Rework

So I read the book Rework and it's really got me thinking about starting my own business, even if it's just on the side as a hobby of sorts.  However, I'm not quite sure of the right way to go about it.  I thought at first that I could come up with some kind of small business web-design company with some of my friends, but I don't really think that's going to work.  For one, I don't think, when I really got down to talking about it, that that task seems really all that interesting or challenging or at the very least rewarding, and I guess that's kind of the idea behind going off on your own.

Then I thought I'd be able to make some kind of snazzy application that would save the world, or like some Android app that would set the world on fire, but you know, I don't know any of those coding languages (yet?) so that's kind of a speed bump.  So I guess until I come up with a better idea that involves things I do know how to do, I'm back to my old fall back: food.  Caitlin thinks I should buy a food truck and sit outside her work at breakfast and lunch and apparently I'd make a ton of money because their cafeteria sucks.  I've also always wanted to open my own restaurant, even something as simple as a little diner or cafe.  But of course, either of those two things require some serious up front money (or at the very least good credit to take out a loan) which I don't really have or want to use if I did.

Maybe I can somehow get work as a shopping helper, since I seem to be plenty good at that (right Gina and Angelina?).  I can listen to what people want, do research for an hour and come back with one or two things at the right price that're going to be the best product for them.  However, I suppose it's hard to get paid for that.  What do I post craigslist ads?  Go work at Best Buy again? Simply wait for word of mouth from my Mom to all her friends who don't understand technology enough to figure it out on their own?  Even I have to admit it's pretty crappy to charge them for that.  I guess I'm back to the drawing board.  I mean I love my job, but everyone wants to have a job that they really enjoy, that is challenging and/or interesting, and being your own boss would really be nice.  Hopefully inspiration will strike me and I'll come up with some great thing. . . who knows, maybe it's this blog?

Time to show off the house! Part One

Okay, so I'm starting to fall behind on these things, man, for someone who talks so much when given the chance, it's really hard to sit down and write something every day (or even every couple days). So the weekend before last, we finally had our house mostly finished with everything, cleaned up, and ready to go for some guests. Since we were having a cookout/housewarming bash last weekend, we had Caitlin's parents, her mom's parents, and her mom's BFF Aunt Ra (who was our Realtor and saw the house in it's 'Before' state) over for dinner. Now, that's a diverse group, and frankly, not one dish would feed them all, so I whipped up a couple different dishes and let everyone go to town. I made smoked chipotle-lime tilapia filets and smoked chicken leg quarters with my spice rub along with some tomato-basil-mozzarella-balsamic salad, some baked spiced red skin potato wedges and chocolate mousse for dessert.

It seemed like everyone had a good time. The In-laws were impressed with our deck and master bedroom now that we're finished, and Aunt Ra raved about the changes we implemented in the house since we bought it. Also, the Seahawks won at home against the Chargers and I actually got to watch some of it thanks to the magic of NFL Sunday Ticket online streaming and my brother having to work overtime (sorry dude!). So, all in all, a fine day with no complaints. On to the recipes:

Chipotle-Lime Smoked Fish

4 or 5 pieces of Fish (I used Tilapia, but swordfish, or just about any other white fish would do)
1/2 Cup Chipotle Mayo (Recipe Below)
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Spice Rub for crust

In a small bowl, mix together the Chipotle Mayo, Lime Juice and Oil and brush on the fish. Shake or sprinkle with spice rub to give a nice crust while cooking. Smoke fish at 200 to 220 degrees for 60 to 90 minutes and remove from smoker. Once removed from the smoker, brush on more of the sauce mixture and sprinkle with another coating of spice rub. Then cook on either the grill or the oven broiler for 5 or 6 minutes to crisp up the fish. The sauce mixture should keep the fish hydrated while forming a nice crust on the top.

Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters

The smoked chicken leg quarters are quickly becoming a favorite in my kitchen. First of all, the chicken leg quarters (ie a leg and a thigh still connected) are extremely cheap compared to other more "desirable" chicken cuts (namely boneless skinless chicken breasts) at a regular price of about $1.29/lb. Second of all, they're also perfect because they'll smoke in about 2 hours (so I can make them for dinner on a week night) and for most people it's just the right portion, and for those that it's too much, they can just cut the leg or the thigh off.

So, if you have a smoker, it's pretty easy to make these. First thing you do, is mix about 1/3 C of vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar because it's a little sweeter, but you can use whatever kind you want) and 1/3 C olive/peanut/avocado oil together and then brush liberally onto the room temperature leg quarters. Then shake on as much spice rub as you can get to stick and let that sit for about 20 minutes so the spices can soak into the chicken and skin a bit. If you are making these by themselves, or with other high-temperature items in the smoker, you'll want to smoke them at 275 degrees for about 2 hours (until their internal temperature is at least 165 degrees).

However, if you're going to make them with the fish, as I did above, well, you have to make them a little differently. In that case, you'll smoke them with the fish at 200 degrees for about an hour and then remove them from the smoker and place them in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. In addition, while they're baking, put in a 13x9 pan (preferably glass/pyrex so it won't warp) on the bottom shelf half full of water. That will help keep the chicken moist and mimic the water bowl most smokers use. Just check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer and make sure they're 160 or higher and you're good to go!

Dark Chocolate Icing: Ganache vs Frosting

Okay, so you want to make a cake or cupcakes with some chocolate frosting, but you're just not happy with the regular Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines chocolate frosting they sell by the can at the grocery store and you want to jazz it up a little?  Well, I've got two ways to solve your chocolate icing dilemma!  So you want to make a cake or some cupcakes with a Chocolate-ey, not overly sweet delicious icing but you don't know how?  Try my Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing!  Or, you want to make cupcakes and you want to ensure every bit as much chocolate without the big glob of fluffy icing that's really hard to make look professional and gets all over your mouth when you take a bite?  Well, try my Dark Chocolate Ganache icing, it's like a delicious dark chocolate magic shell for your cupcakes! They'll look delicous and professionally done without much effort, and it's easier to eat than a 1/2 inch thick glob of frosting on your favorite cupcakes!

We'll start off with the Cream Cheese icing.  Take your favorite cake mix (or make it from scratch if you're daring, but frankly without a lot of effort a cake mix can be awesome, so I'll just stick with that for now) and make and bake your cake/cupcakes as directed.  This frosting goes particularly well with a dark chocolate or yellow cake mix, but hey, throw it on whatever cake you like with some delicious dark chocolate icing.  Here's what you'll need!

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8 oz package Cream Cheese, room temperature
1/4 C butter, room temperature
3 to 4 C Confectioners (Powdered) Sugar
1/2 C Cocoa Powder (Ideally use a good brand here like Ghirardelli, though Hershey's will still make some good frosting, it's not quite the same)

Take the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge and let set out on the counter for 2 or 3 hours before you make the frosting so they can warm up to room temperature and soften up.  Once the cake or cupcakes are cooling, start with the frosting.  In a mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and completely mixed.  Then, add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix until completely smooth before adding in the next batch.  Be sure to scrape the bowl with a spatula to get at any unmixed in sugar.

Add in 3 or 4 cups of powdered sugar until the consistency and sweetness is exactly how you want it (for example, if you're going to be piping this with a icing bag, then you probably want to put in less sugar so it is not quite as stiff).  Once the sugar is completely blended in and the mixture is nice and smoothe, add in the Cocoa powder and blend again until completely mixed in and smoothe.  Then spread/pipe onto your cake and/or cupcakes and enjoy!  Be sure to save the bowl when you're done, you can't let any of this go to waste!


Now, say you want to impress your co-workers or your mother in law with a batch of professional looking cupcakes, and you want something deeply chocolate too?  Go with a Dark Chocolate Ganache icing, it's easy, delicious, and looks like you bought the cupcakes from a cupcakery!  Want to try it?  Take your favorite dark chocolate cake batter and mix up some cupcakes according to the directions on the box.  Once they're cooled, here's what you'll need for the ganache:

Dark Chocolate Ganache Icing:

1/2 C heavy cream
1 C Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

In a double boiler (if you have it) or a heat-proof bowl (like steel or pyrex) combine the cream and chocolate chips.  In a saucepan, place about 2 inches of water and put on the stove on medium-low heat.  Make sure that the bowl isn't resting on the bottom of the sauce pan, and that the perimeter of the saucepan is covered by the bowl.  This way the water will steam up and heat up the bowl without all the heat escaping.  Place the bowl on top of the water and stir constantly until the chocolate melts and the cream and chocolate are completely mixed together.  Make sure to scrape the bowl to get any unmelted chocolate melted and mixed into the cream.

Once the mixture is completely blended and melted, remove the bowl from the heat and let cool for 3-5 minutes.  While it's cooling, stir occasionally with a spatula to test its consistency.  Once the mixture has cooled and thickend almost to the point of hardening back up, quickly take the cupcakes and dip the tops into the bowl, spinning your wrist to make sure that the entire top of the cupcake is covered in icing and immediately set down on a cool cookie sheet or a piece of parchment paper (in case of drips).

If the ganache cools and hardens too much, simply put the bowl back onto the water and heat back up.  Once all the cupcakes have been ganached, turn the burner off.  Let the ganache cool on the cupcakes for at least 5 minutes before serving or packing so that it will harden appropriately.  You should now have a delicious dark chocolate magic shell-like covering on your cupcakes, enjoy!

Red Wine Goat Cheese Steak Sauce

So I had a few things in the fridge and thought I'd make a nice steak sauce to go with our NY Strips on the grill.  I thought it'd be a good idea to combine some red wine, goat cheese and rosemary to make a delicious sauce, here's how:

5oz Goat Cheese
1/2 Cup Red Wine
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Crushed/Chopped Rosemary
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Freshly Cracked Pepper

Heat the Olive Oil, Red Wine and Vinegar on the stove on medium heat until a rolling boil to burn off the alcohol in the wine.  Drop the temperature to low and add in the rosemary, salt, pepper and goat cheese.  Use a whisk to break apart the goat cheese and stir it in until it's evenly mixed in.  Let it simmer for about 20 minutes until it's thickened up considerably.  Then douse on some steaks and enjoy!

4th of July Menu

Happy (Belated) 4th of July!  So Caitlin and I had some people over on the 4th so we could show off the patio we built and as an excuse to make a bunch of stuff in my smoker.  The smoker I got has pretty much turned into the best thing ever.  I've only used it 3 or 4 times, and already, it's just awesome!  So for our party I made a whole chicken and 2 racks of baby back ribs in the smoker.  Let me tell you, my spice rub, combined with that smoker, made those two things unbelievably delicious!  Here's what you'll need for each:

Whole Smoked Chicken

6 or 8 hours or so before you want to eat, take the chicken out of the fridge and brush it with about 1/4 cup each of apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar) and Olive oil.  Set it on a broiler pan or a large plate and shake or rub the entire surface with spice rub and set in an unheated oven until 4 hours before dinner time.  This is to allow the spices to soak in and flavor the skin and also to allow the chicken to warm up to room temperature.  A little tip is that a chicken at room temperature is better for roasting than a cold chicken.  Get your smoker going at about 275 degrees and set the chicken on the rack and let it go for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  Check it with a meat thermometer, you want the internal temperature on the chicken to be at least 150 degrees in the smoker.  Turn on the grill to medium or your oven broiler and put the chicken under the high heat for 10 or 15 minutes to crisp

Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Take your rib(s) the day before you want to cook them up and remove the white membrane along the back with your fingers and a paper towel (it helps you hold onto the membrane).  Lay out a piece of heavy duty aluminum, enough to completely cover each rib rack.  Then brush with a half and half mixture of apple cider vinegar and olive oil and then rub on a coating of rub my patented spice rub and wrap tightly in foil and put in the fridge overnight for the spices to work their way into the ribs.

The next day, get the smoker going to about 250-275 degrees and cut the rib racks in half (so they'll fit in the smoker better) and place into the smoker.  Let it smoke for about 2 hours and then remove from the smoker and re-wrap in foil and let sit for about 20 or 30 minutes so the ribs will effectively braise.  Then, about 15 minutes before you want to eat, throw the ribs bone side down on a grill on medium heat and brush with your favorite barbeque sauce and let them crisp up.  Then right before serving, shake on another coating of rib rub and serve!

New Patio!

Ever since we've moved in to our house, Caitlin and I have always wanted to get rid of our ugly backyard and shed.  It took up 1/3 of our backyard, and the rest was full of 6" tall grass, and let me tell you, I really can't be motivated to mow a 12' x 10' piece of grass.  So we needed to get rid of it.  We found someone on craigslist to come and take the shed, and I took a shovel and cleared out all the sod with the grass.

My dad came over and helped me get rid of the planter box in the corner and we were left with just a big giant pit of dirt.  After a week or two to figure out what we wanted to do, I spent a couple weekends framing out the entire yard with landscape timbers around the outsides, and also an L shaped frame along each side of the yard and gate.  I then took 2x4's and built up an 8" wall built on the two L shaped frames and topped them with 5/4 x 6 boards in a nice mitered frame.

After that, my buddy Kirk came over and showed my how to measure and get it all level, and I spent another weekend (with my Dad's truck of course) filling up the main yard space with gravel and compacting it and then covering it with another layer of sand with my friend Nate's help.  Once that was done, Caitlin and Danielle layed the stones that Nate and I stacked up and then I spent the afternoon with a brick saw cutting the final pieces and putting them in place.  Lastly, I ran a nice LED Ropelight under the lip of the planter boxes so we get a little ambiance at night and we put together our outdoor table and chairs and voila!

Thai Lettuce Wraps

So you want to enjoy some delicious Thai food, but you don't want the carbs of all the rice or noodles.  Well, make some Thai lettuce wraps!  They make a delicious appetizer or main course and you can make a couple different kinds to mix and match for a large group.  They're one of Caitlin's favorite, and well, I decided that it was time to make some instead of giving all the credit to that attention hog P.F. Chang!

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 to 1 lb Chicken, Shrimp, Tofu or a combination
2 Shallots Diced
1/4 C Red Onion
3 Tbsp Lime Juice
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/4 C Diced Ginger
1/4 C Chopped Green Onion
1 C Shredded Carrots roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Diced Garlic
2 or 3 Diced Thai Hot Peppers
OR
2 Long Green Hot Peppers
OR
2 Tsp in some Dried Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
(if you want spicy that is)
 Handful of Fresh Basil Leaves
Head of Iceberg Lettuce or White Cabbage
1/4 C Peanut/Vegetable Oil

So, what you'll want to do is cut the meat into really small, 1/2 inch cubes and put in a bowl.  Add in the Lime Juice, Fish, Oyster, and Soy sauce so it can marinade.  Set aside the meat and dice the ginger, Red Onion, Green Onion and Shallots and put into a bowl.  Measure out a rough cup of shredded carrots and roughly chop on a cutting board and add to the veggie bowl.  Depending on how hot you want your wraps to be (I recommend at least putting in the crushed red pepper) add diced pepper to the veggie bowl.

Put a Wok onto the stove on med-high heat and add in the oil.  Let that heat up a little and then dump in the veggie bowl.  Stir fry for 2 or 3 minutes by constantly flipping and rotating with a spatula until the ginger and onions start to soften up.  Use a slotted spoon or fork to scoop the meat into the wok.  You don't want to add too much of the liquid or else the meat won't cook right.  You just want enough of the liquid to cover the bottom center of the wok.  Stir fry for another 3 or 4 minutes until the meat is cooked through and then place in a bowl and throw in a handful or two of roughly chopped basil (or Thai basil if you want the exotic flavor!).

Take the head of lettuce/cabbage and cut off the bottom inch or two to get the core removed.  Carefully remove as many large pieces of lettuce/cabbage as you can from the head and place on a serving bowl.  Bring both to the table and serve!  Spoon a 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of filling into each lettuce/cabbage leave, roll up, and enjoy!  Delicious and really healthy!