Thanksgiving Dinner

Sneak preview of B&P Thanksgiving!

Cranberry-Apple Pie is up next!

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Location:W 24th St,Cleveland,United States

I pity the fool

Waiting on a pork belly sandwich at Cochon Butcher.

Mr. T will guide our food to us.




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Location:Andrew Higgins Dr,New Orleans,United States

Great Food 360° Featured on Univision

Our good friends at Great Food 360° were recently featured on Univision! Take a look below (roughly at 2:16). Nicely done, Adriana!

Patatas Bravas

About 15 years ago, I was fortunate to spend a good chunk of time eating in Spain - from Barcelona down the Costa del sol to Granada, and then inland up to Madrid. You can do pretty well in the US, too. Spanish cuisine is pretty great, in my opinion, and tapas (their small plate/appetizery dishes) are among my favorite foods. Given that these are often salty foods seasoned liberally with garlic, paprika, cumin and olive oil, I guess it shouldn't surprise any one. For my final meat-free dish, I'd been planning to recreate a couple of my favorites - gambas al ajillo (shrimp in a garlic sauce) and patatas bravas. I ended up with an amazing garlic sauce complementing badly overcooked shrimp, and a pretty funky oily potato mush with gross sauce. Not our finest hour here at B&P HQ. We remain undeterred by failure here (mostly because we fail a lot), and gave the patatas bravas another go. Also, after some travel, I had potatoes, onions, goya chorizo, and canned tomatoes in my kitchen, and not much else.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everybody! Hope you're all looking forward to a sweet 5772!

Crab Tater Tots!

In the final days of our Meat Hiatus, my office hosted a pot-luck lunch in honor of an associate expecting her first child. This is always pretty awesome, because in our research-based setting, we've people from a diverse selection of cultures - and everybody does a pretty good job. I usually make meat, and when pressed to volunteer a dish, I promised crab cakes. I'd ever actually made crab before, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. So, I decided to refer back to my cookbooks for some ideas, and the only one I had available electronically was Michael Symon's Live to Cook. Lo and behold, there was a recipe for something called "Crab Tater Tots." I was sold.

Smoked Brisket! Pastrami!

As you may recall, one of the first things I'd planned to do post meat hiatus was test out my stove-top smoker with a pork butt or brisket. And true to my word, the first chance I got, I picked up brisket to get started. Unfortunately, that first chance I got was late night at the end of  a long round trip drive to Motown immediately following from a weeklong conference. I was tired. I was a little surprised to discover the next morning that I had picked up a corned beef brisket.

Oops.

Then it occurred to me: When you smoke corned beef, you get pastrami. I can work with pastrami.

French Fridays with Dorie – Salmon and Potatoes in a Jar | Great Food 360°

French Fridays with Dorie – Salmon and Potatoes in a Jar | Great Food 360°

So, our good friend Adriana at Great Food 360° is a member of French Fridays with Dorrie - a group of intrepid food bloggers cooking their way through Dorrie Greenspan's Around My French Table. Each Friday, they post their interpretation of that week's recipe. As it happens, this week's recipe was Salmon and Potatoes in a jar - fitting in nicely with the B&P Meat Hiatus. Adriana asked if I'd like to fill in, and I happily obliged. How did I do?

Well, go take a look!

Smoked Shrimp

After my first experiment with my stovetop smoker was successful, I've been searching for new and exciting things to use it with for the duration of my meat hiatus (1 week left, for those who are counting). As it turns out, people have tried to smoke pretty much everything. As it also turns out, shrimp work pretty well. I wouldn't have expected this - shrimp cook quickly, and smoking is a famously  "slow and low" cooking method. But after doing a little digging, I found an interesting looking preparation apparently used by the Taco Sisters of Lafayette, LA. After giving this a shot, I'll be sure to drop in next time I find myself by Lafayette.

Cajun Mahi Mahi Sandwich

The last month or two of entries have been a little complicated - not too challenging, but requiring a good bit of prep work in spots. We'll shift gears today, and go with something quick and easy that you can put together in 10 - 15 minutes. Purists beware, the only thing actually remotely cajun about this is the guy on the seasoning container. Everybody else: It tastes good.

Smoked Steelhead with Roasted Garlic Sriracha Schmear

I really miss my grill. It was nothing special - a decent Char-Broil propane grill -  but it was mine. It was also apparently a fire hazard on my 8th floor balcony. So, it got replaced by an electric unit that tries hard, but isn't quite the same. No fire, no char, and the grill marks kind of just taste burnt. As you might imagine, I was excited to recently discover some indoor options for smoking food. The good people at Nordic Ware have developed the lovely stovetop smoker to your right, and the better people at Amazon sold it to me at 40% off with free shipping. Imagine a sort of Aluminum dutch oven with a high domed lid, smoking rack, and built in thermometer. Visions of brisket and pork butt have been dancing through my head since I purchased it. And of course, it arrived right in the middle of our Meat Hiatus.

Bollinos (Fish Balls)!

So, it's been all together too long since we've had any balls here at Balls and Pie (Don't worry, we've had plenty of pie). If you've been keeping up, and read about our delicious curried tilapia tacos, then you know we're on a meat hiatus. I'm going to repeat that, just because I enjoy the term: Meat Hiatus. Well, except for fish, and according to Ron Swanson, (the official fictional libertarian of Balls & Pie) it's pretty much a vegetable anyway. So, in search of something appropriate to share with you, my internet overlords, I discovered Bollinos - Codfish Balls! They were a pleasantly tasty surprise.

Curried Tilapia Fish Tacos

In which our fearless heroes make delicious fish tacos, nearly from scratch. Also, some guacamole. Sometimes, things just come together. Hannibal would have loved it. So, a month and change of traveling, road food, barbecue and other excess has caught up to us here at B&P HQ, and we're going pescatarian for awhile. To celebrate the first opportunity to prepare something more exciting than Costco's Ultimate Fish Sticks, I decided to try something pretty different, and go for a latin/carribean/subcontinental sort of meal. So, with a refrigerator full of fish, and armed with a couple pounds of masa, I got to work.

Capellini Carbonara

I tend not to make a lot of italian food - in part because of my weird cheese issues, but largely because Mamma DiSalvo (and Sons) have probably fed myself (and brother Balls)  growing up more than mom@ballsandpie. While a bowl of whole grain pasta and some of Mamma's sauce is an easy go-to meal at B&P HQ, I don't often get more that complicated because I know I'm not going to come close. As of this entry...well, not much has changed, but I've found another good way to indulge my obsession with bacon and garlic. And if you do find yourself in the Dayton area, please give Mamma DiSalvo's Restaurant or DiSalvo's Deli a try.

The Balls and Pie Guide to Eating in New Orleans

I do a pretty lousy job of posting regularly, and I'm kind of OK with that. Quite frankly, you don't pay me enough to feel too badly. Internet, you are a crappy boss. What I do feel somewhat bad about is not sharing more about where I think the good food comes from. And while I am neither Zagat nor Michelin, I know good food when I taste it. Good being entirely subjective to my tastes, of course. So, recently returned from 48 hr binge in my former home, the Big Sleazy, I'm inspired to give you a couple hints, tips and tricks. And the rest of you out there with similar or better expertise, I'm expecting you to chime in. Also, before I dive in - the Balls and Pie weekly prize for embodying all that's awesome about Balls and Pie goes to my Dad's Saturday evening meal choice: Crawish PIE and Fried Boudin BALLS. Way to go, Dad. Don't think I didn't notice.

Editorial Note: I've been writing this in drips and drabs for a few weeks now. I'm publishing as is, and adding as I go.

Bacon Jam

Ok. This post will feature a couple of the more unappealing images I've taken so far. All I can promise you is that however it gross it might look, it tastes amazing. Unless you think Bacon is gross - and if so, this probably not the place for you. So, Bacon Jam: It's pretty much what it sounds like. A Jam-like spread made out of bacon. One of my esteemed colleagues (who needs to start up his own food blog) discovered Bacon Jam on a food network program which is escaping me at the moment. He made his own, and it was awesome, and I felt compelled to give it a go. As an aside, if you're on the west coast, and can access Skillet Street Food - I expect you to try it and report back. They make serve what looks like creative, delicious food out of Airstream vans. That is awesome.

Meat and Potatoes

Bottom line up front:

Fried Green Tomato Breakfast Sandwiches

I am a culinary genius.

OK. Probably not, but this was freakin' delicious. So, I was in the gym, and as often happens, Paula Deen was on (as it turns out, her show is great motivation to work hard in the gym). She and her son Bobby were making Fried Green Tomato Burgers. I love fried green tomatoes. They're tremendous. These burgers looked great. But I thought to myself, "You know Fried Green Tomatoes don't have enough of? Bacon."

Well, myself - Challenge Accepted.

Long time, no blog...

So, as you've noticed, life and stuff has done a pretty good job of precluding me from sharing my culinary ventures with you in the past several months. Stuff happens, what're you gonna do? Well, that, and it was the awful tail end of Cleveland winter, where the date tells you that it should be shorts and t-shirt weather, but there is still snow outside. I ended up with lots more hearty, "hot, brown, and lots of it" food, which while tasty, is it a bit repetitious and uninteresting. I'll revisit in the future. Sneak preview after the jump:

Pan Roasted Tilapia with Rosemary and Lemon

After fighting off a nasty cold for the better part of the week, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my newly returned senses of smell and taste with some nice, lighter aromatic fare. I'd intended to try Michael Symon's Fennel, Garlic and Rosemary poached halibut, but couldn't find any fennel. It also turned out that I'd apparently opted for the bag full of frozen tilapia, rather than the more expensive halibut at my last trip to Costco.

(Sidenote: Costco carries a varying selection of flash frozen, individual vacuum sealed frozen fish that retain fairly high quality for an extended period of time - can't recommend it enough if you're like me and don't always get around to preparing that fresh cut of meat or fish in a timely manner. The tuna's hit and miss, but I've gotten great results from mahi mahi, halibut, tilapia, grouper, sea bass, steelhead, and salmon).

Heating up the pan

So, I pulled out the fish to thaw, and lo and behold, I'd purchased Tilapia loins, rather than fillets. I kind of know my way around a cow or pig, but I'd never heard of fish loin before. Long story short, it was pretty long, not wide at all, and rather thick. Loin shaped, indeed. While I'd generally sauté tilapia fillet (a few minutes each side over medium in olive oil works pretty good for most preparations), I was concerned about cooking the loin all the through. This seemed like a good opportunity to test out some pan roasting techniques I'd been reading about of late.

Matzah Ball Soup (Not Kosher for passover)

Fun Fact: I don't eat cheeseburgers.

While I really just have a complex relationship with cheese, most people assume that I, like many jews, keep kosher. For the uninitiated, the Kashrut is a set of dietary laws governing what jews should eat, and how they should prepare and prepare for meals.I take no issue with these practices. Some of my favorite things, like the practice of bathing daily and kosher-style deli derive from observation of the Kashrut, or "keeping kosher." However, observation of kosher law requires that most of what makes meat taste good is removed during preparation, and that some foods, like pork (bacon!), scavengers and bottom feeders (catfish!), and shellfish (shellfish!) are "treif," and unfit for consumption. I have enormous respect for people that go to significant lengths to observe the kashrut in an increasingly secular world, but as should be abundantly clear, keeping kosher falls strictly in the "not for me" column (bacon!). Nontheless, I extend my sincere apologies for my extremely unkosher interpretation of this jewish standard. Look away.

"What the hell, Cleveland?"-Style Chili

Welcome back to Balls and Pie after our Holidays/January-sort-of-sucks hiatus. What can I say? January sort of sucked.

"Lake Effect Saab"

So, Cleveland. What the hell? This happening to my car between lunch and 3 PM is not cool. Yeah. 10 inches of snow overall in 6 hours. Don't bother looking in the National Weather Service archives for records, because according their official station at the airport, it didn't snow in Cleveland that day. True Story.

Fortunately, I had my go-to remedy for this weather non-event: Good, simple Chili. Despite today's title, there's actually nothing special about it. And besides, as you should well as know, the best chili in these parts comes from elsewhere in the Buckeye State.

This is a pretty straightforward recipe I've adapated from what Mom taught me years back. For those of you keeping track, it's from the "Hot, Brown, and lots of it" school of cooking.