Brock Shinen, Esq.

My Flow

2011-12-23T21:41:00.000-08:00

Well, 2011 has taken me by storm. I spent most of my food blogging time on Facebook, which was part experiment/part necessity. Either way, I've gleaned what I needed and will be back in action on here in 2012.

As far as cooking goes, 2011 was a string of happy meals. I challenged myself with new ingredients, new techniques and new equipment. I took the time to read about historical developments of various ingredients (use, growth, etc.) and techniques (sauce making, etc.). I tried to cook something amazing at least 2 times a week, and pretty much didn't cook the same thing twice all year.

I'm finishing the year with a bang. I cooked our annual cousin holiday dinner with a Chinese-Korean Fusion. Ten adults this year and no leftovers, which was nice. My friend helped prep and drink wine all day, including a 1996 Rosemount Shiraz - surprisingly solid.

The pork belly buns and the Kimchi Stew seemed to be the highlights, but Japanese mushroom dumplings, Kalbi, Tilapia steamed in parchment with ginger, lemongrass, and sake, and a citrus-cured Scallop on pickled cucumbers with minced red chili, and the arugula-pea tendril salad with Thai basil dressing were also hits.

So, to the one, two, or however many people who read this blog: Merry Christmas! I'll see you in 2012.

Brock

Recipe Software - MacGourmet Deluxe

2011-05-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

It's intuitive, easy to use, and otherwise a great solution for maintaining recipes. But here's the problem, it takes time. Like anything else, you need to type. You need to organize photos, you need to organize your thoughts. Do I recommend it? Absolutely. MacGourmet Deluxe is awesome.

Here's a screenshot of my start page. As you can see, I've only added a few recipes, but it's nice having so much information in a single screen.

And another screenshot once you click on a recipe. It comes up with all the information about your dish. A couple of strange things - my image is sideways. I don't see a fix for that in the program itself, so you probably need to edit it before it goes in. Also, it has plenty of defaults like Tablespoon and ounces, but then there are other basic things missing in the list. Oh well.

So, I'm not a pro reviewer, and that's all I have for you. Try it out.

Brock

Corn Blinis with Papaya and Roasted Serrano and Garlic Salsa

2011-05-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

I've been on a corn kick for a while. I think it's a pretty versatile ingredient, and compliments or champions just about any style or genre of cooking.

For this dish, I wanted something simple to travel. My wife's parents were up at their local house, and I wanted to make a snack for them before dinner. I did most of the prep before I left home (made the blini mix, roasted everything for the salsa, etc.). Having a picnic basket on hand was the perfect travel partner, so I iced it, packed it, and took it there.

Corn Blinis:

1 cup drained corn, processed and in a large mixing bowl.

add 1/2 cup flour

Pinch of salt

1 cup heavy cream

Mix well. If it's too wet, add flour. If it's too dry, add more corn and a bit of water. Think about pancake batter and that's the consistency you're shooting for. In fact, you'll cook them like pancakes, except you want a slightly lower heat because they take a bit longer than pancakes to cook.

Roasted Serrano and Garlic Salsa:

1 pound vine ripe tomatoes

1 head garlic

6 Serrano chilis

On a baking sheet slathered in olive oil, roast garlic, tomato and chilis (sprinkle some salt and pepper over) for about 45 - 60 minutes. If the chilis or garlic start to burn up, remove them before the tomatoes. You want the skin on the chilis and tomatoes to blacken. The garlic will mostly look browned and pale.

Pop the garlic out of its wrappers, take off the stems from the chilis and tomatoes, and blend all of it in a large processor. Squeeze juice from 2 limes, add some kosher salt, and a table spoon of vinegar. Blend again and cool for use.

Chop Papaya into pea size chunks.

Take the blinis and stack them with papaya and salsa. It's good stuff!

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Italian and Asian Crostini

2011-05-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I've written a recipe. Not because I haven't wanted to. Not because I haven't cooked. In fact, I've been cooking a ton. So much so, the backlog is too much for me. Hopefully I'll catch up at some point, but it's doubtful. I read recipes all the time, but haven't followed one in years. Actually, that's not true. I follow the recipe for my crepes because I can never remember the proportions. But other than that, I don't. The problem is, I can't remember how to make things I cook. Truth be told, I often forget by the time I sit down to eat. Now that sucks.

But this is a simple one. A handful of ingredients and you can pretty much see them in the picture, so it's easy to remember.

Funny thing about this recipe is it's the midnight snack, although it's only 9:30p and that's been my cutoff for eating for the past three years. For a midnight snack, you need to make things with things you have on hand. Nothing serious, not too much prep. But you can't need anything you don't have. You must use as much of what you have on hand and be creative. That's the ticket.

Asian Crostini:

1 bunch of spinach, blanched 30 seconds in heavily salted water, roughly chopped
Thinly sliced watermelon, pan seared with olive oil
Ginger-Garlic Vinaigrette: small amount of fresh ginger, minced; 1 clove garlic, minced; dashes of chili oil, couple tablespoons of brown rice vinegar, tablespoon or so of Ponzu. Mix well.
Toasted crusty bread with olive oil. I lather both sides of the bread with olive oil and broil on high until browned.

Lay the breads out, arrange watermelon on top, pinch some spinach on top, and give it a dose of vinaigrette.

Italian Crostini:

Blackened corn: drained can corn, 1/2 small onion, chopped, 1 clove garlic. Add some olive oil to a pan and heat til smoking. Add the corn and onion, and let it turn black before a quick stir. Blacken the other side. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, remove to a bowl.
Sun-Dried Tomato: If they're in oil, drain and chop. If they're dry, put in some hot water for 10 minutes, drain and chop.
Stock corn and tomato on crostini and top with a bit of olive oil and finishing salt. I had some truffle salt on hand, and that was good.

Oh yeah, I shaved a little pecorino over.

I think the Italian version would have been much better with a small amount of meat. Maybe fried pancetta or regular bacon.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Taiwanese Burrito...or spring roll or Luin Bia or Lumpia

2011-01-31T19:19:00.000-08:00

I've heard it called all those things, but there are a few things I know for sure:

1) It's Taiwanese

2) It needs Chinese sausage to be complete

3) It's amazing

4) It's healthy

5) You don't need a special reason to make it, but it's a common dish at special occasions

So first off, you need to know the parts you won't find at Stater Bros. Ha Ha Ha. My first choice is usually 99 Ranch Market, but there are plenty of good Chinese grocery stores out there, so find your favorite and go for it.

This is a picture of the items you'll need, which may be hard to locate. In the picture you see the skins (top left), sausage (top right), peanut powder (bottom left), and baked tofu (bottom left).

So there's a lot of slicing and chopping, so get out a large cutting board, some large bowls, the items you see in the picture, and also:

1) 4 large leeks

2) 1 head cabbage

3) 5 eggs

4) 1-2 pounds bean sprouts

5) 1 pound pork loin (option- I don't care for this)

6) lima beans (option - I don't care for these either)

And here's the breakdown. It's a decent amount of prep work, so you might want all four burners going at the same time, as well as your toaster oven. That way it will all be warm when you're ready to eat:

Sausage:

Thinly slice and broil until cooked through and browned (maybe 4-5 minutes)

Eggs:

Beat well with a pinch of salt, then make think omelettes. Cool and slice into long pieces about 1/4" wide.

Cabbage:

Slice into 1/4" x 2" pieces and pan fry with a bit of salt on medium until soft, caring not to brown.

Tofu & Leek:

Cut off green part of leeks and bottom. Slice white part into think slivers, horizontally across the shaft. Pan fry these on medium for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, slice your tofu into very thin strips (check the picture above for detail). Add these and continue to fry until softened.

Bean Sprouts:

Drop into a large pot of boiling water and bit of salt for 1 minute. Drain, run under cold water, drain, and plate.

Peanut Power & Powder Sugar:

Mix about 2/3 powder sugar to 1/3 peanut powder.

Skins:

You need a steamer for this. I have a Chinese steamer, but you can make one yourself if you have a large pot (big enough to hold a plate inside). For that, you take a large pot, you but a heat proof bowl upside down on the bottom,

and put a plate on top of the bowl. On top of the bowl, you lay a clean kitchen towel. You place the skins on top of that, and you cover with another clean kitchen towel. Fill the bottom with water, but below the plate. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer to steam. The big issue about steaming the skins is that you don't want too much moisture.

The Hot Sauce:

You absolutely cannot have this dish without this particular hot sauce. And, you can't just have this sauce, you must have minced or pressed garlic stirred in. I'm giving you the picture, because you can't mess this one up.

The Spread:

Once it's all ready to go, you plate it.

The Burrito:

And then you stuff it like a burrito, fold it and chow down!!

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Chinese Fried Rice

2011-01-03T20:46:00.001-08:00

There are so many ways to make fried rice. So many cultural influences and ingredients that can make it amazing, spicy, complex, and enjoyable. My fried rice is probably more of family-style, simple, yet flavorful arrangement. It's perfect for the days when you want a quick meal and have a few things on hand: cooked rice, eggs, onions, meat/shrimp. You really don't need anything else, but you can add many other things.

So here's the rundown.

Cook 2 cups of rice according to instructions. I use a Japanese rice maker by Zojirushi. It makes perfect rice. I used to refrigerate my rice before making fried rice, but I'm starting to like fresh-cooked fried rice. Try it both ways (cooked and cooked, or fresh cooked) and see which you prefer.

The other thing about making fried rice is you need all your ingredients chopped and ready to go in bowls/plates beside your cooking pan. This will keep you from burning one thing while you're getting something else ready to go.

And now onto the ingredients. I'm going to list my basic requirements, but you can substitute some or pretty much all of them. I'll drop in some reasons and alternatives as we go.

Yellow onion, sliced. You can't really replace the onion. I don't think shallots would do the job. You could use white or sweet onions, that's not a problem. You could also dice or chop the onion, that's fine too.

Chinese sausage. This imparts a significant component to my fried rice. It's sweet and savory, hearty, yet not overbearing. I use a Taiwanese brand, but you could use a Chinese or even Vietnamese brand. I suggest going into an Asian market...Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese, and trying a few different brands. Pick the one you like and go with it. If you don't want to use sausage, or you're scared to shop for it, opt for some chopped ham.

Corn. If you use frozen, defrost it and get rid of the liquid. If you use canned, drain it well. Fresh is best if you want to cut it. Some people use small chunks of carrots or peas, or even green beans. I think many people use the bagged frozen kind, which is ok. I will use a Trader Joe's bagged white corn for this dish sometimes.

Shrimp. This is up to you, because it doesn't so much impart flavor to the rice as it is just a nice addition to the dish.

Green onion. Chop this up and leave it for the very end, uncooked. You toss this over your rice when it's done, or during the last 20 seconds of cooking.

Egg. Scramble 2 eggs with a bit of milk and sugar. Eggs are a must, but you can also just scramble them without milk and sugar.

Fish cake. Go into any Asian market and you'll find fishcake. You can try just about any type, and all are good...I've tried fried rice with every type, including the pink and white, and everything else. The fish cake isn't an absolute must, but I think it's a great addition that keeps you from going too American on this dish.

Flavoring. I prefer a bit of soy sauce mixed with oyster sauce, but I've tried it many, many different ways. Here are some thoughts. You want saltiness...you can use salt, or even granulated chicken bouillon . I've used that with great results. I also like to add crushed red pepper. You can make a quick and easy fried rice with just soy sauce as your flavoring. You can also add a bit of ketchup, which I've seen in a handful of Japanese-style recipes.

Once I have all my ingredients ready to go, I put them all in bowls and plates near my pan. I heat oil on high and cook each thing on high at a time. I start with my scrambled eggs, and keep them soft, just cooked and drop them into a large bowl. Then onions, corn, etc. As you cook each one, add it to your bowl. Then you fry your rice on high for a minute or two, add your flavoring, mix well, then add in all your cooked ingredients and mix well. Pour out back into your large bowl, sprinkle green onion. You're ready to go.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Seared Scallops with Miso-Sake Sauce, Corn Cakes and Roasted Maitake Mushroom

2010-11-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

Getting all this in a format suitable for plating was tough. In fact, I'm not convinced this was the best presentation. Actually, I know it's not. It's sloppy and looks too heavy. But oh well! Cooking is sloppy, isn't it? I mean, what's the point of cooking, of learning, of growing as a cook if you can't mess things up...make it look like crap once in a while. Not that it's your goal, but if it happens to occur, live with it!

So I knew I wanted seared scallops and I knew I wanted corn, but building a dish around those two items is easy and tough. Easy in that you can do so many things with scallops or corn. Hard in that you can do so many things with scallops or corn ;).

I originally wanted to do something of a stack with the corn, but I imagined a drier approach with a chopped corn, not whole kernels. I couldn't come up with something for that, so I chose the next best thing - corn cakes.

I'm also really into mushrooms at the moment. Every time I walk into a grocery store these days, I'm checking what they have in stock. On this day, I came across this beautiful little floret of a Maitake mushroom, and instantly knew I had to cook it with olive oil, salt and pepper. In retrospect, I probably should have done some sort of chopped approach to the mushrooms, because that's what really threw this plate off. You have a nice corn cake, you have four seared scallops, you have a nice sauce...then you have this big chunk of a mushroom hanging out on the plate with nowhere to hide. If you try this dish, maybe do everything I did, but then take the mushroom and chop it, and set it on top of the corn cake?

You already know how to do seared scallops, so let's get to the miso-sake sauce and corn cakes.

Miso-Sake Sauce:

1 Cup sake

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Tbs ponzu sauce

1 tsp miso paste

Boil the sake until reduced by half. Add broth and boil for a minute, add ponzu and miso, stirring well. Reduce heat to low and reduce about 10 minutes. Off heat and add 1 Tbs butter, mixing before you use.

Corn Cakes:

1 Cup corn (if you use frozen corn, make sure it's completely defrosted and drained)

1 piece of wheat bread

1 egg white

1/4 shredded parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, through a press

In a processor, turn the bread into fine crumbs. Add corn and process until chunk, but not a paste. Scoop out into bowl and add egg white and cheese. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and garlic.

Form into cakes, and pan fry for a couple minutes per side.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Fried Chicken Roll (Gi Jien)

2010-11-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

This is a famous dish at our family Thanksgivings. A Taiwanese favorite, this is a hearty dish commonly wrapped in tofu skin instead of seaweed. But, I learned it from my wife's family and they do it with seaweed. I've done it both ways and will tell you about it.

From a taste perspective, I don't have a preference - they're both really good. From a prep perspective, the seaweed is much easier to work with, and your margin for error is much higher. Seaweed needs a simple bit of moisture to be pliable, and it can be overcooked, undercooked or perfectly cooked without any problems. Tofu skins, on the other hand, require a much longer moisture transfer (usually by a wet towel), and if they're not cooked long enough or on a high heat, the skins are tough and chewy.

My advice is to try both, and see what you like. If you use tofu skins, you might prefer a partial deep-fry (i.e., 1/2 deep of oil in a pan), instead of a slightly-oiled pan fry that can work with the seaweed quite easily, but doesn't provide ample oil coverage for a good, rounded cook of the tofu skin.

Also, if you want to prepare this dish, you're going to need to get into an Asian grocery store. Granted, I don't think Koreans or Japanese have this dish, but you can still find all you'll need in any variation of Asian markets.

You'll need:

1 lb Fish cake

1 lb Ground pork

3 Tbs Chinese cooking wine

1 large or 2 small Carrot

1 Onion

4 Tbs cornstarch

3 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs sesame oil

salt & pepper

seaweed and/or tofu skins

First thing you want to do is chop up the fish cake into tiny little pieces. Some people make this dish with fish paste (purchased from an Asian market) instead of chopped fish cake. I prefer chopped fish cake, but again, try both and see what you like. Put the fish cake into a large bowl, add the ground pork. Finely shred and chop a carrot and onion, and add that into the bowl. In a small bowl, mix the cooking wine, sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Pour that into the largest bowl. Mix all of this really well.

Get a large cutting board and lay a damp paper towel on top. Have an extra damp paper towel nearby. Lay a sheet of seaweed down on the towel, then lay the other paper towel on top. Moisten the seaweed until pliable.

Scoop a portion of the fishcake mixture onto the seaweed and roll it. For you people out there aware of how to roll a burrito, now's your chance to use the skill on a Chinese dish. Roll it, set it aside, and do it again.

Once you've rolled all your rolls, you'll want to heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, and put a few in, side-by-side. Roll them ever minute or so, and you'll take about 7-10 minutes to cook them through.

Once cooked, remove them to a cutting board, and slice into thick rounds. These are really good with catsup for dipping.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Mushroom and Chive Dumplings with Plumb-Habanero-Sake Sauce

2010-11-20T08:45:00.000-08:00

There are times when you're in a store, or maybe at a farmer's market, or maybe even at a friend's house, and you see something. Some food item that just blows your mind. This is the genesis of these dumplings.

I was walking in SF Market in Rowland Heights and saw these amazing mushrooms. Oysters, Kings, Shitake...loads of them, and they were all fresh and looked amazing. So, I grabbed some Oysters and Shitakes, and moved on. Boom - chives! Beautiful green, and you never find these in Stater Bros!! And as I walked towards the checkout, there they were - ripe plumbs. I had no idea what I was going to do with all this stuff, but I knew it would all wind up on the dinner table.

When I got home, I remembered I had some sweet rice dumpling wrappers I had picked up from a Korean grocery store a few days earlier. Instantly, the entire thing came together. Perfect for a starter or side, but would also work as a main dish. That's the beauty of these dumplings - they're flexible.

Mushroom and Chive Dumpings:

Take all your mushrooms and chop. You can use any combination of fresh mushrooms, but if you use dried, you need to soak them for at least 15 minutes in hot water before using. Set aside.

Chop a handful or two of fresh chives. When I say chives, I'm not talking green onions. Set aside.

Pour a bit of olive oil in a large pan and heat and swirl. Add mushrooms and stir well. Cook these up a bit, stirring occasionally. After a few minutes, you'll notice they're starting to shrink down a bit. Add a swig of sake. Stir again. Cook the mushrooms for a few more minutes, allowing the liquid to release and cook off. Pour this into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, cook up a handful of chopped pancetta. Trader Joe's had a nice little box of chopped pancetta ready for use, and you can use that whole box. I dropped it into a small frying pan with a couple cloves of minced garlic. When this is cooked, pour it into your mushroom mix.

Press 3 cloves of garlic into your mushroom mix, and add some kosher salt. Mix well and set aside.

Wrapping the Dumplings:

Take your wrappers and have them right in front of you. Get a small bowl of water nearby. Take a wrapper, spoon in as much filling as you can fit in the middle of the wrapper, then take a finger into your water and run your watery finger along the inside edge of the wrapper. Fold over, then squeeze it together with your fingers. Here's a good video on wrapping dumplings. Place these on a sheet of wax paper and don't let them touch each other, or they might stick together. Set aside until ready to cook.

Cooking the Dumplings:

The great thing about dumplings is you can cook them multiple ways, depending on your needs. Steaming sounded good to me, so I steamed. I have a multilevel steamer pot. But, you could just as easily use a bamboo steamer, steaming basket, or any other solution for steaming (I've used a plate on an upside down bowl inside of a large pot for certain steaming uses, like large fish). One thing you'll want to do is put down wax or parchment paper, or some form of leafy vegetable, like Napa, and put the dumplings on top so as not to stick to the steamer. Be careful of using things like bamboo, banana, or taro leaves, since they can impart a strong aroma that may not be consistent with the dumpling ingredients.

I also like to put some aromatics in the steaming liquid. Given the ingredients in my dumplings, I figured a combination of lemon rinds and ginger chunks would impart a nice essence to the dumplings. I was right, and it made the kitchen have a great smell!

Plumb-Habanero-Sake Sauce:

Take about 10 fresh plumbs. Clean and take out the seed. Drop these into a pot with about 1/2 cup sake and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce. Add about 2/3 cup sugar and mix well. Let this break down about 20 minutes, mashing the plumbs with a fork or potato masher every few minutes. By this time, your plumbs should be super tender. You're going to use a wand mixer and break this down into a sauce. If it's too dry, add some more sake/water. Add some chopped habanero, according to taste. Cook another 5-10 minutes. Check for taste. You might need to add salt, sugar, or water, in order to adjust.

Assemble your dumplings on a plate with the sauce in a small bowl for dipping. This can be a single plate for everyone to share, or individual plates for each guest.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Grilled Tilapia on Garlicky Pea Tendrils and Wild Rice with Apricot Cream Sauce

2010-11-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

Aaaaaah, complexity. The sauce alone was a burst of 'every which way but loose.' But together? The fish? The pea tendrils? Garlic?? This dish blasted the palette with emotions.

I started thinking about it when I bought the pea tendrils. As stated in the link, you can pick these up at a Chinese grocery store. I bought a huge bag and had to share them with my friend. Got those, check.

Then I wanted to swirl those around and place them on top of a starch. Maybe mashed potatoes? Nah. But colorful brown rice? That was the ticket. And while searching the cupboard for wild rice, I stumbled across some dried apricots that have been yearning to be turned into a sauce. Boom! Meal 3/4 together.

A main? Could have been shrimp or scallops, but the thought of plating led me to want a substantial piece to lay against the tendril and rice stack. In retrospect, I think having evenly spaced seared scallops surrounding the stack would have been amazing too, but that's for next time.

Now, down to business:

Grilled Tilapia:
Rub some olive oil, ample salt and black pepper into all sides of the Tilapia fillet. Let it sit out of the fridge for about 15 minutes or so, while your grill heats up. You'll want to grill this about 3-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness.

Garlicky Pea Tendrils:

5 cloves garlic, minced
A pile of pea tendrils, washed and drained (should pile about as high as a sourdough loaf)

Pour some olive oil in a large pan and heat on high. Add garlic and fry about 30 seconds. Add pea tendrils and stir quickly and constantly. Add kosher salt, stir. Add about 2 Tbs water and fry for another minute. To serve, you'll want to twist this with tongs and then left out, allowing the liquid to drain back into the pan before you plate it.

Wild Rice:

I buy this in bulk from Henry's Market. I use about 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. Actually, I tend to use part chicken broth, part water. It's your choice, though. Bring the water to a boil (don't have your rice in it yet). Add the rice and 1 Tbs of butter. Mix, and bring back to a boil. Cover and lower heat - cook for about 40 minutes.

Apricot Cream Sauce:

Chop 1/2 large red onion
Chop 1 large handful of apricots
Chop 1 large carrot
mince 3 cloves garlic
Slice 1/2 ring of lemon
mince 1 tsp fresh ginger
Chop 3 stems chive (or use leek- about 1/4 of the white part, sliced in rings)
1 can chicken broth
Sake

Heat olive oil in a small pot. Add onion and fry for about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, stirring another 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add apricots, fry another minute. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add carrots and chive. Pour about 1/4 (or 1/2 cup) of sake into the mix and continue boiling. After about 5 minutes, reduce the heat til it continues to bubble. Cook this way for about 15 minutes. Strain the liquid into a bowl, rinse out the pot if any chunks remain, and return the strained liquid to the pot. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and cook another 10 minutes. Pour in a small amount of heavy cream and continue cooking another 5-10 minutes. Off the heat and drop in a small amount of butter, and swirl to melt. This is your sauce.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Yard House + Round It Up America = Good Work

2010-10-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

Months ago I blogged about Yard House's new social justice campaign, Round It Up America. Initially, I saw the campaign and thought it could be better. Apparently, Yard House was alerted to my post and I received a call from the President of Yard House, Harald Herrmann, the same day. After speaking with him, I blogged again, sharing my content in learning that Round It Up America was designed to be a broad campaign, adoptable by every restaurant in America. Great plan!

And, Yard House moved on...so did I.

But a few weeks ago, Mr. Herrmann's office called me, inviting me to attend an award ceremony for the program. I thought the invitation was peculiar, but rolled with it. "Sure," I said. Then, a few days before the event, I received another call, asking if I'd be willing to hand over one of the checks to a recipient non-profit. "Sure," I said.

And Thursday morning I show up to this event. I don't know exactly what it's for, or why I was invited. But, I liked Harald and I like the program, so I was curious enough to jump in with both feet. I check in, grab some coffee and grab a seat at the bar. About 40 or so people milling around. All professionals. All smiling. And they all seemed to know each other. Everyone except for me.

So a woman walks up to greet me, and after introducing myself, she lets me know I'll be giving the first check. I'm really starting to wonder, "what is going on, and why me?" I've at least come to realize that there's money going out to charities today. I got that. And, it seems to that everyone there wants to be there, but I still haven't quite figured out my role in this little gala event. And then she asks me if I've met Harald. "Only by phone," I say.

I'm rushed away to meet him, his VP of Marketing, a founder of Yard House, and a few other people. And it turns into story time. Harald introduces me to everyone as the guy that wrote an email, challenging the model. And, he introduces me as a guest of Yard House. I'll be handing over a check to the first charity on behalf of all guests of Yard House. The people who actually 'round it up.'

Then it starts to come together.

The ceremony begins. Harald explains how this program came together. The difficulties. The hurdles. The impossibilities. How it took a village to raise this baby. And I see the look on his face and see the sincerity and I'm blown away. "This guy is for real!" He's excited because a program designed to give is actually working!! I look around and the people in the room are excited too. They're a part of something that works. Something that gives back to society. And they built it with their own hands, blood, and sweat.

I suddenly feel proud to be part of this little soiree.

You see, in retrospect, I've had people talk to me about pushing social justice in the business context because it's good for PR. Giving is the new keeping. It's a bandwagon. So you can understand if I'm a little skeptical. But what I saw with these guys was legit. At least Yard House. At least Harald Hermann. And legitimacy is the new...legitimacy.

The good news, Yard House did listen. To me? Who knows, but they listened to something bigger than their bottom line. And that's all I care about. They did remove their own branding and allow other restaurants to participate without competing (and without a reason to create their own charity campaign). The result will be bigger donations and bigger checks to charities. Broader participation and broader branding. It's brilliant.

Congratulations, Harald, and congratulations, Yard House. Nice work.

Next time you go to a restaurant, ask if they are part of Round It Up America. If they are, round it up. If they're not, ask them to visit Round It Up America and join. It's worth it and it's easy. And easy is the new easy.

Brock

Tuscan Chicken on Grilled Portobellos

2010-10-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is a bold and easy meal. It hits that spot for intense flavors, and can cook up in about 20 minutes. You'll want to marinate the chicken for at least a few hours, or before you leave for work in the morning, but it couldn't be much simpler than this.

Tuscan Chicken:

Marinate chicken thighs (or breasts or whatever part you like) in white wine, rosemary, lemon juice, salt and garlic.

Heat your grill, and throw this on for about 15-20 minutes. Top with lemon juice, salt and fresh basil.

Grilled Portobellos:

Rub olive oil, salt and pepper into both sides of the mushroom. Grill for about 15 minutes, turning often. This is meaty! You can have this as your main dish if you don't want meat, or if you want to go full vegetarian.

Side these dishes with some melon chunks and have lemon wedges for squeezing, and you're ready to go.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Braised Taiwanese Ribs with Wheat Nooles, Ginger Scallion Sauce and Grilled Soy Sauce Chicken

2010-10-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

I was inspired for this meal by a picture of a guy eating noodles at David Chang's Momofuku Noodle Bar. It's amazing when even an image of someone else eating can inspire you to cook! Well, that's me. I'm inspired by many things, including pictures of people hogging down.

Anyway, I won't lie...the Ginger Scallion Sauce you see here is an exact replication of David's recipe in his book, Momofuku. Granted, I don't think the consistency in mine looks like the consistency in the images in David's book. But, maybe I'm wrong. And, to be honest, I was disappointed. It lacked depth, it lacked punch, and it lacked complexity. I can cook, trust me, so it wasn't my skills. And, I rarely, rarely follow a recipe point-by-point. This one time I did, and I was not happy with the outcome.

I don't know David, but I certainly hope he's not one of those chefs who leaves out key ingredients in his cookbooks simply so that people can't replicate his work. That's just plain stupid. The day a home chef puts a professional chef out of business simply because the home chef uses the exact same recipe at home is probably the same day an ostrich will fly. If you're that good, your skills will be greater than the sum of your ingredients.

It actually reminds me of why I don't follow cookbooks in the first place. Years ago, I bought a few Williams-Sonoma cookbooks, because the pictures looked amazing and made me think the recipes would be as well. They were not. They sucked...horribly. I think Williams-Sonoma saw an opportunity for product variation based on brand recognition and went for it. In my mind, an utter and complete FAIL! You want the best cookbook? Ask your grandma to write down her recipes. Start with that. Find someone who really cooks and will be honest with you. Have them write down their recipes, and that will be the best cookbook you will find. Why? Because it's real.

Anyway, that was a l o n g departure from the recipes here. And, you can bet that I won't leave out ingredients on purpose. Because my memory fails? Yes. But intentional - never!!

Braised Taiwanese Ribs:

This is inspired by the Taiwanese beef noodle soup found in many Taiwanese restaurants in the US, like Sim Ba La, and obviously in Taiwan. I adapted the flavors from that beef soup into a braise mix for pork ribs.

1-2 pounds meaty pork ribs cut into 2 inch sections (have your butcher do this, unless you want to cut through bone). Season with salt and pepper.

In a dutch oven, add some vegetable oil and brown the ribs on all sides, about 4 minutes. You may need to do this in two batches. Put those into a bowl nearby.

In the pot, add 1 chopped red onion. Fry for 2 minutes, then add 6 garlic cloves, pressed. Fry for 30 seconds. Add a couple star anise with seeds, continue frying. Add 4 chopped vine-ripe tomatoes. Stir. Add back in ribs and accumulated juices. Add 1 can of beef broth. I use Swanson's. Add 1/2 cup of soy sauce. Mix well.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Let this braise for 2-3 hours. You can stir occasionally, but keep in mind that the longer the ribs braise, the more they will fall from the bone. You want to keep them intact, so don't stir too much.

When they're braised enough, they're done. I removed them with tongs and set them on my noodles. They'd be good with rice too. You can also use the braising liquid to spoon over.

Wheat Noodles:

For this, just pick a good noodle and cook it according to instructions. Toss with a tiny amount of sesame or vegetable oil. Set aside for use.

Ginger Scallion Sauce:

Chop ginger and scallions and add vegetable oil. Follow David's recipe, and add some of your own thoughts. For me, I'd use less oil, some salt, a red chili, and some sugar.

Grilled Soy Sauce Chicken:

Marinate your chicken in 1/2 soy sauce and juice of 2 lemons, plus some sesame oil and a splash of sake. A pinch of ginger, salt, pepper, and garlic. This is an intense marinade, so I like to brighten the flavor on the grill by squeezing lemon on the chicken while it cooks. Probably need 15 minutes of cooking time.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Grilled Vodka Salmon and roasted tri-color potatoes with pancetta and salt

2010-10-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

This is a perfectly acceptable "healthy" meal in my book. It has fish, a veg, and a potato that isn't fried. Argue if you want, but I don't see any reason why you can't eat like this every night of the week.

You already know that I'm a big salmon fan. I eat fish all the time, and salmon is one of the top pics. I'll tell you this, though. For the longest time - maybe almost a year - I've been eating salmon fillets. Then, a few weeks ago, I made a salmon steak. Wow! Wow! Wow!!! That extra flavor coming from the bones, fat, skin and other components you don't find in a fillet impart SO much more flavor. But, you can't beat the adaptability of a salmon fillet, so don't worry about making this dish with anything else.

So, I usually get into building fish dishes around Asian flavors because they meld so well. I just wanted something different, though, so I thought of building the flavor around vodka. I also had panchetta on hand and some tri-color potatoes, so I knew that would work with it. Snap peas were a nice color and texture balance, so I picked them for the trifecta.

Grilled Vodka Salmon:

Marinate the salmon fillets in enough vodka to cover halfway, along with the juice of one lemon, salt, pepper, and a glug or two of olive oil. Let these marinate at least 1 hour. Take them from the fridge at least 20 minutes before going to the grill.

Heat your grill. Baste the fillets with the marinade, cooking about 3-4 minutes per side. Top with a pinch of kosher or other chunky salt. I used a pink Hawaiian salt, but I don't think you can catch it in the image.

Roasted Tri-Color Potatoes with Pancetta and Salt:

I picked up a bag of tri-color potatoes at Trader Joes. I also bought my pancetta there. In a roasting pan, I mixed a bunch of chunk-cut potatoes with olive oil, cubed pancetta and kosher salt. That's all you need. Roast on 350 for 20 minutes, then 450 for 20 minutes or so. Mix everything up once or twice during the cooking time, to ensure you're distributing flavors (pancetta) and nothing is burning or sticking.

Blanched Snap Peas:

Drop them into boiling salt water for 30 seconds. Drain and top with kosher salt.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Crepes

2010-10-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Crepes are an interesting thing. They wow people, they're adaptable, and they rock the free world. But, they're also somewhat delicate. You can tear and burn them in a flash. You can also ruin them with too much of this or not enough of that.

I have a basic recipe for crepes below, and it's easy to make. But, the thing you'll learn about making crepes is not so much what goes into the crepes as much as how you make them.

Crepes:

2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs powder sugar

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat 2 eggs and 1 cup of milk. Pour this wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix well.

Put the crepe mixture into the fridge for about 30 minutes.

When it's time, bring out the mixture, mix it well again.

Melt 3 Tbs butter in a large non-stick skillet. Pour the melted butter into your crepe mixture, and mix well.

The first thing you notice is that your pan has a lot of butter in it. That's a good thing! Your first crepe will be heavenly heavy, with a buttery sheen and plenty of depth.

Holding your mixture in one hand (I usually use either a small mixing bowl with a handle, or for larger batches, I use a plastic drink pitcher), and holding your hot pan in the other, start pouring the mix into the pan while you're moving the pan around to let the mix coat the bottom of the pan. You'll have to tilt it pretty far, because the batter will immediately begin to stick to the pan, so this is a quick process.

Sorry I didn't take a picture of this part of the process (I was using both hands at the time!), but think of having a basketball and setting your pan on the top of the ball. As you pour the batter into the pan, you would be sliding the pan around the sides of the ball in a full circle, so your batter moves in all directions.

You'll get the hang of this, trust me. At first your crepes will be thick. After a while, you can make paper-thin crepes with ease.

Second thing you'll notice is that they cook fast. I have a numbered gas stove, so I usually put it on 6 or 7 (out of 10). Medium or medium-high is the ticket. Unlike a pancake, you won't see bubbles form. You need to look at the color change and browned edges. Sometimes you'll flip too soon and sometimes too late. Don't worry about it, practice makes perfect!

The third thing you'll notice is that as you continue using your mix, the crepes appear a bit dryer. That's the butter in your pan being absorbed by each prior crepe. Maybe every 3 or 4 crepes, add a thin sliver of butter and whirl around.

The end result is spectacular. You an eat these with any type of syrup, jam or jelly. My wife loves them with rum-simmered bananas. I love them with white-wine-simmered strawberries.

Either way, you'll enjoy!

~ Brock

Arroz con Vieiras y Alcachofas, camarones a la parrilla, y escarole

2010-10-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Spanish food rocks! I was inspired for this dish by Jose Andres and his Made in Spain show.

One thing you'll soon pick up (if you cook enough) is that recipes in books, TV, etc. are never what they seem. They tell you cook this for 10 minutes, and it really needs 50 minutes. They say add 1 tsp of a spice and you really need 2 Tbs. That's why you can't cook without some degree of intuition.

If you've ever followed a recipe exactly as stated and wondered why it tastes like crap, here's why: the recipe is a general idea of the sought after dish. It's a Cliff's Notes version of the real task of making something.

So here's what I'd like you to do. Take a recipe from your favorite book or TV show. Get out everything they tell you to do. Now double the spices, except the salt. Yes, DOUBLE THE SPICES. Try it. What happens? Well, for one, maybe you have a flavorful dish. Next time, cook whatever it is you're cooking for twice as long. See what happens. You'll be surprised, and you'll learn something in the process.

Enough of that, here's how I made my Spanish meal.

Arroz con Vieiras y Alcachofas [Rice with Scallops and Artichokes]:

First, get your sofrito. You'll need at least three large dollops of that.

Take three large ripe artichokes and get them down to the hearts. Here's a pretty decent video on getting it down to the heart, so watch it if you don't know what you're doing. Store the hearts in a large bowl of cold water with some fresh lemon juice and Italian parsley. When you're ready for them, cut each heart into 8 pieces (4 if they're small).

Get a handful of clean mushrooms, and chop them.

Pour a couple Tbs of olive oil in a large pan and drop in your artichokes. After about 2 minutes, add your mushrooms. Fry this all up for about 5-7 minutes, adding 1/2 cup of white wine somewhere along the line. Then, add your sofrito. Stir it and mix well, being careful not to burn the mixture. Add three cups of water and bring to a boil, while stirring. Once boiling, add 1 cup of arborio rice. Mix well and boil on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, then cover and lower heat for about 15 minutes.

Add juice from a lemon, and one Tbs smoked paprika, as well as 2 bay leaves. Mix well and put the lid back on for another 20 minutes or so. Low heat.

Meanwhile, add salt and pepper on your scallops (about 1 handful of bay scallops). Pan fry them in olive oil for 2 minutes. You do this right before your rice is done. You're going to add these into your rice when it's done. Once you add them in, mix well and you're good to go!

Camarones a la parilla [Shrimp on the grill]:

Take 1/2 shrimp and marinate in 1/2 cup white wine, handful of chopped parsley, juice from 1 lemon, salt, pepper and paprika. Thread onto a skewer and grill for about 2 minutes per side.

Escarole (pan fried):

Wash and chop a head of escarole. Heat olive oil in a large pan and fry it for 2 minutes. Add 2 Tbs water, put a lid on and cook down for a couple minutes. Take off the lid, add some kosher salt and you're done!

This whole meal works well with a bit of aioli (mayo, olive oil and pressed garlic).

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Sofrito

2010-10-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

This is a base for Spanish cooking. It's really simple, but do it right and do it well.

Sofrito:

Finely dice one large onion. Sautee it in olive oil until translucent, but not browned. Add 3 cloves pressed garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add one large can of crushed tomatoes (24oz). Mix well, reduce to medium-low or low heat and cook for about 30-40 minutes, stirring often.

~ Brock

Sweet and Salty Pan Fried Shrimp on Edamame-Wasabi Puree, with Sake-Spiked Mushrooms

2010-10-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Some things are exactly as they appear. You might look at a dish and think it's complex, but simplicity is a key to cooking. Although I'm not afraid to be in the kitchen all day long, I tend to gravitate towards meals that take 30 minutes or less. In fact, most of my recipes can be executed from start to finish in a very short time - most under 30 minutes.

Anyway, here's a simple, but intensely flavorful dish you'll want to try right away.

Sweet and Salty Pan Fried Shrimp:

As the name suggests, these are sweet (sugar) and salty (salt). Take 1 pound of shrimp and mix with 2 tbs sugar and 1 tbs salt. Set aside for 15 minutes. Shake off or rinse off excess salt/sugar. Boom, they're ready to cook. Heat 1 tbs vegetable oil, and pan fry for 2-3 minutes.

Edamame-Wasabi Puree:

This is a brilliant addition to shrimp. Cook 1/2 back of edamame according to instructions. Drain and shell the beans into a processor. Squeeze some wasabi into the beans and add 1/2 water. Start your processor. Slowly add water into the mix until you reach your desired consistency. Taste. You may need more wasabi, or you might need a little kosher salt. Add some if you need it, mix again, and then you're ready for use. This can be eaten warm, or cold. If you refrigerate it, it may turn a little firm, so you may have to add a little water and mix before use if it's too cold.

Sake-Spiked Mushrooms:

Chop your favorite mushrooms. I used crimini, but you could use just about any type. Add some olive oil to a pan and start frying your mushrooms. After about 1 minute, add 1/4 sake. Keep stirring and frying. Cook up for another 3-5 minutes. Add some kosher salt and you're ready to go.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Spicy Baked Scallops

2010-10-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is a take on your typical sushi bar baked scallop dish. It's straight-forward, flavorful and easy to fit in your counter broiler.

Spicy Baked Scallops:

Set aside 1 or 2 cups of bay scallops. Make sure they're completely thawed, drained of any liquid. Put them in ramekins about 1/2 full. Add some spoonfuls of mayonnaise, and some squirts of Sriracha. Finely chop some green onions and add them into the mix. Mix well.

Place in your mini-oven or broiler and make on high for about 10 minutes, or until nicely browned and charred on top.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Broiled Miso Salmon

2010-10-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is one of the easiest dishes to make, and it has so much flavor. Literally two ingredients - miso paste and salmon. I think it works best with a salmon steak, although you could do it with a fillet. Ultimately, the steak is superior and broils nicely.

Broiled Miso Salmon:

Take a salmon steak about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Slather it in miso paste, put it in a zip lock bag, and put it in the fridge for at least 4 hours. You can even put it in the miso overnight.

When you're ready, let the salmon rest on the counter at least 15 minutes before you cook it. Heat your broiler. If you've had the miso in the bag longer than a couple of hours, you'll want to rinse it off before you cook it. Otherwise, just wipe off the excess miso.

Broil this for about 7 minutes on the first side, then flip and broil for another 7-10 minutes until it's cooked through and nicely charred.

Enjoy this with a pan fried vegetable (like spinach & garlic or something like that) and some rice.

~ Brock

Japanese Scallop Ceviche

2010-10-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

This was a slight twist on my Scallop Ceviche recipe. I originally used this for a Kentucky Derby party, but this version was for a small family gathering.

So, if you want to make this, follow my original recipe, but in the gremolata, add some minced green onion, and a splash of ponzu sauce. Also, you'll notice the color in the sauce on this one is much deeper orange than the original. For this version, I used honey tangerines. I wanted the scallops to rest in a sauce, so I made some fresh honey tangerine sauce (juice from 2, plus lemon juice, walnut oil, ponzu, and sugar), and made it ice cold to pour over before serving.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Fesenjan (Persian Chicken in Pomegranate Nut Sauce) and Tabbouleh

2010-10-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Persian food is fantastic. In fact, all Middle Eastern food is fantastic. I'm a big fan. Along with North African/Moroccan, these are some of my favorite foods to cook and eat.

But, I'm not very experienced cooking Persian food, specifically. This was a first for me.

I had Fesenjan one time in a restaurant more than a decade ago, and another time at someone's house, but other than that, it was just a craving I had. Pomegranates were on sale at Wholesome Choice, and it just made sense.

I wasn't sure what to do as a vegetable, but cucumbers sounded really good and I also had some dried apricots on hand. Also had some bulgur on hand. Tabbouleh! Add some basmati rice, and that's a meal.

Fesenjan (Persian Chicken in Pomegranate Walnut Sauce):

Start with 1-2 pounds of chicken. I used chicken breast tenders, because I'm not a big fan of dark meat, but I think this would probably be wonderful with dark meat. I browned the chicken in a small amount of olive oil, and set aside.

Dry roast 1/2 cup walnuts in a hot pan - do not burn!! Drop those into a processor and chop without turning into a paste. Set aside.

Meanwhile, finely dice 1 large onion and fry it in a bit of olive oil. Add 4-5 pressed garlic cloves, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some salt and pepper. Continue frying another minute or two.

Add in your walnuts, and about 1/2 cup of pomegranate molasses, also juice from 2 pomegranates, about 1 1/2 or 2 cups water, a couple table spoons of sugar, some salt and pepper. Add your chicken back in, along with any juices. Mix well, bring to a slow boil, and them cover and reduce to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

After about 30 minutes, use two forks to shred the chicken. Also add juice from 4 lemons. Mix well and have heat on lowest setting. If your meal is becoming too dry, add a small amount of water - maybe 1/2 cup.

Simmer for another 45 minutes to an hour. Check the flavor. Need it sweeter? Add some sugar. More 'brightness'? Add some lemon juice. Salt or pepper?

In the end, you want a well-melded, flavorful dish.

Tabbouleh:

Take 1 cup of wheat bulgur and cover with water at least 3 times the amount. Set aside for at least 30 minutes, but better for 1 hour. Drain well, and squeeze through a clean cloth or paper towels. Set in a large mixing bowl.

Finely chop a handful of parsley, and a handful of mint. Add to the bulgur. Chop 1/2 cucumber, and add in. Chop up some dried apricots and add in. Pour some olive oil (maybe 1-2 Tbs), and juice from 2 lemons. Mix well and place in the fridge.

After about 30 minutes, mix well and taste. Add salt and lemon juice, as necessary.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Cold Shrimp and Somen Salad

2010-10-06T18:01:00.001-07:00

On a hot day, you need something cool. This salad screams cool. Only four ingredients, and less than 10 minutes to make, it's a classic Summer dish.

I'm partial to somen - it's a Japanese noodle, thin, quick to cook, very adaptable, etc. A common drawback of somen, though, is it's ability to wick up liquids and flavors surrounding it. It left too long, it may turn to mush. That's why you want to cook this quick, cool it quick, and eat it quick. No problem there.

Cold Shrimp and Somen Salad:

Boil some water, add raw shrimp, and cook for 2-4 minutes.

Boil some more water, add the somen noodles and cook according to instructions (about 2-3 minutes). Immediately drain and rinse under cold water or put them in an ice water bath, then drain. The point is that you want to stop the noodles from cooking, and cool them down.

Cube some Summer fruit - watermelon, cantelope, papaya, mango...something like that.

Create a bed of romain, spinach or red leaf lettuce. Add your noodles on top. Add your fruit and shrimp on top of that. Put the plate in the fridge while you make your dressing.

Dressing - pour 1/4 cup rice vinegar in a mixing bowl. Add some sugar. Add some sesame oil. Sqeeze a lemon or lime into it. Mix well.

Drizzle dressing over your salad, and toss some kosher salt over the whole thing. You're good to go!

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Broiled Mahi Mahi on Red Pepper Sauce with Mint-Almond Pesto, side of Mint-Honey-Soy Shrimp

2010-09-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

It was over 100 degrees today, so I was craving something cool. Mint sounded cool. No meat, maybe fish or chicken? Hmm...decisions. So I opted for fish. Probably because I wanted to stay indoors, and the idea of broiling fish sounded appealing.

But what to do with the mint? I've been craving a pesto for a while, but was also craving some North African flavors. I needed red peppers in there somewhere. Ah ha! A red pepper sauce, and something like Chermoula on the fish. But not real Chermoula, the idea of it, because I wanted something that crossed between Chermoula and pesto. Something with mint, but no cheese. Something with almonds too.

Right, got it.

Broiled Mahi Mahi:

I wanted a basic salt and pepper, and a bit of olive oil, season. Let the sauce and pesto do the talking and use the fish as a palette. So, season it up and let it sit for about 10 minutes on the counter or 30 minutes in the fridge. Heat up your broiler, and broil on a wire rack for 4-5 minutes, then flip and broil another 4-5 minutes.

The fish was cooked, but I wanted a bit more blackening on it, so I busted out the torch. 30 seconds of flame and it was good to go.

Red Pepper Sauce:

You need a good 30 minutes to make this sauce, so I'd start it way before you even pop the fish in the broiler.

You need a jar of roasted red peppers, drained. Puree in a processor and set aside. Meanwhile, bring 1 cup of white wine and 1 large, minced shallot, to a boil, then reduce heat for 5 minutes. Add red pepper mixture and simmer for 10 minutes on lowest setting. Use an immersion blender and blend. Add salt and pepper, and continue simmering.

You'll notice when you blend a vegetable or fruit, like tomato, red peppers, etc., once you use the sauce, the solids will release liquid onto the plate (see picture for liquid escaping the solids in the sauce). The flavor was great, but I think I'd do one of two things next time - either strain the mixture, discard the solids, then using only the liquid, finish with butter, or keep everything, but thicken with a roux. A sauce like I made is only good for about 15 second before it starts to release liquid and destroys your plating. Salt and pepper to taste before plating.

Mint-Almond Pesto:

I grow fresh mint in my backyard. It's like a weed, and right now I have a ton of it. I grabbed about 1 smashed handful of it, shoved it into a processor, along with about 1/4 cup sliced almonds, 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup olive oil, juice from 1 lime, and salt and pepper. Process that into a chunky paste. The garlic gives it a wonderful bite!

Mint-Honey-Soy Shrimp:
Mix 1-2 Tbs honey with 2-3 Tbs soy sauce and about 1 Tbs chopped mint. Add salt and pepper. Mix well into shrimp and let them marinate at least 20 minutes. Before cooking, drain them well. Heat a small amount of oil and pan fry the shrimp for 2-3 minutes. Top with a small amount of fresh mint.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers with Caramelized Onions

2010-09-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest, I took 10 or 12 pictures from all different angles and couldn't find a single image that made this dish look appealing! Sorry, it was excellent, but I just couldn't capture it. It was my plating...I just didn't know how to present this dish. Maybe I should have roasted it open faced, but I didn't. Instead, I roasted the peppers standing up, then sliced them down the middle and opened then sideways.

Anyway, let's start with the onions...

I sliced 2 yellow and 1 red onion. Placed them in a steel pan with a small amount of olive oil on medium-high. Stirred for a few minutes, then lowered the heat to medium, stirring every few minutes for about 30 minutes. I tossed a small amount of sugar into the onions the last 10 minutes for added sweetness. These were perfect and could accompany many, many things.

Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers:

I was craving wheat bulgar, so that's where I started. A cup of bulgar, 1.5 cups of chicken broth. Cooked it for about 15 minutes, then set it aside. don't worry if it's done cooking, because it's going to cook plenty inside the pepper.

I also sliced up some crimini mushrooms and sauteed those with white wine, garlic and olive oil. Mixed those in with the bulgar.

I chopped some vine ripe tomatoes and added those to the bulgar mix.

I cut the tops of the red peppers, and cleaned out the insides. I stuffed then with the bulgar mix, then drizzled some white wine and olive oil on the top. Into a pre-heated oven on 400 degrees until they looked done - maybe 40 - 60 minutes.

This meal was healthy and have amazing flavor development. Just needed to figure out plating and this would have been amazing.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Eastern Mediterranean Pita

2010-09-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

There's a brilliant chef in Tustin and her name is Zov Karamardian. Her restaurant, Zov's, is amazing. She also came out with a book, Zov: Recipes and Memories from the Heart. I picked it up at Costco earlier this year and am glad I did.

Anyway, I was craving Greek, Middle Eastern or something along those lines, and was trying to figure out a good meat recipe. I flipped through Zov's book and found one for skirt steak. I noticed it combined flavors of Asia and the Mediterranean...I was sold.

I pretty much stayed true to the recipe, which is very rare for me, but I was way to curious about her execution on it. Topped that on a pita, along with chopped red onion, red leaf lettuce, cucumber, and a simple yogurt sauce (greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic).

Healthy and quick.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Rosemary Smoked Chicken and Apples

2010-09-25T08:38:00.001-07:00

Here you see the setup. Sure, it sounds appealing, maybe even looks appealing. It certainly did to me. But let me break some things down for you before you try this recipe.

First, my intention was to get a massive amount of smoke directly onto the chicken. In theory, this would have been great. And, the smoke from rosemary is nice and compliments chicken well.

The setup, as you see, had a blanket of rosemary on top of aluminum foil. I coated the base with olive oil. Then, on top of the rosemary, I added some sliced apples. On top of that, the chicken. Here's a quick detour for the chicken flavoring: A handful of chicken breasts or chicken breast tenders, coated in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. I love paprika, so you see I coated it with a solid amount.

Now onto the setup.

When I placed the setup on the grill, it started working right away. Smoke! After a couple of minutes, though, the rosemary was breaking down and it became apparent that the chicken was soon going to be resting directly on burnt rosemary. I figured I'd let it play out.

As I suspected, the rosemary completely broke down into burnt matter and oil. It did not stick to the chicken as I thought it would, but that doesn't mean the flavor wasn't overwhelming.

The finished result was visually appealing, but the rosemary fragrance and oils were overpowering- to the point of being disgusting. The apples were worse, since they soaked up even more of the fragrance and oil.

Next time, I think the idea would succeed if I built a true barrier between the rosemary and the chicken, but allowed some - not all - of the rosemary smoke to penetrate the chicken. What I'm thinking is that I'd completely cover the rosemary with apple slices, since they imparted a natural sweetness to the chicken and helped defuse the power of the rosemary on the chicken...I just didn't have enough apples to create a barrier. I would not let the chicken rest directly on the rosemary.

You might be wondering why I just didn't set up my smoke box with rosemary and keep it simple...I wanted the direct smoke, that's it. Perhaps a better solution would have been to add some wood chips to the rosemary (or even put the chicken directly on top of the wood chips - that would be interesting).

Anyway, give it a shot. Here's the finished plate.

Pan Fried Mahi Mahi on Farfalle Diavolo

2010-09-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

I love dishes that come purely from need. Like the need to use up that can of tomato sauce, or that need to free up some freezer space by using those frozen fillets. I also love to build meals off a single ingredient, so let's begin.

If you follow me at all, you know I eat a lot of fish. Mahi Mahi is pretty much a staple in my house, so when I felt like eating some fish, it was the clear choice. I didn't feel like turning on the BBQ, and I love the crispy exterior texture of a good pan-fried fish, so that part was done.

On to the side.

My wife is always asking me why I don't cook more vegetables. Probably because I don't want to eat them, but I do try...for her, at least. I open the fridge, and guess what? No vegetables. So, I'm thinking that the fish should go on or with something and I literally have nothing that sounds good.

Pasta? Hmm? Interesting, because a pan fried Mahi Mahi with a cream pasta sounded great. But no cream, so that was out. It crossed by mind to do a Vera Cruz style, which I love, but something about that just didn't sound good.

I go to the cupboard and see a tiny can of plain tomato sauce- purchased for some reason months ago that went unused. Boom, the thoughts come pouring in...tomato-based pasta, but not just any pasta, Farfalle. And then it hit me...I had some frozen artichoke hearts, I had some sun dried tomatoes, plenty of garlic, a red onion. Done deal.

Pan Fried Mahi Mahi:

Two fillets, thawed and towel dried
Salt
Pepper
Dried oregano
Dried basil

Season the fillets and fry them in a mixture of olive oil and butter for about 4 minutes per side until done.

Farfalle Diavolo:

Cook farfalle according to instructions. Strain, toss with a light amount of olive oil and set aside.

Finely chop 1/2 red onion, and saute in olive oil on medium for 5 minutes.
Add 1 finely chopped red chili, cook another 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup thawed frozen artichoke hearts (or drain some from a can/bottle).
Add 5 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press, cook another 30 seconds - 1 minute.
Add about 1 cup of white wine (I used a Savignon Blanc), bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, drop about a handful of sun dried tomatoes into a glass mixing bowl. Add really hot water and let sit for 10 minutes. When they're soft, drain them (reserving the liquid), chop them course and add them to your diavolo. Pour about 2-3 Tbs of the liquid into your diavolo. Continue cooking.

Add a small can of plain tomato sauce to your diavolo. Stir and cook for about 5 more minutes on low heat. Add the farfalle, stir to combine.

Depending on the amount of red chili you use (and you can replace that with crushed red pepper, cayenne, or other peppers if you like), this should be a spicy dish.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Vietnamese-French-Korean Fusion

2010-09-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so that's a mouthful...not the sandwich (actually, yes, it's a mouthful too). I mean the title. But sometimes you need a little from here, a bit from there, and so on. Let's back up first.

For this meal, I needed to consider some food 'softies.' They were coming over for dinner, and I knew I needed to stretch them without breaking them. Well, your idea of stretching might be different than mine, but I wanted to take them up to the ledge and dangle them over it. No one comes to my house to eat boiled water.

And so...

I know they both like Korean BBQ. Actually, I know one of them likes Korean BBQ...the other one is scared by the process (raw meat on grill), but enjoys the results. I've done BBQ for them before, so I didn't want to have the same thing. Instead, I built backwards, from the Korean flavor and style, and backed it into a nice, end of Summer experience.

People always think of burgers as a Summer food, but I also didn't feel like making burgers. Sandwiches are a great choice, but sometimes they feel a little weak on the "experience" end of things. A ha!! Korean meat in a sandwich. To me, Lee's Sandwiches does a great job of this, although they're a bit to Disneyland for me. Anyway, Vietnamese-French sandwiches have been a hit with me for a long time, so that was all I needed.

Let's start with the meat. I used my basic Korean BBQ recipe, but on flap meat, and added some Sake. Why? Flap meat looked good at the butcher and I know it's good for sandwiches. Adding Sake? I wanted a hint of that flavor, that's all. Meat, check.

The bread? French roll - no questions asked. I picked a crappy one, though. It looked good through the bread and didn't even have a brand name. Imagine that, "French Bread." No brand. Nothing.

I chopped some red leaf lettuce, because I wanted the soft, cool texture, without the excess moisture found in Iceberg, or the excess crunch from cabbage.

I needed a pickle! Kimchi was the obvious choice. But I love the big crunch of radish (as opposed to napa kimchi). I chopped, and chopped, and chopped. Drained it, then added back in the thick part of the sauce that remained in the strainer.

Green onions? Of course. Sesame seeds, yep.

But, I wanted a twist in there. Something unexpected. I found some beautiful Shitake mushrooms and sauteed them in butter and sake. Perfect match for this!

And last, but not least, you always need a spread. Mayo is a great spread for any type of sandwich, and with the addition of some chili sauce (I used Sriracha)- it was perfection.

So, you build the sandwich, you test the waters with your friends and it works.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Filipino Pork Adobo

2010-08-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

When I was in Maui last year, I was suffering for the first couple of days because the food choices sort of suck. Unless you want to eat fast food, hotel food, or expensive-but-nasty food, you're kind of stuck in Maui.

That was until we discovered a tiny Filipino kitchen attached to the front of a two-story office complex run by a California ex-pat. The lady was awesome...she cooked like it was her home kitchen. The locals she served ate like it was her dining room (even though it was a parking lot sidewalk covered with a checkered tablecloth). It was there that my appreciation for Pork Adobo blossomed.

Back at home, I wanted to experience it in my own kitchen. After reviewing dozens of recipes, I concocted my own. I wanted something I could braise in the oven, but with browning the meat first. Minimal requirements; simple techniques.

Pork Adobo

2-3 pound pork butt or shoulder, cut into 1-1/2 or 2" cubes
5 small white potatoes (not Russet), cubed
1 onion, diced
1 cup vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
8 cloves garlic, through a press
1 Tbs sugar
salt and pepper

First salt and pepper, then brown the meat with a bit of vegetable oil in a dutch oven, set into a bowl. Add onion and fry up 5 or so minutes, add back in pork and stir up well. Mix your vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic and sugar in a bowl and pour into your pork. Bring to a boil and then move to oven.

Braise for 2 hours. Stir in cubed potatoes and braise another hour.

Remove liquid into a fat separator, then pour back into pork (after removing fat). Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with rice. We had it with macaroni salad in Maui, but I did corn here. It's your call, but you want something fresh on the side.

Kimchi Cakes

2010-06-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

I was super pleased with the results on this one. Think about it...kimchi? Cakes? It's a hard combination to top. So these have great texture and flavor. they're a good addition to a Korean meal, or about any meal where you want a little splash of spice. You can also serve them in whole cakes or in small pieces as a starter.

Kimchi Cakes:

2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup water
1 cup kimchi, diced fine
salt

Mix the ingredients, then pour into an oiled pan on medium-high heat. Cook about 3 minutes per side, watching for that nice golden color.

You'll want to add a bit of oil to the pan every so often so you get that nice color and the cakes don't stick.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Mandu (Korean Dumplings) with Spicy Citrus Dipping Sauce

2010-06-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

I love dumplings. I could eat dumplings pretty often. There are so many variations, so many styles. For this one, I made Korean dumplings or Mandu. They were great and I made a Spicy Citrus Dipping Sauce to match.

Mandu:

I purchased sweet rice dumpling wrappers, but you can choose any wrapper you like. Take a chance and try different types, different brands.

Fry up 1 onion (finely diced) for a couple minutes, then add 1 pound ground beef. You want this on medium heat, so as not to brown. Press 5 cloves garlic through a press, add some soy sauce, pepper, a bit of hoisin sauce, and salt. Stir and low-fry for a couple of minutes. Add to a large mixing bowl. Add finely chopped cabbage. Minced green onion. Finely chopped bean sprouts. Typical Mandu also uses tofu, but I didn't feel like using it, so I didn't. Mix all this well.

Get a small bowl of water, set aside. Scoop spoonful of mixture into middle of wrapper, then wipe a finger of water around the edge. Fold it over and crimp closed. Set aside until ready to fry up.

To cook - heat 3 Tbs oil on medium-high. Pan fry Mandu about 3 minutes per side. Serve with dipping sauce.

Spicy Citrus Dipping Sauce:

Juice of 1/2 lime, with a bit of zest
Some vinegar
Some soy sauce
Some sugar
Some chili oil

You'll have to experiment with the proportions, because it's all about preference.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Korean Side Dishes

2010-06-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

You can't really have Korean food, or for that matter, any Asian food, without sides. So, with Galbi and Bo Samm, along with traditional napa kimchi and radish kimchi (I didn't make either), I threw together some sides.

Spicy Potatoes:

Peal 1-2 white potatoes, shred with large-hole cheese grater, then rinse off starch. Place those in a mixing bowl, add a Tbs of rice vinegar, a dash of sesame oil, then a Tbs of Korean Hot Bean Paste (Gochujang). Mix well, place in a bowl and into the fridge for at least 2 hours before use.

Pickled Cucumbers:

Peal and slice 4 or more Persian or Japanese cucumbers (hot house or standard ones will also work, but I used Persian for this recipe). Meanwhile, bring 1 cup water to a simmer, off heat, add in 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 4 Tbs sugar, and 1 Tbs kosher salt. Mix well, and pour over cucumbers. Mix those well and into the fridge for at least 2 hours before use.

Soy-Sweet Potatoes:

Peel and cube 4 white potatoes. Rinse off starch. Heat (medium) 2 Tbs oil in pan and add 1 small onion, finely diced. Cook 3 minutes. Add potatoes. After 3 more minutes, squeeze 3-4 cloves garlic through a press, and stir for another minute. Add 1/2 water, 2-3 Tbs soy sauce and 1/4 sugar. Stir and cover, cooking for about 15 minutes. You want them cooked, but not soft...still firm. Remove and drain. Empty into container and taste. You want the sweet and salty. Add more sugar or salt to taste, then into the fridge for at least 2 hours before use.

Enjoy with meat!

~ Brock

Cucumber Cups with Shrimp, Korean Pear and Sake Vinaigrette

2010-06-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know why the one photo won't correct the rotation, but ...you get the picture!

First, peel a few large cucumbers, then cut them into 1 1/2" pieces. Then you're going to scoop out the center of each one, but leaving a bottom layer on each one. You also want to ensure you get as close to the outside wall as possible, because a thick cucumber isn't as pleasant as a paper-thin cup.

Now when I do this dish again, I'm going to pickle the cucumbers before I use them. They were good as-is, but would be much better with a nice season on them.

Meanwhile, boil a handful of shrimp, then cool and dice. Peel and dice a Korean pear. Set aside. Mince some napa kimchi, set aside. Mince some green onion, set aside.

Make your sake vinaigrette- Mix 1/2 cup sake, 1/4 rice vinegar, 2-3 Tbs sugar, a dash of sesame oil, and press 2 cloves garlic into the mixture. Shake well and use this to season your dish.

To plate, place a cucumber shell, and scoop a bit of shrimp with a bit of pear, then push down inside. Top with a small mound of kimchi, then some green onions. Pour some vinaigrette over. You can also sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top for effect.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Another Round of Galbi

2010-06-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

I won't bore you with the same recipe twice, so check it out here. This was for my son- one of his favorite dishes.

I had this with my Bo Samm, and I'll be honest, I am torn on which I prefer. The beef is always amazing, but the pork...slooooooow roooooasted....that's hard to beat.

Let me know which you prefer.

Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder (Bo Samm)

2010-06-13T12:40:00.001-07:00

When I was younger, I wasn't allowed to eat pork. Unclean. But then my God cleansed it and now I eat it at will ;).

Although the concept of a slow-roasted pig is nothing new, I got the idea for this particular dish from reading Momofuku. A wonderful book from author and chef, David Chang. But let's back up a bit...

My son is about to turn 6. We fed him everything when he was a baby, but very little of it stuck. Now, he's pretty much a mac-n-cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets kid. But, the one area where I'm really proud to say "it stuck" is with Asian cuisine. Specifically, my son can down the greatest Taiwanese food, Japanese- yes, and Korean - aaaah yeaaaah. Galbi (bbq short ribs) is one his favorites. And, since beef = growth (he's like 85% in height rankings, 15% in weight), I don't hesitate when he wants it.

But, I'm a little selfish when it comes to food, and if I need to make Galbi, you can guarantee I'm gonna cook up a feast. We were going to have 9-11 adults and 2-4 kids, so I needed massive amounts of meat. Galbi - done. Onto the pork.

It's quite simple, really. Sugar, brown sugar, and salt. That's all you need- that and a nice cut of pork. Maybe butt (which is what Momofuku calls for), but I opted for a shoulder cut...it just had my name on it. Marbled with fat, perfect size (5 pounds), and excellent color behind the glass.

Bo Samm:

1 5lb pork shoulder with plenty of good marbling of fat
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix your dry ingredients, then rub them all over the pork. Rub it good. Rub it real good. Put this into a ziplock and into the fridge for at least 6 hours, but overnight is apparently fine.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put the pork in a baking dish, small enough to fit it tight, but make sure you have a decent height on the lip, because once the fat renders, you don't want it overflowing. Put the pork in the dish, without excess liquid from bag. Roast for 6 hours, basting with the juices at least once per hour. After 4 hours, flip the roast and sprinkle some brown sugar on top.

Remove from oven and shred. Set aside to eat with lettuce, spicy bean paste, kimchi, etc.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Playing With Meat

2010-06-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

We've all wondered it at some point or another, haven't we? I mean, what are the rules, anyway? Meat-wise, I mean.

Well, for starters, get fresh meat. That's a no-brainer, you'd think, but I can tell you from experience there are some stores that don't follow this logic and some shoppers who don't seem to notice/care. For instance, when your meat smells rancid, chances are, it is. Bloody- yes. 'Meaty'- yes. Should it smell like a rodent, a fish, poop, or gasoline? No. Those are not indigenous smells.

And if it smells ok, what about the color? Do this - go buy a cheap steak from 3 different grocery stores. Take it home, slice each one down the middle and look at the insides. Anything resembling tree rings with various shades of red, purple, brown and black? The longer meat sits, the longer the liquids (blood, water, etc.) penetrate and permeate. And oxygen? Yep, if impacts your meat as well. Granted, you may always see a slight bit of color saturation when you slice through a raw cut of beef, what you don't want to see is red surrounding purple surrounding black/brown. Get it fresh.

Now here's an interesting question I get all the time: what's the best way to cook a steak? Trust me, it's not my lawyer instincts when I tell you, "it depends." The reason why, is because the "best" way to cook a steak depends on your goals, your anticipated meal, your available cookware, etc., etc., etc. For instance, I can cook a steak on a gas grill for 45 minutes or I can cook it in 8 minutes. Same cut, same spices - totally different result. Also totally different styles. Not that you can't match a Chimichurri sauce with either, but knowing a bit about real Argentinian cooking, you'd probably go with the long and low grill (and it wouldn't be gas if you had a choice). But what if you wanted to go with a nice red wine sauce? Well, the grill doesn't lend itself to a pan sauce because there's no pan. So, you'd need to opt for a pan fried steak.

But is the question really about the best way to cook a steak? Or, is it the best manner (i.e., slow, fast, high-heat, low heat, etc.) to cook a steak once you've chosen a certain method (i.e., grill, pan, etc.). I mean, honestly, do you ever ask yourself whether a pan fried steak is better than a outdoor grilled steak? Not that there's not a difference (there is), but it's not really the right question, is it? I can cook an awesome pan steak. I can also cook an awesome grill steak. I can also cook a piece of crap steak in either.

What you need to do is master a method and manner of cooking a piece of meat. That's what I did.

Pick a cut of steak and pick a method (i.e., grill or pan). Start with a basic dry rub (salt, pepper, garlic, paprika is a nice one). Now practice and learn your grill, learn your fire. Where are the hot spots. Can I sear in one area and not in another? Does the meat cook at a different rate if I have multiple pieces on the fire? Should I open or close the lid? Smoke or none? These are all questions you should answer for yourself - after you've tried them all.

And here are a few tips along the way:

1. Never put meat straight out of the fridge and onto a fire. Let your meat come up to room temperature first.

2. Never cut your meat while it's cooking. You lose moisture and your meat gets tough and overcooked.

3. Never cut your meat as soon as it's done cooking. Let it rest at least 5 minutes, but closer to 10 for best results. I don't know the scientific description, but as you wait, the juices flow back into the meat causing a juicier result.

4. Don't sear your meat by burning it to black.

That's 4 rules. 4! Yet, I see many, many, many would-be home cooks break all 4 rules all the time and wonder why their meat tastes like crap. And these rules apply to a good old steak a hamburger...whatever.

Think about it, is it you? Do you take your steak home from the store, rub it with spices, put it in the fridge. Hours later, you light the grill and as soon as it's hot, you pull the steak right out the fridge and onto the grill? Then, about 7 minutes later when smoke billows out, you flip it, only to discover it's charred, burnt and black. Then, 1 minute later, you grab a steak knife, slicing into your meat to determine if it's done? The juices and blood flow out, so you think it's undercooked. You leave it on another 4-5 minutes to be sure, but by that time, you think it needs another flip to seal the hole you cut? So, you flip it for good measure. Now you've cooked your steak about what? 15 minutes? You hoped it would be medium or medium-well, but it's black, dry and way overcooked.

Here's a perfect steak. Take it out of the fridge. Season it with a dry rub and a bit of olive oil. Leave it out on a plate out of the fridge. Heat your grill to medium-high (I use a 5 burner grill and I turn on the right 2 and leave the left 3 off. I put my steak mid way between the front and the back of the grill in between burners 1 and 2). When the steak has been out of the fridge between 30-60 minutes, I grill it for 4 minutes, then flip it and cook another 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness. I let it rest slightly covered in foil for about 10-15 minutes, then slice against the grain. That's perfection. 8 minutes to cook a steak. If you cook 15, that's WAY too long.

Alright, enough about meat. Go explore.

Brock

Red Chili Shredded Pork

2010-06-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

I did not take a picture - what a mistake. Not that it would capture the beauty, or even could. I take most pics with my iPhone, but when it comes to shredded meat dishes (like my Mole), it isn't pretty. It's the taste that's pretty..the texture, the aroma, the experience. But that's why cookbooks with pictures sell, isn't it? I mean, look at Williams-Sonoma cookbooks. Beautiful pictures, but the recipes suck. At least all the ones I've tried. Then I have these Russian, Greek and Spanish cookbooks - no pictures. Some have some hand drawings, but nothing photographic. You try those - any of those - and they taste amazing. Imagine that while you imagine making this recipe.

Well, I put this together for a Memorial Day get together. I was supposed to make chili...this kind of fits that category, but not really. Well, it turns out I had family in town and didn't make it to the store to get what I needed for chili. What I did have was everything for this. So here we go.

Red Chili Shredded Pork:

Preheat oven to 325.

Start with a 3-4 pound pork shoulder. There was plenty of fat on this one, and I chose not to trim it. I felt the length of the braise would render that fat real nice into the meat...I was right. Cut the pork into large chunks, maybe 2" squares. Salt, pepper and New Mexico Chili these bad boys all around and set aside. Chop two onions, 1 red bell pepper, and 6-8 red chilis. Set aside.

Heat about 2 Tbs olive oil in dutch oven. Fry half the meat until browned on all sides - about 10 minutes. Put in a bowl and do the same to the other half of the pork. Remove to bowl, then drop in onions, red bell peppers and red peppers. Fry up about 5 minutes. Add back in pork and accumulated juices and mix well.

Pour in 1 tall can of good beer. I'm not a beer drinker and I have no idea what "good" beer is, but my neighbor gladly slipped me a Coors and that worked just fine. Pour it in, bring to a boil while adding - 3 Tbs Pasilla ground chili, salt, pepper, 6 cloves garlic through a press, 2 bay leaves, juice of 1 lime (and spent lime), ground cumin and coriander.

Put this in the oven for 2.5-3 hours. Bring it out, shred the pork with a fork (this will take almost no work at all). Put it back in the oven and turn off the heat. Let it sit in another 30 minutes until you're ready to eat. It's damn good.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Shredded Chicken Mole

2010-05-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes pictures just don't do you justice. The truth is, this dish was excellent. Try it and you'll see.

Shredded Chicken Mole:

Take about 5 large breasts, or 8-10 tenders. Chop into olive-sized chunks and give a nice dose of salt and pepper. Chop 1 half large onion, set aside.

Pan fry chicken with about 2 Tbs olive oil on high until starting to brown. Add in onion and fry another few minutes. Pop in 6-8 cloves garlic through a press. Stir and fry another minute or so. Squeeze juice from 2-3 juicy oranges into mix, and also add 1 1/2 cup boiling chicken broth. Stir, bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Add in 2-3 Tbs dried Pasilla chili, more salt and pepper, some New Mexico chili powder, some onion powder, some ground cumin. Simmer this for at least 20 minutes, maybe 30. Break up and shred the chicken with a fork and spatula. Add in some dark chocolate. I used about 3 Tbs of 70% dark chocolate. Melt that in for about 5 minutes, and you're ready to go.

Serve with tortilla chips as an appetizer.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Potato Cakes with Mango Chimichurri and Pan Seared Butter Shrimp

2010-05-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

Less than 30 minutes from brain to table...

I don't know about you, but starch is my personal friend. So is oil. Come to think of it, this plate has just a bunch of my close friends - spice, shrimp, mango, sour, the list goes on. I think the plating is off though. Maybe I should have stacked the mango on the potato cake, and the shrimp on the mango? Or maybe the shrimp on one potato cake and add diced mango on top, surrounded by chimichurri? Who knows.

Anyway, I wasn't exactly sure how the potato cakes would turn out, since this was a first time experiment for me. I also knew I wanted something with a punch to dip the cakes into, and I had some fresh Italian parsley on hand - chimichurri was a logical choice. Also fresh mango? Why not.

Potato Cakes:

3 large potatoes, skinned, washed, and shredded using a large cheese grater. Grate those into a bowl and have a colander ready. You want to wash the starch off, so you're going to soak the potatoes for a few minutes, then run them into the colander with fresh water running over, then back in to the bowl. Repeat the cycle a couple of times until the water runs clear. Drain them well, and dry them with a towel. Set aside, but use within 15 minutes, or they're gonna turn pink, green and nasty.

Pour about 1/4 cup of flour into a large bowl. Add cold water slowly, mixing as it goes in. You're making a batter that runs with the consistency of a pancake batter but slightly runnier. This is a trial and error task. It's maybe 50-50 water flour, but possibly less water. Blend well, breaking up all flour chunks.

Now stir in ample amounts of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Mix well.

Meanwhile, grate 1/2 onion and 1/4 carrot into the mixture bowl. Add one beaten egg. Mix well.

Now take handfuls of potatoes at a time and mix into your master bowl. You won't necessarily want to add all the potatoes, but add them handfuls at a time, mixing all the time. You want a consistency where the potatoes clump together, but it's still slightly runny. This is not a dry mixture- it is very wet.

Heat vegetable oil on medium-high at about 1" until hot. Drop large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the pan, forming into a small cake with your spoon as you go. I used a 16" pan and only did three at a time...you don't want to crowd or it will lower the oil temperature too much.

Fry about 3 minutes per side until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and plate up.

Mango Chimichurri:

Get a blender ready and add the following:

1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 olive oil
2 small handfuls of Italian parsley, chopped
1/3 of a ripe mango, diced
4 cloves garlic, through a press
salt and pepper

Blend well and set aside. Blend again before using or you might have froth develop and separation occur. I kept mine in the blender pending use.

Pan Seared Butter Shrimp:

8-10 shrimp. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, dried oregano and basil. Stir and mix well. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Heat 3 Tbs butter to medium-high and foaming. Add shrimp and increase heat to high, frying up a couple of minutes. DON'T OVERCOOK! Remove the shrimp to plate and drizzle oil atop.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Chicken Milanese with Caramelized Onions

2010-05-26T21:53:00.001-07:00

The meal you choose to cook at any given time is the function of many things, but for a Foodie - a person interested in the truth and experience of food, it's really about two things: ingredients on hand and creativity. Not everything needs to be extraterrestrial, because a good bowl of broth can be just as satisfying as a dish that looks like food version of the Pageant of the Masters. It's really about honing your ability to take one element, a technique, an ingredient, a taste, and transform that into a decent meal on your plate.

Tonight I knew one thing - I wanted Panko fried onto something. The 'something' left me a few choices...shrimp, chicken, maybe a root vegetable steamed, mashed and rolled into a ball? From one ingredient, you tend to imagine the next. For me, it was chicken. Every time, the plate just builds and builds in my mind until I imagine a finished dish. You see, if you're going to fry chicken breasts with Panko, you probably want something soft, but minor, to accompany it. Maybe a gremolata? Maybe even a small salad? I love onions, so I opted for caramelized onions. Something I also had on hand.

the carrots? Well, I didn't have any other vegetable of substance in my fridge, so there was really no choice involved. Yes, if it was up to me, I wouldn't feel the need to desecrate my plate with a vegetable, but that's part of my agreement with my wife - if I cook, there should be a vegetable.

Anyway, you start to see the picture of how this works.

But back to meal choices real quick. It's always pleasing to balance textures. A crispy chicken breast needs to be balanced with something not crispy...another reason why the carrots complimented the meal.

Chicken Milanese:

2-3 chicken tenders or 1 chicken breast per person. Pounds this out between sheets of plastic wrap or inside a freezer bag. These don't need to be paper thin...maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. If you use a full breast, you'll probably want to butterfly it and then pound it out. Once it's ready, I salt, pepper and garlic those bad boys generously. Then I sprinkle Panko all about and smash it into all sides. You'll fry these in a few tablespoons of medium-hot oil. They probably need a couple of minutes per side. Once they're on your plate, squeeze a bit of lemon to brighten them up.

Caramelized Onions:

This is really about slow cooking. Slice an onion and get a pan going medium. Add 2 Tbs oil, and add onions, stirring well. Keep the temperature high enough to keep them cooking, but low enough so as not to brown them. When I say "brown them," I mean the kind of browning that comes from a high heat. You will see the onions turn brown, but it will be a translucent brown from the breakdown of the sugars- that's a good thing. Stir constantly and you'll have beautiful caramelized onions in 20 minutes or so.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Paella and Tortilla De Patata

2010-05-20T20:43:00.001-07:00

I always look forward to Spanish food. At my house, it usually means Paella and a Tapas or two. Otherwise, it's a bunch of Tapas. The flavors are amazing, the use of seafood is exciting and it's also a chance for me to use flavors I don't always use - saffron, smoked paprika - great, but intense stuff.

This particular meal was inspired by a mouth-watering episode of Made in Spain with Jose Andres. I was lurking around Hulu and came across it. It just so happens I have a great Tapas book by him too. He went to this place that served Tortilla de patata and I was sold.

I really felt like having Paella, since it's been many months without. Tortilla and Paella? Yep, it works. Now I'm starting to get frustrated that I live in an area that purports to be diverse, yet I have not been able to locate Spanish chorizo at any store in my area. Mexican chorizo, sure. Spanish chorizo? Nope. If anyone knows where I can get it, please let me know. Meanwhile, I've had to sub Mexican for Spanish and hope for the best. I've also had to really improvise with my approach because Spanish chorizo works very differently than Mexican...the former holds its form like a sausage, the latter breaks up into tiny little pieces if you don't deal with it properly. So, for my Paella, I made Mexican chorizo meatballs first - this means I rolled them into walnut-sized balls and pan fried them in my paella pan so I'd have the oils and flavor.

Enough, let's get to the recipe...

Paella:

Fry chorizo (see note above) until nearly cooked, remove to a plate.
Fry up 1 pound shrimp until just opaque, remove to a plate.
Fry up 2 fillets of firm white fish in a bunch of 1" chunks (I used Mahi Mahi - not a traditional choice, but an excellent selection, I must say), remove to the same plate as shrimp.
Finely dice 1 onion, pour 4 Tbs olive oil into paella pan heated medium and fry towards caramelization...maybe 15 to 20 minutes. Pop 4 large cloves of garlic through a press and mix into the onions for a couple of minutes. Remove to your plate with the chorizo.
Put 6 small slices of pimenton into the pan and fry up 2 minutes, then add a whopping amount of smoked paprika. Stir and fry, stir and fry. Add 3-4 grated tomatoes or 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes and fry up 2 minutes or so. Add 3 cups of Aribol0 rice and stir to coat, frying for a couple minutes. Add 5 cups of boiling broth [I've made paella with fish broth in the past, but this time I used a chicken broth with some saffron, white wine, salt, pepper and a bay leaf - excellent]. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat slightly (keep the bubbles going, but don't have it on high). Add in the chorizo, and onion/garlic mixture, stir and let cook for 15 minute or so. Use a spatula and stir around the top of the rice and some of the liquid to redistribute and cook for another 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper, then lay out the seafood on top. Cook a few more minutes until cooked. Turn off heat and cover with foil for 5-10 minutes.

Plate your portion, squeeze some lemon juice and sprinkle some parsley.

Tortilla de Patata:

Take three small potatoes, skin and slice into really small slices...something like quarter or nickel size. Put those into a large bowl and run water through to rinse of starch, keep rinsing, then drain and dry.
Heat 1" deep olive oil and fry up the potatoes into a golden brown. Drain and reserve oil.
Caramelize 1 onion for 15 minutes. Drop into your potatoes.
Don't break up the potatoes!
Meanwhile mix 6 eggs and then add in potatoes and onions. Heat some of the potato olive oil to medium heat and pour in egg-potato mixture. shake lightly and let fry up for 5 minutes or so. Use a small spatula and make sure the side have pulled away.
Use a large plate over the top of the egg, holding the pan/plate over a large bowl, flip onto the plate, then slide the tortilla back into the pan. Poke a quick hole in the center and pour in any of the excess liquid that poured out into your large bowl. Fry up a few more minutes and remove out to plate.
The texture should be firm on the outside and soft on the inside.

Enjoy with a nice Spanish wine. I had a Tempranillo - very nice.

~ Brock

Crab Cakes with Harissa Aioli and Tunisian Corn with Sweet Sticky Rice and Harissa Sauce

2010-05-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

There's something so warm, so diverse about North African cuisine. Though there are common base ingredients in American cooking - fish, meat, grains - the flavors are nothing close. At least not to your average meal. I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon, for instance, but when ground down with paprika, cumin and coriander onto a nice cut of beef, it's mind blowing.

For my part, I often build meals around a single ingredient or something specific I want to see on my plate. In this case, I've been craving Harissa, a common hot chili sauce found in North African cooking. That was the starting point, and also knowing that I wanted crab cakes.

That was a little tougher for me, because I seriously doubt North Africans eat crab cakes. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong, but it just didn't sound common. But, that's what's happening up in my house...Harissa and Crab cakes!

And you can't have a good crab cake without aioli, can you? I like to tie my dishes together with a common thread. Often it's just garlic or tomato or something like that. But, in this case, I felt the Harissa presented a nice, strong connector. Harissa aioli? Why not?

As it came together, I recalled seeing an image of a crab cake atop some vegetables formed through a round. To be honest, I didn't really feel like having a vegetable. I also needed to consider texture and I wanted something unique - unexpected. So, I opted for corn over sticky rice.

There you have it.

Crab Cakes:

1 pound crab meat (I used claw meat from a can, but you can use any good quality crab, not imitation).
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup mayo
2 Tbs fresh herbs, chopped (I used rosemary, basil, Italian parsley, and thyme)
salt and pepper
Panko

Mix everything except panko together, leaving the crab lumps intact. Form balls and roll them in panko. Remove to baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out in panko again and pan fry in olive oil a few minutes per side. Medium-high heat, light film of oil.

Harissa Aioli:

Make your Harissa first. Then add a little bit at a time for taste to some mayo. I also push 2-3 cloves of garlic through a press and into the aioli. I'm a huge fan of garlic, so you might want 1 clove. Squeeze a bit of lemon and mix to a nice consistency.

Tunisian Corn:

Heat on medium some olive oil and throw in 1 diced onion. Stir for 5 minutes, then add an equal amount of corn. Push 3 cloves garlic through a press. Stir mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Grind down equal parts of paprika, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, and caraway seed. Add salt and pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. Stir this into the mixture. Cook another 5 minutes, then add 1-2 Tbs tomato paste. Stir and cook another 5 minutes. At the last minute or so, add in a Tbs of Harissa.

Sweet Sticky Rice:

I used Japanese sticky rice. Soak it for 1 hour. Line a steaming basket with banana leaves. Spoon the rice onto the leaves and steam for 20 minutes. Open, and pour on 1 Tbs sugar and 1 tsp Harissa. Stir and steam another couple of minutes. Ready to eat.

Harissa:

I don't know why I saved this for last, since you need it for all the other parts, but oh well. There are many ways to make Harissa. Try this one:

1 large jar of roasted red peppers, drained, placed in a blender or processor
2-3 Tbs olive oil
4 cloves garlic through a press
ground cumin, coriander and caraway. crushed red pepper or cayenne
Some juice from a lemon

Blend and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use.

Plating:

You can see from my picture how I prepared this dish. I think the crab cakes work well stacked on or against something. Think about the textures.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Korean-Hawaiian Grilled Chicken with Flambed Pineapples, Japanese-Style Macaroni Salad and Strawberry Salad

2010-05-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

I was looking at a coupon magazine and saw an ad for this Hawaiian place in Corona. I went there years ago, but thought it was disgusting then and the pictures in this magazine reminded me of just how bad it was. Instant inspiration to have it, but have it good.

If you've been to Hawaii, you know how much Japanese culture has influenced local food. I love Japanese food, but I wouldn't say I love Hawaiian. Aside from Luau food, which I find as interesting as my Junior High cafeteria food, I guess I've never really had it. I mean, sure, I've had L&L and places like that, but the meat always taste like hotdogs to me.

Anyway, I knew I wanted pineapple, so I built the meal around that.

Korean-Hawaiian Grilled Chicken:

Get out 2 chicken tenderloins, or 1 breast per person. In a blender, blend 1/2 onion (preferably Maui Sweet, but brown/yellow will do), 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 sugar, 1/4 vegetable oil, splash of sesame oil, chopped green onions and about 5-7 garlic cloves, minced. Mash up some really ripe pineapple and lay it over the top of the chicken. Pour the mixture over the chicken, and let that marinade at least 30 minuets, but up to 1 hour is good.

Heat your grill and grill the chicken, basting it in the marinade twice on each side. If you lack common sense, please remember that your marinade had raw meat in it, so make sure the last time you baste it, it has time to cook through (and, of course, remember which utensils you're using to flip, baste, etc., for the same reason).

Those will be good to go, and you can top them with chopped green onion and sesame seeds if you like. Note: Why is this Korean-Hawaiian? The base is a marinade for Korean Galbi, with the addition of pineapple (the Hawaiian contribution).

Flambed Pineapple:

I don't know how to do the little mark that goes above the "e", but this is flam-bay I'm talking about...flames!

Chop 2 cups of pineapple. Melt 2 tbs butter in steel skillet until foaming. Add pineapple and fry 1 minute or so. Sprinkle a small bit of sugar across the pineapple...this will help caramelize when the flames hit. Pour in rum (maybe 1/4 cup), and tilt to the side to catch a flame. This will become engulfed in flames, so watch the hair, clothes, people standing by, etc. The flame cooks off the alcohol, and once it's out, fry another minute.

Japanese-Style Macaroni Salad:

Cook elbow macaroni according to instructions but add 4 extra minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool. Drain again and place in a large bowl. Add sufficient mayonnaise (I use Miracle Whip - don't ask), a Tbs of sugar, some minced green onions, and mix well. Put this in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lots of people will add things like chopped celery, carrots, shallots, vinegar, etc., but I like it simple.

Strawberry Salad:

This is a really refreshing salad, and it takes 5 minutes to make. It's good with just about any meal that needs something cool and refreshing, so put it in your arsenal.

Slice 5-10 strawberries. Slice 1/2 red onion. Get bagged salad, or chop Romaine or Spinach or whatever you like...any of these will work. Place all this in a large bowl. In a mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 balsamic vinegar, and mix well. Pour over your salad and mix everything up. Put this in the fridge for 15 minutes, mixing often. You can add feta chunks, sliced almonds, candied almonds, walnuts or pecans, or even toasted pine nuts. This is a really good palate for texture.

I served this meal with basic brown rice.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Scallop Ceviche with Sake-Walnut Oil Gremolata and Lime-Sake Dressing

2010-05-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

This was an appetizer for a Kentucky Derby party I went to on Saturday (yes, the one with about 100 bottles of wine and Jason's 100 proof Mint Julep that practically killed me!). It was one of those things - "just bring wine, don't need anything else." Yeah, but it's hard to show up empty handed to a party like that. Plus, when I feel like cooking, I cannot be stopped.

So I questioned my logic of taking a seafood dish in a car ride, but trust me, I know what I'm doing. Deep ice in the ice chest, check. Also, when taking something like this from one place to another, you really need to think about flavor melds and plating. I figured I would package all the parts separate and assemble in-house. That worked just fine.

You might be wondering about the walnut oil - creativity, not confines. Since I knew I was going to use sake, I wanted an oil with nut attributes...one that worked with sake. It was a leap, but it worked.

Scallop Ceviche with Sake-Walnut Oil Gremolata:

1 pound large scallops (not Bay scallops), sliced in half across the body, i.e., left to right, not top to bottom. You will have roughly 1/2" medallions. Place those in a shallow dish, but one that will have a lid. Squeeze juice from 1 lemon, 4 Mandarin oranges, and 2 Tsp sake into dish. Add 2 cloves garlic, minced. Stir, cover, then place in fridge for 45 minutes. Stir, place back in fridge for at least another 45 minutes. (The scallops are probably ready to eat at about 60 minutes, but you can also keep them in marinade a few hours).

Meanwhile, prepare gremolata: Get about 1 Tsp lemon zest. Mince small handful of Italian parsley. Mince 2 cloves garlic. Mix it all up and add a splash of sake, and a spin of Walnut oil. Set aside.

Prepare Lime-Sake Dressing: Squeeze 2 limes into small bowl, add 1 Tsp sake, a spin of Walnut oil, and 1/4 minced Serrano chili. Add a dash of Kosher salt. Mix well and let stand at least 30 minutes before use. Mix well before using.

Now to the plating: Remove scallops to serving platter, one by one. Drain as you go, so they have a bit of moisture, but not dripping. Sprinkle a bit of Kosher salt across each one. Once they're arranged and salted, top each one with a bit of your gremolata. Then drizzle some Lime-Sake dressing all over. Finish with a small bit of lime. Ready to serve!

Enjoy!

~ Brock

The New Cork - Wine Industry Slow to Change

2010-05-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

I read an article by a guy I follow and he mentioned an article he read in the Wall Street Journal about corks and the wine industry. It's a very interesting read, so check it out. In fact, if you drink wine at all, you should really have an idea about this problem. The thing is, one company revolutionized a 400 year old cork problem. Sometimes change is not good, but sometimes it is. We're just slow to accept it.

Salty-Sweet Fried Sweet Potatoes, Spicy White Corn with Balsamic Vinegar on Seared Mahi Mahi

2010-05-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well, my friend Jason was talking about wanting to go vegetarian for a week and it got me thinking, "man, I sure don't eat enough vegetables." It's not that I don't like them, or at least some of them. It's just that I don't always think about it. I mean, maybe this meal doesn't really even count, since sweet potatoes aren't always viewed as a vegetable. They are, I understand, but you know how it is.

Anyway, you already know about my affinity for Mahi Mahi, and I was feeling like something semi-healthy for dinner. But I've also been thinking about textures on my plate, and I didn't want fish with mashed sweet potato - the textures are just too similar. So fried is always good, isn't it?

Salty-Sweet Fried Sweet Potatoes:

Peel one large sweet potato, and cube into small squares. Boil enough water to cover at least 2 inches, and boil sweet potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until edible but not completely cooked through. Drain and set aside. Dry them and salt them. Dry them again - you don't want any liquid on these when you fry them.

Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, turning and moving them around often. Salt them just a tad while in the pan once more. When you have about 1-2 minutes left, melt 2 tbs butter with 1 Tsp sugar in a small sauce pan. Remove the sweet potatoes to a bowl and dry off oil with a paper towel. Pour over butter-sugar mixture. Serve with a small amount of minced Italian parsley.

Spicy White Corn with Balsamic Vinegar:

Take 1 head of white corn and slice off kernels...set aside. Mince 2 large shallots, 1/4 Serrano chili and add to corn. Heat 1 Tsp olive oil until smoking. Add all ingredients and blacken, stirring often. Salt and Pepper. Fry and blacken a minute or two, then add 1 Tsp balsamic vinegar and stir quickly. Pour off into a bowl ready to top on your fish.

My pan seared Mahi Mahi recipe is already posted.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Seared Scallops with Citrus-Mirin Sauce, Couscous, and warm fire roasted artichoke hearts and white beans

2010-04-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

This dish takes roughly 20 minutes...need I say more?

No, but I will. Here's the thing: I get many people saying to me, "yeah, but I don't want to do gourmet all the time." Here's my response, "A CPK frozen pizza takes the same amount of time." They say, "yeah, but the work..." I say, "what, are you afraid of some work?" They say, "no, but I'm lazy. Just want to throw it in the oven and go." I say, "listen jackass, don't ask me questions if you would rather live your life on frozen pizza." They say, "why did you call me a jackass?" I say, "most likely because you are, but it was a friendly call." They say, "wow, that really hurt my feelings. Like everyone else, I like a good meal...just don't want to work for it." I say, "then why are you even having this discussion with me?" They say, "just curious." I say, "ok, so sometimes have a CPK pizza from the freezer and sometimes do this." They say, "Ok." We hug and make up.

Now, a quick word on preparation and cooking order. Your scallops are last. They only take 4-6 minutes, so have them ready to go and do them at the end. Make your couscous first, and as soon as you get that started, get your sauce going. Once both of those are going, start your artichokes. For me, I'm basically doing all three of those items at once, moving from station to station. After a few minutes, your sauce will be done and you can start letting it cool. Your couscous will just be sitting there, so finish your artichoke-bean side and do the scallops then.

Seared Scallops:

Thaw and dry off your scallops. Give them a nice dose of salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick to high with some butter in it, then sear about 2-3 minutes on each side. Do the scallops at the very end, so you can place them piping hot on your plate. If you leave them sitting too long, they'll start to release moisture.

Citrus-Mirin Sauce:

Boil 1/2 chicken broth for 2 minutes. Off heat and let cool slightly in a large bowl. Once cool, add juice from 1/2 lemon, 2-3 tablespoons Mirin, 1 tablespoon ponzu sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 tablespoon ground pepper, 5 drops sesame oil, dash of cayenne pepper. Stir well, return to sauce pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer a few minutes until reduced slightly and thicker. Remove from pan to bowl and let cool slightly.

Couscous:

Follow the directions on the box, if you bought a box kind. If you're like me and you buy couscous in bulk from a place like Henry's that has no instructions, here's what I like to do - Take about 1 cup of chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Pour in about 1/2 cup of couscous, some salt, and a little bit of fresh parsley, and stir. Off the heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. If you still have liquid, turn on the meat, stirring frequently for another couple of minutes. This is my basic recipe, but if you want some other dessert or more flavorful couscous recipes, let me know.

Warm Fire Roasted Artichoke Hearts and White Beans:

This was the experiment. My wife looked at my strange while I was making it, so wasn't sure how it would turn out. The thing is, I really enjoy experimenting with food. I'll try anything once, so it doesn't scare me to try and make something that just doesn't seem like it's going to work. Well, this worked!

I used frozen artichoke hearts, thawed them, removed all liquid, and placed on a foil lined tray in my broiler. Drizzled olive oil, salt and pepper, and crushed red pepper first. Broil those until they start to char. They'll release more liquid, so pour it off, turn and char some more. Set aside.

Drain 1 can of white beans. Rinse and set aside. Mince 5-8 cloves garlic, set aside. Mince 1 serrano chili or maybe a jalapeno. Mix in with the garlic. Pour 1 or 2 glugs of olive oil into a frying pan. Add garlic and chili and fry up for 3o seconds or so...don't let the garlic burn! Add white beans and fry on high for 2-3 minutes. Add artichoke hearts. Fry another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove to plate. Squeeze some lemon over the top, and add fresh chopped Italian parsley.

That should do the trick!

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Coq au Vin

2010-04-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

In the words of Young MC, "I ate so much I nearly split my pants."

No, I'm not on a French kick and yes, this was a lot of work. I've tried America's Test Kitchen recipe before and didn't care for it. They focus on simplicity in the prep, which is nice, but I feel like some elements of long marinade and slow, low cooking are best for this dish. This is particularly true on the thick breasts, which are generally dry and/or tasteless in so many dishes. In this recipe, I combined some techniques from Epicurious, America's Test Kitchen, some other recipes, and my own brain.

Coq au Vin

I Started with a whole chicken, cutting it into pieces. This is not an absolute necessity, since you can also make this dish with pre-cut drumsticks and breasts (all skin on), but you stay truer to form when using a whole chicken. Set pieces aside.

I chopped 2 large carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 onion, and 4 cloves garlic (minced). I dropped the vegetables into a stock pot, poured in a 750ml bottle of French wine, added 2 bay leaf, 8 peppercorns, and salt. Bring to a boil, lower and cook for about 6-8 minutes.

Pour this into a large flat baking sheet or something that will give you massive surface area. You want the vegetables/liquid to be completely cool before mixing it with the chicken. Alternatively, you can probably let it cool for 30 minutes or so, then pour it into a bowl and place in the fridge for another 20 minutes. The point is you want cool/cold liquid.

Mix in the chicken, submerging it entirely, and cover. Let this go in the fridge and marinate 6-24 hours.

Next day- Take your chicken out of the fridge. Remove each piece and shake off any sticking vegetables (reserve liquid and vegetables). Pat dry with paper towel and add salt and pepper...set aside. Fry up 8 pieces of bacon in a dutch oven. Remove when crispy but not burned. Pour off excess fat (anything more than about 2 tablespoons).

Fry each piece of chicken in the bacon fat, skin side down first, until browned, but not cooked thoroughly. While this is happening, strain the vegetables from the liquid - reserve both.

After you've browned your chicken, remove it to a plate. Add vegetables to pot and brown up for 3-4 minutes. Then add about 1/4 cup flour and stir for 1-2 minutes. Then add your reserved wine-marinade and stir, scraping up sucs from the bottom of the pot. Add 1-2 cans of chicken broth (I use Swanson's canned), and continue stirring, bringing to a boil. Add chicken, reduce heat, cover and place in 350 degree oven for at least 2 hours, but even longer is good.

When your chicken has about 20 minutes left, start making your mushrooms and pearl onions. You can use frozen pearls, so long as they're thawed first. As for mushrooms, I prefer the combination of Oyster and Crimini, but you choose what you like. I used about a brown paper sack full of mushrooms, and about 1 cup of pearl onions. Season both with salt and pepper.

Add 1/2 stick of butter to smoking hot pan and fry up mushrooms for 5-7 minutes. Remove to bowl. Add pearl onions and fry up 2-3 minutes. Remove to same bowl.

When your chicken is done, remove pieces and set on plate. Strain the liquid into a large bowl, and then put the liquid only back into your dutch oven. Add mushrooms and onions and heat on medium, add some fresh herbs like tarragon, thyme and Italian parsley, add chicken and reduce heat to low for another 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

Serve garnished with small pieces of bacon together with mashed potatoes or crusty bread.

Drink wine with this!

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Seared Mahi Mahi with Beurre Blanc, garlic "chips" and spring peas with Champagne Vinaigrette

2010-04-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

I love sauces. I also love fish. And yes, I love Mahi Mahi. I've caught it, I've had it many, many different ways, and it never really gets old. Sure, I like variety, but this is sort of a staple for me. In the seafood arena, salmon, mahi mahi, shrimp and scallops are usually in my fridge and/or freezer.

You may or may not know, but in Southern California, when we go deep sea fishing, we go for Dorado...that's the same thing as Mahi Mahi...also known as dolphin. It's a beautiful fish with intense colors that change when they come out of the water.

Back to the menu...

So I've had a need to expand my repertoire of sauces. Actually, I have a need to expand all my recipes. It's not that I'm bored or anything. It's more that I want to always push myself. I want to know 15 ways to cook anything and everything. I want to walk into someone's house, open their fridge, and come up with a menu of amazing dishes.

But still I digress...

Seared Mahi Mahi

This is straight forward. Thaw the fish, pat it dry, give it ample salt and pepper, then pan fry it in a lightly oiled pan for 3-4 minutes per side (depends on thickness). For the piece you see in this picture, I did about 4 minutes on side one and 3 on side 2...that left it good for me, maybe undercooked for you.

**Chef's Note: Many people add dried garlic (garlic powder) on everything they cook. Not that I'm opposed to the practice, but keep in mind that the garlic powder in a high heat situation like this is likely to burn or at least give an off taste from being burned. You can always add garlic powder after you cook (although you may see granules, which is very unattractive on the dish). Alternatively, you can season the fish with garlic powder while it's resting before cooking, and before you put it in, wipe it with a paper towel or rinse it off.

Beurre Blanc

2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons vinegar

Put all the foregoing into a small saucepan and boil for about 5-7 minutes, until only a few tablespoons remain. Lower heat, and add tablespoons of butter, one after the other, letting each one come close to melting entirely before adding the next. Maybe add 5 of these? Add salt and pepper to taste. Strain and use.

Garlic "Chips"

This one was purely experimental (not that everything else isn't, but you know the deal). Slice 1 potato about 1/4" thick slices. Meanwhile, mince or crush 5 cloves of garlic. Rub that into the potatoes and let sit at least 15 minutes. Wipe or shake off garlic. Heat small amount of olive oil in pan and lay out the potato slices in single layer. Shake ample salt and pepper over the potatoes and fry until starting to turn golden on first side. Flip and salt and pepper the other side. Fry for 1-2 minutes, then lower heat to low, sprinkle 1 tablespoon dried garlic all over, add 2 tablespoons water, and put a lid on it for maybe 5-8 minutes. Remove lid, pour off liquid or increase heat to evaporate liquid, being careful not to break up chips. Lower heat again and toss in small pieces of butter (pea size) and let melt and flavor. Serve.

Spring Peas with Champagne Vinaigrette

You can use frozen (thawed) or canned peas (drained) for this. You need about 1 cup of peas. Finely chop about 2 tablespoons of red onion. Add and stir. Mince 2 cloves garlic, mix in. Squeeze 1 tablespoon of lemon, mix in. Mince 1 teaspoon Serrano chili, mix in. Make your vinaigrette- 2 teaspoons minced shallots, 2 Tablespoons champagne vinaigrette, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Stir and let sit 10 minutes, then add into pea mixture and stir, let sit another 10 minutes. Serve.

This isn't unhealthy (other than the butter), it doesn't feel heavy, and it's great with a variety of wines. I had a Pillar Box red and it went extremely well.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

The Place that Sucks

2010-04-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

You've all been there...you're cruising along, looking for something to eat. Then you see it, like a diamond glimmering in the sea sand. That [quaint, cool, hip, etc.] little place off the beaten path, or maybe it's hid in plain site. Either way, you know from the looks of the place that it will rock your world.

Then you walk in. You've just confirmed everything you thought. This place has all the elements you're looking for. You take a look at the menu, price is right, choices are right, vibe is right. You order.

Then you wait.

Then the food arrives, and you scratch your head. It doesn't look like it matches up. There's something off. Maybe it's not pretty. Maybe there's an odd smell. Maybe it reminds you of something...a cafeteria? A Taco Bell? An outhouse? A public pier? You're trying to figure it out, but something is clearly wrong.

Then you take a bite and confirm that something is definitely wrong.

What's funny to me is most places that hit the food on the money look like crap on the outside. Misspelled menu items. Chipped paint. Dirty forks. But the food, the food is out of this world. But when it goes the other way, you just can't figure it out.

How can a restaurant pull off a look, a vibe, a feeling that pulls you in...and then have food that sucks?? It's not right.

Please, if you're going to have a restaurant and your food is going to suck, at least have your place look sucky too. Otherwise, you trick us.

Foodie Groups

2010-03-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

On a recent visit to Northern California, I had a brief chat with a friend about food. He lives in a mid-sized town with a total lack of culinary diversity (the local idea of Mexican food is Chipotle). Anyway, we got talking about how difficult it is to experience diverse cuisine when you live in isolated or small towns (I grew up in Barstow, so trust me, I know), and I asked him what he was doing about it.

My question was loaded. On the trip up there, I was reading an article in a skateboarding magazine and it was talking about kids that live in cities with no skate scene. The advice? Start one.

Well, my friend told me how he had started a foodie group with about 8 people. The goal? To experience a different type of cuisine each week. And, lest they end up at Taco Bell, Panda Express, and Yoshinoya, he said the rules let him take everyone to restaurants they would never otherwise try. True ethnic food, but also true ethnic experience. I love it.

And this is my point. How many of us complain about our access to good food? What are we doing about it?

I live in North Orange County, yet I drive 20 minutes each way almost daily just to have by blessed boba and true Chinese food. Why? No good Chinese food in North OC? Most likely. I've tried many, many places and have yet to find something nearly as good as just about anything I find in Rowland Heights. But it's also price. It's irritating to me to pay $10 for a dish of noodles in Orange County when I can get much better noodles in Rowland Heights for $5. And I'm not complaining about it. I don't mind the drive, although it gets tough to do.

Which is why I cook. I'm not dependent on restaurants to satisfy my palate. But I don't necessarily want to have friends over for me to cook every night of the week, and I also don't want to eat out every night of the week. I break it up and I'm happy with it.

But are you? What are you doing to solve the problem?

Don't know any good restaurants? Collect some friends and plan to visit a new, uncharted restaurant every week. You're bound to find something. Done that and still aren't happy? Start a home foodie group. Switch off houses each week and cook it up. Go through a cookbook.

I'm rambling at this point, but I'm still thinking everyone needs to do their part to enjoy food. It's a bit of a fad now and in some ways, 'everyone's cooking' these days. I've been cooking all my life and don't plan on stopping once the fad passes. But I still find ways to make it enjoyable. Food groups, cooking nights, whatever.

Tell me about what you're doing.

~ Brock

Cooking Is My Yoga

2010-02-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

I get this question a lot: how much time do you cook? Funny thing is, it never comes across as a friendly question. It's loaded. Always.

But why? Here's my short list: 1) people don't want to cook, and don't want anyone else drawing attention to it; 2) people want to cook, but don't know how to fit it into their schedule; or 3) people are curious.

I'm going to answer all three of these questions...

If you don't want to cook, don't. I eat at junk holes like Flame Broiler, Wahoo's and Costco..sometimes I don't feel like cooking, and sometimes I crave the things they sell. I'm not a food snob, I'm a foodie, which means I love food...all sorts. It doesn't have to be extravagant or expensive. In fact, I don't really enjoy the expensive experience, because I'm frugal and don't like spending money like that. Sure, I've had some really nice meals that were really expensive, but that's not my day-to-day plan. My point is that if you don't want to cook, why would you? I can recommend some great places to eat - any budget, any food type, any location. I can also recommend some great quick meals that are frozen. Surprised? I don't see why you would be.

But if you want to cook and don't think you have the time or talent, that's where I'm here to tell you you're flat out wrong. Anyone can cook. Didn't you watch Ratatouille? Everyone has time. I can have a ton of dishes on the table within 20 minutes, start to finish. Yeah, I probably can't beat 1.5 minutes on high in the microwave for chicken nuggets, or most of the microwave meals, but if that's what I'm up against, then I guess I lose.

My point is that you don't need a lot of time to cook. If you have it, great, you can be more creative. If you don't have time, you invest your time wisely in meals that are quick. Tons of pasta dishes can be pantry-to-table in 15 minutes. Same with fish and vegetables, chicken, even steak. You only doubt it because you haven't tried it.

More than that, you're thinking slop versus gourmet. Here's the thing - whatever I eat, I can make it gourmet. Case in point: Scrambled eggs. Simple, 3 minute meal. No one gets excited.

But what if you scramble the eggs, and while they're cooking, you cut a nice triangle out of toast. You lay the eggs across the toast, and sprinkle some paprika and olive oil. Maybe some fresh basil if you have it. If not, dried is fine. The difference between plain-old-scrambled eggs and this "gourmet" breakfast is the creativity that goes into plating. Same amount of time, but a few sprinkles of this, a few cuts on that, and viola!, you have something beautiful and mouth-watering.

When you have a chance, go back through random choices of my recipes. Read through. Most things don't take that long. Most things take the same amount of time as you would do to make macaroni and cheese, or grill a burger. It's just some added spices, some added color, and some added art.

Dig into it people, it's fun.

Cooking is my yoga!

Enjoy!

~ Brock

All Day Pork Noodle Soup

2010-02-09T20:07:00.001-08:00

The image just doesn't capture the hours and hours and hours that go into something like this. But before we get into all that, what's my inspiration for this particular bowl? Momofuku.

The book. The thoughts. The stories.

There's a section that talks about the pork used in the restaurant, Noodle Bar. Your mouth waters...or at least mine did. I just imagined slow cooking a pork shoulder for 6 hours, or maybe 8...yeah, 8 sounded right.

That was the whole point of the exercise. Not this dish you see. Not noodles. Not even the broth. Just cooking pork for 8 hours.

So I went over to my local butcher (aka Stater Bros) and grabbed a nice 3 pound chunk of shoulder. I trimmed the fat off the top and cut it into 2x2 inch chunks, set it aside. In a bowl, I mixed 1/4 cup brown sugar with a few Tbsp of salt and sugar. I put the pork into a large bowl, poured the sugar/salt mixture over the top and worked it in for a minute. I got out my slow cooker and crammed it into the bottom.

I chopped a whole sweet onion and smashed that down on top of the pork. I then layered the fat over the top of the onions, sprinkled some peppercorns and 2 bay leaf on the top and set it to low.

After about six hours, I removed the pork and cubed it. replaced it into the slow cooker and mixed it all up nice. After 7 hours, I shredded the pork with a fork, and gave it another stir. By hour 8, it was ready for liftoff.

But by the time I was about 5 hours into the day, I started thinking..."hmmm, do I go with a ramen, or with a taco, or with a Korean taco, or as Adobo, or . . . . " My brain was going all different directions. I couldn't decide, so I figured I'd go for all of them over the next day or so.

And I landed on soup for tonight.

Well, around hour 6 on the pork, I pulled out the bone and a few chunks of nice meat and onions. I dropped those in a pot and fried up for a minute. I added a lot of water, and some sake, soy sauce and Mirin. Added a carrot, some green onion, some cracked pepper. Brought it to a boil, then down to a long simmer....two hours long...the kind that says, "oh yeah."

But I was out of ramen noodles, but had some other good ones. Chopped some green onion. I did pull some fish cake out of the freezer, but it smelled off and it's entirely possible that it was more than 2 years old...not good.

And there you have my 8 hour pork noodle journey.

Now I'm craving adobo and I think I'll give that a crack tomorrow.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

The Truth About Boba

2010-01-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

I've been drinking boba tea for more than a decade. I don't remember when it first arrived in Southern California, but I was on it pretty much right away. An early adopter, if you will.

My first experience with it was at Ten Ren in Rowland Heights. My wife's aunt took us out to lunch and then told us to stop by this tea place. Now that I think about it, I think it was 14 years ago. Don't know why that number popped in my head, but it did.

Anyway, she ordered us Boba Milk Tea. We were hooked instantly.

Since that day, I've had boba more and more frequently. At present, I have tea at least once a day. For boba specifically, maybe once a week or every two weeks. Now, I say that I have boba every single day, but when I say that, I mean I have tea from my favorite boba place, Ten Ren, daily. It may or may not include boba.

But let's return to history.

When I first had boba, it was interesting, new, and had no comparable context. I guess you could say I adopted it as a fad. That was before it actually turned into a fad in the US 8 or 9 years after its arrival. But, for me, the fad was that I couldn't really see having this drink be a normal part of my daily sustenance for the next 14 years. Instead, I latched on just like most people did when Krispy Kreme first arrived in the neighborhood. Now, 5 or 8 years after Krispy Kreme arrived in Orange County and everyone was talking about it, no one talks about it. It's like they were a carnival and just came and left.

And that's what's happened with boba in this country, to some extent.

Maybe around 2001 or so, boba places were popping up everywhere. But they were still pretty Chinese-authenticity heavy. By maybe 2005, you had regular coffee places adding boba to the menu, and people outside of the Chinese community jumping on the boba bananza. In fact, over the past five years, I've seen boba places owned by white, Latino, Middle Eastern and other people. Boba rose to the level of opportunity - gold mine! You had people lining up outside boba places. It was a crazy time for us boba aficienados.

But the last few years has seen a decline in boba places. The general population never really latched on. Sure, there were pockets of excitement that sprang up around the country, and over the course of years, it seemed like the boba craze was going for years. In reality, though, the craze itself hasn't lasted more than 2 years in any place where it wasn't meant to last in the first place.

And so the loser boba places - those people only interested in seizing an opportunity - shut down. But others remained, and remain, in business, some doing quite well. Why?

Because they were in it for other reasons, not pure "boba craze" opportunity.

I think it's relevant to point out some of the groups of reasoning some boba places stayed in business, and even flourished, while others closed shop for good.

Group A: They took advantage of a broader opportunity to reach out to people craving an alternative to coffee shops and bars. Not everyone drinks alcohol or is old enough to do so. And, not everyone likes Starbucks or Peets. More importantly, many people treat hanging out at places like Starbucks like a visit to the library - no loud music, no shouting and laughing, no fun. Just study time, newspapers, moms getting a break from the kids, etc. The boba places I see as successful that fall into this category have created a 'hangout' environment with music, life and a variety of drinks (and usually good snacks as well). With that, you can hit most age groups, and the late hours make it a perfect alternative to the bar and coffee standards.

Group B: They took advantage of a broader opportunity to reach Asians and those interested in the Asian community and/or Asian taste. Everyone wants to feel like they're part of a community. No one feels that Starbucks was made for them - it was supposed to be made for everyone. But, certain coffee shops have a regular crowd. Well, there are communities of Asians all over this country, and they - like anyone else - may not like to hang out at a coffee shop. Group B owners saw a niche market and went after it. Sure, they hope to get all ages and all races, but they start with an Asian theme - boba. They build around it with Asian snacks.

Group C: They took advantage of the fad when it was a fad, but kept pace to add variety to the menu and now boba is just an item on the menu. These are people that saw the well drying up and didn't go gangbusters until it was parched. They kept ahead of the decline by moving onto new fads; smart business move nonetheless.

Group D: This group is my favorite - the boba purists. To them, making boba or any other tea drink is an art. It must be made to perfection. It must taste right. It must please the customer. And so, Ten Ren rules the pack, in my opinion. This group didn't view boba as a passing fad or opportunity, they saw it as an investment in a long-term business.

Now across the groups, each has something to offer. Not that I frequent places from all groups, but I do visit each from time to time. Here are the ones I dig, and why-

1. Ten Ren: It rules. The best tea, the best preparation, clean, quick, great staff...all around best of the best. (Note: They need some work on the website. Everyone else has a great website, but for such a great tea place, their website sucks.) Anyway, know this, I don't mean all Ten Ren locations. I've had some Ten Ren boba that's absolutely disgusting. Like the one that use to be on Euclid in Anaheim by the 99 Ranch Market. Or, the one in Chinatown in Los Angeles - disgusting as well. The best? Ten Ren on Colima near Fullerton Road. Second best? Off Fullerton Road immediately off the 60 freeway in Rowland Heights. With the Colima location, you get the best drinks, but only small snacks and not a lot of space for hanging out. The staff is great though. The Fullerton Road location has plenty of space, lots of food choices - most of which are great - but the drinks are a little sweet. Check em both out. Boba itself - perfectly cooked, flavored and perfect proportions in the drinks.

2. Cha For Tea: This place is in Irvine and a part of the UC Irvine campus community. Always popping, plenty of food choices. Tea is a little on the sweeter side, but all around decent drinks. Boba - cooked and flavored great, but sometime a little firm. If you're there on Saturday mornings, you have the Farmer's Market nearby, which is awesome. Check it out.

3. Boba Loca: When I say #3, I mean like I left #2 in California and went driving to #3 in Texas...it's a long road. It's not that great, the tea is too sweet - more on the juice side than the tea side. Boba is usually undercooked and underflavored, but other than that, it's great for a nearby quick fix.

4. Guppy House: Truthfully, I think Guppy House is better than Boba Loca, but my wife prefers boba loca, so I end up going there more often (between the two - she's with me on #1 and #2). Anyway, Guppy House is that club vibe with banging music, lots of kids, plenty of food choices (you must try the spicy rice cake and kimchi stew). The location - Anaheim Hills at Imperial Highway and La Palma.

5. Lollicup or Tapioca Express: These brands are fairly consistent across locations. Sweet drinks. So-so boba. But they both have egg pudding you can add to your milk tea and it's awesome. There's also this coconut flavor in the milk tea and it's a nice surprise. If I do visit one, it's the one in the Hong Kong Supermarket area on Colima near Fullerton Road in Rowland Heights.

Wow, this was a long post. Watching Whip It while I'm writing it...you must watch that movie, pretty good.

Enjoy your boba!

~ Brock

Ajisen Ramen (Rowland Heights)

2010-01-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

So this is my fourth or fifth time to this ramen joint, Ajisen Ramen. By chance, it turns out they're celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the original restaurant in Japan.

They had the "Ajisen Ramen" on special for $4.95, so I tried it. Sliced pork, thin ramen noodles, white soup base, some cabbage and half a marinated egg. It was plenty for a meal. I've tried many different ramen places, and I'd say the soup base here is one of the better ones. The rest of if was so-so. But, when it comes to Ramen, so much of the priority is in the soup, it's hard to pass this place up.

The noodles are interesting because they're softer than typical ramen noodles (at least from what I've had), and white (as opposed to the usual yellow-tinged ones you see everywhere else). They're cooked perfectly, though, and handle the flavored soup well.

The chopped cabbage and small amount of seaweed is not that welcome of an addition. I think they have too much cabbage, or the pieces are too large. I don't really think it needs it, or if it does, it should be sliced even thinner - toothpick size.

The marinated egg is good. It's a nice mocha latte color, which suggests it either hasn't been stewed very long, it was stewed in the shell, or it was stewed in a watered-down base. Either way, it's nice, but not overwhelming. Personally, I like a strongly-marinated egg in a rich, dark soy color.

Service is not great. You might wait a while to have your order taken, and an unreasonably longer time to get your food. The staff isn't attentive, and they don't come back often. Most of them end up talking over on the side, or smoking out front. It's acceptable in the community there, I guess, so you just have to deal with it.

But, the prices are decent, the place is semi-clean (that is, considering many other great tasting restaurants in the nearby area).

Try the Ajisen Ramen and also the BBQ Pork Ramen. For snacks, try the Ajisen Dynamite, the Fried Tofu, the Crunch Roll and the Eel Hand Roll. All good choices.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Fried California Roll

2010-01-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking this isn't what you'd find at a place that fries California roll. I'm thinking they deep fry it, and I'm thinking they put it in a tempura batter or some other kind of batter first. But this is my house, so this is how I do it.

I like a basic roll, but I always have this problem - too much rice and not enough crab. I think I've eaten at those all-you-can-eat places too much where everything is covered in rice to look larger. Check on the image and you'll see it's the truth. No matter, I had one piece and enjoyed it.

Fried California Roll:

Sushi Rice (cooked rice, with some sugar and rice vinegar to taste)
Sushi seaweed (you can buy this at most markets)
cucumber, skinned and sliced thinly
avocado, sliced
imitation crab and some miracle whip, mix together

I found some nice shots of someone rolling sushi. You need a mat for this.

Heat 1/2" oil in a small pan to medium-high. Place your whole roll and fry, rolling every minute or so, until a nice browned crust appears to be forming. Remove and drain on a paper towel, then cut into slices and top with Sriracha.

You'll notice the drops of sauce on my serving plate - that's a bit of Oyster sauce with sugar and rice vinegar. Impromptu for the shot - it's a strong flavor, but goes well with it.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Chilean Sea Bass baked in Miso Sauce with Japanese-Style Sweet Potato-Crab Salad

2010-01-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

It was a picture in a newspaper clipping on the wall in a Japanese restaurant. I was sold.

It's been a while since I've had Chilean Seabass...probably because it's not sustainable, is often caught illegally, and has high Mercury levels. But, it's good. What can I say - you have only so long on this planet.

Anyway, I went to Wholesome Choice (which could explain why they carry the fish and places like Stater Bros and Ralph's don't), looking for a buttery white fish and there it was. At $18.99 a pound, I expected it should be good.

Miso Sauce:

1/2 cup Miso paste
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 sake
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp rice wine
1 tsp dark soy sauce

Mix the sauce well, and marinate the fish in it for at least 1 hour. You can actually do this marinade all day and it will be even better, but do what you can with the time you have.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pour your marinade into a small, low-lipped baking dish (I used a glass pie dish), and add your fish. Depending on the thickness, you'll cook it anywhere from 10 - 20 minutes. It looks nice with a little touch of browning, so if you get it close to done, you can fire up the broiler and get a singe on it for about 30 seconds. You probably want to flip the fish midway through cooking it, but it's not essential.

Remove to a plate and pour some of the sauce (not the burned part) over the top of your fish. I served this with Japanese-style sweet potato-crab salad.

Japanese-Style Sweet Potato-Crab Salad:

2-4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 russet potato, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp Miracle Whip
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp Sriracha
1 cup real or imitation crab, chopped into chunks

Steam sweet potatoes and potato for about 15 minutes. Remove and drain, place in a large bowl. Lightly mash, leaving chunks. Add honey, Miracle Whip, and Sriracha, and mix well. Place in refrigerator to cool and blend flavors. When it's cool, add the crab and mix.

Why use Miracle Whip instead of regular mayo? It's your call - I'm sure either would work.

Enjoy!

~Brock

Moroccan Tagine of Chicken and Apricots

2010-01-27T11:11:00.000-08:00

My brother-in-law hooked me up with a true Tagine for Christmas! He knows I'm a big fan of Moroccan cuisine, and he also knows I usually make my tagine in a dutch oven. I've wanted an original tagine for a long time, but never got around to the buy.

You see that places like Sur La Table and others offer celebrity chef tagines for over $200, but I think that's just a plain waste. In fact, I recognize that many people opt for higher end, expensive tools and implements in their kitchen. Granted, I don't really like it when my cheap spatula melts when I leave it sitting on the rim of a pan for 10 seconds. On the other hand, I guarantee you that my $15 8" frying pan will perform just as well as any $100 pan for the same purpose. Use your brain. Some things you need to spend the extra dough and get a good one (like my knives, vegetable peeler, etc.). But, when my $25 Lodge iron skillet does as good a job as $150 one, I'm not going to waste money.

Now that I've digressed, I'll move on...So since I've posted other recipes for this dish, I'll focus on some choices I made this time around.

First, I tried using chicken thighs instead of breasts (which I usually use). I've never been a fan of dark meat, but after exploring chicken thighs in my holiday meal, I found them potentially suitable for this dish. Henry's Market has a nice organic offering and I scored 4 large thighs (about 1.5 pounds total).

The end result was perfect in juiciness, but I felt that the "dark" attributes took over from what a breast would normally soak up. In other words, the breast soaks and returns the flavor to you. The dark meat softens and has hints of the tagine spices, but the meaty flavors are overwhelming and you lose part of the experience. On top of that - and this was partly my fault - the fat and stringy parts of the thighs made it a less enjoyable taste. I should have trimmed the thighs first of any fat and sinew, but didn't.

Next, I usually like to do about 1.5 hours for my tagine. I think you're fine if you shoot for the hour mark, but I honestly prefer the flavor meld of a slightly longer simmer. This time I was strapped for time, so I served after only 40 minutes of cooking time. With dark meat, you'll need to ensure it's cooked thoroughly. Since I used fresh chopped tomatoes, they were not softened as much as I'd like. I'd say 1 hours is the minimum on a tagine like this.

Finally, I usually cube meat for my tagines. In this instance, I left the thighs whole as purchased. On the one hand, I felt the presentation was more visually appealing than cubes of chicken - it was like a natural appearance. But, part of the tagine experience is in treating it like a stew, and you don't usually need a knife to address stew.

Couscous are a staple for this dish, so make sure you get that. Also, I didn't add garbanzo beans, which I always do. It was a nice change not to have them included, even though I really love them.

Give it a shot and let me know.

Brock

Vera Cruz Mahi Mahi with California golden raisins

2010-01-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

Sometimes images can speak to your stomach. I once saw a picture of Vera Cruz Red Snapper and I was instantly taken. The olives, chunks of tomato, white fish...ah, yes.

So it's been months that I've wanted to make this, and after one too many excuses, I finally did. (Note: I really wanted to make it for our friends, Ray and Griselda, so if you're reading this, I've perfected it and will make it for you right!)

I'm a big fish lover, so let's start there. I'm on a kick of Mahi Mahi right now. It's firm, but doesn't gum up if you cook it right. It holds a nice crust on a pan fry. It handles so many recipes and seasonings, and it's fairly mild (in my opinion). Versatility is its strong suit, and it's a bit forgiving if you overcook, undercook or whatever. Anyway, I often buy it in a 2 pound bag frozen, so it's sort of a staple in my house. Now if you're one of those people that says, "I only buy fresh from my fishmonger," then read someone else's blog. Sure, I'd love to have a fishmonger and sure, I prefer fresh fish, but I'm also practical. I enjoy a good meal every single day primarily because I'm not anal about things like fishmongers. If you're still with me, read on.

While I was formulating the menu for this particular meal, I had to decide whether I was going to pan fry and top with the Vera Cruz sauce, or if I was going to bake the fish in the sauce. To be honest, I was a little hesitant to bake it in the sauce because I was craving a little of the buttery crust I add on the pan fry, but my timing made it necessary to make the sauce and then release the fish to the oven for 20 minutes to make other things. Tactical decision made by necessity, but oh well. And, our guests have kids (and with my son in the mix), I didn't want to be dealing with two pans of splashing, popping hot oil (I was also frying wonton wrappers for mini-tostadas). Oven it was.

So I set aside three Mahi Mahi steaks with salt and pepper, while I made the sauce.

Vera Cruz sauce:

1- 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained - liquid reserved in a bowl.
1 Jalapeno, finely chopped
1 white onion, finely chopped
5 gloves garlic, finely minced (or 1-2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic from a jar)
Dried Oregano
Dried parsley
1/2 Cup raisins
1/4 Cup capers, drained
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

First, pour a solid amount of olive oil into a pan and bring to medium-high heat. The amount of oil you use is dependent on your tastes, but for this I'd go with a thin layer across the bottom of a mid-sized pan. Add onion and fry up 3-5 minutes...turns pale with some browning. Add garlic and jalapeno, and fry for another 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and stir well. Add 1/4 - 1/2 of the tomato liquid (or the whole of it, if you're stressed), and stir well. Sprinkle dried oregano over the top to form a thin sheen (maybe 2 Tbsp) and add about the same amount of dried parsley. Add raisins and capers. Now I used California golden raisins as a shout out to my home state. But, I've never seen it done like that and all recipes that have raisins call for just raisin. Live a little. You'll also see some recipes tell you to rinse your capers - why? That's a rhetorical question - don't be scared. Stir well, and reduce heat to simmer. Stir often and simmer this sauce about 10-20 minutes. Lower the heat if it pops too much or if it gets dried out.

Get a baking dish ready. My wife got me this awesome baking dish from Sur La Table for Christmas and it was perfect for this dish (here's a rectangle model with handles, but mine is a circle kind of like a paella pan). As the sauce neared its ready mark, I spooned out a bit to cover the bottom of the dish. Then lay the fish on top in a single layer. Then pour your sauce over the fish to cover. Bake for 15-20 minutes on 350.

To serve, it's nice to garnish with some fresh parsley, minced and strewn about.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Mini Tostadas - Appetizer

2010-01-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

For me, having an appetizer is a necessity if you have guests. You want something to much on, and everyone loves to eat. If dinner is taking too long, or if people are coming in at different times, an appetizer just makes it an easier transition piece. Plus, if you hit a home run with the appetizer, it can spill over onto the dinner plate if dinner turns out like crap!

Because I was planning a Latin-inspired meal, I wanted an easy starter that would be hearty, easy, and bursting with flavors. I knew we were having Vera Cruz fish for the main course, so I wanted to start with something crunchy. I also wanted it to double as part of the meal for the kids in case they weren't into the fish.

Starting with the base, you have a few immediate choices - corn or flour tortillas. Honestly, I just didn't feel like either of those would come off with the flaky, crunchy texture I was going for. So, I opted for wonton wrappers. They fry up quickly, they have the perfect texture to oppose fish, and they hold just about any flavor combination. Viola!

I knew I was topping this with ground beef, so it was just a matter of coming up with the right combination of ingredients to make that pop. I was also craving Salsa Verde, as well as Pico De Gallo, and some Queso Fresco

I thought things were headed in the right direction.

Ground beef topping:

1 white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 tomato, diced
dried oregano
Chili power
ground cumin
paprika
salt
pepper
olive oil

Pour a couple glugs of olive oil in a pan and bring to medium-high heat. Add onion and fry up until browning (3-4 mintues). Add garlic and fry 30 seconds. Add tomato, and stir 30 seconds, then add beef and break up, and mix well. Season with oregano, chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Be generous! Fry up and then lower heat to keep warm for serving.

Salsa Verde:

2 pounds tomatillos, peeled and washed
1 jalapeno, diced
1 white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic
salt
pepper
juice of one lime

Place the tomatillos, onion and jalapeno on a baking sheet about 5" from a broiler and broil until charred - 10 minutes or so. You may want to line the sheet with foil, because the liquid from the tomatillos will ooze. Drop it all into a processor (in batches if you need). NOTE: Contents will be hot - you don't want the hot liquid to shoot out. Keep control of your kitchen! Add salt, pepper and lime to taste. Process this and pour off into container. Store in refrigerator for a few hours minimum for flavor meld.

Pico De Gallo:

6 vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
salt
pepper
lime juice
handful of cilantro, chopped

Chop and mix well. Refrigerate at least 2 hours for flavor melding. Stir often.

Restaurant Review - J J Bakery

2010-01-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

I'm a Chinese breakfast sucker. Hot, sweet soy milk. Onion pancake. Fried radish cakes. The list goes on and on, and I can't get enough.

And, I've been to J J Bakery locations before and didn't think too much of it...until they opened a new location in Industry or Rowland Heights (the location isn't listed on their website yet, but it's in a new complex on Gale and Fullerton Road). This is like breakfast heaven.

First on the list, hot, sweet soy milk. It's a staple.

Next, I forget what they call it...something with Dragon's Tail (which is the long Chinese donut)...starts with a sesame pocket surrounding a fried egg omelet and the Dragon Tail. Dip that in some chili sauce and you're good to go.

They also have great steamed, then bottom fried vegetable buns. You should also try their fried radish cakes. In fact, you can try just about anything on the menu and you'll be happy you did.

Check it out and enjoy some bakery items on your way out.

Enjoy!

~Brock

Sweet Pan Fried Shrimp with Garlic Snap Peas

2010-01-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

There's something very, very satisfying about this dish. I think it has something to do with the intense crunch of the snap peas, combined with the juicy texture of the shrimp and intense flavor of garlic. It has so many great levels of experience. And it's fairly easy to make

One thing I realize is that many people overcook shrimp, so let's start there. You take about 10 shrimp. I tend to use frozen shrimp from Costco or Trader Joe's. I've noticed over time that the Costco ones have better texture and stay plump after cooking, but either one would work. If you're a friend of 99 Ranch Market, you can try their Glacier Bay frozen bagged shrimp - a good choice as well.

Anyway, rinse these under cool water until soft and pliable. They can still be cool, but you don't want them to be frozen inside. Dry them well with a paper towel and place in a bowl. Wait 5 minutes and see if any liquid develops. If so, drain, dry and repeat. I believe a key to great pan fried shrimp is it being dry when it hits the high heat.

Once you're ready, season the shrimp with salt, pepper, a dash of sesame oil, a TSP of sugar, a bit of Mirin, and some crushed red peppers. Stir, mix, let stand at least 10 minutes. You will drain this immediately before frying on high heat.

Meanwhile, mince 4-5 garlic cloves. Set aside. Clean the snap peas and take off the ends and long string that links the ends.

Boil some water and blanch the snap peas for 1 minute. Drain and remove.

Heat oil on high. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add snap peas and salt and pepper generously. Add snap peas and fry up with some nice brown - maybe 2-3 minutes. Remove to bowl.

Keep fire and and add shrimp. Fry up for about 1 minute, then add garlic and snap peas. Fry until shrimp is plump, fried texture, and color is good. Not white. Drizzle some soy sauce over the top, a slight amount, and stir well.

Remove to plate and shizam.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Italian Feast - Recipes Follow

2009-12-30T22:53:00.000-08:00

I always look forward to this particular gathering. A great time to see my wife's side of the family, and a great time to enjoy a feast. I usually start thinking about the holiday meal pretty much the day after the previous holiday meal, but in this case, my final decision came a week before it. After the 2008 Holiday Feast, I thought Moroccan might be the choice meal, but then after the year went by, there was just something about Italian that sounded right. I also think watching Under the Tuscan Sun recently had something to do with it!

Anyway, I made a menu...kind of like you see some musicians do a set list the night before a show. It helps me think through the flow of my dishes...when I need to get something in the oven, or when something will be done. I also use it as a reminder for shopping, to make sure I have everything I need. Nothing special, but here it is:

Here's the recipe rundown...

Stuffed Chicken Thighs Stuffed with Prosciutto, Basil and Fontina: I don't know what it is about this dish, but I dream about it often. I imagine this tender, explosively tasty dish oozing with textures and aroma. In my dreams, it's a breast, but I ended up going with thighs. Fact is, I didn't want to risk a dry, gummy mouthful of monotone meat. Boneless, skinless thighs won me over.

Take 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Marinate at least 2 hours in orange juice, 5-8 cloves of garlic, chopped onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Before cooking, let the thighs come out to room temperature for at least 3o minutes, and shake dry before cooking.

Heat skillet with a bit of oil, and brown both sides of thigh (1-3 minutes per side). immediately stuff with a slice of prosciutto, basil, and a slice of fontina, mozarella or other cheese. Fold over and close with a toothpick. Set flat in a baking dish (slightly oiled first). Continue for each one and put them in a single layer. When they're all in the dish, douse a little white wine, salt, and pepper on them and put them in a 400 degree oven for at least 30 minutes.

Lamb Ragu: This all came together because I had a dream about Oso Buco...maybe it was prophetic, because this ragu was amazing!! But, with 7-9 people, I didn't have time, the proper dish, or inclination to make oso buco. But, I did happen to have some lamb shanks on hand.

3-4 lamb shanks, salted and peppered. Heat a bit of oil in large oven-proof pot or dutch oven. Brown lamb on both sides (3-4 minutes per side). Remove. Add a bit more oil and 1 chopped onion. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then add 4 carrots chopped and 2 celery stocks chopped. Fry additional 3-4 minutes. Add 5 cloves garlic sent through a press, fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drop in 1 diced vine-ripe tomato. Add 2 bay leaves. Stir and mix well. Add 1/2 small can good chicken broth. I prefer Swansons. Set lamb on top, and pour in red wine to cover - I used a good Pinot, but I'm sure whatever you have on hand will work. Bring to a boil, then put in a 325 degree oven for 2.5 - 3 hours. Remove from oven, pull meat from bones and flake meat into mix, stirring up nicely. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep on stove on low heat until ready to use.

This sauce will work well on a pasta (probably something like rigatoni), but I had some crisp bread on hand for a side.

Vine-Ripe Tomatoes Stuffed with Orzo, Panchetta and Mushrooms: You must have ripe, vine-ripe tomatoes for this. Don't use those beefstake or whatever they are. This is a savory, sweet side that blasts texture and earthy, natural flavors.

Cut out 1-2" circle around top and core out center with small spoon. I keep the liquid and seeds, but discard the hard internal parts. Cook orzo according to instructions and set aside. Cook chopped crimini mushrooms with white wine, salt, pepper and butter - maybe 5-6 minutes. Set in a bowl. Cook up chopped panchetta, add to bowl. Fry up chopped onion with olive oil and pepper. Add to bowl. Add your tomato inards to the bowl, shave some Asiago cheese into the bowl, and chop some fresh basil as well. Add a little more salt and pepper. Now stir in some orzo, a little at a time, until you have a nice mixture. Spoon it into your tomatoes. Set the tomatoes into a greased baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for at least 50 minutes.

Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic Olive Oil, Parmesan and Capers: With so many hot dishes, I knew we needed something cooler to balance it all out. It hit me pretty quick - it needed to be angel hair, and something that could be room temperature, not exactly cold. Why? Because that's what I thought of...no other reason.

Heat 1/2 olive oil on low heat with 6-8 sliced garlic cloves. You're working on infusing the garlic into the oil, not frying it. Meanwhile, cook your pasta to al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, drain again, and place in large serving bowl. Add garlic-oil and mix well. Add some chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Shave some Parmigiano-Reggiano into it and mix. Meanwhile, soak some capers in balsamic vinaigrette, and mix those in as well. Top with fresh basil and chopped vine-ripe tomato.

Pan-Fried Mahi Mahi with Brown Butter Garlic Sauce: It's always nice to have some seafood in a full-blown meal like this. I decided on Mahi Mahi, because it has a nice texture, absorbs flavor well, and could be cooked in a small pan.

Take a large mahi mahi steak and slice it down the middle (from end to end). Generously salt, pepper, and add dried basil and marjoram...also some garlic powder. Heat a bit of butter in a small pan until foaming, and add fish. Fry on all sides...maybe 3 minutes first side, then 2, 2, and 2. Depends on how thick your pieces are. You want a nice brown crust. Remove fish to serving plate. Add more butter and reduce heat to medium. Brown the butter to a nice color and aroma without burning it. Add 3 minced cloves of garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add small grip of chopped parsley and fry a few seconds. Stir well and pour over fish. Squeeze lemon over it all.

Grilled Fennel and Portabello Mushrooms: Pour olive oil in your hands and work it into the fennel and mushrooms. Salt and pepper generously. Add to medium-hot grill for about 14 minutes per side (careful not to burn). Remove, slice and serve.

I had some other things on the side, but don't really remember. We ate too much and talked too much. You also need a good wine or two. I popped a great Bordeaux.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Sugar Donuts

2009-10-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

I've found that Chinese bakeries have great desserts that don't feel like you're eating 10,000 calories per bite. I can't be sure, but these just seem healthier than your average donut.

Sugar Donuts:

1 1/2 Cup flour
1 Cup water
1/8 tsp salt
3 eggs
4 Tsp sugar
vegetable oil

Boil water and salt, add flour and stir until smooth. Remove to mixer and add eggs, mixing constantly until you have a heavy batter. Take a greased spoon and drop 1" ball-sized balls into medium-high heated oil about 1" deep. Turn often, browning on all sides until they expand about 3 times their size. Remove to a plate of sugar and roll to cover.

Ah yeah!

~ Brock

Galbi (Korean Beef Short Ribs)

2009-09-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

This is a classic in my house. I make them often enough and my friends request them almost as much as my crepes. I almost always buy mine at 99 Ranch Market, but occasionally, they have decent ones at Stater Bros...yes, I'm a Stater Bros shopper...laugh all you want, but I'm also from Barstow and the two go hand-in-hand. The fact that you probably wouldn't expect a Stater Bros shopper to eat or make Korean food is also strange, considering the fact that they (SB) only changed their "Oriental" section to "International" in the past couple of years...a little behind the times, don't you think? But that's certainly not me, as you well know.

Galbi:

3 pounds beef short ribs
1 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup sesame oil
8-12 cloves garlic, minced
2 bundles green onion, chopped
1 onion, liquified in a processor
2 Tsp chopped fresh ginger
salt
pepper

Mix your marinade, then marinade the ribs for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 or 3. Grill outside, because these suckers will smoke and smell up your house! Top with toasted sesame seeds and eat with Kimchi and rice. Don't be shy.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

2009-09-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

While I was writing this post, I noticed there are many, many different spellings for this dish - Murg, Murgh, Merg, Makhani, Makhni, and others...I'll just go with Murgh Makhani, but sorry if I'm wrong. And, if you think the number of spellings is problematic, think about the number of recipes for this...they're all different. I'm going with simplistic, because if you find something that's good and can be made with fewer ingredients, why not? If it's false, don't do it, but if you can be real, try it once in a while.

Murgh Makhani:

2 pounds boneless chicken (I used frozen chicken breast tenders from Costco or Trader Joes)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tsp garam masala (you can buy this at many International supermarkets or find it online)
2 Tsp fresh cut ginger
1 small can tomato paste
2 cups chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1 Serrano chili, diced
1 stick butter
3 cloves garlic, sliced

Prepare a marinade a few hours before: salt and pepper the chicken, then add 2 Tsp garam masala and 1 cup yogurt. Mix well, and let marinade in the fridge for about 2-3 hours.

Get your sauce going: Fry up the onion in some vegetable oil for about 5-7 minutes. Add ginger and Serrano the last minute or so. Remove to a bowl. Fry up garlic for 30 seconds, then add broth and bring to boil. Add tomato paste. Lower heat to simmer, add cream and spices and 1/2 stick butter. Stir frequently on low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Use a hand blender or remove to blender, blend and pour back in the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Get your chicken going the last 7 minutes.

When you're ready, thread the chicken onto skewers and BBQ it 7-9 minutes, turning frequently.

Add chicken to sauce and simmer for another 5-7 minutes. Turn off heat and add 1/2 stick butter or slightly less if you don't like that much butter. Stir to melt, then serve with Basmati rice, some chutney and other sides if you're inclined.

For my side, I experimented with yams, masala and chicken broth. I baked the yams, then skinned and put them in a small pot - mashed them and added hot chicken broth and masala spices to taste and texture.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Artisanal Pizzas

2009-09-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

I've seen the pictures; I've tasted the goods. You can't just continue buying CPK and hoping to enjoy your evening. If you really want a good pizza, make it yourself. But yeah, yeah, I know you don't want to deal with the dough. Trader Joes offers you a simple solution - cold pizza dough ready for use. You no longer have an excuse for the best pizza money can buy...your own.

So the other night Tammy and I wanted to make some. It's a simple breakdown, but here's what we used:

shrimp (salt & pepper)
feta cheese
red onion
pesto
crushed red peppers
olives
cherry, plumb or other small tomatoes
Artichoke hearts

Of course, you can always build your own with whatever you want, but I think the key to making it unique, tasty and worth the effort is to avoid the things you would normally do when you go out.

~ Brock

Braised Short Ribs with Gruyere Potatoes and Fava Beans with Criminis & White Truffle Oil

2009-09-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

This was a dangerous combination; the entree for a small gathering. Jason made these amazing clams as a first course and I wasn't sure if I could follow it.

Braised some beef short ribs. 3 hours in the oven and they were falling off the bone. I concocted a red wine braise because I was nervous to try a soy-bourbon the first time with guests. Jason walks in while I'm blending the sauce in-pan with a wand (as opposed to straining & reducing it). His look was like, "what are you doing!?" Now I see what's up. Anyway, it came out great and I popped out a quick gremolata to top it. I sided it with fava beans and Crimini mushrooms and a Gruyere mash.

Braise Beef Short Ribs in Red Wine:

3 pounds beef short ribs. Try to get the English cut and have your butcher slice them across the bones.
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups beef broth
2 cups red wine- choose a good, robust wine (I used a Barolo in this one)
2 bay leaf
2 Tsp dried thyme
2 Tsp dried rosemary
2 Tsp tomato paste
Salt
Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 325. Salt and pepper your beef, then glug some olive oil in a oven-proof pot and brown on all sides...about 7 minutes. Remove from pot to a bowl and do the rest (you want only a single layer at a time). Remove all to the bowl.

Add some more olive oil and fry the onion for a couple minutes. Add the carrot and celery and fry for a minute or two. Add broth and wine. Add meat, tomato paste and spices, bring to a boil, then remove to oven for 3-4 hours.

Remove beef to a bowl and do 1 or two things: 1) remove solids through a strainer and return thinned sauce back to pot; or 2) use a hand blender to create a heavy sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce for about 10 minutes. If your sauce is too thin, add a few pinches of flour. Plate your beef and cover with sauce.

Gremolata:

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
4 cloves garlic, minced
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 Tsp lemon juice
bread crumbs from 1 slice French bread

Chop parsley, and process bread until crumbs. Add everything in a small bowl and stir.

Fava Beans and Crimini Mushrooms:

1 pound fresh fava beans, shelled
12 Crimini mushrooms, sliced
3 Tsp white wine
cayene pepper
salt
pepper
White Truffle Oil

Boil fava beans for 5 minutes in salted water. Heat olive oil in a skillet, add mushrooms and fry for 5-7 minutes. Add beans and continue to fry, then add wine and fry until evaporated. Spice and remove. Drizzle with White Truffle Oil.

I've given recipes for mashed potatoes before, so check it out and add Gruyere.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Does the Google Book Search Deal Violate the Constitution?

2009-09-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to me that courts, lawmakers, and the rest of the world have been so impacted by the lawlessness of the Internet. Sure, you're average Joe thinks he can do whatever he wants online, because it's a free-for-all. Lawyers have been noted many times as acting the same way. But the Register of Copyrights suggests that the Courts are taking constitutional authority granted exclusively to the Congress and exercising it unlawfully. Case in point - the Google book deal.

What I find most interesting about this article is the fact that people (including courts) seem to have a fear of the uncertainty of our intellectual property future, particularly when it comes to Google. "If we give Google some unlawful legroom, maybe they'll pave the way for us to know what we're doing." Yes, Google may be very forward-thinking, but they're not the only ones. Regardless, courts have an obligation to apply the law as-is. Congress has the obligation to create new law. If the courts find that existing law just doesn't work, it's not their job to create new law.

As in many cases, I agree with Ms. Peters.

Ten Ren...Again

2009-09-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

I've had boba drinks all over the world. True, the best I've had was boba milk tea in a plastic bag in Taiwan, but as far as the States go, Ten Ren is my choice. But, you can't think that all Ten Ren places are created equal - they're not!

If you must get the absolute best tea from the absolute best location, you must visit the location in Rowland Heights on Colima Road. The location on Fullerton Road immediately off the 60 Freeway is somewhat easier to find and they also have a full restaurant (the Coliman Road location only does snacks and drinks), but they don't make the drinks as well. You might get too sweet or too watered down. It's really inconsistent. The LA Chinatown location is pretty nasty. The Riverside location - haven't been there in years, but I think I recall it was decent.

When you visit the Colima Road location check for Andy, Jerry, or Max. They hit home runs every time. In fact, Jerry created a special drink that I only know as "Jerry's Special" - it's a coffee milk tea with black sugar. Don't tell Jerry I said this, but Max recently made it better than Jerry, so I've secretly changed the name to "Max's Special." The rest of the gang in there is really good, but if the person behind the counter looks timid to make you're drink, you're gambling with your life.

I suggest:
Passion Fruit Green Tea
Mango Kumquat Green Tea
Boba Milk Tea
Boba Green Milk Tea
"Jerry's Special" or "Max's Special" (tell them Brock sent you)

As for snacks, try the toast.

~ Brock

Chicken Mole Burritos

2009-09-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

I'll be honest with you...I've never even seen a recipe for Mole. But, I've had it a few times and have a sense for what's in it. Sure, this might not be considered true mole, so just call it "Brock's Mole" or "Spicy Chocolate Chicken" or, as Tristen asked, "Is that poop? Chicken." Regardless, it was finger lickin' good.

Prepare:

1 pound boneless chicken, cubed
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 brown onion, chopped
2 vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
3 Tsp sugar
3 Tsp Pasilla pepper powder
Salt
pepper
olive oil
1 Cup wine
2/3 small can Swanson's chicken broth
2 bay leaf
2 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp clove, ground
1 small box raisins (about 2-3 Tsp)

Get it crackin':

Pan fry the chicken cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper, until browned on all sides. Pour into bowl aside. Add more olive oil to pan and fry garlic for 30 seconds. Add onion and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add wine, bring to boil, then reduce to medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Add broth and everything else. Bring to a boil again, then reduce to medium-low for about 30 minutes. Pour contents into blender or processor (or use a wand if your pan is deep enough) and blend into a smooth sauce. Pour back into pan on medium heat and add chicken and 1 bar of 67%+ dark chocolate. Simmer on low for another 20 minutes, stirring often.

I also felt like a little cilantro-sour cream sauce to top it off, so here it goes:

1/2 Cup sour cream
2-3 Tsp white wine vinegar
small handful of cilantro

Blender it.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Moroccan Chicken & Apricot Stew with Israeli Couscous

2009-09-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

It's my soft spot for foods from that neck of the woods.

Moroccan Chicken & Apricot Stew:

3 - 5 chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
20 - 40 dried apricots, chopped
1 small can diced tomatoes
2 small cans of chicken broth
2 - 4 TSP spices**
Olive oil
1-3 bay leaves

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a couple glugs of oil in heavy casserole. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Remove to bowl. Add chicken to pot and brown 5 minutes. Add garlic and toss 1 minute. Pour onions and juices back in pot. Add tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Add spice. Stir occasionally and simmer for about 1 hour or more.

**I've experimented with varieties of this spice mixture and you can too. Here's what I did this time (I'm using ratios instead of amounts...I prefer plenty of spice, but others don't. Use at your discretion):

1 dry-toasted cumin
1 dry-toasted coriander seed
1 garlic powder
1 1/2 paprika
1 cinnamon
1/2 tumeric
1/2 salt
1/2 pepper
1 sugar

Grind into a fine powder and use.

For the Israeli Couscous, I used a Trader Joe's Brand and followed the instructions to cook. I added it to my stew - amazing touch.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Sherry Mushroom Sauce for Chicken Scallopines

2009-09-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

This sauce would rock on a steak as well, but I was craving chicken and that's that. Follow my recipes for steak or chicken and make this sauce.

Sherry Mushroom Sauce

10 - 15 Portabella, Crimini or Shitake mushrooms**
1 Cup dry sherry
1 Cup mushroom water or chicken brother***
7 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
salt
pepper

**If using dried mushrooms, you'll need to soak them in warm water for 30 minutes - save the water to use.
***Use the mushroom water from your dried mushrooms, otherwise use broth

heat oil. Add mushrooms and cook 5 - 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring frequently. Add 1/2 cup sherry, let bubble up, then add 1/2 cup water/broth. Stir frequently on medium-high heat until liquid absorbs. Add remaining 1/2 cup sherry, let bubble up and the rest of your water/broth. Add salt and pepper to taste and reduce liquid slightly.

Pour over chicken or steak.

~ Brock

Jerk Chicken Wraps with Banana Rice and Biting Kiwi Sauce

2009-09-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

My honeymoon in Jamaica was my first exposure to Jerk Chicken. Endless legs and thighs expanded my own to the tune of 5 or 10 pounds in a week. Twelve years later, I'm revisiting the classic with a twist of my own (albeit in slightly healthier portions).

Unlike typical jerk chicken cooked over fire, I wanted to pan fry. This was purely a matter of convenience, because it's over 100 degrees outside and I don't feel like sweating. With my base figured out, I wanted to mix it up a bit with some healthy and tasty accompaniments. I immediately thought of mango rice, but used my mangoes the night before and only had bananas on hand. Not a problem, though I figured I'd need to counter the dry taste of bananas and rice with something like milk, cream or butter. It was coming together nicely.

But, it was starting to sound pretty heavy. That's when I thought of a lettuce wrap. Keep portions smaller, focus on the melding of flavors, and so on. Here it goes.

Jerk Chicken

I had the urge for a dry rub, knowing I was using moist chicken thighs and have had great success with them on the pan fry. The rub is this (1 is in Tsp):

1 - dried thyme
1 - onion powder
1 - garlic powder
1 - onion flakes
2 - sugar
1 - cinnamon
1 - allspice
1/2 - cayenne pepper
1/4 - salt
1/4 - cracked pepper

Mortar and pestle into a fine powder and rub that into your chicken. Set aside for at least 15 minutes. Heat 1 glug of olive oil in pan on smoking hot and fry on one side 4 minutes. Flip and fry on high for another 4 minutes. Remove, let cool slightly, and chop into thick chunks.

Biting Kiwi Sauce

5 Kiwis, skinned, chopped and mashed in a large bowl
Add juice from 1 lemon
Add 1 Tsp rice vinegar
Add 1 Tsp ponzu sauce
Add 2 large cloves of garlic, minced

Stir and mash, repeat. Set in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Banana Rice

1 cup rice
2 cups water
1 banana
3 - 4 Tsp sugar
1/4 C cream

put rice in pot and add water. Chop banana and stir in. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 - 40 minutes (depending on your rice type). When it's ready, remove lid, add cream and sugar and stir to warm cream.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Shitake Rissotto Rocks

2009-08-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

Jason Hagen makes me dream about food. A recurring dream is a Risotto he talks about...I don't think I've ever had his, and I've never made my own, but Sunday night was the night and it all went very well.

First off, I got a pot going and a pan going. Here's the low down...

Broth-

About 6 or 8 cups of chicken broth. After trying many brands and reading up in various places, I've settled on Swansons as being the chicken broth of choice. To the broth, I added some tarragon, chopped onion, shitake mushrooms and shallots. Simmer on low heat while you prepare everything else.

Risotto-

Get a nice wad of butter in your pan on medium heat and drop in 1 chopped onion. Fry up for about 7 minutes, then pour off into a bowl. Add some additional butter and about 10 chopped Shitake mushrooms. Fry up for about the same amount of time. Make sure the mushrooms release their water, then fry up. I also gave my mushrooms a nice shot of cracked pepper on this stage. Pour that off into your bowl with the onions.

Add more butter and drop in about 2 cups of rice. Arborio rice is the rice of choice for Risotto, but I had none on hand, so I went with short grain. Stir it up for about 4 minutes. Add 1 cup white wine and stir it up for another 4 minutes or until wine is absorbed. Now pour some broth through a strainer into your rice...maybe 3 or 4 cups. Stir that well. Let it cook up for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and watching for the rice to absorb the liquid.

I think mine took a bit longer than your normal risotto - possibly my rice choice. Anyway, I continued to add broth in 1/2 - 3/4 cup increments about every 2 or 3 minutes, always through the strainer. I added my mushrooms and onion mixture about the last 10 minutes. Taste it often, because you'll find al dente when you find al dente.

When you're there, off the heat and stir in another wad of butter. Finely grate parmesan cheese into the stir to make a creamy mixture.

Give it a shot and enjoy!

~ Brock

Peruvian / Argentian Sauce for Steak

2009-08-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

In Argentinian cooking, it's called Chimichurri. My neighbor is from Argentina, and I've had it many times with Argentinian BBQ. It's an amazing sauce, but I wanted to try a variation that used less liquid, more garlic, and possibly a cross-over with the Peruvian green sauce known as Aji Verde (I mean of the consistency, not of the taste).

Anyway, this is excellent with steak.

1 bunch parsley
8 cloves garlic
a little white vinegar
a little water
salt

Blend or process until liquid. Keep in mind that this sauce will start to separate into a frothy top if you don't use it right away, so use it right away and well mixed.

Here's a use on my flank steak.

~ Brock

Quick and Healthy Chinese Stir Fry

2009-08-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

My mom used to make stir fry when I was growing up, and it was always a welcome excuse to eat vegetables. To be honest, I can't say that there's much that's really Chinese about this other than the fact that it uses some technique from Chinese cooking and has Oyster Sauce in it. Just like Panda Express isn't really Chinese food, neither is this, but that's what I'll call it.

Dice chicken and marinate in 1 part soy sauce, 1 part Chinese cooking wine, a dash of powdered ginger, and a bit of sugar.

Chop some vegetables. As you can see, I used carrots, celery, and Edamame beans. Have those ready in one bowl, and chop up a few cloves of garlic in another small bowl.

In a small cup, mix some oyster sauce with some water and corn starch. Stir very well.

Heat a wok or pan to smoking hot with a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Fry up your vegetables until cooked, but still crisp. Remove to bowl.

Return heat to smoking hot and fry up chicken until cooked through. Drop in your garlic and continue to fry for another minute. Add all your vegetables and continue to fry for one more minute. Spread a hole in the center of your pan and pour the contents of your cup into the center, stirring rapidly. Let it bubble first, then stir everything in the pan to coat. Remove and serve.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Gazpacho

2009-08-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

Gazpacho is interesting for many reasons, but the primaries are that it's amazingly simple, good and versatile. It originated in Spain and can be made so many ways. I've even seen a recipe for White Almond Gazpacho. I think people are used to seeing it with thick chunks of tomato and cucumber, but that didn't sound appetizing to me. How I made it is how I wanted it, so if you don't like it, don't try it.

1.5 pounds vine-ripe tomatoes
1 cucumber, skinned, seeds removed
1/2 red bellpepper
7 cloves garlic
2 handfulls of the inside of French bread (i.e., no crust), soaked in water and slightly squeezed of liquid
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
A few solid glugs of good olive oil
salt
pepper

Chop everything course and throw it in a processor. You might need to work in two batches, because you don't want the liquid shooting out the top! Process it until it's as smooth as you can get. If you study recipes, you find some that have you peel the tomatoes before they get processed - that's your call. I prefer the taste that comes from skins left on, and the cheesecloth deals with the solids left over. I also have a good feeling (though I haven't confirmed this yet), that if you roasted the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and garlic first, this would be even more amazing. Let me know if you try that on.

Lay out cheesecloth across small colander, and pour a batch into the cheesecloth. Strain this over a large bowl, squeezing out as much liquid as possible. Work with as many batches as you need until you have only liquid in the bowl. Meanwhile, get a large cup of ice water going and stir it into the liquid, to taste. You might need to adjust the vinegar, salt and pepper at this point also.

Stick it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with 1/2 cucumber skinned and chopped. Some like to add ice into their soup - I don't.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Salmon, Shrimp & Artichoke Heart Pasta with Lemon Butter Sauce

2009-08-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

A fairly simple, yet flavorful pasta dish. This one takes a few pans, or it takes one pan and a few turns (plus two pots). I'm still not the greatest fan of pasta, but sometimes I crave it. When I do, I don't want just spaghetti...I need to make something unique. I find that pasta lends to extreme creativity and flexibility. You can do hot or cold pastas, all different shapes and sizes, baked, boiled and/or steamed...there are just so many alternatives, it's a hard base ingredient to ignore.

Anyway, I wanted salmon and shrimp, and needed a vegetable. I had some canned artichoke hearts on hand. Here's what you do:

Chunk your salmon and season it liberally with your favorite spices. For mine, I wanted an Italian-styled blackened spice mixture - salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, basil and oregano. Work it in with olive oil and set aside. Next, spice up your shrimp the same way or a different way - don't rely on me to hold your hand. Experiment...try something different.

Heat up a skillet with 2 tablespoons olive oil until smoking and fry the artichoke hearts for 3-4 minutes until browned on sides (release the liquid BEFORE you cook them). Set aside. Add a little olive oil and fry the shrimp. Opaque doesn't mean sold white...if you're not sure, take a risk and eat it before you think it's done (though if you get sick, it's your fault for not being prudent - I am a lawyer, afterall). Set those aside. Wipe your pan out and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry your salmon chunks - a couple minutes per side - don't burn and don't overcook. It's okay for the salmon to have a slight translucent appearance internally. Set aside.

Sauce:

Boil 1/2 Cup white wine, 5-7 slivers of lemon peel, and juice from one lemon in a small pot. Reduce by about 1/2, then add 1 Cup chicken stock and some fresh basil. Boil, then reduce to about half the amount. When you're pasta is ready (NOT before), you'll add a couple of pats of butter with the heat off, stirring to mix.

Pasta:

Cook pasta according to instructions. I used angel hair pasta. Meanwhile heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry about 5 cloves of garlic, chopped. Add cooked and drained pasta and mix well. Add salmon, shrimp and artichoke hearts, being careful not too make a shoddy mess of the whole thing.

Serve into a pasta dish and top with fresh minced basil and crushed red peppers. Spoon over some lemon butter sauce.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Gorgonzola Burger with Spicy Roasted Tomato-Mango Salsa

2009-08-10T08:28:00.001-07:00

You ever have those days when you must have a burger. I've needed one for weeks, but haven't got around to it. Then a friend told me about a 50/50 he experienced at a local restaurant (50% beef/50% bacon) and it sent me over the edge.

The patty:

Take a slab of ground beef and spice it up heavily with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic. Cover your hands with olive oil and work the spices into the meat. Have a few tablespoons of whole milk handy (have it handy before your hands have raw meat on them, you nasty man or woman), and incorporate that into the meat.

I know many people prefer to make a paste with milk and white bread, but I didn't really notice a major difference when I've tried that. It's your call...try it both ways and see which you like.

Once you've worked up the meat, form a thin patty and sprinkle gorgonzola on the middle of it. Form a pouch and then a ball, then work that puppy down into a new, thick patty. Put it on a plastic or wax paper sheet until you're ready to slap it on the grill...you'll be happy you did. Meanwhile, heat the grill to Death Valley hot.

Spicy Roasted Tomato-Mango Salsa:

5 vine rippened tomatoes with tops cut off
1-2 jalapeno peppers, tops off, seeds out and halved length-wise

Put all this in a broiler very close to heat and let em roast until you start getting charred marks. Turn it all after about 10 minutes and char some more. Maybe 20 minutes total. Remove straight into a processor.

Chop up 1 red onion and fry it in a super hot dry pan, along with 4 whole cloves of garlic. You'll see some smoke, but just breathe it in. Drop that mixture into the processor also.

Chop up a whole mango and drop it into the processor. Then add salt, pepper, 2 glugs of olive oil.

Wipe out your dry pan and add 1 tablespoon of whole cumin and the same amount of whole coriander. Dry roast them, then grind it all into a powder...add it into the processor.

Process this spicy goodness into a smooth salsa, then package it up for the fridge...it needs to cool and blend for at least 1 hour before use. The longer the better.

Back to the grill:

It's on high and you're ready with your burger...slap it on there. Lay a strip or two of bacon across the top, close the lid and let the fire work magic. Check it back in about 5 minutes and flip it, putting your bacon on the other side now. This will impart a nice taste and moisture, but you don't need to eat that bacon if you don't want. Let the burger cook another 5-7 minutes on that side and it's done.

Top your burger with your favorite condiments. Be careful, because the gorgonzola creates these little pockets of super-hot oil that can spray your face and burn you. Handle with care.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

A & J Rocks Irvine

2009-08-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

I'm easing into a series on restaurants. Today is as good a day as any, so I'll start with A & J restaurant in Irvine. This is authentic Taiwanese food (yes, I've been - Taiwan and A&J) and it's dirt cheap. There are plenty of good write-ups on Yelp and I'd agree with most of them.

It's not the cleanest looking place, but you can't beat the food. As noted, the spicy beef noodle soup is bomb. Other items of note: pan fried dumplings, sour & spicy noodles (or wontons), tofu with peanuts, spicy hot cucumber, pan fried meat bun, green onion pancake, fried pork chop, and, of course, anything on the breakfast menu.

They're located South of the 5 freeway on Jeffrey Road. Across the street is 99 Ranch Market and a bank, so spend the day.

Brock

Curried Steak Salad with Candied Walnuts, Gorgonzola and Fuji Apples

2009-08-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just want something quick and fresh. Yeah, yeah, your first thought being, "but steak doesn't sound quick or fresh." It is, though...or at least, it can be. Particularly when you couple it with a cold salad. Here's a good rendition, although there are 50 ways you could change it up.

Steak:

I prefer flank steak. It's low-fat, very adaptable, and works well with a salad. I usually buy a large pack at Costco and cut it up into strips about 4" - 5" wide (just individually wrap, then bag and freeze the pieces you won't use immediately). Seasoning on this one I'll give in ratios, since I don't know whether you're using one piece, 2 pieces or whatever of steak. The key is to really spice it up. It seems like so many people are scared to use a lot of spice...go ahead and get down with your bad self, you'll appreciate the effort.
1 1/2 - curry powder
1 - cumin
1 - coriander
1/2 - pepper
1/4 - salt
1 - garlic
1 - paprika (I used Hungarian sweet, but you can do smoked as well)
Grind all this in a spice mill and slather it on your steak. Let the steak sit on the counter for about 1 hour before you cook it. I've found that this is a key to cooking good steak of any type - letting the temp raise before you cook. Turn your grill on high and sear for 4 minutes, then flip and sear another 4 - 5 (medium rare). Remove, tent with foil and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Candied Walnuts:

1/2 Cup chopped walnuts
1/4 Cup sugar
2 pads butter

Melt and stir on low heat for about 10 minutes. Stir often and don't let burn. Cool on a tray and stir/shake often.

Salad:

Romaine lettuce, sliced
Fuji Apple, skinned, sliced
Gorgonzola (I buy a small tub at Trader Joes), crumbled over
Shake walnuts over the top
Top with a few slices of steak

As for dressing, I really like Girard's Champagne Dressing, but you can pretty much use your favorite or make your own.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

The Rumble: LA

2009-07-01T11:54:00.001-07:00

Don't miss our monthly LA installment of The Rumble. 3 of Clubs in Hollywood at 9PM Thursday. It's gonna sizzle.

Future Sounds releases 33rd compilation - Future Sounds 33

2009-07-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

We've had so much going on, it's been hard to even catch a breath. But, our latest compilation - Future Sounds 33 - hit iTunes yesterday and we're stoked about it. So get into your iTunes store, search for Future Sounds, and you'll see it!

Future Sounds Rolls out WOXY iPhone App

2009-07-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while, but I've been busy. A lot of things in a lot of areas.

First off, it's the announcement of our new iPhone App!! Of course we're all excited that our radio station, WOXY, is now available on your mobile. Here's what Bryan, our Program Director, has to say about the new app.

So visit the iTunes store and search for it. WOXY!!

Brock

Wild Bill's Beignets

2009-04-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

This was an amazing find while I was in Nashville. My wife happened to be walking by and first saw them...she got me one and I had to go back and buy a few more.

Beignets are apparently French Donuts. I've heard they're popular in New Orleans. Funny thing is we found them in some kind of Harley store called Wild Bill's.

I'm not sure what the connection is between Harleys and Beignets, but I really don't care. They were good.

If you're in Nashville, stop by Broadway and 5th and look for Wild Bill's- Beignets and Harley parts. It's a show stopper.

Crisped Chicken on Moroccan-Style Lemon and Onion

2009-04-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've said it before- I love Moroccan food. I love the intersection of sweet and savory, and Moroccan cuisine excels at it. If you're scared to experiment, this is an entry level dish. The chicken is pretty basic and mildly flavored. It's the Lemon and Onion that gives it the kick.

Crisped Chicken:

4 chicken tenders, lightly salted and peppered
Ample corn starch, turn the chicken in it to coat

Fry the morsels until browned and cooked throughout- maybe 4 minutes. Set aside under tented foil, or cook these at the same time you make your Lemon and Onions.

Moroccan-Style Lemon and Onions:

Cut off large and lengthy chunks of 1 lemon peel
slice 1 onion

Add 2 glugs olive oil to pan and heat. Add onions and fry for 2 minutes. Add lemon peel and fry additional 2 minutes. Add 1/2 white wine. Boil, then lower heat to moderate. Add a few whole coriander seeds. Add 3-4 Tbsp of honey. Lower heat and cook until syrupy.

Add this to chicken and enjoy it!

~ Brock

Morocan Chick Pea and Shallot Soup

2009-04-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for Moroccan food. It's brilliant, flavorful and downright interesting. Of course, this is an experiment in taste and texture, and I'm not sure that this soup really exists in Morocco. Nevertheless, it should. It's earthy and natural.

Moroccan Chick Pea & Shallot Soup:

1 large shallot, course chopped
1 Can chick peas (garbanzo beans); drained and washed
1 organic tomato, chopped
Handful of baby carrots, chopped large
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground toasted cumin (toast your own)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 whole cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
Chicken Broth
Olive Oil

Heat a glug or two of olive oil in a pot. Add shallots and fry for 2 minutes. Add tomato and stir for 1 minute. Add chick peas and carrots. Add chicken broth to cover (about 4-6 cups). Add spices, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 30 minutes.

Nice with some meat.

~ Brock

Herb Salmon Cakes With Horseradish Tartar Sauce

2009-04-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

These bad boys are tasty! I got the idea after seeing a picture of crab cakes on the cover of some magazine. You'll love the moist interior balanced against the crispy exterior.

Herb Salmon Cakes:

Prepare Herb Mixture; set aside.

In a processor, turn about 3-4 slices of thick country/french bread into crumbs. Save 1 cup, and pour the rest into a baking dish or other rimmed dish.

Chop 2 salmon filets (no skin) into large chunks about 2x2. Drop those into a processor and pulse a couple of times. Need to have small chunks- NOT paste!!

Drop the fish and 1 cup bread crumbs into a mixing bowl. Add 1-2 Tbsp Herb Mixture. Scramble 1 egg and pour it into your mixing bowl. Wash your hands, then mix it all by hand. Form a few cakes of about 2-3" in diameter. Set those into the crumbs in your baking dish and coat all sides. Set aside.

Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil to medium heat. Fry each salmon cake about 4-6 minutes, caring not to burn and turning frequently. Top with lemon and parsley. Eat with Horseradish Tartar Sauce (below).

Horseradish Tartar Sauce:

1/2 Cup Miracle Whip
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1-2 Tbsp horseradish
1/2 finely chopped pickle. Mix well and chill.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Herb Seasoning

2009-04-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

This worked with my Salmon Cakes, but would also go well on corn, in mashed potatoes or a bunch of other things.

Herb Seasoning:

3 part dried Oregano
2 part thyme
2 part Tarragon
1 part ginger
1 part garlic
1 part black pepper
pinch of sea salt

Now I used everything dried, but you can just as easily use fresh on the herbs, ginger and garlic. Experiment with proportion, but you'll love it.

~ Brock

Help Fight Human Trafficking

2009-04-06T00:55:00.000-07:00

Lend your support, your art, your voice. Join us in fighting.

The Rumble LA - April 2

2009-03-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

Fresh off the SxSW heat, Future Sounds brings you The Rumble in LA on April 2. It's going to be a good one, so if you haven't come out before, let this be your first.

Shrimp & Turnip Rounds with Hoisin-Sake Sauce

2009-03-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Percentage-wise, few people use variety in the kitchen. Most people, I think, believe variety somehow takes longer- costs more- is too much work. For me, I think variety often comes from what you already have on hand. The cupboards, the freezer, the shelves. For this one, I wanted to use turnips as my base ingredient. Sweet, yet bitter- they're interesting. But I didn't want them alone, so...

Peel and cube (1/4") 2 small turnips, pan fry for about 5-7 minutes, until nicely browned and soft
pan fry 4 or 5 shrimp with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and butter- cool and dice (1/4")
Cook a handful of edamame according to instructions, cool, separate beans, discard shells
[here's what I did - 2 dates, chopped- the result was horrible. The tasted blended well, but not the texture. Maybe if I let the dates rest in warm water for 20 minutes, or something, but that's up to you.]
[here's what I should have done - 2 strips of bacon, cooked crisp, then chopped. The salt would add a nice variety, and the texture would have been amazing in this simple dish.]

Stack it all. Layers are attractive, but you could also put everything in a bowl, and mix. I used a biscuit cutter to mold this one.

Then I figured I needed a sauce. Since I added edamame, I figured something Asian-influenced would pair well.

1/4 Cup sake, add to small pot, bring to quick boil, then lowest heat setting.
Add 1-2 TSP hoisin sauce, stir quickly- don't let it burn or settle on the bottom of the pot.

Heat this, stirring constantly, for maybe 2 minutes, then drizzle over your vegetables.

In this picture, you also see a blood orange vinaigrette over pan fired crispy chicken. I'll let you know about that one in a different post.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Blood Orange Vinaigrette (over pan fired crispy chicken)

2009-03-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

In my earliest post for Shrimp & Turnip Rounds with Hoisin-Sake Sauce, you saw a picture of a red vinaigrette over chicken. That's this one here...

Juice of 1/2 a blood orange
2-3 TSP white wine vinegar
1 TSP deli mustard
1/4 Cup olive oil

Mix well, and drizzle over whatever.

Pan Fired Crispy Chicken:

4 boneless chicken strips- salt and pepper them well.
Dump some cornstarch over the chicken, and press it into both sides to cover. Shake off the excess.
Heat 2 TSP vegetable oil in a pan, then fry the chicken a few minutes on each side.

~ Brock

Sweet Profiteroles (dessert puffs)

2009-03-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

This is based on the Choux (pronounced "shoe") from France.

These are a fairly quick and fun dessert. I had my 4 year old son in the kitchen with me, helping me pour and mix ingredients. The best part is making them with your favorite toppings or filings. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Here's what you need:

1 Cup water
1 Cup flour
3 Tsp butter - cubed
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs

Put the water, salt, and butter in a saucepan and warm to a simmer- no boiling. Then add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon quickly and constantly until a ball forms. By this point, it shouldn't stick and should look sort of translucent. Maybe takes 1 - 2 minutes doing this part.

Remove from heat.

Drop the ball into a mixer (or into a mixing bowl so you can use a hand mixer). Cool it for about 4 minutes, then one-by-one add the eggs, mixing constantly. At first, it will look lumpy and eggy. After a few minutes, it will turn into a thicker paste. Make sure you keep mixing until you passed the lumpy stage.

Use parchment paper on cookies sheets. Dollop heaping tablespoons of paste onto it about a few inches apart. If the paste starts to run or deflate, it's not mixed enough.

Bake for about 25 minutes.

Remove and cool. Slice open and add your favorite inserts- pudding, cool whip, ice cream, etc. You can also sprinkle powdered sugar, melted chocolate, strawberries, or other things over the top.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Pan Fired Flank Steak with Red Pepper Aioli and Red Onion Gremolata

2009-03-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure about an aioli on a steak, but I saw a picture on a magazine and thought, "why not?" Plus, I'm a big fan of red meat. Didn't feel like firing up the grill, which left the pan - iron skillet, that is. Thought about finishing in the oven, but come on, don't you love the smoke of a pan fired steak? Now you can't live by meat alone (particularly when you're married), so I needed at least one vegetable. Had recently acquired some rutabegas, so there you go.

Now if you follow me, you know I like a lot of small accompaniments. I was sort of craving a pesto- maybe tarragon, but didn't have any. I did have fresh spinach. I also had some almonds. It was all coming together. I pictured it in my mind, but I needed something to top with the pesto- why not potatoes? Mashed, of course. Maybe sounds strange, but potatoes -- pasta -- potatoes...close enough. Plus, what's the point of only eating what you know. You'll never know anything if you don't try everything.

Pan fired flank steak:

bring 2 pieces of flank steak to room temperature. Sprinkle with ample salt, pepper and garlic powder. Put some olive oil on your hands and work in the oil and spices into both sides of the steaks. Let them sit until you're ready.

Heat an iron skillet to high- almost smoking. Drop your steaks in. Leave for maybe 4 minutes, then flip and leave for another 3 minutes (rare-ish). Remove and lay on cutting board, tent foil and let rest for 5 - 10 minutes. Then slice thinly.

Pepper Aioli:

1/4 mayo
1 TBS crushed red pepper
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
salt to taste
4 cloves garlic- minced or through a press

Mix all ingredients well. If it's too thick, just add a bit more oil and/or vinegar (experiment with the taste to check your prefences). Top a glob on your sliced steak.

Red Onion Gremolata:

1/2 red onion, minced
2 green onions, finely chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1 TSB lemon juice

Mix well. Top on your steak.

Rutabegas with Leek and White Wine:

Peel and chop your rutabegas into 1/2 inch cubes
slice the white part of 1 leek
1/8 C white wine
salt
pepper
1 TSP butter

In a large ramekin, put everything except the butter and mix well. Place in oven on 400 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring occassionaly.

Meanwhile, place 1 TSP oil in pan and heat to medium high. Remove ramekin from oven and pour everything into pan and fry until coloration is nice and rutabegas are soft. Divide onto plates and top with sea salt.

Spinach Pesto:

1 C fresh Spinach
small handful of toasted almonds
2 glugs olive oil
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
Salt
4 garlic cloves

In a processor, add spinach, almonds, salt and garlic, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Remove from processor to bowl. Add cheese and stir until mixed. Top off on mashed potatoes or even your steak.

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes:

2 russet potatoes, pealed and cubed
1/2 C whipping cream
2 TSP butter
2 glugs olive oil
salt
pepper
2 TSP horseradish

Boil enough water for the potatoes, and boil them for 15 minutes. Drain, then return to dry pot.

Add all ingredients and mash together until you reach nirvana.

This is a pretty simple meal, so make it quick and enjoy!

~ Brock

Broiled Japanese Salmon on Endive with Honey-kumquat Vinaigrette

2009-03-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

Healthy and quick. This meal can be on the table in about 15 minutes. I love fish, and salmon is a staple in my house. My fishmonger is 30 minutes away, so I often have to rely on something frozen. I've grown to like Costco's frozen bagged fish- salmon and Mahi-Mahi. I've ventured into their frozen shrimp as well (taking me away from Trader Joe's frozen shrimp, which has been pretty bad lately). Anyway, dealing with frozen salmon is almost as easy as fresh- just run some cool water over for a few minutes, then let it rest to warm up. It's usually ready to go within 30 minutes, because the filets aren't too thick.

Take two salmon filets. Cut them into 1 1/2" cubes. Toss them with soy sauce, brown sugar, sake, sesame oil, ginger, salt and pepper. Place on foil in broiler for maybe 10 minutes. Play it by ear- your broiler might be different than mine.

Lay out your endive. Maybe slice some onions too. White or red would go best.

Honey-Kumquat Vinaigrette-

2 TSP honey
2 TSP kumquat juice
A splash of sake
1 tsp sugar
1/4 olive oil
salt
pepper

Mix well.

Top your greens with the fish and onions. Add some chopped green onions in here too if you like - they'd go well with it. Drizzle your vinaigrette over it all. Top with toasted sesame seeds and maybe some black pepper.

~ Brock

Lamb Ciabatta Sandwich with Mint-Horseradish Aioli

2009-03-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

I hear it a lot..."I just want something easy," or "it doesn't have to be anything too fancy." What's the difference? Does it take less time to boil a hotdog than it does to make a lamb sandwhich? Nope. Sorry, haters.

Start with a small cut of lamb...something that looks like a ribeye or t-bone. Who cares which one- just pick one. It will be good anyway. Get beyond the instructions and take a chance. Douse it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh minced garlic, and bring it to the counter for at least 1 hour before cooking. Then take your iron skillet and get that thing smoking (literally) on high. Slaughter the lamb on one side for maybe 4 minutes, then flip it to the other side for 3-5 minutes, depending on thickness. This will be about what you see in my pic. Your kitchen will be full of smoke- maybe even the whole house. Open some windows and chill. When it's done, remove it to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes. Slice for your sandwich- thick or thin, you choose.

While that's all going down, slather some olive oil and pepper on your ciabatta and toast it. When it's done, open the oven door and move the bread near the opening. Lay some slices of brie on those bad boys and let it soften, while remaining in the warmth of the oven.

You'll need some arugala, crumbled blue, feta, or gorganzola cheese, pepperchinis, and olive oil and pepper. Add those to your liking.

Assemble your sandwhich - might want to add some red onions in there too.

Why not add a spicy aioli? 1 egg yolk, about 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 TSP white wine vinegar, 1 TSP lemon juice, 1 TSP horseradish, 2 TSP chopped fresh mint, salt and pepper. Mix well and chill for a bit. Drizzle the stuff over everything.

I think you'll like it. If not, freeze it and give it to me when you see me.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Licensing versus Distribution: Why the Eminem Case Matters

2009-03-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

Maybe you followed it, but probably not. You saw "Eminem" and thought, "oh, the great white hope!" Ha! Or you thought, "who cares about him anyway?" Either way, he wasn't even directly involved in the lawsuit touted as Eminem's suit for millions! The case was brought by Eminem's former publishing companies (at least according to a detnews.com report). The question was whether digital downloads constitute a purchase or a license. If they are a purchase, then it's the same thing as a CD sale and the royalty is a distribution royalty. If it's a license, then the royalty is much higher- usually 50%. Big difference when you're talking millions of downloads, but a difference of roughly $1.78 when you're talking about your average artist.

The court sided with Universal and said the the digital download is a distribution- a purchase, and not a license. A win for the labels.