Artisan Bread From a Dutch Oven (Gluten Free)

I will give credit where credit is due.  I did not want to make this recipe.  In fact, I was pretty sure that even if I followed their instructions to the letter, it wasn't going to come out right.  During the whole process, which took every bit of 4-1/2 hours, it was doubtful that I was even going to have something edible. But when the moment of truth arrived, I had to admit I was wrong.  This was a very good loaf of bread! It was rustic and pretty.  It had a crunchy crust and a soft, fluffy interior.  It tasted delicious.  And it was made with a gluten-free baking flour.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

With many refinements to the original recipe I published in March 2016, I am re-posting this easy and delicious beef stew recipe, and if ever there were a dish meant to be cooked in a crock pot, it's beef stew.  Just toss everything in, let it cook for about eight hours and you're good to go.  There are three tips I use that will be sure to get you there on time:

• Cut your beef and vegetables about the same size, more or less in one-inch cubes.
• Pre-heat the crock pot for at least thirty minutes by filling it with hot tap water, put the lid on it and turning the temperature setting to "high."
• Bring all the liquid contents of the recipe to a boil in a saucepan before adding it to the rest of the dry ingredients in the pre-heated crock pot.

If you're in a hurry and don't have eight hours, then bring everything to a boil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan before adding to the pre-heated crock pot.  That will cut the cooking time down to 5-6 hours.

Tequila Marinated London Broil

This was the first recipe I posted on my blog in March, 2009, which was then called The Family Recipe Cookbook. I posted this recipe because I had just made it and was rather proud of myself for having taken a lowly cut of flank steak and raised it to something more sublime. I don't remember the origin of this recipe but it is eclectic, to be sure, using tequila from Mexico combined with Asian flavors of teriyaki sauce and sesame oil.

And then there's the name: London Broil.

Beef Stroganov with Poppy Seed Noodles

This is an edited re-post of one of my first recipes to publish when I started this recipe blog in March of 2009.  It was one of the first recipes I posted because it was one of the first recipes I learned to make. My mother taught me how to make this dish abetting my enthusiasm when she first served it. That was sometime when I was maybe 12-13 years old. I've made this recipe since then so many times, I almost don't need the written version in front of me, cooking it from memory.

Steak and Brie Enchiladas

I created a Leftover Steak Enchiladas recipe, found here, that admittedly wasn't really culinary art - it was just a clever way to re-purpose leftover rib eye steak.  This recipe has a bit more panache and can be made with either leftover beef filets or freshly cooked beef tenderloin steaks.  If the latter, simply broiling the steak to medium rare would work just fine.  If the former, hopefully you've had the good sense to cook them no more than medium rare, and the steak may be used in this recipe out of the fridge from there.

Mexican Rice

This is a recipe for Mexican Rice, not to be confused with Spanish Rice.  They're similar, but they are not the same.  I've explained the differences between the two culinary creations in my version of Spanish Rice, found here. This version of Mexican Rice was a great accompaniment to a delicious creation of mine, Steak & Brie Enchiladas, which can be found here.

Authentic Mexican Rice uses a tomato-chicken bouillon.  So far, I haven't been able to find it in the Hispanic section of my local grocery stores, which I find strange because they are both extensive sections serving a large Hispanic population in these parts.  I'll resort to an Internet purchase, but in the meantime, this recipe uses chicken broth and tomato sauce for the same flavor profile.

Barbecued Brisket Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Mexican Cole Slaw

Some refinements in this recipe since I originally posted it in March 2023 necessitates a few edits and re-posting.

A stuffed pepper in Spanish is call a "relleno."  This is not to be confused with a specific, classic Tex-Mex dish called Chilies Relleno, which typically is batter dipped and deep fried after stuffing. I've already posted a couple of stuffed pepper recipes, notably, Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers, found here, and a side dish of Cheesy Anaheim Peppers, found here.  But if you have some leftover barbecued beef brisket, this is a great way to finish it off.  If you don't have any leftover beef brisket, you can get to work on it by following my recipe here.

Shrimp & Grits

I originally posted this recipe in 2013, but recently made some modifications in ingredients and technique, so it was time for a re-post.  Shrimp & Grits is a time-honored recipe of the deep South, particularly the low country of South Carolina, but the Cajuns of New Orleans have made it their own. Truth is, there are as many variations of this dish as there are cooks that make it.  Once you're past the shrimp and grits part, the rest is left to the culinary imagination.  However, I think most everyone agrees the grits should have cheese in them; the shrimp should be accompanied by onion; contain some form of pork fat: bacon, country ham or in this case, pancetta; and certainly, the dish should be rich, spicy with a modicum of heat. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

A Trio of Summertime Cucumber Salads

Although they're available year round, at least in these parts, cucumbers seem to represent the arrival of summer perhaps because they originated in the steamy regions of South Asia, India and Thailand and later to the warm Mediterranean basin. In Briton and later in the US, cucumbers were a staple of household summertime vegetable gardens.  In the US today, they are grown in hot houses - hence their year round availability. But backyard gardens here and there will still celebrate the arrival of summer with a basket or two of these members of the Cucurbitaceae family, a fruit-bearing plant that include melons, squash and pumpkins.  Yes, technically the cucumber is a fruit, but they are eaten as vegetables and an essential ingredient of any garden salad.

I thought that since today is the Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere and the astronomical arrival of summer, it would be a good day to post three cucumber recipes I've made over the years.  This is further to another cucumber recipe created specifically for Korean Style Short Rib Tacos with Cucumber Slaw, found here.

Gas Grill Smoked Chicken Hindquarters

There is something extra delicious about a chicken hindquarter or leg quarters as they are sometimes called.  This is where the butcher leaves the chicken thigh and drumstick attached.  They are perfect for the outdoor grill.  Because of their combined girth, they stand up to a hot grill better than they would as individual pieces and are less likely to dry out.  This recipe is more about technique than a recipe per se, giving the cook a lot of latitude in what preparations to use. But follow my technique and the hindquarters will come out perfectly every time.

The Short Rib Repository

I love short ribs.  They are a very rich, special dish that can be prepared in a variety of ways.  Here are quick links to ones I've created:

Short Ribs and Cheese Grits
Easy Crock Pot Short Ribs
Braised Short Ribs

Roasted Beef Short Ribs
Korean Style Short Rib Tacos with Cucumber Slaw
Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs
Beef Short Ribs and Tomato Ragoût
Beer Braised Short Ribs on Cheddar Mashed Yukons

 

Bon Appétit!

 

Sloppy Joe Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is a re-post of a recipe I first posted in 2015 with some modifications that I've made since then.  I have no idea where I got the recipe, but I filed it away for some time before I tried it.  Stuffed bell peppers were a staple on our table when I was growing up.  I suspect that was because bell peppers were cheap and my dad even grew them in our backyard garden in the summer.  The ground beef pepper stuffing was always augmented with some kind of starch, usually rice, although my mom on occasion would use Quaker oats.  The idea, of course, was to extend the reach of the priciest ingredient: the ground beef.  But to be sure, the peppers were always green and were always hollowed out from the top.

Crock Pot Pinto Beans

There is something comforting about a pot of beans on the stove, cooking down all day.  Comforting, yes, but not necessarily relaxing.  Tending to a simmering pot of anything on a stove requires vigilance and regular attention.  That's why crock pot cooking is such a joy.  Set it and forget it.  About the only chore you might have is turning the heat switch from high to low once the crock pot gets things to a simmer.

This recipe was originally posted along side my Crock Pot Chili recipe, found here.  But I decided to pull out the pinto bean recipe and give it its own much deserved post.

Mango-Peach Chutney

I made this dish from scratch because I was having some difficulty finding the quintessential Anglo-Indian chutney in my neighborhood grocery stores, Cross & Blackwell's Major Grey's Chutney. You've probably seen it because it is the most popular US brand of chutney, allegedly from an officer in Her Majesty's nineteenth century British Army in occupied India who developed the chutney and sold the recipe to Cross & Blackwell. No one seems to know if this is really true, but what is true is that Cross & Blackwell, a company established in 1830, acquired from a company founded over a century earlier that specialized in pickles, sauces and condiments, had the original proprietary recipe of Major Grey's Chutney that features a flavor profile characteristic of onion, mango, raisins, tamarind, sweetening and spices.

Roasted Spicy Boneless Chicken Thighs with Crunchy Asian Slaw

This is a re-post of a recipe I originally made in 2015 and on this occasion, I specifically made it to be accompanied not only by the titular Crunchy Asian Slaw, but also with a homemade Peach-Mango Chutney I created, the recipe for which can be found here.

I originally found this chicken recipe while searching the Internet (with apologies for not making note of the original author), but it was heavily modified based on the ingredients I had on hand. I used a store-bought salad dressing called, Naturally Fresh Ginger Dressing. On this occasion, however, I used a bottle of Newman's Own Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing and was equally happy with the results.  Any brand of ginger-based salad dressing or marinade will work well, however.

Mother's Day French Toast Casserole

I only titled this as a Mother's Day casserole because I made it, in fact, on Mother's Day, along with my Eggs Benedict Casserole with Hollandaise Sauce, found here. It will be a memorable casserole because it was a memorable Mother's Day.  My Number One Fan and I found out that we're going to be grandparents for the second time.  And, to boot, we can expect a grandson this time around, to serve as little brother to "Big Sis" with whom we've fallen hopelessly in love these past 21 months.

Roasted Beef Short Ribs

This is a revised beef short rib recipe I originally created in 2016.  I've made a number of ingredient improvements and technique refinements that necessitated an update.

Almost all short rib recipes have one thing in common: they're cooked in liquid, or "braised" using culinary terminology.  Some of these recipes also call for two cooking procedures by browning the ribs in hot oil before braising.  While there are times when going to all that trouble is no trouble at all, I was searching for a way to cook short ribs that would deliver the rich, caramelized, beefy goodness without so much effort.  This was a way to steam-braise the ribs until tender, and then roast them in the last hour of cooking to create that caramelized deliciousness.

You'll have to be a little creative to make this work, however.

Irish Soda Bread

I'm not sure that the origination of this recipe is from Ireland. One website I reviewed suggested that this form of bread came from Native Americans where it has allegedly been documented they used Pearl Ash, a natural soda formed from the ashes of burnt wood to make bread.  The author suggested that the Irish somehow found out about this and started using bicarbonate of soda to make bread following their potato crop devastation in the 1840s.  This sounds like nonsense to me.  Just how did the Irish have recipe reciprocity with Native American tribes?  And where is it documented that Native Americans made bread from wheat? The carbohydrate of choice among Native Americans, like their South American cousins, was corn, not wheat. Wheat was an old world crop that did not, in fact, find its way to the Caribbean or to either of the American continents until the Colombian Exchange after the late fifteenth century.  So it is highly unlikely that the Irish got their inspiration for this bread from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It more likely came from somewhere closer to home.

Skillet Asian Fried Rice

I have other Asian fried rice recipes, of course, like, Korean Style Fried Rice (Maybe), Year of the Tiger Forbidden Fried Rice,  and Chinese Fried Rice as part of A Chinese Dinner - Part Duex. 

But on this occasion, I was in the mood for a quick, easy, fried rice recipe and didn't want to rig up my stainless steel, Szechwan-style wok to make it, and I didn't want any leftovers. I threw this together based on what I had on hand.

Banana Avocado Nut Bread

During the 2020 CoVid lock-downs, I came up with a low carb version of banana avocado nut bread made with almond flour and a couple of over-ripe bananas.  It was sorta okay the first time I made it, but the second time something went wrong and it just would not set up no matter how many extra minutes in the oven I gave it. I'm guessing that through the CoVid fog, I might have left something out.

Yesterday, I completely revised the recipe without the low carb approach, using all-purpose flour.  It came out beautifully, and so I am re-posting this recipe without the low-carb moniker. I am baking at an altitude above 5,000 feet, so if you're closer to sea level, the loaf will not take quite as long to cook through.

Jamaican Pork Roast with Pickapeppa Gravy

This is an update to a recipe originally posted in early 2012 but the recipe itself is at least a decade older than that.  I don't remember the inspiration for this dish, but it was one of my preferred methods for preparing a pork shoulder roast.  I made it for My Number One Fan several times and it was a favorite of hers.  Then, we sorta forgot about it.  Some time later, I resurrected and published it to Kitchen Tapestry for posterity.  I've modified the recipe over time, so it was time to update.

Oven Fried Chicken Tenders

Here's the thing and there's really no way of getting around it:  if you want honest-to-god, Southern-style, crispy fried chicken, you're going to have to deep fry it. Period.  Not in an airfryer; not in an oven or in a convection oven; but in a cast iron skillet, a Dutch oven or a deep fryer appliance with about three inches of 375°F vegetable oil.  There is no other way.

But you can get close.  Very close.  Lord knows, I've been trying and have some pretty good recipes for a reasonable facsimile of fried chicken, including:

• Low Carb Oven Pan Fried Chicken
• The Ultimate Oven Fried Chicken Wings
• Low Carb Airfryer Fried Chicken
• Airfried Boneless Chicken Thighs
  

Andouille Sausage Hush Puppies with Cajun Mayo Dipping Sauce

Further to the post, Gadget Grub, here's a recipe I made with another kitchen gadget, a Fry Daddy Deep Fat Fryer that My Number One Fan gave me perhaps five years ago which I never got around to using.  Deep fried foods is something not routinely on my diet and to be honest, I was a little intimidated by using a deep fryer.  My parents had one when I was growing up and I recall my dad getting splashed with hot grease one time while frying some shrimp.  It was a scary moment, however, the shrimp were delicious and my dad was not severely injured beyond his pride. But still, it left an indelible impression.

Shrimp Creole

In honor of Mardi Gras week, this is a revised recipe originally posted in 2009.  I've made several modifications including paring down the quantity for serving 6-8 people.  My earlier recipe would have easily served 10-12. The original recipe also called for two cups of shrimp stock, made by boiling the shells and tails in water with onions, celery and some seasonings for a hour.  Having made this recipe numerous times using store-bough chicken stock, I cannot tell any difference in flavor that justifies this additional task, so I have modified the ingredients accordingly.

Gadget Grub

An Airfryer and a Crock Pot are two indispensable cooking gadgets that you can do without, but the culinary world is a whole lot richer with them in it.  Once, the same could be said about a microwave, but the microwave oven became elevated way beyond gadget status in the '80s to where there are few households today without one, and aisles upon aisles of products at your neighborhood grocer are dedicated to foodstuffs cooked in virtually no other fashion.  Does anyone make Jiffy-Pop popcorn anymore?  Only around a campfire.

Tater Tot Sausage Casserole

I've written about this before, but it irks me that there are food bloggers out there who quite obviously, once you attempt their recipe, never actually made it themselves or else they are just immensely stupid.  Case in point with this recipe, inspired by a website called thesouthernladycooks.com.  This is an enormous casserole, easily able to feed six hungry people, using two pounds of Tater Tots, two pounds of sausage and nearly a dozen eggs, yet the author steadfastly insists all of this and more will fit into a 9" x 13" baking dish.  Balderdash!  I had to change cooking vessels mid-stream, and altered the recipe to add more eggs. You need a 10" x 15" Pyrex casserole dish at the very least, the kind that is just 2" high.

Hot Buttered Rum

It took a snowy day for me to learn how to make a hot buttered rum.  It's really very simple, but requires a little patience, mostly to allow time for the butter to come to room temperature. If you're in a hurry, then I suppose a zap or two in the microwave oven would do the trick.  Make sure you're using a premium dark rum, like Pyrat XO Reserve or Myers's Dark.

Classic Cheese Fondue

It seems fondue is having something of a resurgence in popularity these days and like everything else over which the Internet food bloggers become aflutter, there are tons of variations, many of which seem to originate from over-zealous, would-be culinarians vying online for a few more revenue-producing website click-throughs to Amazon links. And while there are a few who get it right, inspiration for my recipe comes straight from the marketing department of Cuisinart, maker of the electric fondue pot I was given for Christmas by My Number One Fan.

Asian Pork Roast with Napa Slaw

This is a re-post of a recipe that I recreated in 2009 while on a low carb diet. It was a Sunday and I wanted something that I could be cooking down all day while I lounged about the house.  I really wanted a beef pot roast, but potatoes and carrots were not on my diet and I had a pork shoulder roast on hand that I needed to use, so I concocted this dish with an Asian flare that includes traditional Chinese ingredients of soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil and shallots. I've made it several times and every time I do, I wonder why I don't make it more often.  I have revised the method of preparing this roast by adding back the gravy thickening ingredient as flour, rather than egg yolks, as originally prepared.  However, I've retained Splenda as a sweetener because I don't like to add sugar to my diet.  You can substitute brown sugar for Splenda.

Tamale Pie

My Number One Fan was excited to make this dish for me, finding it on the-girl-who-ate-everything website, one of the many food bloggers she follows in order to occasionally present various recipes to me for inspiration.  The concept here is to take those ingredients from a beef tamale and reassemble them in a casserole fashion for considerably less work than actually making tamales.  And unless you are living in a Hispanic family with a Mexican Mamacita, it is unlikely that you make or have ever made tamales. They are intensely laborious.

Southern Pecan Pie with Texas Whiskey Whipped Cream

My Number One Fan is decidedly Southern.  I was born and raised in Texas.  We've had debates about whether or not Texas is truly Southern. Granted, Texas joined the Confederacy at the onset of the Civil War, but that doesn't mean it shares the same culture as one might find in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana or Mississippi. For one thing, slavery was not allowed in all parts of Texas and Governor Sam Houston was a staunch Unionist who opposed secession.  But secede it did, for a second time.  Texas is called the Lone Star State because it was, in fact, its own country following its independence from Mexico in 1836 and until being annexed to the United States in 1846.  An independent spirit has always been at the kernel of the Heart of Texas and the state is so large that it doesn't really embody one, specific culture.  

Cranberry Brie Bites

This is a recipe that is more assembly instruction than it is culinary preparation, but it is unique, delicious and will surely make as big a hit with your guests as it did with mine.  The cranberry topping obviously lends itself well to an hors d'oeuvres best served around Thanksgiving or Christmas time, but no one would object if you served them before an Easter brunch or a Independence Day barbecue.

Chicken & Rice Casserole (No Labor Version)

What good family recipe blog wouldn't have a basic can-o-dis chicken & rice casserole recipe? In fact, this one does, since 2016.  Looking for a way to prepare leftovers from my Easy Breezy Roast Chicken and Rice, posted in 2015 and found here, I created a recipe that reminded me of the potluck suppers I would go to with my mom as a kid in the late '50s and early '60s that were either church or Cub Scout related. In fact, I called that recipe Potluck Chicken and Rice Casserole, found here. It's a good, basic casserole recipe, but it requires preparation time that includes cooking the rice in advance and sautéing the onions and celery before anything is assembled as a casserole or put in the oven.

Baked Acorn Squash with Dried Cranberry Brandy Sauce

I cannot think of a dish the screams autumn like this one does, and it really hits on all cylinders.  It's easy, elegant, visually appealing and delicious.  I found this recipe after searching for fall/autumn dinner side dishes and made few modifications if any, but I didn't make note of its original creator.  This accompanied a dinner that included my Mini Meatloaf Rings, found here, and Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin, found here, in a menu created for a family dinner right after the Autumnal Equinox and titled, "Fall is in the Air." This recipe provides four portions, but you'll have sauce leftover and so you can easily prepare more squash if needed.  If you have particularly large acorn squash, cut them into quarters.

Smothered Crock Pot Cube Steaks in Brown Gravy

I've previously written about Swiss Steak, which uses tough cuts of top round or top sirloin beef that have been put through a butcher shop's meat tenderizer and sold as "cube steaks" or "minute steaks." My recipe for Swiss Steak can be found here. Tenderizing in this manner means that the meat is pierced and punctured to make it less tough, which becomes still more tender when braised over a long period of time, the way Swiss Steak should be made.

"Oven Barbecued" Beef Brisket

This is a revision and re-post of my oven-barbecued brisket recipe that I originally published in 2009, because many perfections have been made over the last decade or so.  I've discovered after all this time that simplification of preparation and use of ingredients has yielded better results.

You may think that "oven barbecue" is an oxymoron, and you would be correct. Barbecue means slow cooking over relatively low heat during a long period of time with intermittent use of smoke, mostly hickory but cherry and apple woods are not uncommon.  Barbecue cooked indoors in an oven without smoke isn't technically barbecue.

Hot German Potato Salad

The Germans, like most of Europe, didn't accept the potato as human foodstuffs until a couple of hundred years ago, even though it had found its way to the continent through Spanish conquests of the New World a couple of centuries before that.  It took a lot of cross-breeding and experimentation to get the potato as we know it today before it became accepted as human food and apparently, Frederick the Great was largely responsible for its adoption. When cool, wet summers destroyed wheat crops in the mid-eighteenth century, Fred saw the lowly tuber as a means to feed his army and in 1754 issued a proclamation that farmers were to begin to plant and harvest potatoes for human consumption.  

Slow Cooked Beer Braised Short Ribs on Cheddar Mashed Yukons

This will be my eighth beef short rib recipe to post on Kitchen Tapestry as I am always looking for ways to balance flavor and preparation of this delicious beef cut with minimal effort.  Here is a post that includes links to all of my Short Ribs Recipes, which I call the Short Rib Repository.

One of the things I've learned is that briefly sautéing short ribs in hot oil prior to roasting or braising them, the latter being the preferred method of preparing an otherwise tough cut of beef, produces something known as the Maillard reaction. It's been so named after the French scientist who in 1912 first described the chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars to create melanoidins, the compounds which give browned food its distinctive flavor. In culinary parlance, this is simply known as "browning."

Asian Braised Baby Bok Choy

Bok choy is a cruciferous vegetable, related to Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.  In fact, it is cabbage that originated in China.  The only recipe thus far in which I use bok choy is in my Pork & Mushroom Lo Mein Recipe, found here, and it is an invaluable contributor to the success of that recipe's texture and flavor profile.

Miso Glazed Salmon with Chinese Butter Fruit Dressing

Inspiration for this dish came from another recipe that at first blush might look very similar, Broiled Salmon with Avocado Cream Sauce, found here.  Aside from the titular ingredients being alike, the two recipes are very different in terms of the flavors, textures and degree of unami (a Japanese word that describes an indescribable savoriness).  

"Butter Fruit," or 黄油水果 in simplified Chinese, is what we know as an avocado.  As recently reported in the Financial Times, "Avocado imports soar as China develops a taste for butter fruit..unheard of a few years ago...driven by demand from its burgeoning health-conscious middle-class...."

Grilled Cheese Hot Dog Sandwiches

Okay, allow me to go off the rails in terms of culinary art.  This is not culinary art.  This would more likely qualify as Waffle House fare (and I do not mean that in a derogatory sense - I happen to like Waffle House fare a great deal).  But this blog is as much of a family recipe cookbook as it is a public recipe source and I feel like this absolutely delicious sandwich deserves a mention because my family loves 'em.  It started as a simple grilled cheese sandwich, and if you omit the hot dogs, that's what you'll have - a simple grilled cheese sandwich and the absolutely perfect way to construct it.  Add the hot dogs and you have something akin to, well, carnival eats.  I shan't apologize any further.  Here it is for posterity's sake.

Ausonia Appetizer

I had a lot of difficulty coming up with a name for this dish.  I feel sure I'll revisit it in the future with revisions because of its versatility and endless possibilities. Technically, this is a "can-o-dis" recipe because its basis is a refrigerated, canned roll of Pillsbury pizza crust dough.  I know that any proud Sicilian, denizen of Rome or even a New Yorker would condemn me in the strongest possible terms for using such an abomination of industrialized, processed foodstuffs, but I don't care.  There are other ways to make a decent pizza crust, but none easier, and I'm as much an old man as I am a proud culinarian. This is delicious.  Prove me wrong.

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore with Parmesan Polenta

This is an update to a recipe originally published in 2013.  "Cacciatore" means "Hunter" in Italian, so Chicken Hunter-Style is what this original recipe was all about and in its traditional form, it is a time-consuming dish to make.  Chicken pieces are dredged in flour and skillet fried, then placed in a stewing pot with tomatoes, mushrooms and herbs for a period of time until done, served with rice, pasta or as is presented here, polenta.  In the South, this method of preparation would be called "smothered," and more likely served along side mashed potatoes.

The Salad Dressing Repository

 

Originally posted in 2010, this salad dressing repository has been updated with many more recipes I've created over the years.  I basically use two kinds of salad dressing: mine and Paul Newman's when I am too lazy to make my own. Newman's is made the way I would make it at home, with no preservatives or stuff with unpronounceable names. It has olive, vegetable and canola oils, red wine and distilled vinegars, onion, spices, salt, garlic and lemon juice.  I'd skip any oil other than olive oil if I were making it from scratch, but the Newman Foundation was obviously trying to keep their production costs low.

Leftover Steak Enchiladas

I never quite know what to do with leftover steak, whether it has been brought home from our favorite neighborhood steakhouse, or the uneaten portion of rib eyes grilled on my Weber. I've tried zapping them in the microwave briefly to munch on as a snack.  But I'm never happy with the results.  After all, if the steak was perfectly cooked before, any further heat will only serve to cook it beyond that very small spectrum of steak deliciousness. So, somewhere along the way, I got the idea of throwing together some enchiladas, where overdone beef is almost a prerequisite.

My Number One Fan's Butter Baked Potato

I've said this before, but the great thing about the Internet is that you can find a lot of information in a nanosecond.  The bad thing about the Internet is that there is a lot of misinformation written by stupid, misinformed people who pass off their opinions as fact.  Take any recipe that says it is "The Best Whatever," or "The Perfect This or That." Or the most egregious of hyperbole, "The World's Best....".

Food is - quite literally - a matter of personal taste. So any adjective to describe its relative favored position is entirely subjective. The only "Number One" in the name of this recipe is it in its origin - this is the way My Number One Fan has been making baked potatoes in our household for years.  And I can say without equivocation, this is the best baked potato I've ever had.  That's not to say it's the best baked potato that you will ever have; it may or may not be and honestly, I don't really care.  But man oh man, is there ever an Internet controversy over her baking method.  You see, [cue the suspenseful orchestral riff], she bakes her potatoes in aluminum foil.

Summer Shrimp Salad or Shrimp Po'Boy

This is a revision of a shrimp salad recipe I created in 2010. While originally it was meant to be made with jumbo shrimp (U-15s) and served on a bed of cold, crisp greens, it also makes a wonderful filling for a shrimp po'boy when using small bay shrimp.

Green Bean & Wild Rice Casserole

This is a real can-o-dis casserole recipe that is easy to throw together, but time consuming if only because wild rice takes a good hour or more to properly cook.  You could add shredded rotisserie chicken, ground turkey or even ground beef to make this a complete one-dish dinner, however on this occasion it served as an accompaniment to leftover Bacon Lattice Wrapped Meatloaf, the recipe for which can be found here.