Rib stickin'

Beef ribs, cooked nice n slow, garlic bread and baked beans with an herb salad... surely not a bad way to pass a Saturday afternoon!

Sliders... an expiriment

I decided to make some sliders for the first time last weekend... I know! What took me so long right? I went with a sausage for one (top) and beef for the other (bottom). The condiments were red onion, homemade pickle, arugala, cheddar and stone ground mustard. The were very good, I think next time instead of using actual sausage links cut into portions, I'll get some ground sausage and do patty's. Not bad for a first run though.

Summertime... and the veggies easy...

Yes, summer is finally upon us. We do have the (dreaded?) June Gloom here in SoCal, but the days are warming up and the produce is flowing in!

I was feeling a little on the thrifty side this weekend, what with all of the extracurricular fun I had, so I went light on the fare. The morels were fabulous... but what I want to talk about here is the Wild Kale in the strainer. I had never seen this Kale before, when I was at the stall at the farmers market, I asked the lady what it was... she told me "wild kale, try some, especially the stem"! Really? So I did, and it was wonderful. Slightly spicy, a little peppery and full of juice! I picked up some peppers and spring onions and the veg stir fry was on!



With a little curry scented rice and garlic, this veggie delight was truly what the household needed. The wife and I both went back for seconds, and I even made a second batch! Cheers!

Onion, green garlic, squash, sausage, arugula

this was a great little saute I whipped up awhile ago. Peppers, green garlic, sausage, squash, Asiago, served over a bed of fresh arugala. If you wanted to go Veg with this, I'd sub Shitake or another meaty mushroom for the sausage. Cheers!


The last bite...

Hybernation...

So, yeah, it's been awhile since I have posted anything on this here site... I think I have been sleeping. I have also been cooking a lot, just not been inspired to post anything. However! This photo that I took last weekend ended the dry spell...

Enter: Bison Ribs!



Tell me that doesn't look effin DELICIOUS!

I ended up making a Bison Ragu with it served over pasta... and NO... I didn't take a picture of it because, well, I was HUNGRY! Next time ... Pinky swears!

Pizza for breakfast? Hell to the yeah!

This is a fruit pizza that my mom makes every year during the holidays. (yeah, I know they are over, shut it!)
 It's a cookie dough crust with sweetened cream cheese for the "sauce". Garnish with your favorite fruits like my mom does and BOOM... happiness!

Leg o' lamb... cast iron

Given the recent ups and downs of temperature here in lovely SoCal... I thought I would go with something that would serve both the recent heat... and the previous cold snap we had. I absolutely LOVE a whole roasted leg of lamb. With this particular one, I seared it in a seasoned cast iron skillet, and roasted it at 350 degrees until it was done. Don't ask me how long it took... I was watching football. Playoffs you know! It served it's purpose, both refreshing and comforting at the same time. Cheers!

Ok, this is getting rediculous...

I have tried, and failed, to post some new dishes recently. The photos just have come out HORRIBLE. I guess I should stick to cooking instead of trying to be Ansel Adams. There will be some new posts coming soon, I promise. For the three of you that might read this here food blog. Cheers!

A work in progress...

I saw these beauties at my favorite stand at the farmers market, and couldn't resist. I used some queso fresco, caramelized onions, and panko crumbs for the filling. It didn't wow me, but like I said, a work in progress!

Trying to keep it on the "healthy" tip, I used some organic yogurt as the sauce. Good, but needed improvement, so I spiced it up with some smoky chipotle adobo sauce. Much better the second time around. I think I'll play with the filling a little more next time. Loved the baked Jalapeno, I got the temp/timing just right in the oven (360 degrees for about 14 minutes). The texture was perfect, just al dente, but not mushy at all. Can't wait for round two! (and three, four, five?)

Cheers!

Gone to Maui...

Wow, it's been awhile. Hopefully when I get back from mini vacation I will have something new. Cheers!

Smile!

Ok. So it wasn't until I looked at the picture afterward that it looks like the tomato is smiling at you/me. But it certainly did make me smile with it's juicy deliciousness. Even though my photo skillz really need improving.(Hello cutting the top of the garnish off!) Oh well. Next time!

Heirloom tomato, goat cheese, basil, Hidden Hills Olive Oil.

Roasted beet, goat cheese, green zebra salsa, pepper

Perfect for a sunny southern California day.

Porcini, smoked sausage, fennel, pecorino.

This was a quick little dinner I made recently. Just a quick saute' of the mushrooms, sausage and fennel. Added the mostly cooked pasta to the saute', and finished it off with the pecorino. Satisfying to say the least.

Porcini, fennel, green onion saute'

This was a simple saute' that I made for dinner a few nights back. Quick, and delicious. Trying to take advantage of the last of the porcini!

Cheers!

Rib Eye, Kim Chee, Asparagus.

To some/most of you, Kim Chee and steak probably doesn't sound like such a stretch, but let me tell you, if you haven't tried this? Do so now. Even if you have to try and track down the Kogi truck, although they use short ribs. Unless you don't like Kim Chee, or asparagus, or steak for that matter. In which case... don't know if I can help you. Cheers!

More springtime snackins....

This weekend was a little warm, so in light of that, I thought a little sweet, salty combo was in order. The sweet cantalope with the salty, thinly sliced prosciutto worked perfectly well with the coming of the sweltering summer heat!

And, just for good measure, the glorious food porn shot!

If you REALLY want to gild the lily, a drizzle of good Olive oil will do wonders.

Cheers all!

Springtime snackins...

It's been a pretty fruitful springtime so far here in the SoCal. A few days ago in the farmers market I spied these little green garlic gems, and the first of many heirloom tomatoes of the season. I got the steak from Whofoo and decided to pan roast with the green garlic cut into rounds. The result? Yeah...

After I let the steak rest, I deglazed the pan with some Madiera, reduced it and mounted it with some butter. Add some fresh arugula... man, you got yourself a tasty meal right there! The tomato? I just simply sliced it and drizzled it with some good olive oil, salt, and a toss of more arugula... again, a fresh, peppery snack!

Cheers all!

weekend eats, so to speak!

For those of you paying attention... that's a porcini mushroom the size that's bigger than my fist. Yeah... I love summertime! Or.. well, Late springtime if you get technical. And A wonderful new salami and Olive producer, the verdict is out on this one... I actually liked the jalapeno stuffed olive. It still gave me the olive *shiver*, but the flavor was spot on... I keep trying! More later!

The We Olive bounty...

You really gotta love a store that serves up the goodness that is olives and olive goodness. Yes, these are my friends, so naturally I'm a little biased, but make no mistake, they carry quality California olive oils people. I'm not even kidding around with this. As you can see in the picture, that's not ALL they carry. The two in the middle are an African Heat pepper mix, and a coffee rub that kick serious glutimous maximus. I used the African heat mix on some lamb loin chops, unfortunately, my picture doesn't do it justice...

So you will just have to take my word for it, or better yet Go buy some for yourself!! It's a shameless plug for a product that I truly endorse. I haven't used the coffee rub yet, but I did taste it, and... well, yeah, there's a post coming soon for that one! Cheers all, and go get to it!

Ok... just one more on that subject please...

Thick cut smoked bacon, poached eggs, arugula. Yeah... It was that good. : )