Friday, April 18, 2014
Barbecued Santa Maria Tri Tip Black is the New Golden Brown
The town of Santa Maria, California, is home to one of Americas most delicious barbecue specialties - the black-on-the-outside, pink-on-the-inside, grilled beef tri-tip steak. The tri-tip is cut from the bottom sirloin, and if cooked properly produces a very flavorful, extremely juicy piece of beef.My version isn’t exactly authentic, since I didnt grill it over hot coals made from Central Californian red oak. They say its the red oak that gives this style of barbecue such a great flavor. One day Ill travel down to Santa Maria and taste this for myself, but until then regular hard wood charcoal will do just fine.
One of the signature characteristics of this barbecued beef is the spicy, charred crust outside, and the juicy, medium-rare meat inside. To achieve this we use a very hot grill, along with a continual turning and basting with a garlic and red wine vinaigrette. This basting sauce is another modern addition, as the original relied on just the dry rub and red oak for its flavor - again with the red oak.
Tri-tip a very common cut of meat around these parts, but any butcher worth his or her mustache will be able to cut one of these triangular roasts from the bottom sirloin. If theyre confused, just bring in your iPod and play the video for them so they can see what you want.In Santa Maria this tri-tip is traditionally served with beans, salsa and tortillas, but in the video youll see the succulent slices sitting next to some unbelievably delicious eggplant Parmesan, which I also filmed and will edit soon. Yes, another tease. Enjoy!
Ingredeints:
2 to 2 1/2 lb beef tri-tip roast
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 cloves crushed garlic
Here are some more delicious video recipes Ive filmed on the grill:Asian-Marinated Skirt Steak
Grilled Paprika Chicken
Grilled Lamb Chops with Fresh Mint Sauce
Grilled Lemon Yogurt Chicken
Fennel-rubbed Flank Steak with Grilled Oranges
Friday, April 4, 2014
Life is Just a Bowl of Top Ramen Noodles
I get lots of email. Lots of great inspiring email, with great questions, and great compliments for me and my videos, and the occasional bizarre request that makes me chuckle. And, while it’s tempting to post some of these, I never have because of the obviously self-indulgent, self-serving nature of such an act. I can’t imagine coming to your favorite food blog and reading a post like “Hey everybody, check out this email and how great they think I am!” Well, I’m making a one-time exception, and posting an email I received today.As you know from the last few posts, I’m in the middle of a very intense and time-consuming try-out for a position with About.com. If I get it, it would allow me the freedom to continue producing a steady supply of free video recipes for your viewing pleasure. I’ve been up working late into the night, and generally feeling overwhelmed, as I try to get as much done as I can before leaving for my sisters wedding Wednesday. So, the following email came at just the perfect time. Thanks Ginny, you made my day, and I feel like I have gotten my second wind, and will actually somehow pull off finishing this project during my trip. By the way, the email was inspiring enough, but the “P.S” about Rachel Ray made me laugh out loud, and is what really pushed me out of the darkness and into the light. From one former starving, Top Ramen-eating student to another, thanks again!! Here is the email verbatim, followed by an old post I did about Ms. Ray,in case youve never heard of her.
Hi Chef John,
I discovered you on you tube and you are quite a comfort. Just want to say thanks for the great/ entertaining/ informative/delicious videos on your website. I love cooking but find myself short on cash occasionally. Some nights when all I’ve got around are some ramen noodles or a frozen T.V. dinner, (and I just cant bear to eat one more) I turn on the computer and watch a few of your videos. Somehow, it is possible for me to live vicariously through the screen. Basically I feel more satisfied just by watching your food rather than eating mine. Trust me, if I had the extra cash I would be sure to send some your way so I could get some Culinary Karma. Keep up the good work,
Ginny
P.S. Who is Rachel Ray?
Mmm..mmmm…mmmm, Rachael Ray
I like Rachael Ray. There, I said it. It’s not her cooking, or her bubbly on-air personality, or her ubiquitous EVOO, or her 30-minutes meals (wow, she made a tuna melt in 30 minutes!). It’s simply the fact that every other “real” Chef in the country hates her. They talk about her like she is somehow ruining the entire culinary landscape like some kind of inedible weed. She doesn’t claim to be a Chef; she’s just a cute, perky home-cook that has fun in the kitchen, cooking simple, easy to make food. So, to these high and mighty, foam-making, agar agar-loving, sous vide-obsessed, micro-green sprinkling “real” Chefs, I say lighten up! Come on, she just made little meatloaves in cup cake tins! Yummmoo!Now, I have to admit, I don’t watch her 30-minute meals show, or her talk show (is it still on?), but I do watch her “$40 a day” show. Why? For one reason, and one reason only… the sound/noise she makes after taking that first bite of every meal on the show. It goes a little something like this, “mmm…mmmm.” Whether you’re a fan of the show or not, I hope you enjoy this clip I found on Youtube. Mmmmmm, enjoy!
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Is That Why Theyre Called Game Hens
Of course theyre not called game hens because theyre so great for pre-game tailgate cookouts, but they could be. Im not exactly sure when it will happen, but sometime this summer you will reach your grilled chicken limit, and when you do, this simple marinated game hen recipe will be there for you.The idea here is borrowed from the highly successful Cornell chicken experiments, and uses a similar acid/salt/oil/egg concoction, only this time the part of egg is played by mayo. Needless to say you can season this a million ways, and use any combination of hot chilies, but the little kick the habanero adds is really nice.
You can, and so many of you probably will, use regular old chicken halves for this recipe, but the smaller, sweeter hens are a nice change of pace, and a half of one makes for a perfect picnic-sized portion per person. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 Cornish game hens, halved or chicken halves
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 habanero pepper, seeded
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 teaspoon salt
Friday, February 21, 2014
A tasty oatmeal pancake recipe is healthy for you
Regular pancakes usually consist of white flour and considered not with so many nutrients, such as those with other types of grain. They are carbohydrate loaded, so that they rise to rather high in some cases your blood sugar can cause. Pancakes have no source of fiber flour but use other grains you will be in the position, less carbohydrates and much fiber offer your body. Oatmeal can be one of these alternative grains to make you to an oatmeal pancakes recipe.
The original oatmeal pancakes comes from a country, you would not expect come from. They come from Sweden and are usually with fruit and jelly served instead of syrup. Oatmeal pancakes can be served with regular syrup and they taste very good, but you can put also Apple sauce on it if you want to use not syrup.
In this recipe , use regular oatmeal instead of the microwave type. Avoid the Quick Oats in the following recipe. The only oatmeal, you should use is slow cooked oatmeal and can organic oatmeal if you wish.
Simply oatmeal pancakes can be by an and a half cup of oatmeal combine with two cups of milk in a large bowl. Let sit this for about 10 minutes and more. You combine a half cup whole wheat flour, half a cup all purpose flour, one tablespoon of baking soda, a tablespoon of brown sugar, a quarter teaspoon salt in a separate bowl and a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix respect this well with a whisk but you, so hard it flies from the bowl whisk it.
Two whole eggs and they add the oatmeal, which was soaking has. You melt a quarter cup butter and add to the OAT as well. The last thing you add is one teaspoon vanilla. Now you take the flour mixture and add it gradually to the OAT mixture mix well by hand until it is connected to all egg dough beaten in a pancake.
Get a pan or griddle hot and add a little oil or butter. Take a quarter Cup of batter and drop it on the hot pan. See launch bubbles to collect the outside and once surrounded the whole pancake with the bubbles can you on the other side. As soon as both sides are well browned and is in fluffy and light place serve the pancakes on a plate. Butter can be placed at the top with some syrup, applesauce, or jam.
A homemade syrup to go along with your pancakes can made oatmeal, and is an orange syrup. This is really easy to make and with the pancakes taste divine. You are in a medium-sized pot a half cup sugar, a quarter cup orange juice, a quarter cup butter and a quarter cup light corn syrup. Whisk it all together and heat until it begins to boil. From the heat take and about 5 minutes to cool and serve on the pancakes. This is not the healthiest topping in the world for an oatmeal pancake recipe , but if you want to show off only once give it a try.
Want to learn how you delicious home-made pancakes to make, which everyone loves? Click on Bens collection of pancake recipes , where you also another version this oatmeal pancakes recipe and find many other delicious recipes.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Cheater Pierogi – This is No Polish Joke
During this video for quick and easy cheese pierogi, I joke about my Polish grandmother rolling over in her grave, but after eating several batches of these delicious dumplings, I’m pretty sure Grandma Sophie would have approved. 
View the complete recipe
