Recipe Archives - Page 5 of 71 - Poor Man's Gourmet Kitchen

Drinking under Quarantine

Spicy Jalapeno Margarita Mix & Grapefruit Cocktail Mix by LAVA.

These are Great Mixers

This company contacted me recently for a collaboration, which pretty much means that I get to try their product for free and pass on a discount for you, and all for the small price of show casing their product. So, just know that I’m not getting paid for this and I’m sharing my true opinions about these two products.

First off I’m happy with the shipping, 3 days from Florida to the mid-west and nothing was broken. That’s important because I ordered a 6 gallon carboy last week and it arrived shattered with bubble wrap. These mixer bottles are glass too but they both arrived unscathed with no bubble wrap so, that’s saying something.

I received a Spicy Jalapeno Margarita Mixer and a Ruby Grapefruit Cocktail Mix. The Margarita Mixer recipe requires, of course, tequila and Lava recommends vodka or gin for the Grapefruit cocktail mix. I chose to go with gin.

The Jalapeno Margarita I thought was amazing. I salted the rim with chamoy and tajin, which gave it some more kick, and I felt like they paired very well together. Over all, I’ll definitely be adding Jalapeno to my Margarita’s in the future.

The Grapefruit cocktail was good too and probably about as good as it could get. The second time I tried it I liked it even better because I rimmed the glass with honey and sugar and I think that helped balance the sour. My wife thought it was great but we both agreed that we liked the margarita’s better.

How much do they Cost

I only have one con for these products and it is simple; I don’t like the price, and not just because I’m the Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen or because I’m frugal. They’ve included a 10% off discount for purchases over $20 dollars but at $12.99 per 1 ltr bottle(33.8 oz), that still only knocks you down to $11.69, plus tax and shipping costs. Sorry Lava, I’ll stick with Mr. & Mrs. T Margarita Mix for $6.99 per 1.75 ltr (59.2 oz)and just blend in a Jalapeno. And, their Strawberry Daiquiri/Margarita mixer is even cheaper than that but tastes incredible. Plus, I can get it at any Walmart and most grocery stores.

I’m all for supporting small business’s and I love these products but LAVA has just got to be reasonable. If they want these drinks to take off, they need to drop that price down a little more, get people addicted to it, like crack/cocaine, and then hike up the price. Just my two cents.

UPDATE: LAVA has the following response to offer in regards to pricing.

“As far as product pricing goes, we definitely feel you but for online orders unfortunately the shipping company makes most of the money as it costs us anywhere from $9~$10 to ship our glass bottles which are much heavier than plastic and require better packaging. Add to that credit card processing fees, packaging, cost of goods, etc., and it doesn’t leave a whole lot. At retail stores here in California, the bottles retail for about $7.99~$9.99 since we don’t need to ship across the country. Just wanted to let you know for reference.
The good news is, we are working on a better discount structure for online orders based on bottle volume so if someone orders 2, 3, 4, bottles we can pass additional savings (that we get from the shipping company) on to the customer.”

Lava Mixers Unveiling/Review – Drinking Under Quarantine – PoorMansGourmet

Pan Fried Salmon with Crusted Spicy Mayo and Eel Sauce

The Best Pan Fried Salmon

If you’re a fan of fish and you love Salmon, this recipe is going to blow your mind; especially if you like sushi. With the exception of rice and Nori, this dish has almost everything you would expect in and on a traditional salmon or “Vegas” roll(no cream cheese either). The main difference is that this recipe uses a 4 oz pan fried salmon fillet instead of the itty-bitty pieces of fish, thinned out through the center portion of a sushi roll. Then the addition of spicy mayo, crushed french onions and eel sauce top off the best pan fried salmon, garnished with sliced cucumber.

Fresh or Frozen Salmon

Most of you don’t know much about my background, where I come from or what I’ve accomplished in my life. I’ve stayed very private because, for me, this is about the food, not me and my life. You might care to know, however, that I spent some time in the fishing industry and fished commercially for a living in Alaska for while so, I know a thing or two about seafood. I’ve also been trained professionally and my wife loves salmon. That means this recipe has to be top notch if I’m going to spend my valuable time writing, filming and posting about it.

Salmon is one of those commercialized fish that’s sold fresh or frozen. I will always recommend buying fresh, when it comes to fish because the freezing actually changes the filet’s drastically and they’re never the same again once they’re thawed. But, that being said, if you purchase your salmon frozen this recipe will still be amazing. Just know that, if you have the option and it’s affordable, you should always buy fresh. Your results and the quality, in my opinion, will always be 3 to 4 times greater than cooking with pre-frozen fish.

The Secret to Pan Fried Salmon

The average salmon filet portion size, per person, is cut 3 to 4 ounces but you can cut yours as big or as small as you like. Just season with kosher salt and pepper, pre-heat a non-stick pan to medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and sear each filet, meat side down first for, approximately, 2 minutes. Flip and sear for an additional 3 minutes to crisp up the skin and reach a medium to medium rare filet. If you prefer your salmon cooked less, just reduce your cooking time by a minute on the first side. Then remove from the heat and add the toppings.

If you don’t like spicy mayo, try using my Oriental Dressing instead. It will make an excellent substitution because it isn’t spicy and it has Asian ingredients, too.

Pan Fried Salmon with Crusted Spicy Mayo and Eel Sauce – poormansgourmet

Pan Fried Sushi Style Salmon

1 lbs Salmon Filet, cut 4 oz portions
1 tbs Spicy Mayo
1 tbs Unagi or Eel Sauce, per filet
1/2 cup French Onions, crushed
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil for pan frying

Spicy Mayo
2 tbs Mayonnaise
2 tbs Sriracha

Eel Sauce
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Mirin
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Sake

Kosher salt and pepper the salmon, pan fry in olive oil(both sides 2 to 3 min), smear top of Salmon with Spicy Mayo, add crushed French Onions and drizzle eel sauce. Watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how it’s done.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

The Best Chicken Cordon Bleu

For me, the traditional way of making a Chicken Cordon Bleu is one of those frustrating recipes that is good but never quite good enough. That being said, I believe I’ve pushed the envelope hard enough to come up with this recipe. We’ve got white and dark meat, seasoned through and through, with the ham and Swiss cheese filling that everyone loves and a nice, crispy, seasoned bread crumb crust.

2 sliced boneless breasts and 8 sliced chicken thighs.

The Ultimate Chicken Flavor

When it comes to poultry, some folks are partial to either white or dark meat. We all know the health benefits of eating the white(breast meat) but I can’t deny the flavor you get from the dark(thigh meat). Therefore, to me, it only makes sense to combine the two and the only way I know how to do that is to use ground chicken. That being said, your options now are to either buy it that way, all ground up, or grind it yourself, like I do in the video tutorial. This gives me more control over the ratio amounts and I can be sure that my ground chicken really actually has both white and dark meat in it. Then I season the meat mix with a few ingredients that take the flavor to the next level.

Raw Chicken Cordon Bleu patties without breading.

Make them ahead of Time

Now that you’ve got the ground chicken mix seasoned, you can smash a few scoops meat into patties. Fill them, the way I show you in the video tutorial, with ham and cheese, then press and mold them into shape. You can also stuff them with broccoli or Spinach, if you prefer, instead of the ham. One of the secrets here, to make things easier, is to throw them in the freezer for 45 minutes. This will allow the meat to firm up so they don’t fall apart when you’re trying to egg wash and bread them. Something I didn’t mention in the video, however, is that you can freeze them again after they’re breaded and save them for a rainy day. You can even cook them the same way and use the time and temps I recommend below.

I’ve also included a Honey Mustard Sauce in the recipe that is out of this world, delicious. So, I highly recommend you try it with your Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Chicken Cordon Bleu video Tutorial from Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Ingredients:

Chicken Mix
2 Chicken Breasts, ground
8 Chicken Thighs, ground
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika

Filling and Breading
1 lbs Ham, deli sliced
1 lbs Swiss Cheese

4 eggs
1/2 cup Flour, all purpose\
1/4 cup Hot Sauce, Louisiana style or Tobasco
1 1/2 cups Bread Crumbs, seasoned

Sauce
1 tbsp butter
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp Honey
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
1 tbsp chive
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bake 375° Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Be sure to watch the video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this Chicken Cordon Bleu, with gravy, from scratch.