London Broil with Shroom and Onion Gravy

Jim’s London Broil with Shroom and onion gravy.

Here is on of my favorites that is also going to be featured in my next novel COOKED. Great dish, easy fast to make, and inexpensive. Very healthy to!!

Ingredients

London Broil

One large onion

Your fav sliced fresh mushrooms

2 cups white ine

Two packs brown dry gravy mix

Cracked pepper and Sea salt to taste

Jasmine Rice

1\2 stick butter

Montreal Seasoning

Two cloves crushed fresh garlic

1\2 cup sesame oil

First to prepare the meat. Coat with Montreal seasoning, pepper and salt. Both sides and also take a fork and stab the meat throughout to help aide the marinating process. Add two teaspoons of white wine to the meat and drizzle some sesame oil over the meat. Place in fridge overnight.

In a large skillet, (cast iron the best) melt one stick of butter on medium heat. Place the London broil in the skillet and braise both sides. Maybe two or three minutes cooking time for each side. Remove and set aside on a large cutting board.

Take a sharp knife and cut very thin slices of meat and place in a large backing pan. Once all meat is cut, drain the drippings from the sauté pan on top of the meat and drizzle with sesame oil. The meat should sort look almost like sushi tuna. (Very red and only braised on the outside of the meat.

Bake in oven at 350 for only about five to ten minutes then finish it off under the broiler for maybe 30 seconds. You want to be careful and NOT TO OVER COOK THE LONDON BROIL!!! It should still be fairly red when it comes out of the oven.

Mushroom Gravey:

This is simple. Melt butter in pan add wine and lot of cracked pepper. Toss in your brown packet gravy and add your water and some pan drippings. Add sliced onion and mushrooms and cook until nice and tender. Once sauce is thick, simmer on low. Very easy sauce to make however people will think you slaved for hours in the kitchen preparing it.

I served this with a side of Jasmine rice and it was just awesome. Typically I will use wild rice however I prefer the Jasmine. But what ever is your fav rice just use that.

This is an inexpensive dish to make and one of the best things is the LEFTOVERS!! You will never have a better steak sandwich than one made with the London Broil. Extremely good!!!!

Jim Baugh

JBO TV

Author HOOKED

Restaurant Report "Chesapeake Grill" Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Five thumbs up.

Restaurant Report  “Chesapeake Grill” Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

I have no idea why as many times as I have crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel that I never thought to stop in and check out the restaurant. For some reason a conversation came up where this place was mentioned and like a light bulb turning on I thought, “Gee, I bet you could get a good fish sandwich there”. I mean really, if you cant get fresh fish dining over the Chesapeake Bay some 10 miles out over the water, then where else are you going to get it.

I still figured that this was going to be frozen food service product like you get at most restaurants. I was wrong.

I can be such an airhead. Parked my car, walked in to this place which up front looks like a gift shop with a little bar in back where you can order a limited menu, of which I did not see any fish sandwich.

I ask the lady behind this little counter if they had a fish sandwich on the menu. Fact is, this is all about I was expecting, a small food counter to order, small selection, and mostly to go. The lady said,

“Well, if you don’t find what you like here, why don’t you try our full service waterside dining experience?” I said,

“I thought this was it!”

“No sir, just walk down this isle and take a left, a waitress will be right with you”

OK!!! Now I got my game on, getting pretty excited here. WALLLA!!!

“Hi there mam, and sure I would love this table right by the window. Fantastic!!! I see one of my buddies fishing the rock piles, also a great view of a nuclear submarine heading up the bay, and a great view of a massive approaching storm moving eastwardly. Better call the girlfriend and tell her the Eastern Shore is about an hour away from building an ark!”

I sat down, and had excellent service from the waitress who was very attentive. Large selection of beer, I don’t drink beer really but had to have a Legend Brown Ale, just had to. The menu was fairly large and well laid out. It was explained to me that the fish was fresh local Flounder caught commercially and all the seafood, Oysters, Clams, everything was fresh.

Very pleased with what was brought out for me, a free cup of vegetable lentil soup that was awarded to me because of a free coupon I got when I purchased my CBBT Toll Ticket. The soup was excellent. I also tried the she crab soup and it was with out a doubt fresh crabmeat. I could tell is was all backfin lump, and not frozen. GREAT STUFF. Of course it needed more sherry, but I always like extra sherry with bisque.

The main course for lunch was beer battered flounder. I usually go for a lighter breading, but was curious to see how they would prepare this. It was fantastic!! FRESH FLOUNDER!!! Totally awesome. The tarter sauce was great as well as the slaw. Fries good to!

The atmosphere and view is really awesome and I was totally impressed with how good the service was. These people are on top of their game and really do a terrific job!!

So I will say this, even if you don’t need to cross the bridge tunnel, going to this restaurant is worth the toll and the trip. A truly great experience and I for sure will be back. Yall check it out and tell me what you think. I would give this place five stars and look forward to going back.

Jim Baugh

JBO TV

Author HOOKED

Virginia Originals \ Chesapeake Grill
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
One Island or call us at:
ph. 757-318-4818
fax: 757-318-6449
info@virginia-orignals.com

Hours of Operation:
Summer Hours (mid-April thru mid-December)6a.m.-10p.m. daily Current Fall/Winter Hours (mid-December thru mid-April) 7a.m.-7p.m. daily Closed Christmas Day
Hours subject to change



Jim's Seafood Marinara

Jim’s Seafood Marinara

Ingredients

Five cloves crushed fresh Garlic

One stick butter

Fresh chopped parsley

Cracked pepper

Sea salt

1\2 pound jumbo shrimp

1\2 pound Large scallops

50 fresh top neck clams

Two cups white wine

Whole wheat spaghetti

1 cup crushed tomatoes

Here is a great version of one of my favorite seafood dishes. It is a fresh seafood marinara however rather light on the sauce. Easy to prepare and a great company dish.

First up, pre steam you clams until they just pop open and set aside. I will remove about half the clams from the shell to add to the sauce, then add the clams in the shell at the finish.

Put your butter in a large sauté pan and melt, then add garlic and cook until lightly brown. Then add wine and then add all of the seafood and cook until barley translucent.

Add about three cups pre cooked whole wheat spaghetti as well as to the pan, stir over medium heat. Sea salt and caracked pepper to taste. Add parsley and stir.

Set for four minutes on medium heat and then add clams in shell and garnish with your fav parmesan and romano cheese.

Very easy dish to make and absolutely delicious! One version of this is to top off your favorite blackened fish, pre cook the fish and simple lay it on top of the bed of seafood pasta. Your company will go nuts!!!

Jim Baugh

JBO TV

Author HOOKED

Jim's Linguini and Clam Sauce MUST TRY!!

Linguini and Clam Sauce.

Yes it is true, this is really about my favorite dish. Variations on this basic dish include topping off the pasta with some fresh Rockfish and or Tuna / blackened. Here is what you do to make one fantastic inexpensive and delicious meal worthy of the most discriminating palates.

The Sauce.

First slice elephant garlic into medium slices and place in sauté pan, add teaspoon of butter and a splash of wine. Cook garlic until tender. Then add two sticks butter two cups white wine fresh cracked pepper one cup fresh chopped parsley and the juice of four lemons. Sea salt to taste. Heat the sauce up stove top then

cover and let sit on warm.

The Clams.

MUST BE FRESH!! These we did these on the Eastern Shore and they were the best I ever had. (American Shellfish Company Clams compliments of owner Joe Pierson.)



Steam the clams in one cup wine and one cup water with fresh lemon rinds. Once done shell out 1\2 the clams and set aside, let the rest remain in the shell.

To prepare:

Simply cook your pasta aldente then drain. In a large sauté skillet pour the pasta in

And top off with the sauce. There should be a lot of liquid in the pan. Add in the clams as well as the ones in the shells plus two sliced lemons. Sprinkle fresh parsley and parmesan cheese over top and place in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.



Serve family style with some garlic bread.

AWESOME!!! One of the best dishes you will ever cook up

PS: Thanks Donna for letting me come to Mermaid Bay to cook this one up for you. Was fantastic!!!

Jim Baugh

JBO TV

Author of HOOKED

Pitmaster Victorian Station Jim’s BBQ



Donna enjoying a glass of wine while I mess up her kitchen!

Fajita Round up, JB's Beef and Chcken Recipe- Tequila & lime

Here is my full proof recipe that is not as complicated as one might think. There are some tricks to preparing this dish and shortcuts will not do here. Mexican \ Tex Mex is probably my favorite of all dishes because there is no limit really to what one can do, and a great way to entertain guest.

Here are the ingredients you will need for the Fajita seasoning, and Jim’s Baugh Ha Salsa.

Fajita seasoning:

Garlic powder

Chili Powder

Celery Salt

Crushed Red Pepper

Black Pepper

Sea Salt

Cumin

Brown Sugar

Four limes (used in marinating the meat)

White Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Now, you can buy fajita marinade and doctor it up a bit if you like. I usually will make mine in bulk and just store for later use. Mix all ingredients and use to powder your selected meats.

Baugh Ha Salsa:

2 #10 cans tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1\2 cup crushed red pepper

one minced bunch of parsley

one squeezed lemon

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

1\2 red wine vinegar

1\2 cup soy oil

one bunch of cilantro

one large yellow onion

three large cloves of elephant garlic

two cups water

NOTE: This recipe is a slight variation of the famous Border Salsa from the Border Café in Richmond Virginia. Now closed, but once a thriving fan district joint that we all loved. It took me years to get this recipe, and only got it after they closed. The origin of this salsa came from a taco stand in southern California over thirty years ago.

In a food processor whip up the parsley, garlic and cilantro. Pour all tomatoes and sauce into a large mixing bowl, add remaining ingredients. Let chill overnight then let stand to room temperature for serving.

Preparing the beef and chicken.

You will need the fajita seasoning

Three shots of tequila

Three green peppers

Two jalapeno peppers

Large onion

One shot of grand mariner and the two limes

MOST IMPORTANT!!

Cut your meat SMALL!!! This creates more surface area for marinade and also aids in tenderization of the meat. DO NOT HAVE LARGE CHUNKS OF MEAT!! You want to cut it almost as small as if you were doing a stir-fry, which in essence, that is what you are doing.

Place meat in a bowl; add your fajita seasoning as well as chopped jalapenos, the tequila and grand mariner. Then cut and squeeze the juice of four limes into the bowl, stir and refrigerate overnight.

To Cook




Caramelize and char the meat and veggies.
Cast iron is the best way to do this

 

Heat a large well seasoned cast iron skillet until the center turns a little white, then splash with a shot of vegetable oil. Immediately put in you meat and begin to stir-fry. You will want to press the meats down onto the skillet to caramelize then and it will also produce a nice char on the pieces of meat. This is what you want. Once the meat is 3\4 done, add sliced onion and peppers into the mix, stir until veggies and meats get a nice char on them.

You will want to have all your sides done before you start cooking the meats. Here is a tip, you don’t need much, not even cut tomatoes. The salsa takes care of that. The more simple you make this dish, the more elegant and tasty it becomes. The meats have so much flavor, you really don’t need much else.

Be sure towel is very damp, set at 200 degree oven

To serve, use heated corn tortillas, NOT FLOUR!! Heat them in a wetted towel in the oven or microwave.

NOTE: Flour tortillas are fine if they are homemade and very thin. We have always made homemade tortillas and love them. They are worth the extra trouble, but do NOT use store bought tortillas, only corn. HUGE Difference.

Place corn tortillas on a plate, serve meat straight from the sizzling cast iron skillet onto the corn tortilla, top with a little of your favorite cheese, cheddar and Monterey jack is great, top off with some Baugh Ha Salsa.

Now you have got it!! For sides, fresh lettuce, sour cream and fresh sliced avocado is always good. Just be careful not to load up on to much of that stuff. Just the fajita with the cheese and salsa is about the best way to go, you can really taste the great flavors, not covering them up with a lot of other stuff.

Once you get this recipe down, it is very easy to change things up a bit, adding fresh shrimp to the meat mix is a very good thing to do. Bottom line is that this is all really a very easy recipe to do and takes little time to prepare for your guest. I usually will set up all the sides buffet style and serve the fajitas fresh out of the skillet for each guest. You do want that meat to be sizzling hot as it hits the corn tortilla. You don’t want to be serving luke warm fajita meat.

Cheers!

Jim Baugh

JBO TV

Author of “HOOKED”