Baconaisse??

Really? Someone, and it's not me, is a freaking genius. Bacon and mayonnaise in and of themselves are probably 2 of the best foods on the planet. Most chefs agree that bacon improves the flavor of just about any dish and it seems that bacon is the hottest trend in cooking these days. I have seen bacon in cookies, ice cream and donuts.

Someone (a company called J&D's) blended mayo and bacon together and voila, my local Safeway is now carrying a commercially available Baconaisse! The stuff is pretty damn good, I bought a jar today. Once this jar is gone I will be experimenting with my own rendition of this new favorite spread.

Hot Sauce revisited

A friend of mine on another board has been talking about a hot sauce his father makes and it has had me drooling. I am a huge fan of hot sauce and have at least a dozen bottles of various sauce on hand at any given time. I experimented today with a new recipe and think it turned out quite well. It will be easier to tell in a couple weeks once it has fermented a little and the flavours have melded but here is what I managed to get out today:

Ingredients:

15-20 hot peppers (I wanted but couldn't find habenero so used hot red chile)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1 cup cilantro
6 cloves of garlic
1/4 small green papaya
2 small green peppers
2 ripe limes
1 carrot 

Steps:


1. Rough chop all ingredients

2. Throw them all into a blender

3. Add the vinegar and salt
4. Blend until you get the consistency you like

5. Place in jars and let sit, no need to refrigerate due to the high acidity (vinegar and lime)

This recipe is not extremely hot. It has an excellent flavor with a delayed burn on the back of the mouth. The limes and papaya add a really nice sweetness and the carrot helps to cut a little bit of the heat.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Well it has been a while but I managed to do some work in the kitchen today and was even thinking far enough in advance that I got some pictures to go along with it. I have been on this pickling/fermenting kick for the last little while and preserved lemons is just one of the things that I have wanted to try. So without further adieux here we go.

Preserved lemons are one of those little pieces of heaven. Not something that you find everyday here in North america but from my understanding it is quite popular in middle eastern countries. It is a shame I didn't see any while I was in Egypt last spring as I would have brought some home. But I know have a jar that when properly preserved should keep for at least a year or longer.

This is quite simple to make and has many uses in the kitchen. The flavor is a very strong concentrated lemon taste and a quarter of a lemon minced finely should be enough to rub all over a chicken before roasting, or sprinkled over fresh salmon filets. I will be experimenting with adding it to homemade tartar sauce as well. I hear the lemon juice, while very salty, is an excellent addition to Ceasars.

Ingredients:

Meyer Lemons, preferably organic and unwaxed. Meyers Lemons are a little sweeter than your standard lemon and have a slight orange taste.
Salt

Steps:

1. Wash the lemons
2. Cut the lemons like you are quartering them but dont cut all the way through the bottom.

3. Open the lemons and sprinkle about a TBSP of coarse salt into each lemon.

4. Put 1 layer lemons in jar and squash down

5. Sprinkle with more salt.
6. Continue layering, pressing and salting until jar is full and lemons used up.

7. If there is not enough juice released from the crushing add some more lemon juice to cover.
8. Cover with cheesecloth, or I use flour sack.

Let stand on the kitchen counter for 2 weeks pushing the lemons under the liquid daily.

Addicted to Sriracha

Sriracha is one of those sauces you either love or hate. Anyone who doesn't like the spice will not like Sriracha. If you DO like spicy food though how can you not fall in love with that spicy salty garlicy treat known as Sriracha. Sriracha is quite easy to make and you can experiment to make the ideal flavor to suite your personal taste. I have made it using green jalapeno peppers although traditionally this is a red sauce. You can experiment with different kinds of chiles, salt levels and I have even used anchovy in place of the fish sauce. 


Here is a traditional Sriracha Sauce:

• 1 pound red jalapenos or cayenne chiles
• 5 fresh Thai chiles
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• Water, as needed
• 
  
• Cut the stems from the chiles but leave the crown, and roughly chop the chiles.
• In a food processor, combine chopped chiles, garlic, salt, fish sauce and rice vinegar for 1 to 2 minutes until mixture is a rough puré.
• Transfer the chile mixture to a glass bowl or jar. Cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature for a few days, specifically until small bubbles have formed under the surface. If fuzzy mold forms on the top of the chile mixture, remove with a spoon and discard.
• Over high heat, bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer for a few minutes before removing from heat to cool.
• Transfer chile mixture to a food processor, blending until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, if necessary, to mixture if it's too thick.
• If desired, put the sauce through a strainer to remove seeds from chile sauce.
• Mixture will keep in the fridge for one month.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/04/homemade-scriracha-sauce-recipe.html

TV Shows

I have been watching some of the new fall line up and there have been some interesting shows. I am talking FoodTV, not the evening lineups.

Heat Seekers: 2 guys travel around the country looking for the spiciest food. Though not the most entertaining show it is ok. Of the 2 hosts Aaron Sanchez and Roger Mooking, I have grown tolerant of Sanchez. Mooking is still, in my opinion, an amateur. I like spicy food but some of the stuff these 2 eat looks ridiculous.

Crave: Hosted by Troy Johnson, who the hell is this guy and why is he on TV? He was a writer for music publications and eventually a food writer but again WHY did he land a sweet gig on TV??? The show is interesting enough but I dont know, will just have to see how it pans out. He too travels around to find the best foods for his taste and combines the ingredients and styles to create his perfect version of the topic of the show.

Eat Street: Not new new but there was an intersting episode the other day with some uncommon ingredients and combinations I need to try. They include:

1. Bacon Jam....say WHAT? Yeah, bacon jam, more like a pate...gotta find me a recipe
2. Donuts with peanut butter glaze and sriracha (thai hot sauce)

Wow its been a while....

My apologies for not updating. There has been a lot going on around here and I just haven't had the motivation. Things are better now and I hope to be on here a little more often. My annual extended holiday is quickly approaching and I hope to jump in here feet first once again. Thanks for the support.

Restaurant Review - The mongrillian

Only part way through the work week but last night we decided to go out for dinner. We have been here before but the last couple times we tried it has been closed (we were either too late in the evening, or on a Sunday).

While The Mongrillian is a fairly new venture, the restaurant has been on and off for several years (used to be called the Thunder Grill). Located at Berkeys Corners, right across from Bob’s Restaurant, it is on the site of the original Berkey’s Garage. A Totem (I believe) gas bar still stands but The Mongrillian has now shut down the pumps and expanding their restaurant business.

The atmosphere is quaint and friendly. Asian decorations are a little kitsch, with plastic plants and paper lanterns but I can easily overlook that, hell I have eaten in some of the tackiest tiki lounges in Hawaii. The owners are wonderful people, coming out front to greet old and new friends alike.

The first time we went here I was blown away by the “Garlic Pork Salad Rolls” $7.25 and I had to have it again last night. The menu describes this as Garlic pork sliced up, lettuce, cucumber and crispy pastry wrap rolled up in thin rice paper served with fish sauce.

The Garlic pork was the best I have ever had, enough garlic to last a couple hours, maybe longer. The addition of crispy wonton wrapper to the inside of the rice paper roll is brilliant and the fish sauce is probably the perfect accompaniment to this wrap.

As a main course I had the Combination A . It consisted of Almond Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, Chop Suey and Chow Mein Noodles.

The value was there at $10.95. The serving was huge and if I hadn’t been such a pig there would have been enough left for lunch today, instead I am stuck with a leftover pork chop sandwich with homemade mustard ;)

The almond chicken was all while breast meat, pounded very thing. The batter had the perfect crispiness to it, but unfortunately I didn’t get that almond taste I was craving. The Sweet and Sour Pork was good but I found it just a touch gummy. I would recommend a little less cornstarch in the sauce and maybe just a touch less vinegar as well. The Chop Suey was as good as any I have had before and the chow mein noodles were cooked perfectly.

My wife had the signature meal which is the Mongolian Stir Fry. I cannot comment on the taste as I didn’t try it, I am not a big fan of stir fry but I will comment on the items and price.

The price is reasonable at $2.49 per 100 grams. My wife had a huge stir fry and it was around $16. What you do is go to the counter with your own bowl and fill it with the proteins and vegetables you want (all raw). You then decide on a sauce and noodles or rice. The chef cooks it all for you to order. Some of the items to choose from included:

Chicken meat (white or dark), Prawns, Beef, Pork

Clery, Onion, Peas, Cabbage, Sprouts,Carrot

Sauces: Garlic, Teryaki, Black Bean, Oyster

And lots lots more. I will definitely be back. Score : 7.5/10

http://mongrillian.com/index.html