Category — Recipes

This is a really easy way to bring a little excitement to your pork chops.

We seem to eat pork over beef, not only because it’s easier on the pocket book, also you can serve it with just about every one of your favorite side dishes and add just about any spice or marinade.

Now that we have finally arrived to summer grilling season, which is my favorite, this is just one of the many recipes to come!

6 Pork Chops
3 cloves Garlic
7 Fresh Basil Leaves
5 tb Honey Mustard
Salt and Pepper

The Marinade

1. Chop garlic and basil leaves.
2. Mix with honey mustard.

The Chops

1. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Coat with marinade, let stand for 15 minutes.
3. Place on hot grill.
4. Turn over after 5 minutes.
5. I also grilled some nice ears of corn to serve as well.

You can’t go wrong with a summer salad like this one! We picked most of the vegetables from our backyard garden. The Trout that we are using if from our smoked lunker.  When you make a salad with smoked fish, you don’t want to make a dressing that is going to take away from the fish that you are using. I will be showcasing this salad on Sunday July 12th on Denver’s ABC 7 News.

½ lb Smoked Trout
½ c fresh lettuce
6 leaves fresh thai basil
12 fresh snap peas
2 baby carrots
6 cherry tomatoes
1 lemon
1 tb olive oil

1. Cut the vegetables to desired size.
2. Squeeze lemon juice over the salad
3. with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Top with smoked Trout and Enjoy!

If you have never eaten Walleye, you are missing out! Walleye is the tastiest freshwater fish around.

Walleye can be challenging to catch, but they are defiantly worth it! One you learn a little about there habits and talk to you local fishing store clerk, you have some knowledge and hopefully the right tackle to catch the yummy fish.

They live in almost all the lakes in the Denver Metro area. I caught my first walleye out at Chatfield reservoir last week.

To catch this recipe tune in the Denver’s ABC 7 on Sunday July 12th during the 9 o’clock hour.

2 walleye filets
5 Basil leaves
3 tb. Olive oil
1 lb. fresh beans (green or yellow)
2 cloves Garlic, Sliced
2 tb. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tb. Butter

The Fish

1. Season walleye with basil, salt, pepper and 1 tb olive oil.
2. Place in to hot pan. Sear fish for 2 minuets on each side

The Beans

1. Blanch beans for 2 minuets in boiling water.
2. Sauté Beans in 2 tb olive oil. Add garlic and balsamic vinegar.
3. Cook for 2 minuets, allow some of the vinegar to cook off.
4. Turn off heat, add butter and serve with Walleye fillets.

Who doesn’t love fried Catfish? Catfish Is readily available in our great state, You can find it in almost all supermarkets, you can even find live fish at the Asian Supermarket.

Catfish live in most of our lakes on the front range and can be caught using a variety of bait providing a fun night at the lake.

The best part of this recipe, is that you don’t need to make tartar sauce because you have all the tasty juice from the cole slaw.

To see this one, your going to have to watch Sunday morning news on Denver’s ABC 7 July 12th, you can also find the recipe on The Denver Channel.

The Catfish
4 Medium catfish filets
1 c. cornmeal
1 c canola oil

Spicy Slaw
1 head green cabbage, sliced
2 carrots, julienned
1 jalapeño, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 leaves fresh mint, julienned
½ c. mayo
¼ c rice vinegar
2 tb. sugar

The Catfish

1. Dip the Catfish in Ice Water, then dust it with corn meal.
2. Place the fish into oil heated to 375 degrees.
3. When the cornmeal has turned a golden brown, about 3 minuets, then turn over the filet to cook the other side, If you have a deep fryer you won’ t need to do this.

Spicy Slaw

1. In a small bowl mix mayo, rice vinegar and sugar.
2. In a larger bowl mix vegetables and herbs.
3. Toss with Dressing and serve with your crispy Catfish.

So about 2 weeks ago Harry took me to a Pad Thai place in the tech center, I enjoyed the food we had so much that I have been craving some more.

Not wanting to take a long drive just for some noodles, This is what I was able to come up with in my kitchen.

Not only did I spend less than $10 to make it, we fed 4 people. Also the snap peas that we use where outta the garden!

6 large Mushrooms, sliced
1 lb Sugar Snap Peas
1 Red Bell Pepper, Sliced
4 cloves Garlic, sliced
1 ½ lb Chicken (I used half thigh and half breast)
1 package Rice Noodles
I jar Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
3 tb Wok Oil

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then sear in pan with wok oil.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for your noodles. Cook until tender.
3. Heat pan with wok oil and add onions and mushrooms.
4. Add Snap peas, peppers and garlic. Add Sweet chili sauce.
5. Toss noodles with veggies and sauce, and chow down!

If you have a hard time finding pad thai noodles, Find your local asian supermarket. If you wanna add some peanuts for some crunch, they go well.

I always put my veggies like this when I am chopping stuff. Its a habit that I can’t shake.

The process of smoking fish will take a day for the fish to cure, you can also just smoke the fish without curing it.

Depending on how much fish you are planning to smoke amount of ingredients will very. This recipe we smoked about 8 pounds of trout.

The dill we used was fresh from the garden. I love that we have a herb store growing in our back yard!

1 ½ lb Brown Sugar
½ c. Kosher Salt
10 fresh dill sprigs, chopped
2 Apples, sliced
2 oz Brandy

1. Mix brown sugar, salt and, dill.
2. Layer sliced apples on the flesh of the trout.
3. Generously sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the fish.
4. Drizzle brandy onto the fish.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours to cure.
6. When you are ready to smoke just remove to fish from the cure, allow it to dry for about 15 minuets before putting it in the smoker. This is one step of the curing process that you don’t want to skip, it will make texture of fish firm.

For my smoker, I just soaked apple and cedar wood for about 30 minuets in a aluminum roasting pan.

When all the water was gone, I put a few fresh apple sliced and poked holes in the bottom of the pan to allow the air to flow better. Then I just put it on the propane BBQ grill.

When it starts to smoke I put the fish on the grill, Turned two of the four burners off and turned the other two to the low setting.

DON’T OPEN IT TO LOOK!! If you open the lid, your going to let all the smoke out. Trust me, its doing its thing, getting all smokey.

After about 10 minuets turn the other burners off. Just leave it in there for about 20 more minuets.

You’ve just smoked your very own catch!

When you buy Avocados you are always looking for that perfect one. Just the right firmness and size, looking at the stem, checking to see if its shriveled. Sometimes you think that you have the perfect one and you crack it open to see that you’ve been tricked. Well this recipes makes your sub par avocado in to a first class salad dressing!

1 large avocado, halved, pitted
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 serrano chile, chopped
1 ½ tb fresh lime juice
4 tb olive oil

1. Peal skin from avocado.
2. Put avocado, garlic, serrano, and lime in to food processor.
3. Start food processor and slowly add olive oil.
4. Season well with salt and pepper.

One of my top 10 things to make and eat is Ahi Tuna. I love it! To me its better than steak! This is a recipe that I have served in two restaurants and received great feedback every time.

1 lb Sushi Grade Ahi Tuna diced
1 ts Sesame Chili Oil
1 tb Lite Soy Sauce
1 ts Sesame Seeds
1 tb Cucumber diced
1 tb Onions diced
1 tb Scallions Sliced
¼ Avocado Sliced
Black pepper to taste

1. Mix all ingredients well.
2. Serve with Crispy Won ton chips or in Chinese spoons.

Ahi Tuna Shooters

FoodieFights.com. picked me to battle 5 other chef in this week’s competition with Melon and Red pepper flakes. This is one of my favorite things to do: just be given a few ingredients and go from there.

Letting me loose in a supermarket with just two ingredients can be dangerous. Not only did spend about 45 minutes in there, I dreamed up the best Watermelon and Red Pepper combination. But just when I thought I had it all figured out, I stumbled upon Humbolt Fog. So here it is…

Grilled Watermelon Watercress and Radish Red Pepper Salad, with Humbolt Fog Goat Cheese dressed in a Mango Red Pepper Vinaigrette

Mango Red Pepper Flake Vinigrette

1 Mango diced
2 tb Orange Juice
2 tb Rice Vinegar
1 tb Canola Oil
1 ts Red Pepper Flakes

1. Place Mango, Orange Juice, and Vinegar in blender.
2. On medium speed, add canola oil,
3. Turn off blender in mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Add Red pepper flakes.
5. Mix Flakes in with a spoon.

Salad
½ cup watercress
¼ Red Bell Pepper Sliced
2 Radish sliced
10 Pieces of grilled Watermelon
5 basil leaves
2 tb Humbolt Fog Goat Cheese

Be Sure to look at some of the other treats that were submitted. Foodiefights.com

Foodiefights.com Battle: Melon/Red Pepper Flakes

Skirt Steak is underrated in my book. I love this cut of meat, Its really flavor full and fairly inexpensive.  This recipe is a great spring/summer dish, light and refreshing.

1 lb skirt steak- trimmed, butterfly
¼ cup roasted red, yellow and green bell peppers
½ cup cleaned watercress
2 oz Mango mojo

Steak

1. Toss skirt steak with 1 Ts lime juice, canola oil, salt and pepper.
2. Grill for 3-4 minuets each side.
3. Slice against the grain of the steak.

Roasted peppers

1 ea bell peppers (Red, yellow and green)
Canola oil
Salt and pepper

1. Lightly toss peppers with canola oil, pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Place on hot grill.
3. Turning occasionally until all side are charred.
4. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
5. After about 10 minuets peppers should be cool enough to handle.
6. Gently peel away charred skin and remove seed core.
7. Slice thin

Mango Mojo

1 cup diced mango
¼ cup diced red onion
¼ cup diced red pepper
1 Tb minced Ginger
1 Tb minced Garlic
1 Tb minced garlic
1 ½  cups White Vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
¼ cup honey

1. Combine all ingredients, make sure to mix well before serving

I like to serve this dish like an upside down salad, steak topped with the mango mojo and salad on top!