Nashville hot chicken recipe

• Kitchen Items
• Mixing bowl
• Saucepan (for frying)
• Basting brush or mixing spatula
• Hot chicken paste
• 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp lard or shortening
• 3 Tbsp cayenne
• 3 pinches sugar
• 3/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Fried chicken
• Self rising flour
• Chicken breast
• Frying oil of choice
• Hot chicken sandwich
• White bread
• Pickles
• Begin by washing the chicken. Then dredge it through the self rising flour, covering thoroughly. Heat oil until flour sizzles. Fry chicken until golden brown. Mix all ingredients for paste, microwaving the lard to make it easier to mix. To make sandwich, coat chicken on both sides with paste. Place on bread and cover with pickles.

Nashville hot chicken recipe source (link)

Damn look over there...what a hot piece of chicken

Not too much discussion needed before this week's food. Fried chicken seems to be a staple in almost all diets and the paste has the same number of ingredients as I have fingers. The best part is, this recipe is very easy to make changes to. You can use a different part of the chicken (I went with chicken breast because, unlike Kim Kardashian, I'm not a big fan of bones). You can vary the heat of the paste (was that a pop culture reference I just made?). You can even add different ingredients/flavors to the paste or the chicken (I think that was a pop culture reference. Look at me, expanding my horizons and such). I'm presenting what I did, but don't let me stifle your creativity in creating this dish. 

Lettuce begin (I got puns too). Start with the ingredients below. 

Nashville hot chicken ingredients

One order of Nashville hot chicken, hold the Nasvhille and the hot

After washing the chicken (no Salmonella please!), dredge it through self rising flour until it's got a nice thick winter coat. No need to brush it in egg or any other sticky agent typically used in frying, the chicken is wet enough on its own to hold on to the flour (plus you just washed it). Heat your oil of choice until it sizzles, and then fry the chicken until it's golden-brown or looks like below.

Damn that looks good

The timing of when you make the paste doesn't matter, but I made mine after I cooked the chicken. Start by microwaving your lard or shortening for 20-30 seconds. I wish I could provide a legitimate reason as to why I used shortening instead of lard, but frankly it was because I couldn't find lard at the store when I went shopping (don't you love the deep, personal insight I always provide my loyal readers??). Anyways, mix the melted lard/shortening with the remaining paste ingredients until it looks like the bowl of molten lava below. With paste and chicken done, it's time to make a sammich. 

Sorta looks like milk. Lumpy milk, but still milk

Let's call this what it felt like later in the night...molten lava

But first, a quick aside that I promise you has a point.

When I was in 4th or 5th grade, I had to write a How-To essay on making a PB&J sandwich. The catch? It had to be TWO PAGES LONG! Now I'm not going to say I was the master wordsmith then that I am now, but how in the hell I was supposed to take something so simple to make that it's name is the recipe and turn that it into two pages of literary gold, I had no idea. So I went with the strategy that I felt every kid with a decent sense of sarcasm at that age would have used: I wrote it with the tone of a complete and utter smart-ass. I kid you not, I had whole paragraphs on these titillating topics (damn now I'm dropping alliteration on you): 

• Plate selection (The paper vs. ceramic debate: How the underlying cleanup issues affect the enjoyment of the final PB&J product)
• Knife selection (Butter, Dinner, or Steak: A look at the spreading scores of these household favorites)
• Proper procedure for the opening, and subsequent closing, of jars
• Storage techniques that will protect those that come after you

Once all of that was said and done, I think I spent about two sentences on actually making and eating the damn thing. The point of all of this being, the Nashville hot chicken sandwich is not difficult to make, nor am I going to try and make it difficult (I told you I had a reason for the PB&J story). You put the chicken on bread, coat one side in paste, flip the chicken, and coat the other side. Put some pickles on it if you want to, and you are done. No need for two pages here, just a simple description (thanks elementary school).

Aren't you glad I didn't take two pages to explain this?

At this point, you are done. The sandwich is made. Go eat it and enjoy. I wanted to include the following picture because everything I read said that if you have an orange grease stain on your bread, you've done right. Looks like I win.

Another picture that would piss off Peyton Manning, but I'm sure even he could appreciate that grease stain

In all seriousness though, the sandwich was delicious. Spicy yes, but nothing I couldn't handle. It was also easy to make, and as I mentioned earlier, easy to alter if you want a little less spice (or more) or wanted to change up the chicken. I've read that this paste/flavor also goes really well on fried seafood (catfish, shrimp) and after tasting it, I am intrigued to try it with something other than chicken. An interesting experience and one that brings us to 6/6.

The real Krabby Patty

Due to travel and general busy-ness, there has been a bit of a hiatus here at The Tripping Texan and for that, I am truly, madly, deeply sorry. There will be no primer for Baltimore (what we saw was sorta what I thought would happen), just a recap of the crab cakes...which starts now.

A decision I had to make this week, was whether to use real crab meat or imitation. Since I did not want to spend hours plucking expensive crab meat out of crab legs, I chose to go with imitation. I want to clear up something that I too had concerns about. Imitation crab meat is not "fake" crab meat. There is real crab meat mixed in, it's just not ALL crab meat. The type that I bought was crab mixed with Alaskan Pollock, which from what I can gather, is Alaska's version of catfish. So to make crabcakes, acquire through whatever means necessary the ingredients below (and butter), with the possibility of substituting real crab meat for the imitation.

Crab cake ingredients, minus the butter (he must have been late to the picture)

Let's begin. Start by melting the butter, and mix in the remaining ingredients except for the crab and the breadcrumbs. A crucial step that will make your life a whole lot easier than mine was is to mix these ingredients BEFORE adding the crab, not at the same time. I made it work, but that's because I'm awesome. Trust me though, you'll want to add the crab and crumbs after the other stuff is mixed together. Once you have that mixed, add the crab and bread crumbs, and continue to mix until it looks like this:

Crab cake mixture (that's a wooden spoon at the top of the picture, not some unmixed crab)

Now take a 1/2 cup measuring cup and use it like an ice cream scoop to scoop out the mixture, and mash it into a patty about 4-5 inches in diameter. Place these patties on a cornmeal covered pan, and put them in the fridge for at least an hour.

Ready for the fridge

When ready to cook, heat the vegetable oil until sprinkling cornmeal on it makes that telltale sizzle that you hear when frying food. Place the crab cakes in the oil and pray that they stay together better than mine did.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle

Flip the crab cakes once, and when they've reached that beautiful golden brown color, they are done. (Sidenote: has cooking helped any other color gain more popularity than golden brown? Milk white? Cocoa brown? Orange orange?)

Finished crab "cakes" and proof that I do eat what I cook

While there's no photographic evidence, I was able to get the last couple of crab cakes to stay together while cooking. However, even though it doesn't look like a crab cake, it still tastes like one. I found the imitation crab meat to make no difference in the taste or flavor (neither did the other people who had some) and the recipe prepares plenty, so have no fear of running short (I actually froze about half of the cakes I had prepared before cooking). All in all, a great Baltimore taste that pushes us to 5/5 on the year.

Crab cake recipe

• Kitchen items
• Large mixing bowl
• Pan
• Saucepan or skillet (for frying)
• Crab cakes
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 4 large eggs
• 6 Tbsp sour cream
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 2 lbs lump crab meat
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• Mix ingredients, butter through cayenne. Once well mixed, add crab meat and breadcrumbs. Use 1/2 cup measuring cup to scoop out crab cake mixture. Press each scoop into patty ~4-5 inches in diameter. Place on cornmeal covered pan. Place in fridge for at least 1 hour. Heat oil until pinch of cornmeal sizzles. Add crab cakes, flipping once, until golden brown. 

Crab cake recipe source (link)

A burrito from San Francisco (it's close enough to Oakland)

The only prep work that this recipe required was to marinate the flank steak overnight. Compared to others though, this marinade was simple to make and the prep time was only about 15 minutes. The first step was to peel and chop the garlic cloves. Now, I've never had to peel garlic before, but from what I hear, it's annoying as hell to do. To thwart that, I used a technique I learned from this video. To effectively smash the bulb, I placed it under a cutting board, and used a meat tenderizer to apply the load. The result is below.

Smashed cloves of garlic

Then, I covered the bowl with the same cutting board, shook it ferociously, and spent a few minutes picking out the cloves from this mess.

Somewhere in there is enough garlic to last the average man a long, long time

Once the cloves were chopped, they were mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to produce this lovely marinade.

Carne asada marinade

I couldn't find one big (3-4 lbs) flank steak at the store, but I used two "smaller" ones, and the result was the same. I put them in one of the roasting bags like I used for the mojo pork, poured the marinade in, and really made sure to rub the marinade all over the steaks, tossing each one so that the marinade didn't ignore the steak on top as they sat in the bag overnight. After that, the steaks went into the fridge, where they stayed until I flipped the bag about an hour before I started to cook.

Peek-a-boo!

The next day, I took the steaks out of the fridge, tenderized them, and put them in the oven to broil for about 20 minutes, or until they were cooked to about medium-well. This cook time can vary, depending on how raw or done you want your carne asada to be.

Flank steaks right before going into the oven (or right before they make the transformation to carne asada, depending on how you look at it)

Once the carne asada was in the oven, I turned my attention to the rice and beans. Instead of making the rice from scratch, I was lazy and bought a package of Mexican rice. I cooked it according to the package directions, and simply "cooked" the beans in a saucepan to warm them.

Pretty easy to make Mexican rice when its in a package

Canned pinto beans, the easiest thing I've ever cooked

A few minutes before the carne asada was done, I turned the oven heat down to 400 degrees, and put my tortilla in the oven for about a minute. At this point, everything was ready, and it was time to construct the burrito.

Carne asade (it's a lot funnier when you read it in the Taco Bell chihuahua voice)

There are several variations of the order in which you can construct your burrito, but I went with the order that Freebirds uses. I started with the warm, pliable flour tortilla.

Step 1. Heat tortilla

Next, I added rice to the middle, trying to somewhat have it aligned down one axis of the tortilla.

Step 2. Add rice

The next step was the cheese, a mix of colby and jack.

Step 3. Add cheese

Then came the beans. And I promise you, I added the chopped up carne asada and some salsa, I guess in the excitement, I forgot to take pictures of these steps.

Step 4. Add beans.
<Not pictured> Step 5. Add meat.  Step 6. Add anything else you want in the burrito

With everything in my burrito that I wanted, I folded and rolled it according to the diagrams in the recipe, and it was time to enjoy.

Mission style burrito...w/ ears!!!

Just like with the food from New Orleans, I knew that I would enjoy this. There wasn't a recipe for the burrito, because like the jambalaya, you can put whatever you feel like in the burrito. The carne asada was really the only thing that I had never made from scratch before. It was very juicy and, according to the website I got the recipe from, authentic. The amount of carne asade I made (about 4 lbs) was enough for five fully stuffed burritos so I enjoyed this one several more times after Sunday. Looks like we're a very solid 4/4.

-MB

Carne asada mission style burrito recipe

• Kitchen Items
• Mixing bowl
• Grill or oven
• Saucepans (for rice and beans)
• Carne asada
• Flank steak
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 4 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Salt
• Pepper
• Mission style burrito
• Burrito size tortillas
• Carne asada
• Mexican rice
• Pinto beans
• Colby jack cheese
• Salsa
• Additional toppings/veggies/etc.
• Prepare the carne asada marinade by mixing all of the ingredients together. Put flank steak and marinade in marinating bag. Rub marinade into the steak, seal the bag, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cook flank steak, either on grill or in oven, until it reaches desired 'done' level (I went with a medium-well). At the same time, cook beans and rice in saucepans, according to package directions. Place tortilla on grill, or in oven, for a few minutes, in order to warm it and make it pliable. Construct the burrito in this order:
• Rice
• Cheese
• Beans
• Meat
• Salsa and anyother toppings/veggies/etc
• To fold the burrito, follow the instructions and photos below:

Fold the sides in first

Fold the top over, tucking the burrito as you fold

Carne asada marinade recipe source (link)
Burrito construction photo credits (link)

Oakland primer

As my faithful readers may have noticed, I've been a little busy in the last week, and have fallen a little behind on the blog. Yes, I know that the game against Oakland has already transpired, but the thoughts I have later about "what I'm looking for" are unabridged, and exactly as I would have written them a week ago. I'm still going to recap Pitt and give a preview of Oakland, both on the field and in the kitchen, just know that I know that the game has already been played.

When I look back at the Pittsburgh game, a smile comes to my face because of the thoroughness of the butt kicking that game was. Ya, I know the 3rd quarter was a little iffy and the nay-sayers may have started jumping off the bandwagon, but the way that they closed that game was as impressive a finish as I've seen this team have in recent memory (the comeback win against New England to finish 9-7 two years ago was also pretty good, but Welker, Moss, and Brady were all out of the game by the 4th quarter, so meh).

Those who know me, and watch football with me, know that I have a passionate, somewhat rational hatred of getting the ball to start the game. It's not that I don't want the ball, it's more that I think that there are huge momentum swing advantages to getting the ball to start the second half. If you score late in the first half, you get the ball right back and can try and add on. If you're down big in the first half, you can start the second half with the ball and try and cut into the lead. There are many other scenarios, but games are usually won or lost in the second half and I want my team to start that half with the ball, pretty much regardless of the situation. Naturally, when the Texans won the toss and elected to receive, I was bummed. However, the 19 play, "115" yard, 10 minute and 55 second drive that followed, not only turned my frown upside down, but also made me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside (and not just because it ended with a touchdown to OD, who I have on two of my fantasy teams...although that was nice). The Texans ran it whenever and wherever they wanted. They threw it whenever and wherever they wanted. They even got into a couple of 3rd and longs just to let Pittsburgh "do what they do best", and they still converted those plays to keep the drive alive. It was a thing of beauty and one of the few cases I've ever seen where getting the ball to start truly seemed to set a tone and make a difference in the game.

While the offense did stall a little bit once Andre was out (man that looked scary when he first went down), they did the important things right. They didn't allow Schaub to get sacked and they continued to run the ball, (how good did Foster look??) even when Polamalu was doing that thing where he stalks the line of scrimmage and seems to know the snap count (look up the play he made on the goal line against Kerry Collins and the Titans last year). The offensive cherry on top though, was Foster's 42 yard touchdown run that ultimately provided the difference in the score. The way he cut back across the entire field, made Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley miss, and then beat a couple of DBs to the goal line was B..E..A..utiful. 

On the other side, with the exception of the 3rd quarter drive where the Steelers ran the ball right down the field, the defense looked incredible. They got pressure on Big Ben all day, they limited Mike Wallace's big plays, and they had huge hits on the Steelers all day (you can't dance with a broken back Hines Ward). I do feel bad for Johnathan Joseph though. As a defender, his legitimate chances to score are so few and far between and while he did "score" twice, having both plays called back had to be a little upsetting. I know the team won, so he's not gonna cry, but those two scores would have made the scoreboard beating match the beating that took place on the field. All in all, it was a great game to watch, both as a fan of close football games, and as a Texans' fan. They pretty much pushed Pittsburgh around all day and showed how good they can be in all facets of the game. 

Alright, looking "ahead" to Oakland, here are a couple of things I'll be watching:

• Daren McFadden vs Arian Foster: No, these two won't actually be playing against each other, but I'm more concerned with who has the bigger day. The Texans can win if McFadden has a big day, but only if it's an inefficient big day. Meaning, if he gets 150 yards, he better get it on 40 carries. If he has 20 carries for 150 yards, that's trouble for the Texans. For Foster, just keep falling forward, keep moving the chains, and pick up some slack in the pass game that's missing Andre. 
• Jason Campbell vs getting sacked: Because they're running a lot and doing it well, the Raiders have been able to keep Campbell upright for the majority of the season (he's only been sacked twice). If he has time to sit in the pocket, one of those speedy receivers is going to get past someone in the Texans secondary, especially if Kareem Jackson is covering him. Get some pressure, put him on the ground, and the pass game should be kept in relative check.
• Texan's passing offense vs "ghost" of Andre Johnson: Andre's not playing, so his 100+ yards and a touchdown need to be distributed elsewhere. Where exactly? I'm not the offensive coordinator, so I don't know, but it just needs to go somewhere (OD would be nice). 

This game should be pretty physical. Hopefully everyone comes out clean and the Texans come out with a victory. I'll have my score prediction at the bottom of the post.

To the food.

I'm actually cheating a little bit this week. There was nothing that really screamed Oakland that I wanted to make, so I'm making something from San Francisco. Before you get upset though, SF and Oakland are closer than Dallas and Ft. Worth, so it's not really that much of a stretch. Deal with it. 

Created in San Francisco's Mission District, the Mission style burrito features rice, beans, meat, cheese, and other toppings in a large tortilla that's wrapped up tight and is highly portable. Named for the 18th and 19th century Spanish missions that populated the area, the Mission District was an area of high commercial importance in San Fran after the 1906 earthquake and during the rush of European immigrants that followed. During the 1940s, after an influx of Mexican immigrants to the area, the Mission District developed a much more Latin culture that was seen until hipsters moved in around the turn of the century and drove up the cost of living. In 1969, at the tiny Taqueria La Cumbre, the Mission style burrito was born. Looking to create a portable, nutritious meal, the owners of La Cumbre packed whatever ingredients the customer wanted into a large flour tortilla, rolled it up, and wrapped it in foil. So, to honor this fantastic creation, this week's food is:

• Mission style burrito with carne asada

This is one of those weeks where as long as I don't screw up the cooking, the food should taste great. Let's hope the Texans play as good as the food will be. 

Raiders 17

Texans 27

Happy Football Viewing

-MB

Pierogis for the Pittsburgh pounding

Since I was in a hurry to get the Pittsburgh primer up before the game started Sunday, here is a brief history of how Pittsburgh's cultural history affects this week's food.

Pittsburgh first started acting like a "blue collar" city during the War of 1812, when the British blockade forced America to produce its own iron, brass, and tin, goods that were previously imported from overseas. Located in the heart of one of the largest coalfields in the country, Pittsburgh was a logical choice to spearhead the increase in production of the manufactured goods previously bought from Britain. First it was iron, but by the early-mid 19th century, Pittsburgh began producing the export that would eventually give the city its nickname: steel. Manufacturing steel required a large, cheap labor force, making it an ideal job for the large number of European immigrants trying to establish any foothold in America that they could. This brought waves of German, Polish, and Scotish immigrants, and their food and cultures, to the area. 

One of the unique food items brought from Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe, was the pierogi. The best way to describe a pierogi, I think, is like a Polish dumpling. They are made with a sour cream and flour based dough and have a filling that is usually potato or ground meat based, but can really include anything. I will be making 3 types:

• Potato and cheese
• Potato, cheese, and jalapeno
• Potato, cheese, jalapeno, and sausage

Alright. Back to the regularly scheduled programming, i.e. recapping another delicious cooking experiment.

I learned a valuable, two sided lesson this week. First, pierogis are quite tasty (ok I already knew that) and second, the process of making them is quite involved. No one ingredient was really complicated to make, but putting them all together was a bit of a hassle. Let's start with the dough. 

Dough ingredients

Once all of the ingredients were in the bowl, I mixed them with my hands to try and get the dough to clump to itself. At first, as it started to transition from ingredients to dough, the dough formed in small pieces. As I kept folding these back into the rest of the mixture, eventually they formed a nice ball/patty of pierogi dough.

I wish I could come up with a witty caption, but really it's just dough....

I got a little overzealous and made two batches of dough, but once they were both done, I wrapped them in plastic and put them in the refrigerator overnight. Now it was time to focus on the filling. The first thing I needed to do was whip up some mashed potatoes. I went with red potatoes and left a little bit of the skin on. These were just my preferences, but you could make your own choices and would get a similar result. I "skinned" them, cut them into smallish pieces, covered them in water and got them boiling. Once the water boiled, I cooked them on medium heat for about 20 minutes.

"Skinned" red potatoes

After about 20 minutes, once they could be easily broken apart with a fork, the potatoes were ready. I drained the water, added a little salt, pepper, butter and milk, and used a hand mixer to mash the potatoes.

Want some potatoes with that cheese?

I then added some cheese and onions (and later jalapenos) and the potatoes were done. While the potatoes were cooking, I cooked up some jalapeno sausages that would later be cut up for the last pierogis.

No prep time. Just cooking some delicious sausages

Then came the fun part. With all of the ingredients prepared, it was time to actually make the pierogis. I took the dough out of the fridge and rolled it out until it was about 1/8" thick. (NOTE: The dough will not cooperate if you do not have a rolling pin. Trust me. Also, plastic wrap makes for a pretty crappy rolling board. So does aluminum foil. Let my experiences push you to using either a board or wax paper. You'll thank me later).

DO NOT try and obtain a dough shape this good without a rolling pin

Next, I cut out a circle of dough using a cup (I didn't have a circular cookie cutter so I had to use a cup). I dipped my fingers in water and then pressed the round a little flatter. The water makes the dough a little sticky, which is supposed to help the pierogi stay closed when it's cooking. Then I put about a spoonful of potato filling in the center of the round, folded it in half, and use the tines of a fork to press it closed and make the little lines you see on the edge. Typically, pierogis are boiled; however, of the six I cooked by boiling, only one made it out of the pot intact, with its potato contents still inside. Rather than continue to lose potato filling, I decided to bake the remaining pierogis in the oven. I cooked them at 350 degrees, for about 10-12 minutes per side. 

Look how the fork seals, yet simultaneously decorates the edge of the pierogi. What a masterful work of fine craftsmanship that screams elegance as loud as it screams functionality

A picture of pierogis that Peyton Manning couldn't look at without turning his computer

Taste wise, the piergois were very good; they tasted exactly like the ones I remember having when I was younger, although those were store bought. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't get the more accurate, boiling process to work, but they still tasted great. Cooking them in the oven seemed to give them a more pastry like taste, as opposed to the traditional dumpling taste that boiling them provided. These require a lot of work to prepare, so I'm not sure if they're something I'd make all the time. However, if made for a special occasion, these could make for a nice appetizer, or if filled with fruit, a nice dessert. That being said, I did enjoy these and have to give the experiment a 3/3.

-MB

Potato and cheese pierogi recipe

• Kitchen items
• Mixing bowl
• Saucepan
• Rolling pin
• Potato masher or hand mixer
• Rolling board or wax paper
• Circle cookie cutter or a cup
• Pierogi dough
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup butter
• Potato and cheese filling
• 2.5 lbs potatoes (I used red)
• 1 medium onion
• 4-8 oz cheddar cheese
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• Milk
• Other filling ideas
• Jalapenos
• Sausage
• Chicken
• Really, anything you would like to put in will work
• Pierogi dough
• Mix salt and flour. Then add beaten egg and softened (or melted) butter. Mix until no longer sticky. The dough will come together in large clumps but they will allow themselves to stick together to form a large ball of dough. Put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight. 
• Potato and cheese filling
• Skin potatoes, leaving as much skin as you want. Cut potatoes into small pieces, cover with water, then boil. While they are boiling, chop up the onion and prepare any other filling that you might want to add to the pierogi. After the water boils, turn the heat down and cook on low-medium heat for about 20 minutes. When potatoes break up easily, they are ready. Drain the potatoes, add how ever much butter, salt, and pepper that you want. Begin mashing, either with potato masher or hand mixer, adding milk as needed to get the potatoes to a whipped consistency. After this, add the cheese and onion (or whatever additional filling is desired), and continue to mix until thoroughly blended.
• Pierogi
• Place the dough on a rolling board or wax paper. Using rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is about 1/8" thick. When cutting out the dough in circles, remember that whatever size you cut out will be folded in half to make the pierogi. Using the cookie cutter or cup, cut out circles of dough in the size you desire. Place about a spoonful of filling in the center of the dough circle, fold the circle in half, and use the tines of a fork to seal the pierogi. Place pierogis in boiling water for about 7-8 minutes, or until they float to the top. You can also cook the pierogis in the oven, at 350 degrees, for 10-12 minutes per side. 
• Tip: If you're having trouble getting the pierogis to stay closed, it could be because there is too much flour in the dough. Sprinkle a bit of water on the dough to make it a little extra sticky.  

Potato and cheese pierogi recipe source (link)

Pittsburgh primer

I have a confession to make.

I think this game against New Orleans was ok to lose...

Man that hurts to say, but if you look at a few other factors, games on the road against one of your four NFC opponents are ok to lose. Sure you want to win on the road against a Super Bowl contender to show yourselves and the world that you can do it, but in the grand scheme of things (always wondered why it was the grand scheme of things...what things??), if you can't go 16-0, I'd rather lose last week and beat Pittsburgh at home, then the other way around. I know that's a crappy way to think, but trying to make some lemonade here.

Let's backtrack here a second. Before the season started, I put on my prognosticating hat and went week by week through the Texan's schedule, tried to think about each game objectively (if my heart made the picks, they'd never lose), and made game by game predictions for the season. When I came to weeks 3 and 4, I predicted 1-1. I never really made a firm commitment to which one they would win or lose, but I went back and forth many times. As I mentioned before, if you have to go 1-1, you'd much rather it be by winning against Pitt at home. It should be a team's goal to never lose at home. Yes winning on the road is important, but if you go 8-0 at home, going 0.500 on the road makes you a 12 win team. It's sort of like sweeping your division; you also want to do well outside the division, but go 6-0 and 0.500 elsewhere and you're 11-5. Outside of the 2008 Patriots, 11-5 gets you in the playoffs every time. That being said, I thought they could go into the Superdome and win that game. The Saints have a defense that you can move the ball on. We saw Green Bay do it. We saw the Texans do it. Hell, we even saw the Bears do it for a little bit before Mike Martz forgot how to say the word "run". And of course, you can't talk about the Saints without talking about Drew Brees-us and their offense. I had a feeling that this game would be a shootout (shameless plug: click here!) and unfortunately, the Texans were not able to come out on top. And just as the players should, I too am not going to dwell too much on last week's loss. But first, a few quick thoughts:

• James Casey: As a Rice alumn it was BAD ASS to see him making so many plays. Seeing him do all of that and more in college, and with the words coming out of Kubiak's mouth about wanting to get JC86 more involved in the offense, I knew it was only a matter of time before we saw plays like last week. I'm not saying I expected 126 yards and a touchdown, I'm just saying the crazy, laying out to beat the defender, fully horizontal touchdown catch is something I've seen before. Here's to hoping that they try and get him that involved in many more games to come. 
• 4th quarter defense: Yes I will admit that some of the goodwill the defense built up during the first couple of weeks was lost after the 4th quarter defense allowed New Orleans to put up the 23 points that ultimately gave them the lead that was the difference in the game. Now New Orleans was playing at home, with one of the best offenses in the league (they almost pulled a similar comeback in Green Bay), but it would have been really nice to see the Texans put on their big boy pants and come up with a big play that would have shifted the game in their favor, but its not like they let a team with a putrid, inconsistent offense drive down the field in under a minute (New York Jets last year...). Going forward, I think they need to continue to gain confidence with their new system, maintain the aggressiveness shown in the first couple of weeks, and by season's end, I wouldn't be surprised to see this defense be able to step up and make plays when it counts.
• Red zone offense: It stunk last week. This week Arian Foster is back (woo hoo!). Look for that to make a huge difference. That is all.

Alright, that's enough about New Orleans. The Texans know what they need to work on and I'm sure (hopefully) that they worked towards fixing those issues this week. Looking forward to Pittsburgh, I expect this to be a tough, physical game. I know that's somewhat of a cliche when Pittsburgh is involved, but it's a cliche for a reason: because it's true. And in a bit of a twist, I expect the Texans to be able to match that physicality MUCH better than they have in years past. Watching the defense last week, there were many plays where Texan's players were making big hits on the the Saint's receivers and running backs. Since this is something I'm not used to as a Texan's fan, it was pretty nice to see that on a much more consistent basis than in the past. If they start flying around and making big hits against Pitt (and really against anyone going forward), then that extra little fear could possibly start creeping into the minds of the receivers before the ball gets there. I think this is going to be a game where unit match ups, rather than one-on-one match ups, will play a big roll in determining the winner. A couple of key unit match ups to watch are:

• Texan's run game v. Steeler's run defense: this will be a huge measuring stick of how the run game will be with Arian Foster back in charge. While down so far this year statistically, Pittsburgh is typically an elite team in stopping the run, especially in limiting zone running schemes. The Texan's offense goes as the run game goes, so they will need to continue to try and establish the run, even if not successful in the early goings. The extra time Matt Schaub gets if those pass rushing outside linebackers for Pittsburgh have to hesitate because they're thinking about the run could be the difference in a deep completion and a sack.
• Texan's front 7 v. Pittsburgh's O-line: I know that piling on the Steeler's offensive line is what the cool kids are doing, but offensive line effectiveness is equal parts talent and cohesiveness. I don't have the football pedigree to dissect their talent, but injuries and ineffectiveness have destroyed their chance to play together as a unit and this has made the offensive line a weakness for Pittsburgh. Granted Big Ben is one of the best scramblers in the game, but if the Texan's can show the consistent pressure they did weeks 1 and 2, I think the defense can severely limit the Pittsburgh offensive output. 
• Steeler's D v. time: Again, this is another thing the cool kids point out, but the main components of Pittsburgh's D are getting up there in age. Not saying they can't be effective, but injury nicks and dings take a little longer to heal and those lingering nags can slow them down just enough for the Texan's offense to frolic in their typical way.

I'm running a little late and want to get my football thoughts posted before the game today. I'll still have the history behind Pittsburgh and the food this week, but that will have to wait for a later post. However, this week I am making pierogis. For those that don't know what they are, they are most similar to a Chinese dumpling, but from Poland. I'm making them from scratch so we'll see how this goes.

I'm going to try something this week and if it's successful, I may continue to do it going forward. I'm going to make a scoring prediction for this game. I'm hoping that I'm close and don't look a silly fool, but I'll leave you with this:

Pittsburgh 17

Houston 24

Happy Football Viewing

-MB

What I imagine "mom comfort food" is in Louisiana

Throughout this experience of creating a blog that chronicles my weekly cooking adventures, I have referred to the process as an experiment. And why not? There are many elements here that are common to all experiments; there are successes and failures (nothing yet, but I can't cook EVERYTHING correctly), knowns and unknowns (recipes I've had before vs food I've never heard of) and many other variables that will need to be monitored, controlled, and accounted for. Some weeks will take hours of prep time and will test my cooking aptitude. Other weeks will take no time at all and will practically cook themselves. Some recipes will be made from scratch. Others will be made from a box. More often then not though, there will be some combination of all of these elements. And that's why it's an experiment; I know what I'm hoping to  accomplish, but whether I succeed or not is a complete unknown at this point.  

To the food.

In contrast to last week's prep intensive recipe, the only prep time I needed this week was breading the boudin balls to refrigerate them before frying. But first, for the jambalaya, I started by adding the mix to water, boiling it, then turning the heat to low for about 20 minutes. This gave me ample time to cook the chicken in a skillet and broil the sausage in the oven while watching about 6 different pregame shows at once.

Andouille sausage, pre-cooking. Please ignore the photobombing knife

Ground chicken wishing it wasn't committed this time...

About 5 minutes before the jambalaya was to be done, I dumped the chicken and sausage in and carefully mixed it all up (there wasn't much room for stirring after adding 2 lbs of meat to 2 boxes of jambalaya rice). I then left the lid off the pot and let it cook on low for the remaining 5 minutes.

Cajun jambalaya w/ chicken and andouille sausage

It never had a chance.....

I added a little Louisiana hot sauce and some saltines on the side and chowed down during the Texans' fairly dominant first half.

As I mentioned before, the only thing that really needed prep time was the boudin balls, but even they were surprisingly easy to make. I sliced the casing on the boudin, squeezed it all out into the mixing bowl, made slightly smaller than golf ball sized balls, and rolled those in the cracker mixture until they were fully and evenly coated. Then they went into the fridge for ~2 hours. 

Soon boudin balls...soon...

Not wanting to be too distracted during the game, I waited until halftime to fry these little balls up. I heated vegetable oil in a saucepan until it reached the right temperature, dropped the balls in, and rescued them from drowning once their outsides were a delicious golden brown. Unfortunately, the photographic evidence of their beauty has gone missing. It was on my camera, never made the transfer to my computer, and is now gone from my camera. Trust me though, they looked like they were out of a textbook (cookbook), and tasted even better.

As I mentioned earlier, this week's dish had a very familiar feel to it, as well as an ease that lends itself to being made again. Both the jambalaya and boudin balls tasted great, but anyone who's eaten in New Orleans knew that they would. Will definitely be making both of these again and for those keeping score at home, the experiment is a perfect 2/2 so far.

-MB

Cajun jambalaya and fried boudin balls recipe

• Kitchen items
• Saucepan (jambalaya)
• Oven or grill (sausage)
• Skillet (chicken)
• Saucepan or deep fryer (boudin balls)
• Mixing bowl
• Cajun jambalaya
• 2 boxes Zatarain's New Orlean's Style Jambalaya Mix
• 1 link andouille sausage
• 1 lb ground chicken
• Fried boudin balls
• 2 links boudin
• Crushed crackers of your choice (I went with saltines)
• 2 eggs (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne
• Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
• Frying oil (I used vegetable)
• Jambalaya
• Make jambalaya according to directions on package. Cook ground chicken in skillet, breaking into pieces of desired size. Cook sausage on grill or in oven. About 5 minutes before jambalaya is done, add chicken and sausage. Stir and let jambalaya finish cooking.
• Boudin balls
• Remove boudin from casing and place into mixing bowl. (I didn't, but you could add seasonings to the boudin at this time). Crush enough crackers to fill about half a sandwich sized plastic bag with crumbs the consistency of fine bread crumbs. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, and Tony Chachere's to season the crumbs as much as you want to. Using your hands, form boudin into whatever sized ball (or other shape) that you want. If using eggs, dip the boudin in egg, then roll in cracker mixture until fully covered. If not using eggs, simply roll the ball in the cracker mixture until covered. Place boudin balls in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
• When ready to cook, heat oil in saucepan or deep fryer until a drop of flour fizzles on the surface of the oil. Drop balls in oil until fried to a golden brown. Eat. 

Boudin ball recipe source (link)

New Orleans primer

EDIT: I know this is being posted after the game against New Orleans, but I was moving this weekend and don't have internet at my new place yet. Just pretend I posted it on Friday and we don't already know the outcome of the game.

First off, this game against New Orleans is one I have been looking forward to for a while. I believe that this is the first measuring stick that will tell us just how far the Texans have come since last year. On the surface, the first couple of weeks are very similar to last year; beat Indy at home (I know, slight difference between the QBs), beat a middle of the pack team on the road, go 2-0. But if they can go into the hornet's nest that is the Superdome and knock off the Saints and look competent on both sides of the ball, then even the biggest haters will have to admit that this team just might be different. I know it's one week, but that's why I said a measuring stick, not a potential Super Bowl parade. 

But first, let's look back at the win against Miami. That wasn't exactly the rousing victory I had initially predicted, but if never trailing an average to above average team on the road and ultimately winning by 10 is the Texans playing "alright", then I think everything's going to be fine. One concern I had watching the game was definitely the interior run defense. The Texans have NEVER had a big fat guy in the middle of their defensive line and when Wade "Son of Bum" Phillips (SoB) took over the defense, he swore up and down that Shaun Cody and Earl Mitchell could get the job done in his defense. However, after watching Daniel "First Game of My NFL Career" Thomas gash the interior anchored by SC and EM, even I, the eternal optimist, am starting to have a little concern. Granted, SoB did say postgame that they were only playing with 6 in the box in an effort to take away Miami's passing attack. With this, and the fact that DeMeco still looks just a little off, I think that the run defense can be improved. It is still something to monitor, especially against large in the middle offensive lines like New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. (For a really good, in depth look at the difference between SC and EM click here. **WARNING** This is only for those with some knowledge of football jargon and strategy. Everyone else just move along and take note that typically, EM>SC)

Other than the rush D, the only part of the game that concerned me was some of the redzone play calling in the first half (Kubiak later admitted to being a little passive down there) and the shaky 3rd quarter. You can expect a team full of grown men being paid millions of dollars to play football to make a push to get back in the game at home and that's exactly what the 3rd quarter was for Miami. Good teams weather those storms, and that's what the Texans did. They got everything back in sync in the 4th, got the ball back w/ about 8 minutes left and shoved the ball down the Dolphin's throats, essentially ending the game when they pinned them on their own 10 with ~3 minutes left. Good road win. 1-0 for another week. Time to focus on New Orleans.

Alright. Enough about Miami. Time for the game that I personally have been looking forward to since the preseason. Week 1 against Indy HAD to be a win. Week 2 against Miami SHOULD have been a win. Week 3 against NOLA? First real test for the new defense (which is ranked #1 in points allowed and pass defense right now BTW. Seriously. Look it up). Hostile environment, on the road, against a legitimate Super Bowl contender. High powered offense v. high powered offense. This is what the NFL is about today. This should be a shootout and I can not wait.

I've watched both of the Saints games this year and have come away with a few observations, some good, some bad, for the Texans:

• Marques Colston being out is a good thing. No I'm not rooting for injuries, but when the top guy goes down, that bumps everyone else down one level on the "who our secondary has to cover" depth chart. Instead of Jonathon Joseph on Colston and Kareem Jackson on Devery Henderson, the Texans can play Joseph on Henderson and KJ on Robert Meachem or Lance Moore. Both of these guys have speed which is an issue for KJ, but I think there are ways SoB can protect him.
• Gotta protect Schaub when the Saints blitz. They like to do this, a lot, so perhaps we'll see more plays that leave an RB or James Casey in the backfield to help. Blitzes leave the secondary on an island so Schaub will be looking for Andre in 1-on-1s's and everyone in the league know's that that's bad for the Saints. Of course, the best way to keep the Saints from blitzing is to stay out of 3rd and long and the best way to do that is to not screw around on 1st and 2nd down. This means running the ball and taking smart chances on passing plays.
• Look for more bootlegs than we saw against Miami. 4-3 defenses are much more susceptible to play action bootleg plays because the outside linebacker in a 4-3 is not out as wide as an OLB in a 3-4. This means if Schaub fakes the handoff and rolls out, when the defensive line crashes down to try and stop the RB, the further inside OLB in a 4-3 has more ground to cover to get to the QB. Miami runs a 3-4. New Orleans runs a 4-3 (so does Indy and we saw how many times they ran bootlegs against them). Since the Saints will prolly look to take away the big plays in these situations, look for Schaub to look for my boy OD on some underneath stuff. If Jermichael Finley's first half against New Orleans (before they started double teaming him) is any indication, then this should be pretty favorable for the Texans. 

OK, now for the food for this week. When I came up for this idea to cook something each week, there were a few cities/opponents that I knew what I was going to make without even having to think. New Orleans was one of those cities. As history has shown us, cities along major trade routes tend to become major cultural melting pots where religions, music, dialects and food come together and create a unique blend that somehow still manages to display elements of the unique styles that came together in the first place. New Orleans is no exception. During the European land grab of the 17th century (history calls it "exploration"), the French got to Louisiana/New Orleans first, something plain to see in the majority of New Orleans' culture. Those of French descent that were born in America became known as Creoles, the term used to describe elements of Louisiana culture today. Meanwhile, during the French and Indian War, the southern and western parts of Louisiana were being settled by French-speaking exiles of what is today Eastern Canada. Throw this group into the pot with all of the other groups of European immigrants in the area, mix in a little bit of rural swampland, and we get the group we know today as the Cajuns.

Interestingly enough, the main dish I'm making this week, jambalaya, actually has two distinct variations to it. The first, more popular in New Orleans and its surrounding areas, is "creole jambalaya". This was an attempt by Spanish immigrants to make paella, substituting tomatoes for the scarcely available saffron. As you head outside of NOLA, the more popular type of jambalaya becomes known as "cajun jambalaya". The major difference between the two types is cajun jambalaya does not include tomatoes, as the tomato is not typically used in cajun cooking. This leads me to this weeks menu:

• Cajun jambalaya
• Jambalaya with andouille sausage and chicken
• Fried boudin balls
• First had these in college, been in love ever since

This weekend should be a lot of fun. I'm moving this weekend, which for me is always somehow simultaneously fun and annoying (this could cause a slight delay in getting the post out this weekend, but hopefully not). Huge game for the Texans in terms of getting a better idea of just how far this team can go. And my Rice Owls take on Baylor in Waco on Saturday. Wouldn't that be a fun little upset?

Happy Football Viewing

-MB

Floribbean mojo roasted pork recipe

• Kitchen items
• Chopping board
• Mixing bowl
• Hefty oven bag (used for marinating)
• Saucepan
• Food processor or blender
• Roast rack or grill
• 1 pork tenderloin (3-5 lb)
• Cuban mojo marinade
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 5 oz yellow onion, 1/4" diced
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp chopped oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 cup olive oil
• Floribbean mojo sauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup yellow onion, 1/4" diced
• 1 cup tomato, 1/4" diced
• 1/2 cup red pepper,. 1/4" diced
• 1/4 cup scallions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp chopped oregano
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• White rice w/ black beans
• 4 cups cooked white rice
• 15 oz black beans

• Marinade
• Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Pour marinade over pork loin in marinade bag. Refrigerate overnight.
• Sauce
• Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. Mix until smooth. In saucepan, bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. 
• Pork loin
• Roast: Heat oven to 375F. Place pork on roast rack. Cook for 35-45 minutes, or until internal temperature of 155F is achieved. Slice roast, pour sauce over, and serve hot.
• Grill: Heat grill to 350F. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side until internal temperature of 155F is achieved. Slice roast, pour sauce over, and serve hot.
• White rice w/ black beans
• Cook rice according to packaging. Drain black beans. Pour them in saucepan on low heat with rice, stirring until ready to serve.

 Recipe source (link)

My first experience with Cuban flavor

I posted the recipe in a separate post that way it can act as a stand alone document that can be printed or shared if this dish seems appetizing, which it certainly was. I will say this had a seemingly large prep time to cook time ratio, starting Saturday night when I had to make the marinade and get the pork in the fridge before heading out to the bars. I went ahead and chopped up the veggies that were needed before adding the assortment of herbs and spices, ending with the orange and lime juices.

Chopped veggies, garlic, and seasonings such as cumin, oregano, pepper, etc. 

Marinade after mixing all ingredients

Next, it was time to prepare the pork loin. I removed it from its plastic prison (its packaging), washed off all the germs, and then put it in the Hefty oven bag that I bought to use for marinating.

Pork loin. Appetizing right?

Next, I very, VERY carefully poured the marinade over the pork, then flipped it to make sure the entire loin was covered in marinade citrus-y, oily goodness. After that, I tied up the bag, placed it in a pan, and popped it in the fridge for its overnight stay.

Pork loin in oven bag, covered in marinade, ready to be refrigerated

The next day, to prepare the sauce, I started by chopping up some more veggies. There's no need to be super specific about the size of the diced onion, tomato, etc. because they're going to get blended anyways. The one deviation I made from the recipe was I had closer to a full cup of red pepper, but that was because I cut the pepper I had in half and that half was about 3/4 of a cup.

Blender full of chopped veggies

Next I added the spices, seasonings, and juices, and left them at this stage to prepare the pork for roasting and to start cooking the rice and beans. I decided to go with roasting in an oven over grilling because I could stay inside and still keep an eye on the games that were currently going on (Bonus advantage: it was raining at this time..in Houston, yes I know). I put the pork on a roast rack that fit nicely in a glass pan that would serve as a drip tray (easier to clean a pan than the bottom of the oven).

Sauce, ready to be blended

Pork on the roast rack

The pork went in the oven and I turned back to the sauce. It took less than a minute to blend, and as the pork was nearing completion, the sauce went into a saucepan to boil and get heated up. I ended up cooking the pork for about 45 minutes in order to get the internal temperature all the way up to ~160F, but I know that this time can and will vary from oven to oven, altitude to altitude. At this time, the rice and beans were ready to go and it was time to start serving.

Blended sauce, ready to boil and simmer

Rice and beans...so easy, a single guy can cook it!

Roasted pork, ready to be served

I sliced the pork into what seemed like reasonable pieces, poured a sufficient amount of mojo sauce on top, and added a side of rice and black beans. In retrospect, I think I might have chosen to put the rice and beans in their own bowl, but its not like the sauce made them taste bad...

Lunch is served

Now, I by no means am a food critic, nor am I going to pretend to be one. Those who know me know that I have very simple tastes and sometimes don't appreciate the flavor subtleties that exist in more "exotic" foods. You might call me a meat and potatoes and white bread kinda guy. In this case however, I have to say that the sauce/marinade was fantastic. Each bite was simultaneously filled with a creamy, tomato-y, peppery taste that mixed very well and easily with the citrus, lime flavor. The amount of sauce the recipe makes is actually enough to have some left over after eating all of the pork, and I must say I am looking for other entrees that I can use this flavor in. Don't get me wrong, the pork was tender and juicy and tasted great too, but the sauce really stole the show. I personally have never had anything before with this Cuban, mojo flavor to it, but I can definitely see myself going back to the well for this excellent Miami taste and if this first recipe is any indication, this experiment is going to be quite a success. 

-MB