Lechon Is one of my favorite things to make and eat. I came up with a nice alternative to sour oranges in this video revision. See the original Lechon Recipe
Thai Chili Balls AKA “Crack Balls”; Recipe
The legend of “Crack Balls” goes back 11 years when Hurricane Ike came north as a windstorm and knocked out power to most of the Cincinnati area. I had acquired a large amount of food from the Party Source where I work that was in danger of spoiling. A week or so later I threw a party for friends and coworkers with some of that food. The base recipe was modeled after Steven Raichlen’s recipe in the Barbecue Bible. I made a few changes to make it more practical and in my opinion better.
The day I was prepping for my party I was drinking bourbon… As I was mixing the ingredients into the beef I read 5 tablespoons of fish sauce instead of 5 teaspoons of fish sauce. When i discovered the mistake it was too late. Once you put fish sauce in, you can’t take it out. I had to go buy more ground meat and basil to make up for the mistake. As you might guess I had a lot of freakin meatballs. My first guest to arrive was James Erb. James ate one meatball then another and another. James looked at me and said “these things are like crack”; and that is when the legend of Crack Balls was born! Thank you James Erb!
Thai Chili Balls AKA Crack Balls
8 ounces ground sirloin or lean ground beef
2 cloves minced garlic or to taste
5 teaspoons Asian fish sauce (Three Crabs)
1 tablespoon sugar or more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 or 2 large bunches basil finely chopped
4 or more Thai Bird chiles to taste (optional)
Short bamboo skewers
Combine the beef, garlic, basil, fish sauce, sugar and black pepper in a small bowl and mix well with hands. Sauté a small piece and taste for seasoning. Place the meat mixture in the refrigerator to help firm it up before making the skewers.
Mound up 2 teaspoons of the beef mixture and thread them on to the skewers.
Preheat the grill to Medium/Low. The sugar makes it very easy for them to burn. Don’t walk away.
Oil the grate and grill the Skewers turning them a 1/4 turn after 2-3 minutes.
Serve by themselves or wrapped in lettuce with Julienne cucumber, chopped cilantro, fresh squeeze of lime juice and chopped peanuts.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Jerk Marinade
1 Large Package of chicken thighs, wing or legs
4-15 Habanero Peppers (I have found 8 to be the perfect amount for me.)
1 Medium Onion
1 Bunch Green Onions
1 Shallot (Optional)
4 or more cloves of Garlic
2 Tablespoons grated or chopped Ginger
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice usually about 1 ½ limes
3 Tablespoons Quality Dark Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons canola oil
2 or more tablespoons fresh chopped Thyme
2 Tablespoons salt or to taste
2 Teaspoons ground Jamaican Allspice
1 Cup or less of water. (Add water as needed after blending preceding ingredients.)
Place all ingredients except water into a food processor and mix until smooth being careful to avoid being splashed in the eyes. This would more than ruin your evening. I recommend wearing rubber gloves when handling the mixture and tongs when placing them on the grill. I used six habaneros in this recipe and I think it is the perfect amount. A great deal of the heat from the habanero is cooked out when grilled.
Marinate chicken for 3 hours.
Marinate pork for 2 hours.
Marinate Rib Eye steaks for 2 hours
Marinate shrimp or seafood for 1 hour.
Grill over direct or indirect heat being careful not to let them burn as the brown sugar will allow this to happen quite easily. I prefer to grill over indirect coals pushing them to the side and putting the chicken on the middle of the grill. If you are using a gas grill preheat the grill to high and then turn it down when the chicken goes on the grill. I use chicken thighs because they just taste the best.
Noodle & Hot Pot Cincinnati; Restaurant Review
Noodle & Hot Pot,
4750 Fields Ertel Cincinnati Ohio 45249
(513) 849-8898
Price $$$$
Dress Casual
Parking Lot
Two weeks ago I was invited by my friend Ai Lin to lunch at a new Sichuan restaurant in Cincinnati that has authentic Chinese “Hot Pot”. Ai was one of the owning partners of Sichuan Chili in Evendale. Sichuan Chili was my favorite restaurant; I was eating there once a week for the past 4 years. Ai sold her share of the restaurant to the chef. The food is still amazing but their front of house is not the same without Ai’s vibrant personality. When Ai invited me for Authentic Hot Pot I couldn’t say no; she insisted to pay and that I go with her the first time. After experiencing the meal I understand why… You can’t just walk in and know what you’re doing the first time!
In recent years the number of Authentic Chinese restaurants has increased to meet the demand of Chinese students taking advantage of our low priced college tuition. Ai’s husband explained this to me a few years ago. I’m sure there are other factors as well. I’m just glad they’re here.
The cooking for Hot Pot is done at the table which is great for groups of people and fosters conversation. The Hot Pot bowl comes with spices made exclusively for this restaurant and what Ai described as spicy butter in the shape of a cartoon character. The server fills your bowl with hot water and turns on the flame.
You order from a menu that resembles a sushi ala carte menu; there were so many options I just let Ai do her thing. I’ve been a customer of hers for four years so she knows what I like. Ai ordered pig brains (which ended up being my favorite) lamb, potato noodle, spam, lotus root and several other things I can’t remember. Apparently spam is awesome this way and kind of a big deal. I loved it.
Once we had everything ordered Ai took me over to a buffet style station where we put together our dipping bowls. There were 8-10 options such as hot chili oil, fresh chopped garlic, mushrooms, sesame butter, cilantro ETC. Ai added a ladle of the liquid from the Hot Pot to our dipping bowl. Once the Hot Pot was boiling Ai asked for a divider which helped us keep track of our items.
The Hot Pot water needed to be refilled twice due to evaporation. Ai asked for the spiciest amount of seasoning and it was SPICY! The food is dropped into the Hot Pot divider and cooks in no time at all. The lamb took about 20 seconds. The lotus root and pig brains, lotus root and potato noodles cooked in a few minutes. When your food is done you dip it into your customized dipping bowl. The quality and freshness of all the food was outstanding. This was one of the coolest food experiences of my life. I’m grateful that my friend Ai shared this with me. Ai told the owner about my blog and said “I was her best favorite customer”.
Plan on spending at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours and some money on this meal. Ask for help from the staff; there might be one or two that speak English. I was fortunate to have Ai as my guide. Noodle & Hot Pot gets my highest rating for Authenticity and quality. I can’t wait to go back with friends.
Goetta, it’s a Cincinnati Thing!
Goetta
I started eating goetta as child when I would visit Cincinnati for two weeks during the summer. I immediately fell in love with goetta! We didn’t have this in Chicago, or my favorite fast food Skyline Chili. Oh how I looked forward to my visits to Aunt Boo and Uncle Bob’s for the summer. The moment we stepped off the bus Uncle Bob would take us straight to Skyline or United Dairy Farmers (another Cincinnati original). Now Cincinnati has Graeters Ice Cream which I am particularly fond of. I don’t think I would have stayed here if weren’t for these four things! So what is Goetta? Goetta is a German breakfast sausage made from ground meat, oats and spices.
To cook goetta, you just treat it like sausage. I fry my goetta in a cast iron skillet with a very small amount of oil. I like my goetta cooked about medium crispy with over medium fried eggs.
Tips for preparing goetta
Slice goetta thin, about a 1\4 inch using a very sharp knife.
Do not let the slices touch each other in the pan… They will stick together and become one!
Once in the pan, don’t mess with it. Leave it alone until it gets golden brown.
And lastly. Never, ever, ever cook goetta without a shirt on! Goetta has a tendency to pop and explode while cooking. It only takes one pop of hot goetta on your chest to learn your lesson.
Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup; Recipe
I made some changes to this recipe. I’m roasting the the stock ingredients for the stock now
Feels like home!
Homemade Roasted Vegetable Beef Soup
My mother made a version of this when I was a kid growing up on the Northwest Side of Chicago. I can remember coming home after playing out in the snowstorms with frozen limbs to a nice hot bowl of this soup. I took my mothers original recipe and made some changes and additions to come up with my own. One of the changes was to make my own beef stock using beef shank and shin marrow bones. The stock really makes the broth very rich and hearty. I substituted frozen mixed vegetables for fresh and added celery. This is an all day event if you make the stock the same day. This is one of my favorite recipes inspired by my mom.
Ingredients for the stock:
5-6 pounds beef bones (shank, shin bones with marrow, soup bones)
Roasted Ingredients
6 -8 sprigs…
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2014 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Spaghetti and Meatballs (Baseballs); Recipe
Spaghetti and Baseballs!
Spaghetti and Baseballs!
Simply one of the most satisfying meals I’ve ever made. The over-sized meatballs with the addition of ground lamb make this even heartier. I received some great feedback from some tough critics.
Ingredients for the meatballs (Baseballs)
1 pound ground sirloin
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground lamb
2 large eggs
4 sprigs basil chopped
3 tbsp chopped parsley
1 large onion finely chopped
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5-6 thick slices firm white bread crust removed
1 cup whole milk
4-5 cloves minced garlic
3/4 pound fresh mozzarella cheese
6 cups Eric’s “Awesome Sauce”
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 pound spaghetti
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Let ground meats come to room temperature. Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add onion, garlic, basil, parsley and black pepper. Saute for about ten minutes or until onions become translucent. Don’t let the pan get too hot. Remove from heat and let cool for about 20 minutes.
Break bread into small chunks and place in a bowl and add milk. Use your hands to squeeze out the excess milk. Combine meats, eggs, Parmesan cheese, bread, cooled onion mixture and salt. Mix with your hands and form into baseball sized meatballs. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Brown meatballs turning once. Remove browned meatballs and place into Dutch oven containing sauce. You may need to do this in two batches. There may be more meatballs than can fit in your dutch oven. If this happens, simply use a large baking dish and cover with sauce. Cover Dutch oven or place foil over baking dish and cook in oven for 45-60 minutes. When the meatballs are almost done place chunks of fresh mozzarella on each meatball and return to oven uncovered until cheese is melted.
Prepare spaghetti as directed adding plenty of kosher salt to cooking water. The water should be as salty as sea water.
Cover spaghetti with sauce and one meatball on your plate. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and more Parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Meatball Sandwiches
For meatball sandwiches prepare smaller meatballs and cook the same way. Just buy some Italian bread and cut into sandwich length. Top with thinly sliced fresh mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Ingredients for Eric’s “Awesome Sauce”
25 ounces chopped tomatoes
25 ounces tomato sauce
1 white onion
4-5 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp chopped parsley
3 tbsp chopped basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add onion, garlic, parsley, basil and black pepper. Saute until onions become translucent adjusting heat so they don’t brown. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Adjust heat to allow a mild simmer. Cook with the lid almost covering for approximately 2 hours stirring every 15 minutes. don’t let this burn!
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin; Recipe
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
I wanted to cook something special for some friends at work. I was going to bake brownies or cookies but one of my friends has some food allergies… What better way to get around that than pork wrapped in pork. This was absolutely delicious; we devoured these tenderloins in a matter of minutes. I promised them the recipe so here it is.
Ingredients
Two pork tenderloins
1/2 pound good smoked bacon
1 bunch fresh sage leaves
Fresh ground black pepper
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Pepper tenderloins on all sides. place sage leave on all sides of tenderloins. No need to completely cover with sage; a little goes a long way. Wrap bacon around tenderloin. Place on a rack on a flat foil covered baking sheet or shallow roaster pan. Place uncovered in oven and cook until internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees. Let tenderloins rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.
Tip: Place wrapped tenderloins with the bacon seams on the bottom so they don’t unwrap while cooking.
This recipe couldn’t be easier. Enjoy!
Truality Bar and Grill 