Dinner
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Caribbean Inspired Beef Curry
Curries are one heck of an amazing thing in the culinary world. The name and a few ingredients (curry powder mostly) are the only thing that curries have in common. The geography could not be more different. India, Thailand, Haiti, and Jamaica are just a handful of countries that have their own curry. Although I do love curries from India and Thailand, today I'm going to focus on a more caribbean inspired curry.
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Baby Back Ribs
Ribs. The great backyard equalizer. Properly done, they are tough to beat no matter what delicious backyard bbq recipes are on your resume. On a BBQ scale of difficulty, I would rank these somewhere between pork shoulder (aka pulled pork) and brisket. While not quite as difficult as brisket, ribs still present their own challenges. Like shoulder and brisky, ribs are not too be rushed. This means, at least for me, these are definitely a weekend endeavor. You can expect anywhere from up to seven hours for spares or up to five or six hours for baby backs.
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Venison Roast
If you have a hang up with eating deer, all I can say is, you don't know what you're missing. If you don't hunt or don't know a hunter, these can be difficult to get. But if you ever have the chance, don't pass. It has a fantastic flavor.
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Crawfish Étouffée
Taken from the French language, etouffee means to smother. That is exactly what you do when making this dish. You smother all those delicious leftover crawfish tails in a spicy gravy, turning some leftovers and some veggies into a fancy stew.
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Birria Torta
Birria is a traditional Mexican stew usually served at special occasions. But more recently it has taken the internet by storm, most notably, in taco form. In birria, the meat (traditionally goat but in this case I used the more easily found chuck roast) is slow cooked in a spicy adobo sauce. Then, it’s either shredded and served in taco form or eaten with all the glorious juices and accoutrements in stew form. But of course, we had to make a sammich. Although the term “torta” represents several different culinary items, (it’s an omelette in the Philippines by the way…just learned that cool fact) here we’ll be discussing the torta…
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Crawfish Boil
The great leveler when it comes to outdoor activities in Louisiana: The Crawfish Boil. While other places on the globe refer to the quarters of our annual trip circumnavigating the sun as summer, fall, winter, and spring; Here in Louisiana, the same monthly groups are lovingly referred to as, snowball season, football season, Mardi Gras season and lastly, crawfish season. Pretty impressive when you stop and think about it. An entire region of our country naming an entire season after a crustacean.
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Roasted Prime Rib
Ah...the prime rib. The star of Christmas dinners and casino buffets across the country. More properly referred to as standing rib roast (not all rib roasts have to be deemed prime by the USDA) because you can stand it on its own bones while cooking. The rib roast is one of nine primal cuts of the cow and certainly one of the more sought after cuts.
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Braised Oxtail and Cheddar Pot Pie
Trying to pick one's favorite food is never an easy task. So many factors have to go into your decision, it's almost impossible to narrow them all down. One of my many methods to decide is to think of foods that I never get tired of eating. And the first thing that pops into mind when thinking of that is pot pies. Homemade, store bought, or if I'm lucky enough to find one in a restaurant, my love for pot pies knows no bounds.
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Short Rib Debris Quesadillas
The quesadilla has had quite the journey in its existence. From its humble beginnings in Mexico, to now. It's available in just about every south of the border style restaurant in the world, from sit downs to drive thrus. I've come to notice that the mighty quesadilla is to adults what chicken nuggets and mac and cheese are to kids. Even the most picky eaters can always find culinary solace in the quesadilla, which does indeed make dining out a bit easier. Because again, you usually will always be able to find a quesadilla on a menu.
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Seafood Stuffed Potatoes
A specialty item at a lot of neighborhood seafood joints here in Louisiana, the seafood stuffed potato alone will ensure that you will not be ordering dessert. A delicious treat, one as rich and heavy as it is yummy. I see a lot of seafood potatoes around that use crab. I like shrimp myself but if you want to add some crabmeat too, I'm sure it'll make it even more delicious.