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When my wife and I got together, she would tell me her fish stories. Her family did not grow up a fishing family, as a matter of fact, I think they did very little of it. However, they loved fish, and one story she has is that when she would travel to visit cousins, her parents would insist that she bring them smoked fish from Port Washington, Wisconsin. She would have to bring a carry on of smoked fish! I’ve tried that fish, and not only was it wonderful, it had a phenomenal smoke smell. A smoke that if brought on a plane would get some heads turning!

That wonderful smoked fish that my in-laws would travel close to a hour for no longer exists, and based on those stories, and the memories of how great that smoked fish was, I decided to provide my take on smoked fish for my wife. No travelling necessary. Furthermore, I ended up smoking more trout that weekend and freezing it for later use, it was just that good.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 4 fresh trout, gutted, skin on
• 1 gallon cold water
• 2/3 cups of brown sugar
• 1 cup of kosher salt
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 cup of cherry wood chips, soaked in water for 2 hours

Start by adding the water, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, and garlic to a large enough container where you can fully submerge the trout. Stir the mixture to get all of the salt to dissolve.  This is your fish brine and will have an impact on the fish. It will add a bit of flavor, while at the same time keeping the fish moist throughout the smoking process. Once dissolved, add the trout, place a cover on the container and place in a refrigerator for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, remove the fish from the brine, and rinse the fish off under cold water. Pat the fish with some paper towel to remove some of the water.

Your next step is to get your smoker going. I use a drum smoker, and use charcoal as my base, and when the coals are heated, put the water pan in the middle layer, top rack, and lay on the fish. Cover the smoker, add the soaked wood chips on and around the heated charcoal, and cook on medium-low for about 3 hours.

Due to the fact that trout are fairly small is size, they do not take that long to cook. Keep an eye on the temperature, and your result should be a fish that is not dried out, but firm and ready to go. The meat should be opaque.

When the trout is cooked, remove it from the smoker, and let it come to room temperature.

Now, the possibilities are endless.  I enjoy how my wife and her family grew up eating smoked fish. Basically grab a fish, put it on your plate, add a bit of cooked rice as a side, and dig in. The smell is nothing but amazing and the texture and flavor of the fish is phenomenal.

Other ideas are to use some of the fish in salads, pastas, or sandwiches. However you use this smoked fish, I am certain you will enjoy!

I first encountered larb while living in Dallas and hanging out with my friend Kevin. Kevin and I would frequent his favorite Thai restaurant and do all of the ordering as he was familiar with the cuisine, and language at the time. It was always a real treat to dine with him. He knew how to balance the dishes making the entire meal complete. We would typically start with cold beer, and a bowl of peanuts. Often times we would move onto dishes like larb, fried whole fish, and other really good Thai dishes. All of them were balanced with sweet, salt, and spice.

Larb is something I really like to make. It is a perfect snack, any time of the day. It is kid friendly (minus the chile peppers), and it is a perfect dish to eat with jasmine rice, or better yet, sticky rice.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 lb of ground chicken
• 2 shallots, minced (approximately 3 tbsp)
• 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/3 cup of toasted rice powder
• 2-5 Thai chile peppers, minced
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tbsp palm sugar, or regular sugar
• 1 whole lime, juiced
• Cooked rice, jasmine or sticky rice

You can find all of these ingredients are your local Asian store.

Begin by adding the oil to a large skillet and warm it to a medium, high heat. Once the oil is heated, add the ground chicken and begin cooking until it is fully cooked. This is will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

During this time, prepare the remaining ingredients. If you have never toasted rice before, add about 1/2 cup of rice to a dry skillet. Bring it to medium heat, and give it a good shake about every 2-3 minutes. Your goal is to brown the rice, and once brown, add it to a coffee grinder to make into a course powder.

Once the chicken is fully cooked, make sure you break it all up with a wooden spoon as you do not want any clumps. Drain off any excess water from the chicken, then add the chicken to a mixing bowl.

Add in all of the remaining ingredients, and give it a good mix. If you are serving kids, I would suggest removing the chile peppers from this recipe, or divide the mixture before adding the chile peppers. I would recommend 1-2 chile peppers for the mild at heart, and 3-4 chile peppers for those that love the heat. Regardless if it is one chile or four, the balance is perfect.

Serve in a small bowl with a side of rice. My entire family loves larb. It is just packed with flavor. That sweet, salty, and spice is just something out of this world, and I think you would agree. Better yet, you have just had something you have never tried before, toasted rice. Well, and maybe even fish sauce or sticky rice.

My kids, I think, notice that. And to me, that is great.

Two weeks ago, my second child, eagerly asked if he could help me make a salad. I should back track a little bit and say that my lovely wife suggested that I make a salad for an upcoming party. “You know, that pasta salad you made that one time with cheese, and stuff?”. I like surprises, but don’t get me wrong…

So to both of their surprises, I said yes. Yes, you can help me with the salad, and yes, I would love to make a salad for the party. But what salad was it, that one with cheese?

Most of my creations are just that. Creations. Our backyard garden. Fresh herbs, and everything in between. Cheese? I remember one that I came up with cheese, and chunks of salami… but just cheese?

Ingredients:

• 1 package cheese stuffed ravioli, cooked
• 1/2 lb your favorite pasta, cooked al dente
• 1 small head of brocoli, steamed for 3 minutes
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 cup of sliced cherry tomatoes
•  1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup of fresh mozzarella cheese balls
• 1 cup of radicchio lettuce, diced
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt, more to taste
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper, more to taste
• 1 cup of colby jack cheese, cubed
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil, torn

Lets begin and get to the story a bit later.

Every time you cook, it is important you prepare all of your ingredients. If you have eager people that want to help, use them!

To a large bowl, add your vegetables. Drain your cooked pasta and add it to the bowl, and mix. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and let it come to room temperature.

In the meantime, make your dressing. To a mason jar, or sealed tight container, add your oil, salt and pepper, garlic, vinegar, and mustard. Shake this vigorously for about a minute until it looks like a nice, thick salad dressing.

Add the cheeses to the bowl, toss or mix, then add in your dressing. Mixing again.

My story continues…

“Can I do something for you Dad?”. A tear about came to my eye. It was one of those moments I had been waiting for. That moment. As I am not a mechanic, or tinkerer for the most part, I am a technologist, with a creative mind, and a hobby of cooking. That question simply got me.

I brought out a couple of knives, and began teaching him what I knew of knife skills. Fingers are precious, so curl them, and cut. Dice, and be precise. Take your time. He got it, and instantly took his time slicing and dicing.

Teachable moments. A moment and faint memory of cubes of cheese, and a lovely pasta salad that pleased many. I was won over by my nine year old son who began thinking of cooking and helping out in the kitchen. This pasta salad goes out to my lovely wife, and my son who is eager and willing to learn basic cooking skills. Enjoy.

What you end up with is a bowl of your backyard garden. Fresh and seasonal. The best part, well, probably two parts awesome; your kid wanting to cook with you and your wife wanting you to create something you never recall ever making. Maybe it was the cheese. Who knows.

Some times you just want something different from those standard side dishes. This is where a classic macaroni salad came into play. I did not necessarily do this for myself, rather, I wanted to surprise my wife with something new, and I think I did just that.

This classic macaroni salad has everything you would expect in flavor and texture. A nice light dressing along with the great crunch from fresh celery, made this macaroni salad go great with the barbecue. So whether you are making chicken, pork, beef, or something in between, skip the bland deli style salads that you would typically pick up from the grocery store and try this one before summer ends. You will be happy you did.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of macaroni pasta, cooked al dente
• 1/2 cup of celery, small dice
• 1/4 cup of red onion, small dice
• 1 small roma tomato, small dice
• 1/2 cup of light mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Italian leaf parsley, chopped

Begin by boiling your pasta in salted water. While the pasta is boiling, prepare your ingredients, chopping all of the vegetables. When the vegetables have been chopped, make the dressing.

Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, sugar, and sour cream to a small mixing bowl. Do just that, mix well until you have a nice and thin dressing.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain, and rinse with cold water to cool the pasta. Drain well.

To a large mixing bowl, add the pasta, chopped veggies, and top with half of the dressing. I say half because depending on the pasta, you want to make sure the sauce stays nice and light, not too much sauce. Mix to incorporate everything until you have the desired about of consistency with the dressing.

Taste. Adjust any salt and pepper to your liking. When you are ready to serve, transfer the macaroni salad to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve cold, or at room temperature. Enjoy.

There is just something to be said with that questioning. You know something is just that darn delicious when you almost feel guilty trying to answer it. My quest in making tacos is also creating really vibrant toppings to go with them, and recently I have been fine tuning my red and green salsa, experimenting with a new kind of salsa, and working with other toppings besides my favorite cilantro and diced onion. It was not too long ago, and I often enjoy the fact that people tell me they make my recipes for their parties, that I made a Mexican tinga with pickled red onions. As great as the tinga was, it was the accompaniment of the pickled onions, that in my opinion, made theses tacos shine.

It was the same when I made this Mexican radish salad to go with my shredded mixture of beef and pork tacos.

Ingredients:

• 12 whole radishes, washed and trimmed, thinly sliced
• 1 whole cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cracked black pepper

Begin by slicing the radishes and cucumbers as thin as possible. I recently purchased, and highly recommend, a mandoline slicer, which allowed me to slice as thin as I wanted. If not, take your time, use your knife skills, and slice the radishes and cucumbers the same. Add these to a mixing bowl, along with the remaining ingredients. Toss well, transfer to a sealable bowl, and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

The array of texture and flavor really make these tacos awesome. You get the warmth and great smell of the corn tortillas, the softness and flavor from the shredded meats, and the nice crunch and mild flavors from the radish salad. A salad that is phenomenal on the taco, but can also be enjoyed as a small side salad, much like my mother-n-law enjoyed on a relaxing Saturday afternoon.

However you do your tacos, give this one a try, and I bet you will get plenty of questions from your friends, and more importantly some real satisfaction from them.

In this case, salmon salad. I knew my wife loved simple Saturday lunches like chicken salad sandwiches, as well as the common tuna salad from time to time. It is not often that I make these types of salad sandwiches, if you will, but when you have leftovers like tuna, chicken, or heck, salmon, they do make for a quick and satisfying lunch. This salmon salad creation actually was super delicious, and wanted me to make another cedar smoked salmon the next day! It was just that good.

Lets get started on something on a salad that is really easy and more importantly, really delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of boneless, cooked salmon
• 1 dill pickle, chopped
• 2 tbsp shallot, finely diced
• 1 small clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh Italian leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 rib of celery, diced
• Toasted white bread or crackers

Take all of your ingredients and place them into a small mixing bowl. Make sure you incorporate all of the ingredients and that they lightly “stick” together from the mayonnaise. You do not want this salad to be thickened by mayonnaise, just a light mixture.

If you have molding rings, place a ring onto a serving plate, place some of the mixture into the ring to fill, and remove the ring. Serve with toasted white bread. Spread on the bread and dig in.

Simple and delicious. I hope you enjoy.

No luck on my kids pulling in the dressed greens, but man, I did it right on the caesar salad. I’ve been watching people make caesar salads throughout my life, and in particular in restaurants and market places to see how they really go about making one. A couple of key ingredients I realized are egg yolks and anchovies. Yes, anchovies, and trust me, there is nothing wrong with the ingredient of anchovies. In fact, I will admit, that anchovies rock.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head of Romaine lettuce, a few outer leaves, and more of the hearts, cleaned and torn into pieces
• 1/2 good baguette, cut into large cubes
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 oz anchovy filets
• 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan or romano cheese

Begin by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Take the cubed bread and toss it with the butter, olive oil, chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.  Make sure the bread gets a little bit of everything. Place on a baking sheet and cook for about 11-13 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Please note that these croutons alone are very addicting. You might want to make another batch just for snacking on.

Next, to a mortar and pestle, or if you do not have one, to a bowl, add in the garlic and anchovies. Mash into a paste, then add in the remaining black pepper, dijon, egg yolk, lemon juice, and worcestershire sauce. Mix well, then get your whisk out, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil, continuing to whisk until you have a great dressing.

Add the lettuce to a large bowl, add the dressing, croutons, and mix well. Grate the parmesan or romano cheese over the top, and mix again.

Serve immediately. As I lost in terms of my kids not eating the lettuce, I won in terms of satisfying my desires on such a classic salad. Simple, satisfying, and delicious.  I might have to bag up the croutons and sell them. Enjoy.

This past week yielded plenty of family get togethers, and I was able to host one of the dinners. As I wanted to do a bit of a theme, and requests came in for Thai food, I had to immediately put a halt on that, and decided to go with Mexican. After all, it was a perfect day for margaritas after a long week at work! So I planned the menu which started with pico de gallo, arroz con gandules, and chimichangas. A masterpiece and a fun one at that.

Instead of going with a standard pico de gallo, I wanted to update it a bit, and this was a perfect time to take advantage of that opportunity. Let’s get started on this fresh, and delicious recipe.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 6 large roma tomatoes, or beefsteak, cut into cubes
• 3 serrano chilies, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced then chopped
• 1 cup of fresh corn kernels, lightly steamed
• 1 cup of yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• juice of one lime, approximately 2 tbsp
• salt and pepper to taste
• Your favorite tortilla chips

To a large bowl, toss in all of the ingredients and mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Place the mixture in your serving dish and serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

You get super fresh ingredients for a really healthy appetizer. This can also be used on tacos, served with crackers, or heck, eaten by the spoonful. Enjoy.

A handful of years ago, my wife and I decided to plant mint alongside our house. It could have been the best thing that we have ever planted. Extremely low maintenance, mint grows in abundance. With that said, I am always looking for opportunities to use mint. I use it in Thai food, salads, and mojitos, and now in fruit salads. Let’s get started on this simple treat.

Begin by placing your sugar, water, and mint in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the rum and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Turn off your heat and mix in the juice of one lime. Remove the pan from the burner and set aside to let cool. Strain the syrup and place in the refrigerator until it is ready to be used.

• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 cups of water
• large bunch of fresh mint, plus an extra few leaves, chopped.
• 1/2 cup of white rum
• Juice of one lime
• Bananas, 1/4 inch thick
• Pineapple, cut into chunks
• Strawberries, quartered

Add your fruit to a bowl, and pour on about a quarter cup of the syrup on top of the fruit. Add in the chopped mint leaves, and serve. A great tasting bowl of fruit salad with the extra surprise. This one should get your guests talking at the table.

As we all nibbled, I began to think why no one ever brings a different type of dip, you know, like an Asian style dip. This is when I began to get creative, and I came up with what I am calling a layered Asian dip. The same style layers that you would typically find in your taco dip, but turned into Asian style.

If you are looking to impress your guests with something new on the table, try this one. It’s easy, packed full of flavor, and has some excellent texture to boot.

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast, boneless, skinless
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sherry cooking wine
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 carrots, end trimmed, skin removed, shredded
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup of water chestnuts, chopped
• 3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup of roasted peanuts, chopped
• pinch of red chili flakes
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 8 oz package of cream cheese, room temperature

Begin by marinating your chicken in the soy sauce, pepper, and sherry cooking wine. During this time, prepare the rest of your ingredients and add everything but the cream cheese and sesame seeds to a large bowl.

To a large pan, add the olive oil, bring to a medium high heat, and add the chicken breast. Cook the breast, about 4 minutes on each side, and once fully cooked, set aside to cool. Slice into thin strips, then cut them into cubes. Add the cooled chicken to the bowl, mix well, and place in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to serve, spread the cream cheese to the bottom of your serving dish. Sprinkle about half of the sesame seeds on the top of the cream cheese, then add the salad mixture onto the top. Spread out evenly, and sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds on the top.

Serve with wheat thins, tortilla chips, or heck, even bread. Enjoy.