Philly Cheese Steak

Recipe for a 12 inch hoagie

Ingredients
1/2 Onion, Diced
1/2 Green Pepper, Diced
300 Grams of finely sliced beef.
3 slices of aged provolone cheese.
12 inch fresh baguette

Vinegar
Salt
Sugar

Suggestions
Beef: Finding beef for a cheese steak can be tough in many places.  If you are near a butcher asked them to slice some rib-eye very thin.  For me, I actually have used slices of beef normally designated for Chinese fondue.  The thickness of the beef is perfect and the cut is normally of a decent quality (as it is meant to be eaten without a fork and knife).

Baguette: Finding the right baguette is really crucial.  I highly suggest an artisan baguette which has a little big more density in the middle and just a slight firmness in the crust.  You do not want factory baked bread.  It is too soft and often too fragile.

Directions:
Place the peppers in a skillet (with a little olive oil) and start browning them.  Two to three minutes later add in your onions as well.  After the vegetables have browned, add about 1/3 of a cup of water.  This will help soften the vegetables even further.  Also, add a pinch of salt and sugar as well as about 2 tea spoons of vinegar to the vegetables.  This will add a little bit of acid to the rich sandwich.  After the liquid has been cooked off, remove the vegetables and put them to the side.

Next, add the beef the a skillet (again oiled).  You can use the same skilled, but its probably wise to clean it off before adding the beef.  As the beef gets close to being browned, add the vegetables to the combination as well as one slice of the cheese.

As the meat gets close to completion, you need to be sure that your sandwich is sliced (lengthwise, but hinged, of course) and that the other 2 cheese slices have been placed at the bottom of the cavity in the sandwich.

As the meat becomes fully brown, remove it from the skillet and place it straight into the sandwich.  The heat from the meat will melt the slices of provolone at the bottom of the sandwich.

French Fries

French Fries are, of course, a rather simple dish, but there are some tricks to perfecting them at home.

Recipe Serves 2 People

Ingredients
4 Potatoes, peeled
Large pan
Olive Oil
Large pot of Boiling Water
Salt (and any other seasonings you like on your fries)

Directions
Cut each of your potatoes into 4 medallions.  Then, cut each of your medallions lengthwise into 4 slivers (Fries).  This should give you 16 fries per potato where the height and width of each fry is approximately 2/3 cm by 2/3 cm.  Try your best to make the fries as even in size as possible.  This will help them cook evenly.

Next, place all of your uncooked fries into the pot of boiling water and let them cook for approximately 7 minutes.  Depending of the type of potato you are using the cooking time can vary.  Every few minutes check the consistency of your potato.  The fries are ready when they are pliable, but still can snap when bent (Andante).

Next, place the now boiled fries into a large frying pan, on medium high.  In the frying pan make sure that there is enough olive oil to coat the entire bottom.  Also, be very careful with temperature.  If the heat is too high the olive oil can burn.

Because you are not using a deep fat fryer you will need to constantly flip your fries to make sure each side browns.

Your fries are ready to be removed when the sides are consistently a golden brown.

Take your fries out of the pan, drain and blot them.  While they are still hot dust them with a dash of salt.  I also like to cover my fries with a little bit of red pepper, black pepper and garlic powder.

Cajun BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients
3/4 Pounds Live (If Possible) Shrimp
1/2 Stick butter
1/4 Olive Oil
1 tbs of Chili Sauce
1 ts Cayenne Powder
1/2 ts Black pepper powder
2 tb Apple Vinegar
1/2 lemon squeezed
Dash Salt
3 Cloves of Garlic (crushed)

Directions

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan on medium heat.

When the butter is melted, add the olive oil.

Stir the liquids together and then add the spices, lemon, vinegar and garlic.

Turn the heat up to high, allow the mixture to simmer for a moment, and then add the shrimp.

Cook the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp has all turned pink.  Do not cook the shrimp for too long or the shrimp will become tough.

Serve the shrimp over some pasta or with a little bit of crusty bread to sop up the delicious liquid.

Sweet and Spicy Chili

Serves 3 to 4 People

Ingredients

2 Diced Onions
2 Bell Peppers Diced (You can choose the color)
1/2 Pound ground beef (the quality of the meat is your choice)
3 Tb Tomato Paste
3.5 Tb Cumin
2 Tb Tobasco
2 Tb Sugar 
1 Diced, Grilled Green Chili Pepper
2 Dried Red Chilis
150 g can Kidney Beans
Dash Cinnemon
Salt to Taste
Crushed Black Pepper to Taste
Water

Directions

In a medium sized pot, sautee the the onions and bell pepper.  You want to cook them until they are translucent. Take the pot off of heat if the vegetables start to over cook.

In a skillet, cook the ground meat.  This should be done at the same time that the vegetables are cooking.  When the meat is completely brown, add it to the pot with the cooked peppers and onion.

Allow the meat and vegetables and meat to simmer together on low for a minute or two and then add the tomato paste and enough water that the vegetables are are about 1 to 2 inches submerged. 

Make sure that the tomato paste is dissolved and then add cumin, tobasco, sugar, chilies, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.

Allow the ingredients to mingle on medium low heat.  Stir occasionally to make sure things are not sticking to the bottom.  The liquid will evaporate off during this time. You have a good consistency when the liquid coats the back of a spoon. 

Lastly, before serving, stir in the beans. 

Stuffed Blue Cheese Burgers

In my opinion there are two types of burgers.  There are those which showcase the meat and there are others which showcase flavors.  This burger was done with less expensive cuts and thus showcases added flavors.  

Makes 8 Burgers

Ingredients
Beef Mixture
1 Kg Ground Beef
1 onion chopped
Dash Pepper
1.5 tablespoons bbq sauce
1 Tsp Hot Sauce
1 Tsp Garlic Powder

Filling
80 g Blue Cheese
1 Cl Water
1/5 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Mix the beef mixture together in a large bowl.  Mix the cheese filling mixture together in another bowl.

Separate the beef mixture into 8 separate balls.

Take one ball and split it into two pieces.  With one piece, form it into a patty that is about 2 inches in diameter.  In the middle of this patty form a well where the filling will be placed.  Then place about 1 ts of the filling into the well.  Then, with the second piece of beef create a flat patty that has a diameter that is slightly larger than 2 inches.  Place this patty on the top of the welled patty and seal the two together.

Repeat this process with each burger.

Lastly,
grill on the grill!

Personal Pizza

Take 1/2 of the dough created from the previously posted dough recipe. You will have a ball with a diameter of about 1.5 to 2 inches. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to a diameter of 6 to 7 inches. Then, transfer the pizza to a greased baking sheet. Lastly, crimp the outside to make the crust.












Place the pizza dough (without cheese, sauce or toppings) on the bottom rack of your oven at 375 degrees f. Allow the dough to bake through, but do not let it brown. When you remove your sheet from the oven, you essentially have a pizza shell.

Remove the pizza shell from the oven and top it will about 3/4 cups of sauce and a cup of mozzarella cheese. You may also add any toppings you wish. I prefer pepperoni.






(First sauce)











(Then Cheese and toppings)







Place the pizza back in the oven at 400 degrees f. First place the pizza on the bottom rack to allow the bottom to brown. Once the bottom of the pizza is browned, place the pizza on the top rack to allow the cheese to brown. The cooking on the bottom will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Check the pizza from time to time to check its doneness. Cooking on the top will take much less time as the cheese will brown quickly.

You are then ready to eat your pizza

Here is mine:

Pizza Dough

Ingredients (For 2 personal pizzas)
1.5 Cups Flour
3/4 Cup Warm Water
1 Glug Olive Oil
Pinch Salt
1.5 Tsp Sugar
2/3 Packet Yeast

Mix ingredients in a mixing bowl. When the the mixture begins to come together as a dough, remove the contents from the bowl and place it on a floured surface. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. You want the consistency of the dough to be slightly sticky, but you want it to be solid enough so that it can be kneaded and pressed with your hands. If the dough is sticking all over your hands it is too sticky.

After the dough has been kneaded, place it in a greased bowl, cover the top of the bowl and allow the dough to rise for appx 40 minutes.















After the dough has risen for 40 minutes, it is possible to wrap the dough with cellophane and freeze it.












This photo shows the pizza dough rolled out on a tray. This image shows the size of a pizza that 1/2 of the recipe can produce.

Bagels

Ingredients (7 regular sized bagels)

2.5 Cups Flour
1.5 Cups Warm Water
1 Packet Yeast
Pinch Salt
2 Glugs Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Sugar



Directions
Mix the ingredients and knead for 10 minutes. Texture should be a soft dough. If it is sticky, add a little bit more flour. If it is not so soft, add a little bit of water.

Roll the dough into a ball and place the dough in a large, greased bowl. Place a wet towel over the bowl to reduce drying.

Allow the dough to rise for 40 minutes. Before retrieving your risen dough, boil a pot of water (3/4 full) and turn the oven on to 375 degrees F. After 40 minutes of rising, separate the dough into 7 balls. Take each ball, flatten it into a round patty which is 1/2 inch thick. Use your thumb and punch a hole in the middle of the patty. At this point your dough should look like a bagel. the hole in the middle should be about 3/4 inch in diameter.

One by one, you need to boil your raw bagels in the boiling pot of water. You do not need to boil them for very long. Boil each side of each bagel for about 45 seconds. After each bagel has been boiled, place it on a drying rack.

Once all of the bagels are boiled, place them on a greased baking sheet and put them into the preheated oven. They should take about 15 to 20 minutes to bake. Check the level of doneness on the top and bottom of each bagel from time to time. You might even want to flip over some of the bagels to allow for more even baking. Once the bagels are golden brown on both sides, they are finished.