Real Food with Mike

Sounds weird, tastes great. This isn't going to have any real appreciable level of heat to it, so if you're not a big fan of spicy foods, you can still give this a try. The flavor of jalapenos is extremely mild, as is the heat, which makes it one of my favorite all-time chiles to use in cooking.


You will need:

-2.5 cups water
-1.75 cups cane sugar (aka "raw" sugar)
-Juice of one lime
-Large handful of mint leaves
-1/2 inch section of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
-3 medium jalapenos, membrane and seeds removed, sliced



The recipe as well as the process for this is extremely simple. Start by making a simple syrup by placing the water, lime juice, and sugar over medium heat until at a simmer. Once the sugar is THOROUGHLY dissolved, remove it from the heat and toss in the rest of the ingredients. Allow to steep off the heat for no more than 15 minutes, 5-10 being preferable.











Then, strain out the solids through a fine mesh sieve and place the bowl into an ice bath in another, larger container, perhaps a colorful bear-themed bowl.









Allow this to cool thoroughly to room temperature, then place the bowl in the freezer until the liquid is very cold. At this point you have two choices:

1.) If you have an ice cream maker, simply pour in the sorbet base, then churn and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions

2.) If you do not have an ice cream maker - I don't - whip a little bit of air into the very cold base using a food processor or even a stand mixer, then pour into a pyrex dish. Cover very tightly to keep funky odors from the freezer from invading your sorbet, then freeze overnight.






In the morning, you will have a refreshing and delicious dessert that contains no fat whatsoever. In fact, you don't even need to exercise, it burns fat for you. Or something.







Enjoy!

Here's how it goes.


Assemble your ingredients:


For the jerk marinade:

-1 tbsp freshly ground allspice (don't use previously ground spices for this if you can help it)
-2 tsp dried thyme (if using fresh, which I don't like for this, use a full tablespoon)
-1 tsp nutmeg
-1 tsp freshly ground cinnamon
-1 tsp ground clove
-1 tbsp chopped garlic
-1 inch section of ginger, chopped into pieces
-3 jalapenos, stems removed, cut into pieces
-1 to 2 serranos, stems removed, cut into pieces
-1/4 cup soy sauce (may need more, start with this amount)
-Juice of one to two limes depending on how much you like the flavor
-small handful of fresh mint leaves
-Freshly ground black pepper


Pretty simple for this: grind it all up in a food processor until it is a runny paste consistency, then apply to your meat of choice and marinate for at least 4 hours, overnight if possible. I used fileted chicken breasts because they were on sale and because I didn't want to be cooking them forever, you'll want to use split bone-in breasts if you have the time. Note also that I only cooked these under the broiler because I don't have a grill at my current place - if you do have a grill, even just a gas one, use that for the best end result.



For the rice:


-1.5 cups jasmine or basmati rice (or other long grain rice - jasmine and basmati are preferable because they have a sweet, nutty taste and aroma)
-2.25 cups chicken stock
-1/2 red onion, chopped
-Several cloves garlic, chopped
-1 large jalapeno, chopped
-1 serrano, chopped
-1/2 tsp each: ground cloves, ground allspice, ground coriander, ground nutmeg
-Large pinch kosher salt
-Lots of freshly ground black pepper


Sweat your onions, garlic, and jalapeno with the salt/pepper until translucent and mostly soft. Add your rice and cook for about a minute over medium heat or until you begin to smell a nutty aroma. Pour in your chicken stock (preferably already nearly at a boil on another burner) and your spices and bring to a boil, then reduce to low and clamp on the lid for about 15 minutes or until rice is just tender and liquid is all gone. At this point you can stir in some kidney beans to make Jamaican Rice and Peas (don't ask me why they call it peas and not beans) or simply taste for seasoning and serve as is alongside the other stuff.


For the plantain/sweet potato cakes:


-3 medium plantains, peeled and cut in half
-2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
-Olive oil
-Salt
-Pepper
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-1/2 cup finely diced red onion


Roast your plantains and sweet potatoes by drizzling with olive oil, salt and pepper and cooking at 450-500 degrees, covered, for approximately 30 minutes or until a knife pierces the flesh and pulls out with no resistance. Allow to cool THOROUGHLY.

Once cool, place the potatoes and plantains into a food processor along with the soy sauce and red onion and pulse until the consistency seen in the picture below. If the mixture is too tight, add a bit of olive oil to loosen it up. Once combined, taste to make sure that seasoning is correct (adding more soy sauce if necessary), crack some fresh pepper into it, then set aside.

To cook: simply heat a large skillet over medium-medium high heat with vegetable or canola oil. Form the mixture into patties and fry until both sides are golden brown.



Make sure to serve this meal with plenty of your favorite hot sauce and lots of finely chopped red onions. :yum:


To the purists: no, this jerk is not really authentic at all because I did not use scotch bonnets or habaneros. Part of that was because manxk and I agreed to throw down with jalapenos as the key ingredient, but also because a lot of people can't handle real jerk - shit is HOT.



Anyways, enjoy :wavey:


Pics (mostly in order)

Might sound complicated, but this is actually really simple.

Liberally apply kosher or sea salt to both side and freshly ground black pepper to one side of the steak.




Then put about a quarter cup of black peppercorns into a couple of ziploc bags and beat it like it owes you money until very coarsely cracked, as such:





Place those cracked peppercorns onto a plate and drop your steak onto it. Shouldn't need any sort of oil or any other liquid to get it to stick, the steak's natural moisture should take care of that. Get a good coat on there, as some of it will fall off during cooking.






Then, let that steak sit out until it's at room temperature.



Next up is the maple-glazed roasted carrots. I used very young carrots for this...true baby carrots would be best, and I would avoid using mature carrots altogether because they don't have the same level of natural sweetness.






First combine about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or melted butter (I used the oil) with a tablespoon of high-quality, real maple syrup. Yes, real, not Mrs. Butterworth's or Aunt Jemima's recipe. Sprinkle a little salt in, mix well until an emulsion is formed, then toss your carrots in the mixture until well-coated. Place in a 500 degree oven, covered loosely with foil, for about 25 minutes or until fork-tender but still fairly crisp.







Roundabout this time you should be considering some ingredients for your horseradish-spiked risotto:

-1 cup Carnaloni (preferred) or Arborio rice
-1/2 cup white wine
-4 to 5 cups stock (vegetable is what I used, but you can just as easily use beef or chicken)
-4 cloves minced garlic
-1/2 large onion (whatever kind you like)
-About a tablespoon of very finely minced (not grated) FRESH horseradish - if you can't get fresh, don't bother using it at all
-Kosher/sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
-Pinch of red pepper flakes (how much is up to you, it will already be a bit spicy due to the horseradish)



Risotto is one of those things that is very intimidating to a lot of cooks but really should not be - very, very simple to do. Here's how you make it:

Before you begin, put your stock in a separate pan and heat it until simmering. If you don't do this, not only will your risotto take a lot longer to make, but you won't get the signature creamy texture that makes it what it is.

Sweat your onion, garlic, and horseradish, along with a good pinch of salt/pepper and red pepper flakes, in about two tablespoons of olive oil until translucent and very fragrant. Put in your rice and stir until all the pieces of rice are well-coated in the oil. Crank the heat up to about medium and pour in your white wine. Allow to evaporate until it is about half the original volume of liquid, then begin ladling in your stock. You want to put in about a half cup of stock for each addition, and wait until it has cooked into the rice before adding the next installment. The whole time you want the pan at a somewhat brisk simmer - too slow and you'll be there for a day stirring it, too hot and you won't allow the rice to absorb the liquid, which will, again, mess up your end result in the texture department.









Keep on trucking along until you get to this point:









Turn your heat as low as it will go and stir in a couple of tablespoons of butter, taste for seasoning (if you did this right you shouldn't need to add anything), and clamp on the lid. This stuff is ready to go when you are.


Did I mention that you should have finely grated about an inch-long piece of horseradish to either top the steak with after it is cooked or place into the risotto if you want to add a bit more heat? Do that, then come back.








Now comes the grand finale: it's time to cook that filet you have sitting on the counter.

Heat a large skillet (cast iron would be preferable, but I used a standard all-clad) in that same 500 degree oven you're cooking your carrots in for about 5 minutes or approximately until it can melt through the floor.


Put a tablespoon of clarified butter (butter with the milk solids and water boiled off) and a tablespoon of vegetable/canola oil into your pan. Drop in the steak, peppercorn side down first, and cook for about 2 minutes or until you have a lovely crust.











Flip it over, tent the pan loosely with foil, and drop it in the oven for about 4 more minutes for medium rare/medium-ish. When in doubt, you can use a thermometer, but if you have any idea what you're doing you can tell just by using your fingers.

When it's done, place it on a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 3 or 4 minutes while you get everything else together.


Slice your steak thinly and serve with your risotto, carrots, and, if you so desire, some of that freshly grated horseradish on top.








Enjoy

Minestrone alla Milanese with Roasted Tomato and Balsamic Relish and Crostini


Assemble your ingredients for the soup:

-1/2 pound of hot italian sausage (you can use prosciutto, salt pork, bacon, or any number of other cured pork products for this in place of the sausage)
-1/2 pound elbow macaroni
-Lots and lots of assorted veggies (I used sweet onion, celery, carrot, cremini mushrooms, garlic, and bell pepper)
-One carton vegetable broth and one carton chicken broth (homemade would be better, but I don't cook many whole chickens so I didn't have any bones laying around to make stock or broth with)
-28.8 ounces (two small cans) of chopped tomatoes with juice (San Marzano if you can get it)
-Small can of garbanzo beans
-Large can of white kidney beans
-Dried oregano/basil/parsley
-Dried red pepper flakes
-Spring of fresh rosemary
-Olive oil
-Salt
-Pepper


As for the crotini and relish:

-One loaf crusty french or italian bread, cut on the bias
-Olive oil
-Sea salt
-Pepper
-Four medium tomatoes
-Four whole garlic cloves
-Balsamic vinaigrette (homemade is best, of course)
-Fresh basil (cut into a thin chiffonade)

Directions for the relish and crostini:

Drizzle three of your four tomatoes as well as your garlic cloves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 500 degree oven until soft. Remove the skin from the tomatoes after allowing them to cool, and try to get out as many of the seeds as possible. Chop the tomatoes and thinly slice the garlic, then set aside.

Chop your other tomato, removing your seeds first, and toss it in your bowl with the roasted tomatoes and garlic. Your chiffonade of basil goes in next, then pour on the balsamic vinaigrette and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

For the crostini, simply brush the slices of bread with olive oil and either grill or broil them until crispy and browned. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and serve with the relish.


Directions for the soup:

I'm going to let the pictures walk you through this for the most part. It's really pretty simple. First step is to take your sausage out of its casing and brown it in a large stock pot. Take it out, drain it, and set it aside. Sweat your carrots/celery first until just about tender, then add your other aromatics and veggies and cook until just tender with a bit of olive oil if there isn't enough fat left over from the sausage and salt/pepper. Toss in your rinsed, drained beans after this.

(A note on the beans: obviously, it would be best if you used dry beans that you cooked yourself, but not everybody has several hours to devote to this, and frankly, you're not going to notice that much of a difference.)

After this, throw in the reserved sausage, tomatoes, herbs, red pepper flakes, and broth. Let this cook for as long as you can possibly wait with the lid on. When you're close to serving time, go ahead and crank up the heat to medium high and throw in your elbow macaroni. Cook until al dente, remove your rosemary sprig, season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

This ain't exactly photo shoot material, but it sure is good.

Enjoy