Esoteric Curio - Food

A bacon spin on sushi: ikura baciri

nospam@example.com (Theo Schlossnagle) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:33:37 -0500

So, I want sushi. I love sushi. I need sushi.

I bought tuna, fake crabmeat, ikura (salmon roe)... I had nori, but it was aged and inseparably stuck together.

If there is one rule to live by, it is this: bacon makes everything better.

Here's the plan. Take a shrimp (40-50 count) and put it on a cutting board. Take half a length of regular bacon and wrap it into an open cylinder with the shrimp as the base. Bake in an oven (from cold start) at 400 until crispy (about 20 minutes beyond preheat). If your bacon is too thin cut, it might deform badly in the oven, so consider inserting a ball of tinfoil to help it keep its shape. This is what you have:

Now we have a platform for the beauty of the sea. At the second local grocery store, I was able to find sushi-suitable tuna loin, wild salmon roe and (of course) imitation crab meat.

I coarse chopped some tuna, mixed half with Sriracha for the adults and left half for the kids. From there I made four types of baciri (bacon nigiri -- yeah, that's mine): tuna, spicy tuna, ikura, and crab + cucumber. Served all this with slices of avocado on the side. The nice part is that the salty-fatty-smokiness of the bacon provides umami and there is no need for soy sauce.Boom. Magic.

Because this was clearly a "deep south" meets "east" kinda meal, I tied it together with a bowl of brussel sprouts cooked with bacon and a bit of chicken broth and a bowl of szechuan green beans ("sautéed" in bacon fat from the sprouts).

Devilishly Hot Deviled Eggs w/ Company

nospam@example.com (Theo Schlossnagle) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:32:35 -0500

I got a copy of "The Sriracha Cookbook: 50 "Rooster Sauce" Recipes that Pack a Punch" last week. First recipe today was just awesome. The egg filling was a little loose, I think I'll back down the lime juice in the next batch of Sriracha Mayo. Still. Pop! Thumbs up.

I have some habanero stuffed olives (which make excellent spicy martini... below). I think I'll half some of them and use that as garnish.

Spicy Martini

Tito's Handmade Vodka -- my personal favorite
A sideways look of dry vermouth.
A (small) splash of traditional Tabasco (mainly for the subtle hint of vinegar and color).
2-3 tsp of olive brine (from the hab. stuff olives).

Shaken, then into a martini glass. 2 habanero stuff olived and a regular marini olive, alternating on the skewer.

Couldn't be simpler and is only one-upped by a Jalapeno Margarita.

My favorite cookbook

nospam@example.com (Theo Schlossnagle) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:43:57 -0400

Many people say that their favorite cookbook is Joy of Cooking. I love that cookbook, it is excellent. However, when it comes to just getting the job done, I find the ultimate reference manual to be The Original Fannie Farmer 1896 Cookbook: The Boston Cooking School

Just thought I'd share.

Sweet Shrimp Goulash

nospam@example.com (Theo Schlossnagle) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:11:25 -0400

Okay, it's not quite Goulash, but I'll call it what I want. If you want it red, add some paprika.

I made this the other night and it worked well for me.

Glaze:

1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp of honey
1/3 tbsp of lemon juice

Bring to boil and reduce to coat the back of a spoon.

Goulash

1 red onion chopped large
6 cloves are garlic shredded or pressed
3 jalepenos sliced (seeds in)
2 thai chilis sliced (seeds in)
3 table spoons of vegetable oil

Sweat the the above until onions loose their sharpness (not yet translucent). Immediately add:

4 cups of assorted exotic mushrooms (shitake and others to liking)

Cook until mushrooms take on juices and onions are translucent. Immediately add:

1 lbs of 26-30 count shrimp, pealed, tails off

Once shrimp are pink evenly add glaze. Cook until shrimp are done (30 seconds or so past pink).

Enjoy! It has some bite.

Odd Fortune

nospam@example.com (Theo Schlossnagle) — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 16:06:07 -0400

Good Chinese, but odd fortune. Many thanks to Yang for this lovely nugget:

Moroccan Tilapia with a hint of Mexico

nospam@example.com (Theo Schlossnagle) — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 12:29:27 -0400

Success with Tilapia!

I like Tilapia. Frankly, it's probably one of my favorite white fish. However, there a only a few recipies that I like to do at home that are reliable. This past Friday night, I was tired and impatient and wanted to try something more risky and it was perfect. Here we go.. adapt as necessary:

Take three filet of Tilapia of good size (total of about 1lbs). They should be ice-cold, almost frozen.
Thoroughly cover both sides of each filet with Moroccan dry run, I used . Put about 1tbs of olive oil in a non-stick skillet and heat on high for a pan searing.

Sear thoroughly on each side (90 seconds) so that both sides are crispy.

Place the filets on a broiler pan and crush blue corn tortilla chips and sprinkle the crumbs on the top side -- one heaping handful of uncrushed con-chips per filet.

Apply about 0.5 to 1 tbs of lime juice on top of the crushed chip.

Bake for approximately 14 minutes at 350 (or until done).

I served this on a bed of rice. It was awesome.

Pulling Pork

nospam@example.com (Theo Schlossnagle) — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 21:06:00 -0400

There is something truly American about sitting around a grill, drinking beer for 6 hours while a hug pork butt or shoulder slowly falls apart over low heat. Here's my recipe... as simple as it is.

Get a big (6-8 lbs) pork shoulder.

Get a can of Szeged Rib Rub.
Coat the shoulder with 3tbs or so of extra virgin olive oil.
Rub 1/3 to 2/3 of the can of rib rub into the meat. Massage thoroughly -- love it man, love it.
But the relaxed shoulder into a gallon (or larger if needed) Ziplock bag and into the refrigerator for two hours.
... 1:45 elapse...
Get your grill hot (450 F)
Toss the shoulder on the grill fat side up... Close the lid and leave it for about 3 minutes
Roll it over to the other side and close it... Leave it for 2-3 minutes. You need to keep a close eye on it here as you can get some wicked flare-ups from the fat back on the shoulder.
Put the now-seared shoulder into a disposable 8"x14" baking tin FAT SIDE UP (the fat will melt and it should drip through the meat).
Put 1tbs of Crisco^TM shortening right on the top -- it will melt and help the rendering process start
Put a smoke box with wet hickory chips over heat on one side and the tin over no heat on the other side. Leave the lid open for about 5 minutes to get the temp down.
Cook for 5-6 hours between 250F and 290F. Keep an eye on it (i.e. drink alot).
It should fall off the bone now... Pull it with two forks (like shredding it).

Best pulled pork I've ever had. I'm trying to repeat with a larger batch right now... Office party tomorrow!