicker and the beef and potatoes should be falling apart just a bit.

The taste test:

It was ok... , but a lot of the earlier vegetables like onions and celery melted. The jalapeños is a kick in the butt. Something is missing. It needed more salt. I added more salt and it was still kinda goodish.. I added too much, but still better than before.

Overall it was decent. If I do a better job of adjusting the salt,it would've been very good. It does seem like a bit of a waste of vegetables when so much of it melted and the taste is so full that it's hard to detect each taste. I think the secret to stews is to keep it simple and not throw everything in. That way you know what you're eating. Mystery stew is not a good thing. Oh, and use lots of salt but be careful how much to use.

-a

Cornish Hen with Honey Orange Glaze

2007-09-12T21:18:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made Cornish Hen. I like the fact that I'm cooking the whole animal. Makes me feel caveman.

1 Cornish Hen, I had 2 but 1 was enough, the other one is gonna freeze
Sea Salt, Grounded pepper
Honey
Orange Marmalade

First chop the chicken in halves lengthwise, rinse the chicken and dry it with paper towel. Rub salt and pepper on all sides. Mix the honey and orange marmalade together. It was kinda thick so I threw a splash of raspberry vodka on it. Yeah, I just wanted some alcohol. It thin out the glaze some and it's easier to brush on the chicken.

Spread the glaze on all sides of the chicken. Bake it at 400, brush the chicken with the juice every 15 minutes. Bake for a total of 45 minutes.

I also made some rice as a side. It looks delicious.

Taste pretty good too. I think it can use a little more spice, maybe a little charred skin would make it crisy. That would be even better. Good nevertheless. The breast is kinda dry, but not as bad as bigger chicken. The next bird sitting in the freezer right now will get some chili pepper treatment. I'll up the temperature and maybe shorten the time.

-a

Chicken with mushroom cream sauce

2007-09-02T10:33:00.001-05:00

I make chicken all the time but alway with dry spices. This time I'm gonna try making sauce.

3 Chicken thighs
A bunch of mushrooms.
A Bit of flour
Some milk
A pinch of chicken broth cube crushed up
Butter
Green onion
a clove of garlic
Cheap white wine

I marinade the chicken in the cheap wine and some green onions. I meant to do this overnight, but something came up and I ended up marinaded the chicken for 2 nights.

I had extra mushrooms so I baked the mushrooms and the chicken together. 350 for 40 minutes.

To make the sauce, I cook the mushrooms in butter until it's a nice soft. Then I put in the chopped up green onions and chopped up garlic. After a while, I put in the chicken broth crumbs and a bit of water. Stir it a bit and pour in the milk and flour. Keep stirring and heat in low heat until it's thick.

When the chicken is done, pour the sauce on the chicken and eat.

The chicken tasted a bit bitter from the wine. Not the best, I have to use a different marinade next time or just don't do it for so long. The sauce tasted good, but again, not perfect. Need more experimenting with sauce. Totally ODing on mushrooms. No more for a couple weeks.

-a

Pulled Pork with Baked Beans

2007-08-24T18:37:00.000-05:00

I like pulled pork. When they're good, it melts in your mouth. I looked up how to do this and it seem easy. Lets do this.

3 lb pork shoulder roast
2 cloves of garlic
a big can of baked beans as side
chili powder
salt and pepper
1/2 cup of barbecue sauce, I like Sweet Baby Ray's.
1/4 cup of vinegar

First take the roast and spread salt, pepper, chili powder, and minced garlic all over it. Put it a oven pan and cover it with foil. You got to make it bake in its own sweat or it'll dry. Bake the roast at 350 for 4 hours. Yes, it takes that long to break down the meat so it will be tender. Meanwhile, just chill.

After the 4 hours, let the meat sit and resoak some of the juice back into the meat. Then use two forks to shred it. The meat should just fall right off.

Do this in the oven pan so it can soak up the rest of the juice that got baked off. I then put it in a pot to mix with the vinegar and BBQ sauce over low heat. Just mix it well, add more chili powder, pepper, whatever you want.

Throw the beans in another pot and just heat it up and you got a side.

You can put the pulled pork on buns for a sandwich, but I'm not a big bread guy. So I eat it with a fork on a plate.

This was absolutely delicious. I love it. Plus I got enough to last me a couple more meals. Shoulder roast have just enough fat on it to make it melt. Ohh man, foodgasm..

-a

Lazy man's Seafood Gumbo

2007-08-15T17:59:00.000-05:00

I had toothache and didn't feeling chewing much. I'm making gumbo!
I looked up how to make gumbo from scratch and just didn't feel like doing all the work. I bought some gumbo mix, a bunch of vegetables and went to work.

1 pack of Zatarain's Gumbo mix. (They're so good it doesn't make sense to make it from scratch)
a few stalks of celery
a yellow onion
a stem of green onion
a couple mild peppers (I'm not sure what kind, below is a picture of it, maybe you know what kind)
a can of crab meat
about a dozen oysters (thanks mom)
Random dashes of Louisiana hot sauce

I threw everything except the crab and oysters in a big pot, add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for ten minutes and throw in the crab and oysters. Simmer for another 15 minutes and it's ready.

I was good. The oyster goes great with the gumbo. Everything was perfect. Yeah, using prepackaged mix might be cheating considering that I'm writing a cooking blog about it. It was good and I don't care.

-a

Pan seared ribeye steak

2007-08-13T21:21:00.000-05:00

Simple steak, I've done steak before and did them quite well. But this is a new method that I'm trying out. Usually, I throw a steak and a pan and cook until done at medium rare like I like it. This time I'm going to just sear the outside at super high heat and finish it in the oven. It is suppose to create a caramelized outer crust that is gonna be tasty. Here it goes!

Ribeye steak, about 2/3 pound, an inch thick
sea salt
fresh grounded pepper
oil
frozen broccolis as a side

First I rub the salt and pepper on both sides and let the steak rest until it's room temperature. Then I heat the pan at high heat for a few minutes. Add the oil and let that get super hot. Meanwhile the oven is preheating to 275.

Throw the steak on, 2 minutes a side. It already look delicious. Throw it in the oven. I think this part need some adjusting. I was busy doing laundry and other stuff and lost track of time here. So I don't know how long it was in there for. Frozen broccolis are being microwaved now too.

Put everything on th plate for picture time.

This steak probably could've ben good, but I overcooked it. I like steak at medium rare and it came out medium well.

I had to use steak sauce to chew down this shoe leather. As thin this steak is, I probably could've skipped the whole oven part. The caramelized crust thing was good though. The outside of the steak was actually excellent, just the dried and tough overcooked inside that I didn't like. I've done better steak before. This kinda suck.

-a

Goat cheese pizza

2007-08-06T17:33:00.000-05:00

I've had this one time at some restaurant, forgot where or what's the name of the restaurant. It was good and I'm gonna try to remake it. Goat cheese is expensive but if this comes out as good as the restaurant had it, it will be worth it. This is not really a eat till you're full type of meal, more a fancy appetizer thing. If this is good, next pot luck type thing, this is what I'll make. Yes, invite me to more stuff please.

1 thin crust pizza crust
2 packages of crumbled goat cheese
a handful of grapes
2 sausages
some olive oil.

First I spread the olive oil on one side of the crust and spread the goat cheese on top of it. cut up the grapes in halves and put them all over the pizza. Cut up the sausage in small pieces and do the same. This might a a part where I can go either way, I used raw sausage and most internet recipes with other sausage pizza uses cooked sausage. I think I just have to bake them longer.

I baked it at 350 for about 45 minutes. I had to completely cook the sausage. The crust turned out crispy. Exactly how I wanted it.

It turned out awesome. Cheese is a bit strong so it's not a really eat until you're full pizza. But perfect if cut up smaller as finger food, for those fancy schmancy parties. Probably really good with wine.

Throw more parties, people.

-a

Spare Ribs with Dry Rub

2007-07-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

Oh man... this one, I messed this one up just a bit.

1 lb and a half of spare ribs
dry rub made of:
4 tsp of chipotle chili pepper powder
2 tsp of red curry powder
2 tsp of garlic powder
2 tsp of sea salt
a bunch of fresh grounded pepper

I used a lot of rub for this one because I'm not using bbq sauce and I haven't made ribs before. I just didn't know better. I mixed all the rub together and spread it all over the ribs. I then wrapped the ribs in lots of foil, completely wrapped tight. I threw it back in the fridge til the next day. This is more because of time constraint and my busy schedule then cooking reason.

Next day I threw the thing in the oven at 300 degrees for 2 and a half hour. Google said 2 hours to make it tender 4 hours to make it melt. 2.5 hours later, I opened the foil and raise the temp to 350. Random internet recipe said to do this as well.
I looked at the rib and realized I might have mess this up. The rub is on so thick, it's caking on the rib.

Half hour of heat later, I finally pulled out. tee hee.

I figure maybe I can just scrape the rub off. No such luck, if I scrape it, the whole layer of rub comes off. Then all I would have plain ribs.

So I taste some, not bad. A bit spicy, but I like that and I'm hungry. I was able to pull the bones right off of the meat. I like that, but maybe a little more tender would be even better. I kept eating. At some point I realized I am going to die of a high blood pressure from the sodium. This is so salty, so much spices. I didn't get to finish it. I'm still drinking water right now, maybe some beer will flush the salt out of me.

Next time, cut the rub amount by at least half. Follow the actual internet recipe instead of trying to make my own rub, at least try it that way first before I get experimental. Up the cooking time to about 3 full hours.

I think I need a grill too. I can't have an outdoor one in my little condo though. Are those indoor drills any good? Do they really get hot enough? Time for some research.

-a

Oyster Omelet

2007-07-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

My mom gave me a bunch of oyster. They are good, pretty large ones and I got a bunch. More oyster dishes to come. Thanks mom!

Tonight, I made oyster omelet. I've had it at some restaurant before and I liked it, plus it sounds simple enough. Problem was I didn't pay attention to what else goes in it. Oh well, I'll just have to wing it.. again.

3 eggs
6 medium size oysters.
1 stem of green onion
1 chunk of ginger (not as much as shown int he picture)
oil
salt and pepper

First, I made a salsa-like thing with the green onion and ginger. I chopped it all up very fine and tossed it in oil over high heat in a pan for a few minutes. This is a salsa-like thing that goes good with chicken in Chinese dishes, and since I'm not making chicken... I don't know...

Then I rinsed the defrosted oysters, mom said to use water with some corn syrup instead of just water. OK, will do and did.

Break and scramble the eggs, then add some salt and pepper for taste. Throw the egg in a pan sprayed with non-stick canola oil and fry away. Standard omelet procedure, throw everything on top, fold, and flip. Unfortunately, my omelet folding skill is not up to par. It got a little sloppy. An oyster even escaped.

I topped it with some oyster sauce, because it goes well with the green onion-ginger mix. It tasted good, but I used too much oyster sauce, but after I pushed them off to the side the omelet was delicious. Good stuff, the "salsa" actually went really well with the oyster. Not very much food, I should have made more, like 9 oysters and maybe one more egg. Plus I need to learn how to fold an omelet better.

-a

Breaded Pork Chops

2007-07-24T23:05:00.000-05:00

Breaded Pork Chops. Sounds easy enough. Lets do this!

Pork Chops
Egg Whites
Bread Crumbs
Generic Pork Seasoning (yeah what? I'm still a newbie)
Rice for a side
non-stick canola spray

Rinse the pork chops, pat them dry. Dip them in egg white and cover with bread crumb and pork seasoning mix. Put them on a dish sprayed with non-stick oil. Despite the egg white. the bread crumb won't stay on that well. Anyone got tips on what to do to make breading stay on better (without deep frying) send them over.

Bake the pork chops for about 35 min at 375, flip them at about 20. The first flip was no problem at all. The breading stayed on the pork. When it was done, the other side stayed with the plate. I was not happy.

I made rice for a side.

It tasted like pork chops, don't know what to say. A bit dry though, maybe I over cooked it. Damn you random googled recipe, 35 minutes my ass. Over all not that exciting. Anyone got tips on how to make some special pork chops, send me a good recipe. I need some sleep..

-a

Lobster Tail

2007-07-21T17:49:00.000-05:00

This one is a total impulse buy. I was a bit hung over and I went to the groceries store and saw lobster tail on sale. It was like half the regular price. So all of the sudden I wanted lobster tails. I don't know anything about cooking lobster, but I didn't care. I googled it and found a basic recipe and I lazied it up a bit and simplified it a bit. Th lobster tails are previously frozen and was on ice when I bought it. I was suppose to defrost it but it was an impulse buy so I want it NOW. I just rinse it with water, it didn't feel that cold and it was flexible so I figure it was ready to go.

2 lobster tails
olive oil
sea salt
pepper
a clove of garlic minced
a bit of rosemary leaves

I start off by chopping the tail in half lengthwise. Then basically throw everything on top of the meat. I was still a bit hung over and didn't feel like doing things perfect. I used a lot of oil, the recipe said to do that.

Preheated the oven to 400 degrees and baked them for 10 minutes.

The lobster tail was good, totally hit the spot. The meat was a bit tough, but I bought it frozen so I kinda expected that. Not enough oil, I should have had some oil on the side to dip. I was still happy with it. Next time though, I will try to fancy it up a bit. Put a little more planning in it, maybe try white sauce and cheese.

I gotta stop with the impulse buys. Even though it was on sale, it was still more expensive for a semi-meal then I should be spending. It wasn't really that much food.

-a

Abalone

2007-07-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

I didn't cook this, it was a gift. This is abalone. It may be ugly but this is a super Chinese delicacy. This piece, about 2 inches by 1 inch by 1.5 inches cost probably over 20 bucks, maybe more, maybe a lot more. Abalone is no joke, and I get to eat it. I've had abalone before but not one this big. It was good, doesn't taste like any other thing I ever tasted, but good. A bit chewy but in a good way. Personally I'd never buy it, too expensive, but when it's a gift, hells yea.

-a

Seared Ahi Tuna

2007-07-16T20:12:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made seared ahi tuna. I haven't cooked fish in a loooong time mostly because I'm not that good at it. I can't rely on the meat's natural flavoring; it takes seasoning and stuff. There is only one way to get better and tuna steak was on sale at the grocery store. This is my chance.

*WARNING* This dish is not for the faint of heart, it is served rare. I am only going to seared the outside of the steak. Well done equals dry as hell fish. I don't like dry as hell fish.

Yesterday, I started out marinading the tuna steak in soy sauce, a little sea salt, and crushed rosemary. I don't know the first thing about cooking fish so I decided to use whatever. Rosemary was my whatever. I marinaded the fish for like 30 hours. This will come into play later.

After marinading, I rub dijon mustard and fresh grounded pepper on the fish. I heated olive oil on high medium heat, let it get hot for this one before putting the fish in. Seared the thing about 2 or 3 minutes on each side. I also steamed some asparagus as a side. Again I didn't measure anything, I just winged it.

It came out pretty good. Doneness-wise it was just the way I wanted. Seared outside rare inside.

Flavor-wise, it was good too. The rosemary and mustard goes good together, with the soy sauce the thing tasted almost like red meat. No fishy taste at all, even though it was rare. One problem though, it was too salty. I think I over-marinaded it. Next time I got to cut down the marinading time to like 1 hour. And add more sides, maybe rice, I'm still a bit hungry.

I will definitely try this one again. I think with a little adjustment this will be pretty damn good.

-a

Jerked Chicken with Red Bean Rice

2007-07-12T18:27:00.000-05:00

This dish is inspired by something I saw at the Taste of Chicago. I didn't try it there, but it looks easy enough that I can try to make it.

I googled jerked chicken and found out it's pretty hard to make, so I bought pre-mixed jerk spice and used that. I also used pre-packaged red bean rice, because they're good and I'm lazy.

1.6 lb of chicken thigh (thigh because it like them more than breast, i'm a leg man)
lots of jerk spice, I probably used about 2-3 tbsp maybe more
some olive oil
a box of red bean rice
not pictured is lots of tabasco and louisiana hot sauce. I wanted some heat.

First, I chopped up the chicken to bite size. Then I added the jerk and the oil and hot sauces. I played with the chicken like play-doh. Yes, I used my hands, because that's love. After it's all nice and mixed. I threw it in the oven at 350 for 45 min.

The red bean rice, I just followed the directions on the box. half hour of water, oil and rice later that was ready.

Everything came out looking delish.

Then, the taste test. The jerk taste wasn't very strong, and I used a lot of it. The hot sauce was barely noticeable. Overall, it tasted more like chicken than jerk. Not necessary a bad thing, I like chicken but I was expecting more. With the red bean rice, the red bean rice kind of overwhelms the jerk taste. Again, not necessary bad but it didn't meet expectation. Overall it tasted good, I just expected more kick, nothing a little hot sauce couldn't fix. This actually gave me the opportunity to choose which hot sauce to use. I like Srachi, it's the best hot sauce ever. Since I have enough for a couple meals, I can try Srachi with this and other hot sauce next time.

This is an easy to make meal that is pretty good. I'll definitely try this again. Next time I'll do more research and see how to bring out the jerk taste more.

-a

Lamb Shank

2007-07-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

I usually don't eat this well, but I want the blog to be interesting.
Yesterday I made lamb shank. I found a recipe on Google and kinda followed it. I made lamb shanks before so I have some ideas on what I should be doing. I changed it up a bit this time.

2 Lamb shanks
some rosemary
some curry powder
4 cups of beef broth
salt and pepper
an onion
several carrots
a couple cloves of garlic

I put the lamb shanks, the beef broth, garlic, and the spices in a dutch oven and bring it to a boil. I didn't measure anything really, I just haphazardly threw the spices in. After it boiled, I put it in the oven at 325 degrees. After the 2 hour mark I cut the onion and carrots and dump that in. I made a pack of whole grain rice as a side.

I continue to cook the whole thing for another hour (3 total) then it's done. The recipe said 3 hours, I think I left it in too long though.

Ok, this time around it wasn't as good as the last time. The meat is suppose to be falling off the bone tender and it is, but too much. It is a bit soggy; I cooked it too long. Taste-wise, it is good, maybe a bit salty but the rice offset that. Next time I have to watch the clock and not overcook it. Next time I might throw in some more ingredients too, maybe some peas or something.

-a

Rib roast

2007-07-01T10:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I made a 4.75 lb rib roast because I want to be done with cooking for the next few days. I like cooking meat, they are much easier than vegetables because they have natural flavoring to them and I don't have to do much as far as seasoning goes. Eventually, hopefully I'll learn to cook vegetables better.

This roast will last me a few days. I googled "rib roast" and found several recipes that are all the same. Just add salt and pepper and nothing else. AWESOME, this is easy too. The differences between the recipes are all about how long and what temperature to cook it. I decided on low and slow. I went to Paulina Meat Market for the rib roast, it is expensive. 4.75 lb cost me 68 bucks. This is like 5 meals of prime rib, at least. So it's ok.

4.75 lbs rib roast, (bone chopped off but tied back on)
fresh grounded black pepper (lots)
sea salt (lots).
Last minute addition of 1 clove of garlic and a splash of olive oil.

I rubbed the salt and pepper on the meat and let it sit in room temperature for a while. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Yes, 200. I'm suppose to let it sit for a while to let the middle warm a bit to make cooking the thing more even.

I threw the meat in the oven for about 4-5 hours. Cooked it til the middle reaches 120 degrees for rare. Last minute I decided to add a clove of garlic and a splash of oil for the juice. i don't know why.

Five hours later I pulled it out and let it rest for a few minutes before carving. I need a new knife. I butchered the meat (ha). and teared an ugly piece out and it wasn't bad at all. Alost the entire meat is pink rare. It is tender, juicy, delicious.

That was the most bang for the effort (not necessary for the bucks). Lots of good steaks for barely any work. Good shit.

-a

Hello

2007-06-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

This is a blog of me cooking various dishes. I've only started cooking about 6 months ago, and I started at zero. Now, I kinda enjoy it. My kitchen is adequate, I think. In the last 6 months I've made some good stuff, some not so good stuff. But I had fun. So I am going to record my various kitchen experiments.

-a