Written by: Roscoe

Ingredients:

Peppers (all kinds, roasted)
onions
garlic
Worcestershire
wine
red wine vinegar
honey mustard
spicey mustard
rum (a couple glugs)
salt and pepper

A Big Bag of Peppers

What do you do when someone gives you a big bag of peppers?Peppers of all kinds: red peppers, green peppers, cubanels, habaneros, jalapenos, and some you don’t even know. You…

Make Your Own Hot Sauce

… that’s what you do. Hey, it ain’t gonna be Cholula, but it’s bound to be good, and for sure it’ll be fun.

Just Roast ‘em All Up

Rub the peppers in some veggie oil, salt and pepper, and grill ‘em or roast ‘em in your oven. Let ‘em get charred, then take ‘em out and put ‘em in a plastic bag and let ‘em steam a while, till the skins get nice and loose. Then take ‘em out, pull the charred skins off, and you’ve got all that great pepper meat, soft and tasty and ready to become your own hot sauce.

This Is The Fun Part

Chop up the peppers, put ‘em all into a pot and let ‘em cook up with some onions and garlic, maybe a little tomato. Then start to add…

Whatever You Like

Red wine vinegar, wine, Worcestershire, herbs, spices, and don’t forget… Roscoe’s secret… mustard and rum.

Hand Blender Is Mandatory

Sure, you can put it all in a regular blender, and do it that way if you want. But there’s nothing more fun (well, almost nothing) than standing at the stove with an immersion blender in one hand and a beer in the other, mixing up your own hot sauce. And don’t even worry if some of that beer gets into the blend, ’cause then you’re really…

Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground beef (80/20 seems best here)
1 can tomatoes or tomato sauce (or puree)
1 medium red onion, diced fine
1 red bell pepper (or other sweet bell pepper) diced fine
1 cubanel pepper, diced fine
2 Jalepeno peppers, diced fine
1 fiery red peppers, diced fine (optional)
Olive oil, Worcestershire, Cholula
garlic 4-5 cloves (minced or chopped fine)
Wine (a couple glugs)
chili powder (to taste)
paprika (to taste)
cumin (a few good shakes)
cayenne (at your own risk)
salt and pepper

tangy mustard (the secret ingredient)

The Road to Detroit is Paved With Chili Dogs

Coney Dogs. A staple in Detroit for years and years. Lafayette. American. National. People love ‘em. No one hates ‘em except Roscoe. Yes, you read right, Roscoe hates Coney dogs. But how can that be? We’ve all read Roscoe’s recipes for Chili Cheese Dogs and know how good they are.

That’s The Problem

Roscoe only dislikes bad Coney Dogs. The ones with mediocre hot dogs and greasy chili. So when The Handyman suggested we do Coney Dogs for the final remote broadcast at Ace Hardware this year, Roscoe decided to do it right.

This Ain’t No National Coney Island Chili

Yes, it would be easy to get a frozen brick of that greasy stuff and heat it up and serve it to the masses, and they’d probably like it.

Not On Roscoe’s Watch

No way. So Roscoe decided to come up with a special chili meat sauce that will compliment the dogs and the buns and ACTUALLY TASTE GOOD!

Keep It Simple

Chili can be a complicated process, and every chili chef believes he or she has the secret. And you know what? They all do. But Roscoe wanted to keep this a simple meat sauce to go on a hot dog, so it’s real easy.

Here’s What You Do…

Sautee’ the meat in a pot, adding salt, pepper, Worcestershire, Cholula, paprika and chili powder, some cayenne if you want it hotter. When it’s just done (no need to overcook this, it’s still got a ways to go), DRAIN IT. That’s right, get any and all grease out of the meat. Let it sit while you…

Sautee’ The Veggies

Red onion, red pepper, cubanels, Jalepenos, and a couple of fiery reds, all cooked up in Roscoe’s Trinity: Olive oil, Worcestershire, and Cholula. Season it up with the same stuff you used on the meat, along with some wine (red or white, it doesn’t matter). When this is wilted together and smelling really good, take your hand blender and blend it into a paste.

Add In the Meat

Stir it up, add the tomatoes, keep stirring until it’s all mixed, then take the hand blender again and smooth it out, eliminating any big chunks of anything. When you’ve got the consistency you want, let it simmer and start tasting.

Here’s the Secret Ingredient

Tangy mustard! Not just the yellow kind (although that’s good, too), but find something special, with some sweet tang to it. Stir in a few good dollops (Yes, dollop is an authentic culinary measurement term).

You Won’t Be Able to Stop

Feel free to re-season as you taste, it might need more chili powder and/or paprika. If it seems a little too thick, add some beer (you might even have one in your hand, staving off dehydration). When you’ve got it the way you want it, slather it over your hot dog (mustard if you like) and remember…

Life’s Good, When You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

Ingredients (Makes 4 tacos):

1/2 lb Cubed Steak
Corn tortillas
spinach (chopped)
Sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 Cubanelle pepper (chopped)
Pepper jack cheese

Marinade:

Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Cholula Chili Lime
Soy sauce or Terryaki

Vinegrette:

Olive oil
Pickle juice (or rice wine vinegar)
Wasabi Lime Mustard (or any Asian style mustard)

Three Cultures In One

Talk about your culture meld. Yes, it’s popular today to put different kinds of food together, witness the Food Network shows like Eat Street, where one of the coolest taco trucks sells Korean BBQ tacos.

Limited Only By Imagination

And Roscoe has lots of imagination.

Cubed Steak? Really?

Look up some recipes on the internet and you get a lot of saucy, breaded type things for Cubed Steak. Nothing wrong with that, they’re probably all good (and at 2 or 3.99 a pound, you get a lot of meat for a couple bucks). But Roscoe thinks grilling, so how do you grill up a Cubed Steak? And then what do you do with it?

Put It On A Taco, Man!

So marinate that Cubed Steak in olive oil, Cholula Chili LIme, and some soy sauce or Terryaki, at least an hour, up to over night. Grill it real fast, remember, it’s thin, so just get some grill marks on each side and it’s done, pull it off, let it rest for a minute, and slice it or chop it.

For The Topping… More Asian

Roscoe used chopped spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and chopped Cubanelle pepper with an Asian vinegrette: olive oil, pickle juice (or rice wine vinegar), and Wasabi lime mustard.

Tacos: You Know The Drill

You’ve seen lots of taco recipes on this site, but we’ll tell you again… sprinkle some olive oil on your tortillas, grill one side quickly, then flip it over. Put some pepper jack cheese on the grilled side, let it melt. Pull it off and assemble: meat, then vinegrette topping (hey, use whatever topping you like; cabbaage goes well with this, too).

This Is One of the Best

And pretty cheap, too. Hey…

You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

The Egg

Pitmaster Does It On The Egg

It’s a great big contraption that looks a lot like a diving bell. But you open it up and it’s a grill and smoker all in one. And it’s perfect for pizza.

Use A Stone

Slide the assembled pizza off your peel (that big wooden spatula thingy that you’ve dusted with corn meal) right onto the stone, which is already hot and acts as a heat source for the bottom of the dough, assuring a crispy pie. Close up the Egg and let the machine do its work while you quench your thirst with a cold one or two.

It Doesn’t Take Long

You don’t want to keep opening the Egg, because that diminishes the heat, so give it about five minutes before the first look. Use a spatula to lift and check the dough. Crispy is best, burnt is bad. If you’ve gotten the heat to at least 450, the top will come out around the same time as the crust. Either slide the peel back under to get it off, or get one of those big pizza spatulas (it’s fun to have both), cut it up for the masses, and go to it.

Top It With Whatever You Like

From meat lovers to vegetarians, everyone likes something different on their pizza. Pitmaster provided the toppings and let everyone do their own, and that’s the fun way to do it.

The Favorites?

Let’s face it, it’s hard to beat the Pitmaster’s meat lover’s pizza, with ham and salami and pepperoni and a little feta cheese thrown on for flavor. But Roscoe made a tomato, spinach, garlic and sun-dried tomato pizza that went over pretty well, too.

You Can’t Go Wrong

Pizza on the grill works, no question. And no matter what your toppings are, when you do it like this…

You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

Roscoe’s First Rule: There Are No Rules

Only guidelines. Yes, we say never cook with water, because water has no taste, therefore it can’t make your food taste good. So maybe we start with a little water (for pasta or rice) and add Worcestershire, Cholula, and a bouillon cube or two, kinda like that parable where the water gets turned into wine, suddenly, you’ve got something that tastes good (we’ll stop short of calling it a miracle).

But Good Food From A Can? How Can That Be?

Actually, there’s plenty of good stuff in cans. Beer is the first thing that comes to mind. Duh! And after that there’s tomato sauce. Most canned spaghetti sauce is okay, as long as you doctor it up a little (or a lot, in some cases). But that’s easy: salt and pepper first, of course, then Worcestershire and Cholula, paprika never hurts (wine, either), and plenty of herbs and spices usually do the trick. You should have that can of Italian seasoning around anyway, and some extra basil.

What About Specialty Stuff?

Just what are we talking about here? Let’s get right to the point: Clam Sauce. One of the all time favorites to get in any Italian restaurant is Linguini with Clam Sauce, either white or red. A little daunting to make properly from scratch maybe, but easy as pie to make from a can.

Trader Joe’s Makes a Good One

Roscoe has tried them all, Spaghetti and Clam Sauce being one of his favorites, and he’s found Trader Joe’s to be about the best. It’s good without even doing anything to it, but we’re Cookin’ With Roscoe here, so get ready.

There Are Standards

Sauteed celery, onions and garlic is usually the way to go for starters. But the other day Roscoe found himself in that rarest of situations: no celery or onions in the house! What he did have was a couple of cubanel peppers, and a couple hot Hungarian Reds.

Use What You Have, It Could Turn Out To Be The Best Ever

And that’s just what happened. Those peppers, sauteed with garlic in olive oil, Worcestershire, and Cholula, along with some wine and herbs, turned out great. Gave it just enough heat and crunch when combined with the canned clam sauce (white or red) and a can of minced clams with their juice. Let it all reduce to a nice thickness, then add the pasta and mix it up. Never better.

Forget the Cheese Police

Common culinary wisdom says never put cheese on fish. Who makes these rules?! Roscoe likes peccorino romano on his spaghetti and clam sauce, so let Mario Battelli have a fit, who really cares? Remember: Cook what you like, eat what you like.

So Don’t Be Afraid of Cans

If you do it right, you’ll be…

Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

Ingredients:

Thin spaghetti (1 lb for a small party, 2 lbs for more)
1 red onion
1 red pepper
garlic (5-6 cloves, chopped)
olive oil, Worcester, Cholula, red wine, spices
4-5 Italian sausages, sliced (or whatever your favorite is)
3-4 handfuls smoked pulled turkey
BBQ sauce
Apple Cider Vinegar
Bourbon
Pineapple juice
Brown Sugar
Cholula (of course more)

Say What?!

That’s the reaction you get when you tell someone you’re making BBQ’d Spaghetti. Immediately, images come to mind of the long strands falling through the grates of your grill, leaving a big goopey mess and nothing to eat.

It’s On The Food Network

One of those things you see people eat and make, and just figure you’ll never try that. But hey, Roscoe’s sister made it – with pulled pork – and it was great.

So Roscoe Did His Own Version

At the Pitmaster’s lakefront cottage for the 4th of July, knowing the Pitmaster was smoking two turkeys and a brisket for the annual feast, Roscoe figured it was a natural. No one had ever heard of it, much less tasted it, so there was a lot of head shaking going on.

But They Trusted Roscoe

And now they’re glad they did. There was no pulled pork this year, so Roscoe used what he had: some leftover grilled sausage and Pitmaster’s world class Smoked Turkey.

Make Up Your Own Sauce

If you have a home made BBQ sauce, feel free to use it. If not, open up a jar of your favorite. Roscoe used Sweet Baby Ray’s, mixed with apple cider vinegar, and bourbon (of course). Toss it in with the spaghetti and onions and red peppers and garlic, then it’s time for the kicker…

Pitmaster’s Pineapple Sauce

He puts it on the smoked turkey, and it’s out of this world good. A mixture of pineapple juice, brown sugar, and Cholula. So Roscoe added a couple cupfuls to the spahetti bowl, mixed it in, and that’s what put it over the top.

Make It To Your Liking

You can spice it up, or not. Add more or different meats, like pulled pork, rib meat, chicken, or put it all in for the delux version. Add more sauce if you like it wetter, less for drier. Whichever way you go…

You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

They Were Already Dressed For It

Cave Men liked summer best because they already had the right wardrobe. This was, of course, before anyone invented the wardrobe, or fashion, or even clothes. Actually, clothes were invented the first time Adam and Eve grabbed a fig leaf, but the Cave Man, especially, never called his loincloth a piece of clothing. How could he? No one had invented a closet yet, so there couldn’t have been a need for clothes.

Cave Babes Changed It All

Cave Men would have worn their all purpose loincloth forever (leopard skin was particularly good at hiding stains), except that one day a Cave Woman watched her Dude put in on and said “You’re wearing that?” Of course, the Cave Dude was a little confused, because “that” was all he had. But contrary to popular belief, Cave Dudes weren’t dumb. And this particular Cave Dude sensed that his Cave Babe was growing restless. Over what, he couldn’t imagine, because as far as the Cave Dude was concerned, life was pretty good (they hadn’t invented TV commercials yet to tell him what he really wanted). So he went out and skinned another kind of animal (actually, zebras were easier to kill than leopards – this was before PETA, of course), and his Babe was happy. For a while, anyway.

Summer Never Lasts As Long As We Want It To

It was especially true for the Cave Man. Let’s face it: when it gets cold now, we can turn on the furnace. Caves didn’t have furnaces, they had to invent fire first, and that was a long way off. Cave Dudes couldn’t just pack up and go to Florida, either, because they didn’t know where it was (no maps, no GPS, just the stars, and none of them pointed to Florida until Al Gore ran for President).

Summer Was Perfect For Grilling

Even then. Even though it was a while before anyone invented charcoal. Cave Dudes just captured a rabbit or a Pterodactyl and stuffed a stick through it and held it over a flame until it was ready to eat. This was the first shish ka bob, but they didn’t call it that because they really didn’t even have language yet. But they knew they were having a good time, and they knew a terrible winter would be there soon enough, so they made the best of the summer, swam in the lakes (without their loincloths sometime, the first known incidence of skinny dipping), and they would have roasted marshmallows if they’d been invented.

We’re Just Following In Their Footsteps

Sure, we have boats and water skis and Ray Ban sunglasses, and the Cave Dudes and Babes didn’t even have an inner tube yet. But they probably enjoyed the summer just as much as we do, maybe more, because they never had to put on sun block (cancer hadn’t been discovered yet, so no one was afraid to go in the sun, which frustrated the hell out of all the dermatologists – dermatology was always around because skin was).

Vitamin D

Cave Dudes would laugh at us now, teaching our kids to be afraid of the sun, because they knew that the sun was the thing that gave us life. Cancer never killed a Cave Man. Those guys were more worried about a Saber Tooth Tiger, or a T-Rex, or even a pack of wild dogs. And a whole lot of them froze to death in their caves.

So Get Out There In The Sun

Unless you’re dumber than a Cave Man.

Written by: Roscoe

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs. ground meat (whatever is your favorite)
Pepper Jack cheese
Buns
Sun-dried tomatoes (about a handful, chopped)
Worcestershire, Cholula, olive oil
Paprika
Salt and papper
Onion – Vidalia or red, sliced thin

It’s Burger Time

Summertime grilling means burgers. Juicy cheeseburgers come to mind, cheese being the most popular ad-on next to ketchup and mustard. But what about an ad-in?

Put It Inside

We’ve talked about it before, putting your favorite ingredients in the middle of the burger. In this case we mix the sun-dried tomatoes right in with the meat.

Just Chop ‘Em Up

About a handful should do it for about a pound and a quarter ground beef (or ground round, or ground chuck, or ground turkey, or… let’s face it, ground is the operative word here). Mix in some Worcestershire, Cholula, a little olive oil, salt and pepper and some paprika (Roscoe’s new favorite spice). Form four good sized patties (hey, make three if you like ‘em big, two if you like ‘em even bigger, Roscoe always says “Cook what you like”).

Don’t Overcook Your Meat!

It’s easy to do on a hot grill. Flip the burgers one time, put the cheese on top right after you flip ‘em, cook till the cheese melts, then pull ‘em off. Roscoe recommends a thin slice of Vidalia onion (or red), right under that cheese.

Dress Your Burger

Your favorite mustard on the bottom bun, then smear some sun-dried tomato spread (from a jar or make your own, Roscoe’s recipe to come) on the top bun. Layer some avocado on top of the burger, then put it all together. Serve with some sweet potato fries, and…

You’re Grillin’ With Roscoe