Chicken and Barley Stew

As a chef I often find myself having a craving for a certain thing for dinner, then looking for a recipe online and coming away wholly unsatisfied with any of the choices.  That is usually when I just kind of go and make up my own thing.  Such was the case the other night when I wanted to make a chicken and barely stew.  The recipes I found online were either too boring or uninteresting. In the end I knew I was going to have to make my own dish especially since I was using a bunch of vegetables that I just happen to have in the refrigerator. So this is what I came up with.

What you will need:

1 lbs uncooked skinless, boneless chicken thigh, diced
1 can mushrooms, sliced
2 each chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups water
1 cup uncooked kale, chopped
1/2 lbs uncooked asparagus, cut into short pieces
1 small onion, diced
2 each cloves of garlic, minced
4 ribs of celery, diced
8 oz baby carrots
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried rosemary
1 1/2 cups uncooked barley
1/2 - 1 bunch of parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray

The asparagus should be bite sized.

MMM, aromatics!

Make sure to rinse your kale.

Your favorite brand will work.

 You will need a pan large enough to hold all your ingredients.  Keep in mind that this recipe will make quite a bit! Start by sauteing your onions, garlic, and celery until they are translucent and you can smell them.  Once they reach this point add your dried herbs and chicken and allow it to brown a bit.

Next add the barley and saute it for a minute, as if you were making a pilaf.

Add the water, bouillon, carrots and mushrooms.

Bring it all up to a boil, then down to a simmer.  Cover your pot and allow the mixture to cook until the barley is tender.  If the barley absorbs too much liquid, just add some more water.

When the barley is almost done, add the kale and asparagus.  These are delicate vegetables and will not take long to cook.  Essentially you want the asparagus to be tender and the kale to wilt down a bit.

Once the kale and asparagus have been incorporated, season the stew to your taste and top with the chopped parsley.  Now just serve and enjoy!

Blackened Pork Chops with Creole Peppers, Onions, Okra and Tomatoes

My wife had defrosted some pork chops for dinner, but we were unsure of what to do with them.  Fortunately my cast iron skillet had been left out.  That served as the inspiration for me to make blackened pork chops.  As a vegetable/sauce, I thought that a Creole themed vegetable would make perfect sense.  Here is what you need:

4 4oz pork chops
Blackening spice
2-3 tbsp high smoke point cooking oil
1-2 can diced tomatoes
1-2 green bell pepper julienned
3-4 ribs celery, sliced
1 white or yellow onion julienned
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup frozen okra
Creole seasoning
4 cups cooked white rice

The first thing you want to do is to preheat your oven to 350 degrees as you will finish the pork in the oven.  Next season both sides of the pork chops with the blackening spice.  For the spice you can either purchase one or make your own. 

After the pork is seasoned you are going to want to sear it in a very hot pan.  A cast iron skillet works best for this.  However, if you don't have one, just use a regular saute pan.

Next you nee to get your pan nice hot.  A good way to test the pan is to drip some water into it.  If it sizzles and skips right away the pan is ready.  Add about a tablespoon to a tablespoon and half of oil to the pan, just enough to cook the bottom of the pan. Traditionally blackening is done with butter, but I find butter has a tendency to burn, especially if you are not used to working with it at such high temperatures. For this same reason you will want to use an oil with a high smoke point such as canola, corn, or grape seed. DO NOT use olive oil.  It is too delicate and will burn!   When the oil is also hot, which should not take too long, add your pork chops to the pan.  The pork will want to stick to the pan.  This is OK as this is part of the sear and you are developing flavor and color.  You will know hen it is time to flip the chops over as they will no longer stick to the pan and will have a beautiful color.  If all the pork chops don't fit into the pan, then sear them in batches.

 After the chops have been seared just place them on a sheet pan with a rack so that they can go into your preheated oven.  The chops should take about 15-25 min., depending on how well done you want them.

While the pork is cooking in the oven you can work on the sauce.  First step is to heat a pan large enough to hold all your ingredients and add the rest of the cooking oil.  Next saute your onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic.  As they are cooking season them with some of the creole seasoning.  As with the blackening spice, you can purchase some or make your own. 

After the vegetables have softened a bit, add your frozen okra. Stir it and allow the okra to thaw a bit.

Once the okra is incorporated, add your canned tomatoes.

Stir and allow to simmer while the pork is finishing in the oven.  Taste it and adjust the seasoning. 

After the pork is done (I like to pull my pork out at 135-140 degrees) you are ready to serve your meal.

To serve simply place a cups worth of cooked white rice on your plate.  Lay a pork chop over the rice and top with about a cups worth of sauce/vegetables.  If you like spiciness, just add some Tabasco or Cajun hot sauce to your dinner.

Now just enjoy!

The Malady That is the Modern Cooking Show

I recently read an interesting article from the Huffington Post.  In this article, the author explains and espouses her belief that food TV is a terrible way to be a fan of food.  I could not agree more.  Most of the programing that makes up today's food TV takes the focus away from the food and squarely on the people around the food.  When I was in culinary school I remember at the orientation the chefs telling us that if we watched and enjoyed watching the Food Network that chances were we would change our minds by the time we were done.  How right they were.

The food TV that I have most problems with can be categorized into three categories: food wars (competitive), food porn (voyeuristic), and food celebrity.  For the sake of full disclosure, I will say that I don't dislike all food TV and enjoy some shows such as actually cooking shows or anything done by Anthony Bourdain.  It is just that today's food TV seems to be more about flash than substance.  It is all insincere, fake and more often than not feels forced.  It plays out like bad TV.

The category I dislike the most is the food wars.  Shows like Hell's Kitchen, Next Food Network Star, or even Chopped eliminate everything that is good and beautiful about preparing delicious food.  They place people in artificial environments with the goal of outdoing each other for the ever slight chance of riches or glory.  It brings out and showcases the worst of people.  It also destroys one key element of working in a real kitchen.  Teamwork.  A real kitchen cannot and will not function if the attitude is everyone only looking out for themselves.  The kitchen can only work if everyone is pulling towards the same goal.  While you might not always get along with your kitchen makes at all times, teamwork is fundamental for producing your food.  You all have one objective and are pulling in the same direction. Without this you might as well just shut down your kitchen.

Another reason I really dislike food wars is because of the ultimately subjective nature of the judgement.  I am not saying things can't be appraised, especially absolutes such as if chicken is undercooked and still pink.  What I am saying is that more often than not it comes down to peoples opinions.  I have seen two judges on the same show having the exact opposite critique about a dish.  Now I know that someone is always judging food, whether it be the executive chef at a real kitchen or ultimately the customer eating the food. What bothers me about the judgement levied on these shows is that they are trying to quantify things with made up values.  More often than not these judgements are passed down by people who have an air of superiority that really should not be there. All of this is done to once again add the dramatization of the show which feeds into the artificiality of it all.

Food porn is more about the spectacle of eating than the food itself.  Shows like Man vs Food or even Bizarre Foods fall into this category.  The food in these shows only serves as a vehicle for outlandish characters and circumstances in which the food is eaten.  It is never about look at this food and how delicious it is, but rather about look at how ridiculous this is due to the shear quantity of food or because it is something that the viewers don't normally eat.

Last we come to the celebrity food.  In this case, the food takes a back seat to the person who is making/presenting the food.  Here it is all about the celebrity in front of the camera.  What they make does not matter as long as they have a great catch phrase, eccentric hair, or an outlandish personality so big it has its own trailer on the set of the show.  The fact that the show they are in happens to be about food is just happenstance.  Big personalities of people making cooking shows is nothing new.  Just look at Julia Child.  The thing is that with her you never got the impression that she wanted most of the attention.  She just wanted to show people how to make good food.  The roles of her and the food are reversed than what you find on most cooking shows now.

Do I hate food TV.  No, I really don't.  I just dislike what it has become.  I still enjoy shows that focus on the food.  Shows that are informative and leave me feeling like I learned something are also great.  Unfortunately in today's world of reality TV I'm afraid the good food shows are just becoming harder and harder to find.

Simple But Tasty: Strawberries with Balsamic and Walnuts

Who does not love dessert?  I certainly do.  I can't deny it.  The struggle has always been to come up with something that is both delicious and not terrible for you.  I mean sure, the occasional splurge is OK, but what about the rest of the time?  The simplest answer is to eat something that is naturally sweet, good for you, and won't bombard you with a barrage of empty calories.  As it turns out I had gone to the grocery store and bought two pounds of strawberries (gotta love those HEB specials). However, I was not quite sure of what to do with them.  I remembered that when I worked at Central Market I once made macerated berries with balsamic vinegar and mint.  I decided that this would be a perfect use of my strawberries.  So I picked up some good quality balsamic and some walnut pieces and went to town! Here is what you will need:

2 lbs fresh strawberries
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (Splenda works well for this for the diabetics or anyone counting calories)
1-3 spigs of mint chiffonade 
2 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar per serving
2 tbsp walnut pieces per serving

This recipe is so easy, but amazing good.  The first thing you are going to want to do is prepare your strawberries.  Just cut off the ends with the green leafy bit and half or quarter them.  This task is best done with a paring knife. Once the strawberries are cut just rinse them off well in a colander.

Next move your strawberries to a container big enough to hold the berries and some liquid.  Add your sugar and mint and gently fold them into your berries so they are completely coated.

 Now put your berries in the refrigerator and wait at least 20 minutes if not a full half an hour.  This will give the sugar time to do its job drawing out the juices of the berries as well as giving all the flavors time to mingle and get to know one another.

Once the berries are ready all you have to do is portion them out into individual serving and drizzle them with the balsamic vinegar.  I do want to make one note about the balsamic vinegar.  You really want to have a good quality vinegar because the cheap stuff is often too harsh or sour to compliment the fruit the way its supposed to.  Good balsamic vinegar has a nice balance of sweet and sour. If you are feeling adventurous you can try to make your balsamic vinegar into a syrup.  All you need to do is heat up your balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan on low heat an allow it to reduce slightly until it becomes more viscous.  If you are not that brave just stick to the liquid vinegar.

The last step to making your berry dessert is to sprinkle on the nuts and enjoy! This dessert works really well with all berries, so mix and match your favorites.

No Velveeta? No Problem

As you may have undoubtedly already heard, according to Kraft there is a Velveeta shortage this year.  And of course this comes at the most inopportune time of Super Bowl Sunday.  Well, what if I told you that you need not worry.  There are plenty of ways to still make a cheesy delicious dip that does not require Velveeta but instead just a little know how.  And if you don't want a cheesy dip, then let me offer you some alternatives as well.

A simple cheese sauce is not hard to make.  It also give you the freedom to make it how you want to.  Purists will probably stick to cheddar or American cheese, but for the more adventurous you can try different cheeses or even cheese combinations.  To make a simple cheese sauce you will need:

1 quart whole milk
3 oz AP flour
3 oz butter
8 oz cheese, shredded
Salt and White pepper to taste

The first step is to heat your butter and add your flour.  Allow it to cook slightly to make a roux on medium to medium low heat.  Once you have allowed the roux to form, add your cold milk to the sauce pan stirring the entire time to avoid lumps.  Once the roux and milk have been completely incorporated and the mixture has thickened turn down the heat to low.  Now you can start to mix in your cheese.  The key here is to add it SLOWLY.  Don't dump it in all at once as this will make your cheese sauce grainy.  Add a little cheese, mix and allow it to melt, then add some more.  After you are done adding your cheese then add your seasonings.  This allows your to adjust to your tastes.  If you want to make your cheese sauce fancy, you can always try adding a dash of Worcestershire sauce, some dry mustard or some hot sauce.  To make a queso dip, try using Asadero, Oaxaca, or Chihuahua cheese as well as some pico de gallo or your own favorite salsa.

Now if you don't want a cheese sauce or you want something else to accompany it, here are some alternatives:

How about some delicious guacamole to accompany your queso dip.  All you need is
2 medium ripe (soft) avacados
1/2 white onion diced or minced
2 jalapenos or serranos stems and seeds removed and diced
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
2-3 tbsp of lime juice
1 large tomato diced
salt and pepper to taste

First just mash the avocados to your desired consistency.  If you like your guacamole chunky don't mash them up so much.  For a creamier guacamole you can even use a food processor if you'd like.  After that just fold in all of your other ingredients and season to your liking.  If you like you can even add a tablespoon of cumin for extra flavor.  Oh, and if you are truly lazy or pressed for time, just take the avocados and mix them with pico de gallo or salsa. I once made a "guacamole" with nothing but some under ripe avocados, a blender, and the contents of my friend's spice rack.

Now one dip you might want to give a chance is hummus.  It is not hard to make and so adaptable and customizable it might as well be a Honda.  What you will need is

2 cans of cooked chickpeas, cooked
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 garlic cloves minced
2-3 tsp cumin
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for garnish

Just combine the first five ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.  While processing, slowly drizzle in olive oil.  Reserve about a tablespoon of the oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour the hummus into a serving bowl.  Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.  If you want to give your hummus a little kick, add a bit of cayenne pepper to it.  Like I said earlier, you can really customize your hummus.  Add anything from roasted red peppers to a Mediterranean olive spread.   Or get crazy and add black beans, or even feta cheese.  Yum.

Hopefully this will leave you better prepared for Super Sunday, even without the Velveeta!

R.I.P. Brian O'Neil's: Goodbye Old Friend

Last night was an end of an era.  At least for me and my friends it was..  You see after this Sunday Brian O'Neill's in the Rice Village will be shutting its doors.  It will then be remodeled and rebranded into something completely different.  The reason I say that last night was an end of an era is because my friends and I have been going to what we affectionately call Brian O's in one form or another since 2002. It was also one of my first reviews when I started blogging.

I first discovered  Brian O's back in 2002 when my college roommate and I were hungry and in search of a place to eat.  Living in an apartment very close to the Rice Village, we decided to explore. We happened to chance upon Brian O's and wandered in.  It was then that we noticed that Brian O's had a weekly Wednesday special of half priced burgers.  My roommate and I decided to come back that Wednesday.  It was that first Wednesday of many that we also discovered that Brian O's had a glass special, where, if you bought their glass, you got cheap refills on beer as long as you had your glass.

Original Brian O'Neil's Glass

After that we were hooked.  My roommate and I spent many a Wednesday night there throughout the school year.  That is where I first sang karaoke. Since my roommate and I were having such a good time, we started inviting other friends.  Brian O's is where we watched Rice lose the second game of the 2003 College World Series.  One of my friends was almost turned against Brian O's due to a bad order and a vindictive waitress.  Luckily he was not soured enough to not come back.  As time passed, more and more friends started to show up on Wednesday.  Next thing we knew, it was our weekly tradition.  Show up at Brian O's on Wednesday before 7:30 for half priced burgers and cheap beer.  Show up after 7:30 and we will have already ordered without you.  Those were the rules.

As time went on, some of the faces changed and some of us could not always be there, but the time and the place remained constant. It became like an old warm comfortable blanket.  It was where we could meet on weekly basis to converse and discuss the events of the week or plan for the upcoming weekend. Even after some changes were made to the menu and they changed the glass special (bring your own up to 32 oz), the time and the place remained constant.  Even if you could not make it this week, you always knew there was next week as the time and the place remained constant.

Brian O's did not only serve as our weekly meeting place.  We also had other event there.  I remember more than one birthday celebration being had at Brian O's.  I had part of my bachelor party there as well as the rehearsal dinner for my wedding.  Brian O's has been a part of my life pretty much since its beginning.

But as they say the only thing that ever stays the same is change.  It was announced via Eater Houston that Brian O'Neill's was shutting down to remodel  and rebrand with a whole new menu.  Now while Brian O'Neill's is not technically closing, what it once was will be gone and I can't help but feel a little sad about that.  Last night was the last Wednesday of what had been a great weekly tradition.  Last night was our last hurrah.  Some of us even took our old Brian O's glasses.

We talked and cajoled like have done for so many nights, but we also reminisced a bit.  So, as the night ended, it was like saying good bye to an old friend.  Farewell Brian O'Neill's, you will be missed but not forgotten!

Perfect for a cold winter's day: Mexican Hot Chocolate

With the weather still being cold especially in Houston, I was reminiscing about some of my favorite cold weather foods. One of my favorites when I was growing up was hot chocolate.  However, since I grew up in a Mexican household, we would often drink Mexican hot chocolate.  It is very similar to your everyday variety, except that traditional Mexican hot chocolate includes semi-sweet chocolate, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla. In Mexico, hot chocolate remains a popular national drink. Besides the instant powder form, hot chocolate of this type is commonly sold in circular or hexagonal tablets which can be dissolved into hot milk, water, or cream, and then blended until the mixture develops a creamy froth. The two most common types of Mexican chocolate sold in tablets are Abuelita and Ibarra.

If you can't find these two brands at your local grocer, you can scour the internet and find a litany of recipes that you can make on your own.  The one common factor amongst all Mexican hot chocolate is that it is chocolate that has been spiced with other things not typically found in most common hot chocolate recipes.

Making hot chocolate from the tablets is really quite simple. All you need is a sauce pan, some milk, the chocolate itself and a whisk.  In Mexico a wooden whisk called a molinillo is used to whip up the froth on the finished chocolate. 

The first step is to heat up your milk. Back in the day hot chocolate used to be made with hot water instead (thus the title of the popular novel Like Water For Chocolate) Usually you need about 2 cups for every half tablet of chocolate.  You want the milk nice and hot, about a simmer.  You definitely don't want to scald the milk or have it boil over as this will give your hot chocolate a less than idle flavor.  When I talked to my mom about how to make the hot chocolate, she said that my grandmother would add a little cold water(just enough to coat the bottom) to the pan as primer to help protect the milk from scalding.

As the milk comes up to temp, you can cut your chocolate into pieces as it will be quicker and easier to dissolve the chocolate in pieces instead of one big chunk.  Once the milk is hot enough, you introduce the chocolate into the milk whisking rapidly to dissolve and incorporate the chocolate.  Always be mindful of the heat of your milk.  You still don't want it to overheat and scald or burn the chocolate.  Once all the chocolate has been introduced, you can cut the heat and just continue to whisk until it completely dissolves and the chocolate begins to froth up.  As soon as that happens, serve and enjoy!