Dragon Fire Grill

Hello all,
I created this lens to get feedback from you about my restaurant and what people like you really want in a place to eat. I have my own opinions and desires, and i think that many people would agree with them but Hmm, how am I to find out.

located here are polls, recipes, menu items and more as time goes by, and I really do want your opinion.

Eco friendly or not--fried food or no fryer in the store, more choices or less choices, these are just a sampling of the things that I want to ask.

so go on, take a look around, in a week or so more thing will be added to the lens so that you can have your say--want to ask a question? go ahead that is what the comment section is for, and I will answer it--unless of course it is info that could be used to scam me or other people.

I love food and that is what this is about.
Jim t

It was suggested that I change the name of my restaurant to something that told people what I was selling--So I tried one on for size--JT's Home Cooking--didn't really fit. So I thought I would share with you why I have chosen the name I have.

Dragon = me
why?
First: I Like dragons.
Second:they are Strong, (and when not portrayed as evil)-courageous, trustworthy, honest, and smart. (sometimes too smart for their own good)

Fire = MY Wife (Shirley)
Why?
She is the reason I get out of bed in the morning, and why I am still here. She is the fire in my Heart and Soul, I love her more than I can ever express.
also fire is the means by which I will be cooking as much of the food I make as possible

Grill = Grill(well duh)
how else are you going to control the fire?

put them all together and You have

Dragon Fire Grill

I do try to eat somewhat healthier from time to time, and this recipie came out of trying to do fried foods without the fryer.

4 whole chicken breast halves without skin
1/2 stick butter, unsalted
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 tablespoon lemon pepper
4 slices Swiss cheese slice
4 slices ham slice

1. pound chicken breast flat

2. place 1 slice of cheese and 1 slice of ham on the inside of each breast

3. fold over and pin the outer edge with a toothpick

4. place on a plate or a sheet pan and place in the refrigerator

5. put butter in a microwave safe dish and melt and garlic and lemon pepper

6. heat your grill to medium and turn off one side/ or move coals to either side of the grill and place a pan of water between the piles/under the unlit portion of the grill

7.place chicken over the hot coals and baste with the butter mixture, grill for about two minutes per side and then---

8. place chicken over the pan and baste with butter mixture

9. turn and baste every 5 minutes--- the chicken is done when it reaches an internal temp of 170 or 15 to 18 minutes

I recently was able to pick up london broil for $2.83/lb in a three for 1 sale at a local store. one of those great pieces of meat went into this recipe. Up until a few years ago I had never tried balsamic vinegar, but I loved it on first bite. I have tried a few variations of marinades with balsamic as the base but was not very impressed with their taste. this however was outstanding and I would make it again.

1 2.5 Lb london Broil
garlic powder
Worcestershire sauce

2 med onions sautéed
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tbs dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp unsalted butter

1. marinate steak in garlic and worchestershire sauce for at least two hours

2. spray frying pan with cooking spray and saute onions until caramalizedadd 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter to the finished onions for flavor

3. in a small saucepan combine 1/8 cup balsamic vinager, white vinagar and darkbrown sugar, reduce by 1/3 to 1/2 spoon some over the steak during the last ten minutes of cooking--then pour over onions in the hot frying pan, stirr the sauce shoulod thicken up significantly and leave very little liquid in the pan

4. finally once the steak has been rmoved from the grill and rested spoon onions and spread over the steak

5. enjoy

I served this with the everyday garlic mashed potatoes, steamed sweet corn and garlic texas toast

simple as pie, better than the stuff in the bag from the grocery store

3 cups rice
1 1/2 cups corn, frozen
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup milk, 2% lowfat
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1. cook rice normally

2. steam broccollii and corn together

3. melt cheese in hot milk

4. mix all ingredients together and serve

6. 1/2 cup servings

I don't recommend eating these potatoes on a regular basis, but they are great for special occasions. I created them because I was tired of the average mashed potatoes, and they are loaded with flavor. I do recommend that you limit your consumption to 6 or 8 oz, which this recipe would make 10 to 12 serving. A lighter version follows if you still want the great taste but not all of the calories.

ingredients

5 LB potatoes
1 Lb extra sharp white cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 tbls salt
1 tbls white pepper
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
4 tbls butter
4 tbls minced garlic or granulated garlic

Directions:

If you like to have skins in you mashed potatoes, just thoroughly wash you potatoes and then cut them into 1 inch cubes and rinse with cold water. If you hate skins in your mashed potatoes then by all means peel them before you cut them up.

Pot up the potatoes and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, cook until fork tender--meaning that you can easily insert a fork into the potato.

While the potatoes are cooking, shred the cheddar and mince the garlic, get all of your additions ready, if you are going to use a mixer to mash your potatoes then get it out and all of the attachments that you need ready.

OK, the potatoes are ready, drain them and return to the pot or place them in your mixer and mash. add all of your ingredients in except the cheese and mix thoroughly. Mix in the cheese slowly, about a handful at a time so that it melts and mixes throughly with your potatoes. Continue adding and mixing until all of it has been incorporated.

taste and adjust your seasonings. if you need to hold this for a while, place it in a oven safe container and cover tightly, put it in an oven set to 150 to 200 degrees and it can be held for up to one hour, use a instant read thermometer to make sure that it is at least 135 degrees before serving.

enjoy!

Lighten Up

In order to lighten this recipe up just leave out the cream cheese, and use fat free sour cream, you can substitute fat free milk instead of the sour cream if you don't like sour cream, but I think that the sour cream give the mashed potatoes a great taste.
you can reduce the cheddar cheese to further reduce the calories, or if you can find a reduced calorie version go ahead and use it.

Variations:
Change the cheese, don't like Cheddar, then try swiss, or provolone, perhaps a little asiago--though i would use less asiago as it is a really strong flavored cheese. your imagination is your only limit to what you can do.

change the spice, don't use garlic, use rosemary, or onion, perhaps a little thyme. You can make this with pimientos or red peppers, perhaps a little fire roasted tomatoes, again use your imagination, it opens a whole new door to flavorful dining.

if you make something and it doesn't taste the way you want it to, just write down what you did and figure out where it went wrong and then make it again, correcting for the problem ingredient, don't let mistakes stop you from experimenting with your food.

the destination is not always as important as the trip.
enjoy your food from beginning to end.

I really can't take credit for this dish, it is from my step-father, he made it at least once a month and it was delicious and so very simple. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

16 ounces extra shrarp chedder cheese, shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 ounces pimientos diced

1. combine all ingredients except cheese and mix thoroughly

2. add to cheese and mix till all cheese is coated and no globs remain

3. refrigerate for two to four hours or until cheese has plumped up and the mixture is spreadable

4. it should look sort of like lumpy butter
if it looks like coated cheese next time add 1 to 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
if it looks like a lumpy soup next time decrease mayonnaise by 1 to 2 tablespoons until you get the correct consistency

Per Serving (excluding unknown items):
291 Calories;
28g Fat (84.0%calories from fat);
10g Protein;
2g Carbohydrate;
trace Dietary Fiber;
46mg Cholesterol;
389mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 3 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

This can be used for a wonderful Grilled Pimiento Cheese Sandwich, just reduce the mayo a little bit for a dryer consistency and use as you normally would any cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich.

This recipe is so simple that anyone can do it well.

This Chicken Recipe is actually an adaption of one that is used at the restaurant I currently work at, I really have not played around with it too much because it is the best simple recipe that i have ever found for chicken. I did adjust for the serving amount so you might want to add more garlic, but unless you want it to taste salty, I wouldn't add more salt--perhaps a little less, but definitely not more. Remember, do add some salt or anything that you make will taste flat and lifeless.
Enjoy the fruits of my kitchen

ingredients
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts (about 4)
2 tbls Olive oil
1 1/2 tbls Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

directions;
in a zip top baggie combine all ingredients, zip up and mix well. please remember to remove as much of the air as possible after mixing.
allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight if you can.

fire up your favorite grill, if you have smoking chips follow the directions to smoke the meat.
if you are using gas, turn the flame to high and then as soon as the meat hits the grill reduce to med/low.
if you are using charcoal, on one side place most of your briquettes on the other fewer. you are looking to sear the meat and then finish the cooking over a med/low flame.
remember to rotate the meat 90 degrees prior to flipping to produce the perfect grill marks.
cook until the internal temp of the meat reads 160 degrees and remove, place on a plate and wrap with aluminum foil and then a towel over the top for at least 8 minutes before serving. this is so that the juices redistribute back into the meat and you have a juicy breast instead of a dry one

Since this is a healthy style meal I would suggest Wild arboreal rice, and a lovely mixed salad to compliment this dish.

Cranberry Pineapple Pork loin

I began creating this dish over ten years ago because my wife liked pork and I could not get over the usually bland taste associated with it. Ham and bacon are my favorite pork dishes followed closely by sausage, so I wanted to create something with the flavor profiles that I had associated with them. Bacon and sausage are great but I really did not want to have sausage flavored dinner, nor did I have time to smoke the meat so I decided to try to emulate flavorings in ham.

Ham is usually smoked, but again, not enough time, so what to do? I decided to use fruit juice, I mean most hams use pineapple as a flavoring, problem was I had no pineapple juice, but our roommate at the time drank cranberry juice. Hmm, a little acidic, tangy, but usually used with turkey as a jelly, ah why not try it. I happened to have small pork roast, so I put it in a baking pan and added the juice, now since my main oven was not working I used a toaster oven.

If you have ever had a toaster oven you know that they usually cannot get up to the temperature of a regular oven, they usually reach a temp of around 275 to 300 F-not enough to cook my roast quickly-but I did not have much of a choice. Three hours it cooked in the cranberry juice, and thinking I was clever I made a honey mustard glaze to use on it at the end-definitely not the right combination, but it was decent enough to it all between three people.

Each time I made this pork dish I have changed something about how it was made, I tried it as a roulade, I tried it with pineapple juice, I tried it with a mini rotisserie, I tried it with other spice mixes and more, finally I settled on this recipe, which in my humble opinion, is the best of the best of these trials.

This is an excellent main dish; personally I serve it with Savory Steamed Broccoli, Garlic Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, and Garlic Texas Toast.
Enjoy the fruits of my kitchen.

serves 4

1 pound pork loin
1/2 cup cranberries-craisins work well
1/2 cup pineapple-crushed or tidbits
1 tablespoon brown sugar, dark
3 cups cranberry juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a blender mix cranberries and pineapple and pulse until coarsely chopped add brown sugar and pulse until toughly mixed-- set aside

2. Slice pork loin into 4 equal portions (maximum 1 inch thick)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

3. Use a fillet knife to create a pocket and fill with the cranberry pineapple mixture

4. In a medium oven safe skillet over med high heat add olive oil when to the smoke point add pork and sear 2 minutes per side
remove from heat and add cranberry juice

5. Place lid on skillet and put it in the oven
Cook about 45 min to 1 hour or until the interior temp reaches 160 deg F

6. While the loin is in the oven make the cranberry glaze

Cranberry Glaze

1 can cranberry sauce, jellied
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar,dark

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, add pineapple juice and jellied cranberry sauce, allow to melt

2. Stir in brown sugar

3. Reduce by half, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches the consistency of hot fudge

4. Use this to glaze the pork medallions during the last 20 minutes of cooking

Approximate Dietary information
based on a 2000 calorie diet

Cranberry pineapple pork loin
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 297 Calories;
11g Fat (32.9%calories from fat);
14g Protein;
36g Carbohydrate;
1g Dietary Fiber;
36mg Cholesterol;
35mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 2 Lean Meat; 2 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 1/2Other Carbohydrates

Cranberry Glaze
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 29 Calories;
trace Fat (0.7%
calories from fat); trace
Protein; 7g
Carbohydrate; trace
Dietary Fiber;
0mg Cholesterol;
5mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 0 Fruit; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

1>Grilling,
If you grill the medallions you don't need the cranberry juice, nor do you need the frying pan; but you still need it to reach an internal temp of 160F.
Instructions:
Follow all the above directions until you reach the frying pan.

You need to have your fire split into two zones, one for direct heat and one for indirect heat.
start the meat over hot direct heat cooking for two to two and a half minutes each side then immediately move to the indirect heat for 20 to 30 minutes glazing it every ten minutes until done.
Serve as above

JT's Burgundy Pot Roast

This is excelent with roasted rosemary herbed new potatoes and glazed carrots.

Servings: 12

3 pounds chuck roast
2 whole yellow onion slices
2 cups burgundy
3 tablespoons minced garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil

1. in a large skillet over medium high heat add two tablespoons of olive oil and heat till just barely smoking

2. salt roast lightly and sear 2 minutes per side

3. remove roast to a roasting pan or to an aluminum foil pouch

4. immediately lower heat to medium and add remainin oil and the sliced onions
at this time preheat oven to 275 degrees F

5. saute onion until just softtened and slightly translucent add minced garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes

6. place onions and garlic on top of the roast, add the burgundy

7. if you have a digital themometer that allows you to moniter an item while cooking this would be the time to insert the probe

8. close roast up tightly and insert into the oven plug your themometer into the probe and set to go off at 172 degrees F

9. this should take about 2 hours

10. remove from the oven and allow to rest 30 minutes-don't remove it fom the pan or the foil package

11. after resting slice against the grain and serve with you favorite sides

Approximate Dietary information
based on a 2000 calorie diet

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 308 Calories;
22g Fat (71.8% calories from fat);
18g Protein;
2g Carbohydrate;
trace Dietary Fiber;
66mg Cholesterol;
59mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 3 Fat.

Nutrition Warnings:

yellow onion slices: MasterCook assumes an average 'whole' size of this ingredient.