A Coke and a smile...

Cola Braised Short Ribs

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted, been busy with other stuff. But the combination of people asking when I was going to put up the next one, and the sheer amazing flavor these little guys put forth, is forcing me to share. This is our first time making short ribs, hopefully we didn't just ruin every other recipe for us. The only changes we made to this recipe were to add bourbon at the end to the sauce, and when straining the sauce, using a spatula to force the sediment through the wire strainer to thicken it a bit.

While making this recipe, I learned a couple things: first don't use Korean short ribs, which are sliced very thin. Use the larger, one-bone variety. Second, I thought the rub was very over powering by itself. It was, but when mixed with everything else, it needed to be. Don't hold your head over the pan when browning these... or do, and you'll only do it once:)

Entree:

• Cola Braised Short Ribs

Sides:

• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Green Beans
• Calamata Focacia Bread
• Citrus Arugula Salad

Short Ribs:

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 to 5 pounds English-cut beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2-1/2-inch-long pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, small dice
• 2 cups cola (not diet), such as Coca-Cola
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 oz bourbon
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Process:

1. Combine the salt, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, and cumin in a small bowl. Evenly rub the spice mix on all sides of the ribs; set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a 6-quart stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat until shimmering. Working in batches, add enough short ribs to cover the bottom of the cooker without crowding them. Sear, turning occasionally, until the ribs are browned on all sides. Transfer to a large plate and repeat with the remaining ribs.
3. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the cola, soy sauce, and Worcestershire and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pressure cooker.
4. Return the ribs to the pressure cooker, turn to coat them in the sauce, and lock the lid in place. Increase the stovetop heat to high and bring the cooker to high pressure. Reduce the stovetop heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a visible, steady stream of escaping steam. Meanwhile, set a strainer over a large bowl; set aside.
5. Remove the pressure cooker from the heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally for 15 minutes.
6. Carefully quick-release any pressure left in the cooker, then remove the lid (keep your face away from the escaping steam).
7. Transfer the ribs to a large plate and set aside. Pour the liquid through the strainer, and, using a spatula, force as much of the sediment through as possible. Using a large spoon, skim off and discard the fat from the strained liquid and return the liquid to the pressure cooker (alternatively you can use a fat separator).
8. Return the pressure cooker to the stove over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Place the cornstarch and water in a small bowl, whisk to combine, and add half of the mixture to the pressure cooker. At this point, add the bourbon to the sauce. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is glossy and thickened, about 30 seconds (add more cornstarch mixture as necessary if you want a thicker sauce). Remove from the heat, add the reserved ribs, and turn to coat them in the sauce. Serve immediately.

The mashed potatoes were just your standard mash. Pan roasted garlic was added for extra flavor. Green beans were bought fresh, tossed in oil, salt and pepper, and then roasted on a flat pan in the oven. The salad was just plain arugula, tossed with pomegranate vinegar, lime zest and lemon zest. Then garnished with orange seprims coated with black pepper, and thin sliced red onion. We made a home-made focacia bread with garlic slices, red onion, and quartered calamata olives, although to compliment this meal better, we would leave off the olives next time.

Have fun with this one, it was absolutely delicious!

Sources:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/30305-pressure-cooker-cola-braised-beef-short-ribs

To the man in the orange suit! 1/4/2013

Roast Jamaican Chicken

Bonus points if you get the obscure movie reference in the title... Tonight we traveled across the ocean to the small island of Jamaica! Roast Jamaican Chicken and a salad dressing to die for. Sorry for the cover photo, I think my camera got possessed by JJ Abrams for the night. This recipe, again, we modified a bit, but is posted here exactly how we made it.

Entree:

• Roast Jamaican Chicken

Sides:

• Rice and Peas
• Coco Bread
• Mojo Cabbage Salad
• Fried Plantains

Roast Chicken:

Ingredients:

• 1 3lbs chicken, whole
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp salt
• Juice of 1 lime
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground clove
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 4 habeneros seeded
• 1 thumb length knuckle of ginger (about 1/4 cup) (unpeeled)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 small onion
• 3 tbsp brown sugar

Process:

Chicken with Marinade

1. Throw everything but the chicken into a blender. The larger items we chopped up first to get them to blend better. Don't worry about peeling the ginger, the skin goes in as well.
2. Blend till a nice puree. The final flavor should be salty when tasted.
3. Put chicken in a gallon ziplock bag along with the puree. Squish the bag around a bit to coat the chicken, and let sit for an hour, turning and squishing about every ten minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 500.
5. After the hours up, place the chicken in a glass baking dish and cover with the marinade.
6. Roast Chicken for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 450, and roast another 15 minutes. Reduce again to 425, basting with the drippings in the dish as you go. After about 10 minutes, scrape the marinade from the top of the chicken, to allow the skin to crisp a bit. Continue cooking at 425 until the internal temp reads 160, about 15-20 minutes or so.
7. Remove from oven and tent with foil for 5-10 minutes.

Out of the Oven!

The came out falling off the bone, and delicious! Probably a little spicy for most people, but was just right for us. Hot enough to wake up your taste buds, but not enough as to melt your lips off.

Fried plantains were super easy. We found super-ripe (black) plantains, and sliced them on the bias. Toss them into the deep frier until they are a golden brown. Remove them and let them cool. When you are ready to serve them, smash each chip till thin, and toss it back in the frier a second time until brown and crispy on the edges.

The mojo salad dressing turned out to be full of flavor with a  ton of citrus punch. The best part about it is it is completely fat free. No mayo or oil, just fruit and spices. We have a ton of ideas for uses with this one. The only things we did differently than the recipe is used two of the habenero tops to simmer in with it as it cooked, and added 1/2 lime of juice to it after it finished cooking. It gave the final dressing a nice kick. We mixed this with shredded cabbage and mandarin orange slices.

I was skeptical about the rice and peas. Looking at the ingredients (which ironically contained no peas), I wasn't sure how this would turn out. It turned out fantastic, but not for everyone's tastes. The final dish was VERY earthy in flavor. I really enjoyed it where Anna was a bit hesitant. However, it paired perfectly with the rest of the dish when eaten with a bite of the chicken and marinade. A bit of each layered on a chunk of Coco bread (ironically containing no coco) and the flavor profile was complete!

Sources:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-whole-roasted-chicken/
http://foodjamaica.net/2008/04/17/authentic-jerk-chicken/
http://www.cooklikeajamaican.com/rice-and-peas/
http://foodjamaica.net/2008/04/17/fried-plantains/
http://www.food.com/recipe/jamaican-coco-bread-97040
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=596238

A Taste of India 12/28/12

On the menu tonight: Chicken Korma!

After a wonderful Christmas where we received a couple of gifts to help round out our kitchen, we decided to put some to use and make one of our favorite cuisines. After a bit of searching, we decided on a new dish we hadn't done before, coupled with a few of our favorite sides.The recipe posted below is not the original, it was modified to fit our tastes a bit more.

Entree:

• Chicken Korma

Sides:

• Beef Simosas
• Roti
• Basmati Rice
• Mint Chutney

 

Chicken Korma:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into 2" pieces)
• 2 1/2 tbls butter
• 1 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 2 inches cinnamon stick
• 2 whole green cardamon pods
• 2 cloves
• 2 Indian bay leaves
• 1/2 tbls grated ginger
• 1/2 tbls grated garlic

Marinade ingredients:

• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 1/2 tbls chili powder
• 1/2 tbls red chili powder
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 2/3 cup fried onions (roughly 1 medium onion)

Process:

1. Chop onion into a fine dice, and saute over medium high heat with a bit of olive oil in a non stick pan until translucent and just starting to turn brown.
2. Mix all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl, add chicken, cover, and let sit for about an hour.
3. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat,  melt the butter and throw in the remaining ingredients. Stir fry for a minute or so until the whole spices become very fragrant. (this smells AMAZING!)
4. Add chicken and marinade to the pan, and continue to stir fry for about 10 min.
5. Reduce heat to medium low, cover the pan and continue to cook for about 30 min. Oil should be just starting to separate, chicken should be tender, and the sauce should be thickening.
6. Remove from heat and serve over a bed of Basmati Rice.
7. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

This dish quickly became one of our new favorites. We made a seasoned basmati rice using chicken stock, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder, but decided in the end it would have been better with just a plain basmati rice. Although it turned out absolutely delicious,  we thought it was missing a bright, citrus note. Garnishing with a squeeze of lime would fix that. Enjoy!

Sources:
http://rasamalaysia.com/chicken-korma/
http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/breads/r/roti.htm
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/baked-samosas-with-mint-chutney-recipe/index.html
http://www.samosa-recipe.com/Beef_Samosa.html