American Classics VIII: Tacos - Fish Taco

I didn't think I could make fish tacos. I thought that was something best order from a restaurant. Wrong. These are better. They are amazing.

Only down side is this is a multi day process. You can't just whip these up. If you think there is even a chance you want fish tacos soon make the crema. It takes like 5 minutes to start and then at least a day to ferment.

The crema with the chipotle chili.

Finding this was the longest part of the process. In my grocery store, it was next to the jalapenos and salsa. You only need one, so grab the smallest can.

Beware of trying one 'just to see' they have a kick.

Protip: make sure to use a jar that has an opening bigger than your immersion blender...unlike this one.

My crema came out a little too foamy but I mixed it right before I used it. I think if you mix it up and refrigerate it for a while it would thicken up. I am also going to use two chilis next time for more spice.

I carefully picked the leaves off the cilantro and it took for freaking ever. Next time I'm being less careful. It all gets blended anyway.

Lime zest, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic!

And Tequila. Tequila is the most important part.

I had to cook mine longer than AB but he cheated and used an electric skillet where you can set the temperature. I don't have one of those....yet. 

So pretty!

I cheated and bought tortillas from the store. Be better than me - make your own!

We paired these with an IPA that Steven brewed- his first majorly successful beer!

Tacos, beer, baby toys, and a dirty table. Oh and we also ate the rest of the fish after inhaling these tacos. Real life.

Total Time: Freakin' days. 

I wonder how long the crema would stay good in the fridge. I will definitely start the fermentation process on the weekend next time. That would set you up perfectly for a taco tuesday.

Fish Tacos by Alton Brown

Power to the Pilaf- Rice Pilaf

Carbs. A giant plate full of carbs. I love it.

Carbs with topping!

red bell pepper, onion, golden raisins, peas, pistachios

 Oh and the orange zest! AB added orange peel and removed. I've kept it in. It was good!

Sweatin' the onions and peppers.

Added the rice and let it get "nutty".

At about this time I realized that the pot is supposed to oven as well. crap. So everything is moved to a cast iron dutch oven.

Instead of water, the rice cooks in chicken stock. AB uses chicken stock and saffron water but holy hell that is expensive. We just replaced the saffron water with more stock and it was still delicious.

The part where I was most skeptical. Alton takes a wet kitchen towel to wrap the lid of the pot before placing in the oven.

It worked! Well at least the the towel didn't catch on fire, which I take to mean it worked!

The moment of truth. 

Ours wasn't quite done and still crunchy. Added a half cup of water and put the lid back on for 10 minutes and that was all it took to finish it up!

Added the fixins.

We threw in some chicken to appease my protein lovin' husband.

A big bowl of this is a giant warm hug. From rice. Just let it happen. With chicken this was a great main dish. When we do this again, I think we will double all toppings and add more vegetables. You can pretty much throw in any bits and pieces of leftovers from the fridge/pantry.

I have no idea how long this took to make. I'll time it next time.

Rice Pilaf by Alton Brown

Gravy Confidential - Sawmill Gravy

Whats a biscuit without the gravy?

This is one of those recipes that AB just tacks on in the last five minutes of the show.  The recipe isn't on Food Network but its easy none the less.

First fry up some sausage.

 I used a pound of regular ground sausage.

Once the sausage is done remove the meat and keep the grease.

Add 1/4 cup of flour. And put over medium-high heat. Wait until it all turns a deep brown and smells nutty.

I thought this was brown and nutty enough but our gravy still tasted floury. You should brown more than this!

Add two cups of milk slowly.... you may not need it all. AB didn't, I did and my gravy was still pretty thick.

 The finished breakfast.

 For two of course.

Total time: about 10 minutes after the sausage was cooked.

Our gravy was pretty bland and floury. Next time (and there will be a next time) we will add a ton of salt and pepper

The Dough Also Rises - Southern Biscuits

Biscuits are an absolute, must-have, definite staple in my parent's house. Every Saturday they have eggs, sausage, biscuits, butter and sorghum. Mouth watering.  The last time we visited my mom had english muffins instead of biscuits, which my dad and I could agree was just unacceptable.

My dad typically makes biscuits from bisquick and they are divine. But if you're going to make a biscuit from scratch, then lets make a biscuit from scratch.

In this episode AB mentions a biscuit flour which I didn't bother with because Alton didn't. At the beginning he mentions substituting all purpose flour for one part cake flour, one 3 parts all purposes. But Alton doesn't do this when he bakes. I did.

I used 1.5 cups all purpose flour and half a cup of cake flour instead of two cups all purpose. I did measure by weight to 10 oz and I had to top it off with all purpose to meet the mark.

The liquids.

Crumbly dough with the shortening and butter patted in.

And its brought all together with my fingertips.

Anddddd all rounded out.

AB made a dozen, I got almost nine. 

Protip from the show: push down the middle of the biscuit and it will rise evenly.

And golden brown!

Served up with eggs, sausage, and gravy.

Total Time according to AB: 40 minutes

My Total Time: about that.

These biscuits were delicious but salty. They were best straight from the oven but we ate them leftover as well. Better than my dad's bisquick biscuits? Probably not. But they are from scratch, dammit!

Southern Biscuits by Alton Brown

Steak Your Claim - Revisited

The very first episode of Good Eats features the all american steak.  This episode was a little rough around the edges which is similar to my cooking.  Mistakes were made...

"The other part of the t-bone is very tender. Most women like it just because its tender" Mel 

"We can't say that kind of stuff now-all that women stuff " AB

on both the episode and my cooking.

The first part of the episode takes us through the parts of the cow and different cuts of meat. I didn't retain much of this. Alton Brown used rib eye steaks. I used round. Mostly because I forgot which kind when I went to the grocery store. And round was cheap! And I'm ignorant. 

Pay attention to the first part! Use rib eye! 

Alton only cooked one steak but I have two meat eaters to feed and this cooking technique took two people. 

We heated up the cast iron in the oven at 500 degrees and it was smokin'.

 Then we seared both sides of the steak and put the whole thing (cast iron included) in the oven at 500 degrees. This oven is hot.

Then keep your partner close by. You will need one person to wave a towel in front of the smoke detector and the other to remove the steaks and just look frazzled in general when the smoke alarm goes off and wakes your baby!

 Our steaks didn't take long at all in the oven because they were so thin...and round.

All in all, it was really good and would have been even better with a more suitable cut of beef.

Total Time Taken: about 30 minutes - my oven took forever to preheat and you need to let the steak rest for a while too

Time according to AB: 15 minutes

Pan Seared Rib-Eye by Alton Brown