Category: Food & Wine

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No easy day by mark owen

no easy day
Do You have YOUR copy??

If you wondered what really happened in the assault to kill Osama Bin Laden, wonder no more. Mark Owen ( an alias that I suspect is a combination of the names of friends or lost comrades) answers many of your questions. I found the authoritative pictures and the back story of becoming a Seal, Seal Team Six and various deployments illuminating. I am glad they are on our side!

Oh, there was some controversy out there regarding the writing of this book, but there doesn’t appear to be any national security secrets being leaked… after all, we already get a steady stream from the White House. There will be some disappointed readers, especially those who thought the commander-in-chief lead the mission and possibly flew in the first Apache Helicopter. You really can’t blame politicians, everyone likes to share in victory; however, if things went badly, I am sure we would have learned it was all poor Leon Panetta’s fault at the Pentagon. That’s the way things always go.

This book is well written and something that everyone should read. Buy it and you will enjoy it.

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curing and smoking salmon is worth it

2 pounds of smoked salmon… less some snacking along the way!

There are quite a lot of recipes for ‘curing’ salmon on the web. Some are very different from each other, but all have some sort of sugar and salt. Spices vary quite a bit, although most have some sort of peppercorn. Alcohol isn’t a frequent, but it is a welcome addition to the process.

Here’s what I used and it turned out fantastic!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups salt

3 cups brown sugar

1/4 cup crushed peppercorns ( I used an assortment including pink, green, and  black)

1/4 cup crushed fennel seeds

1 bunch chopped dill

1 bunch parsley

1 lemon zest

1/4 cup Tortuga RUM! and enough water so you will be able to submerge the salmon

Process:

— place ingredients and 2 lb. Salmon in a large container , submerge the salmon under water by placing a number of small plates on top of it , then into your refrigerator for 3 days

— smoke until done using your favorite flavors ( I use Hickory and Mesquite chips)

 

enjoy!

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amarula pumpkin spice cake

Amarula Pumpkin Spice Cake
Amarula Pumpkin Spice Cake Rocks!

This is one of those recipes that you need three bowls… one for the dry, one for the wet ingredients and one for the frosting.

  • Wet ingredients bowl:

1/2 cup Amarula Liquor
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 can 15 ounce solid pumpkin
4 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend

( my blend is 6 parts, cinnamon; 2 parts each of nutmeg, allspice and cloves; 1 part each of mace, cardamon and ginger)

  • Dry ingredients bowl:

2 – 2 1/4 cups bread flour ( start with 2 then check)
2 cups fine sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda


  • Basic process:

gradually blend the dry into the larger bowl with the wet ingredients


  • Baking:

350 degrees for around an hour


  • Frosting:

3 ounces cream cheese, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 cups powdered sugar. (Or as needed to be firm bu pourable)
ADD enough Amarula Liquor to make the frosting thick but pourable ( around 1/4 cup)

top off with sliced Almonds

  • RESULTS:

I made this for my wife’s 60th birthday and all 130 pounds of her had three huge servings… when she thought she’d just have a ‘taste.’

  • Bon Appetite!
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the Rabbi Sandwich

the Rabbi Sandwich courtesy of the Nautical Bean!
the Rabbi Sandwich courtesy of the Nautical Bean! CLICK on the picture above to watch the 1 minute build-it-yourself VIDEO!

Sandwiches – by definition — are usually easy things to build and this is by no means an exception. The video made on PTCH …the latest and greatest video site… was easy to make and I think you will get the idea!

There really isn’t too much to learn in putting this sandwich together… and you can buy some smoked salmon rather than curing and smoking it by hand as I did… but it is fun to make and delicious to share with someone you love!

I would like to thank the Nautical Bean in San Luis Obispo for sharing me this fun way to prepare a very traditional sandwich. So much more than just Lox and bagels. Enjoy!

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a Monte Cristo for you

A Monte Cristo with Lingonberries is a meal and a dessert! CLICK on the above picture to see how I make it.

I grew up loving the Monte Cristo served at Disneyland and although memory can fool you, I just don’t think they make it the way I remember over 40 years ago. So I decided to try to recreate this fabulous meal for myself.

Although the Monte Cristo is distinctively American it has some rather popular European roots. Some version or another is prepared fondly in nearly every country. In France , it started off as the “Croque-monsieur” which means something like Crunch-mister… let me know if you figure that out?

It is a fun little meal that really doesn’t take all that time and energy to make… but makes everyone happy!

HERE is the recipe!