1 lb. Italian sausage, hot or mild, casings removed and crumbled.
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
Two 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste
Pinch of sugar, to taste
Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste
6 eggs
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Rustic, crusty bread, for sopping
Avocado, sliced, for serving
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Cast iron works best. Add the sausage and cook through.
Add chopped onion, sauté for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add garlic and continue to sauté till mixture is fragrant.
Add the bell pepper, sauté for 5-7 minutes over medium until softened.
Add tomatoes and tomato paste to pan, stir till blended.
Add chili powder, cumin and paprika. Add cayenne and sugar and allow mixture to simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until sauce starts to reduce and thicken.
Taste to see if you want to add more sugar or cayenne pepper for your taste.
Crack the eggs, one at a time, directly over the tomato mixture, making sure to space them evenly over the sauce. I usually place 5 eggs around the outer edge and 1 in the center. The eggs will cook “over easy” on top of the tomato sauce.
Cover the pan. Allow mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked and the sauce has slightly reduced. Keep an eye on the skillet to make sure that the sauce doesn’t reduce too much, which can lead to burning.
Some people prefer their eggs runnier. If this is your preference, let the sauce reduce for a few minutes before cracking the eggs on top– then, cover the pan and cook the eggs to taste.
Garnish with the chopped parsley.
Serve with avocado and the bread for sopping up all the goodness.
Sprinkle a small amount of water on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Place 2 of the steaks on top of the plastic and sprinkle again with water. Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap and pound with a rolling pin or meat pounder until about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining 2 steaks.
Mix the flour with the salt and pepper in a shallow pie plate. Heat half the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Working in 2 batches, place half the pork in the flour mixture and turn to coat on all sides. Shake off the excess flour and add to the skillet. Cook until lightly browned and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate or platter and cover loosely with foil. Repeat with the remaining oil and pork.
Add the butter to the skillet and heat until melted and foamy. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until almost all the liquid that the mushrooms give off has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Pour in the Marsala, increase the heat to high, and cook, stirring, until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Add the capers. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 3 minutes. Return the pork to the skillet and simmer, turning often, until the pork is warmed through and the sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Transfer the scaloppini to warm serving plates. Stir the sour cream and chives into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and spoon over the pork.
1 tablespoon fresh, minced ginger (about 1 inch knob)
1⁄4 cup cream sherry
1 (4 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts
1 teaspoon minced garlic
butter
wooden toothpicks
Place bacon strips on frying pan with low flame and cover pan.
Melt some butter or margarine, and add the teriyaki sauce, ginger, sherry and garlic in another frying pan with a container of chicken livers on a medium flame.
DO NOT ALLOW THE BACON TO GET FULLY DONE, ONLY PARTIALLY DONE.
While bacon is still soft and only partially done, remove and place strips onto a paper towel to slightly cool.
When livers are done on both sides, remove from flame and also set aside onto paper towel to slightly cool.
Slice the chicken livers into 1/2 inch pieces.
Take a piece of chicken liver and a slice of water chestnut and wrap either 1/2 strip of bacon or a whole strip of bacon around the liver and water chestnut, securing it with a wooden toothpick.
Place the Rumaki onto a cookie sheet, and continue this same procedure, until the cookie sheet is filled and the livers and bacon are gone.
Set the cookie sheet with all of the Rumaki aside.
About 20 minutes before company arrives, preheat oven to 450 degrees.
About 15 minutes before company arrives, place the cookie sheet with the Rumaki into the oven for 10 minutes, and then raise the oven to broil for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve on a hot plate.
Leave the toothpicks in place so they can pick it up by the toothpicks.
Braised Hoisin Beer Short Ribs with Creamy Mashed Potatoes
For the ribs:
3 pounds beef short ribs, about 10 ribs
Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 to 12 garlic cloves smashed
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
12 ounces good ale
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 cup Hoisin sauce
Creamy Mashed Potatoes:
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 cup half-and-half
Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste
1 bunch chives, chopped
Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy pot with a lid (Dutch oven) over high heat. Brown the ribs on all sides, in batches if necessary. Remove the ribs and pour off all but a couple tablespoons of the rendered fat.
Return the pot to the stove, lower the heat to medium and saute the garlic and ginger for about 3 minutes. Add the ribs back to the pot. Add the beer and the vinegar. Stir and then cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Pour the Hoisin sauce over the ribs, move the pot to the oven, and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Remove ribs and ginger from sauce. Strain fat from the top of the pot so that you’re left with just the good stuff. Serve with Creamy Mashed Potatoes.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes:
Boil potatoes until fork tender. Heat the butter and half-and-half over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot and mash with a hand masher. Add hot liquid to potatoes and whip with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add chives and mix before serving.
Pat the steaks dry and sprinkle salt on both sides of the steak and set aside at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.
Whisk together broth, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and tomato paste; set aside.
Melt the butter in a skillet set over medium-high heat. Increase the heat to high and sear the meat for 1 to 4 minutes, depending on how thick the steak is. Turn and sear on the other side and cook until done to your liking.
When the steaks are done, move to a cutting board and tent with foil.
While the meat is resting, sauté the shallots in the pan, 2 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring once or twice.
Add the cognac to de-glaze the pan. Increase the heat and cook until the cognac is almost evaporated.
Stir in the broth mixture and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
If you want, thinly slice the steak to serve. Otherwise serve individual steaks. Drizzle warm Diane sauce over the steak and garnish with fresh-ground pepper and chives.
Whisk together the buttermilk, garlic powder, paprika and hot sauce in a casserole dish. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper together in a separate casserole dish.
Add the oysters to the buttermilk and let soak. Then remove, letting the excess drip off, and dredge through the cornmeal mixture, tapping off the excess. Fry in the hot oil in batches, until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve hot with the Remoulade Sauce.
Remoulade:
Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, paprika, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce in a small bowl until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving.
Use head on, unpeeled, tail on shrimp if you can. The head and shell has a lot of flavor in them and makes for a really great sauce. This dish can be done in the oven or your gas grill.
3 lbs head on, unpeeled, tail on shrimp
3 sticks unsalted butter
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup dry white wine (not chilled, room temp)
3 tablespoons minced garlic (I use Christopher Ranch in the jar)
1 onion, halved and sliced into thin half moons
1 bunch green onions, chopped coarse
Fresh parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 tablespoon Old Bay
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
Hot pepper sauce, to taste (I like Pick A Peppa)
1 or 2 lemons halved and sliced into rings
Squeeze of lemon juice into the butter/olive oil mix
Melt 2 sticks of the butter and add the olive oil. Add seasonings and all remaining ingredients (except the shrimp, 3rd stick of butter and lemon slices) and mix. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. You want a rich and deep seasoned sauce that will meld together as it cooks. The sauce will mellow a bit when the shrimp release their juices.
Preheat your oven or gas grill to 325
Put rinsed and drained shrimp along with lemon slices in a 9×13 baking dish sprayed with Pam.
Add all remaining ingredients into the baking dish. Pour on the seasoned butter and olive oil seasonings mixture. Toss to coat well. Cut the 3rd stick of butter into pats and evenly dot the entire dish.
Place the dish into your oven or on your gas grill (lid closed) and bake at 325 for 30 to 45 minutes. It depends if you have a single layer of shrimp which will cook faster, or a bunch of shrimp stacked up. Stir the dish every 10-15 minutes.
Check after 30 minutes for doneness. The last thing you ever want to do, is over cook shrimp. It gets tough and rubbery and it’s not good.
Remove the head, peel the shrimp and enjoy! Have plenty of good, crusty bread on hand for sopping up all the goodness.
12 soft taco-size flour tortillas, charred over a gas flame, or heated
4 green onions, thinly sliced
Cook chicken in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add carrots, bell pepper, and garlic; cook 6 minutes or until tender and chicken is done.
Reduce heat to medium; stir in teriyaki sauce and nuts; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Divide chicken mixture among tortillas. Sprinkle with onions.
Pineapple-Pear Salsa
1 cup canned, diced pineapple
1 ripe pear diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper seeded and diced
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste
In a bowl, combine the diced pineapple, diced pear, chopped red onion, diced jalapeño, lime juice, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
