Don’s Enchiladas
This is one of my favorite recipes. I’ve been cooking it for three decades, harkening back to my days in Phoenix as a young visual journalist at the Arizona Republic. You can use any kind of meat. My favorites are grilled chicken thighs, pulled pork and of course…the day after Thanksgiving, my famous turkey enchiladas. I guess in theory you could leave the meat out, and it would still be incredible. You can use store-bought enchilada sauce as well, but home-made is very easy and tastes much better. I will admit to using the canned sauce, as it is mild and I generally have cooked for people that need mild. Not tonight. Tonight, I’m cooking for myself, using an air-fried leg quarter from last nights dinner. So I was happy to find my old sauce...
Rib Meat BBQ Egg Roll
Yes, I have written up my air fried egg rolls twice before, once with chicken, once with pork. But tonight, given my abundance of St. Louis Spare Rib meat in my fridge, I had a new idea. I have little doubt that this has been done before, but it was a new idea to me…a rib meat BBQ sauce infused egg roll. The idea began simple, I would do my traditional egg roll base with a cabbage slaw mixed with ginger, soy sauce and sliced green onions. But then it hit me…slaw works well with pork ribs. And I have my home-made Shack BBQ sauce. So…. I diced up some rib meat. I got my slaw mix and put in a couple tablespoons of my BBQ sauce, and I folded in some minced Vidalia onion. Then it was the traditional egg roll construction, a spoon of the slaw, then of...
Cod with Atlantic Prawns & Brandy Cream Sauce
My traditional July 4th dinner is a huge pile of ribs shared with friends, but I did that yesterday…as the Colonial Beach had their fireworks yesterday.So for my 4th of July dinner this year, I decided to flip through my new cook book, Wild Atlantic. A book written by a local chef (local, if you live in Kenmare, Ireland). Since cod is a BIG staple in Ireland, I wanted to do something with cod, since I can get it at our local grocery.I actually settled on a recipe called Dover Sole with Atlantic Prawns & Brandy Cream Sauce, with Spinach & Mushrooms. It’s actually a hybrid of two toppings the author offered. I had made cream sauces before, but never with brandy. And, yes, I used Cod instead of Dover Sole. Not a lot of Dover Sole around Colonial...
Air Fried Pork Chop and Corn
I knew today had the potential of being a rough day, so I planned a simple meal, Air fried pork chop, corn on the cob and a salad. The day turned out to be a pretty good one. Everything I had needed worked out. So it was not only a ‘comfort food’ meal, but one fun to prepare, and incredibly easy, yet very yummy. My pork chop is simple, the same rub I use on my chicken. Onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne (no Tony’s) and paprika with a hint of pink himalayan salt (since I didn’t use tony’s) and a bit of dried basil. I air fried this for 15 minutes, and when I rotated them for the next half, I put in my corn. The corn is a local bi-color sweet corn. I melted some Kerrygold butter, put in some garlic powder and paprika, a little salt...
Don’s Chicken Cordon Bleu
I had this idea of a GOOD chicken cordon bleu. I haven’t made one of these in years (decades?) and I thought maybe I could take a shot with better prep and, of course, my air fryer. My issue with previous cordon bleu’s was that they were flavorless, which is odd given the cheese/ham combo, and they were dry. So, on recent travels, I thought about how I could improve upon it. The first was obvious, better seasoning on the initial prep, and a butter brush before rolling. Then cook through, but crisp at the end. So I combined the two. After flattening the breast (I use a roller, a hammer is too sharp edged and tears the wrap) I brushed the breast with a mix of melted Irish butter, herb de Provence, minced garlic, fresh basil, fresh parsley and onion...
Green Chili Cheeseburgers
While burgers are great, and very easy, I don’t cook a lot of them anymore. But when I do, I want to have some fun. Friday night seemed destined to be a burger night, and a close friend suggested a New Mexican chili pepper. But I live in a place that does not have access to such things, but I did find a Cubanelle Green Pepper. And I had a bag of jalapeno peppers, so I dove in. I coated my peppers with olive oil and grilled them till they were blackened. I then put them on a plate covered with wrap to steam, some people put them in a zip-lock bag. I took my grass fed beef and mixed it with four cloves worth of garlic. I roast my garlic so it is cream-like. I suggest you do the same. Or use jarred minced garlic. But burgers cook quick, so I wouldn’t use...