Memorial Day

Lime, cilantro and jalapeño marinade

I got this recipe recently from the head chef at Haven, Stephen Herman at a fundraiser that was held there earlier in the week. He was cooking quail. I substituted chicken for the quail.

Start by juicing about 3-4 limes. Chop up one bunch of cilantro and one jalapeño. Add salt and pepper. Toss chicken wings or small drumsticks in the marinade. I grilled this chicken over a hot grill using direct heat for about 25 minutes.

Peach, bacon chutney with fresh thyme

At the same benefit I learned a new recipe from Chef Matt, of Valenza. 

Start with about 6-8 peaches and cut into a dice. While cutting the peaches, render 4 pieces of bacon in a large casserole dish or pan over high heat. 

After cutting the peaches, dice one onion. When the bacon is rendered remove it from the pan to a towel lined plate. In the same pot add in the diced onion and sweat them down on medium heat. They need to be really well cooked so the starches will turn to sugar. This will take about 10-15 minutes. 

After the onions have finished sweating, add in the peaches. Stir them in thoroughly and place the lid on the pot. Let the peaches simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. They should release most of their juice. Add the bacon back in and stir. Take off the heat and stir in some freshly chopped thyme. 

This chutney is a terrific compliment to the grilled chicken and if you have quail it is even better!

Grilled bacon wrapped asparagus

This was another one of the recipes from the fundraiser that was held at Valenza Restaurant earlier in the week. 

This one doesn't need much explaining, simply wrap fresh asparagus in bacon and it's ready to go! I covered the grill with aluminum foil to cook the asparagus which really did a nice job. 

Chef Stephen Herman, Haven and Chef Matt Swickerath, Valenza

The Red Skirt

A new sandwich was created over Labor Day weekend!

Nice plate, huh?

It starts with marinated skirt steak:
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped1/4 cup grainy mustard
2 tblspns Dijon mustard2 tspns paprika
1/4 tspn kosher salt
1/4 tspn black pepper
1 tblspn soy sauce
2 tblspns white wine vinegar1 tblspn honey

Whisk all the ingredients together and allow skirt steak to marinate a couple of hours.

Next, on the grill, roast some red bell peppers. First, oil the peppers with olive oil and then place them right over the hottest part of the grill. When they are nice and blackened they are ready to come off.



Then place them in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let them sit for about 10 minutes and then peel the skin off of the peppers. Cut the peppers up into quarters.



Grill the skirt steak. When the steak is cooked take it off, remove the skewers and cut it across the grain into small pieces. Put some of the steak back onto the grill and drape with a piece of provolone cheese. Allow the cheese to melt. At the same time toast two pieces of sliced Italian bread on the grill. When the cheese has melted, scoop up the meat and place it on the toasted bread along with a piece of the roasted red pepper.

The Red Skirt Sandwich!

Still Smokin'

Actually, I have grilled some this summer....


The rub down ...


Babyback ribs almost ready.....



Unfortunately, Argentina didn't make it to the final, going down to Germany in the quarter final.

Shrimp on the barbie

We decided to grill some shrimp in honor of the Australian football team during the world cup.
I believe we made a cilantro marinade and let them soak for a couple of hours. Then we skewered them with two wooden skewers per shrimp. We also grilled some scallops.

I can't remember what was in the marinade but the final result was a home run!

Easy Meat

"You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed"- Pink Floyd






I must admit that I have been in a cooking slump lately.

Not only have I not been motivated to cook, I really haven't been too enthusiastic about eating either.

Everything just seems blase, it must be the heat.

So I decided to do a pictorial recap of some of the summer's food and post some pics that didn't make it onto the blog....enjoy!

The Perfect Burger

"I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God almighty which way do I steer for my
Cheeseburger in Paradise.." Jimmy Buffett

Sometimes there is no substitute for a good hamburger and since it was the Fourth of July it was doubly appropriate.










Wes tends the outdoor grill..























Booze hounds...



Bono



Coco

Turf at the surf, Folly Beach S.C.

"Got no place to go but there's a girl waiting for me down in Mexico. She's got a bottle of tequila, a bottle of gin and if I bring a little music I could fit right in..." Counting Crows

This shot of filets on the grill surely fits right in at the UMRK, South Carolina edition.
These filets were marinated for about an hour in Dale's before being tossed on a well heated gas grill, in Folly Beach, South Carolina.

Along with the steak we had green beans which were steamed for a couple of minutes and then removed to an ice water bath in batches. After all the beans were done steaming, they were sauteed in a little bacon fat.

Good job, Curt!

Dried Out Brisket

"I 'spec you been out here all night reading the good book?" Woodrow Call

"Biscuits are ready!" Augustus 'Gus' McCrae

This Lonesome Dove reference is merely ancillary, for I did not read the Good Book or bake biscuits today.

I did however, spend thirty dollars on a brisket, which was money well spent...but I digress. (sorry, another Lonesome Dove reference.)

I hadn't cooked a brisket before today. But I did manage to botch the whole thing.

It all started out well enough.


I acquired a brisket from the local market place. A six pound specimen to be exact.

I made a rub with paprika, garlic powder, cumin, garlic, mustard powder, brown sugar, and salt and pepper.

The grill was set for indirect heat, which means that the coals were on either side and the meat was placed over the middle.

At 11:30 the grill was hot so I let it rip.

Every hour or so I replaced a few coals and added a few soaked apple chips. I also sprayed the brisket with apple cider every so often.

To make a long story short when I pulled this brisket off at about six o'clock and sliced thin slices of beef...they were all dried out.

I over cooked it by a long shot. The flavor was good, however, and it is not going to waste. I used a thermometer to gauge the doneness and that was not a good move. I took it off at about one sixty. I should have pulled it at one forty- it looked and felt done then.

I made some slaw, that was a little over-dressed, so the dry meat and wet slaw made good companions.

Just like these two happy, good looking people...

Grilled Roast

I wanted to try grilling something that I had never grilled before so I set out to the grocery store not knowing what I might find.

I found this roast which was also reduced for quick sale at six bucks.

I put together a rub with paprika, salt, pepper, dried thyme and oregano.

I rubbed the roast down with the dry ingredients and let that set for about 45 minutes.

I used the round Weber grill, mainly because I was running low on charcoal.

I raked all of the coals to one side of the grill and also added some soaked hickory chips on top of the coals.

I placed the roast on the opposite side of the grill and turned the lid so that the holes were directly over the meat.

You can see the set up on the left. Those are ears of corn in the foil.

I let them cook indirectly for about 40 minutes, pulled them off and then right before we were ready to eat I put them back on for about another ten minutes.

I let the roast smoke for about 3 1/2 hours...I think.


I have to say that the roast turned out better than I had imagined it would.

It was even better the next day cold, sliced thinly ladled with a bit of chimichurri sauce!

Choripan

"There were four Italian sausages cooking on the outdoor grill, and they were sizzlin'..." John Prine Lake Marie

Well these aren't exactly Italian sausages, nor are they chorizo from which choripan derives its name.

Real chorizo is hard to come by here so I substituted a country style sausage that is available at the grocery store.

Choripan is a sandwich they make in Argentina and Uruguay also, I think. I encountered them in Buenos Aires.

A choripan consists of a link of grilled sausage split down the middle served on a baguette, with a sauce called chimichurri. At the Boca Juniors game they were serving them inside the stadium with melted cheese, sauteed onions and tomato. Those were the best I came across.

If you can get good chorizo by all means use chorizo, but any good sausage works well. I even tried Italian, but those weren't as good as the regular "country" sausage. You will also need a baguette, or "French" bread.

The main ingredient however is the chimichurri. When I got back from Argentina I had no idea how to make chimichurri but I knew exactly where to look. I went to Asado Argentina and there it was. I followed this recipe pretty much to the letter, except that I pulsed mine a few times in the blender to smooth it out even more which was the consistency that I saw in Buenos Aires.

Chimichurri sauce ala Mama Grande!

Lay the sausages on a hot grill split side down. Flip after a few minutes and allow to cook well.

Cut the baguette into 4" long pieces and then split those down the middle. Before I assemble a choripan I toast the bread halves on the grill.

When the bread is toasted I pull them off onto a plate and ladle the bottom portion with the chimichurri. Place the sausage on and then some more chimichurri on top and the top piece of bread. Simple. Onions and cheese are optional.

Late night shish kebabs w/ the companions

"This highway runs from Paraguay
And I've just come all the way" Steely Dan

Well, I woke up late, hungry. The better half was off to bed. I was craving meat, so I went and got a steak and a bottle. And charcoal.

I bought a cheap steak, figuring that if i marinated it it would not matter. Not to mention the fact that carne is going through the roof lately.

So I began to dice up my cheap steak, with a little onion and portabello and green bell pepper.

I stoked up my chimney starter with newspaper and got it rolling as well.

I located the skewers in the back of the silverware drawer and began to load them up.

The Overlord let it be known they could be bribed tonight, so I doled out a couple of raw slices to them. (Tub included)

I had a pretty hot fire going, not very large. I gave two skewers ten minutes each, which seemed to be about just right.

A thunder storm passed over bringing a little bit of rain, but no more than a minor nuisance.

Oh yes, the companions. After I had eaten, I had a bit more steak left, so I made one more shish kebab. As I was pulling it off of the grill I noticed a bandito looking up at me from below the porch.

Since we have a bit of a relationship already, I offered a piece of kebob to my bandito amiga. It was a bit hot still. She, who is roughly twice as large as the Overlord, didn't know quite what to do with a piece of hot food. So she picked it up, rolled it around in her paws, then ran off to the creek to wash it off. No matter how much food they pick out of the garbage can they always make sure they wash it off before they eat it. You've got to admire that in an animal.

Who are the companions? Take a guess.

Cooking music: Random

spirits: Ravenswood Merlot

Beer Can Chicken

"He's a cat cuttin' cool, convertible car. Top taken down on the way to the bar. Music blarin' people starin', he likes it like that...." Robert Moore "Wildcat"

Not really a food reference, but this song is stuck in my head so cut me some slack.

When the weekend rolls around I like to grill on the deck. It's mostly just an excuse to drink beer but it does have it's benefits.

I was thumbing thru a new book I bought, Steven Raichlen's bbq bible that I recently purchased. I wanted to do something different, so this beer can chicken seemed pretty interesting.

The recipe calls for a 6-7 pound bird, so I picked one up last night. I was suppose to let it marinade in brine for 12 hours but I did not realize that until this afternoon so the brine bath didn't happen.
This was the bird as it started out today. I had never heard of beer can chicken until last night, but oddly enough when I took the chicken out of its packaging there was a recipe for...you guessed it! beer can chicken.

So I salted and peppered the chicken while I got the grill fired up.

There was also a rub Steven's recipe called for made from paprika, brown sugar, cayenne and something else that I didn't have.

I melted some butter and brushed the bird with it and then added the rub.

I set the big grill up for indirect grilling, hey I don't make up these terms.

I bought a tall boy Budweiser and poured half of it onto the hickory chips.

I then added Worcestershire and red wine vinegar to the half can of beer. At this point you lower the bird down onto the beer and the can is inserted into the cavity, which becomes a sort of stand for the chicken. (see top pic)





Grill is hot...















I put the bird on a grease pan and put it directly in the middle of the grill. I cooked with the lid down to lock in as much smoke as I could.

I also had a slab of baby back ribs that I wanted to do in an Asian vein.

I rubbed the ribs with 5 spice that I was able to find at an Asian market not far away from the house.




Here's the five spice I found at the Asian market today.













Here are the ribs, the bird and some sausage...

The ribs were basted with a teryaki glaze after they had cooked for about 2 hours.










The ribs came out very succulent and actually pretty tasty.

I think the pan blocked too much heat from the chicken. After about 3 hours I wasn't satisfied the chicken was thoroughly cooked, so I put it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

The small piece that I sampled was very, very, tender and had a nice smokey flavor.

It will be divided up tomorrow for use in various dishes next week. I will update you on what we make with it as I do it.

We're smokin'...















The Overlord looks on...






Cooking Music: random

Cooking spirits: cold Corona w/ limes