Korean-Style Tuna with Cilantro Noodles

This one is fast, simple, and has loads of flavor.  We topped it with a Wasabi Compound Butter, but you could reserve some of the marinade before you add the tuna and use it as a dipping sauce. This is a great example of the "less is more" philosophy of cooking: a few ingredients, properly prepared, will result in a bold and satisfying meal.

Adding Red Pepper Flakes to the Marinade

I find it easier to mix the marinade in a measuring bowl and give it a vigorous stir before it goes in the bag with the tuna.

Grilling Tuna

Make sure that you don't over cook the steaks.  Tuna cooked well-done might as well be cardboard.  I prefer my tuna to be seared on the outside and nearly raw in the middle.  Kate likes hers more towards medium-rare.  We agreed that the rule of thumb in our house will be "two-minute tuna", and no more.

Ramen in the Wok

When you make the noodles, be sure to have all of your ingredients ready to go.  This dish cooks in a hurry, and you won't have time to measure and cut once you start.  This might be my favorite preparation for Ramen Noodles.

Shogayaki Chicken with Ginger-Apricot Rice

According to the recipe, "shoga" means ginger and "yaki" means grill or fry, so I guess you could call this Ginger Chicken.  We gave this a "good but not great" rating.  It takes about a half hour to make and uses two pots.

Using fresh ginger is critical in this dish.  Make sure that it is well minced before you add it to the marinade and the rice, because a large chunk in your mouth can be pretty intense.  You will also use Sesame Oil and Mirin, which make a noticeable difference in flavor.  Sesame Oil is one of my favorite ingredients in Asian dishes and has a distinct nutty flavor.  Mirin adds a sweetness to the dish to balance the ginger and garlic.

Steak House Mushroom Burger with Creamed Spinach

Steak House Mushroom Burger with Creamed Spinach

I admit this doesn't look too pretty on the plate, but it's fast to make, filling, and has a great beefy taste.  This was our first experience with home-ground beef, and we could really tell the difference.  The texture and flavor were superior to any store-bought hamburger meat that we've ever had.  We omitted the toast this time, but it's really good when it soaks up the sauce.

Seasoned, mixed and ready to cook

Using the electric grill when it's cold outside is nice, and has the added convenience of cooking the burgers faster because of the top plate.  My patties were about 1" thick before I put the grill down.

Creamed Spinach

The cayenne and the nutmeg add a lot of flavor to the Spinach.  A little goes a long way, especially with the nutmeg.  I've read that cooked spinach is much better for you than raw, and this is one of the few cooked spinach dishes that I enjoy.

Crab & Artichoke Gratin

Crab and Artichoke Gratin

We made a half-batch of this Friday night to have something to snack on over the weekend.  Finished eating the last of it today.  Takes about fifteen minutes of actual work, and it was delicious!

Sweet and Spicy Sausage

Spicy and Sweet Sausage

The gang came over yesterday for our inaugural sausage making party.  It took about five hours until we had something ready to eat, but I'm sure we'll be faster next time.  We spent a lot of time figuring each step out.  The final result was tasty, and we learned a lot of lessons along the way.

Sweet Mix

Spicy Mix

We chilled the Sausage Mixes overnight, then popped them into freezer about thirty minutes before grinding. It took some planning to make sure that everything stayed cold throughout the process.

Rooney and Jeff grinding meat

We set the meat grinder up on the counter next to the sink, and put the mixing bowl in an ice-water bath beneath it.

Sausage Meat after Mixing

We ground the meat in batches, then moved the mixing bowl to the stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  It only took a few minutes on medium-low speed to incorporate the liquid into the mix, creating a sticky mixture known as the "Primary Bind".  We put each batch into a large bowl that we kept in the refrigerator.

Testing the mix

After the first batch, we cooked a spoonful to see if the seasoning was right.

Rinsing the Casing

We soaked the casings overnight, changing the water a few times along the way.  They're pretty slippery, but rinsing them out wasn't nearly as unpleasant as I thought it would be.

Mounting the Casing

Ready to stuff

Feeding the Casing over the medium stuffing attachment only took a minute.  The trick is to use one hand to guide and the other to scrunch it on.  I left about 4" hanging from the end before we started stuffing.  Once the meat was at the end of the tube we stopped the machine, squeezed the air out of the end and tied a knot in the casing.

Tyson, Brady and Jeff

Tyson, Brady and Rooney

Stuffing was a three man job.  One person loaded the tray on top of the machine, one person fed the mixture into the machine, and one person managed the casing as the meat was extruded.

Stuffing Sausage

I think that you're supposed to stuff the meat in one continuous roll, then twist the links, but we twisted along the way.  The trick is to pinch the casing after each odd sausage link, then twist the sausage after each even link.  Doing it this way ensures that you don't accidentally untwist a link that you've already made.

After all that work, we sat down to a great meal.  The texture wasn't quite as good as store bought, but I think that's because we rushed the stuffing process.  We'll get that right the next time.  We had so much fun that we made plans to do it again in April.

Sweet and Spicy Sausage Mixes

Pork Shoulder

We spent the evening getting ready to make some sausage tomorrow.  I knew it would take a while to prepare 20+ lbs of Pork Shoulder, but I didn't think it would take four hours.  Oh well, should be worth it tomorrow.  Trimming all the fat, gristle and bone from three of these suckers was some work!

Pork Bone

I understood from books that I've read that the pork shoulder bone was going to be difficult to carve around, but I really had no idea how many nooks and crannies that thing had.  Domestic reality met culinary theory today.

Sausage Spices

You'll notice that the spices are measured in grams, not teaspoons/tablespoons.  Michael Ruhlman, the author of the recipes, is adamant that the spice mixtures be measured by weight, not volume.  Since this is our first attempt, we decided to not take any chances and did it his way.  The top two bowls above are for the spicy mixture, and the bottom bowl is the sweet mixture.

We have two large buckets of seasoned pork meat in our fridge, along with the sausage casings and some chuck we're going to grind into hamburger meat tomorrow as well.  Should be fun!

Restaurant: The Big Tuna Fish Joint

Shrimp Po Boy

Kate and I checked out The Big Tuna Fish Joint tonight.  They just opened on our side of town where Cha Cha's used to be.  When you get in, you queue up to make your order, take a number and find a table.  Not a bad system, but you can't order alcohol at the front counter.  You have to look for a waiter to get you the drink, which means you'll have to pay two bills before the night is over.  It was awkward.

We ordered a dozen oysters, a shrimp po boy for me and an oyster po boy for Kate.  The food came out fast, the oysters were cold and plump, and the po boys were hot and tasty.  The fries were good too.

The service was friendly and fast, but a little disjointed.  The idea of one waiter per table was lost there, so we had a constant barrage of staff refilling our drinks and asking us how are meal was.  During a thirty minute meal, we had two managers, four waiters and the hostess check up on us.  I'm going to chalk it up to the recent opening and hope that the kinks will get worked out soon.

Kate and I agree that it was good enough to go back.

Chef de Cuisine Cable Smith

Way to go, Cable!  I'm happy to see you making a name for yourself as a chef.  Kate and I are looking forward to checking out your restaurant soon, and hope you'll have dinner with us the next time you're in Norman.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

This has been one of my favorite pasta dishes for years.  I know that classically speaking, you're supposed to use Pancetta instead of bacon, but how can I say no to bacon?  This has lots of great flavor, and it's fast and cheap to make.

Uncooked Sauce

It's important that the sauce is mixed and ready before the pasta is strained.  The residual heat in the pot and pasta are the only thing that cook the egg, so you want to ready to move quickly when the pasta is strained.

Bread Crumb Mixture

We were in a hurry tonight, so we didn't toast the bread crumbs like the recipe suggests.  We did use the Buddha Hand though, which makes the mixture even tastier. A little of this goes a long way, but bring the bowl to the table to allow people to add more if they like.

Buddha Hand

Buddha Hand

This has to be the most unusual citrus fruit that I've ever used.  We keep the Buddha Hand zest in our freezer, and use it instead of lemon zest when we want some extra zing in the dish.  It's not quite as tart as lemon zest and not quite as sweet as orange zest.

Marshmallows

This might seem like a lot of effort for something you can buy at your supermarket, but it's fun to make and we think it's cool to have the know-how.  It is molten lava when it cooks, and sticky when it cools, so be careful and use a lot of non-stick oil and powder when you make this.

Hot marshmallow mixture in the pan.

Don't worry too much about the appearance when you spread it.  The irregularity in thickness is expected in a home-made product.  Just be sure to spray the pan before you pour the mixture into it.

Marshmallow Sheet

If you did it right, the mixture should just fall out when you flip the pan.  Don't make the mistake that I did and flip it onto an un-powdered cutting board.  This stuff is sticky and will not release otherwise.  I used a rolling pin as a straight-edge when I cut the squares.  Throw them in a bowl with the powdered sugar, and give it a toss after every row.

These things keep forever at room temperature, and a bag of them are a fun holiday gift for your friends.  They also work in a mug of hot chocolate.

Wedding Presents

French Skillet engraved with our Wedding Anniversary

Kate and I got hitched on December 20, 2010.  We were extremely fortunate to have a lot of friends and family give us some great wedding gifts, including some All-Clad cookware.  Enough, in fact, that the factory sent us a French Skillet commemorating the event.  We used it last night, and I realized how lucky we are to have so many people that love and care for us.  Thank you for helping us on our journey!

Ponzu Soba Noodles

Ponzu Soba Noodles with Grilled Flank Steak

This one is fast and really tasty.  We've altered the recipe a bit to fit our tastes by using Sesame Oil instead of Vegetable Oil and adding some other vegetables that we like.  We don't use Ponzu that often, but it works really well here.

1/3 Head of Sliced Cabbage

I don't think Cabbage can ever be sliced too thin.  We ended up using only half of what I prepared.

All the rabbit food mixed in a bowl

You could add peanuts or sesame seeds at this point.  Really, anything you have on hand that sounds good should be put in the bowl right now.

Soba Noodles and Sauce mixed in

Everything but the Soba Noodles should be cold and crispy at this point.  Add the sauce right after you add the noodles so that it has time to season everything and keep the noodles from sticking together.

Grilled Flank Steak

I prefer beef that is rare to medium-rare, and Kate likes hers a little less pink than mine.  Usually that means that she gets the pieces on the ends and I get the middle.  I seasoned it with Everglades Seasoning, something I got from my cousin.  (He calls it "monkey dust".  I'm not sure why.)  We used a George Foreman grill tonight because of the weather.

Sliced on the bias and across the grain

Cutting the meat on the bias and across the grain like this makes it easy to chew.  Cutting with the grain tastes the same, but isn't any fun to eat.

Pork Fat

4.5 lbs of Pork Fat

A new friend hooked me up with this Pork Fat for free.  Most of it will be used when we make sausage this weekend, but I haven't decided what to do with the leftovers...

Brine

A brine is a strong solution of water and salt used for pickling or preserving food.  Sweeteners, aromatics, spices and seasonings can also be added to impart additional flavors.  After making the brine, allow it to cool completely before immersing the meat.

Meat should be left in the brine from two to thirty-six hours, depending on the type and size of the cut.  Afterward, the brine should be discarded, and the meat dried and allowed to rest for a few hours so that the solution will equalize throughout the cut.

Breakfast Risotto with Sausage and Eggs

Breakfast Risotto with Sausage and Eggs

"Brinner" is one of my favorites, and with eggs, sausage, and maple syrup, this fits the bill. It took some time, but it was worth it!

So while watching Kate make this I learned that there are four parts to risotto: Soffrito, Riso, Brodo, and Condimenti.

Soffrito

The soffrito is the base, and pretty much determines what the dominate flavors will be.  I believe the riso must be Arborio rice to make risotto, but I could be wrong.

Stirring in the Brodo

The brodo is the broth.  It infuses the rice with flavor and the amount used and the time it takes to incorporate into the rice is a huge factor in the final dish.  You're supposed to have it simmering beside the risotto dish while you cook, but we just popped it in the microwave when it got cool.

Condimenti

The condimenti is the finishing touch.  It's not dinner without meat, so this step is crucial.

Poaching Eggs

So we tried these silicone poachers out tonight.  Took about fifteen minutes to overcook the bottom of the egg while the top was still translucent.  We finally ladled some boiling water on top so that we could finish the suckers and finally eat.  Kate found the directions after dinner, and discovered that I was supposed to use the poachers in a covered pan.

Venison Crostini

Venison Crostini

Kate had this bright idea to use our left-over venison roast from last week.  Bagel Crisps + Horseradish Cream + Spring Mix + Venison = Delicious!

Meat Grinder

Meat Grinder

Our STX MEGAFORCE 3000W Meat Grinder finally arrived!  We are planning on making some sausage next weekend, and I can't wait to try this baby out.

120129 UPDATE:  We tried this thing out this weekend, and it did everything we could have asked of it.  Check out our newest homemade ingredients:

Ground Pork

Ground Chuck

Taco Tuesday

So let's start this off with one of my all time favorite dishes: Tacos!  In our house, this is served at least one Tuesday a month.