Memorial Grilling Part Deux

The steaks came out pretty good!  The marinade is one we will probably use again.  The steaks were juicy and flavorful.  We used real butter for our marinade.  Margarine would work too.  I try not to use real butter too often in my food but it's SOOO good!  Why does everything that tastes so yummy have to be bad for you?!

Leave us a comment.  Let us know what you're cooking for Memorial day.  Email us your recipes.  If we like them, we might post them on our blog!

Memorial Grilling

So, it's Memorial Day weekend.  I wonder how many people are cooking out this weekend.  I know several people in my neighborhood are.  I just sent Brent outside to make sure nothing was on fire because I smell the strong scent of smoke.  I am super sensitive to smoke.  I have asthma and it affects my asthma very negatively.  Fortunately, no fire trucks outside so someone close by must be getting ready to cook something.

Brent will be lighting our pit in about 30 minutes.  He will be grilling us each a ribeye and I will bake us each a potato in the microwave.  When discussing how to marinate the steaks we decided to try something new.  We melted some butter and added minced garlic, Tony's, onion powder, salt and pepper and poured that over the steaks.  We'll let you know how that comes out!  Wish us luck!

Congratulations to Chef Paul Prudhomme!

Here's a little bit of culinary news for you...

http://www.nola.com/drink/index.ssf/2011/05/chef_paul_prudhomme_honored_fo.html

Recipes

I'd love to share more recipes with you.  My problem right now is that I never measure anything when I cook.  That's how I learned to cook and that's how I still cook unless I'm trying a new recipe.  Even still, I adjust recipes to my liking.  I have a few recipes in mind I would like to share, but I need to make them again and measure what I'm putting in there before I put it so I can pass along those measurements to you.

There's one recipe I can think of right now that I can share because measurements for this dish are approximate and having a little more or a little less of anything really isn't going to change the flavor much.  It's called White Potato Stew.  I don't have a picture for you but the next time I make this dish I'll add one.  This is one that Brent likes me to cook for him from time to time and his mom really likes it too.  My mom taught me to cook this.  It was one of my favorites when I was growing up.  My mom always served it over rice, which is how I still like to eat it, but some people don't like all that starch piled on top of more starch.  Brent and his mom often eat it as a thick soup.  The flavors are there either way.  Here is my recipe (passed down from my mom).

White Potato Stew

5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into about 1/2" chunks
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. oil
Water
Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

In a dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil and saute' onions and garlic.  When onions turn clear add potatoes and enough water to cover the potatoes.  This is where I add my salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  I just add a little at first because I don't want to over-season and you can always add more later but you can't take it out once it's in there!  Use your own judgement.  If you prefer to add them at the end, by all means do so.  Bring potatoes to a boil and add smoked sausage. 

Side note:  Some people like to lightly brown their smoked sausage before adding it to the pot.  You can do so in the oil before you add your onions if you like.  If you do, take the sausage out and set it aside before you saute' your onions.  Either way works just fine.  I don't find any difference in the flavor so I skip this step to save time.

Boil the stew for about 20 minutes on a medium to high heat, stirring occasionally.  Once the potatoes are tender they will begin to break up.  I like to speed this process up by smashing some of the potatoes against the side of the pot.  The broken up potatoes thicken this dish.  Once you have achieved your desired thickness, remove from heat and serve.

This is a nice, hearty dish that is usually welcome on cold days, but we like it year round.  And there's really no measuring involved!  That's my kind of dish!

If you decide to try it, please let me know what you think.

Prayers for local chef

Our thoughts and prayers go out to New Orleans chef Nathaniel Zimet.  Please join us in sending out prayers for his speedy recovery.

Thanks!, Brent & Vicki

http://www.wwltv.com/news/crime/Local-chef-shot-three-times-in-robbery-attempt-122459519.html

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog.  We are Brent and Vicki Rogers. (Well, almost.  We are getting married September 30, 2011).  We are both avid food lovers who enjoy dining out often and discussing what we like and don't like about our meals and service.  We also enjoy creating our own recipes based on restaurant menu items we enjoy.  We love to create new original recipes as well.  Some are successes and some, not so much.  We decided we wanted to share our opinions and recipes with others, so our blog is born.  Happy Birthday to The Rogers' Spoonful blog, born on May 22nd, 2011! 

My (Vicki) favorite meal is breakfast so Brent often takes me out to eat for breakfast.  We will begin with our experience at a restaurant in Ponchatoula, Louisiana on May 14, 2011 where we had breakfast at Taste of Bavaria.  This was my first time eating at a German restaurant, so I was curious to see if I would enjoy it.  We decided to share an order of corned beef hash which came with two poached eggs and fruit.  Brent likes poached eggs better than I do so I ordered scrambled eggs and fruit as well. The scrambled eggs were scrambled with cream, which is exactly how I like them!  They were delicious.  Brent said the poached eggs were cooked well but had a lingering taste of vinegar from the cooking liquid.  The undeniable star of the meal was by far the corned beef hash.  The corned beef, I have to assume, must have been home made.  The flavors were perfectly balanced.  The proportions of corned beef, potatoes and seasoning were perfect.  Brent says it was a hearty meal but not a heavy meal because the corned beef and potatoes were cut smaller than average size.  I had a thin slice of pineapple, honeydew melon and watermelon.  Brent enjoyed a thin slice of cantaloupe, honeydew melon and pineapple.  The fruit was fresh and sweet and the perfect ending to our meal.



We give Taste of Bavaria 4 1/2 out of 5 spoons.



We enjoyed the corned beef hash so much I decided to create my own version of this dish.  Here's how I did it:

Corned Beef Hash
Make 4-6 servings

1/2 lb. sliced deli corned beef (chopped)
1 16 oz. bag of frozen diced hash brown potatoes
1 small onion chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and 2 tbs. butter in dutch oven.  Add onions and sautee until onions begin to become clear.  Add hash brown potatoes.  Stir together with onions.  At this point I added salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  You may want to taste your corned beef before adding any seasonings as the spice of the corned beef can vary.  After adding seasonings stir again and cover.  Cook potatoes on medium heat, stirring occasionally for approximately 10 minutes (or according to cooking instructions on package).  Uncover and stir in chopped corned beef.  Stir frequently for approximately 5 minutes to brown potatoes and heat corned beef.  Add green onions, stir and remove from heat.

We hope you will try our recipe and if you do please let us know what you think!  We would appreciate your feedback.  Thanks for visiting our blog.  Come back again soon for more!