This year, I want to plant some Rosemary bushes in the back yard. I love the smell of Rosemary. It will be a few years until I can “harvest” clipping for skewers. In the meantime an early morning stroll through the farmer’s markets is always a joy.
Continue reading “Portuguese Marinated Surf and Turf on Rosemary Skewers”
Growing up, one of the dishes I can remember my Dad making was Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs. It was to die for delicious – and the sauce was a deep, beautiful red. The pork was falling off the bone. It was the best Sweet and Sour Ribs ever!
I will never forget the first time I ever had Beer Can Chicken. I thought it was the wildest thing I had ever seen. We were at a backyard barbecue with good friends. I looked out onto the back patio, where the man of the house was checking on his smokey chicken. Oh my word – the chicken was standing up on the grill!. What in the world? I had to ask, what was supporting the chicken like that. Our friend smiled and said it was a can of beer. Seems he had been barbecuing chicken with a can of beer shoved into the cavity for years.
Continue reading “Smokey Grilled Beer-Can Chicken with Cola Barbecue Sauce”
Can we talk steaks for a moment? The two biggest “rivals” for grilled steak has to be Porterhouse vs T-Bone. Both steaks come from the short loin, consisting of two cuts of meat on one cut of steak separated by the T-shaped bone.
Continue reading “Rockin’ Grilled Porterhouse – Need I Say More?”
Have I mentioned that I simply adore Piccata dishes? There’s something extraordinary about the way the buttery, lemony wine and capers sauce dances on my tongue that is out of this world!
In the mood for a little get away? Silly question . . . who doesn’t need a little get away? Wouldn’t it be great to bring all your friends and family to a tropical island get away? With a little imagination and some simple planning, you can transport yourself to a vacation paradise without breaking the bank. If you happen to have a backyard pool, all the better. If not, get a little wading pool, toss it in the yard and put your outdoor chairs around the pool. If it’s a one-time use, you could even put a few bags of sand into the bottom of the pool for that “beach” feel.
Did you know that the French Dip Sandwich isn’t French? No surprise there. About the only thing French is the use of Au Jus. Strictly speaking, Au Jus is a French culinary term meaning “with juice”. It refers to meat dishes prepared or served together with a light gravy, or broth, made from the juices given off by the meat as it is cooked. Today we think of Au Jus as simply a beef juice served on the side of a sandwich, not necessarily coming from a particular hunk of beef as it cooks. Look in your local markets, and you can find premade Au Jus in jugs, cans, dried mixes – just about any form. Just heat if in a liquid form, or mix with liquid for the dry form before heating.
Next week is my birthday. Traditionally, we’ve gone to the same wonderful Italian Restaurant for dinner. The food is delicious. While not a “fancy” place, we’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere, the service and the people. Unfortunately, our little place closed a few years back. So much for traditions.
Years ago, one of our favorite “drinks” to have with fresh off the grill burgers were yummy chocolate malts. Our kids loved them – especially the ones ordered at those little Mom and Pop nostalgic diners so popular along the highway. One of the things I noticed whenever we sat at counter-service malt shops is that most restaurants shakes are made using whole milk and vanilla ice cream. Chocolate syrup was added to transform a vanilla shake into a chocolate one. From a purely economical standpoint, this made good business sense. Whole milk and vanilla ice cream blended together provided the bases for just about any flavor “shake”. It was a blank canvas.
Continue reading “The Ultimate Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Malt”
For those of you living outside California, parts of Utah, Oregon, Nevada or Texas, you might not be familiar with In-N-Out Burgers. These are simple burgers, grilled up with fresh ingredients and topped with a whole slice of raw onion, their “signature”.
Continue reading “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Roasted Chicken”
Okay, so the unofficial official start to the summer grilling season is Memorial Day, who says we can’t start grilling sooner? After all, Memorial Day is the unofficial start. Anytime the weather is right, it’s grilling season!
Continue reading “Garlic-Rubbed New York Steaks with Savory Tarragon Butter”
Snow Crab. While not as meaty as our favorite, the King Crab, Snow Crab is sweeter and less expensive. I adore the added garlic-butter flavor that seeps into the meat during the warming process. Unless you live in a coastal town, or get your crab from a large fish tank, all crabs are cooked when they’re caught then quickly flash frozen for transport. You’re basically just heating them up, whether that be with steam, on a grill or in a large pan with lots of butter. Once killed, crab has a very short shelf life and can be dangerous to consume. It’s how you choose to warm the crab that makes a difference in flavor.
So you’ve decided to have a few friends over for a mid-week Italian supper. Great! Pick out a nice bottle of wine, some bread from your favorite bakery and toss a simple salad. All easy stuff. However; a true Ragù Bolognese takes time. Do you leave work early? Not necessarily. This Ragù Bolognese can be cooked up on a Sunday, to be served up on a Wednesday without diluting the rich flavor. If anything, a delay between cooking and eating only increases the elevation of savory goodness.
Continue reading “Classic Ragù Bolognese with Beef, Veal and Pancetta”
Onions and burgers go hand in hand. Take Patty Melts with Grilled Onions on Sourdough, the onions are caramelized, and placed on top of a rectangular patty between two slices of grilled bread – a diner staple. At backyard barbecues, plates of lettuce, tomatoes and sliced onions are offered up to accompany all those juicy burgers fresh off the grill. Onions are worked into the raw meat for added flavor before the patties are grilled. No double about it – onions and burgers are a marriage made in heaven. Yum – perfect for a Saturday Burger Night.
Welcome to Rosemarie's Kitchen 