Korean Rice Bowl

Korean Rice Bowls or Bibimpap is a really delicious meal and very easy to make. It’s really a deconstructed version of fried rice.

The Bulgogi beef ( Korean BBQ Beef) is what makes this dish. To make it you will need to buy a lb. of choice top round thinly sliced and marinated in

3T soy sauce

2T brown sugar

1T Sugar

2T Mirin

1T sesame oil

1T crushed ginger

3 cloves of garlic

 

Start by cooking 2 cups of Jasmin Rice by you’re preferred method.

Cook the Bulgogi beef in a hot black iron pan or a wok.

For the vegetables…

Stir-fry individually, snow peas, organic tri colored carrots julienned and sliced shiitake mushrooms.

You will also need a lb. of bean sprouts, chopped cilantro and julienned green onion

top with a sunny side egg

finish with a drizzle of gochuchang

Smoked Chicken Wings

Smoked Chicken Wings are by far my favorite way to cook wings. I like to buy fresh jumbo wings and trim the wing tips off and cut the Drums from the Flats. Brine them in a slurry of cola, brown sugar and my BBQ rib rub and slow smoke them with a blend of hickory and apple wood.

For the Rib Rub

1/2 C Season Salt

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2T Granulated Garlic

2T Chili Powder

2 T Cumin

2T Coriander

1T Onion Powder

1T Ground Black Pepper

Put this in a 1GAL zip lock bag, seal it and shake well

Put 2 lbs wings in a large sealable container with 1 can of cola

Add half of the the dry rub and mix well

Store in the fridge over night

Heat your smoker to 250. Lay the wings on wire racks to dry them out and toss them in the remaining rub. Smoke for 1hr 15 to 1hr 30 min check them with a thermometer and assure the temp is 160 and remove from the heat. At this point you can finish them on a high temperature gas grill for 10 minutes as is or with your favorite sauce.

 

 

 

Smoked Short Ribs

Black Pepper and Seasalt cured

Tender and Juicy

Beautiful Smoke Ring

Tender and Juicy

Black Pepper and Seasalt cured

Beautiful Smoke Ring

Portuguese Kale Soup

Onions, Garlic, Celery, Linguica, Portuguese Chorico

White and Red Kidney Beans

Add beans, diced potatoes, diced tomatoes and chopped kale. Use low sodium chicken and beef broths, season with ground pepper, oregano and a few bay leaves.

Simmer until potatoes and kale are fully cooked.

Hearty, satisfying comfort food at it’s best.

 

Pizzeria Quality at Home

 

Rise The Dough

Portion and form a ball

Punch down and strech

Hand Streched Dough

Check the bottom color

In the oven on Pans

Pizza time

At Home we make Pizza on a regular basis, I prefer to make the dough from scratch. It’s actually quite simple with some planning ahead and you can produce a Pizzeria quality right at home. If you ever wondered how to make a dough that has great flavor with a soft chewy inside and a crispy crunchy outside I’m going to tell you the secret that all the great Pizza makers will never tell you.

First, you need to make a dough starter

Start by combining 1 packet of dry yeast 1 cup of All Purpose Flour and 1 cup of water and a tablespoon of sugar in a bowl. Cover tightly and let it sit for overnight. This is one vital pizza makers secret.

Make The Dough

Add 2 cups of flour, 2 Tablespoons of salt, 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil and kneed for roughly 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Raise it in a tightly covered bowl for 4 hours. Cut it in half and form dough balls by stretching it onto itself until round. At this point I would put it in the refrigerator and cold rise it. This allows the gluten to develop in further and relax the dough yielding a crispy crust and the second vital secret of the pizza maker. However you can do the second rise at room temperature which only takes a few hours.

Stretch the dough

At this point you can hand stretch the dough or use a rolling pin, both are acceptable methods.

Sauce Cheese and Toppings

When cooking start them on the pans and remove when 3/4 the way done and place directly on the rack to brown or toast the crust. The bottom rack will brown it faster so watch it closely checking the bottom frequently because it happens quickly. When the bottom of the crust is nicely toasted you are done.

Perfect Hash Browns

The Perfect Hash browns are light and fluffy in the center with a good mashed potato flavor, on the outside a perfect brown crunch is required to balance them out. I make hash brown frequently and do it on a griddle but a Teflon will work just as well.

Start by peeling some Russet Potatoes and shredding them in a box grater.

 Wash the potatoes in cold water, pour out all the water and repeat.

Place in a kitchen towel and dry them out, be sure to get as much water out as possible.

Place on a hot griddle with some clarified butter. I put some Lawries Seasoning and black pepper on the potatoes

Wait till the potatoes are completely browned before you divide them. and flip them.

Serve when browned on the other side.

Real deal corned beef hash



St. Patrick’s day is kind of an important event here in eastern Massachusetts when corn beef and cabbage is served in nearly every household and everyone is a wee bit of Irish on March 17. Corn beef and cabbage is probably the least exciting thing to blog about so I won’t bore you with the details.

 What comes the next morning however is perfect in it simplicity and so far from the canned stuff that resembles dog food. Whith home made corned beef hash, finely chop and shred the brisket, fine dice on the boiled potatoes. Fine dice some onion if desired. In a Teflon pan or on a griddle cook on high heat with some butter. It’s done when it forms a nice crust and the potatoes brown Add cooked onions red beets or anything else that makes you happy.

Mac’ n’ Cheese

Traditional homemade macaroni and cheese should taste just like Mom used to make. This easy recipes for classic mac ‘n’ cheese include uncomplicated ingredients and a few simple steps. I don’t like adding roux or any other thickeners to my mac’ n’ cheese when it is so much easier to thicken it with Parmesan cheese and add more flavor at the same time.

I clean out my cheese drawer when making it. I have used every cheese imaginable including cheese whiz and goat cheese. The point is to be creative and have fun with it

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large pot, cook macaroni according to package
directions; drain, return macaroni to pot, and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, warm milk so it is hot but not boiling and add salt, and pepper stirring constantly. Add Parmesan cheese gradually constantly stirring until thickened slightly. Stir in shredded cheese gradually.

Add three-quarters of cheese sauce to macaroni; mix well. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish
and pour remaining cheese sauce evenly over top.

In a microwaveable bowl, melt remaining butter in microwave. Stir in crushed crackers; mix until crumbs are evenly coated. Sprinkle evenly over top of macaroni.

Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes, or until heated through

1 pound elbow macaroni
1 Stick Butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups Whole Milk
1 lb shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 lb American Cheese
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 cup
1 cup crushed saltine crackers

Baby Back Ribs

Few things delight the senses of summer, family and great food then great barbecue. So on a beautiful Sunday morning in July I decided to fire up my smoker and creat some memories.
I started with some 2.25lb baby back ribs and cure them with my own recipe of dry rub after removing the silver skin from the back side of the bones.

I fire up my smoker with charcoal and get the heat to 300.
After curing in the fridge for two hours I put the ribs on the smoker and stoke the fire with some soaked applewood to produce the perfect smoke. I continue this process once an hour for three hours baiting with the sauce each time. After three hours wrap with foil and reduce heat to 250 and cook for another two hours in the foil. Remove from the foil and allow the sauce to caramelize for about 15 to 20 minutes. You will know they are done when the meat pulls away from the bone about a half inch and they curve when lifted from the middle.

Shrimp Scampi Provencal

Shrimp Scampi is one of my favorite things to make at home. It tastes wonderful I can make it in about 20 minutes and everyone seems to enjoy it as much as me. I use fresh chopped garlic, sauteed in olive oil simmer in a dry whit wine, add fresh lemon juice, reduce liquid a little bit. Add the shrimp and pasta. Toss in lots of diced butter to give the sauce some body and flavor and finish with fresh basil and tomatoes. Season this with salt and pepper and top with Parmesan cheese.