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.
Who doesn’t like tacos? Just about everyone, right? Tacos are the perfect food. Think about it – all the major food groups are found in a taco. Fruit (tomatoes and avocados), vegetable (lettuce), grain (taco shell – okay, that might be a stretch, but work with me here), dairy (cheese and sour cream) and protein (filling) – yep – it’s all there. There are chicken tacos, beef tacos, fish tacos, shrimp tacos – even bean tacos. Just about anything folded into a warm corn shell can be called “taco”. (Hey, I’ve even seen Ice Cream Tacos – like a drumstick, only the “stick” is shaped like a taco shell). One of my all time favorites are Chorizo Tacos.
Continue reading “Super Easy Chorizo Tacos – The Perfect Food”
Have you ever noticed that nearly all “tropical” cocktails have a common ingredient – rum. Be it Coconut Rum, or Light Rum or Dark Rum – there’s a bottle of rum in there somewhere. It makes sense since rum is made from molasses (a byproduct of sugarcane harvests) that is mixed with cane juice and allowed to ferment.
Whenever I tell people I’m making a Hawaiian Macaroni Salad with spaghetti and spam, I always see that same puzzled expression on their faces, usually followed by a very slow, unsure “okay.” I will admit, it is a little different and yet it is usually a big hit. You will always have those hold outs who refuse to see cold spaghetti noodles as anything else except cold spaghetti noodles, not very appealing. The Spam isn’t so much a part of the dish itself as it is a decorative garnish.
Years ago, some friends opened a restaurant called “The Teriyaki Hut”. My friends were from Hawaii. Naturally their menu included some island favorites such as Kahlua Pig. I loved the stuff – it was about as close as you can get to the pit-roasted pig without roasted an entire pig beneath a bed of banana leaves and hot coals. I first fell in love with Kahlua Pig at a luau in Maui and then again in Moorea. Traditionally, a pig is roasted for as much as twelve hours in an underground oven called a imu. A fire made from mesquite wood is build in the pit. Rocks are placed in the pit to retain the heat long after the flames of wood has burned down. Once the rocks are heated, the pit is lined in banana leaves, just as the meat is wrapped in the same leaves. Wet burlap buries everything in the ground, allowing the smoke to circulate while the leaves help keep everything moist. While this dish is a tourist favorite at luaus throughout Hawaii and the South Pacific, it is no less delicious and well worth a taste.
Oh my goodness, where has the time gone? Next weekend is Memorial Day – the unofficial “official” start of the grilling season! It’s time to get busy. I’ve got menus to prepare, recipes to try out. Love it when the creative juices start to flow.
Continue reading “Memorial Day – A Simple Backyard Barbecue”
If you want to go all out this Memorial Day and put on a spread that is out of this world – have I got some ideas to share with you!
Now that the summer sizzle has arrived in full-force, we’ll be cooking outdoors whenever possible – even if that means a lot of burgers and dogs for quick, after work suppers. And let’s not forget the awesome Street Fair Sausage – one of the biggest reasons we go to all these little fairs in the first place. Street Fair Sausage is a post and a story for another day. Whenever possible, we will be doing our weekend cooking outdoors as well. I’m looking forward to some childhood treasures such as my Dad’s awesome Kabobs or Mom’s Filipino Barbecue, but then those too a subject for another day. Right now I want to chat up a “new” family favorite . . .
Today it’s all about grilled chicken and smokey goodness. This Spice-Rubbed Grilled Chicken with a Smokey Orange Sauce was first published in Taste of Home back in 1993. It is an award-winning recipe. While I did not mess with the ingredients; I have modified the rubbing instructions to take full advantage of the flavors, giving the meat a more thorough saturation.
When it came time to grill the chicken, Hubby tossed the instructions right out the window. The instructions said to grill the chicken uncovered for 20 minutes, turn, baste and grill 30 minutes longer. He shook his head and I could tell his gut told him differently. I’ve always been a firm believer in following your instincts. So I let Hubby do his thing. His technique rendered a piece of chicken that was moist and rosy with deep smokey goodness right down to the bone.
Overall the spice rub did not make the chicken spicy as in “hot” – it’s spicy as in a lot of flavorful. Some of the best chicken I’ve ever tasted. Just be sure to have plenty of big napkins – it’s messy. Good and messy – just the way barbecue should be!
Spice-Rubbed Grilled Chicken with a Smokey Orange Sauce
Ingredients – Chicken
1 Package Chicken Legs (6 Legs)
1 Package Chicken Thighs (6 Thighs)
Rinse chicken well and pat dry. Set chicken aside on a wire rack to “air dry” while the rub is made.
Rub the chicken with the rub both under and over the skin. Allow the rub to really flavor the meat of the chicken.
Gently pull skin back on legs and work rub directly onto meat. Pull skin back over legs, rub skin.
Turn thighs skin-side-down. Work rub directly onto meat. Lift skin, continue to work rub onto meat, then rub into skin.
Ingredients – The Rub
2 tablespoons onion powder
4 teaspoons salt or salt substitute
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
Pinch cayenne pepper
In a small bowl, mix spice rub ingredients; reserve 1 tablespoon spice rub for sauce.
Place the rubbed chicken back onto the rack and let rest, soaking in the rub. While the chicken is resting, prep the grill.
Once the coals are heating in the chimney, make the Smokey Orange Sauce. (Recipe follows).
Ingredients – The Smokey Orange Sauce
2 cups ketchup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
2 tablespoons thawed orange juice concentrate
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce. Stir in the reserved spice rub; taste and adjust as needed.
Set sauce aside until ready to baste.
To Grill the Chicken: Grill chicken skin-side-down both covered and uncovered over medium heat in intervals of 5 minutes for a combined cooking time of about 20 minutes. This allows smoke to build up in the grill while keeping fire flare-ups under control. After chicken has been grilling about 20 minutes, turn chicken; baste with sauce. Continue to grill chicken both covered and uncovered for about 30 minutes longer, basting frequently with the sauce. Grill chicken until the juices run clear when pierced.
Turn chicken, baste underside grill for about 10 minutes more. Remove chicken from grill. Transfer chicken to serving platter, tent and let rest about 5 minutes for juices to settle.
Serve and enjoy. This dish goes well with corn on the cob and wedged potatoes.
Note from Hubby: Grill times may vary depending upon grill temperature. Keep an eye on the chicken and adjust accordingly.
What could be better than one tostada? A double-decker, of course! These yummy tostadas are a favorite in our house. I promise, they’ll become a favorite in your house, too. They are as much fun to make as they are to eat. Imagine the crunch of not one but two tostada shells layered with beans, spicy meats, cheese sauce and an endless assortment of beautiful toppings. Yum! As a tostada, it’s a complete meal. Served on small corn chip rounds, these can be transformed into bite size fun perfect for your next Mexican inspired affair.
Continue reading “Double the Yum with Double Decker Tostadas”
What is Zabaglione? It is a foamy, custard-like mixture of egg yolks, sugar and Marsala wine served hot or chilled as a dessert. Often Zabaglione is served over fruits or cakes. The very first time we ate this wonderful dish, it was actually prepared table-side in a private dining room by a Five-Star Chef using his grandmother’s recipe. I never was able to get the recipe from him – but this comes close. His was without the added whipped cream, staying true to its custard roots. This variation utilizes heavy cream, creating a whipped topping rather than a true custard. If it is the custard variety you seek, simply omit the heavy cream.
Continue reading “Fresh Fruit with Whipped Cream Zabaglione”
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