Woodford Reserve Steak Marinade

Great marinating everything from steaks to ice cubes. 
Just use a great cut o' meat!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Woodford Reserve
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients together, add meat and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Cook meat on grill, basting with remaining marinade. Serves 4-6.

Garam Masala

This easy-to-make spice blend is the heart of most Indian Dishes.

A combination of different spices, it probably has as many recipes as there are families in India! Here is a basic one. Once you get a feel for the taste it gives your cooking, experiment and alter it to suit your needs.

Garam masala is best made fresh just before you begin cooking, but if you haven’t got the patience (like me!), make a batch ahead and store for several months in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsps coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)
• 1 ½ tsps dry ginger
• ¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)
• ¾ tsp cloves
• ¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)
• ¾ tsp crushed bay leaves

Preparation:

• Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.
• When the spices are roasted turn off the heat and allow them to cool.
• Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices.

Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder

The Best Chocolate Ice Cream

Doesn't this look mouthwateringly delicious? Would be a slam dunk for a dinner party.






Makes almost a quart

You'll need:
1 can (14-ounce/400 grams) sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup (180 grams) whole milk
3/4 cup (175 grams) heavy cream
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
1/4 cup (25 grams) cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (or two tablespoons freshly-brewed espresso)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of fine sea salt
5 teaspoons (12 grams) cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

In a heavy-bottomed large pan, whisk sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and heavy cream until combined. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Take off heat and add the finely-chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk until the chocolate melts and the cocoa powder is completely dissolved.

Mix cornstarch and cold water in a bowl with a fork until completely dissolved, and add to the ice cream base. Whisk until combined.

Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan to prevent burning, until thickened, for 8-10 minutes.

Transfer to a heatproof bowl and set aside, uncovered, to cool for half an hour. Don't worry if a skin forms on top. When the bowl is cool enough to handle, cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly--preferably overnight--in the refrigerator.

Before transferring the chilled ice cream to the freezer, stir or whisk to dissolve the skin on top and scrape into a container. Cover with plastic, this time pressing the wrap against the ice cream to create an airtight seal; put the lid on (or cover with an additional layer of plastic wrap) and freeze until firm enough to scoop.

Maple Bacon Pork Loin

With the Holiday Season coming up and our work schedules full, I'm looking for some Quick and Easy Meals to prepare.
This recipe from Zestuous fits the bill well since I do like a great pork loin.

 

Yield: 5 servings

• ½ lb. bacon
• 2 beets
• 2 potatoes
• ½ onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground marjoram
• ¼ tsp. ground coriander
• ¼ tsp. ground thyme
• ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 pounds pork loin
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Drain and crumble.

Cube the beets, potatoes and onion. Add in the Crock-Pot with chopped garlic and cooked bacon.

Combine the seasonings and rub all over the pork loins.

Place the loins in the bacon fat and cook on medium heat for five minutes. Flip and cook for five more minutes.

Set the pork on top of the veggies. Combine the water, syrup and Worcestershire sauce and pour over the meat.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Serve and enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Syrup

Yield: 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and diced, or thawed frozen unsweetened strawberries (about 3 cups)

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the strawberries are soft and the syrup is thickened and reduced by one-third to one-half in volume, 15 to 18 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature before serving. (If thinner syrup is desired, strain the hot syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container and let cool.)

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan Sage Crust

My Crew and I like simple fried pork chops for a quick mid-week dinner.
This is a great recipe to "dress up" the chops for guests.  They are delish!





Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 large eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 boneless center-cut pork loin chops (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges (optional)
Orange wedges (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, sage and lemon peel in pie dish. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Place flour on plate; season generously with salt and pepper. Coat pork chops on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Dip chops into eggs, then coat on both sides with breadcrumb mixture.
Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet with pork to oven. Bake until pork chops are crisp on the outside and meat thermometer inserted into pork registers 150°F, about 20 minutes.
Transfer pork chops to plates. Garnish with lemon wedges and orange wedges, if desired, and serve.

Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Had a version of this at Carrabba's.  Like the idea, but not the dish as prepped by them.  Even searching the web didn't yield a recipe I thought I'd like.  Friend Joey, told me about his success with this one.
Ooh, guys, it's just fantas.



Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

16 ounces cavatappi pasta
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
4 slices white sandwich bread
1⁄4 cup flour
4 cups milk
8 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons brandy or cognac
1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
16 ounces cooked lobster meat, cut into 1″ chunks (meat from approximately 5 1-1/4 pound lobsters)
3 tablespoons chives, minced
2 scallions, sliced

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, cutting cooking time on package in half. Drain pasta and set aside.
Combine shredded cheeses in a bowl, and toss well to combine. Set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in microwave or in a pan over low heat. Remove crusts from bread and discard. Tear remaining bread into tiny bits, and place in a small bowl. Add melted butter, and toss to coat breadcrumbs evenly. Set aside.

In a large saucepan or stock pot, melt remaining butter over medium heat.

Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour mixture is smooth and just starting to darken.

Slowly whisk in milk and simmer, whisking frequently, until sauce has thickened, about ten minutes.

Remove pan from heat, and stir in 2-1/2 cups of the shredded cheese mixture, the mascarpone, and the brandy.

Add cayenne and nutmeg. Stir until cheese is melted and incorporated, and adjust salt and pepper, as needed.

Add half of the lobster.

Add cooked pasta to cheese sauce.

Add half of the chives, and half of the scallions. Stir well to combine.

Transfer mixture to a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle with fresh breadcrumbs and the remaining shredded cheese mixture. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, and finish with a sprinkle of the remaining lobster, chives and scallions.