This is a recipe that I learned from my father in law. I first made it when i was just getting into cooking, and the best part of the technique is that it’s nearly impossible to screw it up. If you are a beginner when it comes to cooking and want a recipe that will inspire confidence and make your guests think you are a pro, this is the one to start with.
The reason this technique is foolproof, is it’s nearly impossible to dry out the ribs. For the majority of the times the ribs are cooking in a sealed environment in their juices and beer. That means that even if a beginner were to say, leave them in a little bit longer than what the recipe says, your still going to end up with moist and delicious ribs.
You only really finish them on the grill directly at the very end. This allows you to get that amazing bark on the ribs, while making them ultra tender. You can control the firmness of the meat by altering your cook time.
All you are doing though is deciding if they are firmer or more of a fall off the bone when you bite in.
Ribs for beginners: An impossibly delicious and easy recipe
If you are new to cooking and want a recipe that is sure to impress while being nearly impossible to screw up, this is the recipe for you. These ribs are guaranteed to be tender and delicious even if you are a newbie to cooking.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Rub of your choice
- 1/2 BBQ Sauce Bottle
- 1 Rack of Baby Back Ribs
- 1.5 cans or bottles of beer
Instructions
Place your baby back ribs in the aluminum tray and give a generous coat of the rub on the baby back ribs.
Pour the beer into the aluminum tray.
Cover the aluminum tray with aluminum foil.
Put the tray into the grill (400 degree or so) and leave it for 45 minutes.
Take tray out and put the ribs directly on the grill.
Mix the BBQ sauce with the remaining juices that came from the pork. If you have too much liquid left you can pour some of it out.
Continually coat the ribs with your BBQ sauce mix. I will normally turn the ribs over several times on the grill to add coats. This is important because it will give you that delcious bark.
After about 15 minutes of direct grilling and basting, take the ribs out and put them back into the tray.
Serve and enjoy
Make an easy copy of Nobu’s Tiradito (with common ingredients)
Just over a year ago, I went to Miami for a conference and had the pleasure at dining at Nobu in Miami. If you like good sushi this is a great place to visit, provided you are prepared to pay top dollar. While I was there I saw that they had “Tiradito” on the menu. As previously mentioned, I’m a huge fan of Tiradito and decided to try it.
When it arrived, it was clear that this was in no way the classic Peruvian Tiradito. There was no creamy pepper sauce, just sushi grade fish sitting on top of sauce with some spices and a hot pepper on it.
So it wasn’t true Tiradito, but it was absolutely delicious. I looked up some recipes to learn to try to clone this technique, so I could try it with my freshly caught yellowtail.
The problem was that many of the ingredients, such as yuzu sauce, weren’t readily available in my Super Market so I decided to improvise using commonly found ingredients.
The end result was a delicious fish dish that was amazingly close to the original, using ingredients you should be able to get in any Super Market. If you want to impress your friends with a visually stunning and delicious dish that is super easy to prepare, this is the recipe for you!
Easy Nobu Tiradito Clone Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 Lb Fresh Yellowtail Can substitute with other sushi grade white flesh fish.
- 10 tbsp Ponzu sauce enough to fill the plate so that the fish is partially submerged
- 2 Jalapeños
- 4 tbsp Dark Chili Powder
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp Green Onions
Instructions
Mix the Garlic, Chili and Salt to create theseasoning. You can vary the size of thebatch but I was using roughly 4 parts chili pepper, 2 parts salt and 1 partgarlic power and set aside.
Cut the fish into thin slices and put aside.
Slice the Jalapeno into very thin slices cutting the short way on the pepper. (If you want less heat remove the seeds and veins).
Finely chop your green onions and set aside.
Pour the Ponzu sauce into your serving tray so that the tray is completely covered.
Arrange the fish on the tray making sure thatthe fish is in the sauce.
Takes a pinch of the chili seasoning and hiteach piece of fish with it. Regulate theamount based on the amount of heat you want.
Put a jalapeno on each piece of fish.
put the chopped green onions as garnish.
Serve and enjoy!
Cooking with Cedar planks, make your Salmon more delicious
As this Corona virus lock down continues in California, food boredom is something that all of us will have to contend with. The supply chains still aren’t back to normal which means we can’t just go and get fresh ingredients whenever we fee like it. But you don’t need a ton of ingredients or time to make food that is delicious and sounds much fancier than the effort needed to create them.
Cedar plan salmon falls into this category. When you look at the presentation, its seems fancy, but really it’s far from it. All it is at the end of the day is you grilling a piece of fish, salmon in this case, on a wet plank of cedar.
The end result is a fish with a light smokey finish that looks and tastes great. This recipe is for Salmon, because that is what we had in the fridge. If, because of the shortage, you don’t have salmon feel free to substitute with other fish. I have personally also cooked yellowtail this way and it came out great.
I would suggest using fish that have a bit firmer flesh and thicker cuts for best results. It’s not that thin filets can’t work, you just need to watch them. If you don’t have cedar planks they are still very available here.
Super Easy Cedar Plank Salmon Recipe
This meal is super easy to do and is very quick to cook. What makes this recipe special is the light smokey flavor that the Cedar plank imparts to the Salmon which is already delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 Cedar Planks
- 2 filet Salmon
- 1 Salt
- 1 Pepper
- 4 tbsp Melted Butter
- 1 Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Green Onions (chopped)
Instructions
Soak the Cedar planks in water. Ideally you want to do this for a few hours before you start cooking, but i have soaked them for 15 minutes before while i prepped and it turned out fine. The soaking will reduce the odds of the cedar plank catching fire on you in the grill.
Chop your greed onions and leave them aside for later. Melt a half stick of butter and set it aside for later. If it's starts to get solid just crank the heat up again to quickly melt it.
Put the Salmon Filet's on the Cedar plank and season them with Salt, Pepper and the Onion powder. I always eyeball this based on who i know is eating the fish and how much seasoning they typically like.
Crank your grill up to 375 degrees or so. Place the plank in the grill. Make sure to open the grill frequently to check on the fish. The soak should prevent the outright burning of the plank, but if you see an edge catch fire, put out with the spatula and move the plank to a different sport of your grill.
Better with Wine, take your pasta to the next level with this easy recipe
Aside from being delicious, the best part about pasta is that most people have it in their pantry because it keeps for so darn long. But eating the same thing over and over can get boring. And while it’s easy to pop a jar of pasta sauce and make dinner it’s not something that is exciting. This recipe takes your pasta to the next level with the power of red wine.
What’s special about this recipe is it’s relative simplicity in terms of the number of ingredients and prep time.
As we alluded to in the first paragraph, the star of the show is the wine. We use a Chianti, and I recommend using a good bottle of Chianti Classico if you can find it, but you shouldn’t have to spend more than 15 dollars. Feel free to substitute any drier red wine into the recipe if you can’t find a Chianti.
As you’ll see in the recipe, the key to this recipe is letting the sauce simmer for at least an hour to really let the flavors mix. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do.
Check out a picture gallery of the steps below:
Wine Sauce Penne pasta recipe
Equipment
- Pot x 2
Ingredients
- 1 Shallot
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 Cans (large) Tomato Sauce (15oz)
- 1 Can Tomato Paste
- 1/2 Bottle Red Wine (Sangiovese)
- 1 Package Pre-Sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Salt & Pepper
- 1 box Penne Pasta
Instructions
- Chop the Shallots and Garlic until they are finely minced
- Sauté the shallots, garlic and mushrooms in your first pot and season them to taste with salt and pepper.
- Keep cooking until the mushrooms are soft and the onions are translucent. Remember to stir frequently.
- Add in your one can of tomato paste and stir it into the mushroom, garlic and shallot mixture.
- Add the two cans of tomato sauce
- Fill one of the empty tomato sauce can to the top with water and add the water to the pot.
- Stir the ingredients in the pot. Raise the heat to a high simmer and let the sauce reduce for 30 minutes.
- Add your red wine into the sauce and stir. Let it it simmer and cook for about 1.5 hours. (The longer you let it simmer the more the flavors mix)
- Cook your Penne pasta to the package directions
- When your Pasta is ready, pour the sauce on top, throw some parmesan cheese on top and ENJOY!
Keeping it Keto: How to make these delicious Chorizo Poppers
If you have ever gone on a low carb or ketogenic diet you know that if followed properly, it’s super effective.
There are drawbacks though… Boredom, lots of boredom because so many food types are no longer available to you.
This recipe is one that will help you to beat the boredom.
This Chorizo Popper recipe was one I came up as an entree for a recent cinco de mayo gathering that we had.
It’s easy to make and super delicious!
Make these amazing poppers that are really Keto friendly
If you are having people over and are looking for a keto friendly recipe, these little poppers are the thing to make. Just be careful that you don't eat too many, you'll spoil your appetite!
Ingredients
- 10 Jalapeños or other Chile Peppers
- 1/2 Stick of Butter
- 1 Cup of Tequila
- 2 Limes
- 9 Ounces of Chorizo
- 12 - 15 Strips of Bacon
- 1 tbsp of Salt
- Mexican Cheese
Instructions
Cut the Jalapeños in half and de-seed and de-vein them. (You can leave some in if you want more heat.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the Tequila and juice of the 2 limes into the mixture. The end result should be a nice balance between the tequila and lime. Because the juice varies in each lime, you may need to add more of the other ingredient if one is overpowering the other.
Let the sauce reduce for 5-10 minutes depending on your preference.
Heat up the chorizo in a sauce pan, and add about 1/2 half of sauce into the chorizo and let it cook for about 10 minutes.
Lightly cook the bacon until it's about 20% done on a pan or grill, this will ensure you get a nice crispy piece of bacon once it's done.
Use a slotted spoon to fill half of a jalapeño with the chorizo.
Drip additional sauce on the chorizo.
Fill the other half of the jalapeño with cheese.
Gently close the halves together and wrap them with enough bacon to fully cover the pepper. Use Toothpicks to keep the popper together.
Put the constructed popper in the grill on indirect heat and cook it for another 15-20 minutes. You will know that it's done when the bacon is crispy, the chorizo should already be pretty well cooked.
Rinse and repeat for the remaining poppers.
Lime Basil Rice: A simple way to transform a staple into something exotic and delicious
Whenever we are preparing a meal, we like to use fresh ingredients as much as possible. That being said, we all have day jobs and sometimes you just don’t have enough time and energy to cook a weeknight meal from scratch.
But just because you are buying some ready made food doesn’t mean you can’t have a great meal. Today, we’ll show you how to take something as simple as instant jasmine rice, and make it into a world class side dish.
One of the main ingredients, lime basil, is a little bit on the exotic side. It doesn’t taste like normal basil. It has a bright citrus flavor that goes great with the rice. You can likely find it at your local Asian market or you can grow it in a pot. They grow like weeds here in California and reseed themselves every year.
If you would like to buy some seeds you can click on the link below:
Super Simple Lime Basil Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Box of instant Jasmine Rice – click here to get it on amazon
- 1/4 cup of chopped of Lime Basil (Feel free to add more if you like the citrus flavor)
- 1/2 stick of Butter
- Juice of 1 Lime
Steps to Cook
- Follow the cooking instructions on the instant rice.
- Cut the butter into smaller chunks and mix into the cooked rice. Stir until all the butter is melted into the rice.
- Mix the lime basil into the rice until it is fully incorporated.
- Squeeze the lime juice on top of the rice.
- Serve and enjoy!
Yellowtail Tiradito – California Style
I travel a fair amount in my line of work. This, has allowed me to try some of the more unique and delicious foods that different cities and countries have to offer.
Back in 2011 I went to Peru for an implementation and was treated to Tiradito for the first time. For those of you who have never heard of the dish, it’s similar to a ceviche, but there are a few key differences.
First, the fish is typically more raw vs many ceviche’s that are left to “cook” in the lime. Second, is the sauce. It’s made of a hot pepper called “Ahi” and it’s blended to a cream and mixed with lemon and oil to make a creamy delicious sauce that is poured over sushi grade white meat fish. The traditional fish used is the Corvina.
I have made Tiradito in the traditional way, but finding fresh “Ahi” peppers is a challenge, in fact I ended up growing some myself.
So I decided to experiment. I used the technique used in making the Tiradito sauce, and simply replaced it with local jalapeño peppers. I then experimented further by adding garlic in to the mix (because garlic is awesome) to see what this new take on an already delicious dish would be like.
It did not disappoint.
Ingredients
- Roughly 1lb of fresh yellowtail. (This will also work with other white meat sushi grade fish)
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 5 Jalapenos
- 3 Yellow Chiles
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Garlic Salt
- Handful of Chives
- Two large lemons
Preparation / Cooking Steps
- Slice the Jalapenos Yellow chilies in half and put them off to the side (De-Seed and De-vein if less heat is desired).
- Finely mince the chives and put aside.
- Blanch the Jalapenos and Yellow peppers for 3-5 minutes. This will also reduce the heat so if you can’t handle spicy food, don’t worry.
- Put the blanched peppers into a food processor and begin blending.
- Squeeze the lemon into the food processor and continue blending.
- Pour the EVOO into the blender. The quantity is going to vary on the size of the peppers, I normally let pour for about 3 seconds to begin with and then add EVOO to taste. The idea is to have the sauce creamy and emulsified.
- Add Salt to taste and blend to integrate the salt into the sauce.
- Slice the fish into thin slices (about ¾ inch or so) and plate it on your serving tray.
- Pour the sauce over the fish (Be liberal on your application of the sauce, you will likely have left over).
- Add the chives on the fish for garnish.
- ENJOY!
Yellowtail Mango Ceviche
One of my favorite things to do in my free time is fishing. I have loved fishing since I was a child, and I loved eating fish, but only as an adult have I really developed a love for cooking fish in a variety of different ways.
One of the best ways to prepare a fish that is fresh is to make it into the ceviche. It makes for a super fresh and bright dish that can be served as either an appetizer or a main course. If you are into entertaining, this is great dish because all you need to do is pre-prepare the ingredients, and them mix them together when you are ready to serve.
For those of you who are not fans of eating sushi and other raw fish, fear not, the fish in the ceviche is actually “cooked” by the acid in the lime.
In this case, we used freshly caught Yellowtail which is pretty easy to get in fish markets here in California. While Yellowtail is a delicious fish if you can get it, this dish can work with a variety of Saltwater fish with flaky white meat.
Ingredients
• Roughly 1lb of fresh yellowtail. (This will also work with other white meat mild fish)
• 1/3 of a Sweet Onion
• 1 Orange or Red Bell Pepper
• 3 Jalapenos (De-seeded and de-veined for less heat)
• 9 Limes (Or enough to fully submerge the fish for the “cooking” process.
• Handful of cilantro finely diced
• Garlic Salt (Added to taste)
Preparation / Cooking Steps
1. Chop the onions the Onions and Bell Peppers and Jalapenos into small cubes (If less heat is desired, remove seeds and veins). (TIP! Use gloves while handeling the jalapenos and be carful not to touch your face or eyes!)
2. Chop the mango into small cubes. Leaving the skin on the mango is optional.
3. Finely mince the cilantro.
4. Cube the fish into small cubes (Note – Fish is much easier to cut and prepare when it’s cold) and put it into a bowl deep enough for all the ingredients to be mixed in.
5. Cut and squeeze the limes into the bowl until the fish cubes are submerged in the lime juice.
6. Once the fish is covered in lime, put it in the fridge and let the fish sit for about 15 minutes.
7. Mix the other ingredients into the large bowl.
8. Serve and Enjoy!
Thanksgiving on the go
Like many of you, I looked at my fridge today and was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of leftovers staring back at me. The problem, like when you have too much of any food, is how do you finish it before it goes bad. Not to mention, getting totally tired of eating the same thing, the same way, over and over again.
This is where the Thanksgiving wrap comes in. If you want easy, this is as easy at it gets because you already have the leftovers cooked and all you need to do is assemble it.
So what Thanksgiving ingredients do you need? Luckily, they are your staples:
- Tortilla
- Turkey – Chopped into smaller chunks so they mix well in the wrap.
- Stuffing – We used our Pear and Sausage stuffing that we made this thanksgiving.
- Cranberry Jelly or Cranberry Relish
- Gravy
Steps to assemble
- Chop the turkey into small chunks
- Heat up your turkey and stuffing BEFORE you assemble the wrap
- Add the Turkey, Stuffing and Cranberry on the tortilla, making sure you spread the ingredients evenly though the wrap so you can the full Thanksgiving flavor in each bite.
- Pour the gravy on the ingredients.
- Fold up the wrap
We also recommend keeping some gravy on the side because you will want to pour more in to taste. That’s all there is to it. It’s a great mix of thanksgiving flavor and is something that it easy to pack as a leftover lunch.
Let us know what you think.
Spicy Kanikama Salad
Today we are going to be making a Spicy Kanikama Salad. I first had this dish as an appetizer in a Shabu Shabu restaurant in New York and I absolutely loved it. It’s nice, light and packs a little bit of a kick.
It goes great with other Japanese cuisine but you can have it as meal all by itself.
Here are the ingredients you will need.
- One 12 ounce package of imitation crab meat.
- ¾ of a Cup of Mayonnaise – Get it here on Amazon http://amzn.to/23vgCzl
- Juice of ½ a Lemon
- 3 tbsp. of Rice Wine Vinegar – Get it here on Amazon http://amzn.to/25TpJw5
- 2 tbsp. of Sriracha sauce – Get it here on Amazon http://amzn.to/1SqSg1U
- ½ of a Large Cucumber
- 2 Green Onions
- Panko bread crumbs – Get it here on Amazon http://amzn.to/1N2UlF4
Preparation
Because the imitation crab meat is already cooked, there is no actual cooking that happens. The first thing you will need to do is shred the imitation crab so that you have stringy flakey bits. This will add to the texture and presentation. It should look something like this:
Once the crab is shredded we are ready to prepare the cucumber. I made the cucumber into noodles using the Spiralizer. If you want to learn how to use this great device, you can click here and read an earlier post I made.
Chop the green onions into fine bits, this will be used as garnish later.
The Sauce
Pour the mayonnaise into a mixing bowl. Mix the Lemon juice, rice vinegar, and Sriracha into the mayo and whisk it until it has a nice pink consistency. Once the sauce is ready pour the shredded imitation crab meat into the sauce and mix it until it coats the meat.
You are now ready to assemble the salad.
- Grab a bowl and first put the cucumber as a base.
- Lump the crab meat on top of the cucumber
- Sprinkle the desired amount of panko on the crab
- Garnish with the chopped onions and serve
Feel free to experiment with the recipe. I began with some recipes that I found on the internet but found that they were too heavy on the mayo and not enough on the vinegar. I added the citrus element and it really improved the sauce. The next time I make this I will likely up the citrus even more and see what the results are.
Be creative, that’s what makes cooking fun.
Thanks for reading