The Mighty Nosh

Food, written by the people who eat it.

Poor Man’s Chili

Mar 23

Posted by Ian in Food to Cook, Things to Do, Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment

Poor Man’s Chili

When the chips are down and all that there is left in the freezer is ground beef and a can of beans in the pantry. It’s time to make some Poor Man’s Chili. There’s no one way to make Chili, but when you have limited ingredients there are simple ways to get that fix.

For a simple Chili, I like to start with a pound of ground beef, can of chili beans, small can of diced tomatoes with pepper mix. You also want to round up your pepper and garlic(Adobo) spices.

I start out with sauteing half an yellow Spanish Onion in a medium pot.

Once the Onions are nice and caramelized add the meat to the mix. At this time you should start seasoning the meat with salt, black pepper, Garlic(Adobo), and whatever pepper powder you have.

While the meat is browning I like to whip out some secret ingredients. Pickapeppa Sauce (which is like a Worcestershire type of fish sauce, but more jerky), Soy Sauce, and Honey Mustard. Add a couple of dashes of each to the mix.

Once the meat is looking almost done add the can of Chili Beans, and Rotel Diced Tomato Mix to the pot. Now is the time to put the heat on low and start to simmer the Chili.

Add a couple of spoonfuls of Tomato sauce to the mix. Any sort of Tomato sauce will do. Some people prefer using paste, but I like using Puree.

The Tomato sauce is going to add to the body of the chili and enhance the over all flavor.

Remember to keep on stirring the Chili so that it doesn’t burn on the bottom. Everyone has different tastes so add any finishing touches with any Pepper spices/Hot sauces to fit your heat preferences.  It should only take about 15-20 mins to be ready, but you can slow cook it as long as you want. When you’re done you can accent a dish of chili with sliced avocados, cheddar, or with a dab of sour cream.  There are many ways to cook Chili and this is just one delicious route to take a classic dish.

Eggplant Parmesan

Feb 23

Posted by Ian in Food to Cook, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Eggplant Parmesan

Just lika Grandma maka for you!

Slice up one large Eggplant or a few smaller ones

Salt the slices for about 10-15mins on paper towels or in a colinder

Set up an assembly line for the eggplant slices. You need one bowl with mixed egg, another for flour/breading, and an oven tray at the end of the line to stack em up.

Take a slice and..

Dip both sides into the egg

Dip both sides into breading or flour. In this case I used both. You can do which ever and feel free to add any dry spices to the mixture as well. (ex.Paprika, Parsley, Cajun, Italian allspice)

Once the slice is egged and breaded stack them up in a baking tray. Make sure the tray is lined with tomato sauce on the bottom.

Once you have filled a tray with your breaded eggplant slices, add some sauce on top and cover with sweet delicious cheese. In this case I used mozzarella and of course parmigiano-reggiano, but you can add any sort of cheese to mix it up. (ex. asiago, chedder, gruyere)

Place into oven at 350 degrees for 25-35mins. You should be able to easily poke the eggplant and the cheese/sauce should be sizzling/browned.

Enjoy!

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Epic Friday Dinner – 3 Raw Courses and Vegan Soup

Feb 6

Posted by Tim in Food to Cook | 1 Comment

Raw Lasagna and Spring Salad

Raw "Lasagna" and Spring Salad

Tonight, we ate like kings. A four course meal with wonderful people.

Jeff and I both experienced a year of living “raw” (eating only uncooked vegetation) around 2 years ago.  It was an enlightening period for both of us and I suggest that anyone experience it for at least a month, but I’ll save that discussion for another post.

Raw “Lasagna”

  • Noodles – Zucchini sliced thin and seasoned with salt
  • Filling – Mushrooms, onions and spinach marinated 6 to 12 hours in lemon, soy sauce and oil
  • Cheese – Cashews soaked and processed with fresh parsley, lemon and garlic
  • Marinara – Roma tomatoes blended with onion, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes
  • Garnish – Spinach pesto made with spinach, basil, garlic, lemon, pine nuts and oil

Jeff spent hours slicing, dicing, blending and layering only to wait, anxious and unnerved by the thought that all the effort was in vain.  In the end, it was worth it.  He created a dish that was the star of the night. Delicious, refreshing but with a touch of richness brought on by the cashew cheese. Wonderful!

Vegan Potato & Leak Soup

  • Leaks – 3 sliced thin
  • Red Onion – Half large red onion diced
  • White Potatoes – 8 peeled and diced
  • Vegetable Broth – 1 quart

Kevin combined all but the broth in a medium hot pot, seasoned with salt and let cook until soft- about 30 minutes.  Then came the vegetable broth.  He simmered the soup on medium-low for about an hour before using the immersion blender to make it smooth.

The soup came out perfectly. Very strong flavors of onion and potatoes that were enjoyable.  Nothing was lacking on the pallet, even with this minimalist soup.

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

  • Raw Honey – 1 Tb
  • Brown Mustard – 1 Tb
  • Apple Cider Vinegar – 3 Tb
  • Olive Oil – 1 Cup
  • Water – to desired consistency and flavor (start with half cup)
  • Salt – to taste

Salad

  • Green Mix – 1/2 Lb
  • Walnuts – 1 Cup Chopped
  • Raisins – 1 Cup

For the salad I made one of my favorite simple spring mix salads with a honey mustard vinaigrette. I cannot stress enough how important it is to make your own dressing, this 5 minute addition will improve the meal 10x. Fresh dressing makes salad worth eating.

Raw Apple Pie

  • Apples – 8 mixed varietal, peeled, sliced thin and marinated over night
  • Apple Marinade – 1 Cup orange juice, 1 cup raisins, cinnamon and salt
  • Crust – 2 Cups Walnuts, 2 Cups Almonds, 3 Cups Dates

Raw apple pie has become my raw dessert of choice.  The ingredients are relatively inexpensive. It stores very well, is easy to prepare and everyone loves it!

The entire meal was delicious.  Everyone left the table with empty plates and full stomachs- a cooks favorite sign.

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Bacon-Wrapped Rib-Cut Pork Chops

Dec 2

Posted by Matt in Food to Cook | No Comments

Bacon-wrapped and ready for the grill!

Recipe created, prepared and cooked by Nathan L Preston.

Ingredients:

2 rib-cut pork chops cut around one and a quarter inches thick (I usually have to have Publix specially cut them this large).

Enough bacon to cover pork chops completely.

Rub:  Approx.

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 Tsp Ground Cinammon

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Onion Powder

1 Tsp Black pepper

1/2 Tbsp Paprika

4 Feet of Cooking String (ask the Publix butcher, he’ll give you some for free)

Preparation:

1.)  Wrap rib chops in overlapping bacon strips until chop is fully covered.  Then wrap up with cooking string so that bacon is held firmly onto the chop.

2.)  Set up coals in grill so that the front half of the grill has the coals burning and the back half does not.  Start coals (this could also be done indoors; but, you’ve already gone so far as to wrap a piece of meat in bacon, you might as go all the way and get your grill on).

3.)  Next, take bacon wrapped chops and roll them in the prepared rub described above.  Make sure chop is fully covered in a nice thin, even coating of rub.

Cooking:

1.)  Let coals simmer about half way to normal cooking level.  Then toss the chops onto the grill (by toss I mean set lightly onto grill with proper sanitized tongs.  Unless, of course, you are a trained member of the Meat Tossing Team of Southern Texas; in which case:  toss away, sir, toss away).

**At this point the bacon grease will most definitely fall onto the unsuspecting fire, thoroughly pissing it off and sending it into a rage of increased flame height and strength–this is to be expected.  As a matter of fact, it is even to be desired. **

2.)  With the chops over the fire, close the lid and let cook for about two and one-half minutes on each side, letting the fire crisp up both sides of the chop.

3.)  Move chops to back of grill, away from the bacon fed fire and close the lid.   Let cook for ten to eleven minutes (depending on chop size and size of fire) on each side.

4.)  Repeat step 1 and 2 (for those of you in the Meat Tossing Team of Southern Texas, this is your chance to score a double-flesh sear bonus worth 100 points, if you can do the second toss from eight feet away instead of the normal two you will win a beautiful burlap apron with the words “Professional Meat Tosser” across the stomach–the Salad Tossing Team of Boulder, Colorado tried using a similar motto on their apron;  however, reactions to “Professional Salad Tosser” aroused quite a bit more negative connotations then they had originally planned).

5.)  Remove from grill and serve with desired sides.

Also, I personally recommend a nice lager with this meal.  A Spaten Oktoberfest perhaps, or a Kostritzer if you like really dark, slightly more bitter beer.  The bitter of the Kostritzer is a nice balance to the sweetness of the meat. (matt)

Enjoy.

Post-fire, pre-stomach.

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Eggplant Cotija with Spaghetti Squash

Dec 1

Posted by Eric in Food to Cook | No Comments

This one is a really interesting take on Eggplant Parm. We made it up one night when we were more bored than hungry:
Spaghetti Squash with Eggplant

Spaghetti Squash with Eggplant

Eggplant Cotija w/ Spaghetti Squash
1 large spaghetti squash
1 package whole-wheat spaghetti pasta
1 jar basil tomato sauce (or homemade)
2 large eggplants (we used the neon variety)
8-12 oz crumbled cotija cheese
4-6 oz shredded romano cheese
10-12 large fresh basil leaves
2 fresh roma tomatoes
3-4 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs (for eggwash)
2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 
panko breadcrumbs (or italian, whatev)
peanut oil (enough to fry in)

Cook your whole wheat pasta to package specs. Retain in colander tossed lightly with olive oil.
Take your squash and stab it with a sharp knife 3 or 4 times. Microwave for 8 min to soften. Remove from mic, cut in half (carefully, it will be hot!) and scoop out seeds. You can reserve the seeds for baking/frying later. Place the two halves of squash back in the micro over an inch of water. Steam until the meat of the squash breaks easily with a fork (approx another 15 min.)
Slice your eggplants into 1/3 inch thick rounds. Prepare three bowls and a work area for your fryer.  Set up a breading station with egg wash, panko and flour (seasoned with garlic powder.)  Dip your eggplant rounds first in the flour, then eggwash, then into the breadcrumbs. Once you have a few breaded, drop them your frying oil. Flip after 2 min and remove when brown on both sides. Reserve cooked eggplants on a paper towel and salt as they leave the oil.
Now we get to combine all the pieces! Coat the bottom of a large casserole dish with about 1/3 of your tomato sauce.  Add your pasta. Spread evenly across the tray and top with more tomato sauce. Dice your fresh roma’s and scatter across the tray. Now lay out your eggplant rounds in even rows to fill the tray. Top each round with a fresh basil leaf, spaghetti squash and cotija cheese. Shred romano over the whole dish and drizzle olive oil to finish. Bake at 350 until your cheese has melted and the squash is starting to get crispy.
Serves 8

La Granja : segunda parte

Dec 1

Posted by Bojus in Places to Eat | No Comments

I was the first to try the seafood at La Granja. I ordered the Pescado a lo Macho. The picture on the menu made it look like the best dish in the house.  I think it probably was. 
Here’s a picture I took so you can get an idea:

Pesacado A Lo Macho from La Granja in Central Florida

The key ingredient is the sauce on this dish. When I first tasted it, I immediately thought curry! It’s actually made from a special type of yellow pepper sauce from Peru. The Aji Amarillo is roasted and pureed, then blended with a standard Sofrito, beer and heavy cream. I know there’s alot to look at in this picture – featured are prawns, mussels, caracol, calamari, clams, one monstrous crawdad and thats just for toppings. The main event is a corn-meal battered white fish fillet! You can’t even see it under all that deliciousness.

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What happened to Tempeh?

Nov 18

Posted by Eric in Food to Cook | No Comments

I know it sounds weird. I don’t care. I miss tempeh. I miss fermented soybean cakes. Say what you will. All of the grocery stores near me here in Orlando have stopped carrying plain tempeh recently. (this stuff)  Publix still carries the pre-flavored stuff but that defeats the purpose! I want to make my own recipes – screw storebought teryaki sauce.  Guess I’ll have to make a trip to (gasp) Whole Foods sooner or later.

The following is one of my favorite Tempeh treatments.
I picked up the original recipe in Boone, NC at the Tupelo Cafe.

Umami Tempeh
1 package unflavored multigrain tempeh, drained
1 lemon/lime, juice of
2tbsp garlic rice-wine vinegar
2tbsp worcestershire/fish sauce (or red-wine if you’re avoiding animal products)
2tbsp authentic tamari (not the watery stuff)
2-4tbsp olive oil/garlic oil (your preference)
1tbsp sesame seeds

Cut your tempeh into desired size cubes (or long slices if you’re preparing a sandwich). Heat saucepan with oil to medium. Add cubes and sauté -  the tempeh will absorb the oil as it cooks. Flip frequently. When you begin to see brown, add the other liquid ingredients one at a time. Allow the tempeh a few seconds to absorb each liquid before adding the next. Move pan contents to prevent sticking. Lower heat during this phase if needed.
When all of the liquids are absorbed, heat up your broiler (or toaster oven) and place the tempeh on a toasting rack. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and a touch more oil if needed. Toast/ broil until crispy on top. Enjoy!

I think they serve this on an open-faced sandwich with a fresh avocado on top! It’s amazing!

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Zen in the Kitchen

Nov 14

Posted by Eric in Tips and Tricks | 2 Comments

I watched this video a while back  - How to Cook Your Life – about Zen Buddhists in the kitchen. Yes, it is exactly what you expect; a lot of “being one” with the food and highly meditative states of food preparation.  It might be a lot to take in for those who live their lives… doing something other than being a monk.”Yes we are cooking this food, however the food is at the same time cooking us.”

Despite all that, the video was chock full of great cooking tips interspersed throughout the DVD. The tip of chef Edward’s that I took to heart was his message of simplicity in the kitchen. He takes Alton Brown’s love of multi-taskers to a whole new level. He only uses one kind of knife: the cleaver.

“Above all, I like to have a sharp knife [when cooking] so I bring them with me… This cleaver has a wide blade and acts as a chopper, slicer, mincer, dicer. Mashing garlic, smasing ginger, tenderizing meat- even the handle works as a pestle. There is no other tool that can do the job of a good cleaver.”

And you know, I think he’s on to something. I have been using my cleaver exclusively for the last several weeks. The kitchen is getting along just fine. I may not be a Buddhist, but at least my cutting-board is getting a little Zen!

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La Granja

Nov 11

Posted by Eric in Places to Eat | No Comments

Last night I finally went to La Granja with Dan, Amber and Scott. It really is as good as the guys talked it up to be! I think we took home enough leftovers for two or three more meals. The arepas, and tostones were as authentic as I’ve found in Orlando – and everything was amazing. I had pescado a lo macho – a Peruvian dish that is an amalgamation of sea critters in savory sauce served over a large filet of fish- that was worth the trip alone!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here’s some crazy Peruvian TV chef preparing Pescado a lo Macho:



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