BBQ Archives - Page 7 of 8 - Tim & Victor's Totally Joyous Recipes

Thrillin' Grillin'

Let the grillin' begin!

I couldn't resist doing a full-grill dinner tonight. It's been a while since I had the surface area I needed to do a complete meal. As much as I've been lovin' that charcoal, I know I'm gonna be lovin' the gas even more. What can I say?!? I'm getting old and lazy.

Grilled pork chops with a peach and ginger marinade, grilled potatoes, grilled peaches, grilled apricots, and grilled baby broccoli. Grillin' heaven.

There were two stand-outs in tonight's dinner - the peaches and the marinade! The marinade is cooked, part is chilled and used for marinating the pork chops. The rest is boiled down to a syrupy consistency and used to finish everything off. Yum.

The concept for the marinade came from Bon Appetit.

Peach and Ginger Marinade

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup sugar

1 peach, chopped

1 cup red wine

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp black pepper

Saute onion in a bit of olive oil until wilted. Add sugar and sauté until onion is golden.

Add peach and cook until softened.

Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and let cook a few minutes.

Strain mixture. Chill 1/2 cup (to marinate pork) and return remainder to clean saucepan. Bring back to boil and reduce to half or until thickened and syrupy.

Marinate chops in chilled marinade for about an hour before grilling.

Brush thickened marinade over finished pork chops and grilled peaches and apricots.

I rarely peel anything, so the peach went skin and all into the sauce. I also grilled the peaches with their skin. I brushed them and the apricots with a bit of the sauce before grilling and again on the plate. The peaches were pretty much the star of dinner. I haven't grilled peaches in probably a year. I forgot just how fabulous they can be!

The potatoes were quartered, drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper. I used a grill basket for them with indirect heat. The grill cover was the perfect oven. The baby broccoli was drizzled with a bit of balsamic and lightly sprinkled with Italian seasoning. No sense trying to add a lot of competing flavors with that marinade and sauce.

All-in-all, a great inaugural dinner.

I think we're going to have a lot of fun this summer!

Oh - and for those keeping track. No gain, no loss this week. Stayed the same. I'm bettin' it had to do with ice cream.....

by Tim Dineen

Burgers and Downpours

It's 84° outside. Thunderstorms with torrential downpours. Perfect for throwing a couple of burgers on the grill. And then quickly getting back inside the air conditioned house. (How it can actually get hotter outside while it's raining is beyond me, but... such is life in the Mid-Atlantic states, I guess.)

I usually judge a burger by the number of napkins needed while eating one. The more napkins - the better the burger. This was a three-napkin burger. Definitely a good one.

When we went down to get the new coffee pot, we saw Kenmore gas grills on sale for $199. Nice ones, too. Tempting. I probably would grill even more with a new gas grill. But... I'm not quite ready to give up my charcoal. It's entirely possible that one day in the future I'll bite the bullet and switch back, again. But in the meantime, I'm still enjoying the unpredictability of the open flame.

And there is a flourless chocolate cake cooling on the counter...

It is pouring outside. I am so glad we got the roof done!

by Tim Dineen

Burgers and Peppers

Tonight's dinner is brought to you by the hot Italian peppers Victor fried up Monday.

We picked up some hot and some sweet peppers Monday with the intention of frying them in olive oil and garlic. They are one of the best condiments to have in the 'fridge - they go with so many things and have a shelf-life just short of plutonium. Not that we ever keep them around long, but they will last.

Did I mention hot?!?

They were so hot cooking that when I walked into the kitchen - with windows open and fan blowing - my eyes immediately started burning and I started coughing.

I knew we were onto something good!

I wanted some of them for dinner tonight and thought an open-faced burger was just the ticket. I toasted a couple of thick slices of Italian bread and spread it with mayo mixed with some mixed shredded cheese left from last night's dinner. On top of that went the peppers - and then the burger topped with more cheese.

The fresh fruit was perfect with the hothot peppers, and the leftover-from-Monday potato salad and baked beans added to the goodness (and helped clean out the 'fridge).

It's currently 85° outside with climbing humidity ((I will never get used to living in a place where it can actually get hotter when the sun goes down!) so we're having homemade ice cream for dessert tonight.

Really rich chocolate ice cream with mini peanut butter cups.

Stay tuned.

by Tim Dineen

Corn Dogs and Chipotle Baked Beans

I've had a hankerin' for a corn dog for a while now, and decided a couple of weeks ago that I was going to make them today. I think the last time I had a real corn dog was at the Iowa State Fair in 1993. That's more than a few years ago.

They really are easy to make but not something that is on the normal meal rotation. Deep-frying anything is not on the normal meal rotation. I would absolutely love to have a commercial deep-fryer, but I'm not going to get a counter-top home version.

But I digress.....

I couldn't tell you the last time I made a corn dog, but I'm sure it was long before Iowa.

I don't have a deep-fryer, so I took a 9" braising pan and filled it halfway with oil - about 2" - and cooked them without sticks and added the stick after the fact. I more or less made up the batter recipe, but used Alton Brown's suggestion of rolling the dog in cornstarch to keep the batter on the dog. (His online recipe looked really good, but I was wanting something more traditional today...)

Perfectly crusty exterior, a soft cornbready interior, wrapped around one of my more favorite foods - a hot dog. How could it be bad?!?

Corn Dogs

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

2 tbsp buttermilk powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup milk (about)

pinch salt

8 hot dogs

8 sticks (popsicle sticks would work just fine)

Heat oil in pan or deep fryer to 350°.

Mix dry ingredients together. Add eggs and enough milk to make a fairly thin batter.

Roll hot dogs in cornstarch and dip into batter. (You need to work it a bit - the cornstarch doesn't want to stick right away.)

Carefully add to hot oil. If using a pan, flip over after a minute or so.

Drain on apper towels and serve with mustard.

The baked bean recipe came from my sister, Phoebe. I've shared this recipe many times. I love 'em!

Phoebe's Baked Beans

The original recipe comes from Cooking Light magazine. Phoebe made these at their housewarming “Open House” and nary a bite was left!

These are now the only baked beans I make.

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.

The potato salad is like my mom used to make. It seems everyone I know has a potato salad recipe like their moms. This one is actually pretty simple... potatoes, onion, celery, carrots, pickles, hard-cooked eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, salt, pepper, garlic powder. There's a bazillion and one ways to make a potato salad, but this one is my favorite.

Chicken on the grill with Memphis BBQ sauce.

There's more Poppy Seed Cake for dessert later on this evening.

Right now, I'm ready for a nap.

by Tim Dineen

BBQ Ribs

I've been thinking about ribs all day.

Messy, spicy, falling-off-the-bone ribs. And I got my wish.

I got a good deal on a whole slab of ribs and - for a moment - thought about cooking the whole thing. For two of us. Common sense prevailed and I cut it in half and froze the rest for another day. I sliced the ribs into individual bones and into a pot they went with garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. I simmered them on the stove for about 90 minutes and then started the grill. And broke out the Memphis BBQ Sauce. It was my weekly freebie from Wegmans and it had clean ingredients. Slightly sweet with a nice tang to it. One of the better bottled BBQ sauces I've had in a while.

I slathered it on, set the ribs off to the side of the grill and closed the lid.

Fall-off-the-bone-good!

I took some assorted fingerling potatoes and mixed in some garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper along with a bit of olive oil and coated them nicely. Into the grill-pan they went with the ribs.

And then I made some creamed corn.

I've been looking at fresh corn-on-the-cob and haven't seen anything I really want to bring home, yet. I'm fussy about my fresh corn. I want it fresh. And it ain't local corn season, yet.

So, I settled for frozen. I boiled up some nonfat milk, added the corn and let it simmer for a bit. I then added some S&P and just a little bit of Kasseri cheese. I thickened it with a bit of cornstarch, smashed a few kernels of corn with my spoon, and that was that.

And while all that was going on, I baked a loaf of bread.

It was a loaf of the infamous No-Knead Bread I've been making for the past few months, now. The recipe calls for 6 1/2 cups of flour. This batch I used 2 1/2 whole wheat and 4 white.

All-in-all, a successful dinner.

And there's still Buttermilk Cake.

by Tim Dineen

BBQ and Broadway

Last night was BBQ and Broadway in Berwyn. Okay... slightly off-Broadway, but a Broadway show with as much heart as you'll ever see.

We were at the Footlighter's Theatre in Berwyn, PA. It is a Community Theatre now in its 81st season. 81 years of entertainment. That, in itself, is impressive.

The show was Gypsy, based on the memoirs of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. (Just to show ya how old I am, I actually remember the Gypsy Rose Lee Show on TV.) Ah... the good ol' days.

It was a great performance by some really fun and talented folks. There's something extremely fulfilling about seeing local community theatre. Footlighters probably only seats 150 people. There just isn't more intimate theatre out there.

Let Me Entertain You, indeed!

If you're in the neighborhood of Berwyn, PA, the show is running through May 1st and tickets are only $15.00. Less than a movie and a lot more entertaining!

For sustenance before the show, we grilled chicken. Bone-in breasts with the Strawberry BBQ Sauce I made a while back. Mashed yellow sweet potatoes and broccoli.

And seeded rolls.

I used the no-knead dough and rolled the rolls in sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and flax seeds.

Great dinner. Great show.

by Tim Dineen

Burgers and Fauxllinis

It's about 80 degrees outside. Wind is blowing at 25+ mph. Windows open. Perfect weather to light up the grill! And to mix up a fauxllini.

What's a fauxllini, you ask?!? Pureed peaches and seltzer, of course! Over ice. Perfectly refreshing. What I didn't know was where the Bellini got its name...

This drink was created 1943 at Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy in honor of the painter Geovani Bellini. Giuseppi Cipriani was the inventor. The original recipe was made with fresh pureed white peaches with a bit of raspberry or cherry juice to give the drink a pink glow.

How 'bout that.

Yesterday - sans Bellinis - we ended up turning on the air conditioning. I don't care what the calendar says - when the thermometer inside says 89°, the date is immaterial. All the real Bellinis in the world wouldn't have made it any cooler. (Okay, maybe I wouldn't have cared what the temperature was, but it wouldn't have made it cooler!) But I digress...

I had a hankerin' for a burger on the barbie all day long. And I got me one.

Charred to perfection with mayo, mustard, catsup, pickles, onions, tomatoes, avocado, and cheese. On a whole wheat bun, of course. With fries.

It was a mess to eat. Even cutting it in half didn't help. Everything was just sliding everywhere. I used half-a-dozen napkins. The perfect burger.

It's supposed to rain like hell tonight and then be a mere 40 degrees cooler tomorrow.

Practically casserole weather! I think I'll make salads, anyway.

Gotta love it.

by Tim Dineen

Steaks with Strawberry BBQ Sauce

Whaddaya do when you have a 4-pound container of Strawberries?!? Why... ya make Strawberry BBQ Sauce, that's what ya do!

I came up with a recipe for Strawberry BBQ Sauce a while back (I did a Root Beer BBQ Sauce, too!) and decided it was time to make it, again. It's super easy.

Im think that this summer I'm going to experiment with different fruits. I'll bet peaches would work really well with a different vinegar.

Strawberry BBQ Sauce

2 pounds strawberries, hulled and roughly sliced

1 small bell pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 8oz can tomato sauce

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup lingonberry vinegar

1/4 cup molasses

2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chipotle powder

salt and pepper

Add strawberries, onion, and bell pepper to saucepan and cook until strawberries release theiur juices and peppers and onions soften. Add spices and cook well.

Add brown sugar and then lingonberry vinegar. Add tomato sauce and remaining ingredients.

Bring to boil and then simmer.

Blend everything with an immersion blender until smooth.

Continue simmering until thickened.

And the no-knead bread dough makes great dinner rolls, too.

But while this was all yummy and good, I have a feeling I'm going to be paying another buck tomorrow.....

Time for some serious salads.

by Tim Dineen

Steaks and Bread

Charcoal grilling is just the best! It may not be as convenient as a gas grill, but there's just no comparing the flavor! And with the thermometer actually hitting 60° today, grilling was definitely called for.

On my Monday grocery shopping trek today, I picked up 8 - yes, eight - bone-in New York strip steaks for a mere $24.00. I love an in-store special! Six of them were vacuum-packed for the freezer, and two became dinner tonight. Grilled perfectly rare and topped first with a bit of Boursin cheese, and then slathered with caramelized onions. Lots and lots of onions.

Baked sweet potatoes and peas rounded out the plate.

But that wasn't all we had!

I also made Whole Wheat Sun-Dried Tomato Bread! I took the no-knead recipe and tweaked it a bit and for this loaf, added some chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil. It was a little messy mixing them in, but the final result was worth it!

Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread

3 cups lukewarm water

2 pkg yeast

1 1/2 tbsp salt

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Stir ingredients together and let rise 3 hours. Follow instructions for basic no-knead artisan bread.

For sun-dried tomato bread, chop tomatoes and mix into 1lb piece of dough, form into ball and follow instructions for rising and baking.

I really like the whole wheat version better. It has a better crumb - not as chewy as the white, but the crust is still excellent.

And to add just another layer of decadency, Victor made roasted garlic butter to slather on the bread. It's quite simple.

Take a whole head of garlic and slice off the tips to expose the garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and place in a hot oven (450-ish) for about 45 minutes. Let cool, then squeeze out the garlic and mix with softened butter. Use on anything and everything.

And there's flourless chocolate cake later on.....

by Tim Dineen

Steaks on the Barbie

It's been quite a while since I fired up the grill.

Back in our propane days, I'd pop outside regardless of the weather and throw something on the fire. The switch to charcoal has slowed me down a bit. It's just not as convenient. Better tasting, but not as convenient.

Regardless, I'm going to stay with better tasting for a while.

A while back I bought a couple of full tenderloins, cut them into steaks and roasts, vacuum-packed them, and put them in the freezer. I've been staring at one particular package for a while now. This morning I took action and pulled it out to thaw.

I seasoned them with salt and pepper and got fancy-schmancy - I wrapped them in bacon. After grilling them to a perfect rare, I added a slice of Boursin cheese.

The potatoes were Boursin-mashed potatoes. Potatoes, salt, pepper, a splash of milk, and a slab of Boursin. Mash and eat.

Steamed broccoli and cauliflower finished off the plate.

And... I baked another loaf of bread!

I forgot to take a picture, but it came out better than yesterdays. A bit easier to handle. 40 minutes to rise and 25 minutes in the oven.

With time like this, we could have fresh bread every night with dinner!

by Tim Dineen

BBQ Ribs

Kathleen Dineen Kelly

1 medium onion
1/2 C diced celery
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp vinegar
1/4 C lemon juice
1 C ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp mustard
1/2 C water

Bake ribs for 1 to 1-1/2 hours in a 350 degree oven. Drain grease. Combine remaining ingredients and cook for about 1/2 hour. Pour sauce over ribs and continue baking for one hour more.

All-Weather Barbecue Chicken

Peter Hodsdon

The rain in Seattle and the snow in Boston never kept us from dreaming of California, firing up the grill, and indulging in this specialty.

Marinade:

1 egg
1 C vegetable oil
1 pint (2 cups) white vinegar
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp poultry seasoning

Combine marinade ingredients in blender. Mix until frothy. Cover cut up chicken pieces with marinade and chill several hours or overnight – the longer the better^!This makes enough marinade for two large chickens.

Grill tips: A hot fire is best for chicken. Given its propensity to flare up, keep a big glass of water (or a beer!) handy to douse the flames. I usually turn the chicken every five minutes with a good basting after every turn. To keep breast meat moist, grill with the bone side down most of the time. A grill full of chicken will take about 45 minutes. If you’re going to mess up the chicken, overcook it rather than undercook it!

Appetizers