Beef tenderloin; Sear a tenderloin that has been salted and peppered lightly, for thirty seconds each side. Cover with dejon mustard then cover with shredded horse radish root. Cook in oven @ 350 deg till 135 deg internal temp then serve . What ya have is a filet migon encrusted in horse radish. Killer.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER (imho)

An Arizona Republic writer was looking for cookie recipes with some sort of story behind them. I sent her a note and she ended up doing an article on a recipe my wife makes frequently. Funny thing is to read the story and compare it to the e-mails I sent. Let's just say that the words in quotes only resemble the actual words I typed.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/1208sr-jan1208ON.html

The Belagio Buffet...

The Wynn, hands down my friend.

Belagio!!!

ramen ala bachelor.


pound bag of ramen noodles with fist. being careful not to break bag. grab beer and sit on couch. open bag. eat crumbs that pour out.

I had this dish numerous times in a restaurant called La Tente in Montreal with my Syrian boss at the time. It took me years to figure out the right combination of ingredients (I guess I could have asked them . . .)

Shish Taouk

2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
11/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cut chicken breasts into 1-1 1/2" cubes. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except chicken. Mix well. Add the chicken & marinate for 2 hours in refrigerator, turning chicken pieces over several times during this period.

Put chicken cubes on skewers. Barbeque over charcoal, turning until chicken is cooked – 10 minutes or so but don’t overcook or it will be dry.

Serve on ultra-fresh Arabic (as opposed to Greek) pita bread with the sauce below. The combination is truly spectacular.

Garlic Cream Sauce

¾ cup whipping cream
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
Pinch cayenne
Pinch nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste
1 oz (or less) lemon juice (about ½ lemon)

Combine ingredients in sauce pan & bring to a boil. Allow to thicken stirring constantly.

Hint: To thicken sauce combine 1 tbs soft butter with an equal amount of flour & add to sauce & stir immediately. Allow it to boil carefully to dissolve the flour but don’t leave it alone.

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Ian

Hey! A new recipe right up my alley! Thanks!

Hmm...lunch with Ian or lunch with Livi...decisions, decisions, decisions :). I lack decent culinary skills, so you guys are making me both envious and hungry!

Will be adding real recipes later but here are a few small items;


-IF you must use steak sauce (ie you can't grill) Mix a touch of mustard in with your favorite steak sauce. Nice tangy flavor added.

-For a nice post grill rub soften some butter and mix in a smallish portion of your favorite steak sauce, then chill for storage. rub small amount on steak when you pull it off the grill.

-Cavendar's Greek seasoning is absolutely AWESOME on pork.

-Salt & Spice (McCormiks) is also fantastic on pork.

For Classic Buffalo Wings:

Pre-season the wings with either just salt or I like to use Emeril's Essence (available on Food Network.com)

Deep fry (or oven bake if you like) until nice and crispy, about 10 - 15 mins or so. Oil should be at 350-375. Some people like to dust the wings in flour first for more of a crust, try that if you like.

Salt immediately and set aside to drain.

For the sauce I use Frank's Hot Sauce and butter (classic wing sauce).
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Frank's (or your favorite hot sauce)
Dash garlic powder
Dash pepper (if you like)

Combine the above in a saucepan and heat until just simmering. Pour into a large bowl, add the wings and toss. Serve with blue cheese or ranch to your taste.

This is a HUGE hit at football watching parties and it is amazingly cheap to prepare. About 20 wings can be done for about $5 or less.

P.S. I'm an amateur chef wanna be, I will post more recipes later.

I learned to cook as a teenager since my mother was a 'well done' cook. My 1st wife (the useless twat) was hopeless in the kitchen (and elsewhere) so the trend continued. My real wife (current) has some recipes but believes stoves have one temperature (HIGH). So . . .

Livi: Here's one you can make with your daughters. This is a straight steal from the Five Roses Cookbook.

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup Five Roses All-purpose Flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more)
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar

Stir Five Roses Flour, salt and baking soda together.

Mix 2 tablespoons of the dry ingredients with the chocolate chips.

Cream butter; add brown sugar gradually, beating until creamy.

Beat in egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, mixing well.

Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake in a moderate oven (375°F) 8 to 10 minutes or until done.

Cool slightly before removing from pan.

Yield: 2 dozen or so.

Variation: add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I never do but I’m a CCC purist)

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Ian

Shrimp-

Buy the largest head ON shrimp you can find.

Bring a pot of water to a boil;
Add shrimp, when water comes back to a boil shrimp will be just about done. DO NOT overcook.

Drain water from pot, then dump in fair amount of Old Bay seasoning. Place lid on pot and shake vigorously.

You will stop steaming your shrimp once you have eaten them this way.

Serve with corn on the cob and fries (you'll be dipping your fries in the juice at the bottom of the bowl. It is that good.

Also, if you chill them then eat cold the flavor will be that much better.

While I'm on cookies, here is another steal from the Five Roses Cookbook. I seem to only make this at Christmas but I should make it more often. This embarrasses anybody else's shortbreads.

Prize Shortbread

2 cups Five Roses All-purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 egg yolk

Soften butter slightly, but do not allow to become oily. Stir in sugar, salt, nutmeg and egg yolk with a wooden spoon.

Add flour, a little at a time, until mixture is too stiff to work with spoon.

Turn onto floured board and knead lightly, drawing in flour all the time until dough just begins to crack.

Roll out dough 1/4" thick and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutter; place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350°F 10 minutes or until delicately brown.

Yield: 2 dozen or so.

To Decorate - Top with strips of red and green maraschino cherries before baking. Or use the decorative sprinkle things.

DO NOT REFRIGERATE !!! They are delicate & will absorb moisture & other flavors.

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Ian

Thin cut, bone in center cut pork chops;

Heat up saute pan with a thin amount of butter;
Lightly salt and pepper (or 'salt & spice') the chops;
Cook until JUST done.

Add a light dusting of italian seasonings (and i mean light).

REALLY nice with a Pinot Noir (Cartlidge & Browne @ $14 was right yummy).

You simply don't need to do anything else to this dish. The fatty cut along with light salt/pepper is perfect on its own.

Dan Howard had a neat sounding addition to this that involved deglazing the pan and apple slices. Maybe he can chime in with that.

Your right B - sometimes less is more. Salt & pepper go a long way with a flavorfull cut of meat..

This is another recipe that I had to make up. It is called Chicken Stick (singular) because I used to get them from a Chinese restaurant & that's what they called them.

Chicken Stick

Boneless chicken breasts
Bacon strips
Wooden skewers

Soak skewers in water for an hour.

Cut up chicken into long strips. Wrap a piece of bacon around each & skewer it. Make sure you get the ends of the bacon strip to keep it all together.

Heat 1/2” of oil in a heavy frypan over medium heat – not too hot or they cook too fast.

Dip the strips in the batter mixture to coat.

Fry for 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown & the chicken is cooked (cut into one to test if needed).

Drain on paper towels & serve hot with Kikkoman soy sauce (I like Kikkoman because it is nice & salty). Yum. Yum.

Batter

1 cup Five Roses All-purpose Flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix Five Roses Flour, baking powder and salt together. Add milk and water slowly and beat until batter is smooth.

Note: This is a basic batter that you can use for any battered food – chicken fish etc. Another steal from Five Roses . . .

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Ian

I thought you guys just ate cod boiled with a little vinegar and a little crushed dill weed.


Not that there's anything wrong with that. I like it that way too.

This recipe must be on every menu of every Northern Italian-type restaurant in the world. I've been making it for years. Easy, quick & really good.

Vitello al Limone Veal scaloppini in lemon sauce

1 ¼ lbs veal for scaloppini (look for a lighter pink color)
2 ½ tablespoons flour
Salt
White pepper
6 tablespoons clarified butter (start with ¼ cup normal butter)
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup white wine
½ fresh lemon, thin sliced (keep the other ½ handy)
Pinch white sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Arrange the veal slices close together on a cutting board & pound the bejezus out of it. Use a pounder with the pattern on it because that breaks the surface of the meat. The key here is to tenderize it.

Lightly sprinkle with the flour, salt, and white pepper. Turn and do the other side of the meat.

Heat the ¼ cup of butter quickly over medium heat. Do not let it burn. When it is melted, tilt the frypan so the butter is on one side. Scoop off the white skuzz on top. That is butter fat. Discard. Get as much as you can. You now have clarified butter. It will heat to a higher temp without burning than normal butter.

Brown the veal slices quickly a few at a time at med-high heat. Make it very fast because veal toughens if you overcook it. Slightly pink inside is just right. Remove from the pan and keep them covered & warm.

Add the chicken broth, wine, sugar, and lemon slices to the pan. Push the lemon slices down into the liquid. Taste it & squeeze more lemon juice into it if desired. I do. Add more sugar if you think it’s too sour. Reduce the heat to simmer, cook over a low boil for 5 minutes. Taste again & adjust as necessary.

Discard the ‘cooked’ lemon slices & place the veal on a heated platter. Pour the sauce over the meat and sprinkle with the parsley. You can jazz it up with some fresh thin slices of lemon on top.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

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Ian

Thanks Ian, I might just try that because 72doug is right, besides the fact that we down all meals with a large doses of Vodka.