Teriyaki Pork Chops - Om. Nom.
September 16, 2008

Yes, I actually ate dinner this evening. Its been awhile since I've taken the time to cook / eat dinner, so this is definitely fitting. Teriyaki anything is always a staple for me, since its so incredibly easy to make just about any meat delicious and Asian (which are two important qualities for my enjoying food).

The ingredient list is pretty simple...

• Soy Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Pork Chops
• Lemon Juice

Like I said, pretty simple. Combine all of these things in a large bowl and marinate for at least a half hour. Overnight would be optimum. Confused about how much to use? Its an art, just try to get some good swigs of Worcestershire sauce in with a large helping of soy sauce and a couple teaspoons of lemon juice. Pat the meat down with the brown sugar and massage it all thoroughly.

White wine or sake would be a welcome addition to this marinade. :) The little bits you see in the picture are chopped ginger, which most people don't like but I absolutely adore. Enjoy it if you wish. :)

Cooking these is the simplest thing in the world. Heat a good frying pan (in my case, a cast iron skillet) up to a nice medium high heat. Like most pan-fried meats, you want your pork chops to sizzle nicely as soon as they touch the pan. If they don't, remove them until the pan's hot enough.

After the pork chops are all done, you can pop in some chopped onions and brown them up for additional flavor. I deglazed the pan with some white wine which made for an excellent sauce to top the pork chops with.

In the end, definitely delicious and something I make all the time.

Delicious Lamb Chops
August 20, 2008

Continuing my trend of cooking entries with no pictures; I has to tell you about how freaking easy it is to make delicious lamb chops. Seriously, its almost a no-brainer to make these fantastic chops in about 15 ~ 20 minutes.

Method - The Chops

Coat the chops, each one, in about a teaspoon each of salt and garlic powder. Place them into a pre-heated pan over a medium-high heat and listen for delicious crackling from the fat. If you don't hear it, remove you chops and raise the heat. You're goal is to sear in the delicious juiciness of the chops, so high heat is necessary. You're going to want to sear these delicious puppies for about five minutes on each side. When you flip them, you should see delicious dark brown crust. When searing them, be sure not to move them or to press them down. Both of these are novice manuevers which cause you juices to escape from your meat.

After you've got a delicious brown crust (you're not *coating* them in the crust, you just need to see a good bit of it) on both sides, add in some water and some white wine. Cover the chops about a quarter way, and then put a lid on it. Keep it going about another 5 minutes or until you can start to see the bottom of your pan (directly!) through the liquid. Once this has occurred; remove your chops and its time to start making some gravy. OM NOM!

Method - The Gravy

This is straight forward, but might be new to some. You've got some delicious reduction in your pan, but no idea what to do with it? Never fear! I is here! First, add some water (or chicken stock if you've got it!) to start melting away your delicious. Maybe a quarter of the way covered in the pan, let that reduce until you can see the pan some and then add enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Take some flour in your hand and start *slowly* *agonizingly slowly* squeezing your hand and spraying it lightly into the mix, all while stirring continuously. You'll know once you've achieved the right consistency because it will stick just right to your spatula. Feel free to reduce and add white wine many more times as it will enhance the flavor (IMHO).

Method - End Game

Plate your chops and pour your delicious white-wine gravy over them. Proceed to insert fork, draw knife back and forth and bite into these fantastically simple but absolutely delicious lamb chops.

Om.

Nom.

A Tasty Tomato and Avacado Salad
June 28, 2007

So, I'm still super busy with packing. The Quake 4 multiplayer demo and Metroid Prime have me captivated for what little free time I have. I did, however, make a tasty salad last night. A salad says you? We've all had those before! Lettuce, add some other stuff... aha, but not this one!

Tasty Tomato and Avacado Salad!

• 3 Tomatos
• 2 Avocados
• Half package of Feta Cheese
• Tasty Vinaigrette

Cut everything in hearty chunks and mix well. Tada! Tasty treat. I also marinated some left over steak in the vinaigrette and put it on top. It's not a meal if nothing died for it.

About the vinaigrette? Just mix equal parts balsamic vinegar and vegetable oil. I like to add in half a teaspoon each of garlic powder, dill and salt for added flavor. If you're lacking a proper salad bottle for mixing, you can always dump it all in a cocktail shaker. If you're going that route, go ahead and use your jigger to measure up a jigger each of oil and vinegar since it makes just the right amount for this salad. Just be careful to clean everything out, lest your next Gin Fizz may end up tasting a bit like salad dressing.

Some nice high quality hearty bread would make a nice side item for this salad and certainly some nice red wine will make everyone enjoy it all the more. Yum. Now I'm hungry!

Tasty Wings!
February 27, 2007

So, my Dad always made these stupendous floured chicken wings that I devoured by the dozen. They were so fricking good, but I haven't really explored the joys of the oven until lately. Well, I have decoded and figured out some of the most fantabulously tasty, easy and heart-attack-ensuring wings on the planet. Ready?

• Bake the wings according to the packages directions.
• Combine about
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • Cayenne pepper to taste (I like 1/2 tablespoon).
• Drag the wings through some egg or milk and then through the flour mixture. Coat well!
• Fry them in a pan with butter or oil until the outside changes color and is no longer white from the flour
• Pop back into the oven for about 3 minutes until crispy
• Serve by themselves or with some tasty buffalo sauce and bleu cheese

Tasty Ramen
October 17, 2006

Ramen happens to be one of my favorite food products. I purchase the flats of it, and it comprises my lunch or at least my snack almost every day of the week. Did you know that Ramen is actually a quite delicious and sometimes lavish and expensive soup rooted in China, but popularized by Japan?

Did you also know that those bricks of Instant Ramen noodles and dried soup powder can be doctored up to make a very tasty and simple soup? You will require these ingredients that you probably have onhand:

• Some precooked beef or chicken; as much as you like. It can be cooked plain with butter, or stir fried in Soy Sauce or Teryaki for extra flavor.
• Soy Sauce (a couple dashes)
• Two chopped Green Onions
• One Clove Garlic
• A tea(or table, depending on your healthiness)spoon of vegetable oil
• One Egg
• The obvious pack of Instant Ramen
• Bok Choy is a nice addition if you've got it. I've used Spinach (FRESH!) in the past with no ill results

You've got that in your fridge, right? I thought you did.

Simply boil the water and mix all above ingredients. I prefer to add the egg towards the end, just crack it and plop it in. I tend to seperate it halfway through it's cooking process right along the yolk (so you don't get a mess of runny yolk throughout your ramen).

Just cook everything until the egg is done, and you've got delicious ramen! Serve in Japenese style bowls with chopsticks (just chopsticks!) for extra tastiness. Drink directly from the bowl and slurp up the noodles with your chopsticks, because as we all know soup noodles are not tasty until slurped!

* Wikipedia has a nice article on ramen with lots of tantalizing pictures.

** Yes, as demonstrated in many anime and in Wikipedia's article on Japanese Dining Manners - it does appear to be quite acceptable and expected to slurp your soup noodles. Truthfully, before the Wikipedia article - I always thought that the anime renditions were always accentuated. James, correct me if I'm wrong.

A Simple Snack
October 09, 2006

Some ground beef, some A1 Steak Sauce, 1 Strip Bacon and one clove of garlic (minced, finely chopped).

Sautee garlic and bacon until garlic is golden brown; add ground beef and A1 steak sauce. Cook until hamburger is nice and dark.

Eat! Tasty!

What's Your Favorite Dish?
October 05, 2006

As I cooked up my dinner tonight and reveled in the delicious smells; I couldn't help but wonder... what's the favorite dish of my readers? You know, David, James, Jesse... what is your favorite dish? Now... one caveat... I don't want to know your favorite dish from a restaurant. I want to know your favorite dish that you, your spouse, your parental unit or your grandparental unit make. Share your yummy stories!

Me; my favorite has just changed. I made my new favorite dish tonight... Chicken + Tomatoes + Garlic + a little alfredo sauce (just enough to coat the chicken) + basil. I add all that to a heaping side of Basmati rice and I'm in heaven. Yum!

Spinach and E. Cloli, Best Friends Forever!
September 15, 2006

I love when the internet tubes deliver useful information. It would appear that, according to the AP, there is a sweeping epidemic of E. Coli infections stemming from raw-bagged spinach. What I find particularly interesting is that the outbreak has not been pinpointed to a specific brand or grower of spinach, but all brands are being systematically pulled from grocery store shelves. Looks like I'll just have to cook up that brick of frozen spinach for myself tonight.

Mmm. Spinach.