Looking for a new marinade a few days ago that used a few items I had on hand; mango, orange and pineapple juice, garlic, ginger etc. I used. I found several recipes that seemed quite tasty and one that really caught my attention but my problems with this marinade were the number and type of ingredients necessary. Well I did what any deserving kitchen scientist would do I experimented so I ended up tossing half of the called for ingredients and added a few of my own or substituted for an ingredient that are similar.
Here are the ingredients!
(Metric system not used)
I shortened the marinade to the following (I did not measure so the amounts are approximate):
2 cups Pineapple juice (try to find a nectar if possible)
2 cloves garlic, mashed
2 jalapenos, seeded if you like (I just cut the stem off)
1/2 cup lime juice
1.5 - 2 tbls lime pepper
1 - 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbls honey
1. Mix all of the ingredients with honey being the exception into a blender and puree.
2. Add 6-8 chicken thighs (my fav) into a non reactive bowl or a gallon plastic bag and pour in the marinade!
3. Let marinade for at least 6 hours or overnight.
4. Remove chicken from refrigerator and let warm up for a few minutes than remove chicken from and pour marinade into a small pot.
5. Bring your reserved marinade to a slow boil. Once marinade is at a slow boil add the two tbls of honey (a little more if you like) and stir often until reduced by half.
6. You can use the reduced marinade to glaze your chicken when it is almost done to add more flavor or use afterward at the picnic table.
There you have it!
The reduction and the grilled chicken did not retain the heat from the jalapeno which surprised me, I had though they would be be hot (unless the pepper's I used were on the wimpy side). I used the reduction to glaze the chicken prior to removing from the grill and also placed the reduction on the picnic table for all to use and all of my lab rats enjoyed it.
I also used this marinade for pork ribs with great results. Some of the guys want to marinade their rib-eye's if we do I will update this post with our collective results
See ya'
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Beef Fajita's
When the PX receives a shipment of skirt steak it is a treat! All it means for me is to gather my spices and get the marinade mixed get the meat ready for the grill. This got me to thinking (Charlee tells me this is dangerous, thinking that is) about what spices other use to marinate your skirt steak. Normally I use garlic, black pepper, lime juice (lemon when I'm in a pinch) cumin, oregano and Tequila when I have a bottle around. When I did a search on the web (Google is my friend) I found a wide variation of spices that are used to marinate the beef.
I found the following ingredients:
Cilantro - No a bad idea.
Beer - different but I'll pass thank you.
Worcestershire sauce - Are you kidding me?
Brown sugar - Hmmm, don't think so.
Jalapenos - I can deal with a bit of spice. ;)
Lemon pepper - I've used this when I have no lime juice around
Lime pepper - Note the above statement.
Soy sauce - Damn I thought this was a Tex-Mex dish did I miss something?
Vinegar - Hmmm. I guess this is suppose to tenderize the meat?
Paprika - Ok, I have no idea why you would use this spice.
There is the sampling of the other ingredients that can (if you want to use them) to marinade you skirt steak but for me I'll just stick to what I have been using. The one bad thing is that I don't really measure the spice or liquids for this particular marinade so your on your own buddy.
3 large cloves garlic pressed
1 tbls oregano
1-2 tsp cumin
black pepper
salt
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup Tequila
Mix all ingredients together in a large plastic zip lock bag followed by you skirt steak and let it marinade for a minimum of 6 hours to over night.
All I can say is enjoy.
I found the following ingredients:
Cilantro - No a bad idea.
Beer - different but I'll pass thank you.
Worcestershire sauce - Are you kidding me?
Brown sugar - Hmmm, don't think so.
Jalapenos - I can deal with a bit of spice. ;)
Lemon pepper - I've used this when I have no lime juice around
Lime pepper - Note the above statement.
Soy sauce - Damn I thought this was a Tex-Mex dish did I miss something?
Vinegar - Hmmm. I guess this is suppose to tenderize the meat?
Paprika - Ok, I have no idea why you would use this spice.
There is the sampling of the other ingredients that can (if you want to use them) to marinade you skirt steak but for me I'll just stick to what I have been using. The one bad thing is that I don't really measure the spice or liquids for this particular marinade so your on your own buddy.
3 large cloves garlic pressed
1 tbls oregano
1-2 tsp cumin
black pepper
salt
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup Tequila
Mix all ingredients together in a large plastic zip lock bag followed by you skirt steak and let it marinade for a minimum of 6 hours to over night.
All I can say is enjoy.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Southern Caviar
First of all many thanks to Barry, Tom and the rest of the crew from the Alabama guard who were for a time assigned to Khabari and Buehring we all thank you for becoming part of our little Wednesday and Thursday evening bbq's. The laughter we had will not be forgotten by all.
See you all on Facebook!
Thank you Barry for the recipe, we will put it to good use!
Southern Caviar
1 can Rotel Tomatoes, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can Black Beans, drained
1 can sliced olives, drained
Green onions
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 package dry Italian dressing mix
Jalapeno's chopped
Olive oil, drizzle
Mix well than chill.
Serve with chips, the ones that are shaped like a little bowl work exceptionally well.
See you all on Facebook!
Thank you Barry for the recipe, we will put it to good use!
Southern Caviar
1 can Rotel Tomatoes, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can Black Beans, drained
1 can sliced olives, drained
Green onions
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 package dry Italian dressing mix
Jalapeno's chopped
Olive oil, drizzle
Mix well than chill.
Serve with chips, the ones that are shaped like a little bowl work exceptionally well.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Hot Sweet Stuff
One weekend we had a bbq that consisted of ribs, coleslaw, red beans and a dessert. Everything looked complete but we needed a dipping sauce for the ribs. Something sweet and hot sounded pretty good but I had to be careful with heat.
What sounded good to me was a ginger garlic spicy sauce. Well I had enough ground ginger and garlic on hand for the spice I used red pepper flakes and ground black pepper. As a note to self I'm going to try cayenne pepper next time due to the long slow cooking time in the microwave. For the saltiness I used a little bit of soy sauce. I used good old maple syrup (your choice) to bind them all together It worked out but to tell you the truth I have no idea as to the amounts used so I am going to wing it, so here we go.
In a sauce pan add the following ingredients:
1 1/2 cup maple syrup (your choice)
2 tbls ground ginger*
1/2 tbls ground garlic*
1 tbls red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground black pepper or to taste
1/8 cup or less soy sauce
I placed all ingredients in a glass bowl and used a microwave to slowly heat up the mixture in order to get all of the flavors to blend. Like most cooks please adjust to suit your taste. If you have a stove like most normal people please you a small pot and use low heat to slowly heat the mixture and taste occasionally and adjust recipe to your liking.
* I used a tablespoon that is normally used at your plate setting so make a judgment call when adding the ginger and garlic paste. Oh and I did not used powdered garlic or ginger.
Note: Next time I might try using ground cayenne pepper and maybe some citrus juice to add a different level of flavor.
I hope you like it. we did. :)
Ok Barry let me know if this is close to the taste you had that Thursday evening so long ago.
What sounded good to me was a ginger garlic spicy sauce. Well I had enough ground ginger and garlic on hand for the spice I used red pepper flakes and ground black pepper. As a note to self I'm going to try cayenne pepper next time due to the long slow cooking time in the microwave. For the saltiness I used a little bit of soy sauce. I used good old maple syrup (your choice) to bind them all together It worked out but to tell you the truth I have no idea as to the amounts used so I am going to wing it, so here we go.
In a sauce pan add the following ingredients:
1 1/2 cup maple syrup (your choice)
2 tbls ground ginger*
1/2 tbls ground garlic*
1 tbls red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground black pepper or to taste
1/8 cup or less soy sauce
I placed all ingredients in a glass bowl and used a microwave to slowly heat up the mixture in order to get all of the flavors to blend. Like most cooks please adjust to suit your taste. If you have a stove like most normal people please you a small pot and use low heat to slowly heat the mixture and taste occasionally and adjust recipe to your liking.
* I used a tablespoon that is normally used at your plate setting so make a judgment call when adding the ginger and garlic paste. Oh and I did not used powdered garlic or ginger.
Note: Next time I might try using ground cayenne pepper and maybe some citrus juice to add a different level of flavor.
I hope you like it. we did. :)
Ok Barry let me know if this is close to the taste you had that Thursday evening so long ago.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Ranch Beans
If you haven't yet tried a bowl of Ranch beans what are you waiting for? Have a bowl of beans with a nice warm piece of cornbread is a meal in it's self considering the bacon (or ham) that is part of the recipe you can have a meal in a bowl. The spices used in the beans you probably already have in your spice cabinet and most everyone in the South and Southwest have a few bags of pinto beans in the cupboard. So are you ready to get started? Great!
You can prepare you beans in one of two ways, the quick method and the overnight method. With this recipe I use the overnight method to soak the beans than cooked in' a pressure cooker set to high pressure for 3-4 minutes and let pressure to drop naturally.
Here is what you need:
1/2 pound of bacon cooked until crisped or cooked ham.
1 pound of beans (2.25 cups)
4-5 tomatoes chopped
2 medium white onions (or yellow if you like)
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced (or equivalent crushed garlic)
1 Tablespoon =/-, chili powder
1/2 teaspoon +/- each, oregano and Cumin
Salt & pepper
Destructions:
1. Fry bacon until crispy while cooking chop onions, tomato and garlic add to pot of beans followed by enough water to cover with an additional inch of water.
2. Add remaining spices except salt and stir. Add salt after cooking is completed or beans may be hard.
3. Add crispy bacon to cooking vessel and stir to mix all ingredients together than seal pressure cooker and cook for 3 minutes once completed allow to naturally cool down.
As a note if you know that your beans are old you will require a longer cooking time. If by chance the beans are not soft after cooking just return beans to pressure for an additional 3 minutes and once again let cool naturally.
You can add any other ingredient that you wish to the recipe, below are some suggestions.
1 chopped and seeded jalapeno
Cilantro
1 Habanero, seeded and chopped
Creen chili's
Smoked ham
Chorizo
I hope you enjoy
You can prepare you beans in one of two ways, the quick method and the overnight method. With this recipe I use the overnight method to soak the beans than cooked in' a pressure cooker set to high pressure for 3-4 minutes and let pressure to drop naturally.
Here is what you need:
1/2 pound of bacon cooked until crisped or cooked ham.
1 pound of beans (2.25 cups)
4-5 tomatoes chopped
2 medium white onions (or yellow if you like)
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced (or equivalent crushed garlic)
1 Tablespoon =/-, chili powder
1/2 teaspoon +/- each, oregano and Cumin
Salt & pepper
Destructions:
1. Fry bacon until crispy while cooking chop onions, tomato and garlic add to pot of beans followed by enough water to cover with an additional inch of water.
2. Add remaining spices except salt and stir. Add salt after cooking is completed or beans may be hard.
3. Add crispy bacon to cooking vessel and stir to mix all ingredients together than seal pressure cooker and cook for 3 minutes once completed allow to naturally cool down.
As a note if you know that your beans are old you will require a longer cooking time. If by chance the beans are not soft after cooking just return beans to pressure for an additional 3 minutes and once again let cool naturally.
You can add any other ingredient that you wish to the recipe, below are some suggestions.
1 chopped and seeded jalapeno
Cilantro
1 Habanero, seeded and chopped
Creen chili's
Smoked ham
Chorizo
I hope you enjoy
Monday, April 20, 2009
Egg salad
Either you like egg salad or you don’t. I am one of those that love’s having an egg salad sandwich with a nice crispy leaf of romaine lettuce sandwiched between two slices of lightly toasted whole wheat bread. Mmmmm yummy!
Where am I going with this little story is quite simple, I was asked by a friend, a
co-worker to make some egg salad for him. I did not have a problem making the egg salad for him but I was curious how many different versions of egg salad exist in cyberspace. Typing “recipe egg salad” on Google’s dialog box and pressing enter, I was presented with a list of roughly 4,450 hits. Being a tad bit curious I peaked at a number of recipes and was surprised at what was added in addition to the simple egg salad recipe, some of the ingredients are widely varied and I have wondered how they would taste.
The below list “Other additions:” you will see what other home cooks have added to their egg salad recipe. What do you add that is different?
As you can see there are a number of variations for egg salad and as they say variety is the spice of life! So whether you use a basic recipe or expound upon a basic recipe you can barely go wrong with your concoction.
5 - 6 large eggs
1 - 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Yellow mustard
Celery seed
Other additions:
Lemon Juice
Extra yolks
Chili pepper, sliced and seeded
Mashed potato’s sub for mayo
Shrimp
Chopped bacon
Curry powder
Dill pickles, finely chopped
Dijon mustard
Yellow mustard
Finely diced onions
Finely diced red onions
Diced celery, two stalks
Chopped, fresh chives
Chopped, fresh dill
Chopped, fresh parsley
Capers
Chopped green olives
Chopped black olives
Grated carrot
Chopped scallions
Grated horseradish
Celery seed
Chopped apple
Apple cider vinegar
Sour cream
Ranch dressing
Yogurt, drained. Use instead of mayo
Pinch of cumin
Butter on the bread
Cider vinegar
Red or Yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
Where am I going with this little story is quite simple, I was asked by a friend, a
co-worker to make some egg salad for him. I did not have a problem making the egg salad for him but I was curious how many different versions of egg salad exist in cyberspace. Typing “recipe egg salad” on Google’s dialog box and pressing enter, I was presented with a list of roughly 4,450 hits. Being a tad bit curious I peaked at a number of recipes and was surprised at what was added in addition to the simple egg salad recipe, some of the ingredients are widely varied and I have wondered how they would taste.
The below list “Other additions:” you will see what other home cooks have added to their egg salad recipe. What do you add that is different?
As you can see there are a number of variations for egg salad and as they say variety is the spice of life! So whether you use a basic recipe or expound upon a basic recipe you can barely go wrong with your concoction.
5 - 6 large eggs
1 - 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Yellow mustard
Celery seed
Other additions:
Lemon Juice
Extra yolks
Chili pepper, sliced and seeded
Mashed potato’s sub for mayo
Shrimp
Chopped bacon
Curry powder
Dill pickles, finely chopped
Dijon mustard
Yellow mustard
Finely diced onions
Finely diced red onions
Diced celery, two stalks
Chopped, fresh chives
Chopped, fresh dill
Chopped, fresh parsley
Capers
Chopped green olives
Chopped black olives
Grated carrot
Chopped scallions
Grated horseradish
Celery seed
Chopped apple
Apple cider vinegar
Sour cream
Ranch dressing
Yogurt, drained. Use instead of mayo
Pinch of cumin
Butter on the bread
Cider vinegar
Red or Yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
Monday, November 10, 2008
Banana Bread
Banana Bread
I would believe it is one of the favorite breads consumed by all and besides who doesn't like banana bread? But as they say there has to be someone in the crowd that has distaste for the bread but I am not one of them and hopefully you are not either.
This recipe is made in an electric pressure cooker (PC) and takes 35 minutes to cook. Why does it take so long to cook? Let me explain why it takes so long to produce the bread. My first attempt was pouring the batter in the bottom of the cooking vessel, removing the weight from the lid and than setting the timer on the PC for 6 minutes than after the amount of time has passed the PC will automatically go to warm mode where it stayed for an additional 20 minutes to complete cooking/baking. Well this did and didn't work to well, first off the bottom of the bread burnt and the bread was heavy.
My second try utilized a silicone mat and a small pot that fits inside the PC with some room to spare and placed on top of the silicone mat. This version worked out great but like all good things Murphy’s Law reared his ugly head. The try yielded a nice golden brown, round moist loaf of banana bread, what I did not expect was for the silicone to melt! It didn't melt and form some kind of rubber like mess on the bottom of the PC but the aroma that issued from the PC let me know what was happening luckily the bread did not take on the taste. I made several loaves of bread in this fashion until the silicone mate was rendered useless. This method took 20 minutes to cook and another 10 - 15 minutes on warm to complete cooking.
My last and final version for banana bread utilized a squat stainless steel (or equivalent) plate that lifted my cooking pot above the bottom of the PC by about one-inch or less in height. Using the metal plate on the bottom transferred enough heat to brown the bread nicely but the cooking time of 35 minutes along with an additional 10 minutes of warming for a total of 45 minutes to produce a nice round loaf of bread.
Below the instructions include the time and temperature required for the more contemporary method. Also I was told that the taste of the bread I had made require more banana flavor so I increased the number of bananas by one and I will have to admit the bread tasted great.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
4 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
1. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter.
3. Beat the egg and milk slightly than mix into the creamed mixture above with the bananas.
4. Combine the sifted ingredients and creamed ingredients until just combined.
5. Spread batter into one greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until top is brown and cracks along the top.
I would believe it is one of the favorite breads consumed by all and besides who doesn't like banana bread? But as they say there has to be someone in the crowd that has distaste for the bread but I am not one of them and hopefully you are not either.
This recipe is made in an electric pressure cooker (PC) and takes 35 minutes to cook. Why does it take so long to cook? Let me explain why it takes so long to produce the bread. My first attempt was pouring the batter in the bottom of the cooking vessel, removing the weight from the lid and than setting the timer on the PC for 6 minutes than after the amount of time has passed the PC will automatically go to warm mode where it stayed for an additional 20 minutes to complete cooking/baking. Well this did and didn't work to well, first off the bottom of the bread burnt and the bread was heavy.
My second try utilized a silicone mat and a small pot that fits inside the PC with some room to spare and placed on top of the silicone mat. This version worked out great but like all good things Murphy’s Law reared his ugly head. The try yielded a nice golden brown, round moist loaf of banana bread, what I did not expect was for the silicone to melt! It didn't melt and form some kind of rubber like mess on the bottom of the PC but the aroma that issued from the PC let me know what was happening luckily the bread did not take on the taste. I made several loaves of bread in this fashion until the silicone mate was rendered useless. This method took 20 minutes to cook and another 10 - 15 minutes on warm to complete cooking.
My last and final version for banana bread utilized a squat stainless steel (or equivalent) plate that lifted my cooking pot above the bottom of the PC by about one-inch or less in height. Using the metal plate on the bottom transferred enough heat to brown the bread nicely but the cooking time of 35 minutes along with an additional 10 minutes of warming for a total of 45 minutes to produce a nice round loaf of bread.
Below the instructions include the time and temperature required for the more contemporary method. Also I was told that the taste of the bread I had made require more banana flavor so I increased the number of bananas by one and I will have to admit the bread tasted great.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
4 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
1. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter.
3. Beat the egg and milk slightly than mix into the creamed mixture above with the bananas.
4. Combine the sifted ingredients and creamed ingredients until just combined.
5. Spread batter into one greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until top is brown and cracks along the top.
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