Fight Food

I had some fellas over for UFC 75 and I decided to make some bar/man food. Great times with the fellas and great food - even though Matt Hamill got ripped off.

Italian Style Quesadillas
Love quesadillas and this was an homage to the pizza bianca at sezz medi. The better the cheese you use, the better the flavors will be. Make sure not to go overboard with an abundance of cheese. You should taste a little bit of all the cheeses in each bite.

Ingredients
Flour tortillas
Whole milk mozzarella cheese - shredded
Whole milk ricotta cheese
Gorgonzola cheese - crumbled

1) Sprinkle a big handful of mozzarella cheese on half of the tortilla. Add small scoops of ricotta in each spacings. Between the ricotta add the gorgonzola.
2) Toast in the toaster oven until golden brown. Let rest 3 minutes before cutting.



Cuban Style Chicken Wings
Not sure if this is exactly Cuban, but I like the flavors a lot. Marinade would probably go wonderful with pork as well.

Ingredients
chicken wings (fresh preferable)
2 cups orange juice
1/4 cup minced fresh oregano
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 head of garlic, each clove crushed (skin can stay on)
1 Tbsp cumin
1/4 cup white vinegar
Salt and Pepper

1) Combine orange juice, oregano, cumin, crushed garlic, salt and pepper, white vinegar, and olive oil. Taste marinade. Flavors should be savory, sour, and relatively sweet. Adjust flavors as necessary. If orange juice is not sweet enough, add sugar.
2) Marinade chicken wings for at least 4 hours.
3) Set oven to 400 degrees. Pour marinade in a pan and set to high heat to reduce until syrupy - maybe 15 minutes. Taste the reduced marinade - it should still be very flavorful. If it's too bitter, add sugar and more olive oil and warm through.
4) Dry off wings with a paper towel and place on a tray in the oven. After about 10 minutes, take the reduced marinade and spoon over the wings.
5) Bake another 5 minutes until wings are browned and chicken is cooked thoroughly and still moist. Add more marinade at the end if you want.


Italian Style Manwich
Here's my basic braising recipe I use when I want to braise meat. Make sure to look for steak with lots of marbling. Very rich flavors and the meat can be used over pasta, rice, or in tortillas.

Ingredients
2 pounds chuck steak bone in
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 cups homemade tomato sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
2 whole yellow onions sliced
5 cloves garlic thinly sliced
3 sprigs (leaves only) each of thyme, rosemary, sage

1) Cut chuck steak into 1 inch x 4 inch strips. Season both side with salt and lots of pepper.
2) Brown steak over high heat in olive oil both sides. Make sure not to crowd the pan, may take 3 separate batches - otherwise it'll stew. Also, brown the bones. Remove steak and bones. Reduce heat to medium.
3) Cook onions in the same pan and salt and pepper the onions. Scrape the fond on the bottom of the pan. When the onions have softened slightly. Add tomato paste and cook for at least 5 more minutes.
4) Add garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage and cook for 2 minutes.
5) Add steak, juices from steak, and bones to the pan.
6) Add tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 2-3 hours. For the last 1/2 hour, cook unconvered. Meat should be very tender and sauce should be relatively thick. You may need to cook more if need be. You can also place in the oven at 300, but this may take longer to cook. The oven method will result in a thicker sauce though.
7) Toast hamburger buns and scoop meat/sauce on the buns. Top with extra virgin olive oil. Buono appetito!