Current mood:	Need fried food!
Current music:	'Shovel' by HUM
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Fire Roasted Goodness!
As filler for now, here's some recipes that I've made for others and myself that earned some great results.

COCO SPICE RUBBED TENDEROIN
1 tablespoon whole white peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole coriander
4 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
4 tablespoons sea salt, preferably gray
2 (2-pound) boneless pork tenderloins
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, toast white peppercorns and coriander seeds until they begin to pop. Remove from heat and grind to fine powder in a spice mill or coffee grinder. Mix the ground pepper and coriander with remaining spices, cocoa and salt.

Trim the pork tenderloins of fat and silver skin. Rub with a generous amount of the cocoa spice rub. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Sear each tenderloin on all sides until a rich brown color, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove tenderloins from heat and finish in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Let the tenderloins rest out of the oven for at least 10 minutes before carving.

Extra cocoa spice rub will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 months.



GOOEY PUMPKIN BUTTER CAKE

Cake:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.



SEARED TUNA STEAK

1/2 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup dry wasabi powder
2 pounds tuna loin, cut into 2 pieces
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons peanut oil
In a non-reactive bowl combine soy, honey, and wasabi powder. Reserve 1/4 cup for dipping sauce. Roll each piece of tuna in this mixture to coat evenly. Marinate from 1 hour to overnight. Remove the tuna from the marinade and discard the marinade.
On a plate, lay the sesame seeds. Roll the tuna in the seeds to evenly coat.
Fire up the chimney and top with a well-oiled grate. Sear for 15 to 30 seconds per side or to desired temperature. Remove to rack and rest for 3 minutes. Cover with foil or plastic wrap to achieve carry over cooking. Slice thinly and serve with the dipping sauce.



FRIED CHICKEN

1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups low fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Flour, for dredging
Vegetable shortening, for frying
Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven.



OLD WORLD VIENNA COFFEE

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
2 TBS fresh ground coffee
200ml water

Put spices and grounds together and brew coffee by your favorite method. Enjoy.



CHOCOLATE TOFU PIE (it doesn't taste like tofu!)

2 cups chocolate chips,
1/3 cup coffee liqueur
1 block silken tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1 prepared chocolate wafer crust
Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and coffee liqueur in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.
Combine the tofu, chocolate mixture, and honey in the blender jar. Liquefy until smooth.

Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the filling is set.



More recipes will pop up from time to time on this journal. Feel free to ask about any of these concoctions or suggest any new ones to post!