Vegetable Irish Stew..or Soup?

Today I made a nice delicious dish of Irish Stew. Well, somewhat. That is the inspiration I had for it, along with the chilly weather we are getting here this weekend. I could just call it a Vegetable Stew but I like giving credit to the Irish for my inspiration. Cheers.


Ingredients:
1 Red Onion
1.5 lb Potatoes
1 lb Carrots
1 cup Scallions
1.5 cup Pearl Barley
Flax Seed
Rosemary
Sage
Parsley
Fennel Powder
Fenugreek Powder
Sweet Paprika
Italian Herb Mix
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Butter
2 qt Beef Stock

I began by gathering some of my ingredients. This really was a throw together as I found things in the fridge.

I then diced up the Red Onion and put that in the slow cooker along with about a half stick of Butter.

On top of that I put in the Sage Leaves, Parsley, and Rosemary. I also turned the heat on HIGH at this point.

On top of this, I added in the Pearl Barley and a half handful of Flax seeds.

Now, I chopped the Potatoes, Carrots, and Scallions up beforehand and only now get to putting them in. I like order, so I went with sliced Carrots first.

Then the Potatoes and Scallions.

Now I put on the spices. A dusting of each and a larger dusting of Italian Herb Mix.

Finally, I poured in my 2 qt container of Beef Stock.

Cover and let cook on High for about 3 hours or so. Then mix it up together.

Check on it about an hour after that. Taste test to see how the Carrots are doing. Carrots take longer to cook than the Potatoes, so you'll know all is done by tasting the Carrots.

If it's not done, then let it cook some more. Otherwise, just serve!

Center Cut Pork Chops

Last night I made myself a delicious meaty treat of a dinner. I had seen this cut of pork in several cookbooks and cooking tv shows, however I have never cooked using it. Well, I did this last night and it turned out amazing!










Ingredients:
2 Center Cut Pork Chops
4 Shallots
5 Garlic Cloves
Oregano
Thyme
Rosemary
Sage
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Fennel Powder
Sweet Paprika
1/2 stick Butter

I began likes usual by gathering my ingredients.

I then diced up the Shallots and Garlic Cloves. I put the saucepan on the stovetop with the heat medium. In goes your 1/2 stick of Butter.

Once that begins to melt, in goes your Shallots and Garlic Cloves.

Now, shred all your spices and herbs. I did not list an amount because I only used about a spoonful or so of each. Probably less of the Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper.

Put the herbs in first.

Then add spices.

Mix together thoroughly.

Add in your 2 Center Cut Pork Chops.

Flip after a few minutes.

Do so again about 8 minutes later.

They should be done about 5 minutes after that. All that is left is to dish out and serve. I served mine with a garnish of Rosemary and a cold delicious beer. Enjoy.

Chef's Original: Appetizer a l'oignon

Today I sort of threw together an entire meal on a whim. I was informed that my girlfriend was hungry and then noticed I had a fridge full of yummy goodness. So of course with any good meal, I began with a Chef's Original appetizer plate.





Ingredients:
4 Pearl of Boiler Onions
Cilantro
Chives
Sage
Basil
Butter
Italian Seasoning Mis
Cheese
Baguette(bread)

I began by putting some butter in a saucepan, I want to say about 1/3 of a stick. Dice up your chives, sage, cilantro, and basil. Put them to the side.

Turn the stovetop to medium and have the butter start to melt. Once it is mostly melted, swirl it around to make sure the butter covers the entire bottom of the saucepan. Now toss in the chives, sage, and basil you put to the side earlier. Mix them into the butter.

Now grab your Pearl or Boiler Onions and cut the top and bottom off, as well as the outer layer. I find this makes them taste better. Toss them in when this is done. Mix around with the herbs and butter.

Continure to mix them around every thirty seconds or so to give them an even cook through. They should start to turn translucent when they are cooked enough, turn the burner off.

At this point you should have your baguette cut into small pieces, or bought that way like I did, and proceed to put some shredded cheese onto the pieces of bread. You then place the onion on top of the cheese, along with a dusting of italian seasoning mix. Enjoy.

Tangy BBQ Sauce

I meant to post this the other day, however time got away from me once again. I attempted to make my own BBQ sauce....I say it's a success.

Ingredients:
1.5 cup Ketchup
1.5 cup Red Wine Vinegar
0.5 cup Water
2 Tsp Spicy Brown Mustard
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Ground Tumeric
1/4 cup Ground Black Pepper
2 pinches Oregano
2 pinches Sage
2 pinches Thyme
2 pinches Basil

Pretty much just get a mixing bowl and add the ingredients in starting from the top of the list. You can adjust the rest of it to your own tastes. Also, using a blender or food processor could help out.

Side Note: Potatoes are great with this BBQ sauce!

Capresi Skewers

Today was a great day to stay inside in the AC out of the Texas heat. So naturally, I turned to the kitchen and created Capresi Skewers. I started off with the Capresi Skewers because I wanted to see how it would turn out. To make this dish you need the following: -wood skewers -cherry/small tomatoes -mozzarella cheese -basil leaves -mix of sage, thyme, and oregano spices -EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) (also a food processor or small blender) In the food processor, I combined the basil leaves, spices, and EVOO...and created a great tasting and smelling sauce. I would say it reminded me almost of pesto, but not quite. On the skewers I alternated tomatoes and chunks of cheese(try to keep them somewhat close in size) and placed them on a plate together. Once I had 2 skewers done, I grabbed the food processor and spooned out the sauce on top of the skewers and poured the rest next to them.