Alright, I’m a bad blogger. I can’t tell you how many people have contacted me wanting to know what is going on, why I’m not blogging more often, and even a few who were concerned about my well being. Well…okay, not a lot of people, but more than I expected. I’m not going to offer up any excuses other than it has been me not being very motivated. I promise I’ll try to do better.

Not long ago I had a craving for something pizza-like, big surprise I know, me being the king of pizza delivery. What was surprising is that I didn’t exactly want pizza. Yes, I even shocked myself. I wanted something crispy, and chewy, savory and loaded with carbs. Something with a lot of flavor, just like pizza. Then I remembered a German dish that I had had before, Zwiebelkuchen, kind of a cross between a quiche and a pizza. Yes, I know, it sounds strange, but stay with me for a minute. Zwiebelkuchen come in many different forms from thick and eggy to thin and crispy with just a thin layer of custard to hold everything together…just like the cheese on a pizza. Made with lots of sauteed onions, and usually some kind of pork, this dish packs a wallop in the flavor category, and although a little time consuming (you make a yeast dough that needs to rise) it’s pretty simple. Serve it like you would a quiche, with a side salad for a light lunch, cut it into smaller pieces and serve as an appetizer or cut it into large wedges like I do and eat it as you would pizza.

This recipe makes a more pizza-like Zwiebelkuchen as opposed to the thicker, deeper quiche style.

Zwiebelkuchen (German Onion Tart)

1 package active, dried, yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups All purpose flour
1 Tbl. butter
1 cup water, warm
6 slices Bacon, chopped (preferably thick cut)
2 mdium onions, sliced
1/4 tsp. Caraway seed
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper, freshly ground
1 each Egg
1 each Egg yolk
1cup sour cream
2 Tbl. milk (optional)

Combine the yeast with sugar, salt and 1/2 cup flour in a bowll. Blend in the butter and warm water and mix to combine. Add enough of the remaining flour flour to make a soft dough (you will need most of it) then turn this onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turn to coat then cover and set aside to rise in a warm place for about 30-45 minutes.

After this time, pat the dough into a lightly-greased, 12 inch pizza pan or a jelly roll pan. Cover and set aside as you prepare the filling.

Place bacon in large, preheated skillet and cook until crisp then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Using the remaining bacon fat, saute the onions until tender but not browned. Add the caraway then remove from the pan and sprinkle over the dough. Top with the crispy bacon. Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the egg, the egg yolk and the sour cream together. This will give a custard that you can spoon on top, leaving areas devoid of custard, which is how I like it. If you want something a bit more uniform add the milk to the egg mixture and pour over the onions, spreading it out to cover completely. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Bake 10-12 minutes longer, or until the top is golden brown and the sour cream mixture has set. Serve warm or room temperature, sliced into wedges.

It’s Fall and that means that our CSA box is starting to fill with root vegetables. Onions, potatoes, celery, and beets have all made appearances in recent weeks. Hopefully they will continue to show up in our boxes along with other root vegetables such as rutabagas, parsnips, and turnips. Take well to all sorts of cooking techniques, from frying and sauteing, to boiling, roasting, braising and pickling. Raw they can often have a sharp, but pleasant bite, but cooking them slowly oftentimes draws out their intrinsic sweetness, mellowing them and lending a deep, rich earthiness to many dishes.

As a kid I hated beets, and even as an adult they were probably the last root vegetable for me to imbrace, but now that I have I love them and look forward to both the Spring and Fall crops when beets can be found fresh, locally. Luckily for me, our CSA farm did produce both a Spring crop which was quickly used up and a Fall crop which has been showing up in our boxes the last couple of weeks. The first week was a nice large bunch of typical red beets, but the other week saw a mix of golden and Chioggia (red and white striped) beets.

Hopefully, you like beets as much as I do. If not, your out of luck as the next 3-5 posts will all be revolving around beets. I hope you enjoy these brightly colored, gifts of nature as much as I do.

Beet and Blue Cheese Spread
adapted from Cooking Light Feb. 2008

1 pound beets, medium sized
2 apples (any tart variety will work well)
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled (I used Gorgonzola)
1 1/2 Tbl. horseradish

Trim beets of any greens, rinse well, removing all dirt and place in a baking dish. Add 1/4 cup of water, cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until the beets feel tender when pricked with a knife. Allow to cool then trim off root and stem ends and peel. Roughly chop and place in a food processor. Peel, core and chop the apples, placing them in the processor along with the blue cheese and horseradish. Process until well blended and somewhat smooth. Serve with crackers or toasted pita chips.

Don’t adjust your computer monitor, the sauce on the pizza, in the picture is yellow. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be that way! In general, I am not a big fan of BBQ pizzas. To me, and I know this is strictly a personal preference, something just doesn’t taste quite right about a pizza crust slathered with BBQ sauce. It’s strange that I feel that way as I am a huge fan of both pizza and BBQ, but together I’m not so keen on it. That is unless it is BBQ Chicken Pizza done my way.

I hate to say it is “my way” as I was introduced to this style of BBQ pizza back when I was working in Atlanta, somewhere around 1994. We served this pizza at City Grill when it was under the direction of Chef Roger Kaplan. The biggest difference between this style of BBQ pizza and the stuff you find at pizza joints across the US nowadays was the sauce. While most places slather the crust with BBQ sauce and then toss plain, cooked chicken on top, we were making a “corn cream” to spread on the crust (thus the yellow sauce) and tossing the chicken with BBQ sauce just to glaze it. The corn cream added a sweet,fresh flavor to the mix, keeping the pizza from becoming too heavy with BBQ sauce.

Corn cream is really easy to make, but requires a juicer to extract the optimum amount of juice from the corn. It also relies on really fresh corn to get the best flavor. Besides being used as a sauce for pizza the corn cream can be thinned out to make an elegant summertime sauce for chicken or pork, or even be used as a base for a wonderful corn chowder or chilled corn soup.

This pizza is a bit on the sweet side but trust me, it is tasty. I know it may look a little strange, but the flavors work really well together turning this into the perfect summertime pizza.

Corn Cream

6 ears corn, as fresh as possible.

Shuck the corn and remove all the silk from the ears. Using a knife cut all the kernels from the cob. Once this is done, turn the knife around and using the back of the blade scrape down the corn cobs, removing any leftover pulp and adding it to the cut corn. Using a juicer extract all the juice from the kernels. I found that I needed to run the pulp through 3 times to get all the juice. Depending on the corn you should get about 16-18oz. give or take. Discard the remaining solids and place the juice in a nonreactive saucepan over medium high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the juice comes to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes, again stirring constantly, scraping the bottom of the pot so that the sauce doesn’t burn. The juice will thicken considerably, almost to the point of thin mayonnaise. Remove from heat and chill until needed.

Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza
makes 2 14″ pizzas or 4-6 smaller individual pizzas

1 1/2 cups water, lukewarm (100-110°F)
1 package (2tsp.) dry active yeast
1/2 cup flour, all purpose
3 cups flour, all purpose
2 Tbl. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar

4-6 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
1 cup BBQ sauce, either homemade or your favorite brand
1 tsp. chipotle powder (optional)
1/2 onion, sliced paper thin
1 tomato, diced small
2 cups cheddar cheese

In the morning, mix up the pizza dough. Combine the water, yeast and 1/2 cup of flour. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate. You should see it starting to bubble slightly. Add the remaining flour, oil, salt and sugar. Mix until a smooth dough forms. Turn out onto a work surface and knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour if dough is too sticky. Dough should remain soft and still just slightly sticky though. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to proof throughout the day.

Dice the chicken into small, bite sized pieces. Place in hot saute pan and saute until browned. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, and chipotle, if using. Add 1 cup of water along with the BBQ sauce and cook until the chicken is glazed. Chill until ready to use.

30 minutes before you are ready to cook divide the pizza dough into equal portions (either 2 large or 4-6 small). Roll into rounds, cover with plastic and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Prepare your grill to ensure a medium hot fire. Stretch or roll out the dough to the appropriate size and thickness. While I am usually not a big fan of really thin crust, I prefer thinner crust when grilling pizzas.

One at a time, place the crust on the grill, close the cover and cook for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust starts to brown and the top starts to blister.

Repeat with each crust until all crusts have been cooked on 1 side (the top side will still be raw but should have firmed up significantly. Flip the crust over so that the top is now on the bottom. Spread the corn cream over the grilled side of the pizza, making sure to cover completely but not using so much that it pools on the crust. Top with the cooked chicken and then a sprinkling of cheese. Finally top with the onions and diced tomato, dividing up the ingredients evenly among the pizza crusts.

Place the pizzas, 1 or 2 at a time back on the grill, cover and cook until the cheese has melted and the crust is done (another 4-7 minutes depending on how hot the grill is and how thick your crust is). Remove from grill, allow to sit for 3 or 4 minutes then cut and serve.

So we finally had a beautiful weekend, and just in time. This weekend was the first farm event, of the season, for our new CSA. After not joining a CSA for the last few years we decided to get involved again and chose Good Earth Farm, in Oakfield, WI as our new CSA. The event, this past weekend, gave us a chance to meet Nicole, one of the owners, along with a couple of people working for a share. While not much is happening in the fields yet, except for garlic, the greenhouse was in full swing, and by the looks of things, there were plenty of plants just waiting for the first nice week to be planted outside. I won’t dwell too much on our CSA today as I’m sure there will be plenty of posts about Good Earth Farm once the produce starts rolling in.

This weekend we were also able to finally get the deck together, getting the canvas on the “gazebo” and the table and chairs out. I even had a chance to take full advantage of the set up and spent an hour relaxing and reading on the deck. Oh yeah, I also got the first mowing of the season in. This year I was able to get it done before the grass grew knee high!

The nice weather also brought out the neighbors and it was great to reaquaint ourselves with them after the long, cold winter during which we don’t see much of each other. Overall, a great weekend!

I was in a “Latin” mood today so I thought I’d surprise my wife with homemade empanadas. Empanadas come in all shapes and sizes, and with many different fillings and crusts. Some are baked while others are fried. I have a whole arsenal of different empanada doughs, but I also often just use my tried and true pie dough recipe. It makes a great, light and flaky empanada pastry, especially if you are baking them. I will even admit to occasionally using store bought pie dough if I am pressed for time, although I try not to do that too often.

I still have plenty of chorizo, sitting in my freezer, from my foray into sausage making so I figured I would base my filling on that. Add a few potatoes and a little onion and you have the makings of a great filling. The chorizo is spicy enough and complex enough that you don’t need much else.

Chorizo Empandas
makes 16 empanadas enough to serve 4-5 people

2 batches pie dough for a double crust (your favorite recipe)
1 pound Mexican chorizo
1 1/2 pounds waxy potatoes (something like a red bliss or Yukon Gold)
1 medium onion

Divide the pie dough evenly into 16 pieces, roll into balls and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Peel the potatoes and cut into a 1/4-1/2″ dice. Place in cold, salted water, bring to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes, just until al dente. Rinse under cold water. Remove casings from the chorizo and cook in a skillet over high heat along with the diced up onion. When cooked through add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if necessary. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. As chorizo mixture is cooling remove pie dough from fridge and allow to soften slightly. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, roll out dough into a 5″ circle. Brush edge with water and place 2 Tbs. of the filling in the center. Fold the edges together and crimp, with a fork to seal. Place on a greased sheet tray. Repeat with remaining dough. You will have leftover filling, but it makes a great mix in for scrambled eggs the next morning for a mexican inspired breakfast. Bake in a preheated oven, at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden brown. While empanadas are baking make the Avocado Cream.

Avocado Cream
makes approximately 2 1/2 cups

1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 jalapeno, with seeds, roughly chopped
1/4 cup half and half
2 avocados
salt

Place sour cream, lemon juice, half and half, and jalapeno in a blender and blend until smooth. Peel, pit, and dice the avocado and add to the blender. Blend until smooth, adding more half and half only if necessary to keep the contents blending. It should be thick like thick mayonnaise. Season with salt. To store, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic down, onto the surface of the avocado cream.

Serve the empanadas with a few dollops of the avocado cream and garnish with pico de gallo or diced tomato and cilantro.

It wasn’t until later in life that I discovered Indian food. It’s not a surprise as I grew up in rural Vermont and rural Indiana. Neither of them known for their diverse ethnic cuisines, especially back then. It wasn’t until I had moved to NYC that I got my first taste of real Indian food. I was instantly hooked, but it wasn’t until culinary school and my travels aftewards that I really came to truly appreciate the complex flavors and spicing of the dishes. One of the first things I fell in love with are Samosas, those puffy triangles of fried dough filled with an aromatic filling of spices and, most often vegetables.

Samosas are another great “gateway” food for those interested in trying Indian cuisine. First off, its a fried dumpling, and what red blooded American doesn’t love something stuffed into dough and deep fried. Secondly, although filled with a highly aromatic filling, the spicing isn’t overly exotic or terribly hot.

One of the best things about these samosas is the fact that they don’t require any special spices or ingredients. While I usually shy away from curry powder when cooking Indian food, I really like the flavor of it in my samosas. While the samosas, themselves, do not require any special ingredients, the chutney I usually serve with them does. I like to serve a Tamarind chutney with them. The sweet tart flavor really goes well with them although there are many other chutneys that would work just as well, so if you don’t feel like hunting down tamarind concentrate (which shouldn’t be too hard nowadays) you can always find another recipe to use, or even pick up a bottle of mango chuntey at the store. You can find Major Grey’s in most larger supermarkets.

Since the samosas do take a little bit of work, I like to make the Tamarind chutney the day before. Besides, I think it is better the second day as the flavors have had a chance to meld and mature.

Tamarind Chutney
makes about 1 1/2 cups

3 Tbs. tamarind concentrate
2 cups water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cumin seed
1 tsp. fennel seed
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. Ajwain seed (optional)
1/2 cup golden raisins (regular raisins can be substituted)
salt

In a medium sized saucepan, over medium heat, toast the cumin, fennel, cayenne and ajwain, just to the point of starting to brown (do not allow to burn). Add the water, tamarind concentrate, and raisins. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree and cook 5 minutes longer. Season with a little salt and then chill for at least 1 hour, or better yet, overnight before serving.

Samosas
makes 24

Filling
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced 1/4″
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
1 cup peas, frozen, thawed
3 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
2 Tbs. ghee or butter
water
salt & pepper

Dough
8 ozw. flour
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/3 cup water (or more as needed)

To make the filling, heat the ghee in a large saute pan. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, not allowing them to brown. Add the curry powder and cumin seed. Cook 1 minute longer then add the potatoes and enough water to just barely cover them. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove cover, add peas and continue to cook until the potatoes are just starting to fall apart and all the water has evaporated.

Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and chill thoroughly before shaping samosas.

Make the dough, by combining all the ingredients, using 1/3 cup of water. Add more water as necessary, to make s soft and slightly sticky dough. Knead dough for 5 minutes during which the dough should lose most of its stickiness. Wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Once rested, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Working on a lightly floured surface and working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll dough out to a circle about 6″ in diameter. Cut in half. Place 1 1/2-2 Tbs. of filling on each half.

Brush edges with a little water and fold dough over the filling to form a cone, with the tip on the straight side and the opening of the cone on the curved edge. Continue to fold the dough over, then pinch the opened edge (along the curved side) closed, forming a rough triangle.

Keep the samosas covered with a lightly dampened cloth as you make the others. While forming the samosas, fill a pot with about 2-3 inches of oil and bring to 350°F. Fry a couple of samosas at a time, careful not to overcrowd your pan and lower the oil temperature. Fry for about 3 minutes on each side or until a deep golden brown. Drain on paper towel and immediately sprinkle with salt while still hot. Serve immediately with tamarind chutney or dipping sauce of your choice.

Well, the major parts of our kitchen renovations are done, for now, and just in time for me to participate in Tomato Bowl 2011 put on by Red Gold brand canned tomato products. This new marketing strategy/competition pits 6 Pittsburgh area bloggers against 6 Green Bay area bloggers to see who can come up with the most creative Game Day eats.

Playing for the Green Bay team, besides myself, are:
Proudtobecheap
Tummytreasure
Anniebakes
Cheesecurdinparadise
Runaroundaroo

Playing for Pittsburgh (and I’ll apologize now for your loss both here and on the field) are:
EatPGH
Youlittletarte
Evelynscorner
Ohfoodbaby
Justroxy
Dailyrumpus

For my first post of the Tomato Bowl, I thought I would do a take on the traditional Sloppy Joe, and create a Sloppy Jose. Now the web is full of recipes for “Sloppy Joses” but to be honest, I find them all pretty lacking in any kind of originality. Most of them basically take standard Sloppy Joes and merely add a packet of Taco Seasoning and a can of green chiles. I figured I would bump up the flavor profile a little bit and make it a little more Mexican. And yes, the recipe reads right; there is cocoa powder in the final product. Chocolate is used, in Mexico, in a number of sauces, especially in many moles. The great thing about this dish is it is even better the following day. So make it on Saturday and then slowly heat it up in a slow cooker on Game Day for an easy meal!

Sloppy Joses
makes 10-12 sandwiches

12oz Mexican chorizo (sausage)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1-3 jalapenos, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (6oz) Red Gold tomato paste
1 can (14.5oz) Red Gold diced tomatoes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems removed and chopped

In a large skillet, brown the chorizo and ground beef along with the onions, until cooked through.

Pour off half the grease then add the jalapenos and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add the diced tomato, along with all the liquid, the brown sugar, vinegar, ground mustard, cumin and cocoa powder. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the mixture doesn’t burn. Skim off the majority of the remaining grease and remove from heat. Stir in the cilantro and check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper, if necessary.

If you make this a day ahead, leave out the cilantro until you reheat it the following day. Serve on burger buns, with plenty of napkins!!!

Once again, I’ve been neglecting my blog. This is one of my major resolutions this year; to post more regularly. Yes, I know I have promised this quite often, but I really am going to buckle down and write more often. I expect you, my readers, to hold me accountable for this resolution.

My wife will tell you that I’m not a big fan of leftovers. It’s true, while I don’t hate leftovers, I am usually not a fan of eating something 2 or 3 days in a row. I will agree that certain things are definitely better the second or third day. Soups, stews, and most braised dishes fall squarely into this category. And who can resist a meatloaf sandwich the day after? Or a roast turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving? But these are the exceptions. To really get excited about leftovers, I have to come up with a whole new way to disguise and serve them.

Not long ago we had some leftovers from a pork roast. Usually, I would just slice and eat it as a sandwich or chop it up and make BBQ’d pork sandwiches with it, but I wanted something different. Then I remembered one of my favorite chinese dishes that I used to eat regularly, when I lived in Chicago-Char Sui Bao-steamed dumplings with barbecued pork. Suddenly, I was very much looking forward to leftovers.

I knew I couldn’t make traditional Char Sui. That starts with marinating your pork before cooking. My pork was already cooked. Even if I couldn’t make “real” Char Sui, I could approximate its flavor. The buns were a different matter. I had never attempted Bao before so I searched the web, reading numerous recipes and came up with one I thought would work well. The texture turned out well, and the flavor was excellent. The only thing that I wasn’t happy about, and this is a small compliant, is that my ends didn’t end up beautifully white like the ones I would buy at restaurants. Mine were more of an off-white, with a slightly yellowish tinge. If anyone knows how I can fix that please let me know. Other than that, these turned out great!!! These buns are very versitile and I imagine that I will find excuses to make these again and fill them with all sorts of great fillings, so be on the lookout for future posts about Bao.

Mock Char Sui

1 pound cooked pork, cut into 1/4″ dice
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp. honey
4 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1/4 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder
3 Tbsp. water

Heat a saute pan over medium high heat. Add oil and allow to heat. Add pork and cook for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile combine all the rest of the ingredients and mix well to dissolve the honey. Add remaining ingredients to the saute pan and cook until sauce has thickened and coats the pork. There should be very little excess liquid. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, or make ahead and chill until ready to use.

Bao

1 1/2 tsp. instand dry yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3 scant cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Combine yeast, water, oil and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Set aside and allow 10 minutes for the yeast to start to activate. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the yeast mixture. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the liquid until a soft dough forms (if it doesn’t seem to come together easily add more water, a teaspoon at a time, until it does. Turn the dough out onto a flat surface and knead for 5 minutes. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky at the beginning. If it sticks to your fingers add just a sprinkling of flour. Lightly oil a bowl and add the dough. Cover and put in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 1-1 1/2 hours. Gently punch down and divide into 12 (this will make rather large bao so if you want smaller, appetitizer sized bao divide into 24). Flatten into a 3″ disk, with the sides thicker than the middle.

Add about 1 1/2-2 Tbsp. of the Char Sui filling and pinch the top closed, sealing in the filling. Place the Bao on pieces of wax paper (cut 3″x3″) and place in a bamboo steamer.

Allow the Bao to rise for 30 minutes, then steam for 15. Do not open the steamer during the 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

It’s been awhile since I posted last. Work has been keeping me very busy and I have just been too tired to write at the end of the night. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking. I have, but I just haven’t gotten around to posting any of the recipes yet, so the posts over the next week should kind of catch me up….I hope.

I’ve kind of been on a Caribbean kick the last week or so and the other day I can across some really nice looking plantains at my local grocery store. My wife loves plantain chips so I decided that I would whip up a batch of tostones for her to try. Like plantain chips, tostones are fried, but they tend to be thicker and often are just a bit soft in the center. Personally, I prefer tostones over plantain chips any time.

You will find lots of recipes that say that the plantains must be completely green to make authentic tostones. That may be the case, but I’ve found that I prefer a hint of sweetness in my tostones so I look for plantains that are just a few days from being fully ripe.

Tostones are very easy to make but they do require a double frying, something you see often in Caribbean cooking, especially in Cuban cuisine. First peel the plantains. This can be somewhat difficult if your plantains are still very green as the skin wants to adhere to the flesh. Once peeled slice the plantains into 1 1/2 -2″ chunks. Deep fry these chunks in 300°F vegetable oil for about 3-4 minutes.

They will be lightly browned and have started to soften. Drain on paper towel and allow to cool.

Once cool, place each plantain chunk between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and gently smash them. To do this I usually use a small saute pan. Don’t slam the pan down, on top of the plantains, like you are tenderizing meat, or you will smash it into oblivion. I just place the pan on top and press down to flatten them.

Once the plantains have all been flattened, return them to the deep fryer set at about 350°F and fry until golden brown and crispy around the edges, about 4-5 minutes. Don’t overcrowd your pan. I usually do 3-4 at a time. Remove, drain on paper towel and sprinkle with salt.

I usually serve these with a traditional mojo sauce (a citrusy, garlicky sauce native to Cuba). This simple sauce takes about 5 minutes to make and is a great accompaniment to the tostones.

Mojo Sauce
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lime juice**
1/3 cup orange juice**
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Gently heat the olive oil until warm. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Add to the olive oil, bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. This sauce is best served the same day as it is made, though it can be stored for up to a week in the fridge.

**Note: Traditionally, the juice of the sour orange would be used, but they are difficult to find here in the middle of Wisconsin. If you can find them then replace both the lime and orange juice with an equal amount of juice from the sour oranges.

Here is wishing everyone a very happy and safe 4th of July!! I hope your day is full of fun and great food! Unfortunately, I have to work so I won’t be able to participate in any of the festivities. The joys of working a job that is 365 days a year. I can’t complain too much though as I do get most holidays off.

Here’s a simple little recipe that I thought I’d share with you all, especially if you have kids. Kids love popsicles, but younger kids often seem to wear almost as much as they eat, at least that is the case with my daughter. This recipe, I pulled off of the internet ages ago (can’t remember where) solves this problem. Using jello in the mix keeps these popsicles from melting all over little hands. Enjoy!

Dripless Popsicles

1 package Jello, fruit flavored, small package
1 package Koolaid
2/3 cup Water, boiling
2 cups Water, cold
1 cup Sugar

Combine jello, koolaid, sugar and hot water and mix until dissolved. Add cold water and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze overnight.

Once again life seems to have gotten in the way of blogging. I was gone the better part of last week for 3 days of training, for work and while I wasn’t able to get online and blog, let alone cook, it was a good time and very informative. An added plus was 3 nights of having a bed to myself!! No dogs hogging the space, no wife trying to pile up the covers on top of me, and no kid trying to sneak into bed then taking up 3/4′s of it by sleeping perpendicular to the way one is supposed to sleep. Sorry honey, I missed you, but it was glorious having a bed to myself!!!

Then, after I got back, my brother’s wife went into labor. After a long weekend in the hospital she finally gave birth to a beautiful little girl. We are so happy for them and my daughter is thrilled to have a little cousin. So thrilled, in fact, that when we went to see them, in the hospital, she was very disappointed that the baby wasn’t coming back home with us!

Needless to say, the last few weeks have been pretty busy, but that doesn’t excuse my lack of writing, so I will try to get back to something more regular, once again.

With summertime upon us, I often find myself sipping on Margaritas and other tropical, adult beverages. And of course, when sipping numerous adult beverages, it is inevitable that the munchies set in. One of my favorite ways to curb that appetite is tortilla chips and guacamole.

Guacamole is so easy to make I don’t know why anyone buys that heinous stuff that comes prepackaged. It is always so tart due to all the citric acid they have to use to keep it green, and it seems to have the consistency of baby food. It doesn’t even come close to the “real thing.” Good guacamole should be chunky, with a good citrus zip from lime juice, but it still should be well balanced and all the flavors should come through individually.

This is the recipe I use that has wowed friends, family and restaurant guests for years.

Guacamole

4 avocados
1/2 medium onion
2 medium tomatoes
1-2 jalapenos*
1/4 bunch cilantro, leaves only
1-1 1/2 limes
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt
pepper

Finally dice the onion. Core the tomato and cut in half width wise. Gently squeeze the tomato to remove all the seeds and watery pulp, then finely dice. Seed and mince the jalapenos. Finally chop the cilantro. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice of 1 half into a bowl. Combine with the rest of the chopped ingredients. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit. The easiest and cleanest way to dice an avocado is to leave the flesh in the skin and cut it in the skin. To do this, make 4 slices, the length of the avocado, through the flesh just until the knife encounters the skin. Turn the avocado 90 degrees and repeat.

Now just take a spoon, slip it just under the skin and scoop out the flesh into the bowl. Add the cumin, a little salt and pepper, and mix just until everything comes together and the avocado is just starting to break up, holding it all together. Taste the guacamole and adjust the seasoning and add more lime juice, if necessary. You need enough lime juice to help keep the guacamole from oxidizing and turning brown and to help elevate all the flavors, but the lime juice shouldn’t overpower the other flavors.

To store the guacamole, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the guacamole and push it down to remove as much air as possible. This will help to slow down the oxidization process by limiting the amount of air that comes into contact with it.

*If you like your guacamole with more kick don’t add more jalapeno or the pepper flavor will overpower. Instead choose a hotter pepper such as a Serrano, or use jalapenos and add a bit of ground cayenne to bump up the heat.