Grilled Salad

We finally broke down and got it, yesterday Kris picked up the new desktop (we still think the laptop may be recoverable). The desktop however was never that great to begin with. I replaced the graphics card three times in the 5 years that we had it, plus it was doing all kinds of crazy stuff... every few mornings I woke up to find a blue screen taunting me and if you bumped the tower the entire thing would shut down and take about 25 minutes to boot up again.


Wow computers have changed in the last few years, I had to look up what a terabyte was, plus this thing has a wide screen and speakers that are a little bigger than a couple of dry erase markers but sound great! and the color is as good as our TV. So I am spending some time learning the ins and outs of this fancy pants new technology. So my plan over the next couple of days is to visit all of my blogger friends, and get a post in. I feel like I have been out for so long and I have found that work computers don't always play well with blog websites, I swear if I see that flippity flappin Barracuda logo again I am going to scream.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I was on my typical summer grilling bender, grilled meat, grilled sweet potatoes then grilled dessert. I made a joke about having grilled everything except salad... well this is it:

Grilled autumn salad (serves 2)
2 Romaine Hearts cut in half
1 Small head of radicchio quartered
1 Fennel bulb halved
2 Apples cored and diced*
Sprinkle of shredded Cheddar

1 Cup Croutons

Apple Cider dressing

For the croutons
Dice up some French bread (I keep a bag in the freezer but if you are just making this dice up a cup of it)
1 TBLS butter
1 clove of garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle of Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, add garlic and cook until translucent. Put in the cubed bread and toss until coated. Add salt and pepper and continue to cook stirring occasionally until crispy (took me about 15 minutes)** While they are still hot add the Parmesan cheese and toss again

For the dressing
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Apple Cider*
1 TBLS Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic minced
1 TBLS fresh fennel frond cut up

Put into a cup and hit with your handy emersion blender, set aside. This can be made a day ahead if you like.

Now here is how it all goes together light your grill and put the halved fennel bulb on, after that has been going for about 10 minutes add the radicchio then the Romaine hearts grill until everything is a little charred around the edges.

To serve:
Place the Romaine heart halves on your plate the top with sliced radicchio and the sliced fennel. Add the diced apples, fresh hot croutons then the cider dressing and cheese. I used cheddar because that is what i had in the kitchen but I think feta or goat cheese might have worked better.

*I used Honeycrisp apples and cider (next entry will explain why) but any crisp sweet apple will work
** You could make the croutons ahead but let’s face it warm croutons are sexy and you know it!

Grilled Peaches and Cream

OK I think that I've done it, maybe the cooking on the grill thing has gone too far... well maybe not... is that even possible?  In my last post I mentioned that I have grilled about every sort of protein and almost every vegetable out there, this week I have been working on dessert.  I have done it a couple of ways but I think this was the best!

Grilled Peaches and Southern Biscuits... without turning the oven on at all!  It was easy enough to start with:

The peaches
2 whole peaches pitted and cut into 8 pieces
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix ingredients together and set aside to soak. 

While they are soaking make your biscuits:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powser
1 tsp salt
1 TBS brown sugar
1/2 stick COLD butter cut up
1/4 cup 
Mix first four ingredients together then add butter and milk.  Quickly mix together kneed briefly being careful not to over mix, then roll out to about 3/4 of an inch and using a biscuit cutter cut into circles.  Roll and repeat I got 6 biscuits in total.   Place on a small oiled baking sheet and... yes my friends set on a cool area of your grill and cover.

Once the biscuits are going put your peach wedges on a hot area of the grill and cook until they are nicely caramelized.  Take the peaches off and set, back in the marinade you will be using that liquid.  The biscuits took about 20 minutes in all, while I was cooking the rest of my meal, when they were done they had risen quite well.  Cut them in half and stuff serve with whipped cream (heavy cream, honey and vanilla) and your peaches then add just a touch or the marinade.  What you end up with is a light biscuit with a cloud of whipped cream and the sweet, tangy slightly smokey fruit with caramelized sugar and vinegar clinging to it.

Now I have grilled just about everything this summer except for salad (working on that though) and soup... which is just weird. 

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

If you are a regular reader you probably realize that I like to cook out on my grill in the summer... well even in the winter sometimes I will brave an ice storm in order too grill out a tenderloin.  Anyway I grill out about 4-5 nights a week I grill out every sort of protein and most vegetables have found their way to my grill this summer, my problem has been the starches.  I make a mean cheesy potato (they really rock so I haven't tried too hard to replace them) but I have always felt like a "one trick pony" with the potatoes.  This past couple of weeks I have been trying some starches on the grill.  This way I can walk onto the deck, beer in hand, and get everything done in one place.  This is one of my more successful new additions.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes
3 Sweet potatoes
juice from 4 limes
grated zest from one of the limes
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

Place the potatoes, peel on, in cool salted water and bring to a boil let them boil until almost tender, about 25 minutes.  They should still be a little firm in the middle when poked with a fork.  Pour out the water and cool with cold water until you are able to handle them,  I put mine under cold running water for a few minutes.  These can be stored in the refrigerator for several hours until you are ready.
For the Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette mix the rest of the ingredients together with a whip and set aside.  This can be made a day ahead if you like.

When the time comes peel the sweet potatoes then cut into quarters lengthwise.  Put them on a HOT grill (you want the grill marks) for 3-4 minutes on a side.  Take them off and set aside, when it is time to serve drizzle the Cilantro Vinaigrette on them.  You can serve them hot, right off the grill but I like mine about room temp (or outside cookout temp).  These guys are sweet and tangy with a little of that caramelized sweetness it turns out to be a great picnic side dish.

The leftovers worked well for dinner a couple of nights later here they are diced and sauteed with some chicken, crumbled goat cheese and just a touch of brown sugar.  This one almost qualified as foodie crack!

Grilled Slider Trio

We had our friends Rochelle and Dan over for dinner last night, just for a pleasant evening of hanging out with our friends.  Kris asked me to hold back with the menu, it seems that some people think that sometimes I go overboard with the dinner plans, I push everybody out of the way, spend way to much money on dinner then don't let any one else help.  Kris suggested something simple, hamburgers and hotdogs, perfect but then I think that maybe I can do a step better...

I called Kris about halfway through the day, "How about a grilled slider trio, with caramelized sweet potatoes?"  I mean every body loves a Tuna Bahn Mi right?
She paused for a moment, I am pretty sure thinking, why can't you keep it simple just once, but said, "Ok... just make sure that you have enough hamburgers for everybody and pick up some hotdogs."

Ok there is a lot of stuff to this meal so lets get going:


Tuna Bahn Mi with Carrot Daikon Slaw

The slaw
1 cup Champagne Vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup shredded daikon
1 TBS chopped cilantro leaves
1 TBS chopped mint leaves
light sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Heat vinegar and sugar until they almost boil then remove from heat and let cool for 10 or 15 minutes.  While that is cooling put the rest of the ingredients into a storage container and pour vinegar sugar mixture on top, seal the container give it a good shake and store in the refrigerator.  This can be made the day ahead.

The Tuna (about 5 burgers)
2 tuna steaks (about 4 ounces each)
2 green onions chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1 TBS bread crumbs
1 egg white
juice from one lime

Dice tuna steaks then coarsely chop in a food processor mix with the rest of the ingredients then form into about 2 oz patties (a little over 2 inches in diameter) put them on a plastic wrap on a plate then cover.  Refrigerate until you are ready to go, about 15 minutes before you grill them put then in the freezer so they hold up well.  Grill for a couple of minutes on each side, try to get these off medium so there is a little pink in the middle.

To assemble take your slider bun add a schmere of siracha mayo then your tuna patty and top with s TBS of the daikon slaw.

Chicken Parmesan Burger (made 8 sandwiches)
3/4 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 TBS olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together then form into about 2 oz patties (about 2 inch circles) place on plastic wrap on a plate then cover and refrigerate until you are ready to start cooking then pop into the freezer for about 15 minutes before you grill.  Grill for 3-4 minutes on each side

Other ingredients
3/4 cup marinara sauce (I used a sauce from a jar)
Mozzarella cheese
5-6 fresh basil cut into a chiffonade
french bread sliced then grilled with a little olive oil

To assemble, take one slice of french bread top with marinara, then a chicken patty,  top with a little more marinara sauce, fresh basil, mozzarella cheese then the other slice of bread.


The Hamburgers (made 10)
1 pound of hamburger
2 TBS breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
salt and pepper

Like above mix ingredients together then form into about 2 oz patties and refrigerate until you are ready to go then freeze for about 15 minutes before you grill.  Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Assemble like you would your favorite burger mine was with lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup and mustard.  I put the pickle on a stick through mine for the picture... isn't it cute?

A couple of things to note all of these had bread crumbs in them, I find a little bit of bread crumbs will help hold moisture and flavors in.  I don't always do that but with these guys being so small I wanted to make sure they were juicy when it was time to serve.  I also popped them all in the freezer for a for a few minutes again that was because they were so thin I wanted to make sure they held together through the rigors of my grilling.

Over all the meal was a success!  The surprise to me was the Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches both Kris and I did a double take when we tried the little sandwich the first time, I expected them to be good but these were great!  The Tuna was a great mix of flavors and textures too!  the flavor of the slaw just keeps going.

Yogurt Marinated Lamb Loin

I feel like we can start our summer now, I am home and we have started our normal way of things, weeknights with my family, weekends with some time in the pool and just living our lives.  When we had our parents here for Miss Lu's recital every meal was done on the grill.  They asked how often we use our grill Kris and I looked at each other and she said, "Five nights out of seven," I thought about it and she is right.  Sometimes it is simple like hot dogs, sometimes something a little odd like pizza or sometimes something more involved, like my last post but almost every night this time of year I throw something on the grill.

A few days ago I did a little bit of everything... for Kris a Tenderloin for the Kiddos Hot Dogs for me Lamb Loin Chops, there were also potatoes and vegetables to choose from.  The Lamb gets to star in this post, well sort of...

First I have to admit, even though I made this I have NO IDEA what all the spices are in this marinade.  I mentioned how often we grilled out so that I could blame my utter lack of memory on that instead of age... I recently had one of those birthdays that I don't want to talk about. So lets stick with the "I grill out all the time and this one is a blur" theory or I am even willing to go with the "Bryan drank too much that night" idea, lets just stay away from the whole "age thing"  OK?  So lets move on.  I mixed the spices below (I dug through the spice cupboard and pulled almost everything out trying to figure out what the heck it was I put in this).

I mixed these spices, as well as I can figure, plus at least one mystery spice with four ounces on Greek yogurt and a splash of lemon juice.
Tumeric
Crushed Red Pepper
Minced Fresh Garlic
Cumin
Oregano
Ground Thyme
I am still not sure what that stuff on the lower right is.
I also added a generous amount of fresh chopped mint (not pictured)

I coated a couple of loin chops with the yogurt spice mixture and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours.  When it was time to cook I tossed them on the grill, about 4 minutes on each side, until they were done.

Because this was one of those eclectic meals; Lamb chops, Tenderloin, Hot dogs, Polenta, Corn, Potatoes and Asparagus we took our time that night having a long family dinner and most of us tried some new things.  The prize for that goes to Mr. Man who took a bite of his grilled corn and said, I want some Peanut butter on this.

Beer Marinated Flank Steak

Miss Lu's recital was this weekend so my mom and my in-laws were coming to town to see my youngest starlet dance in her Saturday afternoon show.  Typically when Kris' parents come to see us they arrive the night before they have to get here, call us, and say that they just had dinner at IHop and will see us in the morning.  We were kind of expecting that when I was making out my shopping list.

While I was at the store shopping for the weekend Kris called me... now, I know this is strange but this is the kind of call that I enjoy.  "My parents are almost here and they haven't eaten."  The reason that I enjoy that call is I get to run loose in the store like I am on The Next Food Network Star  picking ingredients trying to figure out an extra meal or two and how to prepare it in a time frame that I didn't expect.

Ok it may be little juvenile but admit it... you have done it too.  Opened the pantry and picked your ingredients to make dinner a fun challenge... The meal for after the show was Flank Steak with Potatoes and Asparagus and it ROCKED!  It may seem like a few steps but it was really easy and worked well for a busy day.

Flank Steak
1 flank steak (about a pound and a half)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
Coarse kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 or 6 green onions sliced thin
1 12-ounce bottle of beer
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

Take flank steak and score in a criss cross pattern about 1/8 of an inch deep.  Put it in a non reactive dish and rub with the oregano, cumin, salt and olive oil.  Then add the rest of the ingredients and refrigerate for several hours or over night (soaked for about 6 hours).

While this is marinading make the dipping sauce and guacamole...

The Sauce

1 jalapeno pepper chopped
3 green onion chopped
1/3 cup chopped Vidalia onion (about half of one)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 2 limes
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Put the first 4 ingredients into a chopper and grind into a paste (it took a couple of minutes in mine) you want it to be well mixed but still have texture.  Then add the lime juice, salt and pepper and mix quickly and set aside.  Let it sit for at least a couple of hours so the flavors bloom.

Guacamole

1 avocado peeled and pitted
3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
3 TBS chopped Vidalia onion (that is the other half of the one I used in the sauce above)
Juice from 1 lime
Coarse kosher salt (to taste)

Slice the avocado and mash it up with a fork then add the cilantro and Vidalia onion mix well then add the lime juice and salt.  Mix well and set refrigerate until dinner.

When it is time to go put the Flank Steak on a hot grill and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side for medium rare.  Remove from the heat and let stand covered while you set everything else up.  I Served with roasted potatoes (recipe coming up, they were really good) and grilled asparagus).  Once everything was ready I sliced the flank steak across the grain about a quarter of an inch thick and served.  Add a little of the sauce then a touch of guacamole and serve.  The Sauce was great, fresh and bright with just a little bit of a spicy zing to it.  Next time I may add a little more Jalapino, the guacamole did quite a bit to take off the spicy edge.

Grilled Clams

OK this one will be my last post complaining about Subway School... really I am not crying about school, just my trek to get here to Milford CT.  Kris and I spent most of Sunday morning puttering around the house and waiting for me to go.  At about 1:00pm Kris took me to O'Hare Airport for my 3:30 flight, being the good little Dobee that I am I wanted to get there the suggested 2 hours prior to take off .  As I was patiently waiting for my plane to depart I heard the announcement..."Our plane is still in the hangar undergoing routine maintenance, our departure will be delayed for at least an hour."

The trek to O'Hare's Terminal 1

My connecting flight was scheduled to depart about 40 minutes after this one landed so an hour delay didn't bode well.  So I did what any self respecting business traveler would do, I went to the airport bar and got myself a $9.00 bottle of beer. 

Note to airport bar... $9.00 for a Corona!?! seriously?

When my plane took to the air the Pilot announced that she would be doing her best to make up some time.  About an hour into the flight I mentioned to one of the flight attendants that I had a VERY short window between landing and the connecting flight.  The pilot announced over the intercom that "some passengers have a very short window for connecting flights, please allow them get to the front of the plane when we land so they have a chance to make those flights."  Really I started to feel all warm and fuzzy in the inside.  When the plane landed I managed to be one of the first 4 or 5 passengers off the plane (granted I had to literally step on the feet of a few first class passengers but we all know that those smug jerks deserve it) but I did get going in good time.  When I got off the plane in Philadelphia PA I learned that I had exactly 7 minutes to run to the gate farthest from the one that I landed in.  Now I am kind of what you would expect of a middle aged chef, not slender or sporty by any means.  The run was... well exhausting and I found out I had to leave and re enter secure airport space so I had to remove my shoes, belt and take everything (my laptop) out of my carry-on in order to go through the fancy-pants scanner that sees through clothes.

Note to Philly airport TSA... Ha! you got what you deserved, you had to see me naked!

Anyway after my run I got to the gate exactly on time for departure only to find out that my connecting flight left 6 minutes EARLY!

Note to any airline WTF?!?

There wasn't anyone working at my gate at all and about 5 other passengers were standing there saying...  well you can guess what we were saying.  I went to another gate to see if I could get later flight, I did, the other four were on stand-by.  The only problem this one was scheduled to land 3 minutes before the Budget rent-a-car closed. Sooo, I spent the next 40 (yes 40 minutes) on the phone with the car rental agency begging them to stay open for a few extra minutes to get me a car.

Note to Budget rent-a-car YOU ROCK!

I got a new Chevy Impala for the next couple of weeks!  I drove the 20 miles to my hotel, if you have been following I mentioned that I brow beat my boss into paying for the hotel with an "in room kitchenette" I get to my hotel suite and find that it has a dorm style refrigerator and the tiniest microwave I have ever seen.

Note to Marriott, we need to discuss what a "kitchenette" is, the fricken Motel 6 has those amenities.

I have been enthusiastically participating in my Subway classes and in store training, it is more interesting than I expected but I do miss my beautiful wife and kids.  I have some plans for the weekend too, visiting a restaurant featured on Diners Drive ins and Dives is among those plans.  I will post about that soon.

Before left Chicago I made this East Coast inspired recipe...

Grilled Clams
Start by softening a stick of butter (I put mine on the counter then went out to get some clams you will want 6-8 per guest).  When it is soft take about 2 TBS of butter and mix 1 tsp or maybe a little more of horseradish and a splash ot Tabasco.  Mix that up and set aside.

The bread is ciabatta slice that up and put a little butter on each slice and set aside.

To clean the clams (I used Little Necks) soak them in cool water for a few minutes and wash the shells off, I use a little scrub brush, if there are any icky parts pull them off now.  All of the little guys should be closed tight, if any are open give them a tap on top if they don't close they are probably dead throw them out.

Light the grill, and put the clams directly on the grate, follow that step with your bread, butter side down.  Close the grill and let them go until they are done.  Mine took about 7 minutes, when they open up they are done.

Note, sometimes a couple of clams will take a little longer to open up that doesn't mean they are bad, they might just be fighting the good fight so to speak, give them a couple more minutes.  If they don't open after that discard them.

To serve it up place 6-8 clams in each dish along with a dollup of horseradish butter, some toast and maybe a little more horseradish.  Really the dish couldn't be easier and it tastes really great!  Spread a little horseradish butter on your bread and a fresh hot clam.  It is a perfect light start to a cook out.

Sesame Salmon with Creamy Grits

OK I will quit crying about Subway University... on the good side I have a new toy.  I have been watching the ads and waiting for one that I want to go on sale.  The grill that I have had for the last couple of years was a good one and it served me well, but I had to face that it was dying.  The last time I cooked chicken breast it took about 45 minutes and I pounded it flat before I started.  One of the features I NEEDED on my new grill was a burner off to the side.  Why?  Well no one in my house can stand the smell of cooking fish so I have always tried to do the polite thing and cook it outside but sometimes I want salmon or tuna cooked in a pan instead of on the grill.  This was the maiden voyage for that for me I made pan seared Sesame Salmon and Creamy Grits... for Kris and the kiddos Lemon Herb Chicken with Cheesy Potatoes...

Ahh the flame-ups,  I have missed you

Start by marinating the salmon, I used:
2 TBS sesame Oil
1 Clove of minced garlic
The Juice from one lemon
Salt and Pepper

I left that on the counter for about half an hour then made the Grits:
1 Cup of boiling water
4 TBS Grits
1/3 Cup half & half
butter

Add the grits to the boiling water then stir until it starts to thicken (I use quick grits so it is about 5 minutes) then add the half & half, stir a little, cover and set aside.

I started the next step by toasting the sesame seeds, that really brings out the flavors so well, so put them in a dry skillet and toast over high heat until they start to brown.  Next roll the salmon in your toasted seeds and set it skin side up in a hot skillet.  I like mine about medium so after about 4 minutes turn and cook on the other side for about the same amount of time.  When it is all cooked plate it up and garnish with a few toasted seeds.  I enjoy the sesame, garlic flavor that this has, they work so well with the salmon, as for everyone else the chicken was fine.

Note, I actually started this post a few days ago before the whirlwind that preceded heading off to CT.  Since then I have changed my mind.... I will continue to cry about Subway school...

Pork and Shrimp Burgers

Things have been a little slow around here for a few weeks, I have just been a little off my game lately.  It happens to us in the winter sometimes, Kris and I have a tenancy to go "underground" and hibernate just a bit, we don't see much of our friends, mostly we go to work then have dinner and go to bed.   We all have the worst case of that late February cabin fever.  You know how it goes you get the 2 or 3 nice days in a row, you pull out the windbreaker and start to feel like it is spring then get up for work one morning and end up spending 40 minutes scraping a half inch of ice off of the car windows.  I know it is going to happen, something like that has every year since... well... birth but it always is a kick in the b well it just isn't fun. Let me try to say it right.  On a normal day when I see just about any food related occurrence in my life (and I have a lot of them) I start to think of how I can describe them here, some make the cut most don't.  The past month or so I haven't, I have just been off...

That being said I think I have pulled my self out of my self inflicted funk, the recipes and a bunch of pictures are already.  Every time I look at food my mind starts to think of how I can fit it in here, there so it is just a matter of my fingers keeping up with the rest of me.  This recipe is a mixture of something that I thought sounded good on a show I saw on Food Network and a recipe that I had.  When I tasted this it ROCKED!  Really a great Spring/Summer dish, bright, vibrant and spicy without a hint of anything heavy too it.  I love a food pickled slaw with a dish to add that bright POP to a meal this one ended up being a great mixture when it was all put together...

The Slaw
1 cup Rice wine Vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup shredded Diakon
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1 TBS chopped Cilantro
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Heat the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves.  While that is going put the rest of your ingredients into a bowl, add the vinegar sugar mix and stir together until coated.  Put into the refrigerator until cold.  Quick warning... as a condiment this is really good, spicy and bright, it worked great on these sandwiches but the pepper flakes do make it HOT when I tasted this out of the bowl I thought I had gone too far,  if you are unsure cut back some.

The burger patties
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
1 small onion chopped
1 egg
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs

I will be honest I may have used a little less than the 1/2 pound shrimp because I was getting sick of deveining them (note to self buy them deveined already, doing it yourself is a pain in the butt).  Put your raw trimmed shrimp into a food processor until they are well chopped but not too much, when you cook them you want some larger bits for texture.  Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix together, then form patties (I made three but I wanted them a little large because well I was hungry and the kiddos weren't going near this one).  Place the patties on parchment paper and refrigerate for about half an hour until firm.

When it is time to cook put the patties on the grill and cook for maybe 5-6 minutes on each side until done.  I buttered a couple of buns and toasted those on the grill too.  To assemble put a little Sriracha mayo on the bottom but then the burger patty then the slaw.  Serve with a little Sriracha mayo on the side.

Baby Artichokes

Just look at them... aren't they the cutest?  Who could resist these little guys?  Baby artichokes!  I have never used them in anything before.  I mean seriously who was the first person to look at an artichoke and think, "say, I'll bet if I peeled about four layers of leaves off of those, then cut them in half, pulled the chokey thing out of the middle and steamed them for 20 minutes they might taste good coated in a Caper Sauce."  That being said I do like artichokes with a nice tart sauce but the process is extreme for a side dish.  Take it for what it is, my Salmon was much simpler... Step 1 remove from refrigerator. Step 2 put on grill... so I had some balance.

The Artichokes were a few steps to get done working with 1 artichoke at a time, pull back outer leaves until they come off close to base discard do this with about 3-4 layers of leaves until exposed leaves are pale green at top and pale yellow at bottom. Cut about a half an inch off the top and trim the bottom into a bit of a cone shape, then halve artichoke lengthwise. Remove fuzzy center and any pointed inner leaves. Put in a bowl of lemon water to keep it from browning.

Once they are all trimmed boil in water with salt and lemon juice for about 20 minutes when fork tender remove with a slotted spoon and soak in ice water until ready to grill.  This can be made a day ahead if you like.

The Sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp of anchovy paste (or about 4 anchovy chopped up)
2 1/2 tablespoons drained capers, rinsed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Warm sauce in a small pan then set aside until ready to serve.

Cook Artichoke halves on a grill, mine was the cast iron stove top kind, winter came pretty fast and I am not ready to use the gas grill yet.  I did them for about 4-5 minutes on a side while I grilled the salmon.   When it was all done I poured the sauce on the Salmon and Artichokes.

Salmon in Cedar Paper

Because I am a fan of Food Network I feel kind of strange saying this, it is almost sacrilege.  I know that they turn out some really cool menus and for an hour it is amazing but as I was thinking tonight while I made dinner... Iron Chef... well pansies!  A Japanese guy shows them a table full of food yells something in French then gives them an hour to make dinner for four (with two assistants and access to pantry so opulent that King Henry the VIII  would blush).  Do you know what would make it challenging?  If they had their kids running around kitchen stadium or even better mine.


Here is how dinner went at my house the other day... I picked up the kids from daycare at 5:35 or so and took them home and went through the "just got home" ritual that involves two TVs in two rooms with light snacks and drinks (water for Miss Lu and lemonade for Mr. Man, you can guess mine).  A few minutes later I started to make dinner.  It went like this:


I had picked up some Cedar Paper to wrap salmon and cook on the grill,  I put the cedar paper in a pan of water to soak and then pulled some salmon out of the refrigerator...


Mr Man:  "Me hungry, me want a snack"
Bryan:  "I am making dinner kiddo, do you want to wait"
Mr. Man: "Mommy, Daddy says I can't have a snack!"
Bryan: "You can have a snack, I was just asking"
Mr. Man "Me want peanut butter pretzels"


Peanut butter pretzels are his "crack snack" simply a small dish of peanut butter and a small dish of mini pretzels.  He indulges in this particular culinary invention of Miss Lu's at least once a day.


Bryan: "OK do you want anything else?"
Mr. Man: "Batman with Batgirl in it!" 


Mr. Man has a thing for Batgirl, (this is the Batman, from the mid 60s) so I set up the DVR, then put salmon on the paper, cut a lime and a couple of green onions and...


Mr. Man "Me want juice! cold, in a cup with ice!"
Bryan: "Got it! anybody else want anything?"


Absolute silence...  I go back to the kitchen and get the man some juice in a cup with ice, set the lime, onion and rosemary on my salmon and go back hand Mr. Man his cup.


Miss Lu:  "How come he gets a snack and I don't?"
Bryan:  "I looked right at you and asked; the pillow you are laying on gave me more of a response than you did."
Miss Lu: "Mom, Daddy says I can't have a snack!"
Bryan: "I didn't say that I just mentioned that I asked... what do you want?"
Miss Lu: "I don't know, what do we have?
Bryan: "The same things that we always have I'll get the basket"


I get the basket with about 25 assorted snacky things in it from Nabisco Brownie Bites, or Cheese Crackers to Gummy Bears.  Miss Lu picks a chips Ahoy 100 Calorie pack then I go back to the kitchen, I salt and pepper the fish and add a splash of white wine...


Miss Lu: (entering the kitchen) "Now I am thirsty! water... duh!"  you always hope that the teenage attitude will wait until they are, well in their teens... so far no.


So my hope is to see the kids (hopefully mine) running around kitchen stadium soon just to keep them on their toes.  "Morimoto, me want peanut butter pretzels! and watch cars on the computer!"  "Mario, I want a snack, I'm not sure... what do you have?"  "Bobby, Me want to watch Batman with Batgirl in it, and some juice."

So this entire dish including soaking and cooking takes about 20 - 25 minutes took me closer to an hour an 15.


Take the Cedar paper and soak for about 10 minutes.
Add your ingredients to the top I used for each:
1 4-5 oz salmon fillet
2 slices of lime
2 green onions
a stem of rosemary
a splash of white wine
salt and pepper

Tie it up like a present and put it on the grill for about 3 minutes on each side to cook. Couldn't be simpler and couldn't taste better!  Great citrus flavor and the smokey finish was great.

my garden

I had a different picture in my head when I planted my garden.  I imagined me stepping out of the kitchen door and snipping a little bit of fresh oregano off a branch and putting that into a sauce made with my tomatoes grown in an upside down planter.  "Oh yes," I would say to my guests, "I made everything from the freshest vegetables and herbs grown just outside in my garden.  There is just nothing better than peppers plucked fresh from the vine, is there?"

Do peppers grow on a vine?  How would I know, the graceful, sophisticated herb and small vegetable garden that I pictured turned out to be a three foot wide gash of dirt along the back of my house that the dog enjoys laying in.  There are two sad looking jalapeno pepper plants that have so far produced one pepper, a stem of oregano that could easily be mistaken for a frill pick and an undetermined chili pepper plant that keeps falling flat into my grass where I am sure it will be run over with the mower any day now.  What isn't plain black dirt is mostly over run by some series of strangling vines or my incredible, indestructible ever expanding mint.  Oh yes! I was sure I could contain mint... "no problem"  I told my friends "I planted them in buried five gallon buckets, they will add a nice touch to the edge of my herb garden"   these things are worse than dandelions on crack!  I just cut out a bushel of it two days ago an it is back with a vengeance! I think it is going to climb into the bedroom and murder me while I sleep.

The one thing that did take root well and seems to be thriving in all of this chaos is my Rainbow Chard.  I have no clue how or why but the beautiful, colorful stems shine through everything in my (I guess for lack of a better word) garden.  They stand proud against the back wall of my house the only things that even slightly resemble... well... anything.  I cut some a a couple of days ago, it looks like I have enough of this lovely green  to make maybe two portions. 

The first I served with brined pork chops and a balsamic glaze.  When I was a kid my dad always put vinegar on spinach or whatever green we were eating and that has carried over for me.  The tart flavor adds just a bit of comfort for me.

The pork chops:

4 Cups water

1/4 Cup Kosher salt

1/4 Cup brown sugar

2 green onions chopped

1 clove garlic minced

1 TBS parsley minced

Mix the ingredients together in a saucepan and simmer until salt and sugar dissolve then cool.  Once cool add the pork chops and let them sit refrigerated for at least 6 hours or overnight.  Some chemical stuff takes place during the brining process that makes the meat more moist when cooked.  I have read it and it makes no sense whatsoever to me but it works.  When it is time to cook, take it out of the brine and grill for about 3-4 minutes on each side, I like mine about medium.

The balsamic glaze:

3/4 Cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary minced

1 TBS brown sugar

Simmer until reduced by half when reduced pour though a strainer and hold hot

The rainbow chard:

1 TBS butter

about 8 leaves of chard

1/2 small onion diced

1 clove garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

Wash chard then cut the stems out, chop the stems and put in the pan with the butter, garlic and onion and cook until softened.  While that is cooking roll all of the chard up like a cigar and cut into one inch strips add those to the pan and saute until done (maybe another 7-8 minutes).  

I served with mashed potatoes so the plate was potatoes next to the chard with the pork chop on top, sprinkle it all with the balsamic glaze.  This is another time that I am going to say that my picture doesn't do this meal justice.  Really it was wonderful all the flavors and textures played well together.  The tart syrupy vinegar was ever present and the chard did taste a wonderful as it looked.

Smoky Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Ok, I know I have done the pork tenderloin to death lately but this is one of the best that I have come across in a long time and I think I owe it to all you before grilling season is over (or before it starts for my friends in the Southern hemisphere).

First you need a quick update from a past post; my cookbook dealer still stops by every week or so, he is keeping me supplied with books, (my latest are an old copy of Chinese Cooking Made Easy and Classic Soups and Stews) plus he has branched out a little bit, not only do I get a couple of books each visit, he is supplying me with periodicals as well. I suspect that he may be using them as gateway literature for people that aren't already hooked (you know the kid on a playground complaining that his mom made his sandwich with Cheddar instead of the Cave Aged Gruyere that he asked for).

Anyway on top of a few books each week I often pick up a grocery bag of Bon Appétit, Saveur or Food and Wine. Some are current some a few years old, which is fine; I mean if I haven't read one it is new to me. Like anyone who is hooked I find myself hiding them from my loved ones, not because there is anything wrong with an occasional culinary magazine but because our house has a bit of a clutter issue, mostly because I live in it and hundreds of magazines don’t help. So when I have a few minutes at home alone I will sneak in a bag of Gourmet magazines and hide them in the back of the closet or under the bed until I can get to them.

A couple of weeks ago I pulled out a 1997 issue of Bon Appétit (Summer Grilling Issue) and found a recipe for Rosemary Orange Chicken which, because of the food I had in the fridge, I changed from chicken to the delicious, if not a bit overused, Pork Tenderloin. So here it is Smoked Orange Rosemary Pork Tenderloin, a very loose interpretation from the above mentioned magazine.

Ingredients

6 oz frozen concentrated Orange Juice (1/2 a can)

1/4 cup white wine

1 TBS stone ground mustard

1 TBS chopped rosemary

2 tsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic minced

A dash of hot sauce if you like


1 Pork Tenderloin, trimmed
Big handful of wood chips soaked in water (I used cherry)


Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a food processor or blender then set glaze aside.


Once your grill is hot put your wood chips in a smoker box or a foil packet with top torn open, let it go for 5 minutes or so to start smoking. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on your pork then put on the grill near the smoke but in a coolish spot, I like the smoky flavor but do not like over cooked pork. Cover and let cook for 2-3 minutes then turn and brush with glaze, cover and repeat until it is cooked the way you like, mine was about medium so it cooked for about 15 minutes in total. When you take it off brush just a bit more glaze on it and let rest covered with a foil tent. The sweet, salty and smoky flavors work so well together and each of them is subtle enough that you can still taste the light pork. I served with arugula... well because it has that beautiful gentle peppery flavor that I just love...  Yeah that’s it.

Grilled Asian Hot Wings

It has been hot here in the Chicagoland area, really all week I haven't wanted to cook anything inside.  Grilling out has been the only option for hot food lately.  As a food blogger I find myself afraid of getting into a rut, "I can't do pork Tenderloin again I just did that in June!"  It happens often, like someone is out there with a list of my recipes to ready call me on any repeats.  I just found myself saying almost that the other day... I have done chicken wings before (I am sure you will see it on my Link Within widget) and wasn't sure if I should do this again.  In the end I decided to run with it if I never repeat meats I will by talking about how to cook platypus or Kimodo dragon inside of a few short weeks so grilled chicken wings a year ago shouldn't be too bad right?!?

I enjoy the flavor/texture of chicken wings cooked on the grill so much more than their baked or fried counterparts.  I wanted a little bit of a different sauce on these guys this time so started poking around the cupboard to see what I had.  My cupboards can be a little bit of an adventure sometimes, lots of little bottles and jars all of them seem to be singing "pick me, pick me"  this one ended up being pretty simple the sauce was:

1/2 cup Sriracha maybe little more I didn't measure

2-3 TBS Honey

1 TBS Soy Sauce

1 TBS Sesame Oil

1 Clove of Garlic minced

Just a little splash of rice wine vinegar

I put a little Olive Oil on 12 chicken wings (I am only cooking for me in this case) then put them cooler spot on the grill after about 5-7 minutes I turned them to cook on the other side for about the same amount of time, then put them all in my pan of hot sauce and back on the grill.  Every few minutes I pulled them off the grill and into the sauce until the sauce was mostly expended.  Whenever I make a spicy sauce like this I add a little sugar or honey so as it cooks you get the yummy, thick caramelized goodness in each bite.  I leave the pan on the grill as the wings cook then the sauce cooks down and thickens nicely the last little bit can be brushed on.  These are served with Bleu Cheese Dressing and Celery, I am thinking I could have been a little more creative with my accompaniments but just didn't have it in me that day... any ideas?

Mahi-mahi with Avocado Melon Relish

Between parades, fire works and recovery from the now famed surgery I had a chance to cook out for the holiday.  The menu for me was Jerk Seasoned Mahi-mahi with an Avocado Melon Relish cooked on the grill of course (Kris chose beef tenderloin with a light spice rub).  I didn't have any Jerk seasoning so I made some, I had all the ingredients in the cupboard, and found this on Epicurious.com I think:

2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Mix it all together, liberally coat mahi-mahi fillets and set aside for about half an hour at room temperature to temper.  While that is resting put together the salsa.

The Salsa has:
1 avocado diced
1 slice of watermelon (3/4 cup diced)
1 mango diced
1 small yellow onion diced
juice from 2 limes
grated peel from 1 lime
salt, pepper and chipotle chili powder to taste (really just a sprinkle of each)

The Salsa was a perfect addition to the Jerk Mahi fillets the bright and colorful pop of flavor and color in the salsa had just the right amount of cool acidity to work with the spicy fish.

Lamb Ribs in Poblano Mango BBQ with Diakon Cucumber Relish

I love the spring/summer I really enjoy grilling out it adds a whole casual dimension to cooking.  Not that cooking is ever stressful for me I enjoy my time in the kitchen I often chat about my experiments and adventures at work with the same alacrity my coworkers use when they talk about some hockey playoff games that are going on.  Grilling has a whole different aspect to it, cooking goes from being something that I enjoy to something well relaxing... call it culinary Tai Chi.

The latest adventure was... Well help me here it is hard to put into words the flavors and aromas worked well together and I love the taste of meat hot off the grill next to a light summery slaw the meal its self tasted wonderful but....  Anyway I will just start

Lamb Ribs with Mango Poblano BBQ Sauce served with Sweet and sour Cucumber Salad:

I am going to start with the Cucumber Salad:

1/2 of a seedless cucumber sliced thin (I used a Mandolin)

4-6 oz of peeled diakon sliced the same way as the cucumber

1 clove of garlic minced

a little bit of thinly sliced red bell pepper for color

1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar (maybe a little more)

2 TBLS sugar

Put the Cukes, Diakon, Red Pepper and Garlic into a heat proof dish while you heat up the vinegar and sugar on the stove.  Once the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is almost boiling pour it onto the vegetables and mix so that everything can absorb the flavors then cover and put in the refrigerator to chill for at least half an hour or as long as a day or two.

The BBQ Lamb Ribs

I actually started these both, the ribs and sauce, a day ahead the Ribs were easy so they are next, I made a quick marinade:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 TBLS brown sugar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

salt pepper garlic to taste

Mix these together and put in a Zip Lock bag with a pound and a half of Lamb ribs (one serving by the way, after a trip to a local historic farm no one but me will even consider lamb to be food) marinade for several hours or overnight.  When it is time to start put the ribs and all the marinade into a baking pan, cover and bake at 325 for about an hour, basting a couple of times.

The BBQ sauce is something that I have been working on for a while it tastes good but there is still some work to do... you'll see:

1 roasted poblano chili (if you need help with the roasting look here)

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

2 TBLS Olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

Juice from one lime

2 TBLS honey

2 tsp Worcestershire

2 mangoes chopped

1 jalapeno diced

Saute the first four ingredients until the onions are soft then add the  and cook until everything is mushy, about half an hour.  Let it cool a bit (I let it cool overnight) then toss into a blender and puree.  When it is time to cook the ribs go on the grill for about 15 minutes before you brush the sauce on them.  Coat well then turn so you get the nice caramelized flavor and texture.  When they are good and hot take them off and serve with the Cucumber Salad.

Here is the issue that I talked about, the sauce tastes wonderful!  It has the smokey depth of the roasted poblano chili that pairs well with the tangy sweet of the fresh mangoes the summery pop that you get from the honey and lime... well it tastes great!  however it LOOKS like something that the Grinch would dip is crispy fried critters in before going postal on the Whos... just look!  

I have no problem with the look of it but can't imagine slapping this sauce on something before I served it to a guest or worse a client,  I guess that I have to work on the color scheme of the ingredients too.  Any ideas?

Grilled Pizza

Ok it you have been following for a while I have made pizza on the grill a few times but I have to mention that I often say that I can work a recipe to death.  A little tweak here a little alteration there and I just keep going until I am happy.   I think that I have about 5 recipes that are done now if you want to see some of them look here or here or this one.  There may be a couple of others that I am happy with but most are open to improvement...  This Memorial day weekend I pretty much made all of the hot food food on the grill (I know real original) we all made our own pizzas for lunch on the holiday.  This was a little different than my other grilled pizzas partly because we each made our own and partly because we mad them on whole wheat crusts!  Not completely on purpose I was following one of my regular bread recipes and ran out of white flour...

What do you do?  grab the whole wheat flour that you got for another recipe and go... 

The Crust:

not too hard this is a basic bread dough recipe

1 1/2 cups warm water

1/4 cup Sugar

2 tsp dry Active Yeast

1 TBS Butter melted

1 tsp Salt

2 cups White Flour

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

Take the warm water (105 - 115 degrees) and add 1/4 cup sugar then the two teaspoons of yeast.  Let it activate (get all foamy and funny looking) about 5-6 minutes.  To that add the butter and salt then the flour one cup at a time, stirring as you go.  You have to figure out how much of that last 1/2 cup will need go in, you want the dough to be firm but not dry.  Once you have this ready cover it in plastic wrap and put your dough in a warm place for an hour or so to rise.

This is the first time that I have used whole wheat flour in regular bread dough I found that the end result was a  little softer... is that normal?  After it rose I pressed it down then put it in the fridge until lunch time.  When lunch time came around I floured a table top and started to roll them out, well I rolled one Miss Lu rolled the rest and Mr Man gave one a try.  After they were rolled out I sprayed them with spray shortening and put them on the grill two at a time (low heat or if using a charcoal push coals to the side so you get indirect heat).  After 3 or four minutes on each side bring them into the house to top. 

I set up toppings on the same table:

Marinara sauce (from the store, yeah I am lazy)

Mozzarella cheese

Pepperoni

a clean out the refrigerator assortment of cut vegetables.

Miss Lu made three of them... hers just sauce and cheese, Kris' Sauce Pepperoni and cheese Mr. Man Sauce cheese and five pepperoni "I am four and can count!"  Me just a whole mess of junk.  Once appropriately topped put back onto the grill two at a time and cook for another five minutes maybe.

So how was it you ask... really good this time, a little big for the kiddos but they asked me to save the leftovers, I don't think I have ever heard them say that before.

The Experiment

Last fall I bought a gas grill, I wanted to get it before another Chicago winter set in.  Kris, the kiddos and I packed up one afternoon to head across what seemed like a never ending trek of suburbs surrounded by corn fields to pick up the grill she found for me on craigslist.  I wanted it for the ease of cooking out in the winter, because I miss cooking out and the charcoal grill... well it isn't so much fun to light in a blizzard even if there isn't a blizzard it is hard to light in the dark, you know after the 3:45 sunset.  I do have to say that I was a little nervous about a couple of things.

1. Would I be able to get the same depth of flavor from propane as I did charcoal or charwood?

2. Would I be able to slow cook anything?

The answers are"pretty much" and "YES!"  I found that the flavors I get are just fine, maybe a little bit is lost from not cooking over actual burning wood but I think I have the ability to make up for that by seasoning and cooking food well.  As for slow cooking I was very happy!  this weekend I made a smoked beef brisket.  I started by going out a buying a "smoker box" which is a metal box with holes in it.  Imagine how much fun Mr. Man had while I was looking at metal boxes for all of 25 minutes.  Anyway I picked the $15.00 model  to put in my grill that I wouldn't pay more than $30.00 for.  Really this stuff all makes sense in my head, but looks funny written down.

I was lucky to find 2 pound Brisket at my normal store it had about a 1/4 inch thick layer of fat on it, you want about that much... if you can't find one with that you can add a few strips of bacon to the top,  yeah Bryan is back on the health food kick.  I did the simplest of rubs on the meat just Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder and set it on the counter to temper for about half an hour.  While that was waiting I soaked cheery wood chips in water and Tequila for the same time. While those were resting and soaking I made my mop sauce, the ingredients

1/2 cup Tequila

1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

1 TBS Stone Ground Mustard

Juice from one Lime

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Put the Brisket into a shallow pan (I used a disposable pie tin, because throwing that away is so much easier than washing it).  Fill the smoker box with wet wood chips and put under the grate on low heat.  Set the meat in your pan on top of the grate so it only gets indirect heat..  You want to spent about 3 hours cooking this 2 pounds of meat, cooked too quickly and brisket is UN-Chewable!  So give it time.  Every half hour go out and spread some of your Mop Sauce on top, after a while use mop sauce and pan drippings.

You can only tell if it is done by poking it

If it feels like you are trying to poke a hole in a monster truck tire with a fork,  it is going to take a while.

If it feels like you are trying to poke through the steaks that you ate in college, you are getting there

If the meet feels like it is about to fall apart on your fork... done!

You probability want some BBQ sauce for this you can use your favorite from the store, if you are feeling all fancy try this one:

1 cup Ketchup

1 Heavy TBS of Molasses

1/4  cup Bourbon

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Heat over medium stirring occasionally until sauce starts to thicken, maybe 20 minutes or so.  you do have three hours so unless you are catching up on your soap you have the time.  In the picture I am serving with my Grandma's baked beans, (I came across a family cookbook a couple of weeks ago).

So how was it, well I am happy and sad to say it was wonderful, smokey and subtle with a depth that I didn't expect.  Happy because it worked so well, sad... well I really did like the old kettle grill but maybe it is time for the rusty old guy to go...

There it is, my new toy "smoker box" seems like

a fancy way to say metal box to me but it worked!