I smoked a chicken and nobody was harmed.

Grate marks add character, right?

I do OK in the kitchen. If I'm not particularly big on presentation, my food makes up for it in complex or interesting flavor profiles. Or at least is generally edible. However, when I end up with something that is flat out inedible or so bad that it might as well be - it's usually chicken. Breasts, thighs, legs - whatever. It's unevenly cooked, dried out, burnt - or just weird tasting. I had to debone a whole chicken in small galley of a boat at the age of 15, and I think I was traumatized by the experience. So, of course now that I've learned my way around my new electric (no propane or charcoal allowed, sadly) Brinkmann smoker - I had the bright idea to prepare a whole bird. And to my surprise, it worked out.

Accidental Sausage and Lentil Soup

I really love soup. Mom@ballandpie was never a slouch in the kitchen, but soup is always where she shines (the great curdling disaster of thanksgiving 2005, excepted). I do OK, but this is only time I think I've come close to her standard. I came up with this recipe after discovering that a low carb soup mix had way more sugar than I'd realized. Oops. And then I didn't have enough of the right kind of stock. And what I ended up with, I couldn't stop eating for days. I've since been iterating, and this time, I didn't have the appropriate italian sausage. However, I did have some freezer burned pork shoulder and a brand new meat grinding attachment for my Kitchen-Aid mixer - so I took the opportunity to make some. For Science:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Almost Fish Tacos

So, while I feel like my first non-intro post should be about something either ball or pie related, the things that finally got me off my ass to get something on the web were the fish tacos I attempted to make yesterday. As it turned out, my surprisingly tasty whole wheat flax seed tortillas were moldy, but I was very pleased with the fish.

I used (and generally, unless I've really got myself together, I use whatever I've got around the house):

Mahi Mahi

Flour

Corn Meal

Black Pepper

Cajun Seasoning (Joe's stuff)

Cayenne Pepper

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Kosher salt

Salt

Hot Sauce (Cholula Chili garlic, in this case)

Paprika

Chipotle Chili Powder

Also, I made tomato/onion based salsa, and some brown rice, which were fine, but nothing special, and probably easily replaced with your favorite fish taco toppings.

I cut the mahi into 7 strips - about 1/2" - 3/4" thick, and 3" long or so. 

For a fast marinade, I mixed about 1/3 of a cup of olive oil, with a couple tbsp lemon juice, and a tsp of hot sauce, then spiced with some liberally with chipotle chili powder, black pepper, pinch of kosher salt and just a bit of cajun seasoning. 

You may have figured out by now that I'm not real big on precise measurements.

After blending thoroughly with a fork, I tossed the mahi strips in the marinade (just enough to cover the mahi strips with a nice layer), and let sit at room temperature for about 25 min.

Then, I made a  light dusting for the fish - 2 parts flour to 1 part cornmeal (just under a cup, total), with a couple tsps each cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika and a pinch of salt. Each fish strip was taken from the marinade and rolled them through once to coat lightly. 

Lastly, I sauteed on both sides for about 3 minutes total (golden brown all around).

The results were surprisingly tasty - nice textured crust which complemented the spicy, slightly tart flavors underneath, and the firm, mild mahi that held up nicely. I got just a little hint of a saucy layer between the fish and crust, which was a nice surprise. Next time I try this, I might think about using a  little lighter fish like cod, and probably smaller pieces - to be a little more taco friendly.