Cooking 4 Guys - Sweet and Sour Whatever

Does anyone remember when sweet and sour included onion, peppers, even pickles and pineapple? When it wasn't just tempura coated meat with a red goopy sauce? I do, and I used to make it in my wok, years ago. Here is the easiest way to make this for yourself at home.

Ingredients
Sweet and Sour Sauce, a third cup of white or rice vinegar (I use a mixture of vinegar and the juice from the pickles, see below) a quarter cup of brown sugar, a tablespoon of ketchup, a teaspoon of soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of corn starch mixed with 4 teaspoons of water for thickening.
Veggies, white onion, bell peppers, carrots, and sweet pickles (I like to use gherkins) and of course pineapple chunks.
Your choice of meat, chicken, pork, shrimp, or a combination of all of the above.
A couple of tablespoons of corn starch.
All in one pancake mix (or a funnel cake mix)
A can of beer
Oil for deep frying and for stir frying
Garlic to taste if you want

Directions
Mix the pancake mix with the required amount of liquid being beer instead of milk or water. Let that sit for a while. You should have part of a can of beer, at least a couple of swallows left to enjoy.
The sauce, you can do it the easy way and buy a bottle or you can make it at home. It is not far off from a barbque sauce which I am sure many have done before. Mix the vinegar, sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce and heat. Let it get to just before it boils. Mix the corn starch with the water and when the sauce starts to bubble, take it off the heat and add the corn starch mix, and stir to let it mix, and thicken. If it's too thick you can add the juice from the pineapple chunks for added flavor.
Cut your veggies into bite sized squares, the carrots, slice about a quarter inch thick, and the pickles either as slices or chunks if using gherkins. the pineapple is already out of the can.
Take the meat and if using chicken or pork cut it into bite sized pieces. Place the meat into a sandwich bag with corn starch in it. Close the bag and shake it to coat the pieces of meat.
Heat the fryer oil either in a fryer of some sort, or a deep pan heavy enough to fry in.
Take the meat, I like to use a toothpick, dip the meat into the pancake mix to coat, and place it into the fry oil in batches to cook.
Let the meat cook until the coating is golden brown, especially with the pork and chicken, take out a piece and cut it open to make sure it is cooked all the way through.
In a wok or fry pan, add a coating of oil, let it heat until you can feel it coming off the pan. Add the garlic if you are using it, swirl it around for 30 seconds to a minute. Add the onions, and carrots, cook them for a minute, then the add peppers, and the pickles and pineapple chunks. Let the veggies get as they say, tender crisp. You want them heated through but still crisp. Add the meat to the veggies in the pan and let them cook for a minute or two to heat everything up. The next step is your choice, either place the meat and veggies on a plate and serve the sauce on the side, or pour the sauce in the pan onto the meat and veggies. If you cook it together, let the sauce heat in the pan for only a minute so it doesn't start to soak into the coating on the meat too much.
Serve with whatever rice you like with your chinese.

Cooking 4 Guys - Buffalo Balls

I found a recipe for Buffalo Balls, and I don't mean a version of Rocky Mountain Oysters. Finally a use for ground Turkey and Chicken instead of just making fake meatloaf or burgers. It's easy to make, and can be adjusted for your taste with no problem.

The ingredients For the meatballs are
1 lb ground chicken or turkey
2 oz cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
3 Tbl chopped celery
3 Tbl crumbled blue cheese
1/2 tsp pepper

The ingredients for the sauce are
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot
1/2 stick (4 oz) butter

How to make them
Mix the meatball ingredients together, don't add any salt to it, there's enough salt there already with the blue cheese, and the Frank's Red Hot also has salt in it. Turn on your oven to 350 to start getting it hot while you shape the balls. When the ingredients are mixed well, start to take a tablespoon full of the mixture (not an official measurement, just a rough guess to get a good size. These are appetizer meatballs, not for pasta or sandwiches), roll it into a ball, or if you are doing this for the 'Big Game' make it football shaped. Place them on a flat baking or cookie sheet. When you are done with all the mixture and they are evenly spread over the cookie sheet, put them in the oven, check the time or use a timer to cook them for 10 minutes.
Now to make the sauce. Put the butter into a microwave safe bowl, if your not sure look on the bottom and it usually tells you if it's microwave or dishwasher safe, some bowls are even safe to put in the oven, but don't do it unless it says so on the bottom of the bowl. Add the Frank's Red Hot and put it in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Stir it to mix it well.
Back to the Meatballs. Take them out of the oven, don't try eating them yet as they aren't done. You want to dip the balls into the Franks's Red Hot sauce you just made, and let them get a coating, be careful as the balls are gonna be soft, you don't want them falling apart. When you have all of your balls coated with Frank's Read Hot, put them back in the oven for another 12 minutes. If you have left over sauce, you can pour it over the balls when they have about 3 or 4 minutes left to cook.
When they are done put them on a plate or in a bowl to serve. The recipe says you will get about 16 balls from this recipe, if you want more then double all the ingredients and go for it. The Buffalo Balls already have a bit of blue cheese in them, but for people like me a bit of blue cheese dressing for dipping is nice too. Other items to serve with it are ranch dressing for those who are not big blue cheese dressing fans, and of course celery. Also a nice glass, mug, bottle, or can of your favorite malt beverage to wash it all down with.
Enjoy the 'Big Game'.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and the web site 'I Breathe, I'm Hungry'

Cooking 4 Guys - Hamburger helper

As far as a fast and easy meal, Hamburger Helper is great. But there are so many ways you can add to and enhance the flavors to make it better.

Now there are many flavors of Hamburger Helper, but there are many ways to enhance basic cheeseburger Hamburger Helper. I like to make my own chili mac version.

My version starts with half pound of hamburger and a half pound of sausage, usually use breakfast sausage but at times I like to add sweet or hot italien sausage. Brown the meat and drain half of the fat from the pan, I feel when you drain all the fat out you also drain out all the flavor. You don't pour out the broth from a stew, you use it to enhance the flavor. Next step is to add a half cup of salsa, what ever type of salsa you prefer, let that cook for a bit to flavor the meat.

I then add the flavor from the Hamburger Helper pack, letting it cook into the meats and salsa. Letting it all get a nice coating with cheese and spices, add half of the called for water from the package, when it forms a nice sauce, add the noodles and the rest of the water.

Now it's just let is cook according to the package. Stirring to keep the noodles from sticking, and when the water is all absorbed, you can add a little bit of hot sauce or other spice, and you have your own personalized chili mac Hamburger Helper.

This would be good with your choice, some totilla or corn chips, or some nice crusty bread. With a salad you have a full meal.

Cooking 4 Guys - The Big Game

Since the NFL has decided to copyright the official name of the "Big Game", you have to give it this name so they don't have their lawyers come at you with officious cease and desist orders for using the official name. But, we all know what you are talking about, and isn't that super.

On the first or second Sunday of February, after 17 weeks of NFL football, and 3 rounds of play-offs, we have the 2 "best" teams in each conference of the leagues facing off in the Big Game. Whether it's Peyton Manning, with his genius at the helm, or Geno Smith doing his best Joe Namath imitation and guaranteeing an upset of whoever they might be playing, or Big Ben and the Steelers right the ship and Ben goes for another ring, getting him closer to that other great Pittsburgh QB, Terry Bradshaw, the game now takes a back seat to the spectacle that occurs, both at the stadium, and in homes around the world, the biggest one day holiday/party of the year. Mardi Gras, New Years Eave, and the 4th of July rolled up into one big event. It may be at the stadium or in the parking lot, or at an organized club or bar, or just friends watching the game on your new Christmas Present, the 102" big screen tv (OK so mine is only 21", I can see as long as someone doesn't get up and stand in the way), people who don't know the difference between offense and defense, who never heard of Vince Lombardi, to those who know Joe Namath as a playboy and stocking salesman (OK that was years ago), are watching the Game (some only for the new commercials, some just for the party). The Big Game get together is not your ordinary Fall/Weekend Sunday guys come over football game. It takes time, and for the best atmosphere, you have to start getting ready ahead of time.

First on the list is beverages. Is it a sophisticated gathering with wine. What wine goes well with the sounds of bodies crashing together, or the thrill of victory, and agony of defeat? Is it going to be hard drinkers doing shot of Jack or Jim or tequila shooters? Or just a bunch of guys drinking their favorite malt beverage?

I'm not much of a wine drinker so I say if that's your choice, the only advice is to make it a drinking wine, not a sipping, appreciate the aroma and taste wine. Nothing too expensive, except for that one bottle for the end of the game, to toast when your team has just become the NFL Champions.

As far as harder drinks, I say make it a game within the game. Take a shot when a team scores a touchdown, a sip or half shot for field goals, and a double shot for safeties. Hopefully it's not a game where the teams light up the score board, tossing touchdown after touchdown, or some people won't make it to the end, and you'll have the morning after look of a typical Saturday morning at a frat house.

Beyond the battle between Coke and Pepsi, and their variants (whatever happened to 7-up?) and Sweet Tea here in the South, the final choice is Beer. With beer comes a few questions. Do you get a Keg? A couple of cases? or is the party small enough that you just have everyone bring their own? With the first 2 choices you have to make sure that it's a beer that a majority of the people like, with the last choice you have a smorgasbord or flavors and choices (as long as it's put into a communal cache for anyone to pick and choose). Like I said with the wine, you need a drinker's beer, most Americans will want one of the product from the big 3 of American beer, Anheiser-Busch, Miller, or Coors, but there are plenty of craft and small brewery choices that are good for times like this. I'm sure you have your own opinions as to which you prefer. Just make sure it's one that you can drink without the beer being the center of attention, and just something that tastes good while you are munching and cheering your team of the day to victory.

Now on to food.

You are definitely going to want your choice of a plethora of chips and dip. Whether it's potato chips and french onion dip, or tortilla chips and salsa or guacamole, or pita chips and humus (where did that come from???). You can either buy or make your dip, from the French Onion soup mix and sour cream, to queso dip from Rotel tomatoes and Velveeta, to guacamole made from fresh avocado. With potato chips, you usually want a couple of flavors of dip. With tortilla chips, salsa, and quacamole, and queso dip. No idea where to go with pita chips, but that wasn't what I grew up with. Talking about dip, if this is going to be more then just the guys, with wives and girl friends, and even the girl who is a friend who you grew up with who enjoys football almost as much as a guy, a good choice is a veggie platter with a dip. Unless you've done these before, it's best to just get one in the produce section of the grocery store. I used to have to cut veggies for an appetizer item at a restaurant I worked at, and it's a time consuming job, that I let it to the professionals now. With the veggie platter, you want a good cream cheese or sour cream based dip. A good spinach dip, or french onion, or any other dip you will find in the dairy section between the cheese, and sour cream and yogurt will do.

Next is the finger food for during the game. You want something you can grab and put on a paper plate to eat in front of the tv while watching the game. Stuff like meatballs and little sausages, cheese and crackers, wings, wings and more wings, and of course pizza, or a favorite in the Philadelphia area, tomato pie. This is all things you can place in a slow cooker, or on a platter for people to pick and choose. Like the beer, this is something you don't want to have to think about during the game, just something to munch on while the game is being played.

Now comes half time. You want something that can be ready and eaten in 15 to 20 minutes, even with the extended half time show, you don't want to linger and miss the 2nd half kick-of. Sandwiches are great, cold cuts and sliced cheeses, pulled pork or hot beef usually served on hardy buns rather then bread, subs and hoagies. The sandwiches can be make it yourself, with hot items in a slow cooker or other heated serving pan, the cold items, on trays (with lids you can remove at half time and replace to keep them as fresh as you can) which can be kept out during the 2nd half. Meatballs, Hot Dogs, Brats, Kielbasi, or any other meats you can shove in a bun. Home made fried chicken, or a bucket of the colonel's finest from KFC. Any of the salads you might have at a picnic like cole slaw, or potato salad. Pickles and olives, and spicier items like peperoncini or banana peppers, or hotter peppers if you like them, these are something you would probably have out early with the finger foods pre-game as well as now. Stuffed peppers with prosciutto and cheese.
And of course chili, I've heard of some Big Game parties that turn into chili cook-offs with people bringing their home made chili, and whether judged officially, or by how much is left at the end, you can make and try a large variety of Texas' state food.

Finally you have dessert, ok, not really a full dessert, but just some cakes or pies, or fudge or brownies. Something sweet is always a good thing. Fruit is another good choice, especially small fresh fruit you just set out, grapes are great, and of course orange wedges, a reminder of glory days of midget football.

Like any culinary event, or just guys getting together, the choices are yours to make. Go with a tradition you've had since the first NFL-AFL championship. Go with the meat based menu you used when da Bears did their Shuffle. Or go with sandwiches on sourdough bread from the days of Joe Montana and San Francisco reigned supreme. The Big Game is a party, an unofficial holiday, celebrate it like you would New Year's Eve, or the 4th of July. Have fun, enjoy the game, and try not too get too stuffed or drunk, remember tomorrow is Monday, and you have to work. Though you have a memory, and possibly stories to tell to last you until next February and another Big Game.

Cooking 4 Guys: 24 to 48 Hour Ribs

There is a revolution in cooking known as sous vide. Basically this method of cooking is to seal the food within a plastic bag, and to keep it at the desired temperature for a long time. Holding it at the precise temperature makes sure it isn't over cooked, and especially with cheaper cuts of meat, and ribs, it helps to break down the muscle that makes it tough, therefore a correctly cooked and tender dinner. You can make a guaranteed rare steak by keeping it at 125 degrees Fahrenheit, but the USDA recommends a minimum of 145 (which is medium) and other source recommend a minimum of 130 (which is the lower edge of medium rare). Also they say you should keep it at that temperature for over 2 hours to make sure it is safe. They have $5000 cooking machines, which are basically industrial style slow cookers with precise temperature gauges. But that's not what I'm talking about.

I am talking about using a couple items you may already have, and one item you probably have to buy. The first item is a beer cooler, the second is zip lock bags, and the third is a stick thermometer. If your cooler can hold ice for an entire football game, I'm not saying to keep the ice totally frozen, but that there still is a good amount of ice in it, it is probably good enough to work. Insulation works just as good at keeping heat in as keeping it out, a driving mug can keep your soda cool as well as keep your coffee hot. The thermometer you can get at Wal-Mart or Target, or through Amazon for $5 for an analog and $10 to $25 for a digital one. You can spend more if you like, and buy a beer cooler just for cooking in, but that's up to you.

Now on to the ribs. What you need is as many racks of ribs as you need, a bar-b-q rub, hot water, and your sauce of choice which is optional. You can cheat with the ribs and rub by buying a sealed pre-seasoned/pre-sauced package of ribs, but not pre-cooked in any way. The bar-b-q rub can be bought at the local grocery, look in the aisle next to the bar-b-q sauces, or by the seasoning section of the market, or you can make your own. A home made rub is fairly easy to make. Take a half cup of brown sugar, a quarter cup of salt, a tablespoon of chili powder, a half teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, and smokey paprika. Mix together well. You can adjust it to your taste, making it sweeter, or spicier as you like.

Take the rub and coat the ribs, rub it in, smack it in, let it get absorbed into the meat. Coat the ribs good. Next step is to place the ribs into one gallon or two gallon zip lock bags. To seal the bag, have a bowl or pot with water, and lower the bag into the water, and let the pressure of the water push the air out of the bag. You want as much of a vacuum as you can get. When you get to the top, seal it 90%, leaving about an inch open, tilt it in the water to push the last bit of air out of that opening, and seal is shut. Try not to get any water into the bag, but a few drops won't hurt.

Now to cooking the ribs. Take the ribs out of the refrigerator so they warm to near room temperature. Get a pot, fill it with enough water to fill the beer cooler, heat it to when it is ready to boil, you don't really need it to boil fully. Take your thermometer, and check the temperature, should be right around 212 degrees (no duh), slowly add room temperature water until the temperature of the water in the pot is between 150 and 160 degrees. Place the ribs into the beer cooler, add enough water to the cooler to cover the ribs, checking the water temperature as you do as the ribs will cool the water, you want the water temperature to be above 150 degrees. Close the lid and go about your day.

One thing I suggest is to check the temperature of the water every 5 to 6 hours. Doing this will let some heat out, so have some boiling water ready to add, stirring the water around so that it gets back above 150 degrees, remove some water if it gets overfilled (this can be reheated later and rotated back into the cooler) . Of another way is to have a cooler just for cooking, get a thermometer that is a meter with an attached probe. Drill a hole in the top of the cooler, and slide the probe through it to have it resting in the water, take some epoxy or putty and seal the lid so that no heat seeps out. I would only say to do that if you plan on cooking beer cooler sous vide on a semi-regular basis. With this method you can just add some hot water when it goes below 150.

Let the ribs cook a minimum of 12 hours up to 24 hours this way to make sure the meat gets tender. When you are ready to finish and serve the ribs, heat your grill to high heat, or turn on your oven's broiler to preheat. Let it get as hot as it can. Place the gril/broiler rack as close as you can to the source of heat. Put the ribs on the grill, or under the broiler (if using the oven, place a pan under it to catch the drippings), and let them sear for 30 seconds to a minute per side, enough time to give them the brown color, or maillard reaction, of caramelizing for both the visual, and taste appeal. Coat with your favorite sauce and dig in.

Tuck

Cooking 4 Guys : The Grill

Guys need one thing above everything else to cook, Fire. Whether it's a wood burning stove, a charcoal grill, or a gas grill, it all starts as fire. Although there are plenty of tools to use when grilling, from that kit of a spatula, tongs, and other items in it's own case, to the fork with a thermometer in it, to your favorite apron with it's appropriate saying, all we need is a blade, a pointy object, fire, and food (preferably meat). Grab a stick, poke it through a hot dog or sausage, hold it over the fire and occasionally turn it get the right amount of brown and black, and we are happy. To test if the grill is hot enough we use our hand, hold it over the heat, and if you can keep it there for 5 seconds, it's not hot enough. If you have to move it after 2 or 3, get cooking. To clean the grill, we heat the grill and then use a wire brush like the one in our tool kit to clean rust and gunk for things. We grill things we wouldn't otherwise eat, and make them tasty morsels of culinary delight.

Another process using the grill is smoking. You can do this a couple of ways, one is to have a separate smoking chamber and connect it to the chamber where the food is. The smoke is allowed to surround and infuse taste into the food. This is usually a longer process, from all day, to days and weeks to make items like smoked ham and smoked turkey, or even preserving it like jerky. Another way is a more direct approach, with the multiple area cooking. You have a hot side and a cool side of the grill. A Weber kettle is great for this because is has lid that can be rotated so you can direct the smoke over your food to give it that flavor you want. Usually you start this type of smoking by first searing the meat, or other food, giving it the desired grill marks, on the hot side of the grill. Then you move it to the cool side of the grill, and add your soaked wood on the hot side, either directly or in a foil pouch with holes punched into it, allowing it to create the smoke and the taste you want. A third, cheating method, is to steam or boil the food in a mixture of water and liquid smoke. This infuses the flavor into the meat, and is even part of how some say to cook tougher cuts of meat or especially ribs.

Something else you can do on a grill is a variation of the tortilla pizza I mentioned in an earlier post. Take a tortilla, spray it with some sort of cooking spray, place it on the grill for a couple of minutes. When it gets some grill marks, flip it over and put your toppings on it. Close the lid for about 5 minutes and then check it out to see if it's done. This is great for those leftovers at the end of the night, slices of tomato, onions, peppers, and cheese. If you have a pizza stone, even better, place it on the grill to heat up for long enough and you have the crisp crust with a smokey taste.

Many side dishes can also be cooked in the grill, grilled corn to baked potato are 2 that come to mind. For corn, I have seen variations on 2 methods, both start with opening it, pealing back the husks, and removing the silk. The first method is to soak the corn and close the husk back around it and place it on the grill until the outer leaves start to singe and turn black. You then peal the husk and eat. The second is to remove the husk, or even peal it back and tie it as a handle, and then soak it and place it direct on the grill. Place the husk on a cool spot or hanging over the edge of the grill, and you can use it to hold your ear of corn as you enjoy it. One variation on that last method of cooking corn, I saw on a TV show with Rick Bayless, a cook who would travel through Mexico, to the markets, and peasant areas, to learn the everyday cooking of the regions and states of Mexico. The variation is more the condiments added to the corn when done. Combine the two methods of cooking corn I first stated, soaking the corn, and cooking it in the husk, letting it stand until it cools a bit, peal back the husk and butter the corn lightly and place it on the grill to get the marks and smoky taste. Combine some Mexican crema, or sour cream with a little bit of milk or cream to thin it out. Use the crema instead of butter, and then coat with grated queso anejo or parmesan cheese, or some other dried grated cheese, and then coat with powdered chili. The recipe for this is located at http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=36 on Rick Bayless' Frontera web site.

Potatoes are even easier, even if they take longer. This is great with charcoal as the potatoes start to cook while you wait for them to heat to grill the other items.This method is also good for cooking whole large onions, or other root vegetables. Take your potatoes, soak them for a bit with some water then pat them dry, wrap them in foil. Poke some wholes in the foil and into the potatoes to let the steam out and to let it bake as it finishes. Start the charcoals, and place the foil wrapped potatoes and stick them directly into the coals. As you prepare the coals for cooking you can turn the potatoes to get cooked evenly, finally moving them to the edge of the fire while you place the grill on top and cook the rest of the meal. Remove them from the fire when it gets to the firmness you like, unwrap and butter and season to taste.

Tuck

Cooking 4 Guys - Kitchen Gadgets

If you ever spent a sleepless night surfing the tv, you have seen some of the most amazing gadgets. Gadgets to help you clean. Gadgets to help you in the garden. Gadgets to make women look sexier, prettier, healthier, more well endowed. Gadgets for your to do lists. And one of the biggest categories, kitchen gadgets.

Two of the kings of Kitchen Gadgets are of course Ron Popeil, the God of late night infomercials, and George Foreman, with the many variations of the George Foreman Grills.

Ron Popeil, the man behind Ronco, and Popeil, was a tinkerer. He either improved or created items that made your life simpler and easier. From the Popeil Pocket Fisherman, to the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie, He gave us what we didn't know we wanted, and did it for less. And of course when you thought you were getting everything you could, but wait, we will also add the set of Ginsu knives, or some other bonus item, that takes the amazing item you were buying and made it better.

Then you have George Foreman, Olympic Gold Medalist and 2 time heavy weight boxing champion. When he made his comback for his second title, he said it was due to healthy eating. Russell Hobbs Inc. came to George with an offer, that took George from being a well paid athlete to a multi-millionaire entrepreneur. At it's peak he was making millions of dollar a month for his endorcement. Finally the company paid him to be able to use his name on the Grills.

Now to the Gadgets.

Starting with the Showtime Rotisserie, nothing could fit cooking for guys, then as Ron and his studio audience says, "You just Set It, and Forget It!" You can start easy and put on Hot Dogs or Wieners, or your favorite sausage or wurst. Use the rack and make hamburgers or fish. Or go all the way with a roasted chicken or a roast beef or pork.

With the Foreman Grill, you can make anything you would regularly make on a grill outdoors, indoors now. Hot dogs, hamburgers, Use as a press to make Grilled Cheese or Paninis. Grill chicken breasts or fish. Even the worlds perfect food, Bacon.

One of the first Kitchen Gadgets I got, was somewhere between many of the other gadgets. I don't even know if it has a special name, just the sandwich maker. Each half of the maker has 4 triangles, 2 sets of 2 side by side, so it is a square cut in half diagonally. The triangles are indented with a shelf so that when closed and cooking it seals the edges of the sandwich. Great for grilled cheese, or fruit pies using bread and jelly or jam. Another great item I've made in them is triangle pancakes. Use your favorite pancake mix, and cook them into pancakes you can pick up and dip in your syrup. Or corn muffins, using a box of Jiffy or other corn bread mix, and do the same. Any muffin mix or even cake mix can be used to make individual treats. A bonus is adding a filling to the batter and let it cook inside it. Cutting hot dogs, or pre cooked breakfast sausages to the desired length you add them to the corn bread for corn dogs, or to the pancake for pigs in the blanket.

Every gadget starts with one original purpose, but grow either with the recipe book you get with the gadget, or online at the company web site or even communities set up of fans of the gadgets. And there are so many things you can do just using your imagination and whatever you have in your refrigerator.

Cooking 4 Guys - Pizza

Pizza, along with Wings, are 2 of the most eaten foods on SB Sunday. You either order from your favorite pizza joint, many have pizza and wing deals for the game, or you pop a frozen pizza into the oven before the game, or time it so it's ready at half time. It's so easy, but it's easy to make your own quicky pizza for one or a small group with items that may already be around.

First is one that they already sell at some pizza joints, the french bread or garlic bread pizza. You take a sub or steak roll, or even a hot dog or burger roll. Put some butter, margarine, or veggie oil, purist may say olive oil, but we aren't purist, we are just hungry, onto the roll. Add some garlic powder, or grated garlic to it. A pinch or two of your favorite Italian seasoning, an Italian seasoning blend, some basil, some oregano as example. Stick it in the toaster oven and toast for a minute or so. From here you can go white and just add the toppings and some cheese, and toast until the cheese starts to turn brown. Or you can go red, and add some tomato sauce of some sort, the toppings, and the cheese. Using English muffins as the base is also a great choice.

For those who like thin pizza, you can move over to tortillas or wraps. Make it the same way as the french bread pizza, except I would use a spray like Pam, especially the garlic, or olive oil flavored. Don't bother to toast it before had, and watch it as it gets cooking, the tortillas can start to burn quickly. A combo I like to make with tortilla pizza is a taco pizza. For this I use crushed or diced tomatoes, or salsa, as the tomato sauce. Add some ground beef, and either some chili powder or taco seasoning, (you know you can close up the packets and save them in a sandwich bag or in a plastic container to use again later).I'll use a Mexican blend or cheese, or even just cheddar cheese. Let it cook until the cheese melts, top with your favorite taco toppings, avocado, guacamole, tomatoes or more salsa, lettuce, onions, olives. Another option is re-fried beans on the tortilla before putting on the tomato or salsa, and you can make your own personal version of a 7 layer dip.

Finally I have an easy pizza for a group of guys getting together. Get a can of biscuits like Pillsbury Grands. Read the can for 2 numbers, the temperature to cook it on and how long to cook it. Turn on the oven to the temperature you read. Grab a square cake pan, a round cake pan, or pie pan, a casserole dish, or some sort of oven cookware, even a cast iron skillet. Open the can of biscuits and cut each biscuit in quarter. Oil the bottom of the pan how every you want to, spray or actual oil. Place the biscuit pieces into the pan. Top with your pizza sauce, same as above, use what you have and a little bit of seasoning of choice. Place toppings and Italian cheese on top, and put into the oven and cook for however long it said on the biscuit tube. Make sure the cheese is melted to you liking, and enjoy.

Each one is quick and easy, and with the french bread and tortilla pizza, everyone can make their own combination.

Cooking for Guys - Wings

Everyone knows that Buffaloes don't fly, but we love their wings. You can get them HOT, mild, suicide, Asian, barbq, garlic and spice, bone in, boneless, breaded or not, drummies, and multiple other combinations and variations. They are great with pizza, watching the game, as an appetizers, by them self, and most restaurants have them.

First off, where did they come from? Buffalo, New York. The story I hear is that some college guys were home over the holidays, and wanted something to eat. The stores were closed for either Christmas or New Years Eve, so the one asked his mother to make something for them. She looked in the refrigerator and saw chicken wings, Franks(tm) Red Hot sauce, some celery, and some bleu cheese dressing. She figured with guys this age she would make something out of this. So she fried up the wings, coated them with the Franks(tm) hot sauce, cut some celery and served it with bleu cheese on the side. The guys loved it, and later in the holiday they went to their local drinking establishment and got them to make a batch of wings for them. The bartender and cook tried them, agreed they were awesome, the owner figured, 'hey, if guys eat wings, they need beer to cool it down.' and at that, Buffalo Wings were born.

Now I don't know if that was the whole truth, or just one of the many internet stories that grow, but with that said, who but a bunch of guys would think of making what has turned into the only food that competes with pizza on SB Sunday, or for a great guy gathering.

So how do you make them at home? It's so simple, any guy can do it. Get a bunch of bunch wings. Seperate them into the 3 parts, the tip, the drum, and whatever that other part is called. Throw out the chicken tips (my mom, or most professional cooks might keep the tips to use to make stock or broth) Deep fry them until they are cooked through. Get a bowl, put the wings in the bowl. Poor enough Franks (tm) hot sauce over the wings. Toss them so the Franks(tm) Red Hot sauce coats the wings. Dump them on to your favorite serving plate/platter/tray or whatever you plan on serving them on. Cut the celery into 2 1/2 to 3 inch pieces, cut the ones from the bottom of the stalk in half, put them on a plate, fill a bowl with bleu cheese dressing. Use the bleu cheese as a dip for either the celery or the wings.

Variations to this are using other types of wings, I have seen many recipes and offerings of turkey wings, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Use another type of dressing, Ranch is now the favorite dressing offered with wings at restaurants. Bake the wings instead of deep frying, if you don't have a fryer or some sort of pan you can deep fry in. They also have racks to let you cook the wings on a bar-b-q grill Vary the vegetable sticks in addition to or instead of celery.

I have a couple of other variations that go beyond just the basics.

I use to work at Pizza shops during my cooking career. Some had wings, some didn't. At one of them (T.D. Alfredos in Phoenixville, good people, good food), one of the drivers used to take the wings and fry them half way and them finish them up by running them through the over. It gave the wings a crispy sking. Then he would coat them with the sauce and eat them. I saw that and decided to take it a step further. I fried the wings for a couple minutes, until about half way done. I then made a dry rub of what we had on hand, some garlic powder, some oregano, some cayenne pepper, some salt and pepper, and using one of the to go containers I would shake the wings in the rub until they were coated. Then I ran them through the over, a conveyor belt oven for half the time that a pizza cooked. The amounts of spices varied on how I was feeling that day, and whether I wanted the wing hot or HOT. While the wings were cooking I took a small sauce pan and melted half a stick of butter, when it was melted, I added the Franks(tm) Red Hot to it. Then when the wings came out I dump them in the sauce pan and let them soak up the sauce. After a minute or 3, I would pick them out, and plate them up (usually a sandwich tray with a sheet of wrap) making sure to pour the sauce that was left in the pan over the wings. With some bleu cheese dressing, and plenty of napkins, I was ready.

Another variation is the Asian Spice wings. Some restaurants started serving the wings with a spicy sauce that resembled a General Tso's or Sesame sauce. When going to the places that serve these, they are my wing flavor of choice. Finally, Frank's(tm) has come out with an Asian Spicy Sauce, made for wings or anything else you want to give an Asian tang. I can make the wings using the basic recipe and substitute the Frank's(tm) Spicy Asian sauce instead of the normal Franks's(tm) Red Hot.

The final variation I am going to bring up isn't really wings. The boneless wing is usually a chicken breast that is cut into chunks and usually coated with a batter or breaded. I enjoy eating them at restaurants, but would prefer if they didn't have the coating on them. Two items that restaurants serve that give you the kick of Buffalo Wings are Buffalo Chicken Salads, and Wraps. Take a chicken breast, or chicken tenders, cook them how you wish, cut them into slices. Coat the slices with your Buffalo sauce and build a salad or wrap and add the Buffalo chicken to it. Most people who eat these tend to go with Ranch dressing on the salad or in the wrap.

There are many other things you can do with your wings, don't be afraid to give them a try. If you aren't sure just try it on one wing to see if you like it, them go for it or adjust it to your taste.

Dave

Cooking for Guys - Ramen

Everyone knows what Ramen is, it's that square packet of noodles and a small pouch of seasoning. At least for most that's what it is. I first really found out what Ramen is from the movie "Ramen Girl", it's sort of an anti-love story. The main character moves to Japan to be with her boyfriend who moved there for work, it's not a big part of the movie but it is a big part of her motivation. He then takes off for another job, leaving her behind in the apartment, basically telling her he doesn't know when and if he'll be back. This eventually ends up with the girl going to a Ramen shop and finally becoming the apprentice of the Master. The movie is mostly a chick flick, but the cooking, and the view of Japanese custom and lifestyle kept me watching. After watching this movie I started to learn about Ramen, and even how to take it from the pack to an actual meal.

One of the first things I learned is that the seasoning packet contains so much sodium and salt that it gives you 1/3 of the daily recommended value for the day. So usually the first thing I do when I open the pack is to throw away the seasoning packet. Then I get started with creating dinner. Second thing I figured out, is that Ramen isn't much different then angel hair pasta, they are both thin wheat noodles, Ramen noodles can be bought in a 5 pack for about $1 to $1.25, a one pound box of angel hair noodles can cost about the same. A pack of Ramen is 3 ounces, by using angel hair pasta, you can get 5 1/3 portions of this size. Angel hair pasta may take an extra 2 or 3 minutes to cook, but the rest of the preparation is the same, so if you want, just buy the angel hair and use that, and you don't have to throw away the packets any more.

Now on to the cooking part.

Tonight I was in the mood for some Italian food, so I took a can of tomato soup, started heating it by the directions on the can.. I added some garlic salt, and some Italian seasoning to the soup. Then when it started to steam I put the Ramen noodles into the soup. When it started to bubble a bit I lowered the heat to medium and let it cook the Ramen. When it was done I added some Parmesan cheese, and had a nice bowl of quick and easy pasta.

Another Ramen creation I made was when I was in the mood for Cajun food. I cooked the Ramen and drained the noodles with a colander. While the Ramen cooked I chopped some onions, I had some shrimp in the freezer so grabbed a couple of them, grabbed some cajun seasoning, and garlic. While the Ramen drained I put some oil in the pan, added the onions and cooked them for a couple of minutes. Then I added the garlic and cajun seasoning, and finally the shrimp. I let the shrimp cook for a couple of minutes and then added the Ramen. I stirred it up good to mix the seasonings and to make sure the shrimp was done cooking, then added a bit of Louisiana hot sauce to add a little bit of a kick, and even though it was noodles and not rice, I had a substitute Jambalaya. You can add chicken if you want, a little bit of ham, some diced celery. In fact I was told by a cook from Louisiana, that basically Jambalaya is a stew that you can put anything you have or like into it.

If you like stir fry, get out your fry pan or wok if you have one. Chop up some vegetables, onions, peppers, carrots, celery, even broccoli or cauliflower, whatever you have, already cut up, or frozen is fine. Even a mixture from a bag of frozen stir fry veggies. Pick your choice of meat(s), I like to use left over or frozen chicken, or shrimp, but you can use any meat, look at the variety in a Chinese menu, and those are just the "Americanized" Chinese foods. Then finally the sauce, could be as simple as the packets from your last trip to a Chinese restaurant, you know the soy sauce, and duck sauce, or you buy another type of sauce in the ethnic section of the grocery store. Again start by cooking the Ramen and draining it. Then put some oil in your pan and heat it up. Don't use olive oil as that will start to smoke, basic veggie oil, corn oil, or peanut oil. Take the meat you have and cook it until mostly done, you don't want it fully done because you are going to finish with the veggies and noodles later. Take the meat out and set it aside in a bowl or on a plate, I'll use the plate I am going to eat it on (remember to wash the plate when you return the meat to the pan, you don't have to scrub it, just run it under hot water to clean and sanitize it). Add the veggies, things like the onions and garlic first, followed by carrots and celery, then the peppers and broccoli. Cook each set of added veggies for a minute or two before adding the next. Then add the sauce to the pan, and cook it in to the veggies. Make sure you have enough sauce that it is still wet. After a minute or two you put your meat back into the pan (remember to wash the plate or bowl) and finally the noodles. Stir it up good to mix it together. If you want to you can add some sesame seeds or a little bit of hot sauce to finalize the dish right before eating it.

These are 3 quick ideas to build on for the nights you need something to eat and think you don't have anything to make. You can make Ramen Alfredo, or Ramen butter noodles (both are the same, except you add some Parmesan cheese and a bit of milk or cream to the Alfredo, just cook the noodles in the butter, and salt and pepper,and let it soak in a bit). It can be as easy or complicated as you want to make it. Use your leftovers, or check what's in the freezer. Any thing you can do with spaghetti or most other pastas, can be done with Ramen.

Cooking for Guys - getting started.

I am what is known as a professional cook. All that means is I get paid to cook. So I decided I'm going to start posting some recipes, and cooking tips. Most of these are directed towards guys, not men, or gentlemen, just guys. They will be stuff that you make late at night, or when a bunch of guys get together and hang out. A lot are going to be like how Buffalo Wings were said to be invented. You look in the fridge or in the pantry and see what you have.

One thing you may notice as I go along is that I like using gadgets. In my life I've owned a George Forman Grill, a rice cooker, a bread maker, a quesadilla maker, a food dryer, a couple of coffee machines, a food processor, a sandwich maker, and some more gadgets I like to play with. I also had access to a griddle, grill pan that covered 2 stove top burners, and you flip over to have either a flat surface or the grill lines. My brother had one of the Magic Bullets, which also is a great item for drinks.

As far as actual pots and pans, and utensils, I have a couple of items beyond the typical things you have around the kitchen.

I have an egg pan, it is an 8 inch pan that is only used for making eggs, fried, scrambled, and omelettes. I do not put it in the dish washer. I do not use any harsh scrubbing material. I do not use metal utensils or scrubbers on it. I use rubber spatulas and plastic coated utensils. I do my best to not scratch the surface so it is non-stick. The one I have now has the non-stick coating, but I've also used cast iron, aluminum, and stainless steel. Each if taken care of keep a good non-stick surface. I've also gotten to use one of the new green pans, they are worth the price but like any other you have to take care of it.

I have a wok. I use this for stir fry obviously, for regular pan cooking, for hot oil frying, for making pop-corn, and for steaming. A good wok can be one of the most versatile pans you can have.

I also have a professional quality chef's knife. I bought this at a store that only sold knives. I got one that felt right to me, was comfortable in my hand. It is an 8 inch blade on it. I also have a block set of knives with a serrated blade, a 12 inch cooks knife, a filet knife, a paring knife, and a utility knife. The only other knife I use is a cleaver. For that I have a Chinese cleaver as I enjoy using that for more aggressive chopping and splitting meats like ribs, and chicken, into pieces.

A couple of utensils I have and use are high temperature rubber spatulas and a couple of sets of tongs.

You don't need any of these items, they are just things I've picked up through the years, because I enjoy cooking. At work I need to follow directions, so at home, and even for my own meals, I like to be creative. As I post more of these posts, I will occasionally feature one of them, as I will also feature a certain ingredient, or cooking style, or item. In my mind I've already started thinking of a post about ramen noodles, and pizza, among other topics. If you have any suggestions, make sure to leave comments so I can either respond to them directly, or take them into consideration for a future post.