So we were recently gifted some ghee from our friends at gheewell.com and were debating what to do with it beside saute, which is what ghee is excellent for. So I'm was debating doing a Dutch baby, or some caramel sauce or something like scampi and I remember I"m sitting on the last ham steak that I was gifted from a friend who raised his pork from a baby and had it cured and smoked at Taylor's Sausage. So I whipped up a hollandaise sauce, which ghee is perfect for, and roasted up that ham steak, toasted up some rye bread, and fried an egg sunny side up to top this off and away we went.
Got some Cro-Mags to go with this because we scored tickets to see the Misfits (with the surviving original line-up, including Glen), Rancid, Cro-Mags, and The Damned. So we've been listening to a lot of the old school punk from our youth.
This recipe is really simple. Separate four egg yolks from their whites. Add those to your blender. Juice one lemon and separate one tbsp juice to add to blender. Add more if you prefer a more tart or sour hollandaise. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne. Blend on medium high. Drizzle in melted ghee slowly until hollandaise is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Drizzle on food and thoroughly enjoy.
Some notes: we frequently alter this recipe to make it exotic or different. This time I added powdered chipotle and some yellow curry. The wife has often substituted lime for lemon and added cilantro for a Mexican twist. Do you.
Jen and I love to try our own BBQ sauces and whatnot as it gives us a chance to learn how to make something we love and it let's us tailor them to our specific likes. I've played around with a few different "styles" of BBQ and have always had a fondness for fruit sauces that have heat! I've done some lime chipotle, a few blackberry ones, a blueberry, as well as various vinegar bases and tomato bases, different types of booze to flavor them, and fresh vs dried/powdered ingredients. This time, I felt like trying to recreate a Raspberry Chipotle that I had years ago. It came out sweet and smokey with a long slow burn that isn't too strong at all. Exactly what I was going for!
In addition to BBQ sauce, I recently tried my hand at a mustard dill sauce. There's a local company here that sells one that residents rave about and it seemed simple enough to mimic the flavors. It's sweet, sour, and has a strong herbiness to it that regular mustard doesn't have. Some folks don't dig curry (and I respect that) so just leave the seasonings out if you prefer something like a dill/honey/mustard sauce. This would go well on a sandwich, or on a bagel with cream cheese, in a wrap, in potato/egg/pasta salad, or whisk with a little olive oil for a quick salad dressing.
Lately, I've been listening to some hardcore punk, some gutter stuff, and some real garage sounding stuff. During this cooking session, I happened to be blasting some early AFI (whom I've always had a soft spot for because of my high school days and having grown up around various band members) back before they had developed their popular sound and style and thinking that they were absolutely the first punk performance I'd ever seen. I remember watching them in '93 at the small amphitheater in Low Gap Park and wondering if they'd ever make it big. Makes me feel glad to have heard them practicing in garages and playing high school parties and stuff back in my youth before they got so big. Anyway, so here's one of their songs off their first full album Answer That And Stay Fashionable called "Rizzo In The Box". - justin
Mustard Dill Sauce Time: 10 minutes Difficulty: A five year old could do it Makes: 1 3/4 cups sauce
1 cup yellow mustard (I used French's but feel free to use stoneground, dijon or whatever you desire)
3/4 cup honey or dark agave necter
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp lemongrass powder or ground coriander
Here's the tricky part. Just mix it all together. Store in the fridge or use right away.
Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce Time: 45min Difficulty: Medium Makes: Roughly a quart
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium shallot (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
6 oz fresh raspberries
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp molasses
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp amaretto (or other booze if you like)
2 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tbsp Chipotles in Adobo, pureed
10 oz Raspberry preserves
salt and pepper to taste
In a large sauce pan heat oil over medium heat and add shallot, garlic and raspberry when hot. Sweat until shallot is translucent and raspberries break down, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add sugar, vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, amaretto, mustard, chili powder, black pepper, allspice, tomato paste, and chipotles. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Add the raspberry preserves and simmer an additional 10-15 minutes, or until desired thickness is reached. Puree for a smooth consistency. Strain through a colander with small mesh if you don't like the seeds. Refrigerate.
I'd grabbed a Chinese chicken salad at our local co-op the other day for lunch. Forgetting how much I love Chinese chicken salad, I came home and told Justin we should come up with one that we dig. So instead of Chinese, we went with Thai! I don't think we ever get tired of the combination of cilantro, basil, and mint! I was a little leery of the chipotle in the dressing (begrudgingly inspired by Bobby Flay), but it was really great! We both ate giant bowls of this and in between mouthfuls, we just kept exclaiming how awesome the salad was (and how awesome we are!)
For music... well, this is how the conversation went. Me: What do you want to use for music? J: I dunno. Me: Did we use Screeching Weasel yet? J: "What We Hate" is my favourite of theirs. Me: I like that one too.
Not very inspiring, but still a great song from a band we love. -jen
THAI CHICKEN SALAD Time: 20 minutes prep at most Difficulty: If you can use a knife, you can do it, Nicky! Serves: 6-8
2-3 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed
1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded
2 heads Romaine lettuce, shredded
4 medium carrots, shredded
1 cup broccoli florets
4 medium scallions, sliced long and thin
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons peanut butter (creamy or chunky, whichever you prefer)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons minced chipotle pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fish oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 tablespoons lime juice
2/3 cup vegetable oil
salt & pepper to taste
crunchy chow mein noodles
In a large bowl, mix chicken, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, scallions, cilantro, basil, mint and almonds.
In a smaller bowl, whisk vinegar, peanut butter, ginger, chipotle, soy sauce, honey, fish oil, sesame oil, lime zest, and lime juice. Whisk in vegetable oil until completely blended. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing onto salad and toss. Toss your salad until you can toss it no more. TOSS IT!!! Then serve with crunchy chow mein noodles on top (don't mix them in, they'll get soggy).
Tip: If you think you'll have leftovers, don't mix the dressing with all the greens. Just pour the dressing on your individual servings, that way your greens don't get soggy in the fridge.
So Jen had been craving some chili lately and I decided to make a batch on Wed, which happened to be April 20th, Carmen Electra's birthday! Also, it is supposed to be some sort of stoner holiday or hippie celebration or something...not sure where I heard that. Anyway, since stoners, bachelors, and assorted college students (was that redundant?) always have a trusty can of chili in the cupboard for that "Crap I can't afford food" emergency meal, I thought it would be fitting to undertake such a meal on said day. For musical accompaniment, I had a variety of tunes but the most fitting for this adventure would have to be Sublime's "Smoke Two Joints". I know it's not very punk but they used to be a punk band...and, well, we live in Humboldt. Reggae, ska, and such are just the norm around here. Everyone's got a Che Guevara tee or a knitted rasta hat and dreads, so this works for the day and setting.
This chili is actually very easy to pull off and has an amazing complexity to the flavor and heat. There's a slow, medium burn at the end of a spoonful that stays with you for a bit and warms the body nicely but it's not very hot up front. It has a bit of chocolate, cinnamon and agave nectar (to mellow out some of the heat) so it's very Mexican inspired and ends up having a very silky texture and a dark, smokey flavor that is a definite plus in my book! Plus, it's made with a whole bottle of dark beer, which we all know makes everything taste better! - justin
CHIPOTLE CHOCOLATE CHILI Prep Time: 40 minutes Cook Time: 2-3 hours Difficulty: medium Serves: 8-10, depending on serving size
BEEF
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds ground beef (20/80)
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
12oz bottle of dark beer (I used Lost Coast Brewery's 8Ball Stout but a porter or Guinness would work nicely as well)
VEGGIES
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 whole poblano chili
1 whole jalapeno chili
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed
1 quart chicken broth
2 cans (14oz each) whole peeled tomatoes, pureed
1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder
1 tablespoon Chili de Arbol powder
1 tablespoon Pasilla chili powder
2 Tbsp Light Agave Nectar
To start the beef you'll need to heat a high-sided skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the 3 tbsp of olive oil and when it starts to shimmer add the ground beef. As the beef starts browning add the salt and pepper and cook until well browned. Drain off the excess fat and add the cumin, cinnamon, and chocolate to the beef and continue stirring to melt the chocolate chips. Once they are mostly melted add the bottle of dark beer (making very sure to save a bottle for sampling...you know, for safety) and cook the liquid down till it's mostly evaporated. This concentrates all the seasonings and flavors in the meet before it's added to our vegetable base.
Fire roasting the jalapeno and poblano chilies is not necessary but can be done very quickly over a gas burner on the oven. Use tongs so as not to fire roast your finger tips. When the skin starts to snap and pop and singe, you are done. The peppers can then be cut in half, seeded, ribbed, and diced.
In a separate soup pot, add your 2 tbsp of olive oil and set on medium high heat. When the pan is hot, toss in your onion and sweat it down until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. While the onion is sweating, puree the whole peeled tomatoes and the chipotles in adobo (found in the Mexican or ethnic aisles of the market) in a blender or food processor. Add the garlic, poblano, and jalapeno to the onion and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the powdered chilies, tomato/chipotle puree, and the chicken stock, turn the heat up to high, bring the pot to a boil, and let it boil uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
After the 20 minutes are up, puree the entire pot. I used a stick blender but a standing blender or food processor would work. Make do with what you have. The main idea is to break down the sauce to a smoother consistency, unless you want a chunky chili, in which case, ignore this whole paragraph.
Add the meat to the veggie pot and stir in. Cover with a lid and let it simmer on low for an hour. Add the 2 tbsp Agave nectar (one could alternatively use maple syrup or some light molasses, or dark brown sugar for another twist on the flavor profile) and stir in thoroughly. At this point, one must taste and season as needed. If it's too spicy, add a little more sweetness to cut some of the heat. If it's not spicy enough for ya, toss in another chipotle and simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Serve with some bread for sopping, a little grated cheese and some sour cream and you have one killer bowl. This pot of chili will serve 4-6 folks with hearty appetites.
Oh, almost forgot to mention the best part! This chili gets better with age...to a certain extent. It tastes great the night that you make it. Try it the next day for lunch and you'll find that the flavors really marry in the fridge overnight.
So we were recently gifted some ghee from our friends at gheewell.com and were debating what to do with it beside saute, which is what ghee is excellent for. So I'm was debating doing a Dutch baby, or some caramel sauce or something like scampi and I remember I"m sitting on the last ham steak that I was gifted from a friend who raised his pork from a baby and had it cured and smoked at Taylor's Sausage. So I whipped up a hollandaise sauce, which ghee is perfect for, and roasted up that ham steak, toasted up some rye bread, and fried an egg sunny side up to top this off and away we went.
