Epic Portions

Category: My Recipes

  • Hey Look, I Actually Do Cook

    Amidst all this fast food and competitive eating information I’m putting up here, I thought I would post documentation of ME actually cooking!   Yes, I do cook.  Just the other day I threw together this beautiful dish:

    Breaded chicken topped with pancetta and cheese
    Red pepper and cream pasta
    Garlic Bread

    This is the first time I’ve ever made a pasta sauce using red bell peppers.  Here’s the recipe I used..

    Ingredients

    • 3 red bell peppers
    • 1/2 onion – diced
    • 4 cloves garlic (more if you’re like me and love garlic)
    • 1/2 cup heavy cream
    • 1/2 – 1lb heavy pasta

    Directions

    • Roast your red peppers until the skins are black.  When you’re done, they should look like this:

    • Place red peppers in a sealed zip lock bag and allow them to sweat for 10-15 mins.
    • Take peppers out of bag, remove skins, stem and seeds.
    • In a blender, puree the red peppers.
    • In a pan, saute onions and garlic in olive oil.  After slightly browned, add pepper puree.
    • Add cream and stir together.  Let it sit and cook for a few minutes.  Add salt to taste.
    • Add pasta and stir together.  Top with shaved Parmesan cheese

  • What John Wants To Eat Today

    After a long absence, I am back!  I was reminded again that I hate moving and never want to do it again.  It got so bad that I threw out my deep fryer because I didn’t want to dispose of the oil.  Oh well.  Here’s what I want to eat today…

    Deviled Eggs.

    I was at my buddy’s going away party this past weekend and someone was kind enough to make two giant platters of these.  I ended up having 11 of them.  Here’s how I make my deviled eggs.

    Ingredients:

    • 6 hard-boiled eggs
    • 2 Tbsp minced sweet onion
    • 2 tsp sweet pickle relish, minced
    • 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
    • 2 tsp creamed horseradish sauce (found in deli section)
    • 2 tsp yellow mustard
    • Salt to taste
    • I always add some paprika on top but you can make your eggs fancy by adding olives, chives, parsley, or pimento.

    Directions:

    Slice the hardboiled eggs in half and remove the yolks.  Put the yolks into a bowl and mash until crumbly.  Add the sweet onion, pickle relish, mayo, horseradish sauce, mustard, and salt to taste.  Mix until everything is combined and creamy.

    You can pipe or use a spoon to return the yolk mixture into the egg white halves.  Garnish with what I listed above and serve.

  • What John Wants To Eat Today

    Summer is almost here, and I am excited to get the grill out.  One of my favorite things to grill are Brats that have been sitting in a beer marinade for a few hours.  Also, the greatest summer side dish has to be potato salad.   Here is how I do brats and potato salad:

    If you’re just buying grocery store Brats, stick with Johnsonville.  I always buy the spicy version, but the original works just fine.  You want to open them up and poke several holes in each brat with a fork.  This is going to allow the marinade to get through the casing.  Put the brats in the brats in a large bowl, and add the following ingredients(this is assuming you are making one package of brats):

    • 2 bottles of dark beer
    • 1 half onion, roughly chopped
    • 4 cloves garlic
    • A palm full of brown sugar
    • Red pepper flakes (add as much as you like)
    • A dash of Tabasco
    • This is optional, but I always add a bit of Sriracha chili sauce.  If you use a lot it gives brats more of an Asian flavor, which is odd to some people, but if you get the perfect amount in it creates a delicious flavor.  I would add about a tablespoon, if i had to guess.

    Let the brats sit in the marinade for about 2 hours, then throw on the grill.  Trust me on this.  These are amazing.

    As for the potato salad, I like the mustard variety without a lot of crunch from peppers and other ingredients.  I like the potatoes and the sauce to create the flavor.

    Here’s what you’ll need:

    • 5 pounds potatoes, cooked
    • 3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs
    • 1/4 cup onion, minced
    • 1 small jar pimento
    • 3/4 cup sweet pickle relish
    • Salt
    • Pepper
    • 1 tsp. celery seed
    • Paprika
    • Mayonnaise
    • Yellow mustard

    Cook the potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover while boiling.  Don’t overcook them or they will fall apart.  Place potatoes into a strainer.  Peel and dice the them while they are still warm!

    Add chopped eggs, and onions.   Add pimento pickle relish, and celery seed.  Add mayonnaise and yellow mustard to taste (approximately ½ cup mayonnaise and ¼ cup mustard). If potatoes are too watery at this point add less mayonnaise.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

    I usually do the taste test and add more of any of the ingredients if I feel the salad is lacking something

    Place in serving bowl and sprinkle top with paprika. I always boil a few eggs, chop them up and place on top.

    Cover and place in refrigerator until cold. Do not cover with aluminum foil; use plastic or glass instead. Foil will discolor eggs and possibly interact with mayonnaise.

    There you have it, perfect potato salad.