PPP-Pizza

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Pulled Pork and Pepper Pizza! Take pulled pork, bbq sauce, hot peppers, and top with some cheese for a spicy and different pizza!

Ingredients:

  • Pizza dough (make your own, or buy some. I use Trader Joes, because I’m not good at making dough yet)
  • BBQ Sauce (try my current favorite, Dragon Drool)
  • Pulled pork (learn how to make Kaydub’s forked pork here)
  • 2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
  • 1 Serrano pepper, seeded and diced
  • 2 oz soft cheese, shredded (cheddar, mozzarella, jack, a mixture, go wild!)

Directions:

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
  • Spread dough on a pizza pan or baking sheet
  • Put enough sauce on to lightly cover dough, but don’t use so much that it pools up everywhere
  • Sprinkle liberally with pulled pork
  • Add diced peppers
  • Cover with shredded cheese
  • Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes, until edges are crispy and cheese is melted
  • Remove, let sit for 2-3 minutes, slice and serve!


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Dragon Drool BBQ Sauce

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A refinement of my BBQ sauce experiments. You can make hotter by adding more Dave’s Insanity, if you dare!

The result is a rich tomato flavored sauce, slightly sweet and smokey with a little bite.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Catsup (remember, no high fructose corn syrup allowed!)
  • 1/2 Cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 Cup Soy sauce
  • 6 Oz India Pale Ale (or other beer of your choice, I recommend an ale)
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 tsp dry mustard
  • 2 tsp spicy paprika
  • 2 tsp Dave’s Insanity (WARNING: Very Hot, don’t use unless you know what you’re doing!)
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions:

  • Put all ingredients in a medium sauce pot.
  • Warm over low heat. Don’t allow to boil, or the sauce will get bitter.
  • Allow to warm for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is so all the solids dissolve into the sauce.
  • If sauce is the consistency you want, use/bottle now, if you want it thicker, you can continue to warm it until it reduces more. To make it thinner, add more India Pale Ale.


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Thousand Greek Island Dressing

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A childhood favorite veggie coater, I use yogurt to make it much more healthy, and a little more sophisticated.
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We always had 1000 island dressing when I was a kid. It was tasty, and made those mandatory dinner veggies edible. Then, I got older, and 1000 island got put in the kids food category, like hot dogs and spaghettios. I move on to Ranch, Blue Cheese, healthier vinegar-based dressings.

But sometimes I like to revisit the foods of my youth, break it down, and reinvent it. In the case of thousand island dressing, we’re talking mayonnaise, catsup, and pickle relish. That’s a lot of fat and sugar, which is why we liked it so much as kids!

I saw a recipe by Alton Brown that replaced the mayonnaise with yogurt, and that gave me the idea for this!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup (16 oz) plain greek yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp Tomato Sauce (or organic catsup, just no high fructose corn syrup, ‘kay?)
  • 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 tsp dry mustard
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1-1/2 Tbsp sweet pickle relish (again, no HFCS, ‘kay?)
  • 1 finely chopped Jalapeno (optional)

Directions:

  • Put all ingredients in a large bowl
  • Stir until ingredients are well blended
  • Put in refrigerator for 1 hour prior to serving



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Beef Bourguignon

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An easy to prepare, and very flavorful dish. There are a variety of ways to prepare, I consolidated my favorite ideas from a bunch of different recipes.

Ingredients

  • 4 Pounds beef roast (whatever’s cheap or on sale)
  • 2 Slices bacon
  • 2 Medium onions, chopped
  • 4-6 Garlic cloves, chopped
  • 4 Carrots, roughly sliced (2-inch slices)
  • 1 Bottle of red wine (Burgundy would be great, but Merlot, Zin, Cab will work fine)
  • 16 Oz (1/2 quart) beef broth
  • 4 Tbsp flour
  • 2 sprigs fresh Thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 sprigs fresh Sage
  • Salt & Pepper

Directions

  • Cut beef into 2 inch cubes, season liberally on all sides with salt and pepper, allow to warm to room temperature
  • Cut Bacon into 3 inch pieces, brown in a large pot or heavy bottomed pan (I used a large cast iron skillet)
  • Remove bacon pieces
  • Add beef cubes in batches to brown in bacon fat. Don’t overfill the pan, leave space between the pieces of beef, remove to a plate when brown
  • If all the bacon fat has been absorbed, add a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil replace it
  • Add chopped onions, brown for a couple minutes
  • Add 1/2 the wine and 1/2 the beef broth, deglaze pan
  • Tie herbs together, for easy removal later, and put in pan. If pan has room, add remaining wine and beef broth
  • Simmer for 10 minutes.
  • While sauce is simmering, add flour to a bowl, add beef and lightly coat with flour (you’ll likely need to do this in batches)
  • Add flour-coated beef to pan. Keep on a slow simmer over low heat, uncovered
  • Hint: If your pan can’t hold all the liquid and meat, use a dutch oven, and split the liquid/beef between the two while the liquid reduces
  • Every 15 minutes or so, give the ingredients a stir to prevent burning
  • After an hour of simmering, move all ingredients into a dutch oven, add the carrots at this time. Simmer for an hour or two more, until thickened sauce takes on a rich, balanced flavor.
  • At this point, you can serve immediately, or put aside and re-heat later. The flavors just get richer the longer it cooks.
  • Serve with potatoes or over pasta. I like a corkscrew pasta, cooked al-dente, serve in a bowl tossed with a small amount of butter, add Beef. Garnish with some of the reserved bacon, crumbled over the top!


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Chicken in Red Wine sauce

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A quick, simple and tasty chicken dish.

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup red wine, the more flavorful the better
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

  • Add EVOO to a large skillet
  • Brown chicken breasts on both sides for 4 minutes
  • Remove chicken from skillet, set aside
  • Add garlic to skillet, brown slightly
  • Slice chicken into 1/2 inch strips
  • Add chicken back to skillet along with remaining spices
  • Cook for about 2 minutes, flip, cook on other side
  • Cover, cook for another 5 minutes, or until done
  • Serve over rice or pasta, or with your favorite side dish


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Corned Beef Sandwich Spread

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My Mom used to make sandwich spread from bulk bologna, pickles, onions, and I’m not sure what else. I never got her recipe, but it’s a common food in the midwest, so I made something up from the basic recipes I found. I got the idea, because looking at the ground corned beef I made to create the Corned Beef Sliders, it reminded me of Mom’s old lunch favorite.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup ground Corned Beef
  • 1 dill pickle, finely chopped
  • 1/4 white onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp mayo

Directions:

  • Combine all ingredients, stir well
  • Serve on sandwich bread

Corned Beef and Cabbage

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A St. Patrick’s Day staple at our house, not because we’re Irish, but because it’s so tasty!

Ingredients:

  • Corned Beef (just make it yourself, it’s easy, and you’ll know what’s in it!)
  • 6 Red Potatoes, quartered
  • 1/2 head of shredded cabbage (or a whole head, if cabbage is small)
  • 6 carrots, peeled and chopped

Directions:

  • If making your own Corned Beef:
  • Add potatoes and carrots to the pot with the corned beef
  • Add water if necessary, and increase heat slightly
  • After 30 minutes, add cabbage
  • Cook an additional 15 minutes
  • Serve sliced Corned Beef alongside potatoes, carrots and cabbage!
  • Don’t forget the Dijon mustard and horseradish!

Corned Beef

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This is usually made with Beef Brisket, but feel free to mix it up a bit and use a tri-tip, or some other large cut of beef. Often combined with cabbage, potatoes and carrots for Corned Beef and Cabbage, for which I’ll do a recipe on it’s own.

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 pound piece of beef (brisket or tri-tip)
  • 1 Onion, quartered
  • 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp ground pepper
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Allspice
  • 1 tsp whole cloves
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 1 tsp peppercorn
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp ground red pepper
  • 1 tsp mustard seed (or substitute 1 tsp ground mustard)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 stick of cinnamon

Directions:

  • Put brisket, onions, and garlic cloves in a large pot
  • Add water until brisket is covered, plus a little more
  • Add all the spices
  • Bring water to a boil
  • Reduce to low, and simmer for 2-3 hours
  • If just making the Corned Beef, you’re done. Serve it up!
  • If you’re making Corned Beef and Cabbage, head over there now to finish it up!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Posted by & filed under .

A St. Patrick’s Day staple at our house, not because we’re Irish, but because it’s so tasty!

Ingredients:

  • Corned Beef (just make it yourself, it’s easy, and you’ll know what’s in it!)
  • 6 Red Potatoes, quartered
  • 1/2 head of shredded cabbage (or a whole head, if cabbage is small)
  • 6 carrots, peeled and chopped

Directions:

  • If making your own Corned Beef:
  • Add potatoes and carrots to the pot with the corned beef
  • Add water if necessary, and increase heat slightly
  • After 30 minutes, add cabbage
  • Cook an additional 15 minutes
  • Serve sliced Corned Beef alongside potatoes, carrots and cabbage!
  • Don’t forget the Dijon mustard and horseradish!


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Easy pizza sauce #2

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Almost as easy as Quick and Easy Pizza Sauce, but tomato puree (if you pick the right one) has no added salt or ingredients, so adding a little extra salt and spice helps. And, this one has no olive oil added, which some people may prefer.

Ingredients

  • 8 Ounce can of Tomato Puree
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp sage
  • 2 tsp powdered onion
  • 1 tsp powdered garlic
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped or pressed

Directions

  • Blend all ingredients in a large bowl
  • Let sit at least 30 minutes for flavors to blend well prior to serving.