Author: Dave Tappan

Happy Labor Day Weekend! I hope you enjoy your weekend and eat well!

Roasted Chile Verde Tacos

4-6 lbs. bone in pork shoulder (pork butt)

Vegetable oil

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

2 poblano Chile peppers seeded, cut in half and roasted

1or 2 jalapenos seeded, cut in half and roasted

1 lb. tomatillos husks removed, quartered and roasted

1 yellow onion quartered and roasted

4 cloves garlic whole or 4 teaspoons jarred

Chili powder. About a palm full

ground cumin. About a palm full

Dried oregano. About a palm full

Fresh cilantro chopped

2 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

Corn or flour tortillas

Toppings:

Red onion finely diced or sliced into half-moons

Cilantro

Sliced radishes (pickled or not)

Thinly sliced red or green cabbage

Queso fresco or cotija cheese, crumbled

Lime wedges, for squeezing

Heat your oven to 400 degrees.

On a baking sheet, rub your vegetables with vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast the vegetables in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat.

Season the pork with the salt and pepper and then add to the hot oil. Sear on all sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Place the browned pork into a slow cooker, with the poblano chiles, jalapeno, tomatillos, yellow onion, garlic, ground cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, cilantro, chicken broth/stock, and bay leaf.

Turn the heat to low and cook 6-7 hours, or until the pork is tender enough to be pulled apart with a fork. You can also cook in a pressure cooker, 60-90 minutes.

Remove the pork and shred using two forks or the bone of the pork butt (wait for it to cool a bit).

In the meantime, remove the bay leaf from the cooker and discard. Either using an immersion blender directly in the cooker bowl or by transferring the contents to a kitchen blender, puree the cooked peppers, onion, and chicken broth mixture until smooth. This is the Chile Verde sauce. If using a blender, let the sauce cool a bit and put a kitchen towel over the top of the blender and hold the lid on with your hand. Otherwise, it could explode on ya. If you Season to taste with salt as needed.

Heat and slightly char your tortillas over a gas flame or on your grill.

Top the tortillas with a mound of the shredded pork, followed by the pureed Chile Verde sauce. Also top with additional chopped cilantro, red onion, radish crumbled queso fresco. Feel free to squeeze some limes as well!

Happy Friday! I was going to post Mama Areola’s legendary lasagna, but it’s gonna be too damned hot this weekend to turn on the oven. So, take the cookin’ outside.

Jack Daniel’s Grilled Steak with Garlic-Pepper Shrimp & Italian Salad

4 boneless New York Strip Steaks

1/2- cup Jack Daniel’s Whiskey

1/2- cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup light brown sugar

4 garlic cloves, minced

Montreal Steak Seasoning

1. Place the steaks in a pan that is large enough to hold all 4. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the whiskey, soy sauce, olive oil, mustard, brown sugar, garlic, and steak seasoning; whisk until thoroughly combined.

3. Pour the marinade over the steaks, turning the steaks once or twice to coat evenly with the marinade.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator, turning it a couple of times while in the fridge.

5. Remove steaks from fridge 30 minutes before you are ready to grill.

6. Prepare your charcoal or gas grill. For steaks, you want the heat as high as possible.

7. Right before you are ready to cook, pour cooking oil on a paper towel and oil the grate using long-handled tongs.

8. Drain the marinade off the steak and discard the marinade.

9. Season the steaks with a liberal amount of steak seasoning.

10. Place the steak on the hot grate and grill until cooked to your liking.

11. After the steak is properly seared, if it’s not finished cooking, move it to the warm side of the grill, close the lid and continue to cook the steak until it’s at your desired temperature.

12. To test for doneness using a digital instant read thermometer.

13. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let them rest for about 5 minutes before cutting.

Garlic-Pepper Grilled Shrimp

1 fresh red Chile (such as Fresno), seeds removed, finely grated

4 garlic cloves, finely grated

1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for grill

1-pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail on

Lime wedges and chili powder, for serving

Special Equipment:

Four 8-inch-long metal skewers or bamboo skewers soaked 30 minutes in water

1.Whisk Chile, garlic, pepper, lime juice, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat; season with steak seasoning. 2.Thread shrimp onto sets of 2 skewers.

3.Prepare a grill for medium-high heat; clean grates well, then oil.

4.Grill shrimp, turning once, until cooked through and lightly charred, about 5 minutes total. Serve with lime wedges dipped in chili powder.

Italian Salad

½ cup olive oil

5 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sugar

1½ teaspoons dried oregano

1 garlic clove, finely grated

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

1 small head of iceberg lettuce

1 small red onion, sliced into rings

4 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced

2 cups drained small mozzarella balls, torn

10 pepperoncini peppers

Whisk oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, oregano, and garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut lettuce in half through stem end. Tear apart into large pieces. Arrange on a platter and scatter onion, provolone, mozzarella, and pepperoncini over the lettuce. Drizzle with dressing to coat to your liking (you’ll probably have some extra) and top with more black pepper.

Air Fryer Cod & Tartar Sauce

4 cod fillets about 1-inch thick

Cooking spray

2 Tablespoons melted butter

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

2 Tablespoons Old Bay, Lemon-Pepper or Creole/Cajun seasonings

Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Brush both sides of the cod fillets with butter and season with your favorite seasonings.

Let the cod marinate and absorb spices for a few minutes. In the meantime, preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Then, grease the air fryer basket cooking spray.

Place the cod fillets in the air fryer basket and cook for 8-10 minutes. Flip the fillets halfway through the cooking time so they cook evenly on both sides. Use a meat thermometer to check if the internal temperature of the fish has reached 145°F. Garnish with parsley.

Tartar Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup dill pickles, finely chopped

1 Tbsp capers, finely chopped

1 Tbsp fresh dill

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp fresh-ground pepper

2 Tbsp grated white onion

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.

Lot’s of butter and lot’s of garlic!

Shrimp Scampi with Pasta

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

1-pound dry pasta (spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 stick unsalted butter

12 cloves garlic, sliced

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup white wine

2 lemons, juiced

2 tablespoons red Chile flakes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, give it a stir and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil, butter, garlic and salt. Sweat the garlic for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook while stirring, about 1 minute. Add the wine, lemon juice and Chile flakes and cook until the shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes.

Reserve some of the pasta water, then drain the spaghetti. Add the spaghetti and a little of the reserved pasta water to the pan with the shrimp and toss to combine. Toss in the parsley and serve.

Happy Friday! What the hell! I’m makin’ chile verde this weekend. This recipe has made many a man happy on our annual houseboat trips. I’m gonna serve it with that fantastic rice I got from rice farmer, Gary Hansen of the Jim Hansen Ranch in Willows.

Chili Verde

Vegetable oil

3-4 large yellow onions, diced

8 garlic cloves, chopped

2 serrano peppers, chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

5-6 pounds pork shoulder, cubed

1 quart chicken broth

15 to 20 Anaheim peppers

12 to 15 tomatillos

4 tablespoons garlic powder

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 cup corn flour

Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Flour tortillas, warmed, for serving

Mexican rice, for serving (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add 1/2 cup of olive oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, serrano and jalapeno peppers and cook until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place the pork shoulder in a large heavy bottomed pot, coated with oil, over medium heat and sear until well browned on all sides. Deglaze with the chicken broth, and then add sauteed onions and peppers. Turn heat to low, cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the Anaheim peppers on a sheet pan.

Peel the outer paper skins off the tomatillos, then coat with olive oil and place on another sheet pan. Place both pans in the preheated oven and roast until the peppers are nicely charred and the tomatillos are soft, about 20 minutes.

Remove pans from the oven and place the peppers in a plastic bag to let them steam for 5 minutes.

Peel and seed peppers, and then puree them with the tomatillos in a food processor or blender. Add the puree to the pork mixture, stir, and then let simmer on low heat.

Combine the garlic powder, black pepper, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, ground coriander and salt in a small bowl, then add to pork mixture and stir well.

In a small sauté pan, mix 1/2 cup olive oil with the corn flour, stirring over low heat for 2 minutes to make a masa roux.

Let the chili mixture simmer for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours on medium-low heat, or until pork is nice and tender. Then stir in masa roux and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve in bowls with tortillas and rice. Garnish with cilantro.

Mexican Rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 white onion, diced

1 jalapeño, minced

2 cups white rice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 bay leaf

2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup (8 oz) tomato sauce

Kosher salt, to taste

Cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Juice of one lime

Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Let the rice drain for 5 minutes.

In a pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and jalapeno for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.

Add the rice, cumin, chili powder, garlic, and oregano and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often until the rice is toasted. Add the broth, tomato sauce, bouillon, bay leaf, and salt and stir well. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to very low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

After the 20 minutes, turn off the heat, leave the rice covered and let it rest for another 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork, add chopped cilantro, and squeeze in lime juice.

Back to school means a good sandwich. This one calls for sauerkraut. Salt and Savour sauerkraut, made in Dunsmuir, is available at R&R Quality Meats & Seafood in Redding. It’s damn fine kraut!

Reuben Sandwich with Ruthie’s 1000 Island Dressing

Butter, at room temperature

8 slices of your favorite rye bread (I like the marbled)

16 slices Swiss cheese

2 pounds corned beef, sliced

2 cups sauerkraut, drained

Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste

Bread & Butter pickles, for serving

Build the sandwiches. Spread one side of each of the slices of bread with butter. On the other side of the bread, spread the dressing on each slice. Top each slice with Swiss cheese, top one of the slices of each sandwich with sauerkraut, and corned beef. Top with the other slice of bread.

Set a large skillet or grill pan over medium heat. Place the sandwiches on the pan and weigh down with another skillet (you might need to do this in batches). Cook for a few minutes a side until the cheese has melted and the bread is nicely toasted. Using my Blackstone, I like to grill the corned beef a bit and build the sandwich on the Blackstone. Serve ‘em up with a big pile of bread & butter pickles.

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

⅓ cup ketchup

¼ cup sweet pickle relish

Juice from one lemon

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon paprika

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon prepared horseradish

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons minced green onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Place mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, lemon juice, cider vinegar, paprika, salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, green onion, and parsley in a bowl. Whisk together until ingredients are well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours

Happy Taco Tuesday! Oil up your Blackstone and get busy! I love cooking on my Blackstone. Easy cleanup and no mess in the kitchen. Plus, I get to choke down a couple of cigs while cooking! Just like the good ole days when I was a line cook at Denny’s!

Steak Fajitas on the Blackstone

2 pounds skirt steak or steak of your choice

Olive oil, for marinating

Vegetable oil, for cooking

1 green, yellow and red bell pepper, sliced

2 yellow onions, peeled, halved and sliced into half-moons

4 cloves garlic, minced

Fresh cilantro, for serving

Sour cream or crema, for serving

Juice from two limes, plus wedges, for serving

Cotija or queso fresco cheese, for serving

Flour tortillas

Fajita Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Mix fajita seasonings in small bowl and set aside.

Slice steak against the grain into small slices. Place into bowl or gallon sized zip-loc bag and add olive oil, toss to coat. Then add half of the fajita seasoning to meat and toss to coat. Add a squeeze of lime. Marinate the meat for 30 minutes.

In another bowl or gallon sized zip-loc bag, add vegetables and olive oil. Toss to coat then add in remaining fajita seasoning and mix until coated. Marinate the vegetables for a few minutes.

Preheat the Blackstone for about over high heat. Pour vegetable oil on the preheated griddle and spread out.

Put the steak and vegetables on the griddle. Discard the marinade. Cook for 8-10 minutes, tossing the steak and vegetables a few times. You want these to be slightly charred and cooked through. During the last few minutes add garlic and a squeeze of lime.

Place tortillas on the griddle to warm.

Remove the steak, vegetables and tortillas from griddle and serve with your toppings.

Back on the air today after taking care of some Asphalt Cowboys duties. BTW…I have tickets for sale for our 71st annual Community BBQ. PM me and I’ll hook you up.

Pan-Seared Garlic Butter Steak with Mushroom Cream Sauce

4 6-ounce steaks (sirloin, rib-eye, NY strip)

Garlic salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 stick unsalted butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Season the steaks with garlic salt on both sides.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.

Add the steaks to the skillet and sear for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until they reach desired doneness. Remove from the skillet and let rest.

In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium and add butter. Once melted, add minced garlic and sliced mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are golden brown.

Pour in the heavy cream and add Dijon mustard, stirring to combine. Cook until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

Serve the steaks topped with the mushroom cream sauce and garnish with chopped parsley.

I missed National Oyster Day yesterday. No matter. As a God fearing, tax paying, law abiding, Constitution loving, flag waving, red blooded American man, I can eat oysters any damn day I choose.

Grilled Oysters with Romano and Creole Sauce

1 stick unsalted butter

4 scallions, white and light green parts only, washed and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

2 dozen freshly shucked oysters, on the half shell with their liquor (juice)

2 cups fresh grated Romano cheese

Lemon wedges, for squeezing

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until just tender. Add garlic and Creole seasoning and cook an additional minute.

Add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, wine, thyme and pepper flakes to pan. Simmer gently until wine is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and put a lid on the pan.

Preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Carefully place oysters on grill and keep as much oyster liquor in shell as possible. When the oyster liquor starts to bubble, sprinkle Romano over each oyster. Let cheese melt. When oysters begin to slightly brown at the edges, remove. Spoon sauce over each oyster and serve.

I made grilled, tri-tip tacos last night. Excellent! Recipe… https://q97country.com/santa-maria-mexican-tri-tip-tacos…/ I smoked another tri-tip, for sandwiches tonight.

Smoked Tri-Tip Grilled Cheese Sandwich

For the Sandwich:

4 slices thick sourdough or Texas toast

Smoked tri-tip, sliced

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 slices provolone or smoked gouda cheese

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

2 tbsp butter (for grilling bread)

Olive oil (for caramelizing onions)

1. Caramelize the Onions:

Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat.

Add sliced onions and cook slowly for about 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and soft.

Add a small splash of water or balsamic vinegar to deglaze if needed. Set aside.

2. Assemble the Sandwiches:

Butter one side of each slice of bread.

On the unbuttered side, layer: cheese slice, brisket, caramelized onions, BBQ sauce, and another slice of cheese.

Top with the second piece of bread, buttered side facing out.

3. Grill:

Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat.

Grill sandwiches until golden brown on both sides and cheese is melted — about 3–4 minutes per side. Press down slightly with a spatula for that crispy crust.

4. Stack & Serve:

Slice in half and stack them up for that epic look.

Serve with extra BBQ sauce on the side for dipping.

Optional Add-Ons:

Jalapeños or pickled onions for heat

A fried egg on top