Proper Blokes' Sausage Fusilli

This is a great Jamie Oliver recipe we've made a few times with outstanding results. This is classic Jamie, simple and gutsy, with a good bit of spice thrown in. No precision to it at all and it only takes 20 minutes or so to throw together.

We had it with a superior Ruffino Chianti Superiore 2007. We're familiar with the Ruffino label, and have been quite happy with it in the past, but this was a cut above any we've tried. It has some nice, bold fruit running through it to counteract the spiciness of the pasta. Couldn't have been happier with this meal!

2.5 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 red chili, dried, crushed
olive oil
1 ⅓ pounds sausages, Italian and/or Cumberland (good-quality)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
⅓ cup white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
500 g fusilli pasta, dried
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
15 g butter, (a few knobs)
½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
½ cup parsley, fresh, leaves only, chopped

Bash up the fennel seeds and chilies in a pestle and mortar (or spice grinder) until coarsely crushed, then put to one side. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins and put into the pan, really breaking it up using the back of the spoon. Fry for a few minutes until the meat starts to color and the fat has rendered slightly, then crush it once more so that it resembles coarse mince (ground meat). Add the bashed-up fennel seeds and cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until the meat becomes crisp, golden brown and slightly caramelized.

Stir in your oregano, then pour in the white wine and allow it to reduce by half. Add the lemon zest and juice. Turn the heat down to low while you cook your pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. When the pasta has cooked to al dente, drain it in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water, and toss the pasta in with your sausage mixture. Coat the pasta in all the lovely flavors then add the butter, Parmesan and chopped parsley, and a few spoonfuls of the reserved pasta cooking water. This will give you a lovely loose, shiny sauce. Taste and check for seasoning, then serve immediately with a little extra grated Parmesan over the top.

Black Pepper and Molasses-Glazed Strip Steaks with Roasted Shallots

This was a simple, delicious steak recipe. The glaze is full of flavor, and amazingly, pairs well with A&W Root Beer. The shallots were a bit of an afterthought, and work out well; they became wonderfully soft and sweet from their time in the oven.

This is another one of those sauces you'd want to just take a spoon to, but don't! It would likely kill you from the caloric content.

GLAZE
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
¼ cup dark rum
1 cup molasses
3 cups orange juice
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt

STEAKS
2 x 6 ounce beef strip steaks
1 tablespoon olive oil
kosher salt

ROASTED SHALLOTS
8 shallot, peeled, head and tail end removed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper

GLAZE
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until almost smoking, and cook the onion until soft, 4 to 5 minutes, Add the garlic and ginger root and cook an additional 2 minutes, Add the rum and reduce until completely dry. Add the molasses, orange juice, and pepper, season with salt, and cook until reduced to 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool at room temperature, May be refrigerated, covered for 1 day; use at room temperature. Makes about 1 cup.

STRIP STEAKS
Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium. Brush the meat with olive oil and season with salt. Grill until well seared on one side, 4 minutes, turn over, and baste with the Molasses Glaze. Continue grilling for 3 minutes, turn over, baste, and grill for 2 to 3 minutes more (a total of 10 minutes), for medium rare. Let rest for 10 minutes; then slice into 8 steaks.

SHALLOTS
Heat the oil in a double-bottomed pan and place the shallots inside. The shallots should just cover the bottom of the pan, there should not be any free space, neither should they be on top of each other. Fry until colored on all sides and pour away the oil, then add the chicken stock. Simmer on the stove until the jus has reduced, then cover and place in the oven.

Braise until they are cooked well at 350°F, for approximately 45 minutes.

Parmesan Turkey Escalopes with Rocket Salad

Vanessa and I have really been watching what we eat lately, as our fitness push continues into 2010. The challenge now is how to prepare food which is both tasty and healthy, all within the confines of our tragically under-equipped kitchen here in Dahlgren.

Happy to say that things have worked out pretty well so far. This one here couldn't be simpler, and I'll go on record as saying that this ranks among the best things I have ever breaded and fried. The squeeze of lemon at the end is pretty yummy.

ESCALOPES
½ cup breadcrumbs
10 g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 egg
flour, for dusting
200 g turkey escalopes
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pat butter
SALAD
100 g cherry tomatoes
50 g rocket
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 lemon, in wedges
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the breadcrumbs on a large plate or shallow bowl and mix the grated Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper into the crumbs. Whisk the egg in a second shallow bowl. Measure off a large double fold of greaseproof paper. Lay one escalope in the middle of one half and fold the other half over the top. Use a rolling pin to bash the escalope gently but firmly until it is the thickness of a coin and more than double its original size.

Dust both sides with flour, shaking away any excess, and repeat the process with the second escalope. Dip the escalopes first in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs and leave to rest while you heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the butter in a frying pan. When it's hot, lay out the escalopes in the pan and cook, adjusting the heat so nothing burns, for a 2 minutes a side until the egg has set, the crumbs turned golden and the meat is cooked through. Quickly quarter the tomatoes. Pile the rocket over the escalopes, scatter over the tomatoes and with the balsamic vinegar and remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and serve lemon wedges.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Barbecue Sauce and Parisian-Style Potato Salad

Through the course of the school I am attending right now, we have come to know Matt (and through a quick trip to Baton Rouge, came to know his wife Beth and their kids) and have become friends. Matt is from Louisiana and is into good food. When we went to visit him in Baton Rouge, they had bought Vanessa and I a massive cookbook on the history of food in Louisiana. This, in addition to being a great gift, intrigued me in that I had no credible books on the subject, and I am a fan of Cajun and Creole cuisine.

Matt came over last night to watch the NFC Championship Game. Matt was rooting for the Saints. I, naturally, was rooting for the Vikes. That is all I will say on the subject of football.

The important thing is, we ATE when he came over. He suggested this recipe out of the book he got us. Vanessa made her tried-and-true potato salad. The combination was wonderful. The pork was perfectly cooked to about 157F (not able to grill, I roasted it at 430F until the thermometer read 157F).

Really great, fruity flavors match so well with pork and it was a nice big hunk of it, too. Very juicy. And all very simple. Lots of just mixing stuff up in a bowl, really.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

PORK
2.5 pounds pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon garlic
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons paprika
½ teaspoon dried oregano

BLACKBERRY BARBECUE SAUCE
½ cup blackberry preserves
1 ½ cups ketchup
⅛ cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons Louisiana cane syrup
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon mustard powder
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ cup blackberries

PORK
In a small mixing bowl, combine all seasonings. Sprinkle tenderloin with mixture and rub in spices. Let rubbed meat sit at least 1 hour in refrigerator. Light grill. Cook tenderloin, turning once halfway through cooking process. When pork is almost done (reading about 145F), brush with barbecue sauce and continue to cook until it reads 157F. Remove when internal temperature reaches 157F for medium-rare.

SAUCE
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Brush sauce over grilled pork tenderloin, pork chops or ribs when they are almost cooked.

Parisian-Style Potato Salad

1.5 lb. new potatoes, red, if possible
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons red bell pepper, roasted, finely chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil, extra-virgin
8 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 garlic, minced
parsley, to garnish (optional)
anchovy fillets, whole (optional)

Place potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until tender; drain and cool slightly. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Combine potatoes, 2 tablespoons vinegar, salt, and pepper; toss gently. Let stand 5 minutes.

Combine 1 tablespoon vinegar, bell peppers, and remaining ingredients except parsley sprigs and whole anchovy fillets in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Pour over potatoes; toss gently to coat. Garnish with parsley sprigs and whole anchovy fillets, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

BLT with Parmesan and Poor-Man's Roasted Garlic Aioli

Vanessa's birthday was yesterday. In years past, with all of my arsenal of kitchen gadgets and phalanx of appliances, I usually liked to turn it out a bit and do something kind of difficult and complex, ya know... really put a good bit of effort into making something special.

Fans of the blog know that this year's kitchen set-up is a bit different. And while it is not quite Robinson Crusoe-esque, it is limited, and we are having to make do with just the essentials here.

When I asked Vanessa what she wanted, she said, simply, "I want a B.L.T." It was then that I knew, with so few ingredients, there would not be a margin for error. It HAD to be the best damn BLT anyone had ever made. Otherwise, I would risk sending the wrong signal. A dilapidated, soggy piece of crap sandwich just wasn't going to do.

Such a sandwich would say to my wife, "You are a soggy piece of crap, and this sandwich perfectly expresses what I think of you."

It started with making our own loaf of bread. If you do a search on this blog, you'll find our standard bread recipe. Here's the rub: NO MIXER. I had to do this the old-fashioned way, kneading by hand.

Then, instead of bacon, a fine prosciutto. Throw on some shards of Parmigiano-Reggiano toasted over the top. Some slices of fresh roma tomato. A scattering of arugula leaves. But perhaps the best part (or at least the key ingredient) was my homemade poor-man's aioli. Made with some garlic that I roasted in the oven with care and some fresh chopped oregano. It really brought the whole thing together. As much as I hate to endorse storebought sauces, this one did the trick.

She said it's the best BLT she ever had.

Mission Accomplished.

SANDWICH
4 slices bread
1 roma tomato, sliced
½ cup arugula
2 slices prosciutto, fried in a dry pan until crisp
20 g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, cut into thin shards

POOR-MAN'S ROASTED GARLIC AIOLI
3 tablespoons *STOREBOUGHT* light mayo
2 clove garlic, roasted
2 teaspoons oregano, chopped
salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat the broiler.

Brush the bread slices with olive oil. Place onto a cookie sheet and cook under the broiler until lightly golden brown. Flip the slices over and repeat. Remove the tray from the oven.

Cook the prosciutto in a non-stick frying pan for 3-4 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Leave one slice on the tray and take one off. Top the one on the tray with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Cook under the broiler until the cheese is melted; don't let the bread burn, though.

On the other slice, put a dollop of mayo. Top with a torn up slice of prosciutto, some tomato slices and some arugula. Top with the cheesy slice of bread, fresh out of the oven. Serve with extra aioli for dipping.

AIOLI
Heat the oven to 450F. Put a few cloves of garlic into some foil with some olive oil and seal it up. Roast for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, then squeeze out of the kins and chop up finely. Add it to the mayo with some chopped oregano and salt and pepper. Mix together and taste. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Set aside.

Pork Tips in Red Chile Sauce (Asado de Puerco) with Rice

Vanessa and I have been on full-on healthy eating and intense workouts since arriving back here to Dahlgren. And while we have been watching our food intake rather closely, we are still able to churn out some pretty decent stuff, even with our somewhat limited kitchen set-up.

This is from the Los Barrios Cookbook, which is really a great, authentic Tex-Mex cookbook from a restaurant in San Antonio. We bought a ton of proteins (as we are going high protein for a month or so), and some pork chops were among them. Just whip up this sauce, et voila!

Nice, rich, deep flavors from the sauce along with some well-seasoned rice and a nice slab of pork. This went down a treat.

6 ancho chiles
2 cascabel chiles
10 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
.8 kg (4 good-sized) pork chops, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 ½ cups water
1 bay leaf
1 cup rice, cooked
cumin, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
fresh oregano, chopped, to garnish

Put the chiles in a small saucepan, add water to cover, and bring to a boil. Boil until the chiles are softened. Drain and let cool briefly, then peel off the skins and remove the seeds. Transfer the chiles to a blender, add the garlic, and blend until smooth. Add the oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and blend to mix.

Heat a bit of oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chile puree and bay leaf, stir for a few minutes on high heat or until it has darkened a few shades. Add the water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the pork. Get a pan going over high heat. Season each side of the pork with a bit of oil, salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, sear the pork off until browned, 3-4 minutes. Flip the pork over and cook some more, until just done. (When you push on the meat it should have some give, but spring back rather quickly.)

Cook the rice according to package directions. When done, season to taste with salt, pepper and cumin (oregano, too, if you like).

Put the rice on the plate, top with a pork chop, then some sauce. Sprinkle with fresh oregano.

My Get-Well Chicken Soup

Vanessa and I have returned to sunny Dahlgren and she brought her stupid cold with her. So I figured it was time to step up. This soup is guaranteed to make people feel better. It's like an elixir of sorts. No one knows (well, someone does - probably a doctor or something) why chicken soup is so great for colds. Maybe it's a simple a matter as having something that warms the soul.

3 carrots, peeled and cut in half
4 stalks celery, washed and cut in half
1 rutabega, washed and sliced in half
4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
1 pinch ancho chile powder, plus more to taste
1 pinch cumin, plus more to taste
2 sprig bay leaf
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 pound chicken, quartered, with bones intact, including necks and giblets
½ cup small shell pasta, optional
extra-virgin olive oil, optional
coarse sea salt

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the vegetables, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, ancho chile powder and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Let these vegetables soften for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the vegetables from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.

Place 1 gallon water and the chicken in a stockpot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer gently, skimming regularly, until the broth is fragrant, for about 30 minutes. Take the carcass out and discard. Shred the chicken into small bite-sized shreds. While you are shredding the chicken, bring a pot of salted water to the boil (for the pasta), reduce the soup stock to low and put the reserved vegetables back in.

Add the shredded chicken back to the soup. Keep the heat low. When the pasta water is boiling. add the pasta and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, and add to the pot. Add the parsley and stir through. Check the seasoning and adjust, if necessary. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Spicy Tuna Tartare with Blistered Serrano Hot Sauce and Avocado Relish

This is an old favorite that just keeps giving back. We ate this at Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's NYC restaurant) back in 2006. He was kind enough to provide me the recipe and we have made it a few times since then.

Tartare is a beautiful thing whether its beef or seafood. If you are a bit squeamish about raw protein preparations, DON'T BE. But, if you insist on being a close-minded boring person (but have considered being an exciting, adventurous person), this is a wonderful introduction to the beauty of raw tuna. Lots of flavors going on here, nice spicy kick from the sauce which manages to be sweet and spicy at the same time. Citrusy avocado relish cools the whole thing down. The tuna is meaty and rich and has a nice zing to it, some saltiness from the capers, along with some smokiness from the chipotles (pronounced 'chee-POAT-lay' and NOT 'chip-OL-tee'. (Note: this annoys the hell out of me when people say it the wrong way)

Anyhow, the greatest thing about this dish is it's SIMPLICITY. There is almost no cooking. It's really just cutting things up and mixing them together. The cooking, such as it is, has you merely throwing some stuff in a pan in the oven for 15 minutes, then into a blender. That's it.

MAKE THIS NOW and use the best tuna you can find (sashimi-grade if you can find it)

TUNA TARTARE
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon pureed canned chipotles
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. tuna, cut into 1/4" -dice
¼ cup capers, drained
¼ cup scallion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper

BLISTERED SERRANO HOT SAUCE
1 small red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
10 serrano chiles, stem removed and cut in half
¼ cup canola oil, plus 2 T
Salt
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons honey

AVOCADO RELISH
1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and finely diced
3 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

TUNA TARTARE
Whisk together mustard, chipotle and oil in a medium bowl. Fold in the remaining ingredients until combined; season with salt and pepper.

BLISTERED SERRANO HOT SAUCE
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine onions and serranos in a small sauté pan, toss with 2 tablespoons of canola oil and season with salt. Roast in the oven until onions are soft and serranos are golden brown and blistered, approximately 15-20 minutes.

Transfer onions and serranos to a blender, add the vinegar, cilantro, honey and salt and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of oil and blend until emulsified.

AVOCADO RELISH
Gently combine all ingredients in a bowl.