I used to walk in the mornings.
Three and a half miles a day.
Crack of dawn.
It was great. Loved doing it. Quiet, neighborhood sleeping, great start to the day, right.
I’m now walking in the afternoons when I get home from work.
Still three and a half miles.
It’s not quiet.
The neighborhood is not sleeping.
It’s cooking.
Outside.
It’s sort of inspirational if you think about it.
Take the other evening.
Now that I think about it, I am not sure I walked on one of the streets because someone was grilling chicken and basting it with something sweet. I think I was floating past that house….
It’s hard to walk and drool, but I’ve just about mastered it.
Then…I noticed a family with small children having dinner at their picnic table. Bowls all over the table, family laughing and eating, dog begging. Straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Potato salad, fried chicken…
That did it
Instead of listening to Free Food for Millionaires, which is a great book but has nothing to do with food, I started thinking about our dinner.
Started thinking about barbecuing chicken.
Thinking about potato salad.
Thought about salad Nicoise.
Tuna, Nicoise olives, hard boiled eggs, green beans, tomatoes, , potatoes, right?
Smelled that grilled chicken again.
Thought about the components of a great Southern meal.
Grilled chicken, deviled eggs, tomato basil salad, classic potato salad.
Put the two thoughts together and came up with this.
Barbecued Chicken with Mesa Grill Barbecue Sauce: a sauce everyone should keep in the fridge during the hot months.
Groom’s Devilish Eggs with Green Olives …do the basic deviled eggs…a little Hellmann’s mayo, chopped green olives, paprika
Classic Potato Salad …soak the red onions before using to get the strength out….use a bit of sissy mustard in the dressing to make it even classic -er
Fresh Herb Salad Mix…it’s good for you….
Tomato, Artichoke, Sugar Snap and fresh Basil…blanch the sugar snaps and drop in ice water to preserve the color. Use marinated artichoke hearts…provides the dressing, right? A bit of freshly ground black pepper and fresh basil.
See?
A Southern Nicoise Salad.
For lack of a better name.
I wonder what the neighbors will be cooking this afternoon?
Mesa Grill Barbecue Sauce
Adapted From Bobby Flay
A couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil
½ red onion, diced
1 large spoonful garlic confit
8 canned San Marzano tomatoes
¼ cup ketchup
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire
¼ cup water
3 tbsp dark molasses
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp wild honey
1 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp ancho chile powder
1 tbsp smoked sweet paprika
Heat the olive oil til almost smoking in large pan over medium heat and sweat the onion and garlic confit until softened, about five minutes. Throw tomatoes into food processor and pulse two times, add to pan. Cook 15 minutes at a simmer. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. Put into food processor and pulse several times.
Let cool to room temperature.
Makes about 2-2.5 cups
Click here for a printable recipe!
One Year Ago on Feeding Groom
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Mesa Grill Barbecue Sauce and a Southern Salad Nicoise
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Hollandaise
Hollandaise.
A word that can put fear into even the most seasoned cook’s heart.
But fear not.
Hollandaise can be made the old fashioned way, in a double boiler on top of the stove, it can be done in the food processor and it can be done in the blender.
Put down that package of Hollandaise mix.
You can do it .
Courage.
You just need this technique.
It works every time.
Remember one thing. Clarify the butter. It makes for a smoother sauce and less chance of the Hollandaise separating.
Hollandaise
Melt one stick unsalted butter over very low heat. The milk solids will rise to the top and skim those off with a spoon. Take 3 egg yolks at room temperature, put into blender with a ½ tsp salt and a good pinch of cayenne, and squeeze 1 large lemon (about 2-1/2 tbsp ) in as well. Turn the blender on and add the melted clarified butter slowly and let rock for a few moments until smooth. Add ¾ cup boiling water slowly to the blender while it’s running and blend again til smooth.
Pour Hollandaise into a heavy ceramic saucepan and put over low heat. Stir til the Hollandaise thickens, may take about ten minutes. (if you don’t have the ceramic saucepan, put in double boiler over medium heat and stir til thick.) You can make this ahead and keep in the refrigerator. I am not speaking from experience here, but it can be done. If the sauce curdles while it is heating over low, add an ice cube and remove from heat. Beat til sauce goes back together. It has gotten too hot and the butter has melted.
Adjust seasoning, lick the spoon and serve with a perfectly steamed artichoke for a decadent dinner.
Makes 1 pint.
Click here for a printable recipe!
One Year Ago on Feeding Groom
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Ripe Mango Chutney
I have a confession to make.
I love Major Grey’s chutney.
I have for years.
It’s gooey and sticky and sweet and I always have a jar of it in the fridge. Usually the top is stuck on the jar and I have to run very hot water on it to get it open.
I was toddling about the Saveur website when I came upon this recipe for Ripe Mango Chutney.
I thought that I had died gone to heaven because now I could make the chutney I adore whenever I want.
Except for one thing. It’s not Major Grey‘s. It’s nothing like it. And I am afraid that the Major Grey’s Chutney makers of the world will discover a downturn in their financial situation because I prefer this.
Spicy and sweet and hot and fresh and fast to make and improves with age.
Compliments all food groups and combinations.
Sorry, Major. You‘ve ruled my palate long enough..
It’s time for a change.
Ripe Mango Chutney
Adapted from Saveur Magazine who adapted it from The Great Mango Book by Allen Susser
4 large ripe mangoes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium Vidalia onions, peeled and diced
3 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
2 long red thin chiles
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp toasted cumin seeds, ground
1 tbsp coarse salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup golden raisins
Peel mangoes, remove flesh slicing along flatter sides of mango, on both sides and then around the edges with a sharp knife. Cut into large dice and set aside.
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook about five minutes, til they begin to get soft, and add the ginger, garlic, chiles and red bell peppers; stir well. Stir in the mustard seeds, cumin and salt and cook for about five minutes. Add sugar and cook stirring until dissolved, add vinegar, lime juice and raisins and mangoes. Simmer til chutney has consistency of a marmalade, takes about 50 minutes.
You can sterilize jars, put the chutney in and store in the refrigerator or take it a step further and process the chutney in the sterilized jars in a hot water bath to seal (method is here)and then you can store in your pantry.
Makes 5 cups of chutney.
Try it with these recipes:
Goan Shrimp Curry
Country Captain
The Frazzly Nub Rice Bowl
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Fresh Fig and Strawberry Jam
I’ve been on a picklin‘, jammin’ kick over the past month. The veggies and fruits of late summer have been totally inspirational.
The fresh figs of late have been exceptional.
As well as the brown sugar strawberries.
So I decided to try my hand at an adaptation of a recipe for Fresh Fig and Strawberry Jam from a great cookbook called The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard.
This is the perfect for people who don’t want or need mass quantities of pickles or jelly in their house, but enjoy the process and the outcome.
Fresh figs, fresh strawberries, vanilla sugar, a bit of Harvey’s Bristol Cream and fresh orange zest.
Makes you want to bake bread at the same time.
Fresh Fig and Strawberry Jam
Adapted from The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard
1 pound fresh green figs, stemmed and cut into small pieces
2 cups quartered strawberries
2 cups vanilla sugar
3 tbsp Harvey’s Bristol Cream
Grated zest of one Valencia orange
Place figs, strawberries, vanilla sugar and Harvey’s in medium stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Cover and let stand for 1 hour stirring occasionally.
Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and boil rapidly, uncovered until mixture will form a gel about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
Ladle into hot jars (with two piece tops) and process for 10 minutes. (see below for instructions)
Makes 4 cups.. (4 half pint jars)
Use the freezer test to see if it’s gelling. Put a couple of small plates in freezer. After 15 minutes, put a spoonful of the jam on plate and return to freezer for two minutes. (take jam off the heat while you wait so it doesn’t overcook.) Then take the plate out and rotate it. The jam should move slowly as you rotate it. If it throws itself off the plate onto the floor, keep cooking and try again in five minutes with the other plate. You’ll get a feel for this.
To prepare the jars, fill a large stockpot with enough water to cover the jars and place the jars in the water. Start heating over medium. About 10 minutes before you’re ready to fill the jars, put the tops in.
Fill the jars, leave about a half inch from the top for airspace, wipe the rim and side so the jars will seal well. Put the filled jars back in the hot water.
Place the pot over high heat, cover and bring to a rocking full boil. Once it boils, set timer for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, turn off heat, take off top and leave jars in water for five minutes. Then lift out and place on heat safe surface. I put mine on a kitchen towel on a cake rack out of the way. Don’t touch or dry jars for 12-24 hours. Be sure all are sealed. (You’ll hear them pop and when you punch the tops they don’t make a sound.)
If they don’t seal for any reason, refrigerate them.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Frank's Pickled Okra
The Recipe from Cotton Country, a Junior League Cookbook
The Okra
The Long Red Chiles
The Boiling Jars
Garlic and Dill Seed
The Process Begins..
And Continues..
There's One in Every Crowd!
Ten Minutes in a Hot Bath
We're Done!
Wait for three weeks before eating. Make as many as you can. These go fast.
Happy Labor Day!
Monday, August 18, 2008
A Pickle
Sweet with a kick. Slightly sour. A bit of a crunch.
Addictive.
Serve them once, people will follow you all over the house to find out about these pickles.
Making the pickles is so unbelievably easy ,you’ll tell them.
And they won’t believe you.
At all.
They’ll think you bought them.
Nope.
Didn’t buy the pickles.
Keep a jar in the back of your fridge for snacks, to chop into old fashioned tuna salad, for a sweet bite with a sliced chicken sandwich, chopped and stirred into a sauce remoulade to go with steamed shrimp, to give as a quick hostess gift.
But be prepared.
Those that eat them won’t listen.
The last thing they will believe is that you made them.
Which is all the more reason why you should.
A Pickle
From the Nashville Seasons Cookbook
1 gallon jar kosher dill pickles, drained
2 tbsp alum
5 lbs sugar
10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bottles McCormick pickling spices
1 cup cider vinegar
½ cup white wine vinegar
Slice the pickles ½ inch thick . Soak in ice water with alum powder for two hours. Keep cold by adding ice.
In original pickle jar put 1 inch layer sugar, 1 inch layer of pickle slices, sprinkle a layer of pickling spices, a couple of garlic cloves and repeat until all pickle slices have been used. Pour vinegar over top and let sit 36 hours.
Stir once a day.
These last indefinitely in the fridge if they’re allowed to.
Makes a gallon of pickles. I know, I know, it makes a lot of pickles. You’ll need them.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Green Sauce
Green sauce.
Pretty unenlightened name for such an enlightened sauce.
This is a sauce that is found all over the world.
But, the name.
It doesn’t describe the way it tastes.
Salty, sweet, bitter, fresh.
It doesn’t describe what it does to a piece of grilled fish, a tortilla Espanola, sliced Bradley tomatoes hot off the vine..
Takes them to a whole new level of flavor. Makes the food dance.
Makes it more than just supper, an omelet, a salad.
Makes it special.
Makes it something a clever cook has in her repertoire for any food occasion that calls for something….green.
Green Sauce
Small handful chives, chopped
3 - 4 anchovies, chopped
A Tbsp capers drained
Juice of 1 lemon
Small handful Italian parsley, chopped
A big squirt of sissy (yellow) mustard (because for the first time in my life I’m out of Dijon)
Squirt of wild honey
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsp garlic confit
Put in blender, turn on add ½ cup extra virgin olive oil until thick.
Done .
Makes about ¾ cup.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar Rubbed Wild Salmon with Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish
Silver Queen corn is coming into the markets here in Middle Tennessee.
If you haven’t tried this particular kind of corn, put it on your list of things to eat.
Boiled, steamed, grilled it is a flavorful corn that lends itself to all preparations.
Which, of course, leads me to Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish.
Just a few ears of corn, boiled for 5 minutes, then thrown on the grill for a couple of minutes to slightly brown, then mixed with a bit of wild honey, fresh cilantro , a roasted jalapeno and a bit of olive oil and lime juice.
It’s the perfect accompaniment to a couple of gorgeous Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar rubbed grilled wild salmon fillets.
Long live the Queen.
Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar Rubbed Wild Salmon with Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish
Adapted from several recipes by Bobby Flay
Grilled Silver Queen Corn Relish
3 ears of corn, shucked and boiled for five minutes
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp wild honey
1 jalapeno, roasted, seeded and chopped
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 green onions, grilled for about three minutes and chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro*
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the grill to medium high. Place corn on the grill and cook on all sides for about two minutes. You just want it to color a bit. Remove and scrape corn off cob into bowl. Should be about 1-½ cups.
Put lime juice, honey and roasted jalapeno in blender. Blend to mix.
Turn blender on and add the extra virgin olive oil in steady stream til it emulsifies.
Add the green onions to the corn and add the jalapeno mix. Add cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
Serves 2 very generously.
Ancho Chile-Brown Sugar Rub
2 nice sized fillets wild salmon, skin left on one side
2 tbsp ancho chile powder
1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1-½ tsp brown sugar
A really good pinch ground cinnamon
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
A couple of good swirls of extra virgin olive oil
Combine the rub mixture, careful with the olive oil, you just want this to come together, not be too thick or thin., remember you want it to stick to the salmon and not run off.
Coat the salmon on the skinless side with the rub. Let sit for 15 minutes.
On medium hot grill, put salmon skin side down and cook for about five minutes. Then turn the fillets and cook for a couple of minutes til the sugar caramelizes.
Serves 2.
* I didn't have a lot of cilantro, so I threw in some Italian parsley to augment what I had. Stick with the cilantro!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Barbecued Chicken
You know, sometimes you want barbecued chicken. Something gooey, divine, chickeny. Makes you think about dinner outside on the terrace, fireflies lighting the hot July night.
Then again, you want it to reflect your current favorite flavors and tastes.
Adaptation is a wonderful thing. You can take a basic barbecue chicken recipe, rummage through your refrigerator for the condiments I go on and on about (and of course you listen), and all of a sudden you’ve got something special.
All you need are the fireflies.
Barbecued Chicken
1 large tbsp garlic confit
¼ cup sun dried tomato paste
¼ cup Romesco sauce
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup aged sherry vinegar
½ cup dark Muscavado sugar
¼ cup molasses
Heat sauce ingredients on the stove til the sugar melts, keep warm but don’t let it boil.
This will make enough sauce for a “Pick of the chick“ from the grocery.
remove the skin. season with lots of lemon juice, a bit of coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Let this sit for about 15 minutes, or more, depending on your time frame.
Be sure to oil the grates of the grill so the chicken doesn’t stick. Cook the chicken over a medium hot fire, covered for about 15 minutes. Then, take the top off the grill, turn the chicken and baste until it’s cooked, about 10 minutes more, til the chicken is about 160 degrees when you take its temperature.
Makes 9 pieces of positively divine barbecued chicken.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Grilled Chicken with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
I’ve discussed the well stocked kitchen.
Having jars of wonderful things in your fridge ready at a moments notice to make a fast meal.
Makes life so easy.
Here‘s a typical evening at the Red Brick Ranchero.
Come home from work.
Thaw chicken thighs.
Walk 45 minutes. Come in and find that Costco has called and your new specs are ready. Which is a good thing because you can’t see to cook.
Go pick up glasses.
Come home.
See that precious dog has taken cat food bowl and torn it up because she wanted to go to with you or she wanted the cat food.
Note to self, take dog with you when you go to Costco.
Grab Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette (something you made last week and was so wonderful you know it will rock on the chicken) out of fridge and marinate chicken thighs for thirty minutes.
Start National Treasure 2 on DVD player.
Start grill.
Pause movie.
Chop avocado, tomatillos, squeeze lime, pick cilantro. Start movie. Pause movie.
Grill chicken. Start movie.
Grab lettuce. Pause movie. Bring chicken in.
Chicken on lettuce, drizzle a bit of vinaigrette over chicken. Top with avocado tomatillo salsa.
Light candles. Eat.
Start movie… at the beginning.
Every night should be so easy.
Grilled Chicken with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
Adapted from Bobby Flay Boy Meets Grill
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped
2 tomatillos, peeled, washed so they’re not sticky, chopped,
Red onion…take a knife and slice paper thin..about 4 small slices and chop.
1/3 cup cilantro, torn
1 lime, squeezed
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Mix well. Makes about 1-½ cups.
4 boneless chicken thighs, marinated in ½ cup Roasted Pepper Vinaigrette. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grill til done, takes about 4 minutes per side.
Red leaf lettuce, a couple of pieces per plate.
Put chicken on top of lettuce, a drizzle of the vinaigrette and top with the salsa.
Serves 3 generously.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Basil, Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Black Olive Tapenade
Inspiration for lunch can come from anywhere. A food memory. A picture in a magazine.
The light bulb goes off over your head and you go on automatic pilot, pulling things out of the fridge, grabbing the scissors and walking trance like to the garden to cut fresh basil.
Slicing fresh mozzarella, ripe tomatoes and the secret ingredient, Black Olive Tapenade, at the ready.
All of a sudden, you’re sitting down to a combination that makes absolutely perfect sense.
And tastes absolutely perfect.
Basil, Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Black Olive Tapenade
1 medium round fresh mozzarella, sliced
One large tomato, sliced
Fresh basil leaves
1 large spoonful Black Olive Tapenade
Layer mozzarella, tomato and fresh basil on plate. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
Put spoonful of Black Olive Tapenade on the side and serve with crusty bread.
Serves 2.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Romesco Sauce
Chutneys, drizzles, aioli, all of them.
To make your own condiments is one of the most satisfying parts of cooking. How cool is it to open your refrigerator and grab a bit of your own Tapenade to use a spoonful in a marinade for lamb chops. Or to spoon out a dollop of mango chutney to go alongside chicken korma. Homemade mayonnaise on a summer blt..sublime.
One of our favorites is Romesco, a thick, spicy nut-thickened sauce with origins in Catalonia that absolutely rocks.
Swirl a teaspoon through crème fraiche and top gazpacho. Use as a spread on a wrap filled with shrimp, avocado, tomato and shavings of Manchego. Use it as a marinade, thinned with a bit of olive oil to make chicken thighs dance on the grill. It’s great with ice cold celery sticks as an afternoon snack.
Romesco shines with seafood. A quick marinade of ground cumin, lemon and olive oil seasoned with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper on two beautiful amberjack fillets, grilled to perfection. To serve, spoon a bit of Romesco on the side with a sweet veggie to accompany it, lightly steamed asparagus or sugar snap peas.
Romesco Sauce
Adapted from a recipe by Joyce Goldstein
2 dried ancho chiles
1 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1 cup whole almonds
6 fat cloves garlic, chopped
4 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 big tbsp sun dried tomato paste
4 tbsp sherry vinegar
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 350.
Put ancho chiles in small saucepan, cover with water. Bring to boil then turn off the heat and let steep for 20 minutes.
When oven is hot, put almonds on baking sheet and put in oven for 10 minutes til toasted. Set aside.
Drain chiles and remove stems and seeds. Coarsely chop and put in bowl. Add peppers.
Put garlic and almonds in food processor and pulse on and off til ground and blended. Add pepper/chile mix, spices, sun dried tomato paste and vinegar. Blend well.
Turn food processor on and slowly add the extra virgin olive oil til mixture emulsifies. Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Keep refrigerated and bring to room temperature before serving.
Makes 2 cups.
This will last a month to six weeks in your refrigerator.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Frank's Grouper with Mango Salsa
Our good friend, Frank, he of the to die for short rib post, does a mean grouper. He does it so well, it’s all you want to eat for the rest of your life.
The original recipe was created by Frank and his sister in law, Margaret, on a family trip to Florida where the weather was rainy,the children were wild and grouper was plentiful. Late one evening while enjoying libations, they discovered they were starving and the following recipe was born.
Grouper fillets coated in crushed peanuts and garlicky bagel chips sautéed til golden brown on both sides and run in the oven for 10 minutes to cook to perfection, then topped with a bright mango, yellow pepper salsa. What a combination.
Final pics of this dish exist but I can’t get to them. So you’ll have to put up with teaser photos and imagine how beautiful it was…nutty brown with bright yellows and oranges on top of the perfectly cooked fish.
Growing up, my mother always said you should leave a little bit on your plate to be polite.
Not with this dish.
Nope.
Won’t happen.
Frank’s Grouper with Mango Salsa
3 eggs, beaten with a bit of milk…enough to coat sides of the grouper
A cup of all purpose flour
Butter
Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces dry roasted Spanish Red Peanuts
½ bag New York Style garlic flavored bagel chips
Preheat the oven to 375.
Chop the peanuts and the garlic chips in a food processor well mixed.
Put in large roasting pan.
Put several large oven proof skillets on stove over medium-medium high heat. Swirl extra virgin olive oil in each pan and add large pat of butter.
While that melts, dredge the grouper in the flour, egg mix and the peanut mix on both sides. Put grouper in the pan as you finish and cook til golden brown on both sides. Put skillets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Top with mango salsa and serve.
Serves 8.
Mango Salsa
1 large yellow pepper, chopped
1 large orange pepper, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 fat garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix and let sit and think while you do the grouper.
Makes 2 cups.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Grilled Lamb Chops with Salsa Tapenade
We’re back.
Vacation was filled with good food, friends and family.
It was better than ever.
Coming home to a gorgeous Middle Tennessee spring with summer on the way was even better.
We’re taking a brief respite from seafood.
For about a day.
But what a way to take a break by having some grilled lamb chops, fresh asparagus and a great salsa to top the chops, using my homemade Tapenade with some happy additions.
It’s good to be home.
Salsa Tapenade
2 tbsp black olive Tapenade*
½ cup roasted red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tbsp capers
A good splash of balsamic vinegar
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
Makes about ¾ cup.
Combine and serve on top of the grilled chops.
The Chops
4 good sized lamb chops, seasoned with a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice, coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grill 4 minutes per side.
Serves 3.
Black Olive Tapenade
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1-¼ cup pitted Nicoise olives
1 tbsp garlic confit (or 4 fat garlic cloves, peeled)
4 anchovy fillets
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Put pine nuts, olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil in food processor and pulse off and on til thick but not mush. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
Makes about 1-½ cups. Keep top covered with olive oil and this will last indefinitely in the refrigerator.
Yes, this appeared several weeks ago. Versatility is its middle name!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Grilled Pork Chops with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce and Black Olive Tapenade
Flush from the success of the Shrimp with Toasted Almonds and Garlic Confit, I continue my experiment in cleaning out the refrigerator. We had some beautiful bone in pork chops that desired a turn on the grill.
It was a wonderful Friday night. Groom mixed some Silver Bullets (shaken, not stirred) to celebrate two more days of work before ten glorious days at the beach and once again I turned to the fridge to decide what to do with those porkers.
I remembered a Bobby Flay recipe from years ago that used roasted yellow pepper sauce with a pork tenderloin, so it stood to reason that this would work beautifully with the chops.
And it did.
Silver Bullets ..love these Martinis!
Fill a shaker with ice and one cup Grey Goose Vodka.
Then 3 capfuls of Bombay Sapphire Gin.
And finally 1 capful Noilly Prat dry vermouth.
Put the top on and shake your groove thing around the kitchen along with the martinis.
Strain into up glasses, plop an oversized green olive in it, and enjoy.
Makes three martinis.
Grilled Bone In Pork Chops with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce and Black Olive Tapenade
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s From My Kitchen to Your Table
Black Olive Tapenade
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1-¼ cup pitted Nicoise olives
1 tbsp garlic confit (or 4 fat garlic cloves, peeled)
4 anchovy fillets
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Put pine nuts, olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil in food processor and pulse off and on til thick but not mush. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
Makes about 1-½ cups.
Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce
2 yellow bell peppers, charred, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp garlic confit or 5 fat garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
Good pinch Spanish saffron
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp coarse Dijon mustard
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
In blender, combine peppers, vinegar, garlic, saffron, honey and mustard and blend. With motor running slowly add the olive oil until it emulsifies. Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Makes about 1-½ cups.
The Chops
2 good sized bone in pork chops, about 1-½ inches thick
1 tbsp sweet Spanish paprika
1 tbsp ground ancho chili powder
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix the spices together and rub on both sides of the pork chops. Grill chops 5-6 minutes per side.
Plate with the Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce on the bottom, chop and top with a spoonful of the Tapenade.
You will have extra sauce to save and use another time!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Artichoke Heart and Toasted Pine Nut Salsa on the Perfect Salmon Fillet
I’ve branched out.
I managed to prepare a seafood dish without the pig.
It was difficult. Prosciutto would be absolutely divine in this salsa , but I didn’t do it.
Howsomuchever… this artichoke heart, red bell pepper, Nicoise olive, toasted pine nut salsa for salmon ROCKS!!! It's an old recipe heartily adapted from the Food Network.
Seriously.
It’s amazing stuff. It’s good in a spoon, on a Tostito..it is divine.
Throw in some tuna canned in olive oil (truly the only kind of canned tuna to eat) and call it lunch.
Make it your own.
It is a portent of things to come this summer and I, for one, cannot wait.
Artichoke Hearts and Toasted Pine Nut Salsa
1 6 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 fat garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup Nicoise olives, pitted and chopped coarsely
Freshly ground black pepper
About ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Combine all of this , mix well and season.
Makes about 1-½ cups.
Perfectly Seared Salmon
Heat a cast iron skillet on top of the stove. Add a good swirl of extra virgin olive oil.
Put two nice sized fillets of wild salmon in the pan skin side down.
Cook until skin is crispy, takes about three minutes or so.
Put the pan in the oven for 5-7 minutes til salmon is done.
Top with salsa and wait for applause.
Serves 2.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Grilled Amberjack with Charmoula
Grilling fish and topping it with a flavorful sauce is one of my favorite things to cook. Amberjack is a great tasting, meaty fish and stands up to the spiciness of a versatile Moroccan sauce, Charmoula. Give me garlic and lemon and olive oil in any kind of sauce and I’m happy. Charmoula is a workhorse. It can be used with chicken, shrimp, and lamb as well as fish and the longer it marinates whatever you’re cooking, the better it is.
Serve with Kalamata olives sprinkled with a bit of orange zest and extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top.
Charmoula
1 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil
½ cup lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
¼ tsp cayenne
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp sweet paprika
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
4 fat garlic cloves, chopped
.
Mix together and reserve ¼ cup.
To serve 2, use two 7 ounce amberjack fillets.
Marinate amberjack for at least 45 minutes in the remaining Charmoula.
Grill 8-10 minutes total. Top the amberjack with the reserved Charmoula and the orange scented Kalamata olives.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Smoke from a Distant Fire
You know, there are times that only one thing will do for dinner.
Only one kind of fish. Only one preparation of same. That happens with salmon around this house. It has to be Wild Sockeye Salmon. And it has to be Bobby Flay’s Sherry Vinegar Glazed Salmon with Fresh Tomato Relish and Arugula (my touch). It doesn’t matter who is here for dinner, it doesn’t matter if they hate salmon. They eat this and fall out. Seriously. Facial expressions change. Silence descends on the island (otherwise known as the dining room table because we don’t have one because Groom gave it away during the kitchen renovation, which is another story). Actually he gave away the sofa, the chairs, hutch, table and sideboard. The Sideboard. My claim to fame. I have danced on that sideboard so many times, I can’t tell you. I think I’ve gotten over it. But this subject may resurface in another blog post. Maybe not. Then again there are people who read this blog that can tell you things I can’t remember. But smile and say, “wasn’t that fun” when they bring it up.
Anyhoo…silence and then it’s “what the hell did you do to this salmon?"
Can’t lose with this recipe, people. Can’t lose at all. Plus the fact that ITUNES has one of the
(thanks Bobby!)
Spicy Tomato Relish:
2 medium ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
Small slice off side of red onion, finely diced
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped.. Eyeball it
Good shake or two of red pepper flakes
Big splash of red wine vinegar
Several good turns of extra virgin olive oil
Salmon:
1 cup good Sherry vinegar
Two big tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ancho chile powder
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2-4 good sized fillets of wild Sockeye salmon, skin on
Put the Sherry vinegar in small saucepan and reduce it down to about a quarter cup. In small bowl, put honey, mustard, vinegar chile powder, salt and pepper and whisk together. When cool, pour over salmon fillets.
Combine all ingredients for the tomato relish and let sit for about half an hour.
Get the grill going and cook till skin on salmon is crisp; don’t turn and salmon is firm to touch. You can heat a cast iron pan with a bit of oil in it and do the same thing. People have their own way they like to do salmon or any fish, so when it’s done for you, rock on.
Put a “paw full“, my mother’s expression, of Arugula on your dinner plate. Top with salmon and the tomato relish. Remember one of your favorite songs and light a candle with dinner. Enjoy!
