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Archive for January, 2012|Monthly archive page

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George Killian’s Beer Braised Pork Ribs

In Beer of the Month on January 24, 2012 at 6:19 pm

The best attribute beer brings to this world, as does wine, liquor and almost anything else that prohibits sobriety, is that you can drink and cook with it. So this month’s beer I’m focusing on is George Killian’s Irish Red. It has been one of my favorite beers, long before I could legally drink it.

I’ll try every beer once, no matter how dark it is or how hoppy it is- the damn thing deserves a shot like everything else in the world. I’d have to say the beer competitions in America are rising at the same rate as barbecue sauce competitions. Every one has a different flavor and when you find one you like, you feel the difference.

Since I reached my quarter-life ‘crisis’ at 25- being broke, wanting to travel the world, wanting to own fifteen restaurants- I’ve had to cut back on how much beer I was actually drinking. By the way, my ‘crisis’ right now is that I live in southeast Georgia, not the most intellectual of places to reside, but 90% of my days are cloudless. The average temperature over winter is 70 degrees. The sunsets are like Oxford, MS- always different, but just as beautiful as the day before. I work right on the water and really don’t have a care in the world except for student loans and long overdue credit card payments, along with the lack of any type of social life.

However, with my metabolism slowing and my passion for indulging in the food and beverage industry, I can’t drink a six pack a night. Instead I’ll settle for a Mich Ultra, which is lowest in calories and highest in alcohol content. I don’t actually have somewhere to send you to prove that’s correct, but if it is- two of those after work and I’ve satiated by hunger for beer. If not, a good ole Yuengling always hits the spot.

Now, Killian’s Irish Red is nothing you want to impress your “bro’s” with- it looks dark, it smells more than it taste, and it’s an easy beer to guzzle. I enjoy it because it’s asier to drink and it doesn’t leave that ‘damn my burps are going to reek after this’ taste in your mouth. It’s got a slight sweet malt in it and you can almost taste caramel, but it’s nothing true advocates of brewing beer prefer. It’s not a denser-than-lead IPA by any means. When a friend brings you a case of beer as a nice gesture, even if you don’t like it, even if it’s your least favorite beer- you shake their hand, smile bigger than on Christmas, and send me an email asking how you can use that beer in some other way. For example, Milwaukee’s Best- I will not drink, but I’ll use it in a beer batter, which is honestly the only place it should be used.

SaltwaterChef used a Killian’s to braise some pork ribs. The ribs marinated in the beer, hot sauce, soy sauce, Central BBQ Sauce (which is my absolute all-time favorite bbq sauce) and a multitude of seasonings from our pantry for about 2 1/2 hours.

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We put the oven on 200 degrees, and slow cooked the ribs for about five hours in a Le Creuset. They came out delicious, fork-tender and full of flavor. We paired them with some classic southern favorites: collard greens, mac and cheese, and black eyed peas. Tip- add a little hoisin sauce on your ribs for an additional burst of flavor. Good way to fuse Asian with some damn good southern cooking.

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Avoiding nasty beer burps,
Coleman

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January’s Freshliest Catch, Produce

In Freshliest Catch, Seasonal on January 24, 2012 at 5:25 pm

I know it’s almost the end of January, but it’s taken a minute to organize this new year. Even though January’s almost over, just for a future guide, here is what’s best and worst in produce right now.

New In Season
– haas avocados, gets me thinking about pool parties and guacamole for summer
– collard greens, even though some of the best I’ve ever had, and cheapest, come from a can!
– fennel, try and grow it yourself, herbs are the easiest to grow with the least amount of upkeep!
– green onions, also known as scallions
– naval and blood oranges
– rhubarb

Peak of the Season
– lemons, make some “adult” lemonade
– tangerines, both of these make great garnishes on plates, it’s also nice to have some acidity to balance out a cream based sauces for a fish dish, or spice up some rice with some zest

Weak Ones, Winding Down
– fuerte avocados, isn’t it ironic that fierce means strong in Spanish?
– bok choy, the asian version of greens, and my favorite type of greens
– daikon
– white potatoes, who cares, you’ve had your fill of starch over the holidays, no?
– butternut squash, oh well, have you noticed the price of squash and zucchini sky rocketing in the market?
– turnips, it’s like an apple met a potato
– Bosc and Comice pears

So take that for what it’s worth. Go save a dime and try out something new!

Eat your veggies,
Coleman

The resource provided for this post comes from the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, Cooking at the Club. Thank you Chefs, for compiling such a great learning manual for not just novice cooks.

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Rolling Stones, 40 Licks

In Wine of the Month on January 19, 2012 at 4:48 pm

Wine of the month? Cliche? Of course, but how many brands of OJ can you compare? I mean, if we really look into the different varieties of puss-milk from neosporin-nippled cows we could make for a great, disgusting dinner conversation. So, yes, I’ll stick to the grapes.

Don’t “they” say the best job is the one that makes every day a vacation? If that’s the case (no pun intended), Mark Beamen, has it made. He’s a wine maker for Wines that Rock. It’s a wine label dedicated to Rock n’ Roll.

Mark Beamen, the luckiest, spends his time listening to rock music and blending grapes from Mendocino Co. to their individual tunes.

This week, while relaxing at Palm Coast Cafe, SSI, I got to experience one of these Wines that Rock.

It was a 2008 Merlot, their tribute to The Rolling Stones’ album “40 Licks”. It was no Stag’s Leap Petite Syrah, no Sea Smoke Pinot Noir, and not even a Wild Horse Merlot, but it wasn’t bad! It has a slight earthy after taste, hints of vanilla, cherries, and raspberries. Am I saying it’s like eating a cherry or a strawberry? No, and it wasn’t sweet. It was a great, take-to-your-friend’s-house type of wine, or a bottle you keep around the house for decoration, or what you drink when having a board game night. It’s a fun wine.

The best part was that it didn’t burn my esophagus while drinking it. Some wines just have too much acid and after each sip you can tell it’s going to send your stomach swirling the next day. Not to mention, wine headaches are by far the worst to wake up to in the morning.

Other Wines that Rock include a Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon and Woodstock Chardonnay. I think they have a good concept going on here, as long as they don’t endorse a Patsy Cline Viognier or a Pearl Jam Pinot Noir.

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Cheers to the weekend,
Coleman

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The Secret to Georgia Wild Shrimp

In Freshliest Catch on January 13, 2012 at 9:40 pm

The food scene in Brunswick, GA is nothing too impressive. Your local Captain D’s is the biggest competition in “restaurants” (how DARE I qualify Captain D’s as a restaurant) because every one down here wants one thing – fried seafood. However, there is a secret to the fresh seafood caught off shore of the Golden Isles. It’s not that the critters come from waters that are overly polluted with cancer-inducing chemicals from the paper mills and what not around the southeast Georgia coast. It’s not because Jekyll Island is the second biggest breeding ground for sharks aside from the Great Barrier Reef. Most assuredly, it’s not because Iguana’s Seafood spent $175,000 advertising that they were voted #1 for having the best shrimp – because they don’t.

Corporate, non-locally owned restaurants do not get the freshliest catch of shrimp straight from the St. Simon’s Sound or St. Andrew’s Bay. Who do we thank for this? Thailand. They’ve made an industry in America by selling us cheap, translucent shrimp which we over season, over cook, over batter, and over rate. Most people are indulging in rubber shrimp that have been so over cooked you might as well have eaten a tennis ball for a meal and see how much you can feel it bouncing around in your stomach.

The local restaurants, the ones that use OUR LOCAL fisherman, Wesley Dickey- are the ones with award-winning shrimp. Yes, I will boast about the restaurant I work with because they are without a doubt, the best damn shrimp I have ever eaten.

Who do we thank? Nature. God. Buddha. The Force. Whatever you think makes this world turn on its pretty little axle, because they beautifully littered the southeast Georgia coast with spartina grass.

How in the world is spartina grass the answer to the best locally caught seafood? Let me get just a little bit scientific on you. Spartina Alterniflora, also known as “cord grass”, thrives along coastal salt marshes and other habitats that are high in salinity. Out of the three varieties of spartina marsh grasses, (I’m about to throw an intense word at you, so I won’t bother you with their scientific names) the variety off of coastal Georgia contains the osmolyte DMSP.

Dimethylsulphoniopropionate. Yes. That word. What this certain osmolyte (helps with osmosis and water retention) does is keep a healthy balance of water in areas of high salinity. It keeps the grass strong and provides important B vitamins and amino acids for animal growth.

Ok, that was even too scientific for me. Basically, spartina grass is a member of the sugar cane family. See where I’m going here? It provides the greatest amount of food when it dies. Decomposed spartina grass is consumed by the shrimp (and other creepy crawlers of the ocean) and is not only healthy for them, but also makes them naturally SWEETER.

It didn’t seem possible at first. How could the flavor of a shrimp be that noticeable? We did a blind taste test with three different shrimp (a set of steamed, fried, and grilled) and it wasn’t even a question which shrimp was Wesley Dickey’s locally caught shrimp.

Support your local fisherman and you’ll never know what kind of secrets you’ll learn. Even if it’s as something as simple as Spartina Grass.

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To see how delicious the shrimp look cooked, check out The “Rah Bar”!

Don’t eat the yellow snow,
Coleman

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Sushi, American-made

In Uncategorized on January 13, 2012 at 3:22 pm

I’m seriously on an Asian kick this week. I had Vegetable & Shrimp Tempura for dinner one night, Fancy Q’s Sushi Bar & Grill (which I don’t recommend) for lunch, and now homemade Sushi for lunch. The good part is sushi is a lot easier to make than you think, novice or not, and it’s pretty cheap. Remember, you can fill a roll of sushi with anything you want, but we went with something simple. The recipe here makes four rolls of sushi for two people.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 block cream cheese
1 carrot
1 grilled chicken breast (or other protein of your choice)
1 pack of Nori (dried seaweed, you can find it in the oriental isle at any grocery store)
1 bag of Japanese rice, you can use any rice, it will just need to be over cooked to make it sticky
Soy Sauce & Wasabi (for obvious reasons)

If you have actual Japanese sushi rice, it takes a second to prepare. First, put it in a colander it won’t go through and rinse the mess out of it. I mean, rinse it until the water isn’t cloudy white anymore, takes a few more times than you think, and after let it sit in a colander for 30 minutes before steaming. The ratio of water to rice when steaming Japanese rice is also different. With most white rice the ratio is 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water, but Japanese rice is 3 cups of rice to 3 1/4 cups of water. Let the rice boil, then steam for about 15 minutes – or just buy a rice cooker and then you don’t even have to worry about it.

The main thing you need in using white or long grain rice, is just to make sure it’s sticky. The Japanese rice will be sticky, but if you just over-cook some white rice, it will be just as sticky. There is no real trick from keeping the rice sticking to your fingers, maybe a little vinegar, but it’s going to stick either way.

Alright, while the rice is cooking, cut your ingredients. The best part about cutting for sushi, is everything just needs to be in long strips. Like this:

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Yes, I know it’s on a neon green plate decorated with sandals – thank SaltwaterChef for the plate ware! She also cooked the rice and cut the vegetables!

Notice, we aren’t using a sushi mat (because we lost it) but aluminum foil worked just fine, and the rice didn’t stick to it. Now there are two ways to start your sushi – do you want the rice on the inside or the outside? Either way, spread it comfortably over one side of your Nori. There are two different sides of the Nori, a matted side and a glossy side. Use the matted side if you want rice on the inside of your sushi (solely for appearance purposes), but if you want the rice on the outside, it doesn’t really matter.

The one tricky party to rolling sushi is not over stuffing the inside. If the veggies and (or shrimp!) are about 1/4 an inch thick, it should work out just fine. Lay all your ingredients in the middle and roll one end to the other. Use the aluminum foil and squeeze the ends nice and tight so the ends adhere to each other.

How do you make all the pieces of sushi the same size? Cut your roll in half, then cut those two halves in half – giving you 4 pieces per role. If you want, before you cut it, batter it in some tempura mix and fry it first!

Your final product might look similar to this!

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Feed yourself,
Coleman

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