Recipes

My cholesterol went up 30 points just looking at this

Robb Allen — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:19:40 GMT

Making and eating something like that has just found its way onto my bucket list.

That, and the fact that there is a web site devote to bacon just made my day.

Hat tip to the most well armed, Baconiest librarian I know

At least the food has been good

Robb Allen — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:07:17 GMT

Yeah, I'm in a poopy mood but I have to admit at least dinner this week has been nothing short of amazing. Tonight, the Mrs. made pasta fagioli which was phenomenal. And the other day, we had balsamic glazed chicken which literally was painful to make (both because I had a paper cut on my finger and the fact that the marinade smelled so good it made my stomach hurt). We topped it off with grilled asparagus, one of my girls' favorite foods.

I highly suggest you try that recipe. You might want to use drumsticks rather than drummetts, but either way bring a bib for the mouth watering.

Hula Bagels

Robb Allen — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:16:21 GMT

My wife found this recipe a while back, and let me tell you it has been a family favorite ever since.

You'll need the following ingredients

Fresh pineapple rings. The canned stuff just doesn't cut it.
Cheddar cheese (I like the chipotle slices if I can find them)
Sliced ham
Bagels
BBQ Sauce. I highly recommend Sweet Baby Rays, especially the chipotle kind if you like a little heat

First, toast the bagels a little. Smear each half of a bagel with BBQ sauce, top with ham, then pineapple, then the cheese (My wife tells me that I, for the umpteenth time today, have made a critical error and that the pineapple goes between the ham and BBQ sauce).

Broil, open faced, until cheese is all melted. If you broil on Med or Low, you'll probably heat it up a little better. High tends to melt and burn the cheese while everything else is more like room temperature.

I totally love these things and even make them at work from time to time.

How do you make vegetables even better?

Robb Allen — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:40:40 GMT

Wrap 'em in meat!.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, when it comes time to enjoy asparagus, nothing beats coating them in olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper, then wrapping their little green carcasses in partially cooked bacon and shoving them in a 425° oven for 12 minutes.

Nothing.

My oldest daughter runs around the house all excited when we make asparagus. It's her favorite. She ate two of those bundles you see up there.

Oh, how the tips simply turn crispy and how the fat from the bacon just absorbs into the green flesh. When the bacon is all cooked, you can eat the whole bundle with your fingers. As a side dish for bratwurst and baby red mashed potatoes, it can't be beat.

Yeah, sure my cholesterol jumped up 12 points or so, but damn was it worth it.

Chicken Breasts with Lemon Pan Sauce

Robb Allen — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:00:35 GMT

This tangy dish is so easy to make and yet amazingly delicious. You will need a large, oven proof pan to cook the chicken in. The skin becomes almost bacon like in its crispness and flavor.

Ingredients

4 10 oz. chicken breast halves (bone in - skin on)*
2 tbsp vegetable or extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 medium sprigs thyme
3 tbsp butter cut into thirds
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

* I use a whole chicken and simply cut it up, but you need the skin, trust me

Instructions

Season the chicken with salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof skillet over medium high. When the pan is hot, add the oil. Heat the oil until it begins to smoke. Place the chicken, skin side down. Here's the trick - after 5 minutes, try to gently lift the chicken with tongs. If it doesn't come free without pulling, it isn't ready. Once the chicken lifts on its own, turn it over and cook for another 3 minutes or so.

Flip the chicken back to skin side down and place into the oven, skillet and all. Roast until the juices run clear or internal temp. is 160°F. Transfer chicken to platter and let rest while making sauce.

In the same skillet, remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat (I've found I usually don't remove any) and place on medium heat. Add shallots and saute, stirring frequently until softened, about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, lemon juice, and thyme; increase heat to high, scraping skillet with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits from the bottom. Cook until sauce is slightly thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.

Whisk in 1 tablespoon of butter at a time. I usually only use 2 tablespoons because 3 tends to be a little too much, but if you're a butter aficionado, I say go for it. Season with salt and pepper and spoon over chicken breasts, serving immediately.

I strongly recommend serving this with a good risotto or jasmine rice. Pour extra sauce on the rice for a treat!

Life is good

Robb Allen — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 21:38:44 GMT

Not only did I get to make a delicious lemon chicken last night, tonight I'm preparing the world's most kick ass potato leek soup. Picked up some ciabatta bread and will make spice dip to go with it (the same stuff they serve at Carabba's).

The whole house smells like sauteed leeks, shallots, celery and garlic.

Then, I'm making a tres leches cake.

Have I mentioned I love to cook?

Slow Cooked Spaghetti Sauce

Robb Allen — Tue, 05 Oct 2004 13:46:00 GMT

2 8oz cans of tomato sauce
2 6oz cans of tomato paste
28 oz water (each can from above)
3 large onions, chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
generous grinds of pepper
salt

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil to medium high. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute or so, then add the onions and turn the heat down to medium. Sauté for about 8 minutes until all the onions are soft and clear.

Add the tomato sauce and paste, water, and all spices except salt. When adding the herbs, rub them between your fingers to release their flavor (don't crush the bay leaves, though!!). Lower heat to simmer. Sauce should bubble, but not spatter.

Sauce takes about 3 hours, minimum. You need to stir it every 15 minutes to keep it from sticking. You may add meatballs after about 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end, salt to taste.

Spaghetti Blogging

Robb Allen — Sun, 03 Oct 2004 18:29:00 GMT

Since the mother is down for the weekend, I decided I'd make my super famous (at least in my family) spaghetti sauce. 3 1/2 hours of pure love go into this, not to mention 3 large onions, 6 cloves of garlic, 2 8oz. cans of tomato sauce, 2 6oz. cans of tomato paste, 1 tsp of basil, 1 tsp of oregano, 1/2 tsp of thyme, 2 bay leaves, generous helping of fresh ground pepper, 4 tbsp of olive oil, and a bunch o' salt.

Heat up the oil in a large stock pot (medium high). Push in the garlic and onions, lower the temp to medium, and saute for about 8 minutes. Then pour in the tomato sauce and paste, plus a can of water of each (2 8oz, 2 6oz.). Add all the spices except salt. Simmer on low for 3 hours. You can add meatballs (which I shall be doing) after 1 1/2 hours.

I wish you could smell what I am cooking!

Recipe Idiosyncrasies

Robb Allen — Thu, 09 Sep 2004 02:26:00 GMT

I made flan from scratch tonight (I actually had to make the sweetened condensed milk!). It turned out ok, but next time I'm just using condensed milk from a can.

What caught my eye was one of the recipes online that called for

3 egg yolks (separated)
3 egg whites

I wonder how many people read that recipe and wasted (ok, Nathan, "used". Happy now?) 6 eggs?

Bread Help

Robb Allen — Mon, 23 Aug 2004 18:57:00 GMT

I like to make bread. My wife finds this funny because I don't usually like to actually eat it once I've got it baked.

Anyway, yesterday I made a loaf of whole wheat since it's magnanimously cheaper than buying it and I have such a dandy time doing it. This loaf I did 100% by hand, no bread machine! Well, like usual, my whole wheat turned out to be fairly dense. My wife wants super light & fluffy bread like you buy at the store, not something resembling the density of a cinder block.

Any bread-heads out there have any good recipes or tips on this? Thanks!