Marsala

Pan-Seared Chicken with Marsala, Pancetta and Crimini Mushrooms

I love this dish for the pan sauce: chicken drippins', pancetta, marsala wine, stock, and half a stick of butter. Whats not to like? I served this dish with roasted vegetables including white asparagus, topped with fontina cheese of course.

Chicago Style...Fritatta?

Fritatta with Spinach, Pancetta, and Tomatoes

This may look like a Chicago Style Pizza, but its actually a frittata. It orginally was a take on the Bismarck Pizza from Supino's Pizza in Eastern Market, voted #1 Pizza in Detroit. I should have cracked an egg in the middle...can't have too many eggs. My heart hurts. Just kidding.

Steakhouses Suck

New York Strip with Brandied Mushrooms and Cheese Peas...Please

I've never cooked with brandy before this but from now on I will always have a bottle on hand. This pan sauce is so simple and so delicious, just brandy, fond (pan stickin's), and cream. It clings to the meat and adds a savory smoothness to every bite.

I and I love Jerk Chicken

Jerk Chicken with Braised Escarole

I had to get some grilling in while the grilling was good, and nothing is more delicious grilled than chicken. This is not really a recipe. I just used a jerk mix that you can buy at any grocery store. Make sure you use dark meat because the spicy jerk seasonings really shine in the fattier cuts (literally and figuratively). This a pile of chicken thighs, which cost 99 cents a pound. If you find something more delicious for the money...I'll give you 100 JSo bucks.

Lox...no bagels

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Fritatta

If there is one thing I will really miss from this diet, it's eating copious amounts of full-fat cheese. Cream cheese is the base of any really memorable food. If you think of a food that is memorable that doesn't contain cream cheese I challenge you to imagine it served with cream cheese. Delectable! For example, memorable cream cheese dishes: the dish above, Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread, fried cheesecake, Strawberry Squares, Jalapeno Poppers, Crab Rangoon, Philadelphia rolls, Pancetta Wrapped Asparagus with Cream Cheese, buffalo chicken dip, etc.

Dishes that do not have cream cheese but would be improved with cream cheese: Pizza, Chicken Curry, Cherry Pie, Jaeger Bombs, etc. They should just put a dish of cream cheese on every restaurant table instead of a candle.

Allergies? What Allergies?

Isla Mujeres-inspired Sopa de Pollo

Isla Mujeres is an island resort town about 30 minutes north of Cancun. It is a little oasis of the Caribbean-lifestyle stuck in a Spring Break Paradise. This is a recipe that Tyler Florence stole from an inn keeper there. With a squeeze of lime, this soup is really bright and fresh. I served it with grilled radiccio and toasted pine nuts.

For 15 years or so, I thought I was allergic to all nuts. I found out when I was 14 or so that I was in fact not allergic to peanuts. That means 7 years of peanut butter free living. Stupid. So Stupid. So I figured why not experiment. I had an inkling that I wasn't allergic to pine nuts so I did a scientific experiment...I ate pine nuts, two weeks before this. Nope, not allergic. Stupid. So Stupid. Next on the list? Hazelnuts in 2027. You know what they say, " Get Nutella, or die trying."

Where there's smoke...

Actually there was no fire or smoke for this barbeque dish, which I guess means that it's not really bbq (you need smoke).

Pulled Pork Shoulder with Spicy Slaw

This has been my favorite dish on this 12 week journey so far. It really makes me sad that eating massive quantities of pork fat is only temporary. This pork shoulder was roasted in the oven for 8 hours. It was falling apart from its own weight when I pulled it out of the stove. I made the sauce low-carb by omitting the ubiquitous brown sugar. The base is mustard and cider vinegar, made in the Carolina-style. The spicy slaw is spicy because there is a habanero pepper in it. It gets better as it sits, so eating this for the 5 days that I did, got better and better.

Forgive Me

I'm very sorry that I haven't posted in three weeks. I know my loyal following (Carolyn) has been desperately awaiting my updates. Wait...no...more...

Ein Prosit

Oktoberfest comes early.

Beer Simmered Bratwurst and Freedom Cabbage

Freedom Cabbage = propaganda-infused term for sauerkraut. I used Miller Lite for the braising liquid...just like the Bavarians...God I wish I could drink real beer. Hofbrau would have worked much better.

Tuna...Again?

I didn't want to make tuna again so soon but it was on sale for $8.99 a pound. Plus I had some dynamite sauce left over.

Blackened Tuna Steaks with Napa Slaw

This was originally supposed to be served with a jicama slaw. It was my first time cooking with jicama and when I cut into it, it was brown inside. I thought "is jicama brown? I've had it before and I think it was white. Wikipedia will know." Its not supposed to be brown a.k.a. rotten. So I had to toss it and run to the store. But not wanting to go far I hopped into the nearest grocery store, in this case Wal-Mart. I chose to use Napa Cabbage instead.

Now don't get me wrong, I never shop at Wal-mart and I don't judge harshly those that frequent such places (hey, I did work at a Sam's Club where we were forced to worship Sam Walton, rest his soul...I think hes dead...wikipedia will know..yep dead). There are just alot of weird mofos there. And the weirdest happen to be in the 20 items or less line because they buy the weirdest shit. Not just the weirdest shit, the weirdest combination of shits. The guy behind me had a family pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and a dozen roses. The woman in front of me had Charcoal, baby clothes, and Double Impact on DVD. For those who don't know Double Impact is a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie where he plays twin brothers by himself.

Fractions

So my friend Joe can't do fractions. When you ask him if he wants half a pizza he says ,"No just cut it down the middle."

In this recipe you split a chicken almost in half and unfold it like a book, hence the "butterfly" I'm showing here as a leg quarter but it looks cool as shit as a whole flat bird.

Butterflied BBQ Chicken with Bacon Braised Brussel Sprouts

So you heat a grill really hot and lay the chicken right of top of the coals. You then put a pan on top and weight it down with some bricks. It keeps it flat and adds those really great grill marks.

Magic Mushrooms

Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Fontina, and Mozzarella
I love mushrooms and this frittata is stuffed full of them. I used a mix of crimini, shitaaki, and whatever the hell they call baseball sized button mushrooms. While I was shopping for them, I saw that they were next to some even more exotic mushrooms like abolone, morel, and oysters. $40 a pound!!! I thought about just eating a whole bunch right in the aisle like you would grapes. Just to see.

Slackin'

Sorry I've been so lax in my posts. I've been busy making videos of ridiculous golf outings.

Chicken Paillard with Pancetta and Bleu Cheese

A paillard is when you beat the hell out of a chicken breast until its nice and flat. It only takes a few minutes to cook and tastes great because it has that nice pan sear with brown bits all around (in French the brown bits are called fond). Its served on top of a bed of arugula and tarragon.

Greek Week - Lunch???

Eggplant stuffed with Lamb, Heirloom tomatoes, and Mint

Originally, this was supposed to be a vegetable side to the braised shanks. However, I put so much lamb in it, that it became a meat side dish. So I'm reclassifying it as a meal in itself.

Greek Week - Dinner

Braised Lamb Shanks

I have to get lamb everytime I go to a restaurant in Greektown...assuming I am at a Greek restaurant. Lamb shanks are a great dish because they are incredibly inexpensive and with a few hours of braising, turn into something magical. Tender and savory. If I was allowed to eat bread, I would use it to soak up the brothy goodness at the bottom of this plate. Instead I poured it into a glass and sipped it like Boone's Farm.

Cinnamon and cloves add a spicy accent.

Greek Week - Breakfast

For some reason, I had a hankerin' for some Mediterranean-style food. You know, stuffed with parsley, olive oil, lamb, etc.

Greek Frittata

This fritatta is stuffed with ground lamb, olives, feta cheese, spinach, and parsley. You need to take it easy on the salt because the briny olives and rich feta add all of the sodium. You can find ground lamb at most Middle Eastern grocery stores and it's often cheaper than beef. The butcher shop in Eastern Market was selling 3lb bags for $7.50 ($2.50/lb).

Sushi Bar

Seared Yellowfin with Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette and Dynamite Sauce, served with avacado and cucumber salad

I love sushi, and this is a nice seared variation of sashimi. The sear gives the tuna a nice texture and flavor depth. You can eat this right out of the pan but its even better the next day cold.

For those who want to know, dynamite sauce is mayonaise mixed with Thai Chili sauce. It supports my theory that the base of most delicious foods is mayo (and for desserts, cream cheese, [and for dips, both]).

Christmas in July

I wanted to make a holiday meal, so I did one of my family's traditional Christmas dinners, Standing Rib Roast. I paired it with creamed spinach, which is not as traditional in my family but still delicious. Always flip through the weekly ads for your local grocery store because sometimes you run into a great deal that is worth making the extra stop. For example, I purchased this rib roast in March when it went on sale for $4.99/lb. The total cost of the roast was $26, and was enough to feed 6-8 people.

Most people aren't necessarily swayed by grocery sale pricing because it appears something like "$2.00 per pound boneless skinless chicken breasts". Well if the regular price is $3.99/lb, its half off. If you buy the family pack of 5 chicken breasts, the pricing could go from $16 for your dinner to $8.

Standing Rib Roast with Sage au Jus and Red Pepper-Horseradish Aioli, served with Creamed Spinach

I stole the idea of the red pepper aioli from Grapevine, a great wine bar in Novi. We had a great time there for team dinner, and the happy hour specials are awesome. 1/2 off glasses of wine, mixed drinks, and beer, $5 pizzas, and half off cheese platters.

The aioli is also great with seafood instead of cocktail sauce.

Pair the rib roast with a heavy tannic red wine to compliment the au jus and to cut through the heaviness of the beef.

Leftovers for Breakfast

Some people get sick of eating the same thing more than a couple of times in a row (not me though). Breakfast is a great way to use up leftovers that you have during the week. You just need to put a creative twist to liven them up. Here is a dish where I used the left over chicken from the Pan Seared Chicken with Rosemary.

Faux-Stewed Mexican Shredded Chicken with Fried Eggs

Pick up a jar of good store bought salsa. There are alot of nice gourmet salsas floating around at most grocery stores. Don't use the Garden Fresh ones for this particular recipe since they don't really cook their salsas. The long stewed flavor comes from the smokiness that you would get out of a chipotle-style salsa. Pair with a Pacifico and you have a traditional Mexican breakfast (at least when I'm in Mexico).

Serving Size Tip

A trait that I inherited from my mother is that I always make too much of one dish. Rather than eating huge amounts, I've learned to pack my leftovers into single-serving dishes. You can buy cheap-o "tupperware"-type Gladware stuff and pack your leftovers. This way if you don't think you can finish in a couple days, just throw the rest into your freezer for a couple weeks down the road. Also, you have a ready-to-go pre-portioned meal.

Seafood Dinner - Shrimp (or as the Brits say, Prawns)

By unpopular request, rather than just post a picture of my cuisine, I will actually give qualitative information surrounding the meal.

Shrimp and Soy Bean Salad with Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette

This is a melange of shrimp, frozen edamame, cherry tomatoes, thick cut bacon, served on a bed of arugula. Another Tyler Florence recipe that I adapted for low-carb lifestyles. The recipe originally called for canned cannellini beans (white beans). By using edamame, you can cut the carbs lended by the beans in half and add 50% more protein. I used Fitday.com for the calculation. Fitday is a great site if you are trying to track your eating habits throughout the day. I've been using it for years I also used arugula rather than watercress because...I couldn't find watercress at the grocery and I didn't want to ask.

Some tasting notes...I used thick-cut bacon that was "all-natural" (see: without nitrates). According to wikipedia, a nitrate is a salt of nitric acid with an ion composed of one nitrogen and three oxygen atoms. Apparently, consuming large amounts has been known to cause "blue baby syndrome". I don't want to put anything in my body that has the same effect as Willy Wonka's Three-Course Dinner gum. Ask Violet Beauregard.

I paired it with the universal wine pairing, dry sparkling wine. I think I used a Spanish Cava that I got for under $10.

I wouldn't use arugula again because I feel like the pepperyness can overpower the subtle sage and shrimp flavors.

The hardest part of this was using the recipe that I got from the British version of the cookbook. Here are some excerpts..."Preheat oven to 180 degrees C," "450g raw king prawns", "4 slices of bacon cut into 1cm pieces".

Metric system...what the fuck.

Saturday Night Snack

I went skydiving on Saturday afternoon. It was my first time and my dad came along too to join me in the experience. I thought that it would be scary but you really don't even have time to be afraid. As soon as you think about how scary it is, you are already out of the plane. I was ravenous when I got home and made myself a low-carb snack.

Chile-Lime Chicken Wings

There is no picture for this because I ate them. I'm sorry. They were really good though. God, I wish I had some more.

This Sunday's Dinner

Tyler Florence's Ultimates:

Most of my recipes come from Tyler Florence's two books, Tyler's Ultimate and Eat this Book! The recipes are delicious, easy to follow, and look great. The non-low carb recipes are even better.

Zucchini Carpaccio with leeks, dill and Marscarpone cheese

Chicken and Italian Sausage Salad with Creamy Caesar Dressing

Seafood Dinner

In my attempt to eat more seafood, I made this

Crispy Grouper with Zucchini Mush
I used a Tyler Florence recipe for this zucchini mush and while strange in texture, had a great bright lemony kick. Great paired with Pinot Grigio.

Dinner from Last Sunday

Pan Roasted Rosemary Chicken with Shallots and Mushrooms accompanied by Asparagus-Herb Salad.

Other Breakfast

Sorry I have to put these on different posts. Blogger is a twat service and doesn't let me move around pictures.

A childhood favorite of mine, Corned Beef Hash and Fried eggs.

I omitted my normal potato additions, but kept the onions and tomatoes in the corned beef. If you look closely, I managed to make the ever rare, double-twin egg pair. That's right! Two eggs, four yolks, son. I went out after this and immediately bought a lottery ticket.

Two Weeks Up

Two weeks into TNT and I feel great. The diet is really easy with a moderate amount of food planning. The most difficult thing is finding the right foods when eating out. Today I went to Slows BBQ in the Corktown District of Detroit (best mac and cheese) and had to eat my chili like a freak. No beans, bullshit!

Otherwise, eating 60% calories from fat is super easy and fun. Here are some ways that I achieve 60% fat intake. 1) Buttering my beef brisket, 2) adding heavy cream to eggs, sauces, coffee and directly to the head, 3) topping all foods with a glug or two of olive oil, very Mediterranean.

I've lost almost 10 lbs in the first two weeks. I accept that some of that is definitely water weight. According to my scale, 4lbs lean mass/water and 6lbs of fat loss.

More food pics...

Fritatta with Italian Sausage, Roasted Red Peppers, and Muenster.

This originally had Mozzarella but I forgot to buy some. Muenster works great though.

Meals

Breakfast

I've been making frittatas for breakfast. I figure that I can eat a 12 egg frittata and eat it throughout the workweek. I've been developing my own ingredient combinations as well as stealing ideas from pizza places.

Week One: Mexican

Chorizo, poblano chiles, queso fresca, onions

Week Two: Italian

Spinach, Pancetta, Sun dried tomatoes, and shallots

Dinners and Lunches

I've also decided I would cook dinners 3 times a week and eat leftovers for lunch. I generally don't get bored with my eating options and this is actually more often than I used to cook before. I find that only working out three days a week is great since I now have time to cook some real quality menus. For the reader's edification, I used to work out 6 days a week on p90x.

July 7th, 2009

Prosciutto wrapped scallops with watercress and vinagrette

July 9, 2009
Seared duck breast with swiss chard and balsamic vinager

July 12, 2009

Pork butt roast marinated in adobo with buttered turnips

Week One

Apologies. I have been extremely lax on my posting. Its my first Blog after all. TNT so far isn't bad. I haven't got the cravings that I was expecting; although every time I see a cheesecake I want to smear it in and around my mouth. I will probably do a measurement test after week 2. Otherwise, love the diet because it has given me a chance to flex my culinary muscle. Scallops, prosciutto, duck, pork shoulder...its all delicous and decadent. I've never used so much whipping cream in my life. I will post my meals with pictures shortly (Foodies, you have my permission to be delighted).

First Post - T minus one D

I am embarking on a 12-week diet course. Time is T minus one day. As it is the day before I begin AND my birthday, I will be gorging myself on various foodstuffs including shoving cake in and around my mouth, sprinkling bits of flour down my throat, and shotguning beers until I fall over. I will have support from two great friends who will put their bodies on the line today as well. I would anticipate that our combined weight gain from today will sneak above 7 pounds.

The diet that I am beginning is the TNT Diet. It is a low-carb diet that is focused on the timing of eating carbs. Basically the premise is to keep your glycogen-levels low so that your body burns its own fat for energy.

I have just completed two rounds of p90x and am getting burnt out on working out. I like this diet in particular because it only requires 3 workouts a week. Also, it allows me to eat as much fat as I can handle...which is a lot.

I am hoping to use this blog to track my progress and post my meals. I am a bit of a foodie so if I am going to eat all the fat and protein I can, I am going to eat well. I have collected a couple hundred of "real food" recipes that a) Happen to be Low-Carb or B) I will adapt to be low-carb. Either way, I am trying to show that low-carb doesn't have to be all salads, bunless-burgers, and stupid Atkins-ized chocolate cookies.

I wll also sprinkle in posts about my travels through Detroit: happy hours, restaurants, clubs, parties, and anything stupid that I decide is worthwhile to post.

Join me, won't you?