Red Meat - - Page 9

by Katt Kasper

Stewed Over Fall

Ahhh, fall. The crispness of the air as it begins to cool, the chill in your chest as you take that first brisk breath. The sting of the frost, the bite of the wind, the…the hell with that! This is exactly why I moved to L.A. Three-hundred-plus days of beach barbeques until the weather dips down into the 70s. Then of course, you’re forced to move inside. Ugh! I get goose bumps just thinking about it…

I grew up in the Midwest—northern Indiana to be exact—and I miss the cold Lake Michigan wind chill about as much as I miss acne. Ten-degree mornings and ice cold leather car seats? F that! If I can’t get a sunburn on Thanksgiving, I’m bummed! So pardon me Mr. Gore, while I release these fluorocarbons. Bring on the global warming, Woo Hoo!

But, we still like our fall food out here on the left coast, and when I feel it dip below the 80s, I like to bring out the soups and the chilies. So how about a little beef stew to get things crackin’? What I really like about the following recipe is how it magically changes from rank tasting to righteous during the long simmer. You’ll see. Try it and you won’t be disappointed.

Katt’s Bitchin’ Beef Stew

by Emily

Top 10 New Foods at the 2012 State Fairs

Well, in regards to ridiculous overloads of novelty foods, it’s all downhill from here—state fair season is over for the year. We’ll have to wait for months before a stream of deep-fried, chocolate-covered, bacon-wrapped indulgences can once again make their appearance in our diets. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the most shocking new creations that made their debut onto the state fair food scene in 2012. Steel your arteries…

10. BIG Beef Rib – California State Fair

You’d think that a normal beef rib would contain enough animal flesh, but you would be wrong, and the California State Fair is here to prove it. They’ve jammed a giant 24-oz. steak ONTO a 17-inch beef rib bone. Why?! Because they can. (Photo: Cavegrrl.com)

9. Deep Fried Cotton Candy – Texas State Fair

We saw deep fried Kool-Aid and deep fried salsa at last year’s state fairs, so we should have known that cotton candy couldn’t be that far off. Pretty crazy, because it seems like the spun sugar would melt in the deep fryer. Life is full of mysteries. Not enough sweets for you? Don’t worry, this treat is served by a frozen yogurt purveyor, so feel free to use these giant balls of fried sugar as a topping on your froyo. (Photo: Cassie’s Frozen Yogurt)

8. Outlaw Stacker – Eastern Idaho State Fair

We all know that french fries are a great base for all kinds of toppings, and the Eastern Idaho State Fair really took that idea and ran with it. The Outlaw Stacker is a huge pile of fries smothered in gravy, bacon, and a fried egg. The name rings true—health and nutrition are truly outlawed in this dish. And we’re okay with that. (Photo: Eastern Idaho State Fair)

in Bacon / Cheese / Eggs / Featured / Food Travel / Lists / Photos / Pig / Red Meat / Top 10 Lists / Trends 0 comments

by snebbu

Endless Road Trip Boston: Mike’s City Diner

We’ve made a bit of a tradition out of seeking out restaurants featured on the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Cheesy and touristy? Sure, but we haven’t been disappointed so far. The quest continued with Mike’s City Diner in Boston. You’d think it’d be well known in the entire Boston area, so I asked the folks at Sam Adams what the best means to get to the diner is. They had no idea of where it even was, so either my perspective on the size of Boston was horribly off, or maybe they just never make it out to that side of town. Either way—they are missing out. Mike’s City Diner does not disappoint, and there’s a reason why Guy Fieri was “Rollin’ Out” to Mike’s City Diner in Boston. Here are the highlights:

in Bacon / Food Travel / Red Meat / Restaurants / Sandwich 0 comments

by hungry monster

When Inauthentic Is Delicious: Weeknight “Gumbo”

Ok, let me preface this by saying that this is not authentic gumbo. No need to point it out to me. I am aware.

I set out to make authentic gumbo with the brown roux and what not, but if you know anything about gumbo, it’s pretty labor intensive and time consuming. That’s not my bag, baby.

I am going to tell you a little anecdote (if you can even call it that) from my week, so you get a feel of how I work in the kitchen.

I went to three different stores looking for fish sauce for this gumbo recipe. Not sure why. I read it in a cookbook, so I figured it’s important. So, 3 stores and nothing. Then my Dad found it and got it for me (love you, Dad!) It was such a huge bottle of fish sauce, so I suppose I was set for many future gumbos.

Except, I couldn’t get it open. That dang top would not come off. I guess this would be where an extra set of (not weak old lady) hands would have been beneficial. Honestly, I probably could have gotten it open, but I have no patience or perseverance for such a task. Don’t I sound like a fun person?

Long story short: no fish sauce made it into this dish. So sad. But true.

Here’s how it all went down.

Weeknight “Gumbo”

in Fowl / Pig / Recipe / Red Meat 0 comments

by Emily

Beef Jerky Chocolate Bar. Seriously.

I was shopping for a staple gun in a hip gas station convenience store (don’t ask… really, just don’t, my life is weird). At said hip gas station convenience store, instead of your average, mainstream candybars near the checkout, they display exotic and gourmet chocolates. One in particular caught my eye:

A beef jerky milk chocolate bar made by chocolatier Wild Ophelia.

Obviously I had to buy this. I suffered a little case of sticker shock when I brought it to the counter ($6.99! What type of jerky is this, a dried kobe beef filet mignon?!) but I decided I enjoy weird foods too much to turn it down. As far as taste, well, to me it really did taste like a quality milk chocolate bar with little bits of salty, smoky beef jerky mixed in. I gave blind taste tests to a couple victims, and everyone guessed it was some sort of salted chocolate, which isn’t too far off, really.

In the end, meat is good and chocolate is good, so meat plus chocolate is good, I suppose. I don’t really know if I’d pay $6.99 for that again, but I just like to know that a beef-stuffed chocolate bar exists in this world.

in Desserts / Red Meat 8 comments

by Katt Kasper

Friday Fuck-Up: The Gremlin Incident

The kitchen Gremlin. I have one. And he only makes his presence known when I’m cooking for company. I do occasionally like to cook outside of my comfort zone, and in the past I’ve discovered new dishes and taste combinations that I hadn’t expected, and was so blown away that I couldn’t wait to master and introduce them to my family and fellow foodies. But then, HE appears and all hell breaks loose!

I have two dishes that I have previously produced in world-class fashion and couldn’t wait to share with others. One is the classic béarnaise sauce. I loves me some steak, and I can’t think of a more perfect, decadent accompaniment than a just-made, thick, buttery béarnaise. The first three times that I attempted this sauce it came out perfect! I couldn’t wait to have the gang over for a French gorgy, and watch their eyes roll up into the backs of their heads after they took their first bite of a perfectly cooked dry-aged filet mignon smothered in the crack cocaine of butter sauces.

But the Gremlin had other ideas and decided at the last minute that a greasy version of egg drop soup would (for some evil reason), be the only sauce that came off my cook top. A hurried second attempt produced a scrambled egg dish that looked like yellow cottage cheese. What the hell? I had this down! I could feel the ghost of Julia Child bitch slapping the back of my head as I whipped up a sorry version of a Dijon crème sauce in its place.

My second Gremlin dish is one that I initially tried on a dare.

in Featured / Fish / Personal / Red Meat 0 comments

by J.Alter

Listen Up: Grillin’ NYC (That Sh*t Flay)

OK, this is weird, but amazing. The boys over at 2guys1vespa dare you to watch their newest celebrity chef-inspired parody, “Grillin’ NYC (That Sh*t Flay).” It is bizarre and kind of hilarious. Take a look, but I warned you…

in Red Meat 0 comments