I basically ate this plate for lunch, a little mayo was added for some of the asparagus. although it didn't really need it. I really like what the incredibly aromatic Phu Quoc black/white pepper mix does for grilled foods.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
I eat veggies, well, asparagus
I ate something other than meat, actually, dinner consisted completely of grilled asparagus. I found some very good looking asparagus with large diameter spears, which work best on a grill. I cleaned, trimmed, washed them, then coated with olive oil, kosher salt and Phu Quoc black and white pepper mix. Here is the raw stuff.
These were grilled direct over the hot coals of the kettle as the pork butt was cooking. They cooked up very nicely on the lower heat of the kettle that I normally use for smoking. Here is the end result.
I am back! Chicken Beta testing
Thanks to Tom from Big Butz BBQ Sauce, I actually got back on the kettle today. Due to recent health issues, I haven't been cooking out there (the backyard, oh Lordy!). After hacking the kettle loose from what Spring hath wrought during my rehab, I got it fired up to cooking around 275F, this was mostly because I was going to cook a pork butt for tomorrow. Tom had sent me some BBQ rubs to test, they are in late beta testing and I think he has a winner.
I chose to go with chicken thighs, easy to cook, easy to eat. I skewered them, as I intended to cook them vertically in my kettle, which allows for some more effective rendering at lower heats. I rubbed with Tom's new rub, cleverly code named 'Chicken Dust' (they'll never guess what this is for Mooohaahaha) . Then into the kettle along with the pork butt (which had been in there for a few hours already.
The chicken pieces were half sauced and half dry, this was to get a taste for the rub alone and the rub with the sauce. I consider this very important, as the way the rub and the sauce work together is the real way that we taste sauced BBQ. I happen to prefer sauced chicken off the grill. The texture of the new rub was excellent, a medium grain, not a dust really, handled easily, coated and adhered well, evenly distributed when dusted a' la chef sprinkling.
The chicken cooked for 45 minutes until almost done, when I applied some Big Butz Hot-style BBQ Sauce to two of the thighs. 15 minutes later, it was removed. I allow chicken to rest for 15 minutes lightly tented. Here is what we end up with. First, chicken with no sauce and then chicken with sauce.
I hope Tom brings this rub to market, it has an exceptional flavor and has a good balance. It also worked very well with the sauce, really complementing the overall flavor. Tom's stated goal was to get a rub that really says 'chicken' which I think he has gotten very close to hitting that nail squarely.
I chose to go with chicken thighs, easy to cook, easy to eat. I skewered them, as I intended to cook them vertically in my kettle, which allows for some more effective rendering at lower heats. I rubbed with Tom's new rub, cleverly code named 'Chicken Dust' (they'll never guess what this is for Mooohaahaha) . Then into the kettle along with the pork butt (which had been in there for a few hours already.
The chicken pieces were half sauced and half dry, this was to get a taste for the rub alone and the rub with the sauce. I consider this very important, as the way the rub and the sauce work together is the real way that we taste sauced BBQ. I happen to prefer sauced chicken off the grill. The texture of the new rub was excellent, a medium grain, not a dust really, handled easily, coated and adhered well, evenly distributed when dusted a' la chef sprinkling.
Hot Dog, Simplicity
Well, I had a hot dog, I know, not a cooking technique extravaganza. But, there is a story, for I did not plan on a hot dog today.
I had gotten a offer to test out some Beta versions of a rub that a friend in developing, these rubs were offered for free, so when he said he was sending a shipment to my local BBQ shop, could I pick it up there to save shipping. Of course, I am getting free product after all.
Free rubs that ended up costing me over $70 because once I got to the store, I ended up buying a bunch of stuff including an interesting relish made from garden vegetables including green tomatoes. Now, along with my odd love, as a California born, bred and never left boy, of traidtional BBQ and no sauce ribs, I love chow-chow, a relish made from green tomatoes. This looked similar so I had to have it. (along with two bottle of Victorine infused balsamic vinegar). So, if you have relish, you need hot dogs to test it out on.
It was a hot day and Spare the Air was all the talk, so I did not fire up the kettle, or my gas grill. Instead, I grilled it indoors on my cast iron grill pan. A Caggiano Italian Sausage, fresh tomatoes and onionsn, a soft roll and the aforementioned relish. It wasn't a huge dinner, but, I am still trying to get less huge. It isn't quite Chow-chow, but, it was very tasty and had a nice sweet/sour profile to it.
I had gotten a offer to test out some Beta versions of a rub that a friend in developing, these rubs were offered for free, so when he said he was sending a shipment to my local BBQ shop, could I pick it up there to save shipping. Of course, I am getting free product after all.
Free rubs that ended up costing me over $70 because once I got to the store, I ended up buying a bunch of stuff including an interesting relish made from garden vegetables including green tomatoes. Now, along with my odd love, as a California born, bred and never left boy, of traidtional BBQ and no sauce ribs, I love chow-chow, a relish made from green tomatoes. This looked similar so I had to have it. (along with two bottle of Victorine infused balsamic vinegar). So, if you have relish, you need hot dogs to test it out on.
It was a hot day and Spare the Air was all the talk, so I did not fire up the kettle, or my gas grill. Instead, I grilled it indoors on my cast iron grill pan. A Caggiano Italian Sausage, fresh tomatoes and onionsn, a soft roll and the aforementioned relish. It wasn't a huge dinner, but, I am still trying to get less huge. It isn't quite Chow-chow, but, it was very tasty and had a nice sweet/sour profile to it.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Aunt Mary's Cafe
A delayed post. Still, I went and ate, and now I post. Does the fact that you ate it a while back change that you ate it all at all?
A couple of friends and I wandered into Aunt Mary's Cafe on Sunday morning, we had planned on arriving a little early for a Sunday, as most place in the Temescal, like many of the 'chosen' food spots will fill on a weekend morning. I expected good coffee and interesting spins on food. This place did not disappoint, I ordered the Huevos Benedictos. I was greeted with poached eggs, nicely prepared, delicious. What makes poached eggs seem luxurious? Anyways, there were masa cakes, I ordered the dish for the masa cakes, no matter what culture they are from, I love masa cakes. The accompanying chorizo was dark, rich and spicy, a perfect foil for the eggs and masa cakes with cheddar.
I ate it all, I have no remorse.
A couple of friends and I wandered into Aunt Mary's Cafe on Sunday morning, we had planned on arriving a little early for a Sunday, as most place in the Temescal, like many of the 'chosen' food spots will fill on a weekend morning. I expected good coffee and interesting spins on food. This place did not disappoint, I ordered the Huevos Benedictos. I was greeted with poached eggs, nicely prepared, delicious. What makes poached eggs seem luxurious? Anyways, there were masa cakes, I ordered the dish for the masa cakes, no matter what culture they are from, I love masa cakes. The accompanying chorizo was dark, rich and spicy, a perfect foil for the eggs and masa cakes with cheddar.
Pork and Tomatoes
Today (I meant to post this yesterday) was my mom's birthday, I had planned a different cook, but, decided I would cook one of my mom's favorite dishes. My mom was a very good cook and an adventurous eatr. Pork and Tomatoes was one of her dishes. This dish, as prepared by my mom represents a true fusion, one that was very common amongst the food we ate as I grew up. Wherein different foods and techniques found their way into our daily diet. The original recipe has changed a bit since we were kids, in particular to reduce the salt and sugar in the original.
Here are the ingredients, all nice and prepared. Mis en place baby!
The Ingrdients:
1/2 large or one small/medium onion, chopped
1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound thinly sliced pork sirloin
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and sectioned
The Reduction:
1/8 cup each Red Boat Fish Sauce and Bragg's Amino Acids
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Lucky Dog hot sauce
3 teaspoons Stevia/Erythriol blended sweetener
Stir fry onions and celery until translucent. Add the reduction sauce ingredients and the garlic, saute and reduce in pan until celery in melted, onions are cooked down and sauce is reduced by 50%.
The onions and celery will release moisture so this will take a little while. Once reduction is complete, remove vegetables with a slotted spoon or mesh ladle. Reserve reduction and add a small amount of oil, add in pork and stir fry until half cooked, note that the pork will also release fluids, which need to be reduced a it as well.
Return vegetables and reduction to pan and continue to reduce until liquid is nearly gone, add in peeled tomatoes and this forms the sauce for the entire dish. I prefer to use fresh tomatoes for this dish, although the color is better with canned tomatoes. I find the fresh tomatoes add more flavor. If I was making a large batch, I would add both canned and fresh. This is served over steamed rice.
The interesting part of this dish is that when I was a child, tomatoes were a particularly unusual element of cooking for the Japanese-American families, when we ate them, they were either fresh and raw, or cooked in American or Italian preparations. Very few dishes existed that used Asian flavors with tomatoes. The incfuence of the Italian and Portuguese families that populated the town near our home certainly influenced both the tomatoes and the 'sweet and sour' nature of this dish. Naturally, as time progressed, changes occurred.
As a part of my need to address some metabolic issues, I have started to abandon sugar as a sweetener, this dish had much more sugar and salt (in the form of shoyu) in the original dish. I have started to use fish sauce instead of making bonito broth and no longer use the fattier pork shoulder cuts my mom favored, as this allows for a shorter cooking time, mom would braise the pork for 3 hours. I miss the highly caramelized dish of my youth, but, this is my version of one of my mom's special dinners and it is very evocative of her flavors.
Here are the ingredients, all nice and prepared. Mis en place baby!
1/2 large or one small/medium onion, chopped
1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound thinly sliced pork sirloin
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and sectioned
The Reduction:
1/8 cup each Red Boat Fish Sauce and Bragg's Amino Acids
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Lucky Dog hot sauce
3 teaspoons Stevia/Erythriol blended sweetener
Stir fry onions and celery until translucent. Add the reduction sauce ingredients and the garlic, saute and reduce in pan until celery in melted, onions are cooked down and sauce is reduced by 50%.
As a part of my need to address some metabolic issues, I have started to abandon sugar as a sweetener, this dish had much more sugar and salt (in the form of shoyu) in the original dish. I have started to use fish sauce instead of making bonito broth and no longer use the fattier pork shoulder cuts my mom favored, as this allows for a shorter cooking time, mom would braise the pork for 3 hours. I miss the highly caramelized dish of my youth, but, this is my version of one of my mom's special dinners and it is very evocative of her flavors.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The BBQ Grail and the truths of BBQ
My friend and BBQ colleague Larry Gaian is running a search for the 25 Truths of BBQ at his blog, The BBQ Grail, Larry has been running The BBQ Grail blog for a few years now and is one of the most influential BBQ and food bloggers out there. He had not only been a great friend but an invaluable helper in my starting this blog. I encourage you to go on over and see what some folks consider the truth of BBQ.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Soba cakes
Well, I am back to cooking finally, everything seems to be back in place just in time for the June On Our Grill Challenge, complete with new badge for the blog. My hope is to come roaring back with a dish that really shows a little flash. This month, the ingredients are doozies, they are:
Turkey
Soba Noodles
Almonds
A vegetable that is not green
First off, I made a turkey sausage, with the following ingredients.
Turkey Sausage
1/2 pound Turkey, give it a medium grind (required ingredient)
1/8 pound thick cut hardwood smoked bacon
1/8 cup fish sauce, as usual, I went with the vastly superior Red Boat 40N Fish Sauce.
1/4 teaspoon each of mustard powder, chile powder, lime powder
1/2 teaspoon plus a little more Todd's Dirt herbal BBQ rub
1/2 teaspoon katsuoboshi furikake (yes, specifically for the bonito flakes and nori)
1 teaspoon apple wood smoked salt (yes, I smoke my own)
1/8 teaspoon Truvia stevia based sweetener
1/2 cup hot water
I bloom the spices in the hot water, everything but the meat. After icing down, I add the meat, which has to be cold to work correctly. The water aids in evenly distributing the spices throughout the cold ground meat without an additional grinding phase. Since I intend to smoke this sausage without a casing, the added moisture will also create a little more steam, adding to the texture I want for the final plating. I decided to add some chopped onion and parsley to the sausage and gave it a good rub of Simply Marvelous Sweet and Spicy rub. I think this added just a little more flavor to the turkey.
Carrot Curry Sauce with Almond Milk
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup almond milk (required almond ingredient)
1 cup water
3 medium carrots (required not green vegetable)
1 small or half of medium onion
3 cloves garlic
Spices...I am gonna use black pepper, white pepper, cloves, nutmeg and curry spice.
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Truvia
In small saucepan, dry roast the whole spices to warm the aromatic oils, after the aroma becomes readily apparent, but, before smoking, add the curry powder and shut down the heat. Allow to cool slowly. Then add cooled spices to a grinder and reduce to powder, I use a coffee burr grinder for this. Take carrots and onions and saute until softened, add garlic and heat to sweat garlic. Add 1/2 of spice mix, saute for a minute and add liquids, bring to simmer, add final 1/2 of spice mix and using a blender or immersion blender, process until smooth. Add Almond milk at end and adjust sweetness with Truvia if needed.
Aloo Gobi a la Kettle
1 cup cauliflower florets (required non-green ingredient)
1 cup chopped sweet potato and russet potato
1/2 cup green onion and parsley, chopped
Cauliflower florets were lightly steamed then grilled, potatoes were roasted over coals. Potatoes were chunked, mixed with florets. I decided to lightly saute with herbs then plate with curry sauce (above) draped over the veggies.
Soba Cake
1/2 cup cooked soba, cooked until done.
1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch for binding and texture
Toss soba with a light coating of the cornstarch, set into ring mold and allow to cool and bind into a cake form. Then fry cake in wok or small skillet carefully turning to achieve a crisped surface to the soba cake. The cornstarch should add a little crisp to the cake.
A final garnish of chopped parsley and green onion to add a little color and crunch texture was just right. The sausage was very flavorful and had a hint of Southeast Asian flair, I attribute this to the fish sauce, green onions and parsley, along with the slight added fish flavor of the katsuoboshi furikake. The potatoes and cauliflower ended up with more curry sauce than I intended, but, the sauce has an incredible depth of flavor so this was fine. The soba cake was crispy and added a much needed textural counterpoint as well.
Larry Gaian of The BBQ Grail - Entry Here
Jerry Russel of Cooking by the Seat of my Pants - Entry Here
Cooking by the seat of my Pants began life as a way to document our culinary misadventures. Since then it has become our way to encourage people to cook without boundaries or recipes. To just get in the kitchen and cook something from the heart.
Jason Adams of Jason's BBQ Adventures - Entry Here
Started Jason's BBQ Adventures in 2007 and originally fell in love with real BBQ the first time I tried to smoke a pork shoulder and soon after started smoking ribs, brisket and chicken. After a while I started to experiment with grilling and smoking just about anything and ultimately fell in love with the entire cooking process.
Turkey
Soba Noodles
Almonds
A vegetable that is not green
First off, I made a turkey sausage, with the following ingredients.
Turkey Sausage
1/2 pound Turkey, give it a medium grind (required ingredient)
1/8 pound thick cut hardwood smoked bacon
1/8 cup fish sauce, as usual, I went with the vastly superior Red Boat 40N Fish Sauce.
1/4 teaspoon each of mustard powder, chile powder, lime powder
1/2 teaspoon plus a little more Todd's Dirt herbal BBQ rub
1/2 teaspoon katsuoboshi furikake (yes, specifically for the bonito flakes and nori)
1 teaspoon apple wood smoked salt (yes, I smoke my own)
1/8 teaspoon Truvia stevia based sweetener
1/2 cup hot water
I bloom the spices in the hot water, everything but the meat. After icing down, I add the meat, which has to be cold to work correctly. The water aids in evenly distributing the spices throughout the cold ground meat without an additional grinding phase. Since I intend to smoke this sausage without a casing, the added moisture will also create a little more steam, adding to the texture I want for the final plating. I decided to add some chopped onion and parsley to the sausage and gave it a good rub of Simply Marvelous Sweet and Spicy rub. I think this added just a little more flavor to the turkey.
Carrot Curry Sauce with Almond Milk
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup almond milk (required almond ingredient)
1 cup water
3 medium carrots (required not green vegetable)
1 small or half of medium onion
3 cloves garlic
Spices...I am gonna use black pepper, white pepper, cloves, nutmeg and curry spice.
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Truvia
In small saucepan, dry roast the whole spices to warm the aromatic oils, after the aroma becomes readily apparent, but, before smoking, add the curry powder and shut down the heat. Allow to cool slowly. Then add cooled spices to a grinder and reduce to powder, I use a coffee burr grinder for this. Take carrots and onions and saute until softened, add garlic and heat to sweat garlic. Add 1/2 of spice mix, saute for a minute and add liquids, bring to simmer, add final 1/2 of spice mix and using a blender or immersion blender, process until smooth. Add Almond milk at end and adjust sweetness with Truvia if needed.
1 cup cauliflower florets (required non-green ingredient)
1 cup chopped sweet potato and russet potato
1/2 cup green onion and parsley, chopped
Cauliflower florets were lightly steamed then grilled, potatoes were roasted over coals. Potatoes were chunked, mixed with florets. I decided to lightly saute with herbs then plate with curry sauce (above) draped over the veggies.
Soba Cake
1/2 cup cooked soba, cooked until done.
1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch for binding and texture
Toss soba with a light coating of the cornstarch, set into ring mold and allow to cool and bind into a cake form. Then fry cake in wok or small skillet carefully turning to achieve a crisped surface to the soba cake. The cornstarch should add a little crisp to the cake.
A final garnish of chopped parsley and green onion to add a little color and crunch texture was just right. The sausage was very flavorful and had a hint of Southeast Asian flair, I attribute this to the fish sauce, green onions and parsley, along with the slight added fish flavor of the katsuoboshi furikake. The potatoes and cauliflower ended up with more curry sauce than I intended, but, the sauce has an incredible depth of flavor so this was fine. The soba cake was crispy and added a much needed textural counterpoint as well.
Larry Gaian of The BBQ Grail - Entry Here
The BBQ Grail website was created in 2007, initially to document the author’s quest to find the perfect backyard BBQ experience. Since that time The BBQ Grail has become one of the more popular BBQ blogs on the internet and is listed on Alltop.com as one of the top BBQ blogs.
The No Excuses BBQ website was started in January of 2009 as a way to record the author’s goal of cooking outdoors at least once a week throughout the year and showing the results to the world. Somewhere along the way things got out of control…Jerry Russel of Cooking by the Seat of my Pants - Entry Here
Cooking by the seat of my Pants began life as a way to document our culinary misadventures. Since then it has become our way to encourage people to cook without boundaries or recipes. To just get in the kitchen and cook something from the heart.
Jason Adams of Jason's BBQ Adventures - Entry Here
Started Jason's BBQ Adventures in 2007 and originally fell in love with real BBQ the first time I tried to smoke a pork shoulder and soon after started smoking ribs, brisket and chicken. After a while I started to experiment with grilling and smoking just about anything and ultimately fell in love with the entire cooking process.
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