Carne Asada Tacos

Carne Asada Tacos for lunch today was a fresh change to my usual chicken or pork. i marinaded over night with vinegar, lime, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, and paprika. Although i like to make my own corn tortillas, this i bought them from a market. They're a mix of corn and flour. The garnish i used for the Carne Asada Tacos was a cilantro, onion, lime relish. Tapatio hot sauce. So good.

Chorizo and Spinach Salad

This is a great salad I learned (from Rick Bayless) that can be made in a matter of minutes. Simply brown some Chorizo with thick sliced onions. Then add olive oil/vinegar/salt/pepper/sugar right into the pan. This will create a warm vinaigrette in which you will toss with baby spinach and jicama.

Batter Fried Chicken 101

Brining the chicken for 1 hour in water, salt, and sugar ensures a flavorful moist chicken. The batter includes 1 cup each cornstarch and flour, 2 tbsp baking powder. Seasoned with lots of salt, paprika, cayenne, and black pepper. Add 1 3/4 cup cold water and whisk smooth. Remove chicken from brine, pat dry, and dip in batter. Fry @ 350 for 12 minutes in peanut oil. I like to drizzle honey over the fried chicken to give it that sweet and spicy kick!

Chiles Rillenos

This version of chiles rillenos was stuffed with pork carnitas and jack cheese, but I gotta admit the plain jack cheese version was alot better. The pork was overpowering the mild cheese and chiles flavors. Its a good thing I made one with pork and one without. Recipe to make chiles rillenos is pretty simple. First roast peppers and peal them clean. Slit the pepper enough to scrape out the seeds. Stuff with cheese, secure with toothpicks, and set aside. The sauce is tomato, onion, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, and s/p. When sauce is ready, heat up oil to fry the rilleno. Making the batter takes 2 eggs, salt, 2 teaspoons flour. First beat egg whites until stiff peaks. Slowly incorporate salt, flour, and egg yolks. Dip the stuffed peppers into the batter and fry in oil at 350. Medium heat is best to make sure the batter doesn't burn before the cheese melts. Also it will help cook the pepper a little more. Serve the tomato sauce on plate with chiles rillenos.

Pork Carnitas with Spanish Quinoa

Pork is King. It's that simple. One of my favorite ways to enjoy this glorious meat is simply roasting it. Get your self a roasting pan, fill with about 1/2 cup of water and place evenly cut pork pieces, seasoned with nothing more then salt. Cover with foil and bake @ 375 for 90 minutes. At this point you have 2 choices...The traditional Mexican Carnitas is done by removing the pork from oven and deep frying it in pork fat. This gives it an extra crisp exterior while keeping the meat moist inside. The other choice is finishing it in the oven, simply remove the foil and turn the heat up to 475. Roast another 60 minutes or until all the water is evaporated and the pork fat renders crisp. This I learned from the great Rick Bayless who always inspires me to cook traditional Mexican food.

Cheese Tortellinis in Diablo

I keep cheese tortellinis (made by a local Italian deli) in my freezer for making quick meals on the fly. The Tortellinis are whole wheat and stuffed with Parmesan and Ricotta cheeses. I try to keep wheat based foods to a minimum. Maybe ounce a week I'll have something made with wheat, such as these Tortellinis. The Diablo Sauce or spicy tomato sauce is made from San Marzano tomatos, along with some garlic, basil, honey, crushed red pepper flakes, olive oil, and salt/pepper. The sauce was simmered for over 2 hours on low heat to develop rich flavor. Plate and shave Parmesan cheese over.

Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura

Tempura batter...Mix 1 part cornstarch, 3 parts flour (rice flour), salt, sugar, and cold club soda. Make a thin batter to coat shrimp and vegetables. Dipping sauce; light soy sauce, rice vinegar, Vietnamese chili garlic paste, sesame oil, scallions, and ginger. Make the dipping sauce at least an hour advance.

 

Shrimp Scampi in 5 Minutes

I love to cook quick delicious recipes that use less then 10 ingredients. Shrimp Scampi is a great example of this. Fresh shrimp, butter, garlic, lemon juice/zest, cilantro, salt, pepper, and Vermouth. Saute shrimp with garlic and butter. Season with S/P. Now a splash of Vermouth to deglaze, add lemon zest, then squeeze the juice. Turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro. Serve with Quinoa you're done.

Mee Krob Thai Noodles

Mee Krob is a great Thai dish that's made with fried rice noodles in a sweet sauce. I had it first at a local Thai restaurant last year. I've been working on perfecting the recipe. The sauce consists of oil, honey, tamarind juice, rice vinegar, paprika, fish sauce, light soy sauce, and an egg. You mix the ingredients in a saute pan and simmer on low for a few minutes. Then you add the egg and lightly scramble. When the sauce thickens, add shrimp or chicken, stir well until everything is cooked. Set the sauce aside and start frying the noodle. When the sauce has cooled, toss with noodles, and plate. Garnish with bean sprouts, cilantro, scallions, and lime.

Chicken Ramen with Ginger Scallion Sauce

Ginger scallion sauce is a staple I keep in my fridge at all times. I learned this from David Chang. It's simple to prepare and adds alot of flavor to any dish. The recipe for my version on ginger scallion sauce is 1/4 cup neutral oil (i used extra light olive oil), 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 cups finely sliced scallions, 1/2 cup minced ginger. Add salt to taste. Mix together and refrigerate for an hour before using.

The pics below show Ramen noodles tossed in ginger scallion sauce, topped with water chestnuts, sliced chicken breast (also tossed in sauce), chopped cilantro, fresh scallion, and lime.

Kinder Delice

I tend to eat allot of sweets on and around this day (my b-day). So this morning breakfast was a little naughty and alot chocolaty with the Kinder Delice. Two chocolate cakes with a milky creme filling in between, all covered with more chocolate. The cake is very moist and chocolate very good as always from Kinder. The milk creme in the middle kinda got lost in the cake and added nothing special. In fact, I really couldn't taste anything but cake and chocolate. The Kinder Delice flavor profile can be compared to the Hostess Cupcake, but of a much better quality. Well, breakfast wasn't all that bad...The Kinder Delice chased down by a 60 gram protein shake. Now that's a power breakfast!

Pasta with Meat Ragu

One of my favorite meals of all time, pasta w/ meat ragu. I did this version in less then 20 minutes, with only 6 ingredients (pasta, ground turkey, tomato paste, tomato sauce, honey, onion). Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta (on the back burner is good enough). Chop 1 medium onion, brown in hot skillet with oil (I use light olive oil). Then add 1 lb. ground turkey, season with fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt. Lightly brown the meat, then add 2 big tablespoons of good quality tomato paste, 8 oz. can of tomato sauce (do not use jarred spaghetti sauce, simply get Hunts tomato sauce), and 8 oz water (I use the empty can of tomato sauce to measure). Bring the sauce to a boil and lower heat. At this point drop pasta into boiling pot of water. Make sure that the pasta water is well seasoned with salt. Keep stirring your sauce so it don't stick, add 1 - 2 tablespoons of honey depending on your taste. Let sauce simmer for 3 - 4 minutes then taste and correct seasoning. When pasta is cooked half way, add 2 ladles of pasta water to the sauce to loosen, then drain pasta, and add to the pan. The pasta will absorb the sauce and finish cooking in the pan. Gently toss the pasta so it does not break up. Add as much Romano cheese as you like, toss and serve. I ran out of cheese, but you can sprinkle some on top after plating. And also the pasta I used was Barilla lasagna without the curved edges. Not by choice, it's all I had in the pantry. I just broke it up into the pot and made sure it didn't over cook. 

Mallomars by Nabisco

Mallomars are Smores like cookies that are made by food giant, Nabisco. They get sold mostly on the east coast and at colder months on the west...or something like that. I heard about Mallomars from a friend who swore they're the best cookie of all time. I searched online, amazon was the only site that had them, but out of stock. I set the reminder to email me when it's in stock. MONTHS later i get an email at 4am from amazon...Mallomars 5 in stock. I order a pack (came with 3 boxes of cookies).

So here it is...The famous Nabisco Mallomars. The best cookie ever? A little too sweet (ingredients had High fructose corn syrup, Sugar, Corn syrup, and Inverted sugar). Frozen it was alot better. The chocolate is of pretty good quality..it has some crunch to it which balances the soft texture of marshmallow and cookie. Overall, if Mallomars where a little less sweet, had a better cookie crunch, and stuck with just sugar as the sweetner, i'd be a fan.

Boomi Bar Almond Protein Plus

Here's a simple little protein bar I recently had called the Boomi Bar Almond Protein Plus. Boomi Bars come in many different varieties, but I chose the Almond Protein Plus because of its high protein content (12g). It's all natural, made from almonds, honey, and whey protein isolate. It has a great chewy texture, similar to Marzipan, and tastes great. 

Thai Almond Chicken with Sweet Potato Scallion Cake and Pickled Cucumbers

The chicken went through a marinade consisting of ginger, Thai chili's, onions, limes, cilantro, fish/oyster/soy sauces. The scallion potato cake is simply shredded  sweet potato, scallion, salt and pepper. Served with a Vietnamese cucumber salad which I love so much. Adding lime and fresh herbs really brightens up the dish and is much needed. 

Persian Chicken Kebob

Organic skinless chicken breasts marinaded in lemon juice, yogurt, onions, cilantro, some seasonings. Served with red quinoa, grilled veggies, Shiraz Salad (chopped onion, cucumber, tomato, cilantro, dressed in red wine vinaigrette). Lemon on the side cause fat is flavor but acid is life.

Kinder Happy Hippo Cocoa Cream

Introducing my favorite biscuit of all time, Kinder Happy Hippo. This tasty treat is similar to Ferrero Rocher, a hazelnut based chocolate...my favorite as a child. It led me to the Happy Hippo Cocoa Cream (made by same company Ferrero). The outer shell is a crunchy and light wafer that balances the creamy filling inside. When you bite into the Happy Hippo you'll notice it's filled with two layers of cream. Milk cream on the bottom and cocoa cream on top. And to make it even better, there's black and white chocolate sprinkles applied to the bottom of the Happy Hippo, adding more texture contrast to this amazing biscuit. Made in Germany. Alot of thought and care was put into developing the Kinder Happy Hippo Cocoa Cream. You should try this biscuit, it's simply the best out there.Kinder Happy Hippo Cocoa Cream has no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives, and no hydrogenated fats. Each biscuit is 119 calories...Link to Ferrero

Super Size Me - Full Length Video Clip

Steal Cut Oats with Clover Honey

Steel cut oats, with a banana whipped in, cranberries, raisins, sliced almonds, and clover honey. Keeps you full with lots of energy to burn.

Vietnamese Shaking Beef

Vietnamese Shaking Beef is a great dish to prepare if you're looking for something different to do with filet mignon. Marinating the beef the night before gives it full flavor you will not soon forget! This is a dish when you have all elements prepared, takes only 10 minutes.

Vietnamese Shaking Beef Recipe
2 Filet Mignon Steaks (3/4 inch cubes)
7 Garlic Cloves (finely chopped)
2 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce (Lee Kum Kee)
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Fish Sauce (Tiparos)
Black Pepper (fresh cracked)
1 Tsp. Chili Garlic Sauce (Vietnamese)
1 Tsp. Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. Dark Soy
Olive Oil

Cooking Directions
1. Cut filet in 3/4 inch cubes. Set inside a large bow.
2. Chop the garlic, add to bowl.
3. Now the fish sauce, soy sauce, pepper, and oyster sauce. Mix well. Marinade overnight or at least 2 hours.
4. In a separate bowl mix brown sugar, dark soy sauce, and chili sauce. Set aside.
5. When you're ready to cook, heat a wok or skillet high. Add oil let smoke 2 seconds, then add beef. Do not crowd the pan. Do not move the beef, let is brown for 2 minutes or until a brown crust forms. At that point, shake the pan so the beef cooks on other sides. You can use tongs to move beef as well, but "shaking" the beef is what this dish is all about.
6. When the beef has browned for about 6 minutes or so, add the chili/dark soy/brown sugar mixture to the pan. Shake the pan until the beef is fully coated with that spicy sweet sauce.
7. Serve over cabbage or any type of greens such as watercress. Top with pickled red onions and cilantro.

Coconut Curry Chicken with Sweet Potato

This coconut curry chicken recipe is a quick version of my original which takes over 2 hours and requires a whole chicken. This version takes about 20 minutes to prepare.

Coconut Curry Chicken with Sweet Potato
2 Chicken Breasts (skinless, organic)
1 Sweet Potato or Yam (small sized)
1 Onion (medium sized)
Curry Powder (2 - 3 tablespoons)
Cayenne Pepper (1/3 teaspoon)
Coconut Milk (8 ounces)
Chicken Stock (1 cup)
Olive Oil
Salt

Cooking Directions
1. Cut the chicken, sweet potato or yam, and onions even in size.
2. In a hot skillet seasoned with olive oil, brown onions and yams. Season with salt.
3. Add 1/4 cup chicken stock, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, brown the chicken in a seperate skillet in the same manner you did the veggies.
5. To the pan with the chicken add 2 tablespoons of curry powder, 1/3 teaspoon cayenne, and salt to taste. The chicken should cook with the spices for a few minutes on medium-low heat.
6. Add the onion/potato mixture to the chicken, along with coconut milk and the remaining chicken stock.
7. Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes uncovered until sauce thickens. Season to taste. Add more spice if needed.

Chicken or the Egg?

The answer to that long debated question is finally over. The answer is...both. I made this dish for dinner last night, recipe below (serves 1). This photo was taken under a fluorescent light so it did not turn out the great. I'll update next time I make this dish.

Curried Sweet Potato Onion Mash
1 Sweet Potato (Large size)
1 Sweet Onion (Medium size)
Curry Powder
Salt (Coarse Sea Salt)
Pepper (Fresh Cracked)
Olive Oil (Light Extra Virgin)

1. Wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake in the oven 40 minutes or until soft. You can spread a little oil and salt on potato before baking, adds more flavor.
2. Meanwhile chop the onion and saute it in oil on low heat. Season with salt/pepper. The key is to caramelize the onion, not burn them. Low and slow, this may take 20 minutes or more.
3. When the sweet potato is done, remove from owen, unwrap, and give it a rough chop. It'll get mashed later so size in not a concern.
4. Stir in chopped sweet potatoes into the onion mixture in the pan and cook on medium-low heat. Rough mash the potato, keep it rustic.
5. Add a few dashes of curry powder to taste, then taste for seasoning. Set aside.

Chicken Marinade
1 Chicken Breast (Organic Skinless)
Olive Oil (Light Extra Virgin)
Paprika (Hungarian)
Cumin
Salt (Course seas salt)
Pepper (Fresh cracked)
Dry Herb Mix (Thyme, Rosemary, Cilantro)

1. Butterfly chicken and marinade in oil, paprika, cumin, s&p, and dry herbs overnight or at least 1 hour.
2. Saute in oil 4 - 5 minutes.

To Plate
1. Make sure you have veggies cooked. I chose broccoli (steamed).
2. Fry egg in butter, season to taste.
3. Place a portion of the sweet potato mash on the plate with some veggies.
4. Put chicken off center with egg on top.
5. Sprinkle paprika to serve.

Pepper Crusted New York Strip Steak

On my way home I picked up a New York steak from Whole Foods. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. High heat, crust both sides, pop in the oven for a 2 - 3 minutes. Served with a baked sweet potato and some veggies...that's dinner.

Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie Snack Bar

I've been looking for a snack bar to take with me on fishing/hiking trips, something natural and made with fruit/nuts...So I found the Larabar. The stats are very good. It's gluten free, dairy free, soy free, non gmo, vegan, and kosher. Larabar tastes very clean.  Mostly of dates and peanuts since that's all it's made of. There really was no "Butter Cookie" taste to it. Regardless, the quality is far superior to anything I've seen or tasted. Ingredient list from the Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie; Dates, Peanuts, Salt. That's it. I also have with me an Apple Pie Larabar and it reads...Dates, Almonds, Apples, Walnuts, Raisins, and Cinnamon. This one had more dimension then the Peanut Butter Cookie, but I loved them both. I'll still keep an eye open for new snack bars but Larabar is here to stay.