Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos

[FTC Disclaimer:  We are proud to have Certified Angus Beef® Brand is a sponsor of Nibble Me This.]

Want to know why the beef in these fantastic Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos is so tender?

It's tender because I used beef tenderloin for the meat, specifically a Certified Angus Beef® Brand beef tenderloin from our Food City.  I trimmed this butt section of a tenderloin into:

• Left:  Tenderloin chunks from the "chain."
• Center:  tenderloin roast
• Right:  A mini-roast using the side meat (iliacus muscle).

The "chain" is a little strip of muscle (psoas minor) that is hidden in a bunch of connective tissue that runs along the side of a whole beef tenderloin. A lot of people might mistake that for scrap.  But a little knife-work and patience can produce delectable bits of steak that chefs often treasure for themselves. 

These "scraps" of filet mignon are just the thing for Fire Seared Beef Tips and Rice or in these Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos.

Trevor's girlfriend came over, and I wanted to make them something to eat while they studied.  I grabbed my beef tenderloin chunks, a few things I had in stock, and made them these tacos.

Steak and Grilled Onion Tacos

Ingredients

Stir-Fired Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is what happens when you get culinarily bored.  I combined a Cajun chicken recipe with stir-frying techniques (aka stir firing on the grill) to come up with this creamy and delicious Stir Fried Cajun Chicken Pasta.

I started with this Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe from BigOven as a jumping off place and changed the ingredients for my preferences or what I had in supply.  I decided on stir-frying because the ingredients suit that style of cooking and stir-frying on the grill is fun.

Remember that stir-frying happens at a frenetic pace.  Mise en place* is especially important with this "blink and it's done" type of cooking.  This includes the tools you will need, in this case, grill mitts, wooden spatulas, and maybe a set of tongs.  

Stir Fried Cajun Pasta

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, sliced stir-fry style
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (divided)  I used my NMT Cajun Beef Rub recipe
• 1.5 teaspoons Kosher salt (divided)
• 2-3 tablespoons peanut or other high temp cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned 
• 1 poblano chile, julienned 
• 1 sweet onion, julienned 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• 1 lb rotini pasta, cooked according to directions
• Slurry made of 1 tablespoon cold water and half tablespoon or cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
• Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese finely grated for garnish

Instructions

[FTC Disclosure]  This post is not sponsored on behalf of anyone.  However, I received free samples of the Meat Church seasonings and received the SABER grill as part of a compensation package.

We have been making versions of this recipe for garlic soup for over 20 years.  I was told that it is based on a peasant dish in Mexico so it is budget friendly, but it is also delicious and easy to make.  

It has a creamy texture and bold aromatics which make it the prescription for soothing the symptoms of the common cold. Alexis got hit with a cold over the weekend so I made a batch for us.  

That reminds me of when we first got married and I had a bad cold.  Alexis didn't cook much but she wanted to take care of me so she decided to make this soup for me.  I took a spoonful and my mouth instantly puckered at what tasted like flavored sea water.  Like I said, she was new to cooking and mixed up tablespoons and teaspoons when measuring boullion for the broth.  A wee bit salty.  It still made me feel better just from her intentions and we've laughed about it over the years.  

When you first start cooking the bread, it will swell up and might make you wonder if you did something wrong.  Don't panic, the bread will break up as it cooks.

Mexican Roasted Garlic Soup

2017 Pensacola Eggfest

Fourth in a series of four posts about my food week in Orange Beach AL:

1. World Food Championships 
2. Thrilla in the Grilla 
3. Grilling Demo for Pensacola Eggfest VIP party
4. Pensacola Eggfest

We were thrilled to attend the Pensacola Eggfest as VIP Judges once again this year.

This food festival for Big Green Egg grilling enthusiasts is one of my personal favorites and is one of the most well run Eggfests in the country.  Rally Pensacola, a group fighting childhood cancers, was the primary beneficiary of the charitable event this year.

It's always fun to peruse the team booths to watch them prepping their grilled culinary delights, such as, grilled wings, wood fired pizzas, and fiery small bites.  As a whole, I don't think there is an Eggfest with a better collection of cook teams than the ones who participate at the Pensacola Eggfest.  These teams can flat out cook!

Eggfest cook teams typically only have a few hours to fire up their grills before the gates open for the crowds.  So instead of pork butts, brisket, and ribs, most teams opt for quick cooking recipes that can be made in high volumes to meet demand.

The teams hit the ground running and work as a unit (or they fake it quite well) to get the food flowing before the crowds rush in.

The Big Green Eggs used in this Eggfest are provided by Escambia Electric and after they are used for just a few hours this one time, they are sold at steep discounts.  These have all been sold this year but I'm sure they can still give you the best price in town.

The Green Eggs and Bam Team are always a lot of fun and serve fantastic bites.

VIP Grilling Demo at Pensacola Eggfest 2017

Third in a series of four posts about my food week in Orange Beach AL:

1. World Food Championships 
2. Thrilla in the Grilla 
3. Grilling Demo for Pensacola Eggfest VIP party
4. Pensacola Eggfest

Each year, we close out our BBQ and grilling adventures at one of the best Eggfests in the country - the Pensacola Eggfest.  This year, Big Green Craig, Big Moe Cason, and I did a grilling demonstration for the 200 guests at the VIP Party on Friday Night.  

We did two items for the demo.  First, we showed how to make a beef tenderloin roast the center of your holiday dinner.  Next, we showed some game day beef ribs that are quicker than a 2-minute offense.

The Pensacola Eggfest has a lot going for it.  

• It is in a great venue - the Blue Wahoos' baseball stadium, right on the gorgeous water.
• They have amazing organizers that awe me all year long with their dedication, talent, and heart.
• The cooks are ridiculously skilled, as a food blogger their creativity and execution impresses me each year.
• But the most important element of the Pensacola Eggfest is its purpose.  

Purpose is what drives this event and it shows.  This year, the purpose behind the smoke and Eggs is Rally Pensacola.  Rally Pensacola is a charitable organization that provides direct financial assistance to families of children battling cancer.  Here is the "why" behind this event that is bigger than just some great food.

So when the organizers asked us to do the cooking demo, the answer was an emphatic yes!  Here are some photos of the action.

My sister drove 360+ miles to come help out, we always have a great time cooking together.

Reverse Seared Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

It stokes my coals to announce that Certified Angus Beef Brand® has renewed our sponsorship for another year.  Their support is what makes it possible for the Nibble Me This team to get out on the road to attend grilling festivals and BBQ contests.  

This recipe is based on one of the sample appetizers that we served to crowds this year at grilling festivals.  It's also what we turned in for our beef category at the Memphis In May World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest.

At those grilling events, we usually serve the beef shaved and served on roasted garlic crostini with arugula, capers, lemon zest, and the cream sauce.  

Here is the same beef and cream sauce served as a main course, served with pan roasted potatoes, blistered grape tomatoes, and bacon.

The Gorgonzola Cream Sauce is a variation of an Ina Garten recipe that we have used for years.  It's rich and brings a ton of flavor to the tender but mild filet.

Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Published 11/18/2017

Thrilla in the Grilla - A Grilling Contest for Veterans and First Responders

Second in a series of four posts about my food week in Orange Beach AL:

1. World Food Championships 
2. Thrilla in the Grilla 
3. Grilling Demo for Pensacola Eggfest VIP party
4. Pensacola Eggfest

The most rewarding thing I did at the World Foods Championships had to be helping our friends at Grilla Grills run the Thrilla in the Grilla, a contest

• organized by Veterans
• competed by Veterans and First Responders
• table captained by Veterans and First Responders, and
• judged by Veterans and First Responders
• on Veterans' Day!

Earlier this year, Grilla Grills ran the online grilling recipe contest, Red, Hot, and Blue for Veterans and First Responders.  The contestants entered their recipe, told their story, and sent a picture of their dish.  A panel selected the Top 10 winners and Grilla Grills invited them to the World Food Championships to compete head to head.  

The contestants lined up for the final cooks meeting and waiting on the "GO!".

 The meeting was important because this contest varies in a few ways compared to most of the World Food Championships contests:

1. First, the judging uses an open format instead of double blind, so they see which teams are cooking what as the clock.
2. Second, the contestants only submit 1 entry in 2 hours, not structured AND signature.
3. Finally, for an "improvise, adapt, overcome" theme, the contestants are given a mystery box of three ingredients that have to be used.  Each contestant got different sets of mystery ingredients.

We were lucky to have Michael McDearman as our emcee.  Michael is a well known competitive grill master and the Director of the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour.   Here he is interviewing Jason as he gloves up to get started.

Troy Winter seasoning his turkey breasts.  By seasoning from up high like this, he is ensuring better distribution of the seasoning.  If you season too close to the protein, the seasoning can have spotty coverage.