The Last Supper....

So Wednesday was the last BBQ at 843 Santa Barbara.  It was really a good one!

The owners live upstairs and can't handle the fun and smoke and dust from a charcoal grill.  Finally, after we decided not to move out, they forced my hand and sent me a note saying I have to get rid of the charcoal grill.  So that meant we needed to have one last suaree.

Anyway, I'll be moving out as soon as I find a new place, as I need to grill.  Unfortunately, it looks like my roomies aren't interested in moving. 

Ah yes, the BBQ!  Steaks!  About as many as I've ever done.  9 to be exact.  3 NY Strips from Henry's, and one 16oz ribeye that looked as good as any I've ever seen, and 3 more NY strips, and then two more NY strips.  I got the fire going, then choked it.  By the time I was ready to cook, it had gone cold, so I stoked it, and it figures that only by the time the steaks were done did the fire really get rolling.  Alas!

Juli made a really tasty slaw that didn't last.  We both bought green cabbage 'round St. Paddy's day....suckers for green things are we both. 

Wine was flowing, courtesy of Charles Shaw, his $2 bottles a bit hit with the crew.  Chaewon brought over two Korean friends who were dancing in the living room, and it was quite the little party for a usually quiet Wednesday evening!  All and all, well done!

Tasty January Cajun Pasta!

Well, I made a good one last night. It was even better with a glass of the Cameron Hughes Meritage wine that Juli bought at Costco. Recommended! Probably the best bottle of wine we've opened in our house.

So I love a good cajun pasta recipe. I've been poking away at one for awhile, but it seems I always just end up ordering it at a restaurant and being disappointed. Most recently I had the jambalaya at rock Bottom that was really good!

So it motivated me to give it another go....but jambalaya is riced based, this time, pasta!

Ok, so here's the scoop

2 andouille sausages pre-cooked (I think they all are, but I'm no expert)
Big onion
half head garlic
can tomatoes
can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (small one)
penne pasta
celery
ground oregano, sage, thyme, fennel.
Worchestershire sauce
half a big can of olives, sliced.


--

Chop and sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil
Chop the sausage into thin half coins. Think = pinky width
Dice up the celery leaves from 2 stalks.
Toss sausage and diced leaves into the sautee
Toss in a bit of sage, oregano, a bit more thyme, a bit more cumin, and a bunch of fennel (all to taste of course)
Probably add a bit more oil at this point to get the spices all nice and mingled and juicy
Get this thing going for awhile till the sausage starts getting a bit crispy on the edges


--

Meanwhile, boil up your water and make the penne to be ready for the meal

--

Meanwhile, crack open the can of tomatoes. Crack open the chipotle peppers
Toss the whole tomato can and half the chipotle can into a food processor

(side note: I used half a can and thought it could have been a bit spicier, but it was pretty spicy and it had good balance, so up to you what to do there)

blend up a bit. Don't puree it, I like a little texture

--

Ok, so once the sautee is kickin, add the tomato sauce. Toss in the olives and the 2 chopped up celery sticks.

Cook till the the celery is al dente. I found the sauce to be a bit watery so I tried cookin' it to reduce it, but when I finally served it, and the sauce cooled, it was really thick...so perhaps dont reduce it quite as much as you think

Drain pasta, etc, and put the sauce on top of the pasta (which should be dry, and not oiled).

Enjoy!!

Tonight's foodglop

Just sittin' down here to eat tonight's Foodglop, a little pasta ditty:

I read that adding ginger to pasta tomato dishes adds a nice touch. I haven't tried it yet cuz its too hot.

Anyway:

2 - boca italian sausages, lightly burned
2" of gingerroot, diced
1/4 head of garlic
small onion
One jar Muir Glenn organic cabernet pasta sauce. I always get all these different varieties of pasta sauce so I'm trying to keep track of which ones are good.
one big zuchinni
6 springs of asparagus
can of black olives

diced the onion, ginger, and garlic. Sauteed for 8 mins in what turned out to be too much olive oil. Pulls flavor out of the spices. The recipe called for pureeing the sauce when done, might have added flavor but too much work

Tossed the pasta sauce on top, then tossed in the veggies
quick browned the sausage, coined them, and tossed in the mix
Added the sliced olives
cook till zuch's were tender
had some whole wheat organic pasta, cooked al dente, which actually turned out to be al dente. I kinda like my noodles over dente, but I'm trying to be authentic. Fettuchini.

Anyway, I think I used too much oil cuz it didn't totally mix up with the sauce, and spitted off the pan.

I can taste the ginger but I'm not overly impressed with it....although it is tasty, it doesn't seem like it added a whole lot. I can taste. Perhaps some pickled ginger, or maybe I should have beat it up in my new mortar which i don't use enough...

Oh yeah I tossed some dried chili's in it, and it didn't seem to add any spice.

All in all, tasty, and maybe I'd try it again to make it more gingery which I think would work really well. Anyone have any tips for getting the flavor out of ginger...?

Update: I just called the taste I was chasing the Ginger Throb, but I need to work on it to get a better throb...

Box-O-Wine is good!

So I have been harping Box-O-Wine and it seems like with Hall-o-Ween in the air with Jack-O-Lanerns and the like, now is a good time to talk it up. I like a nice glass of wine with dinner, or even without. Problem is, I am too cheap to pop a whole bottle of wine for myself - inevitably I wont' finish it. So that has left me in the past drinking the $2 Charles Wilson wine, better known in these parts as Two Buck Chuck. It isn't half bad, and better than the price indicates. So then I wondered if these box wines are better. The nice thing about a box, is that once you open it, you have a month to polish it off. So a glass here, a glass there, and eventually you'll get thru the 3L (4 bottles) of wine. But it has a bad rap. Lets stop that. I have had it, and it can be very good. I found some recommendations, and apparently, most of the 3L boxes are pretty good stuff. The price is right, since they save so much on the bottles and shipping. So pick one up and try it out. Even my parents, ever the wine fanatics, keep a Box-O of Chardonnay in the fridge. - Ryan

Links that talk about box of wine:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/210264_wine02.html
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/living/15757006.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/30/WIGQRAI8FM1.DTL&type=wine
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/06/WIGNKAL4B31.DTL&type=wine
http://www.sfgate.com/wine/bargainwines/archive/

Fourth of July Food Glopping

The pix are from July 4th. Dave was in San Diego and we made an 8# Pork Shoulder and a 10# Beef Brisket. Charcoal was started @ noon, with an estimated time of eatage of around 8. Timed to coincide with the BBQ we were having for the fireworks (at 9!).


Yusum says Beef Looks Yummy! Poor Yusum, she doesn't eat pork











Dave & Ry: The Chefs at Sunset! 

The Gloppers

Ryan & Dave, no doubt scheming up some sort of Glop. 

Glop #Fishola

2) Dave's "Fishing for Curry" fish marinade
This recipe I am copying verbatim! from what Dave wrote down

Ingredients (In Dave's own measuring style)

1 Heaping tablespoon of red Thai Kitchen curry paste
1 Tsp honey
1 Tbsp apricot marmalade (Jam!)
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 1/2 splashes of diet coke (don't want too much shugah!!)
Dashes of Rosemary

Directions:

A) Marinade for 1-2 hours
B) Grill!

Toyi's Tallarines

A contribution from Toyi, one of Dave's secret admirers...

1) Toyi's Tallarines ~ Rosie's take on a favorite Peruvian dish

Ingredient List

1.5 lbs of bottom round - thin cut (NOTE; the meat is what makes the recipe. This cut is very specific to the success of the flavor)
1/2 white onion in julienne cut
1/2 bunch of cilantro chopped
2 Jalapeños
1 Tomato julienne cut
Sesame Oil
Kikoman Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade
Fresh Ground Pepper (ground thick)
Thai Kitchen Stir Fry Rice Noodles

Directions:

Cut meat into thin strips
Sautee meat on low-med heat for a few minutes until brown. Drain at least half of the meat juice.
Add in onion, chopped cilantro and jalapeños - Sautee a little longer
Next add in 2 Tbsp (approx) of sesame oil (Since this has strong taste be careful)
Lastly add in Teriyaki sauce (approx 1/3 cup)

On a separate pot boil water for the noodles. Add a little bit of salt to the water.
When the water begins to boil add in the noodles. You may now turn off the stove and let the noodles soak in the boiling water for 3 or 4 minutes.
The key is not to let the noodles cook completely as they will be added to the meat sauté.
Once the noodle is 80 -90% ready drain noodle and rinse in cold water.

Add noodles to sauté pan and mix with the meat .
Add a little more sesame oil and teriyaki so that the noodles sauté for 3 minutes with the sauce and they absorb all the flavor.

When all is done add in some fresh chopped cilantro and fresh ground pepper.
Serve!

Welcome to our Food Glop!

Glop is the new word for Food Blog. It doesn't really stand for anything, it just happens to be what Dave calls all of his extraordinary creations.

We plan to post all our creations on our Food Glop spot. While we're at it, we'll add beer reviews, wine reviews, and whatever else we think up.

Enjoy!

Dave & Ryan