Cinnamon-Bacon Carbonara with Short Rib

I'm glad the word "bacon" made you click on this recipe because this has to be one of our favorite things we've put in our mouths (not a euphemism). We adapted this from a voluptuous Italian chef on TV who really knows her stuff. Therefore, we really know our stuff.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs short rib
8oz thick cut bacon, sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups grated Parmesan
6 large egg yolks
1 lb fettucine
4 cups beef broth
salt and pepper
chopped chives as garnish

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Heat an oven proof pot on high heat. Cover the short ribs in a salt and pepper. It's ok to be liberal. Sear the meat on all sides. Add beef broth until all the meat is completely covered by the liquid. Cover and put in the oven for 3 hours.

2. Boil a bunch of water in a pasta pot. Cook the fettucine to a little bit before al dente.

3. Cook bacon until crispy in a large sauce pan on medium heat. Drain half of the rendered fat. Let cool for a few minutes. Add whipping cream and Parmesan cheese and egg yolks stirring frequently. Add fettucine to the sauce pan, and let it hang out for a minute.

4. Take the short ribs out and begin to shred the meat off the bones.

5. Put some pasta (and bacon) in a bowl. Put the shredded short rib on top along with some chives and you're ready to feel slightly better about Winter coming down the road.

Seasonal Honey Chai Brown Ale

If you can boil water, you can brew beer. I wouldn't recommend homebrewing to illiterates, however. It does take some reading.

If you've been on the fence about producing your own beer, I hope this post pushes you over the edge into Elysium where I have lived for a few years now.

Ever since we started brewing, we've wanted to create a seasonal beer that would be delicious from the first day you think it's a good idea to wear your cardigan, through the depths of Winter, to the first of Spring.

Don't be intimidated by the stuff you don't recognize. Go to the nice people at your local homebrew store and interrogate them. It's their job. But most of this stuff is standard.

For a more fun approach/guide to how to make beer. Please watch this educational cartoon.

http://vimeo.com/74262716

Ingredients:

Pre-Boil Tea:
1 lb US Munich
.75 lb CaraVienne
.5 lb Vienna
.5 Crystal 80L
.25 Chocolate Malt

Boil:
6 lbs Pale Liquid Malt Extract (60 minutes)
1.25 oz Saaz Hop Pellets (60 mintes)
1 lb Honey (10 minutes)

Fermentation:
English Ale Yeast WLP002 or Wyeast 1098

Pre-Bottling:
2 Cups Chai Tea Concentrate
5 oz priming sugar

1. Steep the grains in 4 gallons of water at 150° for 30 minutes.

2. Bring the tea to a rolling boil and add the malt extract and Saaz hops. This is also where you start your countdown from 60 minutes.

3. At the 10 minute mark, add the pound of honey.

4. After the boil, cool the beer to 70° before adding the yeast.

5. After fermentation is complete (about 6 to 7 days), add 2 cups of Chai Concentrate and stir gently.

6. Dissolve the priming sugar into 1 cup of boiling water. Add to beer. Stir.

7. Make sure everything is sanitized. EVERYTHING. And bottle away. It should be ready to drink in about 2 weeks, but I would age it a bit longer to let them flavors get acquainted with each other.

If this post only serves to impress you knowing that we do more than cook good food, then that is also awesome. Homebrewing is a way to participate in the vast growing field of beerlanthropy. We've been beerlanthropists for almost 3 years, and except for a few stains on a bunch of my clothes, there's not one thing that hasn't been positive.

Korean Bibimbap 101

We're back, peoples.

I understand that you've been upset while enduring our summer hiatus. Unfortunately, we don't have the mental and financial stability to do this full time...yet. Our "comeback" post should please you very much, and it will also contain many awkward phrases so it seem like authentic Korean make recipe.

For those of you that don't get out much, bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish with a collection of sautéed veggies, side items, sliced or ground meat, and a fried or raw egg organized so beautifully on top of a bed of rice. I forced a good Korean friend of mine (and amazing pianist) into forcing her mom into teaching me how to make this. So it comes from the source. If the presentation alone doesn't have people getting their camera phones out, then the flavors will.

Ingredients:

1 medium carrot, julienned
1 small white onion, sliced
1 zucchini, julienned
2 cups bean sprouts
1 medium bunch fresh spinach
2 cups sliced mushrooms
4 eggs
8 tablespoons or 1/2 cup dark sesame oil
olive oil (about 1/2 cup)
4-6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 lb. ground beef
1/4 lb ground pork
2 cups rice (uncooked)
salt and pepper
Korean Hot Pepper Paste (Find this at a korean grocery store or google it. It's amazing and extremely necessary.)

Optional Sides:
Fresh Local Kimchi
Julienned Cucumbers
Tofu, diced or sautéed


Put some water on to boil for the spinach and bean sprouts and get to chopping all them veggies.

Start sautéing the veggies one batch at a time starting with the lightest colored veggies and going to the darkest (i.e. start with onions). Color matters in this dish and this is how you don't mess it up. Cook each vegetable until tender but still having a little bite - taste as you go. If you want to sauté two veggies at a time use two sauté pans...duh. As your veggies get done, put them in separate bowls and add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of sesame oil to each.

Somewhere in the mix, you can boil the spinach and bean sprouts (separately). The spinach will only need about a minute to boil, and the sprouts can do about twice that.

Cook your rice according to the instructions on the package or rice cooker.

In a medium-size bowl, add beef, pork, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, garlic, and a large pinch of salt. Get your hands dirty and mix. But don't over mix it. After your veggies are done, cook the beef/pork mixture.

The last of the cooking is your eggs. Put your sauté pans on medium heat, add some olive oil, and cook eggs separately until you don't see any more translucent egg white, but the yolk is still glossy and runny.

Now to present: each bowl needs a hefty amount of rice. Arrange the veggies around the outside of the bowl so that colors compliment each other. Put the ground meat mixture in the middle. Add your fried egg on top. Ponder how grateful you are for all the things you have, the people you're eating this with, and the amazing-ness of food. Then, add a dollop of korean hot pepper paste to the top and mix it all together.

Mojo de Ajo Pizza with Blackened Chicken and Serrano Peppers

Mojo de Ajo Pizza with Blackened Chicken and Serrano Peppers

Remember our first post? Well now we're trying to show you how to make it rain Mojo de Ajo in different recipes.

There will be no leftovers when you make this pizza, especially if you make the dough, which is really easy. Don't roll your eyes. Shut up and make some fresh pizza dough.

FRESH DOUGH

Click Here

Do it.

PIZZA INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Mojo de Ajo (see recipe)

2 chicken breasts halved lengthwise (like this)

4 tablespoons Emeril's Essence seasoning (or another blackening seasoning)
1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
2 fresh roma tomatoes, sliced
4-6 fresh serrano peppers, diced
Extra mozzarella (if desired)
Salt and Pepper

1. After you've done you're culinary duty and MADE THE DOUGH, you can use a rolling pin, wine bottle, whipped cream can, PBR tall boy, or any cylindrical device to stretch the dough to the desired diameter that will match your pizza pan. You should all see by the pictures that I don't pretend to have worked in a pizza shop. So even if your dough ends up looking like Quasimodo made it, you'll love the way it tastes.

2. In the waiting stages of the dough, preheat your grill. Cut the chickens in half (see picture), season them with Emeril's Essence, and throw them on the grill for about 2-4 minutes on each side. When they're done, let them rest for a few minutes, then slice or dice 'em - however you want to bit into them on the pizza.

3. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Spread the Mojo on the pizza just like a pizza sauce. Rub a little extra on the crust if you can.

4. Layer the chicken, diced serranos, and sliced tomatoes on the pizza. Cover them with the slices of fresh mozzarella.

5. Sprinkle a nice size pinch of kosher salt on the pizza, as well as some pepper.

6. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Take it out when the crust is golden, and the cheese is bubbly.

7. Let it cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Now EAT.

Lamb and Beef Sliders with Beer Onions, Smoked Cheddar, and Horseradish Cream Sauce

Every man, woman, and child should be able to improvise a good burger recipe. Or you could make your friends think you're improvising by memorizing this powerhouse slider recipe. I literally surprised myself (and my roommate) with how good these were. Here's how to make it rain....

Ingredients:
1 lb each ground lamb and ground chuck
1 large sweet onion
3 tbls vegetable or grapeseed oil
2 tbls butter
2 tbls horseradish
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Red Ale
8 thick slices of smoked cheddar cheese
kosher salt and black pepper
8 Slider Buns

For the onions:
1. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet on medium high.
2. Slice the onion and add to the skillet after it heats up. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently so the onions don't burn.
3. Add the butter, some salt and pepper, and keep stirring. After another 5 minutes, add the beer and lower the heat to medium. Keep the onions cooking for another 10-15 minutes until they are brown and soft.

For the horseradish sauce:
1. Mix together the horseradish, sour cream, and some salt and pepper. Boom. Done.

For the burgers:
1. Preheat your grill to medium-high heat
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground lamb and chuck with a tablespoon of salt and some black pepper.
2. Form patties that are about a half-inch bigger than your slider buns - probably a quarter pound of meat for each burger.
3. Throw them on the grill, cooking each side for 3-5 minutes. In the last two minutes, put the smoked cheddar slices on each burger and close the lid of the grill.

Now you can form each burger. I leave it up to you how you want to stack the layers of flavor. We put burger, onions, then sauce, and stacked 'em nice and high. Let us know if you like this and any other variations you might ponder.

Baja Fish Tacos!

This is the moment where I wish I could go back and retake some pictures, or just eat more of that meal.  I'm not gunna lie...it was pretty good.

Let's start easy and get into the more difficult stuff after.

Rice:
Start with about 1 Tbsp of butter
Add about 2 Tbsp of Lime Juice
Add 1 cup of white basmati
Add 2 cups water
watch the magic happen for 15-20 minutes (just taste test)
Turn off the heat
Add as much cilantro and lime juice as you want on top, then stir
Of course, don't forget to add more butter.

Slaw:
1/2 head of Purple Cabbage (shredded)
1 large Carrot (shredded)
1 firm Mango (diced)
Cilantro (to your taste)
Lime Juice (one whole lime)
1.5 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Just mix everything together! So simple and so fresh and tasty!

Chipotle Cream:

obviously you can change the amounts and make half of this portion, but I love eating this with the rice too

1 cup sour cream
1/8-1/4th cup Heavy cream (depending on how thick or thin you want the sauce)
1 tsp PAPRIKA (we make a big deal out of this word when it's used in our blog)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp Chipotle Chile (I got canned adobo)
Stick this in the food processor..and process it.

Some people prefer just putting the Chipotle Chile sauce in there, vs. putting a few of the actual peppers.  I love spicy food, so I put a pepper or two in the food processor too.

Fish:
Get your frying oil to about 350, once you stick the fish in there it'll be 5-7 minutes to cook.

Batter-
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup beer (really any will do)
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix together and let sit for 10-20 minutes

I got a few fillets of Mahi Mahi, because it was on sale at the market, but any firm fish will work.

cut the fish into long but thin strips (about 1.5 inches wide) it'll make it easier to put in the tacos

coat the fish strips in batter
gently place in the hot oil, turning every so often
place cooked fish on paper towel to soak up extra oil.

Then simply arrange your tacos!  You can put rice in the tacos too, or just put it on the plate and eat it separately.



I wrote this post in class and I am way too tired to be witty right now.  But I hope you enjoy this meal.

Tandoori Beer Can Chicken

Holy Tandoori, Batman....

Now that we've gotten all the puns out of the way, let me tell how crazy easy and wonderful and crowd-pleasing this is. It's crazy easy and wonderful and super crowd-pleasing. Let's not waste any more time staring at the delicious pictures or laughing at my awful humor.

Here's what you need:

1 4-5 lb whole chicken
1 jar of tandoori marinade (I like Patak's)
2 cans of american lager beer (the first is for cooking, the second is for drinking)

If you think there are more ingredients that end up showing later, you're wrong. You only need 3 things, people.

1. Preheat your grill on high. If you're using charcoal grill, set it up for medium heat.

2. Remove and discard the fat just inside the body cavities of the chicken. Remove the package of giblets, and throw them at whoever you're cooking with. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water, then drain and blot dry, inside and out, with paper towels.

3. As liberally as you can, spread 4-5 tablespoons of the marinade on the chicken. Get it in all the nooks and crannies.

4. Open a can of beer, drink or pour out about 1/3 of the beer. With a church key opener, make another few holes on the top of the beer. Put a spoonful of the marinade inside the can of beer.

5. Slide the chicken upright onto the can of beer so it looks like it's sitting on it.

6. When you're ready to grill, place the chicken beer-can-side down and spread out the legs to make a kind of tripod on the grate. For both kinds of grill, make sure you're using indirect heat so don't place the chicken directly over the flames or charcoals. (For gas grills, you can just use one of the burners instead of both)

7. Turn the grill down to a little above medium, and cook for 2 hours until the chicken is toasty and beautiful.

8. Invite your neighbors, neighbors' dogs, friends, ex-lovers, and the like and enjoy this awesome recipe.