Fathers day chik'n ribs

I can't really give out the formula for this, but an abbreviated version is below!

Brine your ribs! I used a "commercial" jerk seasoning in water with more salt and lots of garlic. for these ( 3 hrs min.)

lots of smoke-put them on the smoker first (boiling/baking first ruins the whole deal-they take on the most smoke when they're fresh, put em in the oven in the end if you have to!)


hang out , drink some beer and wait (or do yard work etc.)

keep an eye on the fire/smoke the whole time, cut more wood if you have to and keep a bucket going..

if you started when you got up, these should be perfect right about 4pm, if you slacked and slept in then you'll be eating around 8 pm!

Almond-Chili Salmon

OK! just as promised, here's the first recipe to hit the blog and for those of you who have had dinner here you know there's more tricks up the sleeve!

this one is pretty "standard" fare in the Darrah household, if we have to cook salmon in the oven quick and easy this one works great!


A pound or so of salmon ( figure about 10 oz per person, unless you really like salmon, then get the whole side!)
set your oven to HI broil and set the top grate within a few inches of the top.

1/4 cup chopped almonds
2 TBS chili powder or red chili flakes (this depends on how hot you like things- you want dried chilis, otherwise the crust isn't crusty)
Salt/pepper
Coconut oil (olive oil works just as well but the coconut gives it a nice flavor)

we had a side of steamed broccoli and boiled new potatoes with rosemary to accompany...


Season the fish (skin down) with the S+P, drizzle with a bit of coconut oil, mix the chilis and almond with a bit of oil and pat firmly on top of the fish.

broil for 8 min. per inch of fish (thickest part, less if it's less than an inch - good rule of thumb for broiling most fish) or until it looks translucent pink, then pull it out and let it sit for 5 minutes or so while you plate everything-you don't want to overcook this otherwise it's a waste to buy salmon! 
This works just as well with steelhead.....

nice and healthy, tasty and quick!


Enjoy!

Pan fried Pork Chops with Portobello, caramelized onions and a sherry pan sauce

Here's another quick recipe, this is an adaptation of a Cook's Illustrated technique for cooking pork chops with a refined "topping".

Use 1" or thinner chops, otherwise you need to extend the cooking time a bit....

2 (or 1 chop per person) boneless chops
2 TBS butter
1 TBS Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic chopped or pressed
1 cup 1/2 ring cut onions (adjust for more chops)
1 cup sliced portobello mushrooms (you can sub almost any 'shroom for this-shitakes are nice too!)
a few ounces of sherry, madeira, wine etc. for deglazing

heat an appropiatley sized saute pan on med-high to high heat (enough to get a good sear without burning the butter up) use 1 TBS butter and the olive oil to sear the chops on each side for 1 minute, then put the heat on low and cover the pan. Cook on low for about 4 minutes a side (flipping once) Put the chops on a plate and tent with foil ( they will be undercooked at this point - the foil tent will let the residual heat cook them to perfection!)
bring the heat up to med, toss in the onions and cook until they start to become transucent; add the garlic, cook until fragrant, then the shrooms.
cook for a few more minutes until the 'shrooms begin to soften, bring heat to high, toss the pan for a minute or so, deglaze the pan with the sherry, let reduce slightly (another minute or two) then add the juices that have accumulated under the chops (hold them with the foil tent and pour off the juice!). Let this reduce just a bit, remove from heat and quickly whisk in the last TBS of butter to finish the sauce.

Plate the chops and distribute your onions, shrooms and sauce evenly and serve!

We hade these with a rhubarb and caper potato salad, but that's another recipe......

Another night of Salmon

Here are a couple shots of my salmon recipe, served as a salad.

this one had raw cashews, chilis, garlic and a touch of a jerk style marinade that I happened on in the grocery store.

(it was a spicy one-Habs, scotch bonnets, pineapple juice, but no sugar or preservatives...)

Too much food for a design blog!

I'm diversifying!

I started my original blog with the intent of it being a place to boost SEO rankings, showcase my portfolio and generally use the free service to promote my business. As it turns out I started posting more about food than photography+design, so I figured I'd start a blog dedicated solely to my foodie interests. My food blogs will move over here from the gascreative blog and that blog will focus more on what I'm doing in the creative world....