Under flavored or over priced?

At $17 a bottle, this wine struggles to demonstrate value. Spend $10
more or $8 less to hit the sweet spot.

Tuscan Beans

As a child I used to go to Roger Kaiser's basketball camp. He was an ex Georgia Tech basketball coach, and for 4 consecutive summers I went off to the North Georgia Mountains to learn the fine art of the left handed layup. I have fond memories of the camp, oddly enough none of them have to do a thing really with basketball. What I enjoyed most was fishing. Followed by the pig roast we would have between sessions (for some reason I went multiple sessions (perhaps my mom can explain this )). Last on the list of fond memories was being forced to play baseball. I was terrible at it, hated every second, and the combination was a bad feedback loop indeed. From a culinary perspective there were not many inflection points, minus of course the pig roast. Banana popsicles were right on up there too. I remember my father doing an inspection of the kitchen just before he left and noticed the can opener needed cleaning. I am sure they jumped right on that.

There was one valuable lesson I learned on the bball court that has found its way into many aspects of life. Roger told me once if I was having a difficult time defending my man, I should punch him in the gut, attempting to make it look accidental to the refs, but making sure the opposing player saw the entire play. Of course I would be fouled, the defender would get to take a few free throw shots but then later on I could use the same motions to "fake" a punch to the gut. The defender would hesitate (assumably long enough for me to steel the ball) and since I did nothing would not be fouled. Science has a term for this, Pavlovian Response. If you condition someone that a sequence of events will happen (like making the motions you will punch someone in the gut) the subject will respond. Ah now to the meat of the matter, or really lack there of.

Beans at best are boring. But if your usually season your meat with a bit of sage and then subsequently add some sage and fat (olive olive) to beans your brain thinks your are indeed eating some savory meat, when indeed you are eating beans.

By the way there is a world of difference in canned beans and rehydrating dried beans. Go the dried beans route.

1 bag dried Cannalini beans

1-2 tbl dried sage

olive oil

water

Plank's Constant Seafood (.87, .9, .662)

There is all this marketing hype around cedar plank salmon. I've done it for years, and one thing is for certain. It ain't the plank that gives the salmon its flavor. Its how you cook it. Don't believe me, next time microwave your haute cuisine CPS, and tell me how it is. The best thing about the plank is that it is a neat way to put the food on the grill and if you are really adventuresome then just put the plank on your similarly shaped plate.

Basically I added some oil to an old cherry board, plopped on the salmon, and then added salt, pepper and orange zest. Oh yeah because my plank was longer than necessary, I added some shrimp tossed in Wegman's basting oil. Next time don't do the orange zest, but perhaps use some lemon slices. The orange zest turns bone like under heat. I might even add a pepper next time to get some veggies on the entire dish.

Put the thick part of the salmon facing outward so that it gets more heat.

The pizza oven does a marvelous job with this, lots of flame means short cooking time, and lots of flavor. Best salmon I have ever had.

Merlot (.78)

Yet another number to describe the state if something. The scale is

value. Anything over a .7 I would consider purchasing again. Basically

taste minus some factor for cost.

Like every profession, wine scoring has several scales. I have to laugh when we as humans treat something so subjective as wine tasting like it was a science. Finally my liberal thoughts were vindicated by the Wall Street Journal. Click here soon, because as rumor has it Mr. Murdoch will hide his syndication behind the great google wall, and make you pay for the right to read the opinions of others. If you can't get to the article, thats ok, because all it really says is that wine scoring is less scientific than global warming analysis, but with a much greater impact.

Chicken Soup (.9, .9, .9)

• 

• In the stock pot add just enough olive oil to brown 4 chicken thighs...about 1/4 inch
• Add thighs, skin side down first...generously season skinless side with Lantana
• After skin side is nice and brown, turn and brown other side
• Then add about 3 chopped carrots and 3 cloves of garlic and brown that all a bit
• Add one can of beans and one of italian stewed tomatoes
• Fill pot with water until 3/4 full
• Simmer for about an hour
• Take out chicken and cool
• If you have time, you can cool the soup too and skim off any fat ...but not a biggie
• When chicken is cool, take of bone and skin
• Add chicken back to soup and bring to a boil
• Add about 1/2 pound of pasta and cook for about 20 min or more
• Eat and enjoy

First Pizza (.9, .9, .9)

My wife gave me a wood fired pizza oven for our anniversary. It is a win/win gift. Long before the oven is actually finished, I had to try it out. I cooked a small pizza for my friend and pizza oven construction engineer. His favorite was black olive, pineapple and sun dried tomato. Liz is the chef and shouting out the times and telling when its done. I am the sous chef burning the product. The fire was a bit hot, but the pizza was .9.

Soon as I have more experience with the oven, I will post the details.

Ciao

Porter Brisket (.8, .8, .9)

I have desperately been trying to find a method of cooking brisket that renders something memorable. I am getting close. Almost all other attempts have been failures. Again, I used Bon Appetite (Oct 2009) as a guide. If you want beautiful pictures go there.
The recipe calls to make the dish a day ahead, chill then reheat to serve. We had it for dinner the night of making it and it was very good (.8, .8, .9) and sliced the leftovers to chill in the juices. I look forward to the left overs tomorrow.

2 tbl salt
2 tbl pepper
1 tbl dry mustard
1 tbl sage

4 lbs Brisket

2 bottles porter beer
2 cups beef broth
2 onions
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbl brown sugar.

Carrots
Mushrooms


Combine the first 4 ingredients and rub onto meat. Brown meat in a bit of oil on stove. To this add beer, stock, onions, raisins and brown sugar. Cover and place in oven for 3 hours at 275, turning over once ever hour. Add carrots and mushrooms, cook for another hour. The last 30 minutes uncover to help evaporate the juices.

slice thinly, plate with carrots and mushrooms. add lots of juice over the meat.

Pizza Sauce Contest

I'm looking for a good home made pizza sauce. If anyone has a family recipe that is simple and good, let me know. Prizes will be awarded to the winner.

Braised Short Ribs (.9, .9, .9)

A perfect meal. Basically browned ribs then braised in a combination of vegetables, wine and herbs. At the end, the braising liquid is blended into a gravy. I like the technique, as it delivers both on taste and texture.

I got the idea from Bon Appetite, but simplified the process and ingredients to what I had.

I also served this with kale that had been boiled in salt water until tender, then sautéed in capers and garlic. The same I guess could be done with any green.

Garlic smashed taters was the starch of choice.

6 lbs of short ribs

1 tbl salt

1 tbl pepper

1 tbl sage

.25 cup flour

.5 cup olive oil

3 cups chopped onions

2 cups shredded carrots

8 smashed garlic cloves

1 cup tomato puree

2 cups red wine

2 cups meat broth

Sprinkle ribs with salt/pepper/sage mixture.

Brown ribs. To this add onion and carrots. Saute. Add garlic, saute. Add rest of ingredients, and cook in oven at 350 for 3 hrs with top on.

Remove ribs, use immersion blender to puree sauce.

What was I Thinking

When posting my favorite restaurants, I forgot all about Mary Macs Tea Room in Atlanta. I grew up there during college. Perhaps the best food in the world. Like all classic southern restaurants, you write down your own order, and the waitress comes and picks it up. After a particularly hard test at Tech, my room mate and I would go down to Mary Macs and enjoy a few beers and a great dinner.

The picture is Cindy's 4 piece chicken dinner, with butter beans and collards. Even the vegetables at Mary Macs are not vegetarian. Pork goes in most everything, even the cornbread to soak up the pot licker (water left over from cooking greens) has fried pork in it.

I stuck with a traditional broiled trout. Years ago they served it with the head on and it was actually much better then.

Mrs Lupo (the previous owner) has passed but I remember her checking us out as we paid, and somehow she knew we were students and sometimes gave us a care package of some cornbread to take back home.

http://marymacs.com/

Gambertti e Polenta

Say Ciao to Shrimp and Grits.

Saute 1/2 handfull of diced pancetta until crisp. Remove and let drain on a paper towel. To the same pan add chopped vegetables of your liking, such as mushrooms, diced purple onions, and diced bell pepper. Sorry no measurements just wing it, we aren't going to the moon here. Saute the vegetables until brown, perhaps adding some oil. Meanwhile boil 4 cups of water and a bit of salt. Add in 1/2 cup of instant polenta and stir while adding, otherwise it will clump. While stirring add peeled shrimp to the sauteing vegetables (God gave you two hands for this reason). The polenta will thicken to oatmeal like consistency.

When done, plate polenta, and on top of this add the vegetable/shrimp mixture. Then add the pancetta and few slices of green onion tops.

Left Overs

Just before that bag of organic carrots goes bad, and your heirloom potatoes you bought a month ago begin to grow vines from their drawer, put those and any left over almost over the hill vegetable you have in your vegie bin of the fridge with a large inexpensive roast from the market in a pan on low in the oven for a 4 or 5 hours on 250. Add a bottle of red wine and some fresh rosemary and or thyme. The results of this slow roasting method will not only make your house smell great all day, but allows for a hassle free one dish meal for dinner.

Grilled Pizza (.8, .8, .9)

There are lots of great reasons to make your own pizza, saving time is not one of them. If you want a quick pizza, call Pizza Hut. If you want a good pizza make your own.

The best think about making your own pizzas is that you can customize each one to the owners particular likes and dislikes. I know people who don't like pork, hard to believe, and sad for sure, but life goes on.

The secrets to a good pizza are

1) Crust 2) Toppings 3) Sauce

There are a many recipes for crust on the web. I won't share mine. Its in my will and you will just have to wait. Grocery store brands are usually better than Pizza Hut.

Now for a few words regarding toppings. The secret to great pizza is to have a hot grill or if you must an oven. The hotter, the better. Given thats its very hot, the toppings really don't have time to cook properly, and guess what caramelized onions take longer than pepperoni to cook. Also if you want your mushrooms to taste like peppers cook them all together. Heck why not just go buy pureed baby food for a topping. Nope you have to cook each topping separately. I like caramelized onions (onions sauteed in a bit of fat for about an hour on low heat), some italian pork, and of course some sauce.

Once all the toppings are prepared (even a day ahead) get the grill ready. Nothing special here, just turn it on full blast for about 20 minutes with the top down. That not only cleans your last burger mess on the grill, but get everything ready for perfect crust. If you have a large enough grill just heat one side.

Roll out your dough into individual sizes. Place a pie or two on the grill, and then brush the top side with some infused olive oil. Close the door. In about 30 seconds the bottom will begin to char and you turn it and repeat the process. The pie will bubble but don't worry, and don't worry it won't fall through the grates. Move the cooked pies off of direct heat.

Once they are all cooked, put a small amount of sauce on one side, and distribute the toppings how every you like. Put the top down, and go set the table, clean up your mess, and have a glass of wine. That should take about 10 minutes.

Remove the pies from the grill, slice and serve with a fresh salad.

Tuscan Bread Soup (.8, .8, .9)

There are many ways to thicken soups and stews. My uncle used to use instant mash potatoes. The french use a roux, in this recipe stale bread is used. It all works. This is basically minestrone (aka vegetable soup) thickened with stale bread, and then topped with sautéed bread and fried prosciutto. Uh its the topping that makes the soup.

1 large onion diced

1 fennel bulb diced

3 carrots diced

1/2 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves

2 cans plum tomatoes

1 large handful of escarole or other greens

1 can white beans

1/2 red wine

4 cups Italian bread in 1 inch cubes

1 slice prosciutto

2 tbl herb and garlic infused olive oil

Saute the Italian trinity of carrots, onion and fennel until done. Add garlic and 3 cups of bread saute a bit more. Add tomatoes, wine, beans and greens. Don't worry the bread will dissolve. Cook on low until the bread dissolves about 2 hrs. At the end saute thin strips of prosciutto (think small bacon slices) remove from pan and the saute in flavored olive oil. Top soup with bread and prosciutto.

Summer at Last

Well Yankee-ville has seen 9 days without rain. Of course fall is near, so that means cool mornings. I am not complaining, but I sometimes miss the summer. Ok enough whining.

A quick dinner of gazpacho, grilled shrimp, and pasta salad provided the perfect quick meal to celebrate the good weather.

Gazpacho Recipe

Throw a bunch of summer veggies (tomato, pepper, onion, cuke..) into a food processor, add some v8, hot sauce, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Blend, chill and pour into a small dish. Something between a cold soup and salsa.

Grilled Shrimp

Marinate the largest shrimp you can find in olive oil, garlic and herbs. Grill quickly and serve.

Yankee Mint Julep (.9, .9, .9)

I am sure this recipe will offend the mint julep purest out there. Get over it. The substitution of sparkling water for the traditional still water of the creek from which the mint came, is not unlike the automobile taking the place of horse and carriage. The secrets to a mint julep are presentation (silver straws and glasses), good bourbon, and fresh mint to tickle your nose.

Instead of a recipe, here is a video that even a yankee can follow.

Balsamic Wings for 20 (.7, .8, .85)

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Italian Seasoning

1 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 Cup Honey

100 Chicken Wings (wings plus legs)

2 Aluminum Roasting Pans

Kosher Salt

If the Wings and Drum Sticks are attached, bisect with a good knife. Arrange wings and legs in both pans to equalize the amounts. Sprinkle each with Italian Seasoning, Salt and olive oil mix with your hands. Wash your hands. Place each pan on the grill, away from direct heat. Cook at a low temperature (250) for about 1.5 hrs, or until the wings are cooked. While cooking combine vinegar and honey, heat to incorporate. When wings are done coat each one in vinegar mixture and grill on direct heat to crisp and get grill marks. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt before serving.

World's Best Banana Bread (.9, .9, .9)

A unanimous decision among voters rendered this recipe the "World's Best"

Ingredients

• 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup canola oil
  
• 1 cup white sugar
  
• 1 TBSP packed brown sugar
  
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon. mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla with mashed bananas. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add oil and mix. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 min (cottage oven). Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Fish tacos (.9, .9, .9)

So keep reading for a few more sentences. There is something about the term Fish Tacos that either excites you or turns you off. Probably if you have never had them you are wondering, hmmm that doesn't sound right. Turns out if you like fried fish, a bit a salad, guacamole, and spicy mayo, this is the quick dinner for you.

I first had them years ago on a business trip. It was a local specialty in Texas. (I don't buy the urban legend that they originated in California). Now days they are quite common on menus. Each time I see them and I trust the restaurant, I give them a whirl. They come in two basic styles, fried fish or grilled fish. Its tough to not like fried food, so I thought I would try the fried style first.

I thought I would make the tortilla shells, but after looking at the type I could buy, I decided to buy some small corn tortilla. I think next time I will make some small thin pizza shells and grill them for the tacos.

To this add the Chipotle Mayonnaise, fried fish, and guacamole. I guess you can make a taco out of whatever you like. Its all about having the freshest stuff available.

Chipotle Mayonnaise

In another life I used to never buy Mayo. Its easy to make and its easy to add stuff to make new flavors. Turns out you can add flavor to store bought mayo with little compromise.

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

2 chipotle peppers chopped fine, with sauce

salt/pepper to taste

Add it all, and keep refrigerated. So much better than plain old Mayo.

K8's Guacamole (.9, .9, .9)

I've never really cared too much for avocados, but I do like guacamole. Here is the best I've ever had, and its all fresh

2 avocados

2 tomatoes

1/2 lime

1/2 large sweet onion

taco/fajita seasoning pack

salt/pepper

Mash the meat of 2 avocados with a fork or potato masher. Core the tomatoes, and roughly chop the outer meat with skin. Chop 1/2 large yellow onion. Mix all and add a pinch of seasoning pack. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime, and salt/pepper to taste. The freshness of all the ingredients plus the coarseness of the chopping dictates the success.

Beer Battered Fish Fry (.85, .85, .9)

I needed finger sized portions of fish for fish tacos. This worked great. The batter was perfect. I am not sure why fried food gets a bad reputation. You ingest less oil than say salad dressing, and what's bad about a bit of flour and beer. Heck this is health food.

3 Tilapia Fillets

1 cup flour

1 can of beer

salt/pepper

Peanut Oil

Slice each Tilapia filet into 4 long slices, cut each slice in half. Add beer to flour and stir to incorporate. Stir in a dash of salt/pepper. Heat oil to 350. Put all the fish in the batter pull out a few battered slices and let drip over pan containing batter. Place carefully in hot oil. Remove when golden and place on towel covered plate. Continue until all fish is done. It will remain crispy for hours.

Margaritas (.9, .5, .7)

My therapist suggested to get over my previous cooking disaster, I should drink Margaritas. Prozac, in a liquid form. For four people:

2 cups tequila

1 cup triple sec

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

dash of sugar

Pour all ingredients in a mason jar, shake vigorously and place in fridge. When ready pour over shaved iced. Potent.

Chicken Flambe

Yet another cooking disaster. I have signed up for remedial grilling school. This was to be beer can chicken. Being a bit nervous about the age of the old hen we wanted to make sure the internal temperature was well above the point at which Sam the Salmonella finds comfort. I violated Bubba's explicit instructions and put the hen on direct heat. I was distracted for a few minutes and upon return the fog had rolled in from the bay. Wait... no...thats not fog, its smoke, opening the grill, I was welcomed by a flaming chicken. The garden hose extinguished the flames, and a recheck of the internal temperature indicated it was not done. Perfect black on the outside, and red in the middle.

Note to self, there is absolutely no reason not to buy a roaster chicken. You can't do it as good at home.

The Gentleman's Companion

When I was in college my father introduced me to a set of Books by Charles H. Baker Jr. The Gentleman's Companion is a two volume set first published in 1939. From the inscription my father received his first set in 1965. The books detail the travels of Mr. Baker around the world, and his diary of food and drink he consumed while traveling one quarter of a million miles in the 20s.

Volume I Being an Exotic Cookery Book, and Volume II Being an Exotic Drinking Book. Apparently only a small fraction of the recipes he jotted down are actually in the set. Its not so much the recipes, or the fantasy life he details that has always attracted me, it the style of writing. Just as you can spot a Hemingway sentence, a Baker paragraph speaks of a writing style not with us any longer. For example the beginning paragraph of chapter 1, book 2.

Being a Brief Dissertation on This Pleasant Subject in General; why Too Many Cocktails Fail through Over-Sweetness & Plurality of Ingredients; why Hot Drinks must be Hot and Cold Drinks Cold; & finally a Second Invitation to The Blender.

I love people who take liberties with punctuation, capitalization and writing style. But looking through all that, its a mood that a simple sentence can put you in. An art I never learned, but I recognize it.

My father took notes in the book, which is great, he commented on food and drink he tried and the results. In the back is a concoction of his own.

2 parts english gin

1 part light rum

1 part tequila

1 part lime juice

Sugar to taste (prefer bar syrup)

Blend with shaved ice and serve in ???? (can't read his writing)

Name: Sea Island Lunch Cocktail. Discovered by accident trying to find a good use for Tequila in 1968 when entertaining those Maconites present in the summer colony. It is truly a 4 star cocktail.

After my father's death, I took the another set of books from the library at home, which was similar to this set, but only about the adventures in South America. Sorry mom if you were looking for that wild boar recipe or the Brazilian punch ingredients.

Cheers

Me

Culinary Inflection Point

I am not much of a wine drinker, or rather more accurately, I am not a wine connoisseur. All wine was binary, either it was drinkable or not. Spending more money for the same category was a waste of money. There seems to be a glut of drinkable wines less than $10 a bottle. I am sure I have offended many who think differently, much like anyone who says spending money on better food is a waste since McDonalds has a dollar menu.

We received a bottle of wine for our wedding from some friends. We uncorked it last night since our steaks on the grill menu seemed to need some excitement. After the first sip, it was clear there was a new wine category emerging. Something beyond drinkable, something flirting with "holy crap, that is really good". Indeed the bottle of Grgich Hills 1997 Cabernet was incredible. We began savoring each sip, and the wine was the highlight of the meal, perhaps even the highlight of the day. I can see why people buy expensive wine and hold them for special occasions.

There might be some questions from readers looking at the Biscotti in the picture. The Biscotti dunked in wine after dinner is an incredible tradition I have picked up from my wife's family. Thanks to Noni for the wonderful Biscotti!

iPhone Centric Cuisine

So I was ready to count my fortune by creating an app for my iPhone that allowed me to take a picture of some meal and automatically post it to my blog. Great idea. Unfortunately many others had similar thoughts, that's how I have been posting my pictures to this blog. Being the consummate engineer, I am a lazy sun of gun and look for the absolute easiest way to get the most value. No big camera budget here. Just point and click with the phone and email it to a special email, and bang it appears here.

This recipe is on the cooking horizon. Steak and coffee sound like a great combo.

Note to self

No particular recipe here, just some tips to remind myself something that worked.

In the past week we experienced perhaps the best marinade for steak Kabobs. The steak was an old frozen slice of tenderloin from at least last summer. We don't peak in the freezer much and I suspect that helps keeps the meat from drying out or whatever freezer burn is. Anyway once the meat was thawed, it was sliced into 1 inch cubes and then left to marinade for about an hour in Marzetti's Italian salad dressing and Montreal steak seasoning. Skewer with your favorite vegies, and go burn them for 20 minutes on the grill. Oddly enough Marzetti's is owned by the same people who own Sister Shubert's rolls. Both fine products.

I've done pulled pork a number of ways, and now my favorite recipe.

Place one pork shoulder in a turkey basting pan. Cover with brown sugar and salt. Pour one beer, and one real coke (no diet). Put pan on indirect heat on the grill for 8 hrs, or in oven very low. The low and slow method brings out the best. Make sure you capture some of the drippings to spread over the pulled pork.

30 minute meals

With the possible exception of a bowl of grape nuts, not many meals take longer to eat, than to prepare. I truly am in favor of slow food, and look for meals that take longer to savour than to prepare.  This is one of my favorites, no special sauces.

On your mark get set GO!

Remove skirt steak from packaging and liberally season with salt and pepper.

Turn on grill to hot or grilling pan on stove.

Place a sweet potato in the microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Slice a head of Romaine lettuce in half (longitudinally), season top with salt/pepper, garlic salt...olive oil, whatever

When the microwave dings, take potato out (it will be hot)

Put steak and romaine on grill.

Slice Potato into think slices (1 inch), put in a saute pan with some butter, on medium heat.

Flip steaks, and romaine and potatoes...

Serve when done.

Stop! pour a glass of wine and savour all the flavors for a few minutes longer than it took to cook.

Vidalia Onion Pie (9, 9, 9)

3 cups thinly sliced Vidalia onions (about 3)

3 tablespoons butter

9 inch pie shell

.5 cup milk

1.5 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon cajun seasoning (0r herbs of your choice)

2 eggs beaten

3 tablespoons flour

4 slices crisply cooked and crumbled

I am sure any large sweet onion will do.  My father thought Vidalia Onions were a marketing gimmick. This is a fantastic dish that serves and looks sort of like a quiche, but much better.

Cook pie shell according to direction (hint it really helps to spray pie pan first).

Saute onions in butter until lightly brown. It really makes a big difference if you cook these slowly, like 30 to 45 minutes. I think this extracts more of the natural sweetness of the onion, as compared to cooking them quickly under higher heat. So low and slow is the phrase for the day when cooking the onions. Combine the milk, eggs, sour cream, and flour. Spoon onions into pie shell, pour the combined liquids over the onions. Garnish with bacon. Cook for 30 minutes  at 325. The last few minutes switch to the broiler to brown the top. Cut in small slices to accompany dish.

You can substitute lactose free milk and soy sour cream for the traditional ingredients w/o any lack of flavor or texture.

Negroni (9, ?, 8)

What can I say. Its summer and time to enjoy an odd cocktail. For a complete and better written history of this drink go here. Either you like them or not.  I like the bitterness thus a 9 on the taste scale, I am not sure how to judge an over the rocks cocktail on texture, so I leave that blank, and as far as presentation, its like a sunset over the water on a summer evening.

Beef Brisket (4, 3, 5)

Not all trips to the kitchen result in better than average dishes. Given there are a large but finite number of recipes in the world, removing one as being graded below average is just doing my part in culinary research. Bad results are just as important as good results. Henceforth I will grade each dish in 3 categories. Taste, Texture, and Presentations. Each category has a score between 0 and 9. (0 being poor and 9 being superb).

The general recipe is as follows

Marinade beef brisket in your favorite rubs and oils overnight

Grill 5 min per side

Cook in oven for 2.5 hrs at 275.

Slice and serve on buns with your favorite condiment (mine was a reduction of bbq sauce and beer)

A bit recipe research tells me 2.5 hrs is too short, I extended my second attempt to 5 hrs, but with even more dismal results.  The original recipe which I followed exactly can be found here.

Iced Latte

Now that we are flirting with summer, its time to discuss iced libations. I grew up with iced coffee. My father used to save the left over coffee from the morning in the fridge (but not before he added sugar). With the advent of on demand espresso, a coffee drink is only a button press away. 

Ingredients

2 shots of espresso

1/2 cup milk 

sugar syrup to taste

ice to fill up glass.

So lets see here. I figure a shot of espresso is about 15 cents to make when you buy beans in bulk, and 1/2 cup milk is about 25 cents. Sugar is about 10 cents and electricity and ice I will put at 5 cents.  So thats about 30 + 25 + 10 + 5 = 70 cents. Heck lets round it up to a dollar.  A similar sized drink at Starbucks is about $4, so in rough terms I am saving $3  for each one I make. Buying a $ 900 automatic espresso machine will pay for itself in 300 drinks, less than a year. Who knew spending money was so cost frugal.

Beef Stroganoff Lactose Free!

I can't take full credit for this, its basically from the food network, hence the nice picture.

This recipe is a testament to how good things are when each layer is cooked separately. Most stroganoffs have the meat cooked in with the sauce, thus all the tastes get blended. In this version the meat is cooked separately and thus presents layers of flavor. Don't forget the cognac and the dijon mustard.

1 Package of egg noodles

2 lbs of beef short ribs

basting oil or some herbed oil or garlic

salt 

pepper

2 cups mushrooms sliced

olive oil

1 cup onions sliced

1/4 cup margarine/butter

1/4 cup flour

lactose free milk

splash of cognac

1 tbs dijon mustard

chopped fresh parsley

sliced green onions

Rub beef short ribs with some sort of herbed oil or lots of chopped garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle ribs with plenty of salt. Bake at 250 for 3 hrs. 

While this cooking, saute mushrooms and onions in a bit of olive oil until tender, 5 minutes or so. Add cognac and cook a few more minutes. Add in butter/margarine, flour, whisk to combine. Add enough milk to create a thick sauce, perhaps a cup or more. Add in dijon mustard. Salt/Pepper to taste. This is the sauce part.

Once meat has cooked and has shrunk from the bone, slice away from the bone.

Cook noodles, butter to prevent from sticking. Plate noodles, plenty of sauce and a few slices of the beef. Top with parsley and onions

Lasagna Bolognese Lactose Free!

Olive Oil

2 Carrots finely chopped

1 Onion finely chopped

3 lbs. ground beef/pork/veal mixture

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup red wine

16 oz tomato sauce

butter/margarine

fresh lasagna sheets

1 cup mushrooms sliced

2 1/4 cup lactose free milk

salt

pepper

Saute mushrooms in olive oil until just turning dark brown, 5-10 minutes. Set aside for Béchamel sauce. In the same pan add a bit more olive oil and saute carrots and onions until onions are clear, about 5 minutes. To this add meat, cook until brown and crumbly. Add wine and cook until evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

While this is cooking start the béchamel sauce by melting 1/4 cup margarine in a sauce pan. Once melted whisk in 1/4 cup flour until well combined. To this add all the milk and whisk until thickens and is at a slow boil. Stir in mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste. Cook at a low temperature for another 10 minutes. 

Assemble Lasagna in a buttered dish. Order from top to bottom pasta, meat, Béchamel for as many layers as you have room, ending with a layer of Béchamel.  Cook at 375 for 30 minutes.