Best damn burger joint in San Diego

I've been wanting to go to Hodad's for quite some time now. Ever since I saw it on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" I've been wanting to try it. For some reason (I hate OB parking) I've just never gotten over there. When Lupe got home this evening she was hungry and wanted something to eat. I wanted to oblige her, but all the proteins in the house were frozen in the icebox. What to do? Go to Hodad's. Good answer.

Hodad's is exactly what you're looking for in a great burger joint; small, loud, crazy eclectic surroundings and crowded with people gettin' their grub on. We had to stand in line outside for about 30 minutes waiting for a seat. It was well worth the wait. We had plenty of time to stare at the awesome burgers making their way out of the kitchen. For a time it looked like Lupe and I would be in the VW bus booth, but they cleared a spot on the big communal surf board table first. Fortunately, we got seats at the end of the table. Being our first visit to Hodad's, Lupe and I went big. She had a single bacon cheeseburger and fries and I got the double bacon cheeseburger with a half order of onion rings. We also shared a vanilla shake. The shake came first. We probably could have had the shake and left satisfied. That was best damn shake I've ever had. There was a giant, face-sized scoop of ice cream perched precariously on the top of the cup. We had to eat that in a hurry to keep it from melting all over the table. Melting disaster averted, we set the shake aside as the onion rings arrived. I thought a half order would be something other than a ridiculously large heaping basket of rings with ranch dressing. Stupid me. They were perfect onion rings. The onions were sweet and large and were perfectly cooked; soft, but still with some texture. The breading was also perfect; not too thick, not too thin and not at all oily. By the time were had finished the onion rings we both realized that we had just had a completely filling and fantastic meal. With more than a little alarm I started to think about the burger to come. I had been watching these towering meat masterpieces fly out of the kitchen for almost an hour. I knew they were going to be big. I tried to mentally prepare myself for the upcoming challenge. Like that skinny, little Japanese guy that always wins the Coney Island hot dog eating competition, I knew I had to psych myself up for the challenge. I kept telling myself that I had been stranded on a dessert island for five weeks with nothing to eat. I tried to mentally picture my stomach blissfully empty. I was still working on my little mind game when our server calls out, "Who had the double bacon cheeseburger?" Snapped back into reality, my eyes tried to focus on what he was holding just inches from my face. IT WAS TOO BIG! I couldn't make out the entire burger. The leading edge was fuzzy and the rest just disappeared off into the distance. I tried to look up high enough to see the top bun, but I got a crick in my neck. Oh shit! This ain't gonna end well. I mean, its a burger. I can't pass up a burger. And there's no way I'm going to walk out without eating the whole thing. I'm a guy and we don't do that sort of thing. All I could do was loosen the drawstring on my elastic-waist shorts (at least I planned ahead), dig in and hope for the best.

Hodad's make a helluva burger (didn't Rick James say something like that?) It is just the perfect example of a good old-fashioned burger. Good bun, just the right amount of shredded lettuce, fantastic pickle slices and onions and just enough dressing to make it juicy, but not detract from the flavor of the meat. Burgery goodness is the only way I can describe it. I've made better burgers (the meat and cheese part), but never the complete package like this. This was just the perfect assemblage of meat, bun, cheese and produce. One very nice touch is that the burger patties were not overcooked as you find at most restaurants. Mine were a lovely pink in the middle; just the way I make mine at home. Oh man, burger nirvana. After the first bite I forgot that I really wasn't that hungry. I knew I was going to finish every last bite of that bad boy. Slow and steady wins the race....and gets the burger down. Still, the first bite was a little intimidating. I knew it was going to be messy. When I brought the burger to my mouth I couldn't see the top bun and the bottom bun seemed to be somewhere down by my neck. I squeezed it together as much as I dared, opened wide and took a chomp. I was rewarded with, not only a mouthful of tasty burger, but a new design on my Hawaiian shirt. Oh well. I got that out of the way quickly. Now I can concentrate on eating this behemoth without worrying about dripping on myself anymore. I had a stack of napkins close at hand. After each bite I had to wipe off my chin (and neck and face and hands......). That how a burger should be eaten. Carl's Jr. ad agency has done some screwy ad campaigns (featuring Miss Wonk Eye, Miss Wonk Ass and Miss Wonk Boobs) over the last few years, but they at least got the slogan right: "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face."

I can't believe that Lupe actually finished her burger too. When Lupe is too full to finish a meal, she has no problem asking for a doggy bag. That she actually finished her burger is a testament to just how good they were. Now that's some dedication.

Lesson learned:
1. Hodad's is the best damn burger joint in San Diego.
2. Hodad's is the best burger joint I've ever eaten at.
3. Next time I'll do without the bacon on the burger. It is like adding an extra meat patty to an already enormous burger. I liked the taste, but the straight cheeseburger would have been just fine.
4. Next time we don't order fries with the burger. A half order of onion rings or fries would definitely be enough.
5. Next time I go there I will fast for at least two days ahead of time.

Another romantic desert idea

It isn't hard to come up with a nice little treat for your sweetie-pie. Last night after dinner I wanted to make something sweet for Lupe. I had a little time, as she had gone to take a dip in the hot tub after dinner. I had an idea brewing in my little brain. I bought some giant apricots at North Gate the other day and it turned out that they weren't quite ripe. They weren't really soft and they were somewhat tart. Not bad; just not the juicy, fresh apricot that you'd want to eat raw. I didn't want them to spoil so I had to come up with something to do with them. I got the idea to pop them in the oven for a few minutes to soften them up and concentrate the flavor. I cut up several and set them in Lupe's handy dandy mini muffin tray. I sprinkled each half with a little cinnamon and some cane sugar and put them in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. While they were roasting I made a port wine reduction on the stove top. I added a little cane sugar and a squeeze of orange juice to the reduction to liven it up. When the apricot halves had started to soften I removed them from the oven and placed them on some cute heart-shaped desert plates that Lupe loves. In the center of each apricot half I dropped a dollop of chocolate ganache. I finished the dish with a splattering of the port wine reduction (no points for presentation-I didn't think to use my squeeze bottles to make it all foo-foo artistic). What it lacked in presentation, it made up in taste. Sorry, no pics. We ate it too fast.

Pupusa and Hot Wings

Lupe had to go to LA last week to get some paperwork for her passport. After dealing with the cubicle drones at the State hive in downtown LA, Lupe and I went for a little lunch. We wandered around the Grand Central Market looking for grub. I quickly spotted a pupuseria that I recognized from Food TV's show; "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." Mary Sue Milliken had recommended the pupusas from Sarita's Pupuseria. We ordered a sampler assortment of pupusas; chicharron, carne asada and pollo asada. I must say they were very tasty. I've only had pupusas once before, so I don't have much to compare them to. Lupe used to get them frequently back in Long Beach. There were a lot of Salvadorans at the company we worked for and they always wanted pupusas for lunch. Lupe thought that Sarita's pupusas compared very favorably to others she has tried.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

All during the Stanley Cup finals I felt like I was missing something. I hadn't been doing much cooking during that time so there was no memorable food to go along with the great hockey action. I think I ate a salami sandwich the night of game 6. That was not worthy of the great hockey that was on TV. What I really needed was a good deep dish pizza or a Philly cheese-steak sandwich. A few days later I was mulling over ideas for good hockey-watching food and I decided that I needed to make some Buffalo wings. I have fond memories of sitting at Seau's, eating hot wings and watching Colorado skate the cup. My mind was made up.....Buffalo wings. After separating the wings I dusted them with Cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. I drizzled a little chicken fat over the wings and then tossed the wings. Once the wings were completely coated I covered them and let them sit in the fridge for a couple hours. In the interim I made both bleu cheese and ranch dips. I cut a bunch of carrot, celery and jicama sticks to go with the wings. I also prepped some asparagus to go with the wings. The wings went onto a broiler rack and into a 375 degree oven. I flipped the wings a couple of times during the hour they spent in the oven. As the wings cooked I gave the asparagus a quick sauté. After I got a little color on the asparagus I deglazed the pan with some sherry. I added some beef stock to finish cooking the asparagus. When the wings were done I took them out and tossed them with some Frank's hot wing sauce. After turning off the oven, I put the wings back in to help set the sauce. This gives a nice finish and makes the wings a little less messy. This was definitely a finger food dinner. Lots of napkins on standby as we dug in. The wings were great and slightly healthier than if they had been fried. Aw hell.....who cares. They were just good. I would have fried them if I had enough oil. Either way, hot wings are always good. Like pizza, they aren't something you'd want to eat every day, but they are good occasionally.

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Romantic leftovers

So what do you do if you have some strawberries that you left in the fridge over the weekend? The ones in the back were a little frozen, but the others were still good (or at least acceptable for a proof of concept recipe). Alright, so I've got some strawberries and I wanted to see if I could make a romantic little treat for Lupe when she got home from her class. What else is available? There is still some ganache left over from the puff pastry debacle. I also have a little caramel sauce and some white cake frosting....that's a dead end. Ganache it is.

I washed and cored the strawberries and then tossed them with some vanilla sugar and a healthy dash of Grand Marnier. After a short soak, I removed the strawberries from the Grand Marnier. I stuffed each strawberry with a nice little chunk of ganache. After all the strawberries were stuffed I splashed them with a little sweetened strawberry juice and Grand Marnier.

The verdict......MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I'll have to make these for Valentine's Day. When I make these for a special occasion there are a few things that I will do.
1. Make fresh ganache. I will pipe soft ganache into the cored strawberries. That will be a lot easier and not nearly as messy as shoving chunks of ganache into the berries.
2. Dip berries in chocolate or drizzle with white or dark choclate
3. Make some green frosting and pipe onto the top to resemble the stem.

I think I'm onto something here. I'll take some pictures when I do this with fresh strawberries.

Catching up again

OK, so I suck at this blogging crap. I've been preoccupied with hunting and shooting of late and I'm only capable of managing one hobby at a time.

I just made the best damn chicken sandwich EVER! It was simple, it was basic, and it was gooooooood. I pounded out a couple of chicken breasts, seasoned them with a special mix of Cayenne and black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder and Kosher salt. I cut the breasts in half and dredged them in a seasoned flour mixture. After an egg wash, the breast pieces went into a mix of seasoned (Italian) bread crumbs and the seasoned flour. These got a quick dunk in the oil jacuzzi to achieve that Zen state of golden-brown and delicious. A quick dry on some paper towels and then the cooling rack. As they were cooling on the rack I topped them with sliced Provolone cheese. I got some crusty buns and slathered them with some ranch dressing and mustard. A few pieces of lettuce and some sliced ripe tomatoes and I had myself one damn good sammich. I know you're thinking that you could get something similar at Wendy's. That may be, but it wouldn't have been nearly as good. Fact. OK....that's my opinion, but it was really good. No pictures ( I ate it too fast). I'll make Lupe a sandwich and get some pictures.

Here are a few other goodies that have come out of the kitchen recently.

Pastastravaganza

I made a stromboli with leftover pizza dough and a meat sauce that I whipped up. I learned a few lessons about stromboli making. Structurally it wasn't perfect, but it was really damn tasty.

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As if one pasta entree wasn't enough, I used up some leftover fettuccini and the rest of the meat sauce. This is the first time I've used my little All-Clad oval bakers since I bought them 8 years ago. I'm glad I got those things on sale.

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Lamb Kebabs

I cut up a leg a lamb and threw it in a spicy yogurt mixture for a few hours. The lamb went on bamboo skewers with onion, bell and poblano peppers and some par cooked carrots and cauliflower. Bamboo skewers suck. I need to get a bunch of stainless skewers someday. Half the carrots and cauliflower fell off while cooking. The lamb was nice, but not as spicy as I was aiming for. The kebabs were served with a spicy couscous. I know that the couscous looks like it has chicken pox; that's just sriracha sauce. I don't like those squeeze bottle sauce zig-zags that real chefs use on their food. I prefer polka dots. I am confidant that sauce polka dots will be the next big thing in food presentation. Remember.....you saw it here first.

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Burgers!

I love burgers, but I just don't make them very often. Von's had 93% lean ground beef on sale so I got about 10 pounds. That's enough to make a couple of burgers....right? I mixed in a little pork Italian sausage and a ton of seasoning (Cayenne & black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley flakes and salt). I think I got an even dozen burgers out of it. Half of the burgers were stuffed with a mix of cheddar and jack cheese. Before heading out to the grill I caramelized some onions and sauteed crimini mushrooms. This mixture went on some of the burgers before I topped them with cheese. As Jules would say: "Hmmm-hhhhhhh! This is a tasty burger."

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Needless to say, we had burgers for the rest of the week.

Comfort food

After the burgers, I had a yearning for some comfort food. And what is more comforting than meatloaf with mac and cheese? So I made some tasty meatloaf and some homemade mac and cheese. The mac n cheese was especially tasty. I used white cheddar and gruyere cheese mixed into a seasoned bechamel sauce. Along with the mac and loaf I also made some asparagus. I did a few wrapped in bacon and roasted in the oven and steamed the rest.

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Catching up

Another lost month. Where does the time go? I have figured out that I can only sustain one obsession at a time. Sometimes I can juggle two for brief periods, but not for long. When I get a new interest, the others get crowded out for a while. The past month or two has been all about shooting and hunting. I've been spending a lot of time at the range, cleaning weapons after trips to the range, hiking to get ready for hunting, reading and viewing everything I can about hunting, and researching areas for the upcoming draws. Not a whole lot of time left for kayaking, fishing and cooking. That's just me; I get wrapped up in one thing and everything else falls by the wayside. It's not to say that I haven't cooked anything. I have knocked out a few nice meals over the last month; however, I just haven't documented anything.

We had a big party up at Casa Lopez for Emily and Jenny's first communion. I made 50lbs of taco meat (carnitas, pork with chile verde, and chicken) and did all the prep work on the veggies. After dicing uncounted pounds of tomatoes, jalapenos and onions I started to notice some apparent carpal tunnel symptoms in my right hand. I've had numbness and various other problems ever since I began paddling, but this is the first time it has ever happened while working with a knife. I'm not happy about that. One more thing that sucks about getting old. So we made a ton of food in expectation of having 75 guests. The party was advertised to start at about 2pm. By five in the afternoon only 10-15 people had arrived. I had six 9" X 13" pans full of taco meat holding in the oven. Needless to say, I was a little freaked out. Eventually, more friends and relatives showed up. I think we ended up with 25-30. Since we started early and the party went late, most of us had tacos for lunch and dinner. We also had tacos for brunch and dinner the next day. Lupe and I took a pound or two of taco meat home with us. Amazingly, there was still upwards of twenty pounds left in the fridge at the in-laws house.

Lupe really was the star of the party weekend. She made cakes for the first communion and for Stephanie's birthday. As always, the cakes were beautiful and well received. Jenny and Emily's cake was a two-tier multi-layer cake. Lupe made each tier with alternating white and strawberry cake layers. There was cream cheese filling and sliced strawberries between each layer

From Family photos for web

Stephanie's cake was chocolate with a cream cheese and strawberry filling.

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I'm proud of my little cake lady. She is getting very good at this.

From Family photos for web

THE OTHER STUFF

I am normally not a big breakfast eater. I would have to say that breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day. I am not a big fan of most breakfast favorites. Given half a chance, I'd rater just eat a sandwich for breakfast. That being said, there are some traditional breakfast items that I enjoy. Steak and eggs is my favorite breakfast meal. I don't have it often (its been 2 or 3 years since the last time I made it), but when I do, it is something special. This time was no exception. I had just picked up a bunch of nice ribeye steaks that were on sale at the local market. I got 7 and vacuum-packed 6 of them. We'll break these out every once in a while for special grilling occasions. So, what to do with the odd leftover steak? It was only 7:30am and I really didn't want to run out to the BBQ grills. An idea started to form. Like waves of cholesterol crashing on a French fry shore, the plan started sweeping through my brain. A quick check revealed eggs in the fridge, along with some mushrooms. There was a nice, little sweet yellow onion in the pantry. All the ingredients were present. The stars were aligned and all was well in the world. My jaw and left arm got all tingly in anticipation of a true carnivore's breakfast. Quickly, I got to work. The ribeye was seasoned with the Santa Maria mix that I had made for the tri-tips. I quickly sliced the onion and mushrooms. I got a couple of cast iron pans going on the stove and I was just about ready to go. The onions started to saute in some duck fat and butter. Yeah, I said it. Duck fat and butter. My cardiologist can kiss my ass. I don't actually have a cardiologist (yet), but, if I did, he could kiss my pasty white ass. When the onions softened a bit and got some color I tossed in the mushrooms. Then the steak went into a nice, hot cast iron pan. Sizzle, sizzle, smoke, smoke. I flipped the steak and then dropped two eggs in the center of the pan with the onions and mushrooms. There is only one way to have eggs when you make steak and eggs; sunny side up. The best part of steak and eggs is when the yolk runs down the meat and mixes with the juice. You are then required by law to soak up the yolk-meat juice sauce with toast. I'm serious; it's the law. You have to do it. OK, so the steak is done and goes on the plate to rest. I just happened to have a bleu cheese sauce left over from the tri-tip extravaganza. A little of the sauce went on the steak, followed by the sauteed onions and mushrooms. On top of it all, like a runny yellow crown, the fried eggs. A couple of pieces of toasted Hawaiian bread and I had a breakfast.

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Not only was this the best damn steak n' eggs I've ever had, it was also very filling. Lunchtime rolled around and I think I was still sleeping off breakfast. Diner.....nah, I'm still kinda full. Skipped breakfast the next day too. The way I look at it, it was a very economical meal. I felt like the great white that eats a 1300lb elephant seal and then swims to Hawaii and back to work it off.

Next up was French onion soup. I'm not a big fan of soups; however I have always liked French onion soup. Let me qualify that statement. I like well-prepared French onion soup; not that powdered crap in the foil package that my mom used to get all the time. I think she would actually eat that junk as soup. The only thing I would use it for was seasoning in meatloaf and dips. I only made French onion soup from scratch one time previously. It was not a great success. It was early in my cooking career and I didn't know much. This time was much more satisfactory. I saw Chef John make this on his Food Wishes blog and I thought I should give it a shot. A quick trip to Henry's Market for onions, Gruyere and a baguette and I'm set. This is probably the easiest soup I've ever made. The key is the long, slow caramelization on the onions.

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I did mine with a 75/25% mix of beef to chicken stock.

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Lupe loved it. This is one of those great 'cold day in winter' recipes.

Next up was asparagus wrapped in black pork belly. I was at Zion Market and they had great deals on asparagus and sliced pork belly. We used most of the pork belly and asparagus at the in-laws, but had a little left over. Not wanting to waste any, I came up with a quick idea. I removed all the little bits of cartilage from the belly and then wrapped the asparagus. The wrapped spears were seasoned with sea salt and some Korean red chili powder.

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I cooked them on the BBQ grill for a few minutes until the pork was cooked and the asparagus tender. This makes a nice, little appetizer and the presentation will knock out your diners....especially the guys. A lot of guys aren't down with the grilled veg, but if it looks like veg wrapped in bacon you got no problems.

BTW: Chef John just posted a video for prosciutto-wrapped asparagus on his blog today. Totally ripped off from me. Even though I haven't posted any pics until today, I know that he was inspired by me. Maybe he was driving through San Diego and smelled my cooking. That has to be it. No other way he could have come up with it.

And finally, Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I have never made pizza from scratch before. I've always wanted to, but I'm not friends with dough. I have a bad track record with making dough. I'm so crappy at making dough I've developed a dough phobia. The thought of touching a sticky ball of flour gives me the heebee jeebees. I've suffered from this terrible affliction for some time now. Something had to be done. I couldn't let my fears control me. So, I'm watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Channel and they have this episode about pizza. Duff Goldman's pick was the deep dish pizza from Gino's East in Chicago. I ate there when I was at Great Lakes Naval Training Center and I would have to agree that it is the best pizza ever. This is what I needed to overcome my fears. I spun into action and grabbed the KitchenAid. I was not going to let dough rule my life; I was going to RULE pizza dough. For a first effort, this pizza dough turned out OK. I think I need a little more salt in it the next time. I also underestimated the amount of dough I'd need. The bottom crust turned out pretty good, but the top crust was too thin. That and too much sauce on the top pretty much dissolved the top crust in places. Still, it looked good and tasted great.

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The filling and the sauce were awesome. I pre-cooked some hot Italian sausage until it was nicely browned. Then I quickly sauteed some sliced onions and crimini mushrooms in the pan drippings. I didn't cook them all the way through; just enough to soften them a little. After the bottom crust went into the spring-form pan I laid down some shredded mozzarella. The sausage, onions, mushrooms and sliced olives went in and were topped with a little more grated mozzarella, Swiss and Parmesan. I put the top crust on and crimped the edges. On top of this went some fresh tomato sauce that I just made. I finished the pizza with shredded mozzarella, Colby-jack and grated Parmesan cheese. Forty minutes at 375 and we had one helluva pizza.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

Pizza sauce:

1/2 medium yellow onion diced
1 shallot diced
5 garlic cloves mashed to paste
2-3 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
6oz tomato paste
28oz San Marzano tomatoes
3/4 cup red wine (Chianti)
2 cup beef stock
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
salt and pepper to taste

The onion and shallot is sauteed in a pork fat. Add garlic after onion and shallot are translucent and saute for 30 seconds. Add Italian seasoning, parsley, chili flakes, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Deglaze with the chianti. Reduce chianti until the pan is almost dry and then add tomato paste. Once the tomato paste is completely incorporated, add the beef stock in small increments (1/4-1/3 cup at a time). Reduce until the sauce thickens and add more stock. Continue until all stock has been added and the sauce is rich and thick. Add tomatoes, sugar and baking soda and thoroughly mix. Simmer sauce until reduced to desired consistency. Salt as necessary.

Smoked paprika

I gave my sister Lori a jar of smoked paprika when she came down to visit last month. Yesterday she asks me, "What do you use smoked paprika for?" My response was anything and everything. I guess I just got carried away with smoked paprika after reading some Spanish cookbooks. I'll be the first to admit that I use an awful lot of smoked paprika and Cayenne pepper. Those are my 'go-to' seasonings. I use that combo on meat, fish, poultry, veggies; basically everything. I love the combination of heat and smokiness.

After going for a 5 mile walk in the hills through Mission Trails Park, it was a little too late for a big, involved dinner. I also neglected to get a protein, so that pretty much ruled out a regular meal. No problem. Even I can make a vegetarian dish every now and then. I didn't want it too vegetarian, so I made sure that there was duck fat and beef broth involved.

The prep:

3 carrots-sliced
1 small cauliflower with florets cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup cauliflower leaves-sliced
1/2 onion-sliced
3 green onions-sliced
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons of duck fat
1 tablespoon of butter

I heated the pan on medium and melted the duck fat. The carrot slices were the first in the pan. After the carrots were tender and had caramelized a little, I added the cauliflower. The cauliflower was sauteed until there was a some color on most of the florets. In went the cauliflower leaves, onion slices and green onion. After everything softened up a little I made a space in the center of the pan. The butter went in the center of the pan followed by the mushroom slices. As the mushrooms sauteed, I added the seasoning. I used my Santa Maria spice mix (salt, black pepper, garlic powder and parsley) and the old standby; Cayenne and smoked paprika. The pan was then deglazed with white wine. Once the wine had mostly evaporated I added the beef stock. This was reduced until nearly evaporated. If I had any cream in the fridge, I would have made a nice little cream sauce to boot. Oh well; it was very tasty even without the cream sauce. I actually put a little chimichurri sauce on my veggies. It just goes to show; with the help of a little duck fat you can even make a vegetarian dish taste good.

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Duck !!!

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I have cooked duck a couple of times in the past. The results were mediocre. At the time I had only a rudimentary understanding of how to make duck. I've done a lot of research since and I think I've got a much better idea of how to properly cook duck. After watching Chef John Mitzewich's Duck 'Two Ways' recipe, I thought I'd give it a try. I started by breaking down the duck.

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The legs, thighs and wings were seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, thyme and parsley, drizzled with olive oil and then wrapped in foil. I roasted the dark meat pieces in a 350 degree oven for two hours, until the meat was almost falling off the bone. Wrapping the duck in foil contains the rendered fat and produces what is basically a confit.

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When tender, the dark meat pieces were removed from the foil and set aside. I cut the duck skin into small squares and rendered them down in a cast iron pan. Chicharrones de pato......I made up something new (I think). The crispy skin pieces we drained salted and seasoned with Cayenne pepper.

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I put the leftover duck fat to good use. I had prepared some diced new potatoes and onion wedges. The potatoes and onions were seasoned with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, parsley, rosemary, and Cayenne pepper. I seared the potatoes and onions in some of the duck fat.

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After I got some color on the potatoes, the pan went into a 450 degree oven to finish and crisp up.

Next step was sauteing asparagus in a little duck fat and butter. I had sweated some sliced shallot in the pan before tossing in the asparagus. Once I got some color on the asparagus, I deglazed with white wine and then added chicken stock. The asparagus finished cooking uncovered while I started on the duck breasts.

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The duck breasts were seared in a cast iron pan. I did them for about five minutes per side on medium-high. Once the breasts had a nice sear on them, I pulled them off to rest. The legs and thighs went into the pan for a few minutes to crisp the skin.

By the time the legs and thighs had a nice crispy finish everything else was ready. The potatoes and onions came out of the oven and were tossed with the pieces of crispy duck skin. Everything was given a sprinkle of Parmesan and Romano cheese and a little chopped Italian parsley.

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The asparagus was tender and the stock had reduced down to a rich thick sauce. Added a little butter and it was ready to go.

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I sliced the duck breast into medallions and drizzled them with a blueberry/raspberry gastrique.

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This was just about the best thing I've ever done. Probably not the healthiest meal, but undoubtedly one of the tastiest.

A la carte

I've been busy the last couple of weeks and haven't taken the time to write up anything. Here is a quick run-down.

I went on quick roadie to Monterey two weeks ago. Driving by all those roadside produce stands around Castroville and Moss Landing made me soooooo hungry. I just couldn't resist stopping to load up on fruit and veggies. Luckily, I had taken an extra cooler with me because I was planning on doing some fishing. The weather wouldn't cooperate, so I had plenty of cooler space. My roadside bounty included some beautiful strawberries, blood oranges and baby artichoke. I had almost forgotten what fresh strawberries smell like. I am so used to the dreck that they sell at the supermarkets; half green, woody and NO smell or flavor. These strawberries smelled delicious and were perfectly ripe. The blood oranges were sweet and juicy. I haven't had blood oranges in a long time, and these were well worth the wait.

The weekend I got back, Lupe's sister, Lorena, and her niece, Emily, came down to visit. This gave me a reason to try some new things for dinner. I boned some chicken breasts and marinated them in a mixture of blood orange juice, cider vinegar, olive oil, chile (ancho/California) and spices (cumin, Mexican oregano, salt and pepper). I grilled these up with some apple chips providing the smokiness. The chicken was accompanied by oven-fried papas y cebollas. I seasoned and breaded diced potato and onion and then placed it on a cookie sheet in a 375 oven until the potatoes were almost done. I then put the cookie sheet under a 500 broiler to crisp up the breading. These turn out spicy and crispy; very yummy. I had to scramble for a vegetable to go with this. The chiller was full of chile and not much more. I decided to make a spicy ratatouille of sorts. I started by sauteing sliced onions and a little garlic. Then I added sliced chile (Anaheim, poblano and jalapeno). After everything had some time to sweat, I mixed in a small can of tomatoes and some salsa ranchera. This mixture was simmered down until most of the liquid had evaporated. A little crumbled cotija cheese on top adds some saltiness and tang.

Now that I am documenting my cooking efforts, I have begun to notice a dominant theme: REDDISH-ORANGE. The majority of our meals are on the red end of the spectrum. Must be the obligatory use of chile on everything from meat to veggies.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

I suck as a pastry cook. No matter what I try, it turns into a big mess; a multi-layered, whipped cream-covered abomination of Herculean proportions. I just don't have the eye for composition or the artistic skills needed to make beautiful desserts. As messy as they are, they are crowd pleasers. After all; who wouldn't want an 8" pile of ice cream, berries, shortcake and whipped cream, topped with a brandy caramel sauce. So it doesn't look good; who cares. I'm not trying to impress Gael Greene or a bunch of pretentious foodies; just my family and friends.

OK, I got that out of my system. Here is the yummy, but messy berry shortcake.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

Lupe piped the whipped cream around the base of the shortcake. I filled the shortcake with mandarin oranges and blueberries. I made an orange/Grand Marnier cream sauce to put on the shortcake (but I forgot it). On top of the orange-berry mixture went a scoop of French vanilla ice cream, topped with more whipped cream and strawberries macerated in Grand Marnier and vanilla sugar.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

As you can see, my efforts fall somewhere in the dessert continuum between Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor and the Cheesecake Factory. Big flavor and big ugly. At least Emily liked it.

Peruvian-style ceviche

Well, I finally reached the end of the white seabass. I wanted to try something a little different with the last few pieces. I've seen a lot about Peruvian-style ceviche lately and I thought I'd give it a go. I had no idea that ceviche was such a big deal in Peru until I saw Tony Bourdain's No Reservations on that country. After hearing so much about it, I found Chef John Mitzewich's recipe for Peruvian-style ceviche on Food Wishes.

For my version of this ceviche I used white seabass, shrimp and scallops. I had about 2lbs of white seabass, and a pound each of 21-30 shrimp and large scallops.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

The white seabass was mostly from the tail ends of the fillets.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

The scallops were very good sized and extremely tasty

It took almost a full butt-load of limes to get enough juice to marinate all the seafood.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

Lupe and I did the laundry while the fish marinated. By the time we got all the clean clothes folded, the ceviche was almost ready to eat. It was drained and then I added the orange juice-olive oil dressing. I put a little Castillo Salsa Marisquera in with the citrus emulsion for some heat. I finished up by adding the cilantro, jalapeno, salt and pepper.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

We served the ceviche in some frosty cold little flan cups. Some crispy tostadas are used to scoop up the ceviche. Lupe went one step beyond and smeared a little guacamole on the tostada, added some ceviche and then splashed on some salsa marisquera. Soooooo good! The orange juice-olive oil emulsion really makes this ceviche. Lupe wasn't completely sold on the whole raw fish ceviche concept. She makes a killer ceviche, but uses cooked shrimp and crab meat. All it took was one spoonful of this ceviche and she was a believer. A big thank you goes to Chef John and Peru for this fantastic ceviche.

From The Hollow Leg Diner - images

Heading out in a couple hours to see if I can get some more WSB.