Entrees

Rhubarb Crisp with Cinnamon Ice Cream

capty99 — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:36:45 -0500

Ingredients:

Filling
5 cups fresh rhubarb
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
½ teaspoon grated orange peel

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim rhubarb and cut into ½ inch pieces.
Mix all ingredients together, and then pour unto an 8-inch square baking pan.

Streusel Crust

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/3 cup rolled oats

Method:

Combine brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, walnuts, and rolled oats, mixing until crumbly. Crumble streusel crust over rhubarb. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until streusel crust is golden brown. Serve warm with cinnamon ice cream.

Honey-Bourbon Salmon

capty99 — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:35:19 -0500

Ingredients:

2 pounds salmon fillet
Honey-Bourbon marinade:
½ cup honey
½ cup apple butter
¼ cup bourbon whiskey
2 Tablespoons honey mustard
¼ cup lemon juice

Method:

Mix all marinade ingredients together and pour over salmon. Marinate for a half hour. Place on fish grill tray so salmon doesn’t fall apart on the grill. Grill on medium for roughly four minutes on each side or a couple minutes longer if fillets are thicker than 1 ½ inches

Shiner Bock Beans with Epazote

capty99 — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:15:39 -0500

Serves 6 to 8

I used to simmer beans uncovered, very gently, treating them like fragile shells rather than the hearty legumes they are. Then a handsome old man named Dorsey came to the ranch to cook for the deer hunts in December. Dorsey makes insanely good Southern fare: barbecued chicken and the best grits with giblet gravy and “floaters” (egg fried in a vat of oil) you will ever taste. He also makes great pinto beans. Dorsey added little more than salt pork, but he covered the beans and boiled the hell out of them, checking to see if they needed more water every now and then.
So that’s how I started making my beans, and the results are perfectly creamy every time. I flavor mine with Shiner Bock beer, a local variety from Shiner, Texas, but any amber beer will work just fine. If you can’t fine epazote, feel free to use cilantro, parsley, or leave it out altogether. These beans thicken upon standing and taste even better the second day (with huevos rancheros or in warm flower tortillas with shredded cheese and salsa).

Ingredients:

2 cups pinto beans, sorted, soaked overnight, or quick soaked (see Note)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 jalapeno (or 2 serranos), seeded and finely chopped
2 fresh bay leaves, torn
1 bunch fresh eepazote, stemmed and chopped (about ½ to ¾ cup)
1 bottle Shiner Bock beer or other amber ale
2 to 4 tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
salt
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

Drain and rinse the soaked pinto beans, and place in a pot with fresh water to cover by 1 ½ inches. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, bay leaves, and epazote to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the beans, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Add the beer and continue to shimmer until the beans are tender and creamy, 30 to 45 additional minutes. When they have reached the right texture, remove the bay leaves and flavor with the chipotle chile puree, vinegar, salt to taste, and cilantro. Taste and add more salt or vinegar, if necessary.

Note: To quick soak beans, place them in a large pot and cover with at least four inches of cold water. Bring the beans to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, remove from the heat, and cover for one hour. Drain the beans in a colander and cook as directed.

Texas Beef Chili with Poblanos & Beer

capty99 — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:13:39 -0500

Serves 8 (about 8 cups)

Chili making is serious business in Texas – I quickly learned that nobody adds beans (if you do, you’d better drive a fast truck). Here, it’s all about cubes of well-marbled chuck braised in a spicy chili broth. My version is as rich and thick as a French daube. This chili is best made the day before. This allows the flavors to meld and mellow, and makes it easier to skim the fat from the chili before reheating. Shredding the meat is an important step – it helps to create a thick, luscious texture. A dollop of Mexican-style crema helps cool the fire.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large sweet onions, diced (about 4 cups)
3 poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ½ pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 ½ -inch cubes
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
2 cinnamon sticks
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ cup ground New Mexico chile powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 12-ounce bottle amber ale
2 quarts beef broth

For Garnish

1 medium red onion, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt, as desired
12 ounces Mexican-style crema or sour cream, as desired

Method:

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the poblanos and sauté for an additional 10 minutes, reducing heat if necessary to prevent the onions from sticking to the pan or turning brown. Add the garlic and salt and sauté an additional 5 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large Dutch oven (preferably a cast-iron poot with enamel coating). Add the beef in batches, as necessary, to avoid crowding the pan, and brown the cubes on all sides until brown and crusty. Remove the browned beef with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining beef.
Return all the browned beef to the Dutch oven. Add the spices and sauté until they form a thick paste on the meat, about 4 minutes. Watch the pan carefully to avoid scorching the spices. Add the ale to deglaze the pan, and simmer until slightly reduced and the meat mixture is thick. Add the beef broth, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the mixture, partially covered, for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
If not serving immediately, chill overnight. The next day, skim the fat from the top of the mixture. Using a slotted spoon, remove about 2 cups of the beef cubes to a plate. Shred the meet with a fork (it should be very soft) and return to the pot. The shredded meat will help create a thicker-textured chili.
Just before serving the chili, combine the copped onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl to create a pico de gallo to serve as a garnish. Serve the chili in warmed bowls, topped with a dollop of crema and a spoonful of pico. Alternately, you can simply offer separate bowls of chopped onion, tomatoes, and cilantro as garnish.

Note: If, like me, you prefer to add beans to chili (it can be our little secret), offer them as a garnish. Drain and rinse two 14-ounce cans of kidney or pinto beans. Place them in a glass bowl, cover with plastic, and warm in the microwave. Offer the warm beans alongside bowls of the other garnishes.

Sweet Potato Souffle

capty99 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:12:27 -0600

Serves 8

Ingredients:

4 extra large sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

½ stick butter

½ cup sweet milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice

½ cup toasted pecan halves

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Bring sweet potatoes to a boil for 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly and let cool for 5 minutes.

3. Mash sweet potatoes into a smooth puree, and add sugar, salt, eggs, butter, sweet milk, vanilla, cinnamon and allspice. Mix completely.

4. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and arrange pecan halves on top.

Herb Roasted Turkey with Citrus Glaze

capty99 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:10:23 -0600

Ingredients:

1 12-15 lb. whole turkey

¼ cup chardonnay

2 large oranges

¼ cup light brown sugar

3 large lemons

1 bunch rosemary, sage and thyme

1 ½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Prep the turkey by removing giblets and rinsing cavity with cold water. Dry completely.

3. Juice oranges and lemons, yielding at least 2 tablespoons of juice each. Cut remaining fruit into wedges and place in cavity with a pinch of salt.

4. In a small mixing bowl, combine citrus juice, wine and brown sugar. Reserve for glaze.

5. Without removing it completely, peel back the skin of your turkey and place 1 tablespoon of rosemary and sage between under the skin, folding skin back over to secure the herbs.

6. Fold wings under the turkey and tuck legs beneath the cavity.

7. Place turkey in a large roasting pan (2 ½” deep). Massage turkey with a generous amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. Insert an oven save thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, making sure not to touch the bone.

8. Roast for approximately 3–4 hours. During the last hour, baste with pan drippings, and during the last 25 minutes, baste with citrus glaze. Cover with foil to prevent the glaze from burning. Continue roasting until your thermometer registers 180 degrees F.

9. Remove from oven, and allow to rest covered in foil for 20-30 minutes before carving.

Oven Roasted Garlic Potatoes

capty99 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:08:54 -0600

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

8 large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed

Coarse sea salt

1 tablespoon bacon renderings

Black pepper

1 tablespoon light olive oil

1 bunch rosemary

7 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place potatoes in salted water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly and cool.

3. Put bacon renderings and olive oil into a roasting pan and place potatoes, and garlic cloves in a single layer.

4. Roast for approximately 45 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown. Watch the garlic closely and remove if they begin to turn brown. Be sure to turn potatoes several times during roasting.

5. Remove from oven and toss in rosemary, salt and pepper.