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Coconut Cornmeal Shrimp With Jalapeno Peach Jam

03.09.2012 17 Comments

 

I’ve had a busy week, and my body has decided to request that I slow down.

On Friday, I was asked to do a cooking segment on CBS news in Los Angeles. I’ve spent the week preparing. My husband helped me run through the segment in the evenings, and for an entire week my drive home consisted of me practicing my talking points, out loud, looking like a crazy person, on an LA freeway. It  all seemed to work, the segment went well:

The Beeroness Cooks on CBS

 As soon as I started my drive home from the studio, I started to crash. The next morning I lay in bed as my incredible husband got up with Tater, and I was able to sleep until the late, late hour of 8:45. In Mom Time, that’s pretty close to sleeping until noon. As I lay in bed, trying to pull myself together and trick myself into thinking I’m not actually sick, I watched this, this and this, and laughed so hard I think it worked. Maybe it’s true what they say about laughter and that whole "Best Medicine" thing.

And on Thursday I leave for the Foster Farms Cook-Off. I’ll be competing against 4 other cooks for $1,000 and a trip to Napa for the Cook Off Finals with a prize of $10,000.

Wish me luck! I’ll be posting on twitter and instagram as the contest goes along.

And now, the recipe. I bought a huge bag of Masa to make corn tortillas with, and if you have never made corn tortillas, you really, really need to . They’re so good, nothing like those cardboard disks they sell at the store, and they take about 5 minutes. The flavor is so good, I’ve been throwing the corn flour into everything, I’m totally in love with it. And the Jalapeno Peach Jam I also used on pork chops. So Good.

Coconut Cornmeal Shrimp With Jalapeno Peach Jam

Ingredients

For The Jam:

  • 3 cups peaches, skin removed, chopped
  • 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, diced
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

For The Shrimp:

  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 2 lbs raw shrimp, shell and tail removed
  • 1 cup Masa Harina
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 cup oil

Instructions

  1. Add the raw shrimp and coconut milk to a bowl. Chill in the fridge for about 45 minutes while you make the jam.
  2. In a pot over medium high heat, add all of the jam ingredients. Stirring occasionally, allow to simmer (not boil) until thick, and the peaches have broken down, about 45 minutes. Smash peached with a potato masher until a jam like consistency is reached. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. In a bowl, combine the masa, coconut, salt, pepper and pinch cayenne. One at a time, remove the shrimp from the coconut milk and allow to drain a bit before adding to the cornmeal mixture. Coat the shrimp well in the corn meal mixture.
  4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
  5. Remove from heat. You can either top the shrimp with the jam or serve the jam as a dipping sauce.

 

 

Panko Pork Chops With Jalapeno Peach Jam

27.08.2012 16 Comments

My two-year old has started to name her stuffed animals.

While the majority of two-year olds default to naming stuffed animals after physical attributes (Spot, Stripes, Blackie, Snowy), Tater has decided, all on her own, on the following names for her 5 favorite stuffed animals, who she collectively refers to as her "Pals:"

Dobies, Rocket, Stewie, Sam and Zach

I have no idea where these names came from and to my knowledge she knows no one by those names. I’m constantly impressed by her and inspired to push the boundaries of my own creativity. Because if she has already started to eclipse the limits of my own ability to innovate what will I have to offer her in the years to come?

While Tater and Stewie (the bear) helped me make these pork chops I needed to add something new. I dug out some peaches and made a little jam with some jalapeno.

Not as creative as a two-year old naming Pillow Pet "Dobies", but pretty tasty and I’ll have to work on upping my game so I’m not out crafted by my offspring, who requested "Chocolate Bacon Pancakes" for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Panko Pork Chops With Jalapeno Peach Jam

Ingredients

For The Jam:

  • 3 cups peaches, skin removed, chopped
  • 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, diced
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

For The Pork Chops:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup Almond Milk (can use regular whole or 2% milk cow’s milk)
  • 4 Boneless Pork Loin Chops
  • 1 tsp salt, plus one tsp salt, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • pinch cayenne
  • 1/4 cup oil

Instructions

  1. In a pot over medium high heat, add all of the jam ingredients. Stirring occasionally, allow to simmer (not boil) until thick, and the peaches have broken down, about 45 minutes. Smash peached with a potato masher until a jam like consistency is reached. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. In a bowl, combine the milk and egg, beat well. Sprinkle the pork chops on all sides with salt and add to the milk mixture. Place in the fridge and allow to marinate for one hour.
  3. In a bowl mix the bread crumbs, remaining 1 tsp salt, pepper, and pinch cayenne. Remove the chops from the milk mixture, allowing excess milk to drain off. One at a time add to the bread crumbs and toss to coat.
  4. In a skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat (not too hot or the bread crumbs will burn). Add the Panko coated chops to the pan and replace the lid. Cook until the underside is golden brown, about 4 minutes, carefully turn the chops and replace the lid, allow to cook until cooked through but still moist in the center, about 4 additional minutes.
  5. Serve the pork chops topped with the jam.

    This jam can also be used as a dipping sauce for Coconut Cornmeal Shrimp!

Smoked Olive Oil Rosemary Shrimp & A Smoker Giveaway

24.08.2012 132 Comments

 

 

 

 

This is by far my favorite giveaway I’ve ever been a part of.

 

I’ve secretly always wanted a smoker. Such unique flavors and no real way to get that without very specific culinary equipment. But the smokers I have always come across are so large, bulky and intimidating. Including those that my Step Dad seemed to fashion on a regular basis out of abandoned aluminum items such as non-working refrigerators and ancient gym lockers.

 

I didn’t really want one of those eyesore monstrosities just hanging around my back yard. Clearly there was some adolescent trauma involved in my hesitation to purchase a smoker.

 

And then I get an email from those wonderful people over at Big Kitchen, with tales of a stovetop smoker that I can store in my pantry.  They even wanted to give it to me, and give one to you. Of course, I said something along the lines of Hell Yes.

 

This is a fantastic option for those of you who want those great flavors of smoke without a gigantic metal object taking up residence in a remote corner of your yard.

 

And if you win, you can walk around your kitchen thinking, “I wonder if I can smoke that?” as you slowly realize what it must be like to live in Snoop Dogs head. Sort of.

 

As a girl who is constantly striving to fit into skinny jeans, I also feel compelled to point out that this little sucker crams an enormous amount of flavor into any food without adding a single calorie. And in most instances, it removes calories by rendering fat from meat. So much win.

It’s also simple to use.

 

Step 1: Place the base of the smoker on top of a stove burner, and add a few table spoons of woodchips in the middle of the base of the smoker

 

 

 

Step 2: add the drip try right on top of the pile of wood chips.

 

Step 3: Spray the wire rack with cooking spray and add to the top of the drip tray. Add the food to the wire rack.

 

Step 4: Slide the lid onto the smoker leaving a small vent. Turn the burner to medium heat (don’t turn it too high).

 

Step 5: once you start to see the first slight whips of smoke (about 2 minutes) use oven mitts to close the lid and start the cooking time.

 

A few things to remember while smoking food indoors:

  • Be realistic about the fact that you are using a smoker indoors, the smell will invade your house. But it seemed to dissipate in a few hours.  Run your hood fan on high while smoking.
  • This gets blazing hot. Keep the hands of tiny humans far far away from this thing.
  • Although this stovetop smoker was a bit smaller than I had expected, the instructions show you how to easily modify the unit to accommodate larger items, like a turkey. You can smoke a TURKEY in this thing! (Get ready for a very smoky Thanksgiving)
  • You can even use this on your regular grill alongside your burgers and hot dogs.

Smoked Olive Oil & Rosemary Shrimp

 

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

pinch of salt

½ tsp pepper

14 large raw shrimp, peeled

7, 6 inch wood skewers

 

2tbs Alder wood chips

 

In a bowl combine the olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and allow to marinate for 5 minutes Remove from marinade and add two shrimp to each skewer.

Smoke over alder wood chips using the above instructions for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

Giveaway details:

 

One Cameron Stovetop Smoker from Big Kitchen, shipped to USA addresses only.

 

 

5 ways to enter,

You do not have to do all five. Each one gets you a separate entry.

 

 

  1. Leave a comment of any sort.
  2. Follow me on twitter @domesticfits and leave a comment saying you did so
  3. Like Domestic Fits on Facebook and leave a comment saying you did so
  4. Follow Big Kitchen on twitter @BigKitchenStore and leave a comment saying you did so
  5. Like Big Kitchen on Facebook and leave a comment saying you did so

 

 

Contest closes Thursday, August 30th. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator.

 

We have a winner! Congrats to Meredith #59!

Brown Butter Grilled Beer Cheese Sandwich

23.08.2012 27 Comments

There are some great elements in this world we live in that we beg the universe to some how bring together.

Like a Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series

Or an episode of The Office directed by Christopher Guest

Or Trey Parker have complete creative control over The White House Holiday Card

Or a reality show hybrid of The Bachelor and Fear Factor

Even though I have to come to terms with the fact that those things will sadly never exist, I can meld brown butter and beer cheese into the greatest of all grilled cheese sandwiches. It won’t have the cultural repercussions of any of the above unions, but it is the best sandwich I’ve had in a long time. Too bad I didn’t have the forethought, or the consumptive restraint, to create a beer tomato soup to go along for the journey.

Brown Butter Grilled Beer Cheese Sandwich

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 6 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup Pale Ale
  • 4 oz cheddar
  • 8 slices bread
  • 4 tbs butter

Instructions
 

  • In a blender or food processor add the cream cheese, mozzarella, cornstarch and beer. Blend until smooth, about 3 minutes. Spread the beer cheese generously onto 4 slices of bread. Top with about 2 tbs of cheddar and then top with a clean slice of bread.
  • In a skillet with a lid melt the butter over medium heat (don't allow the butter to get too hot or it will burn) until just starting to turn a golden brown. Carefully add the sandwiches, and replace the lid allowing the sandwiches to steam in the pan until the underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the sandwiches, replace the lid and allow to cook until the other side is a light golden brown and the cheese is melted, about 3 additional minutes.

 You can also use the pre-oven beer cheese from my Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Beer Cheese Dip.

 

IPA Ceviche

21.08.2012 14 Comments

 

As summer nears it’s inevitable end, it’s not the weather that I’ll miss the most. In fact the leather boots and chunky sweaters of colder days are starting to beckon. The produce, back yard grills, the smell of life and food floating on a late afternoon breeze will be lost in the dawning of fall.

This isn’t a recipe about avoiding the oven, or  grumbles of triple digit heat, it’s about enjoying August produce, paired with those Summer release beers and spending as much time as you can in the open air before we’re all forced to head inside, cook with squash, and drink stouts. Which I am already looking forward to.

IPA Ceviche

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1 1/2 lb raw shrimp shell & tail removed, chopped
  • 1/2 cup IPA Beer
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 3 cups tomatoes diced
  • 1 large jalapeno diced, stem and seeds removed
  • 1/2 cup cilantro
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp red pepper sauce such as Sriracha

Instructions
 

  • Add the lemon/lime juice and raw shrimp to a small bowl. (Shrimp will "cook" in the juice as it marinates.)
  • Mix beer, onion, tomato, and jalapeño in a large bowl, allow to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour.
  • Drain the vegetables and return to large bowl.
  • Once the shrimp have "cooked," drain and add them to the large bowl along with the salt and pepper sauce, toss to combine.
  • Serve cold with corn chips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beer Chicken Piccata

16.08.2012 14 Comments

Here it is, just like I promised. Beer Chicken Piccata, to go with those beer noodles I made.

The first time I ever had Piccata I was a completely broke college student traveling through Italy. And it was cheap. It turned out to be one of the most memorable dishes I had on that trip, moving it to the top of my list of Italian Favorites. If I see it on a menu, especially those family run strip mall joints that I love so much, I can’t resist ordering it.

If you are familiar with this dish, you can see that this is a pretty standard Piccata with the white wine replaced with beer. You need to choose a low hop beer with notes of citrus, an IPA will overwhelm this sauce.

 

Beer Chicken Piccata

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • about 1/4 cup flour for coating
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 3 tbs butter Plus an additional 3 tbs, divided
  • 1 1/2 tbs flour
  • 1/3 cup pale ale
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup capers

Instructions
 

  • Filet each chicken breast in half horizontally, making each chicken breast thinner, not smaller. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the chicken and pound with a meat mallet or a rolling pin until about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
  • Sprinkle on all sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour until well coated.
  • In a pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the chicken and cook on each side until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan.
  • In a clean pan melt the remaining butter. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tbs flour and whisk until combined. Add the beer, broth and lemon juice and cook until warmed and thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the capers and stir.
  • Add the chicken to a plate on top of a bed of rice or pasta. Top with sauce, serve immediately.

 

 

 

Homemade Beer Pasta

14.08.2012 15 Comments

 

 This is something everyone should do in their lives.

Like cliff jumping in Greece, restaurant week in New York City, and watching the sun rise over the Mediterranean. Although making pasta from scratch doesn’t require a passport.

Pasta isn’t as hard to make as you think and I have complete faith in your ability to pull this off. And impress your friends.

Plus this leaves you open to a wide variety of sauces. Not just my Beer Marianna, but can someone please make me a beer Alfredo sauce?

I’ll have a Beer Chicken Piccata for you later.  But in the meantime, someone needs to make me this stout bolognese. I’ll bring the noodles.

Homemade Beer Pasta

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup wheat beer
  • 1 tbs olive oil

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add the flour and the salt and mix well. Form a well in the center, add the eggs and the beer. Mix on a low speed until the dough, eggs and beer are incorporated, about 6 minutes. Remove from the mixer and kneed on a well floured surface until smooth and elastic, at least 10 minutes to remove all air pockets. Form a ball and brush with olive oil. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
  • Cut the dough into two equal halves. Cut each half into equal thirds to give you 6 equal sized pieces. Keep all dough covered that you are not working with.
  • Flatten each dough section into a long oval. Pass through the pasta roller at the widest setting. Close the pasta roller one notch and pass through again. Close the pasta roller again pass the pasta through again. Add flour to the pasta with each each pass through the pasta roller. Continue to do this until the pasta is thin. I used the Kitchen Aid Pasta Roller Attachment with the narrowest setting at 4.
  • Switch to the fettuccinie cutter pasta roller and cut each flattened pasta section into fettuccinie ribbons.
  • Allow to dry on a pasta drying rack or laid flat on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes.
  • Add pasta to a pot of lightly salted boiling water until cooked through, about 5-8 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mojito Chicken Wings With Wasabi Mint Cream Sauce & Free Tickets to the Cook-Off

13.08.2012 28 Comments

 

 

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might have taken one look at this title and wondered if I had flashbacks to the Moroccan Mint Experience. The answer, of course, is yes.

And I’m going to bet that my sister who accompanied me on the guided tour of Middle Atlas headed by a man who was surely a Moroccan drug dealer, had a similar flashback, and possibly a shudder,  just reading the title of this post.

But I still really want to like mint. It’s an amazingly fresh and bright flavor that I want to enjoy. I want to be able to drink a Mojito if I ever make it to Cuba, and when I someday go to The Kentucky Derby, I am most certainly going to order a mint Julip and enjoy it under my huge hat. And if I ever find myself in the "living room" of another hospitable cave dweller on the other side of the world, I want to be able to drink his tea with a smile.

So I’m subjecting myself to some Exposure Therapy. And I am enjoying it immensely. Other than the involuntary gagging when I chopped the mint (I know, that totally makes you want to run right out and make this chicken), I am completely in love with the end result of this dish. Even the Wasabi Mint Cream Sauce. It was a fantastic balance of flavors that I enjoyed much more that I had imagined. And I can now say that I am well on my way to recovery. I see more mint in my future.

Speaking of chicken, I have some great news. As I’m getting all the details for my participation in the 3rd Annual Foster Farms Fresh Cooking Contest all in order, the wonderful people over at Foster Farms have given me 5 pairs of tickets to the event to give away to my readers. I’m so excited about that. This is an invite only event, and tickets are very limited. I would love for some of you to go with me.

Mojito Chicken Wings With Wasabi Mint Cream Sauce

Ingredients

  • 12 Foster Farms Party Wings
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 2/3 cup ponzu sauce
  • 2 tbs honey
  • ¼ cup white rum
  • 1 tsp red chili sauce (such as sriracha)
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbs sesame seeds
  • 6 oz Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 tsp wasabi powder
  • 1 tbs cilantro, minced
  • 2 fresh mint leaves, minced
  • 1 tbs lime juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425.
  2. Rinse the chicken wings in cold water and dry well.
  3. Sprinkle chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cornstarch and rub to coat.
  4. In a separate bowl, add the ponzu, honey, rum, chili sauce, garlic powder and sesame seeds, stirring well to combine. Add the chicken, toss to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for ten minutes.
  5. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  6. Arrange the chicken wings on the baking sheet and bake at 425 for ten minutes.
  7. While the chicken is baking, add the remaining marinade to a pot over medium high heat,stiring frequently, reduce until thickened and syrupy, about 8-10 minutes.
  8. Once the marinade has reduced, remove the chicken from the oven and brush with the thickened marinade, turn them over, brush with marinade on the other side.
  9. Return to the oven and allow to cook for an additional ten minutes, basting again.
  10. Allow chicken to bake until cooked through, an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  11. To make the sauce, add the Greek yogurt, wasabi, cilantro, mint, and lime juice to a bowl and mix to combine. Serve the sauce along side the wings as a dipping sauce.

(Note: the total cooking time for the chicken will be approximately 25-35 minutes, requiring basting every ten minutes)

 

 

 

 

A Chicken & A Chance

10.08.2012 18 Comments

I can’t wait until Monday to tell you all about the phone call I got on my way home. So I’m posting now.

Do you remember last year when I beat out thousands of other people to get a chance to cook my Pulled Chicken Sliders at the Foster Farms Chicken Cook-off?

(Photo: Foster Farms)

As you can tell by that fact that I am not holding a giant check with my name on it, I didn’t win.

I did have a great time, a fantastic trip to San Deigo, cooked in a fancy commercial kitchen, ate some incredible food, and met some great food industry people. But, I didn’t get one of those big checks that I really wanted.

And since I know how smart you are, you probably already put 2 and 2 together to realize that 4 equals:

I’m going again this year! My recipe (Spice Rubbed Chicken Thighs with Chipotle Béarnaise over Avocado Lime Quinoa Salad) was chosen to compete in this years contest! And the rumor on the cooking contest strip is that more people than ever entered this year. So that makes me even more grateful to be in the running for that Big Check.

And the guy who called to congratulate me said this:

"The fact that your recipes have been chosen two years in a row speaks volumes of your talent."

In which I responded with a silence because the gigantic smile on my face was preventing me from speaking.

Two years in a row, and this time I mean buisness. I want to move on to the next stage, which is the finals in Napa Valley. In which the Grand Prize is Ten Grand.

In honor of my Chicken Chance at the cook-off on September 7th, I’m giving you a great round up of fabulous chicken dishes from my blogger friends:

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken: Damn Delicious

Take-Out, Fake-Out: Sweet & Sour Chicken: Table For Two

;

Grilled Chili Lime Chicken: Fearless Homemaker

Buffalo Chicken Salad: Bake Your Day

Szechuan Chicken: Wanna Be A Country Cleaver

Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Waffles: Foodness Gracious

 

 

Beer Steamed Stuffed Artichokes & How to Stuff an Artichoke

06.08.2012 11 Comments

 

Here’s my artichoke. We’re going to gut him and stuff him with bacon.

And then cook him in beer.

 

 

The first step is to trim. Start with peeling off a few layers of the outside leaves They’re tough and not very good, don’t feel bad about getting rid of them.

And if your artichoke has a long stem, trim it so that it can stand upright, with its leaves pointed at the sky. That will come in handy later.

Then you are going to cut off the pointed tip of the artichoke.

 

Then use a pair a kitchen sheers, (or, lets be honest regular scissors will be fine) to trim the pointed tips off of all of the leaves.

 

Starting at the outside and working towards the inside, pull the leaves outward.

 

Once you get to the inside leaves that are yellow and purple, you are going to want to remove these. There is a lot of waste with stuffed artichokes, just accept it and move on.

This part isn’t easy. If you are having a hard time, that’s normal. The best way to do it is to dig at it with a melon baller. And swear at it a few times to put it in it’s place.

Feel the inside to make sure it’s smooth and none of that hairy choke is left behind. If it still feels fuzzy, keep digging. And swearing, if it helps.

Squeeze half a lemon into the cavity of the artichoke.

 Next you want to make the filling (recipe below).

Stuff the filling inside the middle of the artichoke. Starting at the outside, spread the leaves out and press the filling inside the leaves, work your way in until all the leaves are full.

Place in an oven safe pot, standing upright. Pour 1 1/2 cup citrusy wheat beer into the bottom of the pot.

Cover with a lid or tin foil and bake at 375 for 40-60 minutes or until the outer leaves come away easily.

Beer Steamed Stuffed Artichokes

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 4 large artichokes prepared as above
  • 1 large lemon
  • 4 strips of bacon
  • 1/3 cup chopped shallots
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup mushrooms chopped
  • 1 cups bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups citrusy wheat beer

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375
  • Prepare artichokes as instructed above, squeeze 1/4 lemon into the cavity of each artichoke.
  • In a pan over medium high heat, cook the bacon until browned. Remove from pan, and chop. Drain off most of the bacon grease, leaving about 2 tbs in the pan. Add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the garlic and stir. Add the mushrooms and cook until dark brown. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients as well as the chopped bacon (other than the beer), stir until well combined.
  • Stuff the artichokes as instructed above.
  • Place artichokes upright in the pot, fill with 1 cup beer.
  • Cover and cook until outer leaves come away easily, about 40-60 minutes.


Chicken Sliders With Zucchini Buns

06.08.2012 23 Comments

 

At the end of the month I have this little cooking on TV gig that I’m incredibly excited about. And as much as I strive to be unique and impervious to social pressure, none of that has been able to penetrate my own vanity. After the initial shock of being asked to cook on CBS, Los Angeles wore off my first very female thoughts went something like this:

"What am I going to wear?"

"The camera adds ten pounds. Awesome."

So here I am, trying to stay as healthy as possible until I can school the Los Angeles metro area on the mid-day news with an introduction to cooking with beer all while still trying to run two food blogs that dazzle you with fun and delicious food. Not as easy for me as I’d like.

I did, however, discovered that if I give up dairy, which I already find skeevey in it’s unmanipulated state, the battle to lose those last few pounds becomes much easier. Butter and goat cheese have been the only real sacrifices, the rest has been easy to ignore or replace.

Don’t forget to come back on Wednesday when I give the best chocolate ice cream I have ever had that happens to be dairy free. It’s insane how creamy it is. You’ll want that recipe.

This recipe, which is dairy and gluten-free, gives you this delicious little mini burgers that are only about 90 calories each. And I am now one step closer to cooking on TV and not crying about it.

Chicken Sliders With Zucchini Buns

Ingredients

For The Patties

  • 1 lb ground lean chicken
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup panko (for GF, use crushed potato chips)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dry oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dry basil
  • 1 cup fat free chicken broth

Condiments & Toppings

  • 1 to 2 large zucchinis, cut into 1/4 inch rings (buns)
  • Avocado Slices
  • BBQ Sauce
  • Pickled Jalapenos
  • Tomato Slices

Instructions

In a bowl, combine all the the patti ingredients (except the chicken broth) with your hands until well combined.
Spray the inside of a skillet (with a lid) with cooking spray, allow to get hot but not smoking.
Form the chicken mixture into patties about the width of your zucchini slices and about 1/2 inch thick. Cook on one side until browned on the bottom, flip and allow to cook for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth until about half way up the sides of the chicken patties. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for about 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken patties are cooked through. Because fat is responsible for moist patties, very lean meat becomes dry very easily. This is the method I use to make sure the chicken is cooked through but is not dry.
Remove from pan and allow to drain.
Add the patties to the zucchini slices, top with condiments and serve.

(Makes about 8)

Beer Chili & Cheese Dogs for IPA Day

02.08.2012 15 Comments

The first Thursday in August is the unofficial holiday of that hoppy beer favorite, the IPA. There may come a day when this becomes a nationally recognized day of appreciation with parades and pageantry, paper decorations and paid holiday leave, but until then we’ll celebrate the Indian Pale Ale with a series of parties, blog posts and happy hour specials.

Increasing hops for the celebration of flavor, seems to have taken root in the American Craft Beer movement. Inventive brewers found more and more ways to add those hop flavors and not just to balance  sweetness with bitterness, but to celebrate it. Triple hopped, palette wrecking, up-the-IBU beer loving brewers began an Arms Race for the ultimate IPA. A strong counter culture to the mild "smooth" liquid inside those macro cans, this was beer that let you know who was boss. You were drinking it on purpose, not by default, and those hops would kick you in the mouth to remind you that the King of Beers can kiss their ass. The IPA is the poster child for the craft beer movement and a reminder of why it started.

A really great, well crafted IPA is a beautiful thing. It’s worth the search to find one that you love. And then you’ll get it.

May August 2nd, 2013 have even more beer lovers celebrating the IPA.

 

This is a recipe that will be intensified with an IPA. The hoppyness will be celebrated and fairly strong. If you want to tone it down, you can also use a stout instead, but you should probably wait until after the High Holiday of the High Hop Beer.

 

 

 

Beer Chili & Cheese Dogs

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 cup yellow onions chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 lb beef 80% lean/20% fat
  • 6 oz tomato paste
  • 1 cup beer
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbs worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp cummin
  • 1 tsp red chili sauce such as sriracha
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 8 hot dogs
  • 8 hot dog buns

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot over medium high heat allow the olive oil to get hot but not smoking. Add the onions and cook until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and the beef and cook until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (other than the hot dogs and buns) and allow to cook until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
  • Spoon over warm hot dogs. Top with cheese, if desired. Enjoy with a cold IPA.

 

 

 

Chipotle Corn Chowder

01.08.2012 22 Comments

I had this friend once, years ago, who used to live under the Franklin Bridge in Los Angeles. A bridge that is rumored to have been Anthony Kiedis muse for the Red Hot Chili Peppers Under The Bridge. I can’t even remember how I began my friendship with a skinny, old, homeless man named Clarence. A friendship that was unlikely to say the least, but I’ll never forget the last time I saw him. He took up residence on a pile of cardboard on my route home from the gym, and I had a neatly pack care package for him. Socks, a sewing kit, two bananas, a copy of  Sea Biscuit, and a small first aid kit, all packed into a black and white Sephora bag.

I parked at a near by gas station, and met him half way between my car and his make shift bed, his huge smile contagiously lit up my own face. We stood on the corner of Franklin and Cahuenga, talking about the days since I had seen him last.

"Jackie, I’m a blessed man." His dark unwashed skin hung from his boney frame, "I live in the best city in the world! I have friends like you! I found a church that don’t mind me, a place that I can get me some coffee every day and I’m healthy as a horse!" As the sun began to set over LA on an overcast February evening, he went on to detail for me how life had lavishly blessed him. A man who had holes in his shoes, no shower in the foreseeable future and whose worldly possessions I had just double with a small gift bag, was telling me how blessed he was.

This was a conversation that changed my life, and the way I see every situation I’m in. Could I find joy with so little? Why not? A truly happy person can find joy in very little,  an unhappy person will always be that way. Since this conversation I  take time, nearly every day, to find the lavish blessings in my own life.

Maybe you’re dealing with a lot right now, maybe the hardships are outnumber the blessings. But I’ve learned that the thing with counting blessings is that it tends to multiply them, or at the very least amplify them. The same applies to hardships, so be careful.

Taking the time to make some chowder on a lazy summer afternoon, I could not have felt more blessed. At home with my little family, we’re all healthy, I get to cook with fresh ingredients and the chowder turned out amazing. And anyone who spends time developing recipes can tell you that there are days when that feels like noting short of a huge blessing.

Serve this warm, hot or even chilled. I hope you love it as much as I did. And I hope the 30 minutes it takes to makes this will give you time to count all those blessings in your life.

Chipotle Corn Chowder

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of corn kernels cut off fresh ears of corn (about 6 ears, I used sweet white corn)
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 cup shallots, chopped (about 1 to 2 large shallots)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable, either will work. Do not use beef broth)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup 2% milk
  • 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce
  • 1 tbs adobo sauce from chipotle chili can
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, add the oil, shallots, corn, salt and pepper. Saute over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until shallots are opaque. Add remaining ingredients and adjust heat to maintain a simmer, do not boil. Stir occasionally for about 20 minutes or until the corn kernels are soft. Remove from heat. Using a food processor or blender, puree until smooth. Taste, adding additional salt, pepper or chipotle to desired levels.

*Note: it is impossible to predict the heat level of any chili, including chipotles, since the heat level varies widely from pepper to pepper. Use the smallest chili in the can to start, add additional chilies to raise the heat level at the end.

 

 

 

Maple and Bourbon Beer Glazed Salmon

30.07.2012 12 Comments

Let’s talk.

If you are new to the Beer Scene you might not know about bourbon barrel aged beer. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Beer that has been aged in bourbon barrels giving it flavors of that remnant bourbon that once took up residence in that same barrel. Because bourbon is aged for years, and sometimes several decades, the flavors soak into the wood leaving their distinct flavor signature behind. When you use that same barrel to age beer, those beautiful hand-me-down flavors give an incredible depth to it’s new alcoholic vessel.

If you haven’t had a bourbon barrel aged beer, add it to your list of beers to try. You may love it. You may loath it. Either way, it’s an experience that needs to be added to your beer exploits.

Bourbon barrel aged beers aren’t the type you reach for after a long hot day of yard work. These are beers for chilly nights and dark chocolate desserts. Fireside chats and long conversations.

Among my favortites is the Barrel Aged Old Rasputin form North Coast. 

 

For this recipe I used Angels Share by Lost Abby. An intense bourbon flavor that goes very well with this recipe.

 

 

Maple & Bourbon Beer Glazed Salmon

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup ponzu sauce
  • 3/4 cup bourbon barrel aged beer
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tbs maple syrup
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tbs lime juice about 1 large lime, juiced
  • 4 salmon fillets about 4 to 6 oz each

Instructions
 

  • In a bowl, add all ingredients (other than the salmon) stir until well combined. Add to a large zip top freezer bag. Add the salmon and remove as much air as possible before sealing. Place in the fridge, allowing to marinate for one to two hours, rotating at least once.
  • Preheat broiler.
  • Remove the salmon from the bag and place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Place the marinade in a pot over medium high heat. Boil until reduced and thickened, stirring frequently, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Brush the salmon with the marinade glaze.
  • Place under broiler and cook until salmon flakes easily, about 6 minutes. Brush salmon with glaze several times during cooking.
  • Serve over rice or pasta.

Chinese Shrimp Salad

16.07.2012 6 Comments

I went to a Dodger game this weekend.

Not just Went. I was asked to attend a VIP tour of Dodger Stadium for a Food Bloggers event that included hanging on the field, a tour of all of the exclusive restaurants, a buffet of all of the incredible hot dog creations the stadium chefs can dream up (macaroni and Fritos dog?!) and even a chat with Andre Ethier. Who told me he doesn’t drink beer (I’ll forgive him, kid can play some ball). And to top it all off, we got to sit in box seats right on the field.

If you follow me on instagram (@JackieJDodd), these pictures will look rather familiar.


Moments like these remind me to take a second to just sit and be grateful. Even when I feel like I am nowhere near the goals I have set for myself I always take time to appreciate what I have. The opportunities, people and experiences that give so much more to my life than I even deserve. I just finished Marcus Samuelson’s Yes, Chef and was incredibly inspire by his work ethic: "Always chase one shot of good luck with two shots of hard work" Great advice, Marcus. I’ll take it. Sitting side stage at America’s Favorite Past Time felt like a shot of good luck, so this week I’ll chase it with an even harder push towards my goals.

And after eating my body weight in hot dogs and chocolate cake at the Stadium, I needed a salad to balance it all.

And I know that I don’t have to tell you that Chinese Chicken Salad is much more about the dressing than it is about the chicken (which I replaced with shrimp).

This dressing, THIS dressing is so easy and so good you will never even be tempted to buy it pre made ever again.

And I also decided that I am also going to chase one negative though about myself with two positive ones. I like that formula, after all he is a Top Chef Master.

Chinese Shrimp Salad

3 cups green cabbage, chopped

3 cups red cabbage, chopped

1 cup jicama, peeled and diced

2 cups yellow peaches, chopped (about 2 large)

1 large avocado, chopped

1/3 cup green onion, chopped

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

3/4 cup cooked bay shrimp

5 wonton wrappers, cut into 1/4 inch strips and lightly fried

For The Dressing:

3 tbs rice wine vinegar

2 tbs brown sugar

3 tbs ponzu sauce

1 tsp sriracha

1 1/2 tsp grated ginger

2 tsp sesame oil

(you can also make a double recipe and save half in an air tight container in the fridge, should last about 1 month)

Add all of the salad ingredients (except the fried wontons) in a bowl, toss to combine. Top with wontons.

Add all of the dressing ingredients to a bowl, stir to combine. Drizzle over the salad. Serve cold.

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Stout Jerk Chicken

12.07.2012 11 Comments

Literary Grief. This is the term I use for the moment you finish a great book and realize that it’s gone. This sort of anchor to those free moments in your life is now spent and the characters that ran behind your consciousness during the busy moments of your day, beckoning you back to the pages have run their course. You miss having more left to discover, but all mysteries have been unearthed and the plot has crescendoed. Most recently for me, that has been Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton.

Inspired writing and an intriguing story peppered with mentions of thought-provoking recipes that I couldn’t help but mark for later reference.

 One of those recipes was a reference to a Jerk marinade that Gabrielle still makes on a regular basis. Her only notes about it were just that it contained Stout, Scotch Bonnet Peppers, and Honey as well as the fact that the recipe’s ingredients totaled an upwards of 25.

The Stout Jerk marinade that I have created falls very short of the 25 ingredient threshold, but the inspiration to use stout, scotch bonnet and honey is from the above book. As fascinated as I am with Gabrielle, and grateful that I was able to eat at Prune years ago, I would bet all of my recipes on the hunch that she may have less than favorable opinions about lowly Food Bloggers.

After all, I’ve never slept on a pile of chefs coats between 12-hour shifts. I’ve never scraped mold out of a walk in. I’ve never reached calloused fingers into a deep fryer or worked one handed with a blood-soaked bandage covered with a finger cot slowing my progress. I worked as a waitress in the front of the house, but I always knew my place. I begged to be allowed do deep prep when we were slow, took the fall for wasted produce when the owner would hassle the over-worked line cooks, and made sure the cooks "water" cups were full when we were slammed. But I know my place even now, in the world of food and I am still, in so many ways, "front of the house" hoping one day to be in the kitchen doing more than just deep prep.

Here is a jerk marinade, inspired by Blood Bones & Butter and using Stout Beer for its flavor and its meat tenderizing properties.

Wanna see the updated grilled version? Check it out here

 

Stout Jerk Chicken

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup stout beer I used Storm King Stout, by Victory Brewing
  • 4 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero Peppers
  • 6 cloves of garlic peeled
  • 3 tbs ponzu sauce
  • 3 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tsp dry mustard powder
  • 2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice powder
  • 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 3 tbs chopped shallots
  • 1 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 1 tsp Kosher or Sea salt
  • 3 lbs chicken wings legs, thighs

Instructions
 

  • Add all of the ingredients (other than the chicken) to a food processor and process until smooth, about 2 minutes.
  • Add chicken to a large Ziplock style bag, pour marinade over the chicken and seal, removing as much air as possible.
  • Allow to chill and marinate in the fridge for 8-24 hours, rotating about every 3 hours to redistribute the marinate.
  • Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Remove the chicken from the marinade and arrange on the sheet, spooning a bit of the remaining marinade over the chicken. Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Baking time will depend on the size of chicken you use. For very small chicken wings, start to check after 12 minutes.

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Oven Roasted BBQ Ribs With Stout Barbecue Sauce

10.07.2012 11 Comments

I hate to break it to you but you have probably never barbecued in your life. How dare I say such blasphemous things, you toss burgers and steaks on the grill every weekend?!

That’s not Barbecue, it’s grill. And I would never take away from the fantastic results we can get with a backyard grill, and the amazing flavors that can work their way into your food, but it’s not barbecue.

Barbecue is long, slow and low and the temperature is usually between 240 and 270 degrees. Grill is short, fast and hot, a nice char with a juicy middle.

I wanted to see if I could use my oven to get close the flavors of true barbecue, and while I was missing the smokey flavor, these were some of the best homemade ribs I have ever had. The trick is long, slow and low.

Meat choice is important as well, I used Choice ribs. You know that cute little sticker that sits beside the label on your steak packages, baffling you to some degree with the designation of Prime, Choice or Select, as to why they can’t just be honest and say, "Great," or "Pretty Good," and, "Not that great, but it’s cheap!"

Here are the Cliffs Notes:

Prime: The best and most expensive

Choice: Still great, not as good or as expensive as Prime

Select: Not good, don’t bother

Unlabeled: Bad, didn’t even earn the lowly title of Select.

Inspected By The USDA: Don’t be fooled, all meat is inspected by the USDA. Some stores use this to distract you from the fact that it is an ungraded piece of meat, and therefore not any good. Prime is obviously the best, but also the most expensive. When I experiment with a recipe, I usually go with Choice because it is a good cut of meat, but if the recipe doesn’t turn out well I didn’t waste $50 on the venture.

Oven Roasted BBQ Ribs With Stout Beer Barbecue Sauce

4 lbs Bone In Baby Back Beef Ribs (Choice or Prime)

1 tsp salt

1 batch Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce

Preheat oven to 250.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place ribs on top. Sprinkle ribs with salt on all sides. Brush with BBQ sauce and roast in the oven at 250, turning ribs and brushing with BBQ sauce every 30-45 minutes until fork tender, about 4 hours.

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Hawaiian Crab Rolls

09.07.2012 15 Comments

In my neck of the woods lobster is more expensive than a one hour massage, and doesn’t last as long. But crab I can pick up for $3 making my internal "Lobster vs. Crab" debate pretty short. If you can swing it, buy the Lump or Jumbo Lump, which has big pieces of crab, as opposed to the Special or Claw meat, which is just small shreds of crab.

I know that a traditional lobster roll has mayo, but to be honest with you mayo makes me gag. I always sub a combination of sour cream and cream cheese for the mayo that I refuse to use. With a flavor as delicate as crab, you don’t want to bulldoze the flavors with too much tang, more sour cream than cream cheese gave the perfect balance.

These Kings Hawaiian Hot Dog buns are incredible. The perfect softness with a touch of sweetness that really makes this recipe, a regular hot dog bun won’t work. Scour the town until you find them, they are so crucial to the amazing end result of this recipe. Here is their store locator.

Hawaiian Crab Rolls

3 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup diced mango

2 tbs chopped fresh jalapeno (stem and seeds removed)

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

pinch cayenne pepper

8 oz lump crab meat

4 Kings Hawaiian Hot Dog Buns

3 tbs butter

1/2 cup arugula

In a bowl combine the cream cheese, mango, jalapeno, sour cream, salt, pepper, lemon juice and cayenne pepper, stir until well combined. Add the crab meat and stir until just combined, set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Butter the sides of the Kings Hawaiian Hot Dog Buns, where they had presiously been attached to each other.

Add to the hot pan and cook on each buttered side until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side, remove from pan.

Line the inside of the toasted buns with arugula. Top with crab mixture.

Makes 4.

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