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]).