Happy Birthday Shelby!

January 27, 2014

I had to give a shout out to my lovely wife, Shelby, today. It's her birthday! It's crazy to think that the two of us have been together since we were both 16; she is infinitely patient with me.

She gets her Cold Stone Creamery Chocolate Chipper ice cream cake every year. This year they decided to mix it up for us by using green icing for the lettering--even though I asked for white--but it tastes the same so no harm, no foul. (Not really, use white next time!)

I hope you had a great day baby, looking forward to celebrating many more with you!

Feeling a little sick, let's eat Mexican!

January 26, 2014

Busy week, so I was looking forward to the weekend. So was this sinus thing I have. Pow! Knocked me on my butt Saturday. I actually went out Saturday morning with Chayce for some biscuits and coffee but by the time I got home I was wore out. I cancelled anything I might have thought about doing for the day and sat on the couch to sweat it out. Shelby decided to run out for a while while I was being useless.

By the time Shelby got home later that evening we were both starving. She picked up some steaks but mentioned we could also go to El Taco Loco. I love El Taco Loco so of course it was a no-brainer. I bundled up and we drove across the boulevard to one of the local's favorite Tex-Mex spots.

One thing we love is the endless supply of chips and dip you get at these places. I still can't figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing. If we come for dinner I usually get the Carnitas. Slow braised chunks of pork that end up a little crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. You also get great refried beans and rice. Shelby loves the street tacos. We had to get margaritas while were there too.

My starter with the carnitas is a avocado salad. An avocado is mashed into chunks and tossed with lettuce. A light vinegar based dressing sprinkled over it and the whole thing is delicious. I don't know how they cook the carnitas exactly, but it's so good. I know it's braised in oil for hours. It's platted with refried beans and a nice rice. I always finish the beans and rice and will usually have carnitas to take home.

Another thing I like about this dish is the roasted Spring onion and jalapeno pepper. I divvy these up with every bite I take, I like making sure I get a good balance of flavors when I'm eating this stuff. It's serious business!

Shelby had two tacos: carnitas and ribeye steak. They're topped with shredded cabbage and you have sauces you can use. Both fillers are seasoned and cooked perfectly. We finished our drinks and headed home full and I was feeling a little cozy.

Ribeye with sauteed mushrooms and onions

Quiet House

January 4, 2014

If you didn't know it yet, Shelby and I have adult children; after Christmas they both took off to do their thing. We spent New Year's Eve with Shelby's side of the family and then they left for home the next day. That left Shelby and me home alone on New Year's Day. We were trying to figure out dinner for the two of us and we came up with a couple of favorites: steak and crab.

Truffle Fries!

December 16, 2013

Last night we had sliders for dinner and I made truffle fries to go along with them. These were inspired by the fries you can get at Yardhouse.

Easy enough to make:

Thinly slice your washed potatoes in shoestrings.
Blanch the fries in either water or oil (I went with boiling water this time.)
Drain for a bit then fry in oil.
When they're all fried, toss with a few dashes of truffle oil, grated Parmesan , and chopped parsley.

Peter Chang China Grill in Virginia Beach

December 15, 2013

First I wanted to say thank you to Patrick Evans-Hylton for getting me and Shelby on the invite list for the Peter Change China Grill preview dinner. We had a great time!

Earlier this week we were invited to a special RSVP event at Peter Chang's new restaurant in Virginia Beach. He started off the night with a demonstration on how he makes noodles by hand. Unfortunately, we showed up after this but from the video I saw, it was pretty impressive.

We were all seated at tables with lazy Susans on them and the food was brought out in five courses:

Hot Appetizers
- Crispy Pork Belly
- Pearl Balls
- Lolli Fish
- Green Pillow
- Spicy Wonton
Cold Appetizers
- Mushroom Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Numbing Smoked Tofu
- Hot & Numbing Shredded Tofu Skin
Snacks
- Pan Fried Pork Buns
- Handmade DanDan Noodle
Main Entree
- Sticky Rice Seafood Ball
- Peter Chang Stone Duck
- Grandmother Tofu Ball
- Steamed Pork with Rice Flour
- Braised Beef Topped with Chili
- Whole Fish with Pine Nuts
Dessert
- Pumpkin Ball

The food was brought out tapas style and we spun the lazy Susan around so each diner at the table could grab a bite. There was so much food. I have a habit of making sure I eat everything I put on my plate and about halfway through I was figured out to take smaller portions from each dish being served.

Towards the end of the meal Peter Chang was introduced to us and he went table to table greeting everyone, shaking hands, and taking photos. Gen Lee, Mr. Chang's business partner, was also making the rounds and we exchanged cards. The whole experience was great and the food was amazing. I'm looking forward to going back and trying some of the spicier dishes they'll have on the menu; they toned it down a little bit for the crowd at the event.

Check out the food and more photos by clicking here.

Oh! This was my favorite dish from the dinner: Braised Beef with Chili

Check it out for yourselves. Peter Chang China Grill is at Landstown Commons in Virginia Beach, VA.

Meeting Peter Chang

December 10, 2013

We had a great time at Peter Chang's new restaurant tonight. He put together a special menu for his Grand Opening Gala. I'm going to put together a post with photos of the food tomorrow. I'll leave this for now!

Peter Chang in Virginia Beach

December 10, 2013

Exicted about checking out Peter Chang's new bistro in Virginia Beach, VA. I'll let you all know how it was later.

Thanksgiving Day

December 1, 2013

It's been a few days and I've been recovering from Thanksgiving Day!

I love Thanksgiving. The idea of being able to stay home all day and just cook that meal is a great feeling. I don't do a ton of planning and things are simple. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, and a couple sides.

When I get up in the morning I'll turn on the television to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Every year I do this every year and then I'll complain about how it's no good, but that's a whole other story. The past two years I've been brining our turkey, it's a cider brine with savory spices, seasonings and fruit. Quartered orange and a little lemon juice; salt, sugar, clove, sage, all of it soaks into the bird for close to 16 hours. Afterwards I wash it off and pat it dry.

I'll put the turkey on top a bed of carrots, celery, onion and various seasonings. I used to stuff our turkeys but now I'll fill it with aromatics: onion, thyme, citrus, parsley. The outside is sprinkled with a few dashes of Herbes de Provence, pepper and a little bit of salt. The brine had plenty of salt so no need to add much more. I'll roast the turkey breast side down, this allows the breast to be baste in the juices from the darker parts of the bird. When the pan fills with drippings, the breast sits in this and keeps it moist. The last hour I'll flip the turkey to brown the top. The whole thing has a nice, crispy skin. Everyone loves crunchy turkey skin!

While the turkey is roasting I'll make a stock from the giblets, these will be combined with the drippings for the gravy. I used to chop up the giblets by hand but I use Shelby's immersion blender to mix up the gravy and pieces now.

We gathered all the family we could in the area and had a great dinner. Shelby made me a plate while I finished in the kitchen. All in all, it was nice. Like it always is.

See what was for dinner here.

Stock and Broth

November 26, 2013

With Thanksgiving coming up I've been telling myself to get stuff ready before the big day arrives.

Gravy, stuffing…all kinds of things need stock and I'd usually bust out a box of store bought chicken stock. This year is going to be different though—I'm making my own stock!

Plenty of people out there have their own way of making a stock and broth. Technically what I'm going to spell out here is a broth. Stocks are made primarily from bones and some scrap—that's it! Broths will have more meat and seasoning in the pot. For my Thanksgiving stock (I'm just going to call it stock for the sake of simplicity) I won't add a lot of salt; a little goes a long way. I make a lot of soup stocks too. This is about the same, save for some seasonings I've omitted.

A couple of things to note before you begin:

Turkey necks are pretty cheap but are very meaty. The Herbes de Provence is something Shelby put together from herbs I clipped from our garden and dried in the kitchen. I used just a pinch to flavor. Careful with the salt and pepper; when I say add a little bit, I just mean a shake or two.

We're cooking here. We need a pot. Go grab a large stock pot, a 6-quart should do.

Ingredients:

2 packages of turkey necks
2 tbs olive oil
2 medium onions
2 ribs of celery
2 medium carrots
salt and pepper to taste
3 medium Bay leaves
Approx. 6 parsley stems, leaves on if you like
5 quarts of water, heated (stovetop, microwave, even hot from the tap)
Optional: Herbes de Provence

Preparation:

1. Chop up the turkey necks into chunks, about 2 inches.

2. Heat the oil a little over medium, we're going to brown the vegetables and turkey.

3. Brown the vegetables first, in batches if you have to. Add a little salt and pepper. I like cooking the vegetables first because any residual browned bits in the pot will mix with the turkey when it goes in. When the onions look a little translucent, you're good. Place the browned vegetables to the side.

4. Add the turkey pieces, brown in batches. Salt and pepper a little bit with each batch. They don't have to be browned all the way, I just heated up and a little done on the outside.

5. When the last batch is done, add the bay leaves, parsley and any other seasonings you're tossing in there. Put the vegetables back in the pot.

6. Add the water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to about medium-low. Skim the foam off the top of the stock.

7. Simmer for approximately 5 hours, stir occasionally. Scrape the sides of the pot when you do this. Get the dried bits inside the pot into the stock.

8. You’ll know it's done when the liquid has reduced to about half of the original volume. I ended up with a little more than 2 1/2 quarts.

9. Strain out the turkey and vegetables. Keep this stuff, put it to the side.

10. Refrigerate the stock.

What I like to do after it has been in the fridge overnight is skim the fat off the top. It’ll be easy to scrape the hardened fat off and toss it away. I don’t use the fat for anything, but some people say if you want to keep your stock in the refrigerator the hard fat on the top will help extend its life.

You can see the fat has hardened on top of the stock

Scrape away at it till you get most of the fat off

The neck bones, meat and vegetables can be used to flavor dishes or as a thickening agent. You could just throw them away but that seems like a waste. Enjoy and good luck. Leave a note here with any questions or comments.

Lynnhaven Pub, Virginia Beach, VA

November 24, 2013

I was recently asked to meet with someone to talk over some exciting opportunities coming along in the near future. We were going over places to grab a drink and Jarod (the guy I was meeting) suggested Lynnhaven Pub in Virginia Beach. Great idea!

Lynnhaven Pub has been around since the 60s or 70s and is tucked away off the old West Great Neck Rd. It would be easy to pass by the place and not notice it tacked on the end of a non-descript building, but inside you’ll find one of the better selections of beer in the city. Owner, Rob McGraw, has established the pub as a go-to destination for local beer lovers. He keeps a eclectic rotation of beer on tap and has much more in bottles in the case next to the bar. Old timers who haven’t been to the bar in the past several years might not recognize the selection and they’re going to miss their $1 domestic drafts. Rob has created an outdoor area where patrons can hang-out year round. There is also a bar, grill, and a smoker.

Speaking of food, in addition to great beer, they offer creative and delicious food. When we decided to go to Lynnhaven Pub, I messaged Rob that we’d be stopping by for a drink. He said he was looking forward to it and had a couple things he wanted me to try. Cool, I figured he had some new beers he wanted to share. I showed up at the pub and saw Jarod sitting in the back working on his laptop. I walked the length of the wooden bar, passing occupied stools; I saw that a few Victory brews were on tap and Founder’s Breakfast Stout.

After I settled in Rob came out and said he made some beer can chicken using Stillwater Classique beer he wanted me to try. He also had oak barreled smoked brisket coming out. He actually brings the barrels down from Blue Mountain Barrel House brewery nestled between Charlottesville and Lynchburg, Virginia. These are barrels that were previously used to age whiskey and bourbon, then used by Blue Mountain Brewery. The smoke produced by these barrels is recognizable and adds a rich flavor to the food cooked in it.

Mike Rowland, who I watched earlier, cooking in a small oven behind the bar, master-minded the following dishes he brought out: Beer Can Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Burnt Ends Tacos with Bacon, Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwiches with bacon and huge Chicken Salad Sandwiches. I wasn’t expecting this! I had enough to share with Jarod and we dug in.

Beer Can Chicken wrapped in Belgian Endive

I tried the Lettuce Wraps first, sweet and simple, the smoked chicken was tucked into Belgian endive and I shoved the whole thing in my mouth. You could taste that the beer had permeated through the chicken and there was a nice smoke flavor on top of that. It all blended well and I knocked out another one quickly. Mike said he wanted to showcase the chicken in the wraps so there wasn’t a sauce or anything on top of the chicken. Perfect.

Next I tried the Burnt Ends Tacos, if you all didn’t know it, I love BBQ. I really love Burnt Ends. Rob was telling me he would usually eat these when they made brisket in the pub but Mike told him they should sell them instead and Rob reluctantly agreed to part with them. I know this would be a hard decision for me too. Good on you Rob! The tacos were delicious and had a thick strip of bacon in there for good measure. The burnt ends were flaky with great smoke flavor. I swear I could even make out the alcohol from the oak barrels he uses. The arugula was a nice added touch. You can’t beat it.

I moved onto the Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich, moist and the brisket fell apart in my mouth. The brisket was thickly stacked between two pieces of toasted, dressed bread and the platter had a healthy serving of cracked pepper potato chips (which were hard to not to eat.) I ate about half of my sandwich and moved on to the Chicken Salad.

The Chicken Salad was piled high with some lettuce resting on top. The chicken salad was great, with grapes, almonds, paprika and bright red onion in the mix. The chicken was fresh and shredded perfectly. It was hard not to eat the whole thing but I was so full and had a beer I needed to finish up. I boxed up the rest and brought it home for lunch the next day.

I’m going to Lynnhaven Pub again to write more about the beer and how Rob runs the place, but I really wanted to let everyone know about the food. Like I said earlier I thought he was going to have me try some brews but I got a few plates of great food instead. Get by Lynnhaven Pub and grab a couple of good beers and make sure you get something to eat. You’ll not be disappointed!

Click HERE to see the rest of the photos at Lynnhaven Pub.

Merroir Terroir at Terrapin

November 14, 2013

We had a great night at Terrapin's Merroir Terroir event hosted at the bar. The restaurant has been hosting these exploratory dinners that allow guests to sample the affect “merroir” has the flavor of the clam. Climate, water, the beds the oysters mature in, all effect the flavor the bivalve. Brian Williams of Terrapin paired our oysters with a select wine that complimented the three different oysters we were served.

Brian Williams and Erika Caylor of Terrapin

Merroir Terroir starts a little early before the dinner crowd shows up. At the bar, our places were set and the resident mixologist—Erika Caylor—helped Brian and staff get us ready. Our oysters were provided by Chris Ludford of Pleasure House Oysters. Chris is a local oyster farmer and firefighter; he’s been seeding and harvesting oysters since 2009. Before farming his own oysters he was a crabber, fisherman, and he sold other peoples oysters from stands around Virginia Beach.

After the seats became occupied, Chris began to give us some info about oysters and harvesting them. I learned that oyster harvesting starts around October here and ends April 30th. He talked about the different spots he liked to start his oysters and talked about the waterways in the area. He also told us a neat tidbit about oyster shells—oysters from the West Coast tend to have a scalloped shell while those on the East Coast do not. Before we started to eat the oysters he suggested we sniff, drink the liquor, then eat the oyster. Easy enough, let’s go!

While this was happening Brian poured our first wine, Domaine Jolly Petit Chablis 2011. He explained to us how the Chablis he served was from Portlandian soil, young and steely. The wine itself was unoaked to prevent it from overpowering the oysters. That brings us to the oysters: Kusshi oysters imported from the West Coast. They are small with thick shells, ours were tumbled and lost most of the frill outside of the shell. The thick, deep shells of the oysters held clean, sweet meat and a tasty liquor. West Coast oysters, at least the ones we ate, tended to be smaller than what we’re used to in the East.

The next wine we drank was a Louis Jadot Steel Chardonnay 2012, again this was unoaked and had fruitier notes. The sweetness of this wine was perfect for the salty Pleasure House Oysters, Chris’ own brand he breds in the Lynnhaven. In addition to the pronounced saltiness of the oyster, they were crisp, juicy, and had a little citrus. I like how that paired with the Chardonnay too. I loved the liquor in the huge shells on the plate. I think I heard the term “choker” used in reference of the size of these things.

Our last wine was a Lincourt Steel Chardonnay 2012. From the Sta Rita Hills in California, fermented in steel, fruit forward and low mineral. The oyster paired with this was the Kumamoto or “Kumis”. They were harvested from cold waters of the Puget Sound in Washington State. These were delicious—buttery, crisp, and nutty. I could have eaten a couple dozen of these myself. The shell on these were very scalloped, unlike the Kusshi we tried earlier and the color variation went from off-white to black.

After finishing our oysters Chris and Brian mingled with the patrons of the dinner and answered any questions we might have had. While Shelby and I got our things together I was already thinking about next month’s Merroir Terroir, hoping I’ll be able to make the event again.

Click here to more photos from the dinner.

Take-out Dinner Tonight - Pho

November 5, 2013

We've been on a Pho (phở) kick this year, usually going to a place not too far from the house called Pho 79. With the cooler weather it's especially easy to pick-up something like this for dinner.

Shelby and I will split an order, so I pick up #4 Phở Tái, Nam, Gâu. Honestly, I have no idea if that is spelled correctly or what it translates into but I gave it go (copied and pasted from their site.) It's the broth with round steak, flank, and brisket. The beef is cooked when you get it. Some pho places we've been to serve the meat raw and the hot broth cooks it in the bowl. If I order in restaurant, I'll get the tendon and tripe in addition to the beef cuts.

I'll ask for extra sauces and vegetables, which they'll give you at no extra charge, and another container of broth. The extra broth is only $3. Sometimes I'll pick extra mint or Thai basil from our garden if it's available and cut up a little extra onion.

Driving home with it in the car makes me hungry. The whole car is filled with the smell of savory broth, I can't wait to open it.

Pho Night Bonus: Pretty sky tonight on the drive home.

Chicken Meatballs

October 31, 2013

Last night Shelby made chicken meatballs, she used to use ground turkey for them but I like the chicken more. Better texture, firm and the seasoning takes to them.

The sauce she made from a bag of late tomatoes my mother brought over from her garden. She prepped them and cooked them with onions, garlic and her own blend of seasoning which uses whatever we have available. The house smelled great.

She made the spaghetti and with everything finished up, we ate. Thanks Shelby.

Lancashire Hotpot

October 28, 2013

With the weather getting cooler, I tend to start using my Dutch oven a bit more.

You'll need a Dutch oven if you don't have one! All kinds of good stuff you can cook in those things.

A suggestion before you start: search Lancashire Hotpot to get an examples of the neat patterns people use with their top layer of potatoes. You'll see what I mean when you check out the photos.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Lamb, cut into approx. 9 pieces

3 cups Beef broth

16 oz. Mushrooms, sliced or halved

6 Medium potatoes, thinly sliced

2 Medium onions, thinly sliced

2 carrots, chopped

2 Medium stalks celery, thinly sliced

Bouquet garni (I used thyme, savory, rosemary, parsley, rosemary)

2 Bay leaves

Herbes de Provence

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare your ingredients beforehand, makes like a lot easier when cooking anything.

1. Collect the ingredients and prepare all vegetables. I know, I know, obvious right?

Well I don't do this half the time and I end up doing things in the middle of cooking when I should have had prep work done already.

I always check the discount bin at the butcher's counter. Found these at a great price.

2. Preheat oven at 380 degrees. For the first hour the hotpot is in the oven it will cook on high. After an hour reduce heat to 320.

3. Start layering your potatoes, vegetables, and lamb. Season as you go along with salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence--be careful not to over season.

About halfway through layering add your Bouquet garni and bay leaves.

The top layer is supposed to be a layer of potatoes arranged in a fancy pattern. This potato layer will be browned after the dish is done.

Traditionally the top layer will be layer of potatoes, arranged in a fancy pattern. I just added the ingredients till I ran out.

4. Pour beef broth over the lamb and vegetables in the pot. If you haven't seasoned the hotpot, do so now. Cover the pot and place in the oven. Cook for 5-6 hours.

5. Remove hotpot from oven. Test meat to make sure it's tender and ready. When the meat pulls apart easily with a fork, you know it's done.

6. Crisp top layer of potatoes. Spritz olive oil or brush melted butter over the potatoes and broil, uncovered until potatoes brown and are slightly crispy.

Alternate method: I removed the potatoes from the hotpot and places them in a casserole dish. I then coated them and broiled separately from the meat and vegetables.

To plate...

...just put it on your plate and eat it.

Enjoy!

Run to Whole Foods

October 9, 2013

We ran by our go-to place for a quick dinner tonight—Whole Foods in Virginia Beach. We went specifically for the Pulled Pork (so good) but it wasn’t on the line!

Fortunately the Mac ‘n Cheese was and the Beer Battered Cod. I grabbed some of the Loaded Bake Potato soup, it had a great smokey flavor. Perfect for today; it’s been wet and chilly all day.

Shelby got a small assortment including wings seasoned with chili pepper. They looked good. On the way to the register we also bought a vanilla cheesecake tart and a caramel one.

Leaving we bumped into a some people we know, had a little chat. Standing in The Porch, Shelby stood in the only spot that had a little drip from the roof. We finished up, came home and ate. Very nice.

p.s. - They have this years vintage of Bogle Phantom in store!

i<3food

Burgers, kinda like how we used to cook them

October 1, 2013

So we had some good beer, good ground Angus, Smoked Gouda and Mushrooms. Let’s make a burger! Shelby actually asked me to make the beef patties the way I used to years ago before we got all fancy pants. Basically sprinkled the beef with garlic powder, salt, and pepper—that’s it. I did season the pan with some chopped onion and garlic but it was just like how I used to make a ground steak. We used to cook everything in a pan—no grill, no Dutch ovens or Crock pots.

I sauteed some mushrooms for her and a little onion. Covered the pan with a little beer to melt the smoked Gouda and done. I guess that part was kinda fancy.

i<3food

Fried Chicken and Pinot Night at Terrapin

September 12, 2013

Terrapin has a Wednesday night Fried Chicken and Pinot special—it’s not to be missed if you live in the area! After dinner we treated ourselves with a Bon Bomb and S’Mores.