Avocado Salsa Verde

This exceptional salsa is perfect on Shrimp Tostadas, any kind of taco, with chips for something different, or smeared all over burgers.  The acidic tomatillos and lime juice keep the avocado bright green.  It’s tangy, a touch spicy, and oh so delicious.

• 2 ripe haas avocados
• 1/2 large yellow onion
• 4 medium tomatillos
• 1 large jalapeno
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 lime
• 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat BBQ grill to high heat.  Rub the tomatillos, onion, and jalapeno with vegetable oil.  Grill over high heat, rotating every few minutes, until blistered and slightly charred; about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat and place the onion and jalapeno in a food processor with the garlic clove.  Pulse until slightly chunky.  Add the tomatillos and avocados, and pulse again until slightly chunky.  Add the lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro, and pulse another 5-6 pulses.  The verde should have a chunky but smooth salsa consistency.

Recipe by Sadie Clift, March 2013

The Bald Gourmet shares his fiances delicious Avocado Salsa Verde recipe.  Try it!

Shrimp Tostadas with Avocado Verde

My sweet fiance surprised me yesterday by sneaking in my house and cooking dinner for me while I was on my way home from work.  When I walked in, the place was filled with the crisp clean flavors of the Mexican coastline.  Yup, she’s a keeper.  The meal was so delicious, I had her write down what she did so that I could share it here on the blog.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Recipe for Avocado Salsa Verde

• 2 ripe haas avocados
• 1/2 large yellow onion
• 4 medium tomatillos
• 1 large jalapeno
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 lime
• 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat BBQ grill to high heat.  Rub the tomatillos, onion, and jalapeno with vegetable oil.  Grill over high heat, rotating every few minutes, until blistered and slightly charred; about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat and place the onion and jalapeno in a food processor with the garlic clove.  Pulse until slightly chunky.  Add the tomatillos and avocados, and pulse again until slightly chunky.  Add the lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro, and pulse another 5-6 pulses.  The verde should have a chunky but smooth salsa consistency.

Avocado Verde Salsa

Grilled Chili Lime Shrimp Recipe

Grilled Chili Lime Shrimp Skewers

For her shrimp, Sadie used jumbo U15 Shrimp.  These were awesome on the tostadas.  They remained moist, provided great bites of shrimpy goodness, and were beautiful piled on the tostada shells.  I highly recommend you spend the extra couple bucks for these shrimp.

• 18 U15 Jumbo Shrimp (1 pound)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili lime seasoning (like Tajin Clasico Seasoning)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 soaked bamboo skewers, or 6 metal skewers

Shell and clean shrimp, then coat with the vegetable oil.  Sprinkle with all remaining ingredients and toss to evenly distribute seasoning.  Place 3 shrimp on each skewer, and grill over high heat for 5 minutes.  Flip and grill the other side for 3 minutes.

Assembly of Shrimp Tostadas with Traditional Toppings

Shrimp Tostadas with Avocado Verde

• 6 authentic corn tostadas (don’t use the crap boxed kind.  Only use the bagged ones that are actually deep-fried corn tortillas)
• 1/2 small head of green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of red radishes, thinly sliced
• 3-4 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
• 1 lime, cut into small wedges

Shrimp Tostada Toppings

Smear a couple spoonfuls of avocado verde salsa onto a tostada shell.  Top with 3 chili lime jumbo shrimp.  Then top with sliced cabbage, radishes, and cilantro.  Repeat as you eat until they’re all gone.

Shrimp Tostadas with Avocado Verde Close Up

Makes 6 tostadas.  Serves 2.

Recipe by Sadie Clift, March 2013

The Bald Gourmet is served some delicious Shrimp Tostadas with an exceptional Avocado Salsa Verde by his lovely sweetheart, Sadie.

Red Iguana Salt Lake City

I found myself in Salt Lake over the weekend, so I asked some of my friends that know the area well where they’d recommend eating. Red Iguana was mentioned by all of them, so I grabbed my camera, my notes binder, my appetite, and headed in.

There’s no mistaking Red Iguana from the street. It is vibrantly red and yellow, and says “killer Mexican food” right on the building. Lines of people were waiting outside, and the place was packed inside. The locals love their Iguana it seems, and for good reason.

Red Iguana Salt Lake City Inside

Upon entering, we were greeted promptly and taken to our seats. The staff was very friendly and handled the herds of people very well. Our server, Junior, was great, and made some excellent suggestions on the extensive menu. When we told him we had never been there before, he offered to bring us a sampler plate of their 8 different mole sauces. Good man. The moles are what Red Iguana are known for, and I was excited to try them.

Red Iguana’s Mole

Red Iguana Salt Lake City Mole Sauces

The menu said that these moles are Iguana’s interpretation of the traditional Mexican sauce. They were definitely different than any mole I’ve had before. Some were really good, and others were not. Only two were made with chocolate, but all were made with the traditional chilies, seeds, and fruits.  Clockwise from 1:00, we have:

Mole Amarillo

Red Iguana Mole Amarillo

This mole was exceptional! Amarillo means yellow. It was made with golden raisins, yellow tomatoes, yellow zucchini, chili guadillo, and dried seasonal yellow chilies. Those seasonal chilies turned out to be habaneros, which made this mole scorching hot. It was far to hot to enjoy, and they really need to leave them out of the dish. But the rest of the flavor combination was so exceptional that I couldn’t stop eating it. It had a great subtle squash savoryness from the zucchini. But the secret was really the golden raisins. They just elevated the whole dish to a realm of tasty perfection that I couldn’t stop enjoying, even though I was sweating from the chili burn.

Mole Coloradito
This mole had a strong cumin flavor. I love cumin, but it only just worked in this mole. The mole was very thick and had a mealy texture from all the ground pine nuts, almonds, and peanuts. But it was good and would be great on the right thing, which I’m sure they know and serve appropriately.

Mole Pablano
This mole was made with dried and fresh Pablano peppers, ground nuts, and plantain bananas. It was very sweet from those bananas, but also had an odd bitterness, I’m guessing from the same bananas. Because of this, I just couldn’t like this mole. Pass.

Mole Verde
This excited me when I saw it. It was a thick, creamy, salsa verde paste, or so it seemed. But upon tasting it, it was made with basil, and from what I could discern, dried basil. What an odd choice to put basil in Mexican food. I did not feel that it worked well at all, but my girlfriend liked it and ordered some enchiladas smothered in the stuff, and once mixed with everything else in that dish, the basil mole was fine and fairly tasty. But I would have rather seen this green mole made with cilantro and some tomatillos.

Mole Negro
Mole Negro is often referred to as the king of mole. Not so at Red Iguana. It was very similar to the mole poblano, and had the same sweet bitterness from the bananas. Maybe they just had a bad batch of plantains today?

Red Pepian
This was a good mole. It was lightly sweet, and had a strong pumpkin seed flavor. I love pumpkin seeds, and they used them right in this sauce. This would have been very nice served over chicken, which is how they offer this treat.

Mole Mango
Good heavens! This was their special for the night, but they should really stick it on their standard menu. It was very sweet, and had a very pronounced mango flavor. It was being served over a pork loin for the night, which I’m sure was perfect. But it would also be great served over chicken, peppers, and pineapple. There’s a lot you could do with this delicious sauce Red Iguana, so I hope you add at least one offering with it on your permanent menu.

Red Iguana Serves Sour Cream Enchiladas

Red Iguana Enchiladas Verde

If you know anything about the Mormon food culture, you will know that they seem to be the kings of casseroles. And when it comes to making enchiladas, they almost always make them with shredded chicken mixed with sour cream, rolled up in flour tortillas, and covered with cream of chicken/mushroom soup. This is what was going through my mind when I saw the several different sour cream enchiladas on Red Iguana’s menu. That and the thought, “would I find these at any other Mexican restaurant outside of the Mormon Capitol of the world?”

But my girlfriend thought the sour cream Enchiladas Verde sounded good and ordered them. These, at least, we’re rolled in traditional corn tortillas. To my surprise, the enchiladas were actually quite good, and the basil mole that I thought was so gross on the sampler plate actually worked well with the sour cream chicken. I still think it would be better with cilantro though, but to each there own I guess.

Red Iguana’s Beans, Rice, and Salsa

This may seem stupid, but I put a lot of my Mexican restaurant scoring weight on how well the restaurant does with their beans, rice, and salsa. I figure that if they can’t get these basics right, there’s a good chance the rest of the food isn’t going to be any good either. Red Iguana is pushing it a little.

Their beans were pretty lame. Not much flavor, bad texture, and an all around disappointment. Their rice wasn’t much better, but at least it was fluffy and orange colored. But their salsa was very nice. It was made with canned tomatoes rather than fresh (at least from what I could tell), garlic, fresh chilies, onion, cilantro, and some undefinable delicious spices. It was very spicy but very good.

Salt Lake City has Decent Mexican Food

Red Iguana has been voted Salt Lake’s best Mexican for several years running, and it’s easy to see why. It’s not nearly what Mexican food is in higher density Hispanic population areas, but it will meet most of your Mexican food cravings, and introduce you to some new dishes you may not get elsewhere. Give it a try on your next visit to Salt Lake. You’ll probably be pleased you did.

The Bald Gourmet has some decent Mexican food while dining in Salt Lake City, and discovers a new mole creation.

Grilled Polenta, Madeira Mushrooms, Spicy Roasted Tomato Sauce

I went grocery shopping today, and as I meandered around the store, my cooking wheels got to rolling as I spotted polenta and kale.  I’ll admit, my creation tonight was a joint inspiration of the grilled polenta dish at The Geiser Grand Hotel and the Roasted Tomato Sauce at Rupert’s Hotel McCall.  But my genius of combining the two concepts and flavors was all my own.  Some days it’s good to be me.

This dish is rustic Italian, and as such, I think it should be kept true to the fashion and just cooked from the heart each time it is made rather than following an exact recipe.  So that’s how I’m going to present it to you.  I’ll tell you basically what I did, but I’m going to leave it up to you to put it all together, tasting as you go, to create something delicious, healthy, and unique to you.

How to Make Spicy Roasted Tomato Sauce

To make this sauce, you need to roast some tomatoes over/under very high heat.  This heat source could be an open fire, a broiler in your oven, or on your BBQ grill.  I did mine on the grill.

1. Pre-heat your grill (or fire, or oven broiler) to high, as in 650°.
2. Place 5 medium-sized tomatoes in a pan (I used cast iron), drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Place 1 garlic clove per tomato in the pan as well.
4. Place pan on the grill (or broiler, etc.) and close the lid.  Roast in this manner for around 15 minutes, or until tomatoes get soft and start to show signs of charring.
5. Mash the tomatoes with a spatula/spoon, spreading the juices all around the pan.  Close lid again and cook for another 5 minutes, or until juice has reduced thoroughly.
6. Remove from grill and scrape tomatoes and garlic into a blender.
7. Blend, adding water, to form a smooth, loose sauce.
8. Season sauce to taste with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika.

Yum.  This will make a bit more sauce than you need, but the extra is awesome on pasta, eggs, or bread.

How to Make Balsamic Sauteed Kale with Garlic

If you’ve never cooked kale before, you really need to give it a try.  It’s sweet, very lightly bitter, and maintains a great firm texture, unlike so many other greens.  It’s terrific, and pairs with this polenta dish extremely well.

1. Chop a bundle of kale into bite-sized pieces, discarding bottom stems.  One store bought bundle will form about 4 cups or so of pieces.
2. Place into a saute pan with a bit of water (maybe a 1/4 cup or so), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, cover and saute over medium high heat.
3. The kale will turn a beautiful bright green after a few minutes.  Season with salt, black pepper, and a pinch of red pepper (optional).  You could serve it now with that bright color, but cooking longer will soften the stems and leaves more.
4. Drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar.  This will lesson the bitterness of the kale even more, and add a nice sweet and sour zing.
5. Add garlic slices, about 5 cloves thinly sliced.
6. Cook covered for another 10 minutes, or until the kale is dark green in color and the leaves and stems are soft (kale will keep it’s firm texture regardless, but you want to cook it until it is no longer crunchy)
7. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper if necessary.

How to Make Madeira Mushrooms

You will need: 2 portabella mushrooms; 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped; roughly 2 ounces of Madeira wine; fresh or dried thyme to taste; about a 1/4 cup of chicken, beef, or vegetable stock; olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of butter.

• Slice the portabella mushrooms a little less than 1/4 thick, then cut in 1.5 inch pieces
• Heat olive oil in saute pan until hot.
• Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for a couple of minutes until they begin to soften (they will absorb all of the oil).
• Add the Madeira wine, garlic, and thyme.
• Saute until all of the liquid has been absorbed.
• Add the butter and cook until mushrooms start to brown, stirring/tossing to brown evenly.
• Add the stock and cook until the mushrooms are dark and soft.  You may need to add more stock or water to keep them a touch saucy.

How to Grill Polenta

Store bought cooked polenta is cheap, low calorie, and super easy to prepare.  You could make your own I suppose, but the pre-made polenta in 18 ounce tubes is just too simple to resist.  For this dish, remove the polenta from the tube, cut off the rounded ends, and slice lengthwise into 4 even thickness long rectangles (they’ll have round edges of course).

1. Drizzle both sides of the polenta with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
2. If you accidentally break the polenta at all, secure it back together with toothpicks.
3. Place the polenta on a very hot grill (after you removed your tomatoes for example) or inside on a very hot grill pan.
4. Polenta likes to stick, so be careful when removing it with a spatula to flip it.  Turn the polenta after about 5 minutes on the grill.
5. Cook on the other side for about 3 minutes.

How to Plate Grilled Polenta, Madeira Mushrooms, and Spicy Roasted Tomato Sauce

Place the sauteed Kale on side of plate.  Pour Spicy Roasted Tomato Sauce over rest of plate (re-heat the sauce first if not warm).  Take the polenta straight off the grill and stack 2 slices on top of the tomato sauce.  Top the polenta with half of the Madeira Mushrooms.  Optionally, garnish with chopped parsley, fresh thyme, or chopped chives.  Makes 2 plates.

It’s beautiful, healthy, so very delicious, and only about 580 calories per plate.

Grilled Polenta, Madeira Mushrooms, Spicy Roasted Tomato Sauce, Sauteed Balsamic Kale with Garlic

The Bald Gourmet creates delicious restaurant inspired meals from everyday grocery store items, like today’s Grilled Polenta, Madeira Mushrooms, and Sauteed Balsamic Kale with Garlic.

Salmon with Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc

Wild Coho salmon is delicious.  The vibrant color, sweet taste, and delicate texture make it one of my favorite salmon.  But serve it with Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc and I get weak in the knees.  This combination is truly divine.  I make this dish every year when the Coho are in season.  I like to serve it with Fall Pilaf and a simple spinach salad.

Grilled Salmon with Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc Recipe

• 1 whole coho salmon, filleted and cut into 6-8 pieces, depending upon size of fish
• Olive oil for rubbing
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc

Start by making the Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc (click for detailed instruction for this sauce).  Once prepared, keep on a low simmer until salmon is grilled and ready to plate.  For the Buerre Blanc, you will need:

• ¼ tablespoons fennel seeds
• ½ large shallot/ ¾ regular size shallot
• ⅛ lemon, juiced, and ¼ of the zest
• ⅛ lime juiced, and ¼ of the zest
• ⅛ small orange, juiced, and ¼ of the zest
• ¼ bay leaf
• 3 black peppercorns
• ½ cup white wine/ white grape juice
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons butter

Toast fennel seeds in the bottom of a sauce pot over medium-high heat.  When they start to brown and pop, add the wine, shallots, bay leaf, citrus, and peppercorns.  Let wine reduce by at least ¾ of the way, then reduce heat to medium-low.  Add the heavy cream and let it cook on a slow roll until thickened.  You could strain the sauce at this point if you would like, but I like to leave the shallot and citrus chunks in.  Add butter and stir until melted.  The butter will thicken the sauce, so stir over low-heat until you reach your desired thickness.  Simmer on low until ready to serve.

How to Prepare Salmon for Grilling

First, you need to buy a quality salmon.  Go for a wild Coho or Sockeye if in season.  If possible, buy a whole fish and filet it yourself.  You can better judge the quality of the fish when buying it whole.  Filleting is easy to do.  If you’re unsure how to do it, I review it in How to Fillet a Salmon.

Once filleted, cut the fillets into single serving pieces, about 4 fingers wide.  Rub both sides with olive oil and season both sides with salt and pepper.  The oil with help the salmon not to stick when it hits the grill.  Now they are ready to grill.

Rub Salmon with Olive Oil

Season Salmon with Salt and Pepper

Season Both Sides of Salmon with Salt and Pepper

How to Judge When Salmon is Done on the Grill

Cooking salmon on the grill is very easy to do, but for some reason a lot of people are a bit timid about it.  They seem to be uncertain about when to flip it and when it is time to take it off the grill.  This typically results in over-cooked dry salmon.  Shame.

The first key is to make sure that your grill is very hot.  You can use a BBQ grill outside or a grill pan inside.  It doesn’t make a lot of difference (other than the slight smoke flavor the outdoor grill will impart).  With the grill piping hot, the salmon will instantly sear when it hits it.  Place all your salmon on the grill and wait, not touching or moving it for a few minutes.

Grill Salmon Over High Heat

When you can visibly see the cooked color change up about halfway through the salmon, it is time to flip  it.  With a spatula, gently peel the salmon off the grill and flip onto the other side.  The second side doesn’t need to cook as long as the first because it is already warmed through.  Again, watch the color change.  When the color lines connect, it is time to remove the salmon from the grill.  It should feel firm but giving when you press it with your finger.

Flip Salmon When Half Cooked Through

How to Plate Grilled Salmon with Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc

Warm your plates in the oven first.  Place your side dish accompaniments on the plate (like Fall Pilaf), then place the grilled salmon on the plate.  Cover liberally with Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc, allowing the sauce to pool around the salmon.  Serve immediately, expecting everyone to ask for seconds.

The Bald Gourmet uses top quality ingredients to make delicious gourmet meals at home, like Grilled Salmon with Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc.

Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc on Salmon

Buerre Blanc is a classic French sauce consisting of wine, cream, and butter.  Herbs and other ingredients can be added.  My version adds fennel and citrus for a perfect seafood pairing.  It’s amazing.  Enjoy.

Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc Recipe

• ¼ tablespoons fennel seeds
• ½ large shallot/ ¾ regular size shallot
• ⅛ lemon, juiced, and ¼ of the zest
• ⅛ lime juiced, and ¼ of the zest
• ⅛ small orange, juiced, and ¼ of the zest
• ¼ bay leaf
• 3 black peppercorns
• ½ cup white wine/ white grape juice
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons butter

Instructions for Making Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc

Toast fennel seeds in the bottom of a sauce pot over medium-high heat.  When they start to brown and pop, add the wine, shallots, bay leaf, citrus, and peppercorns.  Let wine reduce by at least ¾ of the way, then reduce heat to medium-low.  Add the heavy cream and let it cook on a slow roll until thickened.  You could strain the sauce at this point if you would like, but I like to leave the shallot and citrus chunks in.  Add butter and stir until melted.  The butter will thicken the sauce, so stir over low-heat until you reach your desired thickness.

Serve with salmon or other fish (makes enough for 6-8 salmon steaks).

Citrus on Cutting Board

Juice Citrus by Hand

Reduce Shallots, Citrus, and Wine

Add Cream and Reduce to Thicken

One of The Bald Gourmet’s delicious sauces, Fennel Citrus Buerre Blanc, is perfect on fish and seafood.

Bottled Herbed Vinegar

I’ve seen bottles of spiced and/or herbed vinegar for sale in stores for years.  I’ve even owned a few to have on display in my kitchen.  But I never thought of making my own for display AND culinary use until recently when I was flipping through an old gardening book of mine.  The section in the book was talking about herbs and herb preservation, and it began talking about flavored vinegars and how they are a great way to make use of your extra herbs and also how they make great gifts.  It inspired me to get creative and give it a try.  I hope this post will do the same to you.

Making your own flavored vinegars is a lot of fun.  When placed in different shaped bottles, they add beauty and distinction to your kitchen.  When flavored with your favorite herbs and/or spices, they add a quick flavor boost to salad dressings or other recipes calling for vinegar.  They make great holiday gifts, and are also a great welcome gift for parties instead of wine.

Which Vinegar Should I use When Making Bottled Flavored Vinegar?

You can use just about any vinegar you have on hand .  Just keep in mind that different vinegars will effect the end flavor and color.  Apple cider vinegar is nice to use for its fruity flavor and amber color, but it may not blend well with all spices and herbs.  Red wine vinegar will add a red color and a touch of sweetness.  I would never recommend using balsamic, as its dark color and flavor will drown out any herb or spice you add to it.  However, it would be great with citrus peel or dried berries, as those flavors would compliment each other well.

The best vinegar to use for getting the raw flavor focus of your selected herbs and spices would be plain old white distilled vinegar, as it really has no flavor of its own to start off with.  It’s also the cheapest.  But white wine vinegar would be a great choice as well.  I used distilled for the batch represented in this post’s photos (and it is delicious!).

Which Herbs and Spices Should You Use to Make Flavored Vinegars?

You can really use any herb or spice which you enjoy when making flavored vinegar.  Choose only one to have a simple flavored vinegar, or combine several together to make a more robust flavor blend.  If choosing tarragon for a licorice flavored vinegar, try adding star anise and fennel to your bottle as well for varying textures while maintaining the same flavor.  The sky’s the limit on what you can do.  I prefer a blend of several different herbs and spices for varying flavors and visual interest.

What is a Basic Recipe to Follow for Making Bottled Herbed Vinegar

I encourage you to get crazy and just start throwing stuff that you know tastes good together into your bottle.  But a basic rule of thumb is to add 4 ounces of fresh herbs per quart of vinegar.  I may have gone a bit heavier than that in these photos, and the vinegar is seriously delicious.  So it probably doesn’t matter too much, just don’t go less than the 4 ounces per quart ratio, otherwise your vinegar flavor will be pretty weak.  If using dried herbs/spices, reduce that ratio down to 2 ounces per quart.  Here’s the delicious blend I created:

Per 12 ounce bottle (soda bottle) add (in order listed):

• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
• 5 black pepper corns
• 1 clove garlic
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 sprigs fresh tarragon
• 1 dried Thai chili pepper
• Distilled white vinegar to fill

What Bottles Should I use When Making Flavored Vinegar?

Ah, this is the cool part.  Use any clear glass bottle you have.  I raided my recycle bin for my batch.  I used some old soda bottles, a tall brandy bottle, some soy sauce bottles (with the caps for easy dispensing), and some used store-bought vinegar bottles.  I tried to mix up the size and shapes so as to make for interesting gifts to give away.  I bought some corks from a local supply store to cap the bottles which didn’t have plastic caps.  I like the corked ones better, as they look much cooler.  Just make sure to wash the bottles, lids, and corks thoroughly before using.  You should also sterilize them by boiling them in water for 10 minutes.  This may not be completely necessary, but is always a good rule of thumb when canning/preserving anything at home.

Do I Need to Seal My Vinegar Bottles?

Well, vinegar’s high acidity levels are a natural preservative, so you don’t really need to worry about sealing the bottles for health purposes.  But dipping the bottle tops into wax sure makes them look cool.  You might even want to put a piece of ribbon under the cork before waxing to add additional “ooo-ahh” factor.  I’m not quite that crafty though, but it’s a pretty cool “girly” thing to do that I may recommend to my female readers.

I used plain old paraffin wax, to which I added cinnamon to for added olfactory interest.  The cinnamon also made the wax a light brown color.  Kind of cool.  But using a colored wax, like red, would have been a bit more striking to my bottles and I’ll probably use that next time.  Use what ever you think will go nicely with your bottles and vinegar.

Seal Bottled Herbed Vinegar with Wax

What Safety Concerns Should I keep in Mind for Preserving Vinegar at Home?

Vinegar is vinegar, and is a natural preservative in itself.  However, it is possible for mold and some yeasts to grow inside your bottles.  For this reason, it is a good safety idea to remember to sterilize your jars and lids/corks, clean your herbs/ingredients well (even going so far as to dip them in a bleach solution if you feel the need to do so), and seal your bottles tightly (thus the wax I mention) so that new air-born nasties don’t get in.

The old books just mention cold packing your flavor ingredients straight in cold vinegar, just like I did in this post.  But the new Extension office guidelines seem to be encouraging hot packing everything, and pulling out the flavor ingredients after a month once they have flavored the vinegar (The University of Georgia has a good document).  Those same Extension offices discourage cold vinegar pickles and home-made sauerkraut, which families have been doing successfully for generations without killing off their kids.  So, do whatever you wish.  My cold pack vinegar is delicious and doesn’t show any sign of spoilage, but if you feel more comfortable with following the Extension hot pack guidelines, then do that.  The point here is to enjoy the process of doing this at home, feeling cool about giving such a unique (at least in our day and age) gift to others, and enjoying the tasty salads you can make with this homemade vinegar.

The Bald Gourmet Makes Flavored Herbed Vinegar for Cooking and Gift Giving.

Beef Tongue Street Taco with Chili Sauce

I know that for many of you, tongue tacos sound gross, but you have to get over the “ick” factor and give these tacos a try.  Simply amazing.

Most tongue tacos consist of plain tongue, usually boiled, sliced or cubed, and quickly sauteed.  Mine go a bit further into the gourmet by browning the cubed tongue first, and then simmering it in a delicious chili and tomato puree.  Served street style with cabbage, radishes, cilantro, and onion all on a corn tortilla, these tacos are addictive.  I had to stop myself at 6 of them.

Tongue has a very strong beef flavor.  It reminds me a bit of organ meet but without the strong iron/mineral taste most of us hate.  It has a soft texture, but is firm and slightly chewy at the same time.  If nobody told you that you were eating tongue, you’d just think you were eating a very flavorful pot roast.  This is one piece of cow I will never shun again.  Bring on the tongue!

How to Prepare Tongue for Cooking

Well, if there’s one part that is “gross” about cooking tongue, it is the step of removing the outer taste bud lining.  It’s easy to do, but might make some a bit squeamish.  Start by bringing a pot of water to a boil, then toss the tongue in it.  Let the tongue boil for about 20 minutes, then remove.  The outer lining will be bright white, and can be removed by pulling it off with your fingers as you run a knife between it and the meat.  Make sure to get all the lining off the tongue (on all sides) as it is very chewy and not very tasty. Also, remove anything on the underside of the tongue that doesn’t look like it will be good eating.

You may also want to remove the large veins in the underside of the tongue.  Just simply cut into the tongue about halfway between the center and edge, about the same place where you feel the veins on the underside of your own tongue in your mouth.  Cut them out and discard.

Now that you have a cleaned tongue, you can slice, cube, or do what you will with it.  For tongue tacos, simply cube the meat into 1/4 inch cubes.

Cubed Beef Tongue

Recipe for Tongue Tacos

• 1 medium size beef tongue, cleaned and cubed
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 bunch radishes, sliced
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• Chili Sauce (recipe follows)

Heat olive oil in large pan until hot.  Add tongue and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add Tongue to Hot Pan

As the tongue cooks, it will release a lot of juices in the pan, which will create what looks like a very tasty brown gravy.

Tongue Gravy

Cook on medium-high until the gravy evaporates and the tongue begins to brown.  Brown the cubed tongue on all sides, tasting to make sure you have seasoned it well enough.

Browned Tongue

Add 3/4 of the chili sauce (recipe follows), cover, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Tongue Simmering in Chili Sauce

After 20 minutes, most of the water will have evaporated and it should look like this:

Beef Tongue in Chili Sauce

Reserve remaining ingredients for assembly.

Recipe for Street Taco Chili Sauce

• 4 Dried California Chili Pods
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic gloves, smashed
• 1/2 jalapeno, diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1 cup water (preferably the water you softened the chilies in)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Start by steeping the chili pods in boiling water until soft, about 10 minutes.  I like to use the water I will be boiling the tongue in later.  Once the chilies are soft, remove the stems and place the pods in a blender along with all the other ingredients.  Blend thoroughly.  Place in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Chili Sauce

How to Assemble Beef Tongue Street Tacos with Chili Sauce

Heat corn tortillas over medium high heat by dry toasting on a griddle.  This will make them soft and pliable.  Place between some kitchen towels to keep warm prior to assembling tacos.

Warming Corn Tortillas

Place a small amount of tongue on the tortilla, then add chopped cabbage, cilantro, onion, radishes, lime juice, and some of the reserved chili sauce.

Street Taco Toppings

Beef Tongue Street Tacos with Chili Sauce

Recipe by Jothan Yeager, November 2011

The Bald Gourmet creates authentic Mexican recipes with traditional ingredients like beef tongue.

Grilled Bread with Roasted Tomatoes, Capers, and Basil on Serving Board

I created this dish as a chunky topping for crunchy toast appetizers, but I have to tell you that it makes for an amazing pasta marinara sauce as well.  Sweet, tangy, and slightly smoky, these tomatoes are really quite exceptional no matter how you choose to serve them up.  Here’s how I serve them as an appetizer:

Grilled Bread with Roasted Tomatoes, Capers and Basil Recipe

• 2.5 pounds tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons capers, chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper
• ¼ cup chopped Basil
• French Bread Loaf, sliced 1” thick

This recipe is best with home grown tomatoes, but any will do.  Place the halved tomatoes in a BBQ grill pan.

Place Tomatoes in Grill Pan

Sprinkle the chopped capers over them, and then drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle Chopped Capers Over Tomatoes

Drizzle Tomatoes with Olive Oil and Season with Salt and Pepper

Roast tomatoes in grill pan over indirect heat, roughly 450°, with grill lid closed, for 40 minutes.

Roast Tomatoes Over Indirect Heat on the Grill with Burners Set as Shown Here

Roasted Tomatoes, Capers, and Basil Cooked

Remove from heat and set aside.

How to Grill Bread

Drizzle the sliced bread on both sides with olive oil, and season with cracked black pepper.

Drizzle Bread with Olive Oil and Season with Cracked Pepper

Turn grill burners on medium high and toast bread, roughly 3 minutes on each side.

Grill Bread over Medium High Heat

Remove bread from heat and set aside.

Grilled Bread with Roasted Tomatoes, Capers, and Basil Hot Off the Grill

How to Assemble Grilled Bread with Roasted Tomatoes, Capers and Basil

Coarsely chop the tomatoes and place in a serving bowl along with all their juices (or alternately just chop in the bowl with kitchen shears).  Add chopped basil and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Add the Basil to the Mashed Roasted Tomatoes

Have guests assemble their own by spooning tomato mixture on a piece of grilled bread.  Optionally, you can garnish with a basil leaf, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, or roasted garlic.

Grilled Bread with Roasted Tomatoes, Capers, and Basil

Grilled Bread with Roasted Tomatoes, Capers, and Basil Garnished

Recipe by Jothan Yeager, August 2010

The Bald Gourmet uses fresh home grown ingredients to make delicious Gourmet Appetizers and more.

Gourmet Camping – Fried Rice and Sweet and Sour Brisket

So this may not really be “gourmet”, but when covered in dirt and surrounded with nothing but trees and squirrels in Grandjean Idaho, this is definitely a gourmet meal.

I can’t take credit for the brisket in this post.  It was discovered by another scout leader in our group from some website he could not remember.  I wish I knew what it was so I could give them credit and browse their other delicious offerings, but at least I can share it with you with some recommended changes.

Sweet and Sour Brisket Camping Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-pound) beef brisket (original recipe said to remove excess fat, but I left it on to get a more moist and flavorful brisket.  Definitely leave the fat on)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, cut in half, then thinly sliced into 1/2 moons
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
• One 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (water will do if you must)
• 3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup raisins (original recipe calls for 1/3 cup, but the sweet pops of raisin were very nice and needed to be more frequent)
• 5 black peppercorns
• 3 allspice berries (the original recipe called for 1, but it didn’t do much, so triple it and be happy)

Directions:

Preheat Dutch Oven to 300 degrees F.

Pat the brisket dry and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in the Dutch oven and sear until it is browned, roughly 4-5 minutes per side.  Transfer the brisket to a plate and set aside.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot and cook the onion, stirring a few times, until softened, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the tomato sauce, broth, brown sugar, vinegar, raisins, peppercorns, and allspice and stir to combine well.  Bring mixture to a boil, return brisket and any accumulated juices to the pot, spoon some of the tomato-vinegar mixture over the brisket and cover tightly with the lid.  Place 3/4 of your coals on top of the lid, and the remaining 1/4 of coals under the Dutch oven.

Cook until the brisket is fork tender, 2.5 to 3 hours.  I highly recommend checking the brisket about 20 minutes in to see if you have the temperature right in the dutch oven, then checking again after an hour to make sure your sauce hasn’t reduced so much that it will burn.  If it does reduce too much, just add a little water to it to make it right again.  You want a thick but runny sauce, kind of like a loose gravy.

Remove the brisket from the Dutch oven, transfer the meat to a cutting board, and let rest for 10 minutes.  When you are ready to serve, cut the meat against the grain into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Pour the sauce over the brisket and serve warm.

Yield:  10 servings, serving size of 4-ounces plus 3 tablespoons of sauce.

Fried Rice Camping Recipe

Now if you really want to impress your fellow campers, make them some delicious fried rice!  Fun to make, easy to do, and full of unique (in the woods at least) Asian flavors, fried rice will become a staple camping diet for all your outdoor adventures (assuming you’re car camping).

I made this for 20 hungry boys and men, and I don’t have exact measurements to give you, but here is the list of ingredients I used and most typically use when making at home.  I’ll try to guess an appropriate amount of each ingredient to serve 4.  Make to your liking and judgement as to ratios of seasonings though.

Ingredients:

• Jasmine Rice (2 cups raw)
• Vegetable/peanut oil (roughly 2 tablespoons)
• Lemongrass, chopped (roughly 1 tablespoon)
• Ginger, finely chopped (roughly 1 tablespoon)
• Scallions, sliced (roughly 3-4)
• Garlic, sliced (3-4 large cloves)
• Sugar Snap Peas or Green Beans or both (1 large handful or so)
• Red bell pepper, diced (1/4 to 1/2 of pepper)
• Sesame seeds (roughly 1 teaspoon)
• Sesame oil (roughly 1 teaspoon)
• Soy Sauce (roughly 1 tablespoon)
• Chinese Black Vinegar (roughly 1 teaspoon)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook rice according to packaging instructions and set aside.  It is best if the rice has set for a couple hours, preferably overnight, but fresh cooked will work as well.  The older rice just separates into individual grains better.

Cooking Rice While Camping

Heat oil in wok/Dutch oven/griddle over high heat or hot coals.  Once the oil reaches its smoking point, add ginger, lemongrass, and white part of scallions.  Cook until scallions have softened, roughly 2 minutes.  Add peas/beans and bell pepper.  Cook until vegetables turn bright in color and slightly char, roughly 3-4 minutes.  Add the garlic and green part of the scallions, and stir to mix.  Then add the rice, tossing to combine and to get the oil all over the rice.  Break up any chunks of rice so as to get individual grains.  Add the sesame seeds, sesame oil, soy sauce, and black vinegar and cook, stirring/tossing constantly.  Some of the rice may get little char spots on it, which is just fantastic.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, as well as any additional soy sauce, vinegar, or sesame oil to your liking.

It is perfect with the Sweet and Sour Brisket and sauce.  YUM!!!

Frying Rice on the Camp Stove

Keep Stirring Rice While Frying on Camp Stove

Recipe by Jothan Yeager, August 2011

The Bald Gourmet’s camping adventures are mighty tasty for all to enjoy.