Tag: recipe

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Summer is great for grilling! There are a few recipes I return to again and again and these bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers are one of my favorites. They’re easy, delicious and a great starter at dinner time.

If you give them a go please leave a comment on my YouTube video and let me know how they turned out. Enjoy!

•••

HARDWARE:

• Large bowl, spatula + tongs
• Grilling pan / tray
• Water squirt bottle (for grill flare-ups)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 5 large jalapeño peppers
  • 5 strips of thick bacon (pepper bacon)
  • 1/2 cup cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup parmesan Reggiano 
  • 1/4 tsp cumim
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp granulated onion
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Set grill to medium-high heat.

In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sharp cheddar, parmesan, cumin, paprika, garlic, onion and cayenne pepper. Add a few grounds of fresh black pepper to taste and set aside.

Cut the bacon length-wise to create 10 thin strips. These are easier for wrapping and will stay curled around the poppers on the grill.

Using a pairing knife, cut each jalapeño length-wise from tip to stem. Scoop out the ribs and seeds with a spoon. For extra heat you can dice the ribs and add it to the cream cheese mix. If you have sensitive skin, you may wish to wear food gloves for this step. If you don’t, just remember to wash your hands.

Add a heaping portion of the filling to each half of the peppers. Make sure all the peppers are filled evenly before wrapping with the bacon.

Wrap each pepper with a strip of bacon, starting at the stem end in a spiral. Make sure the twist it tight and press the bacon into the filling. Repeat until all the peppers are wrapped.

Place the peppers on your grill pan and grill for about 20-30 minutes being careful to watch for flareups. Keep a squirt bottle handy to extinguish flames and remember to move the poppers around so they cook evenly.

Serve immediately with the dip of your choice and enjoy!

Ged’s Pot Roast

If you are looking for the ultimate comfort food nothing beats good pot roast. I’ve tried many recipes over the years but always came back to my own version of the culinary favorite. Someone recently asked me to blog my recipe over on Twitter and it occurred to me that I’ve actually been winging it for years so it was probably a good time to get it written down.

The prepped veggies for my pot roast recipe - carrots, celery, onions and potatoes

If there’s a secret to this recipe it lies in the two sets of veggies (one diced for flavor and the other sliced for eating) that gives the pot roast its depth of flavor. There’s an extra step or two compared to most recipes but trust me, it’s worth it.

Also, by cubing the meat instead of leaving it whole, you get more surface area which means more browning which means more flavor! It also has the added benefit of cooking quite a bit quicker than most traditional pot roasts.

If you give it a go please drop me a line and let me know how it turned out. I’d love to get your opinion. Enjoy!

•••

HARDWARE:

Large bowl + tongs
Large dutch oven or high-sided oven-safe pot
Blender

INGREDIENTS:

1 (3-5lbs) Chuck Roast (cut into 2” cubes)
2-4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 whole onions (1 diced, 1 frenched)
3 celery stalks (diced)
6 carrots (3 diced & 3 sliced into bit-sized pieces)
3/4lb of fingerling potatoes (or parsnips peeled & sliced into bite-size chunks)
8 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 cups of red wine
3-4 cups of beef or chicken broth
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons of corn starch
2-3 Tablespoons of smoked (or regular paprika)
3 Tablespoons of of tomato paste
3 Tablespoons of Worcester Sauce
3 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Set oven to 325º

Slice chuck roast into 2” cubes and season them completely all over with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of paprika and flour. Coat well.

In a high-sided dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot heat on pot with olive oil on stove top until shimmering. Working in batches, brown cubes of the meat on each side with your tongs until nice and brown. Don’t crowd the pan, turn them as needed getting each side nice and crusty. Remove browned pieces to a bowl. Continue until all meat is browned.

Combined diced carrots, celery and onions in pot and stir with pot meat drippings to loosen. Cook about 3 minutes or until the veggies soften. Add diced garlic and stir another minute or until garlic is aromatic.

Add tomato paste to the pot and mix in with the veggies. Add red wine and deglaze the pan – cook for another 1-2 minutes until wine mixture starts to simmer.

Return meat to pot on top of the veggie mix and add enough chicken or beef broth to barely cover. Reserve 2-4 tablespoons of broth for thickening later on.

Tie the rosemary and thyme sprigs into a bundle with butchers or kitchen string and add to the pot along with Worcester sauce & balsamic vinegar.

Bring to a simmer.

Put the lid on the pot and place in the oven. Cook at 325 for 1.5 hours.

Remove from oven and place meat cubes in a bowl. Discard the bundle of herbs.

If there are pools of fat on the surface of the liquid use a label and spoon off as much as you can or transfer the liquid to a de-fatter and discard the grease.

Transfer the remaining liquid plus cooked, diced veggies to a blender and blend well. Return the mixture to the pot along with the meat once again. Add sliced carrots, fingerling potatoes (or parsnips) and frenched onions to the pot and mix in well.

Return to the oven and cook for another 1 – 1.25 hrs or until meat is fork tender. Remove any grease on the top of the liquid once again with a ladle.

Move the pot to stove top and heat over med-low heat.

Mix the corn starch with the remaining chicken or beef broth (2-4 tablespoons) until throughly combined and then add to the stew. Bring to simmer to thicken.

Add salt, pepper & additional Worchester sauce to taste.

Serve with some crusty bread or with creamy polenta or whatever you want 🙂

YUMMIE!

Poached Perfection

If you follow me on Instagram or on Twitter then you probably know I enjoy cooking. I love all kinds of foods but eggs hold a special place in my heart, most especially the poached egg. For years I’ve been on a quest to find the best / most foolproof method for poaching eggs and I’m pleased to report I think I’ve finally found it.

When it comes to cooking the perfect poached eggs, there are many factors that can lead to failure or at the very least, eggs that are not pretty or are a pain in the clean-up department. I’ve tried Gordon Ramsay’s method, America’s Test Kitchen’s, and most recently Heston Blumenthal’s recipe which I was convinced was the holy grail of poaching eggs. But then I came across an unassuming video from Life Hacker on ways to cook eggs in the microwave. Although the first two (scrambled and sunny-side up) resulted in less than spectacular results, the third for poaching works *perfectly*. And I do mean perfectly. The method is easy. Simply fill a small bowl 1/2 with water, crack the egg into it, cover with a saucer and microwave for at least 1 min. Cooking times vary greatly depending on the strength of your microwave but once you dial the proper setting in for your own equipment, you can produce one perfectly poached egg after another in very little time and with next to no clean-up. Just remember to use fresh water each time so the left-over, heated water doesn’t mess with your timing and over-cook your eggs.

Unlike dropping a raw egg into a pot of boiling water, there is no where for the egg white to go. Since the bowl is so small, the egg proteins can’t disperse. You don’t need vinegar or whisking the water into a vortex, or a pocket of cling film or even have to worry about bubbles on the bottom of the pan turning your creation into a real eggo waffle. If you love a good poached egg, have a microwave (who doesn’t?) and want to change your culinary life forever, give this method a go. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got second breakfast to make.