A Football Feast

Joey and I combined forces yesterday to prepare a gameday meal for the ages.  We used to do this all the time during football season, but this was our first combined effort for this year.  As is usually the case, we made way too much food...I'll be eating leftovers for a week. It was well worth it, however, because all that food came together to create a legendary feast. I made my first attempt at smoking a rack of ribs and was very pleased with the results. The ribs took 6 hours of constant maintenance and monitoring but the results paid off in a succulent and delicious fashion.  In addition, Joey made a great potato salad, southwestern cornbread, and slaw. We also prepared Cajun mini burgers with honey chipotle mayo, pork steaks,  and stuffed mushrooms.  To wrap it all up I made up another fruit pizza for dessert.  There was enough food to end hunger in Africa for at least a week.  Once everything was prepared, we sat down with full plates to watch the Hogs play. They might have let us down, but the food sure didn't. Here are a few shots from the feast:

What a meal we had. Unfortunately, meals like these have caloric consequenses, so I will now leave my keyboard to lock myself in the gym for a week to make amends for this act of gluttony.

Joe's Low-n-Slow Smoked Spareribs

Ingredients:

• 1 Rack St. Louis style spareribs
• Joe's Sweet Rib Rub:
  
• 8 tbsp light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 tbsp onion powder
• 1/4 tbsp black pepper
  
• 1 cup bbq sauce (for mopping)
• 1 handful hickory wood chips
  

To make rub: Combine brown sugar, salt, chili powder, and spices and place in a shaker. Set aside.

Clean ribs and pat dry.  Shake rub liberally onto both sides of ribs and pat down. Wrap ribs in aluminum foil and place in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat grill or oven to 250 degrees. Soak wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes. Mold some aluminum foil into a "basket" and fill with wood chips. Place chips over heat. Place heatproof pan with 1 cup water on lower rack, right beneath ribs. Cook ribs meat side up for 3 hours, monitoring heat to make sure it stays around 250 degrees. After 3 hours, turn ribs over and cook for another 3 hours. Ribs will be done when meat draws back on the bone and bone can be slightly twisted. Transfer ribs to hot grill and cook for about 1 min on each side, basting with bbq sauce. Cover and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Fruit Pizza Pie

It's Wednesday again, and that means it's time to whip up another appetizer for Bill's small group. I had been holding this one in my back pocket for a few weeks, so in honor of summer's end I made up one of the season's greatest desserts: the fruit pizza. I've found that sometimes the simplest dishes are the best and tastiest, and this one was a perfect example.  It was eaten faster than anything I've brought to Bill's so far.

Fruit pizzas consist of a "crust" made of sugar cookie dough, a sweet "sauce," usually made of cream cheese and other sweeteners, and a grab bag of fruits for toppings. I made up a sugar cookie dough, used cream cheese and a jar of marshmallow creme for the sauce, and lots of brightly colored fruits to top it off.  Quick tip...the crust is the most important part of this dish.

Make the batter just like a normal batch of sugar cookies, then spread it out on a pan and mold it into a pizza crust.  It should take about 10 minutes to cook at 400 degrees, but monitor it closely. It'll be done when it takes on a nice brown color. Remove it from the oven and move it to a cooling rack to stop the cooking process.  Let it cool for 15 minutes or so, slather on your sauce, and then top with the fruits of your choice.  After an hour in the fridge it'll be ready to serve. The end result is bright, colorful, and delicious...a fitting send-off for the season of flip-flops and shorts.

Joe's Fruit Pizza

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 3/4 cup AP flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs

Sauce:

• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Toppings:

• 1 pgk strawberries, sliced
• 1 pkg blueberries
• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 can pineapple chunks, drained and chopped
• 4 kiwis, peeled and sliced

For the crust: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, cream of tartar, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and sift to combine. In a separate bowl, cream the butter, shortening, and sugar for 2-3 minutes until fluffy - it should resemble mashed potatoes. Mix eggs in one at a time until well combined. Stir in flour mixture in three parts until well combined. Grease a cookie sheet (or pizza pan depending on the desired shape) and mold the cookie dough onto the pan until it resembles a pizza crust. Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is brown. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

For the sauce: combine the cream cheese, marshmallow creme, and vanilla in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Spread onto crust using a rubber spatula. Top pizza with sliced fruits. Chill for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Grilling

To me, there are very few things better than grilled vegetables. Quick, easy, and delicious, they're often my favorite part of whatever meal they're a part of, and every time I use my grill I have a vegetable of some kind cooking with the meat.  Last night I made some grilled salmon filets with grilled asparagus, zucchini, and yellow squash.  The salmon, which was of the prepackaged frozen variety, was okay, but the veggies were spectacular. I chopped the zucchini and yellow squash into 1/3 inch slices, coated them with olive oil, seasoned salt, and some pepper, and wrapped them in a "boat" of aluminum foil. I similarly seasoned the asparagus and wrapped them with foil as well. The great thing about cooking the veggies this way is that they're pretty much foolproof. Just set them on the grill about 10 minutes before your meat and let them cook....no turning or extra attention required. The foil will allow them to cook evenly, and they still pick up that "grilled" flavor through the opening at the top of the foil boat. I cooked the salmon and set it aside, then pulled the veggies off a few minutes afterward. I had made two separate packets so Tiff and I both had one, but I could have eaten them both myself.  The foil keeps the veggies warm and doubles as a neat serving vessel.

Crab and Artichoke dip

It's Wednesday again, and that means it's appetizer time!  The bread bowl was a big hit last week, so I decided to stick with the dip theme again and prepare a warm crab and artichoke dip.  I also made some seasoned saltines and bread for dipping vessels.  Normally one would see this dish pop up around the holidays, but since the weather has been cooler (kind of) I figured it would be a good choice. After a grocery run I was ready to go.

I made the dippers first. My mom makes the seasoned saltines during the holidays, and I knew they'd taste great with this dip.  They're really easy.  Just mix a cup of oil, a package of ranch dressing mix, and some red pepper together and pour over saltine crackers. Shake to combine and cook at 350 degrees for 4 minutes to set the oil mixture. Set aside to cool. The bread is a sourdough baguette I coated with oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and toasted in the oven.

I used a lot of ingredients for the dip, but they all came together really nicely. I loosely chopped the artichokes and crab meat and put them in the food processor. After a few quick pulses, I added everything else in and ran the processor until the dip was well mixed.  I put the dip into my pan and cooked at 350 for about 20 minutes until it was brown and bubbly.  I topped the dip with some mozzarella and provolone and cooked under the broiler until the cheese was melted and browning.  A dash of paprika finished everything off.  The dip came out nice, creamy, and delicious. I'd definitely recommend this dish for your next gathering of family and friends...but don't expect any leftovers.

Ingredients

Seasoned Saltines

• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 box (4 pkgs) good saltine crackers
• 1 tbsp red pepper
• 1 pkg ranch dressing mix
  

Prehead oven to 350 degrees.  Mix oil,  ranch mix, and red pepper in a small bowl. Place crackers in a plastic bag or large bowl and pour oil mixture over them. Shake to combine, place on baking sheet, and cook for 4 minutes.

Crab and Artichoke Dip

• 1 8oz pkg cream cheese
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise 
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 can artichoke hearts
• 8 oz crab meat
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• 1 tbsp prepared horseradish
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tbsp Cavender's seasoning
• 1 cup shredded Provolone
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain and roughly chop artichokes and crab meat. Pulse in food processor 5-6 times. Add cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, chives, lemon juice, horseradish, and seasonings and process until combined. Pour into baking dish and bake for 20-30 minutes until brown and bubbly. Remove from oven, top with cheeses, and cook under the broiler until cheese is melted. Serve with toasted baguette slices and seasoned saltines.

Pizza Pie

While the rest of the country was posting Facebook messages and Tweets waxing poetic about their memories of 9/11, Tiff and I were celebrating 10 months together. To celebrate, I cooked a big dinner. I've been wanting to do a grilled pizza for awhile now, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Pizza is an all-encompassing dish...it effectively covers the culinary gamut from inexpensive and pedestrian to rustic and delicious.  Diners can find versions of 'za everywhere from McDonald's to Mesa Grill and everywhere in between. Seeing as this was a special occasion, I decided to try my hand at a savory chicken pesto pizza. On the side was a Mediterranean pasta.

Now I've tried to make pizza dough from scratch before and found out that I'm not very good at it. So this time, I played it smart and let the pros make it for me. I called Jim's Razorback Pizza here in Maumelle and asked them if I could buy some uncooked dough. They supplied me with two large mounds of their classic wheat crust which I took home and put in the fridge. After a quick trip to Kroger for supplies, I was ready to start. 

I prepared the pasta salad first, since it needed to be chilled before serving. I got the recipe out of my latest Food Network magazine. It's a pretty simple: cook and drain the pasta, chop vegetables, prep vinagriette, and mix. After the pasta was prepared and moved to the chill box I moved to the pizza.  I started by making the pesto and grilling up a few chicken breasts and some mushrooms I planned to use as toppings. Once they were ready I covered and set them aside. Time for the dough.

After a quick review of pizza dough how-to on Youtube, I got to work. Shaping pizza dough is a time-intensive task.  I quickly found out that my initial plan of doing one large pizza was not going to work out due to my lack of a pizza peel. I changed course and molded out two personal-sized pizzas of about 8 in. each. I wasn't brave enough to attempt the pizza spin, but they came out pretty well. I liked the rustic look that hand-forming the dough gave them. After the crust was shaped, I coated it with olive oil and transferred to the grill.

Ever wonder why those brick oven-style pizzas are so great? I'll tell you why: heat. Most brick ovens hold a temperature of around 900 degrees.  This molten-hot cooking environment results in a crispy, yet still chewy crust and perfectly melted cheese. You can somewhat mimic these results with a pizza stone and hot oven, but the grill is far better suited to high heat cooking. Therefore, the grill makes a great pizza oven. I fired my grill up on high and let it warm for 5-10 minutes before cooking the crust. I precooked the crust for about 2 minutes on each side, then added the toppings and cooked for another 4 minutes to melt the cheese. The pizzas came out with a great rustic look. I really liked the pesto as a sauce. It didn't look or taste anything like your run-of-the-mill Domino's variety. And that was a good thing.

Ingredients:

Mediterranean pasta (courtesty Food Network):

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound tricolor pasta, such as bow tie or fusilli
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 to 3 teaspoons dijon mustard
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 large pickled pepperoncini peppers, diced
• 3 tablespoons halved black olives
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1 1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grated romano cheese 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then rinse with cold water to cool.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in enough of the oil to make a smooth dressing; season with salt and pepper.

Combine the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, onion, pepperoncini, olives and oregano in a bowl. Add the cooked pasta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Add the vinaigrette and both cheeses and toss. Chill until ready to serve.

Joe's Chicken Pesto Pizza

• Pizza dough
• 2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• white mushrooms
• 1 red onion
• mozzerella cheese
• olive oil, for coating
•  basil pesto

Coat chicken and mushrooms with oil, salt, and pepper, and grill until cooked. Cover and set aside. Punch down dough to remove air bubbles and hand form into pizza crust. Coat crust with olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper. Transfer to hot grill and cook 1-2 minutes per side.  Slice chicken, onions, and mushrooms. Top crust with basil pesto, mushrooms, onions, chicken, and cheese, and grill until cheese is melted, about 4 minutes. Allow to set for 3 minutes before serving.

Cheesecake Challenge

 

As mentioned in my last post, I made up a cheesecake to take back to Paragould for our Labor Day gathering. I've never attempted a cheesecake before, so I was going on a wing and a prayer, hoping it wouldn't turn out to be a disaster. Joey recommended Chef Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cheesecake recipe, so that's what I went with.  I made two glazes - strawberry and savory blueberry - to serve as optional toppings.

Cheesecakes aren't difficult so much as they're very time consuming.  Preparation involves lots of waiting around for the cake to do its thing.  I suppose one could cut corners here and there, but the end result wouldn't be nearly as creamy and rich. Keep in mind that the "cake" portion is essentially a custard, and is prone to cracking and uneven cooking if not prepared correctly.  Do yourself a favor-do everything from scratch, follow the recipe closely, and don't cut corners. Your patience, as a great chef once said, will be rewarded. 

Ingredients:

• Crust:
• 2 cups crushed graham crackers (30-40 squares)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• Filling:
• 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened at room temp.
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pint sour cream
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Strawberry glaze:
• 1 pkg fresh strawberries, crushed
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 4 tbsp cornstarch
• Lemon-Blueberry glaze
• 1 pkg fresh blueberries
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and get some water boiling on the stove. Grind the graham crackers in a blender or food processor until they're a fine dust. In a medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs with melted butter and cinnamon and mix with a fork until combined.

Empty into a prepared springform pan (don't even try this without one) and use the bottom of a measuring cup to flatten the crust and push the crumbs up the sides of the pan. Just rotate and press until the crust covers the bottom of the pan and goes about halfway up the side. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.

While the crust is firming up, place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat on low for a minute or until smooth. Mix in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Add sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Add lemon zest, sour cream, and vanilla and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.

Remove the pan and crust from the fridge and pour the filling into the pan. The filling should come to or just above the crust on the sides.  Wrap the outside of your springform pan with an inner layer of plastic wrap and an outer layer of aluminum foil and place in the middle of a large roasting pan. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan - the water level should come about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes. The cake is done when the outsides are mostly set but the middle is still loose. Cool the cake in the oven by turning off the oven and leaving the door slightly cracked open. Cool your cake for 2 hours. Loosely cover with a paper towel to absorb any remaining moisture and cool cake in the fridge overnight.

Now, the glazes. For strawberry, bring water and sugar to a boil then reduce to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved, Add crushed strawberries and allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add cornstarch until desired consistency is reached.  For the blueberry glaze, combine sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and blueberries in a saucepan and simmer until berries begin to break down. Add cornstarch to thicken if desired. Allow glazes to cool completely before serving. Glazes can be spread on top of cheesecake or served as an optional topping.

 

The delicious fruits of my labor

Weekend in Paragould

 

I love Labor Day weekend. In fact, it may be my favorite weekend of the year. Football kicks off, grills light up, and appetites are gorged on mountains of meat, bread, desserts, and countless snacks in between. With any luck, a quick nap can be grabbed after the eating is done. I spent part of Labor Day weekend this year with my family back in my old hometown of Paragould, AR. Mom managed to coordinate things so that all of us kids would be there at the same time. Sleeping logistics aside, we had a great time. And of course, there's always a feast to be had at Mom and Dad's house. This time around was no exception. 

 

Saturday morning, Mom and I got up early and made a grocery run. I had forgotten how slowly people tend to move in smalltown Arkansas...even those who are paid to quickly expedite shoppers from the checkout line at Wal-Mart.  Our cashier, who proudly displayed a badge on her apron congratulating her for 20 years of service, moved with all the enthusiasm of a sedated turtle. An hour and a half later, we were on our way back home with a truckload of supplies. I handled breakfast duties and prepared my quiche along with maple-glazed sausage links and pancakes. After we ate our fill, the girls went shopping, Dad fired up the grill, and I crawled under the Exploder to fix a faulty spark plug. Before long, the rest of the family started showing up and it was time to get ready for lunch. 

 

Dad has been grilling for a long time, so he has the technique reduced to a science. He has a large pull-behind rotisserie grill which could feed a small army with no trouble. On the menu today were St. Louis ribs, chicken, ribeye steak, and burgers, along with grilled corn on the cob.  Mom and I prepared some sides while Dad finished grilling. Everything was prepared and a spectacular buffet was laid out before us. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

 

 

    Grilled corn on the cob - served with my "sweet heat" honey butter

 

Twice baked potatoes

 

 Rolls

 

Mom's fresh garden salad with strawberries

 

 

Big pile of hamburgers 

 

I tested the physical limitations of this styrofoam plate.

We had enough food to feed a group twice our size, and there were 15 people eating. After a short break, dessert was served. I brought a homemade cheesecake with blueberry and strawberry glazes, Aunt Amy supplied a gooey butter cake, and Mom made a chocolate sheet pan cake and cherry pie with sweet cream cheese filling. 

 

 Ultimate Cheesecake

 

Mmmm....calories

 

Well, it would be an understatement to talk about how good the food was. I'll be running for a few weeks to make up for the weekend, but it was worth every bite. 

Catch-up

Wow....just had a big weekend back in NE Arkansas, complete with family time, fun, and lots of food. I'll chime back in later with an overview of the food spread, but for now, here's a quick way to make your morning bowl of oatmeal more exciting. Combine 1 cup oats and a pinch of salt with 1 3/4 cup boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 tbsp honey along with 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Stir in 2 tbsp of your favorite preserves and a splash of milk.  Serve and enjoy!

Bread bowling

 

Ah, the bread bowl...the dish that launched a thousand gameday parties and church potlucks. They're tasty and as simple to prepare as appetizers get. I made this one for Bill's small group, but Bill got sick so the task of eating it fell to Tiff, Juli, Joey, and me.

Bread bowls come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors, but the recipe for this one came out of my latest Food Network magazine. It's basically the chopped up innards of a hoagie sandwich inside a bread bowl. Simply dice and mix the ingredients below, then allow to chill for a couple of hours before serving. I bought an extra French loaf to serve alongside, which I coated with olive oil, sliced and toasted.  Simply delicious. Every ingredient can be tasted, but none overpower the others. It really tastes just like a hoagie sandwich from a good deli. Serve this at your next gathering of friends/family....leftovers won't be a problem.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 2 pickled pepperoncini peppers
• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 large tomato, halved and seeded
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced genoa salami
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced ham
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced prosciutto
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced roast turkey
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced provolone cheese
  
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 10-to-12-inch round loaf Italian bread
  
• 1 French loaf, toasted with olive oil

Leftover Pasta

Leftovers are the 800lb gorilla of my fridge. I see them there and think "man, I hate to throw this stuff out, but I don't really want to eat warmed-over chicken breast." This usually results in a bowl of completely usable food being ignored and eventually tossed into the trash. Last night, however, I was feeling inventive and thought I'd see what could be done with the remnants of Monday night's Kickin' Chicken Kabobs.

It turned out that using the kabobs again was easier than I had thought.  While at Kroger purchasing some salsa and bread bowl (post forthcoming) ingredients, I grabbed a box of fusilli pasta. Fusillis are the twirly-looking kind. I got back and cooked the pasta to al dente. While the pasta was cooking, I tossed my leftover vegetables and chicken into a skillet with a healthy dose of olive oil and basil pesto and cooked until warmed through. I drained and seasoned the pasta and served with the chicken-vegetable mixture on top. There was a nice byproduct in my skillet from the kabobs as well - a pan sauce in the skillet that I drizzled over the pasta before serving. I really wish I'd taken the time to snap a photo of the end result, because it came out beautifully. All the colors from the vegetables and chicken were too appetizing to wait for, so I just dug in.

So what have we learned today? Don't fear the leftover (cue the cowbell). Yesterday's meals have the potential to be more than just microwave fodder.   Chicken can be tossed with sauce or oil and thrown over pasta, beef can be put on top of a pizza or mixed in casserole, and so on. With a little imagination, your diners may not even notice the repeat.