two dudes foods

Philosophy of Sausage Making

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:33:00 -0400

from Daniel Larkin
to jamey w. bennett

I’m so far behind in my TwoDudes emails that I don’t even know where to begin. Luckily for you, I made sausage the other weekend, so this seems like as good a place as any to pick up the ball.

I don’t know if you’ve ever made sausage, but I hadn’t, and I assumed it was going to be ridiculously difficult. I had always thought a fun and easy way to do it would be to buy some ground meat, mix in some spices, and make “sausage” patties. Well, when an old cast-metal, hand-crank meat grinder showed up at our neighborhood yard sale, I knew that plan was shit. It was time to go all in.

None of us really knew what spices make “sausage.” We knew that sage makes good breakfast sausage and that you can’t make Italian sausage without fennel, but that’s where our recipe knowledge stopped. We each did a small amount of research online, but in the end, we decided to just avoid a recipe and just make it up as we went. This approach, along with morning beers, led to a very distinct lack of note taking.

The spices consisted of a small amount of dry spices along with a handful of fresh herbs from my garden. Here’s how we collected our meat: I went suburban and bought a 3-1/2 pound bone-in pork shoulder at the grocery store. (I looked for the best/most marbling I could see.) Brandon had a trip coming up to see his family in the country, during which he bagged a rabbit with a .22 rifle. John went to Lay’s meat market in the backstreets of Knoxville (aren’t the best meat stores always in a crappy building in the PJs?) and bought a 5 pound bag of “pork fat.”

We started out with around 10 pounds of flesh, bone and skin, but after we cleaned the rabbit, carved the bone out of the shoulder, and pulled the skin off the pork fat, we were down to about 7 or 8 pounds. (In case you’re wondering, yes, we cooked the skin in a cast iron pan to render the remaining fat and make cracklins.) As we were cleaning our respective meats, we chopped them into small pieces — around 1/2 to 1 inch cubed. Into this, we mixed our haphazard assortments of herbs and seasonings.

The final mix went something like this.

Meat and fat mix
Two tall stalks of rosemary
Two tall sprigs of oregano
Six sage leaves
A handful of thyme sprigs
Whole bundle of garlic, roasted
Powdered coriander (Maybe 2 tbs?)
A good coating of Kosher salt
Plenty of red pepper flakes
Lots of cayenne pepper
Black and white pepper
6-8 ounces of Muprhy’s Irish Stout

We chopped the fresh herbs, sprinkled the dry herbs, poured in the beer, and mixed it all into the cubed meat. Then we put the mix into the fridge while we drank more beer. You want the fat to be cold, so that it chops easier.

Once everything was chilled, we ran it through the meat grinder on the coarsest setting. We proceeded to case half the mix in hog intestines, but we were so unprepared for that process, and it was such a disaster that I don’t feel qualified to give any tips. Well, maybe one tip — buy a sausage stuffer! Faced with the prospect of stuffing more intestines, we decided to leave the other half as a loose mix which we split evenly between us.

We sampled the sausage in patty form just after grinding, and again as links at the end of the day. Both times were fantastic, but we noticed that the heat of the peppers drastically declined the longer the sausage sat. The most surprising thing was how sausage-like the flavor was! It was incredible! I’ve got about 8 ounces of loose mix in my freezer now that I’m going to use for spicy cheese dip for the CochFord Chicken Fry.

I realize that I was kinda weak on the details here, so what I’m about to give you is a brief Philosophy of Sausage Making — a term that I actually Googled beforehand, but sadly discovered does not exist. If you ever find yourself with a meat grinder and a day to spend elbow deep in pork fat and beer, just follow these instructions.

Pour yourself a beer, because you’re on your way to Awesometown.
Whatever animal/animals you choose, make sure you have a good fat-to-meat ratio — good being at least 30% fat.
Remove everything Kosher before you start — because it’s about to look like a pig exploded in your kitchen.
Make sure the mix is chilled before grinding.
Add a little liquid to help the texture through the grinder. Beer is a good option.
Make a small patty to sample your recipe after grinding. Then you can make minor adjustments.
It doesn’t matter what spices you use, just as long as you use a ton of them. Sausage is supposed to be flavorful, dammit!
If you want spicy sausage, use a lot of peppers.

There you go, dude. Daniel’s Philosophy of Sausage Making.

Easy Jamaican Cornish Game Hens

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:27:14 -0400

from: Jamey Bennett

to: Daniel Larkin

Hey Daniel,

I wasn’t going to make a post about this, since I didn’t do much except throw a few things together, but the result was so outstanding, and the ingredients are readily available at many grocery stores, that I thought it was worth sharing. I got all my ingredients at Whole Foods, except for the game hens (though I did seek out cage-free hens).

2 Hens
1 Bottle Jamaican Jerk sauce (like this)
1 Bottle Carribbean-style hot sauce (this one is awesome)
1 8.5 oz package of Seeds of Change Carribbean-style rice and red beans (or similar - SOC is organic, and it only needs to be heated)
A small amount of bell pepper, onion, and mushroom slices (or whatever you’d like)
Butter

The night before, I brushed the jerk sauce all over the hens, covered them and put them in the fridge.

When I was ready to eat, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees. While that was heating, I sauteed the veggies in butter. When they were about done, I added the rice mix and stirred for about 60 more seconds. I took that mix, and stuffed the birds silly. It was just about the perfect amount of stuffing. Next, I brushed melted butter all over the outside of the birds, put them in a covered dish in the oven. After 30 minutes, I removed the cover and stuck a meat thermometer in the breast. (I think most say you’re supposed to do the thigh, but their thighs are so tiny.) About every 10 to 15 minutes, I got in the oven and re-brushed the butter and jerk sauce (that was in the bottom of the pan) over the birds. I think it was about 40 minutes later that they were ready. Doesn’t really matter, though, if you watch the thermometer, and brushing is the perfect opportunity. (165 degrees.)

Once I pulled them out, I carefully put them each on a plate, and drizzled the jerk sauce - now a gravy - over the tops of the birds. I served with a bowl of the hot sauce as a dipping sauce. That fruity spicy sauce was a delight! We both devoured our own hens, even after a salad. There were leftover rice and beans and veggies, but I’m going to let them soak up the gravy goodness and have it as leftovers.

Now the little carcasses are on the stove making broth! Easy, delicious, and effective.

jamey

Russian Marinated Mushrooms

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:52:00 -0400

from: Jamey Bennett
to: Daniel Larkin

Dude,

One of the cool things about being a convert to Orthodox Christianity in America, is that Orthodoxy here is less than 100 years old, and so you get a little taste of old world traditions as handed down by grandma. It’s definitely upped the ante for my appreciation of all things Greek, Arab, Ukrainian, and Russian. Since being in a Russian Orthodox parish the last two years, I’ve been introduced to a lot of Russian and Ukrainian traditions and foods. The latest? Russian marinated mushrooms.

At Pascha (Easter) this year, we were at someone’s house, and I just could not stay out of these tasty mushrooms. They were so deliciously tangy—and I lurvz me some vinegar—that I was having to strategically plot my routes past the hors d’oeuvres table so I didn’t look like a mushroom hog. When I started blabbing about it to my friend Peter, he yelled, “Hey Mom! Show Jamey the mushroom jar, he really likes them.” Turns out, there is a Russian grocery store in Northeast Philly. I’ll get there one day and buy a jar, I’m sure, but in the meantime, I made my own.

I pulled up tons of recipes online, but settled on three. My goal was to adapt these recipes according to: 1) my whim and instinct; 2) 8 oz. of mushrooms in a pint sized Mason jar. What follows is just an approximation of what I did. I didn’t write down the exact quantities, and I did a little improvising. And what’s funny, even though I have a favorite, I love them all.

To make all three batches, you need:

Three 8 oz. packages of button mushrooms (or some other small mushroom - slice the bigger ones) - RINSE WELL
3 pint-sized Mason jars
Optional: Whole garlic cloves and slices of onions to throw in each jar for extra marinated treats

We’ll start with my favorite:

1/4 cup White vinegar
1/4 cup Red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp water
2 tsp. olive oil
2-ish large minced cloves garlic
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a pan, I put all the above ingredients (without mushrooms) and brought to a boil. Boiled for 3 minutes. I threw in one package of mushrooms and brought it back to a boil, then cooked for one more minute. Put it all in a jar, and topped off with a splash of red wine vinegar and white vinegar. Set aside. That easy. (And of course, if you’ve ever pickled before, “topping off” does not mean to the top of the jar—leave a little space.)

My second favorite:

1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
Dried dill
4 cloves minced garlic (or so)
White vinegar
Salt
5-10 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves

I sprinkled a package of mushrooms with the lemon juice and let them marinate for 15-20 minutes. Then I put them in a saucepan and covered with water (they float, so “covering” is a bit hyperbolic). Brought to a boil, then simmered for about 10 minutes. Added a little bit of salt during this time. Then, I strained the mushrooms and “mushroom water,” reserving some of the water. I put the bay leaves and peppercorns in a jar, then added the mushrooms a couple of scoops at a time. Between each scoop, I added a shake of dill and some minced garlic. Once all the mushrooms and garlic were in the jar, I added a splash of the mushroom water, the olive oil, and topped off with white vinegar.

My third favorite (still very good) is similar to the second:

White vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 minced garlic cloves
Salt
Dill
A few cloves of whole allspice

Boiled the mushrooms 30 minutes. Removed the cooking water, reserving one cup. Added the cup back to the mushrooms and threw in 1/4 cup white vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil, the garlic, dill, salt (2 tsp?), and the allspice cloves. Cooked five more minutes. Added everything to the jar, and topped with white vinegar.

Did Wells, and Do Betters…

My dad taught me to assess things in projects in terms of what I did well, and what I will do better the next time. Basically these are awesome. But here are a few notes for going forward.

The marinades can be reused. I’ve actually done three batches, and in the subsequent two batches, all I had to do was boil the mushrooms for 20 minutes or so, and add them to the jars. They taste good by day 2, and amazing by day 5.

My third batch was done with baby bellas, but the first two batches were button mushrooms. Any mushrooms can be used, and I’ve even seen a recipe online where a guy buys a giant can of Chinese mushrooms to make his. I don’t think the mushroom’s type is that important, but my best flavor was the button mushrooms. They seemed to soak up the flavors of the marinades so much better…and the bellas have such a pronounced flavor that they just weren’t as enjoyable (but still good).

I “canned” these with Mason jars. The mushrooms were actually smaller when the jars came out of the hot bath. I have not decided if this is good or bad. Perhaps it helped to meld the flavors of the marinade, imparting more “mushroom water” to the marinades. I don’t know. What I do know, is at this point putting new (freshly boiled) mushrooms in the old jars is working just fine to meld the flavors.

Olive oil. If you’ve ever made homemade Italian dressing with olive oil and tried to keep it in the fridge, you know this is a dumb idea. Or at least should know. Olive oil congeles at a certain temperature, and whatever that temperature is, it is higher than my refrigerator. The first batch has such little oil that it hasn’t really been an issue, but the third batch has the most oil and getting mushrooms out involves digging through oil clumps. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great. Solutions: use canola or soybean oil (if you don’t have an aversion to those), or just set the jar on the counter for an hour or two before eating.

Well, this email has gotten a little out of hand. It’s a good thing I didn’t try to cover my Sriracha pickles, too!

Cheers,

jamey w. bennett

Easy Mozzarella Sticks - TDF Facebook Exclusive

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:52:07 -0400

Easy Mozzarella Sticks - TDF Facebook Exclusive

North Carolina Barbecue Sauce & Tacos

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:32:00 -0400

from: Jamey Bennett
to: Daniel Larkin

Hey Dude,

Since North Carolina is basically your next door neighbor, I doubt I have to be the one to tell you that North Carolina barbecue rocks.

1. I love vinegar.
2. I love spicy food.
3. I love to eat pigs.

On a side note, I think it’s funny that the word “barbecue” to a North Carolinian means pulled (or chopped) pork and a spicy vinegar sauce. My homeboy Brotha SouL gave me a blank look when I talked about barbecue chicken, or barbecue ribs. To him, Barbecue is a noun meaning only pulled pork. I guess they call the other stuff “grilled” or something? I don’t know.

Anyway, I have only recently begun to enjoy the wonders of NC barbecue. My first exposure was when I made a sauce recipe from Amazing Ribs. I could practically drink the stuff. But the first time I tasted actual, authentic barbecue in NC was last summer. My life was changed.

Some time ago, my friend Steve Robinson posted an update on Facebook that he made an East Carolina sauce. I generally trust his palate (except for his McDonald’s habit!), so I asked him for his recipe. In fact, I’m pretty sure I texted you a screen shot of his “seat of the pants…ballpark” sauce recipe. Here goes:

2/3 Cider Vinegar
1/3 White vinegar
A couple Tbsp. brownsugar
Some salt
A good tsp. of cayenne pepper
Crushed red peppers (he used a 12-pepper mix from his sister, I used crushed and fermented red peppers that I made)
Some coarse black pepper
A couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar
A couple tablespoons of ketchup

I like mine with a lot of black pepper…it just smells and tastes awesome, especially with the vinegar. Anyway, I made two 16 oz. Mason jars a couple of months ago. Wonderful stuff. Oh, and it’s best if left overnight for the flavors to blend. And shake it up whenever you think of it.

Now, the tacos. The tacos are easy. Get some pork. Doesn’t really matter what kind, or how much. I put three pork chops in my crock pot, and poured the sauce over them. Cooked it on low all day. About 6 or 7 hours in, I pulled the pork out, shredded it with a couple forks, and then put it back in the crock pot.

When I was almost ready to eat, I made a simply pico de gallo with diced tomato, red onion, fresh jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper. I poured some of the barbecue sauce over it and let it sit for about 10 minutes to soak up the flavor. Meanwhile, I warmed some flour tortillas in my cast iron skillet.

Once done with all of that, I removed the meat with a ladle with holes. After removing the meat, I further drained the pulled pork. (The reason for this is that you don’t want soggy tortillas!)

Anyway, I put the pork on the tortillas, threw on the pico, and a little bit of lettuce. Then I spooned a VERY small amount of more vinegar sauce on the top. It was AMAZING.

Next time, I’m going to try slaw instead of lettuce. But I don’t think I’ll change a thing about the meat or the sauce. And I’ll probably keep the pico.

jamey

from: Daniel Larkin
to: ”Jamey W. Bennett”

I LOVE North Carolina BBQ. I used to cook at a dive bar in Charlotte called The Penguin. The place had three owners — a cook, a business man, and a maintenance guy — all with full sleeves of tattoos.

Anyway, the cook-owner got his start making BBQ, and he would still do all of our meats offsite with his secret recipe. I also worked with an awesome Mexican dude named Manuel (Real name? Probably not.) and he’s the one who showed me how to make salsa. Manuel would also bring his own corn tortillas into work, and we would deep fry them to make taco shells. You already know what we filled them with!

Long story short, this is gonna fill a gap that was left in my belly after I quit The Penguin.

Carne Asada with Roasted Salsa

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:46:25 -0400

from: Jamey Bennett
to: Daniel Larkin

Dude, I made a really delicious, really simple roasted salsa. I just ate a few bites and my mouth is warm and fiesta-like. Four tomatoes, two jalapeños, red and yellow onion roasted for about 35 minutes at 300 degrees. Added it to the blender with four cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, cilantro, cayenne, crushed red pepper, lemon juice, and a splash of white vinegar.

Also, I came up with a good carne asada marinade. I make a lot of tacos (obviously), but my tacos never taste like street tacos. This was my attempt. I marinated cheap, cheap steak with white vinegar, soy sauce, fresh garlic, salt and pepper, a dash of garlic powder, cumin, and paprika. I tried to keep the ingredients minimal, and only enough liquid to fully wet the meat. After a couple of hours, I cut the steak into small chunks, and tossed the pieces (with the marinade) into a skillet and cooked until no liquid remained.

Add to tortillas, throw on your taco toppings, add the roasted salsa, and bam. If anything, I won’t add salt next time, as the sodium in the soy sauce was plenty. I didn’t quite duplicate street tacos, but it was damn good.

from: Daniel Larkin
to: Jamey Bennett

I’ve got the day off today, and I was thinking about brewing. I might just make a salsa too now!

Sheila's Amazing Beer Chili

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:27:19 -0400

from: Jamey W. Bennett
to: Daniel Larkin

Dude,

My friend Sheila in Nashville makes what is possibly the best chili I’ve ever had. Last year, she gave me her recipe to use in a chili cook-off at church, and she has given me permission to share it with the world.

She sent me a follow-up email about a meatless version she makes. She said she does it pretty much the same way as below, except for no meat and more beans.

Cheers,
Jamey

From: Sheila Uselton
Subject: Re: chili
To: “Jamey W. Bennett”

Okay Jamey. Here is my attempt to remember how I make chili.

First I brown a pound or so of good quality ground beef. (ground round or sirloin, etc.) AND a pound of hot sausage like Jimmy Dean’s or whatever. While that is browning I also throw in a chopped poblano pepper (or two if they are really small.)

After the meat is brown I start adding stuff. I add my chili mix, which is usually the Wick Fowler chili kit. Just get one or two if you are making a big batch.I like chili mixes that contain masa. Then I add a large can or two of crushed tomatoes. I always get two cans in case it needs it. Then add your beans. I use black beans and light red kidney beans. I also put in a can of yellow hominy to pay homage to our love of New Mexico southwestern style cooking. I always add a bit more garlic and ground cumin too.Then take two beers out of the fridge. Pour in one beer and make sure it is not a sweet beer. Drink the other beer. At this point, just eyeball it and add whatever else you think it might need.

Now, here is the secret that I just discovered that is amazing. Buy a can of chipotle chilies (smoked jalapenos) and add those. It gives it the most amazing flavor. You will find these little devils in the Mexican food section of your store. Or go to the Mexican grocery store if it’s close by. The ones I used came in a small can with some kind of red sauce in them. Put the chilies AND the sauce in. I think they also can be found in a dried form, but I did not want to have to mess with rehydrating them due to my laziness. Keep in mind however, that this will make your chili HOT, so be discriminating as you add these. Your judges might be pansies from the East who can’t take the heat.

Call or text me if you have any questions. Hope you win!

Love,
S.

[Editor’s Note: Don’t forget the sour cream, cheese, Fritos, hot sauce, or whatever else you like with your chili.]

Whole Food Veggie Tacos FTW!

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:04:00 -0400

from Daniel Larkin
to jamey w. bennett

I finally did it! Veggie tacos made with real food!

My main qualm with vegetarian options at home is that they usually involve some sort of processed fake meat. Not that I’m staunchly opposed to using them (my Skyline Chili knock-off and my chicken-less tacos both rely on faux-meats) but I’ve always wanted another option. What comes next in this email is an approximation of what I did. I didn’t do any prior research, I took no notes, and I’m writing this three weeks after the fact. I tried to mentally tally everything, but you may still have to rely on your ninja skills of adaptation.

In all honesty, I’m not really going not on memory for all of the measurements, but rather guessing at how much I would add if I were to make this again.

Here’s a list of what made up the filling. It’s kind of like refrigerator soup, in that I just used whatever I had on hand. But as anyone who’s read about nutrition knows, variety is the best recipe. The key to making this more taco-meat-esque is to chop all whole foods very small before cooking. Obviously, you don’t need to chop the beans or corn, but you get the idea.

• 1 can of black beans (rinsed)

• about a cup of frozen corn kernels

• about 1/2 cup of carrot (finely chopped)

• the tips off one head of broccoli (finely chopped)

• One or two pablano peppers (finely chopped) — add more or different peppers if you like it hotter

• 1/2 onion (finely chopped)

• 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

• a handful of walnuts (you guessed it, finely chopped)

• 1 pack of firm tofu (it’ll break into small pieces when added and stirred) — extra firm tofu won’t break up enough and silken tofu will just dissolve

• (I wanted to add small cubes of sautéed sweet potato, but I forgot. I still think that would be good!)

• 1 tbs soy sauce

• 8-ish oz Guinness Draught

• 3-ish tbs tomato paste

• 2-ish tbs chili powder

• 1-1/2-ish tbs cumin

• Pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg

• A few sprigs of chopped cilantro

• Salt and red and black pepper to taste

Sauté garlic and onion for a minute in the oil of your choice. Mix all other veggies and sauté for about 10 minutes. Then add the liquid and spices – again, tasting as you go because I didn’t measure shit. Simmer everything for 30 minutes, and add walnuts and cilantro in the last 5 minutes.

Fair warning, this made a ton!

Now I didn’t want to just top the tacos off with lettuce and be done with it. I wanted to go fancy pants.

So I filled a large mixing bowl with green cabbage sliced thinly and evenly with the mandolin. Then I threw in a good handful of chopped cilantro, and an half-and-half mix of plain greek yogurt and sour cream —enough to make a slaw-type consistency. I mixed in some salt and pepper, about 3 tbs of granulated sugar, about 1 tbs red wine vinegar and the juice from 2-1/2 limes. (I used the other half lime to keep the avocado from browning) Then I tossed it all by hand until it was even and put it in the fridge to settle for about an hour.

The final setup went like this; tortilla, veggie filling, cheese, cilantro slaw, sliced avocado and hot sauce. And it was phenomenal! The mix of veggies and tofu was the perfect consistency, and the small crunch of walnuts kept the texture interesting. The fresh slaw was a perfect compliment, and was way more interesting that lettuce and sour cream could have been by themselves.

These tacos made me realize that vegetarian eating doesn’t have to be about avoiding meat. When done right, it’s really just a tasty way to eat your vegetables. The variety of plant-based foods on this plate made for one of the most wholesome meals I’ve had in a long time. And one of the tastiest.

West African Peanut Soup

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:15:00 -0400

from Jamey W. Bennett
to Daniel Larkin

Dude,

I’ve only just discovered African food in the last year or two, and I am a huge fan of what I’ve had. My exposure is still pretty much limited to Ethopian food and Harissa sauce. The nearby Whole Foods carries a couple of kinds of Harissa, and I’m in love with the one from a DC area company, Cava. Soon, I’m going to try my hand at making my own Harissa.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying a bowl of this delicious peanut soup. I got the idea from the Eating Well website, but I made a few modifications that I think made a big difference.

Here it is. I took two sizeable sweet potatoes, poked a few holes in them with a fork, and microwaved them for 8-1/2 minutes. While that was happening, I sauteed the equivalent of a small red onion (diced) in my cast iron skillet with oil. As the onions were browning, I threw in two large garlic cloves, diced.

After everything looked and smelled the way I wanted, I added 1-1/2 cups of ketchup and 1-1/2 cups of water. The recipe actually called for tomato juice, but I didn’t have any, and I thought it might be reminiscent of barbecue sauce if I used ketchup. Not very West African, I know, but I think it was actually a good choice.

After a minute or so, I added a handful of jarred sliced jalapenos, 1 teaspoon of ginger powder, and 1 teaspoon of all spice.

While I let all that boil for about 10 minutes, I peeled the sweet potatoes, dicing one to small bite-sized pieces and putting the other in my food processor. I added 1/2 cup of all natural chunky peanut butter to the food processor, and 2 cups of broth. I didn’t have vegetable broth on hand, so I did the next best thing and used a tomato-chicken buillion cube, dissolved in two cups of hot water. Once blended, I put that mixture, and the chunky sweet potato into the skillet. Stirred. Lots of stirring.

Now, this is where things get a little less precise and a little more creative. I thought it was too thick, so I added another cup of water. I didn’t think it was spicy enough, so I added paprika, cayenne, and crushed red pepper to taste, along with a fairly generous amount of fresh ground black pepper.

Once everything tasted about right, I spooned it into a bowl, and garnished with cilantro.

Okay, now I’m going to go eat a second bowl.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:47:00 -0400

from Daniel Larkin
to jamey w. bennett

As you obviously saw from my Instagram photo yesterday, I made sweet potato gnocchi last night. It was my first attempt at any kind of gnocchi, and it was WAY easier than the online reviews made it sound. These were actually a kind of trial run for something I’ve wanted to take camping for a while, but they turned out so well, I think I’ll bring them into the regular rotation at home.

The gnocchi was simple.

2 one pound sweet potatoes
Approximately 1-1/2 cups (maybe more) of all purpose flour
1 egg
Salt
Cinnamon
Shredded parmesan

I peeled two large sweet potatoes (peel deep, because there’s a thicker layer than you think)

Then I sliced the naked spuds into 1/2 disks and baked them at 400º until done - flipping once. (I suppose you could just bake the potatoes and then scoop the meat out)

I let the potatoes cool before mashing them, and then I tossed in one egg, a tablespoon of salt, a few shakes of cinnamon and a large pinch of grated parmesan. Then I mixed in about 1-1/2 cups of flour until I had a good doughy consistency. (Start with a good heaping cup of flour and add the rest slowly until you can work the dough ball without too much sticky mess on your fingers.)

When the dough was ready, I quartered the ball. I split each quarter again and rolled these smaller dough balls into 1/2-inch dowels on the counter (I was constantly flouring the counter to prevent stickage). From there I just cut the dough-dowels into 1-inch pieces. (Most posts told me to accent the gnocchi by pressing it with the prongs of a fork, but I couldn’t do that without mashing them)

With the dough split into such small batches, I was able to boil the gnocchi in rounds as I cut. I dropped the gnocchi into the boiling water and let them go for a minute or two after they start to float. When I took them out of the water they were done and ready to eat, but I wasn’t finished yet!

Since I didn’t sweeten the gnocchi dough, I wanted to toss it in something sweet. And what I came up with was perfect.

2 tbs unsalted butter
Approximately one ounce of pure maple syrup
Approximately 3 ounces of apple juice

I just mixed and reduced all of these ingredients until it was a good gooey syrup. Then I pan fried the cooked gnocchi in this mix until they were golden brown. I didn’t end up using all of the syrup, but it’s good to have some extra in case we needed it.

The last, and most perfect, detail, was to garnish with a generous sprinkling of toasted almonds. (I kept extra almonds on the side, and people added them as they wanted)

Dude, this was awesome. We ate it with snap peas sauteed with garlic and soy sauce, and grilled duck breast that had been marinating in John’s secret sauce. (It’s a secret because even he doesn’t know the recipe; he just adds stuff until it tastes good. I do know that it uses olive oil, sherry, lemon juice, rosemary, corse ground mustard, shallots and soy sauce.)

Anyway, I ate well last night and it made me think of you.

How’s Lent going?

Delicioso Adobo Seasoning

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:21:10 -0500

from Jamey W. Bennett
to Daniel Larkin

Hey Dude,

It’s no surprise that I add a Mexican twist to most foods I prepare. Since discovering this adobo seasoning, I always keep this on hand. I got the basic idea from a cookbook, but I’m not even sure of the title.

Makes a fantastic spice rub, great in soups, marinades, etc. I’ve put it on beef, chicken, and fish. I’m sure it’s great on other stuff too.

Delicioso Adobo Seasoning

1 tbsp of each: lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, parsley, achiote powder, salt
1-1/2 tsp cumin

Instead of achiote (I don’t even know what that is), I substitue equal parts tumeric & paprika. Another shortcut you might take is picking up lemon pepper that has garlic and onion powder in it. In that case, use three tbsp of it, instead of one tbsp. of each.

Combine in a bottle or small tupperware container, shake it up, and wah-lah! I keep this in my spice rack.

If you try it, let me know what you think.

jamey

Vegetarian Reuben

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:49:00 -0500

from Jamey W. Bennett
to Daniel Larkin

Dude,
Did you once tell me that you make a vegetarian reuben?
Jamey

from Daniel Larkin
to me

Funny enough, I cut tofu this morning and started marinating it for ruebens tonight. Jenny’s parents are coming over for it!

I use my homemade kraut, so it’s basically the shit. Plus, the marinade mimics slow smoked, salty beef fairly well. It’s obviously a different flavor from a standard cornedbeef reuben, but I like the tofu just as much as any cornedbeef rueben I’ve ever had.

The process is pretty simple. I cut the tofu into thin slices, maybe about 1/4-inch thick, and marinate it in my special sauce (ewww) for at least 4 hours. My sauce is **roughly** a mix of 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part worcestershire sauce, and a few slashes of liquid hickory smoke. Then I dilute that all with water until I’m comfortable that it’s flavorful, but not overly salty.

When it’s done marinating, I cook the tofu in safflower oil on high heat until it’s brown on both sides. I’ve found that this gives the best texture. High heat and safflower oil.

Then I just stack it on some grilled pumpernickel bread with a heaping pile of warm sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing (you’ll probably do Russian dressing).

Yum. I’m glad I was already planning on having these tonight, otherwise I would be scrambling to make it happen after writing this.

from: Jamey W. Bennett
to Daniel Larkin

That sounds great! I’ve been craving a Reuben, and we’re in the countdown to Orthodox Lent, so we just waved a 56 day goodbye to meat on Sunday. On top of that, I have a big bag of kraut in the fridge…I may hit up Whole Foods for some tofu in a bit.

Thanks!

[Update: Turns out we already posted about this in October. We’re idiots! http://twodudesfoods.com/post/11693303786/tofu-rueben]

SOUPS!

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:30:00 -0500

from Daniel Larkin
to jamey w. bennett

It’s downright shameful how long it’s been since we swapped recipes – picture texts and Facebook bragging not withstanding. I’ve been on a huge homebrewing and comfort food tear lately, and I’m finally at a breathing point where I can record it all.

So it’s officially soup season, and this is the first year I really feel like I’ve embraced the bowl and spoon with any modicum of success. I’ve already described my chicken soup in an earlier email, but I’ve got two more for you – a beef and barley stew that I randomly threw together and a vegetarian butternut squash and pear soup that I used to make at the Red Rooster Diner in Nashville. Both are astonishingly good, and both will warm you to your cockles this winter. Yeah, I said cockles.

First off, the Beef and Barley Stew. It’s super simple, and the prep work can be done in 30 minutes or less. The stew itself should cook for at least four hours, but I like to prep it in the morning and let it go all day. Peasant food was the original, “set it and forget it” theme in the kitchen.

1 qt chicken stock – homemade if you’ve got it, it makes ALL the difference in the world.
1 lb lean sirloin steak, diced into small cubes, salted and peppered and spread across a pan to reach room temperature.
1/2 stick butter.
1 pack beef bones (I recently noticed that most grocery stores sell large bone scraps for stewing, usually in packs of about a pound. A few of these in the pot with everything else transforms your chicken stock into a mighty warrior of deliciousness. And they’re dirt cheap.)
2 carrots diced
2 ribs of celery diced
1 medium onion diced
4 cloves garlic diced
1 14 oz can of diced tomato with liquids
1 fistful of pearl barley
Red pepper flakes to taste
1 bottle Guinness Stout

You can see where this is going, and I probably don’t even need to continue. But here it is anyway.

In an oven safe pot with a good fitting lid, brown the beef cubes in the butter on high heat – set aside.

Sauté celery, onions, carrots, and garlic on remaining butter and fat for a few minutes.

Toss the beef back into the pan, and add the stock, Guinness, tomatoes, beef bones, red pepper flakes, and barley and bring to a boil.

Toss the simmering mix into the oven at 220º and let it go as long as you can – four hours minimum. Remove the beef bones when it’s done, and salt and pepper to taste.

This is such a well rounded stew, nutritiously and flavor-wise. I recently took a Thermos of it to Ramsey Cascade Falls in the Smoky Mountains, and it was almost as good as the view.

OK, to the second soup, Butternut Squash and Pear. I used to make this at a little diner on the West Side of Nashville, and it always stuck with me as a favorite. Easy to make, and it can be ready in under an hour. I can’t believe it took me this long to make it again.

1 medium butternut squash peeled, cored and diced into approximately 1-inch squares.
4 pears, peeled, cored, and diced small.
2 small onions diced
1 qt vegetable stock
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, approximately 6-inches, whole.
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Sugar or honey to taste – if the pears are good, you shouldn’t need much
Heavy cream – less than a cup

The rest is simple.

Sauté the squash, pears and onions in butter until the onion is translucent.

Add stock, rosemary and cinnamon and simmer for 20 minutes, or until squash is done/mashable.

Remove the rosemary sprig and run that shit through a blender or food processor until it’s smooth.

Add salt, pepper and sugar to taste. You’re looking for more balanced comfort than sweet.

(An optional step here is to simmer it again on low heat for another 30 minutes or so, but it’s not 100% necessary)

Finish off with a touch of cream to round it out.

I like to serve this garnished with a dollop of sour cream on top, just to contrast the slight sweetness of the squash and pear. Jenny and I ate this on Christmas Eve alongside my sad attempt at a rustic bread loaf. It was delicious, though, and the subtle fruit, squash and rosemary flavors are all intrinsically winter for me. mmmm…..

Enjoy, hombre.

Jive Turkey

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:04:44 -0500

Daniel Larkin 11/23/10
to me

So I’m in charge of the turkey and stuffing for this year’s Knoxville Thanksgiving. Believe it or not, with as much cooking as I’ve done, I’ve never roasted a bird. But you have, during the turkey sandwich challenge. Do you have anytips/suggestions? The only twist I plan on implementing is rubbing chopped herbs between the skin and meat of the breast and thighs. (that sounded dirty)

I don’t own a real roasting pan with a rack, so I’m planning on doing this in a disposable aluminum one. How did you go about this?

Jamey W. Bennett 11/23/10
to Daniel

Easy. Here’s what I did after consulting my friend Sarah.

Disposable aluminum.
Thawed the turkey in cold water (this takes like 8 hours)
Pulled out all the junk and set it aside
Separated, carefully, the skin from the breast
Rubbed a shitload of butter in there between the skin and breast
Rubbed thyme and rosemary in the same place
Lightly sprinkled the skin with salt and pepper

Dropped that beast into the oven at 475 for 20 minutes to sear the outside and lock the juices in (or at least that’s the theory)

Reduced to 250 (leaving the bird in), and calculated 20 minutes per pound

I didn’t have a thermometer, but I had one of those little pop-out indicators and I did fine. But EVERYBODY says you should use a meat thermometer. Either way, stab that beast when you think it’s ready, and it should be juicy, but clear

I did not do stuffing. I know lots of people do, but there are also a lot of critics about the stuffing in the bird. Dowhachalike.

My grandma uses a rack, and she flips the bird upside down so all of the fat and juices cook into the breast. My mom swears by it.

And for your enjoyment from Facebook:

Saying prayers for the 45 million turkeys whose lives will be taken in the US this year, and hoping for the truth about the origins of Thanksgiving to make it into the minds, hearts and bellies of humans everywhere!

May the truth set the birds free…….Say NO to genocide for all species!!!!

Squash Stuffing, Roast Chicken and Chicken Soup

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:45:00 -0500

Daniel Larkin 4:39 PM (16 hours ago)

What’s up, dude? How’s the double shift lifestyle been treating you? Work seems to be picking up, as long as the engineers can stay on top of the scheduling. I’m hopeful that a five day work week is around the corner, so fingers crossed.

In food news, though, I’m officially obsessed with roasting chickens. Being married to a vegetarian, I don’t come across too many occasions to cook a whole bird, but I got a wild urge to roast one last week and followed through. When I get into the mood for chicken, it’s usually accompanied by a craving for stuffing. I’ve adapted a pretty solid vegetarian stovetop stuffing recipe so Jenny can jam on it too. We had a regular Thanksgiving.

So in order of everything, here’s a quick rundown of the stuffing.

Stuffing

For the bread, I raided the freezer and ended up with about 6 hoagie rolls (white, wheat and sesame) and two hamburger buns. I cut them into cubes between 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch, and toasted them in the oven at 250º until they were nice and dry.
Other ingredients are

Handful of walnuts
1/2 butternut squash
Real maple syrup
Half a large yellow onion
One rib of celery
One medium carrot, or about 8 baby carrots
Garlic
Vegetable stock
Fresh rosemary, thyme and sage

I cut a butternut squash in half, peeled the solid top, and cut it into 1/4-inch thick slices. (I stopped about an inch short of the stem) I brushed the slices with real maple syrup, sprinkled on salt and pepper, and then roasted them at 450º until they were cooked but still firm. When the slices were cool enough, I cut them into 1/4-inch cubes. Immediately after I pulled the squash from the oven, I threw a handful of chopped walnuts into the oven on a separate pan and roasted these for a few minutes.

In buttered pan, I sauteed the chopped onion, chopped celery, chopped baby carrots, and three cloves of garlic minced. I also included about a 6-inch sprig of fresh rosemary, about five 4-inch sprigs of thyme, and three sage leaves, all chopped finely. Oh yeah, and salt and pepper.

When all of this looked about done, I added the roasted walnuts, the par cooked squash cubes, a little more butter and a light drizzle of male syrup. I sauteed this for another minute and pulled it off to cool.

Then in a large stock pot, I combined the dried bread cubes and vegetable mix – tossing by hand until everything was mixed. When it was time to cook, I slowly heated the pot on the stove and gradually added vegetable stock until I found the right consistency. The key is to go slowly, because you can alway add more liquid, but you can’t remove it without cooking the whole thing to mush.

But it’s chicken time.

I would be willing to bet that my approach to roasting a chicken is similar to yours. Buy a good bird, and just don’t screw it up with a bunch of extras.

All I did was wash it, drizzle the skin and cavity with olive oil, salt and pepper, and stuffed it with a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary and a few sage leaves. I also cut a lemon in half, squeezed some juice on the skin, and then stuffed the two halves in the cavity, with the larger end plugging the bird’s ass. I roasted the chicken in a disposable aluminum pan for 105 minutes without once basting it. It was seriously the most moist white meat I’ve ever eaten, and the hint of lemon and herbs was fantastic!

Hold on, now there’s soup!

I collected all the extra fat and liquids from the roasting pan and put them in a large metal container. I quartered the bird and put the main carriage (skeleton) in with the juices, lemon and herbs and set this all in the fridge. I ate on the chicken for four days, and every time I would finish a quarter, I would toss the bones and extra meat in with the carriage and juices.

A few days after finishing the chicken, I removed as much meat as I could from the carcass and bones and set it aside on a plate. I put the bones in a two quart pot topped off with water; then I began the boil. I also included half of the lemon in the mix, but I took out a lot of the herbs. When I had lost roughly 1/3 of the liquid to evaporation, I added about 8 oz of homebrewed ESB and kept boiling. (I’ve made similar soup using A LOT more homebrew, but I was running low this time.)

I salted the stock lightly and tasted often. When I had the flavor I was looking for, I strained off the liquid and picked off whatever meat had separated during the boil. Then I threw the bones away. Since I had just strained the liquid into a separate jar, I used the two quart pot to sauté some carrots, celery and onion in butter. When the veggies were almost done, I added all of the meat into the mix and cooked it a bit more. Then I just added the stock back in and simmered everything for about 10 more minutes.

Jamey, this might have been the best soup I’ve had in years. The light lemon flavor and the fat of the olive oil and butter were a perfect match. The chicken meat was tender, and I could have drank the broth all day.

It’s a long email, I know. But next time you roast a chicken, this is a guaranteed way to perfect soup. My initial plan was to add noodles, but I never missed them. Who needs chicken noodle soup when chicken soup is better?

Fried Foods! Yay!

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:41:00 -0400

Daniel Larkin to jamey
10:57 AM

So I sent you pictures of our Bar Food Friday last weekend, but I wanted to share the goods. The chicken nachos were decent; we made them using my veggie taco recipe with real chicken. We started drinking before cooking, so we were a little rosy by the time we got to the cheese, and it ended up more like a Mexican mozzarella than queso fresco. But I’m not really writing you about the nachos. You know how to do nachos. What I’m talking about are the fried pickles.

October is over, so I’m assuming you can splurge on some good old fashion horrible-for-you food. I use this batter for just about everything fried – chicken, onions, pickles, etc. – and it’s never let me down. I actually learned the recipe from a popular bar I worked at in Charlotte named The Penguin.

The batter is simple, though my recipe may not be 100% accurate, since I’ve never measured my spices. Ever. I actually taste as I go, mostly checking salt and heat levels. (I know some people have an aversion to tasting raw flour, but it’s the only way I’ve been able to get it spot on every time.) Consequently, all of my measurements here are guesses, and you can add/subtract to it as you see fit.

Two cups of flour
2 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. chili powder - maybe more
1 tbs. red pepper - maybe less
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tbs. cayenne pepper
A few grinds of fresh black pepper
Enough Lawry’s Seasoning Salt to cast a thin red layer on the top of the mixture.

Mix ingredients, insert a wet fork, and taste. Again, I taste for salt and heat. You want to taste the salt, but the heat needs to be background noise. You don’t want it too spicy.

That’s the best I can describe the recipe.

Frying onions and pickles are essentially the same. Chicken isn’t even that much different either. The key to all is small batches. You don’t want to drop the temperature of the oil too quickly, and you don’t want the items to stick together when they’re in the oil.

For onion straws, slice a sweet onion thin (I use my julienne slicer for thin uniform cuts) and soak it in buttermilk. When it’s time to fry, just pull a small handful of onions out of the milk, dredge them in the batter, shake off the excess batter, and drop them into a pot of your favorite frying oil. They’re done when they’re a light golden brown. These onion straws make any burger 100x better. Seriously.

For pickles, buy a jar of dill pickle chips and pour out the juice and replace it with buttermilk. (I know this sounds gross, but it’s fine. Buttermilk is curdled to begin with.) When it’s time to fry, pull out a small handful of chips and shake off some, but not all, of the extra milk. Toss the pickles in the batter mix to fully coat them. Next, pull the chips out of the batter and shake them around in a sifter over the remaining batter. This breaks up any globs of flour, and prevents the chips from sticking to each other in the oil. Toss them in the oil, and they’re done when they float to the top with a golden brown color. Serve in a bowl lined with paper towels, and have some Ranch dressing on hand to dip them in. Oh, and prepare to be in heaven.

For chicken, I cut my breast meat into thin slices and soak them in a mix of buttermilk, one egg, and a few splashes of Texas Pete hot sauce. Aside from the extra wet ingredients, the only thing I do differently with chicken is to double batter it. Soak, toss, soak, toss, fry. It gives it that supreme crunch that chicken tenders need.

I hope this all makes sense. It’s an easy recipe, and it kills me how good it is every time I try it. The pickles are especially gratifying, since no one outside of The Penguin can seem to make a decent fried pickle.

Cincinnati Chili!

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:03:00 -0400

Daniel Larkin to jamey 10:41 AM

I don’t know if you’re aware of my family’s obsession with Skyline Chili, the Cincinnati purveyors of heaven in soupy meat form. They aren’t located in Tennessee, and as far as I know, the closest location to me is in Louisville, Kentucky. Still, it’s worth the drive.

For all of their unwillingness to sprawl, two stores somehow ended up in South Florida. When the Florida Marlins were created in 1993, my father and I would make regular trips to watch them get their asses beat up and down the inaugural calendar. Our routine usually involved dinner at Skyline Chili on University Drive on the way out of town. This was sometimes spiced up with other fun activities like flattening the tires of my sister’s fiance, who my father had nicknamed “shithead.” Skyline Chili is a fantastic enough establishment by itself to constitute life-long loyalty, but the fact that it was such an integral part of that routine with my dad made it almost mythical. (I now sport their logo tattooed on my left calf.)

Cincinnati Chili is unlike any other type of chili out there in that is has a sweet, cinnamon and chocolate flavor. There are no chunks, but it’s a fairly loose mix of meat and tomato base. Oh, it’s a beautiful thing.

Anyway, when you live in Tennessee, or Pennsylvania for that matter, you really only have three options for Skyline Chili.

1.) Drive to the nearest Skyline Chili location. This will always be the best option.

2.) Search out the canned stuff from a grocery store. I have mixed feelings on this, but it’ll do in a pinch.

3.) Make your own. This was never a realistic choice, until about a year and a half ago.

It all started because I wanted Jenny to know the true gloriousness of Cincinnati chili, but she’s vegetarian. The recipe, therefore, is for a vegetarian version of the chili – using TVP (texturized vegetable protein) instead of beef. The flavor is still pretty spot on, but you can easily revert it back to ground beef if you want.

Here’s the ingredient list:

One 12 oz. bag of Morningstar Crumble, or whatever type of TVP you prefer. (The 12-oz. bags contain no fat drippings, so they roughly equal one pound of ground beef – browned and drained.
1/2 Medium sized onion – chopped.
One clove garlic – minced.
One tablespoon each of brown sugar, chili powder and cider vinegar.
One teaspoon each of cinnamon and cumin
1/2 teaspoon each of salt and ground allspice
1/2 cup of water
One (15 oz) can of tomato sauce
Two small pieces of dark chocolate – the snack size. (We always have Dove Dark squares on hand)

1.) First, sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. (This may be considered sacrilegious in some circles that believe the onion should be raw and added on top of the finished product. In my opinion, though, the flavor requires cooked onion, and so powder would be a necessary substitute. Skyline has no discernible chunks of garlic or onion, so I assume they use powder for both, but I prefer to use fresh when possible. Plus, I HATE raw onion.)
2.) Next, toss in your meat (either frozen TVP or browned and drained beef)
3.) Mix in the liquids – tomato sauce, water and vinegar.
4.) Stir in the brown sugar, chili powder, allspice, cinnamon, cumin and salt.
5.) When the mix is nice and warm, reduce the heat and toss in the chocolate squares and stir until they’ve completely melted in and are mixed.
6.) Simmer for 30 minutes until thickened.

It may not smell like a final product while you’re cooking it, but it’ll all come together in the end. I like to step outside for a few minutes to reset my olfactory senses while cooking this. When I step back into the house, I get hit with a wall of Skyline Chili.

Now there are a few different ways to serve this, but there is one constant – the cheese. Buy a block of good sharp cheddar and shred it as finely as you can, making the shreds as long as possible. The goal is to have a heaping pile of room temperature cheese whose sharpness perfectly contrasts the sweet, cinnamon chili. When you’re piling on the cheese, remember to put on an obscene amount, and then add some more.

To serve it on a hotdog, chose a neutral tasting dog that isn’t too big. You want the chili to shine. Lay the dog on a steamed bun laced with cheap yellow mustard, smother it with chili and toss on a grotesque amount of cheese. This is where the raw onion would go too, if you were so inclined.

The other way to serve this is on a plate of spaghetti. Blanket a plate of noodles with chili, and then add the obligatory heart attack of cheese. When you do it this way, you need to supply everyone with a side bowl of oyster crackers for texture and extra salt. Raw onions can also be added. Blech!

Here’s a few photos on proper presentation and possible side effects.

Tofu Rueben

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:17:00 -0400

Daniel Larkin to jameyshow details 10:16 AM (1 minute ago)

I’m not going to lie to you, Jamey, last night I made the best tofu rueben I’ve ever eaten. This normally wouldn’t sound like a big deal except that an all vegetarian restaurant in Knoxville named Veg-O-Rama used to make a tofu rueben that would knock my socks off – that is until they closed shop. Anyway, I think I beat their rueben!

Another reason this is big news is that after living with a vegetarian for 7 years, I think I finally figured out how to make good tofu. I’m sure you’ve cooked enough tofu to know that it’s a blank slate of a food item texturally and flavor-wise, and it requires some seemingly magical skill to make progress on either front.

Marinating is obviously necessary, but there’s always the problem of sloppy loose texture – even when you use “extra firm” curd. There is one brand of local organic tofu we buy sometimes that’s thick as a steak, but what’s good for the texture is bad for flavor, since the denseness impedes rapid marination. (And who wants to marinate tofu all day?)

So here’s what I learned.

First, I bought the generic organic tofu – extra firm, but still squishy in regards to the final product. I cut the tofu into about 1/4 inch slices and pressed them with paper towels to dry them out as much as possible. (Nothing new here, this is standard prep work for tofu) Then I laid them flat in a large ziplock baggie and filled it with a rough 1:1 mix of water and soy sauce with a splash of worchestire sauce and liquid hickory smoke. I set that in the fridge and let it go for a few hours while I worked.

Now, the biggest thing I did differently than any other time was that I cooked the tofu slices for about 10 minutes on very high heat with a small amount of safflower oil. I’ve never used “high heat” oil for tofu before, and so I’ve never been able to utilize the temperatures needed to toughen and crisp the slices. It was beautiful! Golden brown slices that didn’t just dissolve in my mouth. There’s no faking corned beef, but this was damn good.

I placed a few stacks of the tofu slices on some pumpernickel bread smeared with Harvest Ground mustard and Thousand Island Dressing, and topped it all with a good swiss cheese and my homemade sauerkraut (left over from Oktoberfest). I broiled the sandwich in the toaster, and viola!

In all honesty, I think the sauerkraut made the sandwich what it was, but the marinated tofu cooked to perfection was what I’ve been missing all these years. It was fantastic, and I’d even wager that my father would like it.

IPA-Crusted Pizza

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:32:36 -0400

Dude,
It was good to talk to you tonight, and a bit of an encouragement just to share stuff with ya.

So the verdict is in. The pizza was really good. I’m still way amateur when it comes to homemade pizza, but theconsistency and presentation on this one was pretty good.

Basically, I kinda just winged it. I really wanted pizza, but I wanted to stick with my October Unprocessed commitment. So at Trader Joe’s I picked up unbleached whole-wheat flour, and some good, basic mozzarella with no crazy anti-caking agents or anything. I had bacon from WholeFoods, local hot sausage from the farmer’s market, and some jalapenos I pickled myself (inspired by your pickled eggs bit).

For the dough, I used 4 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder (this is the only iffy thing on processed foods), 1-1/2 tsp. salt, a packet of yeast, 2 tbs. olive oil, and a can of beer. Mixed it together (had to add a little water), kneaded it and covered. After about 2 hours I split it in two, rolled it into a ball, and then flattened that shit.

I did my own pizza sauce, too (sorta). I got the idea from AllRecipes.com, but I did things my own way. Basically, I took about 4 oz. tomato paste, 3 tbs. grated parmesan, a couple garlic cloves, 2 tbs. honey (instead of sugar), ¾ teaspoon onion powder, and ¼ tsp. of each of the following: oregano, marjoram, fresh basil, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes. Then I slowly poured crushed tomatoes into the mix, stirring constantly, until it tasted how I wanted. I also salted to taste. It was sweet and yummy.

One pizza was a spicy Hawaiian-style. I used bacon, sausage, pineapple, and jalapeno.

The other pizza was full of caramelized goodness. I caramelized slices of heirloom tomatoes (!!!!!) in my skillet, and caramelized some onions – all with my local, organic, raw butter. Threw that on a pizza with cheese. DAMN. I think tomorrow I might just caramelize some tomatoes to eat like candy.

Sprinkled oregano on top, then baked at 400 degrees. I always bake in a pan, then for the last couple minutes I pull the pizza off the pan with my pizza peel and put it directly on the rack.

I’m interested in your pizza tips one day.

Cheers,
Jamey

P.S. Oh yeah, and I brushed melted butter on the crust. It was awesome.

How to make good guacamole… A TDF exclusive.

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:40:43 -0400

How to make good guacamole…

A TDF exclusive.