If you’re looking for something quick, packed with flavor and decidedly different from what you’re used to, I may have found the perfect recipe for you.  While I’ve done beef salads before, I’ve never had anything quite as interesting or subtle as this posted here and I think it deserves a try, even if the main ingredient has you doing a double take.

This dish combines a subtlety of flavors and textures that could only be enhanced by additions, rather than having them overwhelm or overpower what’s already going on.  Toss in a little diced Serrano peppers, some sesame seeds or a few crispy fried won ton strings and you’ve just added to the enjoyment.  This is a salad at its most basic.  Perfect, sublime and just hearty enough to keep this dedicated omnivore quite happy from brunch to dinner with no complaints whatsoever.

As I’ve mentioned before.  Beef heart is not an overpowering ingredient.  While the flavor is strong, it brings out a much deeper beefy note than most cuts of “regular” beef, almost a condensed beef flavor.  This makes it perfect for marinading, because the marinade does not end up being the star of the show, the heart still takes that place easily, even after 24 to 48 hours enrobed in other very rich flavors.

Give it a try.  you’ll be glad you did!

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Asian inspired, Beef, beef heart, entree, gluten free, offal, Salad, wheat free

Are you’re looking for some great recipes for your St. Patrick’s Day menu? well this is one irish American family that won’t let you down!  We go big for St. Pattie’s Day around here, and for Irish recipes in general, so we’ve amassed a pretty good collection over the years.  The following are what we have so … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: colcannon, comfort food, Irish food, Potato, St. Paddy's Day, St. patrick, St. Pattie's Day, St. Pattys Day

Cooking for three growing boys has its challenges.  They may always be hungry, but having been raised up to this point on primarily convenient foods, they have a very limited idea of what is acceptable to eat.  Unfortunately for me, just about any vegetable that I consider to be amazing is not currently on that list.

After months of trying to accommodate their wants with a real need to get them to eat in something like a healthy manner, it has come time to put on my “Dad” hat and just start making the right foods, regardless of the amount of noise coming from the dining room when something green comes out of the larder.

What do you do to get your kids to eat better?  Do you have tricks for sneaking healthier alternatives into the mix, or do you just sit staunchly by until they finally cave in and eat what they should eat?  I’d be very interested to know what other parents are doing here, especially since I’m starting with kids that haven’t been eating my food for the last four years.

I’ll grant that the only nod towards health that this particular dish shows is the spinach itself.  This is not the world’s healthiest pasta dish, but I’m using sausage, butter and garlic as gateway foods to introduce healthier items like spinach and fresh basil. (They loved the basil… Not so much the spinach, but they ate some of it, so it’s a start!)

Another trick I’ve begun using is to decrease the amount of “the good stuff” in the dish.  While I more than likely would have made this a year ago with a pound of sausage and simply saved the leftovers, now I’ve cut it down to 1/2 pound, knowing full-well that the two older boys will not leave even the smallest meaty bit in the pan or on their plates, regardless of how little they touch the vegetables.

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: butter, cooking, food, Italian Inspired, Parmesan, Pasta, pasta al burro, Recipes, Sausage, spinach

Peanuts and chocolate are a gorgeous pair.  They play well with each other.  they are comforting. They hang out well together.  to top all of these compatibility perfections, they are simple to combine.

Both are wonderful on their own.  Aside from those with allergies to nuts, most people enjoy these lovely legumes.  Most people also enjoy chocolate.  Bringing the two together is a match made in culinary and confectionary heaven.  It’s also mind numbingly simple to pull off, which is a plus for someone like me who enjoys instant gratification where food is concerned.

I’m not sure if this is so much a recipe as it is a method, but for the sake of semantics, we’ll say that it’s something worth learning, especially if you would like to get in to playing with chocolate.  I’m sure there are better methods and more advanced recipes for this, and if David Lebovitz can tell me how to keep 60% cacau chocolate from melting the second I touch it, I would be very greatful, as these candies are messy, but so very worth it!

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: candy, chocolate, dark chocolate, david lebovitz, dessert, Methods, peanuts, Recipes

Lately I’ve been spending quite a bit of time on the icky-bits.  Firstly, I agree with the nose-to-tail movement.  I firmly believe that if an animal has given me the honor of its very life so that I may eat that no part of that gesture should be wasted.

Granted, the animal in question may never understand the sacrifice it has made or why.  It may never know that I’m thankful for its sacrifice or that I care that by not letting any part of it go to waste might allow others of its kind to live to a ripe-old age, but I do.

Secondly, these products are not only less expensive than their more popular brethren, but generally far better in a nutritional sense.  Beef heart, for example, has less fat and cholesterol than a filet of beef and far less than a rib eye or chuck.  I can’t argue with either the price or the health benefits for my family.

If you’re worried about the flavor, don’t. This isn’t a liver gig.  If anything, beef heart tastes more beefy than a really good cut of prime beef.  It is the essence of the animal after all and it shines brilliantly in this cut.

The only caveat of beef heart is that there really are only two ways to cook it.  You can go blast-furnace hot for about a minute and have it on the rare to medium rare side, or cook ultra low and slow for six to eight hours.  Anything in the middle renders something that is mostly the consistency of a set of 2006 all-weather radials.  If you can remember that one little thing, I think you’ll enjoy it.

Chili is a great introduction to this less than appreciated cut.  it combines the low and slow cooking method for a tender bite, and somewhat hides the true nature of the beast.  if your brood might wince at the thought of heart, you can ease them into the experience with this dish.  Once they’ve tasted it, they’ll be very glad they took the plunge.

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beef, beef heart, chili, chili recipe, head-to-tail eating, offal, organs, Recipes

From the archives. This recipe was originally published three years ago, but has managed to be in the top ten most visited recipes here for the entire time.  I thought it deserved an update and a quick polish.  Hope Y’All still enjoy!

I don’t know if your local market carries them, but around here they occasionally put 10 lb bags of frozen chicken leg quarters on sale. When they do, I jump at the chance to snap some up, knowing that for just my wife and I, this six dollar purchase (sometimes I can find them for as little as three dollars!) will fuel about 5 meals.

The rub is, that’s just a whole lot of chicken. The great part is that chicken is versatile, and legs and thighs are especially so. To be honest though, sometimes I just want my chicken to taste like chicken, and that’s the reason I tossed this together for lunch yesterday.

This is so simple that a recipe really isn’t needed, but I’ll post it in standard format anyway. Adjust the amounts (which I’ve not given) to suit. This particular dish can be a main course or a simple lunch, and can serve from one to as many people as you’d like to feed.

I just love chicken. … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chicken, Herbs, roasted

One of the benefits of running a pretty successful food blog is that every once in a while people make me a few offers I can’t refuse.  In this case, the Safeway family of stores suggested that I give Yoplait’s Fiber One yogurt a try and tell you guys what I thought about … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Product Reviews, safeway, shopping, Shopping Alerts, vons, yogurt, yoplait

We all love top ten lists. As a society we’re obsessed by them. We gravitate towards sites with lists of the most famous, the best dressed (and worst dressed), the most influential and lists of biggest mishaps that have happened to celebrities. All we have to give is “The top ten reasons” for anything and there’s an audience for it somewhere. (Which reminds me.  I need to do a few more list posts…)

Lists are great when they are done correctly but can quickly become a reputation train wreck if implemented poorly.  You have to be sure to quantify the list you are presenting in the right manner.  Failure to do so can result in reader confusion, blatant disregard for the information or worse, out-and-out revolt over the information you so laboriously gathered.

The reason for this cautionary tale is a list posted on slashfood.com titled The Ten Hottest Women in the Food Industry. In concept the post would be fine.  It’s actually a pretty neat list as far as lists go.  Sure, some will balk at the beauty pageant aspect of it, but hey, it’s good for a few comments and a light read, right? … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blogging, Food Snob Chronicles, Food Snobbery, good blogging, Personal Ramblings, readers, The Food Snob Chronicles, writing

This is a simple little side dish that my kids absolutely adore and hey, any vegetable dish that I can get my kids to ask for is most definitely worth sharing, right?  It can be thrown together out of  a few simple ingredients and is ready in minutes, yet adds quite a bit of flavor to any plate.

I generally make this using frozen ingredients I always have close at hand, but there is absolutely no reason that it could not (and indeed should not) be made with fresh ingredients if you have them.  My kids, being of a generation quite content to eat frozen snacks heated from a box in the microwave don’t mind that I use less than perfect ingredients and it’s great in a pinch, but I’d probably opt for fresh if company was coming.

Regardless of the previous temperature of the ingredients, this is a very tasty dish and works very well with chicken, pork or fish.  It plays well with others and has been seen dancing with green beans, peas and broccoli a time or two.  Give it a try, I think you’ll like it!

(Note: I probably would have called it a corn relish on my own, but you try to get a nine and eleven year old to eat something called corn relish!  That’s way too far out of their comfort zone, so I dubbed it by what I tossed in the pan and they seemed happy enough.)

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bell peppers, corn, Onions, quick, Recipes, side dish, simple

There is nothing more fun or more challenging for a seasoned cook or chef than dealing with an overage of product (leftovers for us laymen.)  While you could just reheat and serve, it will almost never be as good as the original dish was (unless it’s a soup or stew, which are sometimes made a day in advance and allowed to get better overnight.)  The idea of turning something previously wonderful into something completely different, but just as memorable is one that some shy from, but I embrace.

This dish is the result of having made far too much braised pork.  I’d used soy in the original marinade and the rest of the ingredients are just pantry staples mixed in a new way.  The difference in textures and flavors was amazing and even though the pork was braised for hours, the dish still had a light, bright flavor that was perfect for a quick breakfast.

The recipe below is for one person, but makes enough dressing for 3 or 4, so feel free to make several plates with a bit more pork and you’ll be fine!

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: leftover recipes, light, pork, Recipes, Salad, simple