Sauce Boss Truth: Food Is Bond

Panko-Fried, Tempura Battered Chicken Strips with Tempura Brussels Sprouts, Pan-Fried Brussels Sprouts, an Onion & Potato Bake, and a Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce (Best Meal I’ve Made Yet) This meal is what it’s all about. Practice technique. Experiment with flavors. Crush. Wash Dishes. Repeat. I don’t know what it was about this meal that set it so apart from the rest. I know I didn’t leave the kitchen the whole time, I know Tanner was great help with prepping, I know everything we cooked was fresh and prepared correctly. Other than that, I’m not sure why this was so good. There wasn’t anything I could point out and say should have been cooked longer/slower/differently. The tempura came out perfectly on the Brussels sprouts and the chicken, the breading was spicy enough (I add my cayenne, white pepper, powders, salts, and seasonings to the breading before and sprinkle it on again after frying), the onion and potato dish was just the right amount of buttery, and the sauce on top was worthy of jarring. The feel of the meal was heavy soul food. You could tell you were eating something along the lines of a guilty pleasure but there wasn’t a strong presence of breading or butter and it didn’t feel like my pores were going to ooze oil by the end of the meal. All I would add next time would be a light salad and a little Romano on the pan-fried sprouts. Buon appetito! Beer Pairing: Allagash - Hugh Malone (Allagash is known for some remarkably distinct ales and Hugh Malone, a malty Belgian Chinook IPA, doesn’t disappoint) Music Pairing: Action Bronson - Blue Chips 2 (listen here)

Japanese White Sauce  with Pepperoni, Mozzarella, & Truffle Oil Crisps Another big ass batch of my sauce (you can find the recipe here) to go along with Chicken Potstickers and these little quesadilla/stromboli hybrids I made. Experimented a little with the ratios of pepper, water, and paprika this time around and I like the way it turned out. It turned out a little richer and redder but still not too heavy Beer Pairing: Wicked Weed Saison III Music Pairing: Lemon Jelly - Space Walk

Fried Shrimp "Po-Boy" Tacos Beer Pairing: NoDa - Hop, Drop 'n Roll Music Pairing: D I A N A - Perpetual Surrender (Four Tet Remix)

~GUEST FEATURE~ Milltown: Prime Rib If you haven't been to Milltown before then get the Grilled Chicken and a good Belgian beer your first time around. For a Prime Rib sandwich I hadn't heard of before I'd say this was a 7/10. Everything about this sammich was on point except for the meat and cheese- a travesty amongst au jus afficianados. For prime rib they called rare I expected it to be a little less tough and even though it's not a Philly I think the cheese should still hit the smothered level on a cheesiness scale of dash to fondue. Their fries are consistently crisp, the au jus was just right, the aioli was sufficiently seasoned, and the sourdough bread set it off so it's not like this was a bad sammie, it just didn't hit home in the ways I thought it would. Maria's burger and Tala's grilled cheese focaccia were both worth trying (definitely add bacon to the grilled cheese). For other great sandwiches in Chapel Hill if you have money to spend the Pastrami on rye or Chileano Completo at Neal's Deli is your best bet, if it isn't packed to the doors Merritt's still reigns supreme as king of the BLT, and if you like to walk Franklin everything Sandwhich makes is out of this world

Sauce Boss Brisket My first attempt at a brisket. Can't say I wasn't satisfied because I didn't cook it long enough to really break down (a mistake I'll never make again as evident in the substantially longer cooking times of my upcoming carnitas, goat, & rib posts). The dry rub I used first was a simple salt, black pepper, & onion powder mix but the real flavors were all in the sauce.. and hot damn was there a hell of a lot of it! I wish I would've taken a picture of it but altogether we used about a 1/3 of that bottle of Jack Daniel's, 1/2 of the Newcastle, and most of the Sweet Baby Ray's. I kept it afterwards for other meals because you can only pour so much on the plate and when I used it with my ribs it was REALLY hittin. You'll read about that later. Overall, I'd say my biggest problem other than the cooking time was the side. I did a sweet potato hash but at this point I wasn't very familiar with broiling and I was on a time constraint so I only got a slight char on it. It would've been really nice to have that crispness contrast that moistness of the beef but, eh, what are you gonna do? Next time. Beer Pairing: Newcastle Brown Ale or Newcastle Werewolf Red Ale (just cuz I love their brewery, both are pretty heavy beers, and you'll want something substantial to match the big feel of the meat) Music Pairing: Flamingosis - Summer Love Essential Mix

Broiled Sole & Broccoli Should've posted this a while ago. It was my first time broiling anything and I was impressed with how much texture it added to the broccoli. I knew the process wasn't too difficult (it's the opposite of grilling) but I never really heard a good argument for why broiling things was a top option. After a few more attempts I've decided it's now my best route for a few types of fish (sole, halibut, whiting) and vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, green bell peppers Beer Pairing: Monk's Café Flemish Sour Ale (haven't had this one for months. Holy shit is it worth the price! Without a doubt the best sour I've had. Exceptional with seafood dishes) Music Pairing: Lake - Do You Recall (this band has been slept a minute and for as diverse as their albums are you'd think they would've gained more substantial buzz outside their hometown, Olympia, WA, by now. Check out Let's Build A Roof or The World Is Real to see what's up)

Ground Italian Country Pork Sausage Red Pesto with Ricotta & Goat Cheese Ravioli Lourrens came over the other day and it wasn't a big occasion or anything but we crushed some damn pasta like it was our last Smörgåsbinge. Red pesto really isn't that difficult to make (just substitute sun-dried tomatoes for the majority of the basil, substitute walnuts or almonds for pine nuts, give it a little cayenne kick, sprinkle some romano, and add a pinch of S & P) so if you like your ground meats and vegetables taking center stage weight in your sauce then this is the dish to try. Also, always have some fresh oregano on deck to add a little color Beer Pairing: Ballast Point - Sculpin IPA (cuz if you're into IPAs at all then at some point you have to try this and why not have it with a meal where the fruitiness of the beer won't distract from the savory elements of the food?) Music Pairing: Deadmau5 - Complications

Green Curry Shrimp First time trying green curry out. Nobody ever does curry over pasta but that's always what I pair shrimp with so I figured why not. This is a curry you typically make sweeter dishes with so with the addition of roasted garlic and those chile shells gave it the kick it needed. Pine nuts and shallots would've been a good idea in hindsight Beer Pairing: Ballast Point - Indra Kunindra  Music Pairing: Cupp Cave - Garbage Pail Beats

Cajun Breaded Chicken Tenderloin Strips over Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Buttered Corn On The Cob and a Cane Creek Sausage, Vidalia Onion, and Sweet Pea Scramble (Andouille Hallelouise) Pretty simple dish. Hadn't made any type of chicken strips in a while so I figured it was time to make a lil soul food. Next time instead of blackening the breading I'll fry it in Panko and Italian breadcrumbs to get a better consistency Beer Pairing: Leffe Brune Music Pairing: Panda Bear - Cumfy In Nautica (Stephen Farris Remix)

Sausage, Garlic, Spinach, & Onion Omelettes with Cajun Rice Had to make something nice for breffus while Kallie was in town. Nothing too special (next time I'll make shakshouka) but it did the job. Use mozzarella with ricotta as the cheese, grill the sausages, and cook the spinach in oil & garlic before you make it a complete thing. My only advice for the rice is have something where if your ingredients fall out onto the rice it won't taste funky. Personally, I love all those ingredients in my jambalaya. Before you put the egg on the skillet mix a little milk for cream or a little water for fluff and spice the batter with some sea salt, pepper, Tony Chachere's, and a sprinkly of cumin. Drink Pairing: Mimosas (only because it's the morning and nobody I know drinks beer @ 9:00 AM. I didn't drink but be my guess and try it out. I'm sure the fruitiness would add something) Movie Pairing: The Sword in the Stone, The Fox and the Hound, or The Rescuers Down Under (Kallie has an obsession with Walt Disney classics. Why not revisit our childhood wonder? It'd be a nice break from the frustration and angst we're all getting from Breaking Bad)

~GUEST FEATURE~  Shiki Sushi: Sushi Boat  Calamari Roll Caterpillar Roll Chicken Tempura Roll Dynamite Roll Florida Roll Lobster Roll North Carolina Sunset Roll Sear-Sea Roll Shiki Crunch Roll Shrimp Tempura Roll Special Maguro Roll Special Spider Roll Sumo Roll Tasu Roll Ultimate Roll Volcano Roll Wasabi Roll White Dragon Roll Not much I can say here. We came, we saw, we destroyed. We dined like high vikings on a Friday. And it was magical. Most notable were the Volcano Roll, Sear-Sea Roll, and Dynamite Roll. If you ever go bring an appetite because having a wooden Titanic delivered to your table feels more like an event than a dish. Ask for extra ginger sauce too because that goes really well with the non-tempura rolls sans spicy mayo. Beer Pairing: Sapporo (just because. Not particularly amazing but the rolls are; therefore, the beer shouldn't at all trump the taste. Rice lagers or light pilsners are preferable) Music Pairing: Onra - Long Distance

Music Pairing: Eek-A-Mouse - Ganja Smuggling

Bacon-Wrapped Sole Fillets Baked with Sun-Dried Tomato Oil & Orange Bell Peppers Beer Pairing: Abita Pecan (something nutty but not overly distracting. Delicate fish always seem to go well with lighter beers) Music Pairing: Traffic - Rock and Roll Stew

Music Pairing: The Budos Band - Up From The South

Making Your Own Piqué (Puerto Rican Hot Sauce) Put a pot with a little olive oil and salt on boil. Take all your peppers and cut off the tops and either half or quarter them but leave some seeds other than that gut part at the top.  Throw them in the pot with your full garlic cloves and heat til the peppers start to bend a little. During this time you want to roast your coriander and fennels seeds in a small dry saucepan and fill another deeper saucepan with your white wine vinegar til it's about boil but don't let it. Jar your peppers, pour on the thyme, then the coriander and fennel, and finally the hot vinegar. Immediately close your mason jars to seal and you should hear a click. Let sit at least two weeks (give it some sun) and then give it a whiff and if it doesn't singe off half your nose hairs then it's not hot enough and let it sit a little longer.

My First Ribeye Steak Done Right Make sure to buy a nice, marbled cut from a local deli or somewhere that you trust the freshness. When cooking don't put any oil in the pan, let the fat do all the work.  Instead, put a very little amount of oil to coat the steak with only salt and pepper to taste (if you're cooking without a cast iron then a little butter/oil combo in the pan will help crisp that puppy up). Preheat your oven to 500. With the pan on high lay the steak sideways on the fatty side til you see a good bit of grease at the bottom. Then, lay it on one side flat for a second just to crisp up a little and put it straight into the preheated oven. Wait 3 minutes then flip. Then wait another 3 minutes and take it out. Let the steak rest in the pan.  After 15/20 minutes take it out of the pan and you're good to go! You can use the extra fat in the pan to make a sauce by adding 1/3 cup beef broth and a 1/3 red wine with a sprinkle of cayenne and garlic powder, bringing it to a boil, then simmering off a good bit of it before pouring some on the top of your steak. Beer Pairing: Ommegang Witte Music: Dauwd - Heat Division

Garlic Herb Rotisserie Chicken with Garlic Bread & Bacon Ends Potatoes Au Gratin My first full bird. Quite an endeavor to try to pull on the fly on a random weeknight. Worked out though. First you want to roast your garlic in a pan because you can't be sure it'll cook down properly inside the bird and you want the garlic butter soaking the inside well. After seasoning your chicken put it in the preheated oven at 425 for about 15 to 20 minutes to let it roast. Then put the temperature down to 375 for another hour (but check it at 45 to make sure it doesn't overcook depending on the size). The trick is to pour your oil over the bird every once in a while so it doesn't dry out and to pour the clear fat collecting on the bottom back on top.  It'll give it that taste like it's been cooking for hours without the hassle of watching it that long. I recommend a simple spread of rosemary, sea salt, and white pepper with a little lemon juice to season but you can take this in pretty much any direction as long as the spices don't overkill your taste buds from enjoying the buttery starches on the side. Do this right and you'll impress any landlord, lovely lady, Larry David, or lawman that comes your way. I can't think of a better jam to eat this soul to then Boz Scaggs. Can ya dig it, baby? Beer Pairing: Souther Tier Compass Music Pairing: Boz Scaggs - Lowdown