Comfort Food

Greetings from the Adirondacks!

/ adkjoe / 7 Comments

It has been a while since I have last written but that does not mean I haven’t been busy. Seemingly time has flown by since the last flakes of winter melted into the greens of spring. As for paddling that has been somewhat quiet this year but back in July I was able to sneak away for an overnight canoe camping adventure in the Adirondacks with my friend Scott. We found this amazing campsite and pitched our tents for the night, the weather was absolutely perfect. During the overnight temperatures got down into the low 40’s which for me is perfect sleeping weather, I even brought wool socks. This was a relaxing adventure and just what the doctor ordered. Chef Ireland cooked some amazing steaks over the fire, we sipped a little Bearface whiskey and enjoyed a few New York State beers as well.

I’m headed for another Adirondack adventure next week as we head into two of my favorite months September and October.

In the essence of #tbt for your viewing pleasure is the video from my Youtube channel of this overnight canoe camping trip. As time allows I will post/write about other adventures that I have documented either in the past or current. I hope you all have enjoyed the summer as we inch closer to fall.

Cheers!

This is how I Social Distance

/ adkjoe / 1 Comment

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood and I had the itch to get outside with my stove and cast Iron skillet and do some cooking.

I’ve had this Uberleben twig stove for about a year now and this thing is just awesome. It had no issue what so ever supporting my 10″ 6.5# cast iron pan. It literally took two minutes for the pan to get hot and start cooking.

Approximately 20 minutes and two beers later the peppers and onions were cooked to perfection! I’ve used this fire breathing monster on several of my past canoe camping trips and again it works perfectly.

Here’s to Social Distancing!

Lunching Around

/ adkjoe / 3 Comments

I was craving pizza, better yet mushroom pizza so I came up with a fun experiment. I’m not a bread fan by any means so a heavy pizza crust just wasn’t doing it for me, don’t get me wrong I love a good pizza. So I came up with this idea of a portobello mushroom pizzas.

I sprayed two mushroom caps with a little olive oil and placed them in a 400 degree oven. While they began to cook I sautéed peppers and onions. I recently discovered at Wegman’s they have thin sliced peppers and onions already bagged up. I let the caps cook for about 8 minutes before adding pizza sauce and back into the oven for another 3 minutes. Lastly I added the sautéed peppers and onions along with some shredded mozzarella cheese placing them back into their happy place until the cheese was nicely melted.

When the mushroom pizzas emerged from the warmth of the oven they not only looked delish but smelled amazing. I wasn’t sure how they would turn out since I hastily threw these together, I was pleasantly surprised at how good they tasted. Now a fork and knife is a must with these.

Looking forward to experimenting more in the near future with this.

Cheers!

A little sauté going on © Joe Geronimo

Portobello mushrooms getting happy © Joe Geronimo

I wish you all could smell this, mmmmm sooo good © Joe Geronimo

 

 

Buffalo Wing Sweet Potato Wedges

/ adkjoe / 1 Comment

One of my favorite foods are sweet potatoes with a drizzle of maple syrup, oh man my mouth is watering now.

So I decided to combine my love of sweet potatoes, wing sauce and make some homemade buffalo sweet potato wedges that are out of this world good. I mean these are cosmic!

First I began with two medium potatoes washed and the ends trimmed off. Then I cut them lengthwise into wedges, placing these babies in a bowl. I followed with 1 tsp olive oil, kosher salt and smoked paprika. Now things are starting to get happy.

I then placed the seasoned wedges on a wire backing rack into a 425 degree pre-heated oven, set my kitchen timer for 25 minutes and BAM, these babies are even happier now.

Once baked I put them back in the bowl, tossed them with 2 Tbsp of Frank’s wing sauce and placed some buffalo wing heaven on a plate. Now I use Frank’s wing sauce because I like it but also it is a vinegar based sauce and does not have any added sugar. However feel free to use whatever sauce makes you happy.

Cheers!

Squash Noodles with Garlic & Oil

/ adkjoe / Leave a comment

In my ongoing quest for delicious healthy eating I’m always looking for creative EASY meals. Well I think I just created one!

We’re fortunate to have a Wegman’s grocery store here in our area. Many times while perusing the produce section I’ve seen packages of butternut squash noodles but have been hesitant to try them. Hey don’t get me wrong I love butternut squash especially roasted and also as a soup. Yesterday I decided to give them a try.

I wanted to keep it simple but delicious. So I boiled a small pot of water and added the squash noodles, some sliced mushrooms and cooked for 5 minutes. While I was doing that in a small cast iron skillet I heated a tablespoon of olive oil. I drained the noodles and mushrooms adding them to the hot skillet, with some minced garlic, kosher salt and a dash of crushed red pepper sautéing another 5-6 minutes. Once done I plated it and hit it with some grated parmesan cheese. WOW!

I woofed this down as it was absolutely out of this world. I was truly sad once it was all gone because I craved more.

I boiled the mushrooms with the noodles because fresh uncooked mushrooms soak up the oil like a sponge. I believe boiling first helps prevent a lot of this. A few minor changes next time I make this. First I’d boil just a few minutes more as well as adding in some onions, garnish with fresh basil as well.

You’re kitchen is a studio so be creative as you want with this.

Bon Appetit!

Butternut squash noodles with garlic & oil. image © Joe Geronimo 2020.