Tag: food

By Posted on Posted in Recipes, Reviews No Comments

Ok, so it has been a while, more than a month.  I was a little alarmed when I logged in that it has been that long.  I have been way to busy to cook, its been very sad.  So with that, a day late and a dollar short; I made pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving from a Food Network (Paula Deen) recipe for pumpkin pie.  Normally I would have been more adventurous but like I said I was busy and it was easy and right there.

So sadly I only snapped a picture when it was sitting on top of my oven, because this was some pretty wicked pumpkin pie.  It had good flavor a nice consistency and did I mention it was tasty.  You can find the recipe over at the Food Network, the only alteration I made was to sprinkle some nutmeg on the top about 5 minutes before it came out of the oven.

So even though this pie might send you to the hospital with clogged arteries sooner than would say most any other pumpkin pie, it is from Paula Deen, its what we would expect.  An express trip to heart attack lane, but it was pretty tasty and will surely be made again.

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By Posted on Posted in Blogroll, Misc Food No Comments

Why do I cook!?! I mean I could just run down to Subway or Pizza Hut and fill up on something there, buy why cook?  Or more specifically why do I cook?  Initially I started cooking because I liked to cook and it was an easy way to express myself.  Cooking is enough science that it can be replicated reasonably simply, however, it still leaves plenty of room for expression and creativity.  Later on when I moved out I started cooking because I was hungry, but creativity still found its way into dinner.  So today as a married man I cook because:

  • I cook so that Vanessa, my wife, does not have to.  She is a great cook but does not enjoy cooking.
  • I cook for self-defense.  How so?  Ever found a finger in your chile at Wendy’s or a clump of human hair in your hot dog?  Me neither, I plan to keep it that way.
  • I cook to try new things.  Lets face it you can only get so much variety in local joints, especially in a little town.  If I want good food at a reasonable price I will have to be making it myself.
  • I cook because its a challenge.  Once in a while a dish comes up or someone asks me to make something I have never made or even eaten and its a challenge to get it right.
  • I cook because well fed people are happy people.
  • I cook because it relaxes me.  I sit at a computer all day and think about food, when I finally get home cooking is my way to wind down and relax.
  • I cook so that when I work out I have something to think about…whatever shall I have for dinner after I am finished abusing my body?
  • Finally, I cook because I like to eat.

Why do you cook?  Why don’t you cook?  Let me k now I look forward to hearing from all of you!

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By Posted on Posted in Recipes 3 Comments

This past weekend I had some company over and made the world famous squealer burger, for those who don’t know what a squealer is, it is quite possibly the moistest, tastiest burger one will eat. I used the a recipe found on Recipe Zaar as my base and went from there. Because of the crowd I was feeding I ended up using 6 pounds of beef and substituted 90% Lean Ground Sirloin in place of the called for the 80% lean hamburger meat called for in the recipe. The added moisture from the bacon more than made up for the lack of fat in the burger, it’s like basting the meat from the inside the whole time it is cooking. I grilled up 22 of these patties and they were oh so moist, had great flavor and were gone in minutes.

Edit::The Actual Nate Elston Texas Squealer Burger Recipe

The recipe I used is as follows:

Ingredients
Per 1 pound of extra lean (90/10) ground sirloin
1/4 pound uncooked finely (size of a pea or a little bigger) chopped bacon, thicker cut bacon is better
Worcestershire sauce to taste
1 tbsp Mc Cormicks Grill Mates Hamburger Seasoning

Instructions
Hand mix all that together in bowl or large pot, and then form into burgers, about a 1/3 pound each.
From there put them in the freezer for about a half an hour it seems to help them grill better.
Grill until done to your taste.

If you want some extra kick, I have in the past added cheese (cheddar or pepper jack) and jalapeños to the meat before it is grilled, its almost like having a burger with the toppings inside.

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By Posted on Posted in Recipes 1 Comment

Thanks to a gifted pork loin, I had to find something tasty to make of it and I did!  Let such a beautiful piece of meat suffer in the bowels of tastelessness was not an option for me, and so I set out to the interweb to find the most delicious sounding recipe for this particular cut of meat I could find and I found many, but I finally settled on a recipe from Good Housekeeping entitled Sage and Rosemary Pork.  Now the recipe calls for a substantial amount of fresh herbs which thankfully where all available on my patio herb garden, making this an easy and thrifty choice of meat.  I prepared the meat just as the recipe called for except I ‘stuffed‘ it the night before and kept it in the fridge, upon arriving home this evening, I placed it in the oven and prepared the rest of the meal fried asparagus (just add a little olive oil, garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste and fry until bright green) and chipotle garlic mashed red skin potatoes.  This was a culinary delight, no doubt I will have wicked breath for the remainder of the evening but the infusion of flavor from the stuff pork combined with the asparagus and potatoes was incredible.  The pork was well flavored using this method and moist.  If you are looking for a simple recipe for pork loin, I would suggest this.  Be sure to check back, as I am finding so many amazing sounding recipes I will be sure to cook up more pork in the future.

The pork loin, fresh out of the oven, resting.

Ready to eat the pork loin, aspargus and potatoes.

Remember its all about cookin’ with what you got.

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