Tag: how to

Meatloaf…Beatloaf..I love Meatloaf!

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Did you know….

Meatloaf was comforting during the Great Depression
The Great Depression was hard on the majority of Americans, with millions out of work, the stock market crash, and the Dust Bowl. With meatloaf’s ability to stretch cheap meat into even more meals by the addition of cheap oats, breadcrumbs, and other starches, it’s no wonder this filling dish gained even more appreciation in the hearts of Americans during this time frame. (mnn.com)

Today’s Restaurant

Mom’s Kitchen – Tracy, Ca

Average Cost

Less than $20

Rating (1-10)

10

Slap Ya Mama Meatloaf Recipe: 

Ingredients

1-2 lbs beef

1 cup onion

1/2 cup green peppers

1/3 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt & pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1-2 teaspoons Pappy’s Seasoning

1/3 cup Ketchup

2 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoon mustard

6 slices if bacon

Directions

1. Grab a big bowl and combine 1-2 lbs beef, 1 cup onion, 1/2 cup green peppers, 1/3 cup bread crumbs,2 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt & pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1-2 teaspoons Pappy’s Seasoning and use your old fashion fingers to massage the ingredients like a potter molding a masterpiece.

2. In a separate bowl combine 1/3 cup Ketchup, 2 tablespoon brown sugar and 2 tablespoon mustard and mix with fork (This is your sauce!)

3. In a Pyrex rectangular dish place beef mix and shape ever so gently into a log shape.

4. Pour Ketchup sauce over meatloaf in Pyrex dish.

5. Place Pyrex dish in oven at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.

6. While Meatloaf is cooking fry bacon until almost crispy, place on paper towel to drain excess grease and then place on top of meatloaf in oven after meatloaf has cooked for 40 minutes.

7. Remove meatloaf and plate.

If you have seen the Christmas Story on TV during the holidays then you remember how meatloaf was a dish of hate for kids but a dish of love for adults.

Meatloaf to me is an American Heritage and something my Mom has cooked for me and my brothers and I’m sure your mother has laid this meaty treat in front of you as a kid as well.

It’s like you took Spaghetti meat and placed it in a big ball and then laid it out in front of mad hungry lions who will soon take a bite out of it. Something about tomato sauce and meat in a huge log pile just makes American’s happy. 🙂

Everyone has a favorite way of eating meatloaf and my way is with bacon on top and smothered in homemade tomato sauce.

My mom puts her southern foot in her meatloaf and adds brown sugar and mustard to her sauce which is her mad scientist ingredients that leaves you in an abyss of delight and confusion on how can someone makes something this good.

Is there MSG in here? Did you inject this with McDonald’s secret sauce?

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Oh this is grits……Dooooo Wop! Pleeeeease let me know…..If this ain’t love..

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Did you know….

Grits have their origins in American Indian corn preparation. Traditionally, the corn for grits was ground by a stone mill. The results are passed through screens, with the finer siftings being grit meal, and the coarser being grits.

Many communities in the United States used a gristmill until the mid-20th century, with families bringing their own corn to be ground, and the miller retaining a portion of the corn for his fee. In South Carolina, state law requires grits and corn meal to be enriched, similar to the requirements for flour, unless the grits are ground from corn from which the miller keeps part of the product for his fee.

Three-quarters of grits sold in the U.S. are predominantly in the South, stretching from Texas to Virginia, which is also known as the “grits belt.” The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002. Similar bills have been introduced in South Carolina.(cookcfb.org)

Today’s Restaurant

Trev’s Kitchen – San Jose, Ca

Average Cost

Less than $10 for a box that will last a month or two

Rating (1-10)

10

Recipes: 

Ten Tasty Ways To Cook Grits

Every time I talk about grits it makes me think about Bubba in Forest Gump. There are so many ways to make it that you probably couldn’t cook it in every version in your entire life.

You got buttered grits, shrimp n grits, cheese n grits, fried grits, boiled grits, bacon grits, grits with sugar, grits n brown sugar, grits n honey, grits with eggs, grits with salt, grits n pepper.. I could go on and on and on..

Most people I talk with about grits are familiar with this delightful morning sensation or they have met her elegant relative Polenta but seems like a lot of people in the West Coast that I have run into are clueless about this southern masterpiece.

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Holy Mole!!

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Did you know….

A common legend of its creation takes place at the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla early in the colonial period. Upon hearing that the archbishop was going to visit, the convent nuns went into a panic because they were poor and had almost nothing to prepare.

The nuns prayed and brought together the little bits of what they did have, including chili peppers, spices, day-old bread, nuts, and a little chocolate. They killed an old turkey, cooked it and put the sauce on top; the archbishop loved it.

When the nun was asked the name of the dish, she replied, “I made a mole.” Mole was the ancient word for mix; now this word mostly refers to the dish, and rarely is used to signify other kinds of mixes in Spanish. (wikipedia)

Today’s Restaurant

Cascal Restaurant – Mountain View, Ca

Average Cost

$10-15

Rating (1-10)

9.5

Recommended Dishes an drinks: 

Beef Short Rib Adobo, Mexican Gorditas,Peruvian Ceviche, The House Margarita, Raspberry Caipirinha

It’s Friday night and time to end the week with a bang! One of my favorite places to go for drinks and ridiculous tasty Spanish food is Cascal Restaurant in Mountain View, Ca.

I am one of those foodie types where I need a variety of different foods throughout the week. Journeying to the same part of the world of food two to three times a week is not my style so I’m always experimenting and dining on something new. I’ve learned in the past that when you want Mexican food you should find a good hole in the wall restaurant to go get it because that is where the best tasting food will be.

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Lollipop lollipop oh lolli lollipop…

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Did you know….

Kung Pao Chicken gets its name from its first adoring fan: Ding Baozhen.

As a boy in Guizhou the early nineteenth century, the story goes, Ding Baozhen accidentally fell into the water. He couldn’t swim, but he was saved by a man who happened to be passing by. Ding grew up and became a government official, eventually attaining the rank of Gōngbǎo (宫保) at a post in Sichuan Province. Reflecting on the man had once who saved his life as a boy, he decided to pay the family a visit to express his gratitude.

While visiting their home, Ding Baozhen was served a dish featuring diced chicken, peanuts, and spicy Sichuan peppercorns. He liked the flavor, and legend has it that he asked the family chef for the recipe and began eating it on a regular basis and serving it to his own guests. The dish quickly spread around Sichuan Province, where it came to be called gōngbǎo jīdīng 宫保鸡丁 in honor of the dish’s most ardent fan, Ding Baozhen.(theworldofchinese.com)

Today’s Restaurant

Sino’s Restaurant – Santana Row

Average Cost

$12-$30

Rating (1-10)

8.5

Recommended Dishes: 

LolliPops, Hot & Sour Soup, Firecracker Chicken, Wok Fired Steak, Szechuan Green Beans

Once you pop you can’t stop!

It’s Thursday night and Friday is so close you can almost taste it. I’ve always thought of Thursday’s as a good night to go out and start the pre-weekend with a few drinks and there is no better place to have drinks and appetizers than Santana Row in San Jose, Ca!

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Happy National Pancake Day!!

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Did you know….

Shrove Tuesday (known in some countries as Pancake Day) is a day in February or March, preceding Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), which is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes.(Wikipedia)

Today’s Restaurant

Gazebo Restaurant – Lahaina,HI

Average Cost

$11-$30

Rating (1-10)

10

Recommended Dishes: 

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pancakes!!

Happy National Pancake Day!!!

I get happy just saying pancake! My knees begin to shake when I think about pancakes! My hands begin to itch when I think of pancakes! Pancakes are universal, you can find pancakes in every country and bottom line pancakes make you smile.

Since it is National Pancake Day, I thought I would tell you about the best pancake I ever had and that was at a recent trip to Maui.

We researched a couple of restaurants and had already been to Mama’s Fish House, Roy’s and Cheeseburger in Paradise and found the Gazebo Restaurant. Let me say I highly recommended all 3 restaurants  I mentioned other than Gazebo so you should definitely go to those as well if you visit Maui.

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Gourmet Meal at Home for under $20!!!

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Did you know….

There are 5 star restaurants around the world that can charge you up to $600 per person for a nice meal.(usatoday.com)

Today’s Restaurant

My Home – San Jose, Ca

Today’s Recipe

Cajun Salmon sitting on top of a bed of mash potatoes with asparagus

Ingredients

 2 Salmon Fillets – You can buy at a market for under $15

3-4 large potatoes

Cooking Oil

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 Stick of Butter

Creole Seasoning

Italian Herbs

2 Garlic Cloves

1/4 Yellow Onion

Asparagus – Half a bundle

2 Lemons

Directions

Salmon Prep

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Grab a pan to place in oven and place foil within and pour about 4 tablespoons of oil
  3. Season salmon fillet on top only with creole seasoning and Italian Herbs and place onto pan
  4. Slice onion into long slices and sprinkle around the fish
  5. Mince garlic and sprinkle around the fish
  6. Cut half a lemon and squeeze lemon juice over fish

Place in oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Potatoes and Asparagus Prep

  1. Grab 2 large potatoes and place in boiling water for 45 minutes
  2. While potatoes are boiling grab a pan to cook asparagus on stove top
  3. Pour about 4 tablespoons of oil in pan and turn on medium heat
  4. Slice small pieces of onion and throw into pan and then immediately place in the asparagus
  5. Toss asparagus for 10 minutes and remove from stove top
  6. Grab a bowl and remove mash potatoes. Be careful they are hot!
  7. Use a fork and begin to mash them in a bowl. If they are still hard you can place them in microwave for 5 minutes and then they should be soft.
  8. Pour 1/2 cup of milk and stir until blended together
  9. Add half a stick of butter and stir until blended
  10. Lightly Salt and taste, salt and taste until it tastes exactly how you want it.

Plating Instructions

1. Use spoon and place mash potatoes on plate to the slight left of plate in the shape of your salmon filet.

2. Place salmon fillet on top of potatoes

3. Lay out a couple of pieces of asparagus towards the right side of the plate

4. Cut of circular slices of lemon and lay on the plate to fill the gaps. Just make it as elegant as as you can and serve.

Tip: A loaf of garlic bread would go great with this and a glass of white wine!

Average Cost

Between $15-20 for feeding up to 2 people

Rating (1-10)

10

Being in the comfort of your own home and eating a gourmet meal that would normally cost you $50 a person is a blessing in itself but where do you start from. Many of us have a Ferrari taste but Honda budget so how do we get a gourmet restaurant meal in our home without having to spend ridiculous amounts of money to get it.

There are many different types of dishes you can cook at home to reach a gourmet meal display on a plate by adding some type of bright veggie to your signature dish and not over-setting the plate.

Asparagus tends to be the vegetable of choice in many elegant restaurants because it’s decorative and has an artistic shape to it.

Now let’s get down to business and talk a bit about how I even got to this point to cook at home rather than go out to eat.

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Top-Tier Food Truck Tuesday’s!!!

Movable Feast - Food Truck Event Santa Clara, California

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Did you know….

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, food trucks were “invaluable” for feeding the “clean-up crews and construction workers who couldn’t leave their sites to dine out at the few reopened restaurants,” according to The Atlantic. After Hurricane Sandy, food trucks served over 100,000 meals to hungry New Yorkers, even offering 11,000 free hot lunches in just one day..(buzzfeed.com)

Today’s Restaurant

Movable Feast – 2151 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA

Average Cost

Depends on which truck you choose but about $10-15 per meal

Rating (1-10)

9.5

Recommended Trucks(Dishes): 

Tastee Bytes – Pulled Pork Sandwich, Hill Country BBQ – Beef Brisket, Pork, Chicken, Hot Link, Mac n Cheese

Ever since I engulfed myself in the wonderful world of Food Network Television, I have found myself lusting over the great tasting sensations that I see during the shows and envision those fantasy imaged meals in my mouth that those wonderful chefs portray. One of the shows I like to watch on the Food Network is The Great Food Truck Race.

Really cool show if you haven’t seen it and it introduces you to the world of the Food Truck Extravaganza! This world is a realm of divergent creations of foods that you may be used to eating but it involves a twist to what you do not commonly order on a regular menu. Well actually, those are the illustrious ones; you will find some trucks that offer a menu familiar to the eye but those I tend to pass up since I can eat that type of food anywhere.

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