• 4 russet/baking potatoes, washed
• 1 large yellow onion cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup parmesan (or any other cheese or cheese mix you’d like), and some extra to top the potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 
• salt & pepper to taste  

Directions

1. Pierce the top side of each potato with the tines of a fork to allow the steam to release. Place the potatoes on a microwave safe plate and cook on high for approx. 10 minutes in the microwave or until they are fork tender. You could also do this in the oven if you want but the microwave makes this process much quicker.
2. Cut the top 1/4 inch off the top of each potato so that the inner flesh is all exposed. 
3. Using a small spoon, scoop out the flesh from the potatoes, leaving enough on the bottom and sides to allow the potato to hold its shape. 
4. In a pan or skillet add the olive oil, onions, and salt & pepper and place over medium low heat. Saute the onions until they get very dark brown around the edges and they begin to smell sweet. Approx. 15-20 minutes. 
5. Once the onions are a deep brown around the edges add the balsamic vinegar and reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic and allow the onions to caramelize into a very dark and sticky, but tasty, mess. Approx. 5-10 minutes. 
6. Preheat your oven to 450F.
7. Remove the onions from the pan and dice them into fine pieces and add to the potato flesh that you removed from the potatoes. 
8. In that same bowl, add the heavy cream, butter, the cheese, and salt & pepper to taste. Mash until they are the consistency of mashed potatoes and refill the potato shells. It will seem like you have a lot more filling than you started so mound the potatoes up with the tasty filling. 
9. Sprinkle the tops of the potatoes with the extra cheese and place on a baking sheet in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until they are heated through and the cheese on top has created a nice crust. 

Ingredients:
1 – Yellow Onion, diced
2 – Medium cloves of garlic, smashed lightly
2 Cups – Green peas (can be frozen)
2 – Medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed (Yukon golds or russets work fine)
5 Cups – low sodium chicken stock
1 1/2 tablespoons – Parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons – all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons – unsalted butter
1/4 Cup – whole milk (per serving bowl)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to drizzle

Directions:

1. In a soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and saute the onions and potatoes and garlic until the onions are slightly browned around the edges and the potatoes start to soften up.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and potatoes and cook for a few minutes to get rid of the flour taste.
3. Add the 5 cups of chicken stock and bring to a boil, simmer until the potatoes are fork tender.
4. Add one tablespoon of the parsley and the peas and salt & pepper to taste. Cook until the peas still have just the faintest crunch to their shells.
5. Puree the soup in a blender until you reach your desired consistency.
6. Pour into serving bowls and drizzle with olive oil and drizzle the 1/4 cup of whole milk into each bowl. Garnish with parsley.

After a long couple weeks of teeter-tottering weather conditions and midterm exams, nothing hits the spot like a nice pot of spicy chili. But not just any chili, spicy bean & bacon chili! A mixture of nice smoked bacon, onions, green peppers, ground beef, tomatoes, kidney beans, and black beans with the kick from a few Serrano chile’s. It’s sure to spice up your weekend and served with a few corn muffins might even be the perfect meal.

Ingredients
2 medium yellow onions (medium dice)
1 green bell pepper (medium dice)
2 serrano chile’s finely minced (keep the seeds for heat)
2-3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
6 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
6.oz can of tomato paste
15.oz can of kidney beans (drained)
15.oz can of black beans (keep the liquid to help thicken up the chili)
15.oz can of tomatoes (I buy the chili tomatoes with jalepeno peppers mixed in)
1/4-1/2 cup water (save for thinning out the chili if you need to)
1lb ground beef (I use 80/20 because its the cheapest but you can use whatever you want)
1/2 package of your favorite smoked bacon (cut into 1/4 inch strips)

Directions

1. In a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, render the bacon pieces until they are just a bit crispy around the edges (approx. 5 minutes on medium high heat)
2. Take out the bacon and set on paper towel to absorb excess fat and reserve for later, drain the fat from the pot (I suggest keeping it for some other use later, its mighty tasty)

3. Add the ground beef and brown over medium-high heat, making sure you scrape up all those yummy bacon bits off the bottom of the pot (approx. 5-8 minutes)

4. Add the onions and green peppers and saute until onions are translucent (approx. 4 minutes)

5. Sprinkle the chili powder and cumin mixture over the beef mixture and stir in
6. Add the Serrano chile’s and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes

7. Add the bacon, tomatoes, and both cans of beans to the pot and stir and let simmer until the chili comes back up to temperature

8. Add the can of tomato paste and stir in thoroughly
9. Add the water if you think the chili looks too thick
10. Salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for at least an hour or up to 3 hours (if you can wait that long)

I was craving contradictory flavors tonight. I started off with a hankering for pork sate, which then over time turned into just a hankering for asian flavored pork in general and then after Paula Deen’s cookbook caught my eye from the now packed bookshelf I decided a little southern touch would be nice so I decided to slap together a quick asian marinade for the pork chops and make myself a simple yet flavorful sandwich.

Ingredients

1 pork chop

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 square everything bagel (or a bagel of your choice) toasted

lettuce

red onion sliced thin

hoisin sauce and sirracha sauce mixed together for a nice condiment

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper the pork chops

2. in a container of your choice mix together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and garlic salt for your marinade and cover pork.

3. let the pork sit for an hour in the marinade and preheat your oven to 450F.

4. bake pork on a sheet covered in aluminum foil for 15 mminutes and remove and cover with foil for 10 minutes.

5. assemble bagelwich. I start with lettuce on the bottom then pork then sirracha/hoisin mixture then onions and voila! you have yourself a tasty treat.

I’ve always wanted to try this recipe and finally had the chance to slap this recipe together last night. This recipe is sort of improvised because I was lacking in the ingredients department but it still turned out great. I would recommend getting yourself a good meat mallot to do the flattening of the beef, it’ll make your life a whole lot easier and make you less frustrated.

Ingredients

• 1lb flank steak or any other tender cut of beef, butterfly and pound into 4X4 inch thin slices
• 2 eggs, beat in a bowl and set aside
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (italian if you have them)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• * The parsley, oregano, and basil can be substituted with a good sized sprinkling of your favorite italian seasoning *
• 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lb of fettuccine
• hot chili flakes to taste
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• kitchen twine or toothpicks for securing the beef rolls

Directions:

1. in the bowl with the beaten eggs add the fresh breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano, and basil and mix together.
2. lay your thin pieces of beef out flat and season with salt and pepper. Then spread a thin layer of the breadcrumb and egg mixture over the beef and roll it up. Secure the rolls with kitchen twine or a toothpick.
3. in a large saute pan over high heat add the 1/4 cup of olive oil and sear the rolls on all sides to create a nice crust, take them out and set them aside for later. Don’t cook them all the way through, at this point all your looking for is a nice sear on the outside of the rolls and some dark caramelization.
4. in the same saute pan, turn down the heat to medium and saute the onions, green peppers, and at the last minute the garlic.
5. add the jar of marinara sauce to the pan and lower the head to a simmer to heat the sauce, onions, peppers, and garlic. Place the beef rolls back into the sauce so that they can braise and finish cooking. How thin you pounded your meat will determine how quickly it will cook. The thinner the meat the quicker they will cook.
6. boil your water and cook your pasta al dente
7. Plating. Place the fettucine on the plate and surround with a few beef rolls and cover with sauce. I like to add my hot chili flakes at the end but you can add them earlier if you know that whoever your cooking for likes some heat in their food.
8. Enjoy!

I’ve had these babies for a week now and I must say, WOW! Not only are they beautiful to look at but they feel incredible in your hand. As an amateur chef I haven’t been given the luxury of having a nice stocked block of sharp knives to create my masterpieces over the years. I must say this is a change though, I’ve already knicked my thumb twice but the pain was well worth it. So let the review begin!

Global G-46: 18cm (7 inch) Santoku knife.
This is my new chef’s knife. As with all Global knives its a seamless design thats perfectly balanced with a sand filled handle. This knife does not have the signature tilted grip as the rest of my knives have but for the sake of it being my chef’s knife and largest in the batch it fits well in my hand and the grip is adequate for even people with large hands. The knife is incredibly light and you immediately notice the difference in feel because of its seamless design and the signature dot design is rather comfortable to the touch and I suppose is a sufficient form of “grip” but I think its more for design. As for its edge, I would say that since I can see the edge with my naked eye it’s a good one. It has no problems slicing through carrot and onions with minimal efforts and is not bad for mincing but it may take a little getting used to as it doesn’t have the same shape as other knives that allow for an easy rocking motion. Overall, an excellent chef’s knife.

Global GS-3: 13cm (5 inch) Cook’s knife
This baby feels great in your hand. Its the perfect size for cutting meats and smaller vegetables with ease and is razor sharp. The slanted handle is a perfect fit for your hand and impeccably balanced once again with sand. I think I like the slanted handle better than the regular grip on the chef’s knife but both fit equally well in the palm of your hand.

Global GS-5: 14cm (5 1/2 inch) Vegetable knife
This is probably my new go to knife. The entire knife is more than perfect. The blade is razor sharp and has a nice curvature to it for precision chopping and dicing, yet its large enough to handle large veggies with ease. The slanted grip is perfectly balanced with the blade and the light weight of the knife allows for quick chopping. These knives are designed for the less traditional forward chopping motion rather than the western traditional tip down slice backwards motion. It takes a little bit to get used to it but I find that its easier to control the knife if you use the forward motion and it allows you to utilize the tip of the knife. Overall, I think this knife feels the best in my hand and is the one I turn to the most so far.

Global GS-7: 10cm (4 inch) Paring, Spear knife
I’ve yet to use this knife but it has the same great feel as the other knives and will no doubt be a great tool for the small duties of slicing fruits or anything of that manner. Its always good to have a small paring knife for the little things, as its easy to cut yourself when trying to use a large knife to do things like cut the tops off tomatoes or apples.

The only thing that is really significantly different about Global knives is their edge. Rather than the traditional beveled edge that most western knives possess, the Global’s are sharpened on both sides to a point to ensure a razor sharp edge and ensure that it lasts as long as possible. I have purchased a MinoSharp Water Sharpener which is recommended for Global knives and has two ceramic wheels that sharpen on a perfect angle while keeping the blade clean with water. I’ve obviously never had to sharpen the knives yet but I will post about that experience when the time comes.

Cajun Chicken Alfredo

Well today was a special day. The culinary stork dropped by today and blessed me with a brand new set of Global knives and I was eager to take them for a test drive. So what better to make than something that involves a lot of chopping, Cajun chicken Alfredo. This creamy delight is packed full of flavor and is really easy to make.

Ingredients:
(Serves one but adapt to your party size by doing some simple math)

1 medium boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 medium carrot, sliced into small disks or half disks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon parsley, rough chopped for garnish
Cajun seasoning
salt & pepper
olive oil
half jar of your favorite Alfredo sauce (you could make your own and I will post a nice recipe for that later on)
spaghetti (single serving is usually 1/4 of a box)

Directions:

1. heat up a large skillet on medium-high heat
2. rinse and dry your breast and give it a good rub down with the Cajun seasoning. There is no real need to let it sit and marinate because its a spice rub.
3. fry the chicken breast in a few tablespoons of olive oil until its cooked all the way through. When its done take it out and cover it with foil to keep it moist.
4. Meanwhile, boil some water and cook the spaghetti.
5. in the same skillet you cooked the chicken, saute the green pepper, onions, and carrots for a few minutes until they just begin to get a bit soft. Add the garlic at the last minute so it doesn’t burn.
6. Add your Alfredo sauce to the skillet and warm through with the veggies.
7. Add your spaghetti and toss with the Alfredo and veggies.
8. Plate. Slice your chicken nicely and place on top of your mount of pasta and garnish with your chopped parsley.
9. Enjoy!

I will be posting a nice review about the new knives soon. I wanna play with them some more before I give the final word but as of right now I’m thoroughly impressed.