Toad In The Hole

On August 1, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Toad In The HoleThis is one of those British dishes that isn’t exactly going to be under the Queen’s nose, but is easy to make, fill you up, working-class food. Definitely don’t want to be eating this every night, or you’ll end up looking more like an American, if you catch my drift. The name comes from the appearance  of the dish when done correctly. The sausages should look like a little toad has stuck his head out for a peek. If you use too much of the batter mixture, then the dish becomes “Frog In The Bog”. Because, you know – the “toad” can’t get it’s head out of. The. Muck. Oh whatever…British people are weird. Just make this and try not to think of the nasty sounding name.

  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 sausages
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • Vegetable oil

Heat your oven to 425 F. This last time, I made the mistake of using my toaster oven, forgetting that the Yorkshire pudding rises considerably during cooking, so I had to adjust the rack midway so it would allow for extra height. You might want to just use the regular oven for this one.

Drizzle about a tablespoon of vegetable oil into a 9×9 cooking pan. Arrange your sausages evenly and put in the oven for browning. Ten minutes, then flip them for ten more minutes.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, flour, water, salt and pepper. Make sure all the lumps are out and it is thick, smooth and creamy. Pull the pan from the oven and dump the batter over the “toads”. The vegetable oil and sausage grease are key to this working, so that sizzle is a good thing. Put back in the oven for twenty more minutes, and you will have a fast and simple dish that the kids will love too. Next on my “odd British dishes” list is “Bubble and Squeak”. Told you these folks were weird. I mean – they call sausages “bangers”. I rest my case.

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Simple Appetizer: Savory Cherries

On June 25, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Savory CherriesThis recipe is so mind-numbingly simple, even someone who burns ice cream can manage it. One of my favorite restaurants is NOPA in San Francisco, where this simple appetizer came out and blew my mind with both its flavor and the zen-like presentation.

Dark cherries are in season, go grab some. Pour a little olive oil into a little bowl or dish, dredge the cherries in the oil until lightly coated and glistening. Arrange on a plate, then give a very light sprinkle of coarse sea salt. Cherries – typically enjoyed as a sweet fruit – take on a whole new savory persona with these basic embellishments. Give this a try and let me know if you have a whole new respect for the simple cherry.

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French Bread Pizza

On June 13, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

French Bread PizzaI was watching a recent episode of Food Mob on making pizzas from scratch, and while I can make my own dough and such, (I even have the wooden “paddles” for sliding pizzas in and out of the oven.) it makes such an enormous mess that it deters me from going that route. Maybe if I’m feeling completely relaxed and particularly industrious, I will prove I can do it, but for now – I’m lazy. Just not quite lazy enough to ring Dominos and have Jesus whip up some miracle pizza. So here’s my middle-ground: French Bread Pizza. You’ll need:

  • 1 loaf French Bread
  • Fresh sage, basil, oregano, thyme
  • Jar of marinara sauce
  • Sliced pepperoni
  • Grated parmesan cheese
  • Olive oil

Preheat your toaster oven to 375 F. Slice the French bread into four 3/4″ slices. Spread a spoonful of the marinara sauce on each slice. Finely grate the parmesan cheese and put a fluffy mound on each slice. Finely chop all the herbs and sprinkle atop each slice. Put a couple slices of pepperoni on each and top off with a light drizzle of the olive oil. Place directly on the rack in the toaster oven and cook until browned and melty.

You may not get all the props for busting out your own dough, but you also will be finishing your wine when you’d otherwise be wiping down every surface in the kitchen. A fair trade-off, I would say.

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Honey Mustard Pork Loin Medallions with Roasted Potatoes

On May 31, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Honey Mustard Pork Loin MedallionsThis is a great Sunday night meal that is pretty easy to make. I have been making variations on the recipe for years. I really like the honey mustard sauce, but think that next time I’m going to try something like an herb crust or BBQ sauce to mix it up.

  • One pork loin, trimmed
  • 3 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • Dash of red wine vinegar
  • 1/8 cup olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Put some olive oil in your cast iron skillet and heat that up on high heat on the stovetop. Give your pork loin a light seasoning of sea salt and ground black pepper and place it in the skillet to sear for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and, using a brush, coat all the surfaces of the loin. Place the loin, skillet and all into the oven and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 160 F. Once finished, pull it out and place on a cutting board for about 10 minutes to let the meat rest before slicing. Slice into 1/4″ medallions. Garnish with a couple cilantro leaves.

Roasted Potatoes

  • 2 medium red or gold potatoes
  • Paprika
  • Sea Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Olive Oil
  • Basil

Cut the potatoes into roughly 1/2″ chunks and place in a bowl. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle about a teaspoon each of salt, pepper and paprika and stir to coat. Lay these out on a roasting pan and put in an oven at 400 F for about 14 minutes until a little crusty. Upon removing from the oven, sprinkle with finely chopped basil and a bit more sea salt.

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Stir Fry Beef Boo-Yah and Wild Boar BS

On May 12, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Stir Fry Beef Boo-Yah and Wild Boar BSSometimes you just have to “open a can”. Darth Vader had to show Luke who his Daddy was, the Bride had to kill Bill, and Harry Callahan had some punk make his day. I haven’t really cracked my knuckles and rolled out some hardcore kitchen ninja skills in a while, so I thought that it was high time. Besides, I don’t like the way the wok and cast iron skillet were eyeballin’ me from the sidelines, and I can’t abide that. It was time to show this kitchen what time it was, in the parlance of Morris Day.

“Gimmie a little bit o’ dat pepper. Gimmie a little bit o’ dat salt. Put it in a skillet and cook it. On that stove I bought.” – Morris Day, “Skillet“

So I thought I’d do a little stir fry (sans rice or noodles as a bed) and a veggie side. Making things up as I went along, and adding premium ingredients along the way, this became extra kick-ass.

Stir Fry Beef Boo-Yah

  • 1 packet sliced beef
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, sliced
  • 1 shallot, chopped fine
  • 1 tbsp chives chopped
  • 1/8 cup julienned red onions
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin with a peeler
  • Small handful of cilantro, torn, de-stemmed
  • Paprika, rough sea salt, ground black pepper to taste
  • Splash of liquid smoke
  • Soy Sauce
  • Trader Joe’s Stir-Fry Sauce

Heat the hell out of the wok. While that’s going on, prep everything. Put all the green stuff (except the cilantro) into one small bowl, the onions, garlic and shallot into another, the rest of the veggies into a third, and the meat into a medium bowl with the paprika, salt, pepper, and a splash of liquid smoke, Stir that up to coat. To cook, put a couple rounds of canola or vegetable oil into the wok, dump in the meat. Stir for a minute or two until no longer pink, then dump in the onions/garlic bowl. Stir for another minute. Then dump in the rest of the vegetables in and stir for another minute or two. Finally, a round or two of soy sauce and stir fry sauce to finish it off. Remove, plate and garnish with the cilantro.

Wild Boar BS

  • 4 slices of wild boar bacon
  • 6-8 brussels sprouts
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • Olive oil

Start off with some olive oil in the cast iron skillet. Run the brussels sprouts through the food processor on the slicer disc. Cut up the bacon into small, 1 cm strips and start them frying until starting to crisp. Then dump in the shallot and garlic. Stir until they brown, about 1-2 minutes. Finally add the brussels sprouts and stir well for about 3-4 minutes until all the bacon grease is soaked up and the sprouts have a golden greenish hue. Plate, devour, and celebrate your manliness.

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Cheeseless Scrambled Eggs

On April 24, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Cheeseless Scrambled EggsTrying to cut back on the amount of dairy I’m taking in, so I’m working on some recipe variations to my favorites that usually feature yummy, melty fromage. Starting with a simple scrambled egg recipe. Just inhaled this one, so I can definitely testify that the cheese was not missed. In fact, I don’t have that heavy feeling just after eating. Perhaps a good thing, huh?

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 scallion (green onion) chopped fine
  • 2 basil leaves chopped fine
  • 1 small tomato, rough cut
  • 1/8 cup cubed ham
  • Salt and pepper to taste

In a hot skillet, start with a tsp of olive oil and the eggs, lightly beaten with a fork. Toss in the cubed ham as you stir the eggs. Once things begin to form, throw in the basil and scallions and incorporate. At the very end, put in the tomatoes and stir for about 30-45 seconds before plating. I put a couple shakes of jalepeno sauce on top, which brought the dish together nicely. Colorful and light – a great breakfast, give it a shot.

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Parmesan Chicken Breast with Crispy Posh Ham

On April 4, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Parmesan Chicken with Crispy Posh HamOkay, okay I know, “enough already” with the Jamie Oliver recipes. I’ve enjoyed making many of the dishes in the (rather limited) run of episodes in the Ministry of Food video podcast, and they have all been so good, I felt they were worth sharing here. This one is no exception.

You can follow the recipe on Jamie’s site, or I recommend just watching the short video podcast to get the gist of it. By the way, “posh ham” is the same thing as prosciutto ham.

On the side, I made mashed sweet potato (mixed in cinnamon & brown sugar) and a simple salad of butter lettuce and spinach, tossed with olive oil and some grated parmesan.

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Pizza Omelette

On April 4, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Pizza OmeletteAfter my last omelette turned into a scrambled egg dish on the flip, I wanted to try again just to prove I wasn’t a complete doofus who couldn’t execute a proper omelette flip. This time around, I put in some fun ingredients to make a “pizza omelette”. Add some fresh basil, mozzarella, pepperoni slices, a dash of dried oregano, red pepper flakes and a finely chopped yellow chili pepper. If you have the extra stuff, try swapping out with a little chopped tomato, sausage bits and some sliced mushrooms. Yum!

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Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce

On April 4, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Pasta and PeasYet another recipe directly lifted from Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food podcast. This is a dish he created to get his kids to eat “loads of peas”. I used an entire bag of Trader Joe’s frozen peas. Seeing as how my daughter mowed this stuff down, I’d say the strategy works! Actually, I fixed this with her. Teaching your kid how to cook is a great experience. A selfish motive may be that one day I can just lie in bed and she’ll whip up a little something for her old man. Watch Jamie explain and prepare this dish in this short video. (Opens in iTunes)

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Simple Chicken & Vegetable Stir Fry

On April 4, 2010, In Recipes, By pjk

Chicken Stir FryThe thing to know about stir frying is all the work is prep work. The cooking itself is a “bang, you’re done” kind of thing. This recipe is pretty straightforward, and quite good.

  • 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips
  • Red chili pepper, sliced
  • Carrots, sliced
  • Shallot, diced
  • Garlic clove, sliced (seeing a pattern?)
  • Kale
  • Soy sauce

Start by prepping all your ingredients first. Then, heat a small bit of vegetable oil in the wok. Start with the chicken. Stir and flip the chicken until it is almost completely cooked (white). Add the rest of the vegetables, and cook for a couple minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through. Finally, stir in a teaspoon of soy sauce, just enough to incorporate throughout in a few stirs. Remove from heat, plate and serve.

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