Portabellos stuffed with shrimp scampi

I am going to try a new dish tonight. I came up with the idea out of the blue. So what I am going to do is clean and then grill portabello mushrooms, then I will make the classic shrimp scampi and put that into the mushroom caps. Then I will garnish the dish with a lemon slice, cilantro and some thin slices of a fresh anaheim chile pepper.

Talk of the Town

This eatery is going tits up. Today was they're last day. Hate to see the employees lose their job. The first time I ate there my hamburger was a hockey puck and my fries were steaming hot but rawin the middle.

The first time we went there for breakfast, everything was well made it was tasty and there was plenty of it. The next time the portion sizes were greatly reduced but the price was not. I went there with my two brothers and my mom for lunch. I am not a fan of buffets but the buffet there was awesome, everything was fresh and hot. Not sure why the exit but I ventured a guess It would be lack of gourmet food. I always had the feeling that Talk of the Town was the place to get above average cuisine. Gues that didn't work.

I feel bad for the Hillers but it is what it is.

The Hawkeye Restaurant Keokuk, IA

Yesterday Rob and I met some friends for lunch at the Hawkeye Restaurant in Keokuk, IA. The service was excelloent as usual. I had the chicken ceasar salad. That was a big salad. I didn't finish it. Rob had the french dip and had to get a to go box. Everyone was well satisfied with their meal.

The food came quick and was delicious. I have never had a bad dining experience there. I highly recommend the Hawkeye as the go to restaurant in Keokuk.

The Ghost Chile---- Bhut Jolokia

The Bhut Jolokia or "ghost chile" is native to India. It has been officially recognized as the hottest chile pepper in the world. It weighs in at over 1,000,000 Scoville units for heat. That is dang hot. I tried a small bit of a dried pepper and that was enough to make me say "whoa."

So what did I do? I ordered some fresh peppers and some dried peppers. We have some friends that like to test their metal by eating hot stuff. I ordered the fresh chiles for the seeds so I can grow some next spring. From them I will make some hot sauce to sell at the spice shop. The dried ones I will use to make a Ghost Chile Oil.

Because of the heat factor I promised the wife that I would do it all outside. When you are making hot sauce or grinding dried peppers, the odor can get intense and drive you out of the house. So for the safety of my loved ones I will do it all outside.

Can't wait to try it.

Hold the phone! Talk of the town. Woah Nelly

Stop the presses and hold the phone. The upscale eatery in town isn't so up scale. Guess things aren't what they seem. Lately somethings have transpired to lead me to believe that things are amuck in Daisyville.

An attempt to bring culture and upscale food to this little burg has failed evidently. I was grocery shopping today, as I do every day and was surprised to see the shopper in front of me buying frozen meatballs. It was about an hour before lunch time but I didn't expect to see the proprieter of our only upscale eatery buying frozen meatballs. It would have been less expensive to buy ground beef and make them from scratch.

Oh well guess we know where my fam will not be eating. I can buy frozen meatballs too and serve them at home. But I don't, Rob and the boys have a great time making meatballs from scratch. That is one of our little pleasures.

Hot Sauce and Chile Oil

Once again I have been playing in the kitchen. This time with oils and sauces. It always happens this way, some one hands me something new and if I love it I try to make it at home in the kitchen.

A friend introduced me to Mongolian Fire Oil. It was wonderful stuff so I started searching the internet for recipes and videos. I had a large package of dried arbol chile peppers so I decided to use them for my chile oil. So with the peppers, garlic and vegetable oil, I made chile oil. It's wonderful stuff and can be used for all types of cuisine.

On the heals of that success, my next mission was hot sauce. I bought a small batch of jalapenos and serrannos. A simple recipe of peppers, vinegar and salt works wonderfully. This morning I went back to the market and bought all of the jalapenos they had. They are simmering on the stove top as I type this. The fumes can get heavy so I am doing this when everyone is gone. I have the exhaust fan going. I need to find a small building to rent so I don't have to di in the house anymore.

So start experimenting and have some fun.

Chile and Pancetta Stuffed Peppers

I thought I would try something differet with chile peppers. So I made chile and pancetta stuffed peppers.

Ingredients

2 bell peppers halved and cleaned

2 jalapeno peppers sliced thin

1 cayenne pepper sliced thin

1 hungarian wax pepper sliced thin

12 cherry or grape tomatos halved

2 cloves of garlic sliced thin

1 tbs of drained and rinsed capers

1/4 cup of fresh basil

a dozen olives green or black

2 tbs red wine vinegar

1/4 cup of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup pancetta

In a medium size bowl add all of the ingredients but the bell peppers and pancetta. Mix well squishing it with your hands. Preheat your oven to 350. Place the bell peppers in a baking dish. Fill the bell peppers with your filling. Top with the pancetta. drizzle a little olive oil over the peppers. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and continue to bake until the bell peppers start to char.

Serve over toast with some mozarella cheese, olive oil and a few slices of fresh chile.

My take on a Classic Italian Bolognese

I had been planning this italian menu all morning. I wanted to make a bolognese and some garlic bread. I started prepping early on. Earlier in the day I roasted 2 bulbs of garlic. Just remove the outer skin, chop off about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the top. Put it on some aluminum foil, coat with olive oil and wrap it up. Put in an oven preheated to 400F and bake for 30 minutes.

When the garlic has cooled to the touch remove it from the foil. I mix the soft garlic with one stick of unsalted butter that is at room temp. I put that on some deli rolls and top with parmesan then crisp it up in the oven.

For the bolognese I started with a package of johnsonville italian sausage. Remove the casing from the sausage and and brown in a hot pan with olive oil. When the sausage is almost done I add in half of an onion diced fine and some minced garlic. When the sausage is done, drain the fat. Then i add in 2 cans of tomato sauce, fresh basil and fresh oregano, salt and pepper. Bring it up to a simmer and reduce the heat. Allow the sauce to reduce and thicken. I don't like a runny sauce.

Top some fresh pasta with the sauce and garnish with a bit of fresh basil and parmesan.

The italian sausage and fresh herbs really take this sauce over the top.

oops

I realized that I forgot the spicy part. Mince up fresh chiles. However many for however hot you want it. I also add grated dry roasted peanuts. I have a small hand rotary grater that works real well for this recipe.

Spicy Asian Chile Dipping Sauce

This is a wonderful spicy sauce that pairs excellent with all things asian.

Ingredients

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1 tbs sesame oil
1 1/2 tbs minced garlic
1/4 cup minced green onion
1 1/2 tbs sugar.

Chili Dogs --- Simple and Simply Delicious

The other day I was craving chili dogs. And naturally I have to go over the top with mine. I started by warming up a can of chili with no beans. Then I started cooking the dogs on a stove top griddle. When I was a child our hot dogs were always boiled. I wouldn't dream of doing that now. I want mine grilled whether in doors or out doors.

Any hoo, when the dogs are ready I put them in the bun and top with chili, then mustard, diced jalapeno and diced onion. Next i top them off with shredded cheese. MMMMM Good!!!!

Mushroom Risotto

Last night I made some mushroom risotto. It always seems to be a popular appetizer in restaurants on TV. Everyone here loved it. Colt, who doesn't like rice, thought it was good. It isn't a hard dish to make but does require a lot of attention.

Ingredients

1 cup arborio rice

2 tbs butter divided

1 onion chopped

1 tsp of garlic powder or fresh garlic

1/2 cup white wine at room temp

3 cups of hot chicken broth

1/2 cup grated parmesan, asiago or peccorino romano

fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms(porcini or button)

I start by putting the broth in a stock pot with onion, celery and carrots. I bring it up to a simmer and let it be for a while. I need it to be hot when making risotto. On medium high heat saute the rice in 1 tbs of butter, stirring constantly. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is tender. Add the wine and saute until all of the liquid is absorbed.

Slowly add 1 cup of broth, stirring frequently , as it cooks down, add the broth 1/2 cup at a time until all of the broth is absorbed. Add the mushrooms halfway thru adding the broth. Next fold in the rest of the butter, pepper and cheese. I then serve it with some left over cheese and a parsley sprig or two.