Friday, July 29, 2011

Real Men Eat Quiche and Drink Wine: Irish Soda Bread

Real Men Eat Quiche and Drink Wine: Irish Soda Bread: "Easy to make Irish Soda Bread. A family favorite for generations. Kids will love it because it is sweet. I love to warm it up with a slab..."

Irish Soda Bread

Easy to make Irish Soda Bread.

A family favorite for generations. Kids will love it because it is sweet.
I love to warm it up with a slab of butter in the microwave for 10 - 15 seconds.
Also, would be good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Of course, nothing better than having Irish Soda Bread with a hot cup of Irish Tea.
Barry's Tea:
http://www.barrystea.com/
I like mine with sugar and 1/2 and 1/2.

As you can see from the picture, I took the first slice.

Ingredients:
2 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of raisins
2 tsp. of caraway seeds
1 tsp. of baking soda
1 1/2 cups of buttermilk
1 tsp. of sugar

In a large bowl,  mix all the ingredients.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place mixture in a greased oven loaf pan.
After about 10 minutes in the oven, I sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar on top of the soda bread.
Cook the bread for about 1 hour in the oven until it is lightly brown on top.

On a lighter side,you can substitute Splenda for the sugar.
http://www.splenda.com/products/sugar-blend

Also, you can substitute buttermilk with a low fat version of it.
Lucerne makes a reduced fat buttermilk. Not seen in this link.
http://www.lucernefoods.com/products/milk.htm
You should be able to find low fat buttermilk in the dairy section of your local grocery store.

And for all purpose flour, I like Gold Medal flour for baking.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gold-medal-flour/products
All purpose flour has just the right amount of glutens to make a good bread.

Enjoy !

Next up, my return trip from Maui. A new restaurant dinner and the best fish tacos on the Island.

Comments or suggestions:
realmeneatquiche@gmail.com

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Real Men Eat Quiche and Drink Wine: Broiling Salmon

Real Men Eat Quiche and Drink Wine: Broiling Salmon: "Here's my followup post to my previous one on roasting. I promised that I would add this one after yesterday's blog on roasting. My wife m..."

Broiling Salmon

Here's my followup post to my previous one on roasting.
I promised that I would add this one after yesterday's blog on roasting.
My wife made the roasted veggies and put them over pasta. She added homemade pesto sauce.
Brilliant.
She should be writing this blog.
LOL.
So, I kicked it at school yesterday. Did the broiling bit.
Mike C. the chef and instructor,
 (see Kitchen on Fire:)
http://www.kitchenonfire.com/contact/index.html
would not let us use our recipes that were distributed in class so I conjured up one off the top of my bald head.
Roasted chicken breast, bone in, seasoned with rosemary, thyme, pepper, paprika and salt over a bed of thinly sliced yukon gold potatoes and yellow onions. Complemented with a drizzle of sage butter and slice of lemon. Towel dried the chicken, seasoned well, and browned on both sides. Finished the chicken in the broiler.  Checked the chicken with a meat thermometer at 148 degrees. Cooked the onions and potatoes separately. Ate my dinner at school. God, LIFE is good.

Well, enough about ranting... Here's to broiling.
One of our friends gave us this fabulous recipe for salmon. Some people like it, others don't.
Cured, smoked, barbecued. I love salmon. My wife doesn't. Go figure.
Bet she would love this:



Bourbon Glazed Salmon:
 1 cup of Brown Sugar
6 Tbsp. of Bourbon
¼ cup of low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp. of fresh lime juice
2 tsp of grated fresh ginger
½ tsp. of salt
¼ tsp. of fresh ground pepper
2 crushed garlic cloves
 8oz. of salmon filets about 1’ in thickness

Combine ingredients, add salmon and place in a large ziplock bag. Marinate in refrigerator for ½ hour.
Remove filets and discard marinade.
Place filets on am oiled broiling pan and cook under broiler for about 11 minutes or until fish is light and flakey.

Big shout out THANKS to Katy Sheehy for this recipe!

Also,  got my new knives in and can't wait to start using them:
Guy Fieri's butcher knife
and my new Furi japanese steak knives:

Thanks Kathleen !!!!!!!!

And here's our pick of some of the best wines of the week: Jones Family

Yeah they are expensive but they are some of the finest cabernet sauvignons from Stag's Leap region.


Drink responsibly, drink well,  drink often with good food, and drink with good friends.
Steven

If you would like the recipe for the chicken, sign up (follow) on my blog. Email me suggestions, recipes, libations, events, and your favorite restaurants.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Real Men Eat Quiche and Drink Wine: Roasting Summer Vegetables and Shrimp

Real Men Eat Quiche and Drink Wine: Roasting Summer Vegetables and Shrimp: "Cooking class tonight is on ROASTING and BROILING. I should ace this class tonight since there is nothing finer than roasting or broiling me..."

Roasting Summer Vegetables and Shrimp

Cooking class tonight is on ROASTING and BROILING. I should ace this class tonight since there is nothing finer than roasting or broiling meats, fish or vegetables.
I will tackle the roasting part for today and then prepare a broiling dish for tomorrow.
Roasting is nothing more than a cooking process for meats, fish or vegetables.
It is very easy if you cut your ingredients into same size potions. Like cutting vegetables in 1 " cubes.
The vegetables should cook evenly.
Oil will coat the vegetables, cook them faster and carmelize them for a ricer sweeter taste. Pick an oil that has a low burn ratio ie: vegetable oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil.

My wife loves to roast vegetables and place them in a pasta dish.  Great summer low calorie dish.
 I like to puree them with a cup of chicken stock, preferably homemade ( see my previous blog on chicken  / vegetable stock ), add more or less chicken / vegetable stock for thickness and a dollop of sour cream.
As always, whichever you prefer, drizzle a little of extra virgin olive oil over the vegetables or pureed soup and sprinkle on some grated parm cheese.
I have included roasted shrimp here. You can add roasted shrimp for a salad or just for an appetizer.


Roasted Summer Vegetables  & Roasted Shrimp.

Roasted Vegetables:
1 cup of diced carrots in 1’’ cubes
1 cup of red onions diced lengthwise
2 cups of cauliflower
1 cup of red peppers
1 cup of button mushrooms
1 cup of chopped asparagus
3-5 tbsp. of cooking oil
1 Tbsp. of chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste, roughly 1 tsp. of each.

Chop vegetables and coat with oil.
Salt and pepper  vegetables
Place on flat sheet pan and cook in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20 – 25 minutes.
Vegetables with be soft, tender and slightly carmelized.

Roasted Shrimp:
12 – 18 medium size shrimp
Peel and devein shrimp but leave tails on.
Coat with oil.
Salt and pepper, roughly 1 tsp. of each.
Place on a flat sheet pan and cook in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 6 – 8 minutes
until the shrimp are pink in color.
Remove from heat, let shrimp cool and toss shrimp with 1 tbsp. of orange  or lemon juice.

A cook is only as good as the smiles on the faces after his guest are full.
Steven

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