Time to grill!

I took some time off. Sue me. I needed to change jobs, move and finish a class on assassination. My plate was somewhat full, no pun intended. So to make up for it I am giving you a fist full of recipes that make for some awesome grilling. Sadly I only have minimal pictures of the eats as they were being eaten right off the grill… there were some hungry people running around with food stuffed in their mouth mumbling/slurring the word Hot, as they were trying to chow down.

1.Grilled squash

It is summer. There should be more squash running around than you can shake a stick at. Or at least that is how it seems to go for anyone with a squash plant in their garden. Here is a way to get rid of some of it while you are hanging out by the grill.

Ingredients

2 – 3 squish (a mix of green and yellow)

Garlic infused olive oil (the regular stuff will work but this is so much better)

Oregano

Red Pepper flakes

Equipment

Grill  

Grilling basket

Cut the squish in half and then cut it in half length wise. Chop squish into little ¼ inch half medallions. Throw the squish in a ziplock bag. Add a liberal splash of olive oil, a few healthy pinches of some dried oregano and as much red pepper as your dinner guests can stand. Mix every thing up in the bag. Seal the bag up and let the squish soak up some goodness.

Throw the grilling basket on the grill when you start some of your longer cooking meats so that it can get nice and hot. Once the basket is hot throw the squish in. Stir the squash around every few minutes so any one side does not get overly done. It should take about 10 minutes on a nice hot grill for it to get nice and fork tender.

Once it is done, dump it on a serving plate or platter and send it on its way to table of doom.

2. BBQ Chicken

What cook out is complete with out BBQ chicken? The only problem is it is so damn messy. Seriously, have you ever tried to remove carbonized BBQ sauce from a grill? It is a pain in the ass. That is why I quit making the stuff. Well The girlfriend and I stumbled across something the other day and we thought we would give it a go. Lets just say that the results were awesome so we reloaded and tried again with some chicken…

Ingredients

Boneless Skinless Chicken thighs

Bone Sucking Dry Rub

You can choose to rinse or not to rinse your chicken. I do not because of the increased splash risk of cross contamination. Lay the chicken out flat, what would have been, skin side up. Give it a nice liberal coating of dry rub. Flip and repeat. Roll the chicken up into tight little rolls. Store in a tightly sealed container and let it sit overnight. Take these guys out of your container and lay flat on the grill. I recommend a nice spot where they can cook with some indirect heat. If that is not possible then keep a real good eye on them so they do not char. These should be one of the first things on the grill as it can take a little bit of time to get chicken up to 165 degrees using internal temperature. Flip occasionally to avoid over cooking on any one side. When they hit the magic temp, put them on a plate and send them to their doom.

3. Tiger tips

No, it is not real tiger, but I bet it would taste pretty good if they were. I found this stuff a long time ago called tiger sauce. I think my mom first exposed me to it when she was marinating the hindquarter of a deer roast… It was years later before I discovered it again. I am pretty sure it was my friend Kyle that sent me a bottle for my birthday (thanks man) and I rediscovered the wonders of Tiger Sauce. The stuff is awesome. You can put it on anything or in anything. My favorite is getting some good steak tips and cutting them into bite sized chunks, and soaking them in Tiger Sauce overnight. Throw those bad boys on a skewer and cook till desired doneness. If you want to go over the top with them you can wrap them in with a good thick cut bacon and soak them in tiger sauce and then grill them. If that is the plan then keep in mind you will need to not pack them so tight on the skewers so that the bacon can get cooked all around. These are a crowd pleaser. Hell I think people were trying to pluck them off the grill and put them into their mouth once they knew what I had. I am not including an ingredients list or method because if you read what I wrote it is pretty self explanatory. 

4. Fruit murder al la peaches and pineapple.

The final thing that I made was this awesomeness that I have not come up with a name for so I will be working with fruit murder al la peaches and pineapple for now. I have been playing around with grilled pineapple for a few years now and I think I have finally perfected it. All I can say is that this stuff was divine. People were eating it before it even hit the grill. It almost didn’t even make it to the grill.

Ingredients:

1 pineapple

2 cinnamon sticks broken into thirds

1 Tbls Ground cinnamon

1 ¼ C Meyers dark rum

¼ C Meyers dark rum

1 shot of rum

2 very ripe peaches

1 shot of rum

Method:

1. Core the pineapple, cut the skin off and chop it into bite sized pieces. Put into a container that is big enough to hold it with some room left over.

2. Take a shot of rum.

3. Wash the peaches. Remove the pits. Throw into a food processor with the ¼ C rum and the ground cinnamon. Hit the grind button and teach those peaches who is boss. Keep pulsing the grind button until the peaches have been reduced to a pulpy, rummy paste. Then hit the grind button a few more times for good measure.

4. Drink a shot of rum in celebration of peach death.

5. Take the dead peaches and mix with the rest of the rum.

6. Pour the rum/peach murder concoction over the pineapple. Let it soak overnight.

7. Right before it is time to grill, put the pineapple on some skewers. Grill over a medium heat until it gets hot with some grill marks on it.

8. Serve.

9. Drink another shot of rum for the hell of it. 

Here is the feast in mid grill... the eaters were circling.... 

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

Looking back at my recipes I have noticed that I have done very little that is a vegetarian dish. So over the past week or so I have made a few vegetarian meals and now have some on hot standby to post. The first up is some Cuban Black Beans and Rice. I kind of screwed up and put too much chipotle chilies in it… My girlfriend’s mouth was not impressed with the level of heat. It even made me sweat a little but was far from unbearable. Otherwise it turned out spectacular. I was hesitant about putting coconut milk in with the black beans but the proof is in the pudding.

Cuban Black Beans

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves of garlic pressed

2-3 tsp cumin

2 bay leaves

1 Tbl canned chipotle chilies, minced

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, mostly drained

1 c water

1 c Light coconut milk

1 tsp lime juice

2 finely chopped green onions

1/2 c finely chopped fresh cilantro

In a medium sauce pan sauté the onions in olive oil until they start to turn golden brown.

Add the peppers and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes

Add your spices, black beans, water and coconut milk.

Simmer beans for 30 minutes. Add lime juice and serve.

Top with the scallions and cilantro.

Cilantro Rice

2 c water

1 c jasmine rice (any white rice will work but jasmine is my favorite)

Olive oil

3 -4 cloves pressed garlic (my Zyliss got a work out today)

2 tsp lime juice

1 handful of chopped cilantro

2 hands full chopped spinach

3 chopped green onions

Bring water to boil

Add rice, oil, garlic, lime juice

Reduce heat and simmer

Cook until done (20 – 25 minutes)

Transfer rice to a bowl and mix in the cilantro, spinach and onions

 

You can serve the beans over the rice, beside the rice or just eat the beans from the pot with a spoon and eat the rice from the bowl with a spoon. What ever floats your boat. 

 

This will go nicely with a nice lighter body beer. My personal recommendation is the Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale but I just really like their beer.

White Bean Chili

We got a little cool snap this weekend that will be stretching into this week so I decided I would crank out one more pot of white chili before the soup season closes. In my mind soup is not a summer food, which is why it drives me up the wall that  the local chowder cook off is in the middle of summer. Who wants to eat chowder in 90 degree weather? Not me but then I just don’t want to even exist in 90 degree weather.

Some notes on this recipe before we get to it. This is chili not rocket science. Unless you do something really, really bad you cannot mess this up. I have never followed a recipe exactly for this, and i don't expect you to follow this exactly, so I will just give you a good frame work to work off of. I always add way more spices than what is listed here, I call it adjusting for taste. Just remember you can always add more but it is difficult to remove what you have added.  

One final thing, I usually make some cornbread to go with this recipe. Nothing like chili and some cornbread made from scratch but I tried something different this time. We were over by a very good local bakery, that makes an olive bread to die for, so we decided to pop in and pick up a good loaf of bread. Instead of the olive bread we got a cheddar cheese loaf, which kicked off the idea of white chili. The bread was amazing and went with the chili very well. I am surprised that the bread survived the night but I guarantee that it will not survive tonight. ; )

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 shallot, chopped (optional, I just had one laying around)

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed

4-10 cloves of garlic, pressed (in your Zyliss garlic press)

 1 fresh pepper (cayenne, Anaheim, jalapeno) chopped (optional depending on tolerance for heat)

30 oz of chicken broth

1 can chopped green chilies

1 ½ Tbl. Cumin (roasted)

2 tsp oregano

1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper (I used a dash of African cayenne)

1 tsp crushed red pepper

White pepper to taste

2 cans of white beans, undrained (Navy, great northern, cannellini, etc. mix them if you want)

Toppings:

Shredded cheese, Monterey jack works well but anything will do

Fresh Cilantro (optional if you think cilantro tastes like soap)

Wedge of cornbread or artisanal bread

1.      

1. Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and sauté onions (and shallot) until tender, remove from pan.

2. In the same pan cook the chicken until done. Drain the excess fat off of the chicken.

3. Add onions and chicken to a large stock pot.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients to the stock pot and heat almost to a boil then reduce heat and simmer.

5. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes, then serve.

6. After you put the chili in a bowl sprinkle with the shredded cheese and cilantro.

As an alternative you can cook it in a crock pot on a high heat for 3 - 4 hours. That is what I did and it turned out very well. Just remember to stir it before you serve it because your seasonings will settle on the bottom of the pot and who ever gets the last bowl is in for a kick.

Serve with your favorite beer, I think I had a Flying Dog

Linguini & Clams with a Red Sauce & More

Very rarely do I make anything Italian but I had a thing of shredded Parmesan cheese in my fridge that needed to get used.

Olive oil

1/2 c. Chopped onion

1 Chopped shallot
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1/4 c. Dry white wine
1/4 c. Tomato sauce
1 tsp. Dried whole basil

1 tsp. Dried Oregano
Fresh pressed garlic to taste (I used lots)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 (6.5 oz) cans whole baby clams, drained
8 oz. Whole wheat linguine (Follow the cooking directions on the package, that is what they are there for)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Coat a large pan with some olive oil and put it on a medium heat. Sautee the shallots and onions until tender. Add the next 8 ingredients. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat. Simmer this uncovered (I recommend using a splatter screen) for about 10 – 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to cook off some of the liquids so your sauce thickens and will stick to your linguini. Once the sauce has reached a desired consistency, add the clams. Simmer for a few more minutes. Serve over cooked linguini and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. 

This is like a 3 for one today. I served the linguini with a kind of a Capri salad and garlic Focaccia bread.

Capri (but not really)Salad

1 Package baby spinach (rinsed and drained)

1 Package cherry tomatoes

1 Ball of Mozzarella (cut or ripped into bite sized pieces)

Dried or fresh basil

Dried oregano

Balsamic reduction (store bought unless you want to make it…)

Mix the first 3 ingredients together in a big bowl. Serve in salad bowls. After salad is plated add some basil and oregano and drizzle with the Balsamic reduction.

Garlic Focaccia Bread

1 small loaf of Garlic Focaccia Bread

Lots of fresh pressed garlic (my Zyliss was getting some use yesterday)

Butter

Slice the Focaccia into 3rds lengthwise. Spread the pressed garlic onto the bread like butter. I like garlic so I went a little bit heavy handed. Add a few little pats of butter to the bread. Toast in a toaster oven until the bread/garlic starts to toast and turn brown. Serve with linguini.

Notes on all of this.

Next time I will make a few changes to this recipe. It is good but I can do better. First my herb garden is not ready yet. Hopefully next time it will be so I can use fresh herbs. Second thing I would change is to add more wine and reduce more. I think the wine got hidden in there. I may even try some Sherry to really get that flavor to come out. Finally I would add about half as many more clams. I like clams and there just were not enough for me.  But like I say about any of my recipes, have some fun, play with it and make it yours.

I also paired this with Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch beer. It is not so much that it goes with this, I mean it is a pretty stand up beer that can handle a red sauce, it is just that it is one of my favorite beers.

My bad ass chicken recipe

This recipe really doesn't have a name. This was just something that I made up when I was living in Virginia Beach. I think my roommate Kris was my kitchen test dummy at the time. I think I got the idea from Chicken Cordon Bleu but it is really nothing like it. I apologies for not giving you a hard ingredients list but there is really no defined amounts. I will tell you what you need and how to do it. From there it is simple enough but pretty labor intensive. It is probably one of my girlfriends favorite dishes of mine but I rarely make it because of the amount of work involved.There is also a lot of room for improvisation in this recipe. Please read the entire recipe before you begin, it will help determine what you need to do  So, without further adieu...

My bad ass chicken recipe

Ingredients 
- Chicken breasts, filleted and pounded flat (you can also use chicken cutlets)
- Crumbled feta cheese (Crumbled blue will also work0
- Baby spinach
- Fresh Garlic, pressed, to taste
- Bacon (thick or thin cut depending on cooking method)
- Stuffing (optional depending on cooking method)*
- Bamboo skewers

Method: Preparation

Take the chicken fillets or cutlets and pound them flat, if they seem to be to thick to work with. Do not pound them so flat that they have holes in them or you will have problems later. I find that an empty beer bottle seems to do the trick.

Put a layer of spinach leaves on the chicken.

Put some crumbled cheese and pressed garlic in the center of the chicken. You want just enough that you can roll the chicken up without it leaking out all over the place. Make sure you tuck the ends of the chicken so as to create a cheese and spinach filled chicken roll-up.

Take the skewers and use them to hold the chicken shut, it should take about 3 - 4 per chicken. Trim the skewers so that there is only about 1/2 an inch sticking out on each side.

Take the bacon and wrap tightly around the chicken. Don't wrap so tightly that you rip the bacon or squeeze the stuff out.

Set chicken aside and move on to the next one, until they are all wrapped up nice and neat, like so:

Method: Cooking

There are two cooking methods that I have used for this dish, grilling and baking.

Grilling:
I originally cooked this on the grill. I used a medium low heat and put the chicken as far away from the flame as I could, because as the fat in the bacon renders you will get some vicious flare ups. Try to abate the flames as best as you can but keep in mind that the bacon serves two purposes in this cooking method. First as bacon cooks it will tighten up on the chicken, sealing in the juices and melting cheese. Second, and the reason why you want thicker bacon, it protects if from the flames. Cook the chicken until you get a 165 internal temperature.

When it is done cooking, pull it off the grill and let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes. Either remove the skewers or warn your diners that they are there (this is very important when grilling as the ends tend to burn off). The bacon can either be eaten or discarded. It should be rather charred and crispy on the outside but still tasty....

(I will add pictures when I get them for this method)

Baking: 
I have adapted a second cooking method for this dish, baking. To bake the chicken I use a 375 degree oven. I take the chicken and put it in a Pyrex dish full of stuffing. For this method thinner bacon is better as it will crisp up in the oven quicker than thicker bacon will. Cooking time is around 45 minutes but varies depending on the size of the chicken rolls (cook to an internal temperature of 165). At about the half way point I flip the chicken, for even cooking. When done, remove from the oven and let rest for 5 - 10 minutes. Remove skewers or warn diners that they are there.

*A note on stuffing. I often cheat with stuffing and will make boxed stuffing, unless i have the time to make my own. I have found Bell's Stuffing to be one of the few commercially available stuffing's that does not have High Fructose Corn Syrup in it. I am not sure why stuffing needs HFCS in it but I don't want it. That crap is everywhere and I try my best to avoid it. Also when making boxed stuffing I like adding sauteed onions and some diced up crispy apples (granny smith, honeycrisp, pink ladys etc...). I also replace the water with beer or chicken broth. When baking it uncovered like I am in this recipe I tend to add a touch more water than what is called for.

Sorry for being so wordy but this is my baby and I wanted to treat her right. If you have any questions about it, please ask in the comments and I will try my best to answer them.

Here is the finished product from last night with some Bell's Stuffing and some steamed Asparagus with pressed garlic thrown in the steamer bag.

Bon Appétit

Sour Cream Replacement

I started eating Greek yogurt about a year or two ago, I guess when it really started showing up on the shelves in the supermarket. If you are unfamiliar, it is a thicker yogurt with more protein than normal yogurt (I do not consider candy bar yogurt like Yoplait yogurt to be real yogurt). Sometime after I started eating this stuff my girlfriend and I were in the market and a thought came to my mind, "I bet you could replace sour cream with plain Greek yogurt...". So we decided to give it a day in court.

We got some good baking potatoes and some low fat (or no fat) yogurt and threw it on our baked potatoes. It was good. The consistency was very similar to sour cream and the taste was very similar as well. The only real difference was that it was just a touch sweeter. So I got to thinking about ways to hide that sweetness without blowing the health benefits of yogurt over sour cream. The Greeks have this stuff called Tzatziki sauce that is a blend of yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, dill and some other stuff but it inspired me.

The next time we had baked potatoes I tried adding some pressed garlic. I swear, my garlic press can solve almost any kitchen problem (another shameless plug for Zyliss garlic presses). I think I may have overdone it by adding 4 cloves to one small container of yogurt but the results were awesome. My girlfriend and I have played around with the amount of garlic and have found 1 - 2 cloves per small container to be good. We have also substituted this in every recipe that calls for sour cream with success (tacos, burritos, baked potatoes etc...). We have even passed it off on unsuspecting people as sour cream and they never knew the difference until we told them.

I have my suspicion that if you were to add your favorite herb combination the results would be the same as garlic. I don't mind the hint of sweetness it has when used plain but if you want to cover hide it then try some oregano, basil or dill. Play around with it and see what you can come up with. I am not saying that replacing sour cream is the solution to a healthier diet but it is a small step you can take and more than likely you will never know the difference.

Ingredients:

6oz of Greek Yogurt ( I like Chobani)
1-2 cloves of garlic pressed

Mix garlic into the yogurt. Cover and chill until you are ready to use

I thought I would include the nutritional breakdown for the yogurt versus sour cream just for your viewing.

Versus  Light Sour cream (which I think tastes icky)

 

Ingredients: Grade A cultured cream, skim milk, vitamin A palmitate
2 Tbsp = about 1 oz
So multiply these values by 6 to see how it compares to the yogurt... and how many of us only use the recommended serving size of sour cream on our baked potatoes?



Just a side note to all of this... I used Daisey Sour Cream for the analysis. They only put nutritional info up for the light sour cream. The full strength stuff only had an ingredients list...