Bacon Cheese Burgers
It's down to 93° today - we're practically freezing.
I've been wanting to play Italian all week but the weather just hasn't cooperated. I have serious motivation issues when the thermometer rises above 78°. I just don't feel like spending time in the kitchen. I'm going to have to wait until fall, I think.
In the meantime, we still have to eat, so bacon burgers on the barbie, it is. Cooking bacon on the grill is a lot of fun. I lay it out on the upper rack and let it slowly cook. The grease usually flares up so I make sure to watch it, but it really comes out tasty.
Speaking of Italy, there's a dessert I've been wanting to make since first having it in Florence. It was so good, I actually had it at two different restaurants. It's thinly-sliced sponge cake drizzled with lemocello, and layered with pastry cream and then topped with meringue.
I haven't found a recipe for the dish and searching the web I keep coming up with variations on Zuppa Iglesse. I saw it made in a large, deep casserole dish - making many servings. Most of the one's I'm seeing are actual cakes but the ingredients are right. I think my dish may just be a variation on it. We're heading to Point Pleasant for my birthday, so I think I may bring a batch to share with everyone.
In the meantime, rumor has it it's only going to be high 80's tomorrow. Time to break out the winter coats.
July 4th Feast
Happy Independence Day.
It's close to a hundred degrees outside. Definitely grilling weather.
And salad weather. I've been making salads the past few days in anticipation of today. Fruit salad, farro salad, bean salad, and today, I made a salad from my youth - Herman's Delicatessen Potato Salad. Herman's was on Geary Blvd in San Francisco around 7th Avenue. Naturally, it is long gone - as are all of my favorite food haunts of my youth - but the recipe lives on...
Herman's was right up the street from both Star of the Sea and French Hospital. All the girls I knew went to Star. My brother and one sister were born at French. French is also where my sister-n-law worked as a pharmacist until it was acquired by Kaiser.
But I digress...
It was a busy neighborhood and the deli was busy.
Since I lived on the other side of the park, I really didn't get over to Herman's all that often, but every now and again there'd be a reason to stop. Growing up, there was Edgewater Delicatessen right up the street from us at 46th & Taraval, and Herb's at 32nd & Taraval. (A Herby Burpy was made on a full loaf of sourdough french bread!) Frank & Grace owned Edgewater and would give us salami ends to gnaw on when we were little tykes... Later, there was Dean's on 46th & Noriega... and others, but these stick out, right now.
They all had their own style and specialties, but what sticks out most for me is the potato salad at Herman's. It was unique at the time because the potatoes were sliced - as for scalloped potatoes - instead of chunked or cubed like most other delis I remember. And it was more of a sour cream base as opposed to mayonnaise. And no eggs, pickles, or chopped celery.
**Update April 13, 2017 - I received this recipe from a friend quite a while ago. I originally thought it was the Herman's recipe, but it appears to be an approximation that quite possibly came from another food blog - Canapes and Chocolate. When I emailed this to my friend, today, she said she thought she had gotten it from the newspaper, or someone had given it to her but she really wasn't sure - she was only sure that it wasn't her recipe!!. So... apologies to Claire at Canapes and Chocolate. No slight intended!
Herman's Potato Salad
- 2 pounds white potatoes
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 6 radishes, grated
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/8 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- salt & pepper, to taste
Peel potatoes, slice into 1/8" thick or so rounds and place in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and then simmer until slightly firm but cooked through.
Drain potatoes and spread out on platter – let them cool for about 5 minutes. While warm, drizzle the vinegar over the potatoes. Let vinegar soak in for about 10 minutes and then refrigerate until cold.
Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, and remaining ingredients. When potatoes are cold, gently mix in dressing, being careful not to break up potatoes.
Check for seasoning and add S&P as desired.
Really simple, yet really good. The shredded radishes really give it a unique flavor and the slight drizzle of vinegar while the potatoes are warm adds a great back-flavor. I do have to admit that I still like mine better, but this is a really good deli-style potato salad and made a nice change.
Onto the baked beans...
These are the only baked beans I make, anymore. They are the best. My sister made them for their housewarming many moons ago and I've made them ever since. At one point, chipotles in adobo were so difficult to find here in white-bread-suburbia, that I'd bring a half-dozen cans back with me every time we flew home. Fortunately, they're becoming less exotic and can now be found in several local supermarkets.
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.
And then we have the ribs...
These were seasoned with chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I slow-baked them and then placed them on the grill with BBQ sauce. Spicy-good!
And then we had the Farro Salad from last night...
The Bean Salad from the night before...
And a fruit salad that I didn't photograph. It was good, too.
We have lots of leftovers so there's plenty of good eats and no more cooking while the weather continues to soar.
And to top it all off... Victor made a banana cake and there's not one, not two, not even three, but four different kinds of ice cream in the freezer!
It's good to be prepared for heat waves...
Burgers and Farro Salad
I'm lovin' me some farro! I tend to like it better as a cold salad, although I've been known to make a mean risotto with it. Versatile. that's what I like.
Tonight, it was a simple salad. This could be made with lentils, beans, rice, pasta, or any combination of the above. It's just adding chopped vegetables to the grain and adding a bit of oil and vinegar. Have some fresh herbs?!? Chop them up and add them. It's a clean-out-the-refrigerator salad. Anything will work.
Trust me.
And we had burgers and fruit salad along with it...
The burger was an open-faced concoction sitting on toasted Italian bread with sliced tomatoes, pecorino toscano cheese, and bacon. Yumlicious.
Tomorrow is going to be even more salads - and ribs.
Can't wait.
Hunter's Recipe Duck Rub
Oh boy! Another great rub!
I've been wanting to try Hunter's Recipe Duck Rub since it arrived a couple of weeks ago. I've had a "meh" relationship with duck for years. I probably had my fill of it when I was cooking at Hugo's Rotisserie at the Hyatt Lake Tahoe circa 1976. We went through a lot of duck back in those days. A lot of duck. We did a lot of great sauces, too. The lingonberry was my favorite.
Alas, Hugo's is no longer there - in fact, the entire building has been completely renovated - or replaced. The lakeside restaurant is now The Lone Eagle Grill. The casino restaurant I next cooked for and eventually managed - Alpine Jack's - is gone, as well. It's now The Sierra Cafe. Last time I was there I barely recognized it.
And yes, I have a name tag from a job I had some 34 years ago - readily available. Notice the old Hyatt logo... Pack-rat?!? MOI?!?
But I digress...
Back in the present, I had a couple of duck breasts in the freezer I had picked up just for grins and giggles because I'm always ready to try something yet, again.
I'm quite happy I had them.
I pulled the fat from the duck breasts and rendered it separately. I'm not a huge fan of hunks of fat attached to what I'm eating. I then followed the instructions on the spice rub - I drizzled the breasts with olive oil and then liberally coated them with the rub. I let them set for about 2 hours before I grilled them.
Outstanding Flavor!
I was impressed. Again. Chef Jeremy says the Duck Rub is his favorite - and I can see why. It is a great blend of kinda sweet and savory herbs and spices that just work together. They played off the slight gaminess of the duck perfectly.
I have to admit that pulling all of the fat off the breasts probably wasn't the smartest move from a culinary standpoint. The breast was a bit drier than I would have preferred, but it was a trade-off, because I wanted to really taste the rub and if I had left the fat on, I would have cut it all off before eating it - and lost the spice rub.
A little dryness was worth the burst of flavor from the rub.
Chef Jeremy stated that he really works to create flavors that compliment and work well with the individual meats. And it was obvious with the Duck Rub because the flavors and the duck worked perfectly together.
So not only did I get a great dinner, I got a stroll down Memory Lane.
Tahoe in the mid-to-late '70s was a great place to live. And it's nothing short of a miracle that I survived it!
Hunter's Recipe BBQ Chicken
My box of Hunter's Recipe Spice Rubs arrived just in time for dinner Friday night!
After trying the Steak Rub the other night, I knew I wanted to delve a little deeper into these and the timing could not have been more perfect. I had two bone-in chicken breasts that were looking to be grilled.
Smoky paprika, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar... classic flavors expertly blended to create a really unique barbecue taste sensation! Just enough heat to satisfy with just enough sweet to balance.
It actually was so good I ate my chicken skin. That alone explains how good it was. I never - ever - eat chicken skin. Ever. While I'm one of the least-fussy eaters I know, I got sick on it once as a wee tyke - eating way too much of it. Generally, I just peel it back and dive right into the succulent meat.
Not this time. I ate the skin!
Baked potato with sour cream and corn... The Perfect Meal. Come to think of it, it would have been even more perfect with some Adluh biscuits or cornbread.
Next time. I shall be doing more of this.
Speaking of more of this...
Last night I decided to grill some big ol' burgers. Since I had some of the steak rub, I added about a tablespoon to a pound of ground beef before forming the patties. It had made a filet mignon outstanding. I knew it would help some lowly ground beef.
I lightly-formed my patties - not wanting to compact the beef all that much - preheated the grill and set them on to sizzle.
A few minutes later I went back to check on them and - I ran out of gas. A stone-cold grill.
Into the kitchen I came, heated up a skillet and fried those little babies. Camera was in the other room so I didn't get pictures, but suffice to say - the Steak Rub works wonders in a hamburger.
I loved every bite of it.
Chicken on the Barbie
So the first official day of Spring was in the mid-70's today. I say official, because it's pretty much been spring around here since October. One of the warmest winters in recorded history. It's supposed to hit 78° tomorrow and 80° on Thursday and Friday. It's definitely making me nervous about summer...
But regardless of the time of year, hot weather means firing up the grill. Cold weather means firing up the grill, also, but we don't get nearly the weird looks when it's nice out as we do when it's snowing... Go figure.
Tonight's dinner was as basic as basic can be... bone-in chicken breasts with bottled bbq sauce, grilled asparagus with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and roasted red potatoes. The chicken cooked for about 35 minutes and was just perfectly done. Bone-n chicken just has so much more flavor than its boneless-skinless counterpart. And all it takes is one fresh off the grill to remind me that I really need to buy more...
And to top it all of, we had ice cream for dessert - because it's still 70° at 8pm.
I really could get used to this weather. No heat, no air conditioning... Windows open... Slight breeze...
Did I mention I'm slightly worried about the coming summer?!?
Grilling Steaks
Temperature is falling. Time to grill!
Well... Anytime is the time to grill, but there's something about those colder-weather grillings that are just a tad more special.
I've been slowly slipping into soups-and-stews mode. Lots of homemade bread. But I also still have several steaks in the freezer that should be used before Memorial Day 2012.
We're lucky we can grill year-round. The grill is under cover and even in the worst snow storms, I've been able to get out there and get it going. As long as I don't run out of gas...
So tonight's dinner was a s basic as basic can get - strip steaks, baked potatoes with sour cream, and green beans. Oh, and not pictured was toasted garlic bread made from the bread I made a couple of days ago.
And it was good.
Nothing fancy, no exotic seasonings, just a good steak and a good baked potato - oven-baked, not microwaved.
Bring on the weather. I'm ready!
Ribs
Last summer I received a 60-day Costco membership. I had cancelled our membership close to 10 years ago because I just couldn't see paying a store an annual fee for the privilege of giving them even more money. Not to mention the fact that they just don't have a lot of things I want to buy. We just don't need industrial-sized drums of the national-brand stuff they sell. Besides... I read ingredient lists.
Once upon a time we would buy paper towels, toilet paper, laundry and dish soap there, but I found we could get just as good - if not better - prices at local grocery stores. Without having to pay an annual fee. The last time I was there, I literally walked every aisle and couldn't find anything I wanted to buy.
Except some ribs.
It was actually my second trip to Costco for the ribs. I really liked the first batch.
I bought three packages - which translated to six full racks. Twelve dinners for two. I cut them and repacked them with my handy-dandy FoodSaver.
Tonight I cooked up the last package. And were they ever good!
I cut them all into ribs and liberally doused them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and ancho chili powder. I placed them in a 250° oven for a little more than 2 hours. Victor noted that with our oven, it's like putting them in a smoker. I think I need to clean it, again.
I then liberally doused them with Peach BBQ Sauce and onto the grill they went. (I love the word "liberal.")
I also made a batch of little sister's baked beans. They totally rock.
The disappointment?!? The artichokes. Tough and woody. I was especially bummed because I was going to make grilled corn with cumin butter and at the last minute changed my mind. I didn't even eat mine. Victor dove into the heart and pronounced it edible but I just wasn't interested at that point.
But it's okay because I'm saving room (and calories) for Nectarine Upside-Down Cake a little later on.
Steaks
I love any number of spices, rubs, sauces, grilled onions, mushrooms, crumbled blue cheese - just about anything on a steak.
But sometimes ya just want a steak. An unadorned, on-the-grill, basic steak. And that's what we had, tonight.
We had a couple of nice strip steaks in the freezer that called my name this morning. We also had a couple of ears of corn I bought yesterday - and potato salad I made yesterday. This was one easy meal!
The corn went on first. Well-buttered and with salt and pepper, I wrapped it in foil and put it on the upper grill rack for about 10 minutes. The steaks got salt, pepper, and garlic - and onto the grill they went. I put the corn on the lower grates while the steaks cooked.
A few minutes later, dinner was served.
Sometimes simple is good.
Perfect Grilling Weather
Yes. Perfect grilling weather. Actually, it has been pretty perfect all day long. It barely hit 70° today. Part-sun and part-overcast. All the windows have been open and I'm listening to a symphony of birds out in the back yard.
A pretty perfect day. This is the Spring we haven't been getting. Lazy days with a book in the back yard. Or - since it is Basil Rathbone's birthday today - a Sherlock Holmes marathon on TCM.
And a pretty perfect day calls for a pretty perfect dinner. Porterhouse steaks seemed to fit the bill quite nicely.
There were a couple of slices of bacon in the 'fridge that just called for topping baked potatoes - and mixing into a container of fresh peas.
And what's a steak without grilled onions to top it all off?!?
It ended up being more food than any two people could eat - but we have luncheon leftovers for tomorrow.
And Cybil ate well, too.
Flank Steak on the Barbie
Flank steak. Once upon a time it was an inexpensive piece of meat. And then - sadly - it was "discovered." The price has risen dramatically over the past few years.
One of the reasons I used to make my Oriental Flank Steak with Spicy Garlic Sauce for crowds because it was so economical. Now it's top-tier appetizer!
But I still but it because it's one of the most flavorful cuts of meat on the steer. Cooked right and cut right, it's tender and juicy - and it takes any and all marinades and rubs. Versitile, it is.
Tonight i just salt and peppered. Nothing else. A good piece of meat doesn't need anything else. The mushrooms I cooked in a pat of butter and then a splash of beef broth. Spinach and a couscous blend.
Tomorrow I'm heading out of my local shopping area to visit an Italian Deli/Cafe in Norristown. I met the owner last night at a function at the Elmwood Park Zoo and want to see the place up close.
I'll be reporting back if it's as good as I hope it is!