Dinner List 7/22 - 7/26

Plate-o-nachos & chili rellenos
Monday, July 22nd

Chicken parm & artichokes
Tuesday, July 23rd

Sam & Sage Have Plans
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Special Weekend Edition: Matt's "The Billy" Menu
Oops.  Shit didn't happen.
Saturday, July 27th

Rolling list of food ideers:
Spinach & cheese turnovers
The James Bond 3-course meals
Spring/summer rolls
Teri steak tips
Grilled cheese

Matt's Sensei Seagal 3-course menu

Matt's "Sensei Seagal" Menu: A true American hero

Inspired by the man himself.  Paired with quality flicks and bad TV dramas.

The Main Course: Roast Beef

Give yourself 20 minutes per pound for this bad boy.  Figure 8oz per person.

• A full boneless rib - don't try to mess with this one or you'll get a thumb in the eye.  
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• Salt and pepper
• A bad attitude

Keep the attitude.  Preheat your oven to 425.  Trim the roast, roll it up so the fat is on the outside.  Tie it up so it doesn't get a way.  Poke holes with a pairing knife every few inches; put a slice of garlic in each one.  Rub the whole thing down with salt and pepper.  Put it in the oven, fat side down, on a roasting rack and let 'er be.

The Side Dish: Garlic Fries w/ Spicy Ketchup

• 1 big russet potato per person, washed and peeled
• Garlic powder, chopped garlic, garlic oil, salt
• Lots of oil.

First, you need to cut fries.  If you don't have a mandolin or a fry cutter (don't ask, but yes), then try to cut fries with a knife.  Don't lose a finger.  Aim for 3/8" thick.  As you cut them, put them in a bowl of water so that they don't turn brown.  You can leave them all in there until you're ready.

If you have a fryer, use it.  If you don't, good luck:

Put about an inch of oil in the bottom of a heavy pot.  Get it hot.  Hot enough that when you drop a DROP of water in it, the fucker pops at you like nobody's business.  Take fries out of your water bath, dry them with paper towels, then dump them in the hot oil.  Don't do too many at once.  In a 4qt pot with an inch of oil, two handfuls is a good amount.  Too many and they'll lower the oil temp and get mushy.  Then you'll have to use them for breakfast.

Fry the fries for about 10 minutes, or until they're golden in color.  Take them out with tongs (or your bare hands, if you're like the badass this meal is named for) and let them drain on paper towels.  While they're still hot, toss the fries with a little bit of chopped garlic, some oil, and a sprinkle of salt and garlic powder (or garlic salt.)

The Finish: Chocolate Stout Floats
Just put that shit in a glass with vanilla icecream.  Use root bear for those wanting unleaded.

Mango Curry w/ Rice, Naan & Saag

Mango Curry w/ Rice, Naan (Gluten-Free) & Saag

Oh shit.  I forgot to blog.  And take pictures.  So you're going to have to trust it.

Saag is a spinach-garlic-concoction.
Naan is bread.

And accept the fact now that you're going to make too much curry.  Seriously.

I suggest getting the curry going, then making the Saag and Naan while it's cooking down.  You do what you want.

Feeds 6ish.

The only pick I took...

The Curry:

• 1 big onion, chopped
• 4 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks or strips
• 3TBSP cilantro, chopped (fresh, don't disappoint me now)
• 1qt plain yogurt
• 1c water
• Spices - at least curry powder

• 4lb of pork - go for butt or shoulder (some people are into the shoulder), you want something with some fat on it, so don't get all yuppie on me and buy tenderloin
• 1/4c of chili powder (the mix, NOT straight cayenne) and 1/4c of ground cumin
• TBSP of salt

Heat up some oil in a pot (4qt pot is good) on medium.  Add the onions, carrots, and garlic and cook until they smell good.  Just don't burn them.  Add the chicken (yup, raw) and some more oil so that nothing sticks and cook that until the chicken is white on the outside - about 5-7min.  Add the water and get it to a simmer.

Mix your spices into the yogurt (this'll help make sure they don't get clumpy):

• Start with 3TBSP of curry powder
• If you want to get adventurous, try your luck with ginger, garlic, or chili

Put the whole thing of yogurt into the pot, mix it real good, and set it on a lower simmer.  This is going to cook down (and cook the chicken) for about 45 minutes.  If it's too thin, cook it longer.  If it's too thick, add water.  If it needs more spice, mix the spices with some liquid or yogurt before adding to stop clumping.

The Rice
You don't know how to make it?  Read the instructions on Uncle Ben's box

Saag (or Saag Paneer if you add the cheese)
You're going to make this, then reheat it when you're ready to eat.

• 1 stick of butter
• 1lb of spinach (or two good bunches)
• 1/3lb (or one good bunch) of some bitter greens - mustard, dandelion, etc.
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Some water
• Spices - cumin seeds, chile, turmeric powder, cumin
• 6oz of paneer (or queso fresco) chopped into 1/2" cubes

Rinse and chop all of your greens.  Melt that butter in a big sauté pan.  Add your garlic and a mix of spices.  Start with 2 TBSP of turmeric, 1 TBSP of cumin, 1 tsp of coriander, 1 tsp of chili powder (not straight cayenne.)  You can add more later after you taste it.  Cook that for 3 minutes for the garlic to brown up and smell nice. Add enough greens to fill the pan (but not go over the top) and stir into the butter until it cooks the greens down to a dark green and they look like cooked spinach - 3-5min a batch.  Repeat this, adding a few tablespoons of water each time before the greens, until all of them are in there and cooked.  Mix in your cheese.  Set the whole pan aside, off of heat, until you're ready to eat.  When you are, heat 'er back up.

Naan
Seriously, it's easier to just buy this in a package and heat it up.  But if you're stubborn (like me), here's a gluten-free variety that doesn't suck.

• 1/2 cup water, as hot as your tap will give it out
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast
• 1/2c milk
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups rice flour or GF flour mix
• 3/8 cup potato starch
• 3/8 cup corn starch
• 2 tsp guar/xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• oil for cooking

First, you're going to make buttermilk: put the 1/2c milk and TBSP lemon juice in a jar, mix, and set aside.  Watch it get clumpy and gross for 5 minutes, and then you have buttermilk.

Second, you're going to make a slurry of yeast (I made that term up for this): get your 1/2 cup of hot water, honey, and yeast in a bowl, and mix it together.  LEAVE IT BE.  Until it gets frothy - about 5-10min.

While that's all doing it's thing, mix the dry ingredients together (for those of you struggling with this, that's the rice flour through the baking powder.)

In a separate bowl, mix up your eggs.

When the buttermilk and yeast are ready, mix both with your eggs, then mix all that with the flour.  Stir it all together, then leave it in a bowl, covered (on the counter) for 20 minutes to rise and rest.

When that's done, get some potato starch ready to keep shit from getting sticky (point.)  Get a handful of the dough and knead it, then set it aside on a pan as a flat disc (should be about 4" diameter, and roughly flat to about 3/4 of an inch.)  From all this, you'll end up with 4-5 discs this size.  Go smaller if you want, it doesn't matter.

Now (finally), get a big sauté pan and heat up some oil in it on medium.  Don't use a lot of oil, just enough to coat.  Don't let the oil smoke, and you'll have to mess with the temp the whole time.  When it's hot, you're going to drop one of the discs onto the pan.  Right away, start pressing the dough outward so it flattens and spreads.  Use your fingers if you're brave, or use the back of a metal spatula and put some starch/flour on the top of the dough to keep it from sticking.

Fry for 3-4 minutes a side.  Repeat.  Godspeed.

Dinner List 7/15 - 7/19

Sam Has a Meeting
4-cheese quiche and leftover mashed sweet pots
Monday, July 15th

Sam & Sage Have Plans
Tuesday, July 16th

Mango Curry w/ Rice, Naan & Saag
Wednesday, July 17th

Matt's Sensei Seagal 3-course menu
Thursday, July 18th

BBQ & Spicy Wings w/ some side dish
Friday, July 19th

Rolling list of food ideers:
Spinach & cheese turnovers
The James Bond and The Billy 3-course meals
Spring/summer rolls
Teri steak tips

Dinner List 7/8 - 7/12

Fish & Veg
Monday, July 8th

Pad Thai
Tuesday, July 9th

Stuffed Shrooms & Beet Salad
Wednesday, July 10th

7 4 Cheese Quiche, Sweet Pots, and Salad
Thursday, July 11th

Used Shoes, Sprained Thumb, Good Times
Friday, July 12th

Vacation 6/24 - 7/5

I ate at IHOP.
I ate at a place called the Potatoe Patch.
I ate a ton of burgers.
And chips.
And tacos.
And now I'm back and need to get cookin'.