# Adjika Elote (Georgian spiced grilled corn)

This savory and sweet grilled corn recipe makes a great side to other things you're grilling. It has a strong Georgian flavor for those familiar, but also will pair well with other flavors (it's pretty fusion-ed up already!)

When it comes to the adjika itself, I'm not referring to the spice that's sold at Trader Joe's, it's a paste that comes in a jar. [This](https://europeanfoodexpress.com/product/adjika-chili-sauce/) is the one that I used, from Golden Fleece.

## Equipment
- Smoker or grill to cook corn on. You can also boil the corn, but you know it's just not as good.

## Time
Probably around 45 minutes

# Ingredients

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tr:nth-child(even) {background-color: #f2f2f2;}
</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>Corn</td><td>4 Ears</td></tr><tr><td>Adjika</td><td>2-3 Tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Kewpie Mayo</td><td>2-3 Tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Chilli Powder</td><td>1 Tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>Paprika</td><td>&frac12; Tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>Lime Juice</td><td>1 Tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>Sesame Oil</td><td>1 Tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Sesame Seeds</td><td>Enough to sprinkle over the corn</td></tr><tr><td>Cotija or Queso Fresco</td><td>Enough to sprinkle over the corn</td></tr><tr><td>Scallions</td><td>1 or 2</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
1. Preheat your grill and shuck the corn and throw it on the grill, not under direct heat if that's possible, so it can cook a little slower. Turn the corn occasionally until it's cooked through.
2. Make the sauce you'll later brush onto the corn. This will entail mixing together the Adjika (2-3 Tablespoons), Kewpie Mayo (2-3 Tablespoons), Chilli Powder (1 Tablespoon), Paprika (&frac12; Tablespoon), Lime Juice (1 Tablespoon), and Sesame Oil (1 Tablespoons)
3. Once the corn is cooked, pull it off the grill and let it cool a little.
4. Spread the sauce on the corn, covering all sides. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on it, then the Cotija or Queso Fresco (Enough to sprinkle over the corn) and the scallions.
5. Enjoy!


Adjika

Cotija or Queso Fresco

Chilli Powder

Corn

Lime Juice

Kewpie Mayo

Paprika

Scallions

Sesame Oil

Sesame Seeds

This savory and sweet grilled corn recipe makes a great side to other things you're grilling

Adjika Elote (Georgian spiced grilled corn)

# Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos
### An Allison Recpie

Credit to <a href="https://www.agoudalife.com/air-fryer-buffalo-cauliflower/#recipe">this recipe</a> for inspiration

## Equipment
- An Airfrier
- Microwave safe bowl

## Time
Around half an hour

## Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower stem/core removed, cut in florets
- 1 tablespoon (plus a small amount) of olive oil
- &frac12; cup of buffalo sauce of your choice
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- &frac14; cup of flour
- &frac14; cup of corn starch
- a pinch of salt
- 2 avocadoes
- a bag of your fave tortillas for making tacos
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar
- a high quality bleu cheese dressing, or just the cheese, your preference
- a few stalks of celery

## Instructions
1. If your airfrier needs to preheat, set it to 350°F and do that now
2. Cut your cauliflower into small bite sized pieces
3. Put the butter into a small microwave safe bowl and microwave until just melted
4. Mix the butter and a tablespoon of olive oil, the hot sauce (1/2 cup), and honey (1 teaspoon) and then whisk together
5. Pour the cauliflower into a large bowl, then pour in the butter/hot sauce mix and mix until it's all covered
6. Mix the cornstarch, flour, and salt. Slowly sprinkle this onto the cauliflower and shake the bowl until it is all covered
7. Airfry the cauliflower (in batches if you need the space) at 350°F for 15 minutes, maybe a tad more depending on the airfrier and the size of the cauliflower
8. Cut up your avocado and celery into cubes, break your bleu cheese (if using the cheese) into small chunks
9. Heat up a tortilla on a pan, then put in some of the shredded cheddar
10. Once the tortilla is warm, add the bleu cheese, celery, caluiflower, and avocado. Enjoy!


Everyone likes tacos, and the perfection of the balance of flavor in this recipe is year round comfort food

Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos

# Cajun Catfish Katsu

I love southern food, I love Japanese food. This is so far my favorite fusion of the two.<br/><br/>
I made this in the airfrier. You can easily modify this recipe to just fry the fish if you don't have one, but, health or whatever.

## Time

About half an hour

## Needed Equipment

- An Airfrier

# Ingredients

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tr:nth-child(even) {background-color: #f2f2f2;}
</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>Catfish</td><td>1 pound</td></tr><tr><td>Flour</td><td>Enough to cover all of the fish</td></tr><tr><td>Panko</td><td>Enough to cover all of the fish</td></tr><tr><td>Eggs</td><td>4-ish</td></tr><tr><td>Hot Sauce</td><td>Follow your heart</td></tr><tr><td>Cajun Seasoning</td><td>Follow your heart</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Cut the catfish down, to roughly chicken finger size
2. Fill a bowl with the flour. Put salt and a little Cajun Seasoning in it
3. Fill a bowl with Eggs (4-ish) and a bit of hot sauce, whisk it
4. Fill a bowl with the panko

#### Cooking
5. Put the fish in the flour and completely cover it. Let it sit for about 5 minutes.
6. Once the fish has finished resting, shake the loose flour off of it, then submerge it in the eggs. Let it sit for about 5 minutes.
7. Once the fish has finished resting (again), pull it out of the eggs (one at a time), let any extra egg drip off of them. Put the fish into the panko. Cover the fish in panko, then press lightly to make it stick.
8. From here, this is the part you could replace with regular frying if you wanted, here are the airfrier instructions. Place all the fish that you can fit in a single batch into an oiled tray, and spray both sides of each piece of fish with oil.
9. Fry for 5 minutes at 400, then flip and fry another 5 minutes. Note the beginnings of the crunch while you flip it.
10. Enjoy!


Catfish

Eggs

Flour

Hot Sauce

Panko

Cajun Seasoning

Southern and Japanese food meet in a crunchy, flavorful way

Cajun Catfish Katsu

# Cathead Biscuits

A "Cathead Biscuit" is a southern expression for a biscuit roughly the size of a cat's head. Not many things are measured using head units, but when you see the final product, it does make sense. Perfect flakey buttery biscuits made sinmple!

## Equipment
- Food Processor

## Time
Probably around 45 minutes

# Ingredients

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tr:nth-child(even) {background-color: #f2f2f2;}
</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>unsalted butter (freezer cold)</td><td>1 stick</td></tr><tr><td>all-purpose flour</td><td>A little more than 3 cups</td></tr><tr><td>baking powder</td><td>1 tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>sugar</td><td>1 teaspoon</td></tr><tr><td>salt</td><td>1 teaspoon</td></tr><tr><td>baking soda</td><td>&frac12; teaspoon</td></tr><tr><td>buttermilk</td><td>2 cups</td></tr><tr><td>maple syrup or honey</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>hot sauce</td><td>1 tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>garlic powder</td><td>&frac12; tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>onion powder</td><td>&frac12; tablespoon</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 420°
2. Make sure the butter is freezer cold. Cut the butter up into tiny cubes, about half an inch.
3. Put the butter in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of flour, then toss it to coat it, and put it in your freezer until you need it again.
4. In your food processor, add in 3 cups of flour, salt (1 teaspoon), baking powder (1 tablespoon), sugar (1 teaspoon), and baking soda (&frac12; teaspoon). 
5. Add in the butter mixture and pulse the food processor 15 times for about 2 seconds each time.
6. Pour the mixture in a big bowl and add 1 &frac12; cups of buttermilk. Stir until everything is just barely wet, without mixing more.
7. Flour a clean flat surface, dry it down, and flour it liberally.
8. Flour your hands and pour/dump the dough onto the surface. Mix the dough with your hands for a few seconds, then press it flat.
9. Fold the dough in half and rotate it 90 degrees. Repeat this 3 more times.
10. Press the sides and corners of the dough so that it's roughly a square and equal thickness throughout. Pro-tip, the smaller the square, the taller the biscuit, but the more time it will need to bake. 
11. Using either the back of a knife or something thin and hard (not the knife blade unless your surface is something soft that won't hurt your knife), cut the dough into 9 pieces like a grid pattern.
12. Pick up your biscuits and place them on an oven pan, just about an inch apart. 
13. Mix together &frac12; cup buttermilk, maple syrup or honey (2 tablespoons), hot sauce (1 tablespoon), onion powder (&frac12; tablespoon), and garlic powder (&frac12; tablespoon), wisk well.
14. Using a food brush, paint on a little of this mixture to the top of the biscuits.
15. Put the biscuits in the oven for 10 minutes
16. After the 10 minutes, paint on a little more of your buttermilk mixture and put the biscuits back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
17. Enjoy!


baking powder

baking soda

unsalted butter (freezer cold)

buttermilk

all-purpose flour

garlic powder

hot sauce

onion powder

salt

sugar

maple syrup or honey

The quintessential southern biscuits, made easy. Serve up with butter, jam, gravy, fried chicken, this is the perfect vessel for southern food to be served on.

Southern Cathead Biscuits

# Cauliflower Steaks with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Treating a slice of Cauliflower like a Steak is a great way to get a similar flavor with much less fat

## Equipment
- A cooking pan that can go in the oven, if you don't have, you can make due with a cooking pan and an oven-safe pan as well
- A small sauce pan

## Time
Roughly an hour

## Ingredients
- 1-2 Heads of Califlower, depending on their size, get 2 just to be safe
- &frac12; stick of salted butter
- Rosemary
- 1 Head of Garlic
- 5 ounces of Cremini/Baby Bella Mushrooms
- 1 cup of light cream
- &frac12; cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F
2. Remove the inedible part of the stem from the cauliflower. Be sure to stop at the point where it stops being green, the stem provides most of the structure for the steak
3. Cut the cauliflower in slices about 1 inch thick. The first few on the edge will cumble apart since they don't touch the stem. Depending on the size of the head, you may only be able to get 1 steak per head, that's fine
4. Add Salt, Ground Black Pepper, and a pinch of smoked Paprika to each steak, one side only is fine
5. Take your head of garlic, remove 3 cloves (this is for the sauce) then cut it in half so that all of the cloves are exposed. It should look like:
<img src="https://food.keith.sh/half-garlic.jpg" style="max-height:100px" />

#### Cooking
- Note: Evaluate if your pan will be large enough to fit both steaks, if not you'll need to do them in batches
6. Heat your pan over fairly high heat until it's HOT (I set off my smoke alarms, it happens), then add oil to the pan and let it warm up
7. Place the Cauliflower on the pan salted side down and leave it there until it's a nice golden brown
8. Once you reach golden brown on the first side, flip the cauliflower over, then add to the pan about 2/3 of your butter, a sprig or two of rosemary, and your halves of garlic
9. Once your butter melts, tip the pan a bit to gather it all in the bottom, then using a spoon, baste the butter on top of the steaks, do this for about 1 minute
10. Once the steaks are golden on both sides, place them on a plate and pour all of the residual butter out of the pan into a saucepan, place this on a burner over the lowest heat
11. Put your steaks back in the pan, or in an oven safe dish if you can't put your pan in the oven. Put them in the oven for about 5 minutes.
12. Depending on how much butter you put in your pan, you may need to add more. You're shooting for roughly 3 tablespoons, but it's really not an exact science
13. Press your 3 cloves of garlic, slice your mushrooms, then add them to your saucepan and sauté for about 3 minutes until the mushrooms look cooked
14. Stir in your broth, cream, Worcestershire, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 8 minutes until thickened. 
15. Add salt and pepper to the sauce if you feel it could use it
16. Remove the Cauliflower from the oven when they look done, serve with the sauce
17. Enjoy!


Many different uses of Cauliflower are becoming more popular as time goes on, and this new vegetarian trend is packed with flavor

Cauliflower Steaks with Mushroom Cream Sauce

# Smoked Chicken Bombs

This recipe is the definition of a crowd-pleaser. It's low effort and incredibly tasty. Whenever I have people over when the weather is good, I love to make these.

## Equipment
- Smoker (I have an egg-style Kamado Grill) and accessories
- Container Large enough to brine chicken
- Something to pound the chicken flat (a rolling pin is fine in a crunch)

## Time
3-4 Hours for brining, half hour to prepare, and less than an hour to smoke

## Ingredients
- 1 Pound of bacon. I prefer to use plain bacon, not the hickory or whatever, since you're about to smoke it
- 6 Chicken Breasts
- Brine Solution
  - 1 Gallon of Water
  - 3/4 cup salt
  - 2/3 cup sugar
  - 2 tablespoons Paprika
  - 1 tablespoon Onion Powder
  - 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
  - 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
  - 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 2 Jalepeños (minimum, feel free/encouraged to use more)
- Rub for the chicken, I am a huge fan of <a href="https://www.spicewallabrand.com/products/forestry-camp-smoke-rub" target="_blank">this blend</a>
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Wood chips, I prefer a mix of Mequite and Apple
- Toothpicks, 3 per breast

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Make the brine: Heat the water and mix in all the other components. Stir until all the particles mix in, move to whatever container you're going to use to brine the chicken.
2. Cut all the tendons on the back of the breast to spread it out flat, then pound out chicken breasts, until you think you could roll it up around the stuffing
3. Make sure the brine is cool enough that it won't cook the chicken, if it is, put the chicken in fridge and wait for it to cool
4. Put all of the chicken in the brine, and place in the fridge. Wait 3-4 Hours before cooking

#### Cooking
5. Heat up your smoker. Aim for 225°F.
6. Dice the Jalepeños
7. Make Stuffing: Mix Jalepeños, Shredded Cheese, A pinch or two of salt, and a few pinches of your chicken rub
8. Lay out the chicken with 2 slices of bacon underneath each breast, crossed to make an "X" shape
9. Add a dollop of stuffing to each chicken breast, then close up the breast and wrap with the bacon. Hold shut with the toothpicks. I recommend adding 3 toothpicks to each breast even if you don't need all of them just so that it's easier to tell when you've found them all in each breast
10. Cover each breast with a pinch of your rub
11. Add the wood chips to your smoker and put in all the breasts on indirect heat. I really recommend putting a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the largest one. 
12. Cook until the thickest part of the larger breasts are juuuust over 160°F. It's possible depending on the size of your smoker that you'll get a stall around the 140's, if it lasts too long, just heat the grill up closer to 260-280 and it should finish that last bit off faster
13. Pull off the grill and serve!


The Ultimate Crowd Pleaser, and a great way to flex your beginner smoker muscles

Smoked Chicken Bombs

# Horchata

Out the gate, this is not my recipe. I am using this website as documentation of what I enjoy to make and am by no means trying to take credit. All credit to <a href="https://www.muydelish.com/traditional-mexican-horchata/#recipe" target="_blank">Ana at Muy Delish</a> for everything below

## Equipment
- Blender or Food Processor
- A big ass pitcher
- A Cheesecloth

## Time
The rice needs to soak overnight, then after that less than half an hour

# Ingredients

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tr:nth-child(even) {background-color: #f2f2f2;}
</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>Uncooked White Rice</td><td>1 cup</td></tr><tr><td>Cinnamon</td><td>3 sticks</td></tr><tr><td>Evaporated Milk</td><td>1 can (12 oz)</td></tr><tr><td>Condensed Milk</td><td>1 can (12 oz)</td></tr><tr><td>Water</td><td>8 Cups</td></tr><tr><td>Sugar</td><td>to taste</td></tr><tr><td>Vanilla</td><td>1/2 teaspoon</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Wash the rice!
2. I find that it is easier to split the water/rice mixture in half, because you will be blending the rice in halves. Put 2 cups of water and 1/2 a cup of rice in each of your containers you're going to put in the fridge.
3. Break 2 of the cinnamon sticks with your hands, and put one of each in the containers. Stir up the containers and put them in the fridge overnight.

#### Next Day
4. Remove the larger pieces of the cinnamon and throw them away, feel free to leave a few of the smaller pieces.
5. Working in the 2 batches, put the rice and water in a blender or food processor and blend on high for 4 minutes.
6. Put the cheesecloth over the pitcher and pour the rice water in. Let the rice puree drip into the pitcher.
7. Repeat this with the other batch.
8. Squeeze out your cheesecloth as much as you can, twist the loose part to add pressure and get all of the water out.
9. Stir in the milks, vanilla, and 4 more cups of water. Stir a lot. 
10. Take a taste and add more sugar if you think that is needed.
11. Grate or microplane your last piece of cinnamon over a glass filled with a lot of ice and horchata, or use ground cinnamon.
12. Enjoy!


Cinnamon

Evaporated Milk

Uncooked White Rice

Condensed Milk

Sugar

Vanilla

Water

If you haven't had horchata, it's the perfect drink on a hot day, it's creamy and refreshing and not heavy at all, just the perfect summer drink

Horchata

# Hot Smoked Salmon

I'm a huge fan of lox. I love a bagel & lox sandwich, there's a restaurant near me that does a lox sushi roll, I just love it. Hot Smoked Salmon is _NOT_ lox. But fresh made, and smoked well, it sates the same craving for me. Cooking this on the grill, at the absolute lowest temperature that you can keep your grill, will make for dozens of great bagels. 

And it keeps in the freezer great! 

## Equipment
- Smoker (I have an egg-style Kamado Grill) and accessories
- I really recommend a meat thermometer that can keep you posted on the temperature. I have the Thermoworks Smoke.

## Time
10 minutes prep, cooks for 30-45 minutes normally

## Ingredients
- Wood Planks for the grill
- 1 cup of Apple Wood Chips
- Large cut of Salmon (2-4 pounds)
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Salt
- Any spices you want to add, but keep it more simple

## Instructions
#### Prep 
1. Mix the 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of salt together. With the skin side of the fish down, cover all of the surface of the fish with this mixture
2. If you have any preferred seasonings you want to add to your fish, add it here. When I made mine, I added dill weed, but you don't need anything
3. Put in the fridge for 1-3 hours
#### Cooking
4. Heat up your grill to a very low temperature, set to indirect heat. 225°F is perfectly fine, but the lower and longer you can cook this, the better the outcome
5. Transfer your fish to your wood planks, skin side down. Perfectly fine if the fish sticks out off the sides, this is just to prevent sticking to the grill. Dab off any excess moisture with paper towels
6. Add your wood chips to the smoker, then put your fish in the middle. I recommend using a meat thermometer for this recipe
7. Cook until the thickest part of the salmon is just below 140°F
8. Serve! Can be kept in the freezer for a while or the fridge for a week-ish


Well smoked hot salmon can be used like lox on your favorite bagels or latkes

Hot Smoked Salmon

# Korean Chicken Umami Bombs

Being clear, this is not a traditional Korean recipe, at all. This is a modification of my other chicken bomb recipe with Korean flavors. Trust me, it's better.

## Equipment
- Smoker (I have an egg-style Kamado Grill) and accessories
- Container Large enough to brine chicken
- Something to pound the chicken flat (a rolling pin is fine in a crunch)

## Time
The chicken needs to bring for 4 hours, then about an hour to smoke

# Ingredients

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tr:nth-child(even) {background-color: #f2f2f2;}
</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>Large Chicken Breasts</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Bacon</td><td>1 pack</td></tr><tr><td>Jack Cheese</td><td>1 pound</td></tr><tr><td>Scallions</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Minced Garlic</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Jalepeños</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Toothpicks</td><td>3 per chicken breast</td></tr><tr><td>Gochujang</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Gochujaru</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Doenjang or Miso</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>A Rub to cover the chicken with, feel free to just use a blend of pepper, salt, garlic, and onion</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Smoker Wood Chips</td><td></td></tr></table>
Brine Solution (follow your heart on the amounts for this)
  - Enough water to cover the chicken
  - Gochujang
  - Gochujaru (or red pepper flakes)
  - Salt
  - Sugar
  - Onion Powder
  - Garlic Powder
  - White Pepper
  - Paprika

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Make the brine: Heat the water and mix in all the other components. Stir until all the particles mix in, move to whatever container you're going to use to brine the chicken, <b>then let the brine cool down to refrigerator cold while you do the following</b>.
2. Cut all the tendons on the back of the breast to spread it out flat, then pound out chicken breasts, until you think you could roll it up around the stuffing
3. Make sure the brine is cool enough that it won't cook the chicken, if it is, put the chicken in fridge and wait for it to cool
4. Put all of the chicken in the brine, and place in the fridge. Wait 3-4 hours before cooking

#### Cooking
5. Heat up your smoker. Aim for 225°F.
6. Dice the Jalepeños (2)
7. Shred your cheese.
8. Make Stuffing: Mix up the Jack Cheese (1 pound), Doenjang or Miso (2 tablespoons), Gochujang (2 tablespoons), Gochujaru (2 tablespoons), Minced Garlic (2 tablespoons), Scallions (4), Jalepeños (2), and any other spices you want to put in
9. Lay out the chicken with 2 slices of bacon underneath each breast, crossed to make an "X" shape
10. Add a dollop of stuffing to each chicken breast, then close up the breast and wrap with the bacon, really stuff them as full as you can get. Hold shut with the toothpicks. I recommend adding 3 toothpicks to each breast even if you don't need all of them just so that it's easier to tell when you've found them all in each breast
11. Cover each breast with a pinch of your rub
12. Add the wood chips to your smoker and put in all the breasts on indirect heat. I really recommend putting a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the largest one. 
13. Cook until the thickest part of the larger breasts are juuuust over 160°F. It's possible depending on the size of your smoker that you'll get a stall around the 140's, if it lasts too long, just heat the grill up closer to 260-280 and it should finish that last bit off faster
14. Enjoy!


Bacon

Jack Cheese

Large Chicken Breasts

Minced Garlic

Gochujang

Gochujaru

Jalepeños

Doenjang or Miso

A Rub to cover the chicken with, feel free to just use a blend of pepper, salt, garlic, and onion

Toothpicks

Smoker Wood Chips

This is a modification of the other chicken bomb recipe on this site, but this one uses more Korean flavors. This is an amazing blast of umami and smokey flavors

Korean Chicken Umami Bombs

# Miso Glazed Eggplant

Out the gate, this is not my recipe. I am using this website as documentation of what I enjoy to make and am by no means trying to take credit. All credit to <a href="http://www.veganbunnychef.com/2022/05/miso-glazed-eggplants-umami-and.html?m=1" target="_blank">Vegan Bunny Chef</a> for everything below

## Equipment
- Large frying pan
- Oven pan
- Parchment Paper

## Time
About 45 minutes, start to finish

# Ingredients

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tr:nth-child(even) {background-color: #f2f2f2;}
</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>Large Eggplant</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Scallions</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>A cooking oil, vegatable is my go-to</td><td>Just enough to cover the base of the pan fully</td></tr><tr><td>Gochujaru or Red Pepper Flakes</td><td>About a tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>Sesame Seeds</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Sesame Oil</td><td>1 tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>Miso Paste</td><td>A tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>Maple Syrup</td><td>2 teaspoons</td></tr><tr><td>Soy Sauce</td><td>1 teaspoon</td></tr><tr><td>Rice Vinegar</td><td>1 teaspoon</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut your eggplant in half down the long side, then score the surface diagonally (criss-cross) getting all the way into the meat without cutting the skin. Here is a picture from the source recipe for reference
<img src="https://food.keith.sh/eggplant-cutting.jpg" style="max-height:400px;display:block" />
3. In a bowl, mix together the Miso Paste (A tablespoon), Gochujaru or Red Pepper Flakes (About a tablespoon), Sesame Oil (1 tablespoon), Soy Sauce (1 teaspoon), 1 tablespoon of Sesame Seeds, Maple Syrup (2 teaspoons), Rice Vinegar (1 teaspoon)

#### Cooking
4. Fill your pan with oil, then heat it up over medium-high heat. Once it's hot, put the eggplant on scored side down.
5. Cook the eggplant for 4 minutes. 
6. Flip the eggplant and cook the skin side for 4 minutes.
7. Flip again and cook the scored side for another 2 minutes.
8. Remove the epplant from the pan (also turn off the burner) and let it cool for a minute or two.
9. Cover the scored side of the eggplant with your sauce.
10. Cover your oven safe pan with parchment paper, and put the eggplant on the paper. Put the eggplant in the oven for 20 minutes.
11. Dice up your scallions very thinly.
12. Take out the eggplant and cover with the scallions and your last tablespoon of sesame seeds
13. Enjoy!


A cooking oil, vegatable is my go-to

Large Eggplant

Maple Syrup

Miso Paste

Gochujaru or Red Pepper Flakes

Rice Vinegar

Soy Sauce

This is the kind of thing you have to taste to truly understand. This is a blast of umami, and is now maybe my favorite way to make eggplant now

Miso Glazed Eggplant

# Miso-Marinated Pork Steaks and Spicy Cukes

This is a recipe from Molly Baz's book "Cook this Book", I take no credit for this, the only modification is to utilize the sous vide.

## Equipment
- A Sous Vide setup
- Probe thermometer

## Time
Marinating overnight, then sous vide for 2 hours, then cooking for about half an hour

# Ingredients

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</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>cucumber</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>pork shoulder</td><td>about 2 &frac12; pounds</td></tr><tr><td>white miso</td><td>&frac12; cup</td></tr><tr><td>sake</td><td>&frac12; cup</td></tr><tr><td>sugar</td><td>4 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>salt</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>vegatable oil</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>unseasoned rice vinegar</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>gochujaru</td><td>1 teaspoon</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
#### Day Before
1. Mix together the white miso (&frac12; cup), sake (&frac12; cup), and 3 tablespoons of the sugar, then wisk together.
2. Cut your pork up into inch or two thick steaks, then add into a bowl with the miso marinade, cover and put in the fridge overnight.

#### Day of
3. Take the pork and put into a sous vide bag, then sous vide for 2 hours at 140°.
4. Cut the cucumber into very thin slices, put into a small bowl with 1 &frac12; teaspoons of salt, mix up and put in the fridge until you need them again
5. Take the pork out of the bag over a bowl, letting the marinade drip in. Scrape all of the marinade off of the pork with the side of a fork and let it drip into the bowl. Add &frac12; cup of water to the marinade and put the pork on a plate.
6. Get a pan HOT (as hot as you can get a pan). Dab the pork with a paper towel and put vegatable oil (2 tablespoons) and a pinch of salt on the pork, and try to cover all surfaces.
7. Put the pork on the pan and turn down the heat a little and let the first side cook for 2 minutes. Flip the steaks to an uncooked side and cook for another 2 minutes, repeating until a temperature probe says the pork is 145° internal.
8. Let the pork rest on a plate, then drain the cucumbers of liquid and add unseasoned rice vinegar (2 tablespoons), gochujaru (1 teaspoon), and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Toss to coat.
9. Cut the pork off the bone, then serve with the cucumbers and the sauce drizzled on top.
10. Heat up the marinade in a sauce pan on low heat, stirring constantly, until it browns and thickens a little bit.
11. Enjoy!


white miso

unseasoned rice vinegar

Credit to Molly Baz for this, with slight modifications. Absolutely delicious pork that only requires a few minutes of active work

Miso Marinated Pork Steaks

# Red Wine Mushroom Risotto

This is one of those foods that "sticks to your ribs", it's very filling, but tastes so good that it's hard to not want more

One of the big things with making risotto is ensuring that you cook the rice through. One big step to help with this is ensuring that your broth is warm, adding cold broth to your risotto will briefly stop it from cooking and it will need to warm back up before cooking can resume

I really enjoy eating this risotto alongside a glass of the wine that I used to cook it, at half a cup, enough of the flavor is still there that they compliment each other really well

## Equipment
- Large Pot
- Smaller Sauce pot

## Time
A little over an hour

## Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 cups Arborio Rice
- 8 ounces of Cremini/Baby Bella Mushrooms
- &frac12; cup of red wine (Let your preference guide you, I enjoy a Cabernet for this)
- 1 pound of ground pork (unseasoned if they have it, hot or sweet italian otherwise)
- 32 ounce container of Beef Broth
- 1 tablesoon of Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- &frac12; cup of freshly shredded parmesan
- Red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons of butter

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Dice up the onion into small pieces
2. Press or dice your garlic
3. Slice your mushrooms
4. Mix the beef broth and 2 cups of water into a sauce pan and place over low heat (leave it there the whole time)

#### Cooking
5. Sauté the onion and ground pork in your pot with about 1 tablesoon of butter
6. When the onion and pork are about halfway cooked, add in your mushrooms and season with oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and ground black pepper
7. Cook for a few minutes, until there isn't any more pink in the meat
8. Pour in your rice and your wine, stir well
9. Repeat the following until your broth is empty. Once your broth is empty, turn off the burner it was on
  10. Once the wine is mostly absorbed, add in your broth/water mixture. I normally add about 1/3 to 3/4 of a cup at a time
  11. Stir in the broth well, then mix up well, being sure to scrape the bottom, about once every 30 seconds or so while on cooking heat (medium). If you need a break or to step away, reduce the heat to low
  12. When you feel like the broth has been absorbed (I usually guage this over whether I can see the bottom of the pot when I stir), it's time to add more
13. Add in 2 tablespoons of butter and your shredded parmesan
14. Enjoy!


One of my favorite cold weather foods, packed with flavor and creamiest texture

Red Wine Mushroom Risotto

# Peach Cobbler

## Equipment
- A Baking dish, ideally 9x13"
- A pan or sheet that is larger than your baking dish, this may boil over while in the oven
- A large bowl

## Time
About an hour

# Ingredients

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</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>peaches</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>sugar</td><td>1 cup</td></tr><tr><td>brown sugar</td><td>&frac34; cup</td></tr><tr><td>cinnamon</td><td>2 &frac12; tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>nutmeg</td><td>&frac14; teaspoon</td></tr><tr><td>cornstarch</td><td>2 teaspoons</td></tr><tr><td>all-purpose flour</td><td>2 cups</td></tr><tr><td>baking powder</td><td>2 teaspoons</td></tr><tr><td>salt</td><td>1 teaspoon</td></tr><tr><td>butter</td><td>12 tablespoons, freezer cold</td></tr><tr><td>water</td><td>&frac12; cup</td></tr><tr><td>vanilla ice cream</td><td>a lot</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. Cut your peaches into slices. I really recommend keeping the skins on, they're packed with flavor and will lose all their texture during baking.
3. Put your baking sheet on the bottom rack of your oven to catch drips.
4. In a bowl, mix the peach slices with &frac14; cup sugar, &frac14; cup brown sugar, &frac12; tablespoon cinnamon, nutmeg (&frac14; teaspoon), and cornstarch (2 teaspoons).
5. Pour the sugared up peach mixture into the baking dish and put in the oven for 10 minutes. Pull it out when it's done, but in the meantime, the steps below are to get started on the crust.
6. Put a pot of water on the stove to boil it (you will only need half a cup, but boil extra because of evaporation)
7. Cut the butter (12 tablespoons, freezer cold) into really small pieces, or if you feel so motivated, use a grater on it.
8. Combine the all-purpose flour (2 cups), baking powder (2 teaspoons), salt (1 teaspoon), &frac12; cup sugar, and &frac12; cup brown sugar. Mix all of this together.
9. Add in your butter, mix up again, then add the boiling water (&frac12; cup)
10. Take the peaches, which have probably finished their 10 minutes by now and have been cooling, and dollop the dough on top of them in small spoonfulls.
11. Mix together &frac13; cup sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
12. Bake in the oven for half an hour. Past the 20 minute mark, check on it every now and then by poking it with a toothpick or something to see if it's the level of done you enjoy.
13. Enjoy! (with vanilla ice cream!)


brown sugar

I don't really need to sell you on this, it's peach cobbler

Peach Cobbler

# Garlic Ramen

This is a great recipe to make when you really just don't want to cook. The recipe scales up well, leftovers are easy and great

## Equipment
- I use a wok for this, but a standard large pan is also fine
- Pot to cook ramen
- Smaller pan for cooking eggs

## Time
Roughly half an hour

## Ingredients
- 2 packs of Ramen (get the best ramen you can find at your store, it makes a difference)
- 5 ounce bag of Baby Spinach
- 8 ounces of Cremini Mushrooms
- 4 ounces of salted butter
- 2 eggs
- 6 cloves of garlic
- Ginger, roughly 1 inch long and the width of your thumb
- 1 tablespoon Miso Paste
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
- Handful of Peanuts
- &frac12; tablespoon of Sambal or Sriracha

## Instructions
1. Mince your garlic and ginger into a small bowl
2. Dice your mushrooms
3. Cook your ramen according to the packaging, then strain it. Feel free to toss the flavor packet.
4. Heat up your wok or pan over medium heat, maybe a bit higher, put in the 4 oz of butter
5. Cook the garlic and ginger until aromatic
6. Add in the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally
7. Add in spinach, then let it cook down until you added in your desired amount
8. Take your strained ramen and add to the wok/pan.
9. Mix in the Sambal, peanuts, and Miso paste, stir up well. Turn the stove to low.
10. Gather all of the Ramen into the middle of the wok/pan, and let sit on low for about 30 seconds to let the exposed pan to heat up
11. Drizzle the soy sauce(s) on top of the ramen, and put your peanut butter on top as well.
12. Pour your Shaoxing wine onto the exposed part of the wok, then stir everything together really well.
13. Fry an egg to serve on top
14. Enjoy!


Easy and flavorful, this is the perfect weeknight recipe to make when you really don't want to cook

Garlic Ramen

# Savory Pot Pie

## Equipment
- Pie Pan
- Cooking Pan

## Time
2 hours-ish

# Ingredients

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</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>Chicken Thighs</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Bacon</td><td>1/2 pound</td></tr><tr><td>Cremini Mushrooms</td><td>8 oz</td></tr><tr><td>Garlic</td><td>4 cloves</td></tr><tr><td>Shallot</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Yellow Onion</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Celery</td><td>2 stalks</td></tr><tr><td>Carrot</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Leek</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Dijon Mustard, the best one you can find</td><td>3 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Flour</td><td>~2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Butter</td><td>roughly half a stick</td></tr><tr><td>Chicken Broth (ideally homemade)</td><td>about 1-2 cups</td></tr><tr><td>Puff Pastry</td><td>1 Sheet</td></tr><tr><td>Eggs</td><td>2</td></tr></table>
Spices. Feel free to add/remove from this list: 
  - Nutmeg
  - Corriander
  - Red Pepper Flakes
  - Herbes de Provence 
  - Thyme
  - Rosemary

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F
2. Dice up all your main ingredients: mushrooms, mirepoix (onion, celery, and carrots), and garlic. The smaller they're diced the better.
3. Cut the leeks up into discs, then rinse them in a collander to get rid of any sand in their layers
4. Cut your bacon into pretty small pieces
5. Lay your chicken out flat and season with salt and pepper. I know it's not in the ingredients list, but I know you have it.
6. Take your puff pastry out of the freezer if you haven't already

#### Cooking
7. Sear your chicken for a few minutes, flipping every now and then, until it's ~140-150 internal. It'll cook more while it's in the oven.
8. In another, cold pan, add your bacon, then turn the heat on to a bit above medium. Cook the bacon, stirring ocassionally, until it starts to get crispy. Remove the bacon, and leave the bacon fat in the pan. 
9. Place your leek discs flat side down in the bacon fat until they start to brown, then flip them. It's fine if they fall apart, you just want them to cook as evenly as they can. Once they fall apart, just stir them like normal. Cook them until they start to be a darker brown in spots. Remove the leeks and put them off to the side. 
10. Clean out your bacon fat (it'll start to get smoky eventually) and add in butter or olive oil to your pan. Heat it up for a minute at medium heat. 
11. Add in your mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms, only stirring about every minute or so, until they start to look fried and golden. Expect this to take a bit, you want them really cooked. 
12. Add in your Mirepoix, a healthy pinch of salt, and more fat (butter/oil) if needed. Cook this combination of things at medium-high heat until everything starts to get really soft. This will also take some patience. 
13. Add in your garlic and whatever spices you've chosen
14. Add in 2-3 tablespoons of butter. Let that melt for a minute and mix. Add in the flour, a bit at a time, while stirring to make your roux.
15. Let your roux cook for a minute, then start to pour in your chicken broth while stirring. Your vague goal is for the total mixture you have at the end of this be able to fill up your pie pan. If it's too much, it's no issue, you can either let it reduce further or you can have a little extra to snack on. 
16. Add your leeks, bacon, chicken (cut into small pieces)
17. Simmer this mixture for a minute
18. Pour mixture into pie pan, cover with the puff pastry. 
19. Whisk up your eggs and brush them onto the top of your pastry
20. Cook in the oven for the amount of time shown on the box of your puff pastry. For me, this was about half an hour. 
21. Enjoy!


Butter

Carrot

Celery

Chicken Thighs

Chicken Broth (ideally homemade)

Garlic

Leek

Cremini Mushrooms

Dijon Mustard, the best one you can find

Yellow Onion

Puff Pastry

Shallot

Because "Chicken Bacon Leek Mushroom Pot Pie" was too long of a title

Savory Pot Pie

# Seared Duck Breast with Saffron Risotto

Just take every Allium vegetable and mix it up in a big pot

## Equipment
- Large Pot
- Smaller Sauce pot
- Sous Vide setup

## Time
Sous vide for 2 hours, cooking for a little over 1 hour

## Ingredients
- 1 onion
- An insane amount of garlic
- 4 Shallots
- 2 cups Arborio Rice
- 3 tablespoons of butter

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. 

#### Cooking
2. 


Seared Duck Breast with Saffron Risotto

# Shrimp with Cajun Gravy

I love an easy worknight recipe. this one is something I feel like I can make without thinking about it, and it's really good.

## Equipment
- Large Pan
- Pot to make Orzo

## Time
&frac12; hour

# Ingredients

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</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>Orzo</td><td>1 pound</td></tr><tr><td>Shrimp</td><td>2 pound</td></tr><tr><td>Red Peppers</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Thyme</td><td>1 small container</td></tr><tr><td>Garlic</td><td>4 (read: 8-ish) Cloves</td></tr><tr><td>Parmesan</td><td>&frac12; cup</td></tr><tr><td>Your Fave White Wine</td><td>&frac12; Cup</td></tr><tr><td>Red Pepper Flakes</td><td>&frac12; teaspoon</td></tr><tr><td>Heavy Cream</td><td>1 cup</td></tr><tr><td>Honey</td><td>1 tablespoon</td></tr><tr><td>Cajun Seasonings</td><td>To Flavor</td></tr><tr><td>Salted Butter</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Flour</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>Olive Oil</td><td>2 tablespoons</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Defrost and dry your Shrimp (2 pound)
2. Add Olive Oil (2 tablespoons) and a few pinches of Cajun Seasoning
3. Dice your Garlic (4 (read: 8-ish) Cloves) and Red Peppers (2)
4. Shred the Parmesan (&frac12; cup)

#### Cooking
5. Start Boiling water, as much as the box of orzo calls for (you'll mainly just be following the box to cook the orzo)
6. Heat up your pan over medium high heat
7. Add the Shrimp (2 pound) to the pan, cook 2 minutes each side and pull them out when they are pink all over
8. This is the point when I added my Orzo to the water, and it ended up working out
9. When the shrimp are mostly cooked, pull them out and add Salted Butter (2 tablespoons) to the pan
10. Add the Red Peppers (2), Garlic (4 (read: 8-ish) Cloves), and a few sprigs of the Rosemary to the pan, stir every now and then for about 2 minutes, until the peppers seem cooked
11. Slowly sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the flour, stir thoroughly, then lower to medium low heat
12. Pour in Your Fave White Wine (&frac12; Cup), stir and simmer for somewhere between 1 and 2 minutes
13. Pour in your Heavy Cream (1 cup)
14. Stir for about 2 minutes, if the sauce doesn't start to thicken before long, add in the other tablespoon of flour
15. Add your shrimp back into the gravy, let them simmer on really low heat until the orzo is done
16. Drain the Orzo, then serve
17. Enjoy!


Salted Butter

Cajun Seasonings

Heavy Cream

Honey

Olive Oil

Orzo

Parmesan

Red Pepper Flakes

Red Peppers

Shrimp

Thyme

Your Fave White Wine

A tasty and easy recipe that makes a ton of leftovers, cheap

Shrimp with Cajun Gravy

# Jerk Seasoned Smoked Chicken

I like to make this on a day I'm feeling motivated in the middle of a lazy week. It results in several meals of leftovers and it's really cheap to make overall. The leftovers can be used in salads, quesadillas, nachos, and more

## Equipment
- Smoker (I have an egg-style Kamado Grill) and accessories
- Container Large enough to brine chicken
- Rubber Scraper
- I really recommend a meat thermometer that can keep you posted on the temperature. I have the Thermoworks Smoke.
- Blender or Food Processor

## Time
2-4 hours to cook, 1 day to brine

## Ingredients
- One whole chicken (if your butcher/store has spatchcock available, go with that unless you have a smoking stand for it)
- Salt
- Honey
- Brown Sugar (at least 1 cup)
- 2 Habanero Peppers, or other pepper of choice
- 1 Mango
- Jerk Seasoning, you can't go wrong with <a href="https://www.spicewallabrand.com/products/jerk-seasoning" target="_blank">this</a>
- Wood Chunks, I used a mix of Mesquite, Apple, and Cherry

## Instructions
#### Brine Prep
1. If you have a chicken stand for your smoker, or your chicken came spatchcock, skip this. Otherwise, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppa1bxB89vg" target="_blank">follow this guide to spatchcock it</a>
2. Make a brine: Heat up enough water to submerge the chicken, then add 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup brown sugar, and a few spices (follow your instinct)
3. Be sure to let your brine cool before pouring over your chicken. Hot brine will start cooking your chicken, which will make it spoil. If you're impatient, add extra salt and sugar, then mix in some ice
4. Brine overnight in the fridge

#### Cooking
5. Skin your mango and cut off about half of the meat on the fruit, eat the rest while you work (so long as you didn't just touch a Habanero)
6. In your Blender or Food Processor, combine the mango, 2-4 peeled cloves of garlic, some salt, a tablespoon of honey, about 1 tablespoon of your jerk seasoning, and your Habaneros (stem removed)
7. Blend all that until it looks like a paste
8. Pour out the liquid from your brine and quickly rinse the bird. 
9. Using a rubber scraper, cover the bird in your mango/Habanero paste, be sure to get it into the crevices and wingpits and whatnot. Let it sit for a bit while you warm up your grill
10. Warm your grill to about 225-250°F
11. Once your grill reaches temperature, add in wood chunks and set up your grill for fully indirect heat, with a tray under the bird to catch drips
12. Rub off the paste (you can leave a little there if you aren't spice-adverse), then sprinkle jerk seasoning over the whole bird, the amount is really up to you
13. Put your bird on the grill, I can't recommend using a meat thermometer enough, and pull it off just before 165°F
14. After you pull it off, let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes, then you can shred or cup up to serve
15. Enjoy!


A really lively flavor that makes a ton of leftovers that can be used in salads, quesadillas, nachos, and more

Jerk Seasoned Smoked Chicken

# Sous Vide Duck Breasts

I love the flavor of duck, and it goes great with everything. It's skin is so easy to give a great texture to. 

## Equipment
- Sous Vide setup
- Skillet, I recommend Cast Iron

## Time
Somewhere between 6 and 24 hours to dry brine the duck<br/>
1-4 hours to Sous Vide and 20 minutes to sear

## Ingredients
- However many duck breasts you want to cook
- Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Any seasonings you want
- Arugala
- Hoisin Sauce

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Salt and Pepper the duck breasts liberally, on all sides. Place the breasts in the fridge for somewhere between 6 hours and 1 day
2. Fill your sous vide container and set the temperature to 130°F

#### Cooking
3. Pull the duck out of the fridge and put in a sous vide bag or vacuum seal
4. Sous Vide the duck for 1-4 Hours, I prefer it toward the 2-3 hour mark
5. A few minutes before you want to pull your duck out of the water, start heating up your skillet on medium high heat
6. Place the duck skin-side down on the skillet and let it cook for about 2 minutes without touching it
7. Reduce the heat a little, to like just above medium, and start moving the duck around the skillet every 20 seconds or so, until the skin is golden and crispy. Duck skin is very thick, so this is fairly hard to overdo if you like a crispy texture
8. Flip the duck over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds, moving around a few times to make sure you cover the whole surface
9. Place on a plate with paper towels and let it rest for a few minutes. If you couldn't fit all the duck in the skillet the first time, repeat 5-7 with the other ones
10. Cut the duck into half inch thick slices, serve on a bed of arugala with hoisin sauce drizzled on it


I think of it as Steak lite, it lends itself to any flavor profile, and is great medium-rare

Sous Vide Duck Breasts

# Spicy Tomato Soup

A hard requirement to make in the fall, alongside a glass of wine and a grilled cheese. Pro Tip: Take some of the extra cheese from the grilled cheese and put it on top of the bowl of soup.

## Equipment
- Large Pot
- Blender, Immersion blender, or food processor

## Time
About an hour and a half

# Ingredients

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</style><table><th>Name</th><th>Amount</th><tr><td>tomatoes</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>garlic</td><td>2 heads</td></tr><tr><td>bell pepper</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>jalepenño</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>thai chilli peppers</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>olive oil</td><td>1-2 tablespoons</td></tr><tr><td>tomato paste</td><td>Just one container, they're always small</td></tr><tr><td>chicken stock</td><td>16 oz</td></tr><tr><td>yellow onion</td><td>1 small</td></tr><tr><td>bacon</td><td>3 or 4 slices</td></tr><tr><td>salt</td><td>to taste</td></tr><tr><td>pepper</td><td>to taste</td></tr><tr><td>oregano</td><td>to taste</td></tr><tr><td>basil</td><td>to taste</td></tr><tr><td>cream</td><td>1 small container</td></tr></table>

## Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 400°
2. Slice the tomatoes in half and lay them skin side down on a baking sheet. Cut the top off of the heads of garlic and leave the skin on, exposing the tops of the cloves. Slice your peppers in half, and the bell pepper in quarters so they can lay flat, skin side down. Drizzle a little olive oil on your veggies, then season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Bake the tomatoes and peppers for 45 minutes.
4. Dice your onion into rough peices. You don't need to be amazingly pretty at it, you're going to blend it later
5. In a pot, fry your bacon in a half cup of water (this lets the meat cook a little before the fat starts to crisp). Once the water has all evaporated, remove the bacon and put it on some paper towels.
6. In the remaining bacon fat (but add a little olive oil if there isn't enough), cook the onion on medium low heat until it starts to caramelize, probably about 20 minutes, but be sure to lower the heat if it looks like they're cooking too quickly. Dice the bacon roughly, then add it back to the pot.
7. Add the tomatoes, peppers, onions, bacon, and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste all to a blender, or the pot it cooked in if you're using an immersion blender. Take the heads of Garlic and (either use thongs or let it cool first) squeeze out the cooked garlic. Add a few leaves of basil, and blend the mixture together.
8. Add a splash of cream and mix up again, then add more cream, oregano, salt, pepper, basil, tomato paste and whatever else you're feeling until you like the flavor.
9. Make a Grilled Cheese, and enjoy!


Obviously required to eat with grilled cheese.

Spicy Tomato Soup

# Grilled Summery Salad

I love making this recipe, it's super easy, tastey, light, and yet still filling. This is something you can make when you're feeling lazy but also still works when serving a crowd, all the ingredients are easy to multiply to make more of.

## Equipment
- Smoker (I have an egg-style Kamado Grill) and accessories

## Time
1 hour

## Ingredients
- 2 ears of corn
- 2 red peppers
- 2 avocados
- 1 pound shrimp
- 4 ounces Queso Fresco
- 5 ounces of baby Arugula
- Chipotle Chili Powder
- Baking Soda
- Wood chips of choice if you have a smoker/grill

## Instructions
#### Prep
1. Defrost your shrimp, pat them dry
2. Season the shrimp with a squirt of lime, salt, Chipotle Chili Powder, and a teaspoon of baking soda
3. Heat up your grill to about 250°F
4. Cut your red peppers in thirds. Remove all seeds.
5. Butter your butter, and add a small amount of Chipotle Chili Powder (sometimes I use Trader Joe's "Everything But the Elote")

#### Cooking
6. My grill is also a smoker, if your's is as well, I recommend adding a few wood chips of your choice just to add flavor
7. Add your corn and red pepper to the grill, let them cook for about 5 minutes, turning every few minutes
8. Add the shrimp over direct heat, flipping often, and pulling when cooked
9. Slice the avocado and queso fresco
10. Take off the corn and red peppers when they're done. Cut the corn off of the ear into a few bowls. Add the arugala, shrimp, avocado, and queso fresco
11. Add a touch of olive oil and salt
12. Enjoy!


Nothing makes you feel the arrival of summer more than having a cold beer and grilling something light and tasteful

Grilled Summer Salad

Recipes