Some people lately have asked me not so much about my current recipes, but what I am working on next.  Usually I try to do new dishes about 2 – 3 times a month.  By new I mean, something I really haven’t made much of before.  I am always tinkering with what I have made, but from time to time you really have to break into something new.

I decided this week I was going to pick up a bunch of large shrimp from my local seafood store and begin working on a barbecued shrimp recipe.  Now if you have ever been to New Orleans and tried barbecued shrimp, the first thing you will notice, is that in fact, it really isn’t barbecued.  It is pan cooked, or broiled normally.  There is no real barbecue sauce involved.  In fact, why they call it barbecued is beyond me.  It does have that tangy deep taste, so my guess is, that is the reason why.

Writing about our honeymoon, I spoke of the shrimp I ate The Alpine. This was by far the best I had ever tasted.  The flavors are still strong in my head, so this week I am going to attempt to make something similar.

I have been researching recipes from that area and have found some common themes but am still contemplating where to start.  I hope to have something to share with everyone by the end of the – (More…)

So we send the kids out with their Aunt overnight and she takes them out to a place I won’t name other than to say the title could also mean, more than one owl.  The next day, one of them has a bad stomach ache, and all that goes with what you would expect if you ate something bad.

He couldn’t keep anything down that day so the next I decided to brew up some medicine.  You see, I have been there before and I know what my stomach needed then, so I decided to make my beef and noodle stew.

Most of your beef stews do not contain any type of pasta.  I have no idea why, because it really makes the dish for me.  I add all types to my recipe.

Yes, the stew was a hit and he ate two bowls of it and it would appear he is going to make it to school tomorrow.  Whether my stew can take credit for this or it was just a twenty four hour bug is uncertain, but here it is anyway:

2 lbs. cubed beef (chuck, etc.), cut into bitesize pieces.
1 small white onion, chopped.
1 small red onion, chopped.
5 stalks of celery, cleaned.
4 cloves of garlic, crushed, minced.
2 cups of chopped baby carrots.
About 8-9 small red baby potatoes, cut small (about 8 pieces each).
1 15 oz. can of sweet corn.
1 15 oz. can of green beans.
1 8 oz can of tomato paste.
1 – (More…)

When I was a child, I was always forced to eat foods I thought I would never enjoy. I took one peek at spinach and thought it looked like someone had just mowed the lawn, and it rained, and somehow this ended up on my plate. Not taking ‘no’ for an answer, I was forced to eat this and good thing that was the case.

Did I enjoy it? Of course not. My mind already told me not to enjoy it and it took many years later for me to remember the actual flavor of spinach. Now I love the taste of it.

This was one of the things my mother did right. It made my mind realize that although you may have a conception of how something might taste, you really have no idea until you try it at least once. What a gift this was! As an adult, I find that I am open to try just about anything as long as I see no scientific reason not to. For example, I would be perfectly fine trying a raw chicken breast if science didn’t tell me that it could make me violently ill.

My wife on the other hand was completely close minded when it came to food. When we first met, it was next to impossible to get her to try anything new. She nearly cried after I told – (More…)

Quite a few years ago, my job at the time had me staying at a hotel in Stroudsburg PA. and being a young single man this usually meant I was seated at their bar come the evening. After a few months, me and many from my company became good friends with the bar and hotel staff.

One of the bartenders, Patty, introduced me to a drink that has ended many a night early for those who have come in contact with it. Red Death is one of those clever drinks that unless you are in the know, you would have no idea there was any alcohol in it until it was too late.

My impression has always been that it tastes like those Flintstone vitamins we used to take when we were kids. A super sweet drink that anyone can enjoy, but if you drink it too quick, or in large quantities, be prepared to forget much of what happened.

I have also seen the drink referred to as a red devil, but there are other drinks with that name. To me, it will always be called Red Death and usually at least once a year I find an occasion to make up a pitcher of this and share it with friends.

Amaretto
Sloe Gin
Vodka
Southern Comfort
Triplesec
Orange Juice

Mix all of the alcohol in equal parts into a shaker filled with ice. Add a splash or two of orange juice and you – (More…)

Many of us remember the days when the warning was to cook all pork well done.  I remember a school teacher telling us that undercooked pork could give us the dreaded trichinosis and even in some cases, kill us.

Perhaps in the days when swine were kept in downright filthy conditions, fed raw and wild meats and the Government had little to no oversight, this may have been true.  However, with advances in farming, regulation, and science, we understand better that cooking pork to shoe leather consistency is no longer required.

The USDA used to recommend pork to be cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees.  Of course, this will kill just about any organism, but was far too much for the leaner pork of today.  Recently the USDA dropped it down to 160 degrees to be safe.

However science alone tells us the trichinosis spiralis dies off at a temperature of around 137 degrees.   If you are really worried about it, it is also good to know that freezing pork at a temperature of 5 degrees f (-15 c) for 20 days will kill the worm and larvae or if you need it done quicker, freeze at -4 F (-20 c) for three days.

If you are now comforted in the fact you can eat pork medium rare, now all you have to do is get up the courage to try it.  The idea of pink pork – (More…)

For the home cook, or as some call, the amateur cook, the resources available to you usually come from the professional arena. Most of your cooking shows on T.V. are hosted by graduates of culinary institutions and have studied all over the world. Many have worked in some of the most famous eateries in the world and quite a few own their own restaurants.

It is understandable when I hear from some people that they feel they cannot even compete with these guys. To me, this is a mistake. Cooking, like any other art form, is not about competition. Comparing yourself to a chef is like Picasso comparing himself to a professional interior painter. Does anyone think Pablo would have been fulfilled painting homes all day? Don’t think you won’t be rewarded if you can’t perform every trick in the kitchen that a chef does.

Some of the worlds most renown music was created by artists who never read a note on paper. They never attended a school, and many taught themselves how to compose. It isn’t the knowledge that made them great, it was the enjoyment they attained by practicing their art. This is what makes a cook stand out above the rest.

Can you tell me what sticks out more in your memory, the best dish you ever ate in a restaurant or the best meal prepared by someone you know? – (More…)

Many professional chefs will tell you that presentation will not only enhance your recipe, but even hide tiny imperfections.  Many of us think that this just means that we have to use great looking dish-ware along with creative plating and garnishing.

Well, there is much more to it than that.  Think of the most delicous, satisfying dish that you have ever had, and then picture yourself eating it camping tent on a rainy day and you will start to understand that the environment that you had the meal in also contributes to your overall satisfaction.

One of the major things you can do to affect your dining environment is the lighting of your dining area.  This can change depending on the theme of your dinner.

From my personal experience files, I will submit two examples.

Every Easter the family and I visit my family in upstate New York.  Both sides of my family live in the area and our first stop is at my maternal Aunts house.  It is a rather large event where as many as 50 people show up from our family to my aunts in-laws.  Most of my extended family on this side attends and we are seated in my aunts kitchen.    My Aunts kitchen is vibrantly colored and is very bright especially on a sunny day as the room has many windows.

The lighting in this place instantly makes you think of winters ending, and the beginning of spring.  How great – (More…)

In a recent article I talked about bravery in the kitchen. After speaking with my Aunt, well, my favorite Aunt as she wants to be known 🙂 she agreed. In the end, it is only food. Food has been experimented on since the beginning of time and I would guess a good percentage of food has ended up in the trash.

Many of us grew up with the mantra not to waste food, and this is a good rule to live by. However, the creative cook cannot survive if they worry about ruining food while they try to create new dishes.

One comment I get a lot when I present a dish that people enjoy is “I have never had this quite this way before!”

To me, that is a compliment. Many people do not always want to try brand new things, but are comforted by familiar recipes. This is when taking an old recipe and making small changes can make it shine.

How does one go about this? Well, it has been my experience that the first time I try and create something, I follow the recipe to the letter and see how it tastes. Ninety nine percent of the time I usually find I want to add this, to alter that. The next time I make it, I play around with my ideas. Every time I make the dish, I change – (More…)

Being a bachelor a good portion of my life, my kitchen was based around myself. I only needed what was good for me. Then I got married, and the woman I married only knew recipes that started with “Set your microwave on high”.

When we moved into our new place, I knew it was time to put a real kitchen together and after some trial and error, here is what I found to be the ten things I need to be able to cook consistently and deliciously.  Now obviously you need a stove, refrigerator, sink, and garbage can, but this list is about those other things that usually do not come with the house when you buy it.

1. Cutting boards – You cannot have too many. When your making a dinner for a family of four, there will be many times you will need to use more than one board. Two cutting boards is the minimum. You should have one for meats, and one for everything else. Everything that meat touches, can spoil and contaminate other food.

2. A frying pan – How are you going to make that big breakfast on Sunday without a frying pan? It is a family must. The bigger the better and if you can find one with a metal handle that will fit in your oven, even better!

3. Sauce pans – And I mean pans! One is not – (More…)

This little recipe I whipped up the other night came about by just thinking what I was going to do with some remaining ingredients from a few past recipes. After using some puff pastry for a bread stick recipe, I found I had an entire box of it left over. I love the fact that most of your major supermarket chains now carry these ready made puff pastry sheets. Who wants to make that by hand anymore?

Anyway, I also had some Gorgonzola cheese left over from the steak sandwiches I made for the Super-bowl party. I also have had this London broil steak in my freezer for about a month and after a bit of thought, I whipped this together and we had it (along with some other stuff) for dinner.

This cheesy steak puffs will probably go better as an appetizer, but I had made so many I actually incorporated them into dinner.

1 box (two sheets) of puff pastry, thawed.
1 average size London broil steak, FROZEN.
About 1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese.
1 small onion, loosely chopped.
Garlic powder.
Onion powder.
Dried basil.
Fresh ground pepper.

You can use any marinade that you like to use for your London broil. Here is what I used:

1/4 cup of each: Worchestshire sauce, Soy sauce, and Balsamic vinegar.
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard.

Set your frozen steak on the cutting board for about 15 minutes, covered with some plastic wrap. The idea here is for – (More…)