In search of well prepared and well cooked meals

“Where ignorance is bliss it’s a folly to be wise.”

A very apt statement by Oscar Wilde in the 18^th century. 

The side effects of poor food processed foods, and poorly trained cooks only contributes to what we are going to be fighting in this century obesity. The side effect of burnt meats and its carcinogens which in the long term causing esophagus and stomach cancers. Because the meat is not properly butchered the fat content will be higher and therefore cause platelets to grow in our veins and cause heart attacks. The addition to chemicals to our seafood including our shrimp harvest has got to have a long-term effect on us all. If we continually eat like this by 2131 75% of our population will be obese, with the side effects of diabetes: cancers and other serious diseases. We just had an election where we had everybody screaming about Obama care and about its cost, but let us remind ourselves that the less use of healthcare insurance cut our costs down in the long term. So that is why I am hypercritical about these types of restaurants it is not only the damage they do to their own image the long-term damage they do to the dining population.  I’m not a vegetarian freak, I love a well-cooked steak but if steak is on the menu instead of that large baked potato I always have a great salad and a good glass of red wine.

I love seafood because I call it nature’s fast food it simple to cook you can impress at which her own style of seasonings and flavors and still have a wonderful meal and always begin with a great side  salad. So whether it be Eastgate Northside Southside or any other side I think it is time to make manufacturers and mostly ourselves accountable of what we offer to the dining public. I think we need to get back to the kiss factor or calling it cooking in simple steps providing great food for the dining public and release the stress that our service people seem to be forever dealing with customer’s complaints. I was in a restaurant the other night where eight people left a three dollar tip for $150 check what an insult to that server who I know to be very efficient and very polite and interacts with our customers in a friendly professional manner.

No wonder most of the people in the United States thinks that our professions are jobs we take while we go to college instead of looking at it as an honorable profession where everyone can learn a good living and provide for their families. Yesterday I cooked Thanksgiving dinner kept it simple roast the turkey on trivet make great gravy, real mashed potatoes steamed broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce and a great salad. A simple flavorful meal and most of all enjoying our family sitting around the table and talking and sharing with each other our family hopes for all our futures and sharing with eace other what a meal is all about love.

This is what dining is should be all about and when we go out to dine it should be for purpose of sharing each other’s hopes and experiences in a hospitable place with great food and great service. And not a place to stuff our faces with poorly cooked food with stressed out service people and pay for an overpriced meal.

I rest my case

Chef

Winter Barbecue Recipes.

Chefs Monster rib recipe 

A day to Make 

INGREDIENTS

   1 Double rack of Ribs 

2. Use the Red Chile Sauce recipe 

Method

 (Start first thing in the morning)

   Fill large pan halfway full with water and bring to boil

   Pull membrane off of ribs and place in water - boil for 20 minutes

   Pull ribs out and dump about half the water

   Put rack in pan and then ribs on top of rack - should be just above waterline

   Cover with aluminum foil

   Put in oven at 225 (convection)

   At noon, brush on first layer of BBQ sauce onto ribs

   At 2:00, 

Brush on the second layer of BBQ sauce - remove aluminum foil

   At 4:00,

 On the grill brush on final layer and cook on the cool side of the grill 

   Bet you can't resist pulling a rib off to taste!  ;-)

   Try to wait at least until 5:00 before serving 

   Serve with extra BBQ sauce on the side for those that want it

Texas style beef brisket

INGREDIENTS

   Large (10+ lbs) Prime (high quality) Angus Beef Brisket, (Aged appropriately!)

   Prepared Hickory Chips (~ 8 Cups)

   Salt and Papper (fresh ground)

   Garlic Powder (to taste)

   Cayenne Pepper (Fresh Ground - to taste)

Barbecue Sauce (Of Personal Preference to taste My Sauce is the best )

   Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Hickory Preparation:  (for Slow-Cooking)

This amounts to "water-logging" the hickory chips.  Preferred method is

using clean, food-grade, 5-gallon pail and place Hickory (enough for the cooking endeavor) into pail. Place weight on the chips to hold them 

on the bottom. Add enough water to cover hickory + 3 inches. Soak for 

48 to 72 hours. Change water (to rinse) prior to use in grill. 

Cooking the Brisket                                                                                                                     :

Heat the grill (240-250), stocked with 1/4 of the hickory.  

Place hickory around the edges of the grill to obtain slow smoldering.   

The temperature of the grill should stay between 240 and 250 throughout the grilling.

Trim fat from the brisket, leaving about a quarter-inch of fat "covering" on the brisket.

Season brisket with the dry ingredients.

Slow grill (@ 240 to 250) until brisket internal temp is 200 in middle of the thickest part.  This will take at least 9 hours (if Brisket is ~ 10.5 lbs).

Slow cooking Method

Whilst slow-cooking, perform the following:  

    a) Don't let temp go out of range

    b) Replenish hickory every 2 hours 

    c) Start checking internal brisket temp @ ~ 6 hours, checking every 30 minutes thereafter.

If brisket seems dry at ~ 170, wrap it in foil for the remainder of cooking.

Wrap in foil when done cooking and let sit in an insulated container

or environment (to retain heat) for no less than 1 hour prior to slicing.

Optional:  Brush outside of brisket with barbecue sauce prior to slicing.

Slice across the grain.

Chef Tip:

Optional:  Serve meat with more sauce - although some people love the flavor 

of the brisket so much that they will not want to apply barbecue sauce.

                                       Red Chile Sauce

Yield:             4 cups – This is the most famous of all the New Mexican sauces.

½ Pound ( about 25) whole dried New Mexico red chiles or red ancho chiles
OR (1/2 POUND DRIED New Mexico red chile powder)

Ingredients                                                                                                      
2 quarts of water

1 Pound Roma tomatoes

½ cup chopped white onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 large cloves garlic, roasted, peeled, and finely chopped

1 teaspoon roasted ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons roasted ground Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons peanut oil

Method                                                                                                                                             

·         Remove stems and seeds from chiles.

·         With a comal or black iron skillet, or in an oven at 250°, dry roast chiles for 3 to 4 minutes. 

·         Shake once or twice and do not allow to blacken.  Add to the water in a covered pan and simmer very low for 20 minutes to rehydrate. 

·         Allow to cool.  Blacken tomatoes in a skillet or under a broiler ( about 5 minutes).  Saute¢ onions in the oil over low heat until browned.

·         Put chiles in a blender.  Add blackened tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt.  Add a cup liquid.  (Taste the chile water first.  If ir is not bitter, use chile water, otherwise add plain water or chicken stock.)

·         Puree to fine paste; adding more chile water, water or chicken stock if necessary.

·         Add oil or lard to a high-sided pan, and heat until almost smoking.  Refry sauce at a sizzle for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring continuously.  Do not allow sauce to get too thick; add water if necessary.

Smoked Tomato and Jalapeno

Barbeque Sauce

Ingredients

2 ½ pounds Roma tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

7 Jalapeno chiles, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

1 ½ cups finely chopped white onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, roasted and peeled

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup softened sweet butter

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Method

·         Using a fruit wood (such as apple), smoke* the tomatoes and jalapenos, cut-side up,, for approximately 1 hour. 

·         Slowly sauté the onion in the oil until brown.  Place in a blender together with the tomatoes, 4 of the jalapenos, garlic sugar, and salt. 

·         Puree to an even consistency and strain through through a medium sieve.  Transfer to a pan, warm gently, and stir in the butter and vinegar

·         .  Garnish with the remaining 3 jalapenos, cut into julienne strips.

*Liquid Smoke may be used but the results will not be as good as the fruit wood.  If using liquid smoke as a substitute for the fruit wood, sauté the onions.  Add 1 ½ teaspoons liquid smoke and the remaining ingredients, and simmer 35 to 40 minutes

Crab Tamale with Smoked tomato and Jalapeno Sauce

And served with a black bean salade

Yields: 8 to 10 tamales

Ingredients                                                                                                             

24 ounces of Phillips crab meat

¾ teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

4 tablespoons butter, finely cubes

1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon finely chopped Serrano chile

2 tablespoons heavy cream

8 to 10 large dried corn husks, soaked in hot water until pliable

Method                                                                                                                    

·         Mix the crab meat with salt and egg in a food processor. 

·         In a bowl set over ice and water, mix crab meat with the butter cilantro, serrano, and cream. 

·         Divide mixture evenly between the corn husks; roll and tie tamales, and steam for 8 minutes. 

·         Let cool and serve with Smoked Tomato and Jalapeno Sauce or Green Chile Sauce

Grilled Venison

With Ancho and Prickly Pear Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients                                                                                                             

4 vension loin-end chops, about 8 ounces

4 slices bacon

4 large porcini mushrooms caps

Ancho and Prickly Pear Sauce (recipe follows)

Method                                                                                                                          

·        To prepare venison, grill chops, preferably over a hot pecan grill, or broil, 6 to 8 minutes per side.  Fry bacon until just done. 

·        Grill porcini caps for 1 to 2 minutes.  Serve porcini on top of bacon next to the venison chop, which should be placed over the sauce

 

                                Ancho and Prickly Pear Sauce

Ingredients                                                                                                            

2 cups brown venison or beef stock

2 cups venison trimmings, browned

4 ancho chiles, seeded

5 prickly pears, peeled

Method                                                                                                                   

·         Using a stainless steel or enamel saucepan, bring ½ cup of the stock to a simmer and add venison trimmings and ancho chile. 

·         Continue to simmer gently, replacing ecaporated stock with reserved stock until it has all been used. 

·         Remove and reserve the ancho chiles and strain the stock, pushing down hard on trimmings to release all the liquid.

·          Puree stock with the reserved ancho chiles.  Sieve, return to pan and reduce further, skimming occasionally, until 1 cup stock remains.  Cut half of one of the prickly pears into 1-inch dice. 

•  Puree venison sauce with thee remining prickly pears and push through a sieve. 
• Add diced prickly pear to sauce and heat through.