The perfect Omelette

Its so good. Cheese and ham and turkey on top of ham and cheese. Lest not forget spinach inside! Multiple varieties of cheeses; cheddar inside, swiss melted on top. Bread buttered immediately upon toasting. To sum it up in three words, Really Freaking Good!  

Some preparation tips:

1) Pre-saute all ingredients (ex-Cheese) to ensure maximum tastiness

2) Teflon, non-stick pans have a higher probability of delivering a great outcome versus stainless. Stainless is always preferred, but one must be precise on heating and ensure no cheese spills onto the pan surface because that assures adverse circumstances.

Jaguare Nachos

It’s so good you momentarily forget that Jacksonville is scoring points against Pittsburgh! (from circa Jan 2018)

Add some sour cream for pleasure!

Inspired by nachos served at my favorite Sunday watering hole, I DIY’d for divisional playoffs weekend where the odds and my inclination were on Pitt to take care of the upstart Jaguars. This did not happen, but what did happen was these nachos. I got a late start and by the time the nachos were ready for devouring the Jaguars were firmly in the lead scoring twice as many points against the Steelers in one quarter than they did against the Bills in the entire game the week before. Tough for under bettors for sure!

But alas, the nachos. These saved the day. What I did was take last night’s leftover turkey burgers and sauté up the meat with some grilled onions and bbq sauce. I poured this mix on the nachos along with black olives, salsa, shredded cheddar and jalapeños. I put the entire mix in the oven on broil for about 5 to 10 minutes.  Good times and outside of under bettors getting hosed, a pretty good game.

Saturday Afternoon Burger

Not for the faint of heart

Let's just say I was hungry. 

First I call Jackson Hole and price out a burger with fries and a coke delivery for $27. I thought man, let's just go right ahead and DIY it. Anyhow, when you cook yourself you get to ensure there will be far more tlc. It's rare for a delivery burger to knock your socks off.

Bacon; baked in oven

home fries; pan fried, but they were super crappy freezer burned shop rite frozen hash browns. I literally needed to hack into a brick of potatos to chip off some for the frying pan.  I did the best I could in the pan, but the elusive crispy brown never came.

sauted onions; white onion, cooked in olive oil, some was on the side, some was added to the awesome potatoes. 

finally the burger; I patted together a fat one, probably 10 oz's or so. It was tricky cooking this sob over a gas flame, eventually I had to cut the hunk of beef in half cause heating the middle was going nowhere. I got it done, the burger was medium rare, and then.... 

I fried an egg in that burger fat!

topped with some New York State Cabot sharp cheddar cheese and there you go.

Slap all that on a toasted bun, and keep a fork, knife and napkin ready.

try it doused with ketchup and red hot for affect.

all warshed down with some Pepsi, and followed up by a strong mid-afternoon power nap.

the end 

Saturday Night Steak

What goes best with a Chalk Hill Pinot? Of course its a fatty prime cut steak (don't remember the exact name), but there was a bone, there was some meat, and there was some fat. IT WAS GOOD.  To offset this rede meat sensation was a medley of vegetables surrounding the dish; zucchini (yellow and green, fresh purchased from the farmer's market) and small potatoes, plus mushrooms were roasted in the oven, covered in a oil and vinegar marinade.  The spinach was sautéed, while the fresh corn was steamed.  Wish you were here.  

Chef's note: How did I cook the steak? Pan seared in butter, then broiled in the oven.  

Mother's Day Brunch

I think we peaked. 

Poached eggs; Roasted Potatoes; Baked Ham (with orange glaze), Lemon Butter Asparagus, Limone mini muffins   

Poached Eggs: Some think poaching eggs is tough, not really, but you got to be delicate with it. Boil some water, then with a spoon make a swirl in the pot, crack an egg, set a timer for 2 minutes and let it go. Swirl the water a little bit more while its cooking, then use a slotted spoon to scoop that sucker out. What an honest food.  

Roasted Potatoes: Dice uncooked potatoes down to 1/8 or 1/16 pieces, add olive oil, salt, pepper, a diced onion, dill. Cook on 400 for 45 minutes to an hour. 

Lemon Butter Asparagus: Squeeze a lemon and rub butter on asparagus, then cook. 

Glazed Ham: Walk to store, request ham, salivate while ham is being cut, eat piece of ham offered by store clerk.  Keep warm while other food is being prepared.  

Orangeman Baby Backs

Yes, from the home of the best upstate NY college basketball franchise comes a deceivingly easy recipe for ribs.

step 1: procure good ribs, in the case of these ribs it was a bit arduous because there was an electrical fire at my local grocer, but alas, the suffering....

The step 2: pour good BBQ sauce on ribs, probably it would be good to do a marinade for a few hours before, but if you just want to go for it, no worries.  (these ribs were coated in Dinosaur BBQ sauce, good times!)

step 3: cook ribs in oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour

Sicilian Fish Stew

Semolina bread is a must to soak up all the goodness of Chilean Sea Bass, cod, tomatoes and onions in this rich broth. On a chilly early autumn evening, this stew coated my soul. 

Ingredients: Onions, garlic, parsley, dry wine, tomatoes, and fish

Lemon Dill Salmon

An Italian risotto rice and broccoli rabe help provide a delightful compliment to the textured flavor of the baked Salmon. 

Salmon: Butter, fresh dill weed, dry dill weed, salt, pepper, and fresh garlic were sauteed in a pan, then poured over the raw salmon. The salmon was baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. A Scottish salmon was used.  

Asian Chicken & Vegetables

This dish really fits into the “comfort food" category.  Baking the thighs with the marinade results in an amazing Asian broth that goes well over everything.  However, the complexity of the chicken and its sauce is paired against simply prepared vegetables and rice, allowing the eater to get a “break” from the intensity of the chicken’s flavor.  

• Boneless chicken thighs marinated with ginger, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, and oil, salt and pepper

• Sliced wilcox potato, red pepper, and mushrooms, cover with olive oil and lightly salt & pepper

• Bake both dishes at 350 for 35 minutes, the vegetables might take longer because of the potatoes

• Sushi rice

• paired with La Crema Chardonnay

Cheesy, Veggie, Sausage Scrambled Eggs & Dill Potato

This was a real, “whatever is in the fridge” kind of breakfast where everything came together in a delightful spin on the general eggs and potato offering. The three cheese onslaught really flavored farmer's market purchased eggs. The breakfast sausage ensured the meal was fulfilling, while the dill and fresh yogurt energized an otherwise pedestrian boiled potato.  

Scrambled Eggs with Sausage Cheese and Veggies; farm fresh eggs,3 different cheeses; goat, cheddar, mozzarella, peppers, mushrooms and breakfast sausage. 

Boiled Potato with Butter & Dill: A “Wilcox” Potato boiled, with butter and fresh dill, plus a few dollops of fresh yogurt