What's "Cooking" in Tiki Central?

Aw yeah we are fans of the meatball sub over here.

8 bucks for pho does seem high. Am still tweaking the broth flavors.
I think my favorite place uses opium, cuz I get such a craving for it.

This week we're "supposed" to be having salads for dinner.
All we've managed to concoct is Nachos. This one has chipotle chips (hence the pink)
and home made chili with PEPPERJACK, sharp cheddar, olives and jalapenYos.

All Hail the PEPPERJACK!
Amy where did you find chipotle chips? chipotle is like crack to me!

On 2010-05-25 21:04, bigtikidude wrote:
no pics,sorry.
but I just made 2 Hawaiian smores for a snack.
had a late lunch today, so no dinner.

I used these

instead of regular marmallows, hence the Hawaiian part.
:wink:
pretty tasty I might add.

Jeff(btd)

Wow, they HAVE those in the store ?
I gotta get some.

ATP- they are Casa Sanchez brand, but honestly, they taste like reg'ler ol' plain corn chips.
The pink is practically neon, though. Nice!

Jim, I me got some of them there Coconut 'mallows down at the WalMart

I had half a bottle of Sangria in the fridge to finish up so I made Picadillo con Alcaparras (spiced beef with capers and green olives) on Saffron Rice. Quick and easy chilled Gaspacho (chopped veggies in Spicy V8 :D ) and flan for dessert

Last night's dinner, from front to back; tortilla chips (imported from Mexico), fresh salsas, flour tortillas (imported from Mexico), homemade Spanish rice, carne asada, refried beans, guacamole, and Sangria (imported from Spain)

When you say "imported from Mexico", do you mean from a store near you?

Taco Spread! I really like to do that with all sorts of fixins.

Why is it that it's a good thing when your wine is imported from France but not such a good thing when your shoes are imported from Indonesia? :lol:

Fresh "authentic" tortillas made in Mexicali Mexico, about 20 miles from me. I bought a new bottle of Sangia, isn't it good for my cholesterol? :D

I finally had some time to cook....
Indian Food tonight: Chicken Biryani with Raita

Alright ATP!! I love Indian grub.

Chris

http://www.westadad.blogspot.com

[ Edited by: WestADad 2010-06-03 16:39 ]

Tonights Dinner.....

Thai Seared Pork Tenderloin on Rice Noodles with Chili Lime dressing
Ginger Garlic Rice on the side.

ATP can I come live at your house? Number 1 - it's swanky and Number 2 - my wife won't let me cook Indian food.

The pork loin looks great too. Pork Loin must be the meat of the gods (that and bacon)

Just a minute Mike, I will ask my wife? ..............hmmmm.......OK.....yea.....
She said no, sorry about that, maybe you can visit for dinner some time,though!

But wait! you have some serious cuisine going on at your Pad,is it really 100 degrees at your place now?

Bummer! Tell Nancy I wash dishes. I may have to take you up on the dinner offer someday. I'd like to meet the "children" :D

It's down to a balmy 80 with a gentle breeze - just like the Waikiki beach in Hawaii! Today is forcast for 104, just like the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii!!! :lol:

Earthquakes & Heatwaves, goodtimes!

Cooking up a pot of Texas Red Chili,a few more hours to go...

Not sure if its Chili Dogs tonight? I will post a picture of whatever we end up making with the chili.

Aw yeah! I made a big pot of chili this week, too. Put most of it in
the freezer. Took no pix. :(

Dinner & a Movie night

Movie "The Road"

Dinner is Chilifest 2010 "Chili Apocalypse"

Tonight's Dinner is....

BBQ Sliders
with Pepperjack cheese,caramelized onions,chipotle catsup on sweet hawaiian rolls.

mmmmm Chili & Sliders!

I made Chicken Pesto Salad with Marinated Artichoke Hearts on Chiabatta Bread

That sounds Great! MDM.

There is a recipe in the latest Cook's Illustrated for a stuffed chicken breast on the bone that caught my eye.

Stuffed with fontina strips wrapped in prosciutto, roped shut, and grilled. Put some extra prosciutto on the top.
It was too windy for my gas grill and besides I was too lazy, so stuck em in the oven in a cast iron skillet
with aluminum foil tent.

Voila!

A few days later still good sliced for sammiches.

Thats Fancy! Amy!

That looks VERY tasty! I think I'm making quick spaghetti with jarred sauce and frozen meatballs tonight. Don't worry - I won't post a picture :D

The Great Scallop Fiasco of 2010!

I got some Pampered Chef Spicy Pinapple Rum Sauce and wanted to give it a spin. I pick up some chicken, some pork, and thought "what the hell, they've got scallops" so I got some of them too (frozen at WalMart, probably my first & second mistakes). I have never cooked any scallops before, I'm not even sure I have ever eaten them, but I marinated all three meats overnight in the sauce (separately, of course). I tried to skewer the devils but they were too small (100-200/lb). So I read that you can roll them in breadcrumbs and deep fry them. How can you go wrong with deep frying? I envisioned little cripsy nuggets drenched in pineapple sauce, like Spicy Orange Chicken, here's what I got :lol: ;

The breading didn't stick - I pitched 'em. Fortunately, it was only half a pound - now I have to figure out what to do with the other half pound of frozen tiny scallops :D

The Spicy Pineapple Chicken and Pork turned out great though - served with Basmati Rice, steamed Asian Veggies, and Grilled Fresh Pineapple

Oh MDM,you could of asked Amy "Seafood Queen of the North" or myself "Chef with Attitude" for a tip there!
with the scallops, Pan fry with breadcrumbs not deep fry.

:D Now I know what to do with the other half :D

MDM- I have to applaud your Foodventuring!

Three things come to mind about the scallops:

1. In general, marinate fish for 30 min max! If you did overnight, I'd say they were well on
   their way to being ceviche. which is not necessarily a bad thing..

2. ATP is right- pan fry 'em, and also, make sure they are dried off (roll in paper towel) before you
   bread them, using a very fine crumb for scallops that small. The real deal with breading
   is that you can't mess with it while in the skillet- whatever it is that you are frying must cook
   enough to crisp up the crumbs into a coherent shell. Most people have a tendency to want to turn the piece
   too soon, and the coating starts to crack. Once heat and moisture get in there, it'll crumble.

3. Frozen scallops aren't a bad thing- I keep some on hand, and sometimes I thaw them first, but have also
   had good luck with tossing them frozen into a pan with hot garlic and olive oil. If you cook them over a med-high heat til brown on each
   flat end (for large ones) or on 2 sides for the small, you can then turn the heat down to low til they are opaque.
   They don't take long, and the closer you get to not overcooking, the more tender they'll be. Sounds like that pineapple sauce would
   be good to add after the browning.

Let us know how the next batch turns out! And, btw, I totally want to see the quicky spaghetti and freeezy meatballs.

And Knowing is half the Battle!
Amy is the "Seafood Queen of the North" !!

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2010-06-18 20:32 ]

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2010-06-18 20:32 ]

I've been secretly wishing I'd picked a better, more tiki-fried name for TC. :wink:

Thanks for the great advice Amy, I'll let you know if I do better next time :D

I probably hadn't tried scallops before because I'm not a big seafood fan. I can't eat the really good stuff (shrimp, crab, lobster, mudbugs) because of allergies. The rest of it can be good if it's fried or bathed in butter - but then you lose the health benefits and I'd rather eat a juicy steak or some smoked pork to get my daily allotment of fat :) But I will give the scallops another shot.

Isn't it weird how ANYthing tastes better with salt and butter ? (and of course, bacon)

Try this- steam them in one of those stove top veggie steamer baskets, and
season with sea salt and fresh lemon. ...once you get the texture
dialed in, try a bit of soy sauce, and/or garlic, ginger, parsley, hot chili oil, etc.

Scallops have a sweet and buttery flavor to begin with, but you always need to coax it
out of em.

Scallops with Bacon & Onions on a skewer, BBQed with seasalt Butter & Lemon juice
or Seared in a pan with garlic & Butter, yum!

One of our main Gas pipes has ruptured and is taking the plumbers over a week to bypass, so no gas in the house,no cooking.
So I thought I would show you my Potted Herb & Vegetable garden since I have not posted in a bit.

I believe in using only the freshest ingredients when I cook,so I grow my own Herbs,Peppers,Tomato's etc.
Everything's starting to grow,sprout and what not.

The Garden has a nice view of the Moai Garden.

Anyone else want to post some pics of their Gardens?

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2010-06-21 16:18 ]

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2010-06-24 01:03 ]

My garden is ridiculous, but will post anyway. !

:lol: This is the extent of my kitchen garden - mint on the right, basil & oregano on the left, a lily in the middle with a fading silk flower :lol:

Hey those are great ones to have! nice little pond too!

Tri tip. Looked so good on the grill I had to take a pic. I impressed myself with this one.

The tri tip is actually bigger than the bottle.

Summer Time! BBQ Time! looking tasty.

YUM!!

Hunka hunka burnin flesh.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

cheers Eric.
Had some BBQ chicken tonight.
sorry no pics.
:(

Jeff(btd)

Made Island Sliders tonight...
BBQ mini burgers with Teriyaki,Pineapple,Pepperjack Cheese

PEPPERJACK. instant win.

We've learned that sliders are the way to go w/burgers. Whole big ones seem so ....big.

Nice looking sliders! Amy, you're right - when you've got a burger bar with all kinds of good stuff it's better to make several different sliders than to eat one big burger with everything!

Dinner tonight: Chicken Mole, Spanish Rice, and Sauted Chayote and Tomatoes.

Mike do you make your own Mole? you add chocolate? if so.

No, I used the concentrated Doña Maria in a jar and mixed it with chicken broth. Mole has a strong and distinctive flavor, turns out my family didn't care for it. My 23 year old son got a large piece on his fork and bit half of it off. Then I saw him use his finger to push the other half off his fork and back onto his plate. He started to lick his finger to get the remaining sauce off but decided he really didn't want any more of that in his mouth. I laughed 'til I cried :lol:

For some reason I had never tried Chayote before. I sauted it in olive oil with garlic, red pepper flakes, and grape tomatoes. It was pretty good, I'm gonna buy more of that.

I asked some chef friends for a mole recipe, and they all said the same thing: BUY IT.
If you've ever looked at a recipe, it's about a million ingredients.
I had a very chocolately chicken mole in Mexico that I would love to redo, but none of the
store bought ones kick it.

We cooked outdoors tonight with some friends- pix to follow.