Gone Fishing?

Ever gone fishing and caught some lake trout? Or if you're like me... come across an awesome deal on some whole sea bass, catfish, or perch at the supermarket? You bring the bad boy home and then..... yeah... you're stuck. How the heck do you slice and dice this darn thing anyway? I'm a novice too when it comes to filleting a fish but I came across this sweet video on Food Network's site that makes the procedure as easy as ABC... take a look!

Just Call Me The Mac!

MMMmmmm Mac n' Cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods. I would eat mac n' cheese every day but I would probably weigh 480lbs! Needless to say, this recipe is very rich and creamy, but it's perfect to make once in a while for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and especially for potlucks!

Servings: 10-12 (1/2 cup servings)

Ingredients:

1 16oz box of Cavatapi or Fusilli pasta (spiral shaped)
1 tbsp salt
1 stick butter or margarine
1.5 bags of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 4oz log of Goat cheese
8oz Ricotta cheese
1/2 package of reduced fat Cream cheese
1 bag or Parmesan cheese
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 roll of Ritz crackers

1. Boil macaroni noodles as advised on the box. Add salt to water to flavor the noodles.

2. While macaroni is boiling, prepare the egg/milk batter. Whisk together eggs, milk, heavy cream, and nutmeg.

3. After the macaroni has finished boiling, layer 1/3 of the noodles into the bottom of a glass baking dish (or corning ware). Divide 1/3 of butter into small chunks and layer over the noodles. Layer spoonfuls of the ricotta cheese, and then layer/spread parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of extra sharp cheddar cheese on top. Repeat this process 2 more times with layers of noodles, butter, cheeses.

4. Pour the batter slowly and evenly over the layered macaroni. Lastly, crush the Ritz crackers and sprinkle over the top as a garnish.

5. Bake dish in oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is lightly golden brown and bubbly.

And here's the song that inspired the title to this entry:


Hope you all try this recipe out!

Beef. It's what's for dinner.

Angus Ribeye

Why shell out $20+ on a steak and potatoes meal at a restaurant when you can make your own juicy Ribeye, Porterhouse, or Flat Iron for less than $5 a person?

NOTE: Never buy meat with brownish/grayish discoloration... steaks should always be red red red!

Steak and Herb Roasted Potatoes

Potatoes:

2 Large Russet Potatoes or 3 Large Red Skin Potatoes
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Minced Garlic or Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp any generic Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Chop potatoes into 1 inch cubes.
3) Toss cubed potatoes with olive oil, garlic, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Spread evenly over baking sheet and roast in oven for 15 minutes or until baked through... test with fork just to be sure.

Steak:

2, 1 inch thick steaks
1-2 tbsp of Canola Oil
1/2 tsp of Thyme
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste - Use pepper grinder with whole green and black peppercorns

*Make the steak while the potatoes are roasting to save more time.
1) Place 1 tbsp of Canola oil on frying pan and set to medium-high heat.
2) Salt and Pepper the both sides of the steak. Keep in mind that with the steak being 1" thick, you may need to salt it a little more than you would other foods.
3) It is very important to use a stopwatch or timer when cooking steaks especially if you want them cooked a certain way. I recommend 3.5-4 minutes on each side for Medium Rare. Once oil begins to smoke a little, gently place a steak onto the pan and start your stopwatch/timer. After about 2 minutes, flip the steak over and season the cooked side with a pinch of thyme. After another 2 minutes, flip the steak over and season the other side with thyme. Flip the steak 2 more times with 2 more minutes on each side.
4) Let the steak rest uncovered for 3-5 minutes, ensuring the juices stay in.

Serve steaks with roasted potatoes and 2oz side of good goat cheese (Never use Chavrie goat cheese pyramids, they are more like sour cream than goat cheese. Always buy any brand of goat cheese logs.)


Angus Porterhouse

Sugar and Spice Makes Everything NICE!

This summer I really got into BBQ'ing and I wanted to create a unique dry rub that would go good on all kinds of grillin' meats such as but not limited to: chicken, pork chops, ribs, etc. After a couple of tries I stumbled upon my RUB FOR ALL:

2 heaping tbsp Paprika
2 tbsp Brown sugar
1 leveled tbsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Ginger powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Red Chili powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne (decrease this amount or eliminate altogether if you're not too big on spice)
1/3 tsp Clove powder
1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Makes enough dry rub for about 4-5 lbs of chicken/ribs. It's a real time saver if you just make this dry rub in advance and save it in a jar. Rub your leg/thigh quarters with this and pop them in the oven on 350 for 1 hour. Slather some Hickory Smoke BBQ sauce or any other flavor sauce you like about 45 minutes into cook time, and you can have savory, sweet, BBQ chicken anytime of the year!

Ribs are easy too... heavily coat the ribs with the dry rub. Set them in a deep rectangular baking pan that has 2 cans worth of beer and 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce on the bottom. Seal the rib pan with foil so that the meat can braise nicely. Bake in the oven on 250 for 2.5 hrs. This is a great slow cook option so you can be free to do whatever else you need to for the next 2.5 hours! Come back to slap some BBQ sauce on them and set the oven to broil for another 15-20 minutes until they get a crisp caramelized crust. MMmmmm finger lickin' good!