Carla Hall's Onion Rings 10.20.11

Ah... The illusive home cooked onion ring.  Many have tried... Most (including me) have failed.  But this was close.

Today was "Last meal day".  Theory was to let us know what the final dining option would be if you knew there would be no tomorrow.  Personally, not sure how big of an appetite I would have, but if you follow the premise, all is joy.

I do think a few of the hosts kind of wimped out.... really Daphne, Dumplings???  And Michael was even called out by the other hosts when he chose a meatless beet pasta (that looks beautiful).
 
Clinton made a luxurious dish, but sort of dumbed it down to be more accessible... If I were to have Lobster Thermidor for a last meal, not sure if I would follow this recipe (although it looked and sounded very easy and amazing).

I did believe that Mario Batali would indeed chose a simple omelet but made with a bit of those legendary $300 a pound truffles.

But Carla's choice may just come close to mine (maybe add some Pineapple/Jerk chicken wings).  A Great Burger and Onion Rings!  Yeah... I can believe this would be someone's choice!

Now, I'll be honest, I've tried home onion rings in the past.  I have a beer batter recipe that is very good.  But the problem with them is one that Carla pointed out on the show... They lose that great fried crispy texture very quickly.  So if you are not eating over the stove, mine aren't as good as I say they are.

And so, I was excited to give these a try.  And to be perfectly honest... these are about 90% there.  Very close.  I followed the recipe exactly as posted on The Chew Website (Click HERE).  Indeed, 10  minutes, 20 minutes... next morning even, these retained that crunch texture of freshly fried.  I even warmed some up in the microwave and they still were very crispy!  I was just a little surprised by the good but not great flavor.

There is a secret ingredient... again, Click HERE, for the recipe, and click HERE for the video, showing the reaction of the other hosts to the secret ingredient.  Aha Moment, I now understand why these have the great texture.

But, as I said... Remember that scene in Julie & Julia where Julie Powell was surprised that she was going to serve a bland Boeuf Bourguignon?  I mean there is so much in the stew, how can it be bland?  that's the reaction I had to the onion rings... Nothing wrong, just seemed a bit bland.

I think next time I add some of my Cajun Spice mix.  But I didn't.  So, I am filing this recipe as a work in progress.  Close, very close, but no cigar.

And BTW, a wonderful addition was her burger.  Straight off, she said she wanted to have her favorite hamburger with her last meal.  She made hers, and it is on the website (Click HERE).  But she also said to make your own...

I made some pickled red onions.
Some sweet bread and butter pickle slices
Sliced tomato
Arugula
Queso cheese
And I cooked my hamburger in a 50/50 mix of butter and Worcestershire sauce!

AND... I made my own hamburger buns!

Have you all ever heard of Moomie Buns???  Go ahead, Google that name... 2 MILLION 500 THOUSAND plus folks can't be wrong!

Easy, FLAWLESS and very tasty

You need a bread machine to get the full benefits.  You can kneed the dough yourself, monitor the rising stage, but with a bread machine, run through the "dough" setting on the machine which only mixes and kneeds and allows time for the first rise.  It does not do the baking.  BUT, that's the time consuming part.

OK, here's the recipe...

1 cup Water (warm, about 105 degrees
2 TBS Butter softened to room temperature
1 egg
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Whole Wheat flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp instant yeast (They also call it bread machine yeast)

• Place all the ingredients in the bread machine, select "dough" and allow to run the entire cycle
• Dump out onto lightly floured surface, divide into 8 equal pieces.  Shape each into a bun shape
• Place on silipat, preheat a pizza stone and the oven to 375 degrees.
• Do an egg wash on the buns and sprinkle a topping (I like garlic or Onion flakes... or course Sea Salt is great as well)
• Allow a second rise for 40 minutes (Cover and keep the rolls away from a draft.  Try to place in a warm spot)
• Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Burgers should be messy, gooey and DELICIOUS!  Mine sure was!

Clinton Kelly’s Texas Nachos 10.19.11

Here's the description for this recipe, found on The Chew website (Click HERE for the recipe)...

In this recipe Clinton married a bacon cheeseburger with nachos. One word comes to mind, yum!

And that's the truth!

This may be the very best thing I have made from The Chew.  Just simply loaded, these will ruin you for bar food forever!

In honor of the St Louis Cardinals and one of the best World Series I have ever seen, I found some red and white corn chips (they are actually for the Kansas City Chiefs, but the episode was devoted to baseball, and I am so much enjoying the series.... But I digress).

I followed the recipe exactly as posted on The Chew website (again, click HERE).  I used a white Monterrey Jack Queso cheese, I believe on the show, Clinton used a yellow queso cheese.  I was using some pretty hot peppers, plus the cheese was plenty spicy, so I didn't add any spices to the hamburger.

And these are now my "goto" bar food.  A great dish to make for a ball game, Super Bowl party, progressive dinner (I'm claiming the appetizer course from mow on).

I weep at the memory of how good these were!

Mario Batali's Son Leo Sloppy Joes 10.6.11

No more canned sloppy Joe mix again!

This was a wonderful segment.  Mario had received a gift from his boys of the "Batali Brothers Cookbook:, a one of a kind published book (easily done via Kodak, Lulu or even if you just go to a Walgreen's store), made by the boys (with Mom's help) of family recipes the kids actually make.  What a great idea and I do hope when it gets a little closer to Christmas this idea is explored a bit more.

Today on the show (click HERE to view the episode), it was "All American Day".  My choices were beer brats, Spaghetti Carbonara and this.  I enjoyed all the segments.  The audience participation during one of the Jonas Brothers segment was perfect.  Great way to get them to stop squealing and have a bit of fun.  The beer brats segment was also terrific.

BUT, I was drawn to this idea.  By weight, more vegetables than beef.  And using ground Sirloin instead of a higher fat percentage ground beef, this is almost healthy and certainly healthier.

I did have three concerns... First, the sirloin in place of the ground beef.  Well, once all the juices from the raw tomatoes have broken down, this was plenty wet, moist and flavorful.  No concerns.

The second, while there is jalapenos in the recipe, that is the only hot spicy item.  When I taste tested the dish, it just did not have enough kick for me.  Just prior to serving, I added a TBS of Chili powder and a TBS of Taco Seasoning that I had laying about.  This extra kick added a LOT.

But, seeing that this was made by kids, I can understand the more mild flavorings.  For me, I like the pop!

And finally, sugar???  WHY???  You break down the raw tomatoes with a 45 minute simmer.  Plenty of time for the natural sugars in the tomatoes to infuse sweetness.  There is just no need so I skipped it.  Surprisingly enough, when my wife tried these she commented that they had a sweet taste.

For a almost healthy and certainly healthier dish, I was surprised to see this and lived very well without the sugar.  But that's just me and who am I to argue with Mario or his son.

I let my wife know what I had planned for dinner.  She volunteered to buy the chips, which is a rare treat for us.

To see the recipe, click HERE to see "Mario Batali's Son Leo Sloppy Joes".  You will never open that can again!