Venison Bourguignon

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Sean C.

Recently, Jessica and I attended a party thrown by one of her friends from work.  The food at said party was stellar, and it was all venison – venison chili and venison steaks.  After consuming copious amounts of wild game, I discovered that the host was, in fact, an avid outdoors-man.  Shortly thereafter, while imbibing numerous adult beverages and conversing about other culinary delights, the host informed me that he had pounds of extra venison and was unsure whether he could make use of all of it.  Of course, gentleman that I am, I let him know that we would be happy to relieve him of some of his delectable meats, and Jessica and I left 5 lbs of venison roast and 2 lbs of ground venison richer.

Now, there was a time in my youth when my father was quite the hunter as well, and I learned quite a bit from his example in the area of preparing all types of game.  However, it has been a good number of years since I have personally had the pleasure of working with venison, so I decided that I would attempt to work with what I had in a way which I was more familiar.

Bourguignon is a stew prepared with beef braised in red wine and beef broth, generally flavored with onions, garlic, and mushrooms, with a bouquet garni.  The dish seems to have originated in the Burgundy region of France, originally calling for wine from the same region (hence the name bourguignon), any dry red will do.  I had some Merlot laying around, so that’s what I used.  It is likely that the slow simmering of the meat in wine was first used as a way to tenderize especially tough, cheap cuts (see my Brisket recipe).  Traditionally considered a peasant dish, in more modern times it has become a staple of French cuisine.  (Any bourguignon recipes you are likely to encounter are variations of the recipe first recorded by Escoffier.)  A robust, rustic comfort food, this dish is a welcome addition to the repertoire of any home cook.

The Ingredients:

  • Venison Bourguignon Ingredients

    12 ounces shallots

  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 4 1/2 pounds venison, chopped coarsely
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 7 slices bacon, chopped coarsely
  • 14 ounces mushrooms, halved
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups beef stock
  • 2 1/2 cups dry red wine
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 2 sprigs fresh Thyme
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

The Procedure:

Peel shallots, leaving root end intact so shallot remains whole during cooking.

Heat oil in large skillet or Dutch oven; cook venison, in batches, until browned.  Remove

Browned Venison rests while the rest of the ingredients are sauteeing.

venison from heat.  Heat butter i same pan; cook shallots, bacon, mushrooms, and garlic, stirring, until shallots are browned. Sprinkle flour over shallot mixture; cook, stirring, until flour mixture thickens and bubbles.
Gradually add stock and wine, deglazing pan; stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens.  Return venison and any juices to skillet, add bay leaves and thyme; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; simmer, covered, about 2 hours or until venison is tender, stirring every 30 minutes. (Can be made ahead to this stage, cover and refrigerate overnight.)

Venison Bourguignon over pasta.

Stir in parsley; discard bay leaves just before serving.

Recipe taken from Best-Ever Recipes: 180 Recipes for the Way You Really Cook, which i highly recommend.

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A Tale of Two Chowders

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Sean C.

The word “chowder” is a corruption of the French word chaudière, which itself has roots in the Latin word caldaria, which literally meant “pot” or “cauldron” (thanks, dictionary.com!) – vegetables or fish stewed in a cauldron thus became known as chowders.  What exactly is a traditional clam chowder?  Is it the red, the white, or something all together different?  Well, in its simplest terms, a chowder is a thick soup or stew made with clams, fish, or vegetables, with potatoes, onions, and other seasonings.

In the fishing villages of Brittany, faire la chaudière means to supply a cauldron in which is cooked a mess of fish and biscuit with some savoury condiments, a hodge-podge contributed by the fishermen themselves, each of whom in return receives his share of the prepared dish. The Breton fishermen probably carried the custom to Newfoundland, long famous for its chowder, whence it has spread to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and New England (randomly found here, bottom of the page).

In the United States today, there are two main variations of clam chowder:  New England (white), and Manhattan (red).  New England clam chowder is a milk- or cream-based chowder, traditionally made with potatoes, onion, bacon or salt pork, flour or hardtack, and clams.  Manhattan clam chowder has clear broth, plus tomato for red color and flavor. In the 1890s, this chowder was called “New York clam chowder” and “Fulton Fish Market clam chowder.” Clam chowder, in its cream-based New England version, has been around since the mid-18th century, and no mention of any Manhattan chowder has been found that predates the 1930s.  The addition of tomatoes in place of milk was initially the work of Portuguese immigrants in Rhode Island, as tomato-based stews were already a traditional part of Portuguese cuisine.  Scornful New Englanders called this modified version “Manhattan-style” clam chowder because, in their view, calling someone a New Yorker was an insult (via Wikipedia).

New England Clam Chowder

This great New England clam chowder recipe uses the residual starch that the potatoes leave behind, rather than flour, for thickening.  It isn’t heavy or overly viscous.  Salt pork can be hard to find, so the author substituted bacon.

The Ingredients:

  • 36 hard-shell clams such as littlenecks, scrubbed well (alternatively, 20oz chopped clams)

    New England Clam Chowder Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cold water
  • 4 medium boiling potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 bacon slices, chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup Half-and-half
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

The Procedure:

If using hard-shell clams, put clams and cold water in a 4-Quart saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat.  Cover and steam until clams open, 5 to 8 minutes, checking frequently after 5 minutes and transferring them to a bowl as they open.  Discard any clams that have not opened.  Reserve cooking liquid.

When clams are cool enough to handle, remove from shells and coarsely chop.  Carefully pour cooking liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl, leaving any grit in pan.

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/4 inch dice.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat.  Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in potatoes and reserved cooking liquid and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in clams and half-and-half, and pepper to taste and cook until heated through, about one minute; do not let boil.  Stir in parsley.

New England Clam Chowder

Manhattan Clam Chowder

This homemade chowder is both lighter and brighter than the Manhattan clam chowder you’re likely to find in diners and coffee shops.  Because of the tomato broth, rather than the rich cream base of a New England chowder, it has a sharper, cleaner flavor.

The Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 large onions, finely chopped (about 2 cups)

  • Manhattan Clam Chowder Ingredients

    2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1 cup)

  • 3/4 pound boiling potatoes
  • 1 (28 to 32 ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained (juice reserved) and chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 48 hard-shell clams such as littlenecks, shucked, liquid reserved, and coarsely chopped
  • 3 (8 oz) bottles clam juice, stirred together with 3 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
  • 1 Turkish bay leaf, or 1/2 California bay leaf
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Salt

The Procedure:

Melt butter in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat.  Add onions and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Add potatoes, tomatoed, and garlic to onions and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.  Strain reserved clam liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and add to pot, along with reserved tomato juice and clam juice mixture.  Add basil, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper to taste and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, skimming off froth occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in clams and parsley and cook over moderate heat, stirring, just until clams are firm, 1 to 2 minutes.  Discard bay leaf and season with salt to taste.

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Both recipes taken from the 2004 edition of The Gourmet Cookbook, which I highly recommend.

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Kitchen Gadgets I Can’t Live Without: The Bread Maker and You

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Sean C.

Would you be shocked if I told you I haven’t bought bread from the store since I got married?  While this may not be 100% true (we’ve purchased maybe two loaves of bread in the past 5 months), Jessica and I received an Oster bread maker as a wedding gift, and, to be honest, I can’t figure out how we ever got along without it.

In the days before we had a bread maker, I enjoyed making bread from scratch with the dough hook on our old blue kitchen aid mixer as much as the next guy,  but I just never felt that I could devote enough time in the week to artisan loaves given the prep and cleanup required.

The bread maker is a very versatile tool.  If i’m pressed for time, I can toss the ingredients in the pan, use the set-it-and-forget-it bread cycle, and go run errands, clean, or catch up on sleep.  If I’ve set aside a little time for kitchen fun (as I often do), I can use the “dough” cycle so that I can shape my loaves any way i desire – dinner rolls, baguettes, hamburger buns, kaiser rolls, bagels, pizza dough. . . you name it.   After the dough is done, it is easy to add anything you desire to your loaves; as I type this I am making a walnut Gorgonzola loaf.  Though i have yet to utilize the bread maker in this way, it also has a setting specifically for making pasta.  I hope to play around with this setting in the coming weeks.

So, what do you need to make a nice loaf using the bread maker?  Below is a very basic, very good white bread recipe that you can try:

The Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
  • 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 3 Tablespoons active dry yeast

The Procedure:

Generally, the best way to add ingredients to your breadmaker’s pan is in the way directed in the owner’s manual.  If you have a bread maker with a sealed pan, chances are the order of ingredients is as follows:

First, add the wet and moist ingredients.  In this case: the water, Olive oil, dry milk, salt, sugar, and pepper.  Afterwards add the dry ingredients.  In this case: the flour.  After you add the flour, take your fingers and make a small well in the center of the flour.  Add the yeast in this little hole.  Make sure the yeast is not in contact with the wet ingredients.  This is very important.

Make sure your bread machine is set to the desired setting.  If you would like to leave the dough in the bread maker to bake, choose an appropriate setting and set your crust darkness.  I prefer to use the “dough” setting, so that, as I said before, I can shape my loaves as i want.  Once you start the bread machine, it will begin to agitate the ingredients.  Ten minutes after your machine has started kneading the dough, open the lid and check the dough’s consistency.  The dough should be tacky to the touch, similar to the sticky part of a Post-It Note.  If the bread is too dry, add 1 Tbsp of water and allow 2-3 minutes kneading.  Check the dough again.  If necessary, add another Tbsp of water.  Repeat until the dough has reached the proper consistency.  If the dough is too wet, repeat the above steps using bread flour instead of water.

If adjustments are necessary, it does not necessarily mean there is something wrong with your bread machine or the recipe.  The French Culinary Institute notes that factors like the hardness of the water you use,  the weather, rising time, altitude, and kitchen humidity play an unseen part in the process of bread making, and the adjustments you make to your recipe today may not be the same as the ones you have to make tomorrow.

In the mean time, if you are using the “dough” cycle, preheat the oven to 350°F.  When the bread maker beeps and the final rise cycle is over, remove the dough to a floured workspace, and shape the dough as you like.  Bake the dough for 30 to 40 minutes, or until your instant-read thermometer reads 210°F to 215°F when inserted.  Allow bread to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

If you have made bread in the bread maker before and it didn’t come out just right, you might want to check out these troubleshooting tips.

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The Great Brisket Experiment

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Sean C.

So, last week on Thursday i made beef brisket – it was pretty tender and tasty and almost everything brisket should be.  We both enjoyed it, and it didn’t last very long, but i couldn’t help but think of what i could have done to improve on my method.  Before I get to what i did wrong and how I corrected it the second time around, lets look at brisket in and of itself.

Brisket is a large, flat cut that comes from the chest of the steer, just below the chuck.  It’s super-tough, super-fatty, and super-inexpensive.  You may better know it as corned beef (when it’s cured in brine).  It’s nearly impossible to overcook, re-heats well, and makes awesome sandwiches.  It’s really everything the DIY home cook could want.

Well, it turns out that when you take a tough, fatty, inexpensive cut of meat and braise it – that is to say, cook it long and slow in a tightly covered vessel with a small amount of liquid – it undergoes a caterpillar-like metamorphosis  into a fork-tender,  delectable mass of flavorful goodness.  Browning the meat before braising creates a rich flavor and deep color (thanks, Maillard reaction! ).  This makes for a better sauce, and is why if you brown the meat in a pan other than the one you’re braising it, always deglaze the pan and add it to  the meat since all of those little brown bits are full of flavor

All that having been said, I had originally wanted this blog post to be about that brisket recipe, but i could not take a flattering enough photo of the finished product (ouch!).  Needless to say, I made a few errors in my first brisket experiment.

Errors in hindsight:

  • Rushed the browning stage because i was pressed for time.  I didn’t realize how critical this step was until I read up more on Brisket technique.
  • Oven was about 50° too hot, sauce scorched a bit.
  • Speaking of the sauce, I wasn’t sure exactly how the braising liquid would turn out so I made a very simple barbecue sauce to braise in.  The sauce I made post-brisket braising was more flavorful than the actual reduced braising liquid.
  • Didn’t turn brisket at the halfway point, this led to one side being nice and caramelized and the other being not as much so.
  • Braised it fat-side down for some reason.  This is a major error that I definitely know better than, and I am not really sure how i made it.
  • Threw some fingerling potatoes in the pan before braising, effectively killing them.
  • The brisket actually improves in flavor if braised 24-48 hours ahead and kept refrigerated.

So let’s talk about MAKING brisket.

The Ingredients:

  • 4 lbs beef brisket, preferably with 1/4 in. of fat still present.
  • 1 Tablespoon Salt
  • 1 Tablespoon black pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

    Brisket Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup Beef Stock
  • 1 cup Tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/3 cup packed Light Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce (I prefer Sriracha)

The Procedure:

Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 225°.

Pat brisket dry and rub salt and pepper over both sides.  Heat two Tablespoons oil in a large (12 inch or more) pan until hot but not smoking.  Brown brisket for 5 minutes on one side, turn, and brown again for 5 minutes.  Remove brisket to 9 x 11 baking pan.

Sautee onions in same pan until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.  Deglaze pan with beef stock, being sure to scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Boil for one minute.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 2 minutes.

Brisket in the pan, ready to go into the oven

Pour sauce and onions over brisket and cover with parchment paper and then cover tightly with aluminum foil (tomato-based sauces and tin foil don’t play well together; the acidic nature of the sauce reacts with the aluminum and sometimes leaves your dish with a metallic taste).  Bake brisket for 1.5 hours, remove, turn brisket and cook, covered, for another 1.5 hours.  You will know the brisket is done when you pierce it with a fork and the fork encounters no resistance.

You can serve the brisket immediately, though the sauce may require reduction.  A better option is to cool the brisket uncovered, and then refrigerate, covered, for 24-48 hours.  Remove brisket from refrigerator, skim fat from sauce, and re-heat at 250° for one hour.

Remove brisket from pan and slice across the grain.  Slicing with the grain will likely cause the brisket to fall apart.  Spoon sauce over slices of brisket.

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Oven “Fried” Chicken

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Sean C.

Maybe it’s because I’m from the North, but I never really appreciated fried chicken until I moved to Virginia for college.  I caught this recipe in 2007 on Planet Green‘s airing of Emeril Green.  Typically, fried chicken is either pan-friend or deep-fat fried – this recipe calls for oven baking.  Most recipes call for an eight-way roasting chicken – personally, i prefer boneless, skinless thighs.  Marinating  the chicken in Buttermilk, dredging it in flour, and then battering and deep-frying (or baking!) the chicken leave it crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

The Ingredients:

  • 1 Eight-way Chicken (or cuts of your choice), skinless (about 3 lbs)
  • Salt and pepper, for seasoning
  • 3 Cups Buttermilk, divided
  • 1 teaspoon Hot Sauce

    Oven Fried Chicken Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 4 cups Crushed plain Corn Flakes
  • 1 Tablespoon Emeril’s Essence (recipe follows)
  • 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • Olive Oil

The Procedure:

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups buttermilk, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.  Place the chicken in the bowl with the buttermilk.  Let marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, set aside.

Place the flour in a shallow baking dish.  Season with salt, pepper, and Essence.  In another

Fried Chicken about to be baked.

shallow baking dish, whisk together eggs and remaining 1 cup buttermilk.  Season with salt, pepper, and Essence.

Place corn flakes in a third shallow baking dish.  Season with salt, pepper, and Essence.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and dredge in flour and then dip in the egg mixture.   Roll in the cornflakes and press the mixture firmly onto the chicken to coat well.

The trick in any battering situation is to set up an assembly line.  At the front of your line, you should have you marinated chicken, then seasoned flour, then egg wash, then breading.  If you designate one hand as “wet hand” and one hand as “dry hand,” you will improve your efficiency as well as make less of a mess out of your kitchen.  The “wet hand” handles the marinated chicken as well as the egg wash, and the “dry hand” handles the seasoned flour and breading.

Place the chicken on the wire rack and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Finished Oven "Fried" Chicken.

Emeril’s Essence:

I have lots of spices in my cabinet, i figured that if i could find out what was in Emeril’s Essence that i could recreate it.  Luckily, I found a recipe online from the man himself:

The Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons Paprika
  • 2 Tablespoons Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Garlic powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon dried Oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon dried Thyme

The Procedure:

Combine ingredients thoroughly, keep in airtight container for freshness.

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Double Apple Pie with Cornmeal Crust

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Sean C.

Full disclosure here – my mom makes great apple pie.  Let’s be real – EVERYONE’S mom makes great apple pie.  But what is it that really makes a great apple pie?  Is it the crust?  the filling?  One thing is for sure: apple pie, while not an American invention, is viewed as the quintessential American holiday dessert.

This is a recipe that i picked up from a country club where I used to work.  Now, these are big words, but I want you to know that I mean every one of them:  This recipe produced the best apple pie I have ever tasted.  Don’t leave out the apple cider in the crust, and make sure the shortening is chilled.  Don’t skip the apple jelly—it makes the baked pie juices taste rich. It also decreases the cloudiness that occurs when you thicken your filling with flour.

Making the pie is a three-step process:  Make the crust, make the filling, make the sauce.  The whole ordeal from prep to plate should take about 4 hours.

Cornmeal Crust Dough:

The Ingredients:

  • 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

    Double Apple Pie Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup plain cornmeal
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1/4 cup chilled shortening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 10 to 12 Tablespoons chilled Apple Cider

The Procedure:

Stir together first four ingredients in a large bowl.  Cut butter and Shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas.  Mound mixture on one side of bowl.  Drizzle 1 Tablespoon apple cider along the edge of mixture in bowl.  Using a fork, gently toss a small amount of the flour mixture into cider just until dry ingredients are moistened; move mixture to other side of bowl.  Repeat procedure with remaining cider and flour mixture.

Gently Gather dough in two flat disks.  Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 1 (and up to 24) hour.

In the meantime, make the filling:

Double Apple Pie Filling

The Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 lbs Granny Smith Apples
  • 2 1/4 lbs Braeburn Apples
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons apple Jelly
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon joice
  • 1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • Wax paper
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 Teaspoon sugar

The Procedure:

Preheat Oven to 425°.  Peel and core apples; cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges.  Place apples in a large bowl.  Stir in next seven ingredients.  Let stand 30 minutes, gently stirring occasionally.

Place one Cornmeal Crust Dough disk on a lightly floured sheet of wax paper;  sprinkledough lightly with flour.  Top with another sheet of wax paper.  Roll dough to about 1/8 inch dough thickness (about 11 inches wide).

Remove and discard the top sheet of wax paper.  Starting at one edge of dough, wrap dough around rolling pin, separating dough from bottom sheet of wax paper as you roll.  Discard bottom sheet of wax paper.  Place rolling pin over a 9-inch glass pie plate, and unroll dough over pie plate.  Gently press dough into pie plate.

Stir apple mixture; reserve one Tablespoon of juices.  Spoon apples into crust,

Double Apple Pie Filling in cornmeal crust.

packing tightly and mounding in center.  Pour remaining juices in bowl over apples.  Sprinkle apples with 3 Tablespoons sugar; dot with butter.

Roll remaining Cornmeal Crust Dough disk as directed above, rolling dough to about 1/8 inch thickness (13 inches wide).  Remove and discard wax paper, and place dough over filling; fold edges under, sealing to bottom crust, and crimp.  Brush top of pie lightly with reserved 1 Tablespoon juices from apples; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar.  Place pie on a baking sheet.  Cut 4 to 5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape.

Bake at 425° on lower oven rack 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350°; transfer pie to middle oven rack, and bake for 35 minutes.  Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 30 more minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly, crust is golden brown, and apples are tender when pierced with a long wooden pick through slits in crust.  Remove to a wire rack.  Cool 1.5 to 2 hours before serving.  Serve with Brandy-Caramel Sauce (recipe follows).

Brandy-Caramel Sauce

The Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 Tablespoons brandy
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Procedure:

Bring whipping cream to a light boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add sugar, and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat, and stir in butter, brandy, and vanilla.  Let cool 10 minutes.

Double-Apple Pie with Brandy Caramel Sauce

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Ribs!

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Sean C.

Like most carnivores, I love any meat that has been seasoned and smoked.  Jessica’s dad has a large smoker, and he makes some mean pulled pork/beef, chicken, and ribs whenever he has the chance.  Jessica and I live in a small one-bedroom apartment, and, as you can probably guess from previous posts, I like to find ways to prepare dishes that otherwise normally require equipment I do not have access to.  Preparing ribs in your home using the oven is much easier to do than most people think.

This is a Bobby Flay dry rub.  The great thing about this recipe is that you can tweak it to your liking.  For example, if I’m feeling like a sweeter rib, I’ll cut the Cayenne back to 1/2 teaspoon and double the brown sugar.  The opposite is also completely possible, based on personal taste.

The Ingredients:

  • 1 Tablespoon Cumin
  • 1 Tablespoon Paprika

    Pork ribs ready for prep!

  • 1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon Granulated Onion
  • 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon White Peppe

The Procedure:

Pork ribs packed with Dry Rub.

Pre-heat your oven to 250°.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.  Pack the dry rub onto two racks of ribs (pork or beef).Place the ribs in a roasting pan, bone-side down. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover pan tightly with Aluminum foil.  Bake the ribs, covered, for 1.5 hours.  Remove and turn ribs, cover again with aluminum foil, and bake for another 1.5 hours.  At this point, remove the ribs from the oven, turn them again, and baste with a BBQ sauce of your choice (completely optional, the rub does fine on its own).  Increase oven temperature to 400°.   Return ribs to oven, uncovered, and bake for 45 minutes or until tender, checking every 15 minutes to see if the ribs need re-basting.

These ribs were so good, i wasn’t able to get “after” pics, as they smelled so good that we  devoured them immediately.  I can’t wait to make these again!

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D.I.Y. Tandoor!

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Sean C.

As you can probably see from my last post, i really enjoy middle-eastern and Indian food.  Unfortunately, i don’t have my own tandoor, nor do i have the space to build one myself. However, if you have enough space for a small grill, then you have enough space to build a tandoor! So, as alluded to in an earlier post, here is a little info on building your own tandoor from easy-to-acquire materials.

Recently, i caught an episode of Alton Brown’s show on Food Network, Good Eats (specifically, s13e17 – “The Curious Case of Curry”).  In this episode, Alton prepares another one of my favorite Indian dishes, chicken tikka masala.  While the rest of the episode about making tikka is not exactly relevant to this blog entry (maybe i’ll make tikka another day), his info on the tandoor itself is actually very relevant.

Here is what you’ll need to make your own tandoor:

The “Ingredients:”

  • Free standing Kettle Grill or Smokey Joe
  • 1 Large unglazed terra cotta pot, free of cracks or blemishes
  • Angle grinder with masonry blade
  • 3 LB Charcoal
  • Charcoal Lighter
  • Newspaper
  • Spray bottle of vegetable oil
  • Large metal skewers

The entire process is detailed in the YouTube video below:

Here is a link to part 1 of the same episode, in case you’d like to learn more about Masala

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Tandoori Chicken

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Sean C.

With chutney and curry masala, tandoori chicken forms the world-view of Indian food.  Whether or not this is an authentic impression, the fact remains that the tandoor is an authentic way of cooking, and can be used for a wide range of foods.  In fact, it’s biggest contribution to the world of cuisine could be the delectable chicken kebabs known as Tandoori Chicken.

According to Wikipedia, the story of the very origins of tandoori chicken lie in Peshawar, before the partition of British India.  Kundan Lal Gujral, owner of the restaurant ‘Moti Mahal,’ had been trying different recipes to keep his customers interested.  Through trial and error, Gujral perfected the technique of cooking yogurt marinated chicken in a traditional Tandoori oven, leaving the chicken succulent inside and crispy outside.

(interesting historical note:  after the partition in 1947, Punjab was partitioned with the Eastern portion joining India and western Pakistan.  Peshawar became part of Pakistan, and Gujral found himself one among many Hindus fleeing back to India.  Eventually Gujral settled in and moved his restaurant to Delhi.  The Tandoori Chicken at Moti Mahal impressed the first Prime Minister of India so much, that he made it a regular at his official banquets.  Visiting dignitaries that enjoued Tandoori Chicken included American presidents Nixon and Kennedy, Soviet leaders Bulganin and Khrushchev, the King of Nepal, and the Shah of Iran.   The international recognition given  to Tandoori Chicken led to many similar dishes  – like Chicken Tikka and British Chicken Tikka Masala – commonly found on menus in Indian restaurants the world over.)

Tandoori Chicken begins and ends with the Tandoor.  A tandoor  is a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking in India and the middle east.  Traditionally, the heat for a tandoor was generated by a charcoal or wood fire, thus exposing the food to both live-fire, radiant heat cooking as well as hot-air convection cooking. The circular design is something of a traditional form between a makeshift earth oven and the horizontal-plan masonry oven.  Temperatures in a tandoor can approach 900°F.

Now, the average cook at home does not have access to a tandoor (more on this later in the week, I promise!).  For our purposes, the broiler of your oven will do just fine.

The Ingredients:

Tandoori Ingredients

Assembled ingredients for Tandoori Chicken

  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 (2in.) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground corriander
  • 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (approx 3.5lbs total), rinsed and patted dry

Tandoori Chicken marinating in vac-seal bag.

The Procedure:

Combine onion, garlic, ginger, yogurt, lemon juice, salt, and spices in a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.

Make three diagonal cuts about 1/4in. deep in each chicken thigh.  Put chicken and yogurt marinade in a large ziploc bag (or use your handy vacuum sealer!) and turn to coat chicken.

Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, for at least 8 hours (chicken can marinate for up to 12 hours).

Line a broiler pan with foil and oil broiler rack.  Preheat broiler.  Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and arrange on broiler rack.  Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat, turning once, until cooked through, 12 to 17 minutes total.  I could have charred my tandoori chicken a little more — the toasted outside adds a layer of flavor.  Serve over rice, garnished with lime wedges and cilantro, if desired.

Tandoori Chicken, white rice, and curried asparagus.

There you have it!  Simple, flavorful tandoori chicken using you supermarket spices and your broiler!

recipe taken from the 2004 edition of The Gourmet Cookbook, which I highly recommend.

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Crème Brûlée

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Sean C.

Let’s talk elegant, decadent desserts.  When you think about the richest, tastiest sweets you’ve ever eaten, what comes to mind?  Chocolate mousse, truffles, tiramisu maybe?  How about crème brûlée?

Crème Brûlée is, in my opinion, the epitome of a dish that looks classy and complicated, but in reality is simple enough that any culinary rookie could execute it to perfection after a few tries.  Yes, there is some temping and timing involved, but with a little practice you’ll have it down pat in no time.

In its simplest terms, crème brûlée is merely a custard cooked, cooled, and topped with sugar that is exposed to flame until it caramelizes.

The Ingredients:

  • 3 cups heavy cream

    Assembled Ingrediends for Creme Brulee.

  • 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (alternatively, 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract)
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw

Special equipmet: six 5oz flameproof ramekins; a small blowtorch

The Procedure:

Place a rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 325°F.

Pour cream into a 2qt heavy saucepan.  Using the tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean, if using, into cream and add pod (if using vanilla extract, do not add it yet).  Heat cream over moderate heat until hot but not boiling; remove from heat and discard pod.

Whisk together yolks, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined.  Add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking constantly until combined.  Pour custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and whisk in vanilla extract, if using.  Ladle custard into ramekins.

Creme Brulee just out of the oven.

Arrange ramekins in a roasting pan and add enough boiling water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins.  Bake until custards are just set, 25 to 30 minutes.  With tongs, transfer custards to a rack to cool, then refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours.  (custards can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, be sure to cover after first 4 hours)

Just before serving, sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over custards.

Finished Creme Brulee

Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth close to sugar until sugar is caramelized.  Let stand until sugar is hardened, 3 to 5 minutes.

recipe taken from the 2004 edition of The Gourmet Cookbook, which i highly recommend.

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