Gazpacho de-constructo

I love this soup.  It's the end of summer and what a better way to celebrate it than the ugly heirloom tomato.  The uglier the more delicious.  Start by picking the ugliest three pounds of tomatoes you can find.  cut them in half and grate them on a box grater.  Push through a sieve or bain marie extracting the juice and discarding seeds and excess flesh.  cut six inches off of a baguette and strip the outer crust off.  and make some cubes.  soak these in warm water.  and wring out after a few minutes.  chop this up with some smoked sea salt and a garlic clove or two if you like garlic.  add some olive oil and make a fine paste of this.  then whip into the juice with a whisk.  refrigerate.

for the relish fine dice red pepper, fennel, cucumber, celery, tarragon, chive, shallot and splash with balsamic and toss with just a touch of olive oil.  chill in fridge.
slice the baguette long ways and coat with olive oil.  and put it on a baking sheet and convection roast on 350 until they are croutons.  while still hot rub garlic clove on them.
when you serve make a mound of relish in the middle and ladle the gazpacho around the relish.  garnish with crouton...
a nice addition to this would be fresh boiled lobster or rock shrimp.
if you love heat.  try incorporating some smokey dried chipotle peppers to the mix...  reconstitute them and use the left over water for your bread soak.  then rub the flesh onto the mesh screen and discard the skins.

half sours

I'm experimenting with fermentation.  Pickling cukes.  trying to find that ultimate bite I had that one time in the east village.  The pickle was bright green and crunchy and the flavor really was fresh and not too salty, no vinegar and just a touch of sourness.  the subtle pickling spice enhancing the natural pickle.  Cnt find em here in TX.  Ba'a tempte attempts but is too salty and has other preservatives in there to keep on a shelf.
So on the heals of summer and fresh cukes abound.  I started going for it.  Here is what I learned so far.
If you are gunna go for this go large.  I pickle at least two dozen at a time.
use Two bunches of Dill, one beneath and on above the pickles.
1. Start by picking only fresh firm pickles...  with out these don't bother.  wait for fresh ones.
2. Bath them in ice water for an hour or even two if ya like.   This gets them even firmer and they perk up to a lively light green color.  Pickling them in this state retains this color and firmness.
3.  Use pickling spice mix or if you can buy bulk spices assemble your own for cheap. Yellow or brown  Mustard seeds, all spice, clove, juniper berry, tellicherry peppercorns, bay leaf, whole coriander... add a few bulbs of garlic.  (I just added fresh pequin peppers and cayenne peppers from my garden s well)
3.1  I just picked about five small green tomatoes from my patio tomato plant ad added them to the cold cukes)
4.  VERY IMPORTANT use only drinking water and pickling salt.  everything else will have impurities and cloud your brine or worse dull and soften your cukes.
5.  the standard I found was about 1 TBS salt to 1 Cup of distilled or filtered water.  I still think its a touch too salty.   So I am trying 3 TBS and five cups in this new batch of of these fresh cukes, green tomatoes and a few chiles...  the brine tastes amazing already.  you want enough salt in there to start the culture and get that healthy bacteria going
6.  fill a ziplock bag with water and place on top of your cucumbers and keep them submerged for three days on the countertop then into the fridge.  I place them in individual jars and place them in the fridge.  I may keep a few five days and up to a week this time.  see what happens.  usually saltier, more sour and probably less snap.  maybe even less color..  but I do know for sure after three days they are unbelievable.

TX Style BBQ Brisket

O.K. this is to cool...  I smoke briskets several times a year and its like a sport.  I can see why they compete.  There is so much care put into these babies.  and I am cooking these particular four giant packers for the one and only Ian Maclagan of the Faces, the newest inductee into the rock and roll hall of fame.  It's his birthday and a friend recommended me for the gig.  It was kind of last minute bu I hear his parties are epic.  they are expecting 100 or more.
I made ranch beans and TX style potato salad as sides + a home made BBQ sauce with espresso  (a little something I ripped off from Aaron Franklin of franklin's world class BBQ).
I like to use old mesquite when I can...  couldnt find it.  It is sweet after a long burn.  The young mesquite can be bitter.  However, I always love Hickory in a long smoke and chose Pecan wood to join it this time around...  I also like Oak.  Franklin uses  an Oak and Hickory blend.
My rub was a classic cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, course ground peppercorns, brown sugar, himalayan pink salt, and maybe a smidge of another thing or two....  I borrowed a bullet smoker from a friend because mine was too small for the amount meat I was smoking...  I needed to use both.  and they were a little different in their timing...  kepping the temp steady.  eventually i got the rhythm of them both down.  I check in every hour and half or even two and can start a new chimney and add new coals to the smokers fairly quickly.  They have been holding steady around 200...  I need 225 but I'll take steady a 200 if thats what it's giving me.  they are really large so they could take a while.  usually an hour and half per pound so...  I got them started at 4pm and I serve at 7pm till its gone.

I'll wrap them around 2pm and set them in my ice coolers on some towels...  and they should seal in the heat and keep them at temperature for at least 2 and half to 3 hours. At 4pm i'll get them back on the fire at the site and finish them for a couple of hours...  or maybe the big ones will need more time.? we'll just have to see.
Mac is an englishman but a Texan for many years now...  He has a several acres in Manor and this will be a field party of Austin musicians and cats on the scene...  I'm pretty stoked,  It's a lot of work...  but will be  lot of fun.  I am gunna nap now and do the 2hr naps til noon if I can pull it off.

Party was a success.  Mac is a sweet man and he has great friends.  The Party went late.  Best part was late night in the studio hangin and listening to tunes.  The brisket got rave reviews and that made me feel real good.  It was nice to be there.  When I got home though, I was exhausted.  Dead and beat up... I may never work a party alone again.  ever.  That was ridiculous.  I am still trying to recover and it's Monday night.
I needed two hot tub soaks and some deep tissue massage this morning just to get close to normal.

I'll probably do another brisket this weekend...  serve it with my pickles

mediterranean

Lamb chops, tabouli salad, and hummos

smoked sea salt, pepper and five spice and throw them on a hot grill...  dont burn em but get a good sear and flip...   dont over cook lamb.  this good cut needs to be med rare and the fat needs to cook to get melty yummy.

I like a tabouli with tons chopped parsley and mint.  cubes of cucumber and tomato in a lemon, olive oil and salt dressing.  that's it

Hummus I like lemony...  so I make sure there is plenty of that.  you can discover your own blend of good olive oil, cooked chick peas, garlic, salt (smoked is outrageous in this) tahini, and lemon.  blend in your cuisine art for perfect creamy hummus.  I like a healthy amount of garlic too.  not too much but I like to know it's there and mid level of tahini...  keep adding to get the flavor you like.  and keep tabs of how much so you know how to make it perfect for your taste buds every time.

that is all for now.  I'll be back with much more soon as I have discovered how to download my pics from my new phone.

i got an iphone

and my computer is not being friendly with the camera.  I have been cooking up a storm and will blog about the month in one afternoon.   sorry for the delay.  but folks need pictures.

white asparagus with leeks and vanilla pepper

You have to peel the stalks, they are touch,  then a quick blanche.  Olive oil and whole garlic cloves in a pan.  Cut a clean leek, about 3 inches long in half.  and make slices long ways and add to the pan.  Add the blanched white asparagus and get some color going...  This is the same night I made the maryland crab soup and the blackened redfish and I had this nice white wine around so I added about 1/8 of a cup to the mix and let a little sauce form.  Toped with a little vanilla pepper which is kind of sweet a bland of vanilla bean, peppercorn salt and sugar...  it was awesome.  a great compliment to the redfish dish.

Blackened Redfish over fresh tomato sauce and yukon gold medallions

Blackening is an amazing way to cook any hearty white fish. Catfish and Redfish are my favorites...  (hard not to fry a catfish).
The redfish was looking oh so good and on special the other day...  I got after it.  I made a pretty standard blacken seasoning without the cayenne and light on the salt.  The recipients of this dish do not have spicy palates.   Traditionally you melt some butter and dip the fish in the butter and then seasoning then straight into a scorching hot skillet.  I substituted grape seed oil for the butter and got a good sear on the one side.  I had peeled potatoes boiling on the back burner.  On the front I cooked some garlic in olive oil.  I blanched about eight cluster tomatoes with an X cut on the bottom.  the skins came right off and they were ready to add to my garlic and hot oil.  they cooked down for a while...  I helped it with some nice white wine, about a half a cup, when I had a sauce working I pureed with some fish stock bouillon and that sufficed my savory.  no salt.
I threw the red fish fillets on a sheet pan and finished them in the oven at 350 with the convection on. When the potatoes were soft I pulled them and sliced medallions with a slicing knife so not to break them.  and placed two on top of a ladle of the red sauce, and then the Redfish.  I served with a side of white asparagus with leeks and vanilla pepper.
It was a hit.

the sauce

Maryland Style Crab Soup

Every now and again I remember my MD roots.  My family moved to Gaitherburg, MD in 1979.  Ripping me from the soulful Austin, TX in the seventies...  I never lost my accent.  I missed Austin so much I moved back as an adult in 1998 not really knowing anyone.  Stayed for six years...  and now I'm back here again. Austin will always have a hold on me.  There are things I take with me though from all of the fine places I get to travel to and live.  The first thing I remember falling in love with, culinarily speaking was Chesapeake bay crabs.  We'd have them in the summer with corn and we'd pick them up steamed from the local fish market by the bushel.  You'd sit and pick all day long til yer fingers stung and your mouth was tingling.  Stinky, dirty  fun.  I even scooped the mustard and ate it all up.   Later on when I got to New Orleans I found I was a natural for crawfish eatin and head suckin due to my early experience with MD crabs.

Every now and again I get a hankering for some good ol' crab soup,  It is extremely satisfying and healthy too.  I started this one with a chopped leek and a few garlic cloves, one diced carrot and celery stalk in some olive oil....  a good pull of white wine, at least a cup.  I add my spices here.   Celery seed, cayenne, white pepper, dry mustard, paprika, any italian dry herb blend, and a bay leaf.  You could also add a touch of all spice, clove, cardamum, ginger, nutmeg here.  This will mimic your traditional Old Bay seasoning.  You can use Old bay but be careful of the salt that come with it.  I find I want more of the spice an less of the salt.  Then I add some nice strained tomato, try the Mutti brand (17 oz. )with only italian tomato or Pomi brand (24 oz).  if you use Pomi reserve 10 oz or so for later use.  Use tomato in a carton or jar as opposed to canned, always.
Add four fresh shucked sweet corn from the cob,  one diced zucchini, half a diced sweet onion, a diced red pepper, and finally a full pound of lump carb meat, you could use claw if you are on a budget, will be fine.  Most restaurant style soup like this will be claw and only a half a pound....  so you are really going for it here with crab flavor and actual chunks of crab in every bite.  I add some smoked sea salt to taste and cracked black pepper.  Some fresh parsley is nice to finish.  I had some cilantro and it was perfect and bright at the end.  Add a touch more wine if you can't feel it.  Mine was drunk enough at this point.  I may have added a heavy cup at the top though...  Ooopsie.  I love this soup!

here's better look at the soup pot.  CHUNKY!

Fried Oyster Taco

Fried Oyster taco?  O.K. but for breakfast???  Sure why not?  Me and Cray Cray were celebrating something I know we were staying home from the SXSW interactive part one night because we had an early morning with AYREP (Austin Young Real Estate Professionals).  She was going to the event and had a hand in getting me on board as entertainment.  Playing my tunes in North Austin at the bright hour of 9am.  We woke up at 7am!  Any of y'all who know me know this is really something.  Turned out to be my only SXSW event and I was happy to get paid and get on with the music part of it all.
We got 2 Dozen Oysters and champagne cocktails going early.  I shuck 'em in the back yard and we keep the shells (cleaned ones) for out garden area.  We also had a nice crab cake and salad to go with it after...  we got to wanting those crab cakes after about a dozen and a half so I shucked and saves a half a dozen big boys.
next day or so I got o scrounging around the fridge and we had just enough stuff to put together two tacos.  I have found the key to frying these is get a cast iron skillet crankin' and enough oil to get em covered about a 1/4 ways up but not too much to waste oil or nothing like that.  Use your thermometer and make sure it reads 375.   be careful not to let it touch the skillet.  this is tricky.  I can sorta tell when it's ready but still check cuz it sure does help.  I made a one egg wash.  coated the oysters in tapioca starch, dipped in the egg wash and into the spiced corn meal mix and into the hot skillet, a couple of minutes on each side is really all it needs.  Use your brains here depending on size of the oyster and all...  make sure your oil is hot enough!  I use grape seed oil.  it's clean and does not smell up the house or impart it's flavor on my food.  It has a high burning point and it's good for you.  Use grape seed oil for frying.
On a separate skillet I have been heating  two corn tortillas.  When the oysters are done I place them on a plate with paper towel to drain any excess oil, there isn't much.

I place a dallop of tartar on the tortilla, three big oysters, hot peppers, some avocado, shaved red onion an diced tomato, side of baby spinach (some cabbage woulda been nice here).  and topped all of that with some spicy habanero salsa.  Good morning SXSW I look forward to the fun....  later that night we went to J Muellers BBQ for a DIYevent  about web sites and blogging....  things I need to know about.  We tore up a plate of some world class BBQ brisket, short ribs, pork ribs, sausage and sides, even went back for seconds...  That was a good food day.

Steak, Luchadors, and Leon Russell

Well steak it was.  We got to Bill and Livi's and he had just gone and done it.  Not one but TWO cowboy bone in ribeye steaks.  about an inch and a half thick.  A stalk of brussel sprouts and some baby red bliss.  I got right to work as we were starving and we got to a bit of a late start.  We started with fresh grapefruit poloma style margarita's while I boiled some water for the potatoes.  I took the brussels of the stalk and trimmed them and set them in a casserole dish whole, drizzled with olive oil, salt and garlic powder, and pepper...  a 1/4 inch of chicken stock and into a hot oven...  425.
While we did these we snacked on a wedge salad and sipped our margys.
I had set the steak out for the entire time to bring it to room temp, or as close as I could to it.
When I smelled the brussels they were done and crispy outer shell, and buttery in the middle.  I set them out and turned the oven up even more.  I smashed the red bliss on a baking sheet and covered them with olive oil salt and pepper and into the hot oven (turned it up to 450)....   dalloped them with butter too.
When I started to smell the potatoes they were done too and I started the steak...  beacause of the rain I brought my cat iron skillet and got it real hot.  I liberally salted one side of the steak with my hickory and alderwood smoked sea salts and pepper.  and seared that puppy for 4 almost 5 minutes.  do not touch it until you want to flip it.  I salt and peppered the other side and flipped for 4 minutes,  add a half a stick of butter here and let if foam up and blend with the fat from them meat.  flip the skillet back and spoon the buttery fat over top of the steak for the entire 4 minutes.  Pull from the pan and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

I brought over some NM red chile sauce and in order to tame the heat a bit I dropped some chopped tomato in the cleaned skillet and cooked it down a bit before adding the NM red.   It blended a bit and I poured it onto the lady guadalupe plate,  plated the brussels and potatoes in a bowl side by side,  sliced the rib eye in 1/2 inch thick slices and placed over the sauce.

for desert?  I repeated this process for steak number two.

the soundtrack?  Elton Johns first album on vinyl followed by Leon Russel.  Elton wanted to be Leon.  sounded like the same artist really...  only Leon does something to me that I cant explain.  Somewhere in his voice and in his playing he touches me deeply.   This certainly made the food taste better.

We watched some Los Panchos on youtube and had one last drink before Bill sent us off with the gift of a Mil Mascaras luchador belt buckle.  Bill want to bring back the luchador.   I'm in.

Rainy Day Chowda

It's been rainy and cold all day...  blahh.  The first day of SXSW and I don't want anybody's free beer or food plate.  I just want to sit here and have a michelada and cook in my own kitchen.  We have not had enough  rain or cold for that matter down here this entire winter.  So it's no surprise really that we bring in spring and SXSW with awful weather.  I get it.  haha funny.
I headed out to HEB in the thick of the rain storm and picked up a few things we needed around the house but couldn't shake the feeling that I would be missing a great opportunity to make a clam chowder.  Soon enough it will be bajillion degrees out there no one want a chowder then.  Part of me loves this weather and I miss this part of it a little.   I made a fire when I got home and started my chowda, after I made a michelada, of course.

Here's how I started this one....  render fat from two slices of bacon, and add one chopped onion, smoked sea salt/pepper, cover and sweat.  If I had some celery I'd add a half a chopped stalk here.  I did add a couple of chopped garlic cloves though.  Add one jar of clam juice.  and the juice from three cans.  (when I go big and impressive I go to central market for chopped fresh clams but doxie are just fine and delicious in a pinch)  and three medium white potatoes diced.  When the potatoes are soft make a roux with 3 TBS of butter and 3TBS of your flour of choice and add to the stock.  Then add the chopped clams and 1/2 pint of cream.  Serve and garnish with chopped parsley and more cracked pepper.   This will be delicious tomorrow.  It's delicious now actually and I'm going in for another bowl.

French onion soup with gruyere crouton

I nearly forgot to post this French onion soup.  I began by sweating an organic red and yellow onion cut in medium sized circles.  A little salt and pep and cover the pan.  check and stir a little.  at least 10 minutes maybe longer.  when they are just about to start getting some color on them I hit it with a half a cup of nice white wine.  reduce and add the beef stock.  I have some stock left over from some marrow bones I added to a box of kitchen basics.  I added some fresh herbs here, sage, rosemary and thyme...  I added them whole so I could pull them easily later when I got the flavor I was seeking.  I cut a baguette into rounds and hollowed them and filled with the gruyere.  baked them until they over flowed, crunchy and gooey on the inside.  The crouton comes off like a crouton with a cheesy crisp chip base.
Adding one more big 1/2 cup of red wine near the end I achieved the flavor I was going for.  I like tasting the wine in this.
Some fresh parsley at the end and some parmesan reggiano and drop in the croutons.
this is comfort food at its best.

the meal was followed by a mixed grill of chicken, shrimp, baby octopus, and squid.  They all were marinated in olive oil, garlic, the fresh herb trio, and lemon zest.  when they came off the grill they were sprinkled with red sumac...  there were also grilled eggplant rounds and zucchini.  I drizzled some nice balsamic on them and a sprinkle of dried oregano.

Radio HEad + lots of foods today

I was able to get some Radio Head tickets last minute but had a dinner party at 6:45 so I had to hustle in order to get there on time.  I made chicken tenders and white sauce, a mac and cheese casserole + and stracciatella.

I started by making one pound (undercooked) of gluten free mac and setting aside.  I started the sauce with two TBS of butter and made a roux with tapioca and rice flour adding four cans of evaporated milk.  sweet and delicious and much less fat than cream.   salt, pepper, a lil nutmeg and stir.  I stirred in a few cups of grated gruyere, and a few more of cheddar, some quatro formagi and a some Parmesan.  It was gooey heaven.  stirred in the dried mac and some organic frozen peas and poured into a greased casserole dish.  I made some gluten free bread crumbs with tapioca bread and baked some bacon simultaneously.  I mixed the bread crumbs with some fresh herbs and topped the mac with it + some reserve cheeses and the bacon.
baked for 30 at 350.

left over bread crumbs I mixed with parmesan and coated the chicken tenders after garlic powder, salt and pepper.  coated them in the GF flour, then egg wash, then bread crumb and pan fried in olive oil.  I made a basic white sauce.  started just like the sauce for the mac...  butter, flour roux...  and a few cups of fat free milk, reduce and stir adding parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.  boom.  kids meal done.
there were still some bread crumbs left so I mixed with two eggs and started boiling some chicken broth
with some of my fresh herbs.  I removed the herbs after they imparted their flavor.  Pour the hot broth into the egg, parm and bread crumb mixture and you have italian egg drop soup, the stracciatella.
I also made a quick solo veal parmesan bread the same as the chicken, a nice tomato puree, fresh mozz and baked with the mac.

I roasted a few medium tomatoes on the vine to garnish all of the above.
I cleaned the kitchen and raced to pick up my lil Cray Cray and head off to the Frank Erwin center for one of the greatest concerts I have seen in maybe forever...
We got home and were a little hungry.  I have left over shrimps from our shrimp enchiladas...  heated some tortillas, added a diced tomato to a hot skillet added my shrimps bathed in new mexican red sauce, and some shredded mexican cheese.  when the cheese was melted I filled the tortillas and topped with a slice of avocado.  Complimented by my red bridge michelada.  I did have no turned on any music and wont until tomorrow.  We considered going to see a band after but agreed it would be like going to McDonalds after eating a fine steak dinner.  There is nothing left to do this evening except digest.  Tomorrow there will be another party, and I will probably play my guitar and help them drink some tequila after wards.  I'll let you know the menu when I know something.

every kid loves eggplant parm.  I must still be a kid.  two days in a row now.  I made this batch for my new clients.  I like slicing them long ways and about a 1/4 inch thick.  I like how the eggplant gets creamy at this thickness.  I don't really salt them anymore.  The eggplants I get are not really bitter and I have a hard time getting the saltiness out of the dish.  Smaller organic ones are the way to go.
I make a gluten free flour with tapioca flour and white rice flour, salt ground oregano, ground garlic and pepper.  I make an egg wash and do the dip.  If you have a hot oven and a sheet pan handy, do youself a favor.  Heat the sheet pan wit some oil on it.  Add the floured slices to the pan and bake on high heat with convection...  you can flip them half way.
For the sauce.  I love POMI.  It comes in a carton which is the best way, besides glass to get your tomatoes, cans leach due to the high acidity of tomatoes and can be linked to some stuff you want to stay away from health wise...  stuff like the big C.
I sauteed a half a big leek (white only) a small diced carrot, some garlic cloves and a half a stalk of celery in olive oil for a few minutes...  added some smoked sea salt and some dried oragano.  Then add the Pomi (I used two cartons).+ a little water and cook down a while (half hour or so) and yup you guessed it puree.  Right before pureeing I added some chopped fresh basil...  folks this is the finest sauce I have made in some time.  I write this in part so I do not forget.  The basil was a magic touch.  The leeks were softer classier than an onion.  It was sublime.
Ladle the finished sauce into the baking dish and place a slice of the crisp eggplant on the sauce, top with fresh grated parmesan, more sauce, then grated mozzarella, repeat.  Pictured is two layers...  I made a three layer one on the side for leftovers.  you make the call here.  Top with more mozzarella and bake at 350 with convection for 30 minutes.  Wait at least five or ten here before serving.

While I waited I made some gluten free pasta, a new brand...  I'll inform you of this brand soon.  I got it at central market, it was an italian brand, and it was really over priced at about 7 bucks.  And it was the best, closest thing to real deal I have tried.  While the pasta rolled in salted water (about seven minutes). I slow cooked chopped garlic in two TBS of butter, added a ladle or two of hot chicken stock and simmered.  I pulled the pasta a minute early and finished it in the stock, added chopped parsley and swirled it around with healthy handful of grated parmesan reggiano...  bababooie I'm ITALIAN!...  the kiddos ate it up and the simple buttered pasta was a star.  I was one of those kids.  I'm proud of these two simple dishes tonight.  There is a reason why some things become standards.  Why you will still hear Hogie Carmichael's "Stardust"(written in 1926) a hundred years from now.  Food reminds us of cherished memories.  And sometimes we create new ones.  Tonight was on the mark.

Asparagus soup...  Again, I love my new hand blender.   Easy and delicious.  I started this one with a giant leek and several garlic cloves in olive oil...  when soft I added a load of chicken stock (enough to just cover three bundles of asparagus).  I added the asparagus whole with the bottom tough part cut off.  The skinnier asparagus works better for this.  I let this simmer with a few sprigs of thyme for a good bit until they are really soft.  Remove the sprig and Add chopped fresh parsley and puree away.  Add a half a cup of heavy cream for depth.  Season and serve.  Simple and delicious. (looks like my cauliflower soup only green, huh?)

Cod Fish in Yellow Curry and Coconut Milk

Cod was on special for 4.99 a pound.  I couldn't resist.  Cray Cray loves cod and was craving the curry we had last week with the shrimp, I had some stock left in the fridge.  The yellow curry.

sauté Garlic cloves and onion in a pat of butter...  slowly.  Then add yellow curry powder a 1 TBS (or more if you love a strong curry),  I add a little cayenne here too.   When the onions are translucent and the house smells of curry add the stock, about a cup and a little more.   If you have the time, puree with the hand blender with a 1/4 cup of coconut milk..  you can use more but this is some rich and fattening stuff,  I opt to keep the calories and fat calories down when I cook for my little Cray Cray...  so you do what yer gunna do here.
I added yellow squash, a tomato, asparagus, small chopped potato and a celery stalk and cooked a little while to make sure the potato was soft before adding the cod and covering.
We still eat the low calorie shirataki noodles so I pulled a bag of those and cooked them up on the side to serve the curry with, I also topped it with the last little bit of basil we had.
This dish may have been too low calorie,  I was still a little hungry.  so I made my potato chips a coule of hours later, seasoned with truffle salt and vanilla pepper.  These chips coulda won an award.  Cod was good to.  I will serve the other pound of cod tonight simply prepared with a side of eggplant parm. We bought a lot of cod.

Shrimp and Bay Scallop, Scampi Style with heirloom tomatoes

I had a seafood soup on the mind but I got a special request for scampi (and scallops)... This went with the roasted cauliflower soup anyhow...  so I made a last minute left turn at the market and made my way toward a classic scampi.  I realized I had not made one of these in years so it would be fun.  And the jumbo 16-20 gulf shrimps were on sale and the fresh bay scallops were huge.  I got 2 lbs of shrimp and one of bay scallop.

When you clean the shrimp, reserve the shells for your stock.  either roast or sauté the shells in oil until you smell them and they are crispy but not burned.  Add water and to cover them and them go...   You could puree the shells after 20 minutes or so and let them go a bit longer before straining to extract all of the flavor.  Take the strained stock and set it aside to reduce to about a cup.

I seasoned the shrimp with my favorite smoke sea salt and a dash of papkrika, I always remembered paprika when making this dish.  I also zested a lemon and rubbed it on.  I juiced the entire large lemon and set aside.

Chop some fresh parsley and your heirloom tomato here and set aside. and start some jasmine rice on a  side burner.

In a large sauté pan I add the shrimp and just cooked both sides so they were pink but not cooked through, then the scallops and set aside.  They will bleed out some nice juice for later.

to the same pan I add some more oil and cook several chopped cloves of garlic and about a 1/4 of a yellow onion chopped plus a little chopped celery.  cook this for serval minutes without burning and add a half a cup of the nice light white wine you will be drinking with your meal, then add your lemon juice and your shrimp stock, reduce this by just about half then add a couple of TBS of good unsalted european butter, I like Plugra.  Add the shrimp and scallop and reserve juices and toss with the tomato and fresh parsley....  cover off the heat for a few minutes and start plating.   The tomato does not normally go in this dish.  It was an awesome tomato, and would have mad any dish proud...  so I did it.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

I got real good at making a variety of soups for my clients in NYC.  I made a new soup with every meal for my clients.  They is a basic way to start every soup it seems, and the balance/ratio of is important but really is entirely up to your tastes.  How do you like your soup?
I had a super leek left over from the other night and used this and about a 1/4 of a small onion + a 1/2 stalk of celery to get this base going in some olive oil.  I got the olive oil going with several whole garlic cloves while I course chopped.
I have been seasoning almost exclusively with smoked sea salts...  I used alderwood in this.  It add's depth and I live a hint of smoke in all of my food.  I also got some Durango Hickory smoked salt I use on my meats...  I made a spice mix using piquin and habanero peppers that will make anybody's bloody mary sing.  Recipe coming soon.  I digress.
While the leeks were slow sweating I set the convection oven to high (about 400) and arranged the cut cauliflower (one head is enough) on a round pan and liberally covered it with olive oil and seasoned with my salt and pepper.
When you can smell it and it looks a little brown almost burned on the outside it is done.  There will be a bunch of juice left in the pan.  use it.
About 1/4 cup of nice white wine is nice when the leek mixture is sweated down...  I had some left over chicken stock, about a qt.  I and added that next, followed by my roasted cauliflower. The flavor changes tremendously compared to just cooking the raw cauliflower in the soup...  but that can be nice too.  The raw will make your soup white.  Roasted it had an off white color.
this cooks for another 20 minutes or so before getting out your hand blander and pureé away.  I like teh swiss made Bamix.  It's about 150 bucks from williams-sonoma.  I use this thing everyday.  It purees as good as any blender, quickly.  It's steel body will keep it from getting damaged in hot liquid and could rip up some shrimp shells which I need to do from time to time.  It's easy to clean too.
Just prior to the puree I add about a 1/4 cup of cream.  The soup is pretty much done here.  You want ot let it rest on a simmer for another 15 minutes and season to taste.  I added a touch of nutmeg here and before serving garnished with some scallions.
Like most soups, this soup is even better the next day.  

Buray got a new job

I started working for a real nice family today.  I will be cooking four dinners a week and packing fresh food in the fridge for lunch.  I have been doing the family chef thing for year now.  After a good break I found that I still dig it.  It will never make me rich but dang it's sure is fun.   I get to shape he palate of three cool kiddos youngest is five and the oldest is nine.  It's good to be on the steady gig again.  It's the dishwashing that I really get paid for...  Cooking the food is a joy.
I'll post some stuff.
Tonight I made a shrimp salad for them for tomorrow...  I roasted the shells and made a stock...  reduced it and added some saffron.  I made the fresh tomato sauce and added the shrimp saffron and it was delightful.  I topped it with seared halibut steaks and a sprig of fennel frong.  They dug.  I made a healthy portion of tortilla soup, enough for leftovers.  and a prettly little sad of beets, goat cheese, fennel, frissee, candied pecans, dried cherries and blanched baby carrots.
tomorrow I'm thinking pesto gnocchi and a couple of T-Bones.  some kinda pureed soup and a wedge salad with blue cheese and bacon.

curry coconut milk soup with shrimp and vegetables

I found more head on shrimp and made another stock yesterday...  Cray Cray had some curry he other day and I remembered I had some I had been meaning to use...  So I went after this pretty simple but fully satisfying curry soup.
I added ginger and onion and garlic and celery to the stock and let them heads roll for  good hour and a half...  hand blender, strain and reduceI sweated a half an onion and garlic in some grape seed oil and sprinkled about a TBS of curry in with the sweating onion...  add stock to this and transfer to a mixing bowl and puree with the mixer again along withe the rest of the stock and a 1/4 cup of coconut milk.in the same skillet I added more grape seed oil and sauteed the shrimp which got a curry rub before sauté.  when there were just colored but and still rare I pulled them to the side....  and added the puree back to the skillet.  add salt and cayenne to taste...  then added carrot, baby blue potato, tomato, okra, and fresh shucked corn...  when the potato was tender I added the shrimp and any juice that accumulated.  topped with cilantro and we were eating good.  The left overs were unreal.  I'm eating them as I type this.  Is this indian?  Is this thai?  either or both I suppose...  try this.  the curry was subtle and the crazy veggy combo really works here.  It's also all about the amazing shrimp stock.  You could do this so easily with chicken stock but go the extra mile for that special someone.
I'm starting to realize the hand blender and the strainer are right up there next to knife and cutting board, my most important kitchen tools.  Everyone should have one.

At first Cray Cray wanted to go out tonight for dinner...  but we are both thinking it's gunna be good for the blog and good for our bellies to stay in and celebrate Valentino day here at home...  that way I can get drunk and chase her around the house a bit...  spin some favorite records. and relax.

broiled lobster tail and wilted spinach

I saw some decent sized lobster tails on special at the local market today.  I was also gently reminded that I met Cray Cray eight months ago just before I left the house.  As a kid my mom and her man, Jim celebrate milestones and anniversaries with lobster.  So why not?   I love lobster.  So does Cray Cray.  I surprised her.  She did say this "How come I have to eat all of my surprises and gifts?"
Cuz yer lucky girl, Cray Cray and I dig the hell out of you.  Thats why.  (Not sure I said it just like that but I meant to).
in order to get a good broil on you need to get the meat out of the shell.  I snipped the bottom rings so it would not curl and cut the top shell.  I par boiled or more like steamed the lobster in a skillet in a small amount of water.  Pulled the meat out and put a pat of butter on them before putting under the broiler on hi setting, all in the same skillet.  When they had color they were done.  I placed them on the plate and mixed the left over juice with more drawn butter for dipping.  In that flavorful skillet I dropped some fresh spinach and wilted it...  and we had a nice meal.  more like a snack.  We had already sat down to a half wedge of iceberg, tomato, cucumber, and bacon salad with a side of baked sweet potato shoe string fries I made from fresh sweet potato.
A couple of strawberry vodka soda's to wash it down.  Light meal.  But tasty.
I cooked some fresh strawberry's in water and a little honey, pureed, then strained and cooled in the fridge.  We added this to the vodka soda with a squeeze of lime.  And Cray Cray got me a camera so I can post better photos from here on out.   My blackberry camera just aint cutting it. 

New Mexico Red Chile Enchiladas

I am in love with New Mexico and that love deepens every time I go.  This new years I went with Cray Cray and made a point to come back with as much culinary memory as possible...  by far the biggest score was the decorative rostra that I am carving up at an alarming rate....  need to send for more chile's soon.

I have been making the red sauce for a couple of weeks now and have settled in on a recipe that suits me.
Soak a dozen or so chiles in warm water for a half our or so...  deseed and stem and add to about 4 cups of chicken stock and cook on med low for 30 mins or so...  the chile's will be bright red,  puree and strain.

i use a about 1 TBS of butter and cook two chopped cloves of garlic on low careful not to burn.  Sprinkle 1 TBS of white rice flour and begin a bit of a roux before adding the strained chile.  I add a pinch of mexican oregano here, a pinch of cumin and two whole cloves...  and you can salt here too.
you don't want this sauce to be too thick...  not like a gravy.
The color is incredible, the heat is there but the flavor is so incredible you cant stop eating it.
Now for the stacked enchilada's.  If I have some chicken around which I did this day, I dice it small and same for some yellow onion.  In cast iron skillet I cook six tortilla's in a little olive oil on high heat to crisp and bring out the maize flavor and set aside.

in same skillet I add some sauce and top with two tortilla's, more sauce, chicken cheese, onion, more sauce, repeat and the top tortilla gets more sauce and a sprinkling of cheese...  they will eat this for breakfast and top it with a sunny side up egg.  I sometimes add this to my lunch or dinner enchilada, garnished with lettuce, avocado, diced tomato, sour cream or greek strained yogurt.

I could put this sauce on everything.  I have some left over for my steak tonight.  First bite and I'm in right back in Santa fe with the smell of piñon and the crisp mountain air.  A truly magical land i will continue to visit and celebrate with culinary memories from here on out...  I have tried the powders to make red chile...  good in a pinch, the central market has a good pecos red...  but it never gets that velvety and is not as sweet, certainly not as hot, seems to get a little darker too for some reason.  The ones off the ristra get bright red.  My camera does not pic up the brightness of the sauce.  Just trust me on this one.

seafood soup - sopa de mariscos

I made a stock out of the shrimp shells and the shells of some snow crab cluster.   made up the rest of the recipe out of what we had in the fridge....   I sweated garlic then added 1/4 of a chopped onion and small celery stalk.  Then 3 chopped vine ripened tomatoes, white wine, and then the stock.
I had some nice button mushrooms and some fresh TX okra that needed to be eaten...  so I threw a handful of each chopped up in there and some chopped cilantro.
I season here with seasoning blend I made using alderwood smoked sea salt, TX pequins, oregano, cumin and chipotle powder,  Its smokey hot and friggin delicious.  I used a ton of this stuff this week....  need to make more and I will post all about it...
When Cray Cray came home from work I added a few mussels, 1/4 lbs squid bodies, 1/4 lbs fresh bay scallops, and full pound of white gulf shrimp.  5 minutes here before serving.  I garnished with the pulled snow crab and a squeeze of lime, chopped scallion and fresh cilantro.
we had two servings each and my left overs the next day were so full of flavor, seafoody tremendous yum...
posting a second pic here so you can see all the pretty mussels

sopa de camarones

I found some fresh gulf shrimp yesterday head on!  don't overlook these puppies.  no way to beat the flavor of the heads and shells.  I roast or saute them in little olive oil and get them smelling right and get a little color on them.  then they are ready for the extraction of flavor.

I place them in a pot of hot water and use the hot water to get all the bits up from the bottom of the pan.  you can do this all in the same pan, but I want to get every shrimp browned properly so I use a larger skillet for this.  Drop a whole dried chipotle pepper in here and onion ends, a garlic clove, bay leaf, a half a celery stalk or carrot.  and simmer for an hour.  The trick for maximum flavor is this ---> get out your hand blander and whip it up good.  let it steep a little longer if you have time and then strain....  it is pure shrimp flavor with a hint of heat and smoke from the chipotle.

This part is ready now
When Cray Cray gets home for dinner I plan to start the soup with sweated celery, onion and garlic then add one or maybe two chopped fresh tomato. do I have any white wine?  that would be great here.  then the stock.  Season with salt to taste here.  Maybe a touch of oregano and some chile pequins if I need more heat.
Poach the peeled fresh shrimp in this just before serving and garnish with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

more pics of the completed dish to come later...

I ate a few shrimpies before I remember to snap a pic!  So good I invested in a few more pounds of head on shrimp to repeat this dish this sometime week.

baked potato chips make a nice snack

Russet potato make a nice crisp chip and if you wanna stay away from fying try this.  Make thin slices long ways and lightly brush each side with olive oil.  Place on a sheet pan and bake at 350 until they start to brown around the edges, flip them and continue to bake until they are brown throughout.  I sprinkled mine with some of that new mexico green chili powder and some salish (alderwood smoked sea salt).  and dipped in some olive oil mayo.

1 small potato =  130 calories
1/2 tsp = 20 calories
1/2 TBS = 250

total - 170 cal

if you wanna skip the mayo I can dig it.  But i needed the calories.  all I had to eat today was the garnish in my bloody mary.

lamb meat balls in greek yogurt sauce - Ahmad's style

It's weird how dishes come back around in my life when I need them.  Or am in need of some feeling I had that I miss or a misplaced.  There is no escaping.  i remember my first bite of Lombardi's pizza with Joe Cheskin before I moved to NYC.  My first bite of Jacquimo's fried chicken in New Orleans when I decided I should never try and be a vegetarian again, my first gumbo that same night, biting into my aunt Chi's homemade vietnamese spring rolls, the smell of home made Pho in her kitchen.  These senses are strong remimders of who we are and where we come from, who loves us, and who we love.

While in Beirut a couple of summers ago with my friend, Ahmad I got accustomed to his style of cooking and the roots of it were in Lebanon.  I don't see him much these days since moving my operations to Austin, but these flavors have stayed with me and probably will forever.  I wrote about that simple red tomato sauce the other day and I started thinking about some other smells and flavors that I wanted to recreate from that hang.  I make lamb kebobs and a tzatziki ever since that summer.   They called it kofta and it was my favorite. I could eat it everyday.  Food reminds me of people and sometime people remind me of food.
The lamb meatball is similar.  They eat raw lamb there dipped in whipped garlic, stewed lamb, gilled lamb.  It is the predominant meat I saw on the table... next to chicken?  I pick lamb everytime.   I'll confess ate the testicles one night and they were incredible, like sweetbreads but better.  I digress.

there is one way they season lamb that is correct on all senses.  It crushes me.  leaves me so satisfied I could eat it everyday.   They got it down.  The quick trick is chinese five spice powder (star anise, clove, ginger, cinnamon, and fennel seed)+ cayenne + cumin + corriander +garlic powder or minced garlic...   this is to taste, it is strong stuff but I suppose I try to have at least a full tsp of this blend total (always heavy on the cayenne)...  if you have some of these you are good all of these you are doing great.  Break off a nug and cook it to test for flavor and salt.  Adjust.  After a while you just use the force with this stuff.  I just eyball it and it comes out great everytime.  About a half a teaspoon or so of salt and minced half onion + one egg and some bread crumb or in my case rice bread crumbs.  mix well and start rolling balls on a sheetpan and put in the ven at 350 or 375 for 20 or 30 mins...  test 'em.

on the stove top, slow and low cook some whole garlic in olive oil, add any left over onions...  let onions get translucent and pour in the greek strained yogurt.  I had a little more than half a medium sized tub.  Two single serving yogurts should do the trick..  When the balls are done pour into the yogurt sauce.  I have seen a cup or more of really good white wine go in there and reduce, but I had a lemon for my acid and it was wonderful and sour, bitter with the aromatics and juices of the lamb blended in.   I think you should drink the wine and add the lemon.... Unless the wine is flowing then what the hell.
Funny thing, I thought I was going to Beirut to make a record or something like that, I ended up with a first class culinary education.  Hats off to Ahmad where ever you are, probably making dinner for some nice folks.  I'm sure the lamb meat balls are on the menu.  A classic and a hit every time.  I made that record and am gunna name it...  tomorrow.

gnocchi (with hatch green chili powder) + rosemary garlic brown butter

I bought a sack of potato's for hash browns and been waiting for me to do something exiting with them.  And tonight I just thought....  Gnocchi.  It was my Great Uncle Red's favorite dish.   It seemed if we went to an italian restaurant it was almost assumed that Red would order the Gnocchi (he called it nocky).  I have made it a few times but mostly I as a ricotta gnocchi guy not a master of the potato dumpling...  the spinach ricotta was a favorite for a while, delicate dumplings in a sage brown butter sauce.  But back to good potato Gnocchi.  It should be soft with just a little chew.  I try to make mine more delicate like the ricotta one's I used to make.  But firm enough to hold together.  First tip, bake the potato unwrapped for about an hour or so depending on how big the potato.   don't boil.   you want this dry and flakey not mushy.  I've heard of chefs roasting them in a bed of salt to draw even more moisture out.  I don't know if this is necessary but it can't hurt I guess.  

I had three small/med potato's - when the potato's are done you can half them and scrape them with a fork and get the flake to fall into a sieve (unless you have a potato ricer then go for it here).  I didn't.  so I forked it into the sieve and mashed it into a bowl creating even fluffier potato.  Let this cool a good bit.  In a separate bowl add about a tsp of salt and whip one egg, right here I got freaky,  I added some ultra fine dry new mexico green hatch chili powder.  enough to get a good file gumbo color going in the egg and mixed this with the cool potato.  Then sift in up to 2/3 of a cup of flour, I used a blend of tapioca flour and white rice flour.  It held quite well.  I try to use less flour and get the dough firm but not too hard as get a gummy chewy result, and don't over mix.  You can use less flour to get them softer, the risk is too delicate and it will break.  I try and keep happy balance here.  Roll out cylinders and cut into pieces with a knife and roll with your thumb on the edge of a fork to make it like the old italian ladies do with ridges.  I do this, but you could just have little balls too.  The dimples hold sauce better though.  do this then drop in boiling water, but don't let it roll back up to boil.  They boil up and float in minutes and they pretty much are done right then...  I let em hang out just a about  minute longer.  rescue them with a slotted spoon and right into a sauce...  today I dressed them butter with zested of garlic slow cooking with rosemary until just crispy and crunchy, not burned.  Topped with parmesan and I loved it.  I will do it again tomorrow (left overs) with a different sauce.  not sure what yet.

I love this classic.  It's easy fun and cheap as hell.  i just takes a little time and might made a small mess...  no biggy?  Cooking like this soothes me.  I can just let my hands work and think.  Today I thought a lot.  I need to name my record which I finished on Monday.  done and done.  It is getting mastered and I am working on artwork next.  I do not take this lightly.  These are the kind of things that things come to me when I am in the kitchen cooking and thoughts flow around the back of my mind settling into a comfy place...  and I find a decision.

not yet tho...  so I cooked another dish on it's heals. --->

the mother sauce - fresh tomato sauce in a flash

I use this mother sauce all the time with fish like sea bass, cod, and tonight it was skate.  I was in Beirut a few summers ago.  A wealthy Lebanese businessman who was living part time in NYC had taken a liking to my music and I had become a regular at his fancy dinner parties entertaining the wealthy friends artists, film makers, and some of the most beautiful women in world.  We became better friends and it wasn't long before I was coming early and helping out in the kitchen.  Ahmad had owned several restaurants and though never a "chef" per se was all that and more.  It was what i would do if money were no object.  I'd party most nights and feed the people I wanted to see.  The ingredients were all top notch.  The pata negra ham we'd slice is over 130 bucks a pound.  The dried fish roe, the uni trays, money was no object.  I became familiar with his repertoire and one thing I cam away with was his mother sauce.  So simple and so delicious.  I will cook this sauce for the rest of my life.
Start with some nice fresh vine ripened tomatoes, could use heirlooms, could even use roma's in a jam.  small dice, and add 5 or more whole cloves of garlic.   I love garlic.  Cook in olive oil on low heat while dicing and move around a bit as to not burn.  When the aroma is full and the dicing is done add the tomatoes and cook down for 10 to 20 minutes add salt and you have a fresh mother sauce.   I have added saffron to this and it sings,  tonight it was dried chipotle, rosemary from the garden, and some nice dried mexican oregano (just a touch of that).  I salted it a bit with himalayan sea salt and some tellicherry peppercorns.

We wanted fresh cod but it was sunday night and they were out of that.  It has been on special all weekend for 10 bucks a pound.  I spotted some skate wing, the last of it and rounded it out a pound with some cleaned fresh squid.
I cooked up some organic black rice pasta to house the sauce.
I seasoned the skate and dredged in a gluten free flour blend of rice, sorghum and tapioca I have been  using.  seared up one side in a couple of minutes over med high heat in olive oil, flip it and remove from pan.  add more olive oil and add the squid, lightly season.  they cook fast.  After a minute or two I added a pat of butter then the mother sauce to the squid.  brought the black rice pasta in to the mix to get some heat (temperature) on it.  the served....  I put some halved baby zucchini's under the broiler and served it on the side.  and that was tonights meal.

Skate and Squid in mother sauce with black rice pasta and broiled zucchini's

this meal cost about 11 dollars and fed two.  calories?  I can figure that out but that will take me a minute.  lemme get back to you.  tell ya this.  not many.

sometimes a man just needs his gumbo

I've been making gumbo for fifteen years, since my brief stint as a New Orlenian in the mid nineties.  I made it for my Happy hour crowd at the Hole in the Wall in Austin TX every week.  I served it while I was performing.   I got to try many different gumbos and settled on my mother basic recipe from there.
begin with a small green pepper or 3/4 of a med one will do, one small onion, and a stalk of celery ---> the holy trinity.   fine dice and sweat those babies in a pot for a good while.  I like to get 'em down to moosh but no brown burning.   some salt helps them sweat.  I add several choppped garlic cloves to this half way through.
"Who needs a roux?"  well ya need a lil something ya do.  I tried an old cheatin cajun trick this time around mostly cuz I'm my own dish washer these days and I'm feeling like washing less dishes today.  I dropped a TBS of butter into my mush, turned up the heat and sprinkled some sorghum flour (gluten free) over top and stirred.  when it got a little brown not burned and was ready for some help I added hot fresh chicken stock and whole smoked chipotle pepper....  add frozen cut okra (I like a lot of okra) and let it rest like that on simmer.  I cook this until there is no distinguishable vegetable in there, just the balls from the okra floating around.  add cayenne

here in TX we like to smoke a lot of things.  I picked up some specials at the HEB this afternoon and decided to smoke some organic chicken thighs, 2lbs of jumbo shrimp, and some delicious jalapeno sausage.  I smoked over hickory mostly but there was a block of mesquite in that fire flavoring too.
when these were done smoking I added the chopped sausage and cut the thighs in to but size pieces added to the gumbo with the bone.  peeled the shrimp and diced then and added them to the mix.

the peeled shells were thrown into a saucepan of boiling water and blended with a hand mixed, reduced by a lot, strained and then added to the gumbo.  you can salt it now.  slightly under salt it to taste as you will reduce a bit longer.

from start to finish about 4 hrs had passed, I added some filé (only about 2 capfuls) and let it rest.  I add more filé to mine when I eat it.   Too much will make it slimy and even worse, stringy and wont save well in the fridge or freezer.  We had a few bowls but it's always better the next day...  it is...  it was.

Texican Smoked Turkey Tortilla Soup

I made a gumbo yesterday just cuz sometimes a man needs his gumbo.  Just as I started I got a call from an old pal in NYC, Joe Cheskin.  A food 911 call if you will.  Someone purchased him a Rudy's smoked turkey from TX as a gift for the holidays and he had half a carcass and a bunch of meat left over.  He wanted to know what to do with it.  "I dont want to make a Gumbo... the thought of making a roux right now scares me."  Ok Joe.  Roux is easy nothing to fear there.  but a proper gumbo takes hours and a days rest in the fridge.  none the less I got it...  here's what ya do.

When we had our holiday smoked turkey from Rudy's (also as a gift).  I made a ton of stock and got several meals out of it.  My favorite I repeated to joe on the phone.  Cook the carcass with some meat on the bone  with half an onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, chipotle pepper if you have one, and a couple garlic cloves in a large stock pot for a least 2 hr's.  till there's no flavor left in that puppy.
strain.   season the stock with salt and pepper at this point, freeze unused portions.  Cube the turkey and dice a zucchini, carrot, onion, celery, cilantro, (frozen corn because it's winter).  bring a quart of the stock to a boil.  add some mexican oregano, cumin, cayenne, and salt to taste...  add vegetables reduce to simmer, add turkey to heat in broth...   place tortilla chips and some cheese in soup bowls, jack or cheddar is good, ladle soup into bowl of chips and cheese.  top with avocado and a full squeeze of lime.  you can add more cayenne pepper, cumin, fresh cilantro and onion here too.  to taste.

Texican Smoked Turkey Tortilla Soup

Eggplant Pizza L.E.S. style

Bob's Red Mill brand, that standard brand you all see in the store nowadays gluten free pizza crust...  well it's good and you get two 12 inch pizza's outa one package.  I sometimes miss pizza and I miss NYC pizza for sure.   There were two favorites I had, Stromboli's on St Marks made a pizza with bacon and italian sausage fresh tomato and fresh basil.  I repeat that often.  I also loved the eggplant pizza at Rosario's on the LES.  I do this one too...  often.  Then theres the classic supreme pizza with pepperoni, sausage, green pepper, onion, black olive, and mushroom if you got some.  That something about the green pepper and sausage combo reminds me of the frozen pizza's we'd get when mom and dad were going out ad the baby sitter had to cook a frozen pizza for us kids... abondanza!

Try this brand and follow directions and let the dough rest a while before making the crust.  I make it as thin as possible, precooking is must for crispy crust especially for a pizza a lot of topping.  I just fileld up my blackberry with photos and took out the memory card so my phone would actually work...   lotsa good food shots on there.  But I took this one the other night of our eggplant pizza Rosario style.

as for the sauce? simpler (and spicier) the better  I use a good can of tomato paste equal parts water.  and stir in fine chopped garlic, cayenne pepper, touch of anchovy paste, touch of agave nectar and stir.   The harder mozzarella cheese melts better than fresh but used fresh here on this pizza and it was stretchy and yummy.  One can is jus not quite enough for two pizzas if you like sauce...  it will stretch for you light sauce lovers.  I usually used a bit more like 3/4's of the prepared sauce on my pizza.

this shot is from last week.  I'll calorie count 'em later.

tonight i'm making middle eastern lamb burgers with tzatziki sauce and feta....    more later y'all.

mesquite smoked chicken wings and jumbo shrimp

With the big games on today (and what great games they were!),  we decided on chicken wings, on our way back from Ft. Worth, a rodeo and some of the finest baby backs I have had from a street vendor/.  We had Bbq on the mind too.  Anhd here in TX we found ourselves with 70+ degree weather all afternoon.  So I broke out some charcoal, some mesquite chunks and got a little fore going in the Webber.  I made a rub for the wings consisting of brown sugar, chipotle powder, salish (alderwood smoked sea salt), cumin and garlic powder, some oregano and thyme...  they sat a while in this rub until the coals were grey.  I also soaked some wood chips and seasoned 1 lbs of shell on jumbo shrimp with little old faithful, old bay seasoning.  the wings cooked on indirect heat for 20 mins or so a side.  at the end I threw on some additional soaked chips and the shrimp for about 25 or 20 minutes and smoked the heck out of it.  by half time of the Giants game we were grinning and suckin down them suckers dipped in a light blue cheese dressing.  side buy side with the shrimp which had a home made cocktail, accompanied by traditional carrot and celery.  I bought some frank's hot sauce but be didn't touch it...  was unnecessary.  we had a ll the flavors going on.  I'll use it for something else down the road.

1 lbs shrimp - 447 cal
10 wings - 60 cal per wing (we had bout 20 wingettes @ 30 cal per wing) = 600
2 stalk celery - 38 cal
2 carrots - 104 cal
4 TBSP - 160
total calories - 1349

we shared and there is at least one portion left over...  I ate more than Cray Cray.