Fried Corn Recipe

Day 11
7 Recipes Completed
2 Projects in progress

As you can see this is not the most beautiful dish to look at, but it is truly one of my favorite holiday side dish’s. Right up  there with green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. My father would always make this and I was to busy shoveling it into my mouth to think how it was made. Last year he was unable to make it do to his arthritis and gave me the recipe. Takes a little time but not much work and its a great recipe to start as you do other things.

Fried Corn
6 Corn on the cob
5 Garlic cloves
2 stalks celery
2 carrots
6 slices bacon
1 Large onion
Salt and Pepper

Cut bacon into ½ inch pieces and throw in frying pan, meanwhile cut corn off the cob and milk the cob and put aside. In another bowl mince garlic, chop celery, onions and carrots fine. Once bacon is crisp add corn and fry for about 5 min. Then add garlic, onions, carrots and celery cover to top of vegetables with water, add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil on med high heat. Once at a boil stir and turn to med heat cover and let slowly boil for 2 hours.

This can be served with the liquid drained or as a soup.

Parmesan Potato Patties Recipe

Day 10
6 Recipes Completed
2 Projects in progress

Left over mashed potatoes is something we all have after thanksgiving or a large dinner. I remember growing up my mom use to make potato patties, she would use the left over mashed potatoes and throw in a egg and some salt and pepper an fry them up. I still love them to this day but wanted to touch the recipe up a little. So the other night I was stuck with some extra mashed potatoes and thought this is my chance.

Parmesan Onion Potato Patties

2 Cups Mashed Potatoes
¼ Cup onion minced
¼ Cup flour
½ Cup grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric root
1 egg

2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs Butter

In mixing bowl combine potato, onion, flour, cheese, salt, pepper, turmeric, and one egg. Mix everything together. In hot pan add butter and oil and heat on med high. Spoon batter into pan like a pancake and press down tell about ½ inch thick. Fry for about 3-4 min tell golden brown, flip and repeat. This is a great breakfast item and makes about 4-6 patties

There you have it, I think this recipe gives my mom’s a run for its money, sorry mom.

Check out www.cookwithnick.com for recipes and more also follow me on facebook

Meatloaf Throwdown #10

Day 9
5 Recipes Completed
2 Projects in progress

    Meatloaf Throwdown

I first would like to thank every one that showed up to the meatloaf throwdown this was our 10th throwdown, I think every thing is starting to run very smoothly. So again thank you to all the judges, cooks and every one that showed there support.
    If you were not at the throwdown we did meatloaf for the first time. We had three entrees that included my roommate Chris Johnstone a baker for corporate grocery store Safeway.  Also entering was long time friend and past high school enemy Sebrina Dollosso, phlebotomist by day and self taught chef by night. And we had my self Nicholas J Cole.

The battle was on, in 3rd place we had Chris, he was going for a more traditional meatloaf with a slight twist of bell peppers, mushrooms and onions blended and mixed into meat mixture with cheddar cheese pockets all throughout the loaf. He topped it off with a spice honey mixture that was placed on half way threw the cooking process, and served the meal on paper plates the way a home cooked meatloaf was meant to be served.

Ahead of Chris was Sebrina with her barbecue themed meatloaf consisting of finely chopped mushrooms, bell peppers, and bacon that she had spiraled threw out for a pleasing appearance when cut. She served hers to the judges on a nice white and blue designed rectangular plates,. the meat was placed on a bed of barbecue sauce for a little extra kick.

Winning the throwdown by only 2 points was my Mexican style Boiled Meatloaf from yesterdays post. I tried to grab some of the originality points by creating a Mexican style meatloaf consisting of a mixture of beef, pork, rice, onions, and fresh mint chopped up and mixed together. It was boiled in a soup mixture of tomatoes, carrots and chilies to cook the rice and infuse the flavors. I then served it fanned out on a plate with a few of the complementing vegetables and juice from the soup, topped with a mint leaf for the garnish.
The judges consisted of freelance writer Dylan Duarte, Free lance artist Jeff Morin, and long time friend Ladona Hartman. The judges had a hard time for all the dishes were put together wonderfully, Dylan being a full time judge for all the throwdowns was looking for more of the bold flavors, Chris's did not deliver as it was a little to blended for any one flavor to stand out, he did find what he was looking for in Sebrina's with her sweet barbecue touch. Jeff was looking for a little something different, Sabrina's did not have quite enough spice to offset the sweetness for Jeff's taste he found more comfort in the the mint and meat mixture in my meatloaf with the spicy juice and sweet vegetables of my dish. Ladona seemed to enjoy them all, she did note the nice touch of cheese in Chris's.
    They had to make there choices it was judged with a 1-10 for each category of Taste, Originality, and Presentation with a x2 added to the taste category for its importents in the dish.
Final results

Chris - even thou his flavor was good it was a little to basic and he lacked in the presentation. Score 55

Sebrina - Did very nice in each category and came in first in taste by 1 point but fell behind 2 points in each Originality and Presentation
Score 95

Nick - Great in each category lost taste by a hair but picked up originality and Presentation for the win
Score 97



Check out cookwithnick.com for more throwdowns and follow us on Facebook

Mexican style Boiled Meatloaf Recipe

Day 8
5 Recipe Completed
2 Projects in progress

    After pushing threw second place the last 4 throwdowns I have emerged the champion once again. My Mexican style boiled meatloaf came out on top but it was not easy I had some major competition, from friends Sabrina and Chris. I will go over the whole throwdown in tomorrows post, for now I would like to share my meatloaf recipe with you.

Mexican style Boiled Meatloaf
Meatloaf
½ Pound Ground Beef
½ Pound Ground Pork
1 Egg
2 tsp Chopped Fresh Mint
2 tsp Crushed Oregano
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cumin
½ Cup bread crumbs
¼ cut onions chopped fine
2 tsp garlic minced
½ cut raw uncooked rice
ketchup

Vegetables and serving stock
4 Cups chicken broth
2 Roma tomatoes chopped
2 Serrano chilies chopped
2 tsp garlic minced
1 large carrot cut into med size pieces
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt (2 if the chicken broth has no salt)
¼ pound of fresh green beans (remove tips and slice into 1 inch pieces)


Start with the Vegetables and stock add all the ingredients together and turn on a med high heat and cover.

In Bowl add all ingredient for the meatloaf except the ketchup and mix together. Place in large muffin pans and bake at 350 for about 45 min. Once you take them out remove from muffin pans and add each one into the vegetables and stock turn to med heat and boil for ½ hour. Remove meat loafs from liquid and place on oven sheet, cover with the ketchup and place back in the oven for 20 min. Slice and serve with a spoon full of vegetables and juice


I got my inspiration from the Mexican soup albondigas with a little traditional meatloaf twist.

Pineapple Vingar Part 2 Day 7

Day 7
4 Recipe Completed
2 Projects in progress

    Following up on my pineapple vinegar from last week, I placed it in a closet so that it was out of the way and I did not think or mess with it. The pineapple that flouted to the top had started growing a little mold on it, I was worried about this but asked around. There is no problem with a little mold once the liquid hits the stage of vinegar it will have plenty of acidity to kill almost anything. The liquid was also a little foggy and again this is normal for this stage.
    I removed the cloth I had placed over it in the closet and strained out the pineapple chunks and placed the liquid back in a clean jar. I covered it once again with a cloth, I am going to place it back in the closet for 3 more weeks at this point I will post again with updates.

Also I would like to share some exciting news, after almost a year we are having a throwdown tonight. Theme is meatloaf I will share my recipe tomorrow or the next day along with having a post that covers the night. Check out the other throwdowns at cookwithnick.com

Salsa Quemada Recipe

Day 6
4 Recipe Completed
2 Projects in progress

I know salsa is one of those things that every buddy thinks they make the best, a little secret those peoples pallets are as good as a cows backside. Maybe that is a little to far, I do love trash talking when it comes to competition. And this recipe I am sharing was in two cookwithnick throwdowns, came in second both times. Ya ya I know second is not as good as first, I just don’t have an excuse other than the judges sucks. Now that I pissed off some of my friends that judged and are reading this I will get back on track. This salsa was one I learned in Tempe, AZ. I can not remember the exact way it was made but the general idea and ingredients. I been making it for years now modifying it a little each time tell I have a recipe that is just as amazing as the original.

Salsa Quemada
3 Pounds Roma Tomatoes
6 Serrano Chilies
1 Large green onion (I use the Mexican or barbecuing onions the ones with the large bulb at the end) 
1 Tbs chopped garlic 
2 tsp salt 
1 Bunch of cilantro 
1 tsp pepper 
juice of 2 limes


Put the green onion and cilantro aside. Cut the tomatoes in half and dice the garlic. In a large skillet on med high, heat a brush with olive oil and sear the tomato halves until they are nice and dark on the bottoms, then flip them over and do the outside. If you have a blow torch, that will work great for searing the outside of the tomatoes. Remove them and set them aside. Add a little more oil and place the chilies in and sear them until all of the sides are brown and the chilies are soft to touch; right before you pull the chilies out, throw the green onion in and fry it just until it's soft and begins to sweat. In a food processor, add the tomatoes, green onions, cilantro chilies, and garlic and blend until everything is about uniform in size. Once it's all blended, add the white pepper, salt, water, and lime juice, adjust the salt to taste. Place in the fridge over night to let the flavors mix well, giving you an overall better taste.

The throwdowns were fun and a lot of amazing and unusual salsas where entered so check them out HERE. If you have a great salsa recipe or ideas post it in the comments bellow.

Montreal Steak Rub Recipe

Day 5
3 Recipe Completed
2 Projects in progress

    Day 5 hell yes this is the longest I have ever stuck to a project. Thanks to my roommate helping sponsor my blog, and what I mean by sponsor is, buying food for me too cook. He bought a nice Tri-tip the other day and wanted me to cook it for him. The first thing that came to mind was my recipe for my own Montreal seasoning, this recipe saved Christmas last year. We where having prime rib for the Christmas dinner and I love adding the Montreal Rub to just about any beef roast, it has the perfect combination of saltiness and spice. The only problem was I forgot to buy it and all the stores had already closed. I was not sure what to do, someone mentioned you can try and make it yourself. I do have a impressive spice cupboard so I looked it up, I had to make a few slight changes to make it work with what I had but the end result was one amazing Rub.

Montreal Steak Rub
2 tsp Garlic Powder
4 tsp Coarse ground Coriander Seeds
4 tsp dill weed
2 Tbs Salt
4 tsp paprika
4 tsp Crushed red peppers
4 tsp Fresh ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Spread evenly over roast or steak and rub into meat.

I have not bought the pre-made product since, an I don’t have any plans on buying it again. This recipe can be altered to your likening easily depending on your taste.