Foodie Thoughts

"I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol." -- Steven Wright.

Sushi - Crunchafornia Roll

I tried something new last night and came up with The Crunchafornia Roll... A twist on the standard California Roll. I proved the concept last night and will have photos and a video up soon. I made it two ways - the first was to make your standard California Roll then dust it in corn starch then dunk it into a tempura batter then fry the whole thing. The second way I did it was just to take the crab sticks and tempura them and put them into the normal California roll. Both ways were good. I'm going to be doing them again and have some people over to see which version wins the taste test...

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

Sushi Rice

I've made sushi with long grain rice - it is possible, but I would suggest finding a short grain rice to use. I get mine at the Asian market and I think it's well worth it. I use Nishiki sushi rice - it works for me...

Making sushi rice is a process. There are directions on the bag, but if you follow mine you'll end up with perfect rice every time.

Just so you know 1.5 cups of sushi rice will turn into a bit over 6 cups of rice when it's cooked.

Rice:

1.5 Cups Sushi rice
2 Cups Water

Vinegar Solution:

2 Tbsp + 2 tsp Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt

Take 1.5 cups of rice and put it in a fine mesh strainer. Run the rice under water until the water runs clear. You can do this in your pot as well. Put the rice in the pot and fill half way with water. Run your fingers through the rice and the water will become a milky color. Drain off the milky water and replace with fresh water. Keep doing this until the water is clear again. Once you get the rice washed drain it as well as you can, then let the rice sit undisturbed for 20 minutes. It's amazing how white it will become. Add the rice to a pot and put in the water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once you are on the boil reduce the heat to low and let cook for 20 minutes.

Once your 20 minutes is up you need to cool the rice down quickly. If you don't have one of those fancy wooden tubs - a large plate will work just fine. Carefully spread out the rice and start fanning it with a hand fan or I used a magazine... Fan the rice for a few minutes then sprinkle on the vinegar solution. Cut the vinegar into the rice - do not stir the rice slide your spoon or spatula through the rice to mix. You want the rice pieces to stay separated not a huge mushy mass... Continue to fan the rice while you are cutting through it. Turn the rice over and continue to fan. After about 5 minutes the rice should be ready to use. You can store the rice under a moist towel until you are ready to use. I like to put mine in a plastic bowl and cover it with a damp towel... You will need to moisten your hands before working with the rice. It's really sticky!

Sushi On!

~Nikko

Foodie Thoughts

Spices make the difference between food and cuisine. ~ Me

SUSHI - I'm a fan...

Last night's dinner. Spicy Tuna roll (and hand roll), California Roll, Shrimp Tempura. Thee will be posts coming soon showing you how to make each of these (and other) sushi rolls soon...

~Nikko

Dynamite Sushi Sauce

The best Dynamite Sauce I've ever had comes from a sushi house named Sushi Awaji in Plano Texas (suburb of Dallas). As far as I'm concerned Dallas has the the best sushi I've ever had and considering I live a stones throw from the Ocean (now) and Dallas is a land locked city - that kinda makes me mad... They have a dish called the Crawfish Volcano that will put a smile on your face. I've probably ordered a few hundred of them from Awaji and every one of them was amazing. I always compare every Dynamite Sauce to theirs - and most fail... I could never get their recipe out of them but after trying and trying this one comes really close.



All of these items can be found in any Asian market... If you can't find (or don't want to use) the Kewpie, Kraft or Hellman's will work - canola or lite mayo's won't...

1/2 cup Kewpie Mayo
2 Tbsp Sriracha
Sesame oil, just a few drops will do

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. That was hard wasn't it...

There are many uses for this sauce, but my main use is on top of a California roll in what I call a Shrimp Volcano Roll. I mix the sauce with diced cooked shrimp and broil it on a sheet of tin foil for a few minutes. Then I spoon it on top of the roll. It's good, it's very good - But that's another video...

Sushi on!

~Nikko

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Turkey Sausage Fusilli

This is one of the first dishes Lisa cooked for me. She's an amazing cook and I never go hungry... It's hard to believe this is so good given it's so simple, but simple food is usually the best! You can use regular sausage, but if you can find a good turkey sausage why add the extra calories. We get our turkey sausage form Publix - it's the best I've found...

3 Turkey sausage links, casing off and pulled into bite sized pieces
2 Cups Fusilli pasta, the ones that look like corkscrews
2 Red peppers, roasted and diced - can roast them yourself or out of a jar
1/2 Bag Spinach, washed and drained
1/2 Cup Chicken stock
1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes, more or less to your liking
1/2 tsp Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Start by preparing the pasta according to the package. While the pasta is cooking, remove the casings off the sausage and pull them into bite sized pieces. In a large saute pan cook the sausage over a medium heat until it is cooked through. Once the sausage has cooked, remove it to a bowl. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock. Add the roasted red peppers, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt and pepper to the pan - Cook for 2 minutes. Add the spinach to the pan and cook down - this will take only a few minutes. When the spinach has cooked, add the sausage and drained pasta back to the pan and mix everything together well. Plate, Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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Pancakes

I have two recipes I use for making pancakes. Both have been tried and trued over many years. The one here is the one that produces very good pancakes, and I share with anyone who asks for it - the other however falls into the secret files, and I'm not sharing...

1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Sugar
2 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk
3 Tbsp Butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for cooking
Softened butter, for serving
Warmed Maple syrup, for serving

Sift the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder into a large bowl. Whisk together the milk, egg, and butter in a small bowl. Make a well into the flour and add in the wet mixture. Whisk everything together well, but do not over mix. It shouldn't take you more than 30-40 strokes to bring it all together well. If there are a few lumps - leave them be they will work themselves out. Bring a griddle (or large saute pan) to a medium head and add a spot of butter. Once the butter has melted coat the bottom of the pan. It's always good to start with a test pancake to make sure your temperature is at the right level (this will vary per pan) - the good thing here is if it's good you can eat it, and if not give it to the dog... You can make your pancakes any size you want, but I almost always go with a 1/4 cup of batter. Once you have your batter in the pan just leave it alone until bubbles form on top and a few of them pop. Once they have popped it's time to flip. Carefully flip them over and cook the other side - this will not take as long as the first side. If you need to store them before serving put your oven on it's lowest serving and store them on a hotel pan under a towel until you're ready to serve. Serve with butter, jelly, syrup, etc... Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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Cornbread Stuffing

So I made one homemade stuffing that knocked everyone's socks off so I thought I would try my hand at another. Cornbread stuffing has always been a favorite of mine and I'm glad I finally tried it. The only thing I would have done differently in this recipe would be to add some sausage to it.

1 Recipe for cream corn cornbread (http://cookingmywayvideo.blogspot.com/2009/11/creamed-corn-cornbread.html)
1 Cup Celery, diced
1 Cup Carrots, diced or sliced
1/2 Cup Red Onion, diced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
Chicken Stock, enough to make it all nice and moist
2 Tbsp Butter
Thyme
Marjoram
Sage
Cayenne pepper, pinch
Chipotle pepper, pinch
Salt
Pepper

Start by prepping up the veg. Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the veg and a healthy pinch of salt to start the sweating process. While the veg is doing its thing, cut the cornbread into inch or so cubes. Be careful when cutting the cornbread because it's quite delicate. Just like in the last stuffing recipe - For the seasoning - I'm going to ask you to add amounts of these that make you happy. Start by adding a heavy pinch of the thyme, marjoram, and sage, and a small pinch of the cayenne and chipotle. Start small and add until it gives you a smell that you like. Once mine started smelling like a nice stuffing mix I stopped. I probably ended up with a few teaspoons of each (a little heaver on the thyme but that's just because I love thyme). You will want to cook this for about 5 minutes or just until everything starts to get a bit soft. Add about a cup of chicken stock to the pan and let it warm up. Once finished add the the bread bowl and carefully fold everything together well. Add enough stock to moisten everything well. Once you have a happy mixture, put into a baking dish and bake at 350 for an hour.

Again next time I make this I'm going to add some nice country sausage to the mix. It was good as it was, but that would have made it a lot better...

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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Bacardi and Coke

I'll start by saying I'm not much of a drinker. I had a "here's your sign" moment the other day when someone asked me how to make a rum and coke. The rum and coke is a long time favorite of many... There's not a lot to making one - all you need is a Glass + Ice + Rum + Coke - that's it - If you want you can add a lime or a lemon but that's really not my thing...

1-2 Oz Bacardi Rum
1 Coke
Ice

Grab your favorite glass and fill it to the rim with ice. Alcohol melts ice quickly so use a lot of ice and get the coke in there fast. You can put as much rum in as you like but I don't like to go more than a double jigger (a jigger = 1 shot = 44 milliliters) - then all you do is top off the glass with your coke. Give it a gentle stir and you're ready to go.

Happy Drinking!

~Nikko

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Drink Responsibility!

Chicken & Broccoli for One

It was just me eating tonight - I didn't want cereal, and I didn't want to go to the store - So I set out to see what I could find... I found pasta, a chicken breast, broccoli, red onion, and some garlic - I had dinner!

1 Chicken breast, cubed
1/4 Red Onion, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, bashed (skin removed)
1 Cup Broccoli
1 Cup Pasta, or more if you're really hungry
2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp Herbs de Provence
Salt
Pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package. Heat a saute pan to a medium heat and add the olive oil. Let the olive oil come to temperature then add the garlic. Fry the garlic for two minutes to flavor the oil, then remove and discard. Add the onion to the pan with a pinch of salt. Cook for 1 minute. Mix the chicken with the Herbs de Provence then add to the pan. Cook until the chicken is cooked all the way through - about 5 minutes or so. Once the chicken is done cooking add the broccoli and cook until it is tender. If you wish you can add a bit of fresh grated parm. Plate, Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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Testing 1 2 3 - Pizza

Working with a new video editing system and wanted to see what it looks like one the site...

FoodBuzz Tastemaker: Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry - Brie in Puff

This one falls into the extremely easy category... Once you have the puff pastry thawed your prep time is less than 3 minutes... This is a great appetizer for home or if you're going to a party it travels well...

1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, will only need 1 sheet
1 round of Brie Cheese
1 package garlic cheese spread (will use about 3/4)

Start by thawing the puff pastry on a sheet of wax paper. Once thawed slather on a nice layer of the garlic cheese spread. Place the round of Brie in the middle of the pastry sheet and place a nice layer of the garlic spread on top. Fold in the corners of the puff pulling them tight against the brie. Lightly pinch the creases of the puff and place on a lined baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 then raise the heat to 400 for an additional 10-15 minutes until the pastry has puffed up nicely and is nice and brown. Eat & Enjoy!

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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Pumpkin Pie

This was voted by some pie aficionados as the best freaking pumpkin pie ever... I'd love to tell you about the years of recipe development that went into the dish but to be honest the recipe came from the back of the pumpkin can... I'm not a pie kinda guy but I have to admit it was fantastic!

3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt - use table salt not kosher
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
2 eggs, beaten well
1 can pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
1 9" pie shell

In a large mixing bowl add the sugar and all the spices. Whisk these together well then add the remaining ingredients (ok not all of them hold out the pie shell). Mix everything together well then pour into a 9" pie shell. Bake at 425 for 25 min then reduce to 350 cook for 40-50 min

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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Creamed Corn Cornbread

Please visit our new site at www.CookingMyWay.com

This is a tried and trued recipe that I've been using for years now. Most people will balk at the use of the Jiffy cornbread mix but I tell ya when you want to make a quick and delicious cornbread you just can't beat the ease of use. My x-wife was so much a southerner she wouldn't even let me bring the box into the house... Anyway if you want to have a nice plate of cornbread in under 30 minutes this is the way to go!

2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
1 can creamed corn - will only need about 3/4 of the can
2 eggs
pepper - I used white pepper just to keep it clean looking
cayenne pepper - just a pinch

Start by dumping the cornbread mix into a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk to break up any big lumps. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and crack in two eggs. Whisk the eggs until they are broken down. Add about a quarter teaspoon of white pepper (you can use black pepper if you want), a pinch of cayenne, the creamed corn and mix everything together well. Pour mixture into a baking dish and bake at 400 for 15 to 20 min...

You can dress this up as you wish. In the past I've added some sweated red onion and celery - have made it with blanched broccoli and cheddar cheese (that was a good one recipe coming soon) - feel free to add your own flair...

Happy cornbreadding!

~Nikko

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Green Bean Casserole

The Green Bean Casserole

I don't think a holiday has ever passed that this dish wasn't on the table. Prep time is about 2 minutes - if you take you time it couldn't take you more than 5 minutes...

2 Cans Green Beans drained
1 Can Mushrooms drained
1 Can Progresso Mushroom Soup
1 Can Frenches Fried Onions

Mix all but the onions in a oven save casserole dish, top with the onions, bake for 20-30 minutes at 400 - Eat & Enjoy - how hard is that?

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko



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Version 2

Foodie Thoughts

Red meat is not bad for you. Now blue-green meat, that’s bad for you! ~Tommy Smothers

I am fluent in French Toast...

My favorite toast comes from France... French toast is such an easy breakfast to put together. Eggs, bread, butter, syrup (if that's your thing), cinnamon, nutmeg and you're ready to go...

4 Eggs, beaten to within an inch of their lives
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp Cinnamon
pinch Nutmeg, fresh ground if you can
4 slices bread - I personally think sour dough is the best here but any will do
butter
syrup

I think the key to really good french toast is breaking down the eggs as much as possible. You really want to whisk them so that they are totally separated. Doing this lets the bread get a nice even coat of the eggs. With that said, add the eggs, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a bowl and beat the heck out of them.

Add the bread and give it a minute on each side to soak up a bit of the eggs (you can do this in batches).

Heat a large saute pan to a medium heat and add a bit of butter and let it melt. Make sure the pan is coated with the butter and add your slices of bread. Cook on each side until you see a bit of color start to form. If you want, and I do, you can sprinkle a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg over the bread while it's in the pan for a bit of extra flavor. If you decide to add a bit more don't go too crazy with the spices. I like to serve my french toast (and pancakes) on a heated plate. I feel it makes everything work better for some reason. So warm up your plates, remove the bread from the pan and top with syrup or butter - or both if that's your thing - Eat & Enjoy...

Happy Cooking & Eating!

~Nikko

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Grilled Pastrami & Corned Beef on Rye

I love the sandwich... The possibilities are almost endless. I've been known to go into a deli and just ask for a sandwich and give them free reign on what they make. It usually throws the person into a tailspin when I do - unless they are a true sammy master... Anyhoo, the pastrami and corned beef on rye is one of my favs. I always start with some nice fresh rye and a good quality pastrami, corned beef, and Swiss cheese.

Rye Bread
Pastrami - I like Boars Head the best
Corned Beef
Swiss Cheese
Red Onion, sliced thin
Brown or Dijon Mustard
butter
olive oil

Start by heating a medium saute pan to a mediumish heat (not quite medium but not quite medium/low). Take the pastrami and corned beef and warm it up in the pan for a minute or two then move it to a plate or cutting board. Butter one side of each of the pieces of bread then add the bread butter side down to the pan and let it warm up for a minute or so. Top the brad with the Swiss cheese and you can put on some nice brown or Dijon mustard at this point too. Add the onion and meats on top of the cheese. Put the two slices together and cook until the outside of the bread is browned to your liking and everything inside is nice and warm. Plate, eat & enjoy!

Happy Cooking & Eating...

~Nikko

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Foodie Thoughts

The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook. ~Julia Child