Tonight, I was going to cook a recipe for my other project, Cooking my way through Nicholas - The Cookbook. In the grocery store, we started thinking about tomorrows lunch and dinner and since I had made some homemade chili powder, my wife said 'we should just make some chicken taco's tomorrow with your chili powder'. That turned into 'we should make it shredded chicken, and braise it!' (Oh, the life of a foodie). I had everything, but the chicken, so the plan was to make the chicken tonight, and then reheat it for tomorrow. Well, the dish smelled so good, that we scrapped making anything else, and ate it tonight.

We recently took a trip to Chicago, on a purely culinary getaway. Our only goal was to eat at every single Rick Bayless place, and we did. Awesome. Food. Pictures of the trip can be found here. I've been inspired by Diane Kennedy and Rick Bayless since I started learning how to cook a few years ago. Mexican flavors (side by side with Indian) are my absolute favorite.

This is one of the few recipes I can say that I 'created' myself, and I'm proud of it. I can't think of a name for it, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open. For now I'll call it...

'Wish I was in Oaxaca' Chicken

Ingredients - Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, on the one, skin on
2 Tablespoons of Chili Powder, divided (I made my own, I use Alton Browns recipe believe it or not!)
1 Bottle of Beer (Tecate)
2 Jalapeno Peppers, sliced with seeds
1 White Onion, sliced
3 Cloves of garlic, sliced
2 Chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
1 7oz can of Chipotle Sauce
2 14.5oz Cans of Hunts Fire Roasted Tomatoes
3 cups of Chicken Stock
1 Pinch of Mexican Oregano
3 Tablespoons of Grape seed (or vegetable oil)
Corn Torillas
Cilantro
Maggi Seasoning 
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of chili powder. In a dutch oven or large, oven safe pot, heat oil on Medium High and Brown chicken. Approximately 3 minutes each side. Remove chicken and set aside.

2. With pot still on medium high, throw onion, garlic and jalapeno in and cook for approximately 5 minutes.

3. Deglaze with 6oz of beer, scraping up all the brown bits from the pan, and drink the rest,

4. Combine the rest of the ingredients + the rest of the Chili Powder, with the onions, peppers and garlic and place the chicken in. Pour in chicken stock to just cover the chicken, if necessary, and bring to a simmer. Tear up 2-3 corn tortillas and toss into pot.

 

 

5. Cover, and place pot in oven for 2.5 hours or until chicken is fork tender.

6. Remove chicken from the pot and set aside. Use an immersion blender, or carefully pour braising liquid into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste. Season with Maggi seasoning and pepper to taste.

 

(Maggi seasoning, is like mexican soy sauce. It's awesome)

7. Plate chicken in a shallow bowl, ladle over a spoonful of sauce, and garnish with cilantro to taste. Serve with corn tortillas.

That's it.

My wife says - 'I'd serve this dish to Rick Bayless if we had him over for dinner!'...and she's damn picky. That was enough to satisfy me! It makes up for my debacle of a dinner last week where I had thought through this lamb loin dish for hours, everynight before I went to bed, only to completely fail at the dish, throw it out, and ended up going to Stage Left in New Brunswick, NJ for a burger.

As I publish this post, I just received a message from Rick Bayless. His response? "Looks Beautiful!".

I think I'll sleep good tonight...


...Knowing I have some left over for lunch tomorrow...

Read More...

Made up a batch of chili to prepare for the winter storm. I made it on Saturday with the idea I'd eat it after shoveling out on Sunday.

This time I decided to make my own chili powder. I know people knock him, but, I used Alton Browns recipe for chili powder.

The ingredients were

• 3 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
• 3 cascabel chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
• 3 dried arbol chiles, stemmed, seeded and sliced
• 2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  

It required some dried chilis which I picked up in the Mexican section of my supermarket. Our supermarket has a BIG mexican section. I couldn't find cascabel chilis in the big market, and didn't feel like stopping at the Mexican supermarket so I substituted Guajillo.

I deseeded and toasted them in my new (old) cast iron. Toasting chilis and spices just makes them THAT much better.

Then I ground everything up in my cheapo coffee/spice grinder. WOW. Awesome flavor!! Really a world of difference than some McCormick chili powder!

 

I then started on the Chili. I ground up a bunch of Angus Chuck that I bought, in my Kitchen-Aid with the Grinder attachement.

I didn't use any recipe for the chili, just kinda went by feel. Basically just browned the meat, deglazed with this...

Then threw in some tomatos, jarred salsa (I know I know cheating...) some of these...

some beans, a handful or two of tortilla chips,  and some beef stock...let it simmer on low for a few hours.

It's now Sunday, and I just got done shoveling out.

Perfect time for a bowl of red...

Made up some skillet corn bread...

 Opened up a bottle of...

and

It had just enough kick to summon the fire department...even Santa wanted some...

Bottom line. Making your own chili powder == worth it. Grinding your own quality beef == worth it. Not going off a recipe == worth it.

Read More...

This post is WAAAY late. I thought I had posted it already, but....I didn't. I've been too occupied with our other project. 

Some background. My Wife's friend from Montana flew in for our 'wedding' (aka very very small dinner >25 people), as a gift, she gave us a basket of some stuff from the farm she works on. best. gift. ever.

She gave us some:
Garlic
Mint tea
Lemon Balm tea
Raspberry Jam
Redcurrant Jam
really good Honey
Oregano

So, we decided to invite her over for dinner, and use the ingredients in a dinner for her.

Well, dinner was had on Friday to MUCH success...perhaps it was that false sense of "because I made it" but our guest loved it, and we chalked it up to one of the best dinners we've ever made!

Here was the 'fancy' tongue-in-cheek menu...


Garlic Honey lollipops, were really, good. Stole the idea from Pegu Club







Apologize for the not so great pictures, didn't wanna be that 'guy' snapping photos while the guest is thinking, 'i just want to fsking eat'

then we did the salad...the vinegairette was fantastic...really really surprisingly good. We used the red currant jam, some really good red wine vinegar we brought back from Italy (from Volpaia) and some really good Olive oil we have from Nice. No pictures though....sorry. Wife did the recipe, she just mixed like 4:1 oil with vinegar and red currant jam to taste, and a fresh cracked pepper.

Then we did the lemon balm and honey granita.....again, surprisingly simple and good.



For the main, I did the Mint 'tea' risotto with Lamb




chocolate mousse.



The mint risotto with the lamb was just awesome. Mint goes awesome with lamb, and well, I like risotto. It's no big deal to I'm sure most of you guys, but this is the first dinner I didn't go off any recipes....I patted myself on the back all night!

Read More...

I loaded up on Ibuprofen and Laurie and I went to an awesome brunch today at Catherine Lombardi Restaurant and Cocktail Bar in New Brunswick, NJ. It was for the release of Jill DeGroff's new book Lush Life, Portraits from the Bar.



Jill was there signing books and her Husband, King Cocktail Dale DeGroff was there mixing cocktails.

Anyone who knows anything about food and cocktails knows that this combination, (THE best cocktail bar in NJ, THE king of cocktails, and drinking at noon with THE best BURGER in NJ), is something not to be missed. Indeed it wasn't.



To start, Dale was mixing up some Ramos Fizzes. I ordered one.







... and Laurie ordered a Red Snapper (or, a bloody mary made proper, with Gin). Our bar boy -- (I can call him that, because he shaved his beard) --James made one up.



James is one of the best bartenders I know. I'd call him my favorite, but he always hit's on my wife and has recently shaved his beard. He makes THE best Sazerac in NJ. James's Sazerac trumps even Dales. I've done a side by side comparison, and well, my wife, the Sazerac Connoisseur, agrees.



He just needs to grow his beard back...is all.

After imbibing some awesome 'breakfast' cocktails with some other friends and regular who also came, it was food time. Me. I'm a burger guy, so, it was an easy decision. Laurie is a seafood gal, and we don't cook much seafood at home, so it was a given for her too.

The menu was great. (there were some additions too)

For first course, I ordered the goat cheese salad with candied pecans, orange, pickled shallots, and while I didn't see any pickled shallots, I could eat goat cheese all day. Sorry, forgot to snap a pic.

Laurie ordered Seared Scallops, Pork Belly, Anson Mills Johnny Cake and New Jersey Corn Sauce.


Homerun with this dish. A poorly cooked scallop can ruin a dish and a scallop paired with a bad sauce or accompaniment can too. This dish nailed both. Perfectly seared with a good corn sauce and the Johnny cakes were awesome. I don't have to rave about pork belly, it's pork belly. It speaks for itself.

For mains, I ordered the burger, medium. It's still the best burger in NJ. One might feel weird biting into this burger with juices getting a little messy on your hands and chin in a fine dining establishment. Don't. The Neuske Bacon was good too.



Laurie had "Hybrid Striped Bass Over Crab Chowder"

She loved it. I didn't taste it. But she loves Stage Left's crab chowders.

I don't know what the hell a 'Hybrid' Striped bass is, but I'm guessing it's fuel efficient and might not give you as much gas? I'll let you know tonight.

For dessert, who the heck wants to worry about picking just one...they set it up buffet style. Caramelizing Creme Brulees to order. Needless to say, we didn't share.


I was slipped a piece of the Raisin Hazelnut French Toast with Blackberries and Almonds too...It was gone too quick for me to take a picture.

During the meal, Dale and Francis, did some readings from the book. The book is a fun book filled with stories from bartenders, quotes, poems, and fabulous illustrations/characatures done by Jill DeGroff. Gary Regan, who is featured prominently on the cover, has a story inside that is one of the best.

I don't frequent bars, mainly because most can't make a cocktail as simple as an Old Fashioned, or serve sugary vodka concoctions, or....the bartender is, for lack of a better description, a big chested blonde who has no personality and is only there to sling bud light or sell shots of Jaegermeister (I wont attempt to even spell that right, because like the liquor, it's just not worth it). Or, it's a sports bar....and TV's have no business being in a bar in my opinion. Thank god I can't see the one in CL's from where I usually sit.

I like a bartender that has a story or two, and can listen to a story or two. This book has more than a story or two. Make yourself a cocktail at home, read a page, and you'll think you are sitting on the other side of the bar at the 21 club circa 1950. Or...read it on the toilet, like I did (feel free to take your cocktail along).







In other words, great book, great food, and well, CL's is a great bar.


"Mark and Francis- forever behind the stick"

For a few hours, I almost forgot I have had a migraine for the past 7 days...If I die of an aneurysm, at least I can rest in peace knowing I'll have died with a DeGroff mixed Fizz and a great burger in my stomach.

Read More...

I never finished putting up my Italy trip report. I probably never will. Just too busy to do it justice. If you wanna hear about it, email me, this is an open invite for dinner at my house.

I've been suffering from a crazy migraine post running the NYC Marathon (oh yeah, I ran the NYC marathon), and still have it...but needed some comfort food if I wasn't hitting the cocktail bar tonight. So, in Top Chef style, we raided the fridge-freezer-cabinets for some ingredients to throw something together. I'm the self proclaimed risotto king, and we had some sweet italian sausage in the freezer...some San Marzano cherry tomatoes we bought by accident collecting dust in the cabinet...and enough vermouth left for a martini, and for some risotto. The basil plant will likely die in the frost tonight too. Here's my recipe. It came out awesome. I don't know why more restaurants don't serve food like this.

Timko's Tomato Sausage Risotto

1 cup of arborio rice
1 quart or so of chicken stock (I used beef, its all I had, better than bouillon to be exact)
2 big links of sausage (whatever that equates to weightwise)
14oz can of peeled tomatoes, with the juices
1 cup of vermouth (or white, or red wine)
1 onion - minced
3 cloves of garlic - minced
1tblspn tomato paste
Some fresh Basil
1 cup or so of fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
some olive oil
Some oregano


1. Heat up the stock to a simmer. Put some oil in a pan on mid-high, and crumple the sausage in and brown it good. Take sausage out.

2. Throw onion in, and cook it down but down let it turn brown, when it's about to, toss in the garlic.

3. Throw in the rice and 'toast' the rice for a few minutes, it should smell, nutty.

4. Toss in the tablespoon of tomato paste and mix it all in, for about a minute or two then deglaze with the vermouth/wine being sure to scrap up any crispy bits from the sausage browning.

5. Toss can of tomatoes in with the juices, and if you want, the sausage (I did, or you can throw it in at the end too) and a ladel full of the hot stock in, stir and wait until the rice drinks it all up...then keep repeating adding ladelfuls until rice is how you like it, keep heat at a low simmer. I tossed in about half a teaspoon of oregano too and some S&P to taste.

6. Take off heat and Toss in the cheese and stir.

7. Serve with some fresh basil on top.

Read More...

I'm going to break down our 23 day honeymoon into a lot of parts, by city visited. We started our honeymoon in Venice (after flying into Rome, we trained it up to Venice), then Bologna, then Tuscany (Chianti), Positano, Naples, and finally Rome. For all of my pictures, click here. Click the "read more" below the pics for the post...all about Venice, well at least the first night. Also, I'll have to do a post on our awesome "wedding dinner" at Catherine Lombardi in New Brunswick the night before we left. Still haven't uploaded those pictures...Stay tuned.







So we happened to hit Venice at the perfect time. Weather was great, and the Regatta was the next day.

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast. Ca' San Giorgio

Here were our digs.






Great B&B. Good location. If you have never been to Venice, you are in for a rude awakening, especially if you are someone who likes to pack a lot of luggage. We, thankfully did not. 1 rolling bag each, 38lbs, for 23 days!! Laurie thanked me when we really realized that there are no cars, etc...in Venice, just a few canals, and a bunch of cobblestone alleys. You won't see a car in Venice. Really....and you will get lost (more on that later).

The first night, we came upon a watermelon festival in one of the squares.



Since we got in late, and had been traveling for so long, we didn't spend much time walking around and ended up at a crappy tourist place for dinner, but at least it was in a square with a nice festival going on and some music.

Don't even remember the name of the place, and it is not worth mentioning.







I don't remember if we had any watermelon! All in all a good first few hours of our trip though. The next day, is the Regatta (or Regata Storica). That post will be up next.

Read More...

I'm procrastinating getting all my pictures/blog posts up about my honeymoon in Italy, but I promise I will. In the meantime...Yesterday, Laurie and I decided to go apple picking.

Jonathans it was...(and some Crispens for later...)

I still suck at baking/crusts, etc. but the crust was the best crust i've ever made....very very very flaky.

Read More...