Pork Belly Ravioli

Would you believe I got lost in the grocery store for the past 5 months? Okay 50+ hours a week at the restaurant did not leave a lot of time for writing. But hey I do have a good stockpile of recipes now that I have tested.

Everywhere you turn these days I feel as though you see Pork Belly this and Pork belly that... If you don’t want to see another Pork Belly recipe, look away now.

The current Pork Belly hype is all for very good reason. It is a relatively easy cut of meat to cook, and you get some amazing results. I fully admit that this is not the dish to prepare if you are on a low fat diet, but I have never been accused of being on a low fat diet, so there.

This recipe started when I was watching TV the other night, and an idea for a dish to prepare for a client came into my head (we will cover that one on another day). I was thinking about the protein for the dish, and thought "wow, this would be nice with pork belly." This thought meandered to “wow, I would love some pork belly ravioli.” No one I know makes it, so I researched it and decided to just make a batch and see how it came out. The results were pretty damn good. The only down side was I knew this particular client would never approve the dish for their menu, but I ate well that night!

Orange Ginger Striped Bass with Roasted Zucchini

I have to say it has been a busy month for me. It is not the lack of ideas that has kept me from posting but the lack of spare time. I work full time as a sous chef and part time as a server at another restaurant. Minimum 45 hours a week at one restaurant and picking up shifts at the other can take a chunk of time out of your life. I try to fit in all of my other obligations, but my recreational activities can take a hit...namely recipe testing and posting. But I can say I am still on track to make at least one recipe post a week.

Just because I am not posting as much as I would like does not mean I am not working on the recipes though. Not including this one, I actually have three in the pipeline ready to go as I type this. But on to things more important than my bitching about following my dream....WHAT'S FOR DINNER?!?!?!?!

Striped Bass.
This is a mild flavored, firm but flaky fish. This being spring, although Texas seems to have forgotten this and as usual jumped straight to summer, I wanted to go with a light citrus flavor. While tasting oranges at my grocery store (yes my grocery store does have fruit samplings), I found the oranges were really amazing. These had that perfect balance of sweet and sour that immediately made me think of adding ginger to them. The flavors here will be mild so they won't overpower the natural flavor of the fish, which makes this a light and delicate meal.

Egg Waffles with Blackberry Honey Butter

So there I was minding my own business surfing around the internet. Just doing some random reading of different things, and I stumbled on something. These little things called Hong Kong Egg Waffles. I did some research and found that they are actually called gai daan jai or eggettes. Well they intrigued me to say least.

After some careful thought out and very well executed prodding from my buddy (spoiled brat), I did a search as to where I could find one of these egg waffle/eggette pans. Well low and behold, it turned out you could get one right around the corner at Williams-Sonoma. I decided to take the plunge "in the name of research" and just for the fun of it and to see what I could come up with. You know, I am taking one for the team here, suffering for you and my art, feel my pain!!

Basil and Panko Crusted Chicken with Angry Garlic and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs...why on earth would I choose to use what is considered to be such a lesser cut of meat to a chicken breast? Well it could be that the thigh, being dark meat from a flightless bird that spends its life wandering the ground looking for food, has more flavor. Maybe it is for the low cost that you can get a boneless chicken thigh compared to a boneless chicken breast. It very well could be that due to the size of a chicken thigh, it would be easier to control the portions and therefore our food intake.

While all three could be very good reasons to use the thigh, none of them are the reason I chose to use it here. The absolute honest truth is that, as stated before, I hate to waste food. When I buy chicken, I prefer to buy a whole chicken and break it down myself. It really only takes a few minutes, and there is a significant cost savings. For example, if I were to buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts at my local store, I would pay around $3.00 per pound. When I buy a whole chicken, I spend around $1.00 - $1.25 a pound. So I save a little money, and I have enough chicken for a few meals.

This also has to be good for the environment as well in some way. What!?!   
I care about that kind of stuff. No, I really do. Stop looking at me like that.

Mango Pico de Gallo with Mexican Chicken

After the Blueberry Pancake recipe, I had a request from Shannon for more chicken recipes, which, from my perspective, is humorous as I am teased by several people about eating too much chicken. I admit I go through phases, but I always return to the pork. Anyway, in response to Shannon's request, I have worked on a couple of recipes. I thought I'd share the first one today.

While working on this, I tried to keep in mind that you might actually want to spend some time with your family rather than the stove and oven. I've noted a time saving option for this recipe that will not impact the overall flavor too much.

I was originally planning on making this a pineapple pico, but the mangos looked really great at the store. They are usually in season in May and before that are usually hard and not nearly as sweet. I will pass them, pick up one or two to test, then put them back and just move along. Today though, when I picked them up, they did not feel like a baseball, but more like....well a mango. If the mangos do not look good, or are too expensive, you could go with pineapple or another tropical fruit. I have even considered trying to do a pomegranate pico, just have not seen any pomegranates that jump out at me screaming "PICK ME, PICK ME".

Razza con Peperoni e Finocchi Arrosti

I was talking to someone earlier today and told them I was going shopping for dinner. When they asked what I was cooking, I responded with "I honestly don't know. I will just look around till I get inspired." When the response I got was, "I guess that is the hard part about creating recipes for a blog, you know, trying to get inspired." I hung up and was left thinking...was that a challenge?

I headed to the store not really knowing what I was going to cook. All I did know was I was in the mood for some real food after the week I had been through. I can honestly say it did not take long after entering the store to decide what I wanted to cook though. I was taking a glance at the seafood counter, and while trying to decide between Chilean Sea Bass, Shrimp or Salmon, I saw it.

Ancho Rubbed Rib-eye with Cilantro "Blue-naise"

So, before we were so rudely interrupted by the Red Snapper, I was working on this recipe. I wanted to bring together some spice, blue cheese and the richness and lightness of a Bearnaise sauce. Figuring out the best way to bring these together was the tough part. I mean you can't just throw everything into the mix and see what happens. Most of the time you end up with something that is better suited for your dog, or at least your local group of ...umm...errr... "smokers" who don't really care what they are eating when the munchies are at that level where everything is the best thing they have ever eaten. I actually know one of those guys who enjoys telling me all about his latest creation of mixing together this box of hamburger helper with this box of tuna helper and telling me how I have to try it. I will stick to the Rib-eye. But I digress... By adding the ancho powder to the rub for the steak, I brought a little spice to this dish. Replacing the tarragon in the Bearnaise with cilantro and stirring in some young blue cheese melded the flavors nicely.

As for choosing a steak, if you are going to offer me my choice, I will take the Rib-eye. I personally don't feel the Fillet has the flavor or the texture that I want. A Rib-eye on the other hand, being marbled with fat, carries the flavors better and is a more moist cut of meat. That said, please feel free to use your favorite cut of meat for this recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Jerk Red Snapper

I had a recipe I wanted to post that I had been working on for several days. I even shopped and had it prepped. I had everything I needed, except for the time to put it together. But like it tends to do, fate stepped in and threw me a curve ball. I inherited a few cuts of Red Snapper while at work last night, and not one to let a good fish go bad, I set my prepared recipe aside for the moment and let inspiration take over.


Honestly, I tend to feel really bad having to throw away good food. Well that, and I like fish a lot. It is a close follower to Pork, The Pig is King. This was basically the thought process that led to this dish.

Shopping Choices.

We always tell our friends when we have a bad shopping experince, but it is not often enough that we tell them about a good one. So here you go.

I live in Houston, so that means I have a lot of choices of where to spend my money. When I decided to re-launch this blog with the intention on being an outlet for my recipes I knew the plating and presentation would be important. I shopped around and found what I was looking for at Sur La Table. So now whenever I am around City Centre (this is a new store, I used to visit a different one), I will stop in just to look around.

When I was working on the Sriracha wings, I knew a remekin was in order for the dressing. After I put the chicken in the oven I ran over to Sur La Table to pick a couple up. One of the great things about getting all of my plates for the blog there, is that I can compare actual items together before I buy them. I bought them and returned home in time to get the wings out of the oven. As I was pulling them out of the bag I noticed that the price marked was not the same as what was charged. So I sent them a quick email just to let them know, as we were only talking about a couple of dollars, I was not worried about taking them back to get a price adjustment or anything.  I instantly got an email back tell me to just give them a call and they would sort it out. I did and well it was taken care of in a matter of two minutes, no hassels or attitude.

I always liked Sur La Table to begin with, due mainly to selection and price. It is really nice to be able to go to a store and always get fast and curtous service, no sales clerks followng you around trying to sell you everything you dont want or need.

If you have not been there check it out, with the service I received this time, they have earned the spot of being my first stop when shopping for culinary items.

Tony

Sriracha Honey Wings with Cilantro Blue Cheese

Some of the best advice I was given about creating menus and recipes was "Stay true to who you are, your food will taste false." Keeping this in mine, I was really in the mood for some wings this week. So well I made wings. I decided to combine my standard recipe that I use, which peope love, with Sriracha which brings it own flavor profile to the table. I am very happy with the results, and it goes great with the Cilantro-Blue Cheese Dressing (that recipe is just previous to this one).

Cilantro-Blue Cheese Dressing

Cilantro-Blue Cheese Dressing


1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbs minced garlic
½ cup Cilantro, chopped
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbs Lime Juice
1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all items in mixing bowl. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld.

Yield: 1.5 cups

Stuffed Pistachio Crusted Pork Loin

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." - Albert Schweitzer

This is a quote in the front of one of my favorite books The Flavor Bible. It is really an amazing book to be able to cross refrence flavors when compling a dish. But I was stumped about exactly how I wanted to do this dish. I had a conversation with one of my favorite chef's who also happens to be my best friend. I trust her judgement and she brought the random thoughts into a cohesive dish.

I am truely a man of my word.

So someone has been stongly hinting that they want me to make them some pancakes. Since I cannot physically make them for her right now I have decided to give her the next best thing. VIRTUAL PANCAKES! No ordinary pancakes will do for her though, so I offer this.

Evelyn, here are your virtual Blueberry Pancakes with Gingered Maple syrup.

Blueberry Pancakes w/Gingered Maple syrup


Use fresh blueberries in this pancake recipe of you can. When cooked they will pop in your mouth releasing their flavor.

For syrup:
1 Cup Maple syrup
1 oz Ginger-root; fresh; cleaned and julienned

Pancakes:
2 eggs, separated
1 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
3 Tbs sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 Tbs butter, melted
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed

1 Place Maple syrup and ginger in med saucepan.

2 Heat over Med-high until it comes to a boil.

3 Promptly remove from heat and set aside.

4 In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.

5 In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

6 Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl; add milk, vanilla and melted butter.

7 Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients; mix until batter is smooth and stir in blueberries.

8 Fold in beaten egg whites.

9 Heat pan over medium-high heat. Grease with butter.

10 Ladle ¼ cup (2oz) of batter into hot pan.

11 Place small hand full of blueberries on pancake.

12 When bubbles form in top flip pancake.

13 Finish cooking on other side.

14 Serve with Gingered Maple syrup.
 
Enjoy

Pork Chili Verde

So when I gave my recipe for the tomatillo sauce, it generated a couple of questions. Could it be used as a base for a Chili Verde. As a big fan of this dish I thought about it and decided to see what I could do. I know this is not an authentic New Mexico Chili Verde recipe. I do not claim it to be. I do claim that it is authentic Anthony Messina Chili Verde. That is what I will stand by.

I started out with getting a definition of Chili Verde:
Pigonaspit.com says it is "Stew or sauce usually made from chunks of pork that have been slow cooked in chicken broth, garlic, tomatillos, and jalapeño peppers." while dictonary.com says it is "a stew of beef or pork, or both, flavored with hot green peppers." I had both of these covered.

I started with slow roasting my pork in my favorite dry rub with the peppers for added flavor and mde my stew based on this. I purposly cooked more pork then I was going to need so I would have plenty of drippings to add back in.

The six peppers looks like it is going to be very spicy but it has a very nice rounded flavor when complete.

Pork Chili Verde

The time it takes to roast everything adds to the flavors. You could probably just skip this and cube the pork and brown it. Remove it from the pan, roast the peppers then start the chili in that way, but that is not the way I like to do things. Respect the Pig. Allow it time to generate the flavors and you will be rewarded. My personal choice for rubs is a variation of the Perini rub from the book Texas Cowboy Cooking.

5 lbs Pork But bone in
¼ cup Favorite Dry Rub
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 ea Jalapeno Peppers
2 ea Poblano Peppers
2 ea Anaheim Peppers
2 ea Medium Yellow Onion
8 ea Garlic Clove
salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup Olive Oil
1.5 lbs Tomatillo, Fresh Rough Chopped
4 cups Chicken stock
3 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
3 tbsp lime juice, or to taste
1 bunch Cilantro tops

Oven Temperature: 200°F


To Cook the Pork:

1 Place Pork in a deep Roasting Pan.

2 Sprinkle with dry rub and cumin then massage into pork.

3 Place in center of pan, fat side up.

4 Peel an quarter one of the onions and place in bottom of the pan.

5 Place whole peppers, and garlic cloves around the pork in the pan.

6 Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and cover tightly with foil, making sure that the foil is not touching the meat.

7 Place in oven at 200 Degrees and allow to cook for 12 hours.

8 Remove pork from pan and set aside, strain juices from pan.

9 Set peppers, garlic and onion aside, and allow juices to separate.

10 Shred pork with fingers or 2 forks to desired size.

Assemble the Chili Verde:

1 Heat pot over medium heat, and add olive oil.

2 Chop remaining onion and add to pot, cook till starts to brown.

3 Turn heat down to medium and add Tomatillos cooking for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

4 Remove stems from cooked peppers, and add to pot along with onion and garlic that was cooked with pork.

5 Skim fat from reserved juices and add up to two cups to pot.

6 Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.

7 Using a standing or immersion blender puree the mixture.

8 Stir in pork till you have the amount you would like to use, ( I used about 2/3rds)

9 Return to a simmer and add lime juice to taste.

10 Stir in chopped cilantro and adjust seasoning.

Serve over rice if you would like and enjoy! This makes quite a bit so have a few friends around to help you eat it.

Tomatillo Sauce

Just a quick and small recipe. This is one I find that I use quite a bit. It is very versatile, and can be adapted to many things. I am putting it up now though as it is a small in integral part of a dish that I will be putting up shortly.

Tomatillo Sauce


This is really a straight forward recipe. I use it as a base for many things from here. If you would like feel free to add some cilantro or a bit of lime juice. I tend to tailor it to the dish. Many of the people I have made this for are fine dipping chips in it as a salsa. The key in the end in the salt and pepper to your taste.

1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Tomatillo, Fresh Rough Chopped
1 ea Medium onion chopped
3 ea Garlic Clove, crushed
1 each jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded if desired and
minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Heat Medium saucepan over Medium heat.

2 Add Tomatillo, Garlic, Jalapeno and Onion.

3 Simmer until tomatillo breaks down and sauce thickens (about 45 minutes) Stirring occasionally.

4 Place mixture in blender and puree till smooth. (if adding lime juice or Cilantro this is the time)

5 Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 
Enjoy

Chicken in Vindaloo Sauce

This is not a traditional Chicken Vindaloo in any sense of the word.But after working on it I really liked it. Let me say this though, I like all cuisines. I like Indian cuisine, but it can be a bit daunting. The cuisine is so huge you could take a lifetime to scratch the surface. I decided that I would try and make a different version of Chicken Vindaloo. I read a lot of different recipes and put them together to come up with this one. What I was going for was exactly what I got. I wanted to make a sauce out of the Vindaloo that I could pour over chicken and rice. Since the chicken usually cooks in sauce, I added some chicken granules to the sauce to impart that flavor. It turned out very nice. Keep in mind that most curry powders are different, and I make my own.

Recipe:

Chicken with Vindaloo Sauce

Servings: 2

I prefer to use skin on Chicken, for the crunch it adds, and to cook it in cast iron. Serve with homemade or store bought Naan. Use a homemade curry powder if you can, store bought works fine as well, just be ready to adjust the seasonings. The sauce makes enough for eight chicken breasts.

5 tbsp Olive oil
3 tbsp Garlic, Minced
5 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
5 tsp paprika
2 ea Chicken breasts- Boneless, skin on
1 ea Medium onion chopped
2 tbsp Curry Powder
1.5 lbs roma Tomato dices
2 tbsp Ginger-root grated
2 tbsp chicken bouillon granules
½ cup water
¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
1 each Lime slices, for garnish

Oven Temperature: 350°F

1 Mix together 3 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Garlic, 3 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar and 2 tsp of the Paprika in a non-reactive bowl. Add Chicken to this, cover and place into refrigerator for 30 min to 2 hours.

2 Heat a saucepan to med-high. Add oil.

3 When oil begins to shimmer add Onions and remaining garlic. Cook till translucent and just beginning to brown.

4 Stir in Curry Powder and remaining Paprika.

5 When mixture is evenly mixed add Roma Tomato. Reduce heat to medium and cover.

6 After tomato has begun to release their juice (about 5 minutes), Stir in Ginger and Chicken Bullion.

7 Add water and puree until smooth in blender or submersion blender, then return to pot on a low simmer and cover.

8 Stir in Cilantro, remaining Red Wine Vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.

9 Sauce can be held for up to three days in the refrigerator at this point and reheated when needed.

10 Cook Basmati Rice according to package directions.

11 Heat oven safe pan (I like cast iron) over medium high heat.

12 Add chicken skin side down and cook till skin is crisp (3-4 minutes)

13 Turn chicken and place in oven until cooked through.

14 To Serve place a bed of rice on a plate, place Chicken skin side up, and cover liberally with sauce. Serve with lime wedge.


Enjoy.

A Little Turnover

In the February/March issue of Fine Cooking Magazine there was a recipe for French Apple Turnovers. It is very straight forward and simple, which made it easy to remember. And as Chef Alexander always said “If you know the method and technique you can make anything”


Tonight at work, we had a little spare time so I made a version of these for the staff. Sautéed Granny Smith Apples in butter. I then mixed in some fresh blueberries, cinnamon, brown sugar, granulated sugar and a touch of lemon juice. When everything was nicely cooked down, it was removed from the heat to cool. I grabbed a piece of thawed puff pastry and rolled it out slightly. The puff pastry was cut in half lengthwise, and the filling was placed inside of it. Brushed the edges in egg wash and folded it over to seal it. Egg washed the top, sprinkled a bit of sugar over the top and placed the filled puff in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes till they were golden brown. After being removed from the oven and allowed to cool topped them with a vanilla bean glaze and sliced them up.

I got better compliments on these turnovers that everyone got a few bites of, than some of the dishes that we make them for dinner.

I will have to write down an actual recipe for this one.

So the dice are cast.

Today I was asked and cast my dice. I like to think that I listen to people very well. I know sometime it may not seem like I hear them but I do. I have a few people in my life that have the funniest way of saying exactly what I need to hear at the exact moment that I need to hear it. Not when I am looking for advice or input, just general conversation, but they say something that clicks.

Last year I had a letter of recommendation written for me, at the interview, I was asked if I knew what the letter said. As the letter was sealed when I received and turned it in I said I did not (which was true). And I was told that the letter spoke very highly of my integrity. I figured this traced back to a competition that I won, where I could of taken credit for the win on my own, and the person that had worked with me would of been 100% fine with it. I shared credit for this with her, as she was an equal member of the team, and was just a part of the win as I was. Thank you Chef.

I bring this up because of who wrote this I have felt like since then I have to live up to it even more. Honestly works best. If you lie, you have to remember the lie. That in itself is harder than just accepting the consequences of your actions.

I don't take credit for work I did not do, and give credit where it is due.

Rewards are best when they are actually earned, and I won’t push my friends out of the way for my needs. It is not I don’t consider it "selfless" just honest.

Enough with the endless babble, onto the culinary side.

So chefs get a flavor profile stuck in their heads. When they do, they will sometime explore it till they never want to taste it again. I am in one of those modes right now. The victim is.......

Cherry Anise.
This may sound like a weird one, but one night it came to me and has been stuck with me. Jam, Sauce and even a cupcake. It is nice, the jam itself will can be used as a base of the sauce or as a cake filling when done right.

But for the dish with the sauce I see it going along these lines:

Placed on a bed of wild rice which carries a very nutty flavor would be placed medallions of roasted pork tenderloin. This would be topped with the Cherry Anise sauce, that has a touch of soy sauce added to it.

Be Safe.

Gambling

I have been told many times that I am a gambler. Not with money, but with decisions. I take chances. When I make my decision I go with it.


I am a big fan of playing the cards that I am dealt. Anyone who has played poker can tell you that very few hands are winning hands. That is if you play the cards put in front of you. You have to also play the people at the table as well.

Dice are a little different. You make your bet then throw the dice. Where they land is your outcome. Win or lose you made your play.

What does this have to do with anything? Well it is life.

Sometimes you are dealt cards and you have to play them. When the hand is over you have to be able to look back and be able to say to yourself that you played the hand the best you could of. This may mean that you did not let everyone know the cards you hold. Standing fast hoping that the other person does not realize you are sitting on a weak hand, or on that you have all the cards and no matter how they play it, you are walking with the pot. Either way, you will learn something from the hand. Not only how that hand should be played, but also about your opponents.

As with dice, you have your choice, make your decision and throw the dice. Sometimes you come out ahead and other times you lose big. But without great risk you cannot reap great rewards. You stick with the decision till the game has ended. Then you can cash out and get ready for the next roll.

Where this is coming from is actually many fold. Many things are currently going on that make this analogy surface here. One is very recent that makes me very happy that I played my cards the way I did. The other makes me happy I threw my dice the direction I did.

I know this whole thing sounds cryptic and scattered but the meaning is there.

I remember most things of note that are said to me. I learn from them, directly and sometimes indirectly. Today I had someone say something to me that will most assuredly stay with me for a while, and made me realize that I did play a couple hands the correct way.

To paraphrase: Valentines may last for a day, but best friends are forever.