Get in touch
555-555-5555
mymail@mailservice.com

#NationalSloppyJoeDay

Dwight Barnthouse • March 18, 2024

Sloppy Joes Do Not Come From A Can ...

We get started by gently mixing a Table Spoon of the Meat Church Honey Hog BBQ and a Teaspoon of the Traeger Saskatchewan Rub.  Once it is all mixed together, just let that sit and marinade while we get our veggies prepped.

Each year on March 18th the US sits down the celebrate National Sloppy Joe Day.  Today we will be creating a nice spicy Sloppy Joe in the Orbit City Kitchen.  First, we need to gather our Ingredients.  I generally start with a pound of Ground Chuck generally seasoned with some Meat Church Honey Hog BBQ rub and Traeger Saskatchewan Rub to add the perfect smoked meat flavor.  We will be tossing in a couple of different Onions & Bell Peppers (Variety is the Spice of Life) and of course some Garlic.  We will also be adding in a Jalapeño for some extra kick, and knock that back with just a bit of sweet Brown Sugar.  Of course we will need a bit of Tomato Sauce to tie everything to together, spiced up with a bit of Heinz Jalapeño Ketchup.  No Sloppy Joe is complete without the Worcestershire Sauce, Red Wine Vinegar, and the ever popular Kosher Salt and Cracked Black Pepper.  We will also need some Butter and Oil to get our pan ready and finally some nice toasted Buns to slap our concoction on.

New Paragraph

Now, let's dice half of each Onion and mix them into a bowl.  Then we will dice each of the Bell Pepper halves and mix them up nicely, followed by dicing our Jalapeño, and finely chop a few heads of Garlic.  The Jalapeño is optional, and you can add or subtract Garlic to  your liking (I prefer quite a bit).  Bonus Tip: if you slice off the basic plate (hard end), place the cloves into a metal container such as a bar shaker, shake vigorously, they will all but peel themselves.

At this point, I like to stage everything near the pan for easy access and quick delivery.  I like to melt a tablespoon or so of  Butter into the skillet with an equal tablespoon of Canola Oil to get the pad ready. 

First thing we need to do is get all the Onions and Peppers good a caramelized, nice and soft.  Sauté them until nice and tender, probably about 5 or 6 minutes, maybe a bit more depending on how much you have in there.  At this point you are probably thinking, are we eating a salad or a Sloppy Joe?  That is a lot of veggies, do I need tthat much? Probably not, you could do a lot less if you wanted, but Trust me, the next step will probably blow your mind, might just freak you out, but it is soo worth it.   

So, YES, that is a LOT of veggies, so to help with flavor and thickness, I'm going to take about a third of those soft, tender, delicious veggies and blend them into a slurry to put back into the pan as a thickening agent.

Now, pour the puréed veggie slurry back into the pan and toss in your chopped garlic.  Mix that all up and cook until aromatic, maybe 40 seconds, maybe less.

Once the Garlic starts to smell, add in the Ground Chuck and cook everything together until the Ground Chuck fully cooked.  When you got your Chuck done, throw in your Tomato Sauce and mix everything together, top that with the remaining ingredients (3/4th ish cups of Jalapeño ketchup, a couple tablespoons of Brown Sugar, a Tablespoon or so of the Yellow Mustard, perhaps a tablespoon of the Paprika, and a teaspoon or so of the Cayenne Pepper.  Grind in your Salt and Pepper and let that all simmer for 20 minutes or so until it is the thickness you prefer.  Although we all appreciate a good SLOPPY Joe, nobody likes a soggy bun.

Some days are better than others and today, the sauce was just not reducing to where I prefer it.  When that happens, there are probably a thousand methods for thickening it back up ... some folks talk about a Flour slurry (it's never a good idea to add flour at the end of cooking, flour needs quite a bit of time to cook out properly), there are those that subscribe to the Cornstarch slurry (not a bad slurry, but it doesn't add anything but thickness), if you need to add something in, why not put in a little flavor while you are at it?  Some folks use Oats, which is nice, but if you have leftovers, the oats will continue to soak up the sauce and tomorrow you might have to add sauce to get it back to where you like it.  There are those that add Mashed Potatoes, ok, but that seems like a lot of extra work .. Personally, I just add about 1/4 of a cup of mashed potato flakes, much easier that making mashed potatoes first, and I almost always have a box on hand to use to thicken all kinds of soups and sauces.  Just add a little at a time util everything is the consistency you are looking for.

Once you got the Sloppy Joe exactly where you want it, toast up a couple of buns, toss on a slice of your favorite Cheese (Pepper Jack for me), maybe melt that cheese under the broiler, grab yourself a Cold Beverage and sit down and enjoy.


#NationalSloppyJoeDay

Fennel & Coriander Vegitable Soup

By Dwight Barnthouse • December 19, 2024
So, I had a large bowl of some leftover vegetables I had cut up for Chicken Skewers for the 2024 Army/Navy Game (Go Navy - N31 - A13) and was considering how to best utilize them. Should I simply Sauté them? or maybe roast them? and then the 36°F temperature hit me as I was walking down to fetch the mail, and boom, SOUP, Soup is what was needed on this cold winter day, so, with that I scoured the house and found a few things to get this concoction created. I gathered up the original bowl of pre-cut veggies (2 types of Mushrooms, some Green and Yellow Squash, and Red Bell Pepper), an extra Green and Yellow Pepper, the last Jalapeño in the fridge, a medium Onion, a bulb of Garlic, a can of Sweet Corn and a can of Diced Tomatoes as well as some Chicken Stock and just 3 simple spices, Fennel, Coriander, and Caraway would pair perfectly with the earthy Mushroom and Squash flavors.

Bacon & Egg Potato Salad

By Dwight Barnthouse • September 20, 2024
Mise en place (MEEZ ahn plahs) is a French term for having all your ingredients measured, cut, peeled, sliced, grated, etc. before you start cooking – this makes cooking a lot more enjoyable, the food is better tasting by not burning this while chopping that, etc. Ingredients – for a serving of about 5 or 6 ½ pack of CRISP FRIED BACON STRIPS – For this recipe I highly recommend frying the Bacon in a deep Cast Iron Pan and transfer to a paper towel. You could cook it the Oven and Parchment Paper way, but we need the Bacon Fat, so using the Cast Iron will best achieve this goal. Reserve as much of the Bacon Grease as possible, we need it later. Once it has sat on the paper towel and cooled a bit, chop it up, crumble it up, get it into small to medium size pieces. 2 or 3 pounds of Diced Red Potatoes (Skin On). Boil the potato whole to avoid having waterlogged potatoes (the skin will repel water entering into the meat of the potato). I prefer a little firmer potato salad, so constantly try and pierce a potato with a toothpick (I use bamboo skewers) until it feels like something you want – it should slide in but not go through nor break the potato. Immediately submerse the boiled potatoes in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Once you can pick them up without getting burned, dice them into 1- or 2-inch squares. Hard Boil 6 eggs. First, boil the eggs. Place them in a pot and cover them with cold water by an inch. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water comes to a full boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Leave the eggs in the hot water for about 10 minutes – I prefer a little less than full on hard for this recipe. Go 12 minutes if you want full hard-boiled eggs. Peel and chop up. I just use a fork and break the eggs down into ½ or so size pieces. You could throw them in a food processor for a couple of spins, but we do not want egg dust, we definitely want egg chunks here. Dice up a ½ of a yellow onion. Dice up 4 or 5 green onions. Dice up 2 or 3 stalks of celery. Gather some Salt, Black Pepper, perhaps some paprika, whatever spices you would typically put in your potato salad. Measure out 1 cup of Duke’s Mayonnaise (It’s Got Twang! – others are too sweet or bland) Measure out ¼ cup of spicy brown mustard Assembly: Warm the Bacon Grease back up if it isn’t still warm. Once it is nice and warm, make a slurry with the Bacon Grease, Mayo, and Mustard in the pan. Add the bacon crumbles and warm the mixture through. In a Large bowl, add the Potatoes, Eggs, Celery, both kinds of Onions and season well with salt and black pepper. Once this is all mixed, slowly add the skillet slurry with a spatially so as to not be smashing or breaking the potatoes. Taste and update with Salt, Pepper, Paprika, whatever as you see fit. Tempting alternative ingredients: Garlic Salt with Parsley, Celery Salt, Cayenne Pepper

Onion Jam

By Dwight Barnthouse • August 24, 2024
Recently I hosted a work event where I provided a nice hoagie sandwich bar, complete with four or five meats and cheeses, a lot of various vegetables, several dressings/spreads, and more than a few choices of bread. All-in-all it was a fantastic event with everyone enjoying the food quite a bit, apparently, minus the Red Onions, seems nobody or very few decided to put the Red Onions on their sandwiches, which led to two hole thinly sliced Red Onions being left over. What to do with so many already sliced Red Onions? While I have seen several uses of Yellow Onions, I haven't really seen a lot of folks discussing leftover Red Onion. I suppose they could be pickled, or kept around for sandwiches and salads, they may be good for grilling or roasting, I'm not really up to speed on Red Onions. With all that in mind, and knowing how much the Mrs. and I enjoy carnalized onions in general, I thought why not try and make an "Onion Jam", not a jelly for a PBJ type thing, but more like the Bacon or Jalapeño jam one might get on a burger. I am thinking an Onion Jam would be just as good and would work for things like Pizza, Grilled Cheese sandwiches, and of course a burger or two. So with that I gathered my ingredients and set out to make some Onion Jam. The required ingredients should be pretty simple, the Onions (of course), some Olive Oil, Butter, and Brown Sugar to get them carnalized, perhaps some sort of Balsamic or Wine vinegar, and of course Salt and Pepper.

OC(D) Laundry Day

By Dwight Barnthouse • June 1, 2024
laun·dry /ˈlôndrē/ early 16th century: contraction of Middle English lavendry, from Old French lavanderie, from lavandier ‘person who washes linen’ I should preface this post with the fact that TWO people live in this house, we have no children and no pets (if you don’t count me as one of each). Today is “Laundry” day in Orbit City (OC) and let me explain the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that is Laundry Day in Orbit City. First, one should note, there are laundry baskets for nearly every color of the rainbow in the Master Bedroom. When I unrobe for the evening, I need to sort my attire deciding does this particular item go into the White Colors basket, or maybe the Red/Orange Clothing basket, perhaps it is a shade of Black or Grey and therefore it should go into the Black/Gray Basket? Maybe it is a shade of Green or Brown and should therefore be deposited into the Green Basket? Perhaps it is some sort of Blue and should be placed neatly into the Blue Basket? Once I Figure that out, I need to avoid placing anything into the “Transporter Basket” used only to move shades down to the Laundry Room proper.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Vegetable Soup

By Dwight Barnthouse • March 28, 2024

VRRIIS HD EXTENDER

By Dwight Barnthouse • November 24, 2023
The day we toured this house prior to purchase I saw the potential for this space to become a theater.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

By Dwight Barnthouse • November 6, 2023
So, once again I find myself home alone as lunch approaches and feeling a little rumble in the tummy. I head off to the kitchen to scour the refrigerator and see what might be available. I instantly spot a bag of broccoli florets I took out of the freezer a few days ago and then got side-tracked and didn't use. I then dig around a little more and find a small handful of cauliflower florets in a bag with some celery, green onions, and red onion. I see we have milk, butter, and I tend to always keep a few jars of various Better than Bouillon on hand as they are easier to keep, last longer than boxed broths, and tend to taste much better as well. Today I see we have a jar of Roasted Chicken Base, Roasted Garlic Base, and Sautéed Onion on hand.

CHOPPED BASKET BRUNCH

By Dwight Barnthouse • October 30, 2023
Here it is, just after noon on a sunny Monday morning, the wife is off at work and I am beginning to feel a little puckish. I go up to check the refrigerator for what leftovers might be there and all of a sudden, I get this feeling I have just stumbled upon the next Chopped Basket. A half of cup of cooked ground beef, a couple of tablespoons of leftover mushrooms and garlic from the last Korean meal, as I open the draws I find a half of a Vidalia onion, some loose lettuce from the past weekends gun class lunches, a few cherry tomatoes from the last gun guy movie night and I think to myself, “Ok, I can work with this, let’s go to the Pantry” (as they say on Chopped). I remember that although we have eaten several MRE meals this year, nobody seems to want the Plain or Chipotle Tortillas that come in the pack, so it hits me .. Breakfast Burrito’s ala Leftovers. I grab a couple of eggs, four slices of Pepper Jack Cheese and 2 slices of Bologna to add something not yet cooked to the skillet. I go to work putting 2 tablespoons of butter and an equal amount of garlic Olive Oil in the pan to warm up. Once warm I toss in the chopped-up onion and let that cook until it is soft and translucent. I add the garlic and mushroom mix and cook for about 30 seconds or so. Once I smell garlic, I toss in the chopped-up Bologna and get that fried a bit and then throw in the ground beef. At this point we’re going to need some seasonings, so I sprinkle in a bit of Salt and Pepper, a tablespoon of Cumin and Turmeric and 2 tablespoons of Smoked Paprika for spice. While that cooks down another 2 or 3 minutes I whisk together 2 eggs and a couple tablespoons of milk in a bowl. I toss the chopped-up Cherry tomatoes into the pan and mix thoroughly and then coat the mixture in the pan with the egg mixture. Once the eggs start to look cooked, I flip it over like an omelet and top it with 4 slices of cheese. I make a small hole near the center and pour in about a tablespoon of Apple Juice to create some steam to melt the cheese and throw a lid on the pan. While the cheese is getting melted, I put one Plain and one Chipotle Tortilla on the grill side of the stove top. After a minute or so I flip the tortillas and scramble up the mixture in the skillet. Once the tortillas are done, I put them on my plate with the burrito mix, top that with the shredded lettuce, some Tostitos Salsa I found in the fridge and a few shakes of Good Old Mrs. Cholula’s Hot Sauce. Paired with a cold glass of Apple Juice and I have myself a Chopped worthy Leftover Breakfast Burrito …

Perma Del Mar (PDM)

By Dwight Barnthouse • October 13, 2023
Perma Del Mar (PDM) Double Toro 6 x 60. A beautiful dark chocolate looking Trunk-Pressed cigar. I have to admit, I tend to push the box pressed cigars around in my humidor until that's about my only choice left. I find the square shape a bit clunky to smoke, I can't always seem to get a tight seal for a good draw. The PDM, having a 60 ring did not present this problem, right from the start the draw was easy and smooth delivering a mouth full of smoke. Since I decided to start posting a few reviews I researched how/what most reviews describe and talk about in relation to cigars. The Cigar review is typically laid out in thirds. In Maduro reviews I found the first third is generally described with words like dark earth, toasted cedar, and baking spice flavors. In this PDR I could definitely identify the earthy toasted flavor, I'm not sure yet what "baking spice" is referring to? As a cook I would think things like Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice, maybe Clove or something? Anyway I don't think I have a pallet to get that detailed. I am definetly not what you would refer to as a "Super Taster". This first third was earthy, toasted, pretty flavorful. I paired this third with the Aldus Brewing Co. Going Deutsche Octoberfest and found it an excellent pairing.

Orbit City and the Plight of the Slippers

By Dwight Barnthouse • October 12, 2023
As a True Red Blooded American Redneck I must admit the hardest thing about my marriage to a beautiful Korean-American is learning to take off my shoes and that socks are not an acceptable replacement. Let me start with the fact that from the day I could walk some 57 or so years ago I was trained to wake up, take a shower, get dressed, and put on my shoes for the day, and those shoes did not come off again until it was once again time to either change in to pajama's or get back in to bed. Fast forward to 2020 and the purchase of Orbit City for our joint life adventure to begin in earnest and boom the law is laid down immediately "Cute Shoes, Now Take Them Off!" The first rule of Korea, apparently, is no outside shoes in the house, and hey I am fine with that, I have socks on - Oh H*LL NO, not so fast Sock-Boy, the upper (bedroom level) is carpeted and socks are fine, the main living area has hardwood and tile and dust and dirt and so socks are fine there also, just not the SAME socks as previously allowed, and don't get her started on the Blue Griffin classroom where students do no take of their shoes at all, again, socks will be fine down there, just not the socks you wear on the main level nor the socks you wear upstairs, therefore, you will be putting on some "House Slippers" and you will put on a different pair at each level so as not to cross contaminate the levels.
More Posts
Share by: