Carne Asada Brava

http://addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=rickbayless

Technique is...

Realizing anything can be great.
I love fine cuts of meat and seafood. They are so great to cook with. But the chef that takes the item that has nothing to do with gourmet cooking and makes something awesome is the one with technique. I am of course talking about Spam. OK wait! I see you trying to leave but hear me out.  Chef Jacob Burton of Stella Culinary said gourmet chefs go home and eat spam and eggs too.  Its not all lamb and steak. So the saltiness of the (you know what) actually plays nicely off of the hot carbon steel of the wok. It is surprisingly good.

Fishing with the boys Saturday made for a nice lunch

Trout wrapped in bacon

Shark Mc Nuggett Memories

It was late June 1984. I had not seen my father for 4 years until yesterday when I drove the 2279 miles from Connecticut to Port Aransas Texas. We met Captain Rick Gaston at Woody's Boat Basin.  His Charter Boat, the Orca had just arrived.  Word was that Rick had a large Tarpon on a line that he was fighting to land. They all said it was unusual for Rick to call anything in. He was not a man to cry wolf. When I met Rick he was a small guy with a big personality. Standard 1984 South Texas look. Jeans t shirt ball cap with wrap around sunglasses on. Rick did not come back with a tarpon but he did have a story about how a girl jumped out of the boat because he pulled the shark into the boat and it was flipping around. He told us how he's very excitedly explained to her that there were a whole heck of a lot more of them in the water than there was in the boat. Rick filleted a shark right there on the dock for us and we took it home and hence my first shark McNuggets experience happend. My father had 1 of those woks that had the grate on the side to set the fish on after it's cooked. The batter with a sweet light beer batter and it was delicious. I do wish I had his recipe today. So why am I thinking of my dad and his famous shark McNuggets? I took shark out of the freezer yesterday and it looks like I'm going to have to cook it tonight. I'll let you know how that goes.
... well made the shark last night. I use my usual quick pancake mix and sirracha method. Well I could say it wasn't bad it wasn't great either. Perhaps dad famous shark McNuggets recipe is gone forever or maybe Brooke has it.

Maybe some things cannot be duplicated. A hot June evening in South Texas, a couple of ice cold Lonestar beers, 1984 MTV playing in the background, and of course a father and son forging a new friendship. It's the kind of day that would make even my shark McNuggets from last night taste good.

Time For Beef Jerky!!!

Wandering around the kitchen looking for something to marinade with. Teryaki, Soy Sauce, Liquid Hickory Smoke, Serrachi, Brown Sugar, Pepper, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Brown Malt Vinegar, Nutmeg. It's got to be good! I'll Let you know later. Just put it on the racks...

Flank Steak Fajitas Southwest Egg Benedict Wraps Braised Chicken Thighs-Jacob Burton's Death Row Meal Tryout Homemade Pesto Steamed/Roasted Chicken and Leaks

Why is Emergency Food Worth Mentioning?

In 1991, I lived in a truck in the deserts of Saudi Arabi, Iraq and Kuwait.  All we had to eat was MRE's and a few other things that came in cans and packages.  It was possible to combine the individual components and come up with something edible.  Once the wiring is there, you sort of keep thinking of that after that phase is done.  Today there are so many above average things you can do to make things taste great on the fly.  I would not consider them as a way of life, but it's good to know how to do it.

When I was a commercial truck driver, I hated the food that was available on the road.  Any place you could park a 70 foot long tractor/trailer meant fast, greasy and tasteless food worthy of having your brain removed and strapping on a feed bag to bear it.  I decided to pick up a Burton Stove to Go down in North Carolina one Friday night.  There are cook books that drivers have written for this, but I found that common sense questions such as:  "How can I do this with the least possible cleanup?"

I figured out that if I shopped at Super Walmarts accross the country because of adequate parking, I could but meat and vegetables to keep in the fridge in the truck. I would set up a cooking bag in the afternoon with a couple of country style ribs, asparagus and marinade. Place the bag in the foil pan, foil pan in the stove, which was insulated. Then about 3 hours before stopping for the night I would reach down to the stove on the floor, plug it into the cigarette lighter and when I stopped for the night, that little stove opened as sweet as a single serving crockpot on the kitchen counter. Cleanup consisted of carrying the oven bag to the nearest trash can. I guess the point is, we don't have to eat crap even though statistically our situation suggests we are supposed to.