Potato Hash

This is what I had for breakfast today. Yes, I am gloating.

Potato Hash

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
3 strips of bacon, diced
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped finely
3-4 oz smoked sausage, diced
eggs (however many you want)
green onions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

To speed things up a bit, I diced the potatoes and popped them in the oven for about 3 minutes while I rendered the fat on my bacon in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
Once the fat is rendered, add the onion and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add the sausage and cook another 2 minutes. Add potatotes and cook for about 12 minutes, allowing them to brown on each side but making sure not to let them burn. Season with salt and pepper.
When the potatoes are done enough for your liking, fry a few eggs, and top your potatoes with one and devour.

Note: this is one of those recipes where you can sort through the stuff in your fridge and add whatever you want to add.

Cedar Plank Salmon

I've always heard of people doing this but I never ventured to try it myself. The thought of putting a piece of wood on a grill and expecting not to have a fire escaped me. I took the plunge, however, and tried it this weekend. I have to say that I was quite pleased with what transpired.

I took a cedar plank (a Christmas present from 2 years ago) and soaked it for about 6 hours. The house smelled like a sauna all afternoon. My sink wasn't big enough to allow me to submerge the entire piece of wood, so I flipped the board every hour or so. (Note to self: don't do that again. Make sure the whole thing is wet the whole time.) Next, I made a marinade for the salmon. I discovered, after the fact, that it really didn't need it, but it didn't hurt it. I saved part of the marinade to use as sauce. I mixed about 1/4 cup dijon mustard, a few teaspoons of olive oil, a few teaspoons of white wine, and a little salt in a small bowl and brushed some on the salmon. The salmon sat out while the grill was prepared.

When the grill got hot, the cedar plank went on the grates. After three minutes on one side (and a lot of wood popping), I flipped it and placed the salmon on the plank. Then the grill cover was shut, and the grill did the rest of the work. The salmon basically smoked/steamed for about 13 minutes. I removed it, and let it sit on the plank for another 2 minutes, then the salmon went on a plate and in my belly.

The great thing about cooking salmon on a cedar plank is that fish stays moist and soaks up a little of the cedar flavor. Just remember that the fish continues to cook on the plank after you've removed it from the grill, so don't leave it on too long or you'll accidentally overcook salmon (an unforgivable act in our household.)

Smoked Meat - Part II

On our second day of smoking, we smoked turkey breast, baby back ribs, rib tips, smoked sausage , and a brisket. It's almost unnecessary to say much more because the pictures really say it all. Using the same rub we used on the chicken wings, we prepared the various meats and smoked away.

The smoked sausage was ready almost as soon as it was in, the ribs took about 2 1/2 hours, the turkey breasts took around 4 hours, and the brisket took 10-12 hours. Our only mistake was to take the brisket out too early (I remedied that mistake this weekend by putting it in the crock pot with some bbq sauce; 6 hours on slow and it was delish!).

The turkey breast is really great for sandwiches. I have never had such tender turkey breast. The rib tips were awesome, and the baby back ribs were pretty darn good too.

Smoked Meat - Part I

While many of you were out grilling this past holiday weekend, I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, Mississippi, having a culinary adventure. Nowhere, MS, otherwise known to me as Carthage, MS is where some of the boyfriend's family is, and it is always a treat to go. Jackson is close, but far away enough that each and every star can be seen from the carport (carports are standard issue in MS). And it's a town where if you don't know everyone by name, it's because you are new to town or have serious memory loss issues.

These pictures you're looking at are of the xxthousand dollar smoker, made by Ole Hickory Pits (http://www.olehickorypits.com/prod.aspx?CategoryID=76&ProdID=14), and of Howard and Boneda loading up the smoker. This ginormous smoker, measuring 5ft x 5ft x 6.5ft and sitting on a 16ft trailer, can hold 30 turkeys, 90 racks of baby back ribs, 50 boston butts, 50 whole chickens, and 40 (12lb) briskets. While we did not get to test these capacities (we used 4 of the 15 available racks), we did get a whole lot of meat in that smoker over the weekend. On Saturday, we began the smoking marathon.

Our first batch was chicken wings, a whole chicken, and a dozen ears of corn. We rubbed the chicken wings with a rub that came with the smoker. There was no ingredient list, but I'm pretty sure this is the recipe: paprika, black pepper, salt, chili powder, maybe some onion and garlic powder and possibly cayenne. I didn't taste any sugar in this rub, but if you like your rub with a hint of sweetness, I would add brown sugar. Then we dipped the wings in some spicy bbq sauce and plunked the wings on the racks. We rubbed the whole chicken with the rub. We didn't do anything to the corn except stick it on the rack.

What came out 3 hours later were probably the juiciest wings I have had in a long time. The corn was cooked just right, and I can't wait to get into the whole chicken (it is currently awaiting devouring in my freezer.)

I can't say that this smoking experience is going to make me run out and buy a commercial smoker, but it did certainly tempt me. I think with my more modest means, I am seriously considering purchasing a more appropriately-sized gas smoker so that I can hopefully recreate these smoky treats at home.

Red Beans & Rice

Beans, beans...
I love beans. I also love rice (I can't help it, I'm Chinese). . I really like cooking my own beans because it reminds me of my dad, so I bought 6 bags of all sorts of beans, and this is the first recipe I've made with them. And since I love beans and rice, well, that's what I made:

For the beans:
1 bag small red beans
2 tsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
4-6 oz smoked pork product (bacon, pancetta, etc.)
2-3 cups chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste



Check the beans for rocks and undesirables.
Soak the beans in a large bowl overnight or 6-8 hours. Use enough water to cover the beans at least 3 inches.
Drain and rinse the beans. They are now ready to cook.

In a large pot, heat the canola oil over med-high heat and cook the garlic, onion and smoked meat (I was lucky enough to have a smoked pork butt so that's what I used, but bacon works great too). Watch that the garlic does not burn. When the onion is almost translucent, add your beans and stir. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Then add chicken broth.
Simmer over med-low heat for about 1-1/2 hours. The beans should be soft but not mushy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Red Beans & Rice
1 cup rice, uncooked
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 smoked sausage link (I use turkey), diced
garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste
hot sauce

Cook the rice in a rice cooker (add rice, water, oil, and salt). If you're not using a rice cooker, cook it according to the instructions on the package.
In a large pot, cook the sausage over med-high heat to get a good brown crust. Add the rice and mix well. Then add the beans you just cooked, mix well, and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and hot sauce.
Garnish with chopped green onions, cilantro, or sour cream.

Samosas

I'm not going to lie. Phyllo dough scares me. It's so thin and delicate, and these are adjectives that I would definitely not use to describe myself. But I ran across a recipe for samosas and they looked really interesting, so I had to try it, even though the recipe called for Phyllo dough. Only after I made these samosas did I discover that samosas are traditionally made with a much thicker pastry and deep-fried, rather than baked. I will say this about the recipe: the filling was delicious. Next time I attempt a samosa, though, I will have to make my own pastry and deep-fry for a more authentic texture and flavor.

As I mentioned, the filling was great. The recipe I found was in Cooking Light magazine, and since I didn't have all the necessary ingredients, I had to improvise a little, but I think my modifications still allowed for a traditional flavor. The filling calls for potato, green peas, onions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, cumin, coriander, cardamom, and turmeric. I didn't have the last three spices on that list, so I used about a tablespoon of the store-bought curry block. You've probably seen it - it's in a gold box and it comes in two "flavors," hot and medium.

All that being said, it was a fun experiment. Knowing what I know now about the tastes and the method, I think the recipe I would use next time is this (found on FoodNetwork.com):

Dough:
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, cut in small pieces
9 tablespoons water

Filling:
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 habenero chile, minced
1/2 teaspoon garam masala spice blend
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon red chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
Vegetable oil, for frying

To make the dough: Mix the salt and flour in a medium bowl or a food processor. With a pastry blender, incorporate the butter until crumbs have formed. Add the water a few tablespoons at a time, until you can form a ball. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Let it rest for about 15 minutes more. You can prepare the dough in advance and refrigerate it.

To make the filling: Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside.
If using fresh carrots, chop and simmer in water, to cover, in a small pot. Add the corn and peas to barely cook. Set aside to cool.
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion until golden. Add the garlic, ginger, and chile and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garam masala, turmeric, chile powder, and salt and cook 2 minutes more.
In a bowl combine the mashed potatoes, the onion and spice mixture, carrots, peas, corn, lemon juice, and chopped coriander. Mix well.

To assemble the samosas: Divide the dough into 9 equal size balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a 5-inch circle. Cut each circle in half.
Brush the straightedge side with a little water, fold it in half, and align the two straight sides so they overlap to form a cone shape. Squeeze the edges together to make a tight seal.
Place approximately 1 generous tablespoon of filling inside each cone, leaving the top edge clean. Moisten the inside top rim of the cone and press the edges together to make another tight seal.
Place the samosas on a tray until ready to fry. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Heat approximately 3 inches of vegetable oil in a deep saucepan.
Fry several samosas at a time, being careful not to crowd them. When 1 side turns golden brown, flip it over to brown on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve with chutney.

Spinach & Tomato Orzo

I love spinach. I don't even mind the weird feeling it leaves on your teeth when you eat it raw. I remember running across a spinach and orzo recipe somewhere, sometime ago, and I happened to have some of both, but not enough of each to make a full side dish out of only one. (Was that a confusing sentence?)
This is what I came up with, and this is not really a recipe with measures and instructions:

Orzo
Spinach
Cherry tomatoes
Flat-leaf parsley
Feta cheese, crumbled
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt to taste

What came out was a really tasty side, good both warm and cold.