Green Bean Pizza

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When I told my Mom about making this pizza she rolled her eyes and gave me a smirk. I couldn’t help but agree. Green bean casserole on a pizza. Sounds crazy, but it was an easy experiment and I had a bowl of cooked green beans left over.

After documenting my Cajun Green Beans recipe I realized I had not taken a photograph of the green beans after they were blanched. I cooked another pound a couple days later to get the shot, which left me with a batch of beans. I knew I was going to have them which got my brain working.

My favorite green bean dish is green bean casserole. I have made it several times (Once completely from scratch) and thought that I could do something inspired by the casserole. That’s when a pizza came to mind. I thought it was worth a try.

The end result was awesome – Pizza at it’s gourmet best! I left some for Mom and when I talked to her later she agreed. We were both totally surprised. The onions and beans compliment each other and the mushroom soup mixes with the cheese for an incredible creaminess not found on your average pizza.

BEHIND THIS BITE
Green bean casserole is something I look forward to every year around Thanksgiving. Four or five years ago I decided to make it completely from scratch - Fried onions and all - after watching Alton Brown do it on an episode of good eats.

The entire recipe ended up being disaster.

I started by burning the onions, because the recipe called for them to be crisped up in the oven rather than fried and I left them in to long. After that, the cream of mushroom soup never thickened properly which left me with a thin milky sauce coating the beans and burnt onions on top. It was a gallant effort that just never came together.

I think that this year I might try to make it again from scratch, but I’ll do it with my own recipes. I’ve made cream of mushroom soup as well as french fried onion here at Behind the Bites. I may break them out and combined them into a classic turkey day treat.

Eat well, cook often ...

Cajun Green Beans

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Green beans are nearing the end of their seasonal cycle in the Midwest. Since I can remember, most of the people in my family with gardens have a large portion dedicated to the little green pods – which means an almost never-ending supply for the entire family. I used to think the Jolly Green Giant was like the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus, only he would sneak into our basement while we slept on Labor Day to stock the pantry with jars of canned green beans.

With an abundance around, I like to cook them fresh before they go bad or get canned. My favorite way to cook green beans is to blanch then, which means to boil until cooked through, then plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process. They can then be reheated with other ingredients in the final dish.

For this recipe, after blanching the beans they are added to a mix containing Cajun seasoning and a New Orleans staple – Andouille sausage. It is served over rice for what I call Cajun Style Green Beans.

BEHIND THE BITES
I have mentioned Big John Maxwell, the Ragin’ Cajun, in several posts over the last few months and recreated some of the dishes I have cooked with him while catering weddings at the Shiloh. This dish is my first “Cajun” recipe I have attempted using John’s knowledge of cooking. It is my own creation, just inspired by some of the tid-bits I have picked up working with the Ragin' Cajun.

I basically create a stir fry with Cajun seasoning and andouille sausage. I use McCormick’s Gourmet Collection Cajun Seasoning in this dish and it does what good Cajun seasoning is supposed to do. John taught me that using a variety of different peppers like cayenne, black pepper and chilli pepper helps distribute the heat to different parts of the mouth. Individual peppers affect different areas. A great way to test this theory is to sample a jalapeno first and a habeñero second. I wouldn’t recommend eating them raw, but in sauces based with the peppers. You’ll find that the jalepeño hits right away in the front of the mouth while the habeñero take a few seconds and hits toward the back of mouth and throat. The habeñero will pack considerable more heat so beware. Good Cajun seasoning utilizes this concept and the McCormick seasoning does that well.

The Johnsonville Andouille sausage I picked up at Meijer was disappointing.  The overall recipe is really good - I will make it again for sure. I will use different andouille though, what I bought at Meijer was picked out of a meat case with hundreds of different sausages and it shows. It tasted more like a spicy smoky link, which is not bad, but I have had good andouille and I was expecting that. I’m disappointed but learned a great lesson when purchasing andouille in Fort Wayne: Go to a specialty meats retailer! Every so often it’s totally worth spending a little extra for great flavor.

This dish isn’t quite the soft shelled crab from the menu of John’s food truck, but it’s a nice start in experimenting with the flavors of New Orleans and the Bayou.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 4; 40 minutes  
1 lb Green beans, fresh, cleaned
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
1 C Red onion, diced
1 C Red pepper, diced
1 Tbs Cajun seasoning
1 lb Andouille Sausage, fully cooked, diced
2 C Rice
4 C Chicken, broth

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add green beans and salt to taste. Cook beans 7 to 8 minutes or until cooked through, remove and place in a large bowl of ice water for at least 5 minutes, then drain.

In a saute pan over medium heat with a little olive oil sauté onion, garlic, peppers and Cajun seasoning until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Mix in beans and andouille. Cook until mixture is heated through, 6 to 8 minutes more. Divide mixture among plates and serve over rice.

THE RICE
In a pot, over medium high heat toss rice in a little olive oil until well coated and slightly toasted. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat. After 20 minutes, remove cover and fluff rice with a fork.

Easy Crispy Chicken Cordon Bleu

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College is back in full swing. Class schedules are becoming routine, papers are being drafted and beer is being guzzled by the gallon. Every so often I like to take simple items from the store and make something special and quick.

This recipe, easy crispy chicken cordon bleu, is as quick and simple as it gets. It takes twenty five minutes and requires no cooking skill except for the ability to operate a conventional or toaster oven. It’s the perfect snack for a busy college student who wants a little more than ramen noodles and has only a short time to eat between classes. Any breaded chicken breast works here, but in this case I use Tyson’s Southern Style Breast Tenderloins that are fully breaded and cooked and can be found in the freezer isle of just about any grocery store. I was impressed by the chicken, it had great breading that packed a mild spicy kick.

Last week, the folks over at Top Ten Online Universities posted “6 Grocery Store Staples for the Busy College Student” and I thought this recipe was a nice compliment to the post. We both agree that one college staple is beer. There is no time better in life to work hard and play hard. (Just as long as you play safe)

BEHIND THIS BITE
I worked a reception recently with Big John Maxwell (aka The Ragin’ Cajun) and one of the items being prepared was chicken cordon bleu for 250 people. To save time the chicken tenderloins were left whole and were breaded, the ham and cheese topped the chicken instead of being stuffed inside. It was a smart and efficient way to make a serving of a difficult dish to create for that many people.

I also thought it was a great way to make a lunch or even sandwich when time is an issue with frozen breaded chicken. It has all the traditional flavors, it is just doing it quick. A real chicken cordon blue is hard to make and actually requires some technique. This recipe is the easy college version inspired by the catered version.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Main dish for 4; 25 minutes

1 Bag Tyson Southern Style Breast Tenderloins, frozen, (25 oz)
8 slices Smoked ham, thin sliced
4 slices Swiss Cheese, halved

On a baking sheet in a preheated 425° oven, cook chicken for 12 minutes, remove and place ham slices and swiss cheese on each breast tenderloin. Return to oven for 6 to 8 minutes more to melt cheese and finish heating chicken through, then remove and serve.

Cincinnati Chili Dogs

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Chili makes me think of Texas but there is a version that was made famous in Cincinnati. Typically it is served over spaghetti with beans, cheddar cheese and diced onion and could almost be thought of as a sauce rather than chili. It was developed by Athanas “Tom” Kiradjieff, a Macedonian immigrant, and his brother John in the 1920s at their small Cincinnati restaurant which became known as Empress Chili, a name inspired be the business next door – the Empress burlesque house.

Unlike Texas chili that contains heat from peppers, Cincinnati chili features spices such as allspice, cinnamon and cocoa and is sweeter in taste.

Now that football is back and fall is just around the corner, I felt it was time to come up with a new chili. For this recipe, I make one inspired by the Cincinnati version and serve it on a hot dog. It’s the perfect dish to make for a tailgate party before a game or a gathering of friends around a campfire. I made it for lunch because I love chili dogs!

BEHIND THIS BITE
Memorial Day weekend this year I was out camping, but on Sunday I left for a while to watch the beginning of the Indianapolis 500 with my Dad, the race is his Super Bowl Sunday. He had made chili for some dogs as a snack for the race. Like me, he gets cravings for chili dogs every so often and the 500 was the perfect excuse. The chili had great flavor and after I complimented him, he showed me a spice packet used to flavor it. He had followed the recipe on the back to the tee.

It was Cincinnati chili. I was hooked.

I knew as soon as fall weather rolled around I would be making a batch from scratch for the column. The spices really make it stand out, the cinnamon and cocoa just make me want to grab a bucket and drink it down like a glutton on a beer binge. It is good by itself but I believe it’s best on a hot dog. The flavors mix well together and it really does resemble a meaty sauce like a bolognese, which is why I think it works best on other things like dogs or a plate of spaghetti. However it is eaten, it’s a great chili to try - especially if your a chili dog fan.

Eat well, cook often ...

Makes 20 chili dogs; 40 minutes
2 lbs Ground beef
1 Onion diced
1 Tbs Garlic minced
2 Tbs Chili powder
1 Tbs Cocoa powder
1 Tbs Cumin
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp Clove
1 C Beef broth
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
20 Hot dogs
20 Hot dog buns
1 C Cheddar cheese
shredded

Directions
Brown beef, sweat onion In a large pot over medium heat, cook ground beef until browned 5 to 7 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from pot and drain all but 1 tablespoon of drippings. Sauté onions until soft, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add seasonings, broth, cook dogs Return ground beef to pot, add chili powder, cocoa, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, clove, tomato and beef broth. Mix well and bring to a simmer, let cook 15 to 20 minutes. While chili cooks, place hot dogs in a pot with cool water, bring to a simmer over medium heat, then remove.

Assemble dogs Place hot dog in a bun and top with chili, garnish with cheddar cheese.

Asian Style Chicken Tacos

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Recently I found myself at the family campground on a Saturday afternoon with nothing to do but cook and enjoy a camp fire. This may sound normal for August in Indiana, but this summer has been far from normal indeed.

Drought and record heat has dominated the spring and summer until now. A fire ban for most of June and July virtually took the fun out of camping, not to mention triple digit heat.

With the weather back to normal the family was out in force to enjoy the outdoors. I had picked up some broccoli slaw the day before and thought it would be fun to make a sweet and sour Asian inspired taco, I have a small, but efficient pantry in my camper that allows me to go Mexican, or Asian at any time.

As I was making these up I found myself enjoying the moment, like I hadn’t enjoyed in a long time. I was just cooking, no pictures or pressure to make something worthy of publishing in print or on the web. It has been a while where I have been able to let loose and cook something gourmet, just for the pleasure of it. Most of the gourmet stuff I cook I document for this blog or my print column. Everything is thought through and meticulously planned so that the photography and design or presentation of the dish is top notch - not to mention the flavor. It has to be great or generally I will not use it in print. A lot of work goes into a post like this, which I love doing.

BEHIND THIS BITE
What I realized while making the tacos was it is good to just cook sometimes, no recipes, blogs or pictures. Just me working to make the most tasty thing I can possibly make - then chowing down.

It really took me back to my days in New York during football season. I would have “tailgating” parties in my apartment, complete with indoor grill and cold beer by noon. I knew my cooking was starting to get good when women starting showing up to my football parties and tell me they could care less about the game, they were there for the food.

At the campground, I used mini corn tortillas to get more tacos out of the batch - I churned out somewhere between 20 to 25. I ate 5 myself. The family really enjoyed this one because there was no heat. Most of the time when I’m cooking outside I tend to lean toward spicy flavors, so the ones weary of the spice were pleasantly surprised.

It was such an enjoyable experience, almost therapeutic in a way. It's important to cook just because you love it every once in a while.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Makes 8 to 10 tacos; 30 minute
1/2 C Broccoli slaw
1/4 C Rice vinegar
1 Tbs Ginger minced
1 Tbs Garlic minced
1/2 C Hoisin sauce
1/4 C Rice vinegar
1 Tbs Sesame oil
1 Tbs Teriyaki sauce
1 1/2 lbs. Chicken boneless
16 to 20 Corn tortillas
1 C Cilantro chopped
1/2 C Onion diced

Make slaw, sauce 
Mix together broccoli slaw and rice vinegar, season to taste, set aside. Over medium high heat in a sauce pan with a little oil, saute ginger and garlic until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add hoisin, rice vinegar, sesame oil and teriyaki, bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

Grill chicken, heat tortillas
Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Grill over medium heat until cooked through 8 to 10 minutes, turn once during cooking. Let rest at least 5 minutes then slice into chunks. While chicken rests, wrap tortillas in paper towel and microwave 1 minute.

Assemble tacos
On two corn tortillas layer chicken, sauce, cilantro, onion and broccoli slaw. Fold and serve. 

A Greek-style Homemade Gyro

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New York City might be the capital of mobile food. The hot dog carts are famous but that is just the most basic food stand on the sidewalks of the Big Apple. Nearly every type of cuisine imaginable can be found on a mobile kitchen somewhere within the five boroughs.

I lived in the Astoria section of Queens for more than 12 years and there was one cart in particular that was there when I arrived in 1997 and is probably serving food right. The cart specialized in gyros, kabobs and other Greek and Mediterranean foods. I must have eaten 300 gyros from that place and probably paid the light bill for the guy who set up, took down and cleaned his food cart night after night at the corner of 32nd and Broadway in Astoria.

For this recipe, I make a homemade gyro. I replace lamb with beef and use a few Mediterranean spices to enhance the flavor of the meat. It’s topped with feta cheese, tomato, cucumber and a sauce that is a simple version of the tzatziki sauce found on traditional gyros.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I loved the street food in New York and the vendor I mention in the introduction was one of the many that I frequented while living in the Big Apple. While New York has had street vendors for decades, it’s great to see it finally coming to this area.

The street food or food truck movement has hit Fort Wayne and several carts and trucks run by good chefs have popped up around the Summit City. I admire these entrepreneurs, because they are really taking a chance with the concept. Most people in the midwest associate mobile food with carnivals and festivals and consider the cuisine “a guilty pleasure,” with products loaded with calories like elephant ears, cotton candy and fried snickers.

The Ragin' Cajun grand opening.

That’s not what these guys are serving. I went to the grand opening of the Ragin' Cajun truck last week and the food was absolutely amazing. I have been working with the Chef, Big John for a few weeks now. I have cooked with him at the Shiloh reception hall and had tasted his cooking for large wedding parties (which was outstanding), but the cuisine John was whipping up on the truck was truly his comfort zone.

I had a blackened shrimp taco and Jambalaya. The taco was high-end, as good as any cuisine found at any restaurant in town. The shrimp was succulent and spicy but the heat was was tempered by a creamy cilantro-lime sauce that balanced the flavors perfectly.

Then there was the Jambalaya.

Two words.

Pure comfort!

It tasted as if someone had been brewing it up on the stove all day. There were so many layers of flavor from the sausage and chicken, fresh herbs, tomato sauce and perfectly tender rice. I could have eaten an entire bucket.

Overall, the taco and jambalaya was the best meal I’ve purchased in Fort Wayne all summer and I look forward to eating from the Ragin Cajun’ again.

I hope all the trucks popping up stay true to providing gourmet cuisine, because if one starts frying Twinkies and snicker bars it might taint the reputation of the trucks in general and that would be sad for the owners. Big John has a legitimate restaurant on wheels and he has the chops to provide some of the best food in town. I hope all the trucks can live up to the kind of standard that John is setting with his cuisine.

In the coming weeks you will here more from me about the food being served from the different trucks and mobile food vendors in Fort Wayne's growing mobile food movement.

Eat well, cook often ...

HOMEMADE GYRO RECIPE:
1 C Greek yogurt
1 Tbs Dill minced
1 tsp Garlic minced
1 Lemon juice and zest
1 1/2 lbs Ground beef
1/2 C Onion diced
1 Egg
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Marjoram
8 Pita breads
1 C Tomato diced
1 C Cucumber diced
1 C Feta cheese crumbled

Make sauce, season meat In a bowl, mix together yogurt, lemon juice and zest, garlic and dill, cover and refrigerate to let flavors meld.

Make gyro meat In another bowl, mix together ground beef, onion, garlic, egg, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. Form into patties and grill over medium heat until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Rest meat, assemble gyros Let meat rest five minutes then cut into slices. On a warmed pita, layer meat, tomato, cucumber, feta cheese and drizzle with sauce.

Crispy Tomato Melts

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This is a work in progress. There is nothing wrong with the taste of this dish, it actually has really good flavor. It does need to be executed differently though. The crunchy layer of breading worked and the basil was a great flavor add. The sausage would have worked better as a patty and I think I could have melted the cheese while I fried the bread crumbs by putting a cover on the pan while the breading got crispy underneath. I don’t know if that would work though - I’ll have to experiment.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve this recipe please leave a comment or send me a message – I welcome the suggestions.

Usually when a recipe doesn’t work I won’t publish it, but this one has potential, and I think if I got this perfect it would be a great starter to a gourmet meal. Had the flavor not worked this definitely wouldn’t be here, but it tasted great and had the texture I wanted, but it kind of disintegrated as I ate it. That was caused by my broiler which wasn’t hot enough, it took way to long for the cheese to melt, which meant the tomato was exposed to the heat for much longer than I wanted. The extra heat caused the tomato to be overdone. It was still firm but it fell apart way to easy, which in turn caused the sausage to go everywhere as soon as I cut into it.

BEHIND THIS BITE
This is the fifth garden vegetable recipe I have done in a row. (4th to be published here) I’m getting a little tired of them to say the least. I think I need to make a meat pie or something. I need to get used to it thought, for the next two months the garden is going to be producing some beautiful stuff. Peppers, green beans, cabbage, sweet corn, the list goes on. I’m up for the challenge. I wish there was a time of year like this for meat! Imagine neighbors bringing over extra steaks, or walking out in the yard and finding a perfect rack of baby back ribs, that would be a culinary dream land.

Eat well, cook often ...

Bacon, Leek and Tomato Soup (BLT)

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When a rabbit hunter gets a new gun, I’ll bet he or she is as excited as a kid on Christmas morning to go bunny blasting with it.

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while I get something new to use in the kitchen and I literally get frantic with excitement to take it home and put it to use. This happened to me last week. I have been looking for a great soup pot for a long time now. My stock pots and dutch oven are to big and sauce pans to small for my typical batch of soup. Sunday night I found one at Williams-Sonoma. It was a bit pricey so, after much contemplation, I passed. My excuse was waiting for cooler weather, which is better for soup making.

I woke up Friday morning to rainy and cool fall weather. By 5 o’clock, I had the new pot and was ready to make my first batch of soup with it.

For this recipe, I make bacon, leek and tomato, or BLT soup. The recipe is delicious and the new pot is a great addition to my kitchen equipment stash.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I let my dog out the morning I bought the pot and it was the first time in months that it was actually cold outside. It was a fall day in August during the summer of record high heat. It was very surreal. As soon as I soaked it in I thought about making soup, going to Williams-Sonoma and getting the pot I had passed on just a few days earlier. The weather was my excuse and that had changed!

When I got to Williams-Sonoma the sales associate came right over. She was a total vixen, I knew I had made the right decision to get the soup pot. Not only was I getting new kitchen equipment, I was being waited on by a Williams-Sonoma calender girl. I told her what I wanted and she went to the back to get it. It didn’t take long for Babraham Lincoln to return with the pot in hand. She must have sensed my vulnerability, because she somehow managed to get my to buy some soup base AND sign up for a Williams-Sonoma credit card. I didn’t care though, I really couldn’t wait to cook with the new pot, I was drunk with culinary excitement.

When I first started this recipe I wasn’t sure If I would be able to fit everything in the pot. I had a temporary moment of regret, but that was just a slight panic. The pot was absolutely perfect for a 4-serving batch of soup. My big pots were never right because the soup wouldn’t even fill the pot a quarter of the way. It doesn't effect taste, it just seemed as though I was hauling a couch with an 18 wheeler when all I really needed was a van. Honestly, I am going to use the new pot quite a bit, because I make lots of chilis and stews and like soup, the pots and sauce pans are not quite right for making a batch that serves four.

If you make a lot of soups, stews or chilis you should look into buying Calphalon's 4-quart soup pot. It’s awesome!

Eat well, cook often ... 

Garden Fresh Tomato Salad

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It’s tomato time!

Fresh tomatoes from the garden are completely superior in flavor to what we buy at the super market most of the year. Commercially produced tomatoes are picked as far as two weeks ahead of being ripe, when the product is green in color and hard and firm in texture. This helps to prevent bruising and damage during the shipping process. Once the tomatoes get near their destination they are left on shelves in cold storage for as long as a month. Before hitting the super market they are put in a gas chamber and exposed to ethylene which artificially creates the red color and induces ripeness. The bottom line is that most store-bought tomatoes are picked to soon which is why they are loaded with moisture and watered down in flavor.

For this recipe, I use delicious vine ripe tomatoes that are grown where they are eaten. The tomato stars in a salad of garden fresh vegetables drizzled with a homemade dressing that includes brine from fresh sweet pickles I made last week.

BEHIND THIS BITE
Back in February I entered a chili cook off sponsored by the American Legion Riders. Instead of using the flavorless tomatoes on the shelf at Kroger, I bought heirloom tomatoes and the taste difference was unbelievable. It really is a shame how most store-bought tomatoes lack taste. I wish that I lived somewhere that they could be grown year round because I use tomatoes a lot, and I’m not always willing to fork out the $2 extra per pound for the heirloom variety.

I don’t have to worry about that right now because it’s tomato time in the midwest, and it will be for the next month or so. The only thing I have to worry about with tomatoes this time of year is the crop that goes to waste and lays in the garden rotting away. Chances are good that if that rotten tomato is found by a teenage boy he will probably fling it at a passing car or take it with him to pelt some younger kid in the neighborhood. Beware of flying rotten tomatoes.

Eat well, cook often ...

Sweet Bread and Butter Pickles

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Cucumbers have begun to pile up on kitchen counters like dirty dishes at a frat house. It’s just part of the first wave of bounty surrendered by home gardens. A cucumber is delicious in a number of dishes but for most gardeners there are to many to eat all of them fresh. A great way to preserve them is by pickling, a preservation technique that dates to ancient Mesopotamia.

There are several different ways to pickle, but according to the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, sweet pickles in the Untied States took off with German immigrants known as the “Pennsylvania Dutch” who settled the countryside near Philadelphia in the early 1700s. They practiced Mennonite traditions which featured cooking that relied heavily on sweet and sour flavor combinations.

For this recipe, I make sweet pickles known as “bread and butter.” The name is said to have originated two ways - either for their compatibility with bread and butter, or for the income they brought in.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I’ve been wanting to make bread and butter pickles for a while now, I just had to wait for cucumbers to be in season. In my family, everyone who has a garden grows them, so I knew they would be available in abundance if I just waited until the right time. Last week my brother-in-law sent a mess home with Mom which I saw as my cue.

I love bread and butter pickles more for the brine than the actual pickles themselves. I can literally drink it. The sweet and sour flavor of the juice is an amazing ingredient to add to mayo and other dressings. It’s the secret to the sauce for the Ranch BLT Dog and the New York Club Pizza, two delicious recipes that have appeared here in the past. I wanted to make the pickles for myself just to have the home-made brine to use in the future. It has a little extra spice and the flavors are more intense than store-bought pickles. I can’t wait to make a sauce out of it.

Using the brine is a little tip I picked up from Cuisine at Home magazine. I used to make two or three recipes out of every issue and would follow them exactly. Doing that taught me so much about cooking. I think it’s important for new cooks to follow recipes exactly the first time it's tried, just for the learning experience. It’s almost like taking a class from a chef and a great way to discover flavor combinations and classic techniques. I still subscribe and read Cuisine at Home, mostly now for inspiration, but I have to admit there are times where I see one of their creations and I will create it, following the recipe to the tee, just so I can taste what the developer had intended for me to actually taste.

Eat well, cook often ...