Sloppy Joe Slider

This has been sitting in my draft for a long time but I made it last night with new photos so I thought I'd finally post it. But really, who doesn't like Sloppy Joe's?! It's the perfect balance of sweet and tangy rolled up in a bun. The combination of the sweet gherkins and the tangy pickled onions also helps enhance the flavor profile of this slider.

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground chuck

2 bell peppers (diced)

1 yellow or white onion (diced)

1 roma tomato (diced

1/8 cup pancetta (diced)

2-3 garlic gloves (minced)

4 cups ketchup

2 tablespoon yellow mustard

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 yellow or white onion (paper thin slices) for pickling 

3 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/4 cup water

3-4 baby gherkins for garnish

12 whole wheat slider buns

Directions:

Start by rendering the pancetta in a large skillet until it's brown and crispy. Next add the diced onions, bell peppers and garlic. Cook until garlic is translucent. Then add the ground chuck and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes on high heat or until meat is cooked through. At this time you should also drain most of the liquid from the pan. Next add the mustard, ketchup, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and tomatoes. Reduce heat to a simmer and let it cook for another 30 minutes so that all the flavors will come together. Stir every 5 minutes to keep the bottom from burning.

To pickle the onions, add the red wine vinegar, the other 1/2 tablespoon of salt, sugar and water to a bowl and add the thinly sliced onions. Mix well and let it sit for 20 minutes and then drain the liquid.

There's nothing left but to layer your buns with the Sloppy Joe, pickled onions, and gherkins! Enjoy!

 



Pork Tenderloin Roulade w/ Creamy Dill Sauce

I'm not quite sure what inspired me to make this dish. From my experience, I've realized that anything that's stuffed with anything is usually pretty good (i.e. sausages, kolaches, jalapenos, egg rolls, etc.). This pork tenderloin is encrusted with ground coriander seeds, salt, and pepper and stuffed with broccolini and Crimini mushrooms -why Crimini you ask? It was left over from the Sea Bass dish I posted earlier, no point in wasting food right?

If you've read any of my post that has any type of cream sauce, you'll notice that it's pretty much the same thing (heavy cream, butter, Parmesan cheese) but today I added freshly chopped dill. I didn't use garlic and shallots in this sauce as I really wanted to accentuate the dill in the sauce.

Ingredients:

1 pound pork tenderloin
1/2 pound broccollini (roughly chop the crowns and julienne the stems)
1 cup Crimini mushrooms (roughly chopped)
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Several sprigs fresh dill (finely minced)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

For this dish, I suggest starting with the pork first as it'll take a while to prepare.

First, saute the broccollini and mushrooms in 1/4 stick of butter for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add your bread crumbs and stir the mixture thoroughly. Once the ingredients have been mixed thoroughly, turn off the heat but keep the lid on the pan. There's no need to cook the vegetables all the way through since they'll be cooking again.

To make the roulade, you'll have to either unroll your pork tenderloin or butterfly it. Butterflying is easier and the meat will be a thicker cut. Unrolling it is prettier but the rolling process becomes very delicate because of the thinness of the meat. I butterflied mine so that the meat will retain moisture and in the end will be less dry - don't forget, we're working with a pretty lean piece of meat here. Once you've decided on your method, you'll get your vegetable mixture and spread it on top of the tenderloin. Carefully bring the ends together (or roll from end to end) and tie one end off with butcher's twine, continue tying the tenderloin until you've reached the other end. Once completed, using the dry rub of coriander seeds, salt, and pepper, season the surface of the tenderloin.

Add olive oil to a skillet on high heat. After the skillet is deemed super hot, add the tenderloin the the skillet so that it'll sear. Continue flipping the tenderloin until all sides are seared - it should take about 2-3 minutes per side. In an oven preheated to 350 degrees place the entire skillet (with the tenderloin) on the medium rack and cook for 18-23 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees.

For the sauce, add heavy cream to a sauce pan on medium low heat. Add 1/2 stick of butter and grated Parmesan cheese. Stir until all ingredients have melted and add salt and pepper to taste. Finally, turn off the heat and add your dill and stir to incorporate the dill into the creamy sauce.

To plate, add the sauce on a plate and place a few cuts of the roulade (the roulade should've been cut on its bias to reveal the beautiful stuffing on the inside). For extra measure, drizzle a little sauce on top of the roulade as well.

Creole Shrimp and Mussels

I have to admit it.... I'm an addict and I'm addicted to steamed mussels.

No matter what restaurant I go to, I always seem to order it. As this dish is typically served with french bread, for this reason, it becomes even more addicting. As bread is the perfect ingredient to soak up the delicious creole sauce. As a matter of fact, the sauce is probably the star of this dish. Everyone that knows me, knows that I've been struggling to master the art of bread making. Well, I think I finally found the right formula to make french bread. If you have the time you might want to try it out, but I'm going to warn you now, it takes a lot of patience.

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh or frozen mussels
1 pound shrimp
1/2 can Cento Whole San Marzano Tomatoes (14 oz)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Several sprigs of cilantro or parsley for garnish (roughly chopped)
5-6 garlic cloves (minced)
1 large shallot (diced)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

In a deep pan or pot on medium-high heat toast the dried basil, oregano, paprika, and cayenne pepper for about 4-5 minutes. This will cause it to smoke a little bit but, this is okay, continue stirring but do not let it burn. Add the oil to the toasted herbs and continue stirring. Add the shallots and garlic and stir for another minute or so. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. With a wooden spoon or whatever utensil your prefer, begin crushing the tomatoes and let this cook for an additional 2 minutes before adding the chicken stock. Once the chicken stock has been added, while stirring consistently, begin adding the heavy cream and butter. Allow this simmer for at least 15 minutes. As you will want to serve this dish hot and fresh, add the shrimp and mussels to the sauce 5 minutes before serving so you don't over cook it. Cover with a lid to allow the steam to cook the mussels and shrimp. Check after 5 minutes. Shrimp are ready when they have a pink color while the mussels shell will be opened. Garnish with cilantro or parsley before serving.

French Bread:

1 cup cake flour
2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil (for the bowl)
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 packet active yeast
1 large egg
1 small egg (for the egg wash to brush on the bread)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions:

Add yeast to 1/2 cup warm water and let the yeast activate for about 5 minutes or until it begins to foam. In a mixing bowl add both types of flour, sea salt, and sugar and mix well. Add the oil and continue kneading the dough. Next add the egg into the flour mixture and continue kneading. Add the 1/2 cup of water containing the yeast to the dough and continue kneading. Slowly add the last 1 cup of water to the dough mixture while kneading at the same time. By the time all ingredients have been added, the dough will be elastic that's on the slightly sticky side. However, if the dough is too sticky dust it with flour and continue kneading or if it's to dry the add a little more water.

Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest and rise for approximately 4 hours. After the 4 hours, divide the dough in half and begin shaping your bread. Place the dough on to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and cover again with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise again for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the sheet pans and brush the bread with the egg wash. Bake for approximately 25 minutes and brush again with egg wash. Bake for an additional 5-8 minutes. Remove the bread and place on a cooling rack.

Cheese Steak Sandwich

I initially started calling this a "Philly" cheese steak, but being from Dallas (home of America's team - Dallas Cowboys!) I didn't want to put "Philly" as a prefix for any of my dishes. Someone was disappointed that I didn't post anything yesterday and threatened me if I didn't post anything today (I'm sure you can make this dish, it's right up your alley). After a long day at the driving range I really didn't want to cook but I didn't want to disappoint the future editor of my blog (I also didn't want to eat fast food). I had to think about what ingredients this person would be comfortable with and it took a lot of thought but I decided I wanted something heavy and filling (there goes my diet) as well especially after a great session at the range. I had some bread leftover from having curry the other day and I also found a ribeye steak in the freezer, so why not a cheese steak.

Ingredients:

1 pound ribeye sliced paper thin
6 medium shiitake mushrooms (for that extra umami flavor, you can use regular button mushrooms too)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 onion sliced thin
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium size (6-8 inches) french bread/roll

Directions:

Saute onions in olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper on medium high heat. Cook until onions are translucent and caramelized. Set aside.

In a separate pan add canola oil and turn heat to high. Add beef, mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.

Cheese sauce ingredients:

1 teaspoon flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (you can substitute whole milk)
1/4 cup grated pepper jack cheese
2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Directions:

On low-medium heat, add butter and flour (mix well). Then add cream and continue stirring while adding a little bit of the pepper jack cheese, wait for the cheese to melt then continue adding more cheese. Continue this method with the Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bringing it all together:

Toast your bread until it is crisp on the outside, then slice the bread in the middle (length wise) leaving the end attached. Add beef and mushroom mixture, add cheese sauce, add onions, then more cheese sauce. Serve with pickles or pepperoncinis.

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Chicken Curry

Tonight Bistro 331 had some last minute guests with last minute requests (Hey that rhymes..) One of my special guest loves quail eggs and one of my favorite things to do with quail eggs is to put them in curry. I also made a variation of the French cake, recently blogged, as well. Many prefer rice with curry but I love bread with mine. Thanks for doing the dishes ladies and thank you for signing on as followers and next time don't touch the remote control.

Curry ingredients:

6 chicken thighs (chopped and quartered)
6-8 garlic gloves (minced)
1 large shallot or small onion (diced)
2 stalks lemongrass
1 - 1 1/2 inch piece galangal root (sliced 1/8 inch thick)
2 inch piece ginger (julienne cut)
2 chili peppers (halved)
8-10 kaffir lime leaves
1 can straw mushrooms
1 can quail eggs (I used 2 here for my friend, yeah you know who you are)
2 large russet potatoes (cubed)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon red curry paste (or more if you want to spice it up)
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
3 tablespoon fish sauce

Directions:

In a stock pot over medium high heat add chicken, garlic, and shallots. No need for oil here, there's more than enough oil from the chicken thighs. Continue stirring until chicken has browned and cook all around the outside (don't worry the chicken will continue stewing and cook completely). Add each of the above ingredients one at a time while stirring curry, except the quail eggs and potatoes (make sure these are last). After adding all of the ingredients continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes on medium-low heat with the lid on (this will tenderize the chicken and give time for the potatoes to cook properly). Finally, serve over a bed of rice or sliced french bread (toasted of course).

As I mentioned earlier, we also had desert. You can check out that recipe from a previous blog. I ditch the blueberries and almonds this time and went with kiwi instead. Also, instead of making 1 large cake I made 4 smaller cylinder shaped cakes (this was actually easier to manage). To cut the cake into round pieces I used and old tomato paste can that I cleaned and cut both ends out of (sometimes you have to be resourceful). The finish product can be seen above.

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Bruschetta - Zesty Tomato and Mozzarella

I've prepared this dish for a friend's birthday party tonight. Of course there was a lot more of it. I also made papaya salad, which I will be posting later. The initial reason why I came up with this recipe was because I had half a can of Cento Whole Peeled Italian Tomatoes and some bread endangered of going stale. Actually, a lot of my recipes come together at the very last minute just because I try not to let anything go bad or spoil.

Classic bruschetta

Ingredients:

1 medium can cento whole tomatoes
4-5 garlic cloves
2 small shallots
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
6 sprigs fresh basil (chiffonade)
3 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed Thai chili pepper
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1 loaf french baguette
Several thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
Several pepperoni (julienne)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In saucepan saute shallots and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes and with scissors cut tomatoes into small bite size chunks. Add salt, oregano, bay leaves, chili peppers and black pepper. Let simmer for 15 minutes then add most of the fresh basil (save some for garnish). Slice bread on bias about 1/2 inch thick. Add tomato sauce on top of bread, then add cheese and pepperoni. Place bruschetta under broiler until cheese melts. Finish off by topping it with fresh basil, dried oregano and Parmesan cheese.

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