Category: Dave’s Blog

Happy Monday. Five more days of workin’ for the man. Make dinner easy tonight.  

HAWAIIAN STYLE TERIYAKI CHICKEN  

3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

1 cup of soy sauce

1 cup of pineapple juice

1 cup of brown sugar packed

5 cloves of mashed garlic.

1 inch knob of fresh ginger, grated on a micro-plane grater  

In a large bowl, mix the pineapple juice and soy sauce and add in the sugar to be dissolved. Add the desired amount of ginger and garlic then add in the chicken. You can soak the meat in the marinade for up to 3 days, if you are in a hurry, you need to soak it for at least 24 hours. If you can’t wait, boil the chicken in the sauce right after you make it. Bake the chicken in a 425 oven for 50 minutes, brushing with sauce every 10 minutes. When in doubt, pull out your digital thermometer. The chicken is done when the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165.

Hi-O, Hi-O, It’s Off To Work We Go. Another five days of workin’ for the man!  

Roasted Garlic Butter Rib-Eye Steaks 

4 Rib-Eyes

Olive oil

Montreal Steak Seasoning, to taste 

Roasted Garlic and Herb Butter

1/2 shallot, diced

1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped

1 tablespoon thyme, chopped

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

2 bulbs garlic

4 tablespoons olive oil 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the tops off the head of the garlic bulbs (enough to expose the top of the garlic cloves) and remove any loose papery outer layers.

Place garlic cut side up on enough foil to wrap the garlic. Drizzle oil on the exposed surface of the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Wrap the sides up and place the foil wrapped garlic onto a baking tray.

Roast in the preheated oven until golden and soft, about 45 minutes or up to 60 minutes. Roasting time will vary based on the size and type of garlic.

Set aside to cool, then squeeze out the soft cloves.

While the garlic is roasting, season the steaks with Montreal Steak Seasoning and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Get a stick of softened, unsalted butter in a bowl and begin adding the roasted garlic (8 or so cloves), rosemary, thyme, shallots, and salt & pepper. Mix and set aside.

Grill, BBQ or air-fry the steaks to your preferred doneness. I like mine medium-rare.

On the last flip of the steaks, top them with a teaspoon, or so, of the roasted garlic butter. Remove the steaks when done and top them with more butter. Tent them with foil and let them rest for 10 minutes, enjoy!

Happy Opening Day! The Giants open their season in Cincinnati, the A’s are in Seattle and the Dodgers host the Tigers. Bust out the brats and enjoy! 

Opening Day Beer Brats 

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)

2 pounds of brats

2 onions, halved and sliced into half moons

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 bottles of a good craft beer

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup Stone Ground mustard1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons cider vinegar 

In a large skillet on medium high heat brown the brats on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the other 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the skillet and cook the onions on medium heat until soft and lightly browned. Add the garlic, nutmeg and caraway seeds and cook until fragrant, and then add the beer, and mix in the mustard, vinegar and honey.At this point, if you want to do a smoker or grill version, put everything into an aluminum foil pan and set your smoker or grill to 250. Let everything stew and cook for about an hour.Add the brats back into the skillet and cook for 8-10 minutes or until brats are done.

Remove the brats to a serving platter and then bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Boil until onion mixture is thickened – stirring frequently.

Serve on brat buns or hoagie rolls topped with the onion mixture.

Pork steaks are on sale at my favorite meat store in Redding. So…

Smothered Pork Chops with Garlic-Mushroom Sauce  

4 boneless pork chops or pork steaks Paprika, to taste

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1/2 small yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

2 Tablespoons all-purpose Flour

2 cups chicken broth

Minced parsley or chives, for garnish  

Season both sides of pork chops with paprika, salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter and half of the olive oil. Sear both sides of the pork chops until golden brown and cooked through, about 2-4 minutes per side. Remove pork chops from pan and set aside. In same skillet over medium-high head add remaining the butter and olive oil. Add onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until they are golden and browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mustard and cook for about 1 minute until garlic becomes fragrant. Stir in the flour, cooking stirring to remove lumps. Slowly add the broth, whisking until blended. Season with salt and pepper, to taste Return pork chops to pan and cook for a couple of minutes or until they are heated through. Serve hot. Garnish with parsley or chives.

Chicken wings for dummies. Couldn’t be easier. Mix all the crap together, get it in the crock pot and walk away. 

SLOW COOKER STICKY CHICKEN WINGS 

3 pounds chicken wings

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Sesame seeds for garnish

Fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Scallions, chopped for garnish 

FOR THE SAUCE

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup prepared hoisin sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup honey

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste

1 ½ inch knob of fresh ginger, minced

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder 

1. In a large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, honey, garlic, Sriracha, ginger, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.

2. Place wings into a slow cooker. Stir in soy sauce mixture and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or high heat for 1-2 hours.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Stir in mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Strain the cooking liquid into a saucepan and bring to a light boil to reduce.

4. Preheat oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with foil.

5. Place wings onto the baking sheet and broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred. Baste the chicken with the reduced cooking liquid.

6. Serve immediately with remaining sauce, garnished with sesame seeds, scallions and cilantro.

 Our engineer here at Q97, Barry, shared this recipe with me, so I’m sharing it with you. Thanks Bear! 

Cowboy Spaghetti 

16 oz spaghetti or linguine

24 oz. sirloin steak

2 tbsp butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup fresh Parmesan, grated

Montreal Steak Seasoning, to taste

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes 

Bring the steak to room temperature.

Cook the pasta:

Boil the pasta in heavily salted water (like the ocean) according to package instructions. Drain, but don’t rinse and set aside.

Sear steak:

In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Season the steak with the steak seasoning, then sear for 3-4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove the steak from the skillet, let rest, then slice into thin strips.

Sauté garlic:

In the same skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant.

Make sauce:

Add heavy cream, Parmesan, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Stir well and let simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.

Toss noodles:

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to coat the in the creamy sauce.

Serve:

Plate the noodles and top with the sliced steak. Serve immediately while warm.

Last week, I made the mistake of not posting tacos on Taco Tuesday. Man, did I hear it from you! Thanks for the input!  

FOR THE TACOS

Juice of 3 limes

Chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. cumin Olive oil Zest of

1 lime

Kosher salt, to taste

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

8 tortillas, warmed, for serving

Lime wedges, for squeezing

Plastic squeeze bottle, for drizzling the garlic-lime mayo  

In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, cilantro, garlic, cumin, olive oil, lime zest and season with salt. Add shrimp and cover with plastic wrap. Let marinate 20 minutes in refrigerator. Preheat your grill to medium heat. Grill shrimp until pink and opaque, about 3 minutes per side. Build tacos: add the salsa, then a few shrimp and a drizzle of the garlic-lime mayo to each taco. Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime.   Pineapple Salsa 2 cups diced pineapple 1 cup diced tomatoes 1/4 cup diced red onion 1/4 cup cilantro leaves packed, chopped Juice from 1 lime 1 small jalapeno, finely minced Kosher salt, to taste   In a bowl, combine pineapple, tomatoes, red onion, chopped cilantro, lime juice and minced jalapenos. Add salt, to taste. Stir until all ingredients are combined.  

FOR THE GARLIC-LIME MAYO

1/3 c. Mayonnaise

2 tbsp. hot sauce Zest of

1 lime 1 tsp. garlic powder

Kosher salt, to taste

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Whisk and season with salt.