Trout Caviar “Fish & Chips” – And the Oscar for Best Hors d'Oeuvre Goes to…

Sure, you could serve some high-end Beluga or Ossetra caviar at your Oscars viewing party, but the problem with that plan is you’d have to get rich first. I’m not saying you won’t eventually be rolling in it, but the Academy Awards are Sunday, and we don’t want to rush you.

Instead, you can go with a more affordable option like the gorgeous trout roe seen glistening herein. This was only $25 for a 2-oz jar, and that’s purchased in San Francisco, one of the most expensive places on earth, so I’m hoping you can do even better than that.

It’s so obvious that I didn’t even mention it in the video, but of course this will work with any type of caviar. Having said that, when you consider value, it’s hard to beat these golden beads. Trout roe has a fresh, clean, briny flavor, and an absolutely beautiful texture. The feeling of those little, subtly salty eggs popping on your tongue is one of life’s great food experiences.

As far as portioning goes, if you use as much as I did on the first batch (pictured right), which was about 1 gram per chip, you’ll get between 50-60 hors d'oeuvres. If you want to stretch things a little further, then do smaller 1/2-gram portions, and get 100-120 still amazing tasting bites.

If you’re like me, and haven’t seen any of the movies yet, the only good reason to go to an Oscars party is for the food and drinks; and getting to enjoy something like these caviar “fish & chips” will make sitting through all those acceptance speeches almost worthwhile. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 100-120 bites (using 1/2-gram of roe per chip)

2 oz golden trout roe (or any other caviar or roe)

120 potato crisps or chips (I used original flavor Popchips)

about 1/2 cup sour cream

chives as needed

Pancetta-Wrapped Leek Gratin – Simply Amazing

I’m all about simply prepared vegetables, but every once in a while I need to cover them in caramelized pork and cheese, and this stunningly delicious pancetta-wrapped leek gratin was one of those times. I love those times.

This “umami bomb” is so flavorful and satisfying, it almost seems disrespectful to serve it as a side dish. Pair this with a slice of buttered bread, hedge your bets with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and enjoy a truly special lunch.

For extra credit, after you finish your meal, call your best French friend and describe what you had. They will love and hate you for it. So, whether you make this for lunch, or use it to upstage a steak or grilled piece of salmon, I hope you give this great leek gratin a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

3 large leeks

about 4 oz pancetta

2 tsp olive oil

salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup drinkable white wine

1/3 cup heavy cream

finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as needed
chives to garnish

The Food Wishes' Chicken Wing Collection

Just in case you haven't decided on a chicken wing for tomorrow's Super Bowl party, maybe this will help. Here, for the first time, we've pulled together every single Food Wishes' chicken wing recipe into one, convenient post. Enjoy!

	Jerk Chicken Wings In the spirit of full disclosure, these will be the wings I'll be enjoying for the game.
	Garlic Parm Hot Wings If casual dinning restuarants have taught us anything, it's that people love garlic-parm whatever.
	Original Buffalo Chicken Wings There's no way to prove this is the original recipe, which is a probably good thing.
	Clifton Springs Chicken Wings By far, our most popular and highest-rated chicken wing recipe.
	Pastrami Chicken Wings Sure, pastrami sandwiches are awesome, but they don't have any bones! Now, these on the other hand.
	Spicy Orange Chicken Wings I can't say who I stole this spicy orange glaze from, but it rhymes with "Panda Express."
	Peanut Butter & Pepper Jelly Chicken Wings This is no gimmick! Okay, it is, but it's an incredibly delicious gimmick.
	Sweet and Hot Mustard-Glazed Chicken Wings Hey, there's a reason honey-mustard is the second most popular chicken nugget sauce in the world.

Bacon Jam – Take That, Fruit!

At the end of the video, I joke that if this bacon jam were the only thing you served at your Super Bowl party, people would still leave raving about the food. That wasn’t a joke. Such is the profound deliciousness of this magical, spreadable bacon.

I’ll have to admit that the first time I heard about bacon jam, it didn’t strike me as a very good idea. I loved the part about frying tons of bacon crispy, but then you want me to add it to a bunch of wet onions? Why would I do that? As usual, I was wrong. Despite losing its crispiness, the intense caramelized bacon flavor, and sweet/tart/peppery punch of this “jam,” more than make up for it.

While I'm officially posting this as another Super Bowl snack idea, its potential uses go way past the big game. One taste and the mind reels with possibilities. While impressive served simply on a chip or crisp, this stuff will turn a grilled cheese sandwich into something beyond our world…and don’t even get me started on the hamburger applications.

Such pleasure does not come without its price, however. This takes some time to make, and there is expert-level stirring involved, but what a small price when you consider the final results. Whether you do this for your Super Bowl party, or other festive occasion, I hope you give this amazing bacon jam a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 3 1/2 cups of Bacon Jam:

1 1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp, chopped fine

2 tsp butter

2 tsp reserved bacon fat

4 large yellow onions (about 3 pounds), diced

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1 1/2 tsp fresh picked thyme leaves, divided (1 tsp cooked in, 1/2 tsp at the end)

1 teaspoon black pepper

pinch of cayenne

1/2 cups water

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Jerk Chicken Wings – Classic Jamaican Super Bowl Food

I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of this before, but what more perfect marinade and glaze for a Super Bowl hot wing than a Jamaican jerk sauce? These jerk chicken wings were so flavorful, so different, and so additively delicious, that I may have eaten my last Buffalo wing. 

Okay, I didn’t mean that, but these really are amazing; a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy. I'm usually pretty casual about you changing my recipes, but I’m going to have to insist you not change any of the key ingredients, which are, every one of them. 

I guess this could work with other hot peppers, but the fiery, super-fruity Habanero (or Scotch Bonnet if you can find it) is critical for achieving true magic here. You’ll find them in any decent market, and they are very expensive per pound, but they’re very light, so three or four certainly won’t break the bank.

I mention in the video to marinate at least 8 hours in the fridge, which is the preferred method, but if you’re in a hurry, like I was, you could just leave it out on the counter at room temperature for two hours instead. Keep it covered, and give it a stir every 15 minutes or so, but that will get you pretty close to the colder, slower refrigerator method.

So, if you’re looking for a little change of pace this year, why not take a break from those same old wings (sorry again, Buffalo), and give these tasty jerk wings a try instead? Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 24 Jerk Chicken Wing Drumettes:

3 lbs chicken wings

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

6 garlic peeled cloves

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

3 Habanero chili peppers, seeded, chopped

2 tablespoons freshly picked thyme leaves

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1/3 cup fresh lime juice, about 3 juicy limes

Blend all ingredients and marinate 8 to 12 hours in the fridge; or 2 hours at room temp.

- Bake 20 min at 450 F.

- Paint and turn, bake 15 minutes more

- Turn and paint, and bake 10-15 minutes more, or until well-browned and tender.

Kentucky Beer Cheese – Love at Third Bite

Very few love Kentucky Beer Cheese at first bite. As you crunch your first taste, the palette quickly identifies a sharp cheddar cheese spread, but then stale beer fills the nose, and you instantly think, “I should have gone clam dip.”

But after three or four bites, you stop thinking about your college dorm room carpet, and your palette adjusts to the unusual flavor profile, and this humble cheese spread becomes as addicting as any I’ve ever had. In a way, it’s sort of analogous to drinking your first beer, but that’s a whole other post.

The texture is much smoother and creamier than it looks, and that little hint of raw alcohol provides a fermented funkiness in the background that is the key to the recipe. Well done, Bluegrass State. Well done. By the way, you can upgrade the beer if you wish, but then you will not be eating real Kentucky Beer Cheese.

People around those parts may argue about the amount of pepper, or if you should throw in a chunk of cream cheese or not, but everyone agrees that this spread requires a cheap, domestic beer. Preferably from a can.

So, if you’re looking for something a little different for your Super Bowl party, I hope you give this Kentucky Beer Cheese recipe a try. If it’s a big hit, you can bring it back for your Kentucky Derby party. I’m sure it’s fabulous with mint juleps. Enjoy!

Ingredients for  about 3 cups Kentucky Beer Cheese:
16 ounces of cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced fine

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup flat beer

Chicken & Mushroom Chimichanga – A Thingamajig of Beauty

As legend has it, many years ago in Tucson, AZ, a woman accidentally dropped a burrito into a deep fryer. She started to blurt out a common Spanish swear word, but remembering her kids were in the kitchen, yelled out “chimichanga!” instead. She let it fry golden and crisp, and the rest is culinary history.

If you’re wondering, Chimichanga translates to “thingamajig,” which is fitting, since that’s kind of what this is. A thingamajig stuffed with whatever. In this case, whatever was a very tasty mixture of chicken, mushrooms, poblano chilies, and pepper Jack cheese.

While that particular combination is highly recommended, this is more of a technique video, so when it comes to the filling, I encourage wild experimentation. We used raw chicken here, but Chimichangas are also great for using up leftover, cooked meats. Just cube it up, toss it in when the vegetables are done, and proceed as shown.

And don't feel like you have to stay in the Tex-Mex zone. This versatile, folded and fried tortilla could make a fantastic delivery system for all kinds of ethnic foods. Anyway, no matter what kind of filling is used, or how it’s seasoned, I think everyone will agree that it’s never a good idea to curse in front of children. I hope you give this delicious son-of-a-gun a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

(exact measurements are not critical, as you can stuff these with anything that fits)

For the filling:

1 tbsp vegetable oil, divided (half for veggies, half to cook chicken)

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced poblano peppers

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

12 oz boneless skinless chicken breast meat, cut in 1/2-inch cubes

salt, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chipotle, smoked paprika, or other hot or mild ground chili pepper

pinch dried Mexican oregano
1 or 2 tbsp cold water to deglaze pan once chicken is browned

4 ounces grated pepper Jack cheese

Also:

4 large flour tortilla (at least 10-inch wide)

1 egg white

2 tbsp vegetable oil for pan-frying

sour cream, guacamole, and salsa to garnish, optional

Crab-Stuffed Deviled Eggs – I Love to Say I Told You So

I love deviled eggs, and have probably had fifty different versions over the years, but these crab-stuffed beauties may be my favorite. The sweet crab is a perfect compliment to the spicy eggs, but above and beyond the delicious flavors, these just look extra special. Okay, that’s enough about the recipe…now, on to more important matters.

Considering the fact that we’ve done almost 1,000 uploads, we’ve had very few controversial recipes. And by “controversial, I mean videos that caused vigorous debate about whether the recipe actually works as shown. One such video was our “How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs.”

While most had no issues, a small but vocal group claimed the recipe didn’t work at all. Some went so far as to say the video was a hoax, as if the egg industry had gotten to me, and convinced me to trick my viewers into wasting eggs to increase sales. I’ll admit, it is a brilliant plan, but it’s not true.

To prove my innocence, I’ve used the exact same method here, and once again, perfection. As long as you’re using a decent pot (as in not paper-thin), enough water, and can manage to successfully set a timer, I’m not sure what can go wrong. By the way, I used cold eggs, so that’s not an issue, as some surmised after the first tutorial. To summarize: I told you this works.

Regardless of how you cook your hard-boiled eggs, this would make a stellar hors d'oeuvre for any special occasion meal. You can be as frugal or extravagant as you want, and the garnishing options are pretty much limitless. Speaking of garnishes, that is a lemon, and not an orange! It's actually a Meyer lemon which have a much warmer color than standard lemons. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the bottoms:

*6 large hard-boiled eggs (makes 12 pieces)

2 oz fresh crab meat, chopped

3 or 4 tbsp mayonnaise, or enough to achieve desired consistency

few drops of Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp chopped tarragon

1/2 tsp hot sauce or to taste

pinch of old bay

salt and pepper to taste (don't be shy with the salt)

For the crab topping:

2 oz fresh crab meat, shredded slightly

1 or 2 tsp crème fraiche or sour cream

lemon zest of one lemon

Aleppo pepper to taste

salt if needed

Fresh chives

Cayenne

* I only made 12 portions, but this method will work with more. Just be sure your eggs are cover by at least an inch or two of cold water, and proceed as show.