Kosher Dosher...“I am a culinary Heretic"

Again, this brings me back to my early childhood sitting at my Grandfather's kitchen table while he prepared his take on Italian Classics. The Kitchen was small, and so was the table. In those days (60 & 70's), everyone used their kitchen table as their prep area.  My Grandfather on my Dad's side was the epitome of everything Italian and Sicilian. Adding to this stereotype, of course, was the fact he owned a bar too. I am not kidding, either. The Co-Owner of the bar was......let's just say he was an unsavory type. The Bar was called the Queen's Bar. Everyone in the neighborhood hung out at the bar. And yes, before you ask, it was a hangout for the "M" . Poppi (that's what we called my Grandfather) made a lot of food for the bar, and everyone loved eating there. It was not a restaurant mind you but a dark and gloomy bar. Anyhow he just loved to cook and share hi,s food, and that's what he did. Oh, and he never charged anyone for his food ...

OXO COLD BREW Blogging about this sauce came as a surprise to me because I never wrote it down before now. Over the years it has evolved several times too. I had a few requests for the recipe so I did my best to annotate and make some adjustments along the way. What makes this recipe fun and unique is the use of coffee. I prefer to use cold brewed coffee because it is concentrated and contains less acidity. You don't have to use cold brewed coffee but it's what I did. Having used the Toddy and the Oxo cold brew systems I would have to agree with the reviews and say the OXO is the way to go.  Recipe 2 1/4 cups of Cold Brewed Coffee 1/4 of Good quality Soy Sauce 1/2 cup Maple Syrup 1/4 Brown Sugar 20 grams of Fresh Ginger or to taste 35 grams of Fresh Garlic 1-2 Tangerines Peeled. Reserve the ZEST 1 tsp of Kosher Salt 2 tsp of coarse Ground Pepper  Toss everything in a Blender (I use a Vita-mix) and blend until tho...

This is a work in progress so please bare with me as I keep making updates. This is just one big science experiment.  12 grams Granulated Garlic 6 grams Onion Powder  1 gram Cumin 1.5 grams Granulated Dehydrated Sweet bell pepper 3 grams Smoked Black Pepper 3 grams Jalapeno Powder 2 grams Chili Powder 10 grams Lime Juice Powder 5 grams Orange Juice Powder 4 grams Citric Acid 1.5 grams Mexican Oregano 27 grams Salt 24 grams Dextrose 2 grams Silicon Dioxide Powder (2% anti-clumping) Note-1 4/1/2016 - This spice blend came out pretty good. Need to cut back on Citric Acid. Try Raw Sugar instead dextrose. Will reduce Jalapeno and Chili Powder. Might increase Sweet beller.  Note-2 4/2/2016 - The above recipe works well with Jerky. So for Jerky application I won't change a thing. To use in other applications I will make changes as annotated in Note 1.  

4  I first tried this sauce or a version at this restaurant in the early '90s. The food was absolutely amazing, and I am saying this without exaggeration.  In fact, over the years, I got to know the owners, and the owners were just as awesome as their sauce. Harbor Monsoon opened its doors in the Harbor in 1993 and closed in Oct 2011. This was by far the best Chinese food in the Harbor, and to this date, no one has ever come close to this level of American Chinese Cuisine.  Do I have their recipe? Nope, they never gave it up!!! I was told the owner came in early and would make a batch for the day to keep it secret from the chefs and servers. I detected most ingredients over the years (with queries), but that's where it stopped. I was never able to obtain the recipe. Before the owner retired, he appeared on KCTS and demonstrated how to make the sauce (a famous sauce). It was also authored in the KCTS cookbook after it was televised, of which I have a copy. I have no do...