Cookies?

In the spirit of Adar and the holiday of Purim, that guy spent the day yesterday with My fair lady and Bubbie making hamentashen.

Hamentashen are a triangular shaped cookie that are traditionally served on Purim. The cookies are cut, filling is placed in the center, and then pinched at the corners to give them their triangular shape. Bubbie made two kinds of dough: raised dough and cookie dough.

Our cookie dough hamentashen are filled with a raspberry jelly mix that also has coconut, walnuts, and raisins. We also made what I like to call Hamentashios- smaller bite sized cookies (size enough for one chocolate chip) that could be great in a bowl with milk!

Our raised dough hamentashen are made from a dough that has yeast in it, meaning that they become bigger when they bake. We filled them with mon- a poppy seed spread.

Boy are they yummy!

Chag Purim Sameach!

~That Guy

Puff puff Pass(try) Part II -Pizza Roll

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While thinking of what to make for dinner, My Fair Lady suggested we make pizza rolls. That’s right, Pizza Rolls! Puff pastry dough is such a versatile ingredient and tastes so good. Since puff pastry sheets come two to a package we made two different style pizzas- spinach and garlic, and Feef (Imitation ground beef).

Here’s how it was done:

Ingredients:

• Puff pastry sheets -defrosted according to instructions on the box
• Tomato sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Fresh spinach
• Feef (imitation ground beef)
• Chopped garlic
• salt
• pepper
• Basil
• Olive oil for frying
• Egg for eggwash

Spinach filling:

Sautee some garlic, add your spinach and cook down (spinach will cook down a lot) add salt and pepper – set aside

Feef filling:

Sautee some garlic, add feef (if it’s sticking together you  might consider rough chopping before throwing in the pan) add salt and pepper, add water to hydrate, and cook on medium heat till meat gets plump and juicy -set aside

Assembly:

Pre heat your oven to 425 degrees F and get your puff pastry ready to roll. Both rolls are layered the same way: cover the pastry dough with sauce and sprinkle with basil, cover with a layer of cheese, layer your filling, add another thin layer of cheese, roll (keep in mind not to roll too tightly). Place rolls onto a greased sheet tray. Scramble your egg and brush it over your rolls. Bake for 15-20 minutes (until golden brown).

Serve, and enjoy!

Note: if you are planning to re heat, the rolls cut easier when they are cool so cut before re heating

~That Guy

Introducing *Drum roll* Ground Beef!

YES!

Here is why I think ground beef is superior:
Who can argue that there is anything better than a nice juicy steak? Not That Guy! However, there is something to be said about the amazing versatility of ground beef. I like to keep a pound or two of ground meat in my freezer in case I ever want to whip up something last minute.

You must think I’m crazy, right? Wrong!

Here are some things you can make with ground beef:

• Hamburgers
• Spaghetti and Meat Balls
• Sloppy Joe’s
• Meatloaf 
• Stuffed Cabbage
• Chili
• Pasta Bolognese
• Puff pastry or other hors d’oeuvres filling
• Scotch Egg
• Sauteed and thrown into a Salad
• Lasagna (to keep it kosher substitute fake meat. That guy prefers soy meat over soy cheese)

…And anything else you can think of

Here are a few pointers when forming meat:

1. Eggs and bread crumbs help make the meat fluffier
2. Seasonings really helps bring out the flavor- I like herbs like rosemary, thyme, and basil, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika. Grill seasoning works great too.
3. Be careful when adding salt- ground beef can already be salty so don’t overdo it

If you are trying to eat a bit healthier, or don’t eat red meat you will find ground turkey to be a tasty substitute. And for the record- soy meats are also quite tasty and great for stir frying.

Tonight, That Guy is going to bed with the thought of a nice juicy burger seasoned perfectly (with onion, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, and paprika) on a bun with lettuce, tomato, and a sandwich pickle, and a side of homemade cajun french fries and maybe some coleslaw or israeli salad.
YUM!

~That Guy

P.S. I’m loving that burger idea so much that as soon as I can fire up the grill again I promise to make it for you guys!

Bubbe’s Chicken Soup

Nothing beats warm soup on a cold winters day-colds included. So, if you’re not feeling too great, or you just have a hankering for chicken soup, this is just for you.

Ingredients:

• Three chicken leg quarters- skinned
• About two gallons of water
• Three parsnips
• Three carrots
• 8-10 oz mushrooms
• One large onion
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• One bunch parsley
• One bunch dill
• 1/2 cup barley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Here’s what to do:

• Cook your water and chicken legs for thirty minutes -bring water to a boil then turn down to simmer
• While you’re cooking your legs dice the veggies and herbs. (Note: If you are serving picky eaters you can puree the veggies in a food processor before cooking, or rough chop the veggies and puree after cooking)
• Remove chicken legs from pot and skim the water (there shouldn’t be too much since you skinned the legs)
• Put parsnip, carrots, mushrooms, onion, parsley, dill, and barley into the pot and simmer for 45 minutes
• Remove chicken meat from the bone and roughly chop. return to stock pot after veggies are done cooking
• Season to taste
• Serve and enjoy!

~That Guy

Scotch Egg

Have you ever heard of a scotch egg? Probably not, and if you’re guessing that it’s from Scotland you would also be wrong. Scotch egg is an English dish that I had the fortune of coming across – a hardboiled egg wrapped in meat, breaded, then fried. And now have the fortune of sharing with you!

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How to Cook Like These Guys:

• Start by boiling up some eggs
• While your eggs are cooking you can season the ground beef– we used Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning
• Once eggs are cooked peel them.
• Take some ground beef (about 65 grams but you can eyeball it too) and place it between two pieces of plastic wrap.
• Flatten the ground beef into an even thin layer. Peel the top piece of plastic wrap of and place the egg into the meat and wrap the meat around the egg completely and tighten the plastic around the egg and place into the fridge (you want the meat to keep the from of the egg)
• Remove the egg from the fridge, flour, egg,  and bread.
• Fry on all sides (or just deep fry)

Serve and enjoy!

That Guy

Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread

Are you lazy but love garlic bread? Here’s an easy recipe you can throw together anytime. I made these with bagel slices, but you can substitute, bread, English muffins, or whatever else you might have lying around.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Bread
Chopped garlic
Butter
Adobo seasoning (if you don’t have you can substitute garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano)
Paprika
Cheese of your choice (I used mozzarella)

Here’s what you do:
Preheat the oven to 400 °F (a toaster oven works as well)
Spread the butter and garlic on the bread
Add adobo seasoning and paprika(or other spices that you are using)
Sprinkle the bread with cheese
Cook for seven to ten minutes

Remove from the oven and enjoy!

~ That Guy

House of the Rising Spice- Ragin’ Cajun Seasoning

My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new bluejeans
My father was a gamblin’ man
Down in New Orleans

These Guys don’t mess around when it comes to spices. Cajun spices are great for cajun fries, a cajun dip, a meat rub for steak or chicken, cajun pasta and plenty of other dishes. You would be surprised how easy it is to make spice mixes at home, but you would be more surprised when you realize that you actually use these mixes quite frequently. I am sure that every spice rack is incomplete without Cajun Seasoning.

Here are the spices you’ll need:

1/4 cup salt

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp sweet paprika powder

2 tbsp crushed black pepper

2 tbsp crushed white pepper

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp provencal herbs

1 tbsp English mustard powder

2 cloves, ground

Mix all the spices together and crush in a mortar and pestle. Alternatively, you can mix the spices in a food processor (preferably the hand held kind -usually an attachment for an immersion blender).

Store Cajun mix in an airtight container and enjoy!

~That Guy

Spicy Bruschetta

What a kick in the face!

Dig in!

This is a delicious and easy throw together. Obviously I left the seeds in because These Guys like their food extra spicy. This recipe is great as a snack, side dish, or just something great to munch on. Here’s what you do:

Get yourself:

3 tomatoes-diced

2 jalapeno peppers -finely diced

basil -about 10-15 leaves (a good amount)- chopped

5 cloves garlic-minced 

Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

 

Mix everything together and enjoy!

Note: This recipe is particularly spicy. If you want a more medium heat I would recommend one jalapeno. However, if you want this to blow your mouth off I suggest you leave the seeds IN the jalapeno.

~That Guy

Berry Applesauwwce

Who says that home made applesauce (or home made anything for that matter) has to be hard? My mother and grandfather created this recipe when I was but a wee child. Since the days of my grandfather peeling apples and my mother fixing the spice this has been a favorite for dessert or a snack- served chilled or warm! I have changed the recipe slightly, but something tells me my mother won’t mind.

 

Here’s how the magic happens…

You will need:

Bag of apples (mcintosh apples are best because they are sweeter)

Frozen Strawberries

Frozen Blueberries

Orange juice

Cinnamon sticks

Honey

What to do once you have your ingredients:

Peel and dice the apples (the smaller they are the faster they will cook), add several handfuls of strawberries and a couple handfuls of blueberries. Place the fruit into a pot along with 1/2 a cup -one full cup orange juice, cinnamon sticks, and 3 tablespoons honey. Place on the stove top on high heat. Once orange juice starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the fruit is soft. Turn off heat and let cool. Remove cinnamon sticks and use immersion blender to puree to desired consistency. The sauce may be enjoyed hot and cold (if there’s any left to cool down!)

 

Afterthoughts: 

* Depending on how sweet the apples are you might want to add more honey, or even granulated sugar. Adding honey or sugar when you puree is perfectly fine.

* The amount of orange juice will determine the texture at the end. Depending on how big the bag of apples is you will want to use more or less of the juice.

* Pears are also great in this recipe either only pears, only apples, or a pleasant combination of the two

* When removing the cinnamon sticks keep in mind that they just need a quick rinse and can be reused

 

Enjoy!

 

~That Guy

MacGyver’s Stuffed Chicken

No Bones about it

These Guys have established that food is better when it is stuffed-and spicy! With bellies a rumblin’ they grabbed some chicken quarters and deboned the meat in order to make way for a tantalizing spicy mushroom and scallion stuffing. After pan searing and baking off the legs, These Guys sliced the legs and served them with a balsamic reduction sauce, over teriyaki soy quinoa. A side Mandarin Spinach Salad was also enjoyed at the premier tasting.

Want to know how they did it?

Stuffed Chicken Quarters:

– debone chicken quarters (leave skin on, no bris)
– stuffing:
– jalapenos (4)+ seeds (YES)
– scallions
– mushrooms
– lemon zest
– rosemary
– in the future – thyme (waits for no man)
– red wine
– salt & pepper to taste
– lemon juice
– chicken stock
– panko
– sauteed for 10-15 min
– roll up stuffing in chicken quarters (This is most preferably done with twine )
– seared in pan with olive oil to keep in taste
– baked in the oven at 375 for 20-30 minutes (until fully cooked)

Balsamic Reduction Sauce (Saawwwce!):
– balsamic vinegar
-red wine
– chicken stock
– red pepper flakes
– brown sugar
– honey ( 2 spoon fulls)
reduced in a saucepan until pallet is tickled on medium-medium low heat

Teriyaki and Soy Quinoa:
– two cups of quinoa (washed)
– 4 cups of water (or vegetable broth)
– 1 bottle of teriyaki sauce
– soy sauce for taste
– red pepper flakes
– spinach
– grape tomatoes
– salt and pepper to taste
– cooked on the stove in a pot or a short pot(?) for around 20 minutes on medium then low heat

Mandarin-Spinach Salad:
– mandarin oranges (two cans)
– baby spinach
– golden cherry tomatoes (maybe cut, but whole is a pop in your face)
– baby romaine lettuce
– chives (in the future)
– shiitake mushrooms
– (in future asian noodles)

Dressing:

– soy sauce
– mandarin juice
– wasabi
– honey
– red pepper flakes
– pepper to taste
– (ginger in the future, if it wasn’t already in it) (short term memory is.. wait, what?)

Enjoy!

~These Guys