Career Confusion.

So for some insane reason I am contemplating culinary school again. In my mind this holds unrestricted awesomeness in one hand, and a complete lack of responsibility in the other. Let me explain…

I had, for some time, a dream of opening and owning my own restaurant. I want to make a menu and decide on dishes, walk back to the kitchen fraternize with the staff and then casually sit in the front as a guest and spy on other patrons occasionally leaning to the table next to me to ask, “what would you recommend?” This is the dream I had (have to some extent).

I however after closing out my college career and reflecting for a long time have become completely and utterly confused. At the current time I can hear a career path and no matter what it is, except for anything accounting, I can creating a fantastic picture of it in my head. I have imagined going to work in boots, jeans, a button down and hard hat as a construction manager, wearing a suit to close the big deal as a salesman, slumping around my house working from home as a freelance writer and the list goes on and on and every damn one seems to appeal to me. So now, I pose the question, "how do I know what I want to do with my life… when will I know… is it possible to get hired in the meantime?" Comment if you have any input...

...Oh yea, and as to not disappoint here is a simple recipe for what I accidentally called “Sunny Day Mushroom Pasta”

-pasta (I used fettuccini)

-Sun dried tomatoes

-Mushrooms

-Salt

-Pepper

-Tomato sauce

-Olive Oil

-Italian Seasoning (I am pretty sure it is just dried basil with a few other things added)

First things obvious, put water on to boil the noodles.

Next, put some olive oil in a pan and bring it to heat. Toss in your sun dried toms and mushrooms and spices into the pan. I didn’t measure anything as usual, but I would say enough to make it tasty but not so much that it is too much (figure that out if you can).

Add salt, pepper, and a little olive oil and then your noodles to the pot of boiling water… Duh

Finally, pour your tomato sauce into your pan of mushrooms and tomatoes. Let it simmer until your noodles are done (which according to the pasta box is about 7 minutes but I think they are full of shit, why I don’t know). Once you have everything done drain the noodles, plate them, and then plop some of your sauce and mushrooms on top. Enjoy!

Samoa Steak Tacos

This is a fantastic combo of terrific tropical flavors and red meat. I am not kidding you when I say nothing so strangely delicious and perplexing has ever been put in my mouth before making it. I leaked some pictures and have high demand for precise deets so I tried to be as accurate as possible. That being said kick back, relax, and enjoy.

Chipotle Mango Salsa

-1 good sized mango

-1/4 orange bell pepper

-1/4 green bell pepper

-1/3 red onion

-Fresh cilantro to taste (I love the stuff so I think I used 12 cups. Just kidding… but seriously)

-2 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce (CAUTION THIS SHIT IS HOT!)

-1 cup pineapple chucks

-Lemon juice

-Salt

Samoa Marinated Steak

-Steak (use what you want from T-bone to flank steak, I don’t give a crap)

-1 small can pineapple junks juice and all

-1/4-1/2 cup blood orange EVOO (this is specialty oil I got as a gift. I am sure using a fresh blood orange and regular olive oil would make a dandy sub if not make the whole thing better)

-1/8 of a cup soy sauce

-Couple of crushed garlic cloves

-Fist full of roughed up cilantro

-Salt

-2-3 tbs lemon juice

-1-2 tbs vanilla

Alright the first thing you have to do to get a rockin and a rollin on this recipe is chop up your mangos. I took mine down fairly small about the size of … say a Lego. Once cut up throw that in a big ol’ mixing bowl. Continue in this fashion with the peppers and onion.

Now, take your chipotle peppers in adobo, and be careful because I am not joking when I say these are hot and the oils from them DO NOT leave your fingertips right away (THIS MEANS DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES BECAUSE IT HURTS REALY REEEAAALY BAD). Once you have them, cut them open and remove the innards and discard them, unless you want to use them… which may be suicidal but have at it, dice up your peppers into tiny pieces (this will allow them to disperse throughout the salsa and give you a more even heat).

Lastly, give a rough chop to your cilantro and pineapple and toss them and the rest of your ingredients into your mixing bowl and stir it up really good. At this point I recommend a taste test just to make sure the salsa meets your standards, if it does, toss it in your fridge to settle down and blend together for a bit.

To get started on the marinade, you will want to take all of the ingredients listed above minus the steak and mix them together thoroughly in a bowl. After mixing the ingredients to create your marinade, slice your steak against the grain. Then put your steak in a marinating tray or plastic bag, I prefer the bag because I think it gives better coverage to the meat but who really knows. Finally pour the marinade from the bowl you mixed them in into the bag/tray with your meat. Let that sit for a few hours to get nice and tasty.

Once you have wasted a few hours of your life waiting on meat to marinade and salsa flavors to blend, it is finally time! Remove the steak from the before mentioned container and sizzle it up in a pan or flat top grill (you can remove the cilantro and pineapple from your steak, but I left them to cook with the steak). I kept it on the heat until the sugar from marinade started to caramelize and turn a beautiful brown and the smell of fruity vanilla filled the kitchen.

While waiting for the meat to reach that perfect place between raw and burnt, I whipped up a little lemon lime chipotle mayo to top off everything. This was simply just a spoon full of mayo, a tbs or two of lemon/lime juice, and enough chipotle powder to give it a pinkish hue.

Once your steak is cooked take a few tortillas and warm them on the grill and BAM you are ready to plate. Toss a hearty amount of your Samoa steak on the shell, pile on some of the chipotle mango salsa, and add a dab of the lemon lime chipotle mayo and get ready for your mouth to be taken to paradise.

If you try this Please, please, PLEASE leave a comment telling me what you think. I really liked it and want to know if my tastes are just messed up or if it was truly delish. Thanks.

BMR Fiesta!

A Guest Post By Chris Siegel

Let me begin by saying that I am honored to be a part of Everyday Dude Food. Last year I was 1/3 of the Burly Man Ranch (some would say ½) and I can honestly say that all the stuff Drew makes not only tastes incredible but smells amazing as well. I can’t tell you how many times I would pray for him to say, “Hey Beanie, come try this.”

That being said, I have some recipes of my own. I’ve shared these recipes with only my family and a few close friends. If you were lucky enough to have been invited to a Taco Night at the BMR you know how great these flavors match together. But alas, I felt the need to share with you what makes a BMR Taco Night so special.

They key to a BMR Taco Night is fresh ingredients. None of that El Paso taco seasoning, stale hard shells, or jarred salsa. I mean that’s okay…if you want nobody to come back to your next fiesta. Besides that’s what T-Bell is for. I’m telling you, you won’t go wrong with this combination: 1. Fresh Pico de Gallo 2. Fresh Guacamole 3. Chicken and/or Steak Fajitas. 4. Roasted Corn with Chili Lime Butter. The sum of these parts equals a great meal, throw in some tequila and you’re well on your way to a fiesta!

Fresh Pico

This is without a doubt the easiest thing in the world and people will go nuts over it. This is the basis of my philosophy that in order to fool people to think you’re a good cook, just make the simple things that nobody thinks to make homemade. They are easy to make and will always taste better than stuff that comes from a jar. Anyway here is the backbone of a BMR Taco and my fresh Pico recipe…

-6 Large Slicer Tomatoes (Use these b/c they are cheaper)

-1 Medium Red Onion

-2 Jalapenos

-1 bunch of Cilantro

-Juice of 1 Lime

-A clove or two of garlic

-Kosher Salt

-Black Pepper

I’ve found the best way to go about his is to dice the tomatoes and then put them into a strainer. When diced tomatoes sit for a while they can really lose a lot of water and cause your salsa to become drowned. By straining them it helps cut this down. Each time you put a diced tomato into the strainer, add a pinch or two of salt on top of it to help draw out some of the excess tomato juice.

Next chop of the red onion and jalapeno. If you like your pico hot, you can chop the jalapenos with the membrane and the seeds in it. In the words of Emeril, this really kicks it up a notch. Once they are diced, go head and throw these into the straining tomatoes.

Go ahead and transfer this into a medium mixing bowl. You won’t be adding a whole lot more volume to your pico at this point. Chop the leaves of your fresh cilantro. I find it easy to keep the bundle together and just chop down the leaves until the bunch becomes mostly stems. Chop down the leaves to uniform size and stir into your tomato mix. If you got it lying around, stir in some diced garlic as well. It adds a little depth to the flavor of the salsa.

Cut the lime in half and squeeze both sides right in. Give it a stir and a taste. Season with black pepper and some additional salt if you think it needs it. Be aware though it you are eating it with Tortilla chips that these already have salt on them, so I find it best to slightly underseason the Pico to make for a perfect bite!

Fresh Guacamole

I can honestly say that every time I’ve made this, people have said it’s the best Guac they’ve ever had. I just tell them, it took me literally 3 minutes to make. All you need is…

-Ripe Avocados (quantity depends on how much Guac you want)

-Fresh Pico Recipe from Above

The key here is to make sure your avocados are ripe. One trick is to leave your avocados next to you’re ripening bananas. I would get into the science behind it, but that is not necessary. All you need to know is putting them next to the bananas makes them ripe faster. You know they are perfect when they are smooshy to the touch and they smell like avocado.

Just cut them in half, lengthwise. Remove the pit and spoon out the meat into a mixing bowl. Start with a few spoonfuls of your freshly made pico and juice. Fold it in with a fork, making it as chucky or smooth as you would like. Add more pico to your taste. That is really all there is too it, feel free to season with more salt, pepper, or lime juice to make it fit your liking. I’m getting hungry thinking about it.

Roasted Corn with Chili Lime Butter

I think this recipe may only work in the summer, when sweet corn is everywhere (and only about 25 cents for an ear). Roasting the corn in the oven, I think is the easiest way to cook it. Not to mention it makes you look like an amazing chef, it makes the corn taste sweeter, and it makes your house smell like fall. What are you waiting for?

-Fresh Corn in its Husks

-About a stick of softened butter

-Few Teaspoons of Chili Powder

-Zest of one Lime

Preheat the oven to 350F

Put the corn, in husk, in the oven for about 30-40 minutes…or until it is soft.

Mix in the lime zest and chili powder with the softened butter.

That is really all there is to it. Just remove the corn from the oven, peel back the husks (be careful they steamy) and lather it up with your butter mixture and feel the corn’s natural sweetness explode in your mouth. I promise, if you try it this way you will never consider boiling your corn ever again.

Fajitas

-1 Red Bell and 1 Orange Bell Pepper

-1 or 2 White Onions

Julienne these bad boys and throw them in a large sauté pan with some olive oil. (Hint to julienne an onion cut through it in half through the root. Then remove both the root end and the bulb end of each piece. Then cut down on the onion shortwise, revealing short strips of onion. --- To julienne a pepper, hold the pepper upright and around the stem in four pieces. You should get all the meat of the pepper, and toss the stem, membrane, and seeds. Flatten each piece of pepper and remove and white pieces of membrane. Then cut longwise to make strips of the pepper.

Throw the pan on a heat source and stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. That’s about it.

Chicken

For the Chicken, I like to use a “Chili Lime Rub” which you can buy from Kroger. I’ve also seen it called “Savory & Citrus” rub. I usually buy a pack of chicken breasts, and then butterfly them, or make a cut to open them like a book, to make for even cooking and so I can impart more of the flavor of the rub. I just rub down the chicken breasts with the rub and throw them in a Ziploc bag with some olive oil and a bit of lime juice. Let it sit for about an hour.

Toss them on the grill and cook until the juices run clear. They should be pretty firm to the touch, but not too firm. Take them off the girl and let them sit for a couple of minutes. This could be a good time to warm up your tortillas while the grill is still hot.

When the chicken has rested, slice the chicken diagonally to serve.

Steak

For steak I like to use a skirt or flank steak because it is economical and tastes great in combination with all your other flavors.

In a bag, throw about ½ to ¾ cup of brown sugar, some diced scallions, lime juice, salt and pepper. Throw in your cut of steak, and top it with some olive oil. Then rub it around in the bag and throw it in the fridge for about an hour.

Throw it on a hot grill and cook to your liking. The meat should be relatively thin so it won’t take that long. It’s all about feel, but it shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes a side.

Same goes for the steak as the chicken. Let it rest for about 5 minutes. Once it has rested, slice the meat against the grain, or on a diagonal. This makes sure the meat is not chewy.

That’s the key to a BMR Taco Night. Top these off with some lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and you’re well set! But even that is not necessary. Give these recipes a shot, I promise you won’t be disappointed. The only down side is there is never any leftovers!

I’ll be working on my repertoire until I get another blog invite from Drew. Thanks Guys!

Be Easy

CMS

The Dude Goes HighTech... and Some Citrus Steak

So as I said in my last post, I am in the midst of a job hunt (cough hire me cough) and have been really trying to stay on my game and in the spirit of progress I have gotten a QR code for the blog.


You might be saying to yourself right now, what the hell is a QR code exactly? To that my friends I say, I don’t know, nor do I care. I just know that it is one of the many business and marketing trends to be hitting the waves and although I cannot give you an exact definition (for that look to Webster you lazy ass), I can give you a vague over view.

A QR code is a “Quick Response” code and it serves the function of decreasing the time it takes a person who has a smartphone to find out information about certain objects that have a QR code. I am not sure how it works aside from the fact that a crazy looking crossword box diagram picture is a pictographic shortcut that is similar to what you would find on the screen of your computer that takes you to a designated URL address, text page, or any other number of fancy things. The only difference is that instead of clicking with your mouse you bring up an app on your phone, point, and BOOOOM you are sucked through a portal of time and space until you reach a webpage for a video of a kitten dancing or some dumb product like the Snuggie. So pretty much QR codes are pretty cool
As my followers, I have to believe that you don’t give a damn about the techy stuff and are more interested in what I had for dinner. So here goes.

Citrus Sirloin Tip Steak
-The Steak
- Blood Orange E.V.O.O.
- Fig Vinegar
- Salt
- Pepper

Mix everything but the steak in a bowl. Next, put the steak in the Bowl. Let sit on counter for 60 min or 1 hour which ever your preference.

Now, throw it on the grill for a while (mine was pretty thin so I only had to leave it on for about 4 min aside… that’s 4/60 of one hour for those of you on the metric system), take it off, and CHOW DOWN!

On the damn tastiest marinated steak you have ever givin the NOM NOM NOM to.

I AM BACK... and I brought pork!

Now I know that I have said it before, but I am BACK!... for how long? Who knows? But for the time being I am here to walk you all through the tasty concoctions that I have come up with.

Since my last post, which seems like ages ago, I have had many culinary adventures, some fantastic and some….not. I have experimented with cheeseburger calzonish dishes, breakfast pizzas, steak marinades, more sauces (bbq and the like), and a hundred other dishes that I have been able to whip up with my new food processor and 5 in one Panini press, griddle, grill.

Before I slam straight into the good stuff I will catch you up on WTF is going on in my life. I have now graduated from Butler University, a horrifically sweet and sour taste at the same time comparable to the first time you have a warheads candy and you bask in the delicious sugary flavor but pucker your face into that of a contorted pug due to the tanging pull on your tongue. Along with graduating I have moved from the comfort of the Burly Man Ranch and its wonderful kitchen (minus its stove) into the confines of my increasingly homier apartment located near Broad Ripple with my new roomie Brad “I have the voice of an angel and am cute to boot” Mallers. Finally, I can round out the details of my life by saying that I NEED a job… doing what is one question, but I can tell you that you don’t need to bother me with offers of being a door to door salesman, being a financial advisor to the elderly, and (although I haven’t investigated it yet) anything to do with wearing a visor asking if you would like to “Super-Size That?”. Now having said all that lets get down to business.

Mafia Made Pork Chops

-2 Pork Chops
-Flour
-Garlic Powder
-Oregano
-Rosemary
-Savory? (don’t ask me, I found it on a spice rack I picked up from my grandma and it smelled nice)
-Basil
-Red Wine
-Red Wine Vinegar
-Olive Oil
-Salt
-Black Pepper
-Water
-Paprika
-Mozzarella Cheese

Aaaaand we’re off…. So I started by making up a simple marinade that I usually use on my red meats, I am not sure that it adds colossal amounts of flavor, but it makes me feel good knowing it is there. It consists of about 2 parts olive oil to one part of the red wine vinegar, water, and red wine each, being sure to test the red wine 2 or 12 times before adding it just to make sure it tastes right. Toss in some salt, black pepper and then your pig parts and let that relax in the fridge for an hour or so.

Towards the end of your marination period you start to through about a cup, maybe a cup and a half (pending the size of your chops), and the oregano, rosemary, basil, savory (whatever it is), paprika, and garlic. As for the amounts of each, I can’t say with any accuracy because on this occasion I omitted to use my measuring devices but I can with certainty say that I went heavier on the oregano, basil, savory and garlic in what would seem like appropriate amounts being that rosemary has a much more pungent flavor than oregano or basil…. Regardless, put them with the flour so that you can clearly see that it is not just flour, when I was done I would say that I had about one cup flour with about a fourth cup spices… but again I didn’t measure and it was last night so who really knows.

Now, it is time once again to pull out that old favorite, cast iron skillet. Take it and get it going on the stove with a little of that olive oil in it.

By this time your chops should be cocked locked and ready to rock so pull them out of the juice and powder them bad boys in your spicy flour. Once they are good and coated and your oil is ready to go, toss them in. Let them go until they are starting to get that beautiful slightly charred and golden color on each side. Next, throw them into the oven that you had started to preheat at 420ish and let them go for about 15 minutes. At this point pull them out enough to sprinkle on your mozzarella cheese and then put them back in to finish up for 5 minutes.

Now if you did it anything like I did you should have to AWESOME chops with some AWESOMELY melted cheese on top that are packed with the flavor of a thousand sun…chips. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or to call my agent. In the mean time SQUAT.ROCK.BOOGIE.

The hotDAMNwich

- Mango
- Chipotle Peppers (in adobo sauce )… I used four peppers
- Green pepper
- Preach preserves
- Onion
- Chicken
- Olive oil
- Shredded cheese
- Bread

WARNING: Making and consuming this sandwich will cause extreme burning sensations throughout different areas of the body for days to come, starting with the mouth area and moving south.

Now that that is out of the way I encourage everyone to pour a tall glass of milk and get to cooking. Start off by hacking up your peppers (both chipotle and the green one), your onion, and peeling and chopping up the mango. Put them in a bowl together and then pour some of the adobo sauce from the can of peppers into the bowl and give it a tossing (this is the hot stuff so be as liberal as you want… I mean its your funeral). Throw in your peach goo and giver a good stir.

Once you have gotten caught up to this point, take your chicken, I used 2 large skinless breasts, and cut them up into small pieces (I hunked it as you can see but thought this might be good as a pulled chicken sami too). Once you have that done take your pan of choice and get a little oil going in the bottom of her.

Toss in everything together and be sure to keep it nice and stirred so that you get a good coating on the chicken. Continue onward with this and until the chicken is cooked and the veggies are turning translucent.

Turn down your heat a ways and let it simmer for two seconds while you nab 3 pieces of bread and toast 2 of them, I repeat toast 2 of them.

From this point begin to construction of the “wich” part of the Hotdamnwich. Put down bread piece 1, then some of the chicken veggie combo, then some cheese, then some more chicken veggie mix, some more cheese, and finally pour some of the sauce that is in with the chicken and veggies o’er top the whole Hotdamn thing.

Well that’s it for now. Have fun burning down your insides with this one, until next time, I gotta boogie.

Simple Spare Ribs

Here is a recipe that holds little pizazz compared to the other flavor busters that I have thrown up there, but it is simply delicious.

• Spare Ribs
• 1 Yellow Pepper
• 1 Red Pepper
• ½ Onion
• Celery Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper

To start things off you need to boil the ribs for about an hour to get them nice and tender. As a little treat if you got it I would add a little liquid smoke to the water… (I’m not sure if the taste will permeate the meat in the boiling water but it sounds good.)

Towards the end of the hour slice up your onion and peppers and sauté them bad boys in a little olive oil. Make sure to get them nice and caramelized.

Round about this time the hour should be up so pull them ribs out of the jacuzzi and put ‘em on a plate of a cutting board. Sprinkle them down with celery salt , pepper, and cayenne (I only put a little pinch because I was not in the mood for spicy but if you want to crank it up, have at it).

Once seasoned up I scoot the peppers and onion out of the way to one side of the pan and lay the ribs in meatier side down. Leave it in there just long enough to give a little brown crusty to them and then flip them over for a minute and pull ‘em outta there.

Plate with the peppers and onions dropped around the meaty bones. Obviously this isn’t the ideal way to do up a set of ribs but when its 12 degrees outside and grilling is not an option it is a damn delicious alternative.

I Bet You Think I'm NUTS!

This post is about a creation that just about came to life. Please, I beg you not to lose interest when you read the ingredients, they may be uncanny but they somehow united just perfectly.

-2 thick cut pork chops
-1 Avocado
-Mushrooms
-Crumbled blue chees
-Cracked chipotle pepper
-Onion powder
-Chili powder
-Garlic powder
-Salt
-Pepper
-Orange juice

So to get the ball rolling I threw together a quick rub with the chipotle, onion powder, chili, garlic, salt and pepper. It was nothing special but definitely had more chipotle, maybe even twice as much. I gave the chops a good rub down and then tossed them in a warm cast iron skillet with just enough olive oil in it to coat the bottom. I seared the chops on each side just long enough to give them some color and then pulled them from the heat, dropping them down into the oven at 350ish for about 10-15 min or an internal temp of about 145.

Prior to starting I had taken my avocado apart and slice my mushrooms, now however I took them and began to cook them down in a pan of their own. Once the mushrooms looked like most of the water had cooked off of them I added just enough orange juice to just cover the bottom of the pan and then cooked that until it is what I am only able to describe as gooey.

At this point, the chops should be about done so snag them from the oven and let them sit for a few minutes to rest. I served them on a couple of pieces of bread and the avocado mushrooms piled on top.

The flavor in one of these guys is intense. Heat from the chipotle cooled ever so slightly by the avocado and then tanged up by the OJ with the texture playing tricks on your senses by contrasting the seared skin of the chops, the slime of the mushrooms, the creaminess of the avocado, and the sponginess of the bread is amazing. Probably not for everyone, but intensely amazing

Sorry there there's no pic.

Flavor Blasted Alfredoed Greens

½ Box Spaghetti
1 Jar Alfredo Sauce
2 Stalks of Broccoli
3 Cups Raw Spinach
4 Cloves Garlic
Olive Oil
Oregano
Paprika
Rosemary
Sage
Salt
Pepper

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY It is great to be back in the Blogosphere!
With the amount of time that I have spent away from you all I should be convicted and locked away for neglecting my Readers (or what few viewers I have). I am back though and with a new year, semester, internship, and tool box of tools I am ready and excited to start cooking again.
This dish is an awesome take on a normally simple dish. It uses the power of garlic to shell shock your mouth into another realm of taste. I warn you, this dish is not for the faint of heart….or taste bud, so hang on and enjoy the ride.
The first thing I do to get this party ready is prep the broccoli and spinach by washing them or at least rinsing them under the sink. I like to give the spinach a rough chop but don’t fret over it because we are going to wilt it down later. I also break the broccoli down into bite sized pieces, generally using what would be considered the leafy part of the tree when using the most notable analogy .
Once I have them prepped I put a little water in the bottom of two pans as to make a makeshift steamer (if you find yourself to be a fancy person you can use an actual steaming pot, but this works just dandy). I put the greens on over medium heat and cover them to let them steam up until they are tender or completely wilted down.
While the greens are doing their thing (which will take some time) I work on giving the garlic a good mincing and tossing it into a pan with a little olive oil. I add a little salt, paprika, oregano and rosemary at this step also. I let this go for a little while waiting until the garlic begins to change brown.
Once the garlic is beginning to brown, the spinach should be wilted down. Take the spinach, drain the water off of it and then toss it in your pan of garlic (WARNING! Be careful the water left in the spinach will react violently with the hot oil on your garlic). Give the pan a quick mix and add the alfredo sauce. To the alfredo/garlic mixture also add another round of salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, sage, and rosemary. Let that simmer.
At this point you need to start boiling your pasta, so do that.
Around now your broccoli should be nice and tender, so drain it off and add it to your alfredo sauce mixture. Let the sauce simmer until your spaghetti noodles are done.
After your noodles are done plate them and liberally apply the alfredo mixture. Once you have got that done be sure to strap on a helmet because you are locked and loaded for bear with enough flavor to make Emeril Legasse say “Holy Moly (insert explicative here)!!!” Enjoy…

Yum de la PORK CHOP

2 Bone in Pork chops
Vegetable Oil (used because I heard it was better with cast iron?)
Onion
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Paprika
Onion Powder
Celery Salt
Cast Iron Skillet

I know it has been two forevers since my last point and I apologize greatly for that, but get over it, this DudeFood should make up for it and more. Not many of you may know this but port chops are the crème de la crème of the meat world, the T-bone of the pork world, and the key to my heart.

To get this party rockin you start by heating your pan up. Before going forward I should say that you need to used a cast iron skillet or pan because you will be tossing this into the oven after we are done on the stove top. I have heard to do this a couple of ways. You either put the oil in and heat the pan and the oil at the same time, or I have also heard that you should add the oil after heating your pan. I personally heated the oil and the pan up together but who knows?

Once your pan is heating up, move on to prepping the meat. I like to create a little dry rub. This mixture is a simple way to add some bang without taking away from the chop. Just add equal parts onion powder, celery salt, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix this simple rub up and then just sprinkle it onto your chops (do not coat them in it. This will take away from the meat. )

Once you have gotten them seasoned toss them in flour. Be sure to remove most of the excess flour because you’re not trying to deep fry them, you just want to sear them in the pan. Once they have gone for about 3 minutes a side (they should adopt a nice dark golden color) pull them out of the pan and let them sit on a plate for a few seconds.

Take you onion (I forgot to mention that you should have sliced it up) and toss it in the pan. Cook until translucent and it begins to caramelize. After the onions are looking good, toss your chops back in the pan and situate the onions over top of them.

Throw the entire cast-iron skillet into the oven at about 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes allowing the chops to cook all the way through.

Plate and serve.

YATS

This is the first in a series of blogs on restaurants in the Indianapolis area. This idea dawned on me when I was thinking of when I was going to have time to cook, blog, and write my history paper on archeological and documented historical evidence...like anyone anywhere cares, I mean I love the history channel as much as anyone but this is outrageous. Anyways I will not bore you on that crap anymore.

For the first restaurant I want to take you all to a place where you can gorge yourself while listening to snazzy jazzy music, and enjoying a relaxing Marti Gras themed environment. Yats is located in the broad ripple area of Indianapolis, to be specific it is on College Ave. just a few blocks south of Westfield. That, however is more than enough on the location and atmosphere on to what really matters....FOOOOOD!!!!

This place has Cajun down to a T or what ever other letter is more Cajun. Offering an ever changing menu that rotates through choices of chili cheese ettuffe, jumbulaya, white chili with chicken, and hunter's stew (which due to horrible timing and menu rotation I have still never tried) Yats is grade A+ food. It is my belief that the chili cheese ettuffe with crawfish is hand made by angels and sent to the restaurant daily. If however the huge portions of delicious glop is not enough for you, they also throw a few slices of the the best buttery garlicyish bread I have ever eaten.

For anyone who really cares to know the pricing for what you get is great. It is about 7 bucks for a plate and a drink and only 50 cents you can get EXTRA BREAD!!!!!! Also, free refills on drinks, but that's nothing compared to the bread. 

To wrap things up, if you come to Indy and are looking for a quick bite that is way worth the buck and Cajun suites your fancy, then Yats is for you. Large portions of great chow is just something that can't be beat in my book.

Check out more of their menu at the official site www.yatscajuncreole.com  

Garlic Packed Dirty Bird Breasts With A Side Of Sweet Fries

Chicken Breast
Sweet Potatoes
Celery Salt
Curry Powder
Chili Powder
Onion Powder
Black Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Rosemary
Garlic Clove
toothpicks

This little treat is re-gosh-darn-delicious. It brings together some REALLY bold flavors to create a debauchery of taste in your mouth. To start things off you first make the rub for the chicken. First add equal amounts of the curry powder, chili powder, celery salt, cayenne, black pepper, paprika, and rosemary, and for the rest of the spices at double the amount of each of those (kind of a one part all of those and then two parts garlic powder and onion powder). This is a pretty mean flavor but it blends well with the chicken and some of the bite will cook off.

Next, prep the sweet potatoes because they will take longer to bake. as you can see I just cut them into fries and then hit them with some cold water being sure to dry them off well after. then spread them on a baking sheet and hit them with a little cayenne pepper and salt to add some flavor. After that, throw them puppies in the oven at about 350 and let them go for about 20 min... be sure to watch them cuz I am not positive on that time and you don't want them to burn.

Now lets get to work on that chicken. Start by slicing your garlic into thin slices. Now you take your chicken breasts and make a pocket in them. I did this by making a lateral slit in the chicken in one direction and then pulling that flap back and making a cut in the other direction (be careful not to cut through the chicken)

Once you have your pockets formed slide your garlic slices into them and then use the toothpicks to pin the flap closed (this is important because it will want to open up when you start to cook the breast.

Once you have the garlic in the bird, rub it down with your seasoning blend and then get ready to grill. Throw the birds on the grill and let them go. I wanted to make sure that the garlic was nice and soft in the middle so I let them go about 8-10 min a side depending on the size of the breast.

NOTE!!! be sure to watch your fries through the whole process you they may burn... I said I wasn't sure about the time. If you have more experience with this and know please comment or shoot me an email.

Lastly, once all is done, plate and eat... enjoy

Sweet Potato Chips and a Onion Topped Wiener

Sausage
Onions
Dijon Mustard
Olive oil
Hoagie Bun
Beer
Sweet potato

I know this is exciting having two posts in one week but don’t get to anxious this is just a really simple combo of ingredients to make a tasty morsel of deliciousness.
First off, take your potato and run it through a mandolin slicer (I was amped about this being that it is the first time I actually got to use it) being sure to slice them thin. If you don’t have a slicer, use a knife… not as class but will get the job done.

This next step is kind of important when it comes to crisping and sadly it was forgotten when we tried it. After you slice them you take them and SHOCK them in a bowl of cold water (I have heard this will remove the starch? and help the chips crisp up). If you want a little soggier chips then don’t do this but if you want crispy… try it and let me know if it really works.

Next, dry them off, hit them with a little olive oil and then lay ‘em out on a baking sheet. We put the oven at about 300 and just kept an eye on them. It took about 10 min a side with the junky oven we had access to.

While those are baking, cut your onion into slices and toss them into a pan with the olive oil and cook ‘em up. Once those are on their way to the caramelization station take your wiener and put her in the pan. To add some extra flavor we added our beer to the mix pouring about ½ of a can into the pan with the onions and sausage. I like to poke a few holes in the casing of the sausage to allow the beer to soak up.

After you feel like you are getting close with your sausage onion pan, throw your buns in the oven and toast them up a little.

Finally once everything has cooked and is done, take everything away from the heat and plate it. Add a little bit of the mustard to your dog and eat away.

Boiled Chicken with a Chipotle Mushroom Hat

Chicken Breast
Mushrooms
Chipotle Powder
Garlic
Oregano
Olive Oil

This is a quick and easy little diddy and that has come up off of me trying to boil or poach chicken... (I want to try poaching a whole chicken, but that is a future story)... but anyways I started by halving some mushrooms and thawing out the chicken.

I threw the garlic in a pan with some olive oil and let the heat pull the flavor out of the garlic. After a few minutes, I laid in the mushrooms and began to cook them up. I gradually added the seasoning as they cooked to taste.

While that was going I began to boil some water and tossed in the chicken. When cooking chicken in this way. You really do not have to watch the time, you just have to watch the chicken and once it starts to float to the top of the water its done.

I pulled the chicken out put a layer of shrooms down atop of them and TADAAAAH!!!! done.

Kinda Kickin Chicken and Squash

Chicken Breast
Acorn Squash (winter acorns)
Celery Salt
Red Pepper Powder
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Olive Oil

The prep work on this is pretty easy. First I cut the squash in half right down what I would call one of the vertical lines. Then, I coated the squash with olive oil. Then I sprinkled the celery salt, red pepper powder, black pepper, and garlic powder on in about even amounts. As for the chicken I coated it with the garlic powder and then some of the cayenne. This blend of salty, pepper, garlicy was my attempt at creating a Cajun heat and it worked relatively well providing a flavory kick without lighting a fire.

Next, I preheated my grill and put the acorn squash on face down. The squash will take ten to fifteen min longer than the chicken depending on size so I waited about 10 before putting my chicken on. Once my chicken was on I waited about 10 minutes and flipped everything on the grill over. This meant the squash was on there about 20 min before it was flipped and the chicken about 10 min. I let it all go for about 10 minutes and then pulled everything off.

So all in all I cooked the squash for about 30 min (20 face down and 10 face up) and the chicken about 20, flipping it halfway through.

In preparation for eat, I grabbed some BBQ because I thought the amount of garlic powder I put on the chicken would have dried it out, but never ended up using it. Everything was grade A and now acorn squash on the grill seasoned this way could be this Dude’s favorite food.

Jumpstart Breakfast Sami

2 Eggs
Milk
Butter or Pam
Tomatoes (I used cherry)
Lettuce (I used arugula)
Mozzarella
Bacon
Hoagie Roll

This is a quick and simple idea for breakfast. First you start by mixing a little milk in with your eggs (quantity depends on preference, I like a good and fluffy egg so I tend to add a little more but if you could skip the milk altogether if you wanted) Next cook the egg milk mix scramble style, but don’t break the egg apart as much trying to leave it in larger pieces or even one big piece (more omelet like). This makes form a much neater sandwich come time to put everything together.

While whipping up the eggs throw your bacon on. I like to use a pan cooked bacon because it keeps a lot of the grease and will crisp up really nicely retaining some of the fat on the bacon, but microwave, baked, or even fried bacon will get the job done

While all that is happening you can toast your hoagie. Now since my toaster would not handle the hoagie bun I used a pan on the stove top being sure to keep an eye on it so that it didn’t burn.

Once all that is pulling to a close slice up your tomato and get ready to slam this breakfast sami together, and then down the hatch. Enjoy!

First Guest Robbie and a Saucey Chicken Pesto Pasta

Pasta (we used elbow)
Can of chopped toms
Chicken Breasts
Mushrooms
Oregano
Garlic (1 Clove)
Salt
Pepper
Pesto (homemade or store bought)

This is my first duo cook, and the guest chef was Robert Warren. This is a simple recipe so I am going to kind of breeze through so pay close attention.
Through your chicken in a pan and sear it. When you are about half way done cooking the chicken and the outside no longer looks raw add the tomato, garlic, mushrooms, and oregano. Cook together until the chicken is done and then let stew. Now you can (or you could have been during the previous step) boil your pasta. Once you have it good and ready add your pesto while it is still hot to allow it to melt around otherwise you wind up with a bunch of gooey clumps of basil.
Once you have got that done toss your chicken veggie sauce on top and enjoy.

Pig Wrapped Pork with a Side of Zs and Toms

Pork Chops
Bacon (2 slices per chop)
Zucchini
Tomato
BBQ sauce
Olive Oil
Toothpicks

This is a pretty easy meal that just about any half lit dude could pull off. I like to start with my zucchini so that I can get them going on the grill. Take a knife and whack it up into about ½ inch pieces… or at least that’s the size I like, you can go a little bigger or smaller if you would like. Once you have your slices in front of you drizzle them with the olive oil ( I like to salt and pepper mine during this stage but it is not a necessity. Now just let those sit for a sec.

Now, grab a chop and wrap the bacon around it meeting both ends and then push the toothpick through the touching ends to secure the bacon around the chop. Repeat this process with the other strip of bacon so that you have two bacon stripes (yes I mean stripes) going across your pork chop.

I would now recommend lighting your grill so that it has a few minutes to get hot. Next grab your tomato and slice it in half adding whatever seasonings you feel (I like it plain). It is at this point you must do something very crucial. Walk to your fridge and pull out an icy cold beer (my current beer of choice is Miller High Life because for every top you turn in they donate money to the troops, but you can choose whatever beer you like.)

With beer in hand it is time to start grilling. I like to start my zucchini a little before my chops because i prefer them to be a little charred and if they are thick cut it may take time for them to cook all the way through. So toss them on for about 3 minutes before your chops.

When you are ready to grill your chops CHECK THE TIME, if you are a true dude fooder you will be doing this by time and touch so you don’t have to hack apart your meat to see if it is cooked through. My chops were pretty small, less than an inch thick and I went about 4-5 minutes a side and they were just about perfect, but you can’t totally rely on time. You have to be able to gauge the meat by how it feels to the touch. Cooked meat is substantially firmer than raw meat and this skill may take time to develop but is the only sure fire way to know when your meat is good to eat.

Be sure to slap that tomato on the grill when you are putting your chops on.

Once you have got your food flipped once and about where you would like it to be apply a layer of BBQ sauce (it doesn’t have to be fancy, I just used original Masterpiece). Then let it sit for a minute, roll over your meat and do it again.

Now you should be ready to pull everything off at once if you timed this right, so just grab a platter and fork and dig in.

Apologies and future!

Faithful followers,

I am so very sorry for my absence the past week. I am currently a student first and an amateur chef second and had a huge presentation to complete. Have no fear though, The Bear is back and ready to make some food. While I was gone I made a few dishes (gnocchi and deep fried delight) and did some brainstorming and have some great creative ideas (Sushi style bbq and homemade sauces). Also, be on the look out for recipes that include the use of a grill, which I will be using for 90% of all cooking activities from here on out.

Chicken Philly Cheese Sauce

Chicken breasts
Green Pepper Chopped
Onion Chopped
Cheese Sauce (instructions below)
Hoagie Rolls

Cheese Sauce
Butter 1Tbs
Flour 1Tbs
Milk 1c
Shredded Cheddar 1c
Shredded Mozzarella 1c

This cheese sauce tasted awesome but the texture came out a little funny but you can't notice once you get it on the sandwich.

Well you first start of by making a kind of roue which is just a cream made of the butter and flour. First melt the butter in a sauce pan and once that is done whisk in the flour being sure to keep it moving because it WILL BURN EASILY (believe me I know).

Once you get it to a good consistency slowing pour your milk being sure to whisk it real good. Leave it on the heat until it begins to thicken just a little and then add your cheesy goodness. You may want to switch from a whisk to a wood spoon or spatula for this because the cheese gets stuck on the tip of the whisk and if you are like me and lack the patience to deal with it will safe your blood pressure.

After you get a gooey delicious cheesy sauce then remove from the heat and let sit.

Now you take your veggies and chicken breast and throw 'em in a pan and cook. Be sure to make a mess of the chicken breasts breaking it apart to make a good consistency for the sandwich.

Once that is done up then toast your rolls and construct the deliciousness.