Geeks on Food

Nothing new to report here - just grilling a couple of Buckhorn Beef ribeyes (quite excellent I might add; I know you can get them from Sysco, maybe others, so ask your restauranteur buddy to order you some - they are prime beef.  Nothing much to look at, but what a taste). However, I did run across the Omnivore 100 over at Very Good Taste.  The list is below with my personalized selections.  Basically, if you have eaten it, make it bold, if you would never under any circumstances (except for untold $$$, because we all have a price), cross it out.  I've eaten 45, and did not cross any out, although I'm not sure about Haggis. Great list, and I can't wait to try baba ghanoush, aloo gobi, and lobster thermidor but my list would be different - where's banana's foster, boudin, and chateaubriand?  I'm going to ponder upon my list and post it later. 1. Venison 2. Nettle tea 3. Huevos rancheros 4. Steak tartare 5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding 7. Cheese fondue 8. Carp 9. Borscht 10. Baba ghanoush 11. Calamari 12. Pho 13. PB&J sandwich 14. Aloo gobi 15. Hot dog from a street cart 16. Epoisses 17. Black truffle 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes 19. Steamed pork buns 20. Pistachio ice cream 21. Heirloom tomatoes 22. Fresh wild berries 23. Foie gras 24. Rice and beans 25. Brawn, or head cheese 26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper 27. Dulce de leche 28. Oysters 29. Baklava 30. Bagna cauda 31. Wasabi peas 32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl 33. Salted lassi 34. Sauerkraut 35. Root beer float 36. Cognac with a fat cigar 37. Clotted cream tea 38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O 39. Gumbo 40. Oxtail 41. Curried goat 42. Whole insects 43. Phaal 44. Goat’s milk 45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more 46. Fugu 47. Chicken tikka masala 48. Eel 49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut 50. Sea urchin 51. Prickly pear 52. Umeboshi 53. Abalone 54. Paneer 55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal 56. Spaetzle 57. Dirty gin martini 58. Beer above 8% ABV 59. Poutine 60. Carob chips 61. S’mores 62. Sweetbreads 63. Kaolin 64. Currywurst 65. Durian 66. Frogs’ legs 67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake 68. Haggis 69. Fried plantain 70. Chitterlings, or andouillette 71. Gazpacho 72. Caviar and blini 73. Louche absinthe 74. Gjetost, or brunost 75. Roadkill 76. Baijiu 77. Hostess Fruit Pie 78. Snail 79. Lapsang souchong 80. Bellini 81. Tom yum 82. Eggs Benedict 83. Pocky 84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. 85. Kobe beef 86. Hare 87. Goulash 88. Flowers 89. Horse 90. Criollo chocolate 91. Spam 92. Soft shell crab 93. Rose harissa 94. Catfish 95. Mole poblano 96. Bagel and lox 97. Lobster Thermidor 98. Polenta 99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee 100. Snake Great Deals under $50 at Cooking.com!

Have you ever looked in your refrigerator or pantry and could not figure out what to cook?  Supercook to the rescue!  Just add the ingredients you have on hand, and it will look through various databases and present you with a list of recipes that will work.  Good tool for cleaning out your pantry and refrigerator and efficiently using food you would never use, also. Great Deals under $50 at Cooking.com! Technorati Tags: recipes,pantry,cupboard,refrigerator

If you've spent time in the southern United States, you might have run across Community Coffee being served in some of the finest restaurants and of course, in homes.
Over on the right sidebar, we have a link for your convenience to order Community Coffee. Give it a try - you will not be disappointed. Impress your "Starbucks" friends!
Taste the Difference of New Orleans' Favorite Coffee

Its a bit too hot around here for grillin' and smokin', so we scoured the freezer for something light to cook indoors.  Found some Tilapia, then found this recipe on Recipezaar.com for Chili Lime Butter Tillapia.  Made a few mods:

Juice of 2 Whole Limes

5 Green Onion stalks, sliced

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 stick margarine

1 Fresno Chile Pepper, chopped

6 Tilapia filets

Mix all ingredients but Tilapia, and melt slowly.  Pan sear filets on medium-high heat in non-stick skillet with just a bit of oil (spray should work fine).  Liberally baste filets with butter-lime-chile mix.  Enjoy!

  Hardly a mainstream publication, but yet appropriate for the uber-food-geek Alton Brown.  This is a nice article, and covers his past, present and future.  Food Network has renewed Good Eats for 3 more years, the next series in the "Feasting on..." will be Feasting on Waves, and he mentions other interests that we may see him integrate into his career.

I wasn't going to actually 'recipe' this, and subsequently do not have accurate measurements. It is simply a result of my unrivaled excellence in choosing the proper seasonings for a terrific combination. All measurements are guesstimates - use your own judgement.

1 3/4 Lb Wild Alaskan Salmon, skin on
1/2 Cup Olive Oil (not virgin)
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Red Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Ground White Pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoon Lemon Thyme
3/4 Teaspoon Celery Seed
1/2 Lime, Nuked and Bruised
1/2 Shot of Myers Dark Rum

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients except salmon and set aside for 30 minutes. Configure smoker to mesquite smoke whole salmon filet for 66 minutes at approx 200 degrees. Baste with Nuked and Bruised Citrus Sauce, beginning about 10 minutes into smoking, as needed. Do not turn. (ok, I added a little cherry wood to the smoker just for fun, but be careful if you do this - too much cherry can ruin a good light meat). Pull salmon when internal temperature reaches about 140 or so; let rest for 5 minutes.

Nuked and Bruised Lime (or Lemon):

Quit working hard at squeezing lemons and lime - just nuke and
bruise'em: Microwave on high for 15-20 seconds. Roll with heavy hand
pressure on cutting board after. It should burst with juice when
sliced.

Serving:
Serve with skin on, unless you are in a high-zoot place.

So the grilled marinated tuna last week was good, but the marinade did not produce the punch I was hoping. I went all lazy this week for another attempt, and just poured on about 8 oz. of Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing and Marinade. These tuna steaks are bigger this week, about 1.25lb each. Hope we can eat it all, especially with the price of tuna these days.

2 tuna fillets

8 oz Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing and marinade

Marinate for 1 hour, cook over charcoal/mesquite mixture until just slightly pink in the middle. Brush marinade on tuna throughout cooking. Fed 2 - will probably feed 4 less gluttonous eaters.

1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Lemon Thyme
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
1/2 cup beer (I used Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat
1/2 cup Sutter Home White Zinfandel
1 tbsp marjoram
3 - 1 lb Fresh Tuna Steaks

Marinate for 1 hour. Grill over charcoal and hickory chunks. All fish is very easy to overcook, but because tuna is a red meat fish, you can cook it similar to the way you would cook a steak, just don't expect juices to run clear when it is ready, so be careful not to over cook. Cook until just barely pink, or just barely past pink at the thickest part of the steak.

MR.BEER Ultimate Beer Kit Brewing System

This works great with Campbell Farms Gourmet Popcorn Rice, but will also work with any white rice. I suppose it will work with brown or wild rice, but not sure. The 'Rice' button on your microwave is kinda in charge of it. At any rate, this works great at our house - no clumps, perfectly cooked.1 cup of ricebuttersaltwaterPour 2 cups water into a round 9" glass bowl with lid. Add a teaspoon of salt (maybe a little more - usually I just pour some in the palm of my hand) and stir it in. Then lay 4-5 pieces of butter on top. Put it in the microwave and push the Rice button. After cooking, let rest for at least 5 minutes with the lid on - DO NOT STIR because this will release the starches, and that is often what makes the rice clumpy.

This works great with Campbell Farms Gourmet Popcorn Rice, but will also work with any white rice. I suppose it will work with brown or wild rice, but not sure. The 'Rice' button on your microwave is kinda in charge of it. At any rate, this works great at our house - no clumps, perfectly cooked.

1 cup of rice
butter
salt
water

Pour 2 cups water into a round Pyrex bowl with lid. Add a teaspoon of salt (maybe a little more - usually I just pour some in the palm of my hand) and stir it in. Then lay 4-5 pieces of butter to lay on top. Put it in the microwave and push the Rice button. After cooking, let rest for at least 5 minutes with the lid on - DO NOT STIR because this will release the starches, and that is often what makes the rice clumpy.