Author Archives: Don't Burn the Garlic!

Oven-roasted Tilapia with Fresh Tomato and Zucchini Pan Sauce

Posted on June 24, 2011 | 7 Comments

1lb Tilapia fillets (~4)
3 Pints of cherry tomatoes
3 Zucchini, large cubes
6 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
Red Pepper Flakes, a pinch goes a long way
1/2C White wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
1/4C Sherry Wine
4T EV Olive Oil
4T Roasted Garlic Butter
Basil, ~20 leaves, chopped
Parsley
Zest of 1 Lemon
Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, saute red pepper flakes and minced garlic in 2T olive oil until fragrant. Toss in the whole cherry tomatoes and cubed zucchini, toss to coat and sprinkle with s&p. Saute until tomatoes begin to soften, shrivel up, and release their juices – ~5 minutes. Zucchini will still be firm so cover and let steam for ~10mins until fork tender.

While zucchini steams, prep the fish. In an oven-safe skillet add remainder of oil to bottom. Place filets on top. Add 4T of roasted garlic butter around the filets. Splash with 1/4C white wine. Sprinkle with s&p, chopped basil, and lemon zest. Roast in oven until edges start to turn opaque.

Back to the tomatoes – uncover, splash in the sherry and remainder of white wine and bring to a boil for a few minutes. Tear up the basil leaves, toss in and mix. Sauce should have thickened up a bit. Taste and adjust for s&p.

Remove fish from oven. Carefully remove fillets to a dish. Dump the tomato and zucchini sauce into the skillet and carefully place fillets on top. Pop skillet back in oven for ~10 minutes or until fish is uniformly white and flakes when plucked with a fork.

Serve fish atop rice (I like rice pilaf with this dish) with a heaping ladle of tomato and zucchini sauce. Finish off with a squirt of fresh lemon, parsley, basil, a light drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of fleur de sel if you have it, and a few twists of the pepper mill.

You’re gonna love this one.

Damn, it feels good to be back!

→ 7 Comments

Posted in Quick & Easy, Seafood, Veg Garden, Wine

Tagged basil, cherry tomatoes, cooking whole tomatoes, fleur de sel, lemon zest, oven roasted fish, oven-roasted tilapia, pan sauce, roasted garlic butter, sauvignon blanc, sherry wine, tilapia, white wine, zucchini

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Posted on November 22, 2010 | 3 Comments

I’m not sure what’s going on at the ‘bucks, but I haven’t been happy with their pumpkin spice latte’s as of late. My theory is that the drink got super popular and they cut costs by cheapening the pumpkin spice syrup…because something is seriously askew. Sugar substitute?? Perhaps it’s the ~~unenthusiastic high school kid playing pretend~~ barista that just can’t get it right??

Anyway, I’m not a coffee snob by any means, but over the years I got to liking this pumpkin spice latte – only to be let down on several occasions at a variety of shops, so you can imagine my frustration. It seems simple enough: robust espresso, undertones of pumpkin spice (i.e. ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon), and frothy milk with whipped cream and extra spice on top. Lately it’s more like: bitter espresso with a hint of pumpkin flavored robitussin – not cool. So I decided to take matters into my own hands – I mean how hard could it be to make a pumpkin flavored syrup?? Turns out it’s pretty easy.

Printable Recipe: http://bit.ly/aFTkpd

first things first – make a simple syrup by combining:
1C water: 1C sugar – heat over medium-high heat until all sugar is dissolved
than get some of that good ol’ Libby’s Pumpkin Puree

~2 (heaping) T should do the trick

Spice mix: 1T cinnamon, .5t nutmeg, .25t ginger, .25t cloves

whisk everything together over medium flame – simmer for about 5mins

off the flame whisk in 1T vanilla extract

strain off the liquid – there will be some sediment in the bottom of the strainer just dump it

store in a mason jar…

or better yet – put it in a squeeze bottle…

Here’s how I make my coffee:
-add 1/4C milk to mug and froth until milk fills mug 3/4 of the way (http://bit.ly/cpSx2Y) OR if you’re a fancy pants with an espresso machine, steam your milk

-brew your espresso (single or doppio)

(working quickly now)

-add 1T pumpkin spice syrup to espresso and mix (you can always add more later)

-pour espresso into mug with frothed milk

-add a little sugar

-stir it up

-whipped cream (optional)

-sprinkle some spice on top

now go up to the barista at the nearest ‘bucks, put your hands at the side of your head with thumbs in your ears, wiggle fingers, stick out your tongue, then say “nana-nana poopoo, your pumpkin spice latte is stupid”

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Breakfast, Coffee, Homemade, Kitchen HD

Tagged cinnamon, cloves, Coffee, cooking, dessert, food, froth, froth milk in microwave, ginger, gourmet, lattee, libby's pumpkin puree, macchiatto, milk, nutneg, pumpkin, pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin spice simple syrup, simple syrup, starbucks pumpkin spice latte recipe, steamed milk, sugar, whip cream, whipped cream

Greek Lamb Souvlaki w. Grilled Flat Bread

Posted on November 9, 2010 | 5 Comments

This is rugged, rough around the edges, uncomplicated, and unpretentious – just the way we like it. It’s a meaty, roll up your sleeves, and get your hands dirty kinda meal. Every now and then it’s cool to delve into dishes characteristic of other cultures and try to eat as they would. Imagine living in old world Greece – where the lamb was slaughtered that morning, herbs were all picked fresh from the garden, and the dough rose on the counter under a cotton towel while tzatziki sauce was stirred together by a wooden spoon gripped by a rough and weathered hand. Meals don’t exactly come together like that in this house – but like I said it’s cool to imagine. Regardless though, this dish is money, and putting all cultural characteristics aside I think you will agree – this is damn close to authentic Greek Souvlaki.

p.s. I know this recipe is so far from something you would cook in fall/winter when everyone else is cooking with root veggies, making beef stew, and cozying up with hot toddy’s and apple pie…but when that inevitably gets played out and you start yearning to fire up the grill – you can break out this recipe and get your Greek on.

Printable Recipe: http://bit.ly/9WG5La

grab the beast – trim excess fat – slice into big chunks

season lamb with kosher salt and cracked pepper

finely chop the parsley and mint

time for the marinade – combine lamb, oil, vinegar, herbs, onions, and garlic in a Ziploc and mix it up

cubes should be coated with marinade – now forget about it for a while

grill lamb chunks over medium high a few minutes on each side – yard will smell like the San Gennaro feast

my new addiction is grilled flat bread – take my recipe for effin’ Artisan bread http://bit.ly/cAF5yJ and instead of making a loaf you make a pizza round – brush it with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper – grill ~5mins each side – make some now…

here’s how I get down and dirty: grab some flat bread – slap on some tzatziki – pile on the meat – top with thinly sliced tomato, red onion, and lettuce – drizzle more tzatziki – finish off with a sprinkle of feta

roll up your sleeves and dig in!

→ 5 Comments

Posted in Bread, Lamb, Outdoor grilling, Quick & Easy

Tagged cooking, dough, flat-bread, food, garlic, gourmet, leg of lamb, mint, oregano, parsley, red wine vinegar

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Basil Over Spaghetti Rigati

Posted on November 3, 2010 | 1 Comment

What up people?, I’m back! Intended to take the summer off from blogging, but turned into half the fall too, my bad. No worries though, I had my sidearm locked and loaded to capture any impromptu cooking.

For a little summer reading I picked up, A Tuscan in the Kitchen: Recipes and Tales from My Home. Helped reinforce the idea that cooking is about creativity and the freedom to improvise, not necessarily exactness – unless you’re whipping up a souffle or something. So here’s to less measurements and more freedom, just don’t burn the garlic!

Moving on…let’s talk about this pasta dish I whipped up the other night. It just so happened that I had a ridiculous amount of cherry tomatoes lining my windowsill, ready to be used, and basil overflowing in the garden.

Let’s get to it.

Printable Recipe:

http://tinyurl.com/25u34gp

ripe cherry tomatoes – slice in half – toss into a baking dish

tear up all of the fresh basil – toss half in with tomatoes

add in olive oil, sherry wine, garlic, s&p – mix it all up

roast @ 450F for about 30 mins – stir a few times so nothing burns

spaghetti will take about 5-7mins, cook pasta when tomatoes are almost done

when tomatoes finish leave in roasting dish and toss in remainder of fresh basil and a handful of pecorino romano – drain pasta – save 1C pasta water – scoop pasta in roasting dish – mix it all up – you want it saucy, so if dry add in pasta water a lil at a time

mix well – you wanna get all the sauce stuck on the pasta – serve with more pecorino romano and fresh cracked black pepper – if you have an aversion to tomato skin than pulse the sauce when it’s finished in a food processor or put it through a food mill – don’t ever say I didn’t try to help…

enjoy, this pasta is muy yum

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Pasta, Quick & Easy

Tagged basil, cherry tomatoes, food, garlic, gourmet, olive oil, Pasta, sherry wine, spaghetti rigati

Triple Orange Granita

Posted on July 15, 2010 | 3 Comments

This granita will blast your taste buds with seriously orange, seriously cold, seriously triple frickin’ naranja deliciousness. This Italian version of a shaved ice is probably the most refreshing thing you can put to your tongue on a hot summer day. If you have never witnessed the glory of granita, then you are in for a good time. If you are a fan of granita then this is going to set your granita standard way high…

Get yourself:

2 Oranges, ~1C fresh juice
.5C Sugar
.5C Water
1T Triple Sec
.25t Pure orange extract
Shallow glass Pyrex
Citrus juicer thingie

Printable Recipe

Juice them oranges

Not from concentrate…

mmmmm sugar…

Combine the sugar and water in a small sauce pot and heat over medium-high until sugar dissolves

Let cool

Add the triple sec and extract to the orange juice

Combine juice and sugar-water

Mix it up good

Add the mixture to a shallow Pyrex dish

Cover and toss this orange nectar of goodness into the freezer

After about an hour or so…

…the granita will begin to freeze around the perimeter…

…scrape the perimeter with a fork towards the center…

…let liquid settle, re-freeze…

…check again after ~30-40mins…

Repeat scrape method until entire mixture is frozen and has been scraped into a pile

~3hrs

Should be rough and jagged frozen scrapings of orange delight

Pile that ish high and enjoy every last cold refreshing bite

Re-freeze the remainder and just re-scrape before serving

Enjoy!

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Dessert, Homemade, Kitchen HD

Tagged frozen orange ice, granita, orange granita, shaved ice, triple sec

Grill-roasted Beet Salad

Posted on July 14, 2010 | 3 Comments

I was never much of a beet fan. Jarred blood-red root vegetables just never did it for me. But that all changed recently when wifey decided to whip up a batch of her mom’s famous beet salad…

“Beets?…seriously?” “Why not make mashed chicken gizzards…”

“You will love this, I promise. I have been eating beets since I’m a kid…Plus, my mother says they’re good for you”

“Yea, but you also love Pastaroni, that’s not saying much”

“Oh please, you love that too now”

“True”

“Oh, one more thing – don’t freak out when you pee red, it’s just the beets”

“WTF?!”

Get yourself:

1 Bunch fresh beets (~4 to a bunch)
6 Cloves fresh garlic, skins on and smashed with heel of knife
2T Balsamic Vinegar
Thinly sliced red onion, just a bit
.25t Garlic powder (optional)
.5t Oregano
2.5T Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Foil

Printable Recipe

Rinse beets under cool water and dry

Preheat grill or oven to 400F

Slice the greens off and the root ends

(someone told me you can eat the greens, go for it if you’re into that)

Place beets on a sheet of foil

Smash the cloves of garlic with heel of knife to open up the skins…

…object here is to roast the garlic and infuse the beets with some garlic goodness

Toss the cloves into the beets

Drizzle 1.5T of olive oil over beets and sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Wrap it up in the foil making sure there are no holes or seams

Toss the beets on grill or in oven

Roast for ~40mins or until fork tender like a potato

When done, carefully open up pouch

Beets will be perfectly roasted and surrounded by aromatic roasted garlic

Let cool then peel off skins and slice into disks

Dress beets with the red onion, remainder of oil, balsamic, oregano, optional garlic powder, and s&p

Toss it all together and taste

Serve room temp or chill – they’re even better chilled and eaten the next day

Now, I know beets are not the most appealing looking of veggie sides, but the taste sure makes up for that

I’m a true convert

Oh, and someone else told me to add a little crumbled goat cheese to the beets…

…sounds hella good, I’ll give that a shot next time around

…adios…

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Kitchen HD, Outdoor grilling, Side Dish

Tagged beets, foil tent, oregano, red onion, roasted beets, roasted garlic

Grilled Flat-bread

Posted on July 13, 2010 | 2 Comments

It’s 100 degrees outside and the last thing I’m doing is cranking the oven to 500 to bake a loaf of bread. So to me that translates to another excuse to use the grill. Plus, grilled flat-bread is a lighter twist to the usual rustic style bread I bake up on the regular. Best part…no stone! Cook these directly on the grill grates!

Prep time: 30mins (after dough has been made)

Grill time: ~6mins

Get yourself:

Batch of bread dough
Sea salt or Kosher
Cracked black pepper
.25C Olive oil
Basting brush
Spray oil
Parchment paper
Tongs

Let’s get it poppin’

Form dough balls into 6-8oz balls and let rest covered for about 30mins

Preheat grill on high while dough rests

Flour your surface and flatten out dough into a round, size does not matter…

…neither does shape…

I made these two ways:

1) Hand method – best results: soft, airy, and fluffy

2) Rolling pin – Not so good: chewy and dense

Roll ‘em out, not too thin or they will be cracker-y

You want them to be thick enough to puff up a bit on the grill…

…soft and fluffy is texture we are going for

Line sheet pan with parchment and brush with a little oil

Lay dough on top and brush with oil

Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper

Pattern…parchment, oil, dough, oil, parchment, repeat

Make sure the dough is not holding any pools of oil…

…or you will experience great conflagration…

Grill grates should be smoking hot…

Quickly – shut off flame, spray grates with spray oil like Pam olive oil…

…turn flame back on to medium high

Grab the parchment and slap the dough onto the grill…

…peel the parchment back

If you feel you might destroy the dough doing this than I recommend you…

…roll out the dough rounds and grill one at a time using a pizza peel to transfer dough to grill

Grill for a few mins on each side

Flip and grill for a few more mins

Keep knockin’ ‘em out and stack the flat-breads as they come off the grill

Serve warm on the side of whatever you happen to be eating…

…everything goes with grilled flat-bread…

…yum…

Here’s another version I did…

This one is the pizza peel version that I mentioned above…

Either way is off the hook

Enjoy!

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Bread, Homemade, Outdoor grilling, Pizza

Tagged flat-bread, grilled bread, grilled flat-bread, olive oil, outdoor grilling

Grilled Tilapia with Fresh Avocado Salsa

Posted on June 17, 2010 | 8 Comments

Call me the Colonel because I have a bangin’ original recipe for you. I’m talking lite, healthy, bursting with flavor, quick, easy, and sexy. I take a nice hunk of simply dressed tilapia and throw it on the grill for a few and dress it with a super flavorful avocado salsa. It screams fresh…throw this into a tortilla and hit it with some spice and call it a fish taco or do what I did and serve it with a side of warm grilled flat-bread. Money.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15mins

Cook time: 6mins

Get yourself:

4 Fresh Tilapia filets
1 Avocado
1 Tomato (you can use a beefsteak or a handful of cherry/grape)
.25 Red Onion, diced
.5 Lemon, juiced
1.5T Red wine vinegar
1t Fresh parsley, chopped
1 Garlic clove, small and diced fine or grated
Fresh cracked black pepper
.5t Kosher salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Printable Recipe

Get that avocado opened

…nice and easy when you drop the blade on the pit…

Let tilapia get to room temperature and brush some evoo on

Sprinkle with some kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper

Spray your grates with Pam or brush grates with evoo

Preheat your grill on medium

Salsa time!

…muy caliente..

Chop your avocado, tomato, red onion, garlic, and parsley and toss into a bowl

…nothing fancy a nice rough chop will do…

Add in your fresh squeezed lemon juice, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper

…mix it good…

…mix it real good…

Taste

Stomp your feet in a fit of joy

Throw the tilapia on the grill for a few minutes on each side

Fish is done when flesh is opaque and flaky

Careful when handling on grill…get a good spatula….

…it can easily go from…

“Oh my, look at that beautiful hunk of fish” to “OMG! I just smashed my fish into smithereens!

Hopefully your fish comes off in one piece…

Dress it up with a little of that delicious avocado salsa…

Break off a piece of that luscious warm grilled flat-bread…

…and EAT!

I will post a recipe for the flat-bread ASAP!

→ 8 Comments

Posted in Outdoor grilling, Quick & Easy, Seafood

Tagged avocado salsa, grilled flat-bread, grilling dough, grilling fish, tilapia

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Pinwheels

Posted on May 13, 2010 | 6 Comments

Why eat pork tenderloin when you can eat stuffed pork tenderloin? Take a boring pork tenderloin…filet it open, stuff it with some flavor poppin’ sautéed peppers and onions, 2 cheeses, bread crumbs, and a hit of spice and that boring pork tenderloin becomes a vague and distant memory. This pork jumps off the plate and screams delicious. Make now, or forever hold your peace….

Time: ~45mins

Get Yourself:

1 2-4lb Pork tenderloin (Have butcher filet open so it’s flat)
4 Bell peppers (multi-colors, sliced into strips)
1 Sweet onion (sliced into strips)
8oz Mozzarella Cheese (Small dice)
.25C Dry Sherry wine
.25C Seasoned bread crumbs
1T Fresh Parsley
2 Cloves roasted garlic
4 Cloves fresh garlic (grated)
.25C Pecorino-Romano
1.5T Oregano
5T Extra virgin olive oil
.5t crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt & Cracked black pepper
Butchers twine

Prep work:

Fillet open tenderloin
Slice peppers and onions into strips
Cube up Mozzarella
Pre-heat oven to 350F

Printable Recipe

Bring it all together now…

Toss peppers and onions in a big bowl with…

2T oil, oregano, 1t kosher salt, 1t cracked black pepper, crushed red pepper (optional)

Set aside

Heat 2T oil over medium-high in a heavy bottomed skillet or frying pan

Before oil gets hot, grate all of the fresh garlic directly into oil

Grated garlic is fantastic because it literally melts into the food so no big chunks!

Let the garlic saute for a ~1min

Toss in the peppers and onions and saute

After 15mins or so the peppers and onions will be nice and soft and starting to char

Add in the sherry wine, bring flame to high and cook off the alcohol for ~1min

Remove from flame

Taste, adjust for salt, pepper, spiciness, garlicky-ness

Set aside to cool for ~10mins

Lay your tenderloin flat and rub with 2 cloves roasted garlic

Time to layer on the goodness…

Sprinkle on the Pecorino-Romano, bread crumbs, and the diced mozzarella

Crack some black pepper on top

Add a nice thick layer of the peppers and onions right on top of the cheese

Sprinkle with some fresh parsley

Roll it up and tie it

Click here for a quick pictorial on rolling and tying

Quickly sear the roulade in 1T hot oil all around

Finish off in the oven for a ~20-25mins or until meat thermo reads 155

Note: make sure thermo probe is inserted in the meat and not in the center of the peppers and onions

Once cooked, remove from oven and let site for ~5mins

Keep string on and slice the stuffed tenderloin into pinwheels

Serve (2) per person with a side and some good bread

Feel like impressing someone?…

Enjoy hearing praise and accolades from friends and family?…

…Make this…

De nada

→ 6 Comments

Posted in Kitchen HD, Pork

Tagged bread crumbs, butchers twine, mozzarella cheese, onions, parsley, pecorino romano, peppers, peppers and onions, pork, pork pinwheels, pork tenderloin, stuffed pork tenderloin

How to Plant A Vegetable (Bucket) Garden

Posted on May 5, 2010 | 6 Comments

Not everybody has a yard big enough for a veggie garden, but I’m pretty sure everyone has a hardware store and garden center nearby, and that means you can pick up what you need for a veggie bucket garden! That’s right, screw the ground…where straight up planting veggies in a bucket and it’s easy, cheap, and beyond rewarding. Personally, nothing comes close to the feeling you get when you walk outside and pluck a juicy plump ruby-red cherry tomato off the vine of a tomato plant you grew…yourself…from seed…in a bucket.

Bravo!

Difficulty: EASY

Time: 35 mins (4 buckets)

Cost: ~$20

Get yourself: