Dirty Bloody Mary

I always think I'll like a bloody mary, but I find very few recipes I like. This one is one of my favorite.

 

Ingredients:

1 ounce Dirty Martini Mix

1 ounce Vodka

3 ounces Bloody Mary Mix

Few drops Sriracha sauce

Ice

Mix everything in a cocktail shaker and serve.

Quick Bubble Pizza

This is quick, inexpensive, and tastes really good. Mine took awhile longer because I caramelized some onions, but you can put whatever you want in it.

Ingredients:

2 packs of refrigerated biscuit dough, 6 biscuits each

1 jar pizza sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Bell's Turkey Seasoning

At first you'll probably say, "Turkey Seasoning?". Well, the original recipe called for a few bay leaves. The seasoning I used is a blend of rosemary, oregano, sage, ginger, and marjoram. I thought that sounded alright on pizza. You can use whatever you want. Maybe you have some Italian Herb blend laying around.

The biscuit dough was the cheap supermarket brand. Instead of over $2 for one pack, I paid .69 cents! The cheese was on sale for $1.77 or $1.88 (I forget which) and the pizza sauce was under $2 for a 14 ounce jar. The herbs I had already.

Heat the oven according to directions on the biscuit dough package. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. With a sharp knife cut the biscuit dough into 4 triangles and put in a large mixing bowl. Add in the pizza sauce, herbs, and 1.5 cups cheese. You can also mix in toppings if you want. After mixing, put in your baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake according to directions on biscuit dough package. I put mine in for an extra 5 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

I think it came out almost perfect. For next time I think it needs a few dashes of red pepper flakes. In my recipe I had only used one onion, but I think two would be perfect.

Here's a link to the original recipe if you want to see it in a oven safe skillet: Pass The Sushi.

Walnut Pasta Sauce

I am always on the look out for pasta sauce recipes that do not include tomato. The acid doesn't sit well with me. I found this recipe for Walnut Pasta Sauce and it was fantastic. At first I was worried it might be chunky and that bits of nuts would be caught in my teeth, but not so. Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Salt & Pepper

In a food processor, add the nuts and pulse until they're a fine consistency. The original recipe called for toasting the walnuts, but I skipped that step.

Add in the olive oil, white wine, and pulse again to mix well. That was the amount of oil called for in the original recipe. It came out a bit lumpy, so add in some more olive until it smooths out. Some people say to cook your pasta and add in a bit of pasta water, because it will replace some of the starch lost during cooking and thicken it up a bit. I did not do that and thought it was fine.

Now add in your nutmeg and cinnamon and pulse again to mix.

Transfer this mixture to a pot and heat. Add in your heavy cream and heat. I actually just added the whole pint of heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss with pasta.

Meatloaf Recipe

I made some awesome meatloaf the other night. I've actually made it twice since finding the recipe. It was the best I've ever had.. flavorful, moist, perfectly cooked, with a few tweaks.

No need for me to post the recipe here when it's already HERE. Following the advice of some others here's what I changed:

Triple the amount of sauce. I also added my own tweak. Leave out the brown sugar and instead added Adam's Rib Rub. I added some to the meat as well as the sauce. Aside from those two tweaks, I thought the recipe was perfect.

Someone had suggested to first saute the onions in butter. This made absolutely no difference as the onions got tender when cooking anyway.

Firecracker Pie

There's a recipe on the back of a box of Cornflakes sometimes. I found it on my ghetto "cornflakes" at Aldi supermarket. The picture looks fantastic on the box and after making it for myself. I wish I would have taken a picture.

The ingredients are like you'd be making a quiche. The crust is made from crushed cornflakes or in my case crushed Doritos. The filling is made from eggs and cheeses. The toppings are sour cream, diced tomato, and sliced olives.

Anyway, this is a warning (which is why I didn't post the recipe): It's unflavorful and possbly one of the most nasty thing I've ever cooked. It was horrible.

Roasted Garlic Panacotta

I don't exactly how I got the idea that I wanted to make panacotta. It's not even in my normal daily vocabulary. Anyway, I did some searches and found this recipe on another website. Easy to make, very tasty. I'll post her picture here, but link her website for the recipe.

Panacotta is made out of milk and uses gelatin to make it set up. It comes out spreadable similar to butter. Tastes great on warm toast like pumpernickle bread. Tomorrow I'm going to try it on some potatoes I cook for breakfast and for lunch in a grilled cheese sandwich. I would imagine a large pat stuffed inside a cheeseburger would be fabulous.

In her recipe I left out the clove of garlic that was unroasted. I roasted it all. For the salt, pepper, and cheese I just eyeballed it.

I found these little containers at Dollar Tree. They come in packs of 10 and I was able to fill 7 of them from this recipe. Don't let the picture fool you. They are really tiny. They hold about 7 or 8 tablespoons worth of stuff.

Link to her website and recipe:

Roasted Garlic and Reggiano Panacotta

PS - A grilled cheese is awesome with this in it. I took a cue from an episode of Friends where Ross had a sandwich with the patented "Moist Maker". It's a third slice of bread in the middle covered in gravy. Well, in my case I put a third slice in the middle covered with this panacotta. Toasted bread, covered both sides with panacotta, surrounded each side by 2 slices of cheese, two more pieces of bread, and grilled.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

This recipe was good enough to share, but at the end I'll list what I would have done differently.

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can of black refried beans
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Sweet Chili Sauce (you can get this in the International Aisle of the supermarket next to the Asian or Chinese foods)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (plain)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, put the can of refried beans.

In a food processor, add bell pepper and onion. Pulse for a bit to get it chopped finely.

In a small bowl mix together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.

Stir egg mixture into refried beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four balls. Spray a hamburger patty maker with nonstick coating and press balls into patties on baking sheet. You may have to reapply a little nonstick spray to the hamburger patty maker so it doesn't stick. I was able to do two patties and then had to respray.

Bake patties for 10 minutes on each side.

What DID I do differently? I felt the mixture was too sticky, so I added another 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. What WOULD I do differently? I'd probably add another teaspoon of the sweet chili sauce. You can use hot sauce instead if you want.

Serve on rolls as you would a hamburger with some ketchup or something.

American Chop Suey

Here's a recipe I tried tonight. I've made some changes to the original recipe, which make it a lot tastier.

12oz bag egg noodles

1 pound ground beef (I used 80%)

1 bag chopped frozen onions

1/2 bag chopped frozen green peppers

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 cans Campbell's tomato soup

2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce 

1/2 cup grated cheese

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Olive Oil

Cook noodles according to directions on package. Drain and set aside.

Heat your olive oil in a pan and add the onions, peppers, and minced garlic. Cook a few minutes and then add your ground beef. You want the vegetables to be soft, the meat to be cooked, but be careful not to overcook the garlic as you don't want it to taste bitter or burnt. Drain off the grease. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste.

Combine tomato soup and worchestershire sauce. Mix well.

Grease a baking pan. Make layers of meat mixture, then noodles, then meat mixture, then noodles, etc, until done. Top with tomato soup mixture and then grated cheese.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or so.

I thought this recipe was great, but I don't like the baking part. I don't like when the noodles get crunchy. They start off crunchy right from the package. Why would I want to cook them in water to get them soft, only to put them in the oven and make them crunchy again? Seems like some time space continuum.

So, you're welcome to bake it, but next time I'm going to skip that step.. I'm going to just mix everything in a large bowl and have the tomato soup preheated a bit, and bake it just a little to melt the cheese.

By the way, you use the soup as it is. Don't follow soup directions which call for adding in water. Just use it as is.

French Meat Pie

I saw this recipe on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It comes courtesy of William J. Morin Jr, owner of Morin's Hometown Bar and Grille in Attleboro, MA.

The flavor of the pie has hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. It's really nice and comforting and keeps me coming back for more. I think it's almost perfect as it is, but would have preferred a pinch more salt.

The original recipe tells you how to make the pie dough, but I skipped that and bought Pillsbury ready made. They sell them in packs of 2 in the supermarket. I also removed part of the recipe so you can just used pre-diced potatoes in a can.

Ingredients:

1 package pie dough (you need one dough for bottom and one for top)

1/4 teaspoon salt

9 ounces 1/2-inch diced potato

1 pound ground beef

9 ounces finely ground pork

9 ounces 1/4-inch diced onion

1 7/8 teaspoons beef broth

3 tablespoons, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons instant potato powder

3/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

Egg wash, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


In a large skillet over medium heat, add the beef, pork, and the onions. Brown the meat, then discard the grease. Let this cool down a bit.

In a large mixing bowl combine cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, black pepper, instant potato powder, and salt. After meat has cooled add it to the spices, along with the diced potato. Add in beef broth and mix everything with your hands well.

In a round baking dish, layer bottom with 1 of the pie dough. Press against sides to make a nice round pie. Add in your meat filling and make the top nice and level. On top of that put the other pie dough. Cut the edges off so they're not hanging over. Pinch the two pie doughs together to seal them together.

Beat an egg in a bowl and brush on top of the pie dough. Make a few slits in the top crust and a small hole in the center to allow steam to escape. Bake until cooked through and the top of the pie is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Piquant Oatmeal Soup

Many years ago I received a cook book of soup recipes. There's still recipes I haven't tried (and some I'll never try), but I thought I'd share this one we enjoyed.

The book describes it as "unusual soup, of Mexican origin, is simple and comforting. It has a hint of chili heat, but it's character is move sweet than spicy."

It was something different, but actually pretty tasty. The whole thing takes about 35 minutes or so, but part of the preparation you can do in advance when you have time, so if you do the prep you can actually make this soup in about 10 minutes or so.

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal

3 tbsp butter

1 large sweet onion

2 to 3 garlic cloves

12 oz tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped

6 cups chicken stock

1/8 tsp cumin

1 tsp harissa or 1/2 tsp chili paste

1 to 2 tbsp lime juice

salt and pepper

Place a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Add the oats and toast for about 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly and evenly browned. This is the part of the recipe that can be done in advance. Remove from pan and allow to cool. I used whatever oats I first found in the store, which happened to be Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats. I also forgot to remove them from the pan to cool after, oh well.

Heat butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and cook until onion is soft. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, cumin, harissa (or chili paste), and a good pinch of salt to the onion and garlic. I used pre-diced tomatoes and could not find harissa. Heck, I couldn't even find chili paste, so I ended up using some chipotle sauce I found in the international aisle.

Stir in the oats and bring to a boil. As noted above I forgot to let the oats cool. I had cooked my onions at the same time, and did the step above, then just dumped the warm oats right in. Regulate the heat so that the soup boils gently and cook for 6 minutes.

Stir in 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning. You can substitute lemon juice, just use a little less the book says.  I actually used a little more than it said. I also used a dash of pepper. I would have liked a little more of the chipotle in mine, but that's up to you.

This serves 4 the book says. I think that's serving it as a main course, because we had 3 large bowls full of soup and there was still more in the pot. As an appetizer you'd get more.

Halal White Sauce

I live in New Jersey, but sometimes travel to New York City for work. The street carts there make this lamb platter with rice and salad. They put this heavenly white sauce on it. Tastes a little like mayo, but I have no clue what else is inside. Some carts may make it a bit differently, but most of the ones I've tried are similar. No matter what cart I visit, I can pretty much guarantee it'll be fantastic to my taste buds. Some of the carts also make a spicy cilantro sauce. At least they told me it was made with cilantro. Each time I try and ask about the white sauce I get a different answer it seems.

The only problem with my white sauce craving is getting to the city. It's about a 7 minute drive to the train station, but I have to pay for parking and almost $30 for a train ticket! Actually, make that double because my Girlfriend probably wants to go also. I set out searching the internet for this recipe, but no one seems to have one. I did, however find a recipe that was a little similar, and I enjoyed it enough to make twice already. It'll never replace the white sauce from the city, but it's not bad:

1/2 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup Water

1/4 tsp Horseradish

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper, Black

1 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Malt Vinegar

Mix it all in a blender. Enjoy. You don't have to add the sugar, but then it becomes even more tangy from the vinegar. I should note that I've made this twice before. The first time I put in the vinegar using an actual tablespoon. The second time I used a measuring tablespoon. That measuring spoon seems larger than a tablespoon? The second time was too much vinegar flavor, so I added some more mayo. Still came out alright.

By the way, if anyone knows a food science lab that can examine food and give me a recipe, I'd pay for it. I'd also be interested in finding out a certain chili sauce recipe.

Really Juicy Hamburger Recipe

I picked up this recipe from Food Network's website. I don't really care to watch anything with Paula Deen in it (although I do like her use of butter), but this was the best hamburger I've ever made.

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds ground beef, 80% lean
1/2 cup cold water
Salt and Pepper

Mix everything together. Form into hamburgers with a hamburger press. Cook 8 to 10 minutes per side for medium-well done. The water makes them stay extremely juicy.

My one modification to this is that instead of just putting water in, I first mixed the water with a brown gravy mix for extra flavor.

The Baked Potato

I wanted to make some baked potatoes and this one from Alton Brown delivers. Very simple, very, very tasty. Google it if you must, as I'm at work right now and unable to do so. Just google "the baked potato"  or "alton brown baked potato".

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put rack on the bottom.

Wash/Scrub four Russet potatoes with brush. Dry.

Using a fork poke 8 to 12 holes deep into the potato.

In a bowl coat potatoes with canola oil and sea salt. I personally used white truffle oil, because I love the flavor.

Cook directly on rack for 1 hour until skin becomes crispy and inside is soft. Normally people cover their baked potatoes in foil. Not so with this recipe.

The reviews on Food Network website are very positive. One person says he likes potatoes you get in a restaurant and never eats the skin, but this recipe changed all that. He likes this better and now eats the skin.
I coated two sides of my potato with the sea salt. Because of the oil it sticks very well. The flavor isn't overly salty either.

Baked Pizza Frittata

I found THIS RECIPE which looked amazing! Looked like a pizza made out of cake (or is that cake that tastes like pizza?).

Looks can be deceiving. I went out and bought the pan needed, all the ingredients, and followed the recipe. It looked like it would be flavorful. The texture was perfect and it came out of the pan nicely, but in the end the flavor was absent. Perhaps it was missing some more salt, or maybe more of the other seasonings. I'm not sure. 

One thing I can say is that the recipe called for 15 to 20 slices of pepperoni. I should have just put the whole package in. It was mostly flavorless egg with  a few pieces of pepperoni on top. It needed something in there.

If I try this again, I'm going crazy on the seasonings and probably won't measure them.

Cheeseburger Soup

I found this recipe online and it was freakin awesome. My Girlfriend and I ate it and both of us said we'd definitely eat it again. At the end I'll list my comments and what I did differently.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 3 1/2 cups diced potatoes
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery stalk
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces Velveeta, diced
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Method:

• Sauté the ground beef and chopped onion in a large skillet/pan over a medium heat. Mix the beef to prevent it sticking to the pan, cook until its browned all over. Drain and set aside, we will use the same skillet next.
• Sauté the chopped celery, chopped carrots, parsley and basil in 2 tablespoon of the butter in the skillet. When the carrots are tender, add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Now add the diced potatoes and cooked beef and simmer gently for 10-12 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
• In a separate small skillet melt the remaining butter, stir in the flour and cook through until it combines. Whisk in the milk and cook until the whole mixture thickens and becomes smooth. Add this to the soup and bring to the boil one more time.
• Reduce the heat and mix in the cheese and season. When the cheese has melted remove the pot from the heat.

I followed the recipe, except I bought ground lamb instead. It was cheaper. I accidentally put the whole package in the skillet, which was a pound. After the recipe was done, I realized this was a good mistake. The 1/2 pound it called for would have been too little.

The recipe could use more carrots than what is stated above. As for the spices.. I eyeballed everything and did a taste. I think I added a lot more basil, parsley, and salt than what was called for, except instead of salt I used a product by Tone's called "Crazy Dave's Salt & Pepper". It had other stuff in it like onion and garlic.

Vidalia's Favorite Onion Dip

Here's a recipe I thought I'd share with you. My Aunt introduced me to this and it's really good and easy to make.

Ingredients:

3 Cups shredded swiss cheese - Sargento is the only company around here making it. Shoprite always carries it.

3 Cups finely chopped Vidalia onions

2.5 Cups mayonnaise

Garlic powder to taste

Combine all ingredients in a baking dish and mix well. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until top is bubbly and golden brown.

Drain off the oil and dip potato chips in it.

Try it with Baconnaise (bacon flavored mayonnaise) also. Really good.