Hmm, I am in search of the perfect marinade for steak. Teriyaki is easy and delicious, been there. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, crushed garlic and various garden herbs of your choosing; club med style – nice! Go south of the border with some chili powder, olive oil and cumin. I’ve done these in addition to dozens of free-style, what’s-in-the-pantry improvised concoctions. Some have served me well. Some have tenderized nicely. Some have failed miserably.
I change it up often, but have yet to find the ingredients that blow the lids off my guests’ culinary palettes. I can’t bring myself to use a premade deal that you buy in stores; not when the answer lies in the perfect combination of ingredients between the Any-where-USA Farmers Market and the Lucky grocery store.
The quest continues. Your ideas are welcome!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Ginger Hell
Just went toe-to-toe with four batches of homemade ginger ale. I was inspired by Ming Tsai's (of food network fame about 4-6 years ago) recipe. I was kickin' it old school and flying without a net (no recipe). Just simmering ginger root and sugar. If you are doing this, I suggest having a turkey baster near by so you can truly mix effectively. Although the last two batches are about 80% there, I will not have my recipe for a while. The bummer is it won't be ready for the baby shower, but I do predict success some time this summer. Oh and don't ever, EVER take the boiled ginger root, blend it to a pulp then mix it back into the ginger water, that was a nightmare and WAY too strong, phew! Try cleansing your palate after that mess.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Been a while and coal to gas.
I forgot I had this blog until Dustin reminded me. I almost gave him credit for having a good memory until I realized I didn’t.
Long stories short: since my last post back in ’06 I bought a house, I’m expecting a son in May of this year, a black guy and a woman are running for president and I switched from a coal to gas grill and I love it!
You heard me! I cook with a gas grill now. I know that nothing really beats the taste of coal, but when you don’t have that charcoal grilled taste to lean on; it forces you to sink or swim. Let’s face it, any average Joe can salt and pepper a rib-eye, slap it on a old Webber and claim to be a Master Griller, but it takes culinary balls to do what I do friends; kinda like admitting I’m a Dolphins Fan. Wow, I just said that and confessed I like cooking with gas.
Now, I am by no means against charcoal grilling. The simple fact is, in my old age and with my busy schedule, I don’t have time to wait out the coals AND clean that mess up. And contrary to popular belief, you can still get a flame broiled taste from a gas grill. Since purchasing my “Millennium Falcon” (affectionately named for its ability to take you out of this world), I have had the pleasure of preparing four cuts of beef, three pounds of skin-on salmon (the only way to go), three cuts of pork, chicken breasts and thighs, bell peppers, scallions, broccoli, zucchini, carrots and I reduced a teriyaki glaze on the side-burner. Listen, I have done all of this on four burners and I have yet fire up the rotisserie burner and searing burner located to the right of the three main burners. BTW, if you are wondering who the Han Solo is to this M. Falcon, it’s me. I am still interviewing Chewies; it didn’t seem right to give that title to my wife; I mean she’s loyal, but no self-respecting woman wants to be compared to a Yeti-like extraterrestrial.
I know, it sounds a bit like I’m just trying to justify my laziness; you may have something there. But check this out, recently for my wifes birthday, I had all the meats marinated, went to turn on the grill and it started to rain. No problem, I turned it off, shut off the gas and covered the grill up. Two minutes later, the rain stopped and I reversed the process. Nine pounds of beef (rib-eye and flat iron) and three pounds of Salmon were done in 35 minutes—in your face mother nature.
Do I miss the charcoal taste? Yes. Do I like being able to come home from work, season the meat and veggies and start cooking 10 minutes after a walked through the door? Even more so! Don’t hate on gas is all I’m saying.
Wait until March 22nd boy, I’m opening up all 6 burners on the M. Falcon and cooking it up! I am planning to have a two to three hour grilling marathon featuring the entire Food Pyramid. I will guarantee you that I will get people full and happy in less than twelve parsecs.
Long stories short: since my last post back in ’06 I bought a house, I’m expecting a son in May of this year, a black guy and a woman are running for president and I switched from a coal to gas grill and I love it!
You heard me! I cook with a gas grill now. I know that nothing really beats the taste of coal, but when you don’t have that charcoal grilled taste to lean on; it forces you to sink or swim. Let’s face it, any average Joe can salt and pepper a rib-eye, slap it on a old Webber and claim to be a Master Griller, but it takes culinary balls to do what I do friends; kinda like admitting I’m a Dolphins Fan. Wow, I just said that and confessed I like cooking with gas.
Now, I am by no means against charcoal grilling. The simple fact is, in my old age and with my busy schedule, I don’t have time to wait out the coals AND clean that mess up. And contrary to popular belief, you can still get a flame broiled taste from a gas grill. Since purchasing my “Millennium Falcon” (affectionately named for its ability to take you out of this world), I have had the pleasure of preparing four cuts of beef, three pounds of skin-on salmon (the only way to go), three cuts of pork, chicken breasts and thighs, bell peppers, scallions, broccoli, zucchini, carrots and I reduced a teriyaki glaze on the side-burner. Listen, I have done all of this on four burners and I have yet fire up the rotisserie burner and searing burner located to the right of the three main burners. BTW, if you are wondering who the Han Solo is to this M. Falcon, it’s me. I am still interviewing Chewies; it didn’t seem right to give that title to my wife; I mean she’s loyal, but no self-respecting woman wants to be compared to a Yeti-like extraterrestrial.
I know, it sounds a bit like I’m just trying to justify my laziness; you may have something there. But check this out, recently for my wifes birthday, I had all the meats marinated, went to turn on the grill and it started to rain. No problem, I turned it off, shut off the gas and covered the grill up. Two minutes later, the rain stopped and I reversed the process. Nine pounds of beef (rib-eye and flat iron) and three pounds of Salmon were done in 35 minutes—in your face mother nature.
Do I miss the charcoal taste? Yes. Do I like being able to come home from work, season the meat and veggies and start cooking 10 minutes after a walked through the door? Even more so! Don’t hate on gas is all I’m saying.
Wait until March 22nd boy, I’m opening up all 6 burners on the M. Falcon and cooking it up! I am planning to have a two to three hour grilling marathon featuring the entire Food Pyramid. I will guarantee you that I will get people full and happy in less than twelve parsecs.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Gone Fishing!
I have been cooking fish/seafood a bunch in the last month and here is my opinion thus far:
1. Salmon: always good
2. Catfish: great deep-fried
3. Pacific Basa: Classy, light flavor. I will be doing that again.
4. The fish that Sue's husband caught a week ago: not so good, actually, pretty gross wish I new what it was so I don't make that mistake again.
5. Shrimp Alfredo: didn't use a recipe, but rather many years of absorbed Food Network and watching my mom. It was amazing, if I do say so. Lisa even took some to her friend at work and SHE was bragging to everyone about it. The secret is taking little dried shrimp, pulverizing that into a powder and adding it to the homemade alfredo sauce before you add the pasta, veggies and whole shrimp. Another secret is not cooking the raw shrimp before you add it to the alfredo and pasta; they will cook after you bring the heat to about medium-low and cover the pot for about 6-8 minutes before serving. Did I mention that pasta is one of my least favorite things? For reason I was craving an alfredo dish that day; thank goodness for cravings.
1. Salmon: always good
2. Catfish: great deep-fried
3. Pacific Basa: Classy, light flavor. I will be doing that again.
4. The fish that Sue's husband caught a week ago: not so good, actually, pretty gross wish I new what it was so I don't make that mistake again.
5. Shrimp Alfredo: didn't use a recipe, but rather many years of absorbed Food Network and watching my mom. It was amazing, if I do say so. Lisa even took some to her friend at work and SHE was bragging to everyone about it. The secret is taking little dried shrimp, pulverizing that into a powder and adding it to the homemade alfredo sauce before you add the pasta, veggies and whole shrimp. Another secret is not cooking the raw shrimp before you add it to the alfredo and pasta; they will cook after you bring the heat to about medium-low and cover the pot for about 6-8 minutes before serving. Did I mention that pasta is one of my least favorite things? For reason I was craving an alfredo dish that day; thank goodness for cravings.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Phew, March-July is a BITCH for food!!!
Man alive! How long has it been? Let me get a look at you!!!
I have cooked a total of about 6 home-cooked meals between March and July. During March, I start getting ready for camp, end out After School Rec and start planning my vacation, so that leaves little time for culinary creativity. In addition to work, I got back into acting so my time is spent rehearsing, taking classes and auditioning. It's cool acting again (especially improv), it feels like I am truly creating rather than just "Yes Anding" someone else's work. I was never much of a musical writer; I tried, but my creations never got off the ground... but acting, that is the stuff!
Any way, back to business. Now that I am settling into my schedule, I have been cooking more. My latest adventure was grilling 7 slabs of pork ribs and 16 pounds of chicken for my teen camp. Every time my camp reaches its capacity of 50 kids, we abandon the traditional Burgers and Dogs for ribs, chicken and potluck style sides, desserts and drinks.
Since I was cooking for a mass audience of minors, for safety (and time), I made sure to slow roast the ribs and chicken in the oven at about 250 for about 2.5 hours (seasoning with a garlic-herb mix and seasoning salt). Again, considering the number of kids, I decided to keep the sauce simple (Bullseye with sugar added for sweetness and clingyness). the ribs were flavorful, tender, savory and sweet. A number of staff said they were the BEST ribs the ever tasted; I thought they were just being nice, but staff went for thirds and asked to take some home... mission accomplished!
We hit 50 again for this coming week so I am looking forward to another 5-oh Backyard BBQ (as we call them now).
I have cooked a total of about 6 home-cooked meals between March and July. During March, I start getting ready for camp, end out After School Rec and start planning my vacation, so that leaves little time for culinary creativity. In addition to work, I got back into acting so my time is spent rehearsing, taking classes and auditioning. It's cool acting again (especially improv), it feels like I am truly creating rather than just "Yes Anding" someone else's work. I was never much of a musical writer; I tried, but my creations never got off the ground... but acting, that is the stuff!
Any way, back to business. Now that I am settling into my schedule, I have been cooking more. My latest adventure was grilling 7 slabs of pork ribs and 16 pounds of chicken for my teen camp. Every time my camp reaches its capacity of 50 kids, we abandon the traditional Burgers and Dogs for ribs, chicken and potluck style sides, desserts and drinks.
Since I was cooking for a mass audience of minors, for safety (and time), I made sure to slow roast the ribs and chicken in the oven at about 250 for about 2.5 hours (seasoning with a garlic-herb mix and seasoning salt). Again, considering the number of kids, I decided to keep the sauce simple (Bullseye with sugar added for sweetness and clingyness). the ribs were flavorful, tender, savory and sweet. A number of staff said they were the BEST ribs the ever tasted; I thought they were just being nice, but staff went for thirds and asked to take some home... mission accomplished!
We hit 50 again for this coming week so I am looking forward to another 5-oh Backyard BBQ (as we call them now).
Friday, March 18, 2005
Slurpee-licious!
Once in a long while, 7eleven gives birth to a Slurpee flavor that far surpasses that of their traditional cherry and cola flavors, and today was that day. At first, I passed over the SpongeBob SquarePants Slurpee placard for the simple fact that it was SpongeBob. However, upon further examination I realized that Mr. Pants was advertising a delicious Pineapple flavored Slurpee today! Although it is rainy today, I decided to get a 40 oz. of Pineapple Slurpee and a Welch's Strawberry Soda to top off the Slurpee during the slurping process. It was gooooooood! And it still is, well, the the Slurpee is now about 73% Strawberry Soda now.
So far my all-time Slurpee flavors are...
- Grape (they need to bring that back)
- Sour Green Apple
- and Pineapple
When none of the above is available, I default to the traditional cherry or cola flavors. The ultimate is to have a Sour Green Apple Slurpee with a Green Apple Smirnoff Twist topper, yummy!
I need to stay late at work for a 3 on 3 basketball tournament tonight, it should be a quick and easy gig. I wonder what I should grab for a quick dinner... fried chicken from Albertson’s, maybe a value meal from Carl's Jr.? It is pay day, perhaps a dinner from that BBQ joint on Hopyard. The choices are endless and I have 2 hours to decide.
In related news, I wonder what kind of food will be at Lily’s birthday party tomorrow. I am quickly starting to learn that food is a low priority for most party givers and I am getting DAMN sick of it! I just hope that Lisa and I don’t make a big ‘ole trip for her niece’s birthday party only for me to be disappointed in the food. Last time I took a trip up to Petaluma for a family outing (Fathers Day 2004), the return on investment was WAY low, but I did grill the hell out of some short ribs that day. I’m not big on traveling long distances to cook, clean and serve only to come back home and clean the stuff I just dirtied two hours ago. The only exception is a camping trip where folks are chillin’ for a good amount of time. Ah well, what will be cool about going up to Petaluma tomorrow is, well… umm… I guess I will just go and see what’s cool because I am at a loss here.
So far my all-time Slurpee flavors are...
- Grape (they need to bring that back)
- Sour Green Apple
- and Pineapple
When none of the above is available, I default to the traditional cherry or cola flavors. The ultimate is to have a Sour Green Apple Slurpee with a Green Apple Smirnoff Twist topper, yummy!
I need to stay late at work for a 3 on 3 basketball tournament tonight, it should be a quick and easy gig. I wonder what I should grab for a quick dinner... fried chicken from Albertson’s, maybe a value meal from Carl's Jr.? It is pay day, perhaps a dinner from that BBQ joint on Hopyard. The choices are endless and I have 2 hours to decide.
In related news, I wonder what kind of food will be at Lily’s birthday party tomorrow. I am quickly starting to learn that food is a low priority for most party givers and I am getting DAMN sick of it! I just hope that Lisa and I don’t make a big ‘ole trip for her niece’s birthday party only for me to be disappointed in the food. Last time I took a trip up to Petaluma for a family outing (Fathers Day 2004), the return on investment was WAY low, but I did grill the hell out of some short ribs that day. I’m not big on traveling long distances to cook, clean and serve only to come back home and clean the stuff I just dirtied two hours ago. The only exception is a camping trip where folks are chillin’ for a good amount of time. Ah well, what will be cool about going up to Petaluma tomorrow is, well… umm… I guess I will just go and see what’s cool because I am at a loss here.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Yes, Yes, Begin the Buffet Renaissance!
Ah, the buffet saga continues. In all fairness, there were MANY factors that tainted the Paris experience, and thank you for reminding me of Larry’s lascivious antics that night, that was worth its weight in gold. That boy has a dead eye for hot chicks and ample bosoms. He beats me in bosom appreciation, my mom often reminds me that I started at the age of two watching National Geographic; Larry is a true prodigy.
Dustin does make an excellent point with meat products and recommendations from friends. Buffets are like relationship, you have to kiss a few frogs. As you can tell, Dustin is quite the culinary connoisseur and I MUST respect a man that responds in the passionate fashion that he did... plus he likes some of my cooking.
Now, allow me to address the salad buffet. This is, in fact the ONLY time I really love salads. I will eat salad and veggies like crazy at a Sweet Tomatoes. Don’t tell anyone, but I have actually gone to Sweet Tomatoes in Pleasanton for lunch by myself several times. That feels good to get off of my chest. I was fearful that my fellow carnivores would look down on me, scared that my Creole ancestors would come to haunt my dreams and culinary endeavors. So no, my friend, I do not consider salad buffets blasphemous, again buffets are a lifestyle and I will “yes and” any buffet’s efforts (well, maybe not a tofu buffet, that's just sick).
Stay tuned…
Dustin does make an excellent point with meat products and recommendations from friends. Buffets are like relationship, you have to kiss a few frogs. As you can tell, Dustin is quite the culinary connoisseur and I MUST respect a man that responds in the passionate fashion that he did... plus he likes some of my cooking.
Now, allow me to address the salad buffet. This is, in fact the ONLY time I really love salads. I will eat salad and veggies like crazy at a Sweet Tomatoes. Don’t tell anyone, but I have actually gone to Sweet Tomatoes in Pleasanton for lunch by myself several times. That feels good to get off of my chest. I was fearful that my fellow carnivores would look down on me, scared that my Creole ancestors would come to haunt my dreams and culinary endeavors. So no, my friend, I do not consider salad buffets blasphemous, again buffets are a lifestyle and I will “yes and” any buffet’s efforts (well, maybe not a tofu buffet, that's just sick).
Stay tuned…
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