Merry Christmas to you all, and a happy New Yarr!

Merry Christmas to you all, and a happy New Yarr!

Belated Happy Thanksgiving!

A happy belated Thanksgiving to the lot of you!

     I usually try to wish you all a happy holiday on the day but I was a bit busy the past couple of days so I got to you all today instead!  As much as I love Thanksgiving dinner with my dad, I also love the days after with leftovers and other cooking.

     One of my favorite things to do is take the remains of the turkey, throw it in a big pot with broth and water, and let it simmer for several hours in order to make a base for some wonderful soup!  I took what was left of two large turkey breasts and put it in a large pot with 4 qts of vegetable broth & 2 qts of cold water.  I brought it up to a slow boil and reduced it to a simmer, where I will keep it as it cooks for the next 4-6 hrs.  Then I will discard the bones and let it cool before putting it away.

     Tomorrow, I will skim the fat off the top and make soup out of it with some vegetables and leftover turkey to make a nice turkey & escarole soup.

     I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and may this holiday season bring you happiness, full glasses, and much love!

Things in the Thing Water - Inspired by Hellevator

     I recently got the chance to meet Jen & Sylvia Soska at a Halloween con in Orlando.  For those of you that don't know them, they were the hosts of a game show called Hellevator where contestants had to survive 4 levels of a haunted building to win a cash prize, where each lair was specially designed for their biggest fears.

     One of my favorite scenes is when a contestant is digging through a "soup" of stuff trying to find a piece to solve the puzzle and she screams, "there's things in the thing water!"

     So, it inspired me to take classic dish and give it a twist and here we have it! I hope you enjoy...

Things in the Thing Water Soup

By

The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:
   1 Lb Grilled Meat (I used beef brats but any grilled meat should do)

   1 Head of Escarole

   64 oz Chicken Broth
   Grated Italian Cheese

Directions:

   1) Cut meat into bite-size pieces, for brats and sausage, slice on the diagonal into bite-size pieces.

   2) Wash escarole thoroughly and tear into bite-size pieces.

   3) Pour the broth into a large pot, it should come up halfway or less, and bring to a boil.

   4) Stir the escarole into the broth, reduce to a simmer and cover, cook for 10 minutes.

   5) Stir the meat into the soup, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

   6) Pour into bowls and and stir in grated cheese as desired.

   7) Enjoy!

Bumbu Rum

     Being the pirate I am, I have been exploring more rums as of late.  Recently I was attracted to this beautiful bottled rum.

     A little about Bumbu rum before I review it.  This rum is made on the island of Barbados, one of the Caribbean islands and an island that boasts to have been making rum for about 400 years.  This naturally sparked my interest so I went and bought myself a bottle to try.

     The water used in this rum is naturally purified as it is forced through the limestone that makes up the island, so they do not have to further purify or distill the water in order to use it like some rum makers need to do.  Even their sugarcane is specific to the area as they only select what they view as the best amongst the islands of the West Indies.

     This rum is a 70 proof rum that is a good dual-purpose rum, meaning you can mix it or enjoy it by itself, although I like my rums on the rocks in most cases.  The flavor is a well-blended mix of local spices, with one outstanding difference from other spiced rums.  It has the distinct hint of banana!  This is not to be confused with the Pirate Piss soda I reviewed previously, which tasted like banana runts.  Bumbu rum has a strong note of natural banana flavor, but not so strong that it overpowers the spices used in it.  This makes it a pleasant change of pace from the traditional spiced rums that can kind of blend together after a while.

     The bottle is a nice, heavy glass bottle that's sporting a beautiful tarnished X on it, surrounded by raised glass print.  The back of the bottle tells us a little about the rum and has a map of the Caribbean just above the description. Even the cork in the bottle is unique as it sports an X on the top and every time you open the bottle, it gives you a nice 'POP' sound.

     I think this rum will be added to my regular supply as it's reasonably priced at about $30-35 a bottle for 750 ml and for me, it will last a while.  I do believe that I'll even be keeping this bottle just because of how it looks.

Rocket Fizz Soda - Gross Gus's Pirate Piss Soda

     During my trip to Charlotte, NC; I also paid a visit to a local Rocket Fizz store to see what kinds of soda and candy they have in stock.  They have quite a selection of both!  While some of the candies are out there, they pale in comparison to the selection of sodas they have.

     Not only do they carry some of the lesser known sodas and classics, such as Grape Nehi and Doc Brown's Cel-Ray, they also have some really off the wall sodas too.  Some of them were a little too off the wall for me, such as dirt soda and buffalo wing soda.

     I did settle on trying Gross Gus's Pirate Piss soda, and yes, I grabbed it because it said pirate, lol!  Thankfully, it did not taste like urine.  It is actually a banana-flavored soda and is colored to look like someone urinated in the bottle.

     Once you get past the name and color, it is actually a pretty good soda.  When you open the bottle, you get a whiff of banana candy or popsicles.  The first swig is that sweet artificial flavor of banana Runts from one of those candy vending machines from my childhood.  It even has that funky banana aftertaste from eating those little guys.

     So if you want to be taken back to your childhood, and want to giggle like a kid again, give Pirate Piss a try.  It's available at Rocket Fizz shops, and they are all over place so look to see if there's one near you.

Hyatt House Charlotte - H Fries & Big Boss's Blanco Diablo Beer

     So I recently returned from a business trip to Charlotte, NC and my work put me up at the Hyatt House in downtown Charlotte.  I did venture over to the Epicentre to grab a bite a couple of times, there's lots of places to eat there but they are about half chains and half local.

     Well the night I got in, I wanted something to snack on and a beer, so I went down to the bar in the lobby and looked over their menu.  I wasn't in the mood for a full meal, so I ordered their H Fries from the appetizer section to try.

     Now you might wonder what's so special about an order of fries, well the fries weren't the special part, it was the dipping sauces that intrigued me.  The fries were seasoned lightly, just enough to add some flavor but not so much that you lost the taste of the fries themselves. 

     Now the sauces (oh man, the sauces) were really something else.  The fries came in a metal cone with paper (see the blurry picture below, not used to using my phone for pictures) and 3 dipping sauces; a garlic aioli, a truffle mayo, and a chipotle ketchup. 

     The garlic aioli was amazing; it was slightly off-white but creamy with no chunks of garlic.  The garlic flavor itself was strong, but well-balanced with the rest of the ingredients when eaten with fries.  As I am a lover of garlic, I used up more of this sauce than I probably should have but it was so very good. 

     The truffle mayo was something I have not seen before, even though I have worked with truffles on the rare occasion.  They used white truffles for this and minced them nice and small so they mixed in with the mayo well and dispersed flavor throughout.  Another very well put-together dipping sauce that didn't overpower the flavor of the fries but complemented them and added another nice flavor dimension.  I would be interested in seeing what it would be like with real black truffles instead of white, but that would move this dish from $6 to more like $60 or so as black truffles are very expensive.

     The last sauce I tried was a little disappointing, the chipotle ketchup.  The reason I was disappointed was because, even though the ketchup had some smokiness and hints of heat to it, the ketchup was overpowering the chipotle aspects of this sauce.  Now, if you haven't worked with ketchup before, it can be a little tricky to make flavored ketchup because of the sweetness of ketchup.  That was the case in this circumstance.  The sweetness and over ketchup flavor overpowered the chipotle ingredients that they added.  I did get the smokiness and heat, but only after several bites of it.  This might have worked better had the fries not been seasoned, but the sauce still could have been unbalanced in regards to the flavor profile.

     The beer I had was the Blanco Diablo from Big Boss Brewing in Raleigh, NC and was definitely something different.  The Blanco Diablo is a wheat beer that rings in at only 4.3% alcohol so you can sit there and drink them back to back rather easily on a hot summer day.  Now, what makes this beer unique are the ingredients that they brew this beer with; cucumber and lime.  You read that right, this is a cucumber and lime wheat beer!  This is probably one of the more refreshing beers I've had in a while in fact!

     You can taste the cool and clean taste of cucumber and the refreshing crispness of the lime zests used during the brewing process.  Even with that said, this was well balanced and worked well with the fries, but this would also go well with some nice grilled chicken or shrimp.  I could also see this going along well with some Thai food or some Cali-Mex tacos.

     I might have to drive up to NC next time so that I can visit Big Boss Brewing and try some more of their beers as they have quite a selection of regular beers and some seasonal ones as well.  One of their specialty beers I want to try is their Big Operator, which is a raspberry and cocoa nibs beer.

Bones Coffee Company - Shark Bite Coffee

     So I recently tried Shark Bite coffee from Bones Coffee Company based in Florida.  Their Shark Bite coffee is a medium roast coffee infused with a spiced, butter rum flavor.

     They sell this in a 1 lb bag with an option for either whole bean or ground, depending on your preference.  If you are not an avid coffee drinker, I recommend getting the whole bean and a coffee grinder, that way you get the freshest flavor possible with every cup.  You do have to store the beans properly though.  The best way to do that is to store the whole beans in an opaque (not clear) air-tight container and do not refrigerate it.  The reason you don't want to use a clear container is that the sunlight can compromise the flavor and integrity of the beans over time.

     Now to the coffee itself!  Bones Coffee Company does a nice job of balancing the spice and butter rum flavor with their medium roast Arabica beans.  You get all the flavor and bite of a perfect medium roast coffee with this blend.  They have a good butter rum flavor mixed in with this coffee with just a hint of, what tastes like, cinnamon to give it a nice little kick.

     I have brewed this 3 different ways in my Ninja coffee maker; classic brew, rich brew, and over ice brew.  This coffee has performed well in all three brews and maintained the flavor balance in each one, even when mixed with milk and sugar.  I am looking forward to trying more coffee blends from this company.

4th of July

Italian Sausage and Peppers Cavatappi

     If you are lucky enough to have had a county fair where you live, you might remember a favorite dish, Italian sausage and peppers.  Well, this is a slight twist to that dish but just as good and flavorful.

Italian Sausage and Peppers Cavatappi

By

The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

   5 Italian Sausage Links

   1 Large Onion

   3 Large Bell Peppers (I like to use 2 green and 1 orange)

   1 Lb Cavatappi Pasta 

   1/2 Cup Chicken Broth

   Shredded/Grated Cheese

Directions:

   1) Cut the onion and peppers into large bite-size pieces, big enough to eat but not have to cut.

   2) Cook pasta per instructions and drain.

   3) Brown the sausage in a large skillet on medium to medium-high, remove and allow to cool enough to handle.

   4) Slice up the sausage diagonally about 1/4" thick and return to the skillet.

   5) Add the onions and peppers to the skillet, cook until onions and peppers are soft but not mushy, stirring often.

   6) Put the pasta, sausage, peppers, and onions in the pot and stir together.

   7) Deglaze the skillet with the chicken broth on high and reduce liquid to half.

   8) Stir deglazed liquid over pasta and stir together.

   9) Top individual servings with cheese and enjoy!

Easy Cook Ribs and Gourmet Warehouse Caribbean BBQ Sauce

     I recently had dinner with my dad and we decided to cook up some ribs to celebrate my new job.  So this is a little bit of a recipe and a little bit of a review at the same time.

     How we do our ribs, since we don't have a smoker, is that we cook them in the oven and then finish them on the grill.  This way we get fully cooked throughout without burning the sauce on it.

Easy Cook Ribs

by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

     1 Package of Pork Loin Back Ribs

     1 Tbl of Salt (I prefer to use sea salt)

     2 Tbls of Paprika

     1/2 Tbl of Ground Black Pepper

     BBQ Sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, use non-stick or wipe down with vegetable oil to prevent sticking.
3. Mix up salt, paprika, and black pepper in a bowl.  Feel free to double this if you think you'll need more.
4. Remove the packaging from the ribs, wash them well and pat dry with a paper towel.
5. Place the ribs upside-down (meat side down) on a plate and rub the seasoning mix into the underside of the ribs.
6. Flip the ribs over and rub the seasoning mix into the top and sides of the ribs.
7. Once the oven is preheated, slide the baking sheet with the ribs onto the center rack.
8. Cook for 1 1/2 hours.
9. Preheat the grill to med-low heat if you have gas, or cook with a little smaller amount of charcoal than you normally would. It's not going to take too long to finish the ribs off.
10. Once the ribs are done in the oven, carefully remove them from the baking sheet and place upside-down onto a plate to take to the grill.
11. Brush your BBQ sauce onto the underside of the ribs and flip over onto the grill.
12. Brush the tops and sides of the ribs with BBQ sauce as well. 
13. Let cook for a little bit, then flip and brush the underside again.
14. Repeat every couple of minutes until done.  Remember, you're not cooking the ribs, just finishing them up with sauce so don't overcook them. Mine came out perfectly cooked!
15. Enjoy with some good BBQ sides!

 

     For the sauce, I used Gourmet Warehouse's Caribbean BBQ Sauce and it was really good!

     Their sauce uses a ketchup base and some brown sugar for sweetness, no high fructose corn syrup here so that's really good!  The sauce does have a little citrus tanginess to it, something I wasn't expecting but it was a very nice change.  now this sauce does differ from your normal sweet and tangy bbq sauce in that it makes use of several Latin spices and spice mixes that we don't see too often in BBQ sauce.  All in all, the flavors are balanced out very well and gave a lot of flavor to the ribs and I'm looking forward to using it again on some other dishes soon.

Coffee Shop of Horror's Kill-Devil Rum-Ble

     Last weekend I had the pleasure of going to Spooky Empire's horror convention in Orlando, FL and had an absolute blast with a dear friend that's like a sister to me.  The celebrity guests were awesome and friendly as could be, I even got a high five from Matthew Lillard as he walked by going to his photo op session.  The attendees, exhibitors, and tattoo artists were in good spirits and very friendly as well.  One shop that caught my eye was the Coffee Shop of Horror (yes, that's a take off of the classic Little Shop of Horrors movie) and everything they sell is inspired by something for both flavor and artwork. 

     For this trip, I bought a bag of Kill-Devil Rum-Ble coffee.  It's a rum caramel flavored coffee and I've been using it all week for iced coffees.  I use a Ninja coffee maker for single cups, large travel cups, and iced coffee and this coffee works perfectly in it.  The coffee is smooth and they use a Colombian bean for this blend, all the while, blending in perfectly the flavor of a nice rum caramel sauce.

     I have also used this for just a nice cup of coffee in the morning or at night and when it's brewing, the house is filled with the delightful smell of this blend.  This is much easier than trying to make a batch of rum caramel anyways, haha!

     At the convention, all the bags are whole bean and they will grind it to your desired grind when you purchase them or you can select your grind when you order online.  Although the best thing to do is get a coffee grinder and keep the beans whole until you need them, they will last longer and retain the wonderful flavors better as well.  Although the bag I bought this past Sunday won't last long enough to worry about that as I've been using it every day.

     One trick I like to use for adding sugar to my drinks is that I make a big batch of simple syrup every so often.  It lasts for a very very long time and since the sugar is already melted, it blends in almost instantly and there's no sugar crystals sitting at the bottom of your glass.  I have included a basic recipe for simple syrup and you can find lots of ones online for flavored version but this is the basic and most versatile.

Simple Syrup

1) Pour equal parts water and sugar into a saucepan.

2) Heat the ingredients over medium heat until dissolved and just starting to boil.

3) Remove from heat and let cool.

4) Pour syrup into a container and keep in the fridge until time to use.

Kazu Sushi Burrito

     So today I tried a new restaurant that opened in St. Augustine today, Kazu Sushi Burrito. I enjoy sushi and I enjoy burritos so the idea of a sushi burrito both intrigued my culinary curiosity and stoked my hunger.

     I decided to do the "poke your way" sushi burrito with 2 proteins. I opted for tuna and spicy tuna for my proteins, with cucumber and hijiki salad for my mix-ins and some poke sauce as well.

 

     Hijiki salad is a black seaweed salad, a little sweeter than traditional seaweed salad, with some carrots added in.

     They put down a seaweed wrap, with some rice and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, and then added the proteins. They move to the mix-ins and then add sauce before rolling it up and cutting it in half.

     The sushi burrito had so much flavor and yet, it did not overpower any of the other ingredients. I was very happy with it and look forward to trying them again. I also plan on trying their gyoza and some other appetizers that they have.

     If you are looking for something different but you love sushi, then definitely give Kazu Sushi Burrito a try and let your mind explore their menu and come up with different combinations!

The Old City Pirate Fest and Chicken Pot Pie

     The Old City Pirate Fest was a blast!  There were lots of vendors, from leather goods and garb to beard oil and jewelry!  Both Madi Rum and Monkey Rum were there with rum and delicious cocktails!

     The Krewe of the 13 and the St. Augustine Swashbucklers put on a grand event and at one point, the captains of both crews were in the brig!  Capt. Savage was found guilty of not dressing like a proper captain and Capt. Proper Roger was found guilty of mishandling his cannon the day before.  The bail was set high but both captains made bail and were set free.

     I had a wonderful shrimp po'boy at the St. Augustine Seafood Company on Saturday and one of my favorite meals downtown is still the chicken pot pie at the Bull and Crown Publick House.

     So let's talk about the chicken pot pie, one of my favorite dishes to get downtown and very filling as well.

     The kitchen makes the pot pie filling early in the day and once it's gone, it's gone!  They fill a dish with a mix of chicken stew with peas, carrots, and onions.  It's then covered with a puff pastry top and baked off

     This dish comes out piping hot and delicious!  You've never had a frozen pot pie that could come anywhere near as good as this one!  For only $10, it's one of the best deals downtown for the amount of food you get!

Sorry Marie Callender, but your pot pies have nothing on this!