A tasty farewell for a friend

Let me start by apologizing to those who were not invited... This was an impromptu gathering, and I have a small apartment that just can't accommodate everyone I would have liked to invite.  Rest assure there will be future "Super Fancy Finer Things Supper Catering Club Parties" (this is the name that we will be calling our food club gatherings!)

That being said, last week, a few co-workers and myself, decided to have a farewell "party" for our friend and co-worker, Dalin.  I figured what better time to break out a bacon wrapped, apple & jalapeno stuffed pork loin... and don't forget apple-wood smoked!  But since we work in catering, we are not content to just have one delicious item.  Our menu consisted of:

Appetizers

Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Toasted Baguette Slices

Deviled Eggs with Pickled Daikon Radishes, Pickled Red Onion, and Sriracha

Entree

Apple-wood smoked Bacon Wrapped, Jalapeno & Apple stuffed Pork Loin

Twice Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Dessert

 Layered Strawberry Short Cake (seriously, so good!)

I find that an evening full of good food, and good company is a hard thing to beat... And let's just say, I wish I had a larger stomach, so that I could have kept eating.  Everything was sooo good.  I won't bore you with 5 different recipes, but at some later point, I will re-post a few of these items and I will include some recipes.  Until that time, you just have to take my word that it was delicious.

 And finally... Farewell Dalin and good luck in Texas!

Grilled Jalapeno Steak Sandwich

I love sandwiches... let me correct that, I love good, flavorful sandwiches!  I have dreams of one day, opening a sandwich shop, featuring more upscale sandwiches than, let's say, Subway or Jimmy Johns... But, I digress, back to the topic at hand, sandwiches, especially a Grilled Jalapeno Steak Sandwich.

I'm sure you have had sandwiches somewhat like this one, but it doesn't change the fact that it is delicious.  I start by taking diced up jalapeno, minced garlic, kosher salt, and a squeeze from 1/2 a lime, and I grind this mixture with my mortar and pestle.  in the meantime, I take the flank steak, salt and pepper it, then rub it down with the garlic-jalapeno mixture.  I let this goodness sit for at least 30 minutes to semi marinate (and develop some more flavor).  When i feel the steak is good and ready, I fire up the grill, get it nice and hot, and then slap the steak on the grill.

While my steak is getting grilled, I whip up some quick guacamole... I am under the impression that everyone has their favorite guacamole recipe, and specific dos and don'ts with what you can or can't add to your guacamole.  I say, knock that noise, because there are very few rules in cooking, and if it sounds and taste good, go for it.  Anyway, I start by mushing up my avocado, then add diced jalapeno, finely diced white, yellow, or red onion (all depends on what I have in my fridge), then add minced garlic, a squeeze of lime, some kosher salt, and black pepper... done!

By this time, my steak should be about a good medium rare or medium, but cook it how you like it.  Then I let the steak rest, and tighten up and retain all those delicious juices.  When its ready, I slice it, and layer it on my bread (for this sandwich I used a cut down baguette).  Before that, I spread mayo on the bottom and the guacamole on the top piece.  Then goes on the steak, then some queso fresco (any crumbly Mexican cheese works).  If I had some red onion, I probably would have grilled them and added them to the sandwich.

Grilled jalapeno steak sandwich with garlic fries and guacamole

Apple-wood smoked pork, bacon, red onion, and alfredo pizza

Last weekend, I decided to have my friend Anjo over... It was a pretty nice day, and any time the weather is remotely nice, I want to fire up the grill.  The only downside, was, I had no extra money to buy food!  So, I started rummaging through the fridge, freezer, and my cabinets.  I had some boneless pork ribs in the freezer, 1/2 a red onion, some garlic (in a jar :( unfortunately), half a jar of store bought Alfredo sauce, and some BBQ rub. 

So I thought to myself, what can I make... could I do barbeque Alfredo?  I always have some kind of pasta noodles lying around... but I wasn't in the mood for pasta.  Then it hit me, why not combine two things I love, BBQ and PIZZA.  I began to hatch a plan to make a BBQ pork Alfredo pizza.  I thawed out the pork and some thick cut bacon I had in the freezer as well.  Rubbed it all down with my all purpose BBQ rub, diced up the red onion, and mixed it with some jar minced garlic, butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and foil wrapped those goodies.  Then we chimney started the fire (because there is no other way to start a charcoal fire), added some apple-wood to the charcoal, and then put the pork, bacon, and foil-wrapped onions on the grill to smoke for about an hour... The smell coming off of that grill was killing me!

In the meantime, I whipped up a basic pizza dough recipe, and we got that all spread out on a pan and ready to be topped.  At some point, I flipped the bacon over, rotated the pork, moved the onions around, and added a little more apple-wood.  When the pork was about ready, I pulled the bacon and onions off, added some 3-Vinegar BBQ sauce (my own creation) to the bacon grease that was still in the foil from the bacon... and we basted the pork with this creation sent from heaven... I mean, bacon grease and BBQ sauce mixed together, shut the front door!!!

After we had basted the pork, we pulled it off the grill and let it sit for a minute while we started adding the other ingredients to the pizza.  But first things first, we melted some butter and added grated Parmesan, minced garlic, BBQ rub, and some crushed red peppers, and then we spread this flavor creation over the whole crust.

 

then, we added the Alfredo (which we mixed in some red onion, red pepper, bacon relish... for an added ump-ff) and then drizzled 3-vinegar BBQ sauce over that.  At this point, the apartment is smelling like some amazing creation... MOUTH IS WATERING.

next step, we added the onions, then bacon, then pork... topped it with mozzarella, cheddar, and an Italian cheese blend.  Baked it for about 15 minutes or so and then gorged ourselves on BBQ pork Alfredo goodness.

Below is my basic pizza dough recipe... I believe the trick to good home-made dough, is good yeast, and letting it rise for the appropriate time.

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
2 cups All Purpose flour
1/2 cup flour for kneading

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water.
2. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until it's getting foamy.
3. Add sugar and let sit for about a minute.
4. Add salt, stir.
5. Stir in 2 cups of flour, 1/2 a cup at a time.
6. Knead for a few minutes until it starts to feel a little firm.
7. Let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
8. Punch dough down, turn out onto floured surface, and knead until firm, smooth and elastic.
9. Sprinkle a little flour over top, cover with a towel, and let rest for about 5 minutes.
10. Roll or stretch dough to fit your pizza pan.
11. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees, bake crust for about 5 minutes.
12. Turn oven down to 375 degrees, top your pizza, and bake for about 15 minutes (cooking time varies, depending on how crispy you want the pizza).