What is O-Dog having for supper tonight?

[modru2004]

speaking of taco's. have you ever had fresh corn tortillas with raw hamburger and some Velveeta inside the tortilla folded over in the shape of a taco and fried in a skillet to make a delicious crunchy homemade taco? serve with your favorite homemade salsa.

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speaking of taco's. have you ever had fresh corn tortillas with raw hamburger and some Velveeta inside the tortilla folded over in the shape of a taco and fried in a skillet to make a delicious crunchy homemade taco? serve with your favorite homemade salsa.

Velveeta??? O-Dog don't roll that way! That is an interesting idea though.. How careful do you have to be about making sure you don't burn the tortilla while still cooking the meat enough? Any seasoning on the meat?

Went out to one of my favorite restaurants (http://www.porterspubeaston.com/) last night with my dad. Had a grilled rib-eye sandwich (rib-eye steak, worcestershire sauce, sauteed onions, lettuce, and garlic mayo on a ciabatta roll) and a couple of good brews. one was an IPA i had never heard of and the other was the restaurant's house ESB, brewed by Stoudt's.

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Cheesesteak with sauteed onions. Got some thin sliced ribeye, pan seared and on an italian people's bakery roll with some provelone. Made some corn on the cob (fresh, local NJ corn from the farm) and a tomato salad. delicious!

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A couple weeks ago Shop Rite had Nature's Reserve (grass fed, free range imported from Australia) whole beef tenderloins on sale for $5.99/lb, which is an absolute steal. Of course, butchering it is a somewhat involved process. I did it last week at my parent's place since I'm mooching some freezer space off of them to store the pieces, but I wound up with a filet mignon from the tail end, a center cut tenderloin roast (could be mignons in the future or the whole roast), The butt and misc other delicious goodies (chain, ear). All said and done, I paid 6.50/lb for what I had left over.

Which brings me to dinner tonight: Pan Seared Filet Mignon topped with red-wine sauteed shallots, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and a side of steamed green beans drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction. Accompanied by a fresh pomegranate baslamic and chipolte olive oil tomato salad with mozzarella

sorry for bad pic, GNex camera in low light :\

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Last night I went to a beer dinner with my dad. Every course was paired with a beer by Harpoon Brewery. The food was excellent, 7 courses worth

First Course
Scotch Egg, Corn Chowder, Lobster Wonton
Harpoon Summer Beer

Second Course
Boston Bibb salad with beer-battered bacon, goat cheese, peaches and roasted shallot vinaigrette
Harpoon White UFO

Third Course
Braised Octopus Carpaccio
Harpoon Ginger Wheat

Fourth Course
Chicken n’ Waffles: Fried chicken wings, belgian waffle with Jalepeno maple syrup and strawberry butter
Harpoon Bohemian Pilsner (my favorite of the night!!)

Fifth Course
Braised Pig Cheeks, Chipotle Sweet Potato Puree, Sautéed Baby Spinach, Natural Jus
Harpoon IPA

Sixth Course
Burger, onion rings, bacon, cheddar, bbq sauce, grilled jalapeno
Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA

Seventh Course
Beer Float (yes, a beer float) with vanilla Ice Cream and white chocolate macadamia nut cookie
Harpoon Raspberry Hefe UFO

It was a lot of fun, would definitely do again

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WEEKEND DINNER PROJECT: July 28-29, 2012
Captain's log:
It all began with a casual conversation with my roommate, one which eventually sent my curious mind on a journey back to a website I had found year(s) ago. This is the story of what occured next.

July 28, 2012: Day One
After reading about the "perfect" burger patty composition, I head to my local Shop Rite to pick up some beef. I walked out with Sirloin, Brisket and Oxtail. I returned to my humble kitchen to begin the process. It was arduous at first. Removing the meat from an oxtail is an arduous process mired with silverskin, connective tissue, bone and bits of "what the hell is that?" Nonetheless, I persevered, cubing the rest of the meats and retuning them to the fridge to sit overnight. As I shut off the kitchen lights, a shiver ran up my spine.

July 29, 2012: The Second Day
Not having a meat grinder of my own, I made the brief trek to my parent's house to use their KitchenAid Mixer attachment. I made sure to put the meat and the grinder in the freezer for 25-30 minutes in order to keep the fat intact and reduce smearing during grinding. I ended up grinding ~5oz of Oxtail, 10oz each of Sirloin and Brisket. I returned to my workshop with my freshly ground haul in tow

Now, what to do with this bounty? Since I have plenty of it, I will undoubtedly be doing some different burgers in the near future, but to start I thought I'd try a cooking technique I don't normally use and attempt to recreate the famous Shake Shack Burger. The steps are as follows:

Note: All pics are clickable to larger versions. Click through for better view!

Step 1: Create burger patty. One nice thing about grinding your own meat is that its much much looser than the stuff you get in the store. Attempt to handle as little as possible during this step:



Step 2: Grease the pan with only a smear of vegetable oil from a paper towel, and heat pan until the oil is just smoking. Season burger patty with salt and pepper and place on the pan, seasoned side down.

Step 3: This is the one thats a little different for me. Smash the patty down to thin it out, and season the other side with salt and pepper



Step 4: Prepare bun. Lightly toasted, with a tablespoon of "Shack Sauce" (mayo, mustard, ketchup, paprika, chipolte and dill pickle). Then lettuce and tomato. I got my tomato from the farm stand down the road, doing my part to buy local!



Step 5: Flip. Careful, its going to be stuck pretty good, but look at the amazing crust on this baby! The lack of oil increases stickage but also increases the crust formation.



Step 6: Add cheese after flip. Cook until melted



Step 7: Place on bun and serve!




A shot mid-massacre, with a side of potato salad and a delicious Arnold Palmer!



It came out pretty awesome. Not a medium rare "gourmet" burger by any stretch, but it was delicious. A pretty faithful reproduction of the Shack Burger. I will definitely be doing this one again, maybe with a different meat ratio since I think it needs a big more fat. If there was one criticism of the meat itself, it was that it could have been a bit juicier. very flavorful though!

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Did a do-over tonight. I used a little more meat and kept the burger a little thicker this time and I think it turned out better, a little more of the burger flavor shone through. Paired it with a simple salad dressed in balsamic and chipotle olive oil. Very good

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Last night I made some pasta sauce.. "bolognese" -inspired

Ground beef (left over from the burger escapade)
diced celery, carrots and onions
red wine (cabernet, used to deglaze the pan i browned the meat in)
Tomato paste
Crushed tomatoes
Cream
Grana Padano cheese
basil, oregano, salt etc

Came out alright, not exactly what I had envisioned. A little too much wine and not quite enough meat. Not bad for completely winging it. I didn't serve it yet, I figured I'd make the sauce and then let it to let the flavors come together

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Last night I made some pasta sauce.. "bolognese" -inspired

Ground beef (left over from the burger escapade)
diced celery, carrots and onions
red wine (cabernet, used to deglaze the pan i browned the meat in)
Tomato paste
Crushed tomatoes
Cream
Grana Padano cheese
basil, oregano, salt etc

Came out alright, not exactly what I had envisioned. A little too much wine and not quite enough meat. Not bad for completely winging it. I didn't serve it yet, I figured I'd make the sauce and then let it to let the flavors come together

Had this last night. A little time in the fridge helped mellow it out, then I heated it back up, browned a little more ground beef, added a little more cream and a healthy extra dose of fresh basil. It all really got this sauce in the right place. Brought it over to my parents house and served with some Perciatelli (aka bucatini, aka spaghetti tubes). My dad contributed a nice garden salad. It was pretty delicious, I'll definitely be trying to re-create this again in the future.

And the best part: LEFTOVERS! w00t

[drkCrix]

You should try browning some bacon ( pancetta I believe would be the best option ) before you brown the beef

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You should try browning some bacon ( pancetta I believe would be the best option ) before you brown the beef

Yea, I would definitely add pancetta or lardons next time. The nice thing about making the dish this time was that I had pretty much everything already and didn't need to go out to get anything. if I'm at the store buying for this dish, pancetta will be on my list

[StillFunkyB]

I wish I didn't see that burger post.

It brought a tear to my eye and a rumble to my stomach!

I need to learn how to cook. I'm not completely lost in the kitchen, I mean I wouldn't starve if I had to make my own food but I wouldn't go much past that.

[StillFunkyB]

I made myself an iced mocha latte....

Not real fancy since I don't have an espresso maker, nor do I plan on buying one. I also didn't have any dark roast coffee, but my maker does have a dark setting. So I put in my Dunkin medium roast and set it to dark.

1.5 cups of coffee
3 tablespoons of Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 cup of 2% milk
ice

Turned out pretty good, but I had to add another tablespoon of chocolate syrup. It wasn't quite sweet enough.

And the reason I bolded "Hershey's" is because there are two things in the kitchen that I absolutely don't stray from. One is Hershey's chocolate syrup, and the other is Heintz ketchup. You put that Hunts crap in front of me and your likely to get slapped in the mouth.

[frogmeat69]

AAAAAAAYY!!! The Fonz says Heintz Ketchup is cool!!!!!

[Lenny]

Heintz = 8 MB RAM