CUSTARD A SIMPLE RECIPE

With the Holidays here, Black Friday is behind us, and more family and friends will be invited for festive occasions. Being a cook, and mind you, I haven't been cooking for a few months, I kind of like not cooking, haha. Which leads me to this one basic recipe for custard.

Custard is one of my favorites, filled in puff pastry for a cream puff, or in a custard pie, the list goes on and on, especially when a very lovely person bakes a fruity infused custard, man, that's heaven. One time at work some nice woman, baked us some custard lilikoi pies. Man it was awesome, so sweet, and rich, man it was heaven...it really was! Christmas time, we have so much food being passed around, we really should be thankful... anyway, let's get to making a basic custard.

INGREDIENTS

(Makes 6)

2 cups of milk

2 large eggs

* 2 egg yolks (whites removed)

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 1/4 tsp. of pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Ground nutmeg for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 300 F

1. Set 6- 4 oz. oven ready  ramekins in a deep baking pan wide enough for 6.

2. In a saucepan simmer the milk over medium low heat, not too hot.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the 2 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.

4. Very carefully, and slowly pour the egg mixture into the simmering milk, and whisk to combine.

5. Use a fine strainer or sieve, to strain the mixture into the cups that's inside the baking pan. Use a spatula to press the mix through. It may be clogged but no worries.

6. Pour some hot water (Not boiling) into the pan until it just reaches halfway up the sides of each ramekin or cup.

7. Bake until the custard is just settled, about 30-35 minutes. (if you are using a convection oven it may be faster, so please keep your eyes and nose on it).

8. Remove from pan, rinse out baking pan, fill with cold water, and let sit for 2 hours before serving. (When it is cool to the touch, you can put it in the fridge, when ready to serve top with ground nutmeg.)

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Well that was the simple custard recipe. I like simple stuff, it's YAY YAY.. got to be simple... I mean, don't buy it if you can make it, you silly Xmas foodies. :))))

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GRILLING A NICE JUICY LOIN PORK CHOP

Grilling pork chops in winter? Yes. Well I'm in Hawaii and it's kind of grilling season as long as no hurricane is near by or a tsunami rolling on to the yard, then it's all yay yay.

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FROM GOOGLE

DIRECTIONS:

First go and heat up your grill, nice and hot.

Ingredients

2- Loin pork chops about 8-9 oz each bone in. (1 to 1 1/2 inch thick)

3 tbsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. black pepper

Garlic powder (to be sprinkled over the chops before you flip it once, and after it is done.

DIRECTIONS

1. Sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper on both sides, more if you want. (Let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes) * Grilling a cold chop isn't wise, the cold in the center of each chop will prevent it from cooking through well.

2. When ready for the hot grill, place chops on to the grill, and let it sit for about 5 minutes, making sure the flames don't burn the chops. After 5 minutes, sprinkle some garlic powder on the chops before flipping. Then flip, and cook for another 5 minutes. Use an instant read thermometer and stick it into the center of each chop, if the reading is at least 145 to 150 remove from heat, sprinkle more garlic powder and let sit before serving. If it isn't 145 f continue to grill until the insides reach that.

Too many people overcook a pork chop and it becomes totally dried out, but if the heat penetrates the chop, that's the key... it should be safe to eat. There's a misconception, if the pork is pink it's no good. Well if it is totally red, then no good, but if that thermometer reads at least 145 f, it's good to go, and serve hot.

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MARTIN YAN CAN

I'm in a lazy mode, it's the night after Thanksgiving 2016, and I just ate another full plate of turkey with gravy, apple pie and a Coke, so as I'm thinking of something to write, well.. I can't.

So why don't we watch one of my favorite chefs, Chef Martin Yan as he cooks us something really delicious. Thank God for Google and Youtube the company that drives my blog, I can post a lot of videos for your culinary entertainment. In fact, I should just be hosting Youtube videos on cooking. How's that? Yay? Okay.... let's watch chef do his thing.

PEKING DUCK DINNER!

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SHREDDED CHICKEN MAKES MANY MEALS

Shredded chicken meat can make a lot of delicious meals. Cook it, and shred it, refrigerate it, and heat it up later, or not... you can use cold cooked shredded chicken meat to make chicken salad. Yay!

PIC FROM GOOGLE.COM

Here's how to make shredded chicken. it's very easy. You can use dark meat from the chicken like the legs and thighs, or the white meat from the breast meat, or do what I do, and that's to shred a whole chicken. Just take a whole chicken, rinse it off, and take out the stuff from the cavity of the bird.

Place the bird in a pot of boiling water, and cover it, simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Cool, and using a knife, remove the legs, separating the drum from the thighs, and removing the meat. Break the meat apart with your fingers and just hand shred it, or use a fork and beak the meat apart. No matter how you do it, cover the meat, and refrigerate it, and use it when you are ready.

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Chicken Salad

Use your shredded chicken to make chicken salad, just chop up the meat a little finer, add some minced onions, salt and pepper, and some mayonnaise and mix it up, I swear it will taste better than canned chicken or canned tuna, Yay!

Chicken Stir Fry

Just heat up a fry pan or wok with some cooking oil, add some garlic and ginger, and toss that meat in there, stir it around, add some soy sauce, oyster sauce, minced scallions, you are good to go baby... Yay!

Fake Roasted Chicken

Fake? Yes. Fake in a good way. Just heat up some shredded chicken in a pan, with some oil and garlic, then add in some canned or bottled brown gravy, oh yeah, simple is king man! Who wants to slave roasting a bird? I don't. I did enough cooking.... well that's debatable, but I'm a lazy ass..haha. Fake Roasted Chicken is all Yay Yay!!!

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So as you can gather, shredding some chicken tonight for some future use is totally a good thing. You hungry? Hey you can snack on some shredded chicken, make any kind of snack with it. Place it on some French bread with some garlic butter and stick it in the toaster oven. There's a lot of things you can do with it, get creative.

Until next time Ron

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SIMPLE BEEF CURRY STEW

Today I'm going to give you a simple Beef Curry Stew recipe, and all you'll need for tools is...

1 8 quarts pot with lid
1 sharp kitchen knife
1 stove top burner

And for the ingredients all you will need is this.

1 1/2 pounds of chuck roast, cut into bite size cubes
1/2 cup of flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper.

Directions for this one part, take the flour, and add in the salt and pepper, and mix it. Then add it to the flour, and mix that. Then take the cubed beef and dredge it, and let it sit for a few minutes at room temperature.

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Now for the other ingredients.

1 bay leaf
3 heaping tablespoons of curry powder
1 tsp. of turmeric
1 tsp. of ground cloves
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 cans of low sodium beef broth

1 large carrot sliced 1/4 inch
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size cubes
2 cups sliced celery

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Cooking directions

1. Add a little vegetable oil in the pot, and preheat over medium high heat, then    add in the cubed beef, and brown them, leaving each cube with a crust.

2. Add in the bay leaf, curry powder, turmeric, ground cloves, garlic powder, and cook tossing cubes to coat for about 3 minutes.

3. Add in the beef broth, bring to a boil, then lower to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes or so.

4. Add in the veggies, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Adjust salt and pepper. Serve hot over rice. Serves about 3-4 people or 1 hungry Hawaiian! 

          

© 2015

FOODS THAT MAKE YOU GO

In this post I'm not going to share any recipes, or tell you where to go and eat. What I will do though is this, ask you "what foods make you go?" and I mean to the bathroom. Man I work with a couple of brothers, and I swear, every time they are done eating lunch, they are headed to the restrooms to pull of the old number #2!!!! Yeah, that's the one where you sit on the bowl.... for guys, you aren't doing the #1 where you're standing to relieve yourself.

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So I was wondering what the hell is wrong with these guys? I for one do need to use the restrooms after I eat certain foods. But I won't go there for it may just gross you out, heck I don't want to do that to you. But what is going on when one of these guys are done eating a bowl of stew? "Sh...., I gotta go man!" What? Why? You just ate stew and you gotta go? Man!

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I don't know exactly what may be wrong, possibly their chemicals for digestion is all out of whack. For what ever the reasons, what are the foods that make you go to the bathroom really quick?

a. dairy

b. ground beef

c. poultry

d. soft drinks

e. Asian foods

f. fast foods

g. other

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Here's some tips for you that need to do the no.2 all the time.

- carry extra toilet paper

- carry extra disinfecting spray

- carry extra hand soap

Maybe extra underwear. :)

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WHOLE GRAIN PASTA

I'm not a fan of whole grain pasta, i like the white stuff that makes ya fat! Period! Whole grain anything suck. But... it is good for your health. So if you're a diabetic, it's a good product for you.

There's a lot of brands out there, just choose the one that fits your price range and have a go at it. 

We locals here in Hawaii love macaroni salad, usually made with elbow macaroni, the refined white ones. And some shredded celery, peas, carrots, maybe some crab or tuna meat. But the high calorie stuff is the mayonnaise that's mixed with the salad.

So for a healthy macaroni salad, you could use some whole grain pasta, and use a vegetable based vegan mayonnaise like Vegenaise. It's pretty tasty, and much more healthier. Me, I like the refined stuff. But I should eat healthier. 

Happy eats during this Thanksgiving.

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BACK TO BASICS IN THE KITCHEN

Basics, sounds boring! I tell you what, without basics in anything, you lose all the time. For instance. A baseball player gets lazy in the batter's box, he'll strike out. A free safety not studying wide receivers, he'll get burned for touchdowns. A cop that doesn't practice self defense or shoots his Glock at the range will get killed! Basics! Get back to it, and in the kitchen basics is very important.

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Here's a question, is it safer to use a dull knife or a sharp knife? A dull knife is much more dangerous, you want that knife to slice, chop, mince with ease like a sharp razor, so always keep them knives sharp. 

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How do you prevent crying when slicing an onion? Just remove the roots of the onion, take a paring knife and slice around the root, digging out the core. Here watch this video.

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How about frying some chicken in a fry pan? When do you know that the oil is hot enough? Toss a small piece of bread in the oil, when it sizzles and turns brown that oil is hot enough to fry your gramma's fried chicken recipe, don't forget to save me a few thighs, I'm a thigh man.

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There you have some basics, until next time be safe y'all!

        

© 2015

TEA BOX EXPRESS AT QUEEN KAAHUMANU CENTER

Tea Box Express in the Queen Kaahumanu Center by Stevan Holt is the newest addition to the second floor at the mall, next to Hot Topics and close to Macy's Men's Dept. A smaller version of Tea Box compared to Stevan's other shop in the Maui Mall about a mile down the street, this one will feature hot and iced teas to go. 

Here's a video of Stevan Holt the owner telling it like it is.

The Tea Box Express's front facing, it is right next door to Hot Topics second level Queen Kaahumanu Center.

Stevan looking on, if you didn't know Stevan is a former rock guitarist, and if you look on the walls, you'll see his heroes, the Beatles and Jimi on the upper left hand corner near the ceiling.

Hard working for the 4pm blessing and opening.

Good Luck Stevan!!!!

        

© 2015

JAMES KUDLICH THE FOODIE AT TEDDY'S BIGGER BURGERS LAHAINA MAUI

James the Foodie Kudlich

at Teddy's Bigger Burgers in Lahaina Maui mauling a Western Burger

       

© 2015

WHERE TO GET FILIPINO FOOD IN LAS VEGAS?

Who would have thought, looking from the outside looking in, that there's good Filipino food in the desert of Southern Nevada... Well there is, and if you go there for a vacay soon, especially you Hawaiians, all you need to do is catch a cab to, or drive to Fiesta Filipina Cuisine at 3310 S. Jones Blvd, phone: 702-252-0664 

Quick-serve Filipino dishes like lumpia, pancit and caldereta, with quaint and casual setting. It gets busy at the 12pm to 3pm hours, and tapers off from 6pm to 9pm.

Some of the menu items include.
CHOP SUEY
PINAKBET
LAING
GINATAANG KALABASA Stew
TORTANG TALONG Egg battered eggplant

BISTEK WITH ONIONS
BEEF MECHADO
BEEF CALDERETA
SINIGANG NA BAKA
PICADILLO

LECHON MANOK
CHICKEN ADOBO
GARLIC FRIED CHICKEN
CHICKEN WITH COCONUT MILK
CHICKEN AFRITADA

SINIGANG NA BANGUS Simmered milkfish
SINIGANG NA HIPON
GRILLED TILAPIA
SINIGANG NA KANDULI
GRILLED BANGUS

MAHA BLANCA
BIKO
TURON
CASSAVA

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