Friday, June 1, 2012
Another Marvelous Meal: Smoked Gouda Bison Burgers with Warm Apple Slaw
Another Marvelous Meal: Smoked Gouda Bison Burgers with Warm Apple Slaw: This is the second smoked gouda recipe in a row that I've posted, but these Smoked Gouda Bison Burgers with Warm Apple Slaw are too goo...
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Mushroom, Muenster, Bison Burger w/ Baked Crinkle Fries
Broke out the Bison today for dinner! I had a Ground Bison Sirloin Burger that I seasoned with McCormick Grinder Steakhouse Seasoning. My grill was out of gas, stupid mistake on my part, so I pan Fried it in Extra Virgin Olive Oil about 4 minutes per side, a beautiful medium rare. I topped it with sauteed Baby Bella Mushrooms that I had seasoned with Ground Smoked Cumin, Parsley, Ground Thyme, and McCormick Grinder Sea Salt. I also topped it with a slice of Sargento Muenster Cheese. I love this Cheese, as I do most Cheese, it has a creamy natural taste to it and softens up just right on a hot food. For a side I had Ore Ida Baked Crinkle Fries. For dessert later a Jello Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding topped with Cool Whip Free.
Troy Strawberry Festival June 2 and 3, 2012
Troy Strawberry FestivalJune 2 and 3, 2012
New Location in Downtown Troy, OH!
Troy celebrates its place as the center of Ohio's strawberry production by hosting the Troy Strawberry Festival the first weekend of June.
Although there are pre-festival events which take place in May, the Strawberry Festival officially begins on Friday night with food and entertainment along the levee of the Great Miami River. Two full days of events follow beginning with a Mardi Gras processional down West Main Street on Saturday morning. From there the main action continues along West Main Street with additional events taking place at Troy’s Memorial Stadium, and several city parks. Featured are the strawberries, and they come in all sorts of taste-tempting treats from shortcake to donuts to strawberry pie; but also to be enjoyed are the many arts and crafts booths, the athletic competitions, and the entertainment.
The Festival is more than just a weekend of fun. It serves as a major fund-raising event for many of the area’s civic and charitable groups. Committees work year-round to prepare for the weekend when as many as 100,000 people come to Troy to take part in our world class festival.
Location:
Downtown Troy, Ohio 405 SW Public Square, Suite 330
Troy, OH 45373
Phone: 937-339-7714
For ONLY the 2012 Strawberry Festival, we will be moving to the DOWNTOWN STREETS of Troy, Ohio. The festival footprint will stretch along West Main Street from the North side street of Cherry Street, to Adams Street. Shuttle drop off will be between Adams street and Elm Street. In 2013 the festival will return to its original location on the Great Miami River Levee, across the river.
Directions:
From the North:
Take I-75 South. The Troy Exits beginning with Exit # 74
From the South:
Take I-75 North. The Troy Exits beginning with Exit # 69
From the East:
Travel I-70 West to I-75 North
From the West:
Travel I-70 East to I-75 North
http://www.gostrawberries.com/
Cheese of the Week - Dorset Blue Vinney
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| Dorset Blue Vinney |
Country: Great Britain
Milk: cow milk
Texture: hard
Fat content: 40-46 %
Dorset Blue Vinney (frequently spelled "vinny") is a traditional blue cheese made near Sturminster Newton in Dorset, England, from skimmed cows' milk. It is a hard, crumbly cheese. "Vinney" is a local Dorset term related to the obsolete word "vinew", which means to become mouldy. Another explanation has it that "vinny" is a corruption of "veiny", referring to the blue veins running throughout the cheese.
Historically the cheese was merely a by-product of the much more lucrative butter market. Milk was of little value before the railways as it couldn't be brought to market before it went off, thus cheese and butter production was the main focus of dairy farms. Dorset butter was highly regarded in London where it fetched a premium price but making butter left the farmers with large quantities of skimmed milk which they turned into a hard, crumbly cheese.
While the cheese was a common farmhouse cheese in Dorset for hundreds of years, production dried up around 1970 and the cheese became extinct. However, in the 1980s Woodbridge Farm in Dorset revived the old recipe, and it is now producing the cheese again.
It is often made from unpasteurised milk. This is considered healthy by some and risky by others due to the potential for tuberculosis from infected cows passing into the milk. It has a strong taste and smell.
Blue Vinney goes well with Dorset Knobs, another traditional product from Dorset. The cheese was Thomas Hardy's favourite.
Dorset Blue Cheese has been awarded Protected Geographical Status, ensuring only cheese originating from Dorset may use the name.
Local myth describes how in years gone by, due to its supposed illegal nature, Blue Vinny would be left on the doorstep of those who ordered it on the black market.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Banquet Homestyle Bakes Pizza Pasta
Came across this the other day while at Walmart and thought I would give it a try, Banquet Homestyle Bakes Pizza Pasta. Two of my favorites are in it pasta and pizza! The box contains 1 can of Pizza Sauce w/ Pepperoni and Sausage and 1 Pouch of Rotini Pasta. I also added a few slices of Turkey Pepperoni and Portabella Mushrooms to the mix. For the preparation you can bake it or prepare it on the stove top, which is how I prepared it. Add 1 cup of water, stir and mix, and simmer and you have your dinner! This came out fantastic! Really tasted like a Pizza. The Sauce with Sausage and Pepperoni provides great flavoring. As I had said earlier I added Hormel Turkey Pepperoni and sliced Portabella Mushrooms as I cooking everything and that turned out to be the right added plus! I think if you give this a try you'll really enjoy it, makes a good meal. The meal prepared by instructions is 280 calories and 46 carbs any additions would be extra. For dessert/snack a 100 Calorie Mini Bag of Jolly Time Pop Corn.
Banquet Homestyle Bakes Pizza Pasta
*Pepperoni and sausage included
*5 minute preparation oven or stove top
Stove Top: 1. Stir Together Can of Sauce and 1 Cup Hot Water In Medium Skillet.
2. Stir In Pasta Until Well Coated. Heat to Boiling.
3. Reduce Heat. Cover and Simmer About 15 Minutes, Or Until Pasta Is Tender, Stirring Occasionally.
Nutrition summary:
There are 280 calories and 46 Carbs in a 1 cup filling serving of Banquet Homestyle Bakes - Pizza Pasta.
One of America's Favorites - Tacos
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| Carnitas tacos as served in East Los Angeles, California, United States. |
According to the Real Academia Española, publisher of Diccionario de la Lengua Española, the word taco describes a typical Mexican dish of a maize tortilla folded around food ("Tortilla de maíz enrollada con algún alimento dentro, típica de México"). The original sense of the word is of a "plug" or "wad" used to fill a hole ("Pedazo de madera, metal u otra materia, corto y grueso, que se encaja en algún hueco"). The Online Etymological Dictionary defines taco as a "tortilla filled with spiced meat" and describes its etymology as derived from Mexican Spanish, "light lunch," literally, "plug, wadding." The sense development from "plug" may have taken place among Mexican silver miners, who used explosive charges in plug form consisting of a paper wrapper and gunpowder filling.
*Tacos de Asador ("spit" or "grill" tacos) may be composed of any of the following: carne asada tacos; tacos de tripita ("tripe tacos"), grilled until crisp; and, chorizo asado (traditional Spanish style sausage). Each type is served on two overlapped small tortillas and sometimes garnished with guacamole, salsa, onions, and cilantro. Also prepared on the grill is a sandwiched taco called mulita ("little mule") made with meat served between two tortillas and garnished with Oaxaca style cheese. "Mulita" is used to describe these types of sandwiched tacos in the Northern States of Mexico, while they are known as Gringa in the Mexican south and are prepared using wheat flour tortillas. Tacos may also be served with salsa.
*Tacos de Cabeza or head tacos, in which there is a flat punctured metal plate from which steam emerges to cook the head of the cow. These include: Cabeza, a serving of the muscles of the head; Sesos ("brains"); Lengua ("tongue"); Cachete ("cheeks"); Trompa ("lips"); and, Ojo ("eye"). Tortillas for these tacos are warmed on the same steaming plate for a different consistency. These tacos are typically served in pairs, and also include salsa, onion and cilantro with occasional use of guacamole.
*Tacos de Cazo for which a metal bowl filled with lard is typically used as a deep-fryer. Meats for these types of tacos typically include: Tripa ("tripe", usually from a pig instead of a cow); Suadero (tender beef cuts), Carnitas and Buche (Literally, "crop", as in bird's crop; here, it is fried pig's esophagus.
*Tacos sudados ("sweaty tacos") are made by filling soft tortillas with a spicy meat mixture, then placing them in a basket covered with cloth. The covering keeps the tacos warm and traps steam ("sweat") which softens them.
*Tacos Al pastor/De Adobada ("shepherd style") are made of thin pork steaks seasoned with adobo seasoning, then skewered and overlapped on one another on a vertical rotisserie cooked and flame-broiled as it spins (analogous to the Döner kebab used in Greek restaurants to prepare gyros).
*Tacos dorados (fried tacos, literally, "golden tacos") called flautas ("flute", because of the shape), or taquitos, for which the tortillas are filled with pre-cooked shredded chicken, beef or barbacoa, rolled into an elongated cylinder and deep-fried until crisp. They are sometimes cooked in a microwave oven or broiled.
*Tacos de pescado ("fish tacos") originated in Baja California in Mexico, where they consist of grilled or fried fish, lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo, and a sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce, all placed on top of a corn or flour tortilla. In the United States, they remain most popular in California, Colorado, and Washington. In California, they are often found at street vendors, and a regional variation is to serve them with cabbage and coleslaw dressing on top.
*Tacos de camarones ("shrimp tacos") also originated in Baja California in Mexico. Grilled or fried shrimp are used, usually with the same accompaniments as fish tacos: lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo, avocado and a sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce, all placed on top of a corn or flour tortilla.
As an accompaniment to tacos, many taco stands will serve whole or sliced red radishes, lime slices, salt, pickled or grilled chilis (hot peppers), and occasionally cucumber slices, or grilled cambray onions.
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| Hard-shell taco, made with a prefabricated shell. |
*Hard-shell tacos
Beginning from the early part of the twentieth century, various styles of tacos have become popular in the United States and Canada. The style that has become most common is the hard-shell, U-shaped version first described in a cookbook, The good life: New Mexican food, authored by Fabiola Cabeza de Vaca Gilbert and published in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1949. These have been sold by restaurants and by fast food chains. Even non-Mexican oriented fast food restaurants have sold tacos. Mass production of this type of taco was encouraged by the invention of devices to hold the tortillas in the U-shape as they were deep-fried. A patent for such a device was issued to New York restaurateur Juvenico Maldonado in 1950, based on his patent filing of 1947 (U.S. Patent No. 2,506,305). Such tacos are crisp-fried corn tortillas filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and sometimes tomato, onion, salsa, sour cream, and avocado or guacamole.
*Soft-shell tacos
Traditionally, soft-shelled tacos referred to corn tortillas that were cooked to a softer state than a hard taco - usually by grilling or steaming. More recently the term has come to include flour tortilla based tacos mostly from large manufacturers and restaurant chains. In this context, soft tacos are tacos made with wheat flour tortillas and filled with the same ingredients as a hard taco.
*Puffy tacos, taco kits, breakfast tacos and tacodillas
Since at least 1978, a variation called the "puffy taco" has been popular. Henry's Puffy Tacos, opened by Henry Lopez in San Antonio, Texas, claims to have invented the variation, in which uncooked corn tortillas (flattened balls of masa dough[17]) are quickly fried in hot oil until they expand and become "puffy". Fillings are similar to hard-shell versions. Restaurants offering this style of taco have since appeared in other Texas cities, as well as in California, where Henry's brother, Arturo Lopez, opened Arturo's Puffy Taco in Whittier, not long after Henry's opened. Henry's continues to thrive, managed by the family's second generation.
Kits are available at grocery and convenience stores and usually consist of taco shells (corn tortillas already fried in a U-shape), seasoning mix and taco sauce. Commercial vendors for the home market also market soft taco kits with tortillas instead of taco shells.
The breakfast taco, found in Tex-Mex cuisine, is filled with meat, eggs, or cheese, with other ingredients.
The tacodilla contains melted cheese in between the two folded tortillas, thus resembling a quesadilla.
*Indian tacos
Indian tacos, sometimes known as Navajo tacos but served in various parts of the American West and Midwest, are made using fry bread instead of tortillas. They are commonly served at pow-wows, festivals, and other gatherings.
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| Frybread taco |
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Fried Crappie w/ Roasted Red Potatoes, Cut Asparagus, and ...
It's a sad day as I'm using the last bag of Crappie I had in the freezer. I love Crappie from the fresh taste to the way they fry up. I seasoned them with Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper. I then rolled the fillet in a Whole Wheat Flour and Italian Bread Crumb Mix. I lightly fried them in Extra Virgin Olive Oil about 3 minutes per side. As usual they fry up to a golden brown and absolutely delicious!
For sides I made some Roasted Red Potatoes, Green Giant Cut Asparagus, and Whole Grain Bread. I've left the Roasted Red Potato Recipe at the end of the post. If you like potatoes you'll love this recipe. With the combination of the Turkey Bacon added to the potatoes, too good! I used Green Giant Cut Asparagus, just warm and serve. I also had Healthy Life Whole Grain Bread. For dessert later a bowl of Breyer's Carb Smart Vanilla Ice Cream topped with Dole Mango Slices.
Roasted Red Potatoes
Ingredients:
Small Gourmet Red Potatoes
Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
McCormick Grinder Sea Salt and Black Peppercorn
Directions:
*HEAT oven to 400ºF. Cook Turkey Bacon in large skillet on medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet, reserving 1 Tbsp. drippings in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels.
*ADD potatoes to reserved drippings; cook 5 min., stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Crumble bacon. Add to potatoes; mix lightly. Spoon into 13×9-inch baking dish.
*BAKE 20-30 min. or until potatoes are tender and done. Top with cheese and parsley.
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