Looks great...gotta try this!

Jean-Georges Fried Rice!

Looking forward to getting back to the kitchen!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin w/Cheesy Cauliflower Mash & Roasted Haricot Vert

Ham....To this day I still have recollections of elementary school. Sitting in the cafeteria watching your friend sitting across from you take a bite into his sandwich and see globs of Mayo coming out the sides of his mouth. It's something that has scarred me for life and to this day the thought of eating ham tends to gross me out. I'm not sure what it is exactly... the color, the slimy texture, or just the thought of taking two pieces of white bread, slathering mayonnaise on both sides and then piling processed slices of ham & American cheese in between makes me want to heave. Now I'm sure Ham is mighty tasty but it's just something I've always grown up disliking. In fact, I was never a fan of bacon until I moved to New York and to this day unless it's burnt & crispy, I still tend to peal my bacon in half and only eat the lean side.

So in honor of a new year, I decided to be a bit risky tonight and make something I have never made in my time. As I was sitting in Barnes & Noble today I came across an interesting recipe by a staple in my life, Ina Garten (also known as the Barefoot Contessa). Thank you Ina! After eating this meal I must say, I may never eat a slice of ham for as long as I live..but roasted pork tenderloin sure will be a dish that will appear in my kitchen for many meals to come!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin w/ Cheesy Cauliflower Mash & Roasted Haricot Vert

Ingredients

• 2 (lb) Pork Tenderloin
• 6 garlic cloves chopped
• 2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1.5 tablespoon of Rosemary
• 1 tablespoon of Thyme
• 2 teaspoon of kosher salt

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag and marinate refrigerated for 2 hours (up to 24 hours). Once marinated remove pork tenderloin from bag and shake off excess marinade. Leave on any excess pieces of Rosemary or Thyme. Discard marinade.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over high heat using a cast iron pan. Once oil is beginning to steam sear pork tenderloin on each side until a brown crust forms. While searing preheat your oven at 350 degrees.

Transfer entire cast iron pan with pork tenderloin to the oven. It should take approximately 20 minutes or until pork tenderloin reads 140-150 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove immediately and cover with tin foil. Do not over cook. Let tenderloin rest for up to 10 minutes so juices can re-concentrate. Slice 1/2 inch think pieces and serve over Cauliflower Mash.

Cheesy Cauliflower Mash

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower trimmed from stem and broken into florets
• 1/4 cup of whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of cream cheese (fat free)
• 1/2 cup of grated Gruyere cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• Chopped Chives

Preparation

Boil Cauliflower florets over salted water for 20-30 minutes or until tender with a fork. Drain Cauliflower over a colander and shake out excess water. Remove as much water as possible to maintain good consistency. Put Cauliflower back into a large saucepan. Using a hand masher, mash cauliflower until smooth with no chunks. Add butter, cream and cream cheese and mix until well combined. Add Gruyere cheese and mix until fully combined. Cheese should not be runny. Add S&P to get desired taste. Serve with chopped chives.

Serve & Enjoy!

Cast Iron Grilled Turkey Burger w/Grilled Onions & Cheese

Alright so not the first time I've posted about this and surely won't be the last. I'm still in search of the perfect Turkey Burger and won't stop until I find it.....or make it!:)

Unfortunately I can't give away my secrets so pictures are all that we can do.

Grilled onions if you forgot...

• 2 large onion sliced 1 inch thick
• Salt....Pepper...Teaspoon of olive oil
• With your hands toss all ingredients together and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes

Sunday Guacamole

I was at the store this week and picked up a couple Avocado's. I was never a fan of Avocado's growing up...but then again maybe they just weren't that common in Michigan. Today, Avocado's are one of my favorite fruits. They can go just about in anything...sandwiches, omelette's, salads, hummus, etc. But my most favorite dish for Avocados is none other than guacamole. I'm a huge spice lover so the more heat you throw in the better the guac will be. Here's my version of Sunday Guacamole!

Ingredients

• 2-3 Haas Avocado's
• Juice of half a lemon
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 large clove of garlic minced
• 1 seeded ripe tomato diced
• 1 half diced red onion
• 1 diced jalapeno (I prefer half seeds included) or Habanero
• Sea Salt
• Fresh black & cayenne pepper
• Chopped Cilantro (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and combine. Serve with Blue chips or your chip of choice!

Enjoy!

Six Hour Slow Cooked Brisket

For all the real men out there who decided not to watch the Giants last game of the season today, here's to one of the best meals I've ever made (according to my wife!). Slow & low baby!

Six hour Slow Cooked Beef Brisket

Ingredients

• 1 4-5 lb brisket
• 1-2 bottles of your choice of barbecue sauce
• 1/2 bottle of Heinz Ketchup
• 2 packets of Lipton onion soup/dip mix
• couple tablespoons of your preferred hot sauce
• Tsp of garlic powder
• Tsp of onion powder
• Tsp of Paprika
• Tablespoon of Oil
• Tablespoon of Canola or Vegetable oil (for use in pan to sear)
• Salt & Pepper

Preparation

Using your hands rub brisket on both sides with salt, pepper, paprika & olive oil.

Next preheat a large cast iron pan (I prefer Le Creuset) on high heat with your vegetable/canola oil until it begins to get smokey. Turning once sear both sides of brisket until the meat forms a brown crust (about 3 minutes on each side).

While meat is searing combine Ketchup, BBQ sauce, Hot sauce, garlic & onion powder, & Lipton onion mix into a bowl and combine. Mix well.

Preheat over to 250-300 degrees.

Add approximately 2-3 cups of water to sauce and pour into pot with brisket. Sauce mixture should almost come to the top of the brisket.

Once complete put the lid on the pot and stick into the oven. Cook meat for about 5-6 hours checking periodically to make sure liquid has not reduced all the way. In the event it requires more liquid just add some water.

Go watch football....

6 hours later....

Remove from oven and carefully pull brisket from pot and lay to rest on a separate plate. Cover with tin foil for 15-20 minutes. Brisket will continue to cook while resting.

At the same time heat remaining liquid over medium heat on your stove top. Once liquid begins to boil turn heat down to a simmer to reduce. You'll want to save the sauce as once the brisket is sliced it will be added back into barbecue sauce to re flavor.

Once cool slice brisket against the grain and put back into sauce.

Serve and enjoy!

Baked Eggplant & Zucchini Parmigiana

I woke up this morning with no voice. Thought the night was going to end in celebratory fashion, yet unfortunately as usual my Spartan's end up coming up on the short end in last night's Valero Alamo bowl. Can't really complain too much...14 players suspended including our two stud wide receivers, a home crowd of 57,000 plus in Texas, and all fate on the side of the red & black as their highly touted coach gets fired for what some would call sticking their bench player in the "execution" room! (seriously - What on earth is an electric closet??).

Well..it's now noon on a frigid Sunday in New York and I'm just rolling out of bed. I'm in need of a good grocery run as I have to cook dinner for 4 tonight. I was going through the pantry making a list of what I need for tonight's meal when I realized I've got some items leftover from the week that if I don't use quick I'm going to lose.

So in honor of this weekends final "no pride" game for the G-men, I decided to try whipping something up real quick.

BTW- I love chicken parm....in fact I love any kind of parm, so if you a similar foodie to me you'll really enjoy this recipe.

Baked Eggplant & Zucchini Parmigiana

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplants sliced lengthwise
• 1-2 large Zucchini's sliced lengthwise
• 1 cup of tomato sauce (recipe below)
• Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Grated Parmigiana cheese
• 2 tablespoons of panko bread crumbs

Preparation

Using a deep casserole or lasagna dish spread a couple tablespoons of tomato sauce on bottom of dish. Layer two slices of eggplant followed by 2-3 slices of zucchini. Next add a good amount of the ricotta cheese topped with shredded mozzarella. Repeat this process three times or til the dish is topped off. On the last layer end with a healthy sprinkling of Parmigiana cheese and some panko bread crumbs

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until dish begins to bubble over. When dish begins to bubble, remove cover and broil for additional 5 minutes to brown bread crumbs and create a crispy top.

Serve and enjoy!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

• 16 oz. can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 medium white onion diced
• 2 tablespoons of good olive oil
• 1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth
• Fresh Italian parsley
• Fresh or Dried basil
• Dried Oregano
• Salt & Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes

Heat Olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and simmer (if the garlic begins to brown your heat is turned up to high). Add onions and let sweat (onions should become translucent). Add tomatoes and herbs and stir together well. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once sauce begins to boil reduce heat to a simmer and let reduce for about 30-40 minutes. Extra sauce can be frozen or kept in a refrigerator for up to a week.

Turkey Terrific

Happy New Year everyone! Looking forward to a great 2010! Hopefully everyone had a great night out and is ready to enjoy what I typically refer to as the best "Man's Day" of the year!

It's noon here in New York and I have a officially planted myself on the couch getting ready for an absolute perfect day of college football bowl games to enjoy. In preparation for today, I made sure the kitchen was stocked with all the typical eats that I must have to take me through the day. I ended up skipping breakfast today, so Ill step it up a bit just in time for lunch.

So for all your sandwich junkies out there looking for an easy meal to take you through the first game of the day here's my version of what I call "Turkey Terrific".

Ingredients

• 1 large baguette (sliced to your preferred size)
• Sliced Turkey Meat (I prefer Boar's Head Maple Turkey)
• Provolone Cheese
• Cole Slaw
• Banana Peppers
• Sliced Pickles
• Thinly sliced red onion
• Dijon Mustard

To Prepare

Split baguette in half and grill both sides until bread is slightly crispy. Once grilled layer ingredients in any particular order. Cut in half and serve with potato chips.

Enjoy!