New Mexico Breakfast Cups

Continuing with my breakfast series, today I introduced you a Southwest breakfast egg cup. Since I began making these, the concept of this has been on my mind. I have no idea how it’s going to turn out and I’m glad to say that it is a really delightful breakfast. Brush six corn tortillas with a butter garlic mixture. Using kitchen shears cut six or so slice into the sides of the tortilla. Put it into the oven (400°) for about 10 minutes until it begins browning over. Into this place your meat, I originally meant to do chorizo but I didn’t have any on hand. So I use smoked ham. On top of this place sautéed veggies. For this morning I sautéed onions, bell peppers and jalapeños. But I think anything is fair game. Then I spooned on a tablespoon of...

Thai Crab Cakes

Enjoy this Thai meal, and found a nice New York Time’s Thai crab cake recipe. It was very simple to make, yet packed with flavors. IngredientsYield: 4 servings 6 medium raw shrimp, shelled, washed and de veined1 teaspoon fish sauce1 pound fresh lump crab meat, picked over for cartilage1 egg¼ cup chopped scallion¼ up chopped cilantro1 fresh chili, preferably Thai, minced1 teaspoon minced fresh gingerSaltfreshly ground black pepper2 to 3tablespoons bread crumbs, preferably freshAbout ½ cup all-purpose flour for dredging (I used almond flour)Peanut or vegetable oil as neededLime wedges for serving Purée shrimp in a food processor (smaller is better) until you have a smooth paste, or chop and mash by hand. Add fish sauce. In a bowl, mix the shrimp purée, crab...

Shrimp Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of the simple pleasures of life. A bright, kinda healthy meal. And for some reason I’ve never written it up. So for a Friday night dinner, I decided to go Pad Thai on this chilly Colonial Beach evening and to share it with you, in case you’ve never tried to make it. It’s really a simple meal to prepare and the flavor is incredible. I did 1/4 of the amount since I was cooking for myself, and I used 10 shrimp. For the sauce, I actually did the full amount. Greedy greedy makes a hungry puppy. It’s so good! 8 ounces rice noodles 1 tablespoon tamarind paste 1 ½tablespoons fish sauce 1 ½tablespoons sugar (I use agave) 1 tablespoon lime juice 4 cups broccoli florets 1 carrot, thinly sliced ½ cup canola oil 2 teaspoons minced...

Baked Garlic Chicken

Yes, we see a pattern establishing. Don cooks a lot of chicken leg quarters in various ways. Leg quarters are my go-to dinner, but I do try to make them interesting. Tonight is a Garlic Pan Roasted Chicken. And I’m dragging out my trusty cast iron skillet on this one tonight, a cold winter (but beautiful) Virginia evening. Heat your oven to 425° Ingredients: 6 cloves garlic, finely minced1 teaspoon dried oregano1/2 teaspoon kosher salt1 teaspoon chili powder1/4 teaspoon ground cumin1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil3 chicken leg quarters1/2 cup chicken broth1/2 cup white wine Mix up the seasonings and oil in a bowl. Heat up your cast iron pan to medium high. Put in some olive oil and cook the chicken on all...

Cast Iron Ribeye done right

It’s Red Meat night tonight at the Storybook House in Colonial Beach. I generally allow myself one steak a month, and I only eat half of it (for dinner). Steak is easy, right? Trust me, having spent 60 years on this planet and haven endured SO many poorly cooked steaks (and hamburgers) at backyard barbeques…I can attest to the fact that to prepare a TRULY good steak does take a bit of effort. And amazingly enough, the best I’ve cooked has not been on a grill, but a cast iron skillet. On a skillet you can control all the variables. First, of course, is a quality steak. I bought a great angus steak at Wegmans. A day before cooking it, I put it on some paper towel on a plate and put a light coating of salt on (I have a secret at the end, so don’t use too much salt),...