Yam Chops

Hello, old friends! Or at least "older" friends since last I blogged. Dinner was a tasty one this evening. 

YAMS CHOPS & SAUCE. serves 2

2 pork chops

2 sweet potatoes

1c chicken stock

1T Worcestershire sauce

1t Crystal hot sauce

2T butter

1T blacken spice

6 pack of Abita Purple Haze

Salt

Canola oil

Bacon fat

First, throw the sweet taters in a 425° oven for an hour. Pull those out to rest. When just cool enough to handle, peel, fork mash, stir in 1T butter and salt to taste. Set aside and keep warm.

Season the pork chops with blacken seasoning and sear in a skillet with a little canola and bacon fat. Place on a pan in the oven to finish. Toss excess grease but don't scrape or clean the pan. 

While the pan is still hot, hit it with a little Purple Haze. Add the chicken stock. Reduce by half. Add Worcestershire and Crystal to taste. Kill the heat. Add 1T butter and swirl until it's incorporated. 

Place the chops over the sweet potatoes and spoon sauce over all. Serve with green veggies. Enjoy with a Purple Haze poured in a glass. It's a perfect pair. 

See next time.....whenever that may be. 

Yam Chops

Hello, old friends! Or at least "older" friends since last I blogged. Dinner was a tasty one this evening. 

YAMS CHOPS & SAUCE. serves 2

2 pork chops

2 sweet potatoes

1c chicken stock

1T Worcestershire sauce

1t Crystal hot sauce

2T butter

1T blacken spice

6 pack of Abita Purple Haze

Salt

Canola oil

Bacon fat

First, throw the sweet taters in a 425° oven for an hour. Pull those out to rest. When just cool enough to handle, peel, fork mash, stir in 1T butter and salt to taste. Set aside and keep warm.

Season the pork chops with blacken seasoning and sear in a skillet with a little canola and bacon fat. Place on a pan in the oven to finish. Toss excess grease but don't scrape or clean the pan. 

While the pan is still hot, hit it with a little Purple Haze. Add the chicken stock. Reduce by half. Add Worcestershire and Crystal to taste. Kill the heat. Add 1T butter and swirl until it's incorporated. 

Place the chops over the sweet potatoes and spoon sauce over all. Serve with green veggies. Enjoy with a Purple Haze poured in a glass. It's a perfect pair. 

See next time.....whenever that may be. 

Let's Go Again!

The 4HB diet is BACK! I've clearly undone everything that I did with this wacky diet last summer, so I'm doing it again with the intent of maintaining the results. 

For those of you that are new, the 4HB diet is derived from a book called "The Four Hour Body". Basically the diet is beans, greens, and proteins for 6 days. No sugar. No dairy. No grains. Then WHATEVER YOU WANT on the seventh day. Really. Check out my blogs from last August. I consumed 5k calories of junk in a Saturday. It was gross and magical. 

I'm not going to post every meal every day like I did last summer; I'll just let you know if I come up with something tasty. I will, however, post my Saturdays in their entirety. I call it "Jour de Farce" ("Day of Stuffing" in French). 

You'll definitely want to read those posts and follow me on twitter (@LonghornLukeTX) as I live tweet the debacle. 

Stay tuned!!

N'awlins part Deux

Part Deux begins after nap time, when we headed to Harrah's to search for Brian's jacket. It was not there. We moved on to a place called Howlin' Wolf. A little dive bar just around the corner from the main character of this story: Cochon. The Howlin' Wolf was pretty cool. Again, we tried some local brews. I went with NOLA Brewing's Irish Channel Stout (not pictured). It was a little more like a porter as Shane pointed out, but the finish had some real coffee notes, which was tasty!

Then it was around the corner to another annual staple: Cochon's BUTCHER. We hit this place up every year, because it is consistently delicious. These guys are curing and smoking all the right stuff. Here's a picture of our table "number" with a couple of Covington Brewhouse's Ponchartrain Pilsners.

 

I had a coke!

Then we had a charcuterie plate!! Coppa, salami, duck rillette, duck paté, smoked pork loin, and I believe soprasatta with chow-chow, mustard, and house made crackers. As usual - BALLER!

 

We always get the BLT, because it is so ridiculously good, so no picture of that this time, but here is a picture of the Muffaletta. A plethora of house cured meats with olive salad. Mmmmmmmm....

Well, at this point, we had two hours to kill between our "lunch" at BUTCHER and our "dinner" at Cochon (the swanky joint attached to BUTCHER). Now, why did I put those meals in quotations you may be asking? Because at this point, meals were not assigned titles. There was just food and we ate it. Anywhoselbees, we killed those two hours by walking back around the block to the Howlin' Wolf. Another local beer was enjoyed. This time Tinroof Brewing Company's Perfect Tin. A real easy drinking amber ale. Not bad. Also not bad, are my photoshop skills that eliminated the flash blown out can and replaced it with a readable can.

 

And now for the reason you're all here: dinner at Cochon. Recently named one of Bon Appétit Magazine's "20 Most Important Restaurants in America", Cochon does a really great job of upscale Southern/Cajun.

 

We went mainly with the small plates so as to reach as much of the menu as possible. Pictured here are (from top right clockwise) fried boudin with pickled peppers - a true Cajun delicacy, these were some of the finest I've had; wood-fired oyster roast - I couldn't quite put my finger on what these oysters had been dressed with, but they were great; cabbage braised pork cheeks with radish, cucumbers & field peas - while these had really good flavor, they could have gone just a bit longer in the braise for a spoon-tender texture.

fried alligator with chili garlic aioli - sorry Pappadeaux alligator, you've been replaced. We almost ordered another plate of this, but we already had a cavalcade of cajun cuisine coming (say that 5 times fast!)

pimento cheese rice fritters  - yes. House made pimento cheese and rice. Balled up. Breaded. Fried. How they serve anything else at this restaurant, I don't know. Next time, I'm eating these until I'm sick; crawfish pie - like an empanada full of crawfish ettouffée, this sucker was delicious!

 

rabbit & dumplings - the only "entree" to hit our table, but man, OH, man, was it worth it!! The dumplings were cooked to perfection, the rabbit was tender as aw get out! macaroni & cheese casserole - just so good.

All that goodness, but the show stopper was shrimp & deviled egg gumbo. You read that correctly. They made the best shrimp gumbo I've ever had with the most chocolatiest chocolate roux that I've ever even heard of, then dropped a deviled egg in it. I'm just going to stop there because if I try to explain how delicious this was, I will fail so hard.

Our waitress asks, "Would y'all like to see the...." I stop her here. Yes. Yes we would like to see the dessert menu, you silly girl.

 

Now the menu picture is slightly out of focus, and for that, I apologize, but let me assure you that we chose wisely. Pictured (from top, clockwise) pineapple upside-down cornmeal cake with coconut - lime sorbet & dulce de leche - ridiculous; "Elvis" ice cream - peanut butter, banana, and bacon ice cream. Don't tell me to shut my mouth! You shut your mouth! It was really something to behold; banana strudel with butterscotch ice cream - I shouldn't even have to tell you how good this was. Let's just all think about it for a second.

After dinner, we mustered the strength to waddle down to Bourbon Street, even though we had stuffed ourselves sill and it was about 35º outside. We walked in to this joint because we all had to use the boys room. So as to not be rude to the owner's of this "fine" establishment, we purchased a few beverages. $27. For THREE domestic beers. We should have seen the signs.

   

No really, look at the spelling here: "BUD LITE"?! It's ON THE TABLE TENT, YOU DUMMY!!!! And the sign behind the bar is extolling the wonders of Club Sing Sing at 418 Bourban St. Really? You couldn't just poke your head outside to look at the sign? Or maybe, I don't know, look at a bottle of bourbon? Worst bar ever. 

So as not to end on a low note, I'd like to reiterate that we, once again, had an incredible time in New Orleans again this year. As always, I can't wait for next year. Our "Places to Eat" list is getting smaller, but they keep putting up fine eating establishments there, so we're gonna have to keep up. 

Regarding the new catering/event company, "Like" us on facebook or "Follow" us on twitter.

N'awlins pt1 and MORE!

Unlike last year, I'm actually going to finish this New Orleans blog. ALSO, the end of this blog features a really big announcement. Please don't just scroll to the bottom. Thanks. You already did, didn't you? Well please get yourself a nice cup of tea, wrap up in a blanket, and check out the rest of the blog anyway.

Joel, Brian, Shane, Josh, and myself journey to the Crescent City every year just after Mardi Gras. It used to be for reasons other than food, but now... well.... it's mostly about food. If you followed on facebook last weekend, this little trip down memory lane will provide the visuals to those status updates.

We stopped at Drago's for charbroiled oysters to start, as we do every year. I believe I posted pictures of these last year, so here's some pictures of the beers we had!

I'm turning into somewhat of a beer nerd, so we went with as much local beer as possible throughout the whole weekend. Bayou Teche's LA31 Pale Ale was a really easy drinking pale ale that paired great with the grilled oysters. Lazy Magnolia's Southern Pecan was my favorite of the weekend. I'm really starting to move more toward malty, caramel beers than the hoppy stuff. And Covington's Strawberry Ale was like a savory strawberry Fanta. Really not bad.

After charbroiled oysters, we went for... more oysters. This time at Felix's Oyster Bar. Here, as you ordered oysters on the half shell, they just shucked 'em and put them right on the counter. It was great. We had Abita's Andygator. The gentleman sitting next to me at the bar was kind enough to point out that this particular brew, was 8% ABV, after we had ordered it. It was super sweet, which in the beer world means, jet fuel.

And then we had dinner. At 11pm. (I told you it was about the food!) Sylvain came recommended from my pal Jenna. It did not disappoint.

 

Again, we hit up some local brew. I again went with a Bayou Teche, this time the LA31 Boucanée - a smoked wheat ale. I had ordered the beef cheek, so I thought this would be a nice pair. I was right.

Here is Joel presenting a lovely 2013 L'eau Du Robinet Nouvelle Orléans.

Here is a picture of (left) Shane's Slow-Cooked Pork Sandwich pickled collards, roasted garlic and chili oil. It was tasty, but not as tasty as my (right) Braised Beef Cheeks potato puree, sweet onions, field peas, natural jus. SPOILER ALERT! I'm going to show you the other dishes ordered, but, as usual, my dish won dinner.

 

Joel's (left) Pappardelle Bolognese parmigiano reggiano, house made durum pasta was good, but nothing to write... about. Brian and Josh both got the (right) “Chick-Syl-vain” Sandwich buttermilk-fried chicken breast, house made pickles which was just a really good chicken sandwich.

DAY  2

Yea. All that other stuff was the first night. I got up the next morning and hit up the ol hotel continental breakfast. Most people wouldn't count that as a real meal. So neither will I. This picture is the outside of Elizabeth's Restaurant which was recommended by a friend of Joel's. What a cool building huh?

 

As we knew that there was a full day of eating ahead of us, we started with some Praline Bacon and Boudin Balls, then went splitskies on our entrees.  

Shane and I shared the Duck Waffle Sweet Potato and Duck Hash on top of a Corn Bread Waffle with Pepper Jelly. Tasty, but really more like a sweet potato and duck mash than a hash. Also could have used more duck.

 

Josh and Joel went with the Grillades & Grits Smothered steak with Creole Gravy. This was really good. Maybe like 15 minutes over braised, but still a really good dish. 

On the way home from brunch, we stopped at Willie Mae's Scotch House for the best fried chicken ever. Yes. ON THE WAY HOME FROM BRUNCH WE GOT FRIED CHICKEN. Because that's how we do. Please note, this joint is NOT in a nice part of town.

Let's take a break. A little "Brand X" with Russell Brand, a truly awful show? No?

 

How about a little nap? No?

 

Well then, how's about that announcement I promised, and we'll finish the New Orleans blog tomorrow. Which you'll definitely want to read because we'll cover Cochon, Cochon's Butcher, Frozen Bourbon Milk Punches, Bourbon Street, and IHOP!!!!

As promised in my previous blog "Beer Coffee Steak Bacon Corn" I have some really cool news: Myself and my pals Greg and Mike have started a catering/event company!!! Not so much birthdays and bar mitzvahs, but more like beer tasting events and private parties. Of Course is the name of the company and we have an event planned already!!! 

April 6th at Hops & Grain Brewery, we are pairing six passed appetizers with six of their awesome beers. It is going to be a great time! Leave a comment on the blog for a coupon code for tickets to the event. Check out the website OfCourseTX.com for more info and tickets.

Beer Coffee Steak Bacon Corn

The title is a cacophony of deliciousness that can't even begin to describe how tonight's dinner went. We had our pal's The Costas over for dinner. We had not seen them in a while so I decided to blow the doors off with a killer dinner.

There is a specific reason for the menu that I chose, but that will have to wait for a bit. For now, let's just dish about dishes (sorry).

 I know I usually give you the description first, but I really hope you clicked on that photo to see the full size version of this amazing plate. Here's what you're looking at:

Coffee Rubbed Sirloin Tri Tip Steaks
Why tri tip? Because it is a pretty tender and relatively inexpensive cut of meat. That's why. I also like it's lack of fat cap. WHOA! Pump the brakes! I love fat on meat more than any of you, but I cry on the inside when I see that fat cap cut off the steak of someone else and left on the plate. So to save myself the heartache, I went fat cap-free. Now here's the rub, literally: instant espresso, brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. Rub the steaks ahead to allow the flavors to permeate and adhere. Grill the steaks 4" above the flame for about 3 minutes per side. Allow to rest AT LEAST 10 minutes. Top with...

Brown Sugar Bourbon Butter
I'm pretty sure we've covered this before, but here it is anyway: Allow 1 stick of butter to soften to room temp. Combine with half that much brown sugar. Add a splash of vanilla, a dash of salt, and a good slug of bourbon. Mix it all up, roll into parchment or plastic wrap and put back in the fridge to slice later. It's amazing on this coffee rubbed steak. Or sweet potatoes. Or pancakes. Or on a spoon in your mouth.

Fried Red & Yellow Onion
Slice thin, toss with flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Fry.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts
They make a triumphant return! I didn't have any duck fat this time, so I just tossed these in bacon fat. Make a difference in someone's life, teach them that Brussels sprouts aren't that stinky, funky, steamed/boiled tiny cabbage that they think it is.

Bacon. Wrapped. Corn on the Cob
A revelation. This must be what Archimedes felt like when he discovered volume. I wrapped bacon around half a corn cob and threw it in a 400º oven until the bacon was crispy. You're welcome.














 So the twist here was that, with serious advice from Mike Beech, I got 4 ports/stouts to see what paired best with this dish.

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro - Longmont, Colorado
This was my and Jason's favorite beer on it's own and also with the entree. It really accentuated the deep and rich qualities of the dish. Read more about it here.

Breckenridge Brewery Vanilla Porter - Breckenridge, Colorado
This one wasn't very impressive. The vanilla wasn't really apparent and it didn't seem to add much to the dish. Read more about it here.

Brooklyn Dry Irish Stout - Brooklyn, New York
I liked this one a lot. It may have been the best pair all together, as it provided a very clean finish. It didn't really accentuate or overpower the dish. Read more about it here.

Real Ale's Brewer's Cut Dry-Hopped Porter
This is where it got interesting. This porter starts as a malty porter, and finishes as an IPA - that may be a bit of an overstatement, but it is ridiculously hoppy for a "porter". I found it to be distractingly so, but the ladies picked it for both the entree and the dessert. Check it out here.

"You say there was dessert, Luke?" Oh there was dessert. Thanks to David Rocco's "La Dolce Vida" on Cooking Channel, we had a flourless chocolate cake. I cut the sugar in half, and topped it with an espresso ganache (instant espresso and dark chocolate chips melted with heated heavy whipping cream). Behold:














Hopefully soon I can inform you as to why I chose this menu. It's some pretty exciting stuff. I know I've said this before, but this time, it's gonna happen. Stay tuned!

Phonton Soup

I've started like a dozen blogs with which to return. This one will actually get finished and posted because it's good and people want to read it (positive affirmations work).

I prepped a bunch of soups and lasagnas and stuff for our baby hibernation. One of those soups was a pho (fuh) type broth. The plan was just to put whatever in it and eat it. Then inspiration struck: Shiitake pork dumplings!!!o

PHONTON SOUP
I essentially married a pho broth with wonton soup. First, the PHO BROTH:

4" piece of ginger, sliced (peel on)
5 large garlic cloves, smashed (paper on or off, whatever)
1/2 bunch of green onions, rough chop (roots to whites - reserve greens for garnish)
1 shallot, rough chop (peel it or don't)
1 stalk lemongrass, halved and bruised (if you can find it)
----
1 bunch cilantro stems (reserve leaves for garnish)
1 bunch basil stems (reserve leaves for garnish)
----
4ea star anise
1 3" cinnamon stick
1T cloves
1T peppercorns (Szechuan preferred)
----
Fish sauce
Sriracha
Soy sauce
Veggie/canola oil
Sesame oil
1qt chicken stock
1qt beef stock

Put a soup pot on high heat. When the pot gets hot, add 2T veggie/canola oil and a T of sesame oil. Toss in top group of ingredients. Get some nice color on it. Add sriracha to your liking. Deglaze with a little fish sauce and soy. Add herb stems and spices. Deglaze again with fish sauce and soy. Add stocks. Bring up to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Let simmer for like an hour - to really let all the favors bloom. Adjust seasoning with soy or salt. Strain the broth. Alone, this broth is an intoxicating "meat tea" that will probably instantly clear the influenza virus*.

And now the SHIITAKE PORK DUMPLINGS:

1/2 pound ground pork
1" ginger, peeled and minced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch scallions, fine chop root to green
1/4 pound shiitake shrooms, fine slice
Chili flake
Soy sauce
Veggie/canola oil
Sesame oil
1 egg
Small wonton wrappers
Small bowl of water

Get a sauté pan super hot. Add 1T veggie/canola oil and 1t sesame oil. Toss in veggies. When shiitakes have a nice color (but don't let the other veggies burn) deglaze with soy sauce and add pork. Add chili flake to taste and more soy or salt to taste. When pork is done, remove to a plate/tray and cool. Combine meat mixture with a beaten egg. Spoon about a teaspoon of mix onto the center of a wonton skin. Dip your finger in the water and run it along two connecting sides. Bring the wet corner to the dry corner and pinch along the edges, removing as much air as possible and making sure edges are sealed. Drop finished dumplings into simmering broth. Serve with sliced green scallions and thank me later.

*this statement has not been evaluated or approved by any administration

Day 25

Really dropped the ball today.

Breakfast:
Nothing (finished eggs yesterday)

Lunch 1:
Nothing (aside from tasting stuff at work)

Lunch 2:
Subway ham & turkey on wheat (gross)

Dinner:
Grilled chicken and veggies

One, all the work that comes with moving makes it really tough to eat well. Two, I think knowing that the end is near is really killing my enthusiasm.

That being said, I'm down 15 pounds at this point. Tomorrow is the last day on the diet, but my mom is coming to town and I still have a pretty long honey-do list, so we'll see if I can make it.

Day 24

A decent day until about 5 minutes ago, but I won't ruin the end.

Breakfast:
3 whites + 2 yolks
Sausage

Lunch 1:
Chicken tortilla soup

Lunch 2*:
Whole Foods salad with jerk chicken
Green tea

Snack:
Random Whole Foods trail mix

Dinner:
McSpicy McChicken McSandwich; I succumb to laziness and convenience. Gimme a break, I just finished a 14 hour day!

*A bird crashed into the window above where I was eating at Whole Foods. Yeah. Had I taken three more minutes to finish my lunch, it would have fallen into my salad.

Crazy day. A couple more coming up.

Day 23

This will be quick because I'm tired.

Breakfast 1:
3 whites + 2 yolks
Sausage

Breakfast 2:
Eggs + scallions
1/2 a buttermilk biscuit

Lunch:
Wahoo's Banzai bowl - teriyaki chicken, grilled veggies, beans, pico

Dinner:
I'm gonna rummage through the kitchen right now. Who knows what gems I'll find?