Shrimp Scampi!
This is a classic, but it deserves a place in my dinner lineup. Simple, but wonderful. Heat up some olive oil and butter in a skillet. I like cast iron. Season with black pepper and add your shrimp. Before flipping, toss in a generous amount of garlic. Flip and then after a minute, add white whine (I used Ingleside’s Albariño for most of my cooking) and lemon juice. Add parsley. That’s it! I served mine on a bed of linguine tossed with the drippings of the pan, parsley and finely grated parmigiano...
Air Fried Chicken wraps
When McDonalds announced they were bringing back the chicken wrap, I kinda remember that I liked it, and I also remember replicating it, and having it for lunch many times. So tonight…the Air-fried Chicken Wrap. Pound out a couple chicken breasts. Cut into wide strips. Season as you like. I used my Kevin’s Cajun. Salt/pepper/garlic powder/onion powder/paprika would be fine. Dip in a couple well churned eggs, dredge in flour (I used Red’s). Spray with olive oil and air fry for 30 minutes or so. I cut up some garden fresh romaine, shredded come carrots and chopped up a green onion. When the chicken is done, heat up a couple flour tortillas for about 20 seconds until they are steaming. Put them on a plate, add the chicken and veggies, top with...
Shrimp Hibachi!
For years ago, in June 2021 my boat arrived in Colonial Beach. It was ‘on the hard’ initially. But once in the water it was my new Virginia home. Since my galley wasn’t fully functioning, I walked a short distance to Castlewood Park and got dinner from Hancho’s Hibachi. You could buy two meals for $21, so I would be set for 4 dinners (each was easily 2 meals). To celebrate that time, I give you my version of Hancho’s Shrimp Hibachi. Cook 1 cup of jasmine rice with 1 1/2 cup of water, and a bit of butter for 15 minutes. Let it rest 5 minutes. Then put it in the fridge. Do this early in the day. Make a teriyaki sauce. In a sauce pan with olive oil, cook down some thin sliced onions. Add thin sliced ginger and diced garlic. Add fresh...
Cajun Chicken and Mushroom Sandwich
Hands down, one of the best chicken sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. And we just made it up as we went. We cut chicken breasts horizontally to make them thin, then cut them in half to fit a bun. Season with Kevin’s Cajun Seasoning (my favorite), you can use Tony’s (too much salt) or make your own. Splash a robust olive on the pile and toss to mix well. Set aside for at least 15 minutes. On our Brownstone with a low heat we added the chicken, sliced mushrooms and onion. For the onion and mushroom we used the olive oil/seasoning drippings from the chicken plate. All gets cooked down and heated well. On the chicken flip, the brioche buns went on the griddle for toasting. Dukes mayo was mixed with our hot sauce for our aoli. When done: Bun on bottom,...
Up-scaled Air-fried Toad-In-The-Hole
This was one of the tastiest breakfasts I’ve made in a while. Take two slices of Asiago bread and cut a hole in it. I used an upturned olive jar for mine. Place on a sheet of parchment paper and put on your air fryer rack. Mix some robust olive oil with garlic powder and brush it on. place a cracked egg in each hole. Grind some pepper on top. Season with Italian seasoning and parsley. Add some finely shredded Gruyere cheese. Season again, if desired. This goes into your air fryer for 7 minutes at 355°. Then I turned mine up to 400° for two minutes to brown up the cheese a bit, and to finish the eggs. The result was spectacular! Served with hash brown and hickory smoked...
Always seeking that perfect steak.
I’ve cooked this before, but tonight I focused on more of the prep work. This evening, I had a perfectly marbled rib eye. I patted it down with paper towel to get it as dry as I could. Then I generously sprinkled kosher salt on each side, and set it aside for 45 minutes. Also grind on a healthy amount of black peppercorns. The goal here is to draw out the moisture of the meat. If you cook a steak right out of the wrapping, it will steam, not sear, due to the high moisture content. Sure enough, there were pools of water on the outside of the steak after 45 minutes. Dap the steaks dry, let rest 10 minutes and repeat. Now you are ready to cook. In a cast iron skillet, melt a few tablespoons of butter and bring to a medium high heat. Add the steak when it is...