Kitchen Hack

Mustard-Tarragon Chicken with Scallion-Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Getting to the point where I don’t need recipes has been liberating. Between staples that I always have on hand and then some random stuff in the fridge I can usually whip up something pretty tasty with minimal hassle. I still use recipes. There’s so much I don’t know in terms of fundamentals and then nuances of various cuisines. But figuring out how to wing my way to something good...that’s pretty cool. That’s where this meal came from. Both of the recipes are easy. Not many ingredients. Not a lot of steps. Nothing delicate. You just turn on some heat and start slamming away. 

It was a crappy day. Spent close to six hours at the airport not getting to Chicago for a meeting tomorrow. Gave up. Came home. Decided to take on the big ass hill that starts just on the other side of Sunset from the new casa. Important note - um...in winter it gets dark early and fast. Bring a flashlight you moron. I liked the hike, particularly when I got to the end of the road and slipped through a fence and caught a trail. Avoided any bad pratfalls but did have a few scary stumbles on the way down in the dark. Sans flashlight or headlamp. On top of that felt a little under the weather all weekend. Not sure if I’ve got something or am just stressed out from the move and not really sleeping well in the new place just yet. So haven’t felt great. Just kinda off. I didn’t want to do anything new. I didn’t want to go to the store. I didn’t want to go out. I didn’t want to screw with grub hub or pizza. 

I had a pack of chicken thighs and a pound of fingerling potatoes. Chicken and taters works just fine. But only if you do stuff to it. Otherwise its dull as all get out.

Looking in the fridge, I found this...

The Frittata: Destroyer of Leftovers And Random Fridge Finds

So...what do you do when you got a bunch of stuff in the fridge and for whatever reason, you gotta clear it out? Simple...Frittata the beejeesus out of them. 
Here’s how, no recipe needed...

Cookin’ For Dudes: Shrimp with Citrus Salsa

Been eating a bit unhealthy lately and needed to get back on the “I worked really hard to drop all that weight, don’t let yourself put that crap back on” train. In true Cookin’ For Dudes style, this has very few ingredients, comes together fast, and your significant other will think you did something really nice for her (or him or them...whatever is appropriate). 

Grilled Snapper with Caramelized Pineapple-Serrano Butter and Pineapple Carrot Slaw

Summer. Kinda Hot, kinda humid. I wanted something refreshing and light but filling. I wanted something tried and true and something new. I wanted something with a little complexity and a higher than average degree of difficulty. I wanted to work for it, dammit. 

First stop, let's see what we got laying around. 

Hmm...okay. Some super fresh, super sweet carrots (bonus points for a multitude of colors), a leek. And a pineapple. 

It wasn't until a few years ago that I found I liked pineapple. More specifically, I like grilled pineapple. Raw pineapple is just to acidic and pineapple-y for me. Grilled, and some smart person out there can tell me why, either ups the sweetness and lowers the acidity or because the sweetness goes up, it masks the acidity. Either way, I like it. 

So, let's make pineapple the star of this show and work around it. 

Grilled Chicken and Stone Fruit Salad Blueberry-White Balsamic Vinaigrette

I'm taking a brief break from the surprisingly popular Cookin' for Dudes series. Mostly because every now and then I feel like gettin' all chef-y, or at least my closest approximation of it. I'd first played around with this thing a year ago and had a few things I wanted to try with it. 

What triggered my memory of it was moseying out to the garden. The arugula and Bibb lettuce were looking good. Gave the arugula a taste and it was downright vibrant. So, thought I'd give it a go again. 

So, let's fire up a Grilled Chicken and Stone Fruit Salad with a Blueberry-White Balsamic Vinaigrette. 

Cookin' for Dudes: Sweet/Hot Chicken Curry - Goin' Subcontinental

Okay, dudes. We're going to the sub-continent. Getting our (pseudo) India on. You know how you are...you grill, maybe you've made a salad or two for your significant other. Let's show her(him) you have an international flair. 

The original to this comes from here. It's from the New York Times Cooking site by a no-kiddin'-around chef named Pierre Franey. I have, of course, screwed with it. Not 'cause there was anything wrong with it...just 'cause. This, therefore, is a double dude post...mine, and the original. 

Unlike most Indian dishes (or Indian inspired dishes), this has just a few ingredients. Indian food derives its depth of flavor in that it usually consists of small amounts of a ton of ingredients. This one is pretty simple in comparison. 

Ground Turkey & Veggie Stir Fry

This one ain't for the dudes even though stir fry lends itself well to dude based cooking. It's all high heat and brute force, which is pretty much how dudes grill so you'd think it's be adaptable. For whatever reason, it isn't. I think it's the way you have to constantly stir and the short cooking bursts for each ingredient. Seems to defy dudeness. It's important to point out that I'm not using "dude" and "man" as synonyms. Not all men are dudes, and dude is, in my vernacular, gender free. 

This is the first recipe I ever cooked. I've been making it for years.

Cookin' for Dudes: Weight Loss Special - Paprika Pork Chop Salad

Usually when I hear something is good for weight loss or is low cal or some such, I run like hell. Because I know I'm going to be eating some flavorless amalgam of barn sweepings and twigs. And, dude...I just can't. 

I didn't make this to be low calorie. It just turned out that way. Having come to the overdue conclusion that there's waaaaay too much of me to love, I'm okay with it being low cal. It's filling, its vibrant, but it clocks in around 500 calories and it's loaded with healthy nutrients. Best of all, pork is involved. Maybe even better (what's the next level up from "best") This thing took 15 minutes from when I started thinking about it to when I was eating. 

just me and Sous Chef Caya today. I found myself with a couple of pork chops in the fridge, a bunch of veggies and an abiding hunger. 

Caya was so hungry that she'd had enough of the lovey dovey crap on the deck and was looking for a squirrel to kill.

Cookin' for Dudes: An awesome recipe THAT REQUIRES NO COOKING

(Featuring completely unsolicited advice on olive oil)

The scene: it's a beautiful spring/summer day. But it's hot. Really, really hot. Despite that, you and your Best One did something outside and active. Took a run or a bike ride. A hike. Built a gazebo in your backyard. Played with your kids, all of whom are under the age of 10 and, as a result, completely impervious to heat as long as you remember to spray water on them every now and again. 

You're hot. You're sweaty. In a good way. You want a snack. You, dude, probably want chips and guacamole or some other absurdly heavy thing. 'Cause you're a dude. Tougher still, you're an American Dude. And that's how our limited brains work. 

Tell your Best One to get a cold drink and kick back in the shade. You'll be back in 10 minutes (if you move really slow) with something refreshing and restoring. She doesn't believe you but because she loves you, she pretends to. I got something for you that doesn't require any actual cooking. I got something that doesn't require plugging in so much as a blender. 

Cantaloupe with Prosciutto

Cookin' for Dudes: Fast, Easy (but weirdly classy) Lemon Pasta

Long week. Multiple cities. Landed at the airport, got in the car and drove right into the teeth of Friday Rush Hour traffic. By the time I got off the freeway 30 minutes later I'd gone from a rather involved Farro and Breaded Sole thing I had in my head to "screw it, I'm just stopping at the first fast food joint I see". 

And then I thought, "Nah." If I'm gonna try to eat healthier I gotta actually eat healthier and I didn't want a sit down restaurant and I didn't much feel like cooking. Then I remembered this dish. 

It's a standby go-to when I need something fast but I want it to be light and relatively healthy. I'd cook it for Jill from time to time when I'd get back from a week of travel and I was tired and didn't feel like cooking. But, you know what? She'd had a long week, too. She'd been working, too. She was tired, too. And I'd missed the hell out of her and wanted to do something for her.