Autumn Pantry Omelette

I'm so lucky to live in an area that has such great local produce. I picked up these spanish patron peppers at New Leaf market along with spanish chorizo links.

Patron Peppers are commonly cooked in olive oil with salt and served with eggs. Since I all ready had these amazing Chantrelle mushrooms at home the gears were turning.

Onion in the pan first. saute for a few minutes. Add your mushrooms

cook your peppers

Looking good

2 eggs, queso fresco, small amount of chorizo

Eat up

Bomb-Diggity-Dogs: The Sultan

Perros. Caliente. Here is the first of my bomb-diggity-dogs recipes I'm sharing with you my interwebs friends. I start off with some local links from el Salchichero.

Steam them buns. Hot!

I add some mayo below and Rooster sauce on top.

Top with the slow cooked pepper, onion, garlic, olive mix. (see recipe mix below)

I give you The Sultan. Served with sweet and spicy flax seed chips from R.W. Garcia

Sultan Topping
Ingredients
onion
40 cloves of garlic (peeled)
red bell pepper
kalmata olives
tomato
1 cup sherry
1/2 cup sugar

Directions

Cut up all your veggies and place on a foil lined cookie sheet.

Salt and Peper

place in a oven heated to 250 degrees for about 2 hours.

You want the veggies to reduce in size with out getting mushy

Turn the oven up to 375. Mix the sherry and sugar together

cover the veggies with the veggies and turn so they are always covered.

Place back in the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes. Turn the veggies

so they caramelize evenly.

Let cool and serve

Spanish influences

This is one of my favorites. Perfect served cold with old crusty bread

Slow roasted dry farm tomatos, red peppers, olives, garlic, and white onion, finished with sherry

Think I may need to use this to top hot dogs from el Salchichero.

Fall Fungus

We had our first rains a few weeks ago, and the mushrooms have started pushing there way through the thick duff.

The start of the fall gold rush has began. Mushrooms are big money and people very rarely share there secret claims. I don't know enough about wild mushrooms to feel confident to hunt by myself so I normally await invitations for meals cooked with bolete's or chantrelle from friends who are in the know.

Last week I recieved a call from the leader for the SLVMLO (San Lorenzo Valley Mushroom Liberation Orginization) He goes by Jack. He offered to take me on a harvest hike, and I couldn't refuse. So after a long hike blind folded, playing a game of "sink the Bismark" and being verbally broken by his cohort we got to "the Spot".

I came home with enough chantrelle mushrooms to create a few dishes.

Could I get back to"the Spot"? I'm not telling

My intentions we to show case my find with a simple soup

2lbs. Mushrooms

1 white onion

4 cups chicken broth

zest of one lemon and some juice

Once you have combine all the ingredients and let simmer for about 45minutes you should blend. This could be served hot or cold. I think soup is always better the second day so I let mine sit a day before serving

Chris Rene - Audition 1 - THE X FACTOR 2011

I put the fork down to rep a local kid

@ The Source

Somethings are best left untouched

I just spent a few days above Oroville lake helping
a friend work on their house.
Jeff has spent the last few years planting fruit trees on the 20 plus acres he owns out side of Chico. I'm not talking just a few trees, the orchards he has planted require a lot of love on the scale Jeff is farming. It takes him most of the day to water them in the hot summer sun. The local deer and the squirrels want in on the action, always trying to get their piece of the pie. Battling pests and molds in a organic manner. Farming is one of his passions, as of now Jeff does not sell his fruit. He gives it freely, as blessing to his friends, family and church.
He said that a lady from his church used his peaches in a salsa recipe she entered and won first place in the county fair . I've char grilled his nectarines, and used them in ice cream that I made the most amazing ice cream sandwiches with (see my previous posts).

I have to say that there is something about special about working hard all day, then picking the perfect peach and eating as the sun sets. Smelling the sugars in the air. Juices flowing down your wrist dripping from your dusty elbow.

Mango Rum Chicken

Mango's were on sale for .69cents each and 6 limes for .96 cents. I couldn't pass them up. Mango Sorbet was my first thought but that was the sweet tooth talking.




















Puree 1 fresh mango (I use a hand held blender)
Add the juice of 3-4 limes
2 shots or 1/4 cup of rum
Big pinch of salt
1 small knub of chopped ginger
2 cloves pressed garlic
1 heaping Table spoon of red pepper flake
small sqeeze of honey
Marinate chicken 6 to 10 hours. I used bone-in chicken breasts.
Grill to your liking

BPT Sandwich errr.. Behavioral Profiling and Targeting

I'm not sure what this crazed recipe says about me, or if it will alter my online behavioral profile Google has compiled, but this is a little something I picked up from my friend Craig Bachler. Passed down from Craig's father this family recipe is hangover comfort food, and has quickly become one of my favorites.

Start by toasting wheat bread- I love California Black bread from the Whole Grain Natural Bread Company ( Beckman's). Next smear your favorite peanut butter on both slices.

Add a few slices of crispy bacon and a juicy heirloom tomato and there you have it.


Something about the saltiness of the bacon really brings out the sugars in both the peanut butter and the tomato. Why is this a great hangover food? Because dehydration depletes your body of both vitamin C and potassium (two key ingredients that aid in fast body recovery), and both peanuts and tomatoes are high in potassium. Tomatoes are also high in vitamin C. Salt is key to helping you retain water, so that fatty bacon is really good for you.

Summer Tease

Mandarin Mint Sorbet

Ingredients About 4 cups of sorbet
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
Zest of 2 mandrins
2 1/2 cups fresh tangerine, clementine or satsuma juice (from 12 to 14 fruits)
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or as needed
3 or 4 sprigs of mint.

Procedure

To make a sugar syrup, whisk together the sugar, zest and water in a small saucepan, place over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 30 seconds, or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl through the sieve with crushed mint. (You don't want a heavy mint taste, just a hint to keep your guest puzzled) Let cool.

Stir in your mandarin juice, and 4-6 tablespoons lime juice into your bowl of simple syrup. Taste and add more lime juice if needed to create a strong sweet-tart balance. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve positioned over a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours to chill well and develop the flavor. Now your ready to churn in your favorite ice cream freezer.

Ginger Snap Cookies
Peach Ice Cream on Sarah's Famous Ginger Cookies

The peaches came from Sarah's family Ranch in Chico
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 tsp baking soda

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp clove powder

1 tsp ginger powder, Plus 1/4 tsp for raw sugar mixture

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup candied ginger (chopped in to pea size pieces)

1/4 cup raw ginger root (chopped in to pea size pieces)

1 cup raw or Turbinado sugar

Mix butter and white sugar till creamy. Add the egg and molasses. Sift the next 6 dry ingredients together. Add to wet mixture, a little at a time. Fold in both the raw and candied ginger. Chill dough for one hour. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix 1/4 tsp ginger powder to raw sugar in a shallow dish. Roll dough into 1" balls. Then roll the balls in raw sugar/ginger mixture. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Let the cookies cool and stuff with your favorite ice cream. Place sandwiches on tray cover and cover with suran wrap or wax paper and freeze.

Home brew corn dogs

Home Brew Corn Dogs

I took my daughter and her friends to the Boardwalk and it got me craving corn dogs. I resisted temptation that night but the hauntings kept coming.

Ingredients for Corn Dog Batter:

1 -1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 egg

3-4 tbsp honey

1 Jalapeno, seeded and finely minced

8oz. of creamed corn

1/3 coup of grated onion

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup cornmeal

4 table spoons of corn starch for dredging

Fair amount of oil for frying

Quality beef hot dogs

Other Items Needed:

Heavy pot or fryer

Chop sticks

Thermometer to read oil temp.

Tongs

Start by combinding all the dry ingredients and set aside. in a separate bowl mix the buttermilk corn, onion, jalapeno, and honey, and egg together

Stir both the wet and dry batter ingredients together and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Lumpy is good

Insert chop sticks into the hot dogs and dredge in corns starch

Tap all the excess starch off

Pour your batter in to a pint glass for dipping your dogs

Heat your oil to 375 degrees.

Slowing place your dogs in the oil and fry for 4-5 minutes until nice and golden brown

Fry Baby

Let drain and rest for about 5 minutes

Those Late Night Infomercials

Pesto Rotisserie Chicken

For those who don't know me I'm a self proclaimed techno curmudgeon. This post may come as a shock for some, but for a long time I was proud of not owning a blender. Margaritas are better on the rocks! When it comes to making ice cream I prefer an old White Mountain hand cranker to a Rival electric. Don't get me wrong, I'm not totally anti-appliance, I'm loyal to my rice cooker and kitchen aid mixer. But as a kid I seem to remember that the Farberware rotisserie never left the cupboard. To this day my mother fails to recollect just what she used it for.

Sometime back I got into a heated conversation with my sweet friend Sarah about kitchen appliances. Sarah threw down the challenge of roasting a chicken in an abandon Ronco Showtime Rotisserie that her dad bought one late night several years ago while battling insomnia and a mid life crisis. This of course was more of an ethical crisis than a cooking challenge. Could I turn out a bomb chicken in this contraption and live with myself afterward?

Half dozen chickens and one turkey later using Ronco's self proclaimed "set it and forget it", I am convinced if the Showtime is this good, the Ronco Pocket Fisherman really must be the " fishing invention of the century". Don't worry, I haven't made room for a Showtime anywhere in my kitchen, and don't think this means you can give me a electric carving knife for Christmas.

The Recipe

This pesto is slightly modified from the recipe I picked up from throwing dough at pizza my heart back it the day. I will divulge the full pesto recipe in the future.
20minutes prep

Ingredients:

Go buy yourself a basil plant from Trader Joe's if you don't already have one.
you need a good hand full of basil leaves.

1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts, Walnuts are a good substitute
one clove of garlic finely pressed.
salt and pepper to taste.

1 whole chicken for roasting

Hardware needed:
Ronco Rotisserie, or it could be done with a roasting pan and oven.
food processor for pesto
butcher twine

What to do:
Add handful of basil leaves pressed garlic clove and toasted pine nuts with a pinch of salt and pepper to food processor. PULSE


Don't add any oil to your pesto mixture the chicken doesn't need any help.

The next step is to loosen the skin on your chicken and smear your pesto mixture under the skin. Use butcher twine to tie down the legs and wings.

" Set it and forget it!"

15 minutes per pound is what Ron Popeil recommends

Steamed red onions and green beans

fingerling potatoes roasted with fresh oregano and shallots

Pesto chicken

One Rib

Even though I prefer to dry rub ribs, this easy recipe is a good standby.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork baby back ribs
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce

Directions

1. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil big enough to enclose each portion of ribs. Spray each piece of foil with vegetable cooking spray. Brush the ribs liberally with barbeque sauce and place each portion in its own piece of foil. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
3. Bake ribs wrapped tightly in the foil at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from foil and add more sauce, if desired