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By J.Ho, August 29, 2007 11:21 am

I love this. Simple, easy and delicious. As always you can multiply the ingredients. I only made it for a quick late night dinner with only two breasts. Try using several different dried herbs. Oregano works best for me. Combined with the lemon, it gives out an awesome tang!

• 2 chicken breasts with bones & skin attached
• 1 lemon
• ½ large white onion
• Dried oregano leaves
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt & Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400°. Generously rub breasts all over with olive oil (hehe) and place skin side down on a plate. Thinly slice onion and spread across the bottom of a baking dish. Use one half a lemon and one half an onion for every two breasts you’re roasting. Squeeze juice from half of a lemon on the two breasts. Season with salt & pepper. Dust chicken with dried oregano leaves. Place breasts skin side up atop the bed of onions. Again, squeeze juice from the other half lemon on the two breasts. Season with salt & pepper. Dust chicken with dried oregano leaves again.

Roast for 25 minutes or so. Eyeball it. I keep it in toll the skin is toasted brown. Roasting time will vary depending on the thickness of the breasts. Pan fried asparagus and mushroom rice pilaf would be excellent compliments to this dish. For the asparagus, prepare much like the recipe here. Instead of roasting it in the oven, place in a hit skillet with a little bit of olive oil and fry over high heat for about five minutes or until it’s just about tender. Have fun! Yankees suck!

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By J.Ho, June 12, 2007 4:58 pm

So I finally had an evening to myself where I could be alone in the kitchen, drink some beer, pump some tunes, try something new and chronicle it. There are few things in the world better than a good steak. Add in pan roasted garlic-basil cherry tomatoes and you have a smash hit.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 steaks of your choice (I only made one this time)
1 pint vine-ripened red cherry tomatoes, washed and patted dried
1 Large clove garlic, minced
6-8 Fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 475°. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle in olive oil. Season the steaks with salt & pepper and sear for about 3 minutes on each side, until well browned. Actually, just as you flip the steaks, add the minced garlic to the side of the pan and make sure it gets some of the olive oil. Sauté the garlic as you sear the second side of the steak. After the steak is browned on both sides and garlic is getting toasty, move the steaks aside and add the cherry tomatoes and basil to the garlic. Stir gently to coat and season with salt & pepper.

Place the skillet in the oven and roast until the steak is cooked to your liking and tomatoes begin to burst. I roasted mine for about ten minutes and it came out medium. A bit over cooked for my tastes, but it was awesome anyway. Serve with a side of pasta with the tomatoes spooned over the steaks. Try making it with fresh oregano instead of basil, or a mix. Have fun! Yankees suck!

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By J.Ho, March 19, 2007 11:39 am

I was poking around the net the other day for some unique recipes (as I always do) and I came across Soul Fusion Kitchen. There are some very interesting posts and recipes on this site. The first thing that jumped out at me as the Huli Huli Chicken and Korean BBQ Short Ribs. This looked very easy and very delicious.

I don’t have much experience in making my own marinades, but seriously, how hard could this be? The site gives a great base Korean marinade for that could be used for just about any kind of meat. It suggests using the same marinade for chicken and short ribs and then grill them both together. Marinade them separately though. It also suggests a few variances of the marinade.

I’m never one to follow any recipe to the letter. As I was preparing the suggested base marinade as shown on the site, I naturally came up with my own added ingredients. I considered leaving out the the sesame seeds since I didn’t feel like toasting them. I eventually talked myself into toasting and adding them to the marinade. I put a few tablespoons of sesame seeds in a hot frying pan and shook them around till they browned up a bit. As soon as I placed them into the marinade I heard a quick sizzle and immediately picked up on the awesome aroma the hot seeds gave to the marinade. Good move on my part!

Base BBQ Marinade:
10 cloves fresh garlic, coarsely chopped
4-5 green onions sliced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 cups soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil

What I added:
Few splashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
½ cup dry white wine (in addition to the vinegar)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (I used more)

Now, it’s butt-cold out here in New England. When you have 24° weather and your outdoor grill is completely iced over, cooking outside just isn’t in the cards. Luckily I have my handy-dandy old reliable Ronco Showtime Rotisserie! I seriously believe my Ronco Rotisserie is the best invention since bottled beer! It’s been a lifesaver. I use it for roasting beef, chicken, pork, vegetables … you name it. It sounds corny when they say “Set it and forget it!” They aren’t kidding though. Put your meat in, set the timer and walk away!

I placed the chicken parts in one of the wire baskets that came with the rotisserie. Set the timer for 40 minutes and went on to drink some beer and make some risotto and roasted asparagus.

The rotisserie has three settings besides the time: a roasting setting, a no-heat rotation setting and a pause to sear setting. After 35 minutes or so of roasting I set it on “pause to sear.” What this does is pause the rotation, while keeping the heating element running. I paused for about four minutes for each side of the chicken parts facing the heating element to get a good crust on the skin. After the searing I ran it in roasting mode for another five minutes and then in no-heat rotation to let the meat cool allow the juices settle in. This way is better than letting the meat sit outside the roaster.

The net-net of this experience was that the chicken was fabulous! It was a tad salty for my tastes. I’ll probably not put any Worcestershire sauce in it next time since that brings more salt to the already salty soy sauce. I’ll probably add another jalapeño pepper though. I’m, not one for super spicy foods, but fresh jalapeños bring great taste to foods without a lot of heat.

Thanks again to Soul Fusion Kitchen. I’m glad I found this recipe and I think everyone should try it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Yankees suck!

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By J.Ho, April 5, 2006 6:07 pm

Slashfood, one of my favorite sites, posted a roasted curried cauliflower recipe that’s similar to the roasted cauliflower I put up. Their variation uses fresh garlic, curry spices and lemon juice. The message is basically the same … Roasted Cauliflower RULES !!!

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By J.Ho, March 8, 2006 5:30 pm

Who knew a boring food could be so much fun? This is the recipe that started it all. It’s as simple as it gets, healthy and delicious. What more do you want? I used to make cauliflower three or four times a year, now I make it two or three times a week. The most common way of preparing cauliflower is steaming it. Bland, bland, bland! I’ve sautéed cauliflower several times before with nothing notable to write about. Roasting is takes taste to a whole new level. Who knew cauliflower could be so crisp, fluffy and sweet?

One head of cauliflower
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Dash of ground red cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 475°. Wash and trim leaves and stem of the cauliflower. Chop entire head into ¼ inch pieces. Place in a large mixing bowl and drizzle on the olive oil. Season with salt, black pepper and red pepper. Stir well in the mixing bowl.

Spread the cauliflower evenly in a large casserole dish and place in the oven. Roast for fifteen minutes. Stir the pieces around so each side gets evenly browned. Stir again every five minutes. Usually this dish is done after 30 minutes. For me, the crispier the better!

If you like this recipe, you can spice it up your own way the next time you make it. Try seasoning it with any sort of dried seasoning: oregano, Italian seasoning, thyme, rosemary … possibilities are endless.

I discovered this recipe when I was trying to cut back on starches. When the cauliflower prepared this way it takes on the texture of french fries. That’s why I like them crispy. Most of the time, the texture suits my french fry craving though the cauliflower tastes a whole lot better. Yankees suck!

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By J.Ho, March 8, 2006 11:42 am

Alright! I’ve been getting tons of feedback on the roasted cauliflower recipe.  It seems to be everyone’s favorite.  Many people have been asking for me to come up with something similar for broccoli.  I found this recipe and made a few changes to it.  Let me know if you like it.

2 Heads of broccoli
¼ cup of chicken broth
4 Cloves of fresh garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
¼ Cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 350°.  Cut the broccoli into florets and arrange flowers up, in an 8″x8″ baking pan or 9″ pie tin. Pour the chicken broth and sprinkle the garlic slices over the broccoli. Drizzle with the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Turn the oven up to 425°.  Remove the foil, sprinkle with the Parmigiano, and bake another 5-10 minutes or until the broccoli is lightly browned.  Let the pan sit for five minutes before serving to dissipate the cruciferous smell.

Tex-Mex Variation: Replace the garlic with 2 tablespoons of minced onion and the olive oil with corn oil. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon chili powder.  Omit the cheese or use Mexican-style cotija.

Asian Variation: Replace the salt with a few squirts of soy sauce and the olive oil with peanut oil.  Add a dash of sesame oil, minced fresh ginger and scallions along with the garlic.

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 9:36 pm

Oven fries are so much easier and tastier than most people think. This technique is damn easy and waaaaaay tasty! Thanks Rachael!

2 to 2 ½ pounds red potatoes, washed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, enough to lightly coat
2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence seasoning (dried parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme)
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (Montreal Steak Seasoning) or 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Heat oven to 450°. Cut potatoes into wedges and throw into a large mixing bowl. Coat potatoes with oil and seasonings. Mix well with a large spoon to coat. Spread potatoes onto a greased cookie sheet or baking dish. Roast, turning once, for 25 minutes.