Chicken Adobo

Recipe from https://thenovicechefblog.com/mexican-chicken-adobo/

Ingredients

• 2 pounds skinless chicken legs
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 white onion, roughly chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 dried guajillo chiles, seeded and chopped
• 1 dried ancho chile, seeded and chopped
• 1 dried chipotle chile, seeded and chopped (add more or less depending on preferred spice level)
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 dried bay leaves

Method

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic to the pan and stir and cook until the tomatoes and onions start to char.

Add the dried chiles and 2 cups of the chicken broth and stir and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for five minutes. Add it all to a blender along with the remaining cup of broth, vinegar, salt, coriander, cumin, thyme, oregano and cloves and blend until smooth. 

Return sauce to the pot.  Add chicken and simmer 45 minutes.

Sheetpan Roast Duck

Ingredients

• 1 5-lb duck

• ½ tablespoon + ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ cup honey

• ¼ cup Momofuku Soy Sauce

• 2 large oranges, thinly sliced into coins

• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced

• 3 bunches broccolini or other similar bittergreen

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• Momofuku Tingly Seasoned Salt

Mise en Place

Prepare the duck one day in advance. Remove giblets and slice off the duck neck and excess fat from the duck cavity. Discard or save for another use. Lightly prick the duck all over with a knife or cake tester (piercing skin but not the flesh), then make diagonal scores starting from the top of the duck breast down to the legs, again taking care not to slice all the way through the flesh. (At this point your duck can be refrigerated for up to 7 days—or just proceed to next step.)

 

Up to 24 hours before you roast, mix 1 tablespoon of Momofuku Tingly Seasoned Salt and ½ tablespoon of cinnamon. Rub the seasoning mix all over the duck and inside the cavity and refrigerate for 4 hours and up to 24 hours to allow the skin to dry out.

Method

Heat the oven to 425°F and allow the duck to come to room temperature (about an hour). Arrange sliced oranges and onions in a layer on the bottom of your sheet pan—this will keep the duck fat from splattering as it cooks. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place duck, breast side up, directly on oranges and roast for 30 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, prepare your glaze. Add honey, Momofuku Soy Sauce, 1 teaspoon of Momofuku Tingly Seasoned Salt, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to a small pot and bring to a slight simmer. Cook on low for 3-4 minutes until just thickened, taking extra care not to allow it to boil as it will burn. Set aside.

 

Remove the duck from the oven and carefully empty any jus from the duck cavity into a small bowl, reserving for later. Return the duck to your sheet pan, brush all over with glaze, and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

 

Mix broccolini with olive oil and 1 teaspoon of Momofuku Tingly Seasoned Salt in a large bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.

 

Remove duck, brush with glaze again, and arrange broccolini around the duck. Roast 10 more minutes. Remove, brush with glaze one last time and roast until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 155°F, about 10 more minutes.

For a rare duck breast, roast the whole duck for 20 minutes to start, then start glazing every 10 minutes, and remove your duck when the breast reaches 130°F. Slice off legs, return to pan, and continue to roast until they reach 155°F (about 10 more minutes). 

 

Let the duck rest for 5 minutes before carving and serving. Save jus from carving. Mix a teaspoon or 2 of the duck jus with the remaining glaze and serve as a sauce on the side. 

Apple Coffee Cake

 Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 C white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C apple cider
• 1 C chopped tart apples

For the Topping:

• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 5 tbsp butter

Mise En Place

Let stick of butter warm up to room temperature.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add in egg, vanilla extract, and apple cider until creamy. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until combined. Stir in chopped apples.
4. Prepare topping by stirring together flour, sugars, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Spread batter into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with crumb topping.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pozole Rojo

 This makes an amazing stew.  Think about the garnishes as you would for a bowl of ramen.  

Ingredients

• 2 oz Guajillo chiles
• 2 oz Pasilla Chiles
• 1 large can Hominy
• 3 lb Pork shoulder
• 8 Cloves Garlic
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 1 tsp ground Cumin
• 2 Tbsp dry Oregano
• 2 tsp Salt

Garnishes

• Cabbage
• Avocados
• Cilantro

Mise en Place

Deseed the chili pods and cut into large pieces.  Bring 3 cups of water (or stock) to boil, then turn off heat and soak chili pods in water for 15-20 minutes.

Cut pork in to bite sized chunks. 

Add soaked chili pods to blender with 2 1/2 cups of soaking liquid.  Add 2 tsp salt, 4 cloves garlic, cumin, and oregano.  Puree into sauce.

Method

Add oil to pressure cooker and brown pork chunks.  Add purred sauce to pot.  Add bay leaf and hominy.  Pressure cook for 45 minutes.   Meanwhile prepare garnishes. 

Pollo en Barbacoa

This is a versatile dish.  The chicken can be swapped out for another other braising meat. I serve with rice and/or beans. 

Ingredients

• 5 Guajillo chiles 
• 5 Pasilla Chiles 
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 10 Garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 Tsp Black Peppercorns
• 3 Whole Cloves
• 1 Stick Cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp dried Oregano
• 1 Can Diced Tomatoes
• 1/2 Bottle Tomatillo salsa
• 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
• 10 Avocado Leaves
• Chicken Thighs & Legs

Mise en Place

Deseed the dried chiles and chop into smaller pieces.  Let chiles soak in boiling water (or stock) for 20 minutes.  The soaking liquid is good for making beans in while Barbacoa is cooking.

Chop onion and peal garlic.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Method

Quickly sweat onions and garlic in a pan.  Add other spices.  Add soaked chiles to blender with all of the other ingredients except of the avocado leaves and chicken.  Puree into sauce.  

Add sauce to Dutch oven.  Arrange chicken and avocado leaves in the sauce.  Cover and bake in oven for at least an hour.

Lentil Soup

Motivation:

Recipe adapted from Serious Eats.  Do not underestimate how much gremolata you'll need.  It's strong juju, but the people crave it.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Lemon Zest

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Fresh Parsley

1/2 cup Olive Oil

6 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbsp)

Salt and pepper

1 cup leek, finely chopped

1 cup Onion, finely chopped

1 cup Carrot, finely chopped

1 cup Celery, finely chopped

1 lb dried lentils

2 bay leaves

2 quarts stock

Protein, slices sausage or bacon.

Mise en Pace:

Combine lemon zest, garlic, parsley, and 1/4 cup olive oil to form gremolata.  Chop all the vegetables and any protein you're planning on using.

Method:

Put 1/4 cup olive oil in stockpot and brown protein if using.   Soften onions and vegetables for about 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 of the gremolata and dry lentils.   Stir together and then add stock.  Add bay leaves. Simmer for one hour covered.  Add more stock if lentils absorb enough liquid to appear above the surface.

Blend 1/2 of the soup until smooth and add back to the stock pot with lemon juice and adjust salt.

Garnish soup with remaining gremolata.

Ghanian Curry

Motivation:
ChefSteps sent out an email with the skeleton of this curry recipe.  I finished fleshing it out and have had good success with it.

I've built this to be pantry/spice cabinet friendly.  You can sub in fresh ginger/turmeric or other spices if you want.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Onions, chopped
• 5-6 cloves Garlic
• 2 Tsp ground Cumin
• 2 Tsp ground Cinnamon
• 2 Tsp ground Ginger 
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 Tsp ground Tumeric
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp ground Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp ground Cayenne
• 6 Cardamon pods 
• 1 can diced Tomatoes
• 2 cans Coconut Milk
• Coconut oil
• 2+ lb Meat (chicken, lamb, goat, etc)

Mise en Place:
Set oven to 420 F.

Chop up onions, and any other fresh spices you are planning to use.  Cut meat into bite sized pieces.
Measure out spices in a bowl so they can be easily added at once. 

Method:
Heat oil in dutch oven, and then add Onions and garlic.  Cook until onions are soft and cooked down.  Add the spices and mix.  Once everything is smelling fragrant, add the can of tomatoes.  Add meat and two cans of coconut milk.  Stir and put lid on the dutch oven.

Cooked for about 2 hours.  I usually set the timer for when I need to start the rice cooking. 

After 2 hours remove from oven and serve on rice.

Pressure Cooker Chili

Motivation
This recipe is a mash-up of two recipes found online: ChefStep's Chocolate and Mustard Stew (which is excellent) and Bon Appetit's Beef Chili (which we had never tried before, but looked interesting). Essentially, the goal was to borrow the tried-and-true techniques from Chocolate Mustard stew and apply them to chili. This chili is made from actual dried chilies (no chili powder here) and will dye things an intense red color. The use of oxtails helps amp up the beef flavor.

Ingredients

• 4 large or 6 medium ancho chiles
• 2 dried guajillo chiles
• 2 dried pasilla chiles
• 5 cups beef broth
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3-5 pounds boneless beef chuck
• 2-3 Oxtails (can sub beef short-ribs too)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 12-ounce bottle lager
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Mise en Place
Bring 3 cups of beef broth to boil, remove from heat, and add dried peppers. Cover and let sit for ~25 minutes. Transfer chilies and soaking liquid to blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Method
Sear oxtail and chuck in bottom of pressure cooker until all sides are very dark. Then remove.

Add tomato paste and sear until dark. Add a small amount of water, and scrape up all the good bits at the bottom.

Add meat back to pressure cooker and cover in the blended chili mixture. Pressure-cook for 45 minutes.

Relieve pressure. Pour off liquid into a separate container, and let it settle for a few minutes to separate out the fat.

While the broth is settling, remove meat from pressure cooker. Let cool, then pull oxtail away from the bone, and hand-shred chuck into smaller pieces.

Skim the fat off the surface of the broth and return the fat to the pressure cooker. Boil off the liquid on high heat until completely evaporated.

Add onions and garlic to pot. Cook, stirring often to loosen browned bits from bottom of pot, until onions are translucent and very soft, 6–8 minutes. Add cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, until spices start to stick to pot, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and brown sugar and scrape bottom of pot to loosen spices, then add lager. Bring to a lively simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until beer is almost completely evaporated, 10–15 minutes.

Add shredded-beef, and reserved chile purée, to the pot. Thin down the chili with up to 2 cups of beef broth. Season with salt and pepper and simmer gently. Taste chili and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Divide chili among bowls and top as desired.

Sweet and Spicy Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

Motivation
Looking for a pork shoulder recipe that could be made in a single day. I modified this NYT recipe based on what was in the pantry at the time, plus obvious taste preferences in our household. I also modified the cook time for a regular pressure cooker.

Ingredients: Marinade

• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 T red pepper flake
• 2 t kosher salt
• 2 t ground white pepper
• 4 lb pork shoulder

Ingredients: Sauce

• 1 T peanut oil
• 8 garlic cloves
• 1 T dried ginger
• 2 t powdered ginger
• 1/3 cup Maggi sweet chili sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 T ketchup
• 2 T pisco
• 2 T honey
• 1 T seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 t fish sauce
• 1 T sesame oil

Mise en Place

For the marinade, press the garlic and combine with sugar and spices in a gallon zip top bag. Toss the pork with the marinade in the zip top and refrigerate for at least an hour.

For the sauce, press the garlic and add both kinds of ginger to the garlic so it starts to rehydrate while you finish measuring and preparing everything else. I measured the soy sauce and everything past it into the same container since it all gets added at the same time.

Method

Brown the pork in the pressure cooker pot, but don't be too worried about getting a good sear, this will finish under the broiler. Add 3/4 cup of water, close, bring up to pressure, and cook for 50 - 60 minutes. 

For the sauce, fry the garlic and ginger in the peanut oil, then add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spatula. remove from heat, but don't refrigerate.

Once the pork is done, remove the chunks from the pot and pull. Add 6-8 T of the cooking liquid into the sauce, stirring to combine. 

Set the broiler to crisp. Spread the pulled pork on a lined jelly roll pan. Coat with the sauce, tossing to get uniform coverage. Broil until it starts to look crisp. 

Serving Options

Rather than the rice option in the original recipe, I spread a small amount of mayo on to some hamburger buns, added a few slices of pickled green tomatoes, and served these as pulled pork sandwiches.

Fridge Pickled Green Tomatoes

Motivation
We had quick pickled green tomatoes on a Charcuterie plate at Husk a couple of years ago. When my tomatoes refused to ripen, I decided to try my own twist on that. I made these in (8) 4 oz mason jars, so each is a reasonable serving size for 2 people.

Ingredients: Jar

• 6 - 8 green tomatoes
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 t dried dill

Ingredients: Pickling liquid

• 2 cup white vinegar
• 2 cup water
• 2 T kosher salt
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 T whole black peppercorn
• 1 t red pepper flake
• 2 T Knob Creek bourbon

Mise en Place

Wash each jar. If there is sanitizer available, dunk each jar and lid after a good wash.

Slice the garlic into paper thin sheets and add it to the bottom of each jar. Quarter larger tomatoes, and halve smaller ones. Slice the tomatoes 1/4" thick segments and stack into each jar. Pack them in tight, but leave 1/2" of space at the top. sprinkle a tiny bit of dill into each jar.

Method

Bring vinegar and water to a simmer, add salt, sugar and spices. Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add bourbon. Immediately fill each jar, leaving 1/4" of head room. Close jars and refrigerate for at least 5 days. These should keep for 3 months.

Serving Options

Charcuterie plates, pulled pork sandwiches, and any other recipe that calls for a dill pickle.

Chimichurri Sauce

Motivation
This amazing sauce loves to be smeared on meat.  Try it on steaks or pork!

Ingredients
1 bunch Parsley Leaves
1 bunch Cilantro Leaves
6-8 cloves Garlic
1 tsp Dried Oregano
Black Pepper
Cumin
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar

Mise en Place
Rough chop leaves and upper stems.  Everything is going to by blended into a paste so don't worry too much if you get some stem.

Method
Combine everything in a blender and blend until a smooth paste is formed.

Crockpot Pork Shoulder

Motivation
My fiend Liza gave me this super simple recipe that will easily feed a group of people.  It's amazing what pork can do given a little bit of time.

Ingredients
4 lb Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt)
4 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Black Pepper
3 Tbsp Oil
2 Tbsp Vinegar

Mise en Place
Mix all of the ingredients together in a gallon ziplock bag and smear over the pork shoulder.  Let marinate overnight.

Method
Place in a crockpot on low for 10-12 hours.  Service with chimichurri on tortillas or lettuce leafs.

Spent Grain Bread

Motivation
If you're all-grain brewing you're going to have spent grains left over after the mashing step.  You should take those spent grains and make bread.

This recipe is adapted from here.

Ingredients 
3 cups Flour, plus more for kneading
1 cup Spent Grain
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp honey
1 1/4 cups of warm water (or left over mash/wort)
Mise en Place
Add yeast to warm water/mash/wort (70-80 F) and let it sit for a few minutes to proof it.
Wipe a bit of oil along the inside of the your mixer's bowl to help with dough sticking to the sides.

Method

In a medium sized bowl, combine the water with the yeast, honey, and one cup of flour. Mix thoroughly. Add the salt and another cup of flour, mixing it all in. At this point, you should have a pretty gooey dough. Add the spent grain, followed by the remaining flour, plus any extra needed to keep it from being too sticky to knead.  I use a mixer with a dough hook to do all of this.  

Let mixed knead bread for about 5 minutes.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for an hour.  It should double in size.

Divide the dough into two pieces, forming each into an oblong loaf shape by pulling the ends around and tucking them under the bottom.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with extra flour, and place the loaves on top. Allow to rise for at least 30 minutes more, then slash the tops with a very sharp knife. Bake for around 30-40 minutes at 450F, and if you like, place another pan underneath, filled with water: the steam will help crisp the crust of your bread.

Carrot Soup

Motivation
I made this soup to play around with caramelizing carrots in my pressure cooker.  THIS IS AN AMAZING SOUP.  Seriously if you have the means (pressure cooker and juicer) you should give it a try.  Original recipe found here.  It took us about 5 lbs of carrots to make the carrot juice and diced carrots.

Ingredients
500 g Carrots (quartered and cut into 2 inch strips)
113 g Butter
30 g Water
5 g Salt
2.5 Baking Soda

635 g Carrot Juice
40g Butter

Mise en Place
Peel and juice carrots until you have 635 g of juice.
Peel. quarter and cut remaining carrots into 2 inch strips until you have 500 g of carrots.

Method
Melt 113 g butter in open pressure cooker.  Add water, salt, and  baking soda and mix.  Add diced carrots. Seal pressure cooker.  When pressure cooker reaches pressure cook for 20 minutes.

Depressurize cooker by running water of the lid.  Puree cooked carrots.

Bring carrot juice to a simmer and add to carrot puree.  Puree again.  Taste and season.

Lentils with Red Wine and Herbs

Motivation
This makes a great bed to serve a main dish on (I've served scallops on it), or with enough veggies can be a vegetarian main dish.  I suggest adding herbs or an assertive salad mix (Italian or French greens).  I've steamed cauliflower and added it as a supporting veggies.

This only requires a 1/4 cup of wine... so it's a good excuse to open a bottle :)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Lentils
Salt
3 slices Bacon, diced
1-2 medium Onions, chopped
1-3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Red Wine
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
Herbs/Veggies

Mise en Place
In a large saucepan cover lentils with 2 inches of water and bring to boil.  Season with salt and simmer over medium heat for ~40 minutes.  Drain.

Method
In a large skillet over  medium heat cook bacon until it starts to crisp.  Add onions and cook until softened (~5 minutes).  Add garlic and continue cooking another minute or so.

Add cooked lentils and red wine.  Cook until wine has been absorbed/reduced (3-5 minutes).  Add herbs/veggies and chicken stock.  Cook another 5 minutes.  Season and serve.

Maple Pecan Pie

Motivation
I wanted to make a pecan pie without corn syrup.  Maple syrup seemed like a fantastic substitute.  This recipe is a slightly modified Melissa Clark recipe.  I was very happy with the flavor.  The texture was a bit grainier than a typical pecan pie.  I would made it again. 

Ingredients
1 Pie Shell (make your own or buy one)
1 cup Maple Syrup (Grade B if you got it)
1/2 cup Demerara or raw sugar
8 whole Star Anise (or all spice as a subsitute)
2 cups Pecan Halves
3 large Eggs
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter, melted
2 tbsp Dark Aged Rum (I used spiced)
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

Mise en Place
Toast pecans in oven at 325F for 15-20 minutes or until they start to smell nutty.

Method
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the maple syrup, Demerara sugar, and star anise to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the mixture is very thick, all the sugar has dissolved, and the syrup measures 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 1 hour for the anise to infuse. I'm not sure how you can reduce down to a cup if you start with a cup of maple syrup... I just let to simmer for that amount of time and didn't notice much appreciable volume lost.

Remove the star anise from the syrup. If you use all spice it will take a bit of effort to fish them all out.  I do hope you counted how many you put in. Warm the syrup if necessary to make it pourable but not hot (you can pop it in the microwave for a few seconds if you’ve moved it to a measuring cup). In a medium bowl, whisk together the syrup, eggs, melted butter, rum, and salt. Fold in the pecan halves. Pour the filling into the crust and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the pie is firm to the touch but jiggles slightly when moved, 35 to 40 minutes.

Weeknight Cassoulet

Motivation
I've made some cassoulets that were great, but a real time investment.  This isn't that kind of cassoulet.  I got my inspiration from Serious Eats.  This is a very flexible recipe.  I've swapped about and added in all sorts of items, which is to say, it's great for using up leftovers.  As long as you have white (cannellini) beans, some sort of meat, tomatoes, and thyme I think the core elements of the dish will be intact.

Ingredients
4-6 slices Bacon (diced)
4-5 Sausages
minced Garlic
1-2 diced Onions
1 can Cannellini Beans (or white kidney or great northern)
1 can diced Tomatoes
Extra Veggies (Broccoli, Cauliflower)
Chicken Broth
Bread Crumbs
Thyme
Oregano
Crushed Red Pepper
Black Pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 450 F.  If you're starting with raw sausages brown them for color (you don't need to cook them through).  In an oven safe pan, crisp diced bacon over medium heat.  After a few minutes add diced onions.  A few minutes later add garlic. Cook until softened.

Add tomatoes, beans, other veggies like broccoli and/or cauliflower.  Season with spices and cook for a few minutes to marry flavors.  Add enough chicken stock to bring liquid level near level with the rest of the item in the pan (you don't want to turn this into a soup.  A cup or so usually does it).  Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and arrange sausages on top of all of that.

Place in oven for 20-25 minutes.  Remember not to burn your hand on the hot handle when you're scooping it out.

St. Germain Gimlet Evolved

Motivation
I was looking for a good St. Germain cocktail that would include gin.  I found this one and was very surprised by how good it is.  St. Germain has the ability to overpower other ingredients in drinks.  That's certainly been my experience when trying to pair it with champagne.  In this cocktail it's a team player instead of dominating the flavor profile.  Original recipe page.

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
1 oz. St. Germaine
3/4 oz. fresh Lime Juice

1 dash Bitters
Cucumber wheel, for garnish (optional but nice)
Method
Combine ingredients.  Shake with ice and strain.  I prefer my drink tart. Taste and add more lime juice if need be.

Halushki

Motivation
This is some serious old world comfort food that has been passed down to me from my dad's side of the family.  It's basically dumplings with butter and cottage cheese... and oh man, is it good.  I always think I've made too much and we end up devouring it all anyway.

Ingredients
2-3 Potatoes (grated)
1 Onion (grated)
2-3 cloves Garlic (pressed)
2 Eggs
Flour
Cottage Cheese
Butter
Salt + Spices

Mise en Place
Grate potatoes, onions, and garlic into a bowl.  Bring a stock pot of salted water to a simmer.

Method
Lightly beat eggs together and add to bowl of grated potatoes, onions, and garlic.  (I'll be honest, I usually just add eggs to the bowl and beat them in there and then combine everything together.)  Add salt plus whatever spices you want.  I'm partial to salt, pepper, a bit of cayenne, and chili powder.

Start to add flour until mixture becomes a thick batter.

I have a "dumpling maker" which is a pan with a bunch of 1/2 inch holes drilled in it.  Spoon batter into pan and push through holes into simmering water.  (Basically you're making a drop dumpling.)  Let dumplings simmer for 8 minutes then remove from water and place in a large bowl.

While dumplings are simmering, place butter in a pan and brown it.  I usually use somewhere between 1/2 stick to a whole stick of butter (this is old world comfort food - not diet food).   Add browned butter to large bowl of cooked dumplings and mix together.  Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cottage cheese and mix again.  Adjust seasonings and serve.

Margaritas (3 Kinds)

Motivation
Here are there margarita recipes.  The first is mine, the second and third have been developed by a friend who has put considerable research into them.

Bill's Margarita
Ingredients
2 parts Tequila
2 parts Lime Juice
1 splash of Something Sweet
1 pinch Sea Salt

Method
For the something sweet I'll often muddle up some seasonal fruit (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc) into the glass and serve it will all the little fruit chunks floating in it.  Otherwise agave syrup works well or even a bit of honey in a pinch.  These a suppose to be very tart.  Mix ingredients and serve on the rocks with a bit of sea salt sprinkled on the top.

Cadillac Margarita
Ingredients
2 parts Gold Tequila
1 part Lime Juice
1 part Grand Mariner

Method
Mix ingredients and serve on ice.

Silver Coin Margarita
Ingredients
2 parts White Tequila
1 part Lime Juice
1 part Cointreau


Method
Mix ingredients and serve on ice.