TGIP!!! Thank God Its Pizza!!

Hey Guys TGIP!! Fridays to me scream pizza, so tonight I made our homemade pizza. I'm not going into details on how to make the dough you can find that on my Pizza's in the House post. I just wanted to share that tonight for my ingredients I bought one of those roasted savory chickens at the grocery and removed the meat from the carcass. I used only the white meat and chopped it up. I chopped up 1 shallot, 1 jalapeno, I did a chiffonade of some fresh basil, sliced 2 garlic cloves and chopped up some bacon. I sliced a nice ball of fresh mozzarella and added extra shredded pizza cheese. Oh yeah, don't forget the sauce. I placed it all on my pizza dough and baked at 500 degrees on my pizza stone for about 10 minutes. Remember using the parchment really helps with placing and removing the pizza from the stone, plus clean up is much easier. Check it out it smells delish. Buon Appetito!

Brining Time!!

Brining is simple technique using salt, sugar, water and herbs and spices that allows the meat to retain moisture while cooking and gives it a really nice flavor. My brining career only encompasses pork, but I do plan on venturing into fowl and poultry. Anyway, I've tried several techniques and I found that they both give similar results. One technique asks that you simmer the water, salt and sugar mixture and allow to cool before placing the meat into it and the other calls for just mixing up your stuff and then adding your meat. With both techniques you allow it to sit overnight in the refrigerator. Why don't you try both techniques and let me know what you think? Anyway, brining typically calls for 1 part water, 1 part kosher salt and 1/2 part sugar and whatever herbs, spices or aromatics that you might like. Be conservative using garlic powder, it can give a bitter taste to the meat and be sure to chop up fresh garlic, onions and peppers if you are going that route. I had three nice sized pork chops (about 2" thick) and I placed them in a large glass bowl that I filled with 1 gallon of cold water, 1 C Kosher salt, 1/2 C Molasses, a tsp of each of cumin seed, fennel seed, coriander seed, 1 clove of garlic chopped and 1 bay leaf (of course I mixed it all up before adding the chops). I then placed the bowl in the refrigerator. Tonight when I got home I heated my cast iron skillet on med heat and preheated my oven to 425. I removed the chops from the brine mixture and patted them dry and rubbed all sides with a little canola oil and then sprinkled them with a little S & P on both sides. When my skillet was very hot I placed the chops in and browned all sides for about 5 minutes each. After browning I placed 1/2 tbs of butter onto the tops of each and then placed them in the oven until they reached a temperature of 140-145 degrees (they will continue to cook when you remove them from the oven). I then removed them from the oven and let them rest for about 5 minutes before I served them. They turned out really nice. A lot of flavor and very moist. I hope that you will give brining a try it really adds something special to the meat. Bon Appetit!

Dont Try This At Home

Pleeeeease don't try this at home!!! Tonight I went totally store bought and it SUCKED!!! Frozen Ravioli (Pierino) not good with a jar of Bertolli Marinara also not good. I tried to make it more edible with the addition of italian sausage, mushroom and parmigiano reggiano, but it still pretty much sucked. The only saving grace was that I made the bruschetta (I love you Mario). Guys if you haven't made Mario's bruschetta you gotta give it try. He has many variations and they can all be found on the Food Network. Sorry about the bad photo, my photographer is on assignment. Stayed tuned we are going to do some brining. Happy Evening!!

Fried Chicken First

My brother had asked, "how about some fried chicken?". I kind of cheated since we had the deep fryer ready from last nites fry fest. Btw, this is a Ina Garten recipe and she calls it baked fried chicken, it can be found on the food network. Anyway, I started with a chicken cut up into it's respected parts and I soaked them overnite in buttermilk. Tonight when I got home I preheated my oven to 350 degrees and my deep fryer to 360 degrees. I got out a sheet tray and placed parchment paper (makes for easy clean up) on the bottom and placed a baking rack on top of the sheet tray. I mixed 2 c all purpose flour, 1 tsp kosher salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp paprika. I then dredged each piece of the buttermilk laden chicken into the flour mixture. Two pieces at a time I deep fried the chicken for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown. I placed the chicken pieces onto the baking rack on the sheet tray and I baked the chicken for 40 minutes until the internal temperature was at 17o degrees. While the chicken was baking I cooked up some yukon gold potatoes for 15 minutes or so. Once they were cooked thru and drained I added 1tsp kosher salt, 1tbs butter and about 1/4 c milk and mashed those babies up. I also steamed some green beans for a healthy touch. Not sure if I would do this recipe again, honestly not a big fried chicken fan.

Fry Fest!! SuperBowl Sunday!!

We are having a fry Fest tonight!! All of these recipes can be found on food network. Giada's fried ravioli, Guy Fieri's double fried french fries, food network fried green beans and Down Home With the Neely's fried wings! You don't have to have a deep fryer, but it makes it easier. We use our Krups and it does a fine job. Check out our dishes! Wish you were here to share with us and to watch the game! BTW, fried chicken tomorrow nite Bro!

Mmm Magic Mac



 Mmm Magic Mac

 This isn't a very pretty dish, but you know I was tired, hungry and in a hurry.  I had 1lb of 93-7 ground turkey and I wasn't in the mood for turkey burgers.  So, I asked Will what he thought and he said why don't you put it in with Velveeta Mac N Cheese.  I know what your thinking, "Ooh!  Cheese Food Subsititute" Wrong read the label it has milk and whey, cultured enzymes, it's really not that bad and the possibilities are endless.  Rachael Ray ain't got nothin on me. Anyway, to make this very quick and yummy dish you will need:  1 lb ground turkey, 2 cloves chopped garlic,1 diced gn bell pepper, 1 diced med onion, 1 chopped jalapeno, 1tsp cumin, 1tsp dried basil, 1tsp dried oregano, 1 box of Velveeta Mac N Cheese (we even used the low fat version), a dash of Lousiana's Habanero Hot Sauce.  Go ahead and get the pasta boiling and cook al dente of course.  In the meantime, saute your garlic, peppers and onion until onion is translucent.  Add your turkey and cook until there is no pink (be sure to break up the turkey with a fork or spoon), add your cumin, oregano and basil and stir.  Add the Velveeta Cheese packet.  Stir until all is blended.  Add your drained Macaroni to the turkey and mix together.  If you think it's to dry add a litte chicken broth or better yet if you have any boxes of Velveeta in your pantry cut off a big chunk and throw in there and blend until it's melted. Garnish if you like with a litte parsley. Serve into bowls with a dash or 2 of the hot sauce.  Yummy!!  And look how it blends in with the counter top!!

Lazy Day Lasagna

Lazy Day Lasagna

Today was a snow day for me, so I thought why not do a lasagna?  This recipe is from Ina Garten aka The Barefoot Contessa.  I did a slight variation, but if you want to follow her recipe you can find it on the Food Network.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Go ahead and get a large pot of water boiling for your noodles. You will need: 1.5 lbs of spicy italian turkey sausage (you may have to go to a specialty store for the sausage, I purchased mine from Whole Foods), PLEASE REMOVE THE CASING.  You could also substitute italian sausage.  You will also need: 2 tbs olive  oil, 1 lg yellow onion chopped, 4 cloves of garlic minced, 1/2 c flat leaf parsley chopped, 1 c fresh basil chopped, 1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, if you can try to use San Marzano - they are soooo good, (go ahead and pour these into a med size bowl and crush by hand), 1 8oz can tomato paste, 1 egg (slightly beaten), 1Lb fresh mozzarella cheese (if you can't find the fresh mozzarella use shredded mozzarella found in the dairy case), 16oz container ricotta, 4 oz  of herbed or plain goat cheese, 1.5 c grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 box of lasagna (cooked for 2-3 minutes less than what the box directions suggest, drain and set aside) and always S&P.  Add your olive oil to a 12-14" skillet, heat over med-low heat, add your onion and saute until translucent, add garlic and continue to saute for a minute or so.  Add your sausage in pieces and break it up with a fork while it's cooking, and cook about 10 minutes.  Add your crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil and 1/2 of your parsley.  At this point I would taste it and you decide if it needs S&P,  I think the tomatoes and the tomato paste add plenty of salt on their own.  Ok, Ina says cook for 20 minutes until thick, but mine was already really thick, so I only cooked for about 10 minutes.  While your that's cooking, lets work on the cheese mixture.  In med bowl add your ricotta, egg, 1 c parmesan, goat cheese and remaining parsley.  Mix by hand or use a spatula, fork or spoon then set aside.  Next thinly slice your mozzarella and set aside.  Take a 12x9" pan, mine is 9x13 (it seems that lasagna noodles are designed for the 12x9"pan).  Anyway, ladle 1/3 of the sauce mix into bottom of pan, next layer noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella and sauce, then repeat with noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella, sauce and sprinkle remaining parmesan over top.  Slide in your oven and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.  Voila!  Serve with a nice green salad.  I think Will is gonna like this one. BTW, don't forget to feed the fish!