Thursday, September 4, 2008

Corn Salsa

Ok, this is really simple but really good.  Especially if you are fortunate to have your own garden.
4 cups corn kernels, frozen if you have to
2 cups diced tomato
1 red pepper, small dice
1 green pepper, small dice
1 yellow pepper, small dice
1/2 red onion, small dice
2 Jalapeños, small dice
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp cumin (or to taste)
2 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
2 tsp granulated garlic (or to taste)

Mix everything to together and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chip.

Also a great addition is black beans.  Have fun.

derek

It's Finally Football Season

Finally the greatest season of the year has begun...for real.  No more pre-season, waiting for games that mean something, and if you are in a fantasy league will finally get to see how your picks will add up.  
In honor of this great season I have some ideas of food that you may want to snack on with your buddies with a good cold beer.  First up, Jalapeño Poppers.
First, make your filling.  I like about 2 parts cream cheese to one part shredded cheddar cheese.  Mix that with bacon bits (real bacon, not that fake salad sprinkle stuff), and garlic powder.  I don't give you real measurements because so much of it is to your own taste.  Feel free to add any seasonings that you like.
Then take your jalapeños, seed them and halve them.  I find it is easiest to cut off the stem end, and using a coring tool (these kind of look like peelers that are curved with teeth) remove all seeds.  Then cut in half, lengthwise.  You can seed them after you cut them as well, but it is twice the work.  
After all of the hard work of cutting and seeding is through, stuff each half with a small amount of cream cheese mixture.  Just enough to fill.  Next you are going to bread them.
In three separate containers set out flour, egg (beaten), and bread crumbs.  Using what is called the standard breading procedure, coat poppers with flour, then dunk in egg (making sure to coat), then coat with breadcrumbs.  I like to do the egg and bread crumbs part twice for a thicker more consistent breading but that is up to you.
Once all of this is done, deep fry until golden brown, with your oil around 350.  This will only take a few minutes.  
This may all seem like a lot of work, and I am not going to tell you that it isn't, but for that really big game that you can't miss (such as Indianapolis and New England) they are worth it.  Plus another side note.  If you like the poppers hot, keep some of the seeds around as that is where most of the heat comes from.  However, just because you got rid of all the seeds doesn't mean that a hot one isn't going to sneak in there.  Last time I made poppers they were all very mild until I got to the one that got me reaching for the milk, but maybe that is part of the fun.

Enjoy, 

derek

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The Perfect Cheeseburger...well for what I have to use.

One of the things that I make most out at the camp, where I run the kitchen, are cheeseburgers.  Being a man, I love to grill.  I think it is a law in the "man-code" somewhere that all men have to like to grill, and when they don't like to I must assume that they must have done something in the past that has caused them to turn in their "man-card" and they have just given up on all things man.  Anyways, after a nice long run-on sentence, I digress.  

As the title says I think that I have what I consider the perfect cheeseburger.  Now, I am not going to tell you that you have to mix half sirloin with veal and some other expensive meat that you can only find in a gourmet market.  I am just going to tell you how to take a simple patty of beef, season it and grill it.

First, I use beef patties that have been shipped to me in a package of 60 that have been pre-formed and perforated to reduce shrinkage.  I use these because they are easy, and when I have to grill 200 hamburgers, I don't want to have to make each one by hand.  I throw them on the grill in their frozen state, which is nice because it means that you don't have to have the forethought  to thaw them.  I then sprinkle the up-side with Lawry's garlic salt, and Canadian Steak seasoning.  When the burger has cooked to the point of flipping I flip it.  Repeat seasoning for the new cooked upside.  Cook until desired doneness is near completion and top with cheese of choice.  By the way, so you don't think that I use burger patties that you don't have access to, you can use pretty much patty that you find at the mega-mart,though I will say that some are probably better than others.  If you want the ones that I use, you can go to a GFS Marketplace, if they are in your area, and they are the homestyle patties, 1/4 lb each.

I hope you are not disappointed that there is nothing else to it than that, but I am telling you that I haven't had one person tell me that they didn't like them, except for that one kid who got one that was pretty undercooked... I would have eaten it though, and he didn't deserve a good burger anyways.  For the effort, and time it is a pretty dang good burger.  

Next time:  Corn Salsa

derek