The Meatloaf Atonement

My family has never been served meatloaf because I forebade it.  When my wife's birthday came around this year the long-standing joke of making meatloaf came up.  I offered to cook anything she would like for her birthday dinner.

My wife's fond childhood memories of meatloaf on the dinner table are in direct contrast to my childhood experiences with the baked beef dish.  My frustrated mother ordered her picky son to, "put that bite of food in your mouth and go to bed!" after I sat for about three hours refusing to eat my dinner.  

I tucked that meatloaf between my cheek and gums, put on my pajamas and went to bed.  The next morning, it was still there.  (The horror - the horror)

Having learned a thing or two about cooking all these years later, I figured it was time to end the deprivation.  I needed to design a meatloaf recipe that would conjure the happy memories of her youth, while making something palatable enough to erase my past indiscretion.  

I am happy to announce this recipe will be served at our table again.  The kitchen laboratory at Chicks Dig Central was all smiles!  The dish was juicy and flavorful.  This was based on a recipe for mini cheeseburgers from the Morton's Steak Bible (http://www.amazon.com/Mortons-Steak-Bible-Legendary-Steakhouse/dp/1400097940)  .

photo from Morton's website http://www.mortons.com/menu/barbites/

I give you:  The Meatloaf Atonement...

1 1/4 lb ground sirloin

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 med onion, diced

4-5 white mushrooms, sliced

1 tbs minced garlic

2 eggs

6 tbs tomato juice

1/4 cup each: grated parmesan, panko bread crumbs

1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp fresh pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees, and saute onion, garlic, mushrooms 5 - 6 minutes, let cool.

Add onion mixture and all other ingredients to large bowl and gently mix using your hands.

Place in loaf pan and bake 45 minutes.

Pour off fat and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve with a juicy shiraz.  Then put on your pajamas and go to bed, you good boy!

Affligem Tripel - Like Raiders of the Lost Ark

(photo from http://greatbrewers.com/product/affligem-tripel)

This is a beer for adventurous types - guys can channel their inner Indiana Jones and ladies, their inner Marion Ravenwood.  Stay with me here...

First, the beer - the bottle is caged and corked (like a champagne - cool!) and the pour is somewhat cloudy.  For a tripel (meaning three times the malt is used in the brewing process) my expectation was a chocolate-dark color.  Silly me; it's only a couple shades darker than Blahblahblah Light.  The aroma is chalky pear, and circus taffy.  The sweetness surprises, and while the balanced bitterness of the hops is present initially, it fades quickly to be follow by the aggressive alcohol pushing its way to the front of the line.

Pair this delicious, sweet, boozy brew with spicy chili for contrast and balance and you've got all the makings of a fun adventure worthy of Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Indiana Jones is going to love the chili's heat and Marion will be enticed by the sweetness (but you'll recall she can handle her alcohol!)

Chili needs meat and lots of it.  So put a pound of skirt steak and a pound of pork sausage in a big pot with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and brown the meat on medium high.  Stir often.  Drain most of the fat out and add a whole bunch of stuff: 4 or 5 Tablespoons minced garlic, one chopped onion, 2 chopped jalapeno peppers, 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, a handful of chopped black olives, 2 stalks of chopped celery, one can pinto beans, one small can roasted chiles (chopped).

See, the cool thing about this is you can add a ton of stuff and make it any way you like it.  Olives suck in your book, screw ‘em; want some red onion instead, toss it in.  Notice I said 4 or 5 tablespoons of garlic.  Not precise measurements, cuz it’s YOUR thing, not mine.

Moving on to some spices.  Gotta have some of this good stuff in there and people freak out about this part, so I’ll be a little more exact, but feel free to screw around with it. 

Add in 3 Tablespoons chili powder, 1 Tablespoon paprika, 1 Tablespoon cumin, 1 Tablespoon oregano, 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste, oh yeah, and one can beer.

Turn the heat down to low and put the cover on.  You want to simmer this stuff for a couple hours, so some back and stir it every once in a while.  If you like your chili a little thicker, you can add a little corn meal (like a half teaspoon at a time) stir it around and check the thickness.  I saw the corn meal trick on TV once.  It actually works well.

You can serve the chili in big bowls with some chopped raw onion, grated cheese, sour cream, Tabasco sauce, all on the side.  Lots of cold beer, too.  Don’t forget the beer.  

A Beer Review with a Recipe!

It always amuses me when I ask my dad what he'd like to drink.  His answer is usually "anything cold and wet" which is interesting because that's what a dog's nose is when the pup is healthy.  Now, one would think beer drinkers need no help in tasting beer.  If you are tapping a keg of Blahblahblah Light you probably don't even care.  If it's like a dog's nose (cold, wet) then yup - it's good.  But when pouring a craft beer, you deserve to experience more.  Some thoughts then on tasting your next fine brew...

Pour beer into a clean glass.  Debris and residue that you may not see can interfere with taste and can actually cause the beer to go flat prematurely.

Let the foam rise and settle just a bit.  That's sexy.  Now, just like sampling wine, put your nose in the glass and give it a good sniff.  Likely you'll first notice the presence of hops imparting a floral, spicy, or citrus smell.  The malt in the beer will come after, bringing grassy, grainy, or chocolate notes.

Now it's time to take a sip - let the beer sit in your mouth for a bit.  You're checking the mouthfeel.  Is it thick or light?  Creamy or thin?  You may even notice a metallic or silky feel.  When you swallow, what do you pick up first?  Sweet, sour, salty or bitter are good starts, but what else?  Clove, honey, butterscotch, coffee, grass, leather?

Finally, how about the finish?  Quick?  Lingering?  The length of the finish is an important quality of the whole beer delicious-osity.

Rogue's very popular Dead Guy Ale is a bold and balanced craft brew in the style of a German Maibock.  The pour shows a big tan head with a cloudy, deep honey colored beer.  The aroma is forward with floral notes and citrus from Rogue's Pacman Yeast and Saaz hops.  A creamy, silky mouthfeel gets you started enjoying this beer with flavors of caramel and cocoa.  What really sets this beer apart however is the balance of the hops and malt.  It has a finish as long as a Baptist sermon.  The bitterness of the hops lingers but is not overpowering.  Do yourself a favor and serve this a little warmer than your typical beer.  You will be rewarded with a hint of banana and clove in the finish that are lost at cooler temperatures.

Serve Rogue Dead Guy Ale with contrasting food to really wow your friends.  Bring this beer to the party with Jalapeno Pie or spicy pork sandwiches.

Get a jar of whole jalapeno peppers.  Chop the tops off so the tough stem isn’t there.  Then slice the pepper lengthwise in half.  Scrape the seeds out of the middle of each one so you don’t have a killer pie.  Do not touch your face or any other sensitive part of your anatomy after handling jalapenos!  Just saying…

Spray a shallow baking dish or a pie plate with cooking spray and place the sliced pepper halves in the bottom.  Now beat a couple of eggs in a separate bowl and pour those over the jalapeno peppers.  Sprinkle one cup of grated cheddar cheese over that.  Want more, okay, go a little more.  It’s your thing dude. 

Bake that in the oven at 325 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Let it cool and then cut it into wedges for serving.  

Dinner In A Bowl

IT'S DINNER!  IN A BOWL!

Nothing will take you back to your childhood (or happy altered-state college days) like eating a meal out of a bowl.  You can't help but smile a little thinking about being the first one to open up a new box of Fruity Pebbles and pouring that nice cold milk over those rainbow colored crispy bits of happiness.  It is amazing however that kids these days have NO FREAKIN' IDEA who the Flintstones are - and yet they sell the crap outta that cereal.

Other GRRREAT!!!(pardon my Tony the Tiger) things come in bowls: ice-cream, chicken noodle soup,and chili just to name a few.  Let's turn it up to 11 here and have Dinner In A Bowl!

One of the ideas we like at home is the burrito in a bowl concept which I BORROWED from a restaurant chain that rhymes with Chip-Oh-Tlay.  But, check this out, you can change up the flavors and make it Mediterranean or Italian or Whateverian.

So typically you will have a starch like rice - well change it up amigo!  Change it up!  (But Doug, change is hard...)  Yeah, I know, change is hard - dollar bills are soft.  Which one do you like?  Uh huh, thought so.

Burrito = rice, beans, meat, cheese, onions, etc.

Dinner in a bowl turned up to 11 = tater tots, grilled steak, blue cheese and red wine, mushrooms sauce.

Or how about couscous, shrimp, cucumber, tomatoes, with dill and white wine-dijon dressing.

I am so doing this!!  And I am serving it to friends and they are going to love it and you will too!  (Shit Doug, calm down now...)  pant, pant, pant... okay Dude, sorry...  calming down.

Hey, if you like this stuff, and you like chicks digging you (and who wouldn't?)  subscribe to my blog!  If you're the first new subscriber, send me an email and I will send you a free copy of the book.  (I know, it's crazy how much I care about you!  I'm getting all emotional...)

You've Got To Be Kidding

Fall is here and I'm getting back into the kitchen.  Learned some new stuff that needs to be shared.  It's about soup.  Making soup from scratch versus opening a can.  Specifically you should know that opening a can is NOT going to get you chicks.

I have searched through numerous cookbooks and recipes online and discovered something amazing.  There are no recipes for soup.

"Shut the hell up Doug, I know for a damn fact that soup recipes exist."

Yes, my friend you are right, and I'm curious about your inner rage, but never mind that.  What I learned is that there is no ONE recipe for soup.  This was astounding to me.

Here at Chicks Dig Central there was a request for "Butternut Squash Soup" from Mrs. Chick.  Knowing that the Digging Me One would be quite happy to have butternut squash soup show up on the table on a cool autumn day, I decided to look for some ideas.

My usual modus operandi is to fire up all things Google and see what looks good (and what we might have in the fridge).  Imagine my surprise when the recipe lists for butternut squash soup contained anywhere from three ingredients to twenty-three ingredients!  Some of the recipes even had duck feathers!  Just kidding.

Looking at all the different options for making one soup was a bit puzzling, but it didn't take long to realize that some chefs put their own spin on a dish (or in this case a bowl).  I looked at other recipes for varying soups and found the same thing.  But, (here's the cool part) there are some common approaches to making one soup base and changing it up to be several happy endings in a warm, comforting bowl.

The Test Kitchen at Dig This Headquarters has been all abuzz with the institution of "Soup Sundays".  Starting with leeks, potatoes and chicken broth, we have made: Leek and Potato Soup (duhhh...), Watercress Soup, Spinach Bisque, and the afore mentioned Butternut Squash Soup.

Want some?  It's pretty easy...  Start with trimming 3 leeks (just the white or lightest green part) and 2 medium sized peeled potatoes chopped up.  Saute those in oil for 5 minutes, then pour in 64 ounces of chicken broth.  Simmer that for 20 minutes and blend it all up to make it nice and smooth.  Put it back into the pot to simmer for another 20 minutes so all that flavor can get happy together.  Taste it and you'll see it needs salt and pepper.  Add a little bit (teaspoon of salt, couple dashes of pepper) and taste it again.

You just made leek and potato soup.  It's really good.  You're getting veggies and comfort.  Serve it with bread and you can make that a meal.  I did the leek and potato soup and added shredded cheese and crumbled bacon to the bowl and it was freakin awesome!

Add peeled butternut squash before you do the simmer part and you've got butternut squash soup.  (I cut up the squash and scooped out the seeds.  Then put it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes first.  Makes it easier to deal with.)

It's easy, it's tasty, and chicks dig that.

Lemme know what you think...