Lots of things going on!

Sorry it has been a busy month here it is September and I see I had no posts in August at all.   Well Here goes a couple :)
As you know Sandy is a big couponer - and that includes Groupon and Living Social too.  Well she got an email about a thing called "Chef Unplugged".  This is a repeating event with different chefs and appetizers.  Chef Ben Vaughn from the Food Network show "Health Inspectors" is the main chef, with "celebrity" chefs rotating through.  The chef for the event I went to was Emily Ellyn from Food Network star show this year.  Both couldn't have been more sociable and friendly in a very intimate setting.  The menu was very eclectic, with themes from the chef's perspectives. Ben's was southern comfort items and Emily's  is retro rad - "raid your grandmother's cookbook and put your spin on it!"  Anyway here is the menu for that evening:

• Humpty Dumpty Devilish Egg Canapes with Cracked black pepper edible spoons (they were pretty cool) and pickled pearl onions (Emily's)
• Peas Pudding Hot - Yorkshire Pudding with Maple Leaf Farms Duck Fat with Maple Leaf Farms Candied Duck Bacon Jam (Ben's)
• Duck Duck Beef -Roasted Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast, Smoked Brasstown Beef Osso Buco Stuffing with Grilled Southern Grit Cake and Lemon Preserves. (Ben's)
• I'm a Little Tea Cake - Short and Stout! Chocolate Tea Cake with Rose Water Frosting. (Emily's)

Duck Duck BEEF - Really good

There was also a nano-brewery there from Yorkville IL - Three Angels Brewery... Extremely good craft beers - and brewed by some people with a real passion for local sourcing...     Check out their link too...
Three Angels Brewing

All of the little plates were very good...    Here are some links if you want to know more about the chef's history and future.  Great people shared some great stories from their lives and their shows...  



 

Ben, myself and Emily

Emily Ellyn's Home Page       

Ben Vaughn's twitter page

Not cooking per se` but interesting none the less

Hi everyone.... While it isn't really cooking I wanted to post some pics of a project I (as well as others) have been working on.  We recently had our kitchen floors refinished and sold our table we have had for 11-12 years so my sister in law Jan gave us the idea of using some old lumber from a machine shed we tore down at least 15 years ago we had saved in our barn..   So we did just that I found some old Ponderosa Pine (cue theme from Bonanza here) and had a person from Sandy's company that makes furniture in his spare time agree to make the table...  He did a Fabulous Job!!
Here are some pics from beginning to end of the making of the table top!!


Here is the old wood before power washing

Same board after washing

Tabletop after cutting to size and planing

 

Now it's looking like a table - double biscuit and cleated together... HEAVY

BEAUTIFUL

 Now comes the frame!! Sandy had seen an example of many frames on the web and I liked the pipe base... So off to Home Depot and Menards we go.. We proceeded to buy out all of the flanges, nipples and elbows they had and Friday night I got started....  It is kind of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle - you have to remember when you tighten one, you may loosen another so you had to think through the steps in the right order..  Well what do you think?  Thanks to all that helped (even Ike that helped me assemble the chairs too!)

Dry fitting the frame

Engineering all the placements

Fitting it on the table 

Finished Product

New addition to the family

Now that I have your attention.... It isn't what you think... It is a new grill to Ike's Grill Team... (It's the Big Weber Ranch Kettle Grill on the right....

Check out the fleet...    Some are old, some are new... But they all have a purpose....

Note the Boss down in front!

It's Cherry Time

Happy Fouth of July to all!!
First of all a note out to all our Veterans - both current as well as from years past.  Thank you for your service - without which we would not be celebrating today or enjoying our freedoms (we sometimes take for granted) every day!

Well it is moving from Strawberry to Cherry season and is now Red Raspberry Season at the farm too.

I got some very nice strawberries from my Aunt Georgianna a couple of weeks ago and stemmed and IFF (individually flash froze) them and then stored them in airtight containers for future use.  They were very nice.

My Father-In-Law Ken, has had Cherry trees at his various houses and my wife has fond (and sometimes not so fond) of memories picking cherries growing up.  So when we were told Cherries are ready - come and pick 'em - I was excited - Sandy, notsomuch..... :)..

Anyway I picked enough for a pie -and a couple of attempts at some cherry turnovers.  So here is the story in pictures..


That doesn't look like very many but trust me!

After washing, pitting and addding about 3 cups of sugar, 3Tbsp of Corn Starch and some Lemon juice and Vanilla
Cooked them down to remove some of the liquid

Example of my Little Cherry Turnovers

Pie Before

Pie After

 Oh and by the way.. First Tomato    Not too big but vine ripened and very tasty..

Ribs and other "short" stories

Well,  as promised in the last installment, I cooked and shredded the remaining chicken from the marinate/rub and made chicken enchiladas with Mole sauce.  I have to admit I did not make the mole from scratch, I used a packet -  and I thought it was OK - not great, but not bad...  The chicken was very good - sweet with a little after heat - I think that marinate recipe is a keeper.  As much as I like mole sauce, it just didn't have that silky texture I was looking for -  but I'll keep looking but if anyone has a good Mole Sauce recipe from scratch please post it! :)

Anyway, another short-rib story.  Tried the Dr. Pepper ribs again but used my Ninja to only dirty one pot.  It worked great, Seared the ribs, sweated the vegetables, deglazed, and finished in the "oven" setting all in one container and even then kept then warm by using the buffet setting when in used as a slow cooker...  Gotta say at first I thought it was a gimmick but the more I dig into what you can do with this - it is pretty cool...  Anyway recipe is out there already but the sauce you get when your strain out the vegetables, and reduce is silky, and so flavorful... You just can't beat that release of collagen that happens when you successfully extract it...  I just think if you haven't tried short ribs - this is a recipe for you... And frankly, I would even think a pot roast would be pretty good like this too..  Here's a pic...  served over Cheesy Polenta (I had this same combo in Disney during our last trip there Epcot's Italian area - sorry Mickey, mine was better :))

Oh a plug for Ikey too - Our friends at the Oswego Petsmart always have some special events for their Doggie Day camp attendees... and we always try to get Ike some time out there both to help him burn off some energy during non-hunting season as well as keeping his socialization with people and other dogs up - I really think that is one of the reasons he is so good with children and other dogs..
Anyway, they recently had, since it is the season, a "Doggie Prom" and Ike was nominated as Prom King and WON.  So he is now King Ike.... (jeez, don't let it go to his head - he already runs this castle).. Anyway here is one of the pics we submitted for voting....   Note he is a Blackhawks fan

Cinco De Mayo

Hi everyone..
Lots of good stuff going on this weekend - The Kentucky Derby, Cinco De Mayo, just to name a couple...  As for the "Run For The Roses" lets just say I shouldn't quit my day job  - my handicapping this year left a lot to be desired...  I have had some pretty decent luck the last few years cashing a winning ticket or two every year for the past 5 or 6 but NOT THIS YEAR... completely skunked..  Oh well - it still is the fastest 2 minutes in sports. :)
As for Cinco De Mayo  - we had been planning on trying a new recipe for a chicken marinate, and then grilling and making some fajitas and I have to say the marinate was very good.  Here is is:

This will be for about 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1/4 tsp salt (I used smoked salt)
1/8 tsp Pepper
1Tbsp packed Dark Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
10 Taco sized flour tortillas (I used some flour and some smaller corn tortillas - I liked the corn better)

In a small bowl (or resealable bag) combine chili powder, cumin, paprika, red pepper, salt, pepper, and brown sugar.  Mix well.
Add Oil and mix again  - it will be moist but crumbly.
Rub on chicken generously and let stand at room temp for 30 mins OR cover (reseal bag) and place in refrig for up to 1 day.
Preheat gas grill (or you can broil in oven if you choose) cook about 5 minutes per side and then let cool for 5 minutes.  Slice into strips

Warm tortillas, as directed.. Serve with salsa, sour cream, cilantro, avocado slices and a squeeze of lime...  

What we did was make them like fajitas - using the steel grill pans..  we grilled some onions, tomatoes and  sweet peppers as well...

Tonight I am going to try Mole sauce and grill the rest of the chicken and make enchilladas in covered in Mole and cheese..  I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Prep work and the grill pans

Lots of color

Added a little cheese, salsa and sour cream

It's Grillin' Time - Finally!

Well warm weather has sure been a long time coming to Northern IL, and when it has warmed up it proceeded to rain 8 inches over 2 days so  today when the sun came out and the temperature hit the upper 70s it was time to break out (and break in) the new grill.

I decided I didn't need that big grill with the fridge and warming drawer any longer and sold it on Craig's List...  I planned on getting a smaller gas grill and perhaps getting a bigger smoker.. But while at Sears I saw this model on sale and decided to pull the trigger on it.  It is pretty cool, it has a side burner, and rotisserie as well as Sear burner so I should be all set for grilling...  But what it also has is a small oven with separate controls and burner..  Not too big but I bet it would make a pretty good batch of that new cornbread recipe I shared last month!

 All Stainless Steel and if I had natural gas piped to it, it could be converted....



The Oven is on the right side  - it even has it's own timer....  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well I broke it in with a steak and pork chop and really what I wanted to really talk about from a cooking standpoint.  Recently I have been seeing these mini-sweet peppers in resealable bags.  Small sweet peppers in red,  yellow and orange.  Even though they are small (and usually the smaller the pepper the hotter the pepper) these are not hot at all.  So I thought hey how about stuffing them with some cream cheese and roasting them.  They were GREAT but I think I will have to invest in a pepper roasting rack shortly...  Anyway - had them with some yellow corn and butter noodles with a Charred RARE Strip Steak tonight...  (Sandy had the pork chop)

Ikey watched intently from the back door.... and he sure enjoyed the nice weather - running like a mad man chasing the rabbits out of his back yard...

I know I should have more color on the plate but  it sure tasted good!

 

Ninja Cooking System

I know, I know, here he is with another gadget.. But really I have to say that outside of a good Cast Iron Dutch Oven this tool really can allow you to cook a meal in a single pot. 
For those of you that don't know, the Ninja cooking system is kind of a crock pot on steroids.  You can slow cook, turn it down to "warm" for a buffet type service but also cook in a very small oven type environment as well as steam cook thus shortening the cooking time for most larger items.

Ninja Recipes

My experience has been (as mentioned earlier Siopao recipe) with Dr Pepper infused Pork Shoulder for Pulled Pork and for Easter an 8 lb standing Rib Roast.  All done in less time and with less mess than one would think.

As I mentioned, one pot - I seared both large cuts of meat in the Ninja - placing them directly on the cooking surface - removed them to the metal rack and then used what ever appropriate steaming liquid for each cut of meat...  (Dr Pepper for the Pork Shoulder and Red Wine and Beef Stock for the Rib Roast).   Both were done in much shorter period of time - Beautiful thing about the Ninja lid, it has a hole in the top that allows a digital thermometer to go through it so I didn't even have to open the lid to know when it was done...

Anyway, I have a few pics of the cooking system - and I have to give my neighbor Tammie the "props" for turning me on to the "Ninja".. It really does work...

Going to roast a pheasant or two soon....  Ike and I will let you know how that goes..... :)

All the parts  even a small muffin pan



All controls are right in front temp and or time is adjusted with dial on the right

Here is the basket that meet can sit on - 8 lb roast is about as big as you can fit

Siopaos

Hi everyone;
Another long lag in the posting of on Cooking with Ike.  I had seen this recipe earlier on "The Cooking Channel" and was intrigued by it.  I had never had these before but it looked like a very good use of some pulled pork we had done in our new Ninja Cooking system before Easter (more on that tool later) so I just decided to thaw out the pork, and go for it.
I had boiled some of the Farm's eggs as well so I had all of the stuffing ingredients so just needed to make the dough and steam the end product.  I won't to into details of the recipe here (it was for quite a few (I cut the recipe in 1/3 and it still made a dozen of the little steamed buns...)
One thing I think is important - weigh out the size of the dough for each siopao keeping them consistent size will help in the steaming...    They were very filling and very good with some Sweet and Smoky BBQ sauce...
Here is the link to the recipe...
Siopao recipe

After steaming

See the Hard boiled egg  - wish I would have stuffed more meat in them
 

Cornbread

Hi everyone... Its been a while and sorry about that!  But as you all know I am quite fond of Bar B Que and smoking of various meats from Brisket to Ribs to even Pheasant so it won't surprise you to learn My Brother Stan and I made a trek to the north side of Chicago to go to a "Smoking Class" put on by Jared Leonard, Owner and proprietor of Rub BBQ company.  It was a great time and I would HIGHLY recommend trying their food....  check out their web site www.BackCountryQ.com  Jared is a great guy and VERY passionate about his BBQ...

He has some secret rub and other recipes  but what I am going to share with you today is to me one of the most unique cornbread recipes I have ever had and I want to make sure Jared gets all the credit.
Here goes:
Custard Filled Cornbread
Ingredients:
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking POWDER
1/2 teaspoon baking SODA
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons butter Melted
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Whole Milk
1 1/2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Sweet Corn kernels (DO NOT USE CANNED)
1 Cup Heavy Cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*.  Butter an 8 inch square baking dish and place it in the HOT oven while you prepare the batter.  Stir or sift together the flour, cornmeal, backing powder and baking soda.  In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and add the melted butter (slowly) and beat until well blended.  Add the sugar, salt, milk, corn and vinegar and beat well. (If you mix the vinegar and the milk together in a 2 cup measuring cup and let it sit for a few minutes the milk will start to sour (in a good way) and take on some of the characteristics of buttermilk.  Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture just until the batter is smooth.  Remove the HOT backing dish from the oven and pour the batter into the heated dish.  SLOWLY pour the heavy cream directly into the center of the batter.  DO NOT STIR.  carefully place the dish back in the oven and check after 45 minutes.  It is done when the top becomes lightly browned.  IT WILL BE jiggly...   do not expect it to be firm at that time. 
Serve warm with honey on the side.

Notice the distinct layers

 
I have made it twice and each time it has come out perfectly.  I think I might try adding finely diced jalapenos to the batter or some fresh sage or thyme...   Notice how the custard floats to the middle of the cornbread - the hot pan sets the bottom crust and the leavening causes the rest of the batter to envelope the creamy custard. 

It isn't overly sweet so it goes well with BBQ

Ike and I and our fed ex man Mike had our last Continental and clean up a couple weeks ago and More on Ike's exploits there.. But let's just say that he may have turned the corner on retrieving on that day.  More to Come....  Until then... "Ike, Find that Bird!":

New Pork recipe

Hi everyone;
Sandy found a new recipe and it happen to coincide with a very good price per pound on Whole Pork Loins so we splurged and got a couple. 
The recipe calls for using Dried Cherries, Cherry Juice and Preserves but we made a slight alteration and changed the fruit to Dried Cranberries, Cranberry Juice and Apricot Preserves.  Really pretty simple "Crock Pot" recipe.. Here Goes:

1 3-3 1/2 # Pork Loin
4 oz Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup Apricot or Peach or Pear Preserves

1/2 cup Cranberry Juice
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
2-3 T Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Combine Dried fruit, preserves, juice and vinegar in your Crock Pot.  Stir to combine and turn on High.
While liquids are warming, take a 3-3 1/2 # pork loin dry and season liberally with Salt and cracked black pepper on all sides.
Heat Olive Oil in Large Skillet to just short of smoking (This will splatter so perhaps a splatter shield would be in order) and brown all side of Loin (don't forget the ends too).  Now I didn't do this but perhaps you could leave a little of the Juice back and deglaze the pan for the fond - I didn't and wish I did.... Or even add a little extra juice - the flavor will be worth it.
Once Loin is Browned on all sides remove from pan and place in Crock Pot on top of the Berries, preserves and juice.

Place on lid and cook on high until Pork registers 145* on Instant read thermometer.  (should take about 4 hours or so)

When Pork is done, remove to plate or carving board, tent with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes (or until your sauce gets reduced).
Remove liquid from crock pot and place in Sauce pan and on high heat reduce by 1/3.  At this time I also made a corn starch and water slurry of 2 T corn starch and 1/3 cup water.  I shook to combine and added it as necessary to thicken the sauce...  (You may not want or need to do that - I am just saying I did)..

Slice Pork after it has rested, and serve with vegetable and starch of your choice ... ( I used my "Crashed Potatoes" again here)
It was very tasty...The fruit re hydrated nicely and Sandy gave it a 12 out of 10 and compared the sauce to a "Sweet and Sour" sauce and that makes sense with the sweetness of the fruit and the Red Wine vinegar..
Hope it turns out well for you - After the browning it really is a set and forget recipe for the next 4 hours...
Sorry got to go now Ike is snoring in the chair...

Happy New Year

It has been quite a quite a while since my last post - been busy at work and sick for the past 3 weeks. But I have quite a few images of different meals and items. I won't go into all the recipes but wanted to show you a few of the outcomes..


Peanut Free Streusel Crunch Cake (secret ingredient Sour Cream)

This was done for my family's Christmas celebration - We have a peanut allergy in the house and all the foods (especially deserts) that you don't really know about makes it easier to make from scratch... Just did a google search for Peanut Free desert recipes and WOW there are lots of options.




Crescent roll mini taco bowls before cooking

These next two were necessity is the mother of invention - Football games - and snacks - and the pop tubes of crescent rolls about to expire...  Well we had some taco meat left over and thought, "why not...???"


 








After cooking Great little snack

They puff up pretty well and the dough was sweet and made a nice counter point to the heat of the taco seasoning














Maple syrup/brown sugar Acorn Squash with Mustard sauces Pork tenderloin 

This was a recipe my wife found in one of her magazines (for the pork) and I wanted to try the Acorn Squash   - while it took a little coordination to get it all to come together at one time it really worked well.   The incorporation of apples and apple juice or cider in the sauce ties the flavors together. Pork Tenderloin is so versatile and is like a blank canvas ready to paint with what ever seasoning you like.







Chicken Cactatore -  

This one is one of my favorites - While the McCormick recipe card (that comes along with all the herbs and seasoning you need) recommends cubed Chicken breasts I am partial to thighs - while it adds a little more time to the cooking process - the silky texture of the sauce provided by the breakdown of the collagen was worth the wait....  I highly recommend it.
 .








Pheasant Pot Pie Before

I saved the best for last - at least from Ike's perspective - We went hunting yesterday and Ike really did well- he was finding birds,  and even retrieved a few to hand for me.  I was very proud of him.  So in honor of his effort I wanted to make a pheasant pot pie.  So I boned the pheasant, checked for shot, cubed the meat and browned in the skillet.  Removed from skillet and then cooked some lardons of bacon to render out the fat so I could sweat out the carrots, celery and onions for about 5 minutes.  I then added a clove of finely chopped garlic and about 12 oz of sliced mushrooms.  I let those go for about another 5 minutes and then added one can of Cream of celery soup.  I added 1/2 can of milk and about 4 oz of Chicken stock.   I then added about 3 small potatoes I had cubed in 1/2 in cubes and parboiled  earlier.  I added a little (about 3 tablespoons) of the potato water to add a little more thickener.  Added about 1/2 cup each frozen peas and corn and tightened up the sauce a little bit and transferred it to two pre greased pie pans (or in my case one pie pan and one 8x8 casserole dish) and sprinkled a little shredded cheese on them.  I made a Bisquick crust - (pretty much right off the box with two little additions - added some poultry seasoning to the  mix and also sprinkled some more cheese on the top...  Baked at 400* for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and delicious... And it was - Perhaps a little more spice could be added but don't want to hide the taste of the pheasant... 

Pheasant Pot Pie  - After - Bisquick crust

Thanks Ikey - You did "Go find that Bird"!!!