Cabbage and Black Bean Tacos

Ok, so as you all know I can be real procrastinator.  Its been over three months since my last post and I tried a lot of new recipes without posting a single one.  Tonight's post came about because my sweet wife asked me politely (in that tone that says if you don't do you'll be sorry) to write down the recipe for the southwest coleslaw we used on tonight's tacos.  She said it was the best slaw she ever had.

 The menu tonight was supposed to be taco's (the old boring hard shell normal kind) but my oldest daughter decided the other day to use the lettuce for a salad snack and what's crunchy taco without lettuce.   So I had to improvise with what I had on had.   Let's see, I have cabbage, hard shell tacos, ground beef, tomatoes and the pantry.  So after a little research and thinking I came up with the idea to make a cabbage and black bean taco.

The basic's of the taco is similar to our old simple standby, but I decided to step it up by add black beans to the ground beef and replace the lettuce (which I was now out of) with a cabbage or slaw.  Raw cabbage didn't seem to inspire me so I checked in the spice cupboard and that's when I got the idea for the slaw.  Not just a regular southern slaw though, I needed to compliment the Taco / Southwest idea.

When you understand principles of ingredients and techniques, changing recipes can be pretty simple most of the time.  So I started with the thinly sliced cabbage, mayo and apple sauce vinegar and added some chopped dried onion, Montreal Steak Seasoning, and Kirkland Signature Sweet Mesquite Seasoning (the basis of many of my rubs and almost worth having a Costco membership alone).  Now don't ask me for the measurement, I just mixed until it looked right and tossed with the cabbage.

So we filled the taco's with the seasoned ground beef it topped it with the slaw, diced tomatoes, and shredded cheese.  How simple and delicious (did I forget the black beans???  Becky was handling the taco meat and forgot them so they never made it into these tacos, maybe next time.)

For now, enjoy.

Sweet Chicken Barbacoca Salad for the Holidays

Photo courtesy Cafe Rio

I've lived in Utah most of my life and love to try new restaurants, but it wasn't until this year that I was introduced to Cafe Rio (thanks Robert) even though it's been around for almost 15 years.  It was refreshing to find a causal dinning restaurant that actually makes all their food from scratch (even the tortillas).  My favorite is the Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salad.

So when we decided to have some friends over tonight, (friends we get together with almost monthly for dinner), I wanted to do something new but that wasn't too expensive, had a seasonal twist (it's Christmas time of course) and would perhaps knock their socks off. So I decided to make a holiday variation based on one of my favorite new restaurants.

Tonight's menu will be Sweet Chicken Barbacoa Salad served with a Cilantro Lime Rice, Black Beans and accompanied by a Cranberry Salsa. So here is the recipe I've adapted.

Sweet Chicken Barbacoa Salad for the Holidays

INGREDIENTS


Sweet Barbacoa Chicken
4 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
20 oz Coke (not diet, but you can use caffeine free)
1/2 c Brown Sugar
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 cup Water
Barbacoa Enchilada Sauce (see below)

Put the chicken, Coke, brown sugar and garlic in a dish and marinade at least 2 hours (or over night).
Place the chicken, marinade and water in a crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours.  Drain. Shred meat when done.  Place the shredded chicken and Barbacoa sauce back in the slow cooker and continue cooking on low for 2 more hours.

Barbacoa Enchilada Sauce

2 cups Coke
2 cans (4 oz size) Diced Green Chilies.
2 cups Red Enchilada Sauce
1 cup Brown Sugar

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.

Black Beans

1/4 cup Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tsp. Ground Cumin
2 (16 oz) cans Black Beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups Tomato Juice
1 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro

Saute Garlic and Cumin in Olive Oil.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer until heated.  Just before serving add the Cilantro.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2 cups uncooked rice (long-grained, white)
2 Tbsp Butter
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tsp Fresh Lime Juice
4 cups Chicken Stock
2 cups Water

2 tsp Lime Juice
4 tsp Sugar
1/3 cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro


In sauce pan combine rice, butter, garlic 2 tsp Lime Juice, Chicken Stock and water.  Bring to a boil, cover and cook on low for about 15-20 minutes, until the rice is tender.  Remove from heat.
In a small bowl combine last three ingredients and pour over cooked rice.  Mix as you fluff the rice.


Cranberry Salsa

1 pkg (16 oz) Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Sugar (or Splenda)
2-3 Jalapenos, Minced
1 Anaheim Pepper, Minced
1 Red Onion, Minced
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1/3 cup Cilantro
1 (16 oz) can Diced Tomatoes
Pinch of Salt

Bring Cranberries with Water and Sugar to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.  Let cool.
Combined all ingredients in a food processor and let fly until desired consistancy.  (This is really best if made ahead).

To Assemble

Place a heated tortilla on a deep plate or pie pan.
Add a scoop each of Cilantro Lime Rice, Black Beans and Barbacoa Chicken.  Add Chopped Lettuce, Diced Tomatoes, Fresh Cilantro, Fried Tortilla slices or chips.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese of your choice.  Top with Sour Cream, Guacamole and Cranberry Salas.


Enjoy

Cranberry Salsa

I love the holidays. The food, the presents, the food, the spirit of the season, time with family, the food and more food. One food that screams Christmas is cranberries. The humble cranberry is one of the original American "superfruits". Packed full of nutrients and antioxidants, the cranberries have often be relished just to an accompaniment of turkey in the form of canned cranberry sauce.

Growing up I never appreciated the delightful native berry. It ether came from a can or in the from of my grandmas "cranberry salad" that was sour and crunchy. I guess growing up during the depression, sugar was a luxury not to be wasted. But when I meet my wife, she introduced me to a whole new side to cranberry. The fresh berries, cooked with sugar to bring out the flavor of the berry without much of the tartness. Her "cranberry salad" has now become a tradition that many of my own family have learned to appreciate.

Since then I've experimented with the cranberry in other forms. A cranberry chutney, a cranberry aoili, cranberry cheesecake among others, and today, Cranberry Salsa. The sweetness of the cranberry sauce is a great complement to the spice of the peppers and really brightens up the salsa and ads a southwest touch to the northeast cranberry.

Cranberry Salsa

Salsa

2 Jalpeno Peppers, finely diced

1 Anaheim Pepper, finely diced

1/3 bunch fresh Cilentro, chopped

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1/2 Red Onion, finely diced

2 Tbsp Lime Juice

2 pinches Salt

2 - 14 oz cans Diced Tomatoes

1 Tbsp Crushed Red Peppers

1 Tbsp Orange Zest

Cranberry Sauce (see below)

Cranberry Sauce

1 pkg fresh Cranberries (about 4 cups)

1 cup Water

1 cup Sugar (or Splenda for us diabetics)

Directions

1. Prepare cranberry sauce by cooking cranberries with water and sugar until cranberries burst (about 10-20 minutes). Let cool 10 minutes

2. Combine all ingredients (including cranberry sauce) in a food processor and pulse until well blended.

3. Refrigerate 30 minutes and enjoy.

Eggnog Cheesecake

Happy Thanksgiving.

I've a confession to make. Every year my sister gets to make pies for our family's Thanksgiving dinner and I've felt cheated. I love to make desserts (truth be told I'm a chef, not a pastry chef but still, I love desserts). Still I cook better than anyone else in my family. I say this not to boast, but ten years of professional cooking has its advantage. I've also become somewhat of a food snob. So this year, I took dibs on the desserts. My sister-in-law wanted to make pies so I'll let her but I get to make the cheesecakes and my sister gets to bring a salad this year.

A little over a month ago I made my first ever cheesecake, a Pina Colada Cheesecake and it was good, but it fell. So I made it again and perfected the technique. Since then I've experimented with a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip for Halloween and it also turned out well. So for Thanksgiving I am upping the anti by making three different varieties. A Peppermint Chocolate Chip, a Dark Chocolate and an Eggnog Cheesecake. These three are going to the family dinner so sister, eat your heart out.

With five different varieties under my belt, I think my favorite so far is the Eggnog. A friend of mine, Tina requested the recipe so what better place to share than this blog. Here goes.

Eggnog Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients

Crust

1 package Graham Crackers

4 oz Candied Pecans

1/2 cup butter

Filling

12 oz Cream Cheese (3 pgk)

3/4 cup Sugar (I use Splenda® for a lower sugar content)

1/3 cup Heavy Cream

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Rum Extract

2 Tbl AP Flour

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Tbl Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Nutmeg + nutmeg to top

4 large eggs

Instructions

1. In a food processor combine graham crackers and pecans and puree to a course texture. Add butter and blend. Press into a 8" springform pan along the bottom and up the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool but leave oven on.

2. In a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, rum extract, flour and eggs (one at a time) and blend until smooth, scrapping down the edges as needed. Pour into the prepared crust, sprinkle with nutmeg and bake for about 1 hour. Center should be soft set.

3. Turn off oven and let cool for 15 minutes before removing the cheesecake. After 15 minutes remove to a counter, run a thin blade knife around the edge to separate and loose the pan. Let cool completely and then refrigerate for 4 hours or over night. Can be made several days in advance.

4. Top with sweetened whipped cream.

Enjoy.

Banana Nut Muffin Oatmeal

The other day I ran into a friend at the grocery store and we started talking about oatmeal (I know a strange topic). Both his family and our family eat a lot of oatmeal because it is cheap, healthy and tastes good - just don't ask my kids about the last part. I noticed he had banana's also in his cart and it got me thinking.

Banana's are one of my favorite fruits. A little bit of tropical delight for the palette that is high in potassium (and slightly radioactive). Despite common misconceptions, banana's don't grow on trees, but are actually one of the largest flowering plants on the planet. Anyway, I digress.

After our meeting, I got to thinking about other ways to make oatmeal more edible for the kids. They love banana breads and muffins. And muffins and breads are a good way to hid oatmeal. But my chosen task was to make a traditional porridge that they would not only eat, but also like. I knew I wanted to use bananas and oatmeal but what else. So I began my quest where it all started, by wandering the isles of the grocery store.

I started with the rolled oats (not instant) and bananas but I kept coming back to banana muffins and so decided to make a banana muffin porridge. I needed to change not only the flavor of the oats but the texture as well. So here is a recipe that not only tastes good (according to the kids), but will warm the heart and fill the belly.

Banana Nut Muffin Oatmeal

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

4 cups Rolled Oats

8 cups Water

3 Banana's cut into slices

1 cup Grape Nuts Cereal®

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Banana Extract

Glazed Pecans to top

Directions

1. In a food processor on pulse, cut the rolled oats to a med-fine texture. (An optional step to make the oatmeal smoother but can easily be skipped).

2. Add brown sugar and banana extract to the water and stir to dissolve. Bring to a boil. Slowly add rolled oats (to avoid clumping) and Grape Nuts Cereal® to water and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add desired amount of cooked oatmeal, sliced banana's, glazed pecans and top with heavy cream and/or milk.

Enjoy

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

How the Jack-O-Lantern Came To Be.

The story goes that a crafty and stingy man named Jack was approached by the Devil and told that it was his time to die. As a final request, Jack asked the Devil to get him an apple from the top is his favorite tree, which the Devil did. The crafty man quickly carved some crosses around the tree, trapping the Devil. In exchange for allowing him to get down, Jack made a deal with the Devil that he wouldn't take his soul.

A short while later Jack fell out of that same apple tree, hit his head on a rock and died. Being a wicked man Jack was turned away from the gates of Heaven, but because of his deal with the Devil, he couldn't go to Hell either and was cursed to wander the earth as a spirit in torment.

Without a light to guide him he asked the Devil for one final favor, an ember from the fiery underworld to guide him on his way. Jack carved out a turnip (later transferring it to a pumpkin as he came to America) and placed in inside. On dark fall nights, people would often see the light floating down the lane with the horrible images Jack had carved out and cry out, "Beware of Jack of the Lantern (Jack-O-Lantern)".

Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite things to do at Halloween time and is a fun way to spend time with my kids. But I hate wasting anything, especially food. I have in the past used the pumpkin pieces and trimmings for things such as pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie and my kids favorite, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. But I had always thrown away the seeds.

Last year that changed. After seeing the outrageous price of pumpkin seeds in the store, I decided to make my own. Roasting pumpkin seeds is one of the easiest parts of the Jack-O-Lantern process. I decided to post the process here in tribute to one of my customers (if she reads this she'll know who she is) who was carving pumpkins with her own children and asked about me about it. So here goes.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Pumpkin seeds have a nutty flavor and makes a health addition to salads, topped on soups or mixed in or on top of your favorite breads. Salty or Savory, Spicy or Sweet you are only limited by your imagination when you follow these three easy steps.

1. Rinse the seeds under cold water removing the pulp and strings. (This is easiest when the seeds are fresh).

2. Place the seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet and coat the seeds completely. (You could also spray the seeds with a non-stick pan spray).

3. Salt (or season) and bake at 325 degree until toasted (about 25 minutes). Cool and store in an air tight container.

Season options I have tried or will be trying this year: Salt, Cinnamon and Sugar, Salt and Pepper, Dill (soak briefly in a dill pickle brine if you prefer), Salsa or Taco seasoning, your favorite dry BBQ rub blend, etc.

Have fun and enjoy.

Orange Cranberry Cheesecake

From Executive Chef to Executive Producer.

What's your favorite TV channel? I think mine is the Food Network. I especially love Good Eats with Alton Brown. I can spend hours watching Iron Chef American, Good Eats, and Chopped. But my love of cooking programs goes back much further. I remember watching "The Frugal Gourmet" and "Yan Can Cook" ("If Yan can cook, so can you!") back in my teens. Those shows (and my Dad's flair for making tasty meals out of whatever was in the cupboard) were some of my early inspiration and one of the reasons I became a Chef. Eventually, I might even like to have my own cooking show. Maybe something built around outdoor camp cooking or "The Victory Garden" meets "Good Eats", but for now my creative outlet is limited to a little known blog and a family who gets to sample my treats.

Today's recipe was inspired from a watching a Ocean Spray commercial while reading an article in Cooking Light (Frozen Orange Torte). I put the elements for both together with my desire to perfect my cheesecakes and this is what I came up with, Orange-Cranberry Cheesecake.

Orange Cranberry Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients

Crust

1/2 package Graham Crackers, crushed (about 6 crackers)

1 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate

3 oz Unsalted Butter

Filling

3 (8 oz) packages Cream Cheese (regular or reduced fat), softened

3/4 cup Sugar (I used Splenda)

2 Tbsp AP Flour

3 Eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup Dried Cranberries

1/4 cup Orange Juice

1 Tbsp Orange Zest

1/4 tsp Orange Extract (or 6-8 drops Wild Orange Essential Oil, I get mine for my DoTerra)

Compote

1 (12 oz) package Frozen Cranberries

1 cup Sugar (or Splenda)

1 Tbsp Orange Zest

3-4 drops Wild Orange Oil or 1/8 tsp Orange Extract

1 package No Sugar Added Pectin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate together. Combine with crushed Graham Crackers and press into an 8 or 9" springform pan; cover and set aside.

2. In mixing bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and flour on medium speed for 5 minutes. Mix in eggs one at a time, orange zest, orange extract and juice until combined. Fold in cranberries and pour into crust lined pan.

3. Place springform pan on baking sheet and fill baking sheet with water. If your springform pan is not sealed (waterproof) fold two layers of heavy alumin foil around pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until 2 1/2 inch area around edges appears set when gently shaken. Turn off oven and let cool (in oven) for 1-2 hours).

4. On stove top combine cranberries, water, zest and orange oil and bring to a rolling boil. Add pectin and boil 1 minute longer. Let cool slightly. Spread compote over cheesecake, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Makes 10-12 slices.

Enjoy