Pork Belly, Baby Bok Choy and Sweet Banana Flower Sauce with Lomi Noodles

Delicious!  This is a nice new pork belly recipe that makes use of old traditional Filipino style flavors!

     Sometimes, I like to reinvent the wheel when I create a new recipe.  Other times, I like to make use of traditional cooking techniques and old time flavors to create a new entree.  One of the hot items in recent creative cooking trends is pork belly.  There are so many great traditional pork belly recipes around the world, that creating a totally new pork belly recipe is a tough task.  

     It seems like every island in the South Pacific has great pork recipes.  Some of the very best pork belly recipes can be found in the Philippines.  Most Philippine pork belly recipes involve slow cooking over a long period of time.  

     Today's Pork Belly, Baby Bok Choy and Sweet Banana Flower Sauce with Lomi Noodles recipe is not really a slowly cooked entree.  The first part of the recipe simmers for a while, but when the vegetables are added and the sauce is made, then the cooking time speeds up.  The pork belly is not cooked at a high temperature, so the pork fat does not render into the sauce.  The fat keeps the pork belly meat tender and it is up to the customer whether to eat the fat with the meat or not.  Pork belly is so tender, that the meat easily pulls away from the fat.

     Tart tasting banana flowers, sugar and soy sauce create a nice traditional Philippine flavor that is perfect for pork.  Lomi noodles are thick fresh egg noodles that are popular in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.  Add some baby bok choy and put it all together, then you will have a very nice Filipino style pasta entree!

     Pork Belly, Baby Bok Choy and Sweet Banana Flower Sauce with Lomi Noodles Recipe:

     Keep a pot of water boiling, so the fresh lomi noodles can be cooked later in the recipe!

     Heat a large saute pan or wok over medium heat.

     Add 1 small splash of vegetable oil.

     Add about 6 to 8 ounces of skinned pork belly that is cut into large bite size cube shaped pieces.

     Saute the pork belly, till it becomes a light golden brown color on all sides.

     Add 2 crushed garlic cloves.

     Add 1 tiny handful of julienne sliced onion.

     Saute till the garlic and onions turn a golden color.

     Add 1 tablespoon of thin soy sauce.

     Add 1/4 cup of rice wine.

     Add 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar.

     Add 2 tablespoons of sugar.

     Add about 10 to 12 dried banana flowers that have been rinsed.

     Add 1 cup of light pork broth.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Add 1 pinch of crushed dried red pepper.

     Add 1 pinch of yellow curry powder.

     Reduce the temperature to medium low heat.

     Simmer the pork belly in the sauce, till the banana flowers become tender and the flavors meld.  (About 5 minutes)

     Raise the temperature to medium/medium high heat.

     Add just enough cornstarch and cold water slurry, while stirring, to thicken the sauce to a thin sauce consistency.

     Add 1 large handful of trimmed baby bok choy that is cut in half lengthwise.

     Toss the ingredients together as the bok choy is cooked.

     When the bok choy becomes cooked tender and it still has a slightly crisp bite to it, then the entree is ready for the lomi noodles.

     Place a portion of lomi noodles in the pot of boiling water.  

     When the noodles become hot, drain the water off of the noodles.  (Fresh lomi noodles only take about a minute to cook!) 

     Add the lomi noodles to the ingredients in the pan.  

     Toss the ingredients together.

     Place the pork belly, baby bok choy and sweet banana flower sauce with lomi noodles on a plate.

     Try to expose a few of the pork belly pieces, banana flowers and baby bok choy on the surface of the entree, so they can be seen.

     No garnish is necessary!

     This is an awesome tasting plate of food!  Philippine style sweet tart flavored banana flower sauce is tasty with pork belly and bok choy.  The pork belly meat is very tender, even though it was not simmered for a long period of time.  The thick lomi egg noodles are fun to slurp up and eat, while dining on this entree!  Yum!  ...  Shawna  

    

     

Bay Scallops and Cha Soba with Rice Wine Ginger Sauce

Bay scallops and green tea noodles with a light rice wine ginger sauce!

     Cha Soba translates to green tea noodles.  Soba noodles are usually made with wheat and buckwheat flour.  Powdered green tea is added to the soba pasta dough mixture to make cha soba.  The pale green cha soba noodles have a light delicate green tea flavor.  Dried cha soba can be found at most asian markets.  High quality cha soba noodles are pre-portioned and the individual noodle portion bundles are wrapped with a decorative ribbon.  Cha soba can also be made fresh in a home kitchen.
     Small bay scallops have a rich scallop flavor, as long as they are not overcooked.  It only takes about one or two minutes to cook small bay scallops.  The garnishing vegetables in this entree have to be cut thin, so they cook quickly.
     When featuring cha soba noodles in an entree, it is important to choose a sauce that will not overpower the delicate green tea flavor of the noodles.  I chose to make this entree with a light rice wine ginger sauce.  The flavor of the scallop juices combines with the rice wine ginger sauce in a very nice way.  The choice of sauce was perfect for the flavor of the green tea noodles!

     Bay Scallops and Cha Soba with Rice Wine Ginger Sauce Recipe:  
     The scallops and sauce can be cooked in the same amount of time that it takes to cook the cha soba noodles.  It only takes about 5 minutes to cook cha soba noodles.
     Be sure to have all of the ingredients ready ahead of time, before starting to cook this quick recipe!
     Place a wide pot with about 8 to 10 cups of water over high heat.
     Bring the water to a boil.
     Add 1 portion of cha soba noodles.
     Gently stir the noodles occasionally with a wooden pasta stick, so the noodles do not cling to the pot.
     Heat a saute pan or wok over medium heat.
     Add 1 small splash of vegetable oil.
     Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger.
     Saute the ginger for a few seconds, till it becomes aromatic.
     Add 6 to 8 ounces of small bay scallops.
     Saute and toss the scallops in the pan, so they do not stick to the pan.
     Add 1 tiny handful of thin fluted carrot slices.  (Use a fluting tool to cut lengthwise grooves on a peeled carrot before slicing.)
     Add about 10 thin red bell pepper strips.
     Saute the vegetables and scallops for 1 minute.
     Add 3/4 cup of rice wine.
     Add 1/4 cup of water.
     Bring the liquid to a gentle boil.
     Add just enough cornstarch and cold water slurry to thicken the sauce to a thin sauce consistency.
     Stir the sauce.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add about 8 to 10 feathered snow peas.
     Add 1 green onion that is cut into small bite size pieces.
     Reduce the temperature to low heat.
     The cha soba noodles should be fully cooked by this time.  Drain the water off of the noodles.
     Add the cha soba noodles to the scallops and sauce in the pan.
     Toss the sauce and noodles together.
     Place the noodles and sauce on a plate.
     Try to expose a few scallops and vegetables on the surface of the noodles, so the entree looks nice.
     No garnish is necessary!

     This is a very nice delicate tasting entree!  The flavor of the scallops tastes great with the light rice wine ginger sauce and green tea noodles.  This noodle entree looks nice too.  Yum!  ...  Shawna   

Cajun Andouille Corn Dog

Yummy gourmet corn dog!

     I can't say that the gourmet street vendor style food movement has not met the county fair corn dog cuisine as of yet.  A few Las Vegas restaurants on the Strip have already created some nice gourmet corn dogs.  Lobster corn dogs seem to be the top of the line corn dog in Las Vegas so far.  I will be making a few lobster hot dogs and lobster sausage, so I will post a lobster corn dog recipe in this blog soon.
     Andouille sausage is a spicy smoked sausage that comes in a variety of sizes.  I happened to find a package of large hot dog size andouille sausage at a grocery store and I instantly thought of making a Cajun corn dog.  A spicy smoked andouille sausage corn dog sounded like a tasty idea!
     Corn dogs were created in the 1920's and by 1940 they became very popular nationwide.  The corn dog's popularity came about by vendors marketing corn dogs at county fairs.  Even in the modern age, the corn dog is one of the main food attractions at county fairs.  The original corn dogs were not speared with a skewer, but adding a skewer was a natural improvement by county fair finger food vendors.
     Corn dog batter is similar to corn muffin batter.  The batter must be fairly thick, so it will cling to a hot dog.  The hot dog must be completely coated.  It does not matter if the hot dog is perfectly evenly coated with batter, because the batter will puff up when it is fried.
   
     Cajun Andouille Corn Dog Recipe:
     A deep sided pot is required for frying a corn dog.  The pot must also be wider than the length of the corn dog and skewer.  The vegetable frying oil must be at least 5" deep.  Heat the oil to 360 degrees.
     Place 1/2 cup of corn meal into a mixing bowl.
     Add 1/2 cup of flour.
     Add 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
     Add 1 tablespoon of sugar.
     Add 1/2 of 1 whisked egg.
     Add 1/2 cup of milk.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 2 pinches of cayenne pepper.
     Whisk the batter ingredients, till the batter becomes smooth and thick.
     Spear a small 4 to 6 ounce andouille sausage with a thick bamboo skewer.
     Dip and roll the sausage in the corn dog batter.  Try to completely coat the sausage with batter and don't worry if the batter is an uneven thickness.
     Hold the skewer end and lower the Cajun corn dog into the hot frying oil, without letting the batter touch the sides or bottom of the pot.
     Allow the corn dog batter to cook for 20 to 30 seconds while holding the skewer, before gently dropping the Cajun corn dog into the hot oil.  (This will keep the corn dog from sticking to the pot!)
     The Cajun corn dog should float in the oil as it fries!
     Fry the Cajun corn dog, till it becomes a golden brown color and the sausage becomes hot.
     Use tongs to remove the Cajun corn dog from the hot oil.
     Set the Cajun corn dog on a dry towel to remove any excess oil.
     Set the Cajun corn dog on a plate.
     Garnish the plate with Italian parsley sprigs and some pickled okra.
     Serve with a ramekin of Louisiana creole mustard.
   
     Louisiana Cajun county fair style yum!  The steam from the batter heats the smoked andouille sausage.  Andouille sausage is fully cooked, because it is smoked and all it needs is to be warmed to a serving temperature.  The batter is crisp and brown on the outside and it is moist like corn cake on the inside.  This Cajun andouille corn dog is a nice gourmet corn dog treat!  ...  Shawna

   
   

BBQ Kal Bi at Jun's Korean Restaurant in North Las Vegas!

Yummy Korean food!

     Korean food is very popular in Las Vegas.  There is a large population of Koreans in Las Vegas that like to dine out.  Just like Las Vegas Chinese and Thai food, the Las Vegas Korean food is very authentic and it is not watered down for the middle of the road crowd.  

     Jun's Korean Restaurant is located at 445 Craig Road near I-15 in North Las Vegas.  Jun's is a plaza style restaurant that has a franchise restaurant feel.  The restaurant is set up like a to-go menu take out business.  There are several tables in the dining area.  The dining area is very plain and it resembles a pizza shop dining area.  Jun's is a modern plaza to-go style Korean restaurant that is like many of the new Korean restaurants that are popping up in the east coast metropolitan areas.

     Jun's Korean Restaurant has the look of a franchise style plaza restaurant.  Pre-printed decorations adorn the to-go counter area.  Jun's markets their own line of bottled marinades and BBQ sauces.  Bottled sauces for sale is a common trademark of a franchise style restaurant.   

     I wanted to try something different than what I usually order at a Korean restaurant.  I seem to have a jjigae style stew or soup almost every time that I visit a Korean restaurant, because I like hot pepper broths.  Kalbi soup sounded like a good idea.  Kalbi or Kal Bi translates to beef short ribs.  Kalbi soup is made with a light broth with vegetables.  Kalbi soup is a healthy chopsticks and spoon style entree.

     I pointed to the kalbi soup on the menu and the waitress said "Oh!  Kalbi is our number one best selling entree!"  What I did not realize, was that the waitress did not copy that I wanted kalbi soup.  When my order was placed in the serving window, I noticed that it was a Korean BBQ marinated kal bi entree.  The BBQ kal bi looked good, so I didn't say anything about the mistake on my order to the waitress.  Communication errors happen in even the best restaurants where there are language barriers.

     Grilled BBQ kal bi for dinner it was!  Asian style beef short ribs are sometimes a section of a rib rack that is sliced thin with a saw.  When ribs are cut this way, they can be cooked quickly and they remain tender.  The BBQ marinade was slightly sweet and nicely seasoned.  The ribs were grilled over an open flame char grill and they tasted great!  A simple salad and a generous portion of rice accompanied the ribs. 

     The side dishes seemed to be in short supply at Jun's.  At most Korean restaurants that I have been to, six to nine petite portion side dishes accompany each meal.  I was a little bit disappointed with only being offered three side dishes with my meal.  The cucumber kimchi and the cabbage kimchi tasted great, but the mung bean sprout side dish was a little bit limp and wilted instead of being fresh and crisp.    

     I realized that this Korean restaurant was more like a modern franchise style Korean restaurant and I really prefer the old traditional Korean restaurants, like the ones in Chinatown Las Vegas.  The food was good at Jun's Korean Restaurant and it certainly does appeal to those who are trying Korean food for the first time.  Jun's Korean Restaurant may also appeal to those who are on the go or to those who enjoy take-out food.

     I recommend Jun's Korean Restaurant for locals in the North Las Vegas area, even though a mistake was made on my order.  The BBQ kal bi mistake actually turned out to be a delicious meal.  

     To-go food or a quick franchise meal is what Jun's is all about.  Jun's is not an old fashioned Korean restaurant, but the food is good there and the place seems to be popular with the local residents.  Yum!  ...  Shawna      

Fusion Bubble and Squeak

Asian style bubble and squeak!  

     Bubble and squeak is an English recipe that is traditionally made with leftovers from a roasted meat dinner.  Bubble and squeak is usually served as breakfast with eggs and it is also nice for an afternoon meal.  Cooked potatoes are mashed with leftover cabbage, meat and vegetables and then formed into patties.  The patties are grilled in a pan and the characteristic bubble and squeak sound can be heard as the leftover patties are cooked.  

     I posted a standard English bubble and squeak recipe in this blog last year.  Since I had an abundant amount of baby bok choy cabbage on hand, I decided to create a fusion style bubble and squeak recipe.  The biggest problem that I have as far as making a recipe that requires leftovers goes, is that I never have any leftover food in the fridge!  I am an exacting chef and I usually only cook one portion of each item in this blog, so there are no leftovers to be had.  I actually had to cook some food, just to make leftovers for this recipe.  Die hard bubble and squeak fans don't always wait for leftovers when making bubble and squeak!

     The list of ingredients in the recipe are simple.  Ham was first choice for a Chinese style meat for the bubble and squeak.  Chinese hot chile powder is usually a blend of mild to medium hot red serrano chiles, chile japones, bird peppers and Thai chile pepper.  Chinese hot chile powder is nearly the same as Korean chile powder.  Galangal is Thai blue ginger root.  Galangal has a complex tropical ginger flavor.

     Fusion Bubble and Squeak Recipe:

     Boil 1/2 of a peeled russet potato in water, till it becomes soft.

     Remove the potato from the hot water an place it in a mixing bowl.

     Coarsely mash the potato with a fork.

     Blanch 1 large handful of baby bok choy that is sliced lengthwise into quarters.  Boil the bok choy, till it is cooked al dente.

     Drain the water off of the bok choy.

     Add the blanched bok choy to the potatoes in the mixing bowl.

     Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

     Add 2 minced garlic cloves.

     Add 3 tablespoons of minced onion.

     Saute till the onions turn clear in color.

     Add the onions and garlic to the ingredients in the mixing bowl.

     Add 1 handful of diced roasted ham.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Add 1 pinch of five spice powder.

     Add 2 pinches of powdered galangal.

     Add 2 pinches of cumin.

     Add 2 pinches of Chinese chile powder.

     Add 2 teaspoons of thin soy sauce.

     Mash and mix the ingredients together by hand.  The potato will help to bind the ingredients together.

     Form 2 equal size balls with the bubble and squeak mixture.

     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 1 small splash of vegetable oil.

     Add the two balls of bubble and squeak mixture.

     Flatten each bubble and squeak with a spatula, so they form a patty shape.

     Grill each bubble and squeak on both sides, till it becomes very lightly browned and piping hot.

     Place the bubble and squeak patties on a plate.

     Wipe the non-stick saute pan clean and place it back over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.

     Add 2 eggs.  

     Cook the eggs sunny side up or however you may prefer the eggs to be cooked.

     Season the eggs with sea salt and black pepper.

     Place the eggs on the plate next to the bubble and squeak.

     Garnish the plate with an Italian parsley sprig.

     There is nothing confusing about this fusion recipe!  The ingredients and flavors are easy to recognize.  The galangal adds a rich ginger like flavor.  Five spice powder, soy sauce, cumin and chile powder gives the bubble and squeak a nice asian style flavor.  This is a nice fusion eye opener breakfast entree!  Yum!  ...  Shawna        

      

Black Eyed Peas and Pork Belly

Down home soul food cookin'!

     There is no single definition of soul food.  Food that is slow cooked in a pot with an African cooking style is one definition.  In West Africa, tribes cooked stews of field peas or black eyed peas and meats on a regular basis.  The broth of the stew was rich in nutrients and flavor.  Soul food chefs call the broth by the name pot liquor.  

     Pot liquor develops as the broth reduces during slow simmering.  Usually, slow cooked field pea or black eyed pea stews are started by browning chopped onion.  The onion literally melts into the broth after slow simmering and a great pot liquor flavor develops.   

     Pork belly has become a trendy meat in recent years, but there are many old traditional recipes that call for pork belly.  In the old days, chunks of pork belly were more commonly used to flavor a pot of black eyed peas than strips of bacon.  Sliced bacon was a convenience that cost extra money and whole sections of pork belly were a common item on any farm that had pigs.  

     The tender pork belly meat has a large amount of fat and the fat helps the black eyed peas to cook tender.  The fat also adds flavor.  Its up to the individual whether to eat the fat or not.  Usually only the tender pork belly meat is eaten and the fat is discarded.

     Soul food is just like down home country style cooking.  Both styles of cooking are "feel good food."  Soul food makes a body strong and it give a person a warm comfortable satisfied feeling!

     Black Eyed Peas and Pork Belly Recipe:  

     This recipe makes a couple of portions!

     Soak 2 to 3 cups of dried black eyed peas in water in a refrigerator overnight.

     Rinse the black eyed peas with cold running water.  Discard any discolored peas.

     Heat a pot over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 3 pats of unsalted butter.

     Add 6 to 8 ounces of skinned pork belly that is cut into large bite size cube shaped pieces.

     Saute till the pork belly pieces start to lightly brown.

     Add 1 small handful of finely chopped onion.

     Add 2 crushed garlic cloves.

     Saute till the onions caramelize to a light brown color.

     Add the rinsed black eyed peas.

     Add enough light pork broth to cover the black eyed peas with one extra inch of liquid.

     Add sea salt and black pepper.

     Add 1 pinch of cayenne pepper.

     Add 1 pinch of paprika.

     Add 1/2 tablespoon of cider vinegar.

     Reduce the temperature to low heat.

     Cover the pot with a lid.

     Slowly simmer the black eyed peas, till they are cooked very tender.  (Do not stir the peas too often, or they will break up and form a gravy.  Unless, that is how you like your black eyed peas to be!) 

     Serve the black eyed peas in a large bowl and try to expose the chunks of pork belly on top of the peas.

     

     Simple, delicious, healthy and satisfying food for the soul!  That is soul food!  Black eyed peas have a rich hearty flavor that takes to the flavor of pork nicely.  The simple pot liquor of pork stock, melted caramelized onion, light seasonings and black eyed pea broth really has a comfortable flavor that is perfect for being soaked up with pan fried corn bread.  This black eyed pea and pork belly recipe is a nice comfortable entree or side dish!  Yum!  ...  Shawna     

     

Five Spice Ham, Baby Bok Choy and King Trumpet Mushrooms

A nice quick Chinese style recipe!

     

     Stir fry cooking became popular in the 1970's and 1980's, because is was recognized as a healthy cooking technique.  It seemed like everybody was buying a wok back in those days.  Later, electric woks were the choice for home cooks.  Stir fry cooking can be done with ordinary saute pans too.  

     The stir fry technique is to quickly cook meats an vegetables in a small amount of fat at a high temperature.  The vegetables are tossed in the hot pan, till they are al dente.  A sauce is usually made in the same pan, towards the end of the stir frying of the meats and vegetables.  The timing of making the sauce has to coincide with when the vegetables are al dente.  When the vegetables first start to become tender, then it is time to add the sauce ingredients, so the vegetables do not overcook.  The sauce and entree should be ready at the same time.

     Stir fry sauces don't have to be thick pre-made bottled soy based sauces.  Glaze sauces that were overloaded with strong flavored soy sauce seemed to be the only choice of stir fry sauce at American restaurants that offered stir fry entrees.  The combination of one style of sauce and poor stir fry cooking techniques by low pay cooks caused the popularity of stir fry entrees to wane in American restaurants over the years.  

     It seems like any hot new entree item, like stir fry, that is offered by chain franchise corporate restaurants is destined to eventually be burnt out in popularity due to poor quality preparation of the trendy item!  Corporate bar and grill style restaurants seem to hire plenty of bottom of the barrel help.  I had a stir fry entree at a corporate neighborhood bar and grill style restaurant in Chicago about six months ago that was not worth mentioning in this blog as a restaurant revue.  The cook in the bar and grill kitchen cooked the stir fry in the sauce, till the vegetables were limp and mushy!  The stir fry was awful, because the stir fry technique was poorly executed.

     The best place to get stir fry in a restaurant these days seems to be at the number one source for good stir fry cooking.  Asian restaurants and Chinatown!  The ancient technique of stir fry cooking is one of the most popular cooking techniques in asian restaurants.  In Las Vegas asian restaurants, a nice variety of traditional stir fry sauces are used to make stir fry entrees.  A heavy dark soy sauce glaze does not have to be the only sauce for stir fry!

     Today's recipe has a lightly seasoned sauce that features five spice powder.  Five spice powder is made with star anise, Szechuan pepper, cinnamon, clove and fennel seed.  As the list of strong flavored ingredients suggests, it only takes a small pinch of five spice powder to flavor an entree.  Five spice powder sauces tastes great with pork or ham.

     Five Spice Ham, Baby Bok Choy and King Trumpet Mushrooms Recipe:

     Be sure to have all the ingredients ready ahead of time, before starting a stir fry!

     Heat a wok or large saute pan over medium/medium high heat.

     Add 1 small splash of vegetable oil.

     Add about 5 or 6 ounces of ham that is cut into thick long strips.

     Saute till the ham just starts to very lightly brown.

     Add 2 crushed cloves of garlic.

     Add 1/2 of a sliced shallot.

     Saute for a few seconds, till the garlic becomes aromatic.

     Add 2 handfuls of trimmed baby bok choy that are cut in half lengthwise.

     Add 1 king trumpet mushroom that is cut in half lengthwise.

     Toss and stir fry, till the vegetables start to become tender.

     Add sea salt and white pepper.

     Add 1 tablespoon of thin soy sauce.

     Add 1/3 cup of rice wine.

     Add 1/3 cup of vegetable stock.

     Add 1 pinch of five spice powder.

     Bring the liquid in the stir fry to a quick boil.

     Add just enough cornstarch and cold water slurry, while stirring, to thicken the sauce to a thin sauce consistency.  (Only about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of cornstarch is needed.)

     Toss the vegetables with the sauce.

     Remove the pan from the heat.

     Place the stir fry on a plate and arrange it so it looks nice.

     Serve with some steamed white rice on the side.

     This is a simple quick stir fry entree that only has a few ingredients, but the flavor is very tasty!  Ham and cabbage go together in any language.  The mild flavor of king trumpet mushroom goes nicely with the five spice seasoning, ham and cabbage.  The king mushroom halves can be easily torn lengthwise into strips along its grain after cooking or the mushroom can be sliced before being added to the stir fry.  The two king mushroom halves make a nice presentation of this entree.  Yum!  ...  Shawna       

Fried Egg, Scrapple and Swiss Cheese Breakfast Sandwich ~ The Virgin River, Nevada!

A quick breakfast sandwich before hitting the road!

     The mystery of scrapple!  Ha Ha Ha!  "Oh, sweet mystery of life,  at last I found you!"  The old joke about scrapple, is to never ask what scrapple is made out of.  Scrapple is a Pennsylvania Amish pork creation.  Scrapple has been described as being made with everything, but the squeal!  

     I posted a basic scrapple recipe last week in this blog and I detailed the process of making scrapple.  If you really wish to find out what is in scrapple, then that scrapple blog entry is a good reference.  If you feel that the mystery of scrapple is better off unsolved, then shy away from reading that post!  

     Even with the lengthy list of odd ingredients, scrapple tastes great!  In Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland, scrapple can be found on nearly every breakfast diner menu.  

     I was trained for quality control at a large steel mill in Baltimore that had a small breakfast shack restaurant on the site.  One day, my partner and I had a scrapple and fried egg sandwich for breakfast at the breakfast shack.  The scrapple was cooked very crisp, because that is how most people like their scrapple cooked.  A scrapple and egg sandwich is truly on the list of steel mill fine cuisine!

     A scrapple and fried egg sandwich is a great breakfast, before going for a long drive.  On weekends, I like going for sight seeing trips in the Nevada countryside.  Many people only think of Las Vegas, when they hear the word Nevada.  Las Vegas does set the panoramic stage for the rest of the state.  The Las Vegas valley is surrounded by mountains.  Just on the other side of each surrounding mountain lies beautiful scenic places like Death Valley, The Colorado River, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, ghost towns, The Desert National Wildlife Preserve, Red Rock Canyon, Valley Of Fire, Utah national parks, Eldorado Canyon and Mt Charleston.  There are many panoramic destinations that are within a two hour drive from Las Vegas!

    

      I stopped by the Virgin River on the way to Whitney Pockets on the north end of Lake Mead to take some pictures of the scenery.  The Virgin River is one of many desert rivers that feed Lake Mead.  The Virgin River is usually a small river during dry seasons, but when a good mountain snow melt occurs or a large rainstorm, the river can swell to enormous proportions.  The Virgin River is an old river as the terrain evidence suggests.  Canyons and buttes have been carved by this river in the past and at some places, the river must have been a few miles wide.

     Camping, hiking, canoe rentals and horse rentals are available at the Virgin River along the scenic drive on state road 170, Riverside Drive.  Riverside Drive runs off of I-15 near Mesquite Nevada.  New Gold Butte Road runs off of Riverside Drive and that road leads to Whitney Pockets and the Gold Butte ghost town.  New Gold Butte Road is adjacent to the Virgin River and there are some spectacular views to be found along the bluffs, as you can see in the pictures above!

     It is well worth the drive from Las Vegas to see the Virgin River, Whitney Pockets and Gold Butte in one day!  I saved the Gold Butte ghost town destination for a later trip, because much of the scenic views  are best seen while hiking.  For those that have a good digital camera, these scenic areas in Nevada near Las Vegas are a photographers paradise!

     The pictures above can be viewed full size in a slide show mode.  Click on any photo and the slide show mode will appear.

     Fried Egg, Scrapple and Swiss Cheese Breakfast Sandwich:

     Breakfast sandwiches can be made with toast or plain bread.  I usually prefer my personal breakfast sandwiches on un-toasted bread, but toast does look better when photographed.  Hot sauce on a fried egg sandwich is also my preference.  Hot sauce goes great with crispy grilled scrapple!

     Heat a non-stick seasoned saute pan or griddle over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 1 pat of unsalted butter.

     Add 2 slices of scrapple that are about 1/2" thick.

     Grill the scrapple, undisturbed, till the scrapple becomes very crisp on the bottom half.  (Scrapple has to be cooked crisp, if it's loaf shape is to be retained!  If it is not cooked crisp, then the scrapple will fall apart and it will need to be shaped with a spatula.)

     Flip the scrapple slices and cook the other side, till crisp.

     Keep the grilled scrapple slices warm on a stove top.

     Toast 2 pieces of bread, if you prefer toast!  Keep the toast warm.

     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat.

     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.

     Add 1 egg.

     Break the yolk on the egg.

     Season the egg with sea salt and black pepper.

     Pan fry the egg on both sides, till it becomes fully cooked.

     Place a few thin slices of swiss cheese on the egg.

     Add 1 tiny splash of water to the pan and immediately cover the pan with a lid.

     The steam in the pan will soften and melt the cheese in less than 20 seconds!

     Place the grilled scrapple slices on one slice of the bread or toast.

     Place the swiss cheese topped fried egg on the scrapple.

     Place the second piece of bread or toast on the sandwich.

     Garnish the plate with parsley sprigs.

     I thought about making a habanero ketchup for this sandwich recipe, but I decided not to.  I just wanted to present a grilled scrapple breakfast sandwich, for those who have never heard of such a thing.  Habanero ketchup or hot sauce is great on a scrapple and egg sandwich!  Swiss cheese is also nice with the flavor of scrapple.  

     There is nothing like scrapple, before enjoying the great outdoors!  I think I just coined a new scrapple ad campaign slogan!  Ah the mysteries of life!  Yum!  ...  Shawna