It seems that between catering and practicing for competitions, I always seem to have some meat leftover in a baggie in my freezer. This time it was some brisket. You could just as easily use some pork or chicken.
I put some rotini pasta in a pot to boil. In another pot, I mixed the thawed out chopped brisket with some Super Smokers Tennessee BBQ sauce and let it simmer while the pasta is boiling. When the pasta was done, I drained it and added it to the pot with the meat and sauce. I mixed it and tasted it. It was bland. Apparently, the sauce mellows as it cooks. So I added a few shots of Bigmista’s Secret Sauce and that kicked it right up. I’d recommend using a bold flavored sauce from the beginning when you try this recipe.
So that’s it. No special ingredients. No special trips to the store. Just a tasty meal that anyone can whip up!
MrsMista and I searched the internet for a quiet romantic place to have dinner for our anniversary. We didn’t want a formal place where we had to get all dressed up. We just wanted good food in a comfortable atmosphere. What we found was Cucina Picarelli.
From the time we walked in the front door, the owner, Joe Picarelli, doted on us like we were family. He spent time getting to know us, cracking jokes and just making us feel at home. Our waiter Pablo gave us excellent service and that made the meal even more enjoyable.
After a glass of Chianti and a dinner salad (with a very healthy amount of greens) we got down to dinner. MrsMista had the crab ravioli.
The ravioli was shaped like long, thin empanadas instead of the traditional square pillows. There was lots of crab inside and the sauce was smooth and creamy. The flavors were delicate and balanced.
I had the Linguine con Frutti di Mare. It was a combination of calamari, clams, mussels and shrimp in a bold, spicy red sauce.
Joe wouldn’t let us leave with out trying his homemade Tiramisu. It rare that I eat dessert at a restaurant but this was the best Tiramisu I have ever had.
If you are ever in Long Beach, or L.A. County for that matter, head on over to Cucina Picarelli. It is definitely worth the trip. But don’t tell anybody. Let’s keep this our little secret.
Cucina Picarelli 5096 E. Pacific Coast Highway
Long Beach, CA 90804
Phone 562.494.5118
Pictures courtesy of http://www.cucinapicarelli.com
So the other night I need to make dinner but I didn’t want to go to the grocery store because we were going away for the weekend. I need to improvise with what I had in the house. But that’s what I do right?
So I took up the challenge. I looked at what I had in the fridge, freezer and pantry and came up with some Italian and Mexican ingredients. Fusion it is!! I call the dish I came up with Enchillasagna.
Here are the ingredients:
1 lb. Hot Italian Sausage, cut into small rounds
2 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp Chili Powder
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
8-10 Corn Tortillas
8 oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
6 oz. Queso Fresco Mexican Cheese, crumbled
Brown the sausage in a sauce pan. Crumble it with a spatula or a spoon. Remove the sausage from the pan. Pour in the tomatoes and add all of the seasonings. Puree (blend) with a hand blender and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Warm the tortillas. (I usually do this on the burner on the stove but you can also wrap them in a damp towel and microwave for 15-20 seconds.)
Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with a layer of tortillas. Sprinkle half of the crumbled sausage on top of the tortillas. Spoon half of the tomato sauce on top of that. Cover with half of the cheddar cheese. Sprinkle half of the Queso Fresco on top of that. Repeat.
Put the casserole dish in a 350 oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.
I wanted something simple for dinner tonight so I took a look in the fridge to see what I could improvise with. I decided I would try Bacon Wrapped Salmon. It’s hard to think of anything that bacon doesn’t make better so how could I go wrong?
I started out by frying the bacon for a few minutes. My reasoning was that if I cooked the fish long enough for the bacon to cook from raw, I would dry out the fish.
When the bacon was about 3 pieces of salmon. I seasoned them with Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Italian Seasoning.Then I wrapped the salmon with 3 pieces of bacon each.
Then it was into a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Nothing hard about that.
I served it up with some rice and a spinach cucumber salad. A nice summer meal in about 30 minutes. Now I have to go flip a coin with MrsMista to see who gets to take the extra piece for lunch.
I just upgraded the picture section of my catering website and added some new pictures. I would love to get your opinion on it. Just go to http://www.bigmista.com and click “Pictures”. Don’t forget to come back and leave your comments. I’m counting on you!
I saw an interesting question over at the BBQ-Brethren forum and I thought I would ask my readers here the same question and see what kind of responses I get. Here it is:
If you could only have one type meat for the rest of your life, what would you choose and why?
1. Beef
2. Pork
3. Poultry
4. Fish and Shellfish
Post your answer in the comments. Looking forward to seeing what your answer is.
When we were at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival earlier this year, the State Department sent out a camera crew to film the Four Q Country BBQ team during our BBQ contest. They just added the video to their website so the world can see our own little bit of Americana. We are proud to be included on the site and we would like to share it with you!
MrsMista and I were on our way to a meeting the other day and we were both hungry. We were passing thru Gardena, CA and I noticed a Golden Bird sign. MrsMista is a huge fan of Golden Bird chicken so we decided to stop.
Golden Bird is a franchise here in California and nowadays it is usually paired with another restaurant. This time it was the D.U.T.C. Grill, a creole/soul food establishment. I am something of oficianado of both creole and soul food (ok, I just eat them both a lot) so I was hoping they were up to the challenge.
They were.
I decided on the Oxtail dinner. It came with rice and gravy, 3 sides and a cornbread muffin for $11.99. I chose Sweet Potatoes, Mac & Cheese and Collards. This was definitely a bargain. My box was heavy when they handed it to me and I knew right away that I would have a hard time finishing it.
The Oxtails were very tender. The meat was falling apart and the seasoning went all the way to the bone. Th gravy was thick, hearty and little sticky. Just enough to make you lick your fingers. The Mac & Cheese was average. Not saying that it was bad, just that it was predictable. Nothing outstanding. The Sweet Potatoes on the other had were great! A good bit of cinnamon and very sweet. Some of the best sweet potatoes I have ever had in a restaurant.
The collards greens were well seasoned with a hint of vinegar. The folks at the D.U.T.C. Grill know what they are doing. If you are in Gardena or are just looking for some of the best Soul Food in the Los Angeles area, I recommend that you stop on by. It’s worth the trip!
D.U.T.C. Grill
14903 S. Western Ave
Gardena, CA 90249
Phone: 310-715-6774
