Dateline: June 14, 2021 Ribs, Corn and Salad

I had a rack of ribs from FD and left over grilled corn from the day before.....(grilled marinated shrimp, corn, asparagus, and salad).

It was a rainy afternoon, so no grilling.  I wanted a spicy rib with a touch of sweetness and a little acid.  This was a tough one to create a rub for, but I figured it out!

Rib Rub

1 T dark chili powder

1 T salt

1 T smoked paprika

1 T Swerve (this is a sugar substitute that is heat stable and measures 1-1 with regular sugar)

1 t ancho chili powder

1 t chipotle chili powder

1 t ground cumin

1 t ground coriander

2 t ground mustard

1/4 t ground allspice

1/4 t white pepper

1/2 t dried thyme

1/2 t ginger powder

1 t black pepper

Additional Ingredient, not in rub, but sprinkled on top of ribs before going into the oven.

~1/4 t Citric Acid or Sour Salt

Method

1.  Mix all ingredients together be sure to crush any lumps.  

2.  Remove membrane from the back side of the rack of ribs.  Use a table knife to start it and a paper towel to pull it back.  It should come off in 1 or 2 large sheets.

3.  Cut any lumps of fat from either surface.  In a pan, put the ribs meat side up.  Spray with cooking spray or rub with oil and generously apply rub.  It is called a rub, so gently rub it into the meat.  Do not neglect the bone edges.  Flip so bone side is up and repeat spray and rub.  The majority should be on the meaty surfaces.

4.  Flip so meat side is up.  Sprinkle ever so lightly some citric acid over the top of the rub.  This supplies an acidic quality, slight, that helps cut the fat of the ribs.   Put into a 350°F oven until an instant read thermometer reads 198-200° when inserted between bones, without touching bone.

5.  Slice into individual ribs, bet your bib out, and chow down. 

 

These were EXCEPTIONAL ribs.  Crunchy, spicy, slight acidic background.  Just delightful.  This was the first time I tried the citric acid on the ribs.  It will not be the last!

Dateline: June 10, 2021 ROTO-Q-360 and Rotisserie Chicken

I had a lovely little whole chicken in the fridge and some mushrooms that needed to be cooked.   I pulled out the ROTO-Q-360, and sliced the mushrooms up into thickish slices along with some onions.

But, I wanted chicken that had a sauce, all sticky and spicy on it.  Aha!  I will make a mustard, calabrian pepper, maple syrup glaze and cook it like that.

Glaze Ingredients

2 T prepared mustard, I used a spicy brown

2 T maple syrup, you could use honey or agave

1 T calabrian pepper paste

1/2 T salt

1/2 T pepper

olive oil

Method

1.  Set up grill to hold 400°F.  

2.  Mix everything in a small bowl, taste to see if it has enough salt.

3.  Insert rotisserie rod into chicken.  It helps if the chicken is already trussed.  This will keep the wings and legs close to the body so they don't burn or scrap the onions and mushrooms into the fire.

4.  Attach rod to body of the ROTO-Q-360 and slather the glaze on the upward facing sides.

5  Wind up the key at least 40 - 50 times.  You want the chicken to turn all the time it is on the grill.

6.  Rotate the chicken so you can get the glaze all over it.  If you have any remaining glaze save it to brush on the chicken about 1/2 way through the cooking.

7.  Slice mushrooms sort of thickish as well as the onions.  Place in a bowl and coat with olive oil and salt and pepper.

8.  Line bottom pan with foil.  Dump the mushrooms into the pan and insert under the chicken.  Let the chicken roll a complete turn around the spit to make sure that no mushrooms are in the way and cause the chicken to get stuck.

9.  Grill/Roast for about 45 minutes and open grill top to check on the progress.  Baste with the rest of any left over glaze.  Close lid and let go another 20-30 minutes.  Check with an instant read thermometer that the temp between leg and thigh is at least 165°F and the breast near the wing joint is also about 170-180°.  I personally like the leg/thigh to hit at least 170° to be sure that there is no blood at the joint.

I had a head of broccoli that I put on the grill after the chicken and mushrooms were done.  Along with the salad below it rounded out a lovely June meal.

 

Dateline: June 7, 2021 Clean out the fridge soup

I had quite a bit of produce that needed using and 2 cups of thawed homemade chicken stock....soup!  We had eaten a big lunch with our friend Jeri, and I thought a lighter dinner was in order.

Ingredients

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into smallish florets

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped

1 large bunch tuscan kale, chopped into smallish                       pieces

1/4 small head of red cabbage, sliced thinly

3 mini bell peppers, cut into rings 

1/2 serrano pepper, halved and cut into slices

olive oil

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

2 ounces dry white wine

salt and pepper

2 T sherry vinegar

Method

1.  Heat Instant pot on saute, and when hot add olive oil and add, onions, bell peppers, and serrano pepper.  Add salt and pepper and saute until softened.

2.  Add in cherry tomatoes and cook until they start to pop.  Add cauliflower and stock with an equal amount of water.  Stir and add wine, taste, and add more salt if necessary.  Add greens and cabbage and stir, then hit cancel.

3.  Adjust Instant pot to pressure cook on low for 6 minutes.  Close the lid.  Allow to release pressure naturally for 2 minutes, then quick release the balance.  Open pot, stir, taste, add vinegar, stir again and taste.  

4.  To make this more hearty, add a can of beans in before the vinegar and saute for a few minutes until hot.  Add vinegar and adjust seasonings.

June 1, 2021 Risotto

We just returned from a relaxing weekend with friends in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  Even though it rained 3 days straight, we managed to have a wonderful time.  We laughed, ate, drank, and slept. Dianne and Phil have 2 new puppies, Nora and Lou, and they are just wonderful bundles of fluff.  St Bernard puppies are adorable, but really HUGE!  We got acquainted with Elle, Claire and Jon's St Bernard and it was a weekend of fluffiness.

The drive back wasn't bad, it was pretty quick, with stops, just under 4 hours, biggest delays were once we hit Staten Island and Brooklyn. Smooth sailing before that!

After communing with our kitties, who were delighted to see us, we returned to the daily grind of life in Brooklyn!  Checking on the garden, watering the plants on the other terrace, removing weeds, planting new things, cleaning up after the cats and discovering more new toys.  Up until now, they have been very content with cardboard toilet rolls, balls of tin foil, and pieces of string.  I bought some catnip infused sticks that they are going ape for.  We have dubbed them, Senor Stick.  To distinguish it from Ropey.

Back to food, I lost myself for a second.  I used a recipe from NYTCooking for Shrimp and Pea Risotto

The recipe called for shrimp stock, and the shrimp I had were shelled, so I couldn't make the stock, but I used a mixture of homemade and boxed chicken stocks that turned out great.

The saffron gave the rice a lovely yellow sun-shine-y hue.

I also used frozen shrimp, so sue me, and it turned out quite nice.  The shrimp went into the pot just as the rice was almost finished cooking and I covered the pan and killed the heat.  Peas went in at the same time on top of the still frozen shrimp.  After 3 minutes, I uncovered the pan and flipped the shrimp over and recovered for another 3 minutes.  It was perfectly done.  The rice was firm, but not crunchy, the shrimp just cooked through and the green peas gave the yellow something to play against.

Dateline: May 23, 2021 Grilled Chicken and Broccolini with Rice

 FD delivered a lovely chicken that unfortunately had burst its bag and spilt chicken juice all over the inside of the bag!  Everything but the blueberries was salvaged.    

I spatchcocked the chicken, which is splitting it open and removing the backbone and pushing down on the breast keel bone and flattening the chicken as much as possible so that it cooks evenly.  

I made a marinade of fresh lemon, calabrian pepper paste, garlic, salt and olive oil.  I ground up these in a spice grinder and it made a lovely orange paste.  This was slathered all over the chicken in a plastic bag, sealed and put into the fridge until ready.

Fire got started and roaring hot, out came the chicken and the broccolini and the chicken went on first.  I deeply browned the bone side first, then flipped over and let the skin get burnished and crispy and then threw on the broccolini and got that just a little blackened and dinner was served with left over rice! 

Dateline: May 22, 2021 Rack of Lamb on the Grill

What to grill?  What to grill?  In rooting through the freezer I found a rack of lamb, problem solved!

I made a quick marinade of preserved lemon, some calabrian chilis, a fat clove of garlic, and olive oil.  This got blitzed up to make a lovely orange paste which was smeared all over the lamb.  Popped in a plastic bag and in the fridge.

I am into peeling asparagus these days.  It is easy to do, provides a lovely color when grilled and makes them tender.  I also decided to rice up a head of cauliflower that I had in the veggie bin and make steamed cauliflower rice with dinner.

Of course, I only thought to take a photo halfway through the meal,  D'oh.  So the photo is of the individual chops after grilling.  The one of the far left shows some of the crustiness that the grill provided on the fat cap and the one on the far right shows that I did a good job of keeping them rosy pink on the inside.!  Yeah, me!

Below are the remains of the asparagus and the riced cauliflower.  I used a box grater to shred it up rather than a food processor because I was lazy, but then did really like the texture of the finished product!

Asparagus were oiled and sprinkled with salt and pepper then lightly grilled.

 

 

Dateline: May 18, 2021 A Produce Drawer Goes to Korea

I had a lot of produce that needed to be used up.  Several bunches of collards and Tuscan Kale, as well as a couple of small beets and an unidentified root veggie that came with a Misfits box.

This was an experiment.  And it turned out great!  We both couldn't stop eating it.  There was a bit of heat, but not too much, just enough to satisfy and the crunchiness of the beets and scallions went a long way toward that end as well.

A definite keeper in the rotation!

Ingredients

2-3 bunches of collards and kale or any other leafy veggies, cut into ribbons

1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges through the root end

1 bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 small yellow beets, peeled and sliced into thin half moons

1 bunch scallions, sliced into 3" pieces

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

1 jalapeno, halved, seeded, and sliced

2 T gochujang

2 T Korean soybean paste

1 heaping T Korean Chili flakes

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T Mirin

2 T white wine

1/2 lb Korean rice cakes

Vegetable Stock, as needed

Method

1.  In a small bowl, put the gochujang, soybean paste, rice wine vinegar, mirin, and white wine.  Mix well.  Should have the consistency of oatmeal.  Add water or vegetable stock if necessary.  This is the sauce that will be added into the stir fry later.

2.  In a sauce pan, bring salted water to a boil.  Boil rice cakes for about 3-4 minutes, then drain and rinse.

3.  Heat a wok up, add some oil and fry the rice cakes until they have a few dark spots on them.  This will take longer than you think!  You need to evaporate the water off them before they will start to brown.  When browned to your liking, remove from wok and hold in a bowl.

4.  Add more oil to the wok, and add the garlic and ginger.  Then add beets and bell pepper and fry them until they soften up a bit and the beets lose their hard crunchiness. Add the onion and collards and coat with oil and cook until the collards wilt a bit.  Add the sauce and mix well.  If needed, add some of the vegetable stock to facilitate the coating of all the veggies in the sauce.  Add in the rice cakes and scallions.  Mix well.  When veggies are cooked to your liking and rice cakes are nicely coated in the sauce, serve.

 

Timeline: May 14 , 2021 Long Time No Post!

Hello again!  My paws has been because we have a couple of kittens staying with us.  As of this writing, I do not know for how long!  

They are adorable and frisky, which makes for a lot of herding of them.  I have been so entertained by their antics that I have completely gone off the blogging!

 This is an effort to turn some preserved lemon marinaded grilled chicken breasts from the previous night into a Chinese inspired stir fry.

The chicken was cut into strips, an onion, garlic, bell pepper, ginger, and last night's veggies were then stir fryed with some Pixian bean paste and a splash of shaosing wine, dark and light soy sauces and some rice vinegar.  

It turned out quite nicely.  I was unsure if the lemon would overpower and make it, well, gross.  But success.

Dateline: May 5, 2021 Cinco de Mayo, Chili Bandera

I pulled some ground turkey out of the freezer and was trying to figure out what to do with it, when I realized it was May 5!  So chili immediately sprang to mind.  So I browsed in the fridge and found 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 2 small onions, garlic, collard greens and there it was, just add turkey and a can of black beans and dinner was ready.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey, I used 93% lean

1 green bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks

1 red bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks

1 hot pepper cut into slices

2 small onions, diced into bite sized chunks

1/2 a bunch of collards, stripped and cut into ribbons

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T chili powder

2 t ground cumin

1 t ground coriander

1/2 t epazote

1/2 t mexican oregano

salt and pepper

1 box diced tomatoes, I used Colavita, 12 oz box

couple of glugs of wine, red or white

1 can of beans, rinsed and drained

Oil

1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped

Method

1.  Heat a pan and add some oil to coat.  Brown the turkey.  Add more oil if necessary, and saute the onions and peppers until a bit softened.  Add the garlic and collards.  

2.  Add the tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, coriander, epazote and oregano along with some wine and the salt and pepper.  Stir and cover pan.  Cook over med low heat for 10-15 minutes.

3.  Taste, adjust seasonings and recover.  Cook until peppers are soft, then add a rinsed can of the beans of your choice.  I used black beans.  Top with chopped cilantro and serve over rice.

 

Dateline: April 29, 2021 Clams, Shrimp, Linguini what could be better?

Fresh Direct came through again with their delivery, cockles!  What to do with them.  I had frozen shrimp in the freezer and the clams, why not some pasta.

 

 

I made a base of pancetta, garlic (lots of it), a shallot, and some grape tomatoes.  After they burst and the sauce was kind of soupy, I added the scrubbed clams until they opened.  I removed them and took the meat out of the shells.  Any clam juice went back into the pan.  I added some white wine and tasted for seasoning.  

The pasta water was set to boil and I added the frozen shrimp into the broth to cook through.  They were still half frozen.  When the pasta was cooked, I dumped it into the sauce along with some of the pasta water and stirred things around to coat each linguini strand with the sauce.

Dinner was served along with a salad!