Kung Food Master

My Jerk Rubbed Ribeye

2008-10-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

that sauce was good...as was everything else.

Peach Chipotle Honey Glazed Blackened Shrimp and Charo Beans

2008-10-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ya these were pretty damn good.

The Glaze:
Two chipotles (seeds removed), 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp peach jam, cilantro, finely chopped shallot, sherry wine and 2 tbsp chicken broth. You add some oil to a hot pan, then add the chipotles and shallots. Then add the wine, let it cook down. Then add the jam and honey to that. It will be really thick at this point. To allow the jam and honey to cook, add the small amount of broth. It is just enough to give it a couple of minutes to thicken to the desired viscosity. At the end turn off the heat and add finely chopped cilantro.

Shrimp:
1 tbsp: chile negro powder (my new fav)
1 tsp: ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp: garlic powder
1/2 tsp: corriander
pinch of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger
add salt

Charo beans are charo beans, and the rice was something crazy, but I don't remember. Some kind of lime and turmeric thing going on.

Summer: Scallop Pasta

2008-08-29T10:33:00.001-07:00

I made this about 100 times this summer. I know, a recipe I made that I actually cook over and over again. It's a big hit here.

- 4/5 U10 sea scallops
- zest of one lemon
- 1/4 cup of sherry wine
- 6 crimini mushrooms
- 2 slices of crazy good bacon
- 1 fresh roma tomato
- 1/2 cup cream
- crushed red pepper
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp evoo
- italian parsley
- basil

Cook the bacon and mushrooms first, take them out add scallops, lemon, butter, garlic, basil (if you feel like it) and sherry. cook for a few minutes. Add mushrooms and bacon back in. Turn down heat to low. Add cream and chopped fresh tomato. Stir until thick. Add parsley to finish. Add to penne pasta. Of course salt/pepper at every important step.

Summer: Tuna Steak and Scallop with some kind of Hollandaise

2008-08-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Crazy busy summer. Not sure how I made this, but it's always good.

Work in Progress: 3 Variations of Steak

2008-05-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

This was crazy crazy good. But it needs work. Because I think I got steaked out by the end. So this is what it is:

Steak #1:
Rub: ancho,chipotle,chili negro,corriander,cumin,cloves,garlic powder,sugar,salt
Sauce: roasted orange bell pepper, brown mustard, balsamic vinegar, onion, cilantro, oil, salt
Base: Polenta with butter, and ancho chili powder

Steak #2:
Rub: brown sugar,ancho,chipotle,salt
Sauce: my basic corn sauce (corn, cream, thyme, garlic powder, butter, salt) and chives
Base: Mashed potatoes with butter and chives

Steak #3:
Rub: thyme,rosemary,ancho,corriander,garlic powder,salt
Sauce: surf and turf...lump crab, white wine, zest of one lemon, 1 tsp lemon juice, thyme, 1/2 cup cream, butter, parsley, salt
Base: Wild rice, parsely, butter, lemon juice, salt

What part two will be:
#1: That will be pork tenderloin
#2: That will be scallops, and then I will make some bacon and cut it up in really small pieces and add it on top of the corn sauce with chives. It will go on thr rice instead of the potatoes.
#3: instead of a crab sauce, I'll just use a blue cheese sauce, and it will go on the mashed potatoes

Rosemary Rubbed Steak and a Camenzola Blue Cheese Sauce

2008-05-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

It was as good as it looks. Used rosemary powder. Which is easy to make. I guess you could buy it too. But if you have fresh roemary, you can add it your oven at 120 degrees for an hour or so, then add it to a spice grinder (coffee grinder), and you've got rosemary powder.

The Steak: Chuck Eye..next to ribeye, almost as good of a cut, but way way cheaper. Cut them into pretty little squares.

The Steak Rub: 1 tsp rosemary powder, 1 tsp ancho chili powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp chipotle powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp corriander, salt

Cooking: Sear the steak for a few minutes on each side on high heat in 1 tbsp olive oil. I think canola would work just fine as well. Then add to the oven for 7 minutes at 430 degrees. No more than 7 minutes.

The Sauce: 1 cup of cream, 5/8 inch deep slice of camenzola cheese, tbsp butter,
1 tsp chopped chives, 1/2 tsp rosemary powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, pinch of salt and pepper. Let the sauce steep, and then keep stirring until it thickens to your desire.

Mashed potatoes: Add 1/4 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of cream sauce, 1 tbsp butter, salt, and some more fresh chives.

Some asparugus was in there too. Which was just cooked with thyme, garlic powder, butter, salt, and a little water.

Crazy good.

Jumbo Shrimp, Basil, Lemon, Bacon, and Creamy Penne Pasta

2008-04-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

Meghan said, enough Latin food. So I put it down for a night, and went back to my old love, Italian. Bought some really fresh (smelled really good) shrimp (7-9), fresh (5 leaves) basil, 1 lemon, 2 slices fletchers dry cured bacon (crazy good), 6 crimini mushrooms (capped), 2 large garlic cloves, crushed red pepper, 1/2 cup cream, 2 tbsp butter, 1/4 cup sherry wine, s/p, a pinch of ancho powder (I couldn't resist), 1 fresh roma tomato, and some fresh parsley...and it made some magic.

First slice the mushrooms, bacon, and than smash 2 large garlic cloves. Add the bacon to the pan, render the bacon down for a few minutes. In the bacon fat add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are done. Pour that mixture onto the plate. Add to that 2tbsp of butter. Zest a whole lemon (large), and chop. Slice basil as well. Add the shrimp to the high heat and butter/bacon fat. Add the pinch of ancho, enough salt, pepper, lemon zest, and basil. Cook until on one side for 2 min. Flip the shrimp, then add the sherry wine. When that has reduced, add the bacon and mushrooms back to the pot. At this point LOWER the heat to the lowest option, but keep the pan on the burner. Add the cream and stir. Slice and deseed the tomato. Then dice it into small pieces and add to the pot. The cream will just barely bubble. Stir it all around. At this point add the fresh parsley.

Enjoy a little piece of shrimp heaven.

SXSW

2008-04-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

I called this one south by southwest. Fried chicken with a 7 spice blend coating, orange pepper ancho sauce, potatoes au grautin, and collard greens. I will eventually type in a recipe, but it is just too much typing for me.

Broiled Mahi on Wild Rice with Zesty Hollandaise

2008-04-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

Smoked Squab and Crab Sauce served over brown rice

2008-04-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

It was crazy good, I will go over the recipe sometime...at least the next post has a recipe!

Three Chile Shrimp & Mahi on Sofrito Rice

2008-04-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

A little somethin somethin I was working on. It was crazy good. The shrimp and mahi had a simple rub. 1 part ancho chili powder, 1 part chipotle powder, and 1 part chile negro powder. Added to that was a little garlic powder, salt, butter, lime juice, and parsley.

The sofrito rice, is just brown rice, sofrito (onion, green peppers (in this case jalapenos), tomatoes (fresh 2 romas), and garlic. With a new mexican spice mix.

It was topped with a ranchero salsa, and cilantro. Ranchero salsa is one large reconstituted ancho chile pepper, 1 roma tomato, a slice of onion, one garlic clove, one jalapeno (chopped), a bunch of cilantro, 1tsp of vinegar, 1tsp lime juice, salt, pepper.

The shrimp and mahi were cooked in a mixture of butter and olive oil. The oil is added to temper the butter (so it won't burn), so I can cook it on a higher heat.

Some good eats.

Goodbye Winter

2008-03-27T08:37:00.001-07:00

No more winter days like this...

means no more of this...

or this...

Series: New spice rub -- ancho and chile negro mix...

2008-03-27T08:16:00.001-07:00

Spice Rubbed Mahi on reduced charo beans and cilantro corn sauce and a side of ancho mango sauce, topped with mango relish, and served with an ancho mango and mascarpone stuffed sweet pepper

It was really good.

Smoked rack of pork loin with a spice rub, and covered in an ancho chipotle honey glaze, topped with roasted mango salsa, and served with chicken tamales.

Pretty much the Best Smoked Chicken ever

Chicken Tamales

Some killer chicken Charo Beans

Spice Rubbed Three Sauce Ribeye Steak Topped w/ a Balsamic Reduction Braised Crimini, served w/ Fresh Bread, Creamed Spinach, and Mashed Potatoes

2008-02-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

AKA...The Ribeye meal everyone got to eat.

Ribeye Dinner that no one got to eat...

2008-02-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

Blackened Ahi-Tuna Steaks over Parsnip puree served with Asparagus and Hollandaise Sauce

2008-02-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

This was fantastic. And fairly easy. The hardest part is the hollandaise sauce, but once you've done it once you get a real knack for making it again. I think I have a perfect recipe for it. But I'll let you be the judge.

Tuna:
1/2 pound tuna (in two small steaks)
2 teas freshly ground Ancho chili powder
handful of flat leaf parsley
1 teas chili powder
1/2 teas garlic powder
zest of one lime, chopped fine
juice of one lime
salt/pepper

Rub the tuna with the spices and s/p & put in a dish. Add the lime juice, zest, and parsley. Let that rest while you prep everything else. When everything else is prepped, add 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp EVOO to a hot pan (high heat). Now add the tuna, and sear for 3-4 min on each side. Watch carefully for burning butter. Turn the heat lower if the butter starts to burn.

Parsnips:
2 Parsnips
1/2 cup cream
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp ancho
s/p

Parsnips are my new favorite root veggie. Sort of like a carrot if it were white, mixed with a potato. It's easier to blend than a potato (which is tempermental because of how much starch there is), because it has less starch. Meaning you can even add it to a food processor without it turning into paste (like a potato). Peel the parsnips, and cut them up in chunks and add them to a pot with 2 cups of water. Boil for 10 min. Strain and add them to the FP. Now add 1/2 cup cream, 1 tbsp butter, 1 teas ancho chili powder, 1 teas thyme, and s/p. And now that's ready to go.

Asparagus:
Half bushel of asparagus
1 tbsp butter
1 teas thyme
s/p

Bring water to a boil in a pan. Wash the asparagus and cut off the bottom inch or so and discard. Blanch them in boiling water for ten minutes and no longer. This will have them keep their crunchiness and nice green color. Add to a sauce pan with butter, thyme, and s/p on high heat. Stir around for a couple of minutes and these are done.

Hollandaise Sauce Recipe...it's killer

Plating:
I added the aspargus first starting at the same point and fan them out. Then scooped on the parsnip puree. Put the tuna on top and press it down a little bit. Then pour on the hollandaise sauce. The end. Good food.

Sweet Pepper Rice with Spiced Chicken

2008-02-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

Sauces: Corn Sauce, Sweet Chipotle Sauce
Chicken: New Mexican Spice Variation
Rice: Basmati, sweet pepper, onions, crimini mushrooms, water, chipotle paste, s/p, cilantro...I'll type it all out sometime. But it's from the same series.

Sweet Pepper Cilantro Sauce on Spiced Chicken and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2008-02-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

Sauces: Sweet Pepper Cilantro, Chile Negro and Mango
Chicken: New Mexican Spice Variation Rubbed
Potatoes: Small red potatoes mashed with butter, milk, cilantro, roasted garlic, s/p

Enjoy.

Chipotle Tri-tip on Sweet Potatoes and Creamy Spinach

2008-02-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

Sauces: Corn Sauce, Pasilla Mango Sauce, Sweet Chipotle Sauce

Steak: Rub: with 1 teas New Mexican Spice Rub, 2 teas ancho chile powder, 1/2 teas garlic powder, s/p., 1 teas thyme. Rub on the meat. Sear on high with EVOO on one side until a dark brown sear is visible, flip to the other side and sear for another few minutes. Take out the meat. Add a half cup of water, chipotle paste, 2 teas balsamic vinegar. Add the meat back. Make sure the top sear of the meat is not touched by the water solution. Cook down on medium until there is virtually no more liquid. And remove from the heat.

Sweet Potatoes - cut and boil two large sweet potatoes. Task out and use a mill to rice the potatoes. Now add 1 tbsp butter, 2 teas brown sugar, 2 tbsp milk, 1 teas thyme, salt, pepper, one pinch of cloves, and a grind of nutmeg.

Spinach - 1 pound of fresh spinach (rinsed). Add 1/2 cup milk and spinach to a pot on high heat. Add1 tbsp honey, 1 teas chipotle paste, 1 tbsp butter, salt, and grind some nutmeg on top. Cook until milk is thick and cooked down low.

Add the spinach, then the sweet potatoes, and steak. Puch the steak down into the potatoes. Add corn sauce around all of it. Smother the steak in the sweet chipotle sauce,and use artistic flare to add pasilla sauce.

Roasted Chicken and Potatoes with Ancho Enchilada Sauce

2008-01-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

This one is fairly simple. But you'll love it.

Potatoes:
- 6 small red potatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 teas garlic powder
- 1 teas thyme
- 1 teas onion powder
- s/p heavily

Cut potatoes in small squares, add to a baking dish, and spread them out as best as possible. Add spice mix evenly throughout. Add oil, and get your hands messy. Mix all of the oil and spice with the potatoes to make sure each potatoe slice is covered. Add to the oven at 425 degrees for 45 min, or until roasted to a nice light brown color.

Chicken - 3 chicken thighs. 3 tbsp New Mexican Spice mix, 2 tbsp olive oil. Rub the oil and spice on the chicken. Sear in a pan for 2-3 minutes per side, then add to the 425 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Sauce: Ancho Enchilada Sauce

Spice Rubbed Chicken on Three Sauces with Baked Potatoes and Asparagus

2008-01-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

Sauces: Corn Sauce, Pasilla Pepper Reduction, Cilantro Tomatillo

Spice Rub: New Mexican Variation

Ingredients:
- 3 chicken thighs (boneless & skinless)
- 6 large gourmet asparagus stalks (Costco)
- 6 small red baked potatoes
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 teas thyme
- 1 teas ancho chile powder
- 1 teas garlic powder
- s/p
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp canola oil

Rub the chickens and sear them in a hot pan with canola oil. Sear on both sides. Then add to a 400 degree oven for 15 min. Cut off the bottom inch of asparagus. Peel the bottom half with a peeler to remove the tough fibery/stringy outside skin. Turn heat on high and add to a a sauce pan. Lay them down next to each other, add water until it is half as deep as the asparagus. Add salt. After 3 minutes, turn each asparagus, and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. The water should almost be cooked out. At this point add the butter, thyme, garlic powder, and ancho chili powder. Sear the asparagus on each side for a minute or two, or until the butter turns a light nutty brown. Cut the baked potatoes in half, and lay them on the plate. Add the corn sauce, then the pasilla sauce, and finally the cilantro tomatillo sauce. Criss-Cross the asparagus on top of the chicken and serve.

Three sauces spice rubbed chicken burrito

2008-01-11T02:22:00.000-08:00

I've been really into experimenting with - Latin/Mexican/Southwest/Indian with a bit of French thrown in - cooking lately. I love spicey foods with bold flavors. I used to look down on Latin Food until my eyes were opened at a certain Mexican Restaurant in Las Vegas. I talked with our waiter about it for 30 minutes after our meal, because after Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, Malto Mario's B&B, (both overrated) this place just floored me. Now on to my creation.

The Three Sauces: You can make all three in advance, and store in squeeze bottles.
1. Cilantro and Tomatillo Sauce
2. Roasted Sweet Peppers and Honey Sauce (in burrito)
3. Pasilla and New Mexican Pepper and Mango Chutney Reduction (bottom)

OK. Now we have the sauces down. I saved a lot of the spice for the chicken. I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs...because of flavor. You can use breasts I guess if you're that boring.

For the stuffing you'll need:
- 3 chicken thighs
- 1/2 large yellow onion, cut in thin slices (shoelaces)
- 6 crimini mushrooms
- 3 slices of a good smoked bacon (cubed)
- 3 tbsp of sweet yellow corn

Spice Rub:
1 tbsp ancho chili powder
1 tbsp "straight up" chili powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 teas cumin
1 teas oregano
1 teas garlic powder
1/2 teas cloves
1/2 teas allspice
1/2 teas cinnamon
1 teas salt

Mix the rub and use half on the chicken to litely coat it (sauce will be added later). Roast the chicken in the oven for 20 min, then pull apart in strips. And set aside. Add the bacon to a hot pan and cook until crisp. Add the onions and mushrooms to the bacon and it's yummy fat. Stir until caramelized and yummy. Add salt. (don't want to add salt on mushrooms as soon as they go in or they will give up their water too soon). Now add the other half of the spice rub. It should be smelling good by now. In a separate oan add the chicken, corn, and stir in the roasted sweet pepper sauce. Cook on high heat for about about 2 minutes. Just enough to coat the chicken and reduce the sauce a bit.

Additional stuff: 6 tortillas, uncooked from costco. Cook them and cut two of the edges to make it sort of a square.

Stuff the burrito. Lay the tortilla down and on one end add the mushroom mixture, and then add the chicken and corn mixture. On your first roll make sure it is tight. This will kind of be like rolling Sushi. Roll the rest of the wat and start on the other ones.

Once done lay the pepper and mango sauce down on the plate, add two burritos, and squeeze the cilantro sauce on with some lines, and serve.

Bacon Wrapped Spiced Scallops with Corn Sauce and Red Wine shallot reduction

2008-01-11T02:20:00.000-08:00

These are so good. I love corn sauces. People are always like corn sauce? And I'm like hell ya. And then they get it. When I say parsely I mean Flat leaf Italian.

Sauces: Corn Sauce, Red Wine Sauce

Scallops:
- 3 scallops
- 3 slices of bacon (cut 3/4 in length)
- bunch of fresh parsely
- 2 teas paprika
- 1 teas chili powder
- 1 teas garlic powder
- s/p
- 2 tbsp butter

Wash scallops (some may contain sand on outside) and pat dry. Try to stand them as straight up as possible. Take the bacon and wrap it around the scallop, and tie with string. Mix the spices together, and pat the top and bottom of each scallop. Add parsely to the top and bottom of each. Melt butter in a hot pan and add scallops. Preheat oven to 425. Sear the scallops on each side for 3 min. Add to oven for 7 min. Let rest for a couple of minutes before plating.

Plating - Add the scallops in three. Then add a strip of red wine sauce like spokes coming out of the scallops. Fill in corn sauce inbetween. Enjoy. Serve hot.

NOTES: Depending on how thick your bacon is, you may want to cook your bacon in the oven first to the point that it is still workable, but a little more cooked than raw. That way when the shallots are done cooking you bacon can be more crispy.

I Me Mine

2008-01-11T01:35:00.001-08:00

All of these recipes are mine. If they are like other recipes you like, then you just happen to like good food. I don't believe in cookbooks, and these all came from a combination of time spent in the kitchen, a good nose, a hungry stomach, and that unquenchable thirst we have as being non stop foodies...I cook like this every night. Literally, every night. Why do you think I'm so fat?

Mussels Pasta with Mushrooms and Bacon in a White Wine sauce

2008-01-11T01:24:00.001-08:00

Recipe Coming Soon...

Best Chicken Pot Pie

2008-01-11T01:19:00.000-08:00

Recipe Comning...

Jumbo Shrimp Pasta with Buerre Blanc Blue Cheese Sauce

2008-01-11T01:11:00.000-08:00

Recipe coming...

Ancho Enchilada Sauce

2008-01-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

- 2 ancho chiles (rehydrated)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup sherry
- 1/2 can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cloves roasted garlic
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teas liquid smoke
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 teas thyme
- 1 teas onion powder
- 1 teas ginger powder
- 1 teas allspice
- s/p

Add tomatoes, ancho peppers, roasted garlic to a FP. Puree. Add to chicken stock and sherry in medium high heat in a sauce pan. Add dry ingredients. Stir constantly, reduce by half.

New Mexican Spice Rub Variation

2008-01-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

- 2 tbsp ancho chili powder
- 2 tbsp "straight up" chili powder
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 teas thyme
- 1 teas cumin
- 1 teas allspice
- 1 teas cloves
- 1 teas cinnamon
- 1 teas garlic powder
- 1 teas ginger
- s/p

Red wine and Shallot reduction

2008-01-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

- 1/2 cup red wine (pinot)
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1 sprig of parsely, chopped fine.
- 1 tbsp butter
- s/p

Add shallots and butter to a pan. Sweat the shallots. Add the wine. Reduce by half and add parsely.

Pasilla and New Mexican Pepper and Mango Chutney Reduction

2008-01-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

- three pasilla peppers (dried)
- one new mexican pepper (dried)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp mango chutney
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp butter (optional)
- s/p

Reconstitute the dried peppers in hot water until they are soft again. Then add them to the FP with 1/2 cup of chicken stock and puree. Add them to a pot with the other cup of chicken stock, and stir in. Add the mango chutney and honey, and reduce by half. Stir in butter at the end just after the heat is off.

Roasted Sweet Peppers and Honey Sauce

2008-01-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

- 6 sweet peppers (red, orange, and yellow) - these are small. roasted.
- 1 clove roasted garlic
- 2 teas mustard (GP)
- 2 teas honey
- 1 teas balsamic vinegar
- s/p
- 2 tbsp chicken stock

Roasting Peppers and Garlic:
Cut the peppers in half and add them skin side up to a cookie sheet. Put a little bit of olive oil over the peppers and some s/p. Cut the top off of one whole head of garlic, and olive oil and s/p. Add to the oven for 45 min - an hour on 350-375. Then remove the skins of the peppers, and squeeze the contents of the roasted garlic (they will be soft).

The Sauce: Add the roasted peppers, brown mustard, honey, vinegar, and chicken stock, s/p to the FP, blend, and set aside. You can also add cilantro if you prefer, however I usually use this just to poach some already seasoned meats.

Cilantro and Tomatillo Sauce

2008-01-10T10:11:00.000-08:00

- 4 fairly large tomatillo's
- one handful of cilantro
- 1/2 of a Jalapeno, sliced
- one clove of roasted garlic
- 2 teas balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- one tbsp of onion (one thin slice)
- 1 lime, zested and half of lime squeezed
- s/p

Tomatillo's are bitter, so I boiled them for 15-20 minutes along with the jalapenos. This will also take away some of the heat in the pepper. Once cooked, add them to a the FP. Then remove them and strain out the seeds with a wire strainer, and add back to the FP along with the cilantro, jalapenos, garlic, vinegar, onion, lime zest, lime juice, and s/p. Blend these together, and add the oil slowly while it blends to allow it to emulsify. Put in a condiment squeeze container for easy storage and fancy presentations.

Corn Sauce

2008-01-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Corn Sauce
- 1 can corn (drained), or 2 ears of corn. Whichever
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 teas of thyme
- 1 teas paprika
- 2 cloves roasted garlic
- s/p
- 1/2 cup cream or 3/4 cup milk

Cook corn in butter with the paprika, thyme, and s/p in a pot. Cook for a few minutes, stirring every so often, for a total of 5 minutes. Add to FP with milk or cream (I prefer milk) and blend. Add back to the pot. Lower heat just a tad. Stir in cream. Wait till cream bubbles rises, stir it down repeat a few times until it is a little bit thicker than the consistancy you are looking for (it will thin out once you strain the sauce). Strain sauce in wire mesh strainer, press through, and sit aside in a bowl.

Rules of the Dojo (I mean my kitchen)

2008-01-10T00:29:00.000-08:00

Some things you might want to do or consider.

1. When I say salt I mean Kosher Salt. I use it almost exclusively. You should too.
2. When cooking on the stove top, generally, I cook at an extremely high heat. If you can't stand that, then you know the saying.
3. Buy your spices from oriental or "world" markets, and in their whole form. Go home and grind them when you need them. Grocery stores sell sawdust.
4. When I say mushrooms, I mean every mushroom but the white button mushroom. Get that the hell out of my kitchen. It has no flavor.
5. Don't OVERCOOK your meats. If there's one thing people do wrong, it's this.
6. Don't you dare cook your mussels, clams, squid, and shrimp longer than 4 minutes. Unless of course you like eating rubber.
7. If you're going to grill, don't use propane. That is so grasshopper.
8. Don't call grilling barbeque. It's not. Barbeque is slow cooked.
9. Don't put Parmesan on everything. Especially shellfish.
10. When I say Parmesan, I don't mean the kind in a green can, I mean Parmigiano Reggiano.
11. Use a good extra virgin olive oil.
12. Use good vinegars. Whether they be balsamic or red wine.
13. I don't care if you use "good wine", but don't use "cooking wines".
14. Use basmati or brown rice, because they taste better. Unless of course you're cooking asian food. Which I don't yet. Someday when I'm ambitious enough.
15. Buy good tools. Ricer for mashed potatoes, microplaners for zesting, wire mesh strainers, immersion blenders, Food Processors, spice grinders (coffee), and by all means, use sharp knives.
16. Buy good bacon.
17. Use fresh herbs. They are sold in every grocery store now, so you have no excuse.
17. Use unsalted butter.
18. Never use packets of anything, unless of course you can't get enough of MSG.
19. Finally...Shop at Costco.
20. Many more rules to come....