Oui, Chef

Sweet Potato Cottage Pie

This big trough of awesomeness is a slight adaptation of a recipe I saw recently in Fine Cooking magazine, which is fast becoming one of my favorite food publications.  In my continuing effort to purge the fridge of long held condiments I decided to try this dish as a means to polish off some cerignola olives and peppadew peppers we had lying about.  Yeah....this baby was a two-fer in our quest to pare down the number of bottles, cans and plastic tubs we've accumulated over the past year.

While it meay be that we turned to this dish as a fridge cleaner, we'll go back to it again and again (and again, if Arthas has anything to do with it) because it flat-out rocks with salty, sweet and umami tastes in perfect balance.  Those of you feeling the urge to run screaming from this cottage pie because just seeing the name is dragging up memories of grade-school lunch ladies serving you a dish of the same name, DON'T.  This dish is as far a cry from the cottage pie of your elementary school youth as Barbara Streisand is from Ke$ha.  

Do I make myself clear?

Nathan's Hot Dogs

No, this is not a picture of a "Nathan's" hot dog from the world renowned "Nathan's Famous" on Coney Island, NY.  

This is even better!

Hey, I've got nothing against "Nathan's Famous" dogs, in fact of all the commercially made franks I've tried, they are my favorites, but these homemade beauties leave even Coney Islands' famed meat tube in the dust.

We were originally going to make these hot dogs for a Charcutapalooza challenge a few months back, but weren't able to schedule all the right folks in the kitchen to meet the deadline and so let the challenge pass.  In the meantime, we've had the pleasure to meet the son of a friend, Nathan, who as a high school freshman, is already an accomplished cook.  When he heard we were trying to find time to make hot dogs, he expressed an interest in joining in the fun.  

We were happy to have him join us in the kitchen that day, plus let's face it, with a name like Nathan, this kid was born to make hot dogs!

Sloppy Joes

It takes a while, but every summer by about this time we all start suffering from burger fatigue.  I don’t know about you, but we definitely get our fill of burgers and dogs around here during grilling season, so much so that by mid-August I start thinking about how to take the idea of a burger in new directions.

One of our favorite alternatives is this Sloppy Joe. 

Please don’t tell me you reach for a can of Manwich, or just dump a jar of Ragu in ground beef when you fell the urge, you don’t do you?  For years the Sloppy Joe has been sold as just that kind of meal, much like that old chestnut, Tuna Helper, a desperation meal in a can that you keep hidden in the back of the pantry.  If that IS the only kind of Joe you’ve ever had, then please keep reading, as you are in for a treat.

Smoked-Tea Rubbed Steak with Mango Salsa

 


I'm not a big fan of rules.  

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some kind of anarchist or anything.  I do believe in the rules that govern a civil society, and I'm not by any stretch a bad boy that flaunts our society's rules, or think myself above the consequences of breaking them.  

It's food rules that I have a problem with.

Herbed Beef Skewers with Horseradish Cream - A Food52 WINNER!

YES, I'VE CHANGED THE TITLE OF THIS POST TO REFLECT THE FACT THAT THIS DISH WON FOOD52'S "BEST DISH WITH HORSERADISH" CONTEST.  MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO WENT TO FOOD52 AND VOTED FOR ME!

 CHEERS - STEVE

Hey everyone, I'm excited to share with you all that another one of my recipes has been chosen as a finalist by my friends Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, and the rest of the gang over at Food52!  Last week's contest was for our "Best Recipe with Horseradish", and for it, I whipped up a little party snack that riffed on the flavors of the classic dish of prime rib roast with horseradish sauce.

This recipe is quick, easy and delicious!  It dresses up well for company as a party treat, or accompanied by some spuds and a green salad, makes for an interesting twist on things the next time you're hankerin' for a steak for dinner.

For those of you who have never visited Food52, shame on you....what are you waiting for?  It's a terrific food community that "crowd sources" its recipes by holding weekly competitions looking for participants' best dishes using the week's key ingredient.  Winners gain eternal fame by having their recipes published in the annual (they are now working on their 2nd cookbook) Food52 Cookbook.

For the full recipe, click HERE and see the dish on Food52.  Once there you'll be able to read what Amanda and Merrill have to say about it, as well as see how beautifully the site's photographer, Sarah Shatz shot their test version.  If you think it looks tasty in the photo above, you'll REALLY want to try it once you see Sarah's photo.  While you're there, and if you find the recipe worthy, please take the time to VOTE for my dish, I'd really appreciate it!  Voting ends at midnight, next Tuesday the 12th, so hurry on over there now!

Thank you in advance for all your support.

Cheers - Steve

 

Asian Short Rib Tacos

In our continuing effort to rid the freezer of winter's bounty, a few nights ago we made these really fantastic short rib tacos.  The ribs we had in the deep freeze were a variation on the ones I normally make, Daniel Boulud's classic French ribs braised in red wine.  They were an Asian variant that I whipped up as a change of pace, the recipe for the ribs can be found here.  We ended up reheating and devouring a bunch of them after skiing last weekend, but still had a few that made the trip home in the cooler, and that were crying out to be put to creative use.

New England - Corned Beef "Boiled Dinner"

When I was a kid, my Mom made "New England Boiled Dinner" fairly frequently, though she generally made it with a picnic ham, as corned beef was a little trickier to come by.  Almost everyone I know cooks this dish on St. Patrick's Day, so I've always assumed that it is a traditional Irish dish.  It turns out that's not quite the case, and most folks living in Ireland wouldn't recognize this bugger at all.  Our associating this dish with the Irish has more to do with its adoption into their culture by Irish-Americans, many of whom landed here in New England and have made this dish a staple of their cuisine.

Corned Beef and Root Vegetable Hash with Poached Eggs

This post marks my first foray into the world of homemade charcuterie, and if the success of this dish is any indication, we are in for a fun and delicious few months of experimenting with this rather ancient culinary tradition.  You see, I've joined a group of adventurous food bloggers in what has been named "Charcutepalooza - A Year of Charcuterie".  The purpose of the group, which was founded and is being managed by the amazing bloggers Mrs. Wheelbarrow, and the The Yummy Mummy, is to encourage all of us participating to delve into the mystical world of charcuterie with a little help from cookbook author and food writer extrordinaire, Michael Ruhlman.

Bolognese Sauce

 
Bolognese.  

Just this one word evokes all sorts of wonderful childhood memories for me.  Nana’s Sunday “Gravy” was a staple of my early years, and if I close my eyes I can still see her tending her gently bubbling pot of sauce for hours, while all of us grandchildren took turns working alongside her, finessing the crank on her old Atlas pasta machine.

Some folks never stray far from the pasta sauce they grew up on, and my Nana’s (then my Mom’s) was certainly good enough to make me think twice before experimenting with other recipes.  Over the years however, I came to enjoy bolognese in a wide range of styles, some at the hands of other home cooks, some while dining out or traveling abroad, and one in particular from a wonderful Italian restaurant in Bar harbor, ME.

Braciole

This dish comes to us courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis of FoodTV fame.  You may have noticed that I rarely, if ever, cook food that I picked up from a TV show.  That's mostly due to the fact that the abundance of food tv these days is food as blood sport, not food you'd ever necessarily want to cook and serve your family and friends.  That's not to say I don't watch the competitive stuff, in fact I loved watching my friend Jody Adams compete on Top Chef Masters last season, and regularly tune into other Top Chef series' when they air.  I also have to admit to being a sucker for any Gordon Ramsey show, you know, like "Hell's Kitchen" or "The F Word".  I think part of the appeal of Ramsey's shows for me is a little game I play in my head as I watch, trying to gauge whether I think I could survive his tirades without throwing a dish at his head.