Romesco Sauce

 Romesco is a traditional Catalan Spanish sauce served with grilled meats and vegetables, especially seafood and calçots (a variety of green onion that is similar in appearance to a leek). The sauce is composed primarily of nuts (almond, hazel or pine), garlic and dried chili peppers (traditionally the small round Romesco chili). Once again I was inspired by an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, this time in Spain.  Mr. Bourdain participated in an event called a Calçotada, a springtime festival that features grilled calçots, crusty bread and lots of wine! It looked like such a good time, and sounded so delicious I had to try making some Romesco. Here we go....

INGREDIENTS

1	head	Garlic
3	-	Roma Tomatoes
1	-	Red Bell Pepper
3	Tbl	Cider Vinegar
~1/4	cup	Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3	-	Dried Peppers, med-large
1/2	cup	Slivered Almonds
1	Tbl	Smoked Paprika
~1	tsp	Smoked Sea Salt (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Roast the Veggies. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut bell pepper and tomatoes into quarters, remove seeds from both. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Place in a roasting pan with the head of garlic in the middle and roast in oven until garlic is soft.
2. Bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil.  Add the dried chilies, cover, set aside and steep for at least 20 min.  Remove from water, de-stem and de-seed.
3. Toast slivered almonds over medium heat in a dry pan.  Roast and stir fairly constantly (or do that awesome pan tossing move) until nuts start to darken in color slightly and become fragrant.
4. Add all prepared ingredients but olive oil to a food processor.  Blend until smooth and thick, then slowly add the olive oil until the desired consistency is reached.

Thai Breakfast Sausage

This recipe is an adaptation of Thai style Sausage.  I had no idea that such a delicious thing existed out there.  I have never seen Thai sausage on any menu at any Thai restaurant, and I wasn't much of a foodie when I visited Thailand at the age of 17.  I was watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, and my interest was peaked when these delectable treats were mentioned.  So I hit the web to see what I could find about these "Thai Sausages".

The ingredients lists from most recipes I perused were composed of the staple Thai flavors: galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, ginger, chilies, palm sugar & fish sauce.  Typically these sausages are stuffed into a casing before cooking, but I figured I could create a similar tasting patty style sausage .... I don't think I've EVER been so taken aback at something I've made. I didn't even have time to take pictures of the finished product because I wolfed it down so fast.  I am a sucker for Thai flavors, but this recipe will blow your mind regardless!  Here we go ....

INGREDIENTS

1	#	Ground Pork (or poultry)
2	Tbl	Galangal, finely minced
2	Tbl	Ginger, finely minced
4	-	Thai Chilies, minced (or to desired spice)
4	cloves	Garlic, minced
2-4	-	Green Onions, finely chopped
3	Tbl	Palm Sugar
1	tsp	Black Pepper
2	tsp	Fennel Seed
1	Tbl	Smoked Sea Salt
1	Tbl	Coriander
2	tsp	Fish Sauce

DIRECTIONS

Basically I just put all the roughly cut ingredients (minus the meat & fish sauce) into a small blender and processed into a semi-fine mince. Mix all thoroughly with ground meat until well blended. Let sit refrigerated for at least 1-2 hours (overnight would be better!). Form, cook and serve however you like.