Monday, November 24, 2014

Broccoli + Cheddar Soup

It was dreadfully cold, rainy, and windy yesterday.  I was also busy as hell.  One of those Sundays where you are trying to snag a workout, go to church, shop/prep for Thanksgiving week, and also get prepared for a trip that I'll be taking to Abu Dhabi in less than 10 days.  More on that later.

Anywho - I decided that I needed a good ole bowl of comforting soup - but I didn't have hours to make gumbo.  Instead, I whipped up this comforting Broccoli + Cheddar Soup in no time flat.  Damn was it ever good - and not that bad for you either.

I threw it up on Instagram (@mattmooremusic - I need to change my account name) and immediately my phone got about a dozen texts asking for the recipe.  Not that many likes on the picture though?  Oh well.  I need to work on my "social media".

No - this recipe will not be in the new book - so I'll oblige and share it with you.  Got 15 - 20 minutes?  Good, you can make this soup.

B+C Soup

1 Tbsp. EVOO
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (optional)
1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill (optional)
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups 2% milk
1 dash hot sauce (optional)
10 oz. frozen cut broccoli
4 cups grated reduced fat cheddar cheese


1.  Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat, add oil.   Next, add onions and carrots and saute until tender - about 5 minutes.

2.  Add garlic, followed by the next four ingredients.  Sprinkle in flour and cook for a minute or so, while stirring, to cook out the flour taste and incorporate with the softened vegetables.

3.  While whisking, stir in the milk and a dash of hot sauce, reduce heat to medium and add broccoli.  Allow the mixture to come to a slow simmer, while stirring, until the broccoli is tender and the mixture has actually reached a simmer (full thickening power from the flour).  Reduce heat to medium low.

4.  Use an immersion blender, or work in batches with a standard blender, and puree mixture until smooth and consistent.  Fold in cheese until melted, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve.

*You can heft up this dish with 2 cups milk and 2 cups heavy cream.  Or you could sub chicken stock for 2 cups of the milk, and finish with 2 cups cream/milk.  Your choice since it all gets blended together.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Bluegrass, a finely tuned scent

Hi guys -

Hey, hey, hey - it's been a while.  I trust all is well.

Truth be told, it's been a crazy year.  I might have been lacking in my posts this year, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working my ass off in the kitchen.  As relayed last fall, I signed on board to write a new book - A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen - Adventures in Cooking, Living, and Eating in the New South.  Well, that venture proved to be a worthy one to say the very least!

After traveling the South for over a year - eating, drinking, and writing, I turned in the manuscript back in the spring.  From there, I took a bit of a break, traveled to France, and developed what you see at the top of the page.  Yes, that's right.  My buddies and I at EastWest Bottlers have finally released the follow up to MOONSHINE, a gentleman's cologne in the form of Bluegrass, a finely tuned scent.  We're incredibly proud of the result (I can't stop wearing the fragrance).  Moreover - the package pays homage to weathered fences and old blue Mason 13 jars. 

If you are looking for a great gift this holiday season - consider picking up a bottle or two.

Ok, back to edits, reviews, and taking a final pass or two on the new book.  Guys, I can't even begin to tell you how well this book is coming together!  So excited to start this next journey.

Stay tuned - lots more ahead down the road and then some.

MM

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Low + Slow - St Louis Cut Smoked Ribs


Not gonna lie - I've been smoking everything lately.

Give me a cool, crisp fall weekend - a cooler full of beer - and pound after pound of delicious pork, and you'll find me in my backyard maintaining my smoker.

Truth be told, I've always been a big fan of the Big Green Egg smoker - but the trouble is that they are so darn expensive.  For young gents just starting out, throwing down $1800 bucks on an "accessory" grill just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Fortunately, I've found your solution - it can be purchased through our friends at Home Depot here.  Yes, that price is right - $329 for the whole kit and kaboodle.  Better yet, you can have it assembled and ready for your first rack of ribs in under an hour.

Why so cheap?  Brand/Name for firsts - this grill is made by Chargriller which doesn't have the notoriety of the BGE.  Second - it's not ceramic.  In fact, it's a porcelain grill, which is a much cheaper insulator.  The positive is that the porcelain is much lighter, and it has less of a tendancy to simply just "crack" - which is an issue with some ceramic grills.  That said - the porcelain does not retain the heat as well as the egg - that's the drawback here.  I'd say that it's about 80% as good . . . but remember, it's 1/5 of the cost.  You might spend a bit more time "maintaining" the smoker - but that's what cold beers are for.

If y'all want more info on this purchase - contact me in the comments - I can spell out all the techniques you'll need to make this a hit at your home.

Meanwhile, let's get back to ribs.  I've been literally smoking ribs every weekend this football season.  St Louis Cut is my preferred style - it's sorta like the T-bone of ribs - it features a lot of the tenderness of a Baby Back cut, with more flavor and meat.

I'm somewhat of a purist when it comes to making ribs . . . a bit of a heavily salted dry rub, and no, absolutely not, any sauce.  Shame on you for wanting to sauce ribs that have been perfectly smoked.

I'm detailing this recipe quite a bit more in my upcoming book - A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen.  But for now, here are the basics.

1 3 - 4 lb rack St. Louis Style Ribs - membrane removed
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. fresh cracked pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1.  Coat entire rib rack in mustard.  Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl until combined.  Rub mixture all over the ribs, especially the meat portions (not the bone) until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated.

2.  Prepare smoker with soaked wood (apple, peach, hickory) for indirect grilling at 225 degrees F.  Smoke ribs for 3 1/2 - 4 hours (meat should retract from rib exterior roughly 1 inch, per the picture above).
3.  Remove ribs, tent with foil for 15 minutes.  Slice and serve.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Cooking with Booze

One of my favorite topics, check out my monthly piece over at The Art of Manliness for the full story.

Other updates?  Yes, I suppose I have been slacking as of late to keep folks updated as to my wherabouts.  Rest assured, I've got plenty of good reason.

I've been writing, traveling, and cooking non-stop over the past 8 months to put together my next book - A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen.

It's early, but I gotta admit I'm super stoked on how everything is coming together.  Recipes are testing out great - photography is to die for - and I've got some interesting folks and stories to share with all of you. 

Of course, the book is not out until May of next year (2015), so now that the majority of my writing is finished - check back in with me here for some more weekly updates on what is going on.

Again, I apologize for the delays - you can only do so much at a time - but I promise it'll all be worth it.

Cheers!

MM - new website - www.MattRMoore.com

Monday, July 14, 2014

Wine + Swine





If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, I’m co-chairing the 6th annual Wine & Swine event this Friday, July 18th from 7:30 to 11:00 at The Bridge Building downtown.  If you’ve never been, it’s a tasting with food, wine, beer and various liquors.  This year, we have 17 food vendors and a great selection of wines and craft beers and spirits.  There’s also a band, a silent auction and a VIP hour before for a small premium.  All the proceeds go to benefit The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and research to support a cure for CF.  You can purchase tickets at the link below.  

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE!

Hope to see you there!

Best,

MM

Friday, May 30, 2014

Giada + Cast Iron?



Ah, so yes, that just happened.  My chef crush Giada just called me out on her blog last week regarding my stories and recipes in the new Lodge Cast Iron book Cast Iron Nation.

Damn, very cool.  Thanks Giada!

Go buy the book, and read her blog!

Sorry to be short, but I'm off to Paris and the South of France - Life is good!

Oh, and don't forget to read this Business Week piece I was in regarding more . . . you guessed it . . . Cast Iron Cooking!

MM


Friday, May 9, 2014

Mother's Day + Southern Living


For those that know me, I'm more of a great bullshitter than anything else.  Sure, I'm known to boast about things from time to time, yet I realize the importance of persistent humility.

But today I want to be honest... shit - I'm totally stoked!

There's been a few times in my life when I've felt like I've been living in Jerry Seinfeld's 'bizzaro world'.  For those poor, poor souls who haven't watched enough Seinfeld to get my reference, shame on you.  For the rest of you (good, fine folks) - you know what I mean.  Amongst the same's and similarities, sometimes something comes along that completely knocks you off your rocker.

In this business - it's happened a few times... publishing a book, appearing on TV, getting mentions and positive reviews from major publications, being named as one of the best cookbooks by The New York Times, flirting with Kathy Lee and Hoda, and finally signing on to write the next book of my life - A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen.  I've been blessed.

Still . . . opening up this month's Southern Living magazine (the gold standard of Southern food, culture, and hospitality) to read a feature by your boy on cooking momma a delectable Mother's Day brunch... that just took the cake.  Damn, that's just really cool.

I want to send out a huge thanks to momma for the inspiration - alongside her lifelong support and teachings in the kitchen.  Also to the SL team of Lindsay Bierman, Hunter Lewis, Whitney Wright, and the test kitchen and photography crew who helped make this a reality.  Let's do some more!  Lastly, a big thanks to my agent Stacey Glick.

So . . . to get the recipes and so much more - go buy a copy of the magazine.  Treat momma to an afternoon experience she'll never forget!

And better yet?  Since we ran out of room for the whole story - read my introduction to the article below.  Hungry?  Go buy the magazine and get cooking y'all!

Matt Moore - Mother’s Day Brunch

I’ll be honest - buying and giving gifts has never been my family’s forte. For years, we gifted one another for the sake of gifting, like money trading hands in a merry-go-round of wants and needs that seemed neither creative nor thoughtful. Sure, there were moments of triumph, like the time Momma and Daddy surprised my sister Ashley and me with the original Nintendo that Christmas morning in ’86. But there were also those gifts that fell a bit, well . . . flat. I can still see the look on Daddy’s face when Momma bought him a hose rack one holiday - ensuring that green snake of plastic could no longer be casually left strewn outside our back door.

Many years later, we decided to do the unthinkable - we stopped making lists and giving each other gifts for the sake of giving. I know what you are probably thinking. What’s wrong with our family, right?

To be fair, we still share our love through gifts. Instead of forced occasions, we’ll pick up items for each other throughout the year, allowing life’s moments or travels to inspire our thoughtfulness and generosity. However, on the whole, we made a conscious decision to spend our time, effort, and money on the best of all gifts - creating special occasions to enjoy and experience our wonderful family being together.

It started when Momma and Daddy generously replaced the gifts under the tree with a family trip. We’d rather put our money into plane tickets than sweaters. We’ve since enjoyed beach vacations from Florida to Mexico, celebrating life and love for one-another through travels, great food, and many late nights fueled with Paloma’s and Coronas.

In our family, spending more time together also means preparing and sharing some fantastic food. Momma has always been our culinary master - teaching us the techniques and recipes passed down from generation to generation. Her meals have served as the culinary backdrop to some of my fondest family memories. But planning, shopping, and preparing a memorable meal is no easy task. So, after all those years and so many meals, I’ve decided that it’s time I step into the kitchen. Sometimes Momma just needs a break.

That’s where you come in to play. This Mother’s Day, I’m outlining the perfect game plan to pull off an experience she’ll never forget. Instead of taking mom out to a crowded restaurant with a hundred other patrons, I’m outlining some of my favorite, fool-proof recipes that are sure to impress - all in the comfort of your own home. Trust me, even if your mom doesn’t spend much time in the kitchen, she’ll still appreciate your earnest efforts behind the stove. A home cooked meal is one of life’s simplest, yet memorable pleasures.


So, surprise Momma with a brief departure from her everyday routine by demonstrating your love through thoughtful action and a great meal. Think of it this way: Mom has spent her entire life providing for you. Today, she deserves to be pampered. I can think of no better way to pamper her than by providing her with the permission to sit back, relax, and spend some time savoring her greatest creation - you.

Cheers!

MM

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Lodge Cast Iron Nation

So excited to announce the release of Lodge Cast Iron's new book - Cast Iron Nation!  Buy it here!

For those who regularly read my blog or use my recipes, you'll know that I'm a HUGE fan of cast-iron cooking and Lodge products.  Over the years, Mark Kelley and the rest of the team have been awesome supporting all my efforts.  In fact, they were kind enough to have me featured in the book - check out my story "Seasoned with Love" along with my recipe for pan-seared scallops!

Better yet?  This book was published by Oxmoor House - the same talented team that's working on putting together my new book, A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen.

So do yourself a favor and go get a copy of this book right now! 

Best,

Matt

Monday, January 27, 2014

Relish

Admittedly, my blogging has been less than regular as of late.  That's not to say I haven't been busting my ass!  I'm 3/4 done with the recipes for the new book (they are ah-maz-ing), and I've also been working on some cool features for other magazines, including the upcoming feature for RELISH (another one to follow in the spring), and my first piece for Southern Living Magazine.

RELISH is an outstanding magazine edited by my friend Jill Melton here in Nashville, TN.  Most likely, you already receive RELISH without even knowing it!  It can be found as an insert into your Sunday paper, so be sure to check it out!