Superbowl Menu Preview

This Sunday is Superbowl Sunday and I will be trying out a few new dishes. Because the game is taking place in New Orleans I will be making shrimp Po’ Boys with blackened avocado relish. This was one of the few Po’ Boy recipes i could find with grilled shrimp instead of fried. The avocado relish also looks and sounds incredible. I will also be making Parmesan truffle fries with a garlic aioli. I tried these at the Black Horse tavern in Newtown and they were some of the best fries I have ever had. Along with the Po’ Boys and the fries I will also be making fried chicken and fried pickles. I will post the recipes throughout the day Sunday and Monday. Have a good weekend and thanks for checking out the blog!

Official Launch of Smartchefblog.com!

Big news! I now officially own the domain for http://www.smartchefblog.com. By purchasing the domain this will allow me to grow the blog and be able to publish more content on the site. Check back for new recipes, restaurant reviews, and a possible weekly newsletter.  Unfortunately no new recipes from me tonight. Grandma made chicken noodle soup and you just can’t give out grandma’s chicken noodle soup recipe. I hope you guys are enjoying the blog so far. Please spread the word about the blog to your friends and family and if you have any suggestions of recipes or dishes you would like to see please let me know.

Mexican Style Chicken Mac and Cheese

Mac and Cheese1 mac2

Hello everyone hope you guys are doing well. Today I decided to make macaroni and cheese with a bit of a Mexican flare. The addition of the chicken and peppers turned this from a side dish to a meal in and of itself. The recipe is easy to follow and the dish takes about 45 minutes to make from start to finish. As I was cooking this dish I realized that if you stop after step 4 and leave out the pasta you make an incredible queso dip, in fact I nearly split this recipe into two parts because the cheese sauce tasted so good. Have fun making it and I hope you enjoy it!

Mexican Style Chicken Mac and Cheese

New York Strip Steak with Guinness Truffle Sauce

Steak1

Tonight I decided to experiment with a pan sauce for a steak. I seasoned the steak with kosher salt and crushed black pepper then cooked it in a frying pan in equal parts olive oil and butter. Then the fun started. there was no set recipe so I will just walk you through what I did. I first threw some finely chopped shallots into the pan and cooked them for about a minute until they were soft. I then deglazed the pan with Guinness and let it reduce down to about a spoonful. Next, I added beef stock to the pan and I also started salting to get the seasoning right. I let the Guinness and beef stock mixture reduce down to about 2/3 of a cup. I then added about a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of soy sauce, and some chopped fresh parsley to the sauce. I turned the heat down and let it simmer for about 2 minute. Finally I added a tablespoon of unsalted butter and about half a teaspoon of truffle butter. Once the butter melted i stirred the sauce and salted one last time. The sauce was very rich and flavorful and complemented the steak quite well. I’m becoming more and more a fan of making pan sauces because it lets you get creative with building flavors to compliment a main dish.

Spanish Dinner

chickpeas and spinach Rosemary White Beans Porkloin

On Sunday I decided to experiment with some Spanish dishes. I was inspired to attempt these dishes by a dinner I had at Amada in Philadelphia. The highlight of the meal was the rosemary white beans, they had an great bacon flavor and turned out very well for a  first attempt. The chick peas and spinach looked incredible and tasted just as good. The rub on the brined pork tenderloin had a great flavor and the brining process left the meat moist and delicious. You can find the recipes below:

Rosemary White Beans

Spanish Style Brined Pork Tenderloin

Chick Peas and Spinach

Welcome to the SmartChef Blog!

ImageHello everyone and welcome to my blog, SmartChef. My name is Greg and I enjoy cooking, a lot. I started this blog so I can share my recipe ideas and other culinary adventures with friends, family, and other foodies who may stumble across the blog. I like to skip around with what I cook so I will not be focusing on any one particular type of cuisine. If I find something interesting I usually make an attempt at it and go from there. Some things work, others fail miserably, but I feel that’s the only way to learn what works. I will try to update the blog as much as possible with different recipes that I try or a restaurant review here and there. I hope you enjoy the blog and get some ideas for new recipes from it.