Grow Your Own Culinary Herb Garden – Yard to Table

I mentioned several times during this ‘how to plant your own culinary herb garden’ video that I’d give a lot more specific information on the blog, but now that I’m here, I realize there’s not much more to tell you.

Herbs are very easy to grow, and besides basil, which doesn't like to dry out, they only require occasional watering. Any well-drained soil will work, but your best bet is to grab a bag of ready-to-use planting mix. Feel free to double check with the person at the nursery, but it’s basically potting soil with benefits. And, I did say nursery. Drive the extra mile, and talk to people that just sell plants.

I consider these herbs must-haves, but there are many more varieties you can try. I’ve done things like tarragon and cilantro in the past, and while they are a little more temperamental, they can be successfully cultivated.

Nothing beats being able to go out into the garden, and just take a pinch of this and a pinch of that. When you consider the cost of one of these plants is just a little more than for a single bunch at the market, why not have a few pots around, even if they’re on the windowsill? I hope you plant your garden soon. Enjoy!

NOTE: I’m not a gardening expert, so asking me specific question about soil types and weather issues will result in many a guess. My advice would be to use this video as an inspiration, and then check out some local gardening websites.

"A Foolish Consistency Is The Hobgoblin Of Little Minds."

"I was obese, I'm massively insecure. I won't even take my top off in the pool. It's programmed into my head that I'm fat because I got bullied at school and I can't get it out." -George Shelley, 2013 

Flash Forward to May 2015:

Deep-Fried Creamy Chicken Gravy – Almost Chicken Croquettes

There are two kinds of chicken croquettes. They all have a crispy, deep-fried exterior, but some are firm, meaty, and nugget-like, while others are much softer and creamier. It was that second kind I was attempting here, and I got so close.

To make a long story short, I used too much butter, and milk, and while they did stay together enough to form the signature, golden-brown crust, the inside was positively sauce-like.

I had no intention of turning this classic into some kind of gimmicky attempt at a viral video, but as I ate them, I couldn’t help but think of how much they tasted like deep-fried chicken gravy. Yes, I sometimes put a little ham in my chicken gravy.

I’ve listed exactly what I used in the ingredient list below, and also a second version, which theoretically would come out closer to actual chicken croquettes. I hope you get this, or that, a try soon. Enjoy!

The Deep-Fried Creamy Chicken Gravy Version:

Makes about 16 appetizer sized portions

2 packed cups finely chopped cooked chicken meat

1/2 cup finely chopped ham

2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

pinch freshly ground nutmeg

pinch cayenne

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

The More Like Chicken Croquettes Version:

Makes about 16 appetizer sized portions

2 packed cups finely chopped cooked chicken meat

1/2 cup finely chopped ham

6 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

pinch freshly ground nutmeg

pinch cayenne

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

For breading:

2 beaten eggs

flour as needed

2 cups bread crumbs

Everything's Archie

Here are a few pictures of  Archie Bodimeade, from the UK.  When he isn't modeling or going to school, he plays football (the sport we call soccer in the USA). If you were to ask me to create an archetypical British jock, Archie is exactly what I would come up with.  Personally, I don't like a man with too many muscles,  but giant blue eyes and freckles are two things I can not resist.

Sea Bass a la Michele – Just the Way She Likes It

Whenever I can’t decide on what to do with a piece of fish, I usually opt for this easy and crowd-pleasing technique, which involves roasting seafood after it’s been slathered in a highly seasoned vinaigrette. And by crowd, I mean wife.

The acidic bath seems to do something to the sea bass as it roasts, and not only do you get a very flavorful exterior, but the inside it seems to stay moister and more succulent, than if you just used a spice rub. In fact, Michele loves this roasting method so much, that I decided to name it after her. Also, I couldn’t think of a name, and if I called it Spanish-something sea bass, all the “that’s not Spanish-something sea bass” people would be after me.

By the way, there are a few sustainable sources for Chilean sea bass around, if you look hard enough, and do some research. Having said that, I didn’t do any research. I got mine at Whole Foods, and I assume/hope they’ve done their homework.

When it comes to ways of adapting this technique to your particular tastes, the skies the limit. While we really love sherry vinegar with the smoked paprika, I’ll sometimes switch it up with different combinations; and the same goes for the veggies underneath. No matter what you use, Michele and I hope you give this delicious sea bass recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

2 thick-cut boneless, skinless Chilean sea bass filets (about 8-oz each)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp kosher salt, plus some sprinkled on top

1 sliced red jalapeño

1/2 cup sliced green onions

4 or 5 small potatoes, cooked and quartered

Celebrating Memorial Day – Paying Tribute to Those Who Literally Fight for Your Right to Party

Photo (c) Flickr user Vince Alongi

I always feel a little guilty grilling on Memorial Day. Being surrounded by all kinds of tasty food and cold beer seems inappropriate considering the holiday's solemn meaning. Maybe it would be better to honor our vets by eating what they had to survive on while defending our country.

What if instead of gnawing on a stack of sticky barbecued ribs, while sitting in a lawnchair, we dug a hole in the ground, and enjoyed something squeezed out of a pouch instead? There aren't many delicious things that come in squeezable pouches.

So, if the chicken get a little dry today, or whoever made the beans was just going through the motions, don't think of it as a disappointing meal; think of it as unintentional tribute all those brave souls who sacrificed for our freedoms. Enjoy!

Eurovision Totty, Part Deux

Nul points to Eurovision Televoters for not sending Michele Perniola, representing San Marino (pictured above)  and Eduard Romanyata, representing Moldova (below) on to the finals.  Fun fact: Michele is not from San Marino, and Eduard is not from Moldova.  I was also sad to see Denmark's  Anti Social Media, with their cute ginger frontman, get an early dismissal.  Finally, let me just say this: Serbia was robbed.

Oh, and one last thing. This guy, playing out of competition with Martin Grubinger and the Percussive Planet Ensemble.  Golly.

Ireland Doesn't Say "Yes"

Ireland says "HELL YES!"  Congratulations to all of my Irish cousins for being the first country to legalize marriage equality by popular vote, and by doing so by an overwhelming margin.  This is a great day.

A Selfie For Saturday

By someone who knows how to do selfies right.

Braised Lamb with Radishes and Mint (and Anchovies, but Don’t Tell Anyone)

I had a fantastic appetizer recently featuring lamb belly, radishes, anchovies, and mint, which inspired today’s post. It sounded amazing, but I’d only glanced at the description, so when it came, I was more than a little surprised to see the radishes were fully cooked.

This was a new one for me, and I absolutely loved it. Like most root vegetables, radishes don’t have a ton of flavor, but I found them slightly sweet, earthy (duh), and aromatic. Plus, they seemed to have effectively absorbed all the other flavors in the dish.

One thing led to another, and I adapted the approach to create one of the more interesting and delicious things I’ve had in a while. I called it a “flavor bomb” in the video, but “umami bomb” would be more accurate. This was as savory, as savory gets.

Because of all the sweet flavors going on, I decided not to add any sauteed onions or garlic, which is contrary to most braised meat recipes. It probably wouldn’t have hurt anything, and I might try it next time, but to be honest, this came out so perfectly balanced, that I’m a little scared to change anything.

And no, you can't taste the anchovies. That doesn't mean you should tell anyone they're in there, but I did want to mention, in case you're scared. I would like to thank Aatxe for the inspiration, and I really hope you give this strange, but exciting braised lamb dish and try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 4 Portions:

4  lamb shoulder chops (10-12 ounces each)

1 tablespoon kosher salt (or about 2 tsp of table salt)

1 teaspoon black  pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

4 oil-packed anchovy fillets

1 1/2 cups low-sodium or no sodium chicken broth (the anchovies and spice rub on the lamb usually provide enough salt, plus you can add at the end after sauce is reduced)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 bunches breakfast radishes, trimmed

2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
5 or 6 fresh mint leaves finely sliced

1 tbsp cold butter

- Braise at 275 F. for about 3 hour , or until meat is just barely tender, then finish at 425 F. to brown. Serve with de-fatted and reduced sauce.

Classic Strawberry Shortcake – Thanks, Grandpa!

I was visiting my mom last summer, and overheard her and my aunt talking about making strawberry shortcake using “dad’s” recipe. They were obviously talking about my grandfather, which was surprising, since I had no idea he baked.

I remember he did a lot of cooking growing up, but it was things like frittata, meat sauce, or polenta. I never once saw him bake anything sweet. Nevertheless, he apparently gets credit for inventing our official family recipe for strawberry shortcake, which I’ve adapted here.

What he had done was taken the strawberry shortcake recipe off the box of a certain, very popular premade biscuit mix, and added extra “everything,” as my mother put it. So, that’s what I did here, except instead of using the stuff in the yellow box, I used self-rising flour, which I’m pretty sure is basically the same thing.

The only other major change is the original recipe calls for regular melted butter, but as you’ll see in the video, I like to toast mine just a little, to bring out those subtle, nutty flavors. I'm hoping Armand Cianfoni would approve. I really hope you give “our” strawberry shortcake a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 6 Large or 8 Normal Strawberry Shortcakes:

2 cups self rising flour ((You can make you own by sifting together 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon fine salt)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

4 tbsp butter, melted, and lightly toasted to a golden-brown

4 pints fresh strawberries

1/2 cup white sugar

*add 1 tbsp water, if strawberries aren’t perfectly ripe

3/4 cup cold heavy cream, whipped with a tablespoon of sugar and a few drops of vanilla (watch demo here)

- Bake at 425F.  for 15-18 minutes or until browned.

Eurovision Totty

Loïc Nottet, a 19-year-old singer from Belgium, wasn't the only hotty on last night's Eurovision Song Contest semi-final last night, but he's the only one who advanced to the finals.  I don't think his number, which was very Dieter from Sprocketts, will win, but I like him. Video below.

Memorial Day Grilling Special: Hot Dog Sausage aka “Hot Dogage”

The idea of making actual hot dogs doesn’t really interest me that much. Like French fries, and sushi, I believe hot dogs are best enjoyed out­; preferably at a baseball game, with a cold beer. However, I didn’t say anything about hotdog-inspired sausage hybrids.

This meaty mash-up came about thanks to some lamb kebab experiments. The meat mixture is prepared in a similar fashion, and while the seasonings are totally different, the firm texture of the kebab reminded me of a hot dog’s “snap.”

I wondered what would happen if I did a skewer-less kebab using the same ingredients that would typically go into a hotdog. What happened was better than I could've expected. I ended up with a fresh, mostly beef sausage, that tasted pretty much exactly like a hot dog.

Technically, this ended up being a lot closer to a bratwurst, but I’m pretty sure hot dogs are a more popular search, so that’s what I went with. As always, be sure to season these “to taste.” Just like when making meatballs, you can cook a small piece of the mixture, and adjust from there.

Like I said in the video, if you’re looking for something a little different for your Memorial Day cookout, I hope you give these hot dog sausages a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Giants Hot Dog Sausages:

1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef (10 to 15% fat is fine)

1/4 pound ground pork

4 tsp kosher salt (1/2 ounce by weight)

2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp granulated garlic

1 tsp granulated onion powder

1/3 cup ice water

Hate To Say I Told You So...

Actually, I'm glad to say I told you so.  Jack Mather, the 17-year-old skater boy with the face that could heal the sick, is Model.com's Model of the Week.  I first featured him here in March. 

Baked Apple Roses by Any Other Name Are Something Completely Different

Every once in a while, I post a video solely based on something I saw online, and these baked apple roses are the latest example. I saw a photo of these somewhere on social media, and using that one image as my only guide, I whipped up a batch, which was a tremendous disaster.

I assumed that I could figure these out just by looking at the finished product, but that did not happen. I tried doing them free-form, and they completely unraveled as they cooked. I wish I'd taken some photos, but they basically look like they exploded.

So, I decided to find the source of the photo, and see how these are actually supposed to be done, which led me to the blog, Italian Chips. It’s written by a woman named Ana, who’s a Brazilian living in Italy, so I knew I was in good hands.Thank you, Ana!

Other than a couple ingredients, I pretty much followed her technique exactly, except I didn’t use puff pastry.  As I mentioned in the video, I used a new dough I’ve been working on, which is much faster version of puff pastry, that uses biscuit dough. Stay tuned for that, and in the meantime, really hope you give these gorgeous looking, and very delicious apple roses a try soon. Enjoy!

Microwave Note: if you don't have a microwave, just sauté your apple slices in a little bit of butter over medium heat, for about half a minute per side, or until flexible, but not soft. 

Muffin Pan Note: If you use a metal muffin pan instead of a ramekin, I would reduce the heat to 375F., and cook about 45, or until the pastry is well browned.

For 2 Apple Roses:

1 large red apple

2 pieces rectangular puff pastry, rolled less than 1/8-inch thick, about 3” wide by 12 to 14” long

melted butter as needed

cinnamon sugar as needed (1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon)

powdered sugar, optional
- Bake at 400F. for about 45 minutes, or until the pastry is well browned.
- If using metal muffin pan: Bake at 375F. for about 45, or until the pastry is well browned.

Beef Rouladen – German Engineering You Can Eat

For something that looks and tastes as impressive as this beef rouladen, it’s actually one of the simplest stuffed meat recipes I know. Everything happens right on the meat, and after a quick roll and tie, we simmer in the gravy until tender. The beef and fixings flavor the sauce, the sauce flavors the beef, and everybody wins.

Regarding the meat, one of the great things about this technique, is that you can pretty much use any cheap cut of beef they have on sale. I used some round steak, but rump, chuck, flap meat, and other similar cuts will work.

Tell your butcher you’re making rouladen, and they will hook you up with what you need. If they’ve never heard of rouladen, then you should probably find another butcher. As I mentioned in the video, this can be scaled up to any size group. Just use a bigger pot, and the recipe will work as shown. I really hope you give this Rouladen recipe a try soon. Genießen!

Ingredients for 2 Beef Rouladen:

2 (about 1/4-inch thick) slices of cheap beef, about 6 ounces per slice. I used round, but rump, chuck, flap meat, and any other long cooking cuts will work.

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

4 strips pancetta or bacon
paprika to taste

sliced onion, as needed

6 slices dill pickle

1 tbsp vegetable oil

For the gravy:

2 tbsp butter, added to the pan drippings

1/4 cup flour

3 cups beef broth, veal, or chicken stock

salt to taste

Styles That Might Not Catch On

I'm still trying to figure this out.  Is it underwear? Pajamas?  It can't be something to be worn out in public.  So what's the deal? I've decided that it must be a special garment for boys with sensitive nipples.

Random Shirtless Guy Gone Wild

I tried to make this post a typical Random Shirtless Guy quickie, but Google had so many hot shirtless pictures of whippet-thin nineteen-year-old Erin Mommsen that I couldn't settle on just one. So, here's six pic of Erin. Born in the Dominican Republic, but raised in Pennsylvania, Erin is the current Model of the Week at Models.com, so check that out if you want to see some pictures of him with his shirt on.

Next Up: Rouladen

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies – Not for Nothing

As I was making these rosemary shortbread cookies, I couldn’t help but think of one of my many culinary pet peeves, which is when people add some random ingredient to a recipe, just for the sake of making it different. This is not one of those times.

While rosemary may seem like a strange addition at first glance, it works so perfectly in these, that I’d argue they're actually better than the original. There’s something so interesting about how the subtle hit of resinous herb works with this sweet, buttery cookie.

I should mention that the time given is just a guide. It depends on the shape and thickness of your cookies, so be sure to start checking them at around 40-45 minutes. You can pull them as soon as they turn golden, but that depends on how mild a flavor you want.

The longer they bake, the darker they get, and the nuttier the butter gets. Some prefer their shortbread cookies light and mild, while others will let them go until they turn brown. If you haven’t made them before, I’m afraid you’ll have to do some tests. I hope you give these amazing shortbread cookies a try soon. Enjoy!

Extra Credit Project: Make these using a round cookie cutter, and use them to make  strawberry ice cream sandwiches.

Ingredients for about 32 Rosemary Shortbread Cookies:

8 oz (1 cup) cool unsalted butter, cut into thin slices

1/2 cup white sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp kosher salt or 1/2 tsp fine table salt

2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary (but do not mince, or it may be too strong)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (10 oz by weight)

Warm Calamari Salad – The Best-Laid Plans of Squid and Men

There was nothing wrong with this warm calamari salad, except the most important thing. I’ve had “cast-iron calamari” before, which featured gorgeously seared, almost charred, pieces of squid. While well caramelized, the calamari was still tender and moist, which means it was only cooked for a few minutes, over what must have been dangerously high heat.

I figured as long as I got my pan hot enough, I should be fine. Wrong. Well, technically right, but wrong because I added way too much into the pan at one time. I really needed to do a single order at a time, and it probably would have been fine, but once that whole pound went in, the temp dropped, and you saw the results.

I still enjoyed a flavorful, healthy lunch, but not the one I’d dreamed about. The good news however, was that I ate the leftovers cold, tossed with the same salad ingredients, and it was actually better. So, if you are planning on doing the same recipe, as shown, I would suggest serving it chilled instead. I hope you give this, or that, a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Warm Calamari Salads:

1 pound cleaned calamari

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon of chipotle powder

pinch of cayenne

1 packed teaspoon light brown sugar

1 sliced jalapeno, seeded

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste once cooked

For the salad base:

4 handfuls baby arugula

1 can (15-oz) cooked white beans, drained, rinsed

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

Dreamboat

Look at the picture at the top of this post.  Look at all of these pictures.  When I see a face like that I have but two choices.  I can either drop dead on the spot, or fall madly in love.  I choose the latter. 

This (very) young man is named Lau Halding,  The only thing I know about him, other than his shoe size and the like, is that he is represented by a modeling agency in Denmark.  Other than that, I make no assumptions.