Sesame Ginger Lime Tuna Steak

A joke

Why couldn't the sesame seed leave the gambling casino?

Because he was on a roll.

The Recipe

Sesame Ginger Lime Tuna Steak

4 Tuna steaks

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Sesame Ginger Lime Marinade

Juice of 2 limes

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp candied (or crystallized) ginger

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp Aleppo pepper

Pulse all marinade ingredients in food processor to combine. Add marinade to the tuna steaks in a large zip top bag. Get as much air out as possible and set in the refrigerator. Marinate for one hour for every half inch of the tuna’s thickness.

Spread the sesame seeds out on a large plate. Remove tuna from marinade and place on sesame seeds. Flip to coat.

Grill over very high heat to bring out the sesame flavor. You are looking for a nice sear. Approximately 2 to 4 minutes per side.

My Thoughts

This is a great way to add some summer flavor to the grill. Served on a toasted sesame seed bun with a great beer (say, Bell’s Oberon) and some grilled asparagus and bell pepper. This is a little slice of heaven.

I always use crystallized (or candied) ginger in my brines and marinades. The sugar balances the flavor. If you swap it for fresh ginger, you are going to want to up the honey to compensate. I also like Aleppo pepper. It has a nice tart punch of spice with little after burn. It you do not have any available, crushed red pepper works well, too.

Spaghetti O’s with Black Truffle and Sliced Franks

This nice earthy dish is an affordable way to celebrate Poisson d'Avril and welcome the birth of April.

Spaghetti O’s with Black Truffle and Sliced Franks

2 14.75 ounce cans Campbell’s Spaghetti O’s with Sliced Franks

1 tbsp fresh shaved black truffles*

1 tsp fresh chopped tarragon

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 pinch fresh ground black pepper

Open cans of Spaghetti O’s and add along with the other ingredients to a large sauce pot. Heat, stirring occasionally.

Serve garnished with fresh tarragon and a nice glass of an old burgundy wine. A 2001 Pierre Usseglio CDP Deux Freres would be nice.

I hope this is the perfect addition to your April Fools Day.

*NOTE: You always want to maximize the truffle flavor, using the least amount of the ingredient as possible. So always slice into paper-thin wedges or strips. Use a truffle shaver (similar to a cheese grater) when shaving truffles.

Shortcake with Vanilla Whipped Cream and Berries

A Joke

A farmer was driving along the road with a load of fertilizer. A little boy, playing in front of his house, saw him and called, "What've you got in your truck?"

"Fertilizer," the farmer replied.

"What are you going to do with it?" asked the little boy.

"Put it on strawberries," answered the farmer.

"You ought to live here," the little boy advised him. "We put sugar and cream on ours."

The Recipe

Shortcake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 / 2 cup sugar + extra for topping

2 tbsp shortening

2 tbsp unsalted butter + 1 for topping

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 450.

In a large metal mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter and shortening, do not mix, and set this and a fork in the freezer for half an hour.

Cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture with the frozen fork. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the heavy cream. Using a spatula, fold the cream into the flour until the dough just comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Fold the dough into itself a few times then pat the dough out till it is about 3 /4 of a inch thick. Using a 3” biscuit cutter, portion the shortcakes.

Remove to a parchment lined sheet pan. You will want to set them so the are gently touching sides. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 450 for 10 to 15 min or until golden brown.

Split and top the bottom with berries and whipped cream. Place the top back on and repeat.

Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy cream

1 vanilla bean

1 / 3 cup sugar

Measure the cream into a medium size metal mixing bowl. Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape most of the seeds into cream. Wisk the mixture to combine then set in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours.

Measure the sugar into a small zip top bag and add the vanilla bean and remaining seeds to the sugar. Seal the bag and rub the mixture together then set aside.

After the allotted time has passed, remove the vanilla bean from the sugar. Mix the cream on low while slowly adding the sugar. Once the sugar is added increase the speed to med-high and mix until stiff peaks are formed.

Berries

3 pints berries (whatever looks good)

1 /2 cup sugar

Wash Berries and slice the strawberries if there are any. Toss them with 1/2 cup of white sugar. Set aside. This is best done the day before. That will give the berries time to develop a nice syrup.

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Homemade Pasta Dough

Italian Pasta Diet...

1. You walka pasta da bakery.
2. You walka pasta da candy store.
3. You walka pasta da ice cream shop.
4. You walka pasta da table and fridge.

Homemade Pasta Dough

4 Cups Flour (500 Grams)

4 Eggs

1 Tsp Kosher Salt

Measure the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, make a hole in the center and drop the eggs into it. Using a fork, wisk the eggs slowly into the flour. If the dough is too dry add a little water, if it is too wet add some flour.

Remove the dough from the bowl to a slightly floured surface. Knead the dough until you have achieved smooth dough. The goal is smooth dough that does not stick to your fingers.

Cut off about 1/8 of the dough and cover the rest with a damp towel.

It does not matter if you are using a pasta machine or hand rolling from this point on. The same basic steps are involved.

You will want to roll out the dough using the #1 setting on your machine or to about a ¼ an inch, lightly flour if necessary, fold over and repeat 6 to 8 times.

After this, you can roll the dough to your desired thickness and cut.

Boil right away or dry on a cooling rack and store in a zip top bag for up to a week.

Virgin Buffalo Wings

Is it my imagination, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?

Virgin Buffalo Wings a.k.a. Grilled Celery

8 Stalks of Celery
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Tabasco + additional to taste
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
2oz Crumbled Blue Cheese

Wash, trim and pat dry the celery. Add along with everything but the blue cheese to a zip top bag. Shake to coat and place in the fridge until it is time to grill. This will give the celery a chance to soak up some of the Tabasco flavor. A half hour to an hour should do nicely.

Get your grill going and find the hot zone. The goal is to get a nice bit of sear on each stalk without overcooking it. Your want enough crisp left that it will hold the blue cheese. This should only take 1 to 3 minutes per side over hot coals.

Remove from the grill once you have a nice char. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and a dash or two of Tabasco.

cashew butter cookies

Q: Why did the cookie go to the doctors office?

A: Because it was feeling crummy.

Cashew Butter Cookies

1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup walnut oil
15 ounces roasted and unsalted cashews + 30 whole cashews for topping
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place your cashews (minus the 30 whole cashews) and salt in the bowl of your food processor and pulse 6 or 7 times. Put the honey in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up and then mix in the walnut oil. Start you food processor up and slowly drizzle in the honey and oil mix. Run until smooth. Or if you like crunchy, run until crunchy.


At this point you have a nice way to change up your PB and J. But wouldn’t you rather have a cookie?

Preheat your oven to 325.

Place your cashew butter into a medium size bowl. Add the sugar in and mix until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time then scrap down the bowl really good. Stir in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Add the flour to the bowl and work into the dough. Your mix should be pretty thick at this point, so this is probably best done with clean hands.

Get two baking sheets and line with parchment paper.

Start rolling out the dough into balls a little bigger then a golf ball. You should get ten per batch, five on each cookies sheet (staggered). Give them some room. These guys like to spread out and stretch their legs.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets half way as needed. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before gently pushing the reserved cashews into the center of the cookies and removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.


Nothing left to do but enjoy!