Coleslaw

Those of you that know me, which is like... everybody, you should know that I have had a fascination with Las Margaritas coleslaw for years now. I've tried several times to get the recipe out of Gabriel and Jose Louis, not to mention several others. I've even considered getting a job there as the token white guy washing dishes to see if I could somehow get turned on to the recipe.

But hey.
I don't need the recipe. This one works just fine for me...

You'll need some Ingredients.

Like an onion named Ingrid, and seasonings.

 

The base is, of course, cabbage. You want to shred your cabbage. So take this...

And turn it into this...

Next you'll want to add some vegetables. I usually put in one whole sweet onion, shredded like the cabbage, and a handful of baby carrots. I've seen people use bell peppers here too, but due to some wicked cases of heartburn in the past, I don't need no stinking peppers!

Now make the dressing.

For the dressing combine:

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 cup cider vinegar

in a saucepan over medium heat. Then bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.

Pour the dressing over the cabbage and toss well. Then cover and refrigerate.

This slaw is tangy and really complements smoked meats.

Hint... Hint...

(someone make me a pulled pork sandwich!)

Banana Bread

Hey. Does anybody have a good recipe for banana bread? I know my zucchini bread recipe is better than Chris', but that's different.

Garlic Shrimp and Wilted Spinach Salad

Fry 1 lb fresh veined, shelled Shrimp in a high quality E.V.O. Oil(think fruity) with Garlic, Kosher Salt and fresh cracked Pepper to taste.

Drizzle hot oil on Fresh Spinach. Toss. Top with Garlic Shrimp and fresh Grape Tomatoes.
Serve with Crusty Whole Grain Bread

Garlicky Shrimp and Guacamole Fajitas

Dice a Shallot

Add minced Garlic and several ground Chipotles and a touch of Crushed Red Pepper.

Smash an Avacado into this mixture.


Fry 1 lb fresh veined and shelled Shrimp with Garlic and Kosher Salt and fresh cracked Pepper to taste.

Top Whole Wheat Tortillas with Garlic Guacamole, Garlic Shrimp and the cheese of your choice. I prefer the fat free sharp Cheddar.

Spicy Pork stirfry with wild rice pilaf

Pilaf

Mince half a small onion, mince 1 clove garlic and mince 1.5" cube of peeled fresh ginger. Saute in 1 tsp oil until translucent add crushed red pepper or minced jalapeno. add 1 cup wild rice previously cooked per manufacturer instructions, handful of slivered almonds and diced scallion saute 1-2 min and set aside.

Stirfry

Heat oil with a lot of crushed pepper. Add thin sliced pork(10-12 oz.) and stir fry. Toss in 1 sliced onion, 1 large sliced bell pepper (whatever color you like), a bunch of sliced carrots (I prefer the matchstick slice), 2 cloves minced garlic, grated ginger and soy sauce to taste. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with a side of tomatoes with fresh Basil and Balsamic

Cookin' with Hansen Kids

No, the Hansen kids are not the ingredients... they're the chefs!
Now, it's not all home made entirely from scratch or anything but, it was a fun project as we mixed and matched toppings!
Cookin' with the kiddos was Chris' idea and it was a good one!

The kids started with personal sized ready-made crusts and slathered on some pizza sauce from a jar.

Then added fresh chopped up tomato (chopped by an adult :-).

Then they sprinkled on chopped cilantro and some grilled chicken breast. Josh bought skinless, boneless chicken breast and grilled it on the Forman seasoning with a little basil then chopped it up.

Then they sprinkled on finely shredded mozzarella and mild cheddar (it came in a "pizza blend" bag of shredded cheese).

Then came pineapple (from a can) and shredded up bacon we had just fried up fresh.

They cooked for just 8 minutes.

Yummy yummy!

The kids really enjoyed having a meal they made themselves.

They did a large portion of the preparing

and it was goooood!

Then it was mom and dad's turn.
Ours included BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce, grilled chicken, bacon, same cheese, red onion, fresh chopped tomato and cilantro, pineapple on Brittany's and fresh sliced jalapeno on Josh's.

Josh's Pizza.

Brittany's Pizza.

Eve followed up the delicious meal with a dessert that included a small bowl of sliced strawberry and bananas with whole milk poured over and topped with a few drizzles of honey.

Josh thought it sounded "weird".

Eve gobbled it right up and loved every bit!

Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary Pinot Noir Sauce, Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus with Carmelized Capers and Wild Rice blend

First wrap asparagus with prosciutto, drizzle with E.V.O. Oil pepper and very light salt to taste.
Grill!

Dredge Beef Tenderloin in a mix of flour, garlic powder, onion powder, s&p and crushed red pepper. For this I used several Chipotles...


Brown on all sides add a sprig of Rosemary and finish in 500 degree oven maybe 7 min.
Remove beef to rest. Deglaze pan with Pinot Noir and reduce. Finish the sauce with a little butter. Caramelize the capers in a nonstick skillet with butter and sugar to top the asparagus. The salty Caper with the sweet Caramel is delightful.


Now the best part. The eating...