Charred Pineapple Salsa and a Cookbook Review

-2 tsp canola oil
-1 can (20oz) pineapple rings, drained, 2 tbls of juice reserved
-1/2 small red bell pepper, finely diced
-1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
-2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
-juice from 1/2 a lime
-1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger
-1/4 tsp sugar
-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
-1/4 tsp salt
-freshly ground black pepper

Pat the pineapple rings dry with some paper towels and lay them in an even layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush the tops with oil and broil each side until lightly charred. Chop them into 1/2" pieces and mix everything together. Chill for at least an hour, preferably overnight.

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In my kitchen I have a stack of cookbooks maybe two-three feet high. Now, that's not a lot to most cooks, I know. But bear this in mind: I haven't paid for a single one. That's right, I have never in my life bought a cookbook. Weird, huh? Especially for someone who cooks as much as I do.

Now, some of the cookbooks were presents, like the America's Test Kitchen one that has all the recipes and stuff from ten years worth of the show. My brother gave me it for Christmas, it's frigging awesome. Some were rescued when people were moving and were going to get rid of them, like the Julia Child one I got from my parents. Which is also awesome, but in a different way. And some have been sent to me since I started blogging in exchange for a review. Which is, again, awesome. I mean, c'mon, who doesn't want free cookbooks? This is one that's been sent to me for a review. That's my disclaimer.

The cookbook that we're talking about today is called Dollars to Donuts by Dawn Welch. Apparently she was the inspiration for Sally in the Pixar flick Cars. Now I'm not a fancy big city book reviewer, but I know what I like. And I like clear directions and good pictures. Because really, what's a cookbook without those? This one has all of that. Big, glossy, color pictures, great recipes and lots of tips. She also gives suggestions for combination of sides and main dishes for some of them, which is nice. All in all I really like it, I'm already planning on making many of the recipes. One of them, I already have.Charred pineapple salsa, baby. This was a great recipe, nice and easy and the charred pineapple is a great touch. We had it with some pork tacos that I'll post about when I find the recipe and they went really well together.

The salsa is sweet, a little spicy and tangy with a great balance. I'm definitely going to be making it again. The recipe doesn't say to, but I would make this at least a few hours in advance, maybe even the day before you want to use it. After a day in the fridge the flavors had mingled really well and it was even better than the day it was made. Not really shocking, I know. Heh. I made it just like the recipe said to, except I used crystallized ginger instead of fresh, since that's what I had. This would go great with all kinds of things; fish, chicken, any kind of Mexican food, hell I'd put it on burgers. That would be awesome too. So, looking for a non tomato salsa? Maybe for the Superbowl? Give it a shot, you won't be disappointed.

Hoisin Glazed Carrots

1 tbl hoisin sauce
1 tbl soy sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp honey
pepper to taste
2 cups baby carrots

Mix together everything but the carrots and garlic. Put the carrots in a med-hot nonstick pan and cook for a minute. Add the garlic and cook till fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the hoisin mixture and cook till it clings to the carrots, about another minute. If you like the carrots more soft you can blanch them first or leave them in longer in the initial cooking.

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A wicked quickie for you guys today. Also it's a side dish, I don't post about those much. Mostly because I cook for two almost exclusively and any side we have is a quick sauteed veggie. Kind of like this, only there's a sauce so I figured I'd share. I don't have step by steps for it, but it's really easy. In fact the sauce is almost exactly the same as my chicken with cashews , which is also very easy. Other than the directions up top the only thing I would advise is to taste the sauce before you add it, in case it's too sweet or not sweet enough. Other than that I suggest you just whip these bad boys up, they are a good time. They go with pretty much anything too, they are sweet, salty and crunchy. Unless you cook them till they're squishy. Then they're not crunchy.

Garlic Pan Fried Noodles

There is a Chinese place around the corner from me that has garlic pan fried noodles on the menu. I've ordered them several times, the first they were spectacular, garlicky and rich (but not greasy) with some bits of noodle crispy and some still soft. Every other time they have been greasy and tasted like burnt garlic. This angered me. So I decided I would try to make them myself, as I have a wont to do. I'm not going to post a recipe since I don't have one yet as this is really a work in progress. But it's a sound concept and makes a good side dish, so I figured I'd share the idea with you folks.

First I cooked up a package of ramen, no seasonings. I love this stuff. Then I heated up some olive oil (next time I'm going to use my garlic/ginger infused stir fry oil) over medium high heat and pressed a clove of garlic in there. I also love my garlic press. Heh. I let it cook for just a minute and then tossed in the noodles. I added a pinch of salt and a twist of fresh black pepper and gave it a good stir. I tasted it and it didn't have as much garlic flavor as I wanted so I minced up another clove real fast (I had already put my garlic press in the dirty sink, of course, and really didn't feel like washing it) and tossed it in there. This wasn't the best choice. Even though I added it off to the side and gave it a quick saute it still added some raw garlic flavor. It also needed more oil so there was enough to lightly coat the noodles so I added a bit. The noodles got some nice texture and the end product was good, if not great. I also wound up tearing that basil I used as a garnish into bits and adding that in. That was a nice touch. Maybe next time I'll do a total Chinese/Italian fusion thing. One thing I think I'm going to do is make a quick garlic infused oil to use instead of pieces of garlic. That way I won't have to worry about burning it. And I'm going to sprinkle some sesame oil over it at the last. Because it smells awesome.

And I'm submitting it to Presto Pasta Nights! Hosted by Girlichef

Ok, I'm Back!

For real this time. And although I didn't get to do any of the blog housekeeping I wanted, I have been cooking. And despite all the cooking I've done I didn't get a single good instructional set of pictures. So I'm just going to show you guys some of what I did get and babble about food photography for a while, no recipes today.

I'm getting better with my new camera, but I'm still not getting as many good shots as I want. Some of it is that I often don't have time to set up (or want to deal with) my tripod, some of it is that I've been into photography for less than a year so I still don't really know what I'm doing, yet another part of it is that my new camera wants a different kind of light than my last one and some of it, too, is that I'm still (sometimes) trying to take my pictures quickly so my food doesn't get cold. Heh, I need to get over that. But here is the main lesson I've learned about photography: lighting is key. Here, I brought some visual aids.

Bad lighting. Better lighting. Still not ideal, but the second is much better. The difference was tilting the dish a bit so it was facing the light source more. You know what else would have made it look better? Setting it up on a stable surface and using my tripod instead of holding the dish in one hand and the camera in the other. That's a habit I need to break if I want to get good food shots. Oh, that's some broccoli salad for those who are curious. One of my favorite summertime sides. I made it a bit differently this time, I swapped the onion for shallots and the sunflower seeds for pine nuts. I think I did something else too, but I really don't remember. Anyway, it was wicked good, I used some thick cut pepper crusted bacon. Of course, I got a shot of that. Mmmm, bacon. Speaking of lighting (we were, a while ago) I'm not sure what made me put this shot of the roast beef up the other day. This one is really much better. Because of better lighting.

Another thing I've learned, just because the little rectangular focus indicator is where you want it doesn't mean it's actually focusing on what you think it is. For example, the rim of the glass instead of the strawberry shortcake itself. And yeah, that's the wrist strap in the upper right hand corner. I'm known for my attention to detail. Heh.

Well, that's most of the stuff I don't have plans for. I have a bunch of reviews coming up, so Saturdays are full for a while. I've got some new cat pics for Sundays, too. My girlfriend is eating dinner with coworkers tonight, so I'm finally making some lamb. Hopefully I'll get some good shots and have that up on Wednesday.

Oven Baked Potato Wedges

So this is another one that isn't really a recipe, more of a method. My brothers method, to be precise. We had these with those burgers I posted about the other day and several people expressed some interest in how they were made. Can't blame them, they are mad good. But there isn't really any measuring involved, he just tosses it all together. And here's how.

He takes a whole bunch of red potatoes, scrubbed and such, and slices them into wedges. Tosses them in a bowl, a little olive oil (enough to coat them)and seasoning. You want enough to give a decent coating too.You can use whatever seasonings you like, they're potatoes so pretty much everything goes well with them. He, however, uses 21 Seasoning Salute (and salt). It's a good time.If you use a big bowl you can just toss them to coat. Spread them on a tray and toss them into a 350 degree oven for thirty to forty minutes, depending on the size of the 'tatos. Once they are cooked crank the heat up to 450 for another 15 minutes or so. That gives you this lovely golden crispy side. You could flip them at one point or another, but then you wouldn't get this super crispy bit. It's kind of like potstickers with the brown crispy bottom and softer top. But that's it. Simple and delicious.

Seared Steak Tips with Asparagus in a Lemon-Mustard Pan Sauce

That's quite a title, I know, but I can't think of anything else to call this dish. At least it's descriptive. Heh. Now I've covered this basic method before, but it's a great method, I do it a lot and this time it's asparagus instead of broccoli. So it's different. Basically what I do is sear the beef, make a pan sauce and then cook the vegetables in said sauce. You can do this with pretty much any veggie you want and anything you can sear and get a good fond from. This time around I'm using steak tips and asparagus.

The sauce I made is very basic, mostly because I didn't have a lot of stuff on hand. But if you wanted to fancy it up you could add some shallots, thyme, rosemary, a splash of red wine or whatever else tickles you. I use water when I make this kind of sauce because I want to be able to really taste the vegetables and I've found using wine or even broth can overpower them. I'm not posting a recipe for this, partly because this is a concept, not an absolute and you should experiment with it and learn how you like it best. But mostly because I didn't measure anything. I'm like that sometimes.

First things first, season the steak with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Then sear the steak in some butter. You could use olive oil or something like that, but I think butter is best. This time I actually did equal parts butter and bacon grease. Because I'm a madman. Don't be shy with it either, it's not just for searing the steak, it's also the base for the sauce. When the tips are done transfer them to a plate and tent them with some foil. That's the fond you want for this kind of thing, dark and plentiful. Deglaze the pan with about a half cup of water. Now let it reduce till it's maybe a quarter cup or so. Then toss in the asparagus and stir it around for a minute. Now add some fresh squeezed lemon juice. How much? How lemony do you want it? A tablespoon will give it a hint of lemon, the juice of half a lemon will make it a dominant flavor. I used half a lemon because my girlfriend loves the stuff. Add some mustard, I used about a teaspoon. I think. Then just cook the asparagus till it's done, stirring occasionally. And that's it! This can be done in less than a half hour, so it's a great weeknight meal. Plus it only uses one pan, so that's a bonus too! I think a Hefeweizen would be perfect with this, to match the lemon.

Crash Hot Potatoes, Three Ways

Update: I've entered these babies into the Potato Ho Down over at Noble Pig. Good times.

I've posted about these potatoes before and it's well past time for a followup. Since they first appeared on Pioneer Woman Cooks I've seen a lot of variations of them on various cooking sites. She did them up with just some rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. I've done them like that and it's awesome. When I did my first post on them I made them with garlic butter and it was wicked good. This time I decided to make them several different ways at once. Some with cheese, some with bacon and some with... well, garlic butter. Like I said, it's wicked good. I'm not going to repeat the recipe, since it's already on here, but I will show you guys what I did.

First I boiled up my baby red potatoes. I've found reds are really best for these, they just taste better. I don't know why, but there it is. Then I smashed them down on my oiled, foil lined baking pan. Salt and pepper, of course. Then I put some raw chopped bacon on a couple. The plan for this was the fat would render, soak into the potatoes and the bacon would crisp. It worked out like that too. I love it when that happens. Next time I would use a little more bacon though. On some of them I put chunks of cheddar. This was the first time I had made them with cheese for some reason. I must be losing it... oh well. Later I topped the cheesy ones with bacon and some sour cream. And last, but not least is the garlic butter. This time I didn't mix up the butter, instead I just put the garlic on followed by a little pat of butter. Worked out just fine. Then they got tossed into a 450 degree oven for 25 minutes or so. Next time I make them with cheese, I'm going to add it after they have been in for 10 minutes or so. That way the potatoes will have a little more time to crisp up before the cheese gets all brown. But then again, the garlic is nicely toasted. It didn't want to be in the oven much longer either. More experimentation is clearly needed.

Broccoli Salad

4 cups fresh broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 lb bacon, cooked crisp and cut into 1" pieces
1 cup sliced raw mushrooms
3/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup red onion

Dressing:
3/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbls lemon juice

Mix up the dressing. Toss everything together till coated evenly, let chill for at least 1 hour.

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I hadn't had broccoli salad in forever, and forgotten about it completely, when I saw this post over at How to Cook Like Your Grandmother. Then I remembered it was wicked good and I had my mom's recipe for it. So, I made some. I swapped out the raisins for craisins, which I like a lot more. And I left out the mushrooms, obviously. Now that, while not unexpected for me, actually caused a minor problem. I should have also cut out some of the dressing or added a cup of something more. There was a lot of it for the amount of stuff in the salad. But I didn't even think of it. So, if you're thinking to yourself "damn, that's a lot of dressing on there", you're right. If you leave in the mushrooms, add an extra cup of broccoli, cut down the dressing or add something else and it won't be as saucy.

First, dressing. Sour cream, sugar and mayo, which aren't the most exciting photo subjects, especially in a milky plastic measuring cup. I, er, forgot about the lemon juice. Whoops. Now dice some onion, you need a quarter cup. I apparently used a half cup. But it was still good. I added the onion to the dressing to make sure it was evenly distributed. Then I mixed that up and let it sit till I had the rest of the stuff ready. Next you need some broccoli. Four cups, five if you are omitting the mushrooms. If you haven't already, I suggest cooking your bacon because you need to toss that, the seeds and the dressing in the pot and mix it up. Now toss in the craisins, since you forgot to before. And there you go. Now just let it chill for at least an hour and then you will be ready to consume the deliciousness.