I’d like to take a moment to introduce our very first guest author Ben Herrera. Ben is the author of “What’s cooking?” a blog focusing on wonderful Mexican recipes. Please give him a huge round of applause! ~ Jerry

I have to admit that I got nervous when Jerry asked me to write a guest post for this blog. I wanted to write a post that would blow his readers away. I literally sat in front of a blank page for hours trying to come up with my greatest post ever. After all, this is not just any blog, we are talking about the Cooking by the Seat of my Pants blog.

However, I am not really good at complicated things and after several attempts and a bad headache I decided to keep it simple, just like the side dish I chose for this post. I love to cook. I learned about food and cooking at my parents’ restaurant in Mexico City where I literally grew up. I would spent a couple of hours after school every day helping with anything I could, from washing dishes to prep work and waiting tables.

I learned a good deal about food and restaurant management in those years, but when I am in the kitchen making dinner for my family I like to keep things simple. Simple doesn’t have to mean boring and flavorless. Using just a few ingredients, as long as they are fresh and of good quality, I have been able to come up with delicious dishes. A lot of single ingredients contain a lot of flavor, aroma or just that special kick that can make a dish memorable.

One of those ingredients is the humble, yet delicious, Poblano pepper. Poblano is a mild pepper and one of the most popular chiles grown in Mexico and the American southwest. Their flavor is so rich that they are perfect for chiles rellenos and just about any dish they are used in, like this creamy Poblano rice:

Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]

I have to admit it. Up until I made this, dirty rice was one of my guilty boxed pleasures. I’d never seen a recipe for it, and I have to admit that I really hadn’t looked. I’d just grab a pound of ground beef or sausage and cook it up, then mix in the packet, some stock, and presto! A hearty meal that took all of 35 minutes, start to finish.It’s not what I’d call health food coming out of a box, but it was just so good!

Then one day while the Food network droned on as background noise to cleaning the living room, I saw it. There on the screen before me, Paula Deen, the First lady of Buttah was doing a segment on low country cooking, and her second dish was that elusive, delectable dish that I’d come to love so much from a box.

And it was too simple for words.

Literally, it’s probably the simplest thing you could ever make. Just brown up some proteins, add some green stuff, fold in rice and as much heat as you want, and viola! Enough dirty rice to last my rice luvvin’ wife over a week of lunches. The flavor.. Something just this side of heaven, in our opinion.

Dirty Rice is now one of those things I would never dream of buying in a box. It is a comfort food that I’ll lovingly recreate time and again. I’ll make my own at least once per month and freeze it up in individual serving sizes for a quick bite or a glorious side to any meal that needs a bit of kick to go along with it.

I hope Y’All enjoy this recipe as much as we did.

EDIT: I had a few people suggest that they would prefer giblets over livers. I’m here to tell you NOT TO DO THIS! I tried the recipe with giblets last night and the resulting dish was summarily thrown out. It is not a good combination at all! Read more…

Popularity: 21% [?]

Sometimes it’s the simplest things that taste the best, and that is definitely the case here. My wife demanded hinted that she wanted more rice in her diet to help with her fitness program, and while her Puerto Rican rice is wonderful, I was in the mood for something a bit different, and this dish is the result of that.

By this point you’re probably wanting to know where the food in this food blog has gone. I’d like to give a hundred great reasons as to why I’ve been posting food related topics rather than recipes, but it really boils down to just one thing.

We’re just finishing getting moved in, and until yesterday, I didn’t have a single clean flat surface to take a picture on! That problem has been remedied, and the recipes will commence as scheduled from this point. (Believe me, I’m just as happy about that as you are!) Of course, I’m still going to be posting frequent food related topics, but I’m also going to do my absolute level-best to get a recipe per day out as well.

Back to the business at hand…

Red beans and rice is one of those dishes I’ve loved for a very long time, but never attempted myself. It was simple to either order it as a side at a restaurant or to open a box (Gasp!, Say it ain’t so, Jerry!) and follow the instructions. For some reason, I thought it would take quite a few tries to get it right, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! It’s fairly simple, and can be adapted to fit nearly any taste, from serious carnivore (just add the flesh of yer favorite mammal), to the complete vegan (use water or veggie broth instead of the chicken broth I used, maybe toss in a mushroom or two for body, and you’re there!)

Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]

I’ve touched on my love of barley before. It’s wonderful in combination with brown rice or beef (as the ubiquitous beef and barley soup is wont to attest.) I’ll be the first to admit that like most Americans, I hadn’t had much exposure to this wonderful grain except in soups, but I’m doing my level best to find ways to introduce it to as many people as possible.

So far, I haven’t had anyone turn their nose up at it.

Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]

Brown Rice and Barley are good for more than just soups. Barley is overlooked in American cooking. The most common uses of the grain in the U.S. are actually Malt production for beer and animal food products. I think that’s a crying shame, and I’m on a mission to prove it. (Though I won’t ask them to stop making Malt, I do like me a beer now and again. O.K. A little too often, but that’s a different issue altogether.)

I originally put this recipe together as a side dish for some turkey thighs we had on hand, but there was just so much of this that Mrs. seat of her Pants and I ate this by itself, and it was wonderful as a main dish as well.

*Please note, the recipe as shown is made with Chicken Stock, though substituting Mushroom Stock, Vegetable Stock or water will convert this omnivorous version into a vegetarian version in seconds.

Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]

It’s been said for a very long time that chicken soup is good for a cold. It’s been proven that the vapors help with congestion, but I still think it’s the comfort factor that makes us feel so much better when we’re under the weather.

Mrs. seat of her Pants was down with a bug over the weekend and the only thing she could tolerate was soups and broths. In true style, she fussed at me that I didn’t need to go out of my way to make her anything “special” and that she would be quite happy with the soup in the little red box.

Powdered soup… For my sick wife… I don’t think so. Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]