Wacky Fire Crackers 2/5/11

This has been a very crazy week! We were blessed with a great weekend last weekend! The Super Bowl teams fly in on Monday and Tuesday morning we are kicked in the butt by this wicked ice storm. It was like Wham Bam Thank You Mam! They said we had ice thunder. I am not sure what ice thunder is but Mother Nature said she was closing the city down! After several days of frozen tundra she threw several inches of snow at us Friday morning. Schools would end up closed for the remainder of the week and I made an accidental snow angel when I busted my butt on some hidden ice underneath the fresh powder Friday Morning. My dogs thought it was extremely funny! I love where we live, but this winter has been pretty crazy! The travel business was a little busier this week and my search for full time employment continues. With the Super Bowl in town this weekend I thought I would share a very strange recipe called Wacky Fire Crackers! It is not really strange, but I never would of thought all of these ingredients would make something so yummy! This very addicting cracker was first introduced to me at one of our tailgate parties before one of Matt's football games at Louisiana Tech! Tom & Sherry Toups from Southlake, TX shared this recipe with us and we have been making them ever since. You have to hang with me on this one! These crackers are like Lay's Potato Chips and you cannot just have one! Are you ready? Here we go! You start off with a box of your favorite saltine crackers and a gallon zip lock bag. Go ahead and empty your 4 sleeves of saltines into the zip lock bag. Here comes the bizarre part. Take 1 3/4 cup of canola oil (That is correct 1 3/4 cup of canola oil) and mix it with 1 package of Hidden Valley Dry Ranch Dressing. Then you add anywhere from 3 - 4 TBS of dried crushed red peppers. You can add more if you like it hotter. Then you add 3 - TBS of dried dill. Mix all of this up until it is well incorporated. Here comes the fun part. You take this mixture and pour it all into the zip lock bag full of saltines. Don't be afraid! It works! You just have to trust me. Go ahead and seal the zip lock bag and move the crackers back and forth in the bag until everything looks coated. Find a nice corner on your counter and toss every 15 minutes and set the bag on a new side of the zip lock bag. After an hour you should have had the crackers sit on each of the 4 sides of the zip lock bag. Another twist is to substitute the dill with dried oregano. You will now have a cracker that taste a little like a pizza. After an hour or so I get a sheet pan and line with some paper towels and pour the crackers onto the sheet pan. Throw away your zip lock bag and get a new one. After about an hour put the crackers in your new zip lock bag. While your filling the bag go ahead and sample some of these crackers from heaven. I bet you will be a fan of these Wacky Fire Crackers. They taste even better after 24 hours. Serve them with your favorite dip, soup or whatever you want to load you new found love up with. We like them with guacamole or any type of cheese. No matter what you top your cracker off with I hope you like these as much as we do. The Super Bowl is here and the weather looks like it is going to be nice for game day. No matter whom you are cheering for I hope you have a great Super Bowl Sunday. Family, Friends, Great Food, Great Commercials and Competitive Football make for a Great Day! I hope you try this recipe. If you do, leave me a comment. I would love to know how it turned out. If you make any modifications with the herbs or peppers please share. I love experimentation with food! A special thanks to Tom & Sherry Toups for introducing this amazing recipe to us! Find something you enjoy and just do it! Life is way too short! Have fun and smile! You never know what tomorrow will bring! Until next time, “Cookin’ with John” will be playing with some more food ideas to share with you!

Focaccia Caramelized & Blue 1/24/11

Happy New Year! Where is time gone? It is already 2011 and as I stumble out of my hibernation, I need to get back to cooking! I am not sure why I blacked out! Maybe I am part bear. I guess all of the food I have consumed had put me in a food coma and now that 2011 is here I need to get back on the stove. Since we have last crossed paths we have sold the house and now reside in the northern suburbs of Dallas. My youngest son completed his 2nd season playing football for Louisiana Tech and my oldest son skied for the first time ever. The travel business is making a slow crawl up the start your own business mountain and now that I have been reunited with my wife, the dogs and I are getting back to normal. I am currently looking for full time work, so if you know anyone hiring let me know. I will have the travel business and continue to grow it as well. I finally figured out it just takes time. I am going to follow the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” What an inspiration! I think that wraps up my hibernation in a nut shell. Hey big fella, this is supposed to be about food so let's get on topic! During my food coma I cooked several recipes that were outside of my box. I will introduce those to you very soon. I decided to start 2011 experimenting with Focaccia. I guess I need to explain. Focaccia -(foˈkattʃa) is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, which may be topped with herbs or other ingredients. Focaccia is related to pizza, but not considered to be the same. My inspiration came from reading Food & Wine magazine and I ran across a Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Bosc Pear's and Blue Cheese recipe. These are all things that I like so why not make them into one. This should be very interesting. To make the Focaccia recipe you start out with 1 cup of warm water, 1 package of active dry yeast, 1/2 TSP of honey, 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil and a TSP of kosher salt. Sounds simple enough! In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast and honey and let it stand for 5 minutes. Then stir in 1 cup of the flour and 1/4 cup of EVOO; let stand for 5 minutes. Then stir in the remaining flour and the kosher salt and knead until smooth. Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic and let stand for an hour or more. This gives me time to take the dogs out. I know I am in need for a walk. This food coma as added a few extra pounds to my waist line. After a nice walk around the lake it is time to start working on the rest of the ingredients for the Caramelized & Blue Focaccia. Take a large onion and slice thin. In a skillet, heat 1 TBS of oil. Add the onion, cover and cook over moderate heat for about 10 minutes. Then add a TBS of brown sugar, cover and cook another 10 minutes or until caramelized. Now that your onions are caramelized take 2 Bosc pears and core them. Then slice them anywhere from 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch thick. I squeezed a little lemon juice on them so they would not turn brown. I must of had a bad lemon as my sliced pear's did turn a little brown while they were waiting to be added to the building process. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Oil a 9 X 13 inch sheet pan. Then transfer the dough to the sheet pan and press it into all corners of the pan. Then dimple the dough all over with your fingers and drizzle 2 TBS of EVOO on the dough. Let the dough rise until puffed, about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes it is now time to scatter the caramelized onions on the dough. Then arrange the pears over the caramelized onions and sprinkle with 3/4 cup of your favorite Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola. I used Gorgonzola for my version of the recipe. Now we drizzle 2 TBS of EVOO over the Focaccia and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. The aroma is amazing! Once she is done, transfer her to a rack to cool. I am not waiting very long. My red wine is in my hand and I am grabbing me a slice or two. Yum! Yum! I think my culinary nose is now awake! I am pleasantly surprised with how all of these flavors go so well together. Another glass of red wine and one more slice please. Oh my! That was incredible! My mind sure is wandering with these flavors. I can see other creations. I hope you try this recipe. I just wanted to thank Jill Giacomini Bash for providing the recipe and for the inspiration to create my version. I want to apologize for the length of my hibernation. I am on new medication and I promise many more recipes will be coming your way! When you have time send me your favorite recipe and I will make it and then write about my experience with it. When you try this recipe send me a note and let me know how it came out. Find something you enjoy and just do it! Life is way too short! Have fun and smile! You never know what tomorrow will bring! Until next time, Cookin' with John will be playing with some more food ideas to share with you!

Pork Fried Rice Brooklyn Style 3/4/10

The snow has moved on and we have had some semi sunny 60 degree days. Snow in South Texas is for the ducks! This has been the strangest year for weather. I am not sure I understand it, but I am sure that it is happening for a reason. I know we are being set up for triple digit temperatures this summer. I can just feel it! The dogs have been happier now that they don't have to get wet and then go through the towel dryer when they come back in. I can't have any dirty feet tracks on the floor for the potential home buyers to look at. They know the drill and are being good sports about it. I have been attending a lot of webinars this week. My head has been in education mode. As a Professional Travel Agent you have to be up to speed with the cruise and tour companies. Otherwise you are going to get blown away. Knowledge in this business is the key to you experiencing the ultimate vacation. During my years prior in the Reprographics business I have had the pleasure to work with many amazing people and one of those amazing people is Kathryn Williams. Kathryn & I worked together in Austin for several years. Kathryn has since moved to Brooklyn, NY with her husband and son. You should see all of the snow they have had in Brooklyn this winter. Where I am going with this is Kathryn is one heck of a cook. We share recipes back in forth and the recipe I am cooking today is her recipe. Pork Fried Rice is on the menu today. I have never made this before and was really excited to make it. So where did fried rice come from? Fried rice, which originated in Yangchow province, is a standard method of cooking leftovers, involving frying cold boiled rice with chopped-up meat and vegetables. In really superior restaurants, rice is specially boiled and dried for this, but usually old, unused rice is served. The common (and favorite) recipe, however is not Cantonese, but eastern, deriving from Yonchou in the lower Yangtze country; it involved mixing chopped ham, beaten egg, green peas, green onions, and other ingredients to taste, and then rather slowly sautéing the rice. The rice is neither deep-fried nor stir-fried, but is cooked slowly in a little oil, producing a fluffy product with a slight crust. That is pretty interesting! I am ready to get started! Earlier in the day I cooked 3 cups of rice so it would have a chance to dry out some before I used it in the recipe. I know that is a lot of rice, but being home alone I get a little crazy with my food projects, plus I need some leftovers. The ingredients that we are using today are cooked rice, medium onion, small bag of frozen peas, small bag of frozen carrots, (you can use fresh peas and carrots) sesame seeds, 2 eggs, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, butter, sesame oil, green onions, chopped garlic and marinated cubes of pork. (I marinated the pork in some teriyaki sauce and sesame oil) It sounds pretty simple so far. You need to cut you onion and green onion into a small to medium dice. Your garlic need to be cut into a small dice as well. Then you need to mix your 2 eggs and scramble to your liking. Now that all of the prep work is done get your wok or your favorite non-stick pan. You need to heat your wok up pretty high and then add 1/4 cup of oil. (I used canola oil) Once you see a little smoke start you are good to go. Your cubed pork is the first thing to hit the wok and be careful as there will be a little hissing going on. You need to stir fry the pork until it is done all the way through and then drain it on a paper towel. Then take a couple of tablespoons of butter and add to the remaining oil. Once your butter is melted add all of your vegetables and sesame seeds and cook until your veggies are soft and the onions are translucent. Now here comes the fun part! Take your rice and dump it on top of your veggies and then shower the rice with sesame oil, soy sauce and teriyaki sauce. Mix your rice and veggies together and taste to see if you need to add more soy or teriyaki sauce. It is now up to your taste buds. Then take your scrambled eggs, sesame seeds and your cooked pork and stir fry. Just keep mixing everything together until it is hot enough for you and then it is ready to serve. I told you it was easy to do. The hardest part was the prep work. The best way to eat your fried rice is to serve it with an egg roll and your favorite adult beverage. Those of you who know me know it is going to be a glass of red wine. The last thing you need to do is drizzle everything with Sriracha Hot Sauce and now you have a very awesome comforting meal. I will put this up there with any Chinese restaurant that I have ordered fried rice at. It was really really good! I ate way too much and I am really glad the rice was already cooked. If not, there is no telling how much bigger my stomach would have gotten. I know my wife is going to be upset that I am making this while she is in Dallas, but I promise to make it for her one day soon. Kathryn you did it again. You shared a recipe with me that will stay in the family. It is a keeper in my book. Thanks so much and I look forward to cooking the other amazing recipes that you have shared with me. I am still waiting on that secret banana pudding recipe. Please! For all of those of you reading, make sure and try this recipe out. I know you will be happy that you did. Send me a note or leave me a comment on what you thought and how yours came out. Another day of cooking has come to an end and I am truly blessed with my family and friends that I have. Cooking is a passion of mine and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have. When you have time Send me a recipe and I will make it and then write about it. I would be honored if you would share this blog with a friend who loves to cook. Find something you enjoy and just do it! Life is way too short! Have fun and smile! You never know what tomorrow will bring! Until next time, "Cookin with John" will be playing with some more food ideas to share with you!

Jambalaya Heaven 2/24/10

This weather stuff is crazy! We went from rain and newly formed rivers in the yard to the 70's with shorts and a T-shirt last weekend. Then we get hit with sleet and a small crop dusting of snow. I don't have all of these different types of clothes for three different seasons in one week. I don't know what to expect next, but I just wish it would be consistent. The dogs normally have no problem when you ask them if they want to go outside, but now they have to investigate the situation before they even come close to walking out the door. I am home alone for a while as the rest of the family headed off to their hometowns to do their own things. This gives me time to bond with the dogs and celebrate peanut hour in the evenings! HaHa! Once our house sells I will get to hook up with my wife in Dallas. All kidding aside, we had some good family time as Matt came home from La Tech for a few days during Mardi Gras break along with Janet and Tyler being here as we celebrated their birthdays at Genghis Grill. Where is everyone headed for Spring Break/Summer Vacation this year? If you need some help, I know a cool travel agent. He keeps telling me that cruise vacations and all inclusive resorts are hot right now. I think I need to give him a call. I am getting hungry! Let's go cook something! As a foodaholic and a social networking junkie, I have had the pleasure to meet some really cool people online who love food and are willing to share their recipes. One of those very special people is Toni Patrick Cox from Ruston, LA. Not only is she a great cook she is a very nice person and a football junkie. Football and food, what could be better? During the Super Bowl she made Sausage/Chicken Jambalaya and she was kind enough to share her recipe with me. I have to tell you I was blown away. I have not been very successful with making this Creole/Cajun dish, so I was super excited to have an authentic family recipe to try. I have not personally met Mrs. Cox yet, but I hope to one day soon when I travel to Ruston to watch my son Matt play football at La Tech. You know me by now as I always have to check out the history of what I am going to make. Jambalaya originated in southern Louisiana by the Cajuns around the bayou where food was scarce, as opposed to the richer part of Louisiana. The word is said to be a compound word of Jambon from the French meaning ham, and Aya meaning rice in African, as there were many slaves in the Louisiana at the time. Common belief is that it originated from the Spanish Paella, which has also transformed in the United States to a dish called Spanish rice. Jambalaya is a bit different many times as it incorporates seafood, ham, link sausage rounds and chicken, although it doesn't have to have all those ingredients. It can be made (separately or all together) with ham, chicken, sausage, fresh pork, shrimp, duck and oysters, to which is added shortening, rice, onion, garlic, pepper and other seasonings. There is a Jambalaya Festival and World Champion Jambalaya Cooking contest held annually in Gonzales, LA and it attracts area cooks who have spent years perfecting the art of cooking and seasoning this Creole delicacy. Gonzales, LA is called the Jambalaya Capital of The World. Let's get this cooking adventure rolling! The prep work needs to be done, but grab two beers to drink during the process first. Cut a medium onion to a medium/small dice; chop your celery and green onions into a small dice as well. Then chop your parsley. Don't chop it down to fine as it will cook down some. Then take your smoked sausage of choice and slice it. The chicken breast is next as it need to be cut into cubes. You know the size you like to eat. I think everything is ready to go. I am using a 5 quart ceramic coated cast iron pot. Turn the heat to medium high, add a little oil and fry off your smoked sausage. Remove the smoked sausage and drain on paper towels. Next you take your cubed chicken breast and cook in the sausage drippings like a stir fry. Once your chicken is browned, remove and set aside. Now take the remaining vegetable oil and add to your pan. I know the oil sound like a lot, but it is not. Take your onions, celery, parsley, green onions and sauté for several minutes. Then take your long grain rice and sauté with the veggies for a few more minutes. Now you add one box of chicken stock, chicken, sausage, a 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes, bay leaves, cayenne pepper and creole seasoning. Simmer over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, Then cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the rice is done. I have to tell you that I made this recipe with no one to share it with. My wife is not very happy! I could not wait to eat. It smelled awesome, it looked awesome and it blew me away. This is what I call the ultimate comfort food. I am in heaven and I am on the floor because I ate too much. I cannot even walk to my bottle of wine! I cannot tell you how good this is. I am so awed with how super delicious this is. You will have to make it and shoot me a note after you get back up off of the floor. I bet you will fall in love with it as much as I did. I paired this incredible recipe with a crusty French baguette and nice bottle of 2007 Red Willow Sangiovese from the Columbia Winery in Washington State. Just one quick side note to the recipe as I added more cayenne pepper and one serrano pepper diced to the recipe. It also called for a 13 ounce can of chicken stock, but it was actually one box of chicken stock. Mrs. Cox, I cannot thank you enough for sharing this recipe with me. It will remain in my family forever. I know I was supposed to make dessert as well, but I will save your bread pudding recipe for another day. I hope you to will try this recipe out and I bet you will be satisfied with how awesome it is. Make sure and invite your family and friends over and make it a big party! I truly appreciate all of you who are reading and following. Please leave me a comment sometime so I know who is reading. Send me a recipe and I will make it. I would be honored if you share this blog with a friend. Find something you enjoy and just do it! Life is way too short! Have fun and smile! You never know what tomorrow will bring! Until next time, "Cookin with John" will be playing with some more food ideas to share with you!

PS: I learned a new word the other day! It is called Cruisitude! My travel agent told me about it.

Lasagna in a Bowl 2/12/10

This has been a very strange week. I am not sure how to explain it. I feel like I need to put a wet suit on and put my floating device on call. If we have any more rain I will have my very own river to float down. It won't be long and I can catch a wave down the street! The dogs are even tired of swimming to their destination to do their business. As I sit here and write about food, it is snowing in Dallas where my wife is and I am getting ready for a polar bear swim here in San Antonio. I think I would rather be making snow angels in Big D than shrinking various body parts in San Antonio! I think I am shrinking just thinking about it! It's going to be good weekend though. Matt is on Mardi Gras break from La Tech, Tyler is coming down from San Marcos and Janet is heading home for a few days from Big D. The Winter Olympics start, NASCAR kicks off and the Ultimate day of Love caps off the weekend. I am looking forward to some family bonding time. It has been a while! I am not even going to start with what happens next week. I will save that for another meal. Did I say Lasagna in a Bowl? I did and I know that is crazy, but is in my head for a minute or two. If you are looking at traveling to Italy this year or next, I know of someone who can answer all of your questions. Whether it is by land or sea, he can bring Italy to a reality for you. You can check him out at FCT! Let the cookin’ begin, enough of this FCT stuff! What the heck is Lasagna and where did it come from? Lasagne, also lasagna, is both a form of pasta in sheets (often rippled in North America, though seldom so in Italy) and also a dish, sometimes named Lasagne al forno (meaning "Lasagne in the oven") made with alternate layers of pasta, cheese, and ragu (a meat sauce). While it is traditionally believed to have originated in Italy, evidence has come to light suggesting that a very similar meal known as "loseyns" (pronounced 'lasan') was eaten in the court of King Richard II in the 14th Century. The recipe was also featured in the first cookbook ever written in England. However, the claim is far from universally accepted and the Italian Embassy in London particularly speaking out against it for Italy. The word "lasagna" is derived from the Greek word "lasanon" meaning chamber pot. Could this really mean a “Crockpot”? The word was later borrowed by the Romans as "lasanum" to mean cooking pot. The Italians then used the word to refer to the dish in which what is now known as lasagna is made. Wow, this is a lot of history. This recipe came to me from my sister in law. I will let you in on a secret. She is a great cook! When we first talked about it, I was anxious to make it, but I was really having a hard time seeing how this was going to work. How is a Crockpot going to be the cooking hero? I just don't see it, so let the cooking adventure begin as I attempt "Lasagna in a Bowl" To me Lasagna is comfort food! It needs to be made with love and use fresh ingredients. The prep work needs to be done first. Cut a small onion to a medium dice, mince a few cloves of garlic and slice a handful of mushrooms. Next the ricotta mixture needs to be made. It is really simple to make. Take two cups of ricotta cheese, one egg, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, parsley and mix all of it together. Now we come to the manly part of the recipe. It is time to make a meat sauce. Brown the Italian sausage, ground chuck and your diced onion and drain off the excess fat. Now you add garlic, mushrooms (I did not use due to some of my tasters will not consume mushrooms), hand cranked sea salt, hand cranked crushed black pepper, oregano (my addition to the recipe), red wine that you will drink, marinara sauce of your choice, tomato paste and tomato sauce to the meat mixture. Mix this entire list of ingredients up and set aside. Get your favorite Crockpot out and spray her down so nothing sticks. You said a Crockpot? This cannot be right! Lasagna should be made in a rectangle shaped pan, not an oval or circle shaped pot. I have come this far, so here we go! Take some of your meat sauce and just cover the bottom of your Crockpot. Take your lasagna noodles and start filling in the shape of you Crockpot. I used no cook lasagna noodles, so all I had to do was break them to make them fit right. Then layer your ricotta cheese mixture on top of that. Then add meat sauce on top of that and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. You repeat this same process of layering until you come to about one inch from the top of your Crockpot. Once you reach the top and your last layer of mozzarella is on, top it all with parmesan cheese, parsley and a little more oregano. Cover this masterpiece up and cook her for six to seven hours on low. You will know it is done when your neighbors are knocking at your door. Make sure and keep your vent hood on low so you can perfume the neighborhood. They will love you forever. About ten minutes before you are going to serve it add some more shredded mozzarella cheese, cover it and get your salad and garlic bread ready. Oh, and don't forget your favorite color of wine! I started the wine at hour six! I kid you not; as I scoop me a section of this "Lasagna in a Bowl" I am very impressed with the appearance and aroma. How could this come from a Crockpot? I took my first few bites and I could not believe how moist and how much flavor this lasagna had. Oh my! I am a believer in this Crockpot recipe and I can tell you until I took my first bite I was not sure about how it would turn out. That's Amore! I am in love with my taste buds and this recipe. When I make this recipe again, I will need some marinara sauce on the side so I can top the lasagna with some sopping sauce for my garlic bread. I want to thank my sister in law for sharing this recipe with me. I hope you to will try this recipe out and I bet you will be satisfied with your efforts. Make sure and invite your family and friends over and make it a party! I truly appreciate all of you who are reading and following. Please leave me a comment sometime so I know who is reading. I would be honored if you share this with a friend. Find something you enjoy and just do it! Life is too short! Have fun and smile! You never know what tomorrow will bring! Until next time, “Cookin with John” will be playing with some more food ideas to share with you!