Speaking of crock pot pulled pork, my fiance absolutely loves pulled pork, and can be a bit of a snob sometimes about it. But he raves over how good this ridiculously easy recipe is: http://bbq.about.com/od/pulledporkrecipes/r/ble31003c.htm When the pork is cooked and shredded, we each have it the way we prefer. He piles the pork on his plate and adds the vinegar-based sauce, I put it on a bun and add barbecue sauce.
I love this stuff on ribs. I'll cook the ribs slowly all day in the smoker and finish them up in the oven with this sauce. Everyone goes to town on it. Rosco's Barbecue Sauce 16 ounces Red Devil Hot Sauce 2 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1 small onion, sliced 1 small stalk celery, sliced 3 cups tomato puree 1 1/2 cups water 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 lemon, sliced Combine all the ingredients in a heavy pot and heat till just hot. Don't bring to a boil or the sauce will turn dark and become thin. Cool the sauce to room temperature, strain it and store it in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator. Makes 5 cups.
Here is a great, quick and easy lasagna. Sweet Sausage and Three Cheese Lasagna For the sauce: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled 1/2 pound lean ground pork 1/3 cup dry white wine 2 (28-ounce) containers crushed tomatoes 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 2 medium dried bay leaves For the lasagna: 1 (9-ounce) box no-boil lasagna noodles 24 ounces ricotta cheese 1 pound mozzarella cheese, low-moisture or fresh, thinly sliced 2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 2 ounces) Directions For the meat sauce: Heat oil in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add onion and garlic, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until just softened. Add sausage and ground pork and stir to break up meat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat starts to color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add wine and cook, scraping bottom of pan to incorporate browned bits, until the alcohol smell is cooked off. Add tomatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, basil, oregano, bay leaf, and season well with freshly ground black pepper. Stir until well mixed and tomatoes start to simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld, at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour. For the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees F and arrange rack in middle. Spread 2 cups sauce in a thin layer over the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Layer 4 noodles over sauce, top with 2 cups sauce and spread it evenly over the noodles. Evenly dollop 1/4 of the ricotta across the sauce, top with 1/4 of the mozzarella, and sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cover with foil and bake until liquids are bubbling and noodles are beginning to soften, about 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until top is golden brown and noodles are completely tender, about 20 minutes more. Allow to rest 20 minutes before cutting.
Made a visit to my mom's recipe cabinet yesterday. Wanted some comfort food to go along with my smoked pork butt, pulled the meat of course. Its easy and very simple to make and you'll feel all warm and fuzzy inside when you eat it. Cheesey Hashbrown Potato Casserole. 1 32oz package hash brown potatoes thawed 3/4 cup butter, melted 1 cup grated cheddar cheese 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 8oz container of Sour Cream 1 10.75 oz can Cream of Chicken soup. Salt and Pepper to taste Mix all ingredients together, put in casserole dish. Preheated oven to 350degrees. Top with crushed potato chips (crispier the better, kettle cooked chips are perfect). Bake for 50 minutes.
A really easy parmesan chicken recipe, courtesy of grandma minny: 6 boneless chicken breasts cut in half 2 tablespoons butter melted ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese ¼ cup dry bread crumbs (or I use Italian- seasoned crumbs) 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon parsley flakes ¼ teaspoon paprika ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper (can skip salt and pepper if you use seasoned crumbs) Heat Oven to 350F. Spray cooking sheet pan with 1’ sides with cooking spray Dip chicken in butter and then the other ingredients combined, place on pan and cook about 20 minutes If you want potatoes with this: I use small red potatoes cut in half, then dipped in an oil, salt, and pepper mix (about 1 tsp salt and pepper, 1/8 cup oil), and then place them on the pan. They'll take longer to cook than the chicken, so put them on the pan and in the oven before you start preparing the chicken. Let them cook for about 20-25 minutes while you prepare the chicken, then when you go to add the chicken to the pan, just make sure you turn the potatoes over or shake them around a bit so they crisp on all sides. They should be done about the same time as your chicken. If you're not a fan of scrubbing pans after your meal, cover the pan in aluminum foil, and cleaning up is super easy.
Here is an awesome Crock Pot Pulled Pork recipe I made last weekend. I was absolutely wonderful: http://www.lifesambrosia.com/2009/08/sl ... ecipe.html OK, I have two questions: 1. I am looking for a killer Lobster Sauce recipe. Not a short cut, easy to make, but something they would serve in a 4 or 5 star restaurant. I've tried so many online and cookbook recopies and they are all lacking. There were two very high end restaurants I used to eat at when I lived in LA, I have not been able to reproduce them. This is a tomato and cream based and is red in color (pinkish-red). 2. What is the proper way to clean cast iron cook wear after use? Thank you.
Do not, I repeat, DO NOT use soap or put it in the dishwasher. Use hot water and a soft rag or sponge to rinse all of the crud off, then heat on the stove to dry. Once dry and cooled down, take a paper towel with a little bit of cooking oil and coat the inside before you store it.
Or you can be like my great-grandma and never wash it, just wipe it down after each use, with maybe a scraping of the baked on shit. My favorite thing about her cooking? Dysentery!
I think you're secretly a girl. With your fine taste in art, love of cooking and wine. Next thing I know you'll have a slumber party. http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CastIronPans.htm
If cast iron cooking and fishing art is girly, then consider me one of the biggest lesbians you've ever met. Plus, I'd have no problem fisting Ellen Degenneereeserass for a nice bottle of cabernet. Another note on cast iron- I know that there are not a lot of people who have access to a butane torch, but I have found that those are frigging awesome to use when seasoning a pot. Just hit it with the torch to remove the wax casing with ease. Then, with a straw brush, coat with some melted pork fat while cooking it into the pot with the torch. I've done two pots like this, and it is so much easier than scrubbing to remove the wax and then stinking up your house by doing it in the oven. I've only tried doing it over a bonfire once, and it made a serious mess. It might have just been the whiskey that caused that, however.
You just threw that in there to go all manly. I know it. My greatgrandma cooked with cast iron and used the, just use it over and over again and wipe after each use, method.
I'm no chef, but I'm quite proud of my Chilli Con Carne (serves 4-5 people): First off, this is definately best if preepared a good 24 hours beforehand-the meat becomes incredibly tender. You need to get yourself a decent sized oven proof dish with a lid-the bigger the better. Then, for your ingredients you need: 2lb of diced beef steak/casserole steak/chuck steak 1 clove of garlic, finely diced 1 or 2 mild chilli's (or whatever you prefer), de-seeded and finely diced 2 medium onions, roughly chopped 6 regular tomatoes, quartered 4 medium potatoes cut to the approximate size of the quartered tomatoes 1 teaspoon of chilli powder (again, this is dependant on your tolerance-I'm a pansy) 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1 glass of red wine (optional) 2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes salt and pepper Now the easy bit-season the meat with salt and pepper and chuck it in the pot. Throw everything else in, and give it a good mix around with your hands. Add some more salt and pepper to taste, then stick the lid on and leave on the side or in the fridge until ready to cook. When you are, get your oven up to about 150C/300F/gas mark 2 and cook for about 3 hours (I give it a stir halfway through, but it's not essential). Serve with plain white rice and buttered French stick. While I'm here, the way I cook steak comes from Jamie Oliver and it's my favourite method: At least 10 minutes before you want to cook, cover each side of the steak in olive oil and salt/pepper. When ready to cook, heat your pan really high (do not use any oil in the pan). A medium steak takes about 6-7 minutes, but the trick is to flip the steak once a minute-even cheap steak comes out great this way.
A good method, to be sure. Although if you dislike the idea of old food encrusted on your cookware pour a tablespoon of salt in the pan and use a dry towel to scour off any crusty remnants. That really only works with a well seasoned pan, however. I have a 12 inch cast iron that has never even seen soap and it's as easy a pan to clean and cook with as the ridiculously expensive Calphalon non stick I bought from Williams-Sonoma.
Thanks, BlueDog. That is exactly how I have been cleaning them. Just wanted to make sure I had it right. I started using cast iron cook wear for camping (cooking on an open fire), then I really like the taste of it and started using it at home.
The Meat Baby: a meatloaf that is in the shape of a baby, complete with bacon diaper and jalapeno eyeballs. Unlike a real baby, it will not cry if you put it into an oven. A great meal for people who just had an abortion.
meat hand This looked disgusting enough that I thought people here would appreciate it. And I bet it would taste pretty good too.
I'll second the not washing cast iron. I've got a few cast iron dishes, and I don't wash either of them. I simply heat them up first, and I figure anything which can survive on the 300+ surface of the pan deserves to kill me. My family makes something called "butter bread" It just simply white bread which has been fried on one side on a cast iron pan. I've tried many other surfaces and nothing matches. I will caution you, on the new Lodge (IMHO the best cast iron pans for your buck out there), the surface is pretty rough. I used a metal grinder to smooth out the surface, otherwise, you're bound to have stuff stick. Just grab a dremel or grinder and spend some time grinding it, it will be worth it. I like to season the pans with shortening at 300 degrees, but given my washing habits, I don't know how much that helped.
Did anyone happen to save a post that was in the "No More Fried Eggs" thread(I think) from the RMMB that was just a pretty quick post on how to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner? If so, PLEASE PM it to me or post it. My girlfriend has decided she wants to do this with her family this year as I typically suffer through turkey coldcuts as "Thanksgiving Dinner" with them. While I like cooking and have even worked as one before, that post seemed like a very simple recipe for this entire dinner. Thats pretty well what I'm looking for given it's not even my own family, or people I like, that I'd be cooking for.
If any of y'all are Costco members, go check out their meat department this week. I picked USDA PRIME sirloins for only $3.99/lb. and these suckers are about 2" think. They can 4 to a package, so I bought two of them and plan on grilling Friday night.