Posts Tagged ‘Recipes’
Fancy Dinner Sunday – Just Because
If your dinners during the work week have been nothing but salads, limp spaghetti with watery tomato sauce or anything with “Mc” in the name, then its time to treat yourself to a big old juicy piece of steak this weekend. It’s just starting to get warm outside, which means its time to fire up the grill and have the smell of a great dinner drive your neighbors insane with envy.
There’s nothing too complicated about this recipe – it’s just a piece of All-American beef with some red wine sauce on it…or for those who speak in “foo foo poo poo” terms – filet mignon with Chianti sauce. Why filet? Because you’re treating yourself, that’s why. So here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll need to do for this recipe:
The meat:
Filet mignon steak (you deserve it!)- quantity equal to the number of people you are serving. Be gentle with the seasonings though – there’s a wine recommendation that I’ll give you to pair with this steak dish and you’ll definitely NOT want your steak to overpower the awesome wine. As for the steak “rub”, sprinkle on a bit of kosher salt, garlic powder, cumin, and caraway. Caraway? Yeah, I saw it in the cabinet and was feeling a bit “nutty” (pun intended) so I used it. That’s it. If you let it sit for a while before grilling, the spices will have a chance to mingle a bit with the steak. But if you’re in a hurry and starving to death then get thee meat to thy grill. Cook meat to desired doneness and remove from grill.
The sauce:
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet. Cook a chopped medium onion until soft. Throw in 1/4 pound pancetta (TIP: Trader Joes sells a nice 1/4lb container of pancetta…already chopped) and 1/2lb of sliced mushrooms (Note: if shrooms aren’t your thing or you’re not trying to please some fungus loving guests, then leave them out). Cook it all up for a couple minutes. Next, pour in: 1/3 cup beef broth, 1/4 cup of chopped parsley, and 1/2 cup of red wine (I used a Syrah/Malbec blend from a bottle that was already open-yeah yeah, the recipe called for Chianti, but I didn’t have any, IMPROVISE people, IMPROVISE). Bring all this to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. This recipe may seem a bit “complicated” but trust me, it’s really not – I could have summarized it by giving you a list of the 7 ingredients and saying “throw them all into a skillet, bring it all to a boil, and then let it simmer”.
When your steaks are done grilling, put them into the sauce, cover the pan, and let the filets soak up some of that sauce.
As a side, you can take a couple potatoes (plan on 1 per person), slice in half, and then cut the halves again so you’ve got some “fries”. Coat with olive oil, sprinkle on some kosher salt. Cook in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes (note the time – probably want to start these before you start grilling your steaks) or until brown and slightly crispy. Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and parsley when you take them out of the oven.
So now for that wine to pair with your meat and potatoes dinner (can I get a caveman or Tim the Toolman grunt?). Try the Shingleback Shiraz (Australia) circa 2005. You can find a review of this wine in yesterday’s post (5/2/09). As Emeril LeGasse would say – “BAM!” If your local wine retailer doesn’t carry the 2005 Shingleback Aussie Shiraz, then give this recipe a go with another ball-buster Shiraz from either the Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale wine region in Australia. Expect to pay about $20 for an Aussie red with some real gusto.
Bon Appetit!
Posted in Food | 
Tags: Emeril, Fancy Dinner, Grilling, Recipes, red meat, Shingleback, Shiraz | 
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Big Momma’s Kahlua Cake
I was visiting my parents the other day and Mom asked me if I was interested in some chocolate cake. Not one for saying no to any of my mother’s baked goods I said, “Sure, that sounds good!”
When she handed me the chocolate cake it was missing the frosting. It looked very much like a bundt cake. She said, “Try it, it’s called Chocolate Kahlua Cake”. Yep, you guessed it – it’s actually got good old Kahlua in it. This cake was delicious. I ate a second slice drizzled with chocolate syrup and walnuts over it. Yes, I’m a glutton.
Here’s the recipe:
1 package devil’s food cake mix
1 – 4-1/2 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding
1 Pint of sour cream
4 eggs
3/4 cup of oil
3/4 cup of Kahlua
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
Beat eggs. Add oil, sour cream, Kahlua, pudding, cake mix, choco-chips, and finally the nuts. Mix well. Bake the mixture in a greased bundt cake pan for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
Bon Appetit!
Poor Man’s Chef – Sufferin’ Succotash
Just two more days before a grocery trip to BJ’s. Things were definitely running low in the kitchen. I knew that we had dinner covered on Thursday night because that’s our pizza night. But what in the world were we going to have for dinner tonight?
I made my way into the kitchen to see what sort of “fine” cuisine I could whip up. After assessing the situation, as only the Poor Man’s Chef can, I was ready to cook.
I call this dish Sufferin’ Succotash Spicy Chicken. You’ll need the following ingredients to make this (ahem) “delicacy”:
- 2 frozen chicken breasts
- At least 8oz’s of frozen Succotash (that would be lima beans and corn to all you heathens out there)
- At least a handful of grape tomatoes that have a shelf life of about 2 days. In a pinch some other sort of “old” tomatoes will work…or a can of crushed tomatoes or stewed tomatoes. You get my point here - you need some sort of tomato product other than spaghetti sauce or tomato paste. Do not use a red sauce or paste with this dish. We had some grape tomatoes that were starting to look like raisins in the refrig (sometimes I just like to test the boundaries of the human intestine).
- A cup of some other frozen mixed vegetables. I used about a cup of frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 slice of ham - any kind of lunch ham, I used a slice of lunchmeat ham
- 1 can of chicken stock, chicken broth, or those bullion cube things
- Southwest seasoning – for this tasty meal, I used Emeril’s Southwest Essence from our spice cabinet. Bam!
- Dry cilantro leaves
- Chipotle chili powder
- Ground cayenne pepper
- Butter
Grab your big pot and heat it up. Drop some butter in it. Next, drop in whatever tomato product you have opted to use. Heat up the butter and tomatoes. Defrost your chicken and drop it into your pot. Cook the chicken and tomatoes. Now you can start to gas this concoction up with all your seasonings. After you add the seasonings, dice your single slice of ham up and drop it in. Add your succotash, mix all this around a bit in your pot and then add whatever chicken stock product you’ve chosen. While this is brewing in your pot, nuke your frozen vegetables and add them to the pot once soft. Remember that along the way, you may need to add some tap water to keep things moist.
Cook it all up and serve it on a fancy plate and pair it with a California, Chilean, or Washington State Riesling. Now this just screams “fancy dinner”.
As usual, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Until the next time that we run out of food. Bon Appetit!
Poor Man’s Chef – Snack Style
We just had a wonderful dinner and a terrific white wine to go along with it. We looked up at the clock and it was just past 10 pm. My wife turns to me and asks, “Are you up for getting your butt kicked in Wii tonight”? Never backing down from a challenge or trash talking, I responded, “Set up the game. It’s on!”
Before we geared up for a “Battle of the Sexes”, Wii style, I told her that I wanted to grab a snack and a bottle of red wine.
I grabbed a 2004 Spanish red wine. Now, all I needed was something chocolate, salty, and sweet. I thought to myself, this should be a cinch. To my chagrin, I couldn’t find a thing in the pantry that matched what I was craving. Upon taking a second look through the cabinets, I noticed my wife’s cookie baking ingredients.
So I gathered up the following baking ingredients to make a late night party mix.
1.) Semi-sweet chocolate chips
2.) Nuts like walnuts, pecans, almonds and peanuts (You can also use Planters nuts etc…)
3.) Raisins
As with all of my “recipes”, there’s no measuring. Just add a little, or a lot, of all three ingredients into a bowl and shake to mix it all up.
So I returned with the “party mix”, a bottle of red wine and my game face ready to battle my wife in a little late night Wii.
As I was getting my ass handed to me by Billie Jean King, I noticed that she was grabbing for the mix just as much as I was. I can definitely say that the mix gave her some extra Wii powers.
When it was all said and done, and the smoke cleared, she won a few games and I won a few. But the “party mix” and red wine were both down for the count.
As usual, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Until the next time that we run out of food or, in this case, snacks.
Poor Man’s Chef – From a Distant Land
You can find the article here if you want to read it while you’re eating your own Pa Jun creation.Time: 15 to 20 minutes
For the dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, optional
Pinch of hot red pepper flakes.
For the pancakes:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour or rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup very finely chopped vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, green beans, scallions) or chopped cooked leftover meat (chicken, beef, pork) or both.
1. For dipping sauce: In a small bowl, combine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar (if using) and red pepper flakes. Mix well and set aside.
2. For pancakes: Fill a pitcher or glass with ice and 1/2 cup or more cold water; set aside. Place a small (6- to 8-inch) nonstick or well-seasoned skillet over medium-low heat. Coat bottom with vegetable oil and allow to heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs just until frothy. Add flour and salt and whisk to combine. Add vegetables or meat and stir to blend. Add 1/2 cup ice water and mix again to blend.
4. Fill a 1/2-cup measuring cup with batter; pour into hot pan. Allow to sit until browned and crispy on bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip pancake and cook another 2 minutes. Place on a serving plate and keep warm (or set aside to serve at room temperature). Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with dipping sauce, tearing or cutting off pieces of pancake to dip in sauce with fingers or chopsticks.
