The Sunday Omelet...

"Breakfast ain't Breakfast without a big ass omelet..Am I right?" -- epicmealtime

A super omelet just rocks it on a Sunday morning...With that in mind, here's how I get down:

I've been using my cast iron pan for more and more stuff lately. It makes killer omelets cause its extremely non-stick. I start by sauteeing onions, shallots and garlic in butter, salt and pepper for a couple of mins,  then add chopped broccoli.  I sliced some mushrooms and put those in the mix too. Then i chopped some thick sliced bacon...this is awesome, cause the fat will get absorbed into the broccoli and even the mushrooms. I put some chopped sun dried tomatoes in last for a sweet kick.

Once the bacon looks cooked and everything is coming together, i pour the eggs in. I only used 2 eggs for this one and at this point, it looked like this:

I seasoned the eggs with salt, black pepper, chili pepper sauce and milk. I folded it over after a few minutes and then let it cook a short while on the other side and it was ready to serve. I like garnishing the finished product with sliced fresh mozzarella and serve it with toast and blueberries...Wa-la!

That's how you get it done....Happy eatin'!

Spinelli

Listening to: Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be

Bacon Wrapped Filet after a Day of Football.

I spent my Sunday at the Coliseum in Oakland watching the Raiders take down the Broncos. After standing in the rain and coming home beat at 6pm, nothing put a smile on my face quite like this bacon wrapped filet mignon:

I served it with olive oil, garlic and parmesan linguini and sauteed mushrooms & green beans. I used some of the run off fat from the filet to crisp up the beans and shrooms. I wrapped the 7oz filet in a slice of dry rub bacon and coated it with salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil. I cooked it in cast iron with a dice size piece of butter. BOOM!


Soundtrack: RJD2 - Constant Elevation Mixtape

I got off the couch...

Twas my first free night in a long time, or so it felt. My options were either sushi, or a stroll to Whole Foods market and see what inspires me. I opted for the latter and made the right choice in the end. The butchers and fishmongers were on point...Hooked me up with some extra oysters to go with my King Salmon and I was on my way. Knowing how to buy meat/fish/etc.. is key...You gotta talk up the guys behind the counter, cause they'll let you know what's good and soon enough, you'll be getting hooked up. My old butcher in Santa Barbara used to always give me a handful of jumbo scallops or an extra NY steak "on the house" cause we talked football all the time.... Anyhow...I splurged and bought a half bottle of one of God's most perfect creations:

E. Guigal 2006 Cotes du Rhone. I drank this for the first time in Paris and had no idea that it was widely available in the US...It's fantastic, pick it up. I poured my first glass, and had a few pieces of Dutch lambchopper Gouda cheese and was blown away by how good it was. Sharp, but smooth...I've never had it before, but I'll get it again. Next came the oysters. I had 2 Hama Hama's, 2 Kushis and 2 Kumimoto's..The fish guy gave me an extra one of each. The kushi's were by far the best and the most expensive, but not bad at $1.59 a pop. I made a vinegar-less shallot vinaigrette  (juice of half a lemon, a small shallot clove, salt, a dash of pepper, olive oil and chili garlic sauce) It looked like this:

Shucking your own oysters at home is fun, but when you cut yourself with a butter knife, it doesnt feel good. Shucking isn't the easiest thing in the world, but its generally worth it. I gashed the fold below my thumb, right where it meets my palm this time...maybe i should buy a shucker, but i'll probably just stick with the butter knife...

Before i started anything tonight, I seasoned my salmon. It was a 7 oz piece of wild King Salmon. I went the honey mustard route. Usually stone ground mustard is best, but spicy brown did the trick. First I crack some salt over the filet, then a dash of pepper, sprinkle of dill and then about a teaspoon of honey and teaspoon of mustard per filet. I use a fork to spread it out and let it sit as long as possible. Before cooking, it looks like this:

I cooked it in a non-stick pan, first with the skin side down on med-high heat and then turn it over in 6 mins or so and turn the heat down to medium or just below. The honey mustard coating makes a nice crust and it locks in the flavors. Don't overcook it, or you'll be pissed. Use the touch test to see how soft the salmon is. You want to turn off the flame while its still soft. I made some basic fusili with pesto sauce and some broccoli with lemon to accompany:

Ta-da. Pretty easy and delicious. I had so much meat while camping this weekend, that fish was a perfect option tonight. The Cotes du Rhone paired well...its just so damn perfect... Now, its time to work on my research paper after a nice meal. Who wants to come over for dinner? Happy eatin'.

Spinelli

Musical Selection: Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

PS - Click "Follow" on the right hand side of this page to add my blog to your reel!

Keeping it Simple...

New look Cookin' with Gas blog, comin' atcha! (Also note the new domain name) Click follow to put this blog on your reel...

I kept it simple tonight, marinated a chicken breast in olive oil, lemon, chilli garlic sauce, salt and pepper. Took off to the coffee shop to get an hour of schoolwork, came back to the pad and in just under half an hour, put this together:

Chili, lemon and garlic chicken, Green beans crisped in bacon fat and Asian whole wheat pasta with basil and mushrooms.

Nothing too fancy tonight..But still fantastic!

Happy Eatin'!

The Italian Sub

So when you just don't want to go to the deli, or you're tired of the SOB behind the counter giving you a cockeyed look when you tell him you want extra dressing, it's time to make your own sub!

For mine, I drew my inspiration from a leftover third of an Italian loaf that we used to make garlic bread this weekend. I layered oven baked turkey breast, italian dry salami and prosciutto. I cut up 2 fresh mozzarella bocconcini for my cheese. I used wild arugula which i tossed in a dressing i made.

For the dressing, i used a lemon infused olive oil, an herb blend consisting of dried basil, thyme, rosemary, savory and oregano. I splashed some balsamic vinegar in the mix for consistency. I kept a little extra to brush on the toasted bread. I also threw a tiny bit of chopped garlic and shallot in the arugula and dressing mix for extra flavor. Here's what I got:

And that my friends, is an Italian sub. The way I like it!

Happy Eatin'!

Tonight's Endeavor: Lobster Risotto

Here we go again.... Tonight's dinner came about in a random way. I didn't really have anything in the fridge for a main course, since I just got back from a 3-day weekend at Lake Almanor late last night. I went to work early in the am, and knew i was playing tennis at around 630pm. But a lobster discovery while at work sealed the deal here....

I was visiting a couple of accounts and noticed across the street from one of them a place called "New England Lobster Company" in South San Francisco. I also noticed a sign that said "Open to the Public" so I said 'fuck it' and strolled in. They were primarily a wholesaler, but they had live lobsters and a reach-in freezer filled with different sized lobster tails. The 3-4 oz tails were a mere $5 each! the 4-5 oz tails were only $6! There were 5 total sizes, but i settled on a $5 and a $6 tail. The dude working at the place packed them in a bag with ice for me and $11 and 2 lobster tails later, i was on my way. 2 hours later, I got home, took the tails off the ice and put them in a bowl covered with seran wrap in the fridge and off to tennis i went. Done at 830, i stopped on my way home at Mr. Paul Mittendorff's house. We shot the breeze for a few and we talked lobster. "I think I'm just gonna boil and saute and serve them with quinoa and broccoli" I said. Paul wisely cautioned "Dude...you've got lobster tails..Maine lobster tails. Make something good like a pasta or a risotto." We brainstormed ideas, I said "ok" and to home I went to explore another uncharted culinary territory and the topic of today's entry: lobster risotto.

I knew I needed some sort of stock to make this risotto work, so I took the defrosted tails out of their shells and immediately placed the shells into a small pot of boiling water. I chooped up a quarter onion, 3 garlic cloves and 2 large broccoli florets. I also trimmed the ends of both tails off and chopped up 1-2 oz of the lobster. It looked like this:

Pardon the blurriness on the bottom part of the photo, but you can get an idea of the amounts. The chopped up lobster tail on the bottom right is the most important part. I ran out of the seemingly endless supply of shallots at my house so onion had to suffice for tonight.

The shells and legs were still boiling in the stock and i threw in a pinch of onions and a pinch of garlic along with some salt and pepper. Of course, there was olive oil in the stock pot from the start. This was an "emergency" stock of sorts since i only ended up boiling it for 30 mins where usually 2 hours would've yielded a better product.

In my medium pot, i poured some olive oil and as soon as it was heated, I chucked in the broccoli, onions and garlic with salt and pepper. After about 2 minutes of stirring, i threw in the lobster (keep in mind that I set aside the heartiest part of both tails for later.) I cracked a bottle of chardonnay and splashed some over the mixture which had sauteed for about 3-4 mins. I kept stirring and washed a heaping half cup of rice (alter all proportions based on how many people you're feeding). I squeezed some lemon in the pot and then added the rice and about a cup of the drained stock, which i just separated from the shells. I stirred the pot really well and added more salt and a dash of crushed red pepper. Brought it to a boil, then took it down to low and covered the pot. I placed the 2 remaining portions of lobster in the hot stock so they would slowly and lightly poach as the risotto cooked. In about 10 minutes, i added more stock to the risotto. In another 4 minutes, i added more. This is a technique my old man taught me about risottos. He always stresses that you need to keep adding liquid throughout the cooking cycle of the risotto. I guess this is what Italian dads teach their kids....I added the final stock at about the 17 minute mark and covered the pot for good.

I then cut the 2 hearty tail portions into 8 total chunks. I heated some olive oil in a small skillet, and threw in one small chopped clove of garlic.I threw the lobster chunks in the oil, sprinkled crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper and tossed them until done.

At about 24 minutes, i uncovered the completed risotto. I spread it on a plate and shaved some fresh parmesan over it. I scattered the lobster chunks on top and this is what I came up with:

Not bad, eh? A glass of the same chardonnay paired nicely. The result was perfect. The ends of the tails that i chopped into the risotto were surprisingly chunky and added a lot of lobster flavor to the rice. The broccoli cooked down and blended in nicely with everything. Expectedly, the chunks of lobster on top were the best part. Pretty solid meal. Happy eatin'!

Spinelli




 

Part 1: It begins....with braising

So many of you have seen the photos i usually throw up on Facebook of the food I cook. I figured I'd make it official, that I REALLY like cooking and write a blog about some of the thoughts and methods behind this stuff!

My cooking style has the following characteristics:

1) I dont use recipes. I'm more interested in techniques and processes and putting my own touch on them rather than following step by step what someone else created.

2) I don't often use butter. Most everything I cook uses olive oil instead. (When it comes to eggs though, butter it is).It's healthier and I dont seem to have a problem with making things flavorful...

3) When i think of something that sounds good, I make it happen. And to me, that's really the secret of cooking. If you're afraid to try a certain technique or to just simply "go for it," then the scope of what you can accomplish will be limited.

4) I pair everything (usually) with wine. It's just more fun that way, not to mention I FUCKING LOVE WINE!

5) I know how to buy meat. You MUST learn this before going any further ;) You dont have to spend an arm and a leg on beef, pork, seafood, chicken, etc... to get a good cut. I usually go for what's on sale, that way I'm always buying different things.

6) i listen to music when I cook and I'll always tell you what I got bumpin'.

7) I don't own a microwave.

Ok, less talking, more cooking:

So my first entry will be about the braised lamb shoulder i made tonight. I'll preface this by saying that I've never really braised before and it's always been an enigmatic technique for me. I've always heard people talking about it, but ive never really tried. Maybe I always associated it with stews, but they're nothing alike.

I bought a lamb shoulder steak at Whole Foods Mart. It cost me less than 5 bucks. I had a 1/4 bottle of a Foxen cab Franc that I didnt finish from late last week and I wisely hung on to it for the braise.

I cut 5 small Yukon Gold potatoes in half(Just a fancy name, i picked em up at Farmers Market). Chopped up a quarter onion in largish pieces and browned them in some olive oil. I threw the potatoes in first, then the onions. I cooked the taters flat side down for about 2 minutes and then shook the pan up. (medium non-stick skillet) Finally, I moved the potatoes to the sides, and browned the 11 oz grass fed lamb shoulder for 90 secs each side. I had already coated it in salt, pepper and a dash of rosemary. I had also added 2 pinches of chopped up garlic and shallots around everything and let it brown a bit at the end. Sometimes I like to chop extra garlic and shallots and save it for the next night in a ziploc in the fridge, tonight, that was the case.

When done browning. I turned off the flame (it was at med-high). I then showered the pan with the Cab Franc and it was the perfect amount to cover the lamb up halfway. (I had read that this was the inherent difference between a stew and a braise; the stew, covers the lamb the whole way) Just before this step, i sprinkled some cayenne pepper and red chili flakes atop the potatoes and whatever garlic and shallots were left in my bag. I set the flame to low and covered the pan and set the timer for 35 minutes. Since Ive never braised, I wasn't sure how long this would take...

At the 25 minute mark, I checked the meat and it was coming along nicely, but a circular section of meat was being pushed up by fat and causing the lamb to not lay flat. I removed it and the cut flattened a bit. I recovered and came back in 10 minutes. This is how it looked:

Notice how its still really liquidy around the pan. I also felt the piece and it was still tough. The point of braising is to make a tougher cut tender, so I knew this wasn't done. (The liquid breaks down the collagen in the muscles of the meat into gelatin, hence, making it tender...this is what I was progressing towards). I also cheated and flipped the meat over for this period. The bottom looked very red and had clearly taken in alot of qualities of the wine. Not sure if you're supposed to flip a braised meat, in fact, I think you probably arent, but I came back and flipped it back in 7 mins.

At this point, I boiled another small pot of water to cook some broccoli in as a side dish. I wouldve thrown it in the braise, but I didn't want to mess with what I had going. I set the timer for another 10 mins and went back to my Laker game.   In 10 (yeah...you caught me. I did flip back at 7 mins) I came back and it was still a lil tougher than I would've liked. I threw the broccoli in the boiling water and squeezed a half lemon over it. In 5 mins, I turned off the broc and stalled a lil bit cause I wanted my braise to keep going. All in all, I say that piece took 50-55 minutes.  I knew it was done when I started serving it out and the liquid had turned into a gorgeous thick sauce. The onions, shallots and garlic were all fused with the wine reduction and the fat of the lamb.  I cracked open a 2007 Foxen Toasted Rope Syrah and Boom:

Look how thick the sauce looks. That's how I knew that I did this right. The potatoes were really red and I used the rest of the sauce atop the lamb, potatoes and the broccoli. The meat was tender, just perfect really, not overdone or tough at all. The cayenne and red chili pepper spiced it up nicely too. The potatoes were solid and the extra sauce on the broccoli absorbed nicely into the lemony florets.

I was really pleased with the way my first crack at braising turned out and now I feel like I can repeat this process time and time again! Hope you enjoyed my first entry. Dont know if they'll always be in this much detail, but there'll always be pictures!

Happy Eatin'!

Spinelli

Musical Selection: Local Natives - Gorilla Manor