I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I Love lamb. Although you don't get a lot of meat off of them, lamb chops are so succulent if not over cooked. My favorite way to cook lamb is on the grill but when that's not a option I use the broiler. It's just an upside down grill right? I like lamb so much because it fits into almost every culture. It's good dressed up or just with a bit of salt and pepper...
I went with a Herbs de Provence flavor on the chops.
A normal HdP has basil, fennel, lavender, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme.
I didn't have any marjoram or fennel but I didn't let that stop me - I soldiered right on...
Rub a spot of oil on the chops so the herbs stick well...
Under the broiler getting happy...
With a preheated broiler it only takes 4-7 minutes on each side. Like always - never leave the broiler when you have food in there! It could catch fire....
If you didn't know, the second Tuesday of the month is 'Taco Tuesday'. No, it's not a real thing, but why not - it sounds good... My earliest memories of tacos comes from being at "Taco Joe's" up in East Chicago. They had the best soft tacos. Every time we would go up to see my grandmother we would go by there and chow down. I was probably 4 or 5 the first time I had one, and I'll never forget how good it was. They were simple - flour tortilla, luscious port taco meat, a spot of cheese, hot sauce and that was about it. No frills either - oblong white plate stacked with 6 or 8 of the things and there you go... From what I can recall they had a very short menu and you got enough food on your plate to make you hurt if you ate it all. My mom was somehow able to get the recipe from them and one of these days I'll put it up.
Anyhow, back to yesterday's tacos - They were simple but oh so very good. I started out wanting to grill a strip steak tacos but just didn't have the energy to get into all of that so chicken inside it was...
Chicken - I had about a pound of chicken breast that I cut into chunks - a bit smaller than your normal bite size piece. I dusted them with Penzeys Adobo seasoning and sauted them to a yummy goodness. It took about 5 minutes over medium heat. There is a good Mexican spice mixture recipe twards the bottom of the page you can use if you don't have theis spice blend. Tomatillo salsa - was made for chicken - If you haven't tried it I suggest you give it a shot. Jut a tablespoon or so on your taco will do the trick. It's very easy to make but you can find pre-made in the market. It gives a really fresh flavor to just about anything. I made mine last night - roasted a few tomatillos, jalapeno, and garlic cloves, blitzed it with some onion and cilantro - yum! Will be doing a video on making it soon. It's really good with corn chips as well... Cilantro - I hate to admit that there was a time in my life that I didn't like cilantro. I'm not sure what I was thinking but I'm all about it now! I think cilantro adds a nice freshness to tacos... Tomatoes - For the first time this year I was able to use a tomato off one of my mater plants. It seemed to take them forever to produce this year... Anyhoo, they're not a must but I like them on my tacos. Green Onion - Usually I use red onion for my tacos but I didn't have any. I did have some green onion in the fridge and it was a good stand in. It tasted great on the tacos... Queso fresco - If you use a Mexican blend cheese for your tacos (which I'll admit I often do) that you get from Kraft or whomever, queso fresco will take your taco to another level. I've been using it a lot more lately and I have to say it's a really good addition. So good in fact that my usage of the other is dwindling rapidly. Avocado - Really do I need to go into this? Mexicanish food and Avocados go together without saying a word... I love avocados and it's not unusual for me to eat one as a snack with just a pinch of salt. Besides all that they look really great on top of a taco...
1 Lb chicken cut into small bite sized pieces 1 Tb Penzeys Adobo seasoning (or use the recipe below) Tomatoes cut to your liking Cilantro, cut to your liking Tomatillo salsa - 2 Tb per taco or so Queso Fresco - A little goes a long way Avocado - 2 - 3 slices per taco Green onion - 2 -4 stalks finely sliced into rounds
Heat a saute pan to medium. Mix the cut up chicken with the adobo seasoning and add to the pan. Cook chicken until fully cooked. Prepare the tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, and avocado and put into bowls. Heat the tortillas and let everyone have at it. I personally think it's best to let everyone make their own so they get what they want. Plus it's fun to make your own taco...
If you don't have any Penzeys Adobo seasoning I suggest you go get you some (www.penzeys.com)! If that's not an option give this mixture a try...
I use the term Mexican food loosely - I've been to Mexico quite a few times and well lets just say there's a big difference between Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisine. They aint got no nachos and everything they make is NOT smothered in a simple Kraft Mexican blend cheese... I'm working on a nice entry called Mexican vs. Tex-Mex - make sure you read it - that is if there really is anyone actually reading these things...
What better to eat on the 4th than smoked chicken wings. I decided on wings and it was a good idea to throw them on the smoker. This was a very easy process. I went to the market and bought some wings. I washed them and cut off the nubs off the end of the wings. I created the rub for these and they turned out really dang good. I go to Fast Boys and have their grilled wings every once and a while - they're really dang good - mine turned out better! It's a nice change to have them in the smoker - it really brings out a nice flavor.
Rub: Paprika chipotle pepper powder jalapeno pepper powder cayenne pepper powder granulated garlic shallot salt white pepper black pepper
So mix up the spices - coat the wings well and smoke for about 2 hours or so - or until done to your liking.
I love chicken wings. I'm not one who strays off the reservation with wing sauce - I want a nice straight forward hot sauce. You can have you're BBQ, Jerk, etc - I'll take just plain set your mouth afire hot sauce...
During football season you can find me at the local Buffalo Wild Wings watching Ohio State play almost every Saturday - Good football and good wings (and beer). I do like to have them at home every once and a while and they're easy to make. The only thing I don't like about making them at home is dealing with the oil after cooking the wings - but I don't let that stop me...
2 Tb butter 1/2 Cup Texas Pete's (or Frank's Hot Sauce) 1 tsp Penzeys Black & Red pepper
12 Chicken wings Peanut oil for frying
In a small saute pan melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted add the hot sauce and bring to temperature. Add the pepper and mix well. Take off the heat and set aside.
Cook the chicken wings in the preheated oil at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until fully cooked. Toss with the hot sauce and plate.
Serve with blue cheese or ranch and celery. Eat & Enjoy...
I love brown sugar. I always have - I eat it on my oatmeal a few times a week... This love makes it sad to report that I thought the Brown Sugar version of this fantastic ice cream tasted like burnt brown sugar... I took a few extra bites hoping that it would start to taste good but it didn't happen... One of the first times I've had an ice cream I didn't like :(
I really don't know anything about Julie Powell. I never read her blog (but would love to read it), I haven't read the book (but I ordered it), so the only thing I know is what's in the movie. I'm not sure why some of the die hard foodie bloggers are bashing her and the movie. Maybe they're pissed that they didn't think of it first? It's a brilliant idea - at least I think so. A friend and I are going to cook our way through the Cooking at Home series Julia Child and Jacques Pepin did - Actually this is something we've wanted to do forever and just haven't gotten around to it - but now it seems like a copycat thing and that kidna sucks... But we're going to soldier on and do it anyway...
Back to the movie - it was fun to see Powell's struggles with making some of the food and doing the blog but my real love of the movie were the parts with Julia Child in them. They were done so well... I have to admit I see her (Julia Child) as somewhat of a mother figure, and it was hard to see her and Paul get intimate onscreen. I had to look away. It was really neat to see her coming into cooking and her trials and tribulations of creating Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I am foodie enough to admit that a tear came to my eye when she finally got the approval letter from Knopf. As a site note a good friend of mine's (Steve The Tortilla Guy) mother has every single release of the book... I had no idea it took so long to create and get published. And look at it now...
So, if you're a foodie you'll enjoy the movie. If you Love Julia Child you'll love the movie as I did...
Well this treat couldn't be any easier. Thanks to my buddy Steve The Tortilla guy I have some fancy Chocolate Tumaro's Tortillas Wraps. I wanted to do something a bit off the reservation with them and make them into little cups then fill them with goodness.
These were all sorts of good...
They started with a Tumaro's chocolate wrap - I took them and cut them into 4 small rounds (I used a ramekin to make it easier). They were baked in a cupcake pan at 400 for about 10 min. It was amazing to see how the flavor developed once baked - they were amazing. I added a spot of chocolate syrup to the bottoms then I filled them with some cheesecake filling (I bought the Philly pre-made stuff at the market to make it easier). Topped them with some fresh strawberries that I had put a bit of sugar on and let sit for 20 minutes - and done... The only thing I'd change for next time is to make smaller rounds and use a smaller cupcake pan so they were bite sized...
I'm not one who's into jumping up and down over kitchen gadgets but I love my rice cooker. It takes the thought out of perfect rice. I have a cheap Rivel one that cost less than $20.00. It does a great job weather you're doing just 1 cup or 3. I can make perfect rice on the stove, but this really does take the work out of it...
I was in 4th grade and was home after school watching cooking shows when I heard Jeff Smith say "Life's too short for instant rice" - and to this day I can't bring myself to eat instant rice.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I Love lamb. Although you don't get a lot of meat off of them, lamb chops are so succulent if not over cooked. My favorite way to cook lamb is on the grill but when that's not a option I use the broiler. It's just an upside down grill right? I like lamb so much because it fits into almost every culture. It's good dressed up or just with a bit of salt and pepper...
I went with a Herbs de Provence flavor on the chops.
The finished chops! They were so delicious!
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