The CT Cafe

An Italian Family Classic Minaste & Beans

2010-01-20T11:25:00.000-08:00

This is a family classic. Something my Italian grandmother made, my dad made and something I made weekly for my mom when she was anemic and didn’t want to eat red meat in order to build up the iron in her body. It worked.

When I brought it in one day for lunch, a co-worker called this a "poor man’s Italian soup." It is not really soup, but I will say it is definitely economically feasible. It is increasingly hard to eat healthy for a low price, but four servings of this dish will cost you a total of about $5.

With only six ingredients it is easy to prepare. It is also extremely nutritious without sacrificing great taste, which we all know healthy dishes do sometimes. The spinach and beans will load you up with energy-providing protein and iron and your body will thank you for the amount of vitamins A, C, E and calcium you are getting with each spoonful.

It is hearty and best served on a cold winter day with buttered pieces of a baguette or semolina bread.

Ingredients:
3 to 5 cloves of garlic
(The amount depends on your love of garlic; use a minimum of three average sized cloves – I love garlic, so sometimes I use five.)

2, 10-ounce packages of frozen whole leaf spinach
(I know this isn’t fresh spinach and I know you’re going to cut it as it cooks, so why not buy frozen cut leaf spinach or use the fresh version? You can do that, but it won’t taste the same. This recipe has been through decades of trial and error. I highly recommend sticking with the frozen whole leaf spinach.)

1, 15.5-ounce can of cannellini beans

Olive oil
(My grandmother, Philomena, didn’t keep measurements of ingredients like this one. Following her lead, I don’t either. I use enough olive oil to sauté the garlic; maybe cover the bottom of the pan. I do recommend the following as a caution: you can always add more olive oil, but I’ve never been successful at taking it out once I’ve added too much.)

Salt
Black Pepper

Putting It Together:
Peel and chop the cloves of garlic

In a two-quart saucepan, in between low to medium heat, sauté the chopped garlic in olive oil with some salt and black pepper (you can also add crushed red pepper flakes here for some heat)

Add the frozen spinach once the garlic is sautéed. As the spinach cooks, flip the frozen blocks over occasionally and cut the leaves with food scissors. Continue cutting the spinach as it cooks.

Add the cannellini beans once all of the spinach is no longer frozen. Look for movement or simmering in the pot then put it on low heat and stir occasionally for 15 to 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Note: This tastes great when it is first cooked and it gets even better as a leftover after all the flavors have spent a night together in the refrigerator.

1st Williamsburg Cask Ale Festival

2010-01-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

On a blistery Friday night, in the greatest city on Earth, OC (Original Crunkster) Oliver Crunk, new friend Mike Z. and myself, met up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to actively participate in the 1st Williamsburg Cask Ale Festival. The fest featured 15 or so cask ales. For those of you unfamiliar with cask ales, you can read all about them, right here. Cask ales tend to pack quite a wallop, so it may not be the best idea to arrive an hour before your drinking buddies and get started by yourself, ie: me. By the time O Crunk and Mike Z arrived I was in rather good spirits.
Although the details of what took place in the next few hours are still a little hazy, one thing that is without question, is that the beer selection was excellent.

Here are a couple descriptions that I wrote in my "notes" on the good ol' Iphone,

Dogfish 75 min.- Milton, DE- 7.5%, delicious
Ridgeway Reindeer Droppings- West Sussex, England- 4.7%, meh, tastes just like the name.
Eerie Railbender Ale- Eerie, PA- 6.8% Scottish 90/wee heavy- very mellow, chocolatey, smooth, delish
Brooklyn Backbreaker Ale-Brooklyn, NY Initial smell was like the reddish, purple Tootsie Pop, flavor is not as intense, but still very good. Never heard of this before

One of the standouts of the night was the Shawnee Bourbon Barrel Aged Entire. This beer was very unique and here is a review from Mr. Crunk himself:

The CT Cafe Pick of the Night was, drumroll please.............Stone Brewing Co.'s Sublimely Self Righteous Ale. This beer was the unanimous favorite. Hand's down. Hoppy, smooth, and motor-oil dark. At 8.7%, this brew will take you down if you let it hang around for a couple rounds, which, based on flavor, would be very easy to do.

That's it for the 1st Billyburg Cask Fest. Hopefully, we'll see you at the 2nd.

The CT Cafe wants to remind you that if your driving, don't drink and if your drinking, give us a call.

Coleslaw with a Soulful Kick

2010-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

Easy to prepare, healthy eats are something people are searching for, but without a guide to the new age of nutrition it can be a failed pursuit. Even when that hunt for good health food is a success, finding a dish that also tastes great is the next challenge.

Here is an easy colorful side dish with a subtle sweet flavor followed by spicy kick. It is made up of nutritious vegetables that will go great with your next grilled chicken dinner (it is probably good for a barbecue and with fried chicken or diner-style cheeseburger and fries, but this is an attempt at eating healthy).

Carrot-Cayenne Coleslaw comes from “Vegan Soul Kitchen – Fresh, Healthy, And Creative African-American Cuisine” by Bryant Terry, an award-winning Oakland-based eco-chef.

I made the dish recently to go with a grilled chicken panini sandwiches on whole wheat rolls that were topped with mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and fresh organic baby spinach.

This is a good beginner dish for those looking to get into raw food. Or it can be used to replace the fat-and sugar-laden traditional coleslaw made with refined sugars and mayonnaise.

It is also easy to prepare. I was able to make it with a toddler opening kitchen drawers into my knees, repeatedly telling me to “get out of town,” as I chopped the cabbage and grated the carrots.

Here is Bryant Terry’s recipe with my alterations in italics.

Ingredients:
½ small green cabbage head, cored and sliced thinly
Chopped a third of a regular green cabbage
2 large carrots, grated
¼ small purple cabbage head, cored and sliced thinly
Chopped a third of a regular purple cabbage
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup champagne vinegar
Used 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon agave nectar or organic raw cane sugar
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
Did not use the sesame seeds
*used additional mustard, agave nectar, salt, cayenne by eyeballing since I was using more cabbage than the recipe called for

Putting it Together:
Place the green cabbage and carrots in one bowl and the purple cabbage in a separate bowl.

In an upright blender, combine the mustard, vinegar, agave nectar, salt and cayenne. While blending slowly add the olive oil. I put them all in a blender at once and used regular speed.

Add half the dressing to the green cabbage/carrots and add the remain dressing to the purple cabbage. Massage them both until wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes each. Cover, and refrigerate them for at least 1 hour or overnight. Remove at least 15 minutes before serving, combine them, add sesame seeds and mix well. Did not use the sesame seeds.

Cellphone Retrospective: Winter Beer

2009-12-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

Below is the first in a series of beer retrospectives based on a selection of pictures found on my phone.

For most of us it's easy to relate winter with comfort food. Warmer, richer, hardier. Beer is no different. In beer terms this translates to higher alcohol, fuller body, bigger, toastier, spicier flavors or any combination. This leads to Porters, Stouts, Browns, Tripels, Barley Wines, Strong Ales and imperial versions of just about anything. My personal favorites can be sipped slow at warmer temperatures. Proper sitting position displayed here. Got the vibe? Good.

Life & Limb | Sierra Nevada / Dogfish Head | 10% Dark Ale

If you've missed the buzz, this brew is the first batch of the first collaboration between Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada. Made with maple syrup from the Colagione family farm, estate barley from Sierra Nevada and a blended yeast from each brewery, this beer packs a punch at 10%.

Limb & Life | Sierra Nevada / Dogfish Head | Small Beer

As a "Small Beer" , this batch was made from the second runnings of Life & Limb. Limb & Life is a 5.2%, lighter version of the same brew.

Pumpkin Porter | My Kitchen | 8% Porter

I boiled fresh pumpkin for about a 1/2 hour, smashed it all up with a potato masher, added my grains into that mix to make a partial mash then brewed it with small amount of clove, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon and fresh ginger. Shout out to nerf football decapper in the background courtesy of Beer Tap TV

Santa's Little Helper | Port Brewing | Imperial Stout

A heavy weight, 10.5% imperial stout with big roastiness. Depending on your family, this strong sipper can be a great "helper" to get you through the holidays.

Ten Fidy | Oskar Blues | Imperial Stout

Once the initial shock of seeing this thick black beer pour like motor oil from the can, you are left with a beer that is strong but well balanced. Perfect for sipping slow. The picture above was taken on Thanksgiving Eve w/ pumpkin porter homebrews in the background

Monster Ale | Brooklyn Brewery | Barley Wine

A real nice cold weather brew. Not the biggest barley wine by any means but the alcohol is apparent and its a nice break from some of the hop bombs out there.

Black Orchard | The Bruery | Belgian Dark Ale

Tastes like a belgian, looks like a porter. Easily the lightest on today's list, a true belgian yeast flavor with a nice spiciness that works for me. Why didn't take a picture of the actual beer!?!

Oaked Arrogant Bastard | Stone Brewing | American Strong Ale

Not sure if this is a winter beer, but it's in my phone and I've been enjoying them lately, so here. The oak monster is out BIG TIME in this version of Arrogant Bastard so I can't say it's a
particularly well-balanced beer, but it's undeniable that it tastes delicious.

Little Stevie Wonder

2009-12-18T04:23:00.001-08:00

Who needs breakfast when you have this to start your day?

Korean Fried Chicken

2009-12-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

There's a lot of hype in the food universe these days about Korean Fried Chicken. Some call it Korean Fried Crack, others just say it's damn delicious. The other day, my chef at work was singing the praises of KFC, Korean not Kentucky , so I decided to do a little investigation. As today was my day off and I had no interest in completing my Christmas shopping, I decided to see what all the hubbub was about and try my hand at some of this Korean goodness.

After some Googling, I found enough info to come up with a good game plan. First, I had to get some chicken. Drumsticks and wings were my cuts of choice, due to the fact that breast meat has less flavor and a greater chance of drying out, in my opinion.

Next I made a marinade of 1 sweet onion, 10 garlic cloves, 2 T of ginger, 1 T of sriracha, salt, pepper, & a little oil.

Blast that shit in the processor until it looks like this,

Now we get our hands dirty. Pour this marinade over your chicken pieces and rub it all over. Get it under the skin, but be careful not to rip the skin away from the chicken. It will leave you with a funny looking finished product and the crispy skin will not completely encase your chicken.
Also, for those who don't like getting their hands dirty, invest in some latex or nylon gloves. They're inexpensive and save you the time of washing your hands. Here's what your meat pile should look like

I put this beautiful bowl of pungently garlicky chicken in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours to let the flavors develop. You could let it sit overnight if you want, but I have a pregnant wife who was gonna be home soon looking for dinner, so I went with the minimum.

Fast forward 1 1/2 hours and the smell that hit me when I opened the fridge was what I would image God's farts smell like. Unbelievably delicious.

I quickly washed off the marinade. I did this because if I fried the chicken with the marinade still on it, the marinade would burn way before the chicken was done and give the chicken a burnt taste. That would be bad. After washing off the marinade, I dried the chicken on a towel, laid it on a wire rack and salted the skin.

The salt on the skin draws out the moisture. This makes for a crispier finished product. Once I saw the moisture develop on the skin, I dried it with some paper towels and resalted. I repeated this process 3 time before dredging the chicken in Wondra flour. Wondra flour should be called Wonder flour. It is great for pan frying fish, thickening sauces, frying Korean chicken, etc. A must have in any kitchen.
To avoid a dusty, floury mess, I use a big ziploc bag to dredge my chicken.

After all my chicken is coated, I remove it from the bag, shake off any excess Wondra and return it to the wire rack.

Here is where I let it sit for about 20 minutes. This lets the flour stick to the skin and form what will be the first layer of our crust. After the 20 minutes I flour it again and fry at 350F for 10 minutes. This helps to draw the rest of the moisture out of the skin, helping to achieve the crispiness which KFC is known for.

After 10 minutes drain the chicken on some paper towels. We will fry it one more time before we chow down.
Here's what it should look like after the first fry.

Turn the temp on your oil up to 375F for the final fry. Once you are up to temp, fry your chicken for about 1 more minute, until a nice golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
Here is where the magic happens. I've kept this quite until now, but this is THE key piece in this recipe. It's called the Octo Vin. Make this before you start the chicken. It is from Momofuku and their $100 fried chicken dinners.
When your chicken is drained and still hot, toss it in the Octo Vin. Be warned, the smell may make you pass out from sensory overload. The hot chicken and the soy/vinegar sauce make for one of the best combinations I have ever smelled/tasted in my life. Here's what it looks like.

I served the chicken with a slaw of cabbage, green bean, clementine, sriracha, rice vinegar, honey, coconut milk, salt & pepper.
Awesome meal. I think next time I would use just the chicken wings. As good as the drumsticks were, they were not as flavorful as the wings. Buffalo wings have nothing on Korean fried chicken.

.......& Music

2009-12-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

As much as we love our food & drink here at the CT Cafe, we also enjoy ourselves some music. Just as great grub and brews are best enjoyed with good friends, so is music. Here is a link to our old friend Oliver Crunk's site. He is one of the interwebs foremost conniseurs of horseracing and great music. Hopefully, we can get him to hit us up with some music posts in the near future. Stay tuned!

Koningshoeven Quadrupel Vintage 2004

2009-12-09T14:06:00.001-08:00

This wonderful Dutch Trappist Ale was bottled in 2004 and opened in 2009.

Being aged over five years, this Koningshoeven Quadrupel treats the nose to an aroma of apples and cinnamon with subtle hints of dark red cherrys. As you can see above the ale has a dark copper apperance with a thick frothy head.

The innitial flavor is malty, beginning with apple and and shortly fading to a not tart but not sweet raspberry. The mouthfeel is warming as the flavor moves to the back of the mouth. The raspberry turns to a mild current bitter, very similar to the current bitters found in a younger Orval. As the current subsides, the flavor returns back to apples, although not as malty as the innital component.

BBQ Sunday

2009-06-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

St. Louis Style Ribs with Smoked Chicken & Sausage Pasta Salad

Here we have St. Louis cut pork ribs that were cooked "low & slow" in the smoker over hickory wood chips. The membrane on the back of the bones was removed along with any excess fat. The ribs were then rubbed with a home-made BBQ spice which included: Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Fresh Ground Coffee, Paprika, Cajun Spice, Kosher Salt & Pepper. The ribs were cooked at 250 degrees for about 4 hours, or until the meat pulls from the bone with a gently tug. They are then left to sit to come down to room temperature or can be placed in the fridge if not being served for a while. It's important to let the ribs cool down before finishing them on the grill- This will keep the meat juicy and tender and won't get over cooked during the final step. After the ribs have cooled, placed the racks on a medium/high heat and baste generously. Flip them 2-3 times while basting and they should be perfect in about 5-10 minutes or so. The meat should not fall off the bone until bitten, then pull away cleanly. Fantastic!

The same rub was used for the Chicken for the pasta salad. Clean a whole bird and rub the BBQ spices generously on the chicken, inside and out. The Chicken and the sausage comes out of the smoker after about 1 1/2 hours or so. The chicken goes in breast down for the 1st 1/2 hour then they're flipped over for the remainder of the smoke. Once finished, the chicken was pulled and the sausage was sliced for the salad and left to cool. Penne pasta was used here, cooked al-dente and tossed with chopped onion, celery, sun-dried tomato & the smoked meats. A quick mustard vinaigrette dressing with fresh basil was whipped up and used to toss all the ingredients together.

13th Century Grut Bier

2009-05-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

Dr. Fritz Briem's 13th Century Grut Bier

Before the German Purity Law "Reinheitsgebot" of 1516, it was a common practice to use any kind of different spices, herbs, fruits and other plants to provide balance to beer. Hops was not yet well known at this time.

Grut Bier has roots in many cultures and each culture had it's own special ingredients. This interpretation of a traditional Grut Bier is spiced with bay leaves, ginger, rosemarie, and enzian. (from label)

13th Century Grut Bier has an extremely smooth mouthfeel, warming the palette with hints of rosemarie, while giving a mild fresh rush of lemon to the tongue and cheek. The flavor of ginger is tasted in the back of the mouth shortly after, balancing the flavors. The bier finishes warm with hints of rosemarie, sage and anise.

For those of you who have tasted grut bier before this will be one of the better. If you have not, just remember what you are drinking; if you have an experienced palette you will take a liking to this great bier. Serve cold, preferable in the spring time.

The BUZZ

2009-04-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

Energ y Guru Review

Easter Dinner

2009-04-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Pork Loin w/ a Braised Apple & Pistachio Gravy - Cornbread Sausage Stuffing - Roasted Red Potatoes & Broccoli

When I think Traditional Easter Feast, this is the first thing that comes to mind and it's one of my favorite meals to prepare! The Loin was first marinated for 2 hours with some fresh squeezed orange juice, lemon juice, cider vinegar, smashed garlic cloves, salt, pepper & fresh thyme. Then the loin was removed from the juices, patted dry and seared on all sides in olive oil until golden brown. The loin was removed from the pan to allow fresh diced onion, garlic & a granny Smith Apple to saute for a minute. Then the pan was deglazed with cider vinegar and white wine, chicken stock, pistachios and the loin were added back to the pan & sent into the oven at 350 degrees for about 1h, 20m. I like to cook it until the center reaches 140 degrees then let sit until ready to carve.

Once the loin reached 140 degrees and was let to sit, the pan was returned to the stove to reduce the braising liquid by half. Then in another pan I sauteed some shallots for a few minutes then added the strained braising liquid along with the pistachios. I let this reduce by about a 1/4, then added a little flour to thicken up the gravy. Perfect!

The stuffing was started by chopping some white bread into small cubes and mixing in some crumbled corn bread- about equal parts. Then I browned some mild sausage in a pan until very crispy and most of the fat was rendered out. The sausage was drained then mixed into the bread along with salt, pepper, ground thyme and sage. Then I caramelized 1 1/2 onions and about 6 stalks of celery, both diced fine in a 1/2 stick of butter. This was mixed in with the bread and sausage until nicely combined then transferred to a pan until it was ready to be baked for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

The potatoes and broccoli were simply oven roasted with olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper, lemon juice and fresh thyme. Simple and delicious!!

Tasting Beer & the Flavor Wheel

2009-03-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Guiness Extra Stout 4yrs

2009-03-23T17:11:00.001-07:00

This Guinness Extra Stout was bottled in 2005. It was cellared in a controlled refrigerated environment at 52 degrees Fahrenheit. The beer above was recently poured in 2009.

To the nose the aged Guinness Extra Stout is similar to an aged porter with hints of both dark and white chocolate.

You would be surprised to find that the initial tastes of well cellared Guinness Extra Stout will boast the sharp flavors of blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, fig and date. The fruit will then mellow out and be chased by a rush of bitter malt. Finally the beer finishes with hints of the same fruits just as the dark malt espresso flavor subsides.

The beer pours a beautiful frothy head.

Carnitas Tacos

2009-03-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Pulled Pork Tacos with Fresh Guacamole & Corn Salsa

Here we have some Pork Shoulder that was braised to perfection in White Wine, Cider Vinegar, Garlic, Onion, Cumin and Chili Powder for 2 hours. Once the meat was fork tender it was removed from the pan and pulled.

The braising liquid was drained and a little fresh garlic and onion was lightly browned in the same pan. The pulled pork was added back to the pan along with more Cumin, Chili Powder, Smoked Paprika, Adobo, Sriracha and Fresh Ground Pepper. That was let to simmer for about 15 minutes to really flavor the meat.

The Corn Salsa was simple. A little Corn mixed with pureed Fresh Tomato, Garlic, Salt & Pepper, Lime Juice and Cilantro. I then mixed in some fresh diced Onion to finish it off.

The Fresh Avocado was smashed and mixed with a little sour cream, salt and pepper. I like to use sour cream to make a nice creamy Guac. I originally had a vision of using Guacamole to stand up tacos on the plate for presentation. I think it worked well; Function as well as Flavor! They were pretty bangin'!

Pork Cuts Application

2009-03-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/popular-ingredients/pork/pork-cuts/

Open Faced Meatloaf Sandwich

2009-03-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf - Texas Toast - Cajun Slaw - Homemade BBQ Sauce

Here we have 3 lbs. of Ground Sirloin and 1 lb. of Ground Pork mixed with chopped Onion, Pepper and Garlic, Stuffed with Cheddar/Jack Cheese, rolled, and wrapped in a 2 lb. bacon basket-weave. Before Rolling, the meat was rubbed with some BBQ Spices, smeared with BBQ Sauce, and stuffed with the cheese.

This is about half-way through the Smoking. As you can see, the Meatloaf was basted with a coat of BBQ Sauce before going into the smoker. 275 degrees for about 4hrs 30m is just about right!

Glorious!!!

Here's the finished dish. A generous slice of Meatloaf atop Garlic Toasts, topped with Cajun Slaw, finished with the signature, Damn Good BBQ Sauce. Amazing!!!

Here's what's left.

Sushi Night!

2009-03-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Nothing like enjoying fresh sushi at home! The best part about it is you can make ANY rolls you want no matter how ridiculous! We started with Fresh Tuna, Crab, Cucumber, Mango, Avocado, Red, Green & Yellow Peppers, Sesame Seeds and went to town. We made a mixture of Mayo and Sriracha to do some spicy tuna rolls as well. Everything came out amazing!

A Healthy Plate

2009-03-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Balsamic Chicken - Spinach Salad - Rice - Roasted Pepper Aioli

Here we have a boneless breast of chicken that has been lightly floured with salt and pepper and sauteed in some olive oil until golden brown. The chicken was then removed from the pan to allow fresh diced garlic, onion and carrot, to quickly brown. Then Balsamic Vinegar was added to deglaze the pan and return the chicken to the mixture along with some chicken stock to simmer for about 20 minutes. The chicken was removed so the liquid could be strained and reduced for a thick sweet sauce.

For the Pepper Aioli, I started by roasting some yellow peppers in the broiler. After they were nicely roasted to where the skin peels off easily, I added them to a food processor along with eggs, mustard, and garlic and let it puree the mixture. I then slowly added in olive oil until I got the consistency I wanted. Seasoned with salt, pepper and a little lemon juice it was set in the fridge until ready to plate.

The spinach salad was simply tossed in lemon juice, a little rice vinegar and salt and pepper. The sharpness of the Aioli and sweetness of the Balsamic worked nicely to compliment one another! Once all the components were eaten together, they had a nice balance.

Caramelized Leek Crusted Sirloin, Baby Yukon Gold, Cremini, Roasted Garlic

2009-03-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

Here we have a 14oz. Sirloin. I caramelized some leeks in butter and then blasted them for a few seconds in the trusty, Magic Bullet. Great piece of equipment. The ensuing leek paste was used to crust the sirloin, after said sirloin had been generously salted, peppered, and pan seared until brown and crispy.

After the sirloin was seared, I used the pan to caramelize the onions and cremini. I set these aside and reheated them later with the potatoes and garlic.

Speaking of potatoes and garlic, the potatoes were cut in half and, with the garlic, placed in a pot of cold salted water. I brought the pot to a boil and continued to cook the potatoes for about 3 minutes or until soft, but not too soft. Strain the potatoes .We are gonna be mixing the potatoes, so if they are cooked too long in the water, they will break apart and you'll be making mashed potatoes instead. I tossed the cooked potatoes in oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme and then popped them in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes. I like to make sure that the flat part of the potatoes are face down on the pan. This gives the potatoes a nice, crispy texture on the outside and a mashed potato-like consistency on the inside.

I sauteed the potatoes, mushrooms, & garlic in butter with some fresh thyme to get them nice and glazed. Next, I made a real quick pan sauce for the steak. Onion, leeks, garlic, mushroom, and carrots were sauteed in the steak/mushroom pan and deglazed with some brandy. I let that cook down by about 1/2 and added some chicken stock and then a little soy sauce for some saltiness and flavor. I really like using soy sauce in my pan sauces. When you finish your sauce with butter, the flavor when the butter mixes with the soy is one that goes great with beef.

Here's the finished dish:Cooked to perfection,

Asian Beef Short Ribs

2009-03-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

Asian Beef Short Ribs, Julienne Leek, Garlic & Ginger Mash

These Short Ribs were seared in peanut oil until golden brown and set aside on a plate. After the fat was removed, garlic, ginger & scallions were added to saute for 2 minutes. The ribs were added back to the pan to cook some of those flavors into the skin. Soy Sauce & Sherry Wine was added to Deglaze the pan followed by Chopped Peeled Plum Tomatoes, and Star Anise. Covered and let to simmer for about 2 hours while turning every 30 minutes, added nice flavor to the meat just barely still hanging on to the bone. The left over braising juices were strained and reduced down by half. White Vinegar, Brown Sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, and Chili Powder was added to make a BBQ Sauce which was reduced down until thick, then spooned over the meat. The ribs were placed on a mound of Potato Mash made with a Garlic & Ginger Butter Sauce, Milk and Sour Cream. The plate was finished with simply sauteed Julienne Leeks for color and flavor. Success!

Westmalle 2001

2009-03-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

This Westmalle Dubbel was just over eight years old when it was poured.

To the nose the ale hints vanilla, honey, raisins and dried sweet tobacco leaf. The taste begins with notes of blackberry, apple, and a variety of other fruits and follows with a smooth amber and dark malt flavor with hints of newly sanded oak. The bitterness and sharpness of this dubbel that you taste in its younger age has been mellowed by the aging process; leaving the true flavors of this Trappist ale to be enjoyed as it should be.

Pork Shoulder

2009-03-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

Braised Coffee Rubbed Pork Shoulder over Collard Greens finished with a Bacon Mango Salad

This Hog Shoulder was cut into 4, 14oz steaks and rubbed with a coffee and BBQ spice mixture. They were let to sit for about 1 hour to come to room temperature. After being seared to a golden brown on all sides in peanut oil and set aside, carrot, onion, garlic and 2 chili peppers were finely chopped and added to the pan. The veggies were sauteed for about 1 minute then cider vinegar was added to deglaze the pan and the pork was re-added along with beef stock and salt and pepper. The pork was braised over low heat, covered, for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. The fork tender pork was removed from the pan and plated atop the Collard Greens. The braising liquid was strained and spooned over the shoulder and around the greens. A spoon or two of Mango Salad balanced the dish nicely!

The Collard Greens were started by rendering some bacon of its fat about half way. Onions were added to the bacon and sauteed until golden. The collards were added along with some beef stock, white wine, salt and pepper and let simmer for about 1 hour 30 minutes to let the liquid reduce. The bacon was removed at the end and crisped fully in a pan to be used in the mango salad.

A simple mango salad was made with fresh Mango, Lime Juice, Cilantro stems and bacon. The bacon was added just before serving after the Mango Salad marinated in the fridge for a few hours. Delicious!

Chicken Scarpariello

2009-03-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

Pan Roasted Chicken on the bone with Sweet Italian Sausage, Vinegar Cherry Peppers, Potatoes, Onion and Garlic.

One of my favorite classic Southern Italian dishes! Jerry's in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has the most legendary Chicken Scarpariello. I first sampled it when I was about 12 years old and have been in love with it ever since. They are one of few restaurants that prepare the chicken on the bone, which is the most traditional way to prepare this dish. If you're ever in the area, I recommend stopping in for a taste; You won't regret it!

Double Stuffed Pork Chop

2009-03-02T15:39:00.001-08:00

This two rib standing beauty was marinated overnight in a wonderful garlic, shallot, sage, rosemary, thyme olive oil. It was then stuffed with , fontina, cheedar, bread crumbs, and broccoli that had been lightly sauteed in salted fat rendered from a 25 day dried aged porterhouse.

The double porkchop was incrusted with fresh sage, rosemary and thyme, then roasted on an open rack in an oven for 4 hours and thirty minutes at 225 degrees.

The potatoes were made with irish butter, cream, roasted garlic and light herbs.

Perticular attention was given to seasoning the fat and bone of the pork chop. After roasting, the fat was carmilized with its own sugars leaving a crispy outside texture while the pork was tender enough to melt in your mouth.

Lamb Chops

2009-03-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

Pan Seared Lamb Chops with Butter & Rosemary - served with a Mint, Habanero Hot sauce
Potato & Caramelized Leek Puree
Brussel Sprouts sauteed with Olive Oil & Lemon

Lemon Roasted Chicken

2009-02-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

Lemon Roasted Chicken with a Smokey Orange Sauce and lightly sauteed Asparagus

This 5lb bird was stuffed with fresh lemon, thyme and garlic before being pan seared in peanut oil and Roasted in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1hr 45m. The final 20 minutes I added a 1/2 stick of butter to the natural juices and basted the bird to crisp up the skin.

The Smokey Orange Sauce was started by making about 1 1/2 cups of stock from the giblets. I then sauteed fresh garlic and 1 small onion in 4 tbsp of butter until lightly golden brown. I then stirred in about 2-3 tbsp of flour and let it cook for about 2 minutes. Then I added the stock I made along with 1 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup red wine, 4-5 tbsp orange marmalade, 1/2 tsp liquid smoke and salt and pepper. I cooked this down for about 45 minutes to let it thicken, strained and served. Simple and delicious!

Plut's Birthday Feast

2009-02-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

Smoked Caribbean Style Ribs
Roasted Sweet Potato & Poblano Pepper Mash
Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Mac with Grilled Jalapenos, tomatoes & red onions
Sauteed Sweet Corn Puree over field greens

First the ribs were marinated overnight in orange, lemon and grapefruit juices, fresh garlic, ginger, kosher salt and pepper. About an hour before cooking, I washed them off, dried them thoroughly and rubbed them with some of my pork rub and let them sit for an hour. Then they went into the smoker for about 4 hours at 250 degrees or so over a mix of hickory and cherry woods. Delicious!!!

The Best Bacon I've Ever Had

2009-02-05T12:38:00.000-08:00

My obsession with bacon began when I was just a toddler. My father would leave pork cracklins on the tray of my baby walker.

This piece of bacon weighed in at 6 ounces before it was cooked at 225° for 3 hours.

The outside of the cooked bacon was glazed with its natural sugars leaving the outside crispy while the inside remained tender enough to melt in your mouth.

Homebrew Pumpkin Ale Part 3 - The Naming

2008-11-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

2008 Pumpkin Alley Ale

The pumpkin Ale is complete. The flavor of the fresh pumpkin is interesting. On Halloween, when this ale was first tasted, the pumpkin gave way to hints of apple and fresh fruits, but not really muchf pumpkin flavor. A few weeks later, the pumpkin is beginning to come through but its still not overwhelming. The pie spices I added are very subtle, actually making this a very drinkable ale, not the Pumpkin Pie flavor bomb of a Buffalo Bills or Shipyard.

Next year I will try to get a deeper roast on the pumpkins and see if I can't get a warmer flavor. Otherwise the 2008 Pumpkin Alley Ale is a success and I'm looking to making more next year!

Palo Santo Marron

2008-11-12T19:27:00.001-08:00

For a while, and for whatever reason, it was nearly impossible to find Dogfish Head in Colorado. A few months back 60 Minutes finally started sneaking back onto the shelves, followed by the 90, India Brown Ale, Raison D-Etre and finally the Punkin brought up the rear in October. While this is a respectable selection and DFH has clearly gotten through their production/distribution glitches, I still had not been able to find Palo Santo Marron. I searched and asked every conceivable liquor store to scare some up, even if I had to buy case...

Well, yesterday Total Beverage brought the thunder. From DFH they had Palo Santo, Theobroma!!!, Midas Touch, Pangea along with their standard stock. They also ran deep in Stone, Port Brewing, Allagash, Lost Abbey, Russian River and tons of fresh fall harvest beers.

Pork Belly- The Finale

2008-10-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

So here is the finished dishWhat I did was dehydrate potato slices, grind them up into a chunky powder, and bread the pork belly chunks. Then I fried the chunks in duck fat until they were a little past golden brown. Also on the plate I have pickled mustard seeds, compressed apples & pears, butternut squash puree (under the pork belly), butternut squash confit, port wine balsamic soaked cherries, port wine balsamic reduction, bacon, & fried sage. All the flavors came together very nice. There was a good sweet and sour balance that held up real nice with the fatty pork belly. The bacon pieces added little blasts of salt as did the butternut squash puree. The pickled mustard seeds added a little pop of flavor and texture. I think it was a success.

Pork Belly-The Transformation

2008-10-20T17:36:00.001-07:00

Here is the pork belly pieces out of the brine, ready for the confit treatment

Nothing says love like a big glob of duck fat. I was going to use pork fat, but we don't have big buckets of D'Artagnan pork fat at work. Duck fat will have to do.

In with the pork I have shallots, thyme, & butternut squash. I'm not sure if the squash is going to hold up or turn to mush. I'll keep an eye on the texture and if I see it breaking down, I'll pull them out of the fat. If they do hold up, I'm going to use them in the final dish as a crispy on the outside/ mushy on the inside element. How I achieve that is yet to be determined. Any thoughts? I'm open to suggestions?

(update) Here are a couple items that I am going to use in the finished dish:

Pickled mustard seed

Compressed apples & pears

A sauce made with dried cherries or cranberries

Confit butternut squash

I'll keep you posted.

(read Pork Belly - The Beginning)

Homebrew Pumpkin Ale Part 2

2008-10-20T09:20:00.001-07:00

After a week in the fermenter and 2 more in the secondary fermenter, the pumpkin ale is bottled and getting delicious. See you in a few more weeks...

Homebrew Pumpkin Ale Part 1

Pork Belly-The Beginning

2008-10-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here I have the beginnings of what I hope to be the Best Pork Belly Ever! It is enjoying itself in a lovely bath of green tea, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, green curry paste, cinnamon, salt & pepper.

The brine is very tasty with a bit of heat from the green curry paste.

Not sure where I'm going with this, but I'll keep you posted. I'm either going to make some bacon on the smoker or braise it some cider or something. I'm still in deep thought.
I'll let you know.

Meat Pile!

2008-10-17T14:50:00.001-07:00

Here we have 9 Beef tenderloins prepped for sous vide cooking tomorrow night. If I were you, I would try to get a last minute invite to the Van Beisen Bat Mitzvah. Mozel Tov!

A Breakfast Sandwich

2008-10-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

A simple open faced breakfast sandwich.

2 poached eggs served on grilled italian bread with pesto spread, topped with crispy sauteed prosciutto and shaved parmesan cheese.

Homebrew Russian Imperial Stout - Part 1

2008-10-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Homebrew Russian Imperial Stout

The Goal. I used Old Rasputin as my model for this brew, a russian imperial stout with strong dark chocolate and dark roasted coffee flavors, a hoppy bite and a formidable ABV. If your into chocolate covered espresso beans, your going to love the finish on this beer.

Armed with the valuable advice of the beer geeks at Stomp Them Grapes, I put together a recipe that included 9 lbs of liquid malt extract, 2 full steeping bags of grain and 4.5oz of cluster and challenger hops.

Things are looking and smelling pretty damn good. Its closer to something I'd put in a coffee mug rather than a beer mug.

Aerated, pitched and bubbling away in the fermentor. I'm expecting this beer to finish in about a month and continue to improve through the winter.

Stay tuned for Homebrew Russian Imperial Stout - Part 2

2008 GABF &

2008-10-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

The Great American Beer Festival has come and gone once again. If anyone, or everyone out in Jersey is feeling more than a bit jealous, the GWBF is coming up in NYC.

This year an astounding 46,000 people attended the festival to taste 2,052 different beers from 432 breweries. Yes, this is the largest beer festival in the country

It was a great surprise to find Sam Calagione personally manning the tasting line at the Dogfish Head table. He brought World Wide Stout, Midas Touch, Palo Santo Marron, Red & White, and Theobroma....

So, while stories of corporate greed and limited accountability dominate headlines, the founder & president of one of the most successful craft breweries in the country is on the front line, splashed in beer and still hustling to serve a ravenous mix of beer geeks, casual drinkers, drunken frat guys and industry competitors. I mean he literally stands behind his product. Its a symbol of the passion that makes the craft beer industry in America so much fun and why local breweries and brewpubs deserve our support. I hightailed it immediately to the Budweiser American Ale table but, as I suspected, Cindy "Ms Bud" McCain wasn't working the tap...

As cool as it was to see Sam Calagione, it was even better to see Randall. All the 60 Minute IPA's were sent into a smaller version of this Dogfish Head invention, through a chamber packed with fresh whole leaf hops and into your tasting glass, providing the latest possible hop addition short of chewing on a bud. The hop aroma and flavor was powerful but I'm still looking forward to trying it someday with a 90 or 120 minute.

Homebrew Pumpkin Ale Part 1

2008-09-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Homebrew Pumpkin Ale - Part 1

This Pumpkin Ale is my first attempt at a flavored beer. After tasting a few popular brands, (Buffalo Bills, Shipyard, DFH) I decided my goal would be a drinkable winter ale with warm pumpkin flavors, rather than a full fledged pumpkin pie experience.

I roasted fresh pumpkin and used a small amount of cinnamon, fresh ginger, clove, allspice and molassas.

After brewing, the OG was higher than I expected. I think miscalculated the sugar I got from boiling all that pumpkin and will have a higher ABV than I targeted.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

The Kitchen, Boulder CO

2008-09-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

The Kitchen

This is rapidly on the rise as one of my favorite restaurants both for its liberal use of burrata cheese (this kind, not this kind) and its extensive beer & wine list. Plus, any restaurant that prominently features a huge chalkboard listing each of their purveyors gets automatic extra credit.

Below are pictures from our latest visit to The Kitchen Upstairs, a lounge and convenient pit stop enroute to Galactic and Chali 2na at The Fox Theatre.

A long wood fired flat bread covered with warm quercia prosciutto, gioia burrata and fresh basil.

On the left, wood fired pizza with fresh mozzarella and kalamata olives. On tap and in the photo is one of my personal FtW's, Russian River Brewery's Damnation Ale.

Thanks Rob and Emily

2008-09-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is what remains of the marinade gifted to all the guests at Rob and Emily's wedding.

We hickory smoked 2 chickens and some boneless pork ribs for 2 hours. We marinated and basted liberally with the special sauce.

Yep...

Breckenridge Octoberfest 2008

2008-09-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to take a simple stroll through the quaint mountain town of Breckenridge, my parents and I unknowingly stumbled into their annual Octoberfest party. It was festive, sunny, warm and, best of all, the mountains were showing a dusting above the treeline, a promise that ski season is on its way. Without missing a beat, we shifted gears and jumped in line for a stein and beer tickets for some obligatory Paulener Octoberfests. We also went on to enjoy bratts w/ kraut, smoked turkey legs, german sammy's, apple fritters, fresh made popcorn and my father even scored a bowl of his all time favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Labor (of love) Day

2008-09-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Beautiful!

Nothing like a good ol' fashioned clamussellobsterbake. I can honestly say that we outdid ourselves on this one. Every piece of seafood was perfectly cooked. Shop-Rite $5.99/lb. lobsters are the shit! See you next year Jonno & Koost.

The Monk's Kettle, San Francisco, CA

2008-08-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

There is nothing I love more than free samples at bars, except of course free samples in tiny beer mugs. Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron in the mug; Sara on the handle at The Monks Kettle in San Francisco.

Slow Food Nation 2008

2008-08-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

Rob & Emily's Wedding

2008-08-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

Trussing the pigs the night before the wedding for 11hrs in the smoker. There were 4 of these total.

3 70lb pigs ready to be served after a night in the bad ass giant, hydrolic smoker. This sucker had its own license plate.

The greatest chicken barbecue in the world. We each got a bottle of the marinade as a wedding gift and... good god.

The Crawfish Table

The pre-post-party jam session. Everything is a little blurry after this

The Barbecue Song

2008-08-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

5th Annual Funk & Crawfest Boil

2008-08-09T10:48:00.000-07:00