Written by: Roscoe

Ingredients:

1/2 lb whole wheat thin spaghetti (angel hair)
1/2 red onion – sliced thin
3 cloves garlic – chopped
handful cherry tomatoes – halved
handful spinach – chopped (kind of)
2 scallions – chopped
olive oil, Worcestershire, Cholula
1 chicken bouillon cube (for pasta water)
salt, pepper

Sometimes You Use The Stove Instead of the Grill

Really. It happens. There are times when you just want a great bowl of spaghetti covered with good cheese. Some call it comfort food, Roscoe just calls it… good.

And It’s Easy

Boil some water (with additives, of course – never cook with plain water: Worcestershire, Cholula, a bouillon cube to make it taste good). Then just sautee’ some onion, tomato and spinach in some good olive oil, Worcestershire, Cholula and a little wine, drop in the spaghetti (Roscoe recommends whole wheat angel hair), stir it up, transfer to a bowl and cover it with some good pecorino romano, or whatever your favorite is, and it’s nothing but goodness from there.

Add Anything You Want

Any veggie you like gets you the same results. And if you want, add sausage or chicken. This recipe is foolproof, because you’re…

Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. Italian Sausage (out of the casing)
1/4 red onion – finely chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese – grated

Garlic – 2-3 cloves – minced

salt and pepper
Worcestershire
Cholula
1 egg
Anything else you want to put in

(Makes about 14 golf ball size meatballs)

That’s Right, Grill ‘em!

Hardly anything better than a good meatball. So it’s only right that you put your good meatballs together with your grill. A match made in heaven, Roscoe says.

Italian Sausage, You Say?

Why not? Hey, if you’ve got your own good recipe for meatballs, Roscoe says go for it. But if you’ve never tried meatballs made of Italian sausage, you’re missing one of the world’s great treats.

It Was An Accident (Kind Of)

Roscoe really meant to make burgers one night, but somehow pulled a package of Italian sausage out of the freezer instead of ground beef (really, how do these things happen? A few beers and all those packages look the same). Then inspiration hit: Why Not Make Meatballs? (ROSCOE’S NOTE: Inspiration is a funny thing. It seems to come right around the fourth beer; after that: not so much.)

The Difference Between A Meatball and a Burger?

Breadcrumbs. And maybe a little pecorino-romano cheese. But other than that, you can pretty much make your meatballs the way you make your burgers: with a little, or a lot of spices and additives. Roscoe believes in flavor, so you know where this is going.

Put It All In

Red onion, red or green pepper, Worcestershire, Cholula, garlic, just about anything you want. Mix it in with the sausage, cup some of it out in your hand, roll it into the size of a golfball.

Then Onto The Grill

You’ll find that raw meatballs are a little delicate, so be nice to ‘em. Don’t throw them onto the grill like you would a pork chop or a steak, they’re liable to explode. Place them gently, and turn them just as gently, getting good grill marks all around. They’re done when they’re lightly charred all over.

Now What Do You Do?

It’ll be hard to resist just shoving them in your mouth, they’re that good. So make enough to do that. Then…

Put ‘em on a Pizza!

Hey, you’re Cookin’ With Roscoe, you had to know that was coming!

Written by: Roscoe

Ingredients:

Rib meat – removed from bones and chopped
Tortillas – Corn or flour, crispy
Pepper Jack cheese – 1 slice per taco (optional)
Slaw – Whatever your favorite is
Options – Guacamole, sliced or diced avocado, salsa

This Ain’t No McRib

Baby Backs! As far as Roscoe is concerned, they should be their own food group. Whether you smoke ‘em or roast ‘em and finish on the grill, ribs are some serious good eatin’.

You Hardly Ever Have Leftovers

But on that rare occasion when you do, say you got a bunch of slabs on sale and didn’t want to freeze any (who would?) and you had people over for a Sunday Rib Extravaganza and your mother and your sister could only eat maybe a half slab apiece when you allocated a whole slab to each (okay, in reality, women almost never eat a whole slab of ribs, at least when people are watching), and now, because of that lapse in judgment (yeah, right), you find yourself with… extra ribs!

And You Call That A Problem?

No way. Having ribs left over is like winning the lottery, because now you can make…

Baby Back Tacos

Anyone who knows Roscoe should’ve? seen this coming. If you’ve been on this site before you’ve seen fish tacos of every kind, chicken tacos, and of course, pulled pork tacos. This is another variation, but maybe the best one.

Make It The Way You Like It

You all know one of Roscoe’s favorite guidelines (there are no rules in cooking, only guidelines): Eat what you like. It certainly applies here, insofar as the way to prepare your Baby Back Tacos. The only required part is the rib meat (and even there you could substitute beef ribs, or the larger pork ribs if that’s what you have left over). Meaning, of course, that you can use your own favorite BBQ sauce, cheese, cole slaw, or other toppings. What sets this taco apart from all others is the rib meat.

Ribs on slab

The Ribs

You’ll find that it’s easier to remove the meat from the bones if you pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Then chop it up and mix with your favorite sauce. Roscoe recommends a Bourbon mustard BBQ sauce, but again, use what you like. Roscoe’s Note: don’t throw away those bones! Rib bones make some of the best stock ever.

The Slaw

Buy or make your favorite, it’s that easy. Some people like a mayonaise based slaw, some like a vinegar based. They both have their merits on a rib taco. If you’re putting out a taco bar for your guests, why not have both, and let people decide for themselves. Roscoe’s recommendation: whichever slaw you serve, try some chopped raisins and nuts mixed in for added sweetness and crunch.

Crispy tortillas

The Tortillas

Roscoe recommends corn, but hey, if you like flour, go for it. Just be sure you crisp them up on a grill, a griddle or in a pan, a little olive oil gives added flavor.

Assemble

Crispy tortilla… pepper jack cheese (optional)… a spoonful (or two) of the rib meat… slaw. Roscoe’s Note: Slaw is actually optional as well. You can just fold up the tortilla with meat and suck it down like that, or you can put stuff on top, like guacamole, or plain avocado slices, salsa, just about anything you like.

You Can’t Go Wrong…

No matter what you put on a Baby Back Taco. If your ribs were good, your taco will be good. Just remember where you heard about it…

‘Cause You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

MEAT – IT’S WHAT’S FOR DINNER

OR…

HOW DID THAT FIRST CAVE MAN KNOW TO KILL THAT FIRST ANIMAL FOR THAT FIRST PIECE OF MEAT?

The First Piece of Meat

They were vegetarians, had to be, before Cave Dudes and Cave Babes found out there was more to life than wild lettuce and fruit (they didn’t have cottage cheese yet, but that’s because women hadn’t invented diets; why would would a woman need to go on a diet if all she ate was wild lettuce and fruit? Besides, diets weren’t invented until after they invented dresses; Historical Fact: when the first Cave Babe put on the first dress, her first thought was: Does this make me look fat? Mirrors were invented shortly after, but they only made things worse).

How Did It Happen?

And what was their first carnivorous meal? Beef? From a cow? Probably not. Let’s face it, they hadn’t even invented milk yet, cows were just these slow, dumb looking beasts that hung around eating all the grass (they hadn’t invented lawns yet, so no one really cared). Maybe a pig? Could pork have been the first white meat? (As opposed to what it is now: the other white meat). Maybe, but back then pigs were wild and hard to catch, and no one had invented nets or traps yet, and pens wouldn’t be invented for quite a while (though somehow Cave Babes knew about them, they had to, why else would they say “Can’t you pick up after yourself? I’m tired of living in a pig pen!” (You can see how this would confuse the Cave Dude, since there was no such thing as a pig pen yet, but hey, men are still confused about women today, so times haven’t really changed at all, have they?).

So What Was It?

Truth be told, archaeological evidence points to the first carnivorous meal consumed by humans to be: Chicken. Or at least some kind of bird. Okay, chickens, like pigs, weren’t that easy to catch, and they certainly hadn’t invented coops yet (though Cave Dudes were using the phrase “Cooped up,” in reference to staying in the cave with their Babes for extended periods of time; bars were invented shortly after that).

An Accident?

What probably happened was… a bird crashed into the cave one day – bad weather, perhaps – and landed in the fire pit (of course there were fire pits by then, they had to keep warm in the winter), and by the time the Cave Dude got home from work (yes, they had jobs then, too, Cave Babes wouldn’t be caught dead living with a guy that didn’t even have a job) the bird was cooked – roasted, actually – and the Cave Dude was smart enough to know that anything that smelled that good had to be good eatin’!

The First Chef

So the Cave Dude took credit for this new culinary delight, and the Cave Babe was impressed, and showed her gratitude that night in ways they hadn’t known existed (this was before Cinemax). But then, there was a lot they didn’t know existed, because let’s face it, most of it hadn’t been invented yet.

Variety Is The Spice of Life

So after the first chicken dinner and the requisite gratitude, the cave Dude started thinking about what else he could impress his Babe with, because even then, they got tired of chicken pretty quickly. Dinosaurs were a little daunting, hard to knock out with just a club (they hadn’t invented guns yet, or even the bow and arrow), so the Dude went after smaller animals, and eventually figured that that cow hanging around eating all the grass could be turned into a steak or a burger.

It All Comes Down to Pork

And the Cave Dude finally figured out how to catch a pig, and that’s really when the phrase “Bring home the bacon” became popular.

Written by: Roscoe

Pure Italian Goodness

Ingredients (to serve 10):

Italian sausage (whatever kind you like: sweet or hot) 10 links, or about 2 1/2 lbs of a wheel

2 red onions

1 red pepper

1 cubanelle red pepper
1 cubanelle green pepper

2 or 3 (or 4) big cloves garlic (sliced thin or chopped)

olive oil
Worcestershire
Cholula
salt and pepper
red wine
vegetable spices (whatever kind you like)

large sheet of tin foil

Good rolls, scooped (hot dog buns will work, but try for a good Italian roll with sesame seeds)

Chopped veggies w/the good stuff

Grill the sausage till it’s crispy. Rough chop the veggies (julienne works well here), douse with the liquid ingredients and spices, stir together in a bowl, then transfer to the sheet of foil. Seal the foil and put it on the hot grill, turn every few minutes. When the sausage is done, so is the foil pack.

Grilled sausage and foil pack

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by: Roscoe



Get Grillin’

Roscoe never quit grilling over the winter, and we hope you didn’t either. But if you did (yes, some guys are scared of the Michigan winter, and are just now thinking about grilling again this summer, and you know who you are; and those of you who are, ask yourselves this: where would the Cave Man be if he didn’t cook over an open flame all winter? For that matter, where would WE all be? Probably not here), so we’ll forgive and forget, and pretend it never happened (those of you that are married know that’s the way to go anyway).

Portobellos Are Big

Yes, they’re the biggest of the mushroom family, and hold up best on the grill. In fact, they’re so good by themselves, you don’t even have to stuff them. Just rub ‘em down with a mixture of olive oil, Worcestershire, and Cholula, and throw ‘em on the grill till they’re cooked all the way through and have some nice grill marks on both sides. They’re great that way.

Use Whatever Stuffing You Like

This is the great thing about stuffed mushrooms: everyone has their own favorite stuffing, whether it be a simple bacon, mushroom, breadcrumb stuffing, or something a little more fun, say with chopped sun-dried tomatoes added to the usual stuffing, or salami, or pastrami, or some great sausage and corn bread stuffing. Whatever you put in a turkey or chicken, you can put in a portobello, and it’ll be good.

Roscoe Recommends: Caramelized Shallots, Garlic, Spinach, Almonds and Cous Cous.

Hey, if you don’t want to do shallots, use red onion. Slice it up, saute’ it in olive oil, Worcestershire, and Cholula, and a little wine, white or red, add the chopped garlic, then the spinach and almonds, and mix it all with some cous cous. This makes a great side dish on its own, so if you have left over stuffing mix, just serve it up the next day with dinner, it goes with just about anything.

Cover With Cheese

Pecorino Romano works well here, or maybe some aged Provalone, shredded and sprinkled over the top of the stuffing.

Grill It Up

Takes about ten minutes on high heat to get good grill marks on the bottom and the cheese melted on the top. When you see that, pull ‘em off and have a feast.

A Meal By Themselves

Try different stuffings – or have a mushroom throw down – and you’ve got enough for a whole meal. Or serve with your main dish – pork chops, tenderloins, or ribs. You can’t go wrong, ’cause you’re…

Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

A Fish Taco For Everyone

So now we’ve discovered, through the diligence of the Club Roscoe Test Kitchens, that just about every kind of fish will make a good fish taco. Not every fish is good for grilling, though, so if you like Cod, you’re better off frying or baking. Same goes for Trout or any of the other delicate fishes out there.

Salmon On A Taco? You Bet!

Not only is Salmon a good grilling fish, but when you put it on a tortilla with avocado and salsa, it becomes an explosion of flavor in your mouth!

An Omega 3 Extravaganza

That’s right, put salmon together with avocado, the way Roscoe does, and you just might end up living forever, it’s so good for you. But remember, we’re promoting taste here, because let’s face it, the longer you live, the more bills you have to pay, and no one really wants that.

So Do Yourself A Favor

Pick up a slab of salmon the next time you go to the local fish store, oil it up, season it as much as you like (you can’t do too much) – Roscoe recommends salt, pepper, smoked paprika, smoked garlic, and some powdered Cholula). Throw it on the grill with some oiled tortillas (sprinkle a little cheese on at the end, pepper jack or aged provolone is good), get a ripe avocado, dice it up and mix with olive oil, Cholula, salt and pepper, and top it all with your favorite salsa.

It’s That Simple

When You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe

Written by: Roscoe

Not Just Any Fish Tacos

The Throwdown champ (that beat Bobby Flay) makes his with Catfish. And truth be told, that’s usually the way to go. Unless you can get Mahi Mahi. A fairly expensive fish, you usually get it in high priced restaurants or maybe cook it up for a fancy dinner party.

Not Roscoe

Roscoe wants to know what’s best. Here at Club Roscoe the test kitchens have gone into overtime testing different fish for tacos, and now we have a winner.

Yes, Grill It

Mahi Mahi is a sturdy fish, perfect for the grill. Just oil it up, season it: Roscoe recommends salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and smoked garlic, but use whatever you like. Get the grill nice and hot, gently place the Mahi Mahi on the grill, and close the lid. Let it get nice and firm on the one side before you turn it, about four or five minutes, then the other side will only take two or three.

Keep The Toppings Simple

It’s usual to go with some kind of slaw. Roscoe’s idea is simpler than that…

Dice An Avocado

Sprinkle on a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and some Cholula Chili Lime. Mix gently, and spoon it over the grilled tortilla and Mahi Mahi, then top that with a little tomato salsa, whatever your favorite is, Better Made Medium is an excellent salsa, and pretty good for tacos.

It’s That Simple

Wait, you thought there was more? Nope, that’s it. Simple and delicious, cause…

You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe