The Reckless Chef

I really like pineapple upside-down cake. It’s probably one of my favorite desserts. This isn’t a recipe for pineapple upside-down cake, though.

It’s a recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Pork.

Interestingly enough, that particular piece of pork looks kinda like sponge cake. Click to zoom in on the pork on a fork.

The recipe:

Pineapple Upside-Down Pork
3 thick pork chops (mine were 1.5 lbs total)
1 can pineapple rings
1/2 stick salted butter
dark brown sugar
maraschino cherries
Worcestershire sauce
garlic powder
onion salt
pepper
salt

Do This
Preheat the oven to 365 degrees.
Open the can of pineapple rings, pour the juice into a glass, and set aside. Line the bottom of a glass baking dish with the rings. If you’re using a 13×9 pan and a standard can of pineapple rings, you should have exactly one left over. Eat it. It’s tasty.
Remove the stems from several maraschino cherries, and place one in the center of each pineapple ring. You’re also allowed to snack on these.
Melt the 1/2 stick of butter and spoon 5-6 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar into a bowl with the melted butter. Stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Add in a few shakes of garlic powder, onion salt, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce - start with well under 1 tsp of each and modify to taste. Pour half of the pineapple juice into this mixture, stir until all of the sugar and spices are dissolved and the consistency is similar to maple syrup. Taste-test it: it should be part sweet (the pineapple and sugar), part savory, and just a bit tangy (the spices and Worcestershire). Pour this sauce over the pineapple rings and cherries.
Trim the fat from the pork chops, then cut each chop in half so that you have two pieces with the same dimensions as the original chop, but half the thickness. If you started with 3 chops, you’ll end up with 6 slices of pork.
In a small bowl, mix about 1 tsp each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion salt. Rub a pinch of this blend into each piece of pork - it should be a very light coating because there are 6 pieces of pork and only a few tsp of spices. Arrange the pork on top of the pineapple rings.
Put the baking dish in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. When it goes off, quickly flip the pork over (the side now facing the top should have a light coating of the brown sugar sauce) and pour the remaining pineapple juice into the pan. Set the oven timer for another 10 minutes. Check to make sure that the pork is cooked all the way through (return to the oven for a few more minutes if the meat thermometer doesn’t read at least 160 degrees when stuck in the center of the thickest piece of pork) and set aside to cool for five minutes.
With pineapple upside-down cake, the most fun part is flipping over the pan to reveal the pineapples and cherries on the bottom (now top) of the cake. I strongly suggest that you do NOT try this with the pork. I suspect that you would spill sauce all over the place, and possibly burn yourself. A safer idea might be to use a fork or spatula to put the pork onto a plate, layer the pineapple and cherry on top of the pork, and spoon the sauce over top to recreate the upside-down cake look.

I was worried at first that this would end up being extraordinarily sweet, but the garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce do a great job of balancing out the sweetness of the pineapples, sugar, and cherries. I encourage constant taste-testing to achieve this balance - except for the uncooked pork, of course. When I made this dish, the sauce was sweet enough to resemble the dessert that inspired the dish, but not overwhelmingly so. In the same vein, the spices and Worcestershire sauces are not meant to be applied as generously as I might encourage with other recipes; the garlic powder, onion salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce were added gradually in small (< 1/2 tsp at a time) amounts until I reached a blend of sweet and savory.

I’m no sommelier, but I thoroughly reccomend serving this dish with Invisible Cherry Kool-Aid.

Hey, foodies! And people who like food!

Check out the Foodie Blogroll, put together by the fabulous Jenn. Lots of really brilliant food blahgs and websites…if you thought mine was good, you’ll be floored by the awesomeness.

Also, I’m the Trib’s Blogger of the Week*. Spiffy!

*And no, I don’t really carry around a bag of flour at all times. I’m just cheesing it up for the camera

Okay, as many of you guessed, yesterday’s post was indeed an April Fool’s joke. It wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility - in the past 6 months, I’ve caught my hair, sleeve, several dishtowels, a plastic bag, and some chocolate chips on fire while cooking - but thankfully, nothing tragic happened yesterday. Our kitchen is fine, the landlord still loves us, and my insurance company isn’t going to be footing the bill for a “replacement” KitchenAid mixer anytime soon.

To make up for my cheeky shenanigans, I’m going to share my actual Bananas Foster recipe.

Bananas Foster was invented at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans. Naturally, I used the recipe on their website as a jumping-off point.

Jumping-off point? Yeah. See, I don’t really like regular Bananas Foster because it’s too…banana-y. I’m sure this is a travesty of sorts, but my version is pretty damn tasty even without the banana liqueur.

Click on the picture to zoom in on a potential fire hazard.

The Recipe:

Bananas (Almost) Foster
3 ripe bananas
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 stick salted butter
ittybitty shake of cinnamon
1/4 cup Malibu coconut rum (or your favorite)
1/4 cup Bacardi light rum (or your favorite brand)
1 pint vanilla ice cream
15-20 Nilla wafers, crushed

Do this
Start melting the 1/2 stick of butter in a skillet or large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Spoon in 1 cup of dark brown sugar and mix into the butter until mostly dissolved. Add a shake of cinnamon and pour in the coconut rum. Keep this mixture going on low heat while you cut the bananas.
Peel the bananas and cut in half lengthwise and crosswise - you should get 4 slices per banana, but if you mess up, it’s ok. You’ve probably got more than just 3 on hand, so it’s completely acceptable to snack on the slices that aren’t the right size.
Put the banana slices in the pan, and cook until they’re soft. I like to flip mine a few times to coat them with the sauce.
Measure out 1/4 cup of rum and get your book of matches ready. Pour the rum into the pan and wait for it to heat up. This is where the directions weren’t super clear to me, so I’ll elaborate: wait for the rum-sugar-butter-et cetera mixture to get hot enough that it’s bubbling. If you try to light it sooner, you’ll probably end up extinguishing the match. Trust me, I went through about 15 before I figured this out.
Once the stuff in the pan is bubbly and frothy, strike a match and watch the pyrotechnics.
Scoop some vanilla ice cream into a bowl, put some bananas and delicious sauce over the top, and top with crumbled Nilla wafers. Celebrate that you accomplished something pyrotechnic without burning down your kitchen, and enjoy your dessert!

Click on the picture to enlarge. It’s a little blurry, but it’s pyrotechnics!

There are video clips of this, too. I’m going to try editing out all of the failed attempts to light the bananas, and I’ll post the video later. Check back for that.

Click on the picture to zoom in on the tasty ‘Nanners (Almost) Foster.

I’m a fan of what the coconut rum adds to this dessert. I also made WAY too much of the sauce, so I’ve reserved it and put it in the freezer for something I’m going to bake this weekend.

Sorry for the lack of food photos from my kitchen lately. I’ve been busy dealing with the insurance company, fire department, contractors, and my formerly-jovial-but-now-enraged landlord. See, the landlord told my roommate and I that we could do anything we wanted to the house - paint, have pets, take a sledgehammer to the walls - as long as we didn’t burn the place down.

Yeah, well I don’t know very much about fire safety.

 I’d post my Bananas Foster recipe, but I’m too busy trying to convince the insurance company that there’s a KitchenAid standing mixer somewhere in the burning wreckage.

When I’m not at home playing in the kitchen, I work in an office. It pays for the eggs, flour, food coloring, and other little things like bills and tuition. My office kitchen has a fancy-schmancy beverage machine, which turns little single-serving packets of coffees and teas into instant hot or cold drinks.

This gadget is far cooler than a regular coffee maker (and doesn’t require filter changes or pose the problem of over-making coffee and ending up with a pot of cold, stale coffee). However…after a few days, the novelty wears off, the coffee starts to taste bland, and some creativity needs to happen. Or a trip to Starbucks. And despite the fact that there is a Starbucks in my building’s lobby AND one across the street AND one down the block, their fancy beverages cost money. I can whip something up in the office kitchen for free.

Enter: the Office Barista (the Reckless Chef’s daytime alter ego, if you will). Between the fancy machine, the assorted coffee and tea packets, the regular tea, the sweeteners, creamers, and the fake lemon, I ought to be able to make something delicious! Barring that, I’ll have to start bringing in reinforcements.

 Today’s drink - Iced Green Tea Lemonade - actually doesn’t use the machine for anything besides hot water. The green tea packet that works with the machine has very heavy jasmine overtones, and it’s kinda funky in iced form. I grabbed a regular green tea bag from the cabinet instead. In retrospect, I probably should have started off this feature with a beverage that uses the fancy machine, but it’s rainy/snowy and cold out and I wanted a drink that reminded me of spring.

Sadly, this particular drink doesn’t photograph very well. but I got a bit of the Chicago skyline in the background to compensate!

Click on the picture to experience extra-refreshing iced green tea lemonade.

The Recipe:

Iced Green Tea Lemonade
1 green tea bag
2 packets of sugar, or more to taste
3 packets of True Lemon crystallized lemon substitute
hot water
ice

Do this
Using either a fancy beverage machine, hot water tap, kettle, or microwave, heat up a mug full of water to near-boiling. Steep green tea for 3-5 minutes or until you’re happy with the brewing strength. I like to make mine a little bit stronger than I would drink hot, just because the ice tends to dilute the tea as it melts. Mix lemon crystals and sugar into the hot tea (it dissolves better!) and pour into a glass filled with ice. Sip your tea and count down the minutes until you’re out of the office!

I like this recipe a little bit more than the Iced Green Tea Lemonade at Starbucks. Theirs is good, and I get plenty of ventis in the summer, but this one is a little bit less sweet and syrupy. Substitute actual lemon juice for the crystallized kind if you’ve got it.

Oh my, I’m famous! Ok, maybe not famous, but the Trib seems to like me!

It’s ultra-flattering to be included in the same list as 37signals and Chicagoist.

Here’s a snippet of the other Food/Drink/Restaurant blahgs (you can also click the image above to get to the Tribune page):

March 24, 2008
Chicago food, drink and restaurant blogs

The Windy City is home to some of the world’s finest restaurants and chefs. Luckily for us, there are great bloggers here who help us stay abreast of what’s going on in the food world.

These guys cook up restaurant reviews, share recipes and provide commentary on Chicago’s booming restaurant and bar scene, so you’ll definitely want to keep up with these blogs:

HungryMag - The Hungry Magazine blog, run by Chicago-based foodie Michael Nagrant.

Chicago Foodies - One of Chicago’s best food and restaurant resources.

The Reckless Chef - Recipes, cooking tips and photos from someone who really likes to cook.

Best of the Best Dining Chicago - Food and restaurant reviews from around town.

If you’d like to suggest a blog, you can do so right here!

Check out those other blahgs, too. They’re pretty spiffy!

Long weekend + no plans + 2 free bottles of VOX vodka = my roommate and I decided to pretend we were still in college for a night.

That means…jello shots!

Click on the photo to make those jello shots stronger.

Anyone who’s ever been to college should know how to make these, but just in case you haven’t - or if you want to recreate the flavors we chose - here’s what’s in them:

The recipe:
Jello Shots
3 packets Jell-o gelatin (raspberry, strawberry, and black cherry)
1 bottle VOX Green Apple vodka, or your favorite brand (I chose VOX because I won some in a raffle!)
1 bottle VOX Raspberry vodka
water
small plastic cups

Do This
Boil 1 cup of water for each packet of Jell-o. Pour the contents of each Jell-o packet into a separate bowl, and pour 1 cup of boiling water into each bowl. Stir thoroughly, until powder is dissolved. Measure 1 cup of vodka (we matched green apple with black cherry, raspberry with strawberry, and half and half with the raspberry gelatin) and pour into the jello. Stir until the jello and vodka are mixed and there is no dry powder remaining.
Pour into small plastic cups. The best vessels for jello shots are the little plastic containers that restaurants use for to-go salad dressing or sauce, but small plastic cups work as well. I couldn’t find the little containers, so I bought some 3 oz plastic “bathroom cups” and they worked just fine. I filled mine about 2/3 of the way and got about 26 jello shots from the entire batch.
Place the cups on a tray, and let the gelatin set for about 3 hours. Enjoy your shots!

According to my roommate, these are stronger than “regular” jello shots. Please enjoy them responsibly!

A spoon might be helpful. Also, a designated driver is good.

But wait! There’s more!

Click to zoom in on these two-faced cupcakes.

I couldn’t make cupcakes for the Harvey Dent campaign without them being…two-faced!

This recipe comes from….scribbles in a notebook. It’s loosely based on the basic chocolate cupcake recipe I use (again, minus the mint extract), but there’s butter in it, the ratios are a bit different, and only half of the recipe gets cocoa powder.

The recipe:
Two-Face Cupcakes
2 cups flour, either cake or all-purpose
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup water

Do This
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl, either with a mixer on low speed or with a spoon. I used a spoon this time, it was actually much more effective than my hand-mixer once the dry ingredients came into play.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually stir this dry ingredient mixture into the butter-sugar-egg-vanilla mix until it is a thick batter. Add in mayonnaise and oil, mix until well-blended.
Grab a second mixing bowl. Transfer half of the batter into this bowl, and add the cocoa powder to one of the batters. Stir until there is no dry cocoa powder remaining and you have a bowl of vanilla batter and a bowl of chocolate batter.
If either batch seems too thick (as in, if it won’t come off the spoon on its own when you try to spoon batter into cupcake papers), gradually add water until the desired consistency is reached. This should be slightly thicker than “normal” cupcake batter - it shouldn’t be runny at all, and it should hold its shape when dropped into a cupcake paper. This will prevent the two batters from blending, and allow for dinstinct yellow and chocolate halves.
Carefully spoon batter into cupcake papers. These two-toned cupcakes were much easier to make than I expected. Initially, I tried to use an index card as a separator inside of the cupcake papers. I thought it might help prevent the batter from running (and blending, and ruining the two-tone effect). But! It really wasn’t necessary, and after coating a few index cards with batter, I realized that this particular batter was thick enough to just carefully spoon into opposite sides of the cupcake papers and smooth out with a tablespoon.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes, do a toothpick-test, and remove from the oven when the toothpick comes out clean. Cool (on a wire rack, or propped up on your stove) for at least 15 minutes before frosting. Frost with colorful buttercream frosting of choice. Slice crosswise with a butterknife to impress your friends.

I’m very happy with how these turned out. I wasn’t sure if the batter would hold its place enough to bake a truly two-toned cupcake, but it definitely worked well!

Oh yeah, and I didn’t make anything green for St. Patrick’s Day, but if you want to see green cupcakes, go back to this post.

I might have submitted a photo to the Harvey Dent campaign site.

It might have been a photo of some patriotic “campaign bake sale” cupcakes I baked specifically for that photo.

Click to enlarge the pretty, patriotic cupcakes.

I’m not obsessed with Batman at all…

And now, the Irish Cupcake Bomb!

These were a huge hit at the South Side Irish Parade. The Boyfriend doesn’t like sweets, but he ate two. The bouncer at Duffy’s called them “a party in [his] mouth,” and some strangers decided that I was their hero for making them. I’d say that’s a pretty good vote of confidence for these cupcakes.

I added the Jameson back into the equation because I’m really weird about authenticity sometimes. These cupcakes really do taste like Irish Car Bombs!

Click to zoom in on that cupcake bomb.

The recipe is based on the Chocolate Beer Cake from The Delia Collection: Chocolate, found here and Frosted’s Bailey’s Buttercream recipe, found here.

The recipe: Irish Cupcake Bombs

Guinness Cupcakes
9 tbsp of cocoa powder
7 fl oz of Guinness stout
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder

Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
Bailey’s Irish Cream
Jameson Irish whiskey

Do This
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs in a large mixing bowl until they are light brown and well-blended. Slowly add in the dry ingredient mixture, and blend on low speed (or faster if you really feel like it, but the flour tends to fly everywhere if you mix it too fast).
Pour Guinness into a liquid measure. Mine was from a can (I know, wrong! But that widget is pretty cool.) and I let it set for a moment so the head could form. In my liquid measure, the stout came up to the 6 oz mark and the head came up to the 7 oz mark. In a separate bowl, slowly pour Guinness over the cocoa powder, and stir until you have a mixture of about the same consistency and appearance as chocolate syrup. Pour this into the large bowl and mix until the batter is thick and completely blended.
Put cupcake papers in your cupcake tin. The batter is pretty thick, so I used two papers (one paper and one foil) for each cupcake. Spoon the batter into the cupcake papers and shake or tap the tin against the counter to settle the batter in each cup. About 2/3 full is ideal for these cupcakes - they’ll come out nice and rounded above the tops of the papers, but not overflow.
Set the oven timer for 25 minutes and put the cupcakes in the oven. Do a toothpick-test (stick a toothpick in the middle of the biggest cupcake in the batch, and the cupcakes are done when this comes out clean) and continue baking as necessary. Mine finished in about 27 minutes.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool for several minutes while you make the frosting.
Put the stick of room-temperature butter in a large mixing bowl, and beat at medium-to-high speed for a few minutes. Add a few short glugs (a tablespoon or two) of Bailey’s and a tiny bit (less than a tablespoon) of Jameson, and mix at low speed. Don’t worry if the butter and the liquor don’t mix all the way, the sugar will take care of that.
Gradually spoon confectioner’s sugar into the bowl, mixing on low speed. The frosting recipe I based this on calls for 3 cups of sugar, but I just kept adding a tablespoon at a time until the frosting was the texture I wanted. It might have been more or less than 3 cups - keep adding sugar and mixing until you have a creamy, thick frosting. If you accidentally go overboard with the sugar and it’s too thick, add a little bit more Bailey’s.
Frost your cupcakes, and refrigerate them until you’re ready to serve them. If you feel like adding a little shamrock like the one in the photo, take note that it’s not as easy to draw on a cupcake as it is to etch into the foam on a pint of Guinness. Most of my cupcakes ended up shamrock-free.

A few quick notes for anyone who wants to try these:

• This was a first run of the recipe, and although the cupcakes came out tasting very similar to the shot, they weren’t as moist as I would have liked. I didn’t want to mess with the recipe too much because I’d never made a cake with beer in it, and I didn’t know how it would affect the baking chemistry if I put in my usual modifiers (mayo and sour cream for extra-moist cake). I think I’ll change it next time.
• These would probably work better as mini-cupcakes. I would have liked to have made at least a dozen or two more to share with people at the parade. I just couldn’t find the smaller papers.
• If you don’t like Guinness (or car bombs), these probably won’t be your favorite cupcakes. While there is chocolate in the batter, they definitely taste more like Guinness, and they’re not super sweet.
• Go very light on the Jameson if you want the frosting to taste like frosting and not whiskey.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Sláinte!