Category: Articles

Category: Articles

Balsamic Beef Kebabs

Savory Balsamic Beef Skewers

Ingredients

  • 2 lb. top round roast
  • ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • to taste pepper
  • 2 medium bell peppers
  • 1 large red onion
  • 8 oz. button mushrooms
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Cut the beef roast into one inch cubes (or 36 pieces of roughly the same size). In a small bowl combine ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp worcestershire sauce, 2 cloves minced garlic, ½ tsp of salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper.

Pour the marinade into a zip top bag, add the beef cubes, and marinate for at least an hour.

Lightly wipe off the mushrooms and cut each one in half. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and some more pepper. Toss the mushrooms to coat, and refrigerate until you’re ready to make the kebabs.

Just before you’re ready to make the kebabs, cut the bell pepper and red onion into one inch pieces. Preheat the broiler on high.

Take the meat and mushrooms out of the refrigerator and begin to build your kebabs. If you cut 36 pieces of beef, make sure each kebab has 3 pieces.

Coat a broiler pan with non-stick spray. Place the kebabs on top (6 at a time). Adjust the oven rack so that the top of the broiler pan will be about 4-5 inches from the heat source. Place the kebabs in the oven and broil for 5-7 minutes, turn the kebabs over, and broil for another 5-7 minutes on the second side. Every oven is different, so check your first batch after 3-4 minutes. You will want to flip the kebabs when they have achieved a crispy brown exterior. Use that time as a guide for the rest of your kebabs.

To get the perfect cuts, I suggest using The Chef Knife, 8″; it makes all the difference!

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Creamy Potatoes Au Gratin

Potatoes au Gratin Recipe: Creamy and Decadent

Ingredients

4 lbs. Potatoes
2 whole Garlic Cloves
1 – 1 1/2 T Sea Salt, or Kosher Salt
2 t fresh cracked Black Pepper
3/4 t freshly grated Nutmeg
2 1/2 c Heavy Cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F
Crack the garlic cloves break them up slightly then rub the insides of a 9″x11″ baking dish. Set aside.
Peel and thinly slice the potatoes – 1/8″ thick. Put the sliced potatoes into a large bowl.
Season potatoes with sea salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Get your hands in there and toss the slices to coat evenly. Slap a potato slice against your tongue to test for seasoning. It should be noticeably seasoned but not overpoweringly so.

Layer potatoes into prepped baking dish, smoothing the top so everything is fairly level. Pour cream over potatoes just to the point where you can press down on the top layer and the potato slices disappear under the cream. Give a couple presses down on the potatoes then taste cream for seasoning again. You should just marginally taste the salt. Add a sprinkle more if needed.

Put in the oven and bake for a total of about 1 1/2 hours (larger batches will take longer, of course). Every 20 minutes or so, open oven and with the back of a large spoon, break the crust the cream is starting to form. On the final “crusting breaking” the consistency of the cream should noticeably thicker and have absorbed into the potatoes a decent amount. For the final 20-30 minutes, leave everything untouched to form a golden top. Cream should be nearly all broke down and absorbed with just a bit of creamy, buttery-ness between the potato slices.
Remove from oven allow to cool a bit before serving. It will retain a napalm-like heat for at least 10-15 minutes.

Prep Tips

Lay down newspaper on countertops and peel potatoes over the newspaper. When all done – Roll up and compost or throw away – Instantly clean counters!

If you are doing a large batch, put the peeled potatoes in a bowl of water to keep them from browning.

This is also a great time to hone your knife skills, but for a cheater method, slice with a mandolin or food processor slicing blade. Personally, I prefer slicing by hand – it’s a bit meditative with the added risk of playing with a sharp knife.

Lemon Garlic Fish

Lemon Garlic Parsley Grilled Fish Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 (3 oz.) Fish
  • ¼ bunch fresh parsley
  • 1 med lemon
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • 15-20 cranks freshly
  • cracked black pepper

Instructions:

1. Rinse the parsley and remove as much water as possible by shaking into the sink (hold onto the stems). Pull the leaves from the stems and place them in the food chopper or processor.Cut the lemon in half and add the juice and zest from one half into the food chopper.

2. Save the other half of the lemon for garnish. Also add the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Turn the chopper on until the parsley and garlic are finely minced and the mixture is well combined.

 

3. Slice and place the fish to a bowl or shallow dish and pour the lemon-garlic-parsley mix over top. Make sure both sides are covered. Some may run off but that is okay.

4. Spray the grill surface with non-stick spray and preheat for 5 minutes.

 

For slicing fish, this knife is up to the task!

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Summer Vegetable Tian

Summer Vegetable Tian Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 medium zucchini
  • 1 medium yellow squash
  • $0.851 medium potato
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • to taste salt & pepper
  • 1 cup shredded Italian cheese

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).

While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.

Spray the inside of an 8×8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish.

Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Source: www.budgetbytes.com

Khachapuri

Khachapuri Recipe

Khachapuri! When you hear this word, know that it means crispy thin bread filled with soft tender cheese, which stretches from your mouth as you take a bite.

Khachapuri is traditional Georgian cheese bread that is prepared in all parts of Georgia; consequently, there are several variations of the dish.
For obvious reasons, imeruli khachapuri from the western region of the country is the most widespread type found on Georgian dining tables.

Ingredients:

  • dough (yields 2 round khachapuri of 8-inch diameter)
  • 3.6 oz plain whole milk yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 7.8 oz flour, sifted
  • 1/3 tsp salt
  • 1 1/3 tsp baking powder
  • 1.7 oz butter, soft
  • khachapuri (yields 2 round khachapuri of 8-inch diameter)
  • dough (see above)
  • 6 oz Georgian cheese
  • 8 oz Georgian Sulguni Or 10 oz mozzarella
  • black pepper, ground
  • salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 oz water

Steps

1. To make the dough: Place the yogurt and egg in the bowl of an electric mixer fit with the paddle attachment. Add about 2/3 of the flour with the salt and baking powder, and mix on medium speed until homogeneous.

2. Add the butter and the rest of the flour, and mix again. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and knead the dough by hand for about one minute. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. To make the khachapuri: Divide the dough into 2 equal balls.

4. Preheat the oven to 450° F, and place a dish full of water on the bottom rack.

5. Slice the mozzarella and feta. In a bowl, crumble both cheeses between your fingers.

6. Season with black pepper, and adjust the salt level if necessary—the mixture should taste quite salty, but still be edible!

7. On a floured surface, roll each ball of dough into an 8-inch diameter disc (a perfect shape isn’t very important at this point). Place the cheese mixture in the center, then wrap the dough around it, just like you would wrap something in a handkerchief. Flip the dough over, and gently roll each khachapuri back into an 8-inch diameter disc. Alternately, you can wrap the dough around the cheese mixture like a purse, cut the top, and roll each khachapuri without flipping it. (It’s OK to keep some cheese uncovered in the center.)

8. Transfer the khachapuri to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Mix the egg yolk and water in a cup, and brush the dough with the resulting egg wash.

9. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

There is a chart of variations.

 

*Presidential sources from: http://munchies.vice.com/recipes/khachapuri