Our buddy Jeff Giles at Popdose.com runs the “Desert Island Discs” feature where musical artists list their top 5 albums that they wouldn’t mind being stranded on a desert island with.
And that got me to thinking……listing our top 5 desert island dinner items might be kind of cool and interesting. But it would be more fun to list mine and then have you all comment on them with your own choices. I’ll do my first post tomorrow on this, so get to thinking about it….
It’s that time again, and here are my all new recipes for Super Bowl Sunday that were posted on Bullz-Eye’s Grub for Guys last night. Hope you dig!
Super Bowl Spread III
Buffalo Chicken Nachos, Brat & Wisconsin Cheddar Pizza, Deep Fried Pierogies, and Apple-Bacon Brownies
You would think coming up with new and interesting Super Bowl recipe ideas would be difficult to do year after year, but when you think about the endless combinations of food that are available, it’s not that difficult. What IS difficult is trying not to eat all of everything when something you create tastes good. That’s a problem I encountered when making Buffalo chicken nachos, and hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I did. And with that, here is this year’s Super Bowl spread, and we included one recipe each to represent Green Bay and Pittsburgh. And while each recipe serves 4-6, that will vary based on how hungry everyone is, and also what else there is to eat at the party.
Buffalo Chicken Nachos
Ingredients:
1 bag sturdy tortilla chips (or 3-4 cups)
3-4 chicken breast halves, trimmed of visible fat
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper
1 cup Buffalo chicken hot sauce (Frank’s is always a good choice)
½ cup chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped celery
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
¼ cup pickled jalapeno peppers
Directions:
Spread chips in a large baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mist a large nonstick grill pan or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, sprinkle some salt and pepper over chicken, and grill for 4-5 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the center. Let rest on a plate for a few minutes, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Place chicken pieces in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, and add hot sauce. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes, then pour chicken/sauce mixture over nachos. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients, and bake for 5 minutes or until blue cheese is melted and chips just begin to brown. Serve immediately, and be ready to make more.
Brat and Wisconsin Cheddar Mini Pizzas (Green Bay)
Ingredients:
2 small ready-made pizza crusts (such as Mama Mary’s)
Olive oil
1 small green pepper, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 pre-cooked bratwurst (Johnsonville beer brats are awesome), sliced
1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (Wisconsin cheese is really good, but any kind of good cheddar will do for this pizza)
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush pizza crusts with a bit of olive oil and set aside. Heat about 2 teaspoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, and fry pepper, onion and brat slices for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Sprinkle pizza crusts evenly with cheese, then spread brat mixture over the top. Bake for about 7-8 minutes, or until the edges of the pizza begin to brown. Cut into slices or bite-size pieces and serve.
Deep-Fried Pierogies (Pittsburgh)
Ingredients:
1 box frozen mini potato and cheese pierogies (Mrs. T’s are always good)
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Directions:
Heat about two inches of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat (or use a deep-fryer if you have one and prefer that) until you can feel the warmth easily when placing your hand about an inch away from the oil, or until a safe cooking thermometer shows the oil to be about 350 degrees. Remove pan from heat briefly, and very carefully lower about 10-12 frozen pierogies into the oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or just as they begin to brown, and then remove with a slotted metal spoon or spatula to a paper-towel lined bowl. Repeat process for as many batches of pierogies as you need, making sure the oil rises to cooking temperature before adding pierogies each time. Serve with ketchup for dipping on the side.
Apple-Bacon Brownies
Ingredients
1 box Brownie mix (with or without walnuts)
1 egg
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup water
1 small apple, peeled and diced
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tablespoons applesauce
Directions:
Prepare brownies according to package directions (you usually have to add egg, oil and water), adding apple, bacon, and applesauce. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for about 15-20 minutes and then slice brownies into small squares to serve.
When Elijah Bass tried to chase his grandson, Carl, out of the family kitchen in Gordon, Alabama, to toughen him up by assigning him, his brothers and his cousins outdoor chores, little could he imagine that Carl would become a US Marine and a baker. Nor probably did his grandmother, Amy Ruth Moore Bass, imagine that her summer sous-chef, visiting from New York, would in 1999 become proprietor of a Harlem Institution named in her honor and now is proprietor of this Atlantic City restaurant, Redding’s. Redding’s has 250 seats and features moderately-priced traditional and updated Southern food ranging from Fried Chicken and Waffles to BBQ Pigs Feet to Fresh Fried or Steamed Fish to Grilled Steaks and myriad side dishes like his 5-Green Stew. As with Amy Ruth’s, Redding’s features appetizers and entrees named for Rev. Sharpton (chicken and waffles), Harry Carson, the football Hall of Fame member (grilled rib-eye steak and waffles), and local religious and civic leaders. We had the opportunity recently to ask Carl, who is also a lifelong New York Giants fan, a few questions about Redding’s and his own culinary expertise:
Mikey’s Kitchen: You are a prime example of someone who has a passion and pursues a dream. What advice would you give a young chef who had a similar ambition but was just starting out?
Carl Redding: The advice that I would give to my young contemporary would be to pursue your dream through education and through experience. I didn’t attend a college or university for culinary and arts. However, I did pursue it by way of the United States Marine Corps. I probably learned more in the military than by way of a college. As a young boy I garnered as much experience in the kitchen because my Granddad would always tell me that if I wanted to work in someone’s kitchen, I would have to have a certain level of experience. Experience plus the knowledge will give you most certain success in anyone’s kitchen.
MK: What prompted you to name the waffles after celebrities?
CR: I name dishes after people so that there is a connect with my restaurant and the community. I also do this to honor those folks who normally do not get an opportunity to be honored.
MK: I’m curious about a couple of menu items–in particular the chicken and catfish rolls, and also the soul-violi. Can you talk about what those actually are and how they are made?
CR: The fried chicken and catfish rolls are made similar to an egg roll. The filling inside each of them, of course, contains the fried chicken or the catfish. It also contains rice and vegetables. The soulvioli is a ravioli which is made out of sweet potato or collard green pasta. There are 3 fillings each for the sweet potato and the collard green pastas. (editor’s note: YUM!)
MK: If you could choose one meal to eat by one chef, who would it be and what would it be?
CR: The Chef that would prepare that special dish for me is Mario Batali and that dish would be the Dover sole with chestnuts, watercress, black truffles & trumpets. I love his preparation of this dish because of the simplicity in making it, and its beautiful, bold, and complex flavors and textures.
MK: What are some short term and long term aspirations you have with the new Redding’s?
CR: I don’t have any short term aspirations for my restaurant. My long term aspirations are to position Redding’s as the #1 family-style Southern Cuisine restaurant in America. My aspiration is for people of all colors and ethnicities to bring their families and functions to Redding’s Restaurant.
MK: What went wrong with the Giants this year and what do you think needs to be changed for 2011?
CR: What went wrong this year for the Giants is that only two players on the team patronize Redding’s Restaurant. Those players are Aaron Ross and Ahmad Bradshaw. The change needed for the 2011 season is for the Giants to adopt Redding’s Restaurant as their restaurant of choice. I will guarantee you that they will win every home game after eating “Authentic Southern Cuisine” at Redding’s!!!
Carl was also kind enough to share a recipe with us from Redding’s that you can try at home:
Lasagna with Meat Sauce
Meat Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
3 ounces sliced pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 pounds ground beef chuck (not lean)
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
For Ricotta filling:
2 (15-ounce) containers whole-milk ricotta
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup whole milk
For assembling lasagne:
12 Barilla no-boil dried lasagne noodles (from 1 box)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Equipment: a 13- by 9-inch baking pan (3 inches deep)
Preparation
Make Sauce:
Heat oil in a 12-to 14-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Cook pancetta, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden and softened, 12 to 15 minutes. Add beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up any lumps, until meat is no longer pink, 6 to 10 minutes. Stir in wine, milk, tomato paste, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid has evaporated but sauce is still moist, about 1 hour.
Make ricotta filling:
Whisk together ricotta, eggs, parmesan, nutmeg, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Transfer 1 1/2 cups ricotta mixture to another bowl and whisk in 1/4 cup milk; set aside. Whisk spinach into remaining filling with remaining 1/2 cup milk.
Assemble and bake lasagne:
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Soak noodles in a bowl of very warm water until pliable but not softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Place on a kitchen towel (it’s not necessary to pat noodles dry). Spread 1 1/2 cups meat sauce in baking pan and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parmesan. Cover with 3 noodles, leaving space in between. Spread half of spinach filling on top, then 1 cup meat sauce, and top with 1 tablespoon parmesan and 3 noodles; repeat. Top with remaining meat sauce, 1 tablespoon parmesan, and remaining 3 noodles. Pour reserved ricotta mixture over top and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan. Cover pan tightly with parchment paper and foil (or just buttered foil) and bake 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is browned in spots, about 15 minutes more. Let stand 15 to 30 minutes before cutting.
For more information on Redding’s, please visit www.reddingsrestaurant.com and for information on Redding’s Super Bowl bash, please click here.
Mark Bittman’s “The Minimalist” column ceased publication in its New York Times home last week, but he wrapped things up by choosing his personal 25 favorite recipes from his run.
Okay, so I haven’t tried any of these per se, and some of them, like braised squid with artichokes, and Crisp Braised Duck Legs are not food you’d see me preparing too often. But most of them are intriguing–like the spaghetti with fried egg; no knead bread; curried eggplant; or stir-fried chicken with ketchup. Bittman’s work has also appeared often in mags like Men’s Health, and some of those I have tried. And I can vouge for one thing–the man is a master at recipe creation, and anything I’ve tried was usually simple to make, delicious, and with no crazy ingredients. I’m guessing that was the premise of his column too–no elaborate ingredients or instruction.
So check out the link to Bittman’s 25 faves, where you can link to each recipe to try them. I know I’m going to do the same very soon….
NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” isn’t just a hit reality TV show–it’s become big business with cookbooks, workout videos, and now with easy-to-prepare refrigerated meals that you can buy in your grocery store. These aren’t frozen meals, and they aren’t the same meal plan fare we reviewed recently. These are meals anyone can buy, and nuke at home, putting a healthy option dinner on the table in minutes.
The PR company for the meals sent us four of them to sample, and quite honestly, they were all very good. Some stood out and some had things that stood out in a bad way, but for the most part, it’s hard to find food you can have on the table this fast that is this healthy that you don’t make yourself or eat in a restaurant. Here is the breakdown of what we tried….
Beef Tips with Gravy and Brown Rice–The meat was fairly tender, and while the sauce lists garlic high on the ingredient list, the garlic did not overpower the meal at all. The sauce was flavorful, and despite the fact that the rice was sort of undercooked and grainy, I didn’t want to stop eating this one.
Mediterraean Chicken with Bowtie Pasta–This meal had a strong red bell pepper flavor, and the chicken was surprisingly moist and tender. The pasta, like the rice in the beef tips meal, was kind of dry and grainy, even served with the sauce from the chicken.
Pot Roast and Gray with Mashed Potatoes–This one was a bit baffling, mainly because the meat was one big chunk instead of several little ones, but maybe that is the authentic feel they wanted. It was certainly tender meat that you could break apart with a fork, and was quite delicious. It was also stringy the way pot roast should be. However, the potatoes, which were supposed to be real potatoes, were bland and also grainy. I also would have liked to see more carrots in the dish.
Zing Chicken with Brown Rice–This one had a really nice sweet and spicy kick–maybe a bit too sweet for a “healthy” meal, but it sure tasted good. The chicken was tender, and just like the others, I would have liked more vegetables and the rice was dry and grainy. But overall this was maybe my favorite of the four.
If you have a chance to try these Simply Sensible meals, you can buy them and store them in the fridge for months before having to eat or freeze them….and they are really great meals to have on hand if you need something quick and healthy in your fridge.
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