Chuletas y Arroz con Pollo

I sent out a mass text message on Wednesday afternoon to the students of Epiphany Youth Ministry.  It read: "Hola amigo/a. Buenos dias! Esta noche estoy cocinando chuletas y arroz con pollo por JAM! Esta alli! Celebre el nuevo ano liturgico! Paz, Jose"

You don't have to understand spanish to know whatever I just said meant something like "I'm cooking one of the best things you have ever tasted so you better be there!" 

I give you: Pork Chops, rice with chicken, and a cucumber/tomato/onion/avocado salad.

My grandmother's recipe is risky business so don't think I'm going to post it on this blog for you to see.  But I will show you the pictures so you can attempt something along these lines in the future.  

Here are the ingredients.  Pretty standard for cooking Puerto Rican.  Sazón is probably the hardest thing to find.  It is sold at most grocery stores in Texas.  Ask for it by name: GOYA.

Arroz con pollo is somewhat similar to the Louisiana jambalaya; except this has olives, cilantro and capers.  Brown the chicken, cook the veggies down, mix it up, add rice, and that's it (basically).

brown chicken with salt and pepper in large cast iron pot

chicken, veggies, seasoning, chicken broth

rice cooked after 20 minutes. add the olives, capers

Chuletas are pork chops.  I decided to cook these in the oven but they cook very well on the grill as well.  20 minutes at 375 should do the trick.  I marinated them with olive oil, garlic, oregano, cayenne, salt, and pepper then laid them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

let them rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting

For the salad, chop up one cucumber, a couple tomatoes, half an onion and a few avocados.  Mix in a large bowl: olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper.  Simple and delicious.

This meal hopefully prepared our students for Advent which starts this Sunday.  As we anticipate the Christmas season, I pray you have a moment to take a break from the "holiday shopping" and enjoy some good eats.

Happy Plates!

Hot Boil!

Happy Labor Day Weeekend!  It sure was a beautiful night in Tiger Stadium!

     I love being around family and friends.  LSU football kicked off this weekend and I was blessed to catch a ride with my friends Scott and Dayna.  LSU won and the weekend tailgate went really well!  I was even able to meet one of my Puerto Rican cousins who pitches for Southern University.  Always great seeing my Louisiana peeps!

     On the ride back, we stopped in West Lake to pick up some shrimp from one of Scott's relatives.  If ever given the opportunity to buy fresh shrimp, DO IT!  I bought 10 pounds to boil for the holiday despite being a little tired from the weekend.  It was worth it!

First you need the set up: Propane burner and pot large enough to house potatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, lemons, corn, sausage, shrimp, and whatever other stuff you deem fit.  I usually add artichokes, soy beans, and asparagus. And will sometimes boil a ham. Get creative.

Fill your pot a little less than 3/4 full of water.  Add the appropriate amount of shrimp boil and seasonings.  Add potatoes, onions, garlic, artichoke, lemons, and mushrooms .  Bring to a boil for 20 minutes.  

Add your shrimp to the pot.  Boil for 3 minutes.  Cut off fire and add corn, sausage, soy beans, and asparagus.  Let soak for at least 20 minutes.   Pull them out and spread them on a table for all to enjoy.  Pinch em, peel em, and eat em!

Happy Plates!

Jolly Good Food and a Merry Christmas to You

     Merry Christmas Blog world!  Jesus is born!!

     If your day was anywhere near as successful as mine, you should be exhausted.  But it was all worth it, wasn't it?
   
     I've been waiting to cook this meal since Thanksgiving!
 
     Patiently I've game planned what I'm going to cook and how I'm going to cook it.  It was an easy decision really.  I received a Weber smoker about a month ago from Home Depot.  One of my friends, Ryan P., works there and told me about this stellar deal they had one day.  I decided to tell my parents about it.. (a $350 grill for $40..I tweeted it. and sent text messages about it...)  Anyways, they decided they would surprise me with it as "an early Christmas gift".  What a present!  I would repay them with some smoked meats.

  One 12 lb turkey (spatchcocked)  and a city ham smoked for roughly 3.5 to 4 hours (As you can see in the photo on the right, the turkey is on the bottom grate, closer to the coal).
     Spatchcocked turkey means cutting out the backbone so the bird will lay flat.  I used some pepper, salt, cayenne, paprika, brown sugar and butter as a marinade.  The ham is diamond cut and smoked for 3-4 hours at 250 then I put some stuff on it. The ham's final step is to put it into an oven at 350degrees for 30-40 minutes.  (All the details of this city ham recipe can be attributed here to Alton Brown.  However, I spice things up a bit with SPICY brown mustard and my bourbon of choice is Jim Beam.).   This is what it looks like after a little smokin'!

     If you're looking for something to do while the meat is on the grill, walk around your neighborhood and look for birds.  Although this probably sounds extremely lame to most people, you would be surprised at the amount of birds you will see and what they do.  A HUGE thanks to my parents for hooking me up with a 55-300mm lens for Christmas!  Here are some birds I saw while waiting for the Christmas bird to finish cooking:

Mourning Dove

Male Cardinal

Great Blue Heron

     I also saw a hawk tearing apart food, some Mexican Squealers, and some kid shooting his new BB gun into a tree at moss.  Other things might include:  Enjoying a home brew (if you're old enough), watching Season One of Big Bang Theory, or bake a dessert.  [Special shout-out to Jeff for giving me a delicious BBP Bourbon Barrel Porter to enjoy for Christmas!  It went great with the meal!]

     After 4 hours in the smoker, or when the turkey has reached 170 degrees, it should look something like this: 

it looks like a GIANT frog

     Wrap this in foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.  While you are waiting for that, let's get the pork ready for its final destination.  Less typing, more pictures.  

Baste it with the mustard

Sprinkle on dark brown sugar, then spray on the bourbon.

then sprinkle on the broken ginger snap cookies.  I think it looks like an ant mound.  This mound of joy goes in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  

Ok, so now that the turkey has been resting for 30 minutes, CARVE IT UP!

Does anyone else see a face? 

After you're finished carving the turkey, move onto the HAM!

Time to dish up the plate!

     It was quite the feast!  We missed all the extended family from BR, PR and Nevada, but know y'all were on our minds the whole day.  After a long day of cooking, present exchanges and enjoying family time, I have some "quiet time" (we're watching Rise of Planet of the Apes) to reflect once again on how blessed I am with family and friends.  Thank you to everyone for reading my posts!  May God bless you with everlasting joy, peace and love!

Happy Plates!  (even though the puppy ate a dead squirrel during dinner and it brought up some entertaining conversations...)

What happens in the oven...

     My blog is by no means sponsored by Kroger; however, I find myself realizing how nice of a store it is when i cook on a regular basis (Mostly because it is close to home).  Last night I cooked a pizza on bread.  Really simple.  Here is a picture walk through so you don't have to read me talk about nothing.  Put it in the oven at 500 degrees for about 15 minutes (But be sure to check it often).

Happy Plates!

Chew on This

Stuffed Pork Loin. Marinated Mozzarella Stuffed Peppadews.

Hipster View

     A few weeks ago, I bought a book as a going away gift for one of my students moving to Malaysia.  It is titled "How to Grill" by Steven Raichlen. He enjoyed grilling hamburgers with our youth group so I found  it was only appropriate to give him an ultimate guide to grilling.  It also worked out well because I'm constantly looking for new inspiration and this picture book was just what the doctor ordered.  I picked up my own copy online and the rest is history. This is my version of the stuffed pork loin.

     The tricky part to this dish is cutting the pork loin the right way.  I unfortunately cut too deep and actually punctured through the meat.  Anways, this loin of the pig is stuffed with diced onion, bell pepper, green olives, capers, salt, pepper, oregano, and olive oil.  oh, I added the tomatoes for some fun color.  All this jazz is spread on the inside of the loin, rolled up, then tied together with butcher string (which was free from my nice friend's at Kroger).  It is also laced with bacon to keep in some moisture and flavor.  Lacing any meal with bacon is dangerous, so use extreme caution.  This heap of love was grilled on my dad's gas weber for about 2 hours or until the center was 160 degrees.  It sliced up nicely and has the unique spiral effect for the plate.  Hopefully the next time I try this, my hands will be steady enough to cut the loin thinner and my brains will be smarter to know when to stop cutting!  Happy plates (except I had no side dish...which is another story in itself hehe)

mini hipster view

Now, onto those sexy red peppadews...One day while shopping at my local Kroger store, I came across peppadews on the olive bar.  I can't lie, they were checking me out.  I was planning on using them for my pulled pork pizza (which i did and it was delicious. i might recreate the pizza because IT WAS THAT GOOD).  A really nice lady working that day told me something that would forever change my list of appetizers.  "Add cheese to pepper" she said (in an asian accent.)  It took me a while to comprehend what she had said.  I would compare it to Mr. Miyagi teaching the karate kid "wax on, wax off". Anyways....Yes, she was asian and her idea ...was BRILLIANT!  They are super easy to make (stuff a mozzarella cheese ball into the pepper), look pretty cool, and even my mom likes them!  Happy plates tonight!

Spread the word and let me know something you want me to try.  Things coming soon: Boneless Stuffed Chicken, Homemade Teriyaki Chicken Legs, and Triple Stuffed Potatoes....I'm seeing a recurring theme with "stuffed stuff"

please note:  #1. if i ever use the term hipster and fusion FOR REAL when speaking about food, please slap me. I am so serious.

#2.  "hipster view" is a joke but also a camera angle i invented.  you cannot borrow it unless you give me credit.

 Thanks for reading! <3  I'll try to do better next time!