A simple recipe this week, perfect for summer evenings. Wild garlic leaf is in season, and my wife had made a batch of her excellent wild garlic leaf pesto sauce. Smokey bacon is a perfect match for it, so I cooked up some bacon wrapped stuff chicken breast with wild garlic leaf pesto pasta to enjoy in the warm summer sun.
It’s the second birthday of The Cook’s Digest! As our Vietnam adventures were the inspiration for becoming immersed in culinary pursuits, it seemed appropriate to cook a celebratory meal using classic Vietnamese ingredients. And thus the Vietnamese pork and lemongrass burger was created, a decidedly different take on the classic burger.
Sometimes referred to as “brisket on a stick”, slow cooked beef short ribs are rich, meaty and incredibly tasty. A guaranteed winner at dinner parties and BBQ events, this hedonistic dish is very easy to cook, rewarding the patience of the chef.
There are some things that naturally go together … Ben and Jerry, Samson and Delilah and in the world of food, pork and chorizo. We used this classic combo to make delicious pork and chorizo burgers, served in a brioche bun with smokey cheese, served with triple cooked chips.
I took Dizzy Pig’s latest BBQ rub, Peking, for a spin with some duck breast. Cooked two different ways … the rub by itself, and also as the base for a marinade, both were served with tasty mushroom risotto and honey glazed carrots. The results were both delicious and different.
Continue reading “Two-Way Dizzy Pig Peking Duck Breast”
Burgers cooking on the BBQ are ubiquitous with warm, sunny summer days. Yet they can quickly become repetitive and ordinary. How to make them … well, less ordinary?
Through chance experiment we discovered that chestnut mushrooms, Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express rub and a little butter combine to exhibit an umami-like taste. Very left field and unexpected. So we used those ingredients in crafting some truly outstanding smash burgers.
At a recent dinner party, we were served Beef Tagliata. An Italian dish of slices of rare steak with shaved Parmesan cheese and rocket salad, it is accompanied by a dressing with rosemary, garlic and lemon. And it was wonderful.
I was so impressed that I had to try making it at home. Served with a bottle of Fitou, this was (and still is) a meal to remember.
Continue reading “Beef Tagliata”
After thoroughly enjoying the delicious Jamaican jerk spatchcock chicken, it was clear that spiced rubs can enrich a meal. The “Life of Spice” company offer a range of rubs to enhance flavours. I tried five individual rubs on some chicken legs, all distinct and very tasty.
Continue reading ““Life of Spice” Chicken Legs”
Everything tastes better with bacon, or so the saying goes. If that’s the case, then surely merging pork, bacon and sausage into one lovely package would be heavenly. Let’s find out …
Continue reading “Bacon-Wrapped Pork Shoulder with Sage and Apricot”
It’s time for breakfast. It’s also sunny and warm outside. I should be tidying up after our Jamaican jerk spatchcock chicken from last night … but I’m quite peckish.
Simple solution – cook an English breakfast al fresco on our Big Green Egg.
Continue reading“English Breakfast Cooked Al Fresco” Continue reading “English Breakfast Cooked Al Fresco”
I recently found a great recipe for double-cut pork chops. This used a spice rub from Dizzy Pig that is inaccessible where I live, so I made my own rub based on the ingredients of their product. It resulted in some of the finest pork chops I have ever tasted. Enjoy! Continue reading “Glazed Double-Cut Pork Chops with a Spice Rub”
I recently added a Big Green Egg to our collection of cooking appliances. This is more than just a kitchen gadget though … partly because it is normally used outside.
A Big Green Egg is a free-standing, outdoor (mostly) charcoal-fuelled ceramic oven that can be used to cook pretty much anything. And for most dishes and meals it cooks much better than a conventional oven.Continue reading“Adventures with The Big Green Egg” Continue reading “Adventures with The Big Green Egg”
The Cook's Digest 