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Chicken of the Sea (not tuna)

May 9, 2013

The Ranting Chef Fried, Kosher, Low Carb, Recipes, Seafood , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

I don’t recall ever hearing of tilapia until about 15 years ago. Growing up there was tuna, salmon, cod, haddock, and quite a few others, but I don’t recall ever hearing about tilapia. Once I heard of it, it was suddenly everywhere. Just like Chilean Sea Bass (not Argentinian Sea Bass mind you), it is suddenly upon our awareness. When I was a kid, tuna was the “chicken of the sea”. Now, Wikipedia refers to Tilapia as such.

Tilapia is such an easy fish to cook with. It does not have a strong flavor of its own, so it is good to mix with other flavors. This combination of pecans and butter work really well.

This is another case where the recipe specifies my side dishes (green beans and wild rice). They work, so I followed it, but I still found it a bit strange. How come it didn’t include my wine that I was drinking?

Mixing up the butter and pecans.

A quick fry to the fish.

Delicious!

Tilapia With Pecan Brown Butter

Prep Time: 20m | Cook Time: 20m | Makes: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup wild and long-grain rice blend
  • 1 pound green beans, trimmed
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons canola oil
  • 4 6-ounce tilapia fillets, halved lengthwise

Directions:

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions. Steam the green beans until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the pecans and cook, stirring, until the butter is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Keep warm.

3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the tilapia with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In 2 batches, cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

4. Drizzle the tilapia with the sauce and serve with the rice, green beans, and lemon wedges.

Nutritional Info:

Calories 533 Fat 24g Sat Fat 9g Cholesterol 103mg Sodium 441mg Protein 40g Carbohydrate 44g Sugar 3g Fiber 8g Iron 3mg Calcium 72mg

Source: http://www.realsimple.com/m/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/tilapia-pecan-brown-butter-00100000086833/index.html?xid=dailyrecnews-10-08-2012

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Rock and Roll Gourmet Grilled Cheese

May 8, 2013

The Ranting Chef Cheese, Fried, Kosher, Lunch, Recipes, Snack, Vegetarian , , , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

Many cities have a laundry list of “must see” items that truly make them unique. Can you pick just one thing to see in New York? For me, if forced to choose just one, it would have to be the iconic Statue of Liberty. Using the same limiting factor for other cities would force me to choose Bourbon Street in New Orleans, South Beach in Miami and Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Looking at my city where I live, Cleveland, Ohio, there is really one choice – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Many people actively wonder why the Rock Hall (as it is called here in town) is in Cleveland and some of them really want it moved to New York, but here it is and hopefully here it is to stay.

From a foodie perspective, it is also difficult to choose just one restaurant in town. If you were going to fly into Cleveland for the evening, where would I recommend that you go to eat? Surprisingly, Cleveland is actually becoming a foodie town. There are great new restaurants and superstar chefs (Iron Chef Michael Symon) and plenty of places come to mind. In the end, though, I’d take you for a grilled cheese sandwich.

A trip to the Melt Bar and Grilled (yes, it is grilled) is a “must do” in Cleveland. Started a few years ago, the place specializes in gourmet grilled cheese. While you can have melted American cheese on bread (they call it the Kindergartener), you can also venture out and have Ahi tuna, lasagna or bratwurst on your sandwich (or all three). You have choices of dozens of ingredients and a variety of different cheese. If you want, you can even get your sandwich battered and deep fried (ala Monte Cristo). Served with a mountain of fries and with dozens of cold beer on tap, I cannot in good conscience take you anywhere else.

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Recently I made grilled cheese at home that was much closer to the Kindergartener than the mountainous sandwich you can get at the Melt.

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This sandwich uses Grands ® Biscuits in place of the bread.

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I flatten it out with my palm first.

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Then roll it to about 5″ in diameter.

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You will end up with 8 discs. Fry up (on a non-stick surface with nothing or a little butter) one side of each disc. Those will be the insides.

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Once done, flip it over, put on the cheese (2 slices or more spread out to cover as much of it as you can) and top it with the other (fried side on the inside).

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Fry until done, then flip. This allows the cheese to melt properly.

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Grands!® Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Prep Time: 20 Min | Cook Time: 20 Min | Makes: 4 large sandwiches | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 8 slices (2/3 oz each) American cheese

Directions:

1. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press or roll each to form 5 1/2-inch round.

2. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add biscuit rounds, a few at a time; cook 3 minutes. Turn; cook about 3 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Remove from skillet.

3. Place 2 slices of cheese on each of 4 biscuit rounds. Top with remaining biscuit rounds.

4. Return to skillet; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn; cook about 2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Source: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/grands-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/8454ce63-e47b-43de-9bbd-2d49b46540da/

The Ranting Chef’s World

April 26, 2013

The Ranting Chef Fried, Kosher, Mexican, Recipes, Seafood, Vegetable , , , , , , , , , , , , , 10 Comments

As I have mentioned in a number of posts, I am amazed at how well the blog has been received. This is true not only here in my native US, but around the world. There are very loyal readers in 12-15 different countries and the blog has been accessed from countries around the globe. In fact, as I write this there have been visitors from 169 different countries! While I marvel at the number, it has motivated me to see if I can get them all.

My first step was to identify how WordPress (my blog engine here) identifies countries. This is done through an Internet Country Code. With a quick Google search, I was able to get a list of the codes and the number of IP addresses assigned to each code. The US, as with many resources, is a hog; 1.5 billion IP addresses have been allocated here. Many very small countries have under 5000.

I then ran a compare between my list of visitors and the country code list and have found my “hit list” of countries that I want to see here on the blog. Currently there are 60 countries with assigned IP addresses that have not visited here. Come on countries, get with the program! ;-)

If you have family or friends in any of these, I’d love it if you asked them to swing by. I realize that a number on the list restrict their citizens from accessing outside sites and therefore I may never get them. I also believe that access from military stationed overseas shows the home IP country code unless they use a local cafe. If you get someone to visit, post a comment extolling your success! Here are the countries that have so far missed out on The Rantings of an Amateur Chef:

Afghanistan, Aland Islands, Anguilla, Belize, Benin, British Indian Ocean Territory, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Faroe Islands, French Guiana, French Polynesia, The Gambia, Guadeloupe, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Holy See, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, North Korea, Kosovo, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Mali, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, Niue, Norfolk Island, Reunion, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Swaziland, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, Yemen

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This recipe is named after an area in the world, Baja Mexico. This is the third fish taco recipe I’ve made for the blog. The first was beer battered. The second was without batter. This is like the three bears, right in the middle. It was perfect.

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It looks like a lot of ingredients but much is for the sauce and slaw.

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Making the slaw.

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Getting the fish coated. It thought this was easiest. I was right.

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Into the fryer. You could use a large pan with oil.

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Ready for the tortilla.

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All put together.

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They go quick, so grab one!

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Yum!

Baja Fish Tacos

Prep Time: 0 hours 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 hours 10 minutes | Makes: 4 servings | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1/4red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime, plus wedges for serving
  • 2tablespoons honey or agave nectar
  • 1/2cup mayonnaise
  • Kosher salt
  • 12corn tortillas
  • 3/4cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2teaspoon chili powder
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1 1/4pounds skinless halibut fillet, cut into 2-by-1/2-inch pieces
  • 1Hass avocado
  • 1/2cup fresh salsa

Directions:

Heat about 3 inches vegetable oil in a medium pot over medium-low heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, toss the cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, honey and mayonnaise in a bowl. Season the slaw with salt.Warm the tortillas in a skillet over medium-low heat or wrap in a damp cloth and microwave 25 seconds. Wrap in a towel to keep warm.Mix the flour, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste in a shallow bowl. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture, then fry in batches until golden and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Season with salt.Halve, pit and slice the avocado. Fill the tortillas with the fish, avocado, slaw and salsa. Serve with lime wedges.Per serving: Calories 777; Fat 45 g (Saturated 7 g); Cholesterol 103 mg; Sodium 529 mg; Carbohydrate 66 g; Fiber 9g; Protein 31 gPhotograph by Antonis Achilleos

Source: http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/recipe/462973

Oh My God, I’m Not a Subscriber

April 25, 2013

The Ranting Chef Chicken, Fried, Lunch, Pork, Recipes , , , , , , , , , , , 12 Comments

I was a subscriber to the Food Network magazine. For all the food magazines, I liked it the best. A number of good recipes, interesting tips and a focus on the kind of cooking I usually do (not like Bon Appetit).

Once I purchased my iPad and using the Paprika app, I found that when I went looking for new recipes, I didn’t pull out a magazine or cookbook but searched the web. It is just so easy to grab the recipe, keep it and find it later. I made a concerted effort to get all of the recipes that I had made previously into Paprika and for the next two years my magazines and cookbooks just sat gathering dust.

The Food Network magazine would arrive every month and I would look through it and then file it away. I never pulled it out again to make a recipe. When my subscription came up for renewal, I let it lapse.

A full year after I stopped receiving the magazine I looked up at the cabinet where I housed my cookbooks and magazines and decided it was a time to reclaim the space. The cookbooks went to the basement, but what to do with the magazines?

Over the course of several weeks, while I was sitting down watching TV, I paged through the magazines. When I found an interesting recipe, I navigated to the Food Network site, found the recipe and saved it in Paprika. The magazines then went into recycling.

Several of the recipes stood out in my mind and I quickly added them to the menu. The first of those was this sandwich. Three words to describe this sandwich:

Photo Dec 27, 12 21 23 PM

Oh My God!

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This lunch takes a bit of forethought.

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First the size. After pounding down the pork to the right thickness, it is almost the size of a license plate. Even though I knew it contained the same amount of meat as a dinner sized slice of pork roast, it just looked huge.

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Marinating the cutlets.

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First the flour.

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Back in the buttermilk.

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The final coating.

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Keep an eye on your temperature. Too hot and it will burn. Too cold and it won’t brown up nicely.

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The flavors were awesome (it is deep fried after all), and the sandwich really worked.

Hoosier Pork-Tenderloin Sandwich

Prep Time: 0 hours 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 hours 20 minutes | Makes: 4 servings | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds center-cut boneless pork loin
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 sleeves saltines (about 80 crackers)
  • 2 cups instant flour (such as Wondra)
  • Peanut oil, for frying
  • 4 soft hamburger buns, split
  • 1/3cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
  • 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 half-sour dill pickles, thinly sliced

Directions:

Cut the pork crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Put each piece flat on a cutting board and slice horizontally almost in half (stop about 1 inch from the other side). Open like a book. Sprinkle each piece with water, place between 2 pieces of heavy-duty plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thick with a mallet or heavy skillet.

Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, garlic, 1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper, and the cayenne in a shallow bowl. Add the pork, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Pulse the crackers into coarse crumbs in a food processor, then transfer to a shallow dish. Put the flour in another dish. Remove each piece of pork from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Dredge both sides in the flour, dip in the buttermilk marinade again, then coat with the cracker crumbs.

Heat 1/4 to 1/2 inch peanut oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360. Fry the pork in batches until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Spread both halves of each bun with mayonnaise and mustard. Layer the lettuce, tomatoes and onion on the bottom halves. Add a piece of pork and a few pickle slices. Cover with the bun tops.

Source: http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/recipe/456090

Diced! – Jenna – Juicy Turkey Burgers with Spicy Tzatziki Sauce

April 16, 2013

The Ranting Chef Condiment, DIced!, Fried, Greek, Lunch, Recipes, Side Dish, Turkey, Vegetable , , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Today we have an entrant for the second course of the Diced! competition. Contestants were instructed to create or find a recipe for a main dish containing the following ingredients: Ground Turkey, Gingersnap Cookies, Greek Yogurt and Fresh Jalapeños. They were instructed to make their dish and create a blog post about it, including pictures. You can help determine who advances to the next round. On Friday, after the last post, I will post a poll where you can vote for up to two of the contestants to move on. Vote for the post you like the best. You can vote because of the inventiveness, the yummyness, the use of ingredients, the quality of the writing and pictures or for any other reason. The poll will be active for one week only. Check back and vote. In the event of a tie, the Ranting Chef will choose who advances. More information about Diced! can be found here.

We started with five contestants and have three remaining (in alphabetical order): Ajax, Jenna and Maggie. Ellie had the fewest amount of votes after the first round and Mikaela had to drop out of the competition.

Today’s contestant, Jenna has three blogs including The Burgeoning Gourmet. With all that blogging, I’m glad that she has time to compete here in Diced! Check out her blogs and the post below…

I have to use what?

Pic 1

Right, I’m never a fan of any form of turkey, except at Thanksgiving and even then I force myself to eat it.  But, I have to use fresh jalapeños?  Awesome!  I love spicy food … my intestines would argue the point, but you’d think by now they’d give up and just let me enjoy it.  But I digress.  I love spicy peppers, curries, you name it.  So, how to make what I want to make when I live with two wimpy guys who can’t handle any spice?

Here is my answer to that:

Juicy Turkey Burgers w/spicy tzatziki sauce and better than fries side!

Pic 7-1

When I saw the yogurt and jalapeños on the list of mandatory ingredients, I went to my ex-husbands Greek roots and thought of tzatziki sauce.  Substitute cucumber for jalapeños and bingo!

I recommend making the Jalapeno Tzatziki sauce first.  You’ll want it to chill in the fridge for an hour or so before using it.

Jalapeno Tzatziki

Ingredients:

Fresh jalapeños, diced (coarsely for more kick, finely for delicate spice)

16 oz plain Greek yogurt

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. fresh dill

1 tbsp. minced garlic

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Now, you can just forgo the chopping and mincing by throwing all the ingredients into a food processor and let the machine do the work.  However, I have no such machine and my blender is crap.  So dice the dill, garlic, and jalapeños  and mix everything in a bowl.  Put it into the fridge to chill – an hour or longer.

Pic 2

Now onto burgers!

Juicy Turkey Burger

Ingredients:

3 lbs. ground turkey

1 small yellow onion, diced

¼ cup of ginger snap crumbs

1 tsp. thyme

2 tsp. Meat Magic (combination of spices by Chef Paul Prudhomme)

2 eggs

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

In a bowl, toss in the ground turkey, thyme, Meat Magic, salt, pepper, and eggs.  Using a rolling pin, I took the ginger snap cookies and ground them down to bread crumb consistency.

Pic 3

Toss into the bowl.  Dice up the onion and garlic then sauté it in the olive oil.  While this is sautéing, you can start work on the potatoes.  Let the onions and garlic cool a bit, until you can touch the oil without hurting yourself.

Pic 4

Put all of it, oil included into the meat mixture.  The added oil will help keep the turkey juicy!  Mix well and make patties as thick/thin as you like.

Pic 5

Cook as you desire.  It’s apparently summer here for the day, so I’ll be grilling!  These turned out so good, and the ginger snap gave it a really nice flavor.  I swear, I never would have thought it was turkey!!!

Better Than Fries Side

Ingredients:

Russet potato

Olive oil

Sea Salt

Pepper

Butter

Wash and dry your potato(s).  Carefully slice down, not going all the way through.  After slicing, wash them again, fanning out the slices a bit.  Place on a non-stick baking sheet.  Melt down butter and drizzle over the potatoes and then drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with pepper and sea salt.  Feel free to sprinkle rosemary or other herbs you like on your potatoes!

Pic 6

Bake at 425 for roughly 40-60 minutes, depending on how big of a potato you picked out!  About 20 minutes in or so, I pulled them out to drizzle a bit more oil on them.   This makes the skin nice and crispy.  You can just pull the slices out when it’s done. J

Pic 7

Jenna

Remember – check back after the last post to vote on who advances in the Diced! competition.

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