Rocket Jones

July 21, 2007

Someone's in the Kitchen with Diinaaaaah!

Here's a simple dessert that will impress guests.

Caramelized Pineapple

1 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tbsp butter, divided
4 Tbsp dark rum, brandy or water

Preparing the pineapple: If you've never done this before, you will be amazed at how easy it is. Using a sharp knife, cut off the end with the stem. Cut off the bottom. Slice the pineapple in half from end to end, then cut the halves into quarters, then again into eighths. Now slice off the inside wedge containing the tough middle (there's a reason for pineapple rings) and slice off the outer skin. Chop the fruit into 1 inch long chunks.

Put pineapple chunks into a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar. Toss to coat all of the fruit well.

On high heat, melt 2 Tbsp butter in a large non-stick skillet. Add the pineapple to the hot pan and cook for 10 or 15 minutes. Don't turn too often, but shake the pan frequently. You want the sugar to form a rich brown crunch coat on the pineapple. When it's ready, remove the pineapple.

Add the remaining butter to the pan juices, then the rum or other liquid. Heat and cook, stirring frequently and scraping up any tasty bits that stick to the pan, until it thickens a bit. If you used water instead of spirits, a small dash of almond extract can be added too.

Serve the hot pineapple over vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of the sauce.

Posted by: Ted at 07:12 AM | category: Recipes
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July 13, 2007

Dinah, in the Kitchen, with the Poison

Ok, so maybe not as bad as *poison*, but still...

Friends, I can cook. I'm a damn good cook! A few of you have been to our house for meals and I'm confident that you'll back me up on that.

But...

My guacamole sucks. Seriously bad suck, which makes it worse because I love the stuff. I've gone the zen route with just avocado, tomato, onion and cilantro. I've tried adding all kinds of goodies and extras to it, but nothing seems to help.

If you make great guacamole, please pass me the recipe. If you only make good guacamole then I'd still love the recipe, because it's gotta be better than the crap I've been turning out for far too long.

Thanks.

Posted by: Ted at 10:52 PM | category: Recipes
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1 Maybe try Texas Guacamole? I saved this awhile ago, but admit I've never made it, because I just eat the ripe avocados with a spoon.

Posted by: nic at July 14, 2007 06:22 AM (l+W8Z)

2 Try this recipe but add garlic powder.

Posted by: Amy at July 14, 2007 07:04 PM (drvpG)

3 Bah! Pre-canned tomatoes and salsas! Good guacamole is FRESH quacamole, and it isn't that hard. You'll need:

2 large ripe avocados
1 tomato, small dice
1 small sweet yellow onion, small dice
1 tablespoons chopped cilantro
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, fine dice (depending on how brave you are)
juice of 2 limes
salt
pepper

The secret's in using 2 avocados. Good guacamole has large chumks od avocado left in it, but has plenty of avocado creaminess too. Here's how you accomplish that:

Cut one of the avocados into medium-sized chunks. Place in a non-reactive bowl (stainless or glass), sprinkle with 1 teaspoon lime juice, mix well.

Ad in the garlic, tomato, onions, cilantro, and jalapeno, stirring each one in one at a time. By the end of this process, the avocado will be well-creamed. At this point add the second avocado, cut into slightly larger chunks than the first one. Add more lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

The last step is important: Place one of the avocado pits in the moddle of the guacamole, cover, and refrigerate. The lime jucie and the avocado pit will keep the guacamole from turning brown. This is important, because good guacamole needs time to marinate -- at least a couple of hours, ideally either overnight (if you're serving it in the morning), or all day (if you make it in the morning and serve it in the evening) -- in order to taste its best.

Oh, yeah, sealing it properly is also vital, because avocado is high in fat and fat absorbs the flavors of refrigerator funk.

Posted by: Boy Named Sous at July 14, 2007 08:12 PM (bM2l6)

4 Simple But Succulent Guacamole

2 Avocados - slice, mash one fine, one coarse.
1 small tomato. Slice finely, mash with avocado.
1 tiny onion, chop into miniscule pieces.
2 Thai chillis, slice very finely, add to mix when mashing. You can use 1 mexican chilli instead, Jalapeno or Habanjero, but be careful to test the heat before adding, as some will be far hotter than others. You may need more or less.

That's it. No other ingredients.

Posted by: Zoe Brain at July 15, 2007 03:49 AM (lbCCO)

5 I think I've still got some "secret spice mix" around here somewhere. Email me the address to send it to, if you want it.

Posted by: Catt at July 16, 2007 08:54 AM (ObqEK)

6 I posted a non-standard recipe a while back. Note that what looks like a ketchup dispenser on our kitchen table actually contains sriracha.

Anyway, what you can extrapolate from my recipe is the importance of ripe avocados.

Posted by: triticale at July 16, 2007 10:23 AM (sj3Jj)

7 If I was going all out, I like the way the recipe of Boy Named Sous looks. But usually I'm not so motivated.

My usual guac would be avocados, salsa [usually Pace medium], garlic [needs to be pretty fine if you're using cloves], and lime juice.

Posted by: owlish at July 20, 2007 07:15 PM (j0JKI)

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