This is a recipe I came up with a few years ago and I think it's time to whip it out for the blog! We always had roasted pumpkin seeds after carving Jack-O-Lanterns when I was growing up, but they were only salted and I never dug them all that much. A few years of toying with seasonings and this is what resulted... now we roast them every year! Sometimes we even go back for more pumpkins, just for the seeds! And we've got our pumpkins picked out, ready to carve next weekend... so we'll be making these again to munch on.
Went with "Code Blue" by TSOL... it seemed like it was in the spirit of Halloween (or necrophilia, whichever). -jen
heaping tablespoon of bacon salt (or seasoning salt)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon Caldo de Pollo (or powdered chicken bullion)
1 teaspoon sugar
couple dashes of cayenne pepper
couple dashes of black pepper
3 tablespoons melted butter
2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Combine all dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl until well combined.
Rinse
pumpkins seeds to get all the pumpkin guts off. Spread out onto paper towels and pat dry. Pour dried
seeds into a large mixing bowl. Pour
melted butter and Worcestershire over seeds and mix. Sprinkle about 1/2
of the seasoning onto the buttered seeds and mix... then add more seasoning if desired - some people like them slightly seasoned, some like them heavily seasoned. (I used about 3/4 of the mix and saved the rest to season
some meat for tacos).
Spread the seasoned seeds out in a
single layer on a cookie sheet and roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes,
stirring the seeds up every 15-20 minutes.
This is Part 2 of our Tall Cans recipes. The first recipe, Tall Can Mexican Black Beans, was actually made with a whole tall can of Tecate. Between the enchiladas and salsa verde here, it's really only 2/3 of a tall can of Tecate, but that just leaves the extra 1/3 for you to finish off. I really liked the beer flavour in the salsa verde. I don't usually use beer when I make it, so this was a first, and I think I'll make it with beer from now on!
Much like the black bean recipe, these recipes were inspired by the
Transplants' song, "Tall Cans In The Air." But since I used that song
for the bean recipe, I think it's fitting that I use a different
Transplants song. Justin and I always joke about their song, "Gangsters
and Thugs", because living in Humboldt County, we can relate to the
chorus, "...some of my friends sell records, some of my friends sell
drugs." It's a good sing-a-long, kiddies. -jen
ENCHILADAS DE POLLO (Chicken Enchiladas) Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 30-45 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes (not including the chicken baking) Makes: 15-20, depending on the size of your chicken thighs
6 baked chicken thighs
vegetable oil
1 medium onion, julienned
2 red bell peppers, julienned
2 jalapeños (de-seed for less heat), julienned
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup Tecate beer
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
corn tortillas (15-20)
salsa verde (see recipe below)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
*I seasoned the thighs under the skin with salt and pepper, but left the skins on to bake. Baked at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeños. Sautee for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, Tecate, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking until all of the liquid has disappeared and vegetables are soft. Remove from heat to cool.
Discard the chicken skin and shred the chicken meat from the bone into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked vegetables, green chiles, cilantro and cumin to the chicken, mixing. Taste and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
"Wet" tortillas, fried and dipped in salsa
Place 1/2 a cup of the salsa verde into a shallow dish (I like to use a pie plate) and have an additional plate available to hold the "wet" tortillas.
In a small skillet that will fit a single corn tortilla, heat enough oil just to cover the entire bottom of
the skillet over a medium-high heat, and keep the oil nearby for refills. Using tongs, place a corn tortilla
into the hot oil for 5 seconds, then flip and cook 5 seconds on the other side. Let the excess oil drip into your pan and place the tortilla right into the salsa, just to coat. Remove from salsa, letting excess salsa drip back into pie plate and set the wet tortilla onto your extra plate. Repeat, stacking the wet tortillas on top of each other on the plate until finished. Add oil to your skillet and salsa to your pie plate as needed.
Create an assembly line with your stack of wet tortillas, shredded chicken mixture, shredded cheese, and a large, rectangular baking dish. Place a thin layer of salsa verde on the bottom of your baking dish. Set a wet tortilla into the baking dish, fill with shredded chicken mixture and shredded cheese, and roll, placing the enchilada seam-side down. Continue until your baking dish is full. Spoon the remainder of your salsa (about 1/2 a cup) over the enchiladas, as well as the remainder of your shredded Jack cheese (also about 1/2 a cup).
1 can (28oz) tomatillos, drained (or 7-8 fresh, large tomatillos, roasted)
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1 cup Tecate beer
1 teaspoon chicken base (or 1 chicken bouillon cube)
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
salt & pepper to taste
In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes until translucent and tender. Add all remaining ingredients except salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer for 25 minutes. Pour into a blender to puree (but don't fill your blender more than half-way or it could explode hot salsa all over you! Ouch! Work carefully in batches... or use a stick blender and avoid that whole mess.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
I love when a recipe is actually inspired by a song, rather than coming up with a recipe and then searching for a song to go with it! I'd been in a Tim Armstrong mood the other day (when aren't I?), but wasn't feeling like Rancid, so I pulled out both albums by the Transplants. As soon as I heard the song "Tall Cans In The Air", I knew I had to do a beer recipe with tall cans! I brainstormed a lot of ideas (and will still do more), but in the end, I decided going with a Mexican theme. The black beans are Part 1 of my Tecate dinner, and they came out great! I'm not even a big fan of beans, but seasoned with all these great flavours, I couldn't help but love 'em.
Justin and I actually were discussing whether or not we could taste the beer in the beans... 3 cups in a recipe is a hell of a lot of beer. However, it didn't really seem to stand out. There wasn't a super distinct beer flavour, but I'm sure after simmering for hours with a load of other flavours, it's just going to blend in with the rest. I wouldn't change the recipe at all... though I might be inclined to try a darker beer next time, perhaps a Negro Modelo?
And so I present to you the Transplants (whom I've been listening to all week), doing "Tall Cans In The Air"... lemme see 'em! -jen
TALL CAN MEXICAN BLACK BEANS Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: Overnight soaking Cook Time: 3-4 hours Serves: 6-8
1 pound dried black beans
8 cups water
5 cups chicken broth
1 tall can (24oz) Tecate beer (separated)
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapeños, chopped (de-seed for less heat)
3 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon salt
few dashes of Green Tabasco
Sort through dried beans to check for small pebbles. Soak in 8 cups of water overnight.
Using a colander, drain soaking water from beans. Place beans in a large stock pot with 5 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of the Teacate beer. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat down to simmer for 1.5 hours.
Add tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, garlic, green chiles, cilantro, lime juice, bay leaves, cumin, coriander, oregano, salt, Tabasco, and remaining 1 cup of Tecate. Continue simmering with the lid off for another 1.5-2 hours. Part way through the second simmer, using a masher, mash up some of the beans to help thicken the sauce. Cook down until desired consistency. Sauce should be slightly thickened, but they shouldn't be soupy.
This is my first attempt at BBQ (note: I have grilled extensively before but never done true, low n' slow, smoked BBQ) and I have to say that the flavor was spot on, though I need to work on getting better color to the finished product. We ate it all before I could get a pic but we'll be doing this again soon so we'll add pics when the next round is attempted.
We have a gas grill so I used that and have to say that the temp control was a cinch. One of the three burners on low was a perfect grill temp of 225 F which exactly what you want. I used a blend of wood chips, half hickory and half apple wood, and the flavor and smell were awesome! An Oneida Digital Probe Thermometer let me know when the internal temp hit 145 F, after about 4.5 hrs in the smoke, and I pulled it, wrapped it in heavy duty aluminum foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing off the first taste.
It was perfectly medium rare inside but little to no smoke ring present, even though it had the smokey flavor. The dry rub on the outside of the roast didn't quite turn into the "bark" you see on good BBQ but it was definitely an amazing flavor, none-the-less. Since my smoke wasn't super heavy, I'm assuming it didn't color the meat, hence my desire to get more smoke on it next time.
The dry rub recipe contained herein is one of my own devising that would work amazingly on any beef or pork cut and can be applied the night before or the morning of.
A slab o meat, closely resembling brisket, made me think of Jewish deli and our love of pastrami and other cured meats. So, here's some NOFX doing their song, The Brews about hardcore Jewish punk lifestyle. "We separate our milk plates from our meat! Oi, oi, oi!" - justin
Tri-tip Dry Rub Time: 10 min Difficulty: Easy Servings: Enough to cover a 3lb roast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp Accent
3/4 tsp ground white pepper
3/4 tsp sweet paprika
3/4 tsp thyme
3/4 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 of a bay leaf
Just toss all of this in a spice grinder, or a mortar and pestle, and grind thoroughly. Apply to meat the night before cooking, or at least a couple hours before, and enjoy!
Tri-tip Smoke Steps:
Apply the rub to the roast, place in a plastic bag and leave in the fridge overnight.
Remove from the fridge at least an hour before smoking to let the meat come up to room temp.
Get your gas grill up to temp by turning one burner, not the middle, on as low as it'll go and wait a half hour or so for the grill to reach 225.
While the grill is heating, soak your wood chips in warm water for 15-30 minutes and place them in either foil pouches, or an old tuna can or some sort of metal container that will not give off fumes.
Place you wood chips over the single burner and let the smoke build in the grill before adding the roast.
Place your meat in the grill on the opposite side of the lit burner. You're trying to cook using indirect heat, not the using flames like you would with grilling meat.
Place a drip catch under your meat. Foil works fine.
Insert your digital probe thermometer, if you're using one, and set it to go off at 145 F.
Open a beer and enjoy the smell. Wait.
When the meat is done, use tongs to pull it off the grill and wrap it in foil. Set it aside to rest for 15-20 minutes.
Cut it in slices, against the grain, and eat your heart out!
The lentil soup was really new for me. I'm sure I'd had lentils in soup before, but I have no immediate memory of it. I know we didn't grow up eating lentils. Believe it or not, we DO try to eat healthy at home most the time. And in an effort to better our carb intake (which means cut out the bad carbs and add in the good ones that are low on the glycemic index - ooh, science!), we picked up some green lentils. They sat in our pantry for a couple of months before I pulled them out and just decided to throw together a random soup... which was deliciously successful. I'm not even sure it's fair to call this a "soup". I wanted something a little thicker and hardier, so I suppose it's almost stew-like. Whatever it is, it's good. And that's what counts.
We rocked out with our friend Betsy's excellent Boston choice - The Unseen, singing "False Hope". -jen
ITALIAN SAUSAGE & LENTIL SOUP
1 pound Italian sausage (I used 1/2 mild, 1/2 hot)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 Anaheim peppers, chopped
1 jalapeño, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1.5 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup flour
1 can (14.5oz) peeled tomatoes
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups lentils
1/4 cup sherry
dash of hot sauce
dash of Worcestershire
salt and pepper to taste
In a stock pot over medium-high heat, brown sausage. When nearly cooked through, add 2 tablespoons of butter. Then add onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, Anaheim peppers, and jalapeño. Cook until onions are just becoming translucent. Add garlic basil, thyme and rosemary, cooking for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over vegetable and sausage mixture, stirring to mix in and cook 5 more minutes. Then add tomatoes, chicken broth, lentils, sherry, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes until lentils are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Giardiniera is a pickled, spiced vegetable mix, often used as a condiment for food in the Midwestern U.S. Jennifer grew up in the Chicago area and was very familiar with this mix as a topping for Italian Beef sandwiches so we decided to try some here at home. This is not an authentic Italian giardiniera as it has some jalapeños, olives, fennel, etc and the Italian variety, as I understand it, is more spartan with onion, zucchini, carrots, celery, and cauliflower in vinegar.
We just went to the farmer's market, decided what looked good, and went with that for veggies. I suggest that if you like something specific, use it. If you don't like something I used, leave it out or substitute something else. This really is just a pickles veggie condiment so get creative. Do green beans if you like. Get nuts!
While giardiniera is usually pretty hot, I don't like to make mine burn-the-taste-buds-off hot. Add Serrano peppers or more red pepper flake if you like the scorching, mouth-blistering heat.
I know I'll probably hear from 15 different people how this isn't authentic or whatever but you know what? It's not the end of the world. This is: -justin
1 cup distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper flake
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
Place all the veggies in a bowl, add the salt, add enough water to submerge the veggies, cover with plastic wrap and leave in fridge over night.
The next day, drain and rinse veggies under cold water. Add the green olives and minced garlic to the drained veggies. In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, oregano, red pepper flake, black pepper and thyme. Place the vegetables in your storage container of choice (I recommend glass jars), add the whisked liquid. Store in fridge for 2 days before serving.
Note: Storing it in the fridge, the oil will separate and congeal on top. Either take the jar out of the fridge a half hour before you know you'll need to use it. Or if you need it immediately, because it's so awesome you can't wait a half hour, just remove the lid and microwave for 30 seconds and stir.
It's great on salads, sandwiches, soups, as a side dish for a heavy or greasy meal, mixed in rice dishes or casseroles, etc.
This batch was made with broccoli instead of cauliflower. (We prefer cauliflower.)
We also sometimes cut the vegetables smaller for a small relish!
Jen and I love pickles. Jen a little more than me, I think, but we both like the Claussen brand refrigerated dills.
We set about trying to find a good homemade substitute and came up with one that's pretty close to the same taste and equally as good. It's simple to make, costs less than store bought and requires no cooking or canning at all. All the ingredients are cheap and if you don't have them you can find them all at your grocery store for cheap and have enough left over to make tons of pickles.
We've tried this pickling liquid with carrots, onions, English (or hothouse) cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, garlic cloves and a variety of other stuff. Get crazy and add fresh herbs or different spices or add some sweetener if you prefer sweet pickles (we do not happen to prefer sweet pickles). You can also use this for any style of cut cucumber you like; spears, chips, whole, sandwich slices, etc.
The brine tends to last for 3-4 weeks in the fridge and can be reused several times if you happen to go through your pickles quickly, like we do.
I was in a rockin' mood when I made these and thought it was a little odd, and a tad remiss, that we hadn't had a Bad Brains song on here yet in the past 2 years so for your listening pleasure, Bad Brains and Hank Rollins covering "Kick Out the Jams", which happens to be on the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack. An awesome 80's movie, incidentally. Anyway, here's Bad Brains:
Add all ingredients to a 1qt mason jar. Stuff full of cucumbers, or whatever you like, and fill the remaining space with water. Seal tightly with a lid and shake to dissolve and infusilate all the spices and seasonings. Place in fridge and let it pickle. For cut veggies, it only takes a day or two to pickle. For whole cucumbers and such, 3-4 days are required and the bigger the veggie, the longer the time.
I like to slice some ribbons of onion, some carrot sticks, and toss some whole garlic in with the cucumbers and then you've got all the fixins for a good salad or a relish.
