Chicken Fried Gourmet

Rosemary Grilled Skirt Steak with Baby Spinach, Granny Smith Apples and Grapefruit Vinaigrette

This was our dinner last Sunday night. About a week before we bought a two pack of Skirt Steak from Sam's Wholesale Club ( like Costco) and we made fajitas with the first one. I marinated the second in a mixture of rosemary, garlic, red pepper, olive oil and dijon mustard and vacuum sealed it and let it sit for about 5 days. On Sunday I grilled it, sliced it against the grain and plated it with spinach, diced granny smith apples and a grapefruit vinaigrette.

 Download Grapefruit Vinaigrette
 
 
 

New Orleans, lunch at Boucherie with Blake Killian and Robert Peyton

 I have had trouble writing this post for the past couple of months. It's not that I am hesitant to write it, it’s just that I do not feel my writing style, my words, can do justice to what a great lunch we had at Boucherie in New Orleans. We typically try to get down to NOLA at least a couple of times a year, we are roughly about 5 hours away here in Shreveport. Although New Orleans is in the same state it is a totally different atmosphere once you hit I-10, some say it is another country in itself. We love it....not the New Orleans you see on Monday Night Football and during Mardi Gras. We still partake in some of the "tourist-y" things that are synonymous with the "Big Easy" but there is soooo much more to it, a history, a vibe a definite energy you feel while there.

We arrived in NOLA right around lunch time and had plans to meet up with fellow food bloggers Blake Killian of Blake Makes and Robert Peyton of Appetites. We had met Blake and his wife Bridget in person for the first time last year when we had lunch at La Petit Grocery, this would be our first face to face meeting with one of the first real food bloggers in Louisiana - Mr Robert Peyton. I chose Boucherie because it was somewhat new, eclectic and I had heard great things about it. 

Lily.......

I have posted about this pretty much everywhere but here but 3 weeks ago my fourth child was born - Lily Elizabeth O'Boyle 9-25-2009.......it been a little busy these past few weeks :)

a Nut

We were in West Monroe this weekend visiting my parents and took the kids to Kiroli Park. I snapped this picture while we were walking on one of the raised trails. Obviously the remnants of a squirrel's dinner. Do you think animals find beauty in the leftovers of our cuisine, somehow I think not.

Potato Beer Cheese Soup - Amuse Bouche

I cannot believe I haven't posted this yet. I made this back in late August in one of our last trips to West Monroe before the baby was born (traveling any distance was hard on Ann). This was a last minute idea for a family dinner. I had wanted to make a beer cheese soup for some time but it just didn’t seem to make much sense in this humid hot Louisiana summer. I decided to make it a one bite dish, an amuse bouche as some say. This was one of those things where it made sense in my head and hopefully would translate well to the final product – it did. I am not real good at writing recipes and sometimes assume that everyone knows exactly what I mean so if you have any questions feel free to email me or leave a comment.

 

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Download Recipe : Download Potato beer cheese soup

A trip down South in July - Part 1 Baton Rouge, Perkins Rowe and the Schmo

I know I keep saying this every few months but I have been really horrible about sitting down and writing a blog post. I guess I contribute it to everything going on this year – moving to a new house, getting ready for the new baby, job situation and of course the “project” I am working on that I really cannot speak about right now. Back in mid-July we were able to take a 3 day vacation to visit Ann’s sister at LSU in Baton Rouge and of course head further south and go to New Orleans.

There is so much to write about this trip and I think that is one of the reasons I have been putting it off. We had a great time, great meals and I finally got to meet one of my fellow food bloggers face to face after 3 years of conversing via email and our websites. To make this easier on me, as well as really showcase each experience I am going to split this post up into three different posts Hopefully after this one I can post the other two in the next week/weeks or so.

Post 1 – Baton Rouge, Perkins Rowe and the Schmo.

Post 2 – New Orleans, lunch at Boucherie with Blake Killian and Robert Peyton

Post 3 – New Orleans in the afternoon: Cochon Butcher, early evening, and the next morning.

Hope you enjoy……

Baton Rouge, Perkins Rowe and the Schmo

We left Shreveport early on Friday after dropping Ethan off at daycare (Ann’s parents picked him up just in case you are wondering), after a 4 hour trip that included a coffee frappucino being slung everywhere, numerous bathroom stops and Natchitoches meat pies for breakfast we arrived in Geaux Tiger land (that is what Ethan referes to it as). Ann’s little sister, the Schmo, attends LSU and the lucky little heifer lives right down the street from Whole Foods. For my readers who don’t live in a city with a  Whole Foods you will understand my jealousy. We picked up some to go items from WF and ate at the front of the store (inside). The reason for the stop in BR was to help the Schmo get furniture for her new apartment. After driving all around BR and being in the middle as what I can only describe as a Honk-a-Thon on Perkins rd at 3pm, love the traffic btw, we decided to check Craigslist for deals on furniture. By the third call we had a winner, a fairly new couch for less than $100 and only two blocks from her new apartment. Score!!!

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For dinner I wanted to try the Wine Loft in Perkins Rowe, a fairly new development off of the aforementioned slowest moving road in america in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday. The three of us split a cheese course, a wine flight and each ordered an entrée with the intention of sharing with each other. It turns out the only thing we shared was the cheese course. I cannot remember what everyone had even though I have the menu somewhere around here, but I do recall my entrée – a grilled flank steak with chimmichurri sauce alongside a salad of arugula,jicama and a citrusy dressing. The place was somewhat quiet, the server was very knowledgeable about the wine pairings and we all loved the food. If Shreveport had a better downtown scene I could see a place like the Wine Loft doing very well here but as of now, not so much. We do however have the excellent Wine Country Bistro on Line ave if you are looking for the same kind of atmosphere and cuisine.

We called it an early night so we could get up at the crack of dawn and start our trip south to New Orleans……….

Up next : Post 2 – New Orleans, lunch at Boucherie with Blake Killian and Robert Peyton

Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans

the smell is great......

not food related.......

I am not ashamed to admit that if I see something on the side of the road( furniture wise) I will most likely pick it up if I can use it somehow. A couple of months ago I found this "bench" and figured we could use it somehow. This past week Ann and I finally got around to revisiting this project. We recovered it with a woolly type material and spray painted the frame a metallic gray. All in all it set us back $40 (including the pillow). Not bad for a discarded side of the road bench.

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Authentic tacos in Shreveport......Taqueria La Michoacana

Lately I have been visiting a small little store that has a taco truck outside. While the New Orleans area has been inundated with authentic taco trucks the northern part of Louisiana has not seen much action. There is a taco truck that looks to be permanently parked outside a small mexican store on Youree drive near the intersection of Kings Hwy. These are far better than most of the places I have had in and around Shreveport. Please check them out and support the local restaurant scene. It will only set you back $6 for 3 tacos. 

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Best garlic bread ever.........in my opinion

Okay so looking at this picture you would think it is just a toasted baguette, wrong :)

I have been using this technique for years and am not sure why I have never shared it up until now. This is a healthier version of garlic bread which is usually doused in butter and chunks of garlic.

All you need is some extra virgin olive oil ( a good fat), crusty french bread, one garlic clove halved and salt and pepper.

Drizzle the oil over the bread and broil in the oven till crispy. Immediately take it out and season the bread with salt and pepper to your liking. Take the halved garlic clove and rub the cut side all over the top of the crusty bread. This will release all of the oils and flavor of the garlic onto the bread.  Let cool and enjoy. Sometimes I like to add freshly grated parmesan cheese after rubbing the top with garlic.

lunch today........Strip Steak Quesadillas

Left over slices of grilled steak, pepper jack cheese, parmesan and roasted poblano pepper.......

Tomatoes from my garden.....

Last friday we went over to my in-laws because my brother in law was visiting from Spain. They were cooking dinner but we decided to use up some of our fresh tomatoes from our garden before they spoiled. All we did was cut them into chunks, season with salt and pepper and let sit. After about an hour we drained (and kept) the tomato water that had accumulated and tossed the tomatoes with a basil and arugula vinaigrette  from our garden( the herbs not the sauce). I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the finished product because a one Mr Hops and Mr Barley were occupying my time. Below is a picture of the prep or what was left over.......

Cochon Butcher and Boucherie....NOLA a sneak peek

We were in New Orleans this past weekend and had some great food with some good friends.......

Cochon Butcher .....a palace of Swine

 

 

and lunch at Boucherie, I am still thinking about this great lunch

 

I should have a full write up soon.........

my blog's little brother.......

I have started an accompanying blog on tumblr that allows me to revisit and post some small foodie things.

Here is the address  http://chickenfriedgourmet.tumblr.com/ Let me know what you think........

Rat - atouille

My garden, more specifically my tomatoes, always are invaded by creatures of the flying sort....birds. I have tried all thedifferent methods to persuade them to stay away from it but nothing ever seems to work 100% except for bird netting.  Bird netting is not the most attractive thing to have around your garden especially if it is quite visible. This year I have wrapped/draped the netting over the garden but I am in theprocess of building a frame for it so it will be more attractive and more accessible to retrieve the fruit of my labors. Yesterday I happened to check on the garden and found a rat that had infiltrated the garden fortress and in the process tangled his neck up in the netting. I assume he had been there a while because he had managed to tangle and twist the netting up pretty good. I ended up cutting the netting around him but there was no way I was going to clip the netting that was close to his neck. Once freed I tossed him onto the golf course behind our house ( I am not that well off, it is a public/city course).In the meantime I hope him or any of his friends do not come back anytime soon......

  

Cocoa Crusted Flat Iron Steak, french fry "onion rings",rosemary olive oil pudding with other stuff.....

This is what we had for Father's Day last weekend. I had the butcher at Kroger slice a Flat Iron steak thinly and then I combined it with Activa, rolled it up then marinated it with a mixture of cocoa, worchestire, garlic, olive oil and a few other things. I made french fry "onion rings" a rosemary olive oil pudding inspired by the Alinea cookbook and a reduced beef stock red wine jus. For an appetizer I made the Mango Soy Bonito dish from the Alinea cookbook as well. Since it calls for a piece of equipment that is obviously out of my range for purchasing - an Anti-Griddle- I improvised and used a sheet pan on top of a piece of dry ice. With the leftover dry ice I just threw it in the pool....cool...smoke :) The frozen mango puree is topped with soy sauce pudding and shaved/dried bonito ( I skipped the sesame oil). This was a really interesting flavor combination and one I would like to experiment with other flavors. For dessert we had fresh watermelon topped with tomato sorbet, reduced balsamic vinegar and a basil sweet syrup.

is growing a vegetable garden in your front yard against the law in Louisiana?

Okay so in my neighborhood there is a guy who has constructed two big planter boxes in his front yard, more specifically between the sidewalk and the street. He has planted rows of corn and it looks like squash/zucchini in the corners. Every day as i drive by his house I think to myself "well that is different and I really need to take some pictures of it". Well last night on the way home I noticed that about 60-70% of the corn had been cut down. This morning there was a sign up explaining why. Now I know that this aesthetically may not be for everyone but what is the difference is planting corn that grows 6-7 ft tall and a sunflower that gets even bigger in the same place?

 

 

 

 

 

 

just playing around.......Passionfruit Orange Black Pepper Gummi Bears

So I decided to try my hand at making gummi bears again last night and this is what I came out with. They were a little tougher than regular gummi bears so maybe next time I will use less gelatin. I used the cornstarch method from Chadzilla to make the molds using store bought gummi bears.

............in the midst of gardening

............in the midst of gardening, planted some new things this year at the new house : golden beets, kholrabi, corn salad, arugula, lemon thyme, sorrel, purple basil, several diffrent types of heirloom tomatoes, pimento peppers, ancho peppers, two types of radishes, garlic and micro-greens.

 

we'll see how this year goes........

Chicken Caesar Sandwich with Bacon, Parmesan and Granny Smith Apple

Tonight's dinner was leftover Caesar salad, grilled chicken, Bacon, sliced Granny Smith Apples, Parmesan shavings and toasted French baguette.

very tasty........