Skillet Hash Browns

Yuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

This is another idea I got from our subscription to Bon Appétit magazine.  I'm a pretty visual guy when it comes to recipes.  And sometimes I see something that just jumps off the page and says, "Make me! I'm delicious."

We had our family over last weekend and I was looking for breakfast ideas.  Timing is a really hard thing when cooking; so it's nice to have something you can set for a while and work on other dishes.  This is the easiest way to make an excellent hash brown dish I have come across.  Normally they take quite a lot of work and attention.  This one lets you focus your efforts on something else.

When I order hash browns at a restaurant I usually ask for them to be "crispy" ... but they almost never are.  It just takes too long. This is a great way to get a beautiful crispy crust without constantly watching them.

This is super easy if you have the shredding disc attachment to a food processor.  Peel 5 russet potatoes and then cut them in half lengthwise.  Attach the shredding disc and the lid, then feed the potatoes down through the attachment and let the machine do all the work.  Transfer your shredded potatoes to a colander, rinse thoroughly and drain.

Potatoes are really starchy, and you want to rinse some of that off.  Toss in a generous amount of salt and pepper, mix it all together, and then press it all down to drain out the rest of the moisture.  The salt will extract a lot of moisture, so be sure you let it drain before transferring everything to your hot oil.

Slice two bunches of green onions or scallions all the way down through the white ends.  Separate the whites from the greens.  Add 6 tbsp oil to a heavy non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  Add half of your shredded potatoes, then top with the whites from your onions/scallions, and then cover with the remaining half of the potatoes.  Press it all down, and leave it alone for 10-15 minutes.

Carefully slide it out onto a cutting board, flip your pan over top of the hash browns, and then lift the cutting board and the pan and flip it all over together.  Now your hash browns should be inverted with a nice crispy side up top and the uncooked half on the bottom of your pan.

Pour 2 more tbsp of oil around the edges of the pan allowing it to drip down underneath your potatoes.  Top everything with the greens from your onions/scallions, and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Slide it out onto your cutting board again, and then slice it like you would a pizza or a pie.  It can be served with crème fraîche,  sour cream, salsa, or hot sauce.  It's also delicious as is.  The outside is crispy & salty, and the inside is soft and warm with the little bite of onions running throughout.  This is a fantastic little dish.  And I'm sure I'll be making it again.

Pickled Red Onions

I made these for the first time last summer.  They were such a hit, that I've made them a few times since.  We originally made them as a topping for a taco bar.  So when we had our family over last weekend, my wife asked if I would make them again for everyone.  I was happy to oblige.

I start by slicing a red onion in to rings, and then slice each ring in half so you have all these little crescent moon shapes.

Then I assembled all of my pickling ingredients:

• White vinegar
• Apple cider vinegar
• Pickling salt
• Sugar
• Mustard powder
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• Coriander

I honestly don't have a recipe; so I'll do the best I can to recreate one for you.  I first looked up a bunch of different pickling recipes online, and then I took the parts I liked from each.

Add 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, 1/2 tsp mustard powder, 1/2 tsp coriander, 2 tsp pickling salt, a pinch of black pepper, and 2 tbsp sugar into a small sauce pan.  Again, I'm just estimating here -- but I think that should get it pretty close.  Bring that to a simmer or a slight boil.

Remove your brine from the heat.  Add all the onions into a mason jar.

Carefully pour the pickling liquid into your mason jar and let it sit for at least 30 minutes -- but an hour or more would be ideal.  Let it cool, place the lid on, and refrigerate.

We also really like these on hamburgers or hot dogs.  The brine takes some of the bite off the red onions, which my wife really likes.  You still get the onion flavor, but it isn't as potentially offensive.  The vinegar and sugar add a nice sweet & acidic flavor profile.  I think they're delicious and can really elevate a dish.  I like to have these on hand in the summer to add as a nice flavor pop.

Tangy Carolina BBQ Chicken

There is a well-renowned restaurant in Mt Vernon, IA called “Lincoln Café”. At night, they have a couple really high end entrées to choose from.  But at lunch, it’s a much more casual dining experience.  My first visit was during lunch to try their “Carolina Pulled Pork” sandwich.

It may surprise some of you to know that the Carolinas have different takes on BBQ sauce.  And it isn’t North versus South, but rather East versus West.  Typically the Eastern Carolina variety is a vinegar based sauce, while the Western Carolina adds tomato to their sauce.  Lincoln Café’s pulled pork is the Eastern variety … and it’s delicious. 

That was my first experience with that type of sauce.  Later when I was down in Corpus Christi at a local grocery chain I saw a bottle of BBQ sauce labeled “Carolina Tangy Gold” and made chicken wings from it. It was so amazing that I looked & looked for it up here in Iowa.  No luck.

So this spring I had my parents bring me back 3 bottles of that delicious sauce.  The best part is that it’s only like $1.28 per bottle!  Craziness.  Now upon further research I found out there is another category of Carolina sauce that most certainly describes the one I got:

“In the central part of the state (the Midlands), barbecue is characterized by the use of a yellow "Carolina Gold" sauce, made from a mixture of yellow mustard, vinegar, brown sugar and other spices.” From Wikipedia

Well, this BBQ sauce I stumbled upon sounds like a great example of this variety.  It is tangy and sweet and you can definitely taste the mustard ... which I love.  Instead of chicken wings, this time I opted for a healthier boneless, skinless breast.  Remove all the excess skin & fat and then poke a bunch of holes with a fork.

Baste the breast(s) with your BBQ sauce and let it marinade for 20-30 minutes.

I put it on the grill with the basted side up.  I wanted it to cook down and thicken a bit before flipping it upside down so it wouldn't drip all down through the grates.  I also grilled some green beans and Yukon gold potatoes.

After the breast had cooked for 5-7 minutes on the one side, I flipped them over and basted the other side with more BBQ sauce.  I cooked them for another 5-6 minutes, did one last flip to kind of caramelize the second half of sauce, and it was good to go!  I had an entire meal - protein, vegetable, and starch - entirely prepared on the grill

The sauce is sticky & sweet, but there is the nice bite of vinegar and mustard to round out the flavor profile.  Now I just need to think of other ways to use this delicious sauce!

Strawberry Breakfast Sandwich

I wasn't quite sure what to call this -- maybe I need some type of creative marketing team to name my dishes.  But this is an open faced sandwich that is delicious for a fresh, light breakfast.  So for now, I'm sticking with "sandwich".

I didn't even know they made Laughing Cow in a strawberry flavor.  For those of you unfamiliar with The Laughing Cow, it's a semi-soft spreadable cheese from France.  They come in little wrapped wedges in round boxes.  My first experience was in Belgium when we bought a fresh baguette and some Laughing Cow to make cheap sandwiches.  And let me tell you, they were delicious.  The Laughing Cow has become much more popular in America recently.  It's great on crackers as well.

Last week at the store we realized they make a strawberry variety.  It is pretty similar to strawberry cream cheese, but probably a little less sweet.

This quick little sandwich is a delight in the morning.  We toasted some whole wheat English muffins, sliced up fresh strawberries, and spread out this tasty Laughing Cow cheese.  It isn't overly sweet, and the berries really freshen everything up.  It's a different way to go rather than using egg, meat, and cheese.

These could be really easy to make in large numbers if you are hosting a breakfast or a brunch.  I promise they will go over really well.

They can also be made with regular cream cheese.  That way your guests can choose.

Burger Basics

For something that seems really simple, there are actually a lot of ways you can screw up a good burger.  The first time I cooked for my in-laws was a perfect example.  They came over during the summer and I decided to grill burgers and just have some simple summer sides.  It seemed so easy.  But what I ended up with was little hockey pucks of burgers -- crispy and black on the outside, yet uncooked in the middle.

I made one of the biggest mistakes of over-handling the meat.  I used to toss the meat back & forth between my hands a BUNCH of times, and then smash it into a round patty.  After the in-law fiasco, I did a lot of internet research on burgers.  I asked my culinary school-trained friend.  And I even watched a Throwdown With Bobby Flay to learn from the grill master himself.  That was when I got a great little device that will make forming burger patties a piece of cake:

The piece on the right has a handle on it. And they form perfect little patties of either 1/4 lb or my preferred 1/3 lb.  Just lay across a sheet of waxed paper, divide your ground meat, and press it down.  It's really that easy.

I should also say that I like 80/20 for my ground beef.  You could use 85/15, or even 70/30, but please do not use 90/10.  You need fat to make the burger flavorful and juicy.  I also like to season the patties.  But here is the insider trick you must do:  press an indentation in the center of each patty with your thumb.

Burgers will naturally rise and plump up while they're cooking.  That is why you often end up with a patty that is thicker in the center and has shrunken to much smaller than you originally intended.  And for the love of God, do not press the patty flat with your spatula while it's cooking.  That will release all the great juices from inside. (You'll also get a big flare up from the fire.)

Toss your patties on a medium to high flame.  Now this is the really hard part: leave them alone!  The tendency is to over-flip them, or to move them around.  The beef will be loosely held together because you didn't over work it when forming the patties. If you flip or move them too often, they will crumble and fall apart.  My first burger grilling I lost probably 30% of the meat because I had no clue what I was doing.

The above picture is what the burgers looked like after 4-5 minutes.  That is when I flipped them over.

You'll notice that the top half is now cooked, and the bottom is still pink & raw.  They have also started to shrink up some.  Do not press them down.  Reduce the urge to move them.  I was pacing around and ignoring all the hissing & spitting from the grill.  My wife asked what I was doing and I said, "not touching the burgers."  Here is what they looked like 4-5 minutes later:

Now they are almost ready.  They have plumped up quite a bit, you'll notice.  And the juices are starting to run clearer.  I like mine medium, so I really don't want to dry them out or overcook them.  I add a few slices of sharp cheddar cheese and shut the lid to melt them.

Bada boom!  You've got some juicy, delicious burgers.

Sometimes I toast the buns, other times I won't.  But I do like to spread a small amount of mayo on the bottom bun.  That's a restaurant trick.  Burger King uses mayo on their Whoppers too.  Then you can add your various hamburger toppings:  lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, ketchup, mustard.  Thousand Island dressing will make it taste like a Big Mac.

I'm reluctant to say this is how to make a "perfect" burger -- but it's pretty darn close.

Avocado & Chimichurri Grilled Cheese

My wife found this recipe online and e-mailed me with the subject line "Holy Cow Yum!"

Now I may not always pick up on subtle hints from the fairer sex; but that one basically smacked me over my head and said, "Make this for me."  So I was happy to give it a shot.

The Mrs. has been on a bit of an avocado kick lately.  But there is only so much guacamole a person can eat, right?  So I guess it was only natural that we find another way to use them.  I don't think I ever could have come up with this recipe.  But it's really good, and pretty easy to make.

Take a large jalapeno and cut out the seeds and ribs (unless you like it hotter).  Toss that into your food processor with 4 green onions, 1 minced garlic clove, a large bunch of cilantro, olive oil, honey, and lime juice.

Pulse everything together until you get a nice paste -- adding more liquid to get the desired consistency (and taste, obviously).

Slice up an avocado.  An easy way to do this is cut it lengthwise around the pit.  Then take your knife blade and chop into the pit, give it a quarter turn, and it will pop right out.  Then the avocado should come out really easily.

Layer the chimichuri sauce on one slice of bread, top it with white cheese (mozzarella, pepper jack, provolone, Swiss, etc.), and avocado on top.

Heat up a cast iron grill pan over medium heat.  I normally use a non-stick skillet for grilled cheese; but I was following directions.  And I think it looks cool with the grill marks.  You can either use non-stick cooking spray, or carefully butter the outside of your bread.

Be very careful when you're flipping this one over so you don't loose all your delicious filling.

The cheese and avocado are really rich and satisfying.  But the lime juice, jalapeno, onion, and cilantro balance everything out really nicely.  It is the most sophisticated grilled cheese sandwich I have ever made -- that's for sure!  My wife really liked it just as a dip for tortilla chips too.

Great idea honey.  Keep them coming.

Cobb Salad

I really like that picture.  My wife actually came up with this idea and did the plating.  So I was merely the sous chef for this meal.  We were trying to be a little healthier for dinner.  It was a really nice night too; so I wanted to grill out.  This was a great way to achieve both.

We bought a large chicken breast from the butcher at our grocery store.  I seasoned it with my usual rub of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.  After you have grilled the meat all the way through, let it rest a few minutes before cutting it into cubes.

I also grilled the bacon.  That was a first for me.  I started it on aluminum foil, and then when it was sturdy enough I transferred the strips directly to the grill rack.  I figured I was already using the grill ... and it would prevent our house smelling like bacon all night.

(The onion & red pepper were just something I ate on the side because I like them grilled.)

Hard boil an egg and cut that into small pieces as well.  Then you'll also slice up an avocado, green onions, and a cherry tomatoes.  Then arrange in strips your egg, chicken, avocado, bacon, tomatoes, green onion, and blue cheese.  You can choose whatever dressing you would prefer on all that. Ranch, blue cheese, or a vinaigrette would be my recommendations.

This is a really filling salad.  You have so many great things going on, you definitely won't be bored eating just a salad. And you will be full as well.  There's definitely a richness from the egg, avocado, cheese, and meat.  And the fresh vegetables balance that out nicely.  The sharpness of blue cheese and green onion will help as well so it isn't too rich.

The presentation looked great -- but eventually I had to mix everything together.  I think this was a great idea.  I'm for sure going to have to make this again some time.

Savory Spiced Nuts

"What are these? They're really good."
"Who made these?"
"These are really addictive!"
"How do you make them?!"

...these are just a few of the comments that were flying around a party when I put these out on the table.  And they were all from people I didn't know.  We were at a Kentucky Derby party that had some really great food: including lobster mac & cheese, a 5-meat bragout (sp?), pork belly, meat & cheese tray, and real-deal mint juleps with bourbon-smoked sugar crystals and fresh mint.  And I'm not kidding, these nuts were the big hit!

We set them down, and they were gone in like 5 minutes!

This was probably the third time we have made them. My wife found the recipe in one of our many cookbooks.  They are pretty easy to make too:

• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
• 1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• Tin of Mixed Nuts
• Tin of Dry Roasted Peanuts
• Salt to taste

Crush up the spices together in a mortar & pestle.

Mix the wet & dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  Then add the nuts and toss them to coat.  Lightly grease a sheet of aluminum foil on top of a cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees, stiring once.

Be sure to check on them after 10 minutes, though, so you know they aren't burning.  If they get toasted too far, they aren't very good.  Our batch #2 wasn't very good because I over-cooked them.

Pull them out of the oven and top with a little salt while they're still hot.  Let them cool completely and serve.

The are salty & a little spicy from the cayenne.  The Worcestershire sauce gives it a really rich flavor, and the herbs brighten everything up.  I'm not exaggerating when I say they were a huge hit.  And it only took about 20 minutes total and cost around eight bucks.

Simple Pasta Salad

The pasta salad in this plate was something The Mrs whipped up the other day.  It is her at-home recreation of Suddenly Salad! -- one of her favorite "snacks".

Boil some pasta with salt water according to the package directions and let it cool.  We like the multi-colored pasta with little ribs/texture on them.  Cube up some cheddar cheese, slice cherry tomatoes, and black olives, and top everything with green onions.  Then all you need is some Italian salad dressing, and maybe a little Parmesan cheese to top everything off.

You can make a big batch of this and keep it in the refrigerator for later.  It's served cold, so you can have it any time.  It really is a quick way to add a nice summer side to most meals.

Blackened Chicken Drumsticks

This is one of my favorite things to grill.  When I was a kid, I was a sucker for dark meat chicken.  I was pretty picky and didn't like the white meat.  So drumsticks were my very favorite thing.  I still love them today; but now I'm certainly more evolved in my tastes and will eat both white & dark meat.  But when you can buy 12 drumsticks for $2.67 at the grocery store, it's pretty hard to resist!

This preparation even made a believer out of a friend of mine.  We were grilling for the 4th of July last year, and there was the usual hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, and even some nice steaks.  Then I brought out these drumsticks and it was met with some skepticism.  I made a bunch of them because they're so cheap; and I offered some to my friend.  He declined at first.  Then maybe the smell of them, or the look of enjoyment on my face when eating them, convinced him to give it a try.  He liked it so much he had a second one.

I use a very simple seasoning mix of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.  Give a generous coating to all sides of the meat.  These have the skin on and bone in, so they will take a while to cook.  I like to have the flame up pretty high so the skin crisps up and even chars a little.  So the "blackened" is on purpose.  But keep a close eye on them.  Because if you burn the outside, you can have a very off-putting acrid taste that almost nobody will like.

Cook the drumsticks for about 5 minutes on all four sides.  Let them rest a minute or two because the bone will be really hot when you pick them up.  But when you bite through that crispy, well-seasoned skin you'll know when I like these so much.  The outside is crispy & delicious and the inside is moist and tender.  I really, really like these.

So next time you're thinking of what to grill, consider some chicken drumsticks.  You might be pleasantly surprised.