Oyster bar- Pan Roast 

Prep Time:10 Min Cook Time:40 Min Total Time:50 Min

Serves 

If you've been to Palace Station in Las Vegas, I'm sure you had their infamous Pan Roast. It's a Cajun style, rich, creamy, tomato based bisque. Depends what you like - you get a choice of seafood, chicken and sausage in the dish, and your prefer level of spiciness. I love seafood so that was an obvious choice for me :)

This is one of my favorite dishes so of course I had to re-make this at home. And this recipes is pretty close to home. It really hit the ball park, bon appetit!

Recipe:

Tomato Cream Sauce

• 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp Louisiana style hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot, Louisiana, etc)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 tsp madras curry powder (optional)
• ½ cup half & half or heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp corn starch

Rice

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 2 cups water
• 
  
• Seafood Stew

• 1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
• 2 cups shallots, chopped or 1 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 1½ cups celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 package of seafood blend or any seafood of your choice (crab, shrimp, calamari, mussels, clams, etc)
• 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 2.5 tsp cajun/creole seasoning (Tony's or Slap Ya Mama)
• 1 tsp pepper, freshly ground
• ¾ cup white wine (Riesling)
• ½ cup Brandy or Pernod
• 1 cup fish or vegetable broth or water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups okra, sliced into 1/2 inch chunks (optional)
• ½ cup parsley, chopped
• Kosher or sea salt to taste

Instructions

• 1
  1. Rinse rice with water about 3-4 times, prepare in rice cooker with a 1:1 ratio of rice to water. Add saffron if desired.
• 2
  2. In a blender or food processor, empty the San Marzano tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, half & half, honey, curry powder, & starch. Blend until smooth. The color should look like a light pink sauce; set aside.
• 3
  3. In a large saucepan on medium low heat, add oil. Flick a drop of water into the pot to see if it'll sizzle. Sweat shallots for about 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add celery & bell pepper, occasionally stirring until softened. Stir in garlic & cook for about 8-10 minutes.
• 4
  4. Turn the heat up to medium high, melting the butter & cooking seafood blend along with all the spices. Stir together to evenly coat the spices all over the seafood. Cook for about 2 minutes.
• 5
  5. Add the brandy, white wine, fish broth, & bay leaves to the seafood. Bring to a boil & stir in the tomato paste.
• 6
  6. Finish up the Pan Roast by slowly stirring in the tomato cream mixture. Bring the stew to a boil & add the okra.
• 7
  7. Garnish the Pan Roast with a nice heap of rice & fresh parsley flakes.

Sweet Sriracha Chicken Wings with Pickled Vegetables

If you want an easy chicken wing recipe that requires no down time for marination, then these babies are what you are looking for. It's easy and delicious. You must have these with the pickled vegetables to cut the sweetness from the chicken wings. Enjoy!


Sweet Sriracha Chicken Wings (makes 4 servings)

1. 3 lbs chicken wings (tips cut off)
2. 2 TBSP grape seed oil
3. 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
4. 2 TBSP Sriracha sauce + 1 tsp garlic chili sauce
5. 3/4 cup agave sauce
6. 1 tsp garlic powder
7. 3 TBSP lemon juice + lemon zest

Directions

• Preheat over to 400°
• Oil the chicken wings and bake for 15 minutes in a baking pan
• Combine the next 4 ingredients in a bowl, and pour sauce over the baked chicken wings
• Lower the heat to 375° and bake uncover for an hour, flipping the wings over at the half way mark. The sauce should be thick and caramelize
• Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest over the chicken wings. Serve with pickled vegetables and rice.

Pickled Vegetables (makes 4 serving)

1. 3 cucumbers, cubed
2. 4 shallots, cubed
3. 5 carrots, cubed
4. 2 thai or birds eye chili
5. 2 garlic cloves
6. 2 tsps kosher or sea salt
7. 1 cup white vinegar
8. 3/4 cup sugar
9. 1 cup water

Directions

Wash the vegetables and placed the chopped vegetables in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt to make it crispier. Set aside and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Heat the vinegar, salt, sugar, and water together until the sugar dissolves. 

Place the vegetables in a jar large enough to fit them all and pour the pickling liquid into the jar so that all of the vegetables are submerged. Store them sealed in the jar in the refrigerator for 5 days for best flavor. You can eat these after a couple hours of pickling.

We went to our friend’s Super bowl party, and they made these delicious chicken wings. When I took a bite of it, I presently surprised by the crunch of the coriander seeds and really enjoyed it. It took the chicken wings to another depth of flavor. Enjoy!

Spicy Sriracha Coriander Chicken Wings

INGREDIENTS

Serves 10

·        10 pounds chicken wings, split

·        1/4 cup coriander seeds, crushed

·        1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed

·        1 teaspoon cinnamon

·        2 tablespoons kosher salt

·        1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

·        3/4 cup Sriracha chile sauce

·        1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

·        1/2 cup chopped cilantro

·        Finely grated zest and juice of 3 limes

·        3 quarts vegetable oil, for frying

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

1.     In a very large bowl, toss the wings with the coriander and cumin seeds, cinnamon, kosher salt and olive oil. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2.     Preheat the oven to 375°. Spread the wings on 3 large rimmed baking sheets and roast for about 30 minutes, until firm but not cooked through. (At this point, if you don't want to fry the wings, you can roast them for 1 hour longer, until crispy and golden.) Wash out the bowl. Add the Sriracha, butter, cilantro, lime zest and juice.

3.     In a deep fryer or a very large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil to 375°.

4.     Fry the wings in 4 or 5 batches until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes per batch; drain, shaking off the excess oil. As each batch is finished, add the wings to the sauce and toss well. Transfer the wings to a platter, leaving the sauce in the bowl for the remaining batches. Serve hot.

Have you been to a steak house called Houston's? They have the best prime rib and Hawaiian rib eye. My fiance and I had our first date at Houston's, and we made it our ritual to visit Houston's every year on our anniversary. However, we made these Hawaiian rib eye, and OMG tasted exactly like Houston's rib eye. Now I will not be ordering the rib eye at Houston's no more! 

Copycat of Houston's Hawaiian Rib eye 

INGREDIENTS

SERVINGS 2

• 2 thick cut rib eye steaks
• 1cup low sodium soy sauce 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar
• 6 ounces pineapple juice
• ¹⁄₃ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

• mesquite charcoal (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1.      Add soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, pineapple juice and apple cider vinegar to a small pot. Bring to a boil then simmer over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the marinade into a large shallow dish (to marinate steaks later). Set aside until it’s cooled, or to speed up the process, cover and place it in the fridge until it’s cool.

2.     Add steak into the dish with marinade. Cover and place in fridge for 1 hour. Flip sides and cover for another 1 hour in the fridge.

3.     20 minutes before starting the grill, take dish with steaks out (still covered) to cool to room temperature. Heat grill.

4.     Heat grill to high and grill steaks for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to grill for 4 minutes (for medium-rare to medium). Use an internal thermometer (135F for medium-rare and 140F for medium). Transfer steaks to a platter and tent with foil to let rest for 5 minutes.

Salsa Roja for Pork Tamales

PORK SHOULDER:

• 1 teaspoon minced, rehydrated chipotle pepper, packed¹
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) orange juice
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons (21 grams) olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 – 3 1⁄2 pound boneless pork butt, cut into 4 – 5 big pieces
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) whole garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 cup (227 grams) water

• MARINATE AND BRAISE PORK:

  In a 1-gallon zip-top bag, combine chipotle through cumin; squish bag until mixed. Add pork and shake/squish until it’s evenly coated. Seal bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day. Remove pork from fridge about 30 minutes before braising and preheat the oven to 325°F.
  Place marinated pork in a small (2 – 3-quart) Dutch oven. Sprinkle smashed garlic over pork and pour water down the sides of the pan. Cover pan with lid and place in the preheated oven. Braise for 3 hours or until very tender.
  Discard garlic and remove pork pieces to a large, heatproof dish to cool. Strain braising liquid through a mesh sieve, separate and discard fat, and reserve 1 cup of the liquid (if needed, add water to make 1 cup). Once pork is cooled to room temp, shred with hands or two forks; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
  DO AHEAD: Meat can be braised several days in advance — I highly recommend doing so!!

SALSA ROJA:

•      3 ounces (about 8 whole) dried Guajillo  chiles, stem, seed, rinse and tear into several pieces each
•      3 cups water Guajilloed braising liquid from pork (more info in instructions below)
•      14 1⁄2 ounce can diced tomatoes
•       1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
•  1 1⁄2 teaspoons Kosher salt

MAKE SALSA ROJA:

In a medium pan (4-quart) combine chiles, water, reserved braising liquid, tomatoes, cumin and salt. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the ingredients are soft.

Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor (make sure to cool it off before blending). I have a hand mixture blender and that allows me to blended it while hot without any issues. Blend until smooth; set aside. 

Mix shredded pork with 2 cups (454 grams or 16 ounces) of the sauce. Set remaining sauce aside to serve with tamales.

DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made several days in advance, but only after the pork is braised (you need the reserved cooking liquid). Toss with pork as instructed, and store remaining sauce in a separate container.