From our Food Goddess, TaMara:
I know it’s a big party weekend, but since we’ve covered Super Bowl snacks twice already in the recipe exchange, I didn’t see how I could get away with it again this year. For those snacks ideas, click here and here. All those recipes should give you plenty of ideas for your Super Bowl Party. Obligatory, Go Broncos!
What are you making for the Super Bowl? Or more importantly, what are you making for the Puppy Bowl? Might I suggest Puppy Chow? Seriously good snack! And who are you picking for the big game?
Now about those fajitas. A while ago, JeffreyW posted about making his own fajita seasoning and I was curious. We emailed back and forth a few times about good recipes and then I was ready to make my own. I can’t imagine I will ever buy taco or fajita seasoning again. It’s easy to make and I can control the salt, which is a plus. And fajitas are a quick, simple dinner for any night of the week.
Here’s the recipe that started it all: JeffreyW’s Chicken Fajitas (pictured above), click here.
And then here’s where I went with it:
Steak Fajitas
1 small yellow onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 orange or red pepper
1 to 1 1/2 lbs sirloin or flank steak
olive oil and butter
10 flour tortillasFajita Seasoning
Mix together the following and store in an airtight container.
2 tbsp chili powder (I used a combo of chili and ancho chili powders)
3 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp cuminSlice the sirloin very thin – which is easier to do if it’s slightly frozen – then coat the meat thoroughly with 1 to 2 tbsp of the seasoning and set aside. I grilled onions in a bit of butter and olive oil until they were nicely caramelized, removed and set aside. I then sautéed the peppers with a bit more olive oil until they were soft, removed and set aside. Then I quickly fried up the beef in olive oil, adding a touch of lime and water at the end to create a bit of a sauce with the fajita seasoning. Served with warmed tortillas.
Easy way to warm tortilla – wrap in foil and leave in a 200 degree oven while prepping dinner.
That’s it for this week. We’re snowed under here, but I stayed warm with two good recipes this week: Stuffed French Toast Rollups and the weekly Dinner Menu, Crispy Potato Chicken. See you next week – TaMara
JPL
Wow.. The food looks delicious and thanks for the new thread. I for one know nothing about what is going on in the previous thread. I didn’t know that Cole had goats living in his car though.
greennotGreen
@JPL: Ha ha ha! Laughter is food for the soul!
JPL
@greennotGreen: Sometimes a little mustard helps to enhance the flavor.
jnfr
The Denver Post’s Cannabist site offers marijuana-infused Superb Owl recipes.
I’m all for the Puppy Bowl myself.
Aji
@JPL: Apparently so. They’re the ones who ate the mustard.
Which is probably good; I don’t think mustard would go well with fajitas.
Violet
@JPL: I wasn’t shocked to find out he has a bear living in his house.
raven
I’m making duck gumbo. I took the breasts out today, slow roasted the rest and collected the fat and juices. I’ll make the roux from the duck fat, clean and brown the bones for stock and put it together Sunday morning.
JPL
@Violet: Well at least now we know what happened to the mustard.
max
What are you making for the Super Bowl?
Not a damn thing because I am so very far from having a dog in that fight.
However, fajitas sound AWESOME, but I’m not really sure about doing it without skirt steak.
max
[‘However, pork tacos with onions, lime and cilantro sounds like a winner. Gonna have to buy stuff.’]
NotMax
Sorry, but Puppy Bowl sounds like a new product from the Cup O’ Noodles company. (Presumably to be marketed primarily in parts of the Orient.)
JPL
Melissa Clark of the NYTimes has a recipe for Brisket that I might try. It’s not normal super bowl fare but it does sound good. What the heck. I know that Seattle has some interesting dishes but Denver not so much.
NotMax
@raven
Sounds awesome, but is being topless actually required for preparation?
Oh. The duck’s breasts.
Never mind.
Big R
@NotMax: If that was what Raven meant, they would have said they “got the girls out.”
raven
@NotMax: Didn’t want them to dry out. The worst thing is at, at 3.99 lb they put those phony as “orange sauce” packets in the bird that must weigh 1/4 lb!
NotMax
Have had fajitas of all types – beef, chicken, whatever – and have yet to find them satisfying as a meal nor to find any, anywhere (homemade or restaurant), that are not just too dang greasy.
As for what I’m doing for the Stupor Bowl – continuing the unbroken tradition of totally ignoring it.
raven
@NotMax: Ever see John Sales’s “Men With Guns”? It’s a very interesting “journey” film set in a mythical Central American country. It’s all in Spanish except for these two moron gringos who pop up from time to time looking for fajitas.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119657/
TaMara (BHF)
@max: OK. Now I thought flank steak and skirt steak were the same? I have become so confused in recent years. Usually I go to the butcher and say, hey I’m making this, what cut should I use.
schrodinger's cat
I made fish tacos this evening with swai, along refried beans, guacamole, homemade salsa and pico de gallo and served them with corn and wheat tortillas from TJ.
NotMax
@raven
Almost embarrassed to mention the orange sauce I use to baste a seasoned duck, as it is so ridiculously basic.
People have asked me multiple times to make extra sauce so they can take it home.
Mix and heat, to taste, frozen orange juice concentrate (do not dilute it) and butter, with a little white pepper mixed in.
raven
@raven: Sayles
raven
@NotMax: Sounds like my “thai” peanut sauce. Saute garlic, mix in chunky peanut butter and a little water. Hot sauce it and serve.
JPL
@raven: There’s a farm to market restaurant near me that serves duck. My son loves it and I have to admit, that I tasted it and it was okay. I just have trouble thinking swimming one moment and whoops on a table the next.
Roger Moore
@Violet:
Yet he swears he’s straight.
HRA
I live outside of Buffalo, NY. It’s unbelievable to not find chicken wings at the market to make for Sunday. I was going to bake them and then dip them in BBQ sauce. Now I am making BBQ ribs in place of them and my own pizza started by making my own dough.
Fajitas are my favorites. Your photo is making me hungry.
raven
@JPL: Ever have one of those cool ones in Chinatown with head and all?
Yatsuno
BRISKET!!!
Well the folks are anyway. I got cleared to walk full-time yesterday but someone forgot to tell the muscles in my legs it’s time for ambulation! So I went until the physio thought I was tortured enough then was ordered to walk walk and oh yeah WALK!!! So no cooking for me.
PurpleGirl
TaMara (Up top) Besides Puppy Bowl there will be Kitten Bowl on the Hallmark Channel, starting at noon. Not sure what I’ll have snack food for it, though.
http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/kittenbowl
NotMax
@raven
Never seen it; may have to check it out. Thanks.
JPL
@raven: NO
Roger Moore
@raven:
Yup, though from Chinese markets outside “Chinatown”. That’s what my family had instead of turkey this year for Thanksgiving.
JPL
@Yatsuno: Good news! It is difficult to imagine how hard it is to do ordinary things. Keep fighting the good fight.
raven
@JPL: They are awesome. When I was on R&R in Taipie my buddy and I went downtown to this little hole in the wall that had the best bejing duck in Taiwan. We gorged ourselves and then ended up playing drunken rock, scissors, paper with some ROC Soldiers! It was great.
raven
@NotMax: Wonderful soundtrack.
NotMax
@raven
One of the few things I miss here is a market with the hanging ducks. I shred them and use for making duck vindaloo.
Or chop ’em into cubes and make duck and garlic fried rice.
Mnemosyne
If you’re too lazy to make your own Puppy Chow, they now sell it bagged as Muddy Buddies.
raven
@Roger Moore: Wonderful. My friend that is a trainer with the Bejing Ducks is married to a Chinese-American woman. They live in Bezerkely and go to the Oakland Chinatown.
raven
dupe
raven
@Yatsuno: Whatup with the gig?
Mnemosyne
@PurpleGirl:
Oh, man, now I can’t decide which to watch. I enjoy the Puppy Bowl and Kitten Halftime, but an entire Kitten Bowl?
Good thing our DVR lets us record multiple programs at the same time.
JPL
Rachel just said that Steve Kornacki had another scoop on Christie. I’m shocked.. just shocked.
raven
@JPL: And she said to get your ass up in the bed even if the Time Machine is on TCM!
PurpleGirl
@Mnemosyne: I know. I only learned of Puppy Bowl last year and enjoyed it very much. I think both are a good alternative to watch.
raven
Men On Football – Original, Unedited Version from In Living Color
Ken
Kitchen care question. I recently got a sieve, one of the small metal mesh kind, which I mostly use for straining stocks. What’s the best way to clean it? I don’t want to use the dishwasher (worried about rusting), and the only other thing I’ve found is running water through it in the other direction – but that takes a lot of water and seems wasteful.
schrodinger's cat
I will be watching Downton Abbey and Sherlock, my review for last week’s Downton Abbey here. No Superbowl because I don’t understand football.
P.S. It has spoilers.
raven
@Ken: Scrub it well with a stiff brush and soapy water and do just what you said, use your sprayer from the back side. You can also line it with cheesecloth and it’s easier to clean.
schrodinger's cat
@Ken: I wash it under running water and then put it in the dishwasher where you usually put your forks and spoons. My sieve hasn’t rusted yet and I have had it for over 10 years now.
TaMara (BHF)
@Ken: I use my sink sprayer, it seems to have enough power and spread to clean it quickly and easily, so I don’t use all that much water.
ETA: Must be a good idea since I’m last in line to tell you that. LOL
NotMax
@Ken
Swish it vigorously in hot soapy water and if necessary use a brush or cleaning pad, then rinse and dry well and rust shouldn’t be a concern. Or, as others have already mentioned, go ahead and use the dishwasher, and additionally a towel to thoroughly dry it by hand afterwards.
An extra precaution against rusting is, after it has been dried, to spray some cooking spray (like PAM) onto a folded paper towel or napkin and use that to apply a light coating to the mesh.
Culture of Truth
I would eat the Aflac duck
muddy
Speaking of kitchen implements, I had a weird thing happen to my favorite knife. A Zwilling Henckel 4″ paring knife. I had a handful of utensils from the dish drainer, and the knife fell on the floor. It broke right across the blade, about 1/2 an inch from the handle.
I took a picture of it and sent it to a pro cook and asked had he seen the like. He said not. Has anyone had a knife break that way? It is never mis-used, and the floor is linoleum over wood.
Schlemizel
I don’t have amounts for this, I just play it by ear.
Turn the oven on to 475
Put some good mustard on a plate
Put brown sugar on another plate
Cut a bunch of bacon strips in half
Dip the bacon in mustard
dredge in brown sugar
Place on a baking rack
put rack over a sheet pan or aluminum foil
put the rack in the oven and after 5-10 minute flip the pieces with some tongs
Bake until crispy
try not to eat them all yourself
Schlemizel
@muddy:
No, I have never seen anything like that! If you have an authorize Henckle dealer take it to them & see what they will do for you. If you don’t have one near by send a note to the company with a picture. I think they should replace it. Their stuff is good quality & not cheap they should back it up.
ruemara
@raven: Are we all invited? Because we should be.
Edited to reflect that the tasty joy of Mexican food continues to elude me. Except for ceviche and nachos.
Schlemizel
@Roger Moore:
Oh man we have a CHinese grocery here in Minneapolis that sells ducks like @raven:’s picture. They are soooooooo good, I used to just love them. BBQ pork slabs too. *SIGH*
Schlemizel
@NotMax:
I do that but add ginger to the sauce. I like to glaze with the heated sauce and then at the very end get the sauce up to a high temp so that it gets really thick & makes almost a candy shell.
Steeplejack
@raven:
Good movie. And thanks for following up on the Redneck Riviera book.
Keith G
@max:
A big ‘ol catering kitchen I worked in used tri tip in place of flank/skirt.
Much more tender and much more flavor. Currently in my area ~$4.50 lb. Good stuff.
Linnaeus
Go Broncos? Bah.
I know I’m having Elysian Immortal IPA. Not sure about the food yet.
muddy
@Schlemizel: It’s 14, but still. They have a form online, but I’ll look locally. I felt cranky making supper tonight without it.
MikeJ
I will not swear that I got the last package of Skittles in Seattle, but I would not be surprised if it were so.
Yatsuno
@raven: One last bit of paperwork and then I start Feb 24th. Doc cleared me to work and drive (drove today, yay!) so everything is good to go. My old boss wasn’t happy.
2liberal
Philly mushrooms
8 oz mushrooms
2 pkg cream cheese
1 pkg Italian dressing mix
.25 cup mayo
2 tsp finely minced onions
1 tbspn chopped parsley
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
.125 tsp hot sauce
1 pkg stove top stuffing
3 tbspn melted butter
preheat oven to 350 degrees
mix cream cheese , dressing mix, mayo, onion, parsley, Parmesan cheese and hot sauce. Crush stuffing mix. Put cream cheese mixture into mushrooms. press mushrooms into stuffing mix. drizzle with butter.
bake for 30 minutes.
muddy
I’m watching Real Time and they put sparkling eyeshadow on Issa.
Schlemizel
@muddy:
I don’t use a paring knife much but I know what its like to have a favorite knife & then not having it to use.
There is a great little knife store here that deals mostly with pros & they deal in used stuff. You can get some great, top line commercial stuff from them for about 25% of new & there is plenty of life left in them