"taco" pizza

we had a fair amount of taco meat left over from tacos earlier this week... it doesn't really lend itself to a lot of options other than "leftover tacos", which 9x out of 10, suck. when in doubt... leftover meat = random  themed pizza. i think this is loosely described as a taco pizza... only because it seemed more on point than "cheeseburger" pizza. in either case, whatever you want to call it pizza turned into a delicious mouth party. 

ingredients list: 
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought 
- 1 cup Classico Poblano Alfredo sauce
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 1 tomatoes, diced
- 1 & 1/2 cups cooked ground beef
- 1 jalepeno, sliced (remove seeds & stems if you want it less spicy)
- 1 cup monteray jack cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Cabot smokey bacon cheddar cheese (we used this since we had it on hand - any cheddar will do though)
- 1/8 cup diced chives
- pinch salt 
- pince pepper
- olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- few dashes of parsley

to make: mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees. 

roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the stone. spread the alfredo sauce, 1 cup of cheese, onion, tomato, ground beef, jalapeno, and  the last cup of cheese over the dough. bake in preheated oven for about 10-13 minutes.

brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture within the last few minutes of cooking. add a few dashes of pepper and the chives, and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving. 

new world bistro bar

lazy sunday morning... after oversleeping a bit it seemed like a brunch stop was in order. we had gone to New World Bistro Bar a long while back for brunch and thoroughly enjoyed it, and it seemed like time for another go at it. for being semi in the middle of no where in Albany, this place was still just as packed as ever.  

i had the crab, leek, and egg stuffed crepes with guava hollandaise... deliciouuuuuuus. the last time we were there i had the ropa bennie (shredded cuban pot roast topped with poached eggs and guava hollandaise), but didn't remember how supremely yummy that hollandaise sauce was. massive, but delicious breakfast. required a double workout later in the day to burn it off, but so worth it. 

recipe: basil pesto

this is a sweet & simple basil pesto recipe that i pulled from allrecipes.com. we have a TON of basil in the garden right now, so it's good to have the pesto around for a quick / quick dinner or snack option. we used in caprese burgers (burgers topped with roasted red peppers, mozzeralla & pesto), and on grilled chicken with... more roasted red peppers and served with grilled asparagus and roasted red potatoes. YUM! 

when i first blended the ingredients and tasted it by itself it tasted SUPER garlicy, but after it sat a bit it seemed to mellow out a bit -- even more so after it was incorporated onto the burgers or chicken.

ingredients list: 
- 3 cups fresh basil
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp minced garlic 
- 1/2 tsp chili powder 

to make: place the basil in a blended or food processor. pour in about 1 tbsp of the oil, and blend basil into a paste. gradually add pine nuts, cheese, garlic, chili powder, and remaining oil, and continue to blend until smooth. allow to sit 3-4 hours before serving / using. 

recipe: parmesan and sage-crusted pork chops

last week was a decent week of cooking - we successfully made a "real" dinner almost every night last week after leaving work mostly on time everyday. something that hasn't happened in... over half a year? i'm still on a quest to find really good sage-based recipes to use the surplus in our garden. the abundance of center cut pork chops in the freezer seemed like a lovely pairing for them. 

i used the parmesan and sage-crusted chop recipe from MyRecipes.com. the chops i had were very thick (1 inch+), so i cooked them longer than the original recipe that called for a quick pan-fry only. they turned out fab - super-flavorful crust, very juicy... easily one of the better pork chop recipes we've made. 

ingredients list: 
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
- 1/4 tbsp salt
- 1/4 tbsp cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tbsp prepared mustard (i used a mix of dijon & yellow)
- 1 egg
- 2 thick-cut pork chops
- 1 & 1/2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil 

to make: preheat oven to 350F degrees. place bread crumbs, cheese, sage, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish; place flour in another shallow dish; combine mustard and egg in a third shallow dish.

dredge pork chops in flour, shaking off excess, then dip into the egg mixture, and lastly the breadcrumb mixture. 

heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add oil to pan. once oil is to temp, add pork and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until each side is golden brown. remove pork chops and add to a baking dish with a wire rack (they can be added directly to the baking dish if preferred, but the crust may get soggy - boo). cook 20-25 minutes, until pork is fully cooked through (to an internal temperature of 145F degrees or more).  

recipe: ginger scallion noodles

last night's dinner, a random find from foodgawker.com on my never-ending delicious search of quick, delish weeknight stir fries. i used the ginger scallion noodles recipe from The Daring Gourmet. while it is intended to be eaten at room temperature, since i didn't have any time for a cool-down period i ate it hot and it was great either way. the cold noodles are a good option to have on deck if i ever do need a portable lunch though. flavor is very simple and strong - since the sauce is not cooked, the intensity of the ginger, garlic, and scallions all pop right through - it's quite the palate tickler. 

ingredients list (for 2):

- 8 oz rice noodles-

- 1 bunch of scallions, chopped

- 1 tbsp minced ginger 

- 1 tsp minced garlic

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

- 3 tbsp soy sauce

- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

- 1 tsp rice vinegar

- 1 tsp brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

- toasted sesame seeds (garnish)

to make: cook the noodles according to package directions, and drain and set aside once fully cooked through.  

combine all other ingredients in a small bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes. pour sauce over noodles, and toss to coat. sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving at room temperature. 

6th annual troy pig out

...

this little piggy went to the bbq...

we hit up the 6th Annual Troy Pig Out today in Troy, NY. beyond the bbq, this year the fest joined forces with BaconFest this year to deliver a fantastic array of cow and pig products. mmmmm. sweet, tasty farm animals. me and a bud shared a bunch of bites to avoid getting too full too fast. while everything we had was delish, the one thing i was hoping for was more sample-sized tastings... unless that only occurs at a certain point of the day (bbq competition submissions perhaps?). i'd love to buy $1 tickets and just run around sampling every single trucks meat slabs, but one can hope for next year at least. all in all though, it was an absolutely delicious day, and one that i was quite happy i did a large gym session this AM in preparation for it - bacon guilt successfully avoided. 

smoked pork, jalapeno cornbread
& collard green eggroll 

pork belly, fried egg, arugula &
 garlic mayo slider 

rrribs

bacon wrapped dates

Sukhothai - Albany, NY

Sukhothai on Lark St in Albany has been on my to-visit hit list for some time after hearing of it and good things about it. we went on a friday late afternoon and it was pretty busy - surprisingly so. we split the Hoy Joh (crab wrapped in tofu with sweet & sour sauce) and i had the massaman curry as my meal. the app was fairly light & delish, and the massaman actually tasted just like the delish massaman we had on the scuba boats in Thailand. i asked for it a little extra spicy and it ended up with a just right mix of spicy & sweet. i didn't order a drink, but the well-stocked fridge of Sapporo and $5 saketinis that looked fab. definitely a go-back spot. 

recipe: mushroom and sage brown butter pasta

dinner last week - after falling in love with sage after having Cabot's sage cheddar cheese, i've been on an odd sage kick... except i rarely run into any sage-based foods. we planted some sage seeds in the garden and now have a ton of it, so i'm trying to find good recipes to mess around with it. i came across RosieEat's Mushroom and Sage Brown Butter Pasta recipe on foodgawker.com and it seemed like the perfect fit. the ingredients are minimal, and just let the flavors pop through in a deliciously subtle way. it's pretty light and... earthy (not to sound gross?!) tasting, good for a summer night. i made the recipe verbatim from RosieEats and it was great. next time i might through a little minced shallot in with the mushrooms next time for a lil extra somethin-somethin.

ingredients list: 

- 5 tbsp butter divided

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 3 oz sliced mushrooms (cremini)

- 10 or so sage leaves

- 1/2 lemon juiced

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 

- 1/2 lb pasta

to make:

melt 1 tbsp of butter and olive oil in a large saute pan. add mushrooms and cook down for a few minutes, until soft and golden. remove mushrooms from pan and aside in a bowl. 

start pasta, and while it cooks add the remaining 4 tbsp butter and sage leaves in the saute pan. cook it until it becomes golden brown in color, being careful to stir frequently so the edges don't burn. sage leaves should be gently fried but not burnt. add lemon juice and set aside.

drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. add the pasta to the saute pan, along with the cheese, mushrooms, and salt and pepper to taste.   

recipe: smoked pork loin

yesterday was a chill Sunday, worthy of pulling out the old smoker for the giant slab of center cut pork loin in the fridge. the day prior i had rubbed it down with a dry rub, using an all-purpose "Magic Dust" recipe from Serious Eats, which turned out perfect for this. smokey & sweet with the slightest hint of heat. we ran into an issue with the smoker not getting hot enough (it was supposed to cook at 275 F for 1 hour per pound, but we did 2 hours at 150 F) and had to finish it off in the oven, but the result was still uber-smokey, sweet, and delicious. 

slapped on a roll with american and monterey cheese, sauteed pepper, onion, and mushrooms, and a big dollop of garlic and cayenne mayo. major mouth party. 

Ingredients List - Magic Dust: 
* makes 2 cups - which is WAY more than what's needed for a 2-3 lb roast. can be stored for 
future use. 

- 1/2 cup paprika

- 1/4 cup kosher salt

- 1/4 cup brown sugar 

- 2 tbsp mustard powder

- 1/4 cup chili powder

- 1/4 cup ground cumin

- 2 tbsp ground black pepper

- 1/4 cup garlic powder

- 2 tbsp cayenne powder

 to make: 

 blend all ingredients in a a small bowl; rinse and pat dry meat (pork loin in this case), then rub down completely with the rub. wrap tightly in cling wrap and let rest in the fridge for 24 hours. remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking.

 for smoker cooking, allow to smoke at 2 hours per pound at 275 F degrees, or until internal temperature is 155 F. 

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chicago!

last weekend we took a long weekend to Chicago for a much-needed little getaway. purpose was to check out the city, and EAT. we had 3 days, and 5 goals: deep dish pizza, Chicago dog, Italian beef sandwich, David Burke steakhouse, and mmmmmburger. it was a very fat weekend, but one of the better once i've had in sometime. to avoid a long, blabbering post, here is the top line of the pit stops:




1) Chicago dog: Honestly, this sounded disgusting to me -- not going to lie. definition of a C-dog consists of: all beef hot dog on poppy seed bun with yellow mustard, chopped onion, dill pickle, tomato, relish, celery salt (pretty much... every item i hate). that was Kyle's must-have try though (when in Rome...) ... he was happy as a clam to have one at the Cubs game, tho verdict was "too weird" tasting and not something he would order again. i had a modified version: dog with poppy seed bun, but only with a heaping pile of  caramelized onion on top. DAMN that was good.

2) Deep dish pizza: After experiencing this MASSIVE brick of pizza, i realize that we have been misusing the term "pie" for pizza here in NY for a long time. it is exactly that - a colossal heavy crust of inches of cheese, sauce, toppings, cheese sauce, holy jesus. we got it from the original Gino's East which was next door to our hotel. it was an amazing mouth party, but... if i was going to do the inevitable NY vs. Chicago pizza hands-down i gotta go thin crust NY. deep dish pizza is not something you casually order on a Friday night and expect to move afterwards... we walked a few miles that night, and i felt like a fat piece of garbage. not sexy.

3) Italian beef sandwich: We had seen these bad boys on a few travel shows (Adam Richmond, Anthony Bourdain...); i wanted to try the Bourdain reco of Johnnie's Beef, but it was a bit out of our stomping ground, and Al's Beef (Richmond reco) kinda had a spot niched out in every little neighborhood. it was messy as hell, and a tasty sloppy treat. the hot pepper topping was a little weird (it had celery in it -- what is with the celery everywhere?), but it was still a well received meat treat on a hot summer afternoon.

4) David Burke's: Here's where things get serious. If you're not familiar with David Burke's, beyond having the title of the best steakhouse in Chicago, it has a Himalayan sea-salt tiled room where they dry-age their beef. after going through this process for anywhere from 30 to 75 days, the result is an uber-concentrated meat flavor. i ordered the 35-day aged rib eye (K the 55-day aged), and we split truffled mashed potatoes and asparagus served with poached egg, citrus, and parmesan. everything was as amazing as expected, with the surprise delight being the truffled mashed potatoes... i've never had my socks blown off by mashed potatoes (they are an amazing comfort food, but can only be "so good" on the scale of "yes I want that" foods").... these were effing ridiculous. i've had straight truffles before, but this... aah i don't even know. they have a touch of magic in everything here. including the bread, which looked like a gigantic loaf of hearty bread but turned out to be a light fluffy bread puff. served with pure extra fatty butter. F. i want to go back.

5) burger! This city is a city of 592380810983092834 amazing burger options. selecting one location was so stressful. we ended up going with Butcher & Burger. all the ingredients are the finest quality, local, etc as a base. they love cows. they love cows that eat delicious things. which leads to the happy result of them loving to eat delicious cows. the menu is a pick & play of patty types, patty spice blends, roll selections, toppings, cheeses, sauces. it's stressful to say the LEAST. i think i came out with the most fantastic combination of all time - 1) natural & local house blend beef patty; 2) salt & pepper spice blend; 3) swiss cheese; 4) griddled mushroom & caramelized onion; 5) black truffle aioli & 6) pretzel bun (which notably was pillow soft, not firm like most pretzel buns... over the top pleasant surprise). AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH one of the best i've ever had. amazing meat, amazing juicy patty, amazing every other ingredient added that made the most perfect flavor combo ever. STRONGLY RECOMMEND. if you are in Chi-town, GO. i went halfsies with K who did a bison burger with traditional toppings (cheddar, thick-cut bacon, fried egg)... also amazing. unread.

Nighthawk's Kitchen

we hit up Nighthawk's Kitchen at the Troy Farmer's Market this past weekend. after all these years in Albany this was our first time hitting the market... which we did only because we heard a good burger lead was nestling in its stands. Serious Eats did a piece on the smashed burger from Nighthawks - not only is it rare for Albany burgers to get a blurb on SE, getting a full article is unheard of. 

Kyle & i did halfsies with a green chili cheeseburger with a side of buffalo mac & cheese and a BBQ burger (which had the BIGGEST slab of bacon on it, mother of god) with a gouda and something-something mac & cheese on the side. 

the burgers were served on potato buns, nice & juicy & a bit messy, with the toppings played nicely with both. the meat had an awesome taste to it, and the giant slabs of local cheese were the perfect gooey blanket to the meat party. i assumed the smashed burgers were going to be thin, but they were pretty hearty. enough so that i had to struggle through the mac & cheese, which was well worth the struggle. definitely a place that i will pop back to, especially after seeing the amount of delicious available at the market (it's more local cheese & bread than it is veggies, and a lot of gourmet snacks. good stuff).

screamin' mimis

last month i took a trip to Savannah, GA for a wedding. i was only there for 2 days, so i did not have a lot of time to poke around sampling eats. doing my pre-visit burger research, i was a little bummed that they didn't seem to have much of a fierce burger game. their "best burger in Savannah" was reviewed as pretty "meh" from Serious Eats. kinda shocking when even Albany has a few solid (more than solid) contenders. 

what was SHOCKING is that Savannah apparently is known for having really good pizza. like... top 10 best city in USA for pizza. typically i wouldn't plan to touch a pizza or Italian food in the south with a 10 foot pole (no offense south), but i was intrigued. Screamin Mimi's and Vinnie Van Go Go's seemed like the top 2 picks, though Screaming Mimi's is where we ended up based on "it's very convenient location down town" (i was travelling with my parents :) ) 

the pizza is thin-crust NJ-style... and... it was really good. if i was in NYC and had a slice of this, i would not be disappointed. it would be exactly what i expected. i think what puts it on the map for Savannah and Savannah on the map at all is that it's NOT expected. in NYC, it wouldn't stand out (which is no insult - having a standout pizza in NYC the land of amazing pizza is a feat). here tho, delicious wonderfest. one complaint was that my slice of sausage pizza was too fennely. very weird sausage. plain slice was the winner of the 2 i had, straight up cheese and saucy mouth party. 

recipe: chicken satay & spicy peanut sauce

last night i was still motivated to keep cooking - knowing i'd have 0 time on a week day to prep, i had prepped the marinade and sauce for this the night before.  the intention was to use skinless chicken thighs and use them for traditional chicken satay, however this plan went a bit south when i realized they were bone-in thighs - turning it into essentially a un-kababed version. grilled bone-in chicken is so damn good it kind of worked out for the best -- this marinade make the chicken super juicy and had an awesome flavor -- i want to re-make it again using chicken wings served in the spicy peanut sauce. i love kabob satay, but i kind of like wings even more and think it would be a fab fusion. 

both of these recipes were taken from Serious Eats - they have a nice kick to them, so if you like spicy they will be on par. 

ingredients list: chicken (adequate for 4 pieces of chicken)

- 1 stalk lemon grass, roughly chopped (or prepared minced lemongrass if you can't find fresh)

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

- 2 tbsp fish sauce

- 2 tbsp brown sugar

- 1 tbsp lime juice (preferably fresh)

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 2 tsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

- 1 tsp ground turmeric

- 1 tsp ground coriander (i did not have any so used a dash of cilantro)

- 1 tsp Sriracha

to make: place lemongrass, oil, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, turmeric, garlic, coriander and Sriracha in a blender, and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.

place chicken in a large resealable bag and pour in marinade - leave in fridge and marinade 1-2 hours (i left mine for 24).

when ready to cook:

- if doing skewers, slice into long 1-inch strips and thread onto soaked wooden skewers

- or - just keep it whole. 

grill until juices run clear -- fairly quickly (5 min) for skewers, about 20 minutes over medium high heat if using bone-in chicken.

ingredients list: spicy peanut sauce:

- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

- 1/4 cup hot water

- 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste

- 2 tbsp brown sugar

- 2 tbsp Sriracha

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp rice vinegar

- 1 tbsp lime juice (preferably fresh)

- 1 tsp minced garlic

- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

- 2 scallions, thinly sliced

- kosher salt to taste

to make: in a medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter and hot water. stir in all remaining ingredients. it can be used immediately, or stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.