Month: July 2017

Fall Off The Bone Ribs w/Blueberry BBQ Sauce

/ ikhancook / Leave a comment

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I love me some ribs. I love fall off the bone ribs, sticky ribs, ribs with crispy skin, pretty much any kind of rib is an awesome treat for dinner once in a blue moon. I usually only buy them when they are cheap, because usually they cost by the pound, and unless I can get it under $2 a pound I will not buy, simply because it is too expensive. Nonetheless I decided to buy some, and came up with my own recipe and it worked for our dinner party and it was the star of the show that everyone was raving about!

Ingredients

  1. Ribs (can be pork or beef)
  2. Coarse kosher salt
  3. Fresh ground black pepper
  4. Sage (dry)
  5. Cocoa powder
  6. Brown sugar
  7. Garlic cloves
  8. Scallions
  9. Red wine
  10. Chicken or Beef Stock
  11. Soy sauce
  12. White Vinegar
  13. Blueberries
  14. Rice Wine Vinegar
  15. Peach Cranberry juice
  16. Cinnamon
  17. Bay Leaf

Method for Ribs

  1. Score both sides of the meat and sprinkle all over salt, pepper, sage and cocoa powder and scallions
  2. Put the heat on the stove to high.
  3. Use a roasting pan and add a few tablespoons of olive oil
  4. Lay ribs with fat side down so the fat will caramelize and render to add flavorIMG_9265
  5. After the fat has rendered flip over to the other side and add about a cup of red wine so it will braise the meat. Once the wine has cooked out add enough stock to have at least one inch worth of liquid in the pan, and add the cloves of garlic whole.
  6. Put the pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours

After two hours, they should look somewhat like this:

Method for Blueberry BBQ Sauce

When 90 minutes has reached with the ribs, start prepping the BBQ sauce. It should take no more than 30 minutes to prep, and cook.

  1. 1 1/2 cup of blueberries and add to blenderIMG_9266
  2. 1 cup of sugar
  3. half cup of white vinegar
  4. half cup of peach cranberry juice (or you could use apple juice or a full cup of apple cider vinegar)
  5. Blend until almost smoothIMG_9267
  6. In a deep sauce pan on medium high heat bring sauce/juice to a boil
  7. Once it has boiled it needs to simmer for 15 minutesIMG_9270
  8. Add one or two cinnamon sticks (I used a tablespoon of cinnamon)
  9. Add 2 bay leaves
  10. Once 15 minutes has been met and the liquid can coat the back of a spoon, strain through a fine strainer into a cup and let it sit so it can cool and become a little bit thick

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Shrimp In Tomato Garlic Wine Sauce

/ ikhancook / Leave a comment

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By far, my favorite dish to cook is my version of shrimp in a tomato garlic wine sauce. It is a very simple dish, and could be made when you are feeling lazy, but want to whip up something fresh and vibrant.

Ingredients

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  1. 1 bag of frozen shrimp medium sized, but can be larger (can be fresh if you prefer, but I prefer to cook with frozen shrimp)
  2. Pasta of choice, about half a box for 3-4 servings (I prefer rigatoni or farfalle)
  3. 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  4. 1 ladle worth of pasta water
  5. 1 cup of white wine or sparkling wine (champagne if you like or something cheap)
  6. Kosher salt – to flavor as well as some extra if need be
  7. Fresh ground black pepper
  8. 2 Tablespoons of salted butter
  9. 4 cloves of garlic, crushed (more if you like a lot of garlic)
  10. 1 to 2 Tomatoes (more if there is more pasta)
  11. 2 ounces of lemon juice
  12. 1 Teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper (more if you like spicy)
  13. Shredded Parmesan

Method

  1. Boil a pot of salty water (Water should be nearly salty like the ocean)IMG_9217
  2. Add pasta of choice
    1. Once pasta has been added, stir off and on and follow instructions on the type of pasta you have chosen
  3. Set timer for 3 minutes, and timer for the time of the pasta
  4. While pasta is boiling start chopping and slicing tomatoes and herbsIMG_9218
  5. Once the first timer goes off, heat a deep sauce pan on medium high heat and add extra virgin olive oil.
  6. Once the olive oil has heated up add butter
  7. Let butter melt and add crushed garlic and add a ladle of pasta water
  8. Allow garlic to become translucent and soft and add in lemon juice and alcoholIMG_9221
  9. Allow alcohol to cook off (about 30 seconds) and then add shrimp
  10. Cook shrimp for about 1.5 minutes on each side and add crushed red pepper, tomato and shred enough parmesan to lightly cover shrimp and mixIMG_9222
  11. At this time pasta should be done, throw in pasta and chopped herbs into sauce with shrimpIMG_9223
  12. Top with more shredded parmesan (however much you want) and serve.

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BFF Asian

/ ikhancook / Leave a comment

Friday night we (me, my wife, and daughter) went over to BFF Asian Grill. My wife ordered the tuna tower and a the amazing roll, and I ordered the Lemon Grass Grilled Beef Banh Mi and a beer flight. The tuna tower is very fresh, tasty, has all the flavors one would associate a tuna tower with at any sushi restaurant. The Banh Mi’s beef is very tender, juicy and flavorful. Banh Mi comes with all of the normal fixings, including some sliced raw jalapeño. The beer flight, however, was interesting. I tried local brews (from Texas).  The beers from right to left were Legal Draft Brewery Gluten Free, Peticolas Royal Scandal, Rahr and Sons Summertime Wheat,  and Woodcreek Bourbon Barrel Bock. As you would imagine, the Legal Draft beer was light, water like, but crisp.  Peticolas was very refreshing and had notes of citrus. Rahr and Sons was very similar to any type of hefeweizen one might have, but not as sweet as some are. Lastly, the Woodcreek was heavy, yet surprisingly tasty.  It was a good experience, I would probably try different beers for a flight next time, these weren’t my favorite beers by far, but I was trying something new.