Open Face Crab Burgers & Red Pepper Dressing

The end of LOST last week unfortunately also spells the end to hosting my regular Tuesday night viewing and food parties.  It’s been a great way for me to keep the new recipes coming through the kitchen during the work week, and a chance to share the finished meals with people other than only MG.  Not that MG would ever complain about being the sole recipient of my food, but it’s nice to get a little buzz going outside of the boyfriend realm.

(If you are one of those people who is planning to start watching LOST on DVD now that its full run is complete, do NOT read the next paragraph.  Just hop over it.)

Unlike many of the LOSTies out there, I had no problem with the show’s ultimately unanswered questions and unresolved issues.  The final episode was wholly satisfying and gave me a genuine feeling of closure.  It was worth the six seasons of commitment, so please feel free to not leave comments asking how Libby ended up in Hurley’s mental hospital, what Walt’s powers were, and how the smoke monster couldn’t leave the island and yet characters saw visions of their dead loved ones in the “real world.”  I have no interest in defending how I feel about the show or allowing someone to try and argue me out of it, and seeing that it’s still a pretty touchy subject with many fans, that’s probably the smartest road to take anyway.


The best part of the show for me was spending time with my mini-community of LOST buddies… eating, drinking, exchanging past story details that might have been forgotten and executing a communal gasp at a particularly mind-fucking cliffhanger.

Even more fun than that was grabbing MG by the shirt collars at an act break, throwing him around the couch and shrieking, “HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON??????” What, I’m suppose to do that with Glee now? I don’t think it’s going to work.

The final LOST dinner party at my place was for the penultimate episode.  LOSTies and co-workers Travis, Laura and Ashley joined me and MG for a night of smoke monsters, frozen time-altering wheels, and open-faced crab burgers with homemade red pepper sauce followed by angel food cake topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream, which in turn was followed by (in MG’s case only) a bowl of rocky road ice cream.  Recipes and MG’s “this little piggy can’t be stopped” photo are after the jump.

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Portobello Buffalo Burgers

The only regret I have in putting this meal together last night was that I neglecgted to take any picutres of the streams of juice that dripped from these finished burgers, snaked around our fingers as we ate, and rained down onto our plates.  If you decide to make these, look forward to the experience.  It’s an extra perk of these decadent dream-burgers.

The smell over the burners as the mushrooms and onions browned together was truly intoxicating.  The portobellos add a rich, woodsy flavor to the meat.

Mature mushrooms such as portobellos store higher levels of octenol in their gills, leading to a richer aroma when they’re cut open.   I topped them with a simple slaw made with celery, apple, sugar and cider vinegar that rendered any additional topping or condiment unnecessary

Tender buffalo that melts in your mouth, packed with aromatic mushrooms and topped with a zesty slaw.  Write your own ending to this one.  I just remembered there are two left over in the refrigerator!

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Summer Tomato and Bell Pepper Soup

Here’s a soup so tangy and packed with flavor, I refused to share it with anyone… not even MG. In fact, I went out of my way to call him up after I polished off my first bowl to say, “I made an amazing soup tonight… and guess what? You’re not getting any of it!” I guess that’s a little bit of the “baby brother” coming out of me. I am the youngest of four, after all.

Or it could just be that I’m a jerk.

But guess what? I don’t care. This soup really is that good. Let this soup bring out the snotty selfish possessive brat in you.

And luckily, it’s as incredibly easy to make as it is powerfully delicious, so I suggest doubling the recipe below and making two batches, labeling one “Yours,” and the other one “NOT YOURS.” Then invite over loved ones to feast on it.

Not only was it a quick prep, but the ingredient list is also amazingly simple. The only ingredient I didn’t already have in my kitchen was the goat cheese which is a nice finishing touch, but isn’t even necessary to make this baby sing.

Serve it cold in the warm months, and heat it up the night you trim the Christmas tree.

And no, a grilled mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich wouldn’t hurt the situation either, in case you might have been concerned about that.

Summer Tomato and Bell Pepper Soup from Epicurious

• 2 1/4 cups tomato juice
• 1 1/3 cups finely chopped tomatoes (about 11 ounces)
• 1/2 cup (generous) finely chopped roasted red bell peppers from jar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon prepared white horseradish
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• Generous dash of hot pepper sauce
• Fine sea salt
• 4 1/3-inch-thick rounds soft fresh goat cheese
• 6 grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• Additional extra-virgin olive oil (for drizzling)

Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl; whisk to blend. Season soup to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled and flavors blend, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep chilled.
Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Top each with 1 goat cheese round and 3 grape tomato halves. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and basil. Drizzle with oil and serve.

Pineapple-Glazed Chicken with Jalapeño Salsa

After the mass quantities of barbeque sauce, mac and cheese, and pizza that has been consumed at Chez TV Food and Drink in the last week or so (I’m keeping mum about the homemade cinnamon and brown sugar pop tarts from last week, but expect the post soon), it’s time for something a little brighter, and definitely a little lighter.

This recipe was secured of my iPhone Epicurious app. and comes from the good people at Bon Appétit, a magazine I have never actually purchased, much less looked through.  Am I missing out on something?

And let’s hear it for homemade salsa!  There is nothing better.  Jarred salsa is just a total impostor, usually crammed with juices and preservatives that completely violate the vibrant colors of the vegetables, but the fresh homemade!  Oh joy!  Watch it sing its own praises right off your plate!

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Zesty Italian Barbeque Meatballs

Over the weekend I broke out the Little Slow Cooker That Could to brew myself up some phenomenally good Italian Barbeque Meatballs, and I learned a valuable lesson.  Sticking around all afternoon while the aroma of phenomenally good Italian Barbeque Meatballs slowly creeps its way through your apartment in an invisible flavor fog is utter self-torture. From now on, slow cooking is relegated to Mondays through Fridays only while I’m at the office.

Damn good meatballs though, even if the sauce recipe seems a little excessive.  I’m not complaining because it was delicious, but I’m wondering if I can get the same flavor punch with less ingredients.  Any thoughts?

The potatoes were a last-minute addition.  I discovered I had one russet in my cabinet, so I diced it up, coated it with olive oil and a little dry onion soup mix and baked covered at 350 for about 45 minutes.  The tanginess provided a nice contrast to the hickory sweetness of the meatballs, and it wasn’t long before MG and I had everything on our plates mixed together in two giantic savory smokey food mountains.

And of course, you can’t serve a meal like this without a healthy slice of fresh French bread to cover the soppin’ duties at the end.  Barbecue-flavored butter!  There’s nothing better.

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Three (or Four) Cheese Mac and Cheese with Herbs

Coming home from producing our show’s Cinco de Mayo episode, I decided to celebrate all things queso!

There’s some serious cheese going on here, folks.  You need to be warned… I mean truly warned.  Take a good look at the photo below and ask yourself, “Do I have the fortitude to take on this recipe?”  All of the cheese in the photo below was grated  and melted into a mere 12 ounces of penne rigate to create the finished product.  You’ve been told.
And it doesn’t stop there.  There’s also butter!  There’s also bacon!  There’s also the fat from the bacon! There’s also white flour.  There’s also fresh sage, parsley, oregano and rosemary.  Some of that counts as vegetables, right?

Am I leaving anything out.  Oh yeah!  I accidentally doubled the amount of butter required by the recipe.  Oops!  I swear, it was unintentional.  And guess what, it totally didn’t ruin the meal!  Who’d have thought it?

I started preparing this at about 8:00 in the evening.  I started eating it at about 9.  By about 10, I was speaking in tongues and levitating three feet off the floor

The recipe can be found at StephenCooks.com, so send your thank you cards and/or the pants you are about to no longer be able to fit into his direction, not mine.  I didn’t come up with this.  I merely used it on a lonely Wednesday night to fill a hole in my heart.  Cheese is really the best way to overcome such things, don’t you think?

So take a read below for how to get ‘er done, and then head to the store for the ingredients you’re missing, because if you have this much cheese just sitting around your house already, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be spending your time reading blog posts.

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Fresh Tomato Basil Dipping Sauce

We food bloggers… (I almost hesitate including myself. Have I been blogging long enough to deserve it?)… we all find our way to a love of food in different ways. Some of us learned it from mom and/or dad. Some of us reluctantly signed up for a college course to fulfill a general education requirement. Some of us just dig Rachael Ray that fucking much!

For me, it was a blood-pressure scare.

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MG’s “Almost Famous” Tacos

If you can’t go more than a week without a taco, you need to come by my place sometime.

Tacos usually hit my table at least every seven days, packed with well-seasoned chicken or turkey simmered for at least ninety minutes in a bath of chopped onion, jalapeno and bell peppers, garlic and cayenne pepper (sprinkled in sparingly if guests are coming, generously if it’s just MG and me, and enough to turn the entire pan crimson if it’s me alone)

Apartment 402 was the place to be this past Tuesday night as MG made for me a celebratory “back from San Fran” mountain of crunchy-tender-succulent happiness that nearly made my eyes pop out of my head like a wolf in a Tex Avery cartoon!

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Cheese and Tomato Sausage Bake

I’m leaving for a weekend in San Francisco in less than 24 hours. Very excited about it. Sadly, I picked the weekend of the Los Angeles Grilled Cheese International to leave town. Wish I could do both, but truthfully, I am a man who rarely wants for cheese. Witness this lovely dish that was cobbled together with leftovers and the perishables I’m racing to eradicate from my kitchen before I leave for the weekend. Kinda hard to look away from these pics, isn’t it?

Truth be told, the top pic is currently my desktop photo. You think it looks good 500 pixels wide? You should see it at 2500 pixels wide!

This dish is fantastic straight from the pan, or packed in a pita (consider it a Classy Hot Pocket). It also goes great over some slightly tosated sourdough or ciabatta bread lightly scraped with a garlic clove.

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Bobcat Burgers and Medallion Potato Fries

No, there is NO bobcat meat in this recipe.

The “bobcat” element of this burger is the “bobcat slaw,” an odd combination (to me, anyway) of cabbage, white vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, celery seed and mustard. It gives this burger an awesome, crunchy vibrant kick that’s made even more zesty with the addition of some tangy feta.

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