Birthday!!!!

Spicy Peruvian Lima Bean Succotash – Recipe

Spicy Peruvian Lima Bean Succotash – http://www.nerdsteak.com

Here is a tasty recipe using Peruvian Lima Beans. They are quite a large bean that ends up having a very creamy consistency when cooks, so be gentle when mixing.  I soaked them overnight, then boiled them for about 1-1/2 hours for this recipe.  Watch them close when boiling because they can go from cooked to a mushy mess in a few minutes.

Spicy Peruvian Lima Bean Succotash

5 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 tablespoons Aleppo chile flake
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-1/2 cups cooked Peruvian Lima Beans
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/4 cup picked cilantro leaves
1/4 cup roughlly chopped arugula

Fry bacon on medium heat in a large skillet until crispy, then remove to drain on a paper towel, leaving excess rendered fat in the pan.
Add onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add garlic, chile flake, salt and pepper and sauté just until aromatic, about 1 minute.
Add cooked Peruvian Lima Beans, tomatoes and corn to pan, and cook just until tomatoes are tender, about 4 minutes.
Finish by adding sherry vinegar, then turn off heat, fold in cilantro and arugula and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes about 6 servings

Jim Gaffigan on BACON!

A Slam Poem to Bacon, By Nick Offerman

Bacon…that is all…

It’s Because We Became Lazy – US Obesity Problem

The American diet as it relates to calories has actually changed very little over the past 80 years.  There has been a switch from a high carbohydrate and animal fat diet in the past, to a high vegetable fat based, higher protein diet in more recent years.  We also have the addition of increased fiber, understanding of healthy fats, as well as an increase in raw vegetable and fruit consumption.  This shift, specifically over the last 40 years, does not proportionally match the increase in the obesity problem. So what is the cause?

Due to the breakthroughs in technology, the average calorie expenditure of individuals has DRASTICALLY decreased, especially starting in the 80’s.  A reduction in jobs requiring manual labor, new modes of transportation, and a huge increase in the tech. industry has wiped out the need for the population to get their hands dirty, focusing more on computer skills and less on physical activity, as well as the use of things like the internet, TV, and video games.  (For the record, I love the internet, TV, and video games.) This basically means that the diets of the average person has remained relatively unchanged (with a slow and steady caloric increase,) while our way of life has drastically reduced general physical activity.  In the 60’s over half of the private jobs required some kind of manual labor, but now it is less than 16%.

Although red meat still reigns supreme in the US diet over the past years, chicken consumption increased drastically since the 1970’s as did the average fruit and vegetable daily intake.  Although the vegetable and salad oil use has increased a good amount over this same time period, most likely due to the availability of fried foods and snacks, the use of butter and margarine spreads at meal times has decreased along with a huge swing from whole milk to lower fat varieties.  There has been an obvious increase in carbohydrate consumption over the years due to things like HFCS as well, but as stated before, this does not proportionately reflect the skyrocketing obesity rates. Also, the diets of previous years had a larger portion of calories coming from carb. sources like breads, pasta, white rice and potatoes.

Americans have drastically increased in eating out as opposed to cooking at home, but the options available at restaurants have shifted to healthier options, even if a good portion of consumers still do not choose them.  The American consumer also forged the path to larger portion size.  They demanded greater value and their purchasing habits reflected this, however the actually content of the food has remain steady of the years, which supports the fact that the food industry should not be directly to blame for this obesity epidemic, but the US lifestyle should.  Just like any industry, it reacts to the purchasing habits of its consumers, and the food industry is no exception. That being said, the food industry could defiantly do a better job in promoting low calorie, fresher foods.

I just want to leave you with one more interesting fact…the average person is now 33 pounds heavier then they were in the 60’s and also burn almost 200 less calories a day, which can account for almost 60% of those extra pounds.  Add just a bit more of physical activity, we can start shedding the weight.

 

More Food Shenanigans – a.k.a Pictures

Honey Dijon Farro Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Fontina Cheese, Flat Leaf Parsley

This is how you make a real bacon bowl!

Gruyere and Caramelized Leek Couscous Stuffed Tomato with Porcini Mushrooms and Fennel

Arugula and Red Cabbage Salad with Maple Vinegrette, Roasted Pears, Caramelized Pearl Onions, Candied Walnuts, and Cheddar Chip

BACON!!!!!!!!!

Grano Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Baby Kale, Red Onions, Diced Cherry Tomatoes, and BACON!

Chef Tricks – Pro Tools

Here are a few key items that can upgrade your cooking skills from amateur to PRO status:

•Mandoline – You can slice, dice, and even make french fries.  If you think a chef is spending time slicing that radish paper thin for your salad, you are mistaken.  If you need to get a perfect dice, or baton even, start with a mandoline slice, then finish with a chefs knife.  Need to sliced potatoes for a gratin…the mandoline is your best bet.

•Blender – I want to make an ‘xyz’ puree…BLENDER.  I want to whip up a vinaigrette or mayonnaise from scratch…BLENDER.  I feel like a pistachio cilantro pesto on my salmon…BLENDER.  I love cream of broccoli soup…BLENDER…blender.

•Stand Mixer – No matter what brand you prefer, you can whip, blend, fold, kneed, grind and stuff all with the same piece of equipment. Multi-tasking at its finest, in some case you can set it…AAANNNDDD?

•Ice – Being a master with something as simple as ice can make your ingredient prep. pro level.  In a fast, high volume restaurant, do you think they are always cooking your risotto or pasta from raw product to order?  Do you think every batch of sauce is cooked and held hot? Nothing helps with speed, and quality control than cooking and cooling food items in an ice bath.  Perfect for vegetables when wanting to keep a bright green color with a tender mouthfeel.  Holding foods hot changes its color, flavor, and appearance.  Cooling hot foods fast to refrigerated temperatures is also a food safety bonus!

•Silpat – The most non-sticky bulletproof pan liner you can find.  It will hold up to high over temperatures, melted sugar and will keep coming back for more.  Baked goods don’t stand a chance, and neither does anything else for that matter.

•Strainer/cheese cloth combo – A chinois is also acceptable, but if you ever wondered how a chefs sauce or soup is nice and smooth with no lumps or grittiness, its because the strain out the bad stuff.  Is your gravy or cheese sauce a little to chunky?  Toss it into a strainer with a few layers of cheese cloth and save the day.

What are some of your favorite cooking tools that make you feel pro???

Bacon Poem – Thou Art Loving Pork

 

 

 

 

 

If it’s first thing in the morning
Or the last thing at night,
Bacon will make life better
Even if it’s just a bite

You might bake it in the oven
Or crisp it in a pan,
Salty, smokey, fatty goodness
Brings the joy only bacon can

The aroma will fill a room
instantly gathering a crowd,
Your bacon will magically disappear
as if ascending to a cloud

Bacon has found its way
into many culinary creations,
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts,
Even some odd libationsSo if you need a tasty snack
the ultimate in food inventions,
Grab a slab of bacon
You’re welcome, with good intentions

Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger Crusted Filet – Need I Say More?

I would like to state right here and now, that I am the originator of the ‘Burger Crusted Steak’.  I used the same burger meat I created yesterday, and packed it around a beef filet, then made magic happen.  This is how you do it…(dun da dun da dun dunnnnnnn):

First you make your bacon bleu burger mix:

• 2 pounds of 90/10 ground chuck (90% lean)
• 1-1/2 pounds raw applewood smoked bacon (pureed in food processor into a paste)
• 8 ounces gorgonzola cheese
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. granulated garlic

Take a 6 ounce beef filet and flatten it to about 1/2 inch thickness, then season with salt.  Take your ground meat mixture, and liberally pack it around the steak:

On a grill set to super high, grill for about 5 minutes on each side, turning 90° half way through:

Place the burger-steak-beast on a small sheet tray, and bake in a 375°F oven for about 6 more minutes to have a nice medium-rare center (you can adjust your cooking time here to your preferred doneness).  Remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting into this bad boy and having a party in your mouth!

If  winning was a Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger Crusted Filet…this would be it.  Hopeful this starts a new trend with all the hipster-foodies out there, and I get the occasional shout-out.  \\..//

Bacon Puree – The new ‘pink slime’ turned into a slider

Bacon.

It is my favorite food group.  In a previous post I used bacon puree to make bacon chips.  I have taken bacon slime to new heights with what I like to call a ‘3B slider’.  I wanted to make the ultimate bacon slider using fresh blended bacon puree seen below. This is 100% real applewood smoked bacon pureed in a food processor.

For the burger patty, I blended together:

 

• 2 pounds of 90/10 ground chuck (90% lean)
• 1-1/2 pounds of bacon puree
• 8 ounces of Gorgonzola crumbles
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. granulated garlic

This mixture will be a lot looser than your average ground beef so I think it works best as a slider.  I formed these bad boys into small patties, then cooked them on a SUPER hot grill for about 1 minute and 30 seconds a side.  I assembled them on small dinner rolls with buffalo aioli, 2 hour caramelized onions, green leaf lettuce, and garlic pickle slices:

Juicy and flavorful doesn’t even begin to describe these little nuggets of joy.  I also recommend cooking them to about medium well (yeah thats right!) to have a super nice crust to the patty.  You have a combo of salty and creamy from the bacon-gorgonzola patty, sweetness from the onions, and heat from the buffalo aioli.  You can thank me later.

Let me know what you use bacon puree in!