Archive for the 'Recipes' Category

SICK SOUP

Published by Josh on March 25, 2008 in Recipes. 2 Comments

Most of the time when I ask my wife what she’d like for me to cook for her, she has a hard time coming up with anything. This time was different. No sooner than I had the question out of my mouth, she was rattling off a list of ingredients that she wanted to me to use. “I want something with pork, bok choy and mushrooms!”

That’s what I’m talking about! A woman that knows what she wants. I also loved that she gave me a preferred ingredient list, rather than a specific dish. I like to have some creative freedom, ya know? So, off I went to the store to get my ingredients. On my way, I started developing a game plan, and wondering what had inspired this sudden decisiveness from the other half. I was a little concerned that she had recently been blown away by a dish with these ingredients at one of the local asian establishments that she frequents. No time for intimidation, I had cooking to do.

What I decided on was a very basic soup. Five “real” ingredients, not including spices or sauces.

  • 1 lb cubed pork tenderloin
  • 1 lb baby bok choy
  • 1/2 lb mushrooms sliced and marinated in ginger soy sauce for 30 minutes
  • 1 lb soba noodles
  • 2 qt chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon ginger soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon chili oil
  • 2 cloves of chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon chinese five-spice powder

After cutting the pork into 1 inch cubes, I tossed them in a glass bowl with some of the ginger soy sauce, chopped garlic and chili oil. That sat in the fridge with the mushrooms for about thirty minutes while I cooked the noodles and prepared the bok choy. I cooked the pork in a pan over medium high heat until they were just slightly under-done. Once all of the ingredients were ready to assemble, I put all of them in a large pot with the chicken stock, brought it up to a boil for about 5 minutes, then took the heat down to low for another hour.

Although I didn’t try any, my wife seemed to like it quite a bit. I would think this would make a great “sick soup” when you’ve had your fill of chicken noodle. It was super easy to make, and it kept well for a couple of days.

PERFECT PAELLA

Published by Josh on December 18, 2007 in Recipes. 0 Comments

In an attempt to keep the buzz from our trip to Barcelona going, and the monotony of the day-to-day at bay, I decided to christen one of the two paella pans that I proudly returned home with. This is a dish that has deep roots for Mrs. Kegs and Kitchen. Her grandma used to make a version of her own that will make Lady J’s eyes roll back in her head at the mere mention of it. I had stiff competition to say the least.

I’d done my research. I’d even seen the real deal come out of the kitchen at the birthplace of paella. I clocked many hours studying the site of Sarah Jay, the apparent Queen of Paella. She laid it all out for me. This was how one is supposed to make paella, all I had to do was take notes and duplicate.

I went with the traditional seafood version. In reality, a paella can be whatever the hell you want it to be. There are several more common versions among those lucky enough to have originated from Spain. The most traditional is the seafood version which starts with the rice and saffron mixture that all of them do, and then brings it with the shrimp, mussels and scallops. I wanted to keep it real, so this was the direction that I chose.

At first glance, the recipe is a little intimidating, but in the end this dish was a snap. Here’s what’s in it:

  • 1/3 lb. shrimp, peeled
  • Pinch of saffron threads
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 lb. scallops (or calamari, cut in rings)
  • 1/2 onion, grated on the largest holes of a box grater
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 ripe tomato, halved and grated on the largest holes of a box grater (discard the skin)
  • 1 1/2 cups medium grain rice
  • 8 small mussels or clams (1/2 lb.), scrubbed
  • 1 lemon, cut in wedges for garnish
  • 3 1/2 cups of either fish or chicken stock

    • First thing to do is to cook the skrimps and scallops in the pan, with some olive oil, over medium heat. Once they’re done (only about 2 minutes) put them aside.

    Now you need to make your sofrito. You need about a tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add your garlic and onions and cook for a minute or two. Then add your tomato and a pinch of salt and continue cooking this mixture down until you have a darker, thicker version, about 10-15 minutes. This is sofrito.

    Bring your stock up to a simmer and toast your saffron in a dry pan or toaster oven, until it turns a dark red. After they’re toasted, crush the saffron threads in a small bowl using the back of a spoon. Add this powder to your broth and stir.

    Now add your rice to the sofrito mixture, still over medium heat. You want to cook it until it starts to turn transparent (a couple of minutes). At this point you can crank up the heat and add your broth. Stir or shake the pan to get a level bed of rice. Once it starts to boil, add your mussels. Take care to place them in a presentable pattern as you will not stir the dish again, and this dish is all about the presentation and the WOWS! that are sure to follow.

    Bring the heat back down to about medium high and continue cooking until you start to see the rice appear above the liquid line. Lower the heat again to medium low and continue to cook until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Taste a piece of rice to make sure it’s al dente. If not, add a little more liquid and keep cookin’

    Add your shrimp and scallops right on top of the rice and cover the pan with foil. Continue cooking for a couple more minutes. Then crank the heat up again to start browning the bottom layer. You want the rice on the bottom of the pan to start to caramelize, this is called socarrat. The sign of a perfect paella is a nice layer of socarrat on the bottom of the pan. Many say that this is the best part.

    Take the pan off of the heat, leave it covered for about 5 minutes and place it on the table. The paella continues to cook slightly during this resting period, it’s important, don’t skip it, Skippy.

    With everyone’s attention, remove the foil, garnish with lemon wedges and stand back to watch the reaction. In Spain, most families would eat it right out of the pan. This is intended to be a dish that you quite literally share with the rest of the table. That’s part of what I love about it, a meal that really brings everyone together.

    So, gather up the ones you love and give this dish a shot. It’s a great intro to the cuisine of Spain, and the concept of communal eating.

    Enjoy!

    BROCCOLI CHEDDAH (& DIPA) SOUP

    Published by Josh on November 30, 2007 in Recipes. 5 Comments

    Wednesday, 6:15 pm. I get home from work and immediately start doing a mental inventory of what all I’ve got stashed away in the kegerator. It didn’t take me long to decide on the Breckenridge Brewery 471 Small Batch double hopped IPA. I poured it in a glass, as I do. Then I started in on it. It was a damn fine beer, which I’ll probably have to review some other time. I’m not reviewing the beer right now because what followed my drinking about half of the bomber is much more interesting at the moment.

    As much as I was enjoying the beer, I needed to come up with a plan for dinner STAT. Just like that, it came to me. “I need to enjoy the second half of this beverage with some sort of cheese… and it’s a little chilly out. I’m thinking I need to make broccoli cheddar soup… with beer in it! ” It was the greatest idea I’d had in some time, I could feel it.

    Fast forward 23 minutes later, ingredients in hand…

    pre-soup

    1/4 cup of butter
    1 lb block of cheddar
    2 lbs of broccoli
    1 medium yellow onion
    1/2 cup of flour
    1 1/2 cups of milk
    1 quart of vegetable broth
    3 cloves of garlic
    salt and pepper to taste
    and about three fingers up on my pint glass of the DIPA mentioned previously

    1. Dice the onion and garlic and cook them together in the butter, on medium heat, for about 5 minutes.

    2. Add broccoli to heat and cover for another 5.

    3. Add broth and beer, turn heat up to high and cover until boiling.

    4. Combine milk and flour in a bowl and mix well.

    5. Slowly whisk the milk/flour mixture into the boiling pot and lower heat to med-high.

    6. Slowly add grated cheddar to pot, stirring continuously.

    7. Once cheese is melted add salt and pepper, stir well, lower heat again and cover. Let simmer for as long as you can stand it. Serve with some nice crusty bread.