Parmesean Truffle fries with a Garlic Aioli

Fries

I know it’s been a few days since the Superbowl but here is the third dish I made on Sunday. I hand cut the fries and cooked them in the oil I used for the fried chicken. To cook the fries, fry them for 6-8 min then remove them from the oil and allow to cool. When ready to eat throw them back into the hot oil for 1 min. The oil should be between 350-375 degrees F. After you make the fries you can serve them however you wish. I sprinkled them with white truffle oil and Parmesan cheese and served them with a mellow garlic aioli I made the day before. You could also sprinkle them with old bay or melted cheese. Thanks for reading n\and I hope you give them a try (if you want to make them healthier try baking them) Also please leave a comment on my suggestions blog and maybe your idea will show up on the blog this weekend!

Calling for Suggestions

Hey everybody hope you are enjoying the blog so far. I wanted to try something new this weekend. If you could leave a comment requesting a dish you would like to see on the blog I will choose one, and make it, and write a post on it. Thanks in advance for the suggestions and please tell everyone friends, family, coworkers, the crazy person at the end of your street, whoever about the blog. Can’t wait to see all the suggestions you guys post!

Spicy Asian Chicken with Rice Noodles

Spicy Chicken with noodles

It looks like Tuesday is becoming my experimental day in the kitchen. Today I was really in the mood for some kind of Asian dish but I couldn’t decide on what to make. In the end I decided to go with a spicy chicken and noodle dish. I found a few recipes for something similar to this but did not stick to one recipe tonight. The sauce is made up of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic chili sauce, and some sesame oil. I decided to use peppers and broccoli as the vegetable in this dish. The broccoli soaks up the sauce very well and tasted incredible. The rice noodles make this dish very light and do not fill you up like pasta would. Like I said I came up with this while I was messing around with your typical Asian ingredients so if you are going to give something like this a try just keep tasting throughout and it should turn out great.

Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

I am continuing on with recipes from the Superbowl menu. Making the fried chicken was a bit of an adventure. I don’t have a deep fryer so instead I filled a pot with oil and used a meat thermometer to heat up the oil to the required temperature. However, all the trouble was well worth it. The chicken was crispy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside. The spices in the coating added a nice flavor and heat. Enjoy and if you try this dish please leave a comment and let me know how it went.

Fried Chicken

Grilled Shrimp Po’boys with Blackened Avocado Relish

Shrimp po'boys

I hope you guys are having a great Superbowl Sunday. For the game I made grilled shrimp po’boys with a blackened avocado relish. This sandwich brings a great Cajun flavor and is perfect for a Superbowl party. The game is starting so enjoy and have a good evening.

Grilled Shrimp Po’boys with Blackened Avocado Relish

Crif Dog inspired Bacon Wrapped Hotdog with Avocado and Salsa

Bacon Wrapped Hotdog

Hey guys, I just wanted to get a new post up before I left for NYC. Speaking of New York I was watching Anthony Bourdain’s show The Layover and saw this awesome hotdog from a place in Manhattan called Crif Dogs. It is a bacon wrapped hotdog, I like Nathan’s as my hotdog of choice, topped with fresh avocado and salsa. While this takes a bit longer than just throwing a hotdog in the microwave it is well worth it. The bacon, avocado, and salsa all compliment each other and really take this hotdog to the next level. This recipe isn’t on the Superbowl menu, however, if you are looking for something quick and easy to serve on Sunday this would be a great choice. Hope you enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Hotdog with Avocado and Salsa

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.