Mojo wings with herb crust

There's very few times that I can say that I truly surprise myself in the kitchen. This recipe for chicken wings was good enough for me to want them every day. I think I may do this a lot more from now on. The secret is the mojo. What is a mojo? It's a blend of citrus, oil, vinegar, spices, and other aromatics that you can marinate meat in. This one is quite simple. Here are the things you will need.

Mojo:
1 cup Orange Juice
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp black peppercorn
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flake

Herb crust:
Italian seasoning blend
Garlic powder
Rosemary
Old bay seasoning
Steak seasoning

Preheat oven to 375°F. Put all of the mojo ingredients in a blender blender and blend until peppercorns are crushed and mixture is a cloudy orange/brown color. Pour the mixture over your segmented chicken wings, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Remove and line a large sheet pan with cooking spray. Arrange the wings on the pan and dust the wings with the herb mixture ingredients. Cook on 375° for 35 minutes and crank up to 425° for 15. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. The taste is extraordinary. You taste the orange,  the lemon, the garlic, the herbs come through and punch you in the teeth, then there is the spice from the old bay seasoning. All of these flavors jump back and forth and hit you at different times. It's like a party hit your taste buds and knocked you in the back of the had all at once. Truly delightful. Will be trying this on some chops and turkey sometime soon too. Have some fun with this one. Mess around with the ingredients and create some more profiles. It's delicious.

The Ultimate Blackned Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger

I thought the other day that I haven't had a great bacon bleu burger in a while and I decided to improve upon my previous design. What I did was just use some ingredients that were more fresh. I used organic bleu cheese, beef, tomatoes, homemade pickle chips, whole grain mustard made with Guinness, and fire roasted red pepper. The flavors that came out of this behemoth were monstrous and although not that incredibly easy to make, the effort far outweighed the amount of work involved. First off, I made a bleu cheese dressing using bleu crumbles, mayo, and Greek yogurt. I then made stuffed burger patties with fire roasted red pepper and bleu crumbles stuffed inside. I crusted the outside with my blackened spice rub which was sugar, salt, red pepper flake, Cajun seasoning, paprika, and cracked black pepper. Popped the patties into the skillet on medium high heat and cooked to a solid medium temp. The meat was seasoned with the same spices that I crusted them with except I used bread crumbs as a binder and onion flakes. I used roasted egg buns fresh from the bakery and first put the stout mustard on the bottom bun with fresh tomato on that, placed the burger on, topped with the homemade pickles, bacon, and bleu cheese dressing that I made earlier and voila...the masterpiece was born. They were sweet from the mustard, creamy from the dressing, smoky from the bacon, spicy from the spice crust. Definitely made the tastebuds pull off backflips. If you need any advice on how to make these, don't hesitate to shoot me a message on Facebook. Just remember to make food with love. And if you have any ideas to shoot my way, I will definitely try them.

Ranch style red potato and broccoli salad

One of my favorite things to make is just some really good potato salad. So much in fact that I create as many different ways to make it as possible. This was one of those "I've gotta share this" moments. All I did was make my ranch dressing that I have included in an earlier post in my blog and mix in Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Then it's quite easy. Mix in 4-5 good sized red potatoes that have been prediced before boiling and some roasted or steamed broccoli and it's go time. This is probably one of the best potato salads that I've made in a very long time. Enjoy this delightful recipe. Its easy and only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.

The Guido Burger

This is another one of those things that Laura and I made to put a spin on spaghetti. We both love a good meat sauce and we both love meatball sandwiches. Why not put those on a freaking burger!!
(salivation begins, the heavens open and angels rejoice in song)
This one is going down as The Guido. It's a beef and Italian sausage mixed burger with tomato sauce, and provalone cheese. It's simple, easy, and tastes like an Italian restaurant had a love child with a burger dive. Here's your list of ingredients:

1 lb of  Ground beef
1 lb of Italian Sausage (not in casings)
1 green Pepper (diced)
6 large mushrooms (diced)
1 onion (diced fine)
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning mix
1 tsp garlic,
2 slices of crumbled white toast
1 egg
8 slices of Bread (toasted)
1 Jar of spaghetti sauce (your choice)
Sliced provalone Cheese

Combine beef, sausage (uncased), mushrooms, green pepper, onion, garlic, seasoning, crumbled toast, and egg into a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands. Form into 4 (yes they are going to be large, the fat cooks out)patties and place them in a hot skillet. Flip after about 6 minutes. Cook an additional 4-5 minutes and flip. Place a slice of provolone on each burger and cover the pan with a mixing bowl to allow a steam fry to melt the cheese. Remove from heat and lay out toast. Cover each piece of toast with tomato Sauce and place burgers on 4 slices using the other slices as cover.
There you have it. Not too complicated, but the flavor that comes out of these things is freaking killer. Have fun everyone.

Creole Bourbon Butter Injection.

I'm always coming across new things and new ideas for things to do with turkeys and ways to inject and marinate them. One of my favorites is a Creole bourbon butter marinade that makes a delicious injection for any kind of meat. It's quick and its easy to make and is more cost efficient in the long run if you mix it in advance and save the rest for a rainy day. Here are the things you need.

1 food grade injection syringe
1/2 pint of bourbon whiskey
1 cup of melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp Cajun seasoning mix (I use Zattarains)
1tbsp garlic powder

Mix ingredients together in an old ketchup bottle or something sililar while warm and shake well until all spices are dissolved. Pour into separate cup if not using all of it and save the rest. This will avoid cross contamination with different kinds of protein. This is absolutely wonderful and all together delicious for Thanksgiving or any other special occasion roast. Enjoy!!!

Quick Garlic Dill Pickles

One thing that I always loved growing up was the crisp bite of a good Claussen Kosher Dill Pickle. It's raw, flavorful, fat free, and other than the salt content, good for you. Something however started getting to me a couple of months ago though...I always liked the chip style pickles over the sandwich slices. You can't find the chip style of pickles anywhere in the refrigerated section where all the Claussens are. Also, I'm not spending $5 a jar on those things. So I spend 69 cents on one cucumber or a buck for some pickling cukes and started making them at home. The secret is the brine. That is the only cooking that you will ever have to do. The other stuff goes into the jar. And this is the basic gist of it.

2 cups of water
1/2 cup white or cider vinegar
2 tbsp kosher salt (has to be kosher)

2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper flake
1-2 sprigs of dill or a tsp of dried dill
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp black peppercorn
1/2 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)

3 small pickling cucumbers or one large cucumber.

1 large container or glass jar

Put top three ingredients into a small saucepot and allow to reach boiling. Remove from heat for 1 minute. While above mixture is heating up do the second step.
    Put 2nd list of ingredients in a sanitized jar. Cut the pickles into 1/8" to 1/4" slices and fill up the jar or container as much as you can and still be able to apply the lid. Pour hot mixed brine until the container is filled. Cover mouth of jar or container with plastic wrap and screw on or apply a lid. If you do put them into a canning jar, you can follow the instructions to seal your jars for later use, but I personally put them in the fridge and they stay good for about two weeks. Make sure that you allow these to marinate for at least 6 hours before tasting. I always wait 24 hours. These come out perfect for frying by the way. Just another reason improve on the fried pickle.

Pot Stewed Bbq Beans

Although I do love baked beans, sometimes I just don't have time to do them right. So, I have a fast simmer method that is pretty darn tasty in their own right. These are very easy to do and basically involve the same flavors as my baked beans. Here are the things you will need.

1 large can Pinto Beans
3 strips Bacon
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Dried Onion Flake
1 1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Chilli Powder
3/4 tbsp Paprika
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

In a saucepan add 3 strips of chopped bacon and cook until slightly crispy. Combine all the other ingredients together and start simmering on medium high heat. Bring to a fast simmer and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, cover and reduce heat to mid-low for 10 minutes and serve. It's a quick 20 minute fix and goes well with grilled foods and an by kind of Bbq. Quick sides can bring a meal to another level with flavor profiles going on your tongue to offer some great combinations of tastes. Just remember to have fun with these. Add tomato, green chilies, cheese, onion, jalapenos, chipotles, or other peppers to try different flavors. Love the food. It loves you.