Bacon & Chive Purple Potato Salad

Just returned from a Memorial Day trip to see my brother and sister n law and to visit a few family memorials.  My sis n law surprised me with this really awesome cookbook "Taste of Home" so I decided to try a simple side dish from the book.  I modified the recipe slightly using purple potatoes instead of the redskin and I added 2 boiled eggs and some fresh dill also.  The chives and dill came from my garden.  The only thing that would've made this really awesome is if the bacon would've come from hogs that I raised, but I would have to have livestock and I don't.  Anyway, everything in the dish was organic, local or home grown so that's a  bonus.  The salad is very easy to make and really yummy.  I served it along some organically grown corn that I grilled along with local farmed raised beef tenderloin and chicken.  Can't wait to dig into the cookbook some more, it looks like it has some really great recipes.  I will definitely share how they go and will post how to create,  but for now Good Eats!

Pork Chops with Rice & Beans

This is another Food Network recipe they I tried the other nite.  It's very easy and yummy, although I did have to do some modifications.  First I cut the recipe in half and I didn't have any tomato sauce, so I made my own by taking 1 part tomato paste to 1 part water.  Also, my chops were a little thicker than the recipe called so I broiled them until the internal temp reached 145 degrees F.  Also, my chops didn't have any juices left in the pain, it burned off.  I used leftover brown rice too.  The beans and rice were really good and I will definitely make them again.  I added a few drops of Louisiana Habanero Hot Sauce to the beans and that added a nice kick. The chops were good, but nothing special.  I really don't think the addition of the cider vinegar or the tomato sauce added anything to the chops.  Anyway, give the dish a try or at least the beans and rice.  It's healthy and Good Eats.

Chinese Beef with Broccoli

Found this recipe for Beef with Broccoli on the Food Network.   It's really simple to make and it tastes great.  I used the scrap meat from a beef tenderloin that I had cleaned.  The meat is extremely tender and quite yummy.  I also marinated the meat overnight, which really allowed the meat to absorb the flavor of the marinade and made it even more tender.  It literally melted in your mouth.  I opted out of using tomatoes because my hubby doesn't like them.  But I don't think that it took away from the dish.  I served it over Basmati Brown Rice.  Give it a try, it's definitely Good Eats!!

Healthy Chicken Fried Rice

I follow Chef Marcus Samuelsson on Twitter and he tweeted this recipe for a healthy chicken fried rice.  The end product is really really good, but I think the stir fry times are off and unless you have a really really large wok or skillet it's difficult to stir fry it all together.
Next time I will stir fry the peppers and snow peas for 5 minutes, remove from them from the wok, follow with chicken, cabbage and peas, for an addtional 3-5 minutes, remove from wok and then I will stir fry the rice alone for a minute or so then I will add everything back into the wok along with final ingredients and finish it off that way.
I would also recommend using chicken thighs instead of chicken breast because it will retain it's moisture and will add more flavor.  Also, not sure what the author meant by long green peppers, so I used a poblano and several jalapenos, and for the extra fine green beans I used snow peas that I julienned. This recipe is definitely a much healthier version of many of the fried rice recipes that I've tried and it really tastes delicious.  Definitely Good Eats.

Yummy, But Not For The Heart Healthy

Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin!!!  This dish definitely should be listed on the top 10 list of Comfort Foods and on the top 10 list of Unhealthy Foods.  Not something the typical cook may cook on a regular basis, but great if you're having a large group of people over or if you're just craving comfort.  This dish is provided by Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman.  She offers up some really tasty, down home dishes that I think you'll like.  You can find her on the Food Network or you can follow her blog.

I made this dish over the weekend and I served it with several more unhealthy favorites a large New York Strip and a Caesar Salad.  Again, not something we do all the time, but occasionally it's OK.  Perhaps someone out there can lighten it up or make it more healthy, or just give it a try just as it is.  I don't think you will be disappointed.  Buen Appetito!!

Baked Buffalo Wings & Crispy Baked Frites

Friday nites after working all week are usually take out nite, but tonight I decided to do some baked buffalo wings and crispy baked frites (french fries).  Very simple, fairly healthy and tasty.  Start by preheating your oven to 425.  Take 2 sheet trays and lay a sheet of parchment paper over each for easy clean up.  What you'll need to make this Friday nite feast: 10 chicken wings, rinsed and drained and trimmed up.  The wing has three sections, the tip, mid section and drummette.  Lose the tip just by using a sharp chef knife to cut it off and then discard it.  Then you'll need to cut thru the joint of the drummette and mid wing section. Season them with salt and pepper and toss them with 1 tbs of olive oil, and place them on one of the sheet trays and set aside.  For the frites, you'll need 3 medium size russet potatoes peeled, sliced into 1/4" length pieces.  Soak the potatoes in cold water for about 30 minutes and rinse them.  After rinsing them, you'll need to pat them dry with some paper towels.  These steps help to remove some of the starch, which really helps crisping the frites while they bake.  You can season them with whatever you like.  I mixed 1 tsp hot hungarian paprika, 1/2 tsp granulated garlic and 1 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp pepper into a bowl with 1 tbs of olive oil.  I then tossed the potatoes in the mixture.  I placed the potatoes evenly on the sheet tray not touching each other.  Place both the sheet trays (frites and wings in your preheated oven and let them bake for about about 40 minutes.  Remove the trays from the oven.  For the buffalo sauce, you can make your own, but I really like Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce.  It's really hot and as good as any sauce that I've made from scratch.  Toss the wings in the sauce and set aside a little extra for dipping.  That's it!  Fresh, tasty, healthy and simple for a Friday nite or any nite of the week.  Enjoy!!

Pork Belly Anyone?

We made a trip to Jungle Jim's this weekend and I picked up a pork belly.  Like the name implies, it's the meat from the belly of the pig and it's very fatty.  I've never had it before, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  The recipe that I chose for the belly was one by Chef Anne Burrell,  Mustard Braised Pork Belly.  I think she's a very talented chef and I've made several of her dishes in the past.  Before I get into the recipe, the first thing you need to know about Pork Belly is that it has this really tough skin on it and it's very difficult to remove.  I Googled removing the skin and found a video on You Tube, but honestly, it wasn't very helpful.  I used 6 different knives trying to remove the skin and ended up butchering it pretty bad.  Anyway, if  you choose to do a pork belly definitely have your butcher remove the skin for you, you'll be glad that you did.  The good news about pork belly is that it's very inexpensive, only $10 for a 3 1/2 lb belly.
Chef Anne's recipe is very simple, but it will take you sometime.  You have to let it sit for 24 hours with a rub and the next day it will take you about 6 hours to braise.  The aroma in the kitchen and throughout the house was amazing and I was so excited about trying it.  So for the final step I put it under the broil for about 3 minutes to crisp up the fat layer.  It looked really yummy and smelled great.  But...it just oozed with fat.  The fat just coated my lips and the inside of my mouth.  Honestly, I've never experienced anything like it.  The meat under the fat layer was really tender, juicy and quite delicious.  But...it just oozed with fat.  I just don't think my palate is sophisticated enough for pork belly.  I'm glad that I experienced the pork belly, my next adventure will be foie gras.  Anyway, give pork belly a try and let me know what you think.