After an Extended Period of Absence...

Wow! Its been a MONTH since my last post! As you can see above, I have been cooking, just not posting... at all. For which I must apologize... to myself mostly. This site is pretty much showcasing my efforts toward learning the culinary arts. I give any prospective employer in food service the address to this site so they can see I actually have SOME ability. But I just have not updated because I have been very busy... which is a great thing.

I continue to search for work... which, if done right, can become pretty much a full time job. And it has paid off. I have had many interviews here and there, and I actually have had a few prospects lined up. One of these still looks very promising, in fact I am pretty much hired, just waiting to hear from the chef about the schedule.

That's right, a job in the kitchen. Hopefully it pulls through. Until then I have also had a few electrical side jobs here and there, and I continue to work at the ongoing project at Dan and Jackie's. 

So as I said, I've been pretty busy. Still, I want to try and keep this up. So now I'll showcase the main dishes I prepared over the past month...

... First I actually want to discuss a new facet to my culinary inspiration: Food Network. More precisely, Alton Brown. This guy knows what he's talking about. Watching his show, "Good Eats," is fascinating. Having never been to a culinary institute, I may not know much about what I am saying, but this show is so packed with valuable information, it seems to me that it is the closest you can get to actually attending without spending loads of money you don't have.

That is, if you can catch all the information that suddenly and quickly flies out of his mouth, right in the middle of and in between recipes. Thank you DVR. Call me cheap, lame, retarded, whatever... but I replay those large doses of information over and over to take notes.

Reading the forward of his book, "I'm Just Here For the Food," Brown admits that although most people are content just knowing how to do something, and not bothering with the why, for him to truly understand how something is done, he must first understand why it works. 

This is very interesting to me, as this is how I have always thought. Once I understand why something works the way it does, I know it will always work the same way, and I also understand (as with flavors and recipes) how I can manipulate the outcome.

So, long story short, Alton Brown rocks. To me, he's a great mentor on the beginning of the road to culinary expertise; Aptly nicknamed "the 'Bill Nye' of cooking."

Alright so I'm going to list no directions today... just ingredients, pictures, and a few remarks for the meals I've made; The first being the Stuffed Tomatoes pictured at the top. I'll leave it to you to figure out exactly how to recreate them... I can't remember. There's just way too much going on.

Stuffed Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Cilantro
Oregano
Olive Oil
Onions
Avocado
Lime Juice
Red Pepper
Egg
Bread Crumbs
Ground Beef
Salt and Pepper
Chedder Cheese

Spinach Salad With Bacon

Beef Bacon
Onion
Red Wine
Salt and Pepper
Boiled Eggs
Goat Cheese
Spinach

Lexie Rates this a 9 out of 10. Its pretty simple. Basically you fry the bacon and then fry the onion in the fat. Add the wine and seasoning and then reduce a bit. While still hot, add the rest and pour it over fresh spinach.Top with cheese. Easy.

Now for some corn tortillas...

 

Corn flour, milk, and salt... rolled into little balls...

Flatten...

as thin as possible.

peel off plastic

no oil...

Don't smash in a fit of anger... try, try, again...

Chopped Steak

Ground Beef

Cilantro

Oregano

Cumin

Salt

Black Pepper

Arbol Chiles

Garlic

Lime Juice

Flatten into thin steaks with holes in the middle. Fry onions and bell peppers and lay steaks on top. Leave until cooked. Do not flip patties. They will steam cook through their holes. Lexie gave these babies a full 10.

Sorry, no more pictures. The camera was full. However, I am determined to keep this blog up at least until I have regular employment. So check back soon.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Over Noodles with Bacon Sauce

Despite being unemployed I am an extremely busy individual with a very full routine. Thus I have fallen waaaay behind in posting. So today I will post a recipe I cooked a few days ago. After this I will only be behind by one. The meal has been the banner on my site for some time now, and is one that I consider to be my best. 

My mother was a full-time worker, as most mothers are today. I can remember many an evening when, after returning from a hard day’s work as a school teacher, she would open a can of cream of mushroom soup and pour it over a few chicken breasts with salt and pepper. She would cook some egg noodles and a vegetable, and that would be dinner. I loved it. 

So when I started cooking for myself, I would many times find myself in the same situation, and I would make the same meal. However, I would always try to improve upon it. One time with cheese, another time with sour cream. Adding this, adding that, until one day I had a revelation (one that probably would have come to any other intelligent person a long time ago). Why not make the soup from scratch? No... Why not make the make the soup from scratch, add bacon, and make the chicken into chicken cordon bleu? So, that is exactly what I did. 

It may not be a quick meal anymore, but at one hour to prepare and cook, its not too bad... Lexie gives a 10 out of 10 to...

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Over Noodles with Bacon Sauce 

Ingredients:

Chicken Cordon Bleu:

4 chicken breast fillets

4 slices of provolone cheese

4 slices of ham

1 egg, beaten

½ cup plain dry breadcrumbs

½ cup corn oil

all purpose flour, for coating

Bacon Sauce With Egg Noodles:

2½ tbsp butter

1 tsp lemon juice

4 spring onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp thyme

3 mushrooms, sliced

½ tsp white pepper

7 strips bacon, precooked and chopped

chicken trimmings (from cordon bleu)

1 tbsp all purpose flour

4 cups chicken stock

pinch celery seeds

chicken trimmings

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tbsp all purpose flour (to thicken)

3 cups of egg noodles, boiled

Preparation Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and then fry the garlic, onion, and thyme. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the lemon juice, mushrooms, white pepper, and some salt. Continue to stir occasionally.

2. Cook until the mushrooms just begin to brown and soften. Add the bacon and chicken trimmings and then cook for a minute or two longer.

3. Add the first tablespoon of flour and stir. Let cook for one minute more.

4. Simmer and begin to add the stock slowly while stirring gently. Next add celery seeds and bring to a boil. Continue to stir.

5. Reduce heat and stir in the cream. Mix the the remaining flour with ½ a cup or less of water at room tempterature and add to sauce.

6. Return to low medium heat and stir occasionally until sauce thickens.

Season with salt and pepper and serve over chicken cordon bleu and egg noddles.

Serves 4

 

Pea and Lentil Chowder

So I forgot that one recipe actually had no pictures at all. That is this delicious recipe for pea soup. 

After Jackie made ham one night (the same night as the poached pears), we had plenty of leftover ham. In fact we still have some in the freezer. So I boiled the ham bone and crafted this recipe around traditional pea soup, but a little better. Lexie gives it an 8.5.

Pea and Lentil Chowder

Ingredients:

 1 ham bone
1 cup ham, chopped
4-5 cups of water
4 carrots, chopped into 1 inch lengths
3 bay leaves
5 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion
1 cup chicken stock
pinch of celery seeds
2 cups peas, fresh or frozen
1 cup fresh cilantro
2 cups lentils, cooked and strained
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon white pepper

Preparation Instructions:
 1. In a large saucepan over medium heat,  saute the ham bone, half the onion and half the garlic until soft.

2. Add water, carrots, bay leaves and celery seeds and broil to a boil. Cook for 2-3 hours or until you have about 2 cups of ham stock in the pot.

3. Remove the ham bone and add the chicken stock, peas, white pepper, and the rest of the onion and garlic. Cook about 15 minutes or until the peas are soft.

4. Remove the bay leaves, puree the soup in a blender with the cilantro, and then return the mixture to the saucepan over low heat. Next, add the lentils, ham, and cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more and then serve.

* This is delicious over mashed potatoes.

Herb Kissed Roast Beef

Well, as I said in my last post, I have been doing a lot of cooking, but not much posting due to the job search and construction. Over the next few posts I will be posting recipes I have created over the past few weeks.

In addition to not posting, Lexie and I have also not really had the time to document my cooking with pictures lately. So the next few posts will have fewer pictures. Some posts will have only the final picture, and some will have only a few step by step photos.

Lexie rated my roast beef a 6. She says its pretty average. Not bad at all, but not amazing. I would tend to agree on this, as I accidentally got involved in something else and left the roast in the oven for too long. Usually we like our meat medium-rare, but as you can see, its more medium well to well done.

I think the vegetables turned out pretty well. Lexie agrees with a rating of 9.

 Ingredients:

1 bottom round roast

1/2 onion, sliced thick

1/2 onion, chopped fine

5 cloves garlic, minced

4 mushrooms, sliced

4 carrots, chopped

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

thyme

salt

pepper

1/2 cup red wine

Preparation Instructions:

 1. Preheat oven to 350. At the bottom of a baking dish add carrots, mushrooms, basil, white pepper, olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of thyme, and half of the chopped onion and garlic. Season further to taste with salt and pepper. Mix together.

2. Wash the roast with water and dry thoroughly with a towel. Next, rub the roast all over with salt, pepper, and thyme.

3. Place roast on top of the vegetables in the baking dish and rub the rest of the chopped onion and garlic into the roast. Pour wine over the roast and vegetables.

4. Cover and cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes, then uncover and cook for 10-30 minutes more, depending on how well you desire your meat to be cooked. Remove the roast from the oven, let it set for twenty minutes, and then serve.

Stuffed Zucchini Parmesan

  So Lexie, Harrison, and I are now pretty much settled in at our new home. Dan and Jackie, our friends (more like family, actually) that are allowing us to stay with them until we get on our feet, are just about the most awesome couple you will ever meet. Very easy going, kind, and generous, we are eager to help out around the house in any way we can, and there is plenty to do.

Before we can actually begin construction on the house, there is a load of prep work to be done. The first thing that needs to be completed is the garage. The electric needs to be run and the ceiling needs to be drywalled and finished. However, the space has been used to store all sorts of tools, equipment, materials, and various household items for some time. So, before anything else was touched, the garage needed to be cleaned out. In the past two days alone, I estimate that I have moved more than two tons of paraphernalia! Its been fun, its been great to actually have something to keep me occupied.

As far as job hunting, Lexie and I continue our search day by day, and night after night. Despite the fact that our house is being foreclosed on, we refuse to allow ourselves to feel defeat. In fact, thanks to Dan and Jackie, and our God, Jehovah, we ultimately feel encouraged and are able to keep from getting depressed about the situation we're in. We're really happy to have friends like them.

Lately, I have been going through the phone book and calling every electrical company in alphabetical order. Thus far, I have called businesses all the way up through "G." A lot more lines have been disconnected than I thought there would be, and not a single company that I called was hiring. On top of the crappy economy, this is usually the slow season for electrical work, so finding a job now will probably be pretty much beyond the bounds of reality. But that won't stop me from looking. 

The calling has not been entirely in vain either. I have found two companies, so far, that told me to call back at the beginning of the new year, as they may have work then. I will continue my calling through the yellowpages' contractors over the next few days. Hopefully, "H" through "Z" will be more fruitful.

Cooking has been pretty entertaining the past few days. My cooking equipment is mostly all packed away, and getting used to Jackie's kitchen has been interesting. Although it took me a while to find out where everything was, now I am comfortable enough with the arrangement.

Last night I tried something new; a combination of three recipes. Unfortunately, Lexie has been to busy to be taking pictures of the food preparation, however, she did photograph the final results. Lexie rates it 10 out of 10. Dan and Jackie loved it.

     

Stuffed Zucchini Parmesan

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds

2 teaspoons paprika

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons sage

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 zucchini
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup rice, cooked
2 tomatoes, chopped and lightly stained
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 teaspoons oregano
2 cups marinara sauce
6 slices provolone cheese
1 teaspoon basil
8 oz box spaghetti, al dente 




Preparation Instructions:
1. In a medium sized bowl, mix the turkey, fennel seeds, paprika, sugar, sage, red wine vinegar, black pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the minced garlic. Knead the ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

2. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. With a spoon, hollow out the halves, carving out the pulp until the halves are 1/8 to 1/4 inches thick. Finely chop up the pulp. Refrigerate.
 
3. After the allotted time, take the ground turkey out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On medium heat, cook the turkey in a medium saucepan with half the zucchini pulp, the onion and the rest of the garlic. When the meat is cooked through, drain.

4. Return meat to saucepan and add rice, tomatoes, one teaspoon of oregano, and the rest of the salt.

5. Fill the zucchini halves with the turkey and place in a large baking dish side by side. Sprinkle the rest of the pulp, oregano, and basil randomly around the dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the stuffed zucchini and pulp. Arrange provolone slices on top. 

6. Cover the dish and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the zucchini is soft. Serve on top of spaghetti.

Serves 4-6.

 

Picadillo

Moving day is in less than a week. Having done all we can to remedy our mortgage situation, there are no other options. Fortunately we have good friends that have found a way to be able to help us by giving us a place to stay, while we, in turn, help them remodel their house. Having known them since I was young, their son being the best man at my wedding, the living situation should be pretty easy to adjust to.  Either way, it will be an adventure. But we're extremely grateful to have friends like them!

So in a way, I have a job for the next six months. I'm still going to be searching for an independent source of income, and my wife will continue to be looking as well. The majority of the remodeling work in their home will be in the the kitchen, so it will be interesting to see how this blog unfolds, with a temporary kitchen set-up. There may be a lot of grilling! I intend to continue writing about my adventures in the job market and posting recipes. Not that anyone is really reading this, but I at least will try to be loyal to what I started.

In other news, this past weekend I tried a new recipe and failed at it. I have the pictures on another camera, so I'll be posting it later. The sauce came out well, and the chicken stuffing tasted great, but the chicken... oh, the chicken... I weep for it.

Yesterday, however, I again tried something new. Every time I try a recipe I always have to change it. Sometimes I don't have a certain ingredient on hand. But many times I just feel the need to put my own spin on things. Having never tasted the original dish before, I presumptuously think I have a better way of preparing it and go ahead and change it, sometimes a whole lot. I guess I just like to put myself into my work.

So today I am posting the outcome. Lexie gives it an 8 out of 10. However, being Nicaraguan, she says she's stuffed with Picadillo. I think she might be a little biased. Yet, she does admit this is one of the best she's had.

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped

2 plum tomatoes, 1 finely chopped

3 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons corn flour

1 pound lean ground beef

1 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup asiago cheese, shredded (optional)

1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)

Preparation Instructions: 

1. Before anything else, chop your vegetables and herbs. Blend the second tomato in a food processor and then mix in a small bowl with the ketchup and corn flour.

2. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, brown the meat. Season to personal preference with salt and pepper. Continually mix and break up the meat into small pieces with the spoon. Once no more pink is visible, drain. 

 

3. Add the chopped onion, garlic, pepper, cilantro, oregano, and tomato and cook, stirring, at low heat for 5 minutes.

 

 4. Add all other ingredients except the asiago cheese, mix well. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes or until slightly reduced. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes.

   

 

 5. Serve over rice. Having some extra asiago cheese from making Asiagoburgers, I mixed it with some basil and sprinkled it on top. This is optional, although it adds a great flavor to the meal. 4 servings.

  

Asiagoburgers With Salsa

Asiagoburger

with Avocado Salsa

The job search continues. It is truly amazing how few jobs you are actually able apply for before the sunlight fails and the day is used up. I have walked through malls, industrial parks, and shopping plazas handing out resumes and filling out applications. You can visit every business in a decent-sized plaza in anywhere from one to three hours depending on how many applications were available to complete. Some managers only want a copy of your resume. This is perfect because I have at least a hundred of them printed and ready to go.

If your in the situation of my family, where both husband and wife are unemployed and searching, it can take a little longer. And if you have a one year old son, no money for a babysitter, and only one car, the task can become a never ending, tedious, loathsome chore.

First of all, experts on job market analysis say that you don't want to appear desperate (which can be difficult to accomplish in these times). I feel that perhaps Lexie and I are too busy trying not to look pathetic sometimes! We will drive to a plaza and industrial park and one of us will go and work our charm with business owners while the other tries to appeal to the better side of our young son's attention span.

Once the area has been covered (and at times, before that), Harrison usually decides its time for a break; most of the time with a cranky whine that won't be quieted until lunching or napping. Everything's an event for him. Every moment is either a nuance or a nuisance. Life is either great or horrible it seems. There's no in between. But its an adventure for him and I'm still learning too.

In the middle of the day Lexie and I switch responsibilities. In the end, a lot of time is lost and very little ground is covered. But at least we keep at it. That's the most important part for anyone who is unemployed. Don't give up.

When you're applying online (as is mandatory with more than half the jobs available nowadays) either you send your resume to every possible inquiry on craigslist.org and become the target of every scam artist imaginable, or you spend hours and hours applying for one or two jobs because the company's website keeps crashing in the middle of their lame application program which has 500 questions about your friends in high school and whether or not you missed a day of work in the past year.

But we all know how it goes. Things can seem to become too complex to handle sometimes. Which is why I needed a burger for dinner tonight. Not fast food. A simple homemade burger. We went to my sister and brother-in-law's apartment and I cooked burgers for everyone there. I designed a special recipe for this Friday night feast. Not as simple as I originally planned, but Lexie gives it a 10 out of 10, meaning it was simply delicious.

Ingrediants:

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup asiago cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoon ground red pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, pitted, skinned, and chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 green belle pepper, chopped
1 lime, halved

Preparation Instructions:

1. Toss the asiago cheese with 1 1/2 tablespoons of basil until mixed. Next knead ground beef, chili powder, red pepper, 1/2 the chopped onion, and the rest of the basil in a mixing bowl with your hands. When thoroughly combined, separate into eight equal parts.

2. Divide each 1/8 section in half again, roll into a ball, and then flatten to about 1 cm thick patties.

3. For every pair, sprinkle a about 1 tablespoon of the basil and cheese mix on top of one of the patties in the pair. Leave an edge of at least 1 cm. Next, carefully place the other patty on top and seal the pair together at the edge. Refrigerate.

4. Preheat grill. Prepare the salsa by adding the avocado, tomato, green pepper, and remaining onion in a mixing dish. Squeeze the juice from the limes into the dish and mix well.

5. Remove patties from the refrigerator and grill for 5-8 minutes on both sides or until cooked through. Serve with salsa as a condiment along with any others desired. Feeds 6-8.