Buffalo Chips

Alright, so I am a big fan of the chain food business known as Buffalo Wild Wings. It's a great place to watch some football at. Well, I love their Buffalo Chips appetizer dish. It's very simple and I thought that maybe I could make them at home. So I did.

Ingredients:
4 Potatoes
Vegetable Oil
Garlic Salt
Sea Salt
Shredded Cheese

Alright, so I began by pouring about 2 cups worth of Vegetable Oil into a saucepan. I added a dash of Garlic Salt for flavor. Turn the heat to MEDIUM.

Now slice your Potatoes into thin strips. You decide how thick/thin you want them. Once the Vegetable Oil is boiling, add the Potato slices.

Stir around as they boil/cook so they don't adhere to the bottom of the saucepan.

You can tell they are done as they will be soft and pliant. Take them off, strain the excess oil away, and plate. Add Shredded Cheese on top, microwave for 30 seconds to melt the Cheese quicker. Sprinkle with Sea Salt. Enjoy.

Root Vegetable Soup

Due to the cooler weather this past weekend, I feel that soup season is officially upon us. The first result of that decision was the Chef's Beef Stew I posted about yesterday. This recipe is what happens when I have free time and am very hungry, so enjoy the aftermath.

Ingredients:
1 Sweet Potato
4 Parsnips
5 Russet Potatoes
2 White Onions
3 Shallots
1/2 stick of Butter
Italian Herb Mix
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt

I started with the Shallots and White Onions.

I diced them up decently small. I also started a pot of water boiling with a beef bullion cube in it.

Now, I used the 1/2 stick of Butter and cut into several pieces and put in a large saucepan with the heat on at MEDIUM. Which of course I then dumped the diced up Shallots and White Onions in.

Once in, stir to make sure the Butter gets mixed around with the White Onions and Shallots. I kept the heat at MEDIUM to give me enough time to dice up the rest of the ingredients needed.

So I got the Sweet Potato, Russet Potatoes, and Parsnips out. I took 2 Sweet Potatoes out at first but once I started dicing everything up I decided that only 1 was needed. Sweet Potatoes do tend to be overpowering when coupled with regular Potatoes after all.

Once those were all diced up, I added those to the saucepan. The Onions and Shallots should have caramelized by now, but if not you should wait until they do to add the root vegetables.

Now add in about 1/2 the 'freshly made' beef stock. I would say about a 1/2 cup to 1 cup's worth. I didn't measure, so it's just a rough estimate.

I stirred it up and added some spices. I added in 2 pinches of Sea Salt coupled with a light sprinkling of the Ground Black Pepper. Quantity wise, about a 2:1 ratio of Ground Black Pepper to Sea Salt. Topped it all off with almost a 1/4 cup of Italian Herb Mix. The mix it all together and add the rest of the beef stock.

Let it come to a boil and then turn the heat down to just a bit below MEDIUM.

I let it cook for about 30 minutes, or until each of the ingredients were thoroughly cooked and feel soft.

Now you take a food processor or blender (I used a blender) and proceed to puree it like you're getting paid to. Then serve. Enjoy.

The Chef's Beef Stew

I love Beef Stew. I don't know any other way of putting it that even comes close to my obsession with this delectable dish. Everyone should make their own version of it. I have several versions of it, and so far this is my favorite version. It is subject to review and change, so suggestions are welcome. I'm sorry it took so long to get on here in it's truest form.

Ingredients:
1 lb Beef Stew Meat
1 cup Pearl Barley
6 stalks Celery, sliced
Carrots, diced
Russet Potatoes, diced
1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon
1 qt Beef Stock
Garlic Salt
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Smoked Sweet Paprika
Sea Salt
Fennel Powder
Fenugreek Powder
Ground Turmeric
Ground Black Pepper
Ground Aleppo Pepper
Dill

I began by gathering the main ingredients. I diced the Potatoes, Carrots, and Celery up. You can decide how much you want to use, although the rough ratio seen here is what I find to be a good mix.

I plug in my slow cooker and set the heat to HIGH. I dust the bottom with Lawry's Seasoned Salt first followed by the Garlic Salt.

In goes the Beef Stew Meat.

On top of the meat I added some spices because I like the meat part of this dish to be extra seasoned. It's optional since you can just add spices to the top of everything and it will still be pretty good. I just go the extra mile. I used the Smoked Sweet Paprika, Fennel Powder, Fenugreek Powder, and Ground Aleppo Peppers.

On top of that went the diced Carrots. They tend to take longer to cook so in the middle I think is a good place for them to absorb the liquid and heat involved here.

On top of that the diced Potatoes. Pay no attention to the Brandy in the corner of the picture, it was out for something that did not make the Blog. Maybe once I perfect that recipe, you all will get to see what it is!

Then the sliced Celery.

On top of the Celery I added about 2 pinches of Dill. Then the Pearl Barley went into the slow cooker. I listed it as 1 cup, however it is probably closer to 1.5 cups. I love barley.

Now that I have everything in the slow cooker, it's the main serving of spices. Ground Turmeric, Garlic Salt, Smoked Sweet Paprika, Fennel Powder, Ground Black Pepper, Sea Salt, and Ground Aleppo Peppers rounded this mix out.

Now locate your wine. Spare no expense...I spared $3.00 USD. I know, I have expensive tastes in wine.

I put in the entire bottle. I noticed it wasn't high enough, so I added in about half of the Beef Stock container I had. It was one of those pre-made containers that has about 2 quarts in it. There was some left over, so I rounded my usage to 1 quart.

When pouring in the Cabernet Sauvignon, make sure to pour it directly onto the spices you have on top of everything. If you don't, you run the risk of the spices cooking directly into just a portion of your dish. This causes some parts to be really spicy and flavorful while the rest tastes like nothing at all/red wine.

I left the heat on HIGH for the duration of this recipe since I am very impatient. If you have the time, like 10 hours, then bring it to a boil, stir, and put on LOW for the duration. It will cause the meat to be more tender, oh well. This picture is about 1 hour in.

2 hours later the color drastically changes to a muddy brown. It smells amazing and permeates everything in it's vicinity.

About 2 hours after that making it a total of around 5 hours, this is what it should look like.

Make sure to taste test each part to make sure everything is cooked properly. I checked everything about 4 times each. Yes, I'm a little piggy but I had to make sure.

If it isn't done, then just let it cook longer until it is. Mine was done so I plated it quite readily. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Fries

A few of my friends know about my cooking this recipe before, however it's been awhile. This is a recipe I first made back in 2007 or 2008 for my Thanksgiving down here in Texas. I have only made it maybe three times since then and it's about time to put it on here!

Ingredients:
1 Sweet Potato
Olive Oil
Italian Herb Mix
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt

My oven was already on at 400 degrees which made beginning this recipe quite easily.

I chopped the Sweet Potato into fry like chunks and put into a mixing bowl. Once in there I added some Olive Oil along with a pinch or two of each spice listed. Then shaken to mix/coat the fries.

Now using a cooking sheet, I drizzled some Olive Oil on.

I then placed the fries on there with some space in between them.

Into the oven they went, where I had my Root Vegetable Salad already cooking. Delicious, no?

After about 15 to 20 minutes they should be done. They look tasty.

Now just plate and serve. Enjoy.

Potato Soup

The past week or two we've been having very drastic temperature swings here in Texas. For instance, yesterday it was around 88 degrees F and today it's like 55 degrees F. That's crazy! So since it is fall, I figured that means it's Soup Season. Who doesn't love a good soup?

Ingredients:
2 oz or half stick Butter
2 White Onions
1.5 lb Potatoes
3 pints Chicken Stock
Sea Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Chives for garnish

I began by gathering my ingredients.

First step, finely chopping up the 2 White Onions. I chopped them up in large chunks and then used my food processor to finely chop them. Was a lot easier and less risk to my cutting off a finger. I also chopped the Potatoes up by hand as well, no picture since I totally forgot!

At this point I also got the Chicken Stock ready. I used a bullion cube since I did not have any stock ready. I usually buy the pre-made stock since I have not made my own before, seems like I'll have to get on that soon.

Now, start melting the Butter in a deep saucepan or sauce pot.

Once it begins to melt, add in your White Onions. About 2 minutes later, or when the Onions begin to caramelize, add in the diced Potatoes.

I chose to add the Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper at this point as well. Choose however much you want as per your preference. I used about 2 pinches of Sea Salt. As for the Ground Black Pepper, I used a grinder which means my guess is only an estimate and I say about 4 pinches worth.

Mix it together, cover, reduce heat to a good simmer, and let them cook for about 10 minutes or until the Potatoes are soft.

Now, add in your Chicken Stock. This should be turned off once it starts to boil and the Bullion Cube melts away. I added it in about half at a time while mixing the pot.

Now bring it to a boil and let simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Taste to see how awesome it is.

Ok, it's done. Turn off the heat. I let it cook for about 5 minutes though that is not necessary.

You can use a food processor for this part but I chose to use my blender since it is such a large amount. This part is where you puree everything that you were cooking.

Then it goes back into the pot you were using, or a new one if you want, and let cook at medium low for about 5 minutes. This last step is voluntary, I did it because this is the part where you taste and adjust the Salt/Pepper. I added some more Sea Salt and felt that cooking it a little more would help even it out.

Once done, plate and serve. I chose to add some diced Chives as a garnish. And what is Potato Soup without some bread to dip!?