Summertime Cooking
One of the true joys of summer is the bounty of fresh fruit available. I'm one of those guys who just can't bring myself to buy berries and watermelon and peaches grown in the southern hemisphere in December. Besides being ridiculously expensive, the stuff generally has no flavor. Can't do it.
But come April I start thinking about it. And in May and June, I'm ready. I can't wait to bite into a peach and have the juice run down my arm. Or bite into a strawberry that is actually red, ripe, and has flavor! And apricots and plums and nectarines... I'm definitely a stone fruit kinda guy although, if I can find an old-fashioned watermelon with seeds, I'll pick one up. When they bred the seeds out of melons, they bred the flavor out, as well. I prefer things to be as local as possible, but east coast living is different than west coast living. Early in the season I'll settle for northern hemisphere.
So tonight's bountiful bowl consisted of nectarines, strawberries, and ranier cherries, with a bit of mint and a drizzle of Fico D'India - a prickly pear liqueur we picked up in Sicily.
Any excuse to pull out a bottle of booze, ya know?!? We have several different flavors - orange, cinnamon, and a fiery red something or other I picked up at Mount Etna - that will all be used in due time.
Good fresh fruit doesn't need any enhancements but needing and playing are two entirely different concepts. I like to play.
I also played with a baked bean concept we came up with at work.
Baked beans, bacon, onions, and a mustard-based BBQ sauce. Nonna - who says she doesn't like beans - had a big helping and twice said how much she liked them.
And then there was the chicken breast big enough for three.
Crispy crispy chicken-bacon-skin for Victor. That's actually another thing - boneless skinless chicken breasts - something else with no flavor. All I added to this was salt, pepper, and a dusting of garlic powder. It was tender, juicy, and bursting with chicken flavor. What a concept.
And it wasn't "enhanced with up to 22% solution." Do you read the packages of chicken - or anything else you pick up at the store? They factory-farm a bird to be a certain size and weight by a certain day and then inject them with a 'solution' to make them taste like chicken.
That's not a solution, that's a problem.
Tomorrow is looking to be another bright, sunny day, so it's time to hit the kitchen and see what gastronomical delights we can come up with. There's nothing planned, so I can spend all day in the kitchen if I feel like it!
We shall see...
Burgers and Fries
I do love me a good burger - there's something almost primal in their greasy, juicy messiness. When they're really good, you pick them up and can't put them back down until you're done. It's an art getting bites of burger, bites of toppings, and getting the occasional french fry into your mouth.
And napkins. Lots and lots of napkins. And even then, I feel like I should be hosed down afterwards. A great burger makes a great mess.
The above burger was a definite mess-maker. It had mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, pickles, onions, lettuce, bacon, and melted boursin cheese along with a good-sized patty between the halves of a whole-wheat bun. I had an avocado that I planned to put on there, as well, but... reality struck.
Even without the avocado it was gastronomic heaven.
Welcome Summer! More to come!
Labor Day 2013
Somewhere in there is a burger covered in cheese. A Bacon Cheese Burger with Avocado, Tomato, and Sprouts. Alfalfa sprouts.
Heaven.
This is our luncheon salute to The Holiday. Our main meal is going to be Chinese - because that's where all the jobs have gone. We did a shopping trek to a big Asian market yesterday. Pork buns, chow mein, and sweet and sour...
Labor Day. Back in my youth, it was a day of parades with union members marching and the crowds yelling and applauding. It was when we had a real middle class - fueled by union workers making American products - that Americans - and people throughout the world - bought.
And then, companies decided to make things overseas because it was cheaper to have children in other countries make our products rather than people with children here at home.
And people with low-paying jobs started hating unions because they made more money than they did - and didn't seem to have to work as unsafe or difficult, without necessary equipment or supplies or as many hours. People with high-paying jobs hated the unions because they demanded simple things like a safe work environment or decent health care or retirement for the workers.
My father was a proud union firefighter. I was in unions in my youth but spent most of my career in management - usually in union shops. Some of the best employees I ever had were union members. I'd take a union property over a non-union property, anytime.
The eight-hour day. Overtime. Holiday pay. Sick leave.
All of the things we have taken for granted and are now having taken away.
And now unions are reviled because they are being blamed for every job that has been sent to China. For the cost of education. For the cost of putting out a fire in your home.
It ain't the Unions, boys and girls. It's the Greed on Wall Street that demands corporate profits be higher and higher every year, that forces businesses to meet some paper-pushing nitwit's 'projections' for what they think they should be doing - their market-share - instead of allowing them to just do a good job, make a decent product, and sell it at a competitive price.
Or, better yet, do what Bain Capital does and saddle a perfectly good, solid company with debt, take millions for yourself, and then close the company and sell of its parts - and then blame the workers.
The only people fighting for working Americans are Unions.
Far from being the enemy, they are the only thing standing in the way of 12-year old kids working in coal mines, again.
Another Beer Can Chicken
It is 73° outside. It's August 19th. In the Philadelphia suburbs. The average temperature is usually around 85° for this time of year. Hot and humid. It's very strange... But 73° is better than 85° - no matter what the reason. I have never liked the heat and humidity and I doubt I ever will.
I'm enjoying the cooler weather respite - it's supposed to head back to 90° by Wednesday - and it put me in the mood to do another beer can chicken! This may just be no-brainer simplicity at its finest. A chicken sitting on a beer on a grill. Done. It really does come out good. Moist, succulent chicken with a crispy skin that Victor loves. In most instances I'm not a skin-eater, so Victor and Cybil get to fight over it.
Non-GMO corn-on-the-cob boiled with salt, rolled in butter. Nothing fancy. The corn has been pretty good, so far. And Phoebe's Baked Beans. The only baked beans I make. I went a bit overboard with the chipotles. Nonna didn't eat hers - too hot. But I thought they were perfect.
The potatoes are another go-to-no-brainer. I thin-slice a potato on my mandoline, add a pat of butter to a small skillet, and then layer the slices around the pan. I drizzle a bit more butter over the top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with a lid, and fry on low for about 30 minutes. The bottom gets nice and crunchy and the rest of the potatoes get buttery and creamy.
Yummers.
Tomorrow I am making pizza. I found a recipe in La Cucina Italiana magazine for a slow-rise pizza dough that looks pretty good. It uses Italian "00" flour - which I just happened to have. The dough is made and in the 'fridge for it's first overnight rise.
Yummers, again.
Beer Can Chicken
I did it! I finally made a Beer Can Chicken!
And I'm glad I did!
I'm not sure why it took me so long to make one of these. Might be the fact that we never have cans of beer in the house. Ever. In fact, I had to drink a can of seltzer and then fill the can from a bottle of beer. Bottles we generally have.
I used a bottle of Downtown Brown from Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka, CA. We were just up the road from them last week... I always keep a few beers on hand for beer bread or other cooking - or the occasional beer-drinking guest.
I rubbed it thoroughly with some of the Kansas City rub we're still working our way through. I love having all of this stuff right on hand. I preheated the gas grill, placed the chicken on the can, turned off the middle burners, turned down the end burners, and let it go for about 2 hours. Crispy, crispy skin and succulent meat. I had a vertical roaster for the longest time and used to prop a chicken up on it now and again, but I haven't seen it for 25 or so years... The concept is kinda the same. Almost. The vertical roaster doesn't get that slightly-beery taste.
It really did come out good. Even Nonna cleaned her plate. I'll be doing this, again.
And speaking of again, I made Mac and Cheese to go with it.
I made a lot. It's one of those things I just can't make a small batch of, no matter how hard I try. It's okay, though, because it makes good leftovers...
This was a three-cheese batch with jack, cheddar, and havarti. No peas. No ham. But I topped it with crushed potato chips instead of bread crumbs.
It is simplicity itself to make. Make a medium white sauce (flour, butter, milk) and then add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco cause, and a splash of soy sauce. Stir in garlic powder, salt & pepper. Add some grated cheese - your choice - and you're on your way. Add cooked elbow macaroni, top with buttered crumbs, and place in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350°.
Really simple.
Tri-Tips and KC BBQ
Weather-wise, today was a perfect day. Warm enough to have windows open, cool enough not to die while working in the yard. I was indoors cooking up a storm, Victor was outside making the yard beautiful. The perfect delegation of duties.
While Victor was mowing and trimming, I went grocery shopping, made potato salad for tomorrow, slow-cooked a rack of ribs - also for tomorrow, made a tortellini salad for tonight, baked a polenta pound cake and made a fresh cherry and key lime sauce to top it with, and cut up a tri-tip roast into steaks and liberally covered them with KC Rib Doctor Seasoning - one of Victor's birthday gifts.
All-in-all, I think I did well.
The seasoning was just what thew Rib Doctor ordered! I used it on the ribs that slow-cooked in the oven for several hours today - I'll finish them on the grill tomorrow - and on the steaks. It's pretty darn good. I'm definitely enjoying this gift!
It's funny that I usually eschew spice blends because I have so many herbs and spices in the cupboard, and then I have a million-and-one exceptions - like regional-type blends, ethnic blends, and I always have French herbs and herbs d'Provence... Italian seasoning... Oh, wait - I can count them under "ethnic blends."
At least I'm consistent in my inconsistencies.
The tortellini salad was a throw-together...
- Cheese tortellini
- fresh peas
- roasted red pepper
- sun-dried tomatoes
- sliced black olives
- mayonnaise
- basil
- oregano
- parsley
- garlic powder
- salt and pepper
Mix. Chill. Eat.
Fresh corn with lots of butter.
And there's still that polenta pound cake for later on.
Holiday weekends totally rock!
Kansas City BBQ
Victor received an awesome Birthday Present in the mail last week from a friend in Kansas City - local Kansas City BBQ sauces and rubs. Totally awesome!
We're both huge fans of regional cooking and really love locally-produced products. We're going to have a lot of fun going through these!
We've had the Gates BBQ sauce in the past, so I started off with it, because I knew it would be Nonna-acceptable. I'm still feeling my way around her likes and dislikes and want to make sure that if she doesn't totally love something, at least doesn't hate it.
Nonna loved it.
Victor started the ribs in a 250° oven for a couple of hours while I was at work. I finished them on the grill.
Meanwhile, I made Boursin mashed potatoes - just add Boursin cheese to your regular mashed recipe - and the ever-popular over-cooked broccoli.
One of these days I'll cook two vegetables. Really.
And we now have lots of fun sauces and rubs to play with this season.
Can't wait to try 'em all!
Birthday Brochettes
It's a birthday cake. baked in our own, newly-fixed oven. Yes. newly-fixed, not new.
We started talking last night and by this morning we had decided that we just couldn't justify all new stainless steel appliances. The clincher really was the refrigerator. It works. It works really well. And it wouldn't fit downstairs. We couldn't just throw it away and trying to sell it was more hassle than we wanted to deal with. I was even channeling my inner-hillbilly and trying to figure out how it would fit on the back deck, the shed, the powder room... It wasn't going to work.
I went online at 8:00am and in two hours time we had a very nice guy come out and replace the $96.00 element. We then went online and ordered a new upper dishwasher basket to replace the broken and rusted one that is currently there.I broke out some soap and water and for less money than we were going to spend in DC this weekend - a lot less, in fact - we have fixed, clean, and looking-new appliances.
It was fun dreaming about brand-spankin'-new kitchen stuff, but even we have to put a foot into reality once in a while. Besides... we're awaiting a bid on new doors, storm doors, insulation, and a new front window from our friends at Sharpe Builders. The money press downstairs just hasn't been producing and when ya borrow money, the bastards want it back. With interest.
So... we're happy with our decision and happy we have a working oven, again - a perfectly-calibrated oven, I might add.
The Birthday cake is a recipe Victor came up with for my birthday. It's based on Tyler Florence’s Chocolate Cracked Earth Cake.
Victor’s Flourless Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 1 stick butter
- 9 large eggs, separated
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pt raspberries, mashed with a fork
- 1/4 cup strong espresso coffee
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
Melt chocolate and butter together.
Beat egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Stir in a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs then mix in the rest of the chocolate mixture. Stir in coffee and raspberries and mix well.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chocolate mixture.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.
But that's dessert. Dinner was really good, too!
It included a really good Brussels Sprouts and Rice Casserole that Victor got from his friend, Jenni.
There were actually several steps involved - several things needed to be cooked before being combined and cooked - but it really was a good dish and I know I'll be making it, again.
Brussels Sprouts and Rice Casserole
- 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen brussels sprouts
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- cooking spray
- 1 cup cooked long-grain rice (or any rice you have - must be cooked)
- 1 oz thinly-sliced prosciutto or ham, cut into strips
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (or other hard cheese)
Preheat oven to 375°.
In pan, combine brussels sprouts and water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook another minute, then drain.
In saucepan, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk until incorporated, gradually adding the milk. Bring to a boil and cook about 3 minutes until thick. Add salt and pepper (add any other seasonings as you like) and set aside.
Spray a medium-sized baking dish with cooking spray, pat the rice into the bottom of the dish, arrange the sprouts on top of the rice, sprinkle the ham/prosciutto over the sprouts, and pour the sauce over the ham. Combine the breadcrumbs and the cheese and sprinkle over the sauce and then bake and enjoy.
Bake and enjoy, I did! This was a bit of a surprise hit. I knew it would be good because Jenni always sends good recipes. But it was really good.
The brochettes were filet tip roasts from the grocery store that had a bbq sauce on them. I cut them into chunks and then skewered them with onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Since the meat was already sauced, I didn't add anything else.
A great birthday dinner - and cake is coming up!
BBQ Chicken and Chipotle Baked Beans
I picked up some bone-in chicken breasts last week that are huge. One of them could do dinner for the three of us. I cooked two.
Good ol' bone-in breasts. They really do taste so much better than the boneless/skinless things I usually buy. And I buy good boneless/skinless things. I remember when chicken was actually more expensive than beef and when all chicken had bones in it. They didn't need to be labeled "free range" because they all were. That was before the factory-farming of today. So much for progress.
But this isn't supposed to be a political rant on the sorry state of our food supply. It's actually a victory post! Nonna ate spicy tonight!
I knew all day long that I was grilling these big ol' chicken breasts - and that I was going to make my sister's chipotle baked beans to go along with them. These are seriously the only baked beans I ever make. They totally rock.
When I started making them, Victor came in and asked if I was going to make them less spicy for Nonna. I said "Nope." They really can be a spicy dish, but I figured if she didn't like them, there were other things to fill up on. I put a goodly amount on her plate along with tomato salad, fries, and the aforementioned chicken.
She took her first bite and said "these are hot." I mischievously asked "temperature or spice?" She said "spicy" and continued eating them. She said they were spicy another two times - all the while eating them. She ate every one and cleaned her plate!
So we now know that Nonna likes spicy. Or, at least, she likes Phoebe's Spicy Baked Beans!
Phoebe's Baked Beans
- 1/2 cup minced shallots
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce, chopped
- 2 (28-ounce) cans baked beans
Preheat oven to 300°.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and oil, and cook for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients (except beans.). Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine beans and shallot mixture in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thick and bubbly.
First change I make is I always use a small can of tomato paste because on the rare occasion that I have tomato puree in the house - it's in a 28oz can. The recipe can be halved or doubled - or tripled or whatever.
And they really are that good!
The rest of the dinner worked, as well. A simple tomato salad - Nonna really does like [red] tomatoes - with a bit of fresh basil, red wine vinegar, and olive oil, and some fries.
I wonder how she would react to some really good andouille sausage...?!?
Pulled Pork and Pickles
I actually don't remember when I first had a BBQ pork sandwich with pickles. It definitely wasn't something I had as a kid - and probably not something I had before I turned 50. It may have been a sandwich we briefly sold at work quite a few years ago. While I may not be sure where I first had one, seeing it a few days ago reminded me of it.
I don't need an excuse to make sandwiches - I have always been a sandwich-kinda-guy. A few years back on Food network, they had a guy win the Next Star program who specialized in sandwiches. I think I could have done better.
But while I'm always ready to take a sandwich one step over the top, tonight I decided to make it pretty basic.
I had picked up a couple of bone-in pork roasts on Monday, and one went right into the freezer and the other went into a pot. I added water, garlic, onion, and some Mojo Chipotle marinade and let it simmer for almost 4 hours. I took it out of the simmering liquid and let it cool for about an hour. I pulled the meat off the bones with a fork and it chunked and shredded perfectly. Into the 'fridge it went.
For dinner, I merely added some bottled BBQ sauce and made it hot. Yes. Bottled. It wasn't a national brand and it didn't have any garbage in it.
I served them on mini-rolls with - pickles. Victor looked at me like I had three heads, but I told him to trust me on this one. He did and was amazed at just how well they went together.
On the other side of the plate were scalloped potatoes.
These aren't something I make that often, but I do like them a lot and I thought Nonna would appreciate them with her sandwich. She definitely did. We all reached the "Oh, I'm stuffed, I can't eat any more. Just one more bite." A few times.
First, I made a thin white sauce with butter, flour, and milk. I added some shredded cheeses (fontina, cheddar, and monterey jack) and then a splash of worcestershire sauce, a few dashes of Tabasco, garlic powder, sat & pepper. I thinly-sliced the potatoes on my trusty mandoline and layered them in a baking dish with the cheese sauce. I covered the dish and put it into a 375° oven for about an hour, taking the foil off for the last 15 minutes.
Yum.
BBQ Ribs
♫ Summertime, and the livin' is easy... ♫
Finally a decent-weather day. Low 80s and low humidity. I could live with this. Alas, today is the only day we're getting good weather. Back to high humidity tonight.
Oh well... I enjoyed it while it was here.
And I enjoyed getting outside and grilling some ribs! But before I grilled ribs, I made pasta salad and Phoebe's Baked Beans.
The pasta salad was easy.
I cooked up a package of perline pasta (you could use mini-ravioli) and added 4oz of diced speck (use prosciutto) a small red onion, a yellow and a green zucchini, diced, some frozen peas, and some chopped sun-dried tomatoes. The dressing was a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Salt & pepper.
It was really simple and really good. A good pasta salad is a clean out the refrigerator salad. Seriously. Anything goes.
The beans were perfect - as always. This is just such a good recipe...
Phoebe's Baked Beans
- 1/2 cup minced shallots
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup tomato puree (I use tomato paste – I never have puree in the house!)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped
- 2 (28-ounce) cans baked beans
Preheat oven to 300°.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and oil, and cook for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients (except beans.). Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine beans and shallot mixture in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thick and bubbly.
They seriously come out perfect every time.
And the ribs...
I did a dry rub of smoked paprika, chipotle powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. I put the ribs into a 250° oven for about 2 hours before putting them on the grill with BBQ sauce.
We went through lots of napkins.
And... I picked up more peaches, today. Another dessert coming up!
Beef Ribs and Pasta Salad
I came home to a big batch of pasta salad sitting in the refrigerator. It is just so nice to have a man around the house - who knows how to cook!
This was a fairly typical pasta salad around our house. It's open the cupboards and refrigerator, see what's there, and make salad. It's really simple.
This particular version had 2 types of pasta (I can't believe we're practically out of pasta. I had pretty much cornered the market on it for a year or so.) And it had marinated artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cannellini beans, black olives, celery, garlic, carrots, bell peppers... A chianti vinegar and olive oil. Very simple, very basic.
I picked up the bowl in Rome as a surprise for Victor. It's Sicilian from a company named La Giara. I fell in love with the colors. I've always liked Italian pottery and we've bought several pieces over the years, but after walking into so many shops and just being overwhelmed with the vast amounts and variations, I want to just thrrow everything out we have and start over. Not exactly practical, so I won't. But I'd love to. After checking out La Giara's website, methinks I will be visiting the actual shop when we make it to Sicily. There are a lot more pieces I can get. Late 2013 or early 2014 is my plan.
Back to food...
I can't remember the last time I had beef ribs. Years (and years and years) ago when I worked at the old Hyatt House in Burlingame, we had "Just Bones" on the menu. They were the bones cut from the prime ribs after roasting. Liberally doused with BBQ sauce and onto the broiler for a moment, I think we sold them for $19.95 - in 1978 dollars. I've had beef ribs since then, but not very often. Pork ribs just seem to be everywhere.
I marinated these overnight in a bottle of beer and some molasses. I baked them for a few hours in a low oven and then placed them on the grill with some BBQ sauce.
They came out real good.
Speaking of hotels... the "Bayshore Diner Blue Plate Special" plates came from the Westin SFO - right up the road from the Hyatt Regency Burlingame that took the place of my old hotel. I was given the plates as a going away present when I transferred to Indianapolis to open the Westin there.
The good ol' days...