Sure Enough Right!!! 07/13/2010
 By Chef Isaac While studying journalism at the University of Connecticut one of my favorite pastimes was eating a thick juicy steak (at least two inches), a baked potato with lots of butter and an ice cold dark beer chaser. I ate my vegetables, too. I specifically like the beer really cold with flakes of ice in it. That was nearly thirty years ago and not much has changed, except for one thing. I can no longer eat beef…sob...sob. Not to worry though, I have found a substitute. In this article I will start with a pork loin, slice it at least two inches thick and place it in a marinade. Then, quarter some golden potatoes and add my own spice mixture. My personal preference is for hot and spicy. So, with that in mind, I decided to start with some Serrano peppers; and then add some other ingredients to create a smoky, spicy, hot, marinade. One good rule of thumb with marinades, is, the longer the better. At a bare minimum, one half hour to 45 minutes in the refrigerator; and for best results, marinade over night. My wife is a travel agent and is currently off on another trip. Prior to her leaving I cooked a meal. The potato recipe in this article was created that night. She tasted the potatoes and exclaimed, “That’s sure enough right!” With that kind of endorsement, I decided to share. Recipe The Marinade ¼ cup Lemon juice ½ cup Italian Dressing 3 squirts Liquid Smoke ½ cup Worcestershire sauce 3 tbl sp Dijon Mustard 1/8 onion (diced) 3 Serrano peppers 3/8 cup Isaac’s Pork spice (sprinkled) Potato’s-a-la-Isaac 6 golden potatoes (quartered) Olive Oil (sprinkled) * Granulated Garlic * Canadian Steak Seasoning *Red Pepper Flakes *Original Ranch Mix *sprinkled to taste The method Combine the lemon juice, Italian dressing, liquid smoke, Dijon mustard, onions and Serrano peppers in a zip-lock bag. Sprinkle in Isaac’s pork spice; and mix well with your hands. Quarter the potatoes and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with olive oil and add remaining ingredients, toss; and then spread out the potatoes in a small roaster. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. When cooking the chops, there are several methods available with which to create the final product. My preferred method is to sear the chops at a high temperature on both sides; and then bake them in the oven until done. The internal temperature needs to reach at least 165 degrees. *** About the personal chef service: Chef Isaac is the executive chef for Cuisines by Isaac, LLC, a personal chef service. A personal chefs’ service saves you time and extra work. Enjoy your next dinner party by visiting with your guest, instead of cooking or worrying while they eat. The company’s website is www.cuisinesbyisaac.com and you can reach Chef Isaac directly at (517) 643-4551 or isaac@cuisinesbyisaac.com. CommentsJames Benjamin Jr MD 02/02/2012 13:30
Good site. Robert 04/14/2012 22:44
Are you SERIOUS with that JOKE of restaurant (apparently called Boondocks). To start with, you don't even have glassware! It literally took an hour for our salad and soup (a 1/2 cup of baby food) -- served 10 minutes apart. The appetizer was two pieces of wilted lettuce, with a quarter scoop of mystery meat. I can't even comment on the Bruschetta. We left after 1.5 hours of hell. I won't even make reference to the dollar store decor and mind bending humming of the kitchen fan. The BBB needs to be contacted! Ditto what Robert said, only we stayed for THREE hours before leaving...why, I don't know, because 2 people in our party hadn't even gotten their main course yet. It was ridiculous! We dressed up for the evening expecting to celebrate an anniversary at a nice place with a nice meal and walked in to that place with disbelief. People drinking soda out of the can--water out of water bottles, plastic tablecloths, funky artificial flowers in vases on the tables, some had vase with no flowers. Appetizers were ridiculous and we didn't even get to eat them together-we were being served at random-same thing with every course. The "chefs" excuse was that his waitstaff didn't show up--that's no excuse for the bad food. We were the third table to leave in disgust, and I'm sure more left after we did. My husband and son-in-law left hungry, after watching the rest of us struggle to eat our entrees ( I had about 2 bites and that was all I could handle). I don't like to complain, and I usually don't , but I just had to vent about this. Michele 04/16/2012 00:05
I agree with the above posters! When we were seated at the table (covered with plastic), we wondered if we were being Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher. Or perhaps John Quinones from "What Would You Do" was going to appear. This is certainly not a place where you will get a "gourmet" experience. The appetizer we chose was Cheesy Naan Bread. It was the size of a slice of bacon. The pork tenderloin was seriously overcooked. The mashed sweet potatoes were a joke. They were discribed by a dining companion as having the texture and temperature of cold leftover mashed potatoes that you just took out of the fridge! I cannot imagine how anyone can overcook sweet potatoes to that point. Our food wasn't hot, just lukewarm. No condiments on the tables anywhere. We asked for salt and pepper and they were served in a parmesan cheese shaker. No butter on the potatoes or the other "hot" vegetables. Our party ordered 3 garden salads and one caesar. When they came out over an hour later, we received 4 caesar salads. No croutons, just lettuce and dressing. Two of us ordered soup instead of salad. That didn't come til at least a half hour after the others got their salads. I didn't really feel that the plastic table cloths, paper napkins, and fake flowers did anything to add to the experience... along with the pop cans and water bottles on the table. To be fair, I did enjoy the warm spinach salad with tomato wedges that was served as my vegetable. We left after 3 hours without everyone in our party being served their entrees. So, I can't comment on the desserts. As was stated above, bad food cannot be blamed on lack of waitstaff. If you want a better meal than this, I suggest you go to your local diner. The meal will be tastier, hotter and MUCH less expensive. Leave a Reply | About the
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