Category Archives: Recipes

You CAN Win Friends with Salad – Taco Salad that is…

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According to the Bart Simpson song from ‘Lisa the Vegetarian,’ You Don’t Win Friends with Salad! (link goes to YouTube)

While we love the Simpson’s, my husband and I have to disagree with their song. The following take on Taco Salad is sure to be a crowd pleaser whether you are cooking for a large group of friends, your family, or making dinner for one.  After all, who doesn’t like things topped with crushed chips and cheese!?

The following recipe will feed 4 hungry salad eaters.

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Shrimp and Grits (Prawns and Hominy) – Great Meals

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If you are a regular to the blog you might know that I went to South Carolina a few weeks ago to photograph a wedding in Charleston and get my Southern Cooking fix. I’ve already written about my fast food experiences on this trip (see my post on Bojangles’ fried chicken), but I did get to sample some highbrow South Carolina cooking during the wedding as well at the restaurant Tristan at the French Quarter Inn.

The bride and groom really love food, and their reception seriously had some of the best wedding food I have ever eaten. The highlight of the meal was definitely the Shrimp and Grits, or ‘Prawns and Hominy’ as the restaurant Tristan likes to call it. While those who have never had this dish might think that the combination of shrimp and grits together (pictured above on the right) is weird , trust me on this one – get over it, eat it, it’s delicious and you won’t regret it.

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How To Smoke a Brisket – Texas BBQ Brisket

I like brisket. No, I love brisket. It is THE best form of BBQ. I wanted to chronicle the process and provide a How To guide for BBQ smoked brisket. This smoked BBQ brisket recipe has provided me with consistently tasty and repeatable results. Below, I detailed a step by step process for using your own offset smoker to create a BBQ brisket that will rival that of any local BBQ joint. I’ve also included lots of photos for your reference.

…Click to see the entire recipe.

Brazilian Caipirinhas – Frosty Drink Friday How To

Add a couple of lime wedges and you are done.

When I went to Brazil in 2004, I quickly learned about the country’s national drink, the Caipirinha. At every bar and restaurant around town they were serving up the good stuff. Why do Brazilians like Caipirinhas so much? Not only does this drink taste really good, it’s also deceptively strong. The magical ingredients of sugar and lime go a long way to mask the strong taste of the Brazilian Cachaça rum too. Also, this drink served on the rocks is a refreshing way to cool off from the Brazilian heat.

Now that Brazilian Churascarias like Fogo de Chao have become popular in the States and are serving up Caipirinhas in a restaurant near you, I thought I would share this recipe, especially during the economic downturn. Why pay $8 for this delicious drink at Fogo de Chao when you can make all the drinks you want for roughly the cost of only 3 of these tasty drinks at a high dollar restaurant?

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How to Make Simple Syrup (with pictures)

One of the most common components in mixed drink is simple syrup, which as the name suggests, is very simple to make. Simple syrup is just a mixture of water and sugar, but the secret ingredient is a little bit of heat.

Because sugar and water don’t mix completely in cold drinks, it’s important to heat the water when mixing in the sugar to ensure that the sugar dissolves completely. Using simple syrup instead of mixing in the sugar into every drink also saves a lot of time and energy if you are going to mix up a lot of drinks.

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • a stirring device

Here’s how to make it:

  1. Add water to a pot and heat on high until it boils, reduce heat to medium.
  2. Add the sugar to water and stir.
  3. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the water becomes yellowish and clear.
  4. Remove the simple syrup mixture from the heat to cool.
  5. You can now mix your drink or bottle the simple syrup for later.

Check out the picture gallery below for a visual.

Happy Fooding!
-Peter

All photos courtesy of Peter Tsai Photography

Frozen Peach Drink – Frosty Beverage Friday

There are two temperatures in Texas, Hot and Face of the Sun HOT.

If there is one thing that is going to make this Face of the Sun season (known as summer elsewhere) bearable and it comes in the form of the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker. Yes, the same device that was depicted as the cause of the  economic crisis. Of course, you can use any blender you have available, just make sure to add 1 cup of ice to blender before mixing.

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Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups frozen peaches
  • 1/4 Cup sugar
  • Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
  • 1/2 to 3/4 of Tito’s Vodka

Place all of the ingredients into the blender and mix them until they resemble a chunky smoothie. Use the shave function of the Margaritaville to add about 1 cup of ice. Blend until the mixture is smooth.

I sometimes add water in small amounts if the mix gets stuck. Share with friends.

Cheers!

-Jon

Photographs courtesy of Peter Tsai Photography