I think the inspiration for this originally came from Wolfgang Puck’s Cooking Class on Food TV some years ago, though it didn’t include a sauce. The recipe I remember was for stuffed chicken legs, though I can’t find the reference recipe on the Food Network site anywhere, so I may be mistaken as to the recipe.

No matter where the inspiration came from, I’m sure that I’ve deviated sufficiently from whatever the recipe was to call this a true Cooking by the seat of my Pants original. As a matter of fact, I changed gears at least three times during preparation, adding a bit of this and eschewing that, so if this is in-fact, based on any recipe by an award winning chef, it has surely been bastardized enough that they would no longer recognize it.

It turned out to be simply incredible. Sumptuous, creamy, mushroom-and-garlicky goodness that fills the palette with multiple levels of wonderful flavors. I may have improvised at every turn, but apparently I did so in the right order , and with the right ingredients.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

Isn’t it funny how the littlest things can get you reminiscing about the “good old days”? Some recent upheavals in our lives have had me waxing reminiscent about home. No, not the home I share with my wife, the home I left when my last relationship fell apart, or the state that I was raised in. I’m talking about the town I was raised in.

There seems to be no lack of expatriates (or “expats”) in the food blogging community. Most list expatriatism (is that a word?) as being from one country and living in another, but some have narrowed the definition to include moving from one region within a country to another. Lisa, The Homesick Texan and Matt of Matt Bites are both expatriate Texans, Lisa in New York and Matt in California. There are sites dedicated to expatriate bloggers as well, it’s a phenomenon!

I’m going to narrow the definition a bit further. I don’t consider myself an expatriate Californian. As a matter of fact, I can take the state or leave it. Don’t get me wrong, the vistas are grand and the scenery is breathtaking, but Texas has its share of breathtaking scenery, and so does every other state in the union. It’s not the State that I miss when I’m feeling down, it’s one very particular area in the state.

I’m talking about the City of Sonoma.

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I feel like I’m breaking some sort of oath with myself by releasing this recipe. I’ve guarded this one with my life on more than one occasion, refusing to allow the grail of roast preparation out of the confines of my own kitchen. For me this is something akin to letting a national secret slip into the wrong hands, but the decision has been made and there’s no going back now.

It’s probably guilt that’s motivating this decision. I’m not usually wont to be a recipe hog. Generally I’ll chat and give (and receive) recipe hints anywhere that I can. In the grocery store, at the checkout, at the bank, at dinner at someone’s house, or on the phone. But not this… This one is different.

This is, quite simply the best damned beef roast short of a standing rib roast that you’ll ever eat, and for the first time in my life, I’m going to spill the recipe.

“Please take note, Mr or Mrs Bond, this message will self destruct 10 seconds after completion and will not be repeated”

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Perhaps it’s the Irish in me, or perhaps it’s just fond memories from my childhood. In either case, when I’m thinking of a side dish that goes well with just about anything, I almost always turn to potatoes. Not only are they filling in their own right, but the earthy flavor and buttery texture of potatoes that are well prepared is something that makes a meal feel more”complete” somehow.

This recipe is one of the most versatile that I’ve come upon. Originally based on a method for making parsleyed potatoes, its very simplicity belies the perfection of the method and the amazing amounts of different variations that can come of it at a moments notice. The potatoes are steamed, not boiled, so achieving a perfect texture is child’s play, and no oil or salt need be added if you wish to omit it. The flavor can be changed completely by simply switching to a different selection of your favorite herbs, which allows for pairings with nearly any dish, or the flavor can be kicked up a bit and be served as a main course in itself. Read more…

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If you’re a regular visitor you’ve probably already noticed that I’ve shaken the look of the place up a bit again. There shouldn’t be any surprise in that, since I’d already said I was compelled to do so in an earlier post.

As usual, I waxed impatient and just had to get this template up today, so expect to see some shifting around of topics, menus and a bit of functionality here and there over the next few days. (I’ve never been great at waiting.)

I really think that this particular theme suits my style a bit better. It’s more original, more “My Own” than the last, and I think that it shows the photography in a better light as well. For that reason alone it’s a better choice.

Don’t worry, Cooking by the seat of my Pants will be back to posting regular food related entries just as soon as I can get ‘em typed up. My obsession with “Look and Feel” won’t prevent that, and I’ve got several items just waiting to grace these pages with their yumminess.

I hope you all enjoy the new look. Don’t worry, I’ll be sticking with it for at least a year.

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I wish that this entry was one of the titles I’ve been working on for the past several days.

I wish that I could entice you with one of four recipes I have in the queue, or that I had the time to post a series of observations that has been keeping my mind bustling over the past half week.

I wish I could, but I can’t.

We received news that My wife’s Stepfather has been rushed to the hospital, and we’re making preparations to take the two hour drive to Dallas to visit him for what may be the last time. So much for attending a co-workers’ wedding this evening.

I’ll be back at the keys either very late tonight or early tomorrow with a few new tidbits, and a rant that I’ve been working on over the past few afternoons.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Until tonight then!

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Some of you probably remember me waxing poetic on the subject of Twin Springs Wineries’ Texas Sweet Red wine. Being a wine country expat, I very much enjoy tasting wines that are local to the area I find myself living. Wines from different regions have very different flavor components and characteristics, not to mention methods of vintification. The serious wine types call this terroir (/tεʀwaʀ/ in French), which I suppose is as good a term as any, though I’m not wine-snobby enough to use the term often myself.

My wife had the pleasure of visiting the Wichita Falls Vineyards and Winery this past Saturday for a wine tasting with some friends. She was kind enough not only to take notes on her tasting, but to bring home some of the fruits of the vines and labors of the vintners themselves, definitely something I was interested in sampling!

The Wichita Falls Vineyards and Winery sells wines under two labels. Wichita Falls Winery and Vineyards is their primary label and vintages labeled Gates Vineyards are usually a combination of Texas and California grapes, a very interesting combination, as Texas grapes tend to be much sweeter than California’s offerings. (Texas has less water. Less water=smaller grapes. Smaller grapes=higher sugar content.)

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As much as we as foodies love to try jazzin’ up our vittles with spices, sauces and other accompaniments, there are times when simple is just… Well. Better. Some foods just don’t require anything other than their own inherent goodness and a touch of salt and pepper to make them fantastic.

At our local market, the steak pictured above is called a “Family Steak.” I suppose the butchers felt that chuck was out of favor at the moment due to fat content or some such, and changed the name on the package. I’m here to tell you folks, it’s a chuck steak, and chuck doesn’t require much in the way of help from anyone to be wonderful.

Oh, I could have smothered this little gem with sautéed mushrooms or caramelized onions. It would’ve tasted incredible with a number of toppings or sauces. The point is, it’s simply not necessary, and not wheat Mrs. seat of her Pants or I were in the mood for at the moment. The red beans and rice on the side was more than enough to set off all the flavors the beef had to offer, and there are times when simpler is just better.

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A little late on my part, I know, but I thought I’d share what Mrs. seat of her Pants and I shared for our belated St. Patrick’s day meal.

Generally speaking, I go large for our St. Paddy’s day celebration. Corned Beef, Guinness for myself and Killian’s for the Mrs. (She’s not a fan of stout) and some good “Irish Movie” (whatever that is. I just tend to rent something I remember watching as a kid with my mother. Generally something like “The Silent Man” or “The bells of St. Mary”)

This year my wife had a bridal shower/wine tasting with a few friends (Italian friends… I nearly fell over, but I suppose it’s not a tradition for them, so they didn’t think about it.) She was compelled to go, and I wasn’t about to make a production out of the evening for myself. (I ended up making Ramen with frozen shrimp and broccoli, but that’s another story.)

Sunday came along with dreams of making all of the above mentioned, perhaps with some champ or other lovely old country side. Unfortunately, Mr. seat of his Diaper had plans of his own, most of which included keeping my wife and myself very busy tending to his needs rather than anything fancier than what I threw together.

A lot of folks would call this a New England Boiled Dinner. I beg to differ. This was the corned beef my mother made every St. Paddy’s day for the first 25 years of my life. Our home had precisely one cabbage lover, my father. He was summarily overruled in his request for corned beef and cabbage by his lovely (and extremely Irish/Cherokee) wife and two children right up until the day he moved out when I was 16. I’m hopeful that he managed to get his requested dinner on the following holidays before he passed away, but I wasn’t around by that point to find out.

I will concede that this isn’t the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage served by most Irish American families, and so I’ve just dubbed it Corned Beef and Potatoes though really I just think of it as “Mom’s corned beef”. In any case, it’s something worth making more than once per year, and I usually get around to it about four times between one St. Paddy’s Day and the next, jut because I love the flavor, the memories and the simplicity of the entire affair.

Being a very old family dish, I have no recipe for this. I simply use the same method that my mother and her mother before her used, and I’ll detail it for you here.

*Note: You won’t find my usual “What I would have done differently…” section in regards to this post. I will never do anything differently with this dish, regardless of what the Dr. might tell me about sodium intake. Period.

Corned Beef and Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 large corned beef brisket (4-6 lbs)
1 large onion
6-10 new (red/Irish) potatoes, depending on size, quartered and halved
3 large carrots, chopped large

Method:

Place corned beef in a large stock pot and cover with water. Add the seasoning included in the package. (No, I don’t rinse mine.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, adding water as necessary until brisket is fork tender, or cooked to the desired doneness.

Toss in veggies and add enough water to cover. Cover pot and allow to simmer until veggies are done to your liking.

Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

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I must have been living under a rock for the past four months.

When I originally redesigned this blog (to coincide with the switch to our very own happy little domain name), one of my primary reasons for doing so was that, at the time it went live, it bore a remarkable resemblance to Simply Recipes. (As a very real matter of point, it was inspired by it.)

I didn’t feel that this was fair to Elise, who has worked so long and hard to gain the popularity that she’s gotten, and to be frank, I was looking for my own identity in the food blogging world, something that the old site design simply didn’t provide. It was cookie-cutter, and almost a dead knock off of Simply Recipes. I vowed to change that when I moved the site.

So after many hours scouring the WordPress Themes repository, I came across this theme, did a double-take and shouted “That’s It! I’ve found it!” Then set about getting it all set up and working the way I wanted it to.

So why am I railing at WellFed?

I’m not, really. I’m a tad upset with myself for not noticing, up to this point, that I’ve gone and used exactly the same theme being used on all sites in their network.

I switched the look so that I could be original, and never noticed that I’d created a carbon copy of one of the more popular foodie destinations on the web…

How embarrassing.

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