Fun Foodie Gifts

Keeping with the spirit of the season I'm posting a few links, guides and lists for gifts that I think your foodie loved one needs this holiday season:


• http://www.josephjoseph.com/  I stumbled upon this site via one of my favorite blogs, Apartment Therepy, the kitchen goodies are cute, colorful and unique.  A good secret Santa gift for the office foodie (ME)
• http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=119832&RN=787&  A key kitchen item that I cook with at least once a week, so much that I don't bother putting it away, i proudly display it on my stove top.  Its a great deal for a quality product that rivals the over priced Le Creuset brand.  Also, at BBB you can use a 20% off coupon and make yourself happy too!
• The GelPro Floor Mat - or any Anti Fatigue gel floor mat that goes on the floor in front of the cooking space, great for the marathon cook that spends the entire day/night at the cutting board and then complains about pain in the feet, legs and back:  
• http://www.chefscatalog.com/catalog/search.aspx?scommand=search&search=floor%2Bmat&sourcecode=CW2GG2025&gclid=CNyF05as3awCFUbf4AodLBexpg 



 I have the Green but the Red is cute

• http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/search/search.aspx/gel-mat/?sstr=gel+mat&grid=50&dim=1&nty=1&
• http://www.uncommongoods.com/dining-entertaining  Great site in general but the entertaining and dining items are especially unique for the person that has everything.  A few personal favorites:

• http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/reclaimed-slate-cheese-board  for the cheese fan
• http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/brie-baker-and-spreader  for the baked cheese fan
• http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/box-appetit-lunch-box  for the salad for lunch fan

More to come as i see fun items that I want this Xmas.

For now, Happy Shopping!!

Go Big and Stay Home - Braised Sunday Dinner

After a long weekend of big meals at other peoples house, leftovers and eating from our packed freezer I decided this Sunday's dinner needed to be rich, slow cooked, home cooked and slightly indulgent.  Its back to salads and chicken breast after today, so go big and stay home (my Sunday dinner motto)
Red wine braised beef boneless short ribs with risotto and roasted carrots...a favorite in our house

Apologies in advance for barely measuring on this one but I've made it so many times its hard to know measurements:

Short Ribs - I use the leftovers for meat sauce...Ill post that one later this week

• 4 large pieces of *boneless short ribs, cut in half
• 4 Carrots, 1 inch chunks
• 3 Celery Stalks, 1 inch chunks
• 1 Onion, 1 inch chunks
• 4 Garlic Cloves, sliced thin
• 1 Shallot, sliced thin
• 1 Cup Beef Broth, low sodium
• 1 Cup Red wine, use the good stuff that you are drinking...nice and heavy, never sweet
• 1/2 cup cola
• Thyme, Rosemary, Bay Leaf
• S&P
• 5 quart cast iron dutch oven - A MUST

Steps are pretty basic and straight forward but there are some that are so important and can't be skipped or rushed:

1.  Salt and pepper the room temperature meat generously, it may feel like a lot but its not, when you consider the amount of elements in the pot and how important the meat is to the dish, you must form a good crust on the meat before browning. 
2.  Next, browning, make sure the meat is not crowding the pan, the heat is medium high (not smoking),  and the meat is not cold,  you will have an awesome flavor starter for your ribs.

I wont bore you or try to attempt to sight science but watch any Alton Brown episode about cooking meat and he'll tell you the same things (that's where I learned it)

3.  Once you have a good crust on all sides, remove from the pan and allow to rest on a plate.  Add veg to hot pan and  saute for 8 mins, then add 2 tablespoons of flour to make a flavorful roux.  Once its thick and feels like its about to burn, add red wine and scrap the bottom of the pan, bring to a boil and then add broth, herbs and meat back to the pan.

4. Bake for 2.5 hours in a 325 oven.  I open keep it closed for 2 hours, scraping the side of the pan a few times to make sure the good stuff makes it in to the sauce.  Then, add the cola and remove the top for the last 30 mins to thicken and enrich the sauce. 

Once its tender remove the meat to a platter covered with foil, then strain the sauce to make it smooth and taste.  Keep the good bits from the sauce, you can make great sauce with it later if you freeze it.  (I recycle everything in this kitchen!!)

Holiday Cocktail - A great starter

Since I don't do the whole meal I have to make sure I contribute a few awesome dishes, that I love!First - A festive cocktail for the hardworking cooks in the kitchen, usually I'm one of them so I selfishly like to make sure I have something other than wine to start my day.  This year it was something fizzy, still unnamed so I'm open to suggestions.
Can be made in a pitcher or in each glass, but only 1 pitcher at a time to keep the fizz. I suggest making more than 2 pitchers, its very popular

1 Bottle Prosecco (Brut)
1 Bottle Blood Orange or Pomegranate Italian Soda - the Trader Joes version is perfect
2 cups Raspberry Vodka
Garnish with Raspberries, Orange Slice or Clementine Wedge

Mix, poor over ice...enjoy and don't drive home

Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

I couldn't let the holiday that's all about food go by without a post, seems a bit sacrilegious considering I'm not religious and all my holidays are about food (and family).

Despite my obsession with cooking I do not cook Thanksgiving Dinner, our apartment is too small and we have way to many people to visit. We celebrated by visiting my favorite Thanksgiving location, my Aunt Carolyn's house. It was a first for Chris so I was even more excited to show him how the Durkin's throw down.  Only 27 people this year, but still an amazing time as always. It seems as though my Aunt and Uncle can host hundreds with ease, as I'm sure they have at some point. Maria (Cousin) is nonstop in the kitchen like me. She's side by side with her mom with the to do list, the recipes in her head and eyeball measuring to perfection. Its like watching a cooking show to see them in the kitchen together.

The Turkey was home grown, or raised I guess is the proper term, yard to table as I like to call it. The veggies were plenty, the stuffing came in doubles and the desserts were my personal favorite.

We started with my dad's famous antipasto, complete with roasted long hot peppers, anchovies (ew), meat, cheese, olives, pesto, bread and more meat

The only picture...i was too busy eating

It all seems like a food drunk haze but to list a few dishes...

• 30 Lbs. of garlic mashed potatoes, which I mashed by hand - ouch
• Buckets of the smoothest gravy since Boston Market
• Stuffing with or without onions...not sure why you would opt for without but that's okay, more onions for me
• Cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes, another fave of mine
• Juicy Yard to Table turkey
• Rutabaga, something I only have on Thanksgiving but really enjoy (note to self to cook that more often)
• Brussels sprouts roasted with pancetta and maple syrup (My addition)
• Sweet delicious corn
• Cranberry sauce and relish...of course we need more options
• My Uncle Tom's awesome homemade bread

Dessert, is another event and I personally think it should have its own holiday

• My cousin Judy's pumpkin roll, with spicy cake and cream cheese frosting, its another dish I look forward to
• Apple pie, pumpkin pie
• Some amazing chocolate pudding cake concoction (Aunt Pat found the recipe in Heaven)
• Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake (My addition)
• Chocolate covered yummy things

For the after dinner leftover fest I opted for the extra helping of taters and a little turkey sandwich to make sure I had my fill of bird before going to bed.

It was carb filled, family fun and I cant wait for the next time we go!! 

Thanks again Bivins' crew, love you guys!

Restaurant Review - Kingswood, NY NY

A birthday dinner for a dear freind brought me to Kingswood in the West Village, one of my favorite neighborhoods in NY, for one of my favorite friends!  Its a cute old area, rich with history, expensive appartments, cobble stone streets that are a challenge in heals but worth every painful step for each corner has a unique and amazing restaturant.

Its an open room with a great bar in the middle, dimly lit, with great long tables and dried plants, flowers and herbs hanging from the ceiling.  Windows and plants on the back wall look real, feeling like your in a house and not a street front restaurant.  The bartender has a great selection of fun concotions, with fresh honey, house made grenedine, fruit juice, and house made Pimm's.  I got there early and had a Rose Royale...an amazing combination of rum, housemade grenadine, champagne and some kind of citrus.  Delish, but way to pricey for such a small cocktail, I could have had at least 10 shots of this.

The ladies arrived, hugs and kisses, wine, chitchat and and then realized we were way past our reservation time and took our seats.

We opted for the small plates as we couldnt decide between all the amazing options, and we like to pretend we wont each that much.

•  Zuchini Salad - Amazing, raw, crunchy, fresh, with a little kick and some goat cheese
• Farro Salad - Bits of bacon, hazelnuts, and fresh spinach - perfectly dressed
• Meat and Cheese platter - served with fresh bread, fruit and honey
• (More wine)
• Mussels and Fries - SPICEY, but delish with lemongrass, green curry, coconut, and a little too much jalapeño (+Bread, lots of Bread)
• Butternut Squash Soup - I didnt try this because my mouth was on fire and i was so stuffed that more wine was the only thing to make it better

Overall, amazing meal, nicely priced for three appropriately stuffed young ladies.  We didnt do dessert as we all pretended we were hitting the gym early in the morning, I did not make it.
I highly recommend a visit and all the food...perhaps ask them to go light on the jalapeño.

http://kingswoodnyc.com/site/

Veggie Soup for the Soul

This is an old one (but a good one)...I made it a few times and was supposed to send the recipe to a friend and here I am about a month later finally typing it up.  As I said, I'm a lazy blogger  :(
Its a super easy tomato based soup and can be made with very little from the fridge/pantry, in the late summer for a good use of summer veggies from the garden, also its very versatile:
Add chicken if you have it, or omit for Vegetarians, great with a grilled cheese sandwich, with pasta/or without, the only rule is the fresh spinach...its a must and if you make it you'll see why

1 half large onion, diced
1 small shallot, chopped
2 heads garlic, chopped (or more if you are like me and love a lot of garlic)
2 table spoons, olive oil
3 ribs celery sliced plus celery greens, sliced 1/4 inch
4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch
1 or 2 zucchini and summer squash, quartered and sliced 1/4 inch
1/2 mall can tomato paste
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (plus 1 cup water)
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 table spoon chopped parsley
1 bag fresh spinach
1 cup small pasta (Ditalini, orzo, or cut spaghetti)
Grated Parmesan Cheese to serve

• In a Dutch oven, or sauce pot saute onion, shallot, garlic, in olive oil, adding garlic last to ensure it doesn't burn 
• Cook 5 mins to soften onions, add carrots - cook 5 mins, add celery - cook 5 mins, add zucchini - cook 5 mins
• Add 1/2 can of tomato paste, cup of water, thyme, bay, black pepper and bring to fast boil
• Reduce heat to low and add stock, salt to taste
• Cook for 15 mins or till veggies are tender but not mushy
• If adding pasta, add it after soup cooks for 10 mins
• Last, add chopped FRESH spinach, cook for a few mins to wilt
• If adding cooked chicken, add after spinach is wilted 
• Serve with grated parm and crusty bread

*Slice all veg the same size (1/4 inch) on the bias to add a fancy touch*
**add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes if you like**
***you may need more broth or water if you use pasta***

Sunday Morning Baking

This early Sunday morning called for fresh muffins and good coffee.  I could finish the entire pot of french press my self with these yummy muffins.I go a little heavy on the nutmeg as its the only spice in the recipe...also, makes the house smell amazing.

The recipe says these are "moist and flavorful" -- and they are. Very moist. some like that; some prefer muffins a little firmer...use less banana, or less milk, or less butter as you see fit.  Either way, delish:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted [I used 3/4 cup]
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup unsalted macadamia/walnuts or pecans nuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with muffin papers. Sift first 4 ingredients into large bowl. Combine bananas, both sugars, butter, milk and egg in medium bowl. Mix into dry ingredients. Fold in half of nuts. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining nuts and a sprinkle of suguar. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes [I took 30 minutes or so, and maybe 35 wouldn't kill them ... but maybe that's just me wanting them a little less moist]. Transfer muffins to rack and cool.

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit, June 1991
Pictures courtesy of Me

Before

Ode to the Cafeteria Lady

Our coporate cafeteria is rarely something to write home about, we're generally happy that it doesnt make us sick and dont ask for more.  Its expensive, but clean and they often over do it with seafood dishes, pasta with cream sauce and too many fried foods.  The salad bar starts off great on a Monday but clearly declines in quality as the week goes on...ending with a random mix of leftovers that creates "pasta salad" as an offering on Friday.  I warn the new employees with a friendly "dont eat the chicken" as they pile it on the plates.
The sandwich lady never dissapoints though, while her tray is not filled with Boar's Head's finest deli selections its okay.  She's tiny Spanish lady that always asks me if I want a pickle, yet I've never ever said yes. 

Today she impressed me, hense the entry "Ode to the Cafeteria Lady":  I had to cancel my colony pizza lunch plans since work had to take over my Friday.  I was prepeared to be dissapointed as nothing could compete with my expectations for that greasy delight. But, my thinly sliced chicken cutlet on toasted whole wheat with fresh Mozzeralla, roasted peppers and pesto made me amost forget my pizza.

As I ordered it told her she should name the sandwich after me, she laughed akwardly and asked if I wanted a pickle...no thanks, no pickle for me.

There's no picture because I ate the whole thing and decided to write this after I washed it down with my Poland Springs.  I think I proceeded to rave about the sandwich for the rest of the afternoon and the people around me had to hear "wow, that was so good" , "seriously, my sandwich was so yummie"

Cooking class

Here's some pics from our recent class at ICE.   Essentials of mediterranean cooking

New Layout, New Blog

I was getting pretty lazy with the updates...the pressure of posting a recipe was a bit too much for this busy little lady.  I thought a new layout and new look would help refresh the site and my comitment to posting.  Ill do fewer recipes and more general posts, with links, pics and random thing related to my obsession with food. 

With the news style is a new name...My Brain on Food...get it, much like a brain on drugs...my brain on food is like a fried egg.

I hope you read, like, enjoy and follow.  If you dont, it will at least drain my brain of all the junk I see and read day and night.

Happy eating,

Age

Pita!

This is the yummy soft, slightly salty pita from stews...totally worth it!

His and Hers Sandwich Night

Sandwich night doesn't sound very gourmet but of course I hooked it up a bit (sauteed onions:) and served both with Hot tomato soup and crackers:)

My leftovers started as inspiration for this dinner creation...I went out for a fancy steak dinner w/work and could barely eat half of my meal so of I took it home to recycle into something yummy for my guy.  Also, I have to think sandwich this week because I bought these amazing pita/flat bread from Stew Leonard's and it comes with 10 large round flat bread, a lot of pita for 2 people.

I didn't have a ton of other fridge items so I mixed it up and made different sandwiches for each of us

His:

• Sliced the steak very very thin, reheated in a pan w/A1 Steak sauce and a slash of chicken stock
• Toast pita to melt provolone cheese
• Spread a lil horseradish on on the bottom slice
• Add a healthy pile of arugula, top w/steak strips, caramelized onions and an extra drizzle of A1
• Add top slice of pita w/melted cheese
• He loved it

Hers:

• Saute sliced mushrooms in the same pan as the onions were cooked
• Toast pita to melt provolone cheese
• spread a lil horseradish and mayo on the bottom slice
• Add a healthy pile of arugula, top with turkey cold cuts, caramelized onions, and mushrooms
• Add top slice of pita w/melted cheese
• Amazing - Can't believe he doesn't like mushrooms!

Back to School Special

In honor of this rainy fall feeling day, and the kiddies going back to school I felt it appropriate to make some old school comfort food for dinner.
Most of the prep was taken care of last night to make for a smooth evening, good thing because the rain was gross and traffic was bad.


The Meal:

• Breaded Pork Chops
• Apple Sauce
• Mashed Potatoes
• Brussels Sprouts
• Gravy
• Biscuits

The Prep:

• Brine the Pork:  Rinse chops, put in Ziploc bag (inside a medium bowl) add chicken stock, salt, sugar, water, rosemary, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder
• Make the Applesauce:  2 Fuji Apples grated or finely chopped, 1/4 cup water, juice of half lemon or OJ, Cinnamon stick - Simmer in a pot till soft and slightly sweet
• Potatoes:  Peel and cut potatoes, cover in bowl of water and refrigerate overnight

The Dinner:

• Boil the taters
• Toast the biscuits
• Warm the Apple Sauce
• Dip the chops in egg, then panko, then place nonstick baking sheet - bake till 155 degrees
• Quarter the sprouts, sautee in medium/high pan w/olive oil, chopped shallots or leeks....cook till browned and tender.  Add a few splashes of chicken stock and maple syrup

Summer's bounty

I'm all about enjoying the local and summer treats lately, trying to take advantage of every ripe, yummie fruit and veg I can find.  Luckily with farmer's markets every day its hard not to to find great produce.  Even Stew's and Trader Joe's try to get in on the local veg but sadly they don't deliver as well as the white tent, cash only, weekly farmer's market.

• Tomato Salad (from our garden) with red onion and red wine vinegar is a favorite on our table - its simple, served chilled and goes perfect with grilled anything.  Bread is a must, white wine makes it even better!
• Corn doesn't last long here either, we have 2 cute, old school corn trays with the spiked holders, a must as well.  keeps the corn warm, gives it a butter bath and keeps the butter from running into your salad, a genius food design.
• Zucchini can get a little monotonous if you let it, but I've been trying to fry, bake, stuff, saute and soup these things as many different ways as the Internet will allow.
• Tonight Ill try out a Zucchini Angel Hair Pancake I found in cooking light:
• I haven't been too adventurous with Fruit when it comes to baking or cooking, simply eating a peach is good enough for me, however, come apple season Ill be sure to get my Bake On!

Restaurant Re-do

During a recent trip to Philadelphia we ate at the most amazing restaurant. The meal was one of the best ever, and that's hard to say since I've been lucky enough to feast on the finest around. All week I've been dreaming of replicating one of our favorites from the menu:


COSTILL AS DE TERNERA

Beef Short ribs, Horseradish, Parmesan & Bacon on flat bread
It was even more delicious than it sounds


Today, I attempt to recreate this amazing dish.
Part 1: Braised short ribs with red wine, tomato paste, herbs, onions, carrots and a splash of cola
Part 2: Grill flat bread, or Naan (in my case) top with shredded meat, caramelized onions, baby arugula, shaved manchego cheese and a drizzle of basil oil

My Version:

Food Porn on Tumblr

I've added a new section--->
My Food Porn site on Tumblr, dedicated to pics of food, one of my favorite things.

Some are new, some are old...I started cleaning up my old picture files and adding a few new things.

Enjoy

A Serious Breakfast For Dinner

Diced Fresh or canned tomato
Diced bell pepper, preferably not green Shallots
Eggs
Toast
Prosciutto
Thinly sliced basil
Optional for some heat ... red pepper flakes, or jalapenos
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat Add shallots and red pepper flakes if using Heat for a min to toast shallots Add Tomato, cook for 5 mins, then add peppers cook for 3 to 5 mins to soften peppers Make a circle with the veggies, making a well middle big enough for the yolk of the egg, crack the egg in your circle with the whites resting on the tomato/pepper mixture Sprinkle w/S+P Cook to your desired done-ness, with the top on the pan
Broil it if you want your yolk less runny
When done, remove from heat and add slice of prosciutto and slices of basil, a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar is great here too

Enjoy with some crunchie breakfast potatoes or toast and a green salad for dinner

This picture isnt my exact meal, I ate to fast to take a picture and had to find on online...but you get the point

A week in food...

After my Sunday post and my sunday visit to Trader Joe's I changed my plans a bit. Sunday was an easy and amazing dish that I created after finding a good deal on chicken and feeling the need to sleep instead of cook something complex. Recipe to follow, if I can remember what brilliant thing I did :)

• Monday was the Farro and Cauliflower awesomness below, please try it! I paired it with braised chicken thighs with tomatoe and olive sauce.


• Tuesday (tonight) was a long awaited classic taco night. My boyfriend was practially begging for old school, chop meat, hard shell tacos...so i delivered. With a home made rice and beans of course, I cant do anything plain.


• Tomorrow (Wed) is leftover night because I have all these goodies and not one inch of room in my freezer for anything else...and we dont throw anything out in this house unless its old.


• Thursday is going to be a twist on breakfast for dinner...again, I cant do anything boring. I'm going for coddled eggs baked in roasted tomatoes with prosciutto and crusty bread and a green salad. Again, I've been starring at a cut out of this recipe for a while and need to make it so it stops haunting me.


• Friday is a date night!!! Starting with Happy Hour with friends, then burgers and a movie.

More to come on the results of the baked eggs and the weekend food plans. Good night for now...Durks

Farro aint cheap!

I must credit Food and Wine Mag for this recipe, http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/farro-salad-with-fried-cauliflower-and-prosciutto
I was instantly intrigued by the picture and have been looking at the print out for months.
I finally tried it and made a few slight modifications and it was a hit.
Below is the start of the F&W recipe with my tweeks.
Farro is surprisingly expensive, about $9 a pound, yes, crazy! But, when you include the other elements, its not a bad total.

1 pound farro, rinsed and drained
2 carrots, halved crosswise
1 small onion, halved
1 celery rib, halved crosswise
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
Olive oil
2 large heads of cauliflower (2 1/2 pounds each), cut into 1-inch florets
2 or 3 slices prosciutto, sliced 1/4 inch thick and cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley or sage
Garlic powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat oven to 450
Drizzle chopped chopped cauliflower w/olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder, bake for 15 mins or till brown
In a large saucepan, combine the farro, carrots, celery, garlic and bay leaf. Add enough cold water to cover the farro by 1 inch and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook until the farro is tender but chewy, 15 minutes; drain. Spread the farro on a rimmed baking sheet to cool. DO NOT the carrots, onion, celery, garlic and bay leaf.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat 1 table spoon of olive oil over moderately high heat and brown onions .
In a bowl, mix the farro, cauliflower, prosciutto, onions, lemon juice and herbs. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Delicious warm or room temp

Weekly Meal Planning

Since its Sunday, I felt it appropriate to post, as my blog claims to be about Sunday dinner. I am debating on a few dishes for today's feast, the grocery store selection. It will either be Chicken w/Mole, roasted chicken w/Escarole...either way, its chicken. The biggest task for the day is menu planning, my second favorite thing to do...next to the actual cooking.

• Sunday - one of the above


• Monday - Braised Chicken Thighs w/Roasted Cauliflower and Farro (See pic)


• Tuesday - Breakfast for dinner - Huevos Rancheros or Coddle eggs w/Roasted Tomatoes


• Wednesday - Freezer Roulette - a little game we play when we dont know whats in the tuppeware since I dont lable containers


• Thursday - leftover/clean out the fridge night


• Friday - Takeout night - Gasp, I know...but I do it once every 2 weeks

Im sure this will all change once I hit the store and see whats on sale.

Saturday Night Dinner

Yes, the blog is called Sunday dinner...but since Im not cooking tomorrow, Im cooking tonight. Also, we tend to stay in and have a restaurant worthy meal on Saturdays.


Apparently I was inspired by the pig for tonights dinner, no surprise since we're pork people in this house.


Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin - Sage/thyme/orange zest/garlic/olive oil/salt pepper chopped up into a paste and rubbed on the top of the roast...fat trimmed off. Then 3 or 4 strips of bacon placed on top and tucked in to the sides. Roast at 400 till 160 degrees

• Tip: loosly cover the pork w/foil toward the end of cooking...it will stil brown but it covers the bacon splatter to avoid smoking in the oven

Roasted Red Potatoes - Cut in bite sized peices of potatoes with thinly sliced onion, thyme and sage, toss w/Olive Oil, S&P, roast w/pork till tender and onions are a brown

• Tip: Roast next to pork but cover for the first 20 mins to ensure that the onions dont burn

Green Beans with Almonds - Sautee w/butter, almonds, shallots till tender

Saturday Snacking

After a long day of GTL...Gym, Trader Joes, and Laundry I decided to have a pre dinner snack...

Enjoy this lil bit of food porn from me to you:

Fat Cat 420

Almonds/Peanuts/Walnuts/Raisons

Carmelized Onion Cheddar Cheese from Trader Joes

Fresh Baguette with really good (and expensive) olive oil

Crackers

Olives

I'm a Lazy blogger

I recently realized that I am the laziest blogger...with a few friends recently creating pages and posts and updates I am slooooow on the recipes.

I cook every day and read recipes and culinary articles and food junk all day long but keep recipes in edit mode for weeks because I want to QA the measurements and make them perfect.

Enough of that, from now on ill start updating with random pictures, articles, links, and stream of consciousness posts related to food nonsense.

I also know that I might be talking to myself as my slow to post self has probably lost any and all followers. I would undserstand if I've bored you...Ill try to make it up to you with my random additions.

Mangia! ...Age

Pork Chop Brine

I learned this great trick from the food science master himself, Alton Brown. Lean cuts of pork like chops, tenderloin and roast have very little fat and need additional flavor and moisture before cooking. A brine is a great way to inject both and ensure that your pork is never dry.

There are several recipes or ingredient lists to follow for a Brine, mine is simple, tried and tested with a few notes for modifications depending on what you have in the house:

Chicken stock
Garlic
2 Bay leaves
Fresh Thyme
1/4 cup Apple Juice if you have it
Dash of soy sauce
Equal parts of salt and sugar
Black pepper

Put your pork in heavy duty zip top bag, inside a bowl and fill w/the ingredients. Seal and chill, prefereably over night, or at least 12 hours.
Pork will be plump and juicy when cooked whether you grill, roast or pan cooked

Pork Chops Scarpariello

We love Pork Chops and Love chicken Scarp so I tried a combo...it came out great! A very quick and easy weeknight meal or could be a big fat Sunday dinner. I served it with roasted potatoes, arugula salad and fresh bread. This is another one that doesnt have many measurements but more of a ratio and formula:

Two important elements in this recipe:

• Brine for the chops, see the recipe below
• Hot peppers must be in the jar w/Vinegar, your favorite brand...or home made if you're that lucky to know someone that makes them, I've tried to use fresh hot peppers and its not the same flavor

Ingredients:

• Bone in or boneless pork chops - 1 per person is plenty
• 1:1 Ration of sweet and hot peppers - Hot peppers must be in the jar w/Vinegar, Sweet peppers can be fresh red/green/yellow bell peppers
• White Wine
• Chicken stock
• Juice of half lemon
• A few teasespoons of the hot pepper vinegar
• Shallots
• Garlic
• Parsley

S&P the chops and pan sear in a medium/high pan, with a nice brown crust on each side...about 2 mins per side

Once brown, remove from pan and place on plate/platter

Reduce heat and add veggies shallots, then garlic, sweet peppers and hot peppers - in that order. Be careful when adding hot peppers, the steam is spicy and will make you cough if you put your face in it to smell it! been there, it hurts

Let simmer for a few mins till peppers are soft

Add liquid: splash of wine, splash of stock, lemon juice and vinegar from hot pepper jar

Let simmer for a few mins and taste...add more stock to cut the heat...or more peppers to kick it up as needed

Add chops back in and cover w/sauce, simmer on very low for a few mins to heat through

Plate and pour sauce/peppers and sprinkle w/Parsley

Side dish ideas: Arugela and Parmesean salad, Polenta, Smashed potatoes or Rice Pilaf

Escarole and Beans

One of my favorite week night, hearty, healthy, warm and cozy meals. Its super simple and can be modified a few easy ways to expand into a main dish or a soup course:
One can Cannelloni beans
1 head Escarole, cut into large strips, rinsed
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot
2 cups chicken or veg stock
1/2 cup water
Red pepper flakes
Dried Oregano

Optional Additions:
Sausage - chicken or pork, spicy or sweet
Ditalini pasta

Brown sausage, remove from pan, add garlic and toast lightly
Add Escarole, stock, salt, pepper and cover for 10 mins
Cut sausage into bit sized pieces and add back to pan, with can of rinsed beans

Taste broth and S&P to taste and add Pasta if using

Serve with fresh parm and crusty bread