Goddamn Brownies

I was going to do a "Tonight's Menu" a week or so ago, but I was very unhappy with the way things were going. I made some Rainbow Trout and was having problems. Even though everything tasted alright, Jenny loved it, I was not happy so I just erased all of the photos. So here we are with what I made tonight, some yummy comfort food.

On Tonight's Menu: Meatloaf with Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus

I started with pulsing a box of Garlic & Cheese croutons in the food processor until rather smooth. Normally I would just use the garlic flavor but this was the closest I found at the store. It turned out to be a good thing.


Then I pulsed a chopped carrot, chopped onion, a few cloves of garlic, fresh black pepper, thyme, chili powder and cayenne. Usually all the dry herbs and such would go with the croutons, but I forgot. Oh well.


Onto to the meat! Most of the time I use a mixture of regular ground chuck and ground sirloin, but I was at Whole Foods and they didn't have the sirloin. Yes, I could have them grind some sirloin but I didn't want to wait. What they did have was ground buffalo. I thought that might be pretty tasty, so that is what I got.


After everything is combined you can either put it into a loaf pan and then turn it out onto a parchment lined sheet pan, or if you don't have a loaf pan, like me, then just form it into a loaf on the pan.


Once your meatloaf is in a 325º oven you can make the sauce. Just whisk together some ketchup, Heinz 57, worcestershire, Tabasco, cumin and honey.


Ten minutes after the meatloaf has been in the oven slide it out and baste with the sauce. It is also a good idea to put a probe thermometer in and set the alarm for 155º. You want to put the probe at an angle about halfway into the loaf.


When the alarm goes off pull the meatloaf out of the oven, remove the probe and baste on a little more sauce. You should also cover loosely with foil and let the meat rest for about five minutes. ALWAYS REST YOUR MEAT!


Once all is said and done you are ready to plate. I served with some great sour cream mashed potatoes and some steamed asparagus.


If I had anything to do over again I would blanch the asparagus and drop it into an ice bath instead of steaming. No big deal, everything tasted wonderful and there are plenty of leftovers for a meatloaf sandwich tomorrow. Yea! Fulci even had a great time licking the plates. He looks a bit like a giraffe, don't you think?

It has been a while since I have done a cooking blog. I wanted to get settled into the new house a bit and get used to the new appliances. I have an oven that works very well, but it is probably the original piece from when the house was built in the early sixties. The stove is one of those flat smooth electric cooktops and it works great as well, but very different from the conventional coils I'm used to. In any event, last night I made some Brinner (that's breakfast for dinner, for those not in the know) and took some pictures for your enjoyment. Enjoy.

On Tonight's Menu: Homemade Buttermilk Pancackes with Scrambled Eggs and Maple Sausage Patties

Now I don't use any store bought mix to make my pancakes, I don't want to do that to my mouth. Instead I use a homemade "instant" pancake mix that I got from my hero Alton Brown from Food Network's Good Eats. For this mix you fill your container of choice with:

• 6 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons of sugar

Then shake everything up and you should be able to keep it in your air tight container for about three months.

When you are ready to make your pancakes get two mixing bowls and separate two eggs.


Now whisk two cups of buttermilk in with the whites and four tablespoons of melted butter with the yolks. The reason you do this is adding the eggs, buttermilk and butter all together is like mixing oil and water together - it just doesn't really want to work. The chemical make-up of the yolks to the butter, and buttermilk with the whites are very similar so by doing this you have a much better bind. Then you can mix the two together. If the butter is pretty warm then it is best to temper with the buttermilk/white mixture.


After all of that is mixed together then you take a much larger mixing bowl with two cups of your "instant" pancake mix in it and add the liquid mixture to the party. The crucial part here is not to over mix. Make sure all of the ingredients are combined, but there will be lumps. Lumps are good, they will cook out.



For cooking my pancakes I use a flat cast iron skillet over medium, sometimes low-medium, heat. Once hot I rub the end of a half stick of butter all over and wipe up the excess with a paper towel. The rest of the butter I throw into a small sauce pot on low, but I'll get to that in a moment. I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to dish out the batter, I find it gives a good size. Then you flip once the bubbles start as normal, usually about a couple of minutes per side.



Now with that butter in the sauce pot... Instead of putting butter on the pancakes at the table I like to use a spoon and drizzle the some melted butter over each flapjack as soon as it's off the griddle. This way the butter penetrates the disc and you get a richer flavor. Hey, I never said these were healthy.



This "instant" mix makes the best tasting pancakes I've ever made. While last night's were rather plain you can spice them up. Sometimes I add some cinnamon to the mix, or some blueberries, chocolate chips or whatever floats your boat. Once I even added some chopped bits of cooked bacon. It was alright, but not as good as I hoped.

I have come very close to the end of my stay at this apartment I have called home for over three years. I try to cook a lot, usually Jenny comes over on Mondays for dinner so I try to make it a little nicer. As you may have noticed, this is when I normally post these cooking related blogs. This will be the last Monday in my current home so this was to be my last cooking hurrah. Since the last blog was not favored by Jessica, who is not a fan of pork, she suggested seafood this time around. Luckily I was already planning fish so I hope you all enjoy. The next cooking post will be in the new house!

On Tonight's Menu: Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi with Cilantro Lime Rice

First I crushed the macadamia nuts, which was much harder than I thought. After pounding them with a ton of noise for very little crushing, I put them in my coffee grinder which did the trick. Into this I mixed some melted butter, a couple tablespoons of AP flour and some Panko bread crumbs and set it aside.


The Mahi Mahi fillets were put on a baking sheet covered with vegetable oil lubed foil. They are seasoned with fresh pepper and kosher salt and put into a 450° oven for five minutes.


The fillets come out when the timer dings and brushed with a bit of sweetened condensed milk. Coconut milk would be good here as well, but Jenny is allergic so I substituted. Then the nut mixture is pressed on the tops of the fish and put back in the oven for about ten minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.


When they come out of the oven, cover with foil to let the crust harden a bit for a nice crunch. After the rest it was time to eat with the cilantro lime rice and a small mixed green salad with some scallions, cranberries and a vinaigrette.

Last night I began to think about what I wanted to cook for dinner tonight. I came up with nothing. Most of the time I like to plan the menu out ahead of time, for shopping and cooking time purposes. I woke up and had to meet a handyman at the new rent house Jenny and I will be moving into very soon (we get the keys on Friday). Once that was finished it was off to the grocery store. My new plan was to look around and come up with something. Tonight I did not go with anything too fancy but it tasted good and satiated my hog hunger.

Tonight's Menu - Pork Chops with a Mushroom Teriyaki Sauce

I did not take a lot of pictures of the meal in process tonight because everything was happening at once and so quickly that I really did not have time to snap the photos. After I cooked some onion in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil for a few minutes I through in the butterfly cut pork chops that had been marinating - soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, thyme, cayenne pepper and kosher salt.


While these cooked I drained the red potatoes, which had been boiling on another burner, and put then in my stand mixer. They started to mash as I added some milk, butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, sharp cheddar cheese and fresh chopped chives.


Before I knew it, the pork chops were done.


The chops went under foil to rest while the sauce was prepared. I added the mushrooms I sliced to the pan and deglazed with some water and some of the marinade. Using a whisk I scrapped up the bits on the pan and mixed that with some butter and a little all purpose flour on high while it reduced and thickened.


Now it was time to eat. Everything was put on a plate with some steamed broccoli, and the meal tasted great. Because of the soy the sauce was a tad salty, so next time I'll have to find a remedy for this.

I love to cook "fancier" dishes, not the kind of stuff you would find in just any magazine, or the box of something you buy at the grocery store. That is not to say I don't like this kind of grub. Every once in a while I get a hankering for some Hamburger Helper or a casserole. So tonight I decided to indulge myself for a Mexican feast on Cinco de Mayo's Eve. ¡Salud!

Tonight's Menu - Enchilada Casserole

Begin with a hot skillet over medium-high heat, to which you will add chopped onion (one medium), ground beef, cumin, chili powder, a little bit of soy sauce and some kosher salt and fresh pepper (of course).


After this has cooked drain off any fat and add a can of pinto beans (rinsed and drained), some green chiles and fresh chopped cilantro. Mix together and set aside.


In a bowl mix together an 8oz container of sour cream, a couple tablespoons of flour and some garlic powder. Set aside.


Now comes the layering part, this is a bit like a Mexican lasagna. Get a rectangular baking dish, 2 quart, and grease the bottom. Add tortillas to cover the bottom, then half of meat mixture, half the sour cream mixture, half a can of enchilada sauce and some cheese (I used a sharp cheddar). You repeat the layers except for the cheese.


Now you can cover with plastic wrap and chill for up to 24 hours. When ready remove the plastic, cover with foil and slide it into a 350° oven for about 40 minutes. When the timer dings, or beeps, remove the foil and top with the rest of the cheese.


This will go back in the oven for another five minutes uncovered. I like to let it rest out of the oven for about ten minutes to solidify a bit, then plate up! I added more fresh cilantro, some green onion, sour cream and paprika. Accompanied by tortilla chips and your favorite salsa. This is not a really fancy meal but it tastes damn good.