Busy Nothings

Coconut-Lime Shrimp over Black Bean Cakes is my proudest culinary creation.  The dish manages to be unique, seamless, and fulfilling all at once.  Katelyn and I prepared it together tonight and played with the plate presentation.  Here’s what we did:

My favorite?  The middle picture because of the height of the dish.  Also, the shrimp “flag” is sort of pirate-like which is thematically consistent with the seafood nature of the dish.  Enjoy!

I whipped up a classic compound butter containing Roquefort cheese and a bit of fresh chives.  The result is an ultra-creamy and delightfully salty spread that has notes of sharpness and heat from the chives.  It’s really almost good enough to eat on its own but it’s even better as a topper.  Here’s two ways I’ve used it:

Grilled Portabella Mushrooms with Roquefort Chive Butter

The mushrooms were served with grilled asparagus and a really elementary attempt at popovers.  (I’m quite embarassed about those popovers incidentally.)

Rib Eye Steak with Roquefort Chive Butter

The steak was served with a chilled grilled aspagus salad with Parmesan cheese.

So, I guess the question to ask and answer is which dish was better?  While both dishes worked really well, I have to say as a composition, the steak was a higher-quality dish.  the butterfat seemed to simply mesh better with the natural juices and fat in the steak.  The mushroom took the flavors of the butter well but it always felt like two separate parts instead of an integrated whole. 

Here’s the recipe to the butter:

Roquefort Chive Butter

1 stick (4 oz.) good quality butter

2 oz Roquefort or other good quality blue cheese

about 1 T finely chopped chives

Kosher salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl using a hand or stand mixer or by hand.  Taste and adjust the amount of salt, if needed.  Place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper (or wax paper, I suppose) and on your work area and put the butter mixer atop that.  Fold the paper or plastic wrap over the butter and use it to shape the butter into a log shape.  Twist the ends shut and then refrigerate for at least an hour.  When ready to use, just open the package up and slice. 

Enjoy!

Here’s a nice and simple variation on grilled pizza:

Grilled Pizza with Pesto and Tomatoes

Enough Pizza dough for one 12 inch pizza of your choice (EZ Grill Bread would be nice)

1 cup freshly made pesto

1 tomato, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated

Build a fire in your charcoal grill.  This recipes assumes a 22-inch kettle style grill.  Adjust your grilling technique accordingly for other types of grills.  (Apologies to gas grill owners, I don’t own one so I can’t give any advice as to how this would be done on a gas grill.)  When the coals are ready, bank them off to one side of the grill, leaving one side completely coal-free.  Let the fire go until it is medium (you can hold your hand above the coals for 4 to 5 seconds). 

Brush one side of the dough with olive oil.  Place two rounds of dough (oil side down) over the coals and cook just until toasted.  This shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes.  While it cooks, brush the other side of the bread with olive oil.  Watch it carefully as it goes from perfect to burnt pretty quickly.  Then flip the bread over and add the toppings.  Start with a layer of pesto and then layer on the tomato and red onion.  Finish with the Parmesan cheese.  When the other side is toasted, move the pizzas to the cold side of the grill and clamp on the lid.  Cook about 3-4 minutes or until the cheese has almost completely melted.  Remove from the grill.  Cut and serve immediately. 

This is my favorite kebab recipe.  It’s a pretty simple concoction but the beef comes out so brightly flavored because of the lemon zest in the marinade.  The garlic adds a nice bit of punch and the mustard adds some depth and richness.  Here’s the recipe:

Zesty Beef Kebabs

1 1/2 lbs beef, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

2 T vegetable oil

1 T red wine vinegar

2 tsp dijon

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Mix together all ingredients, except the beef, in a gallon sized resealable plastic bag.  Add the beef to the bag, seal, and then use your hands to massage the marinade so that it covers the beef.  Place the bag in the refrigerator. 

Meanwhile prepare a hot grill.  When hot, skewer the beef on skewers, leaving about 1/2 an inch of space between each chunk.  Grill, turning occasionally, until cooked to your desired level of doneness.  Serve immediately.

So, when I say a hot grill, I mean something along these lines:

I think the charcoal chimney is a perfect method of cooking kebabs.  They’re small, so they cook really quickly.  Yet, part of the appeal of grilled food is just a bit of char and to get that, when things cook quickly, you really need to turn up the heat.  Hence, the chimney. 

One note:  It is a good idea to use metal skewers for this dish, especially if using the charcoal chimney method.  Bamboo skewers really tend to burn pretty quickly at that level of heat and they will fall apart, especially if you forget to soak them in water (like a certian chef did).  Enjoy!

This steak is incomparably easy and very tasty.  The oyster sauce adds richness and a pleasant sweetness that marries well with the robustness of the beef.  The marinade is further spiked with balsamic vinegar and some mustard and red pepper flakes.  It’s a winner.

The real point of this post, however, is the new setup of how I grill right on top of my charcoal chimney.  Weber makes a small, rectangular grill for one of it’s other models.  If you use it with your chimney, though, its a perfect fit that is stable.  Plus, the tines of the grate are thicker, so they retain more heat, so you get a better sear on your meat.  Here’s how it looked:

And here’s the recipe:

Grilled Rib Eye Steaks with Oyster Sauce Glaze

1/4 cup oyster sauce

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 tsp grainy mustard

1/2 tsp hot red-pepper flakes

2 Rib Eye Steaks, about 12-15 ounces each, at room temperature

Stir together the oyster sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard and hot red-pepper flakes.  Season the steaks with Kosher salt and pepper and then place them in a resealable plastic bag along with the marinade.  Let the marinating steaks sit out a room temperature, while preparing the grill.

Light your charcoal grill with a full chimney of charcoal.  When the coals are completely ashed over and there is little or no flame, place an oiled grate on top of the chimney.  Let it preheat for about 30 seconds, and then grill the steaks (1 at a time if needed) for about 2 minutes per side, turning them 45 degrees halfway through to create a nice diamond pattern.  When both steaks are done, remove to a plate, and then dump the coals in the chimney into the grill, covering one side, leaving one side free of coals.  Put the grate on top of the grill (the larger one for your grill, of course), and then place the steaks on the grill on the side with no coals.  Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes more, or until it reaches your desired doneness.  Remove to a plate, tent with aluminum foil, and then let rest for 5 minutes.  Serve. 

Enjoy!

Yet another variation on my favorite dish: Grilled Rib Eye Steaks with a butter sauce.  In this instance, a flavored red wine reduction is blended with some creamy sweet butter to create a sophisticated and full-flavored sauce that marries perfectly with the steak.  And, as an added bonus, if you’re drinking the wine that you used to make the red wine butter, there’s an incredible synergy between everything.  I thought this was an amazing dish.  Here’s the recipe:

Rib Eye Steaks with Red Wine Butter, based on this recipe

4 Rib Eye steaks, about 12-16 ounces each, at room temperature

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 1/4 cups red wine, pinot noir is a nice choice

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

8 black peppercorns

11 T unsalted butter (1 stick plus 3 T)

Place the wine, garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Continue to boil until the mixture reduces to 2 T.  Strain the mixture into a small bowl and let cool.  When cool, add the butter and a bit of salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust any seasonings. 

Lightly cover steaks with olive oil and season aggressively with the salt and pepper.  Then cook using your favorite method.  I suggest pan-searing or grilling.  (Check out the recipe index of this blog for examples.)  Let the meat rest for about five minutes after it’s done cooking and then serve, dividing the butter evenly amongst the steaks.

A few notes:  1)  The original recipe asks the cook to shape the butter into a log after it was mixed with the red wine reduction.  The butter is then refrigerated to “firm it up.”  I don’t really disagree with this but I think it adds an unnecessary step to the recipe.  Sure, a nice slice of butter is very attractive but it’s going to be cold on top of the steak.  Which means less melting, which means I think it is quite as good as it could be.  I’m fine with a little bit of “ugliness” for room temperature butter.  It just integrates so much better with the steak.  2)  In recipes like this, ingredients really matter, so use top-shelf stuff whenever possible. 

Here’ a picture of the recipe with Home Fries.

Enjoy!

This is a quick and easy way to dress up your grilled vegetables.  The vinaigrette adds some moisture to the vegetables (which is surprisingly welcome) with a nice dose of acidity from the lemon juice.  It’s really quite pleasant.  A picture can be found here.  And here’s the recipe:

Grilled Vegetables with Simple Mustard Vinaigrette, from this recipe at Epicurious

6 medium yellow squash and/or green zucchini (3 pounds)

Kosher salt and pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons coarse-grain mustard

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Prepare a grill.  Wash vegetables, cut off the stem end, and halve lengthwise.  Toss with 2 T of olive oil and some Kosher salt and pepper. 

Mix together the lemon juice, mustard, and sugar.  Whisk in the remaining 2 T of olive oil. 

Grill vegetables until tender, turning occasionally.  Serve immediately, passing the vinaigrette on the side. 

Enjoy!

This is one of those elemental recipes that seem to capture the essence of not just an ingredient but the season of the year.  Corn fresh of the cob, of course, is a summer time only treat and is synonymous with enjoying the bounties of gardens everywhere.  This recipe takes the sublime sweetness of the corn and marries it with a bit of onion and a bit of vinegar, accentuating all of them in the process. 

Katelyn’s Fresh Corn Salad

6 ears of corn, shucked and washed

1/2 red onion, fairly finely diced

2 T julienne fresh basil

2-3 T good quality extra virgin olive oil

2-3 T cider vinegar

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Using a sharp knife, remove the kernels from the cobs.  Place into boiling salted water for 1 minute and then drain.  Immediately put the corn into ice water to halt the cooking process.  When cooled all the way through, drain the corn again, shaking the colander to get rid of any excess moisture.  If needed, blot dry with paper towels.

Place corn in a bowl and add the onions and basil.  Mix in 2 T each of cider vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.  Season with a bit of Kosher salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Add the remaining cider vinegar and olive oil if needed.  Serve.

Here’s a picture of it (along with a bulgur tomato salad and Grilled Vegetables with Simple Mustard Vinaigrette):

Thanks to Katelyn for bringing this wonderful recipe to me.  It’s just a little bit of everything-sweet, hot, fruity, and acidic.  It’s a perfect summer time side dish.  Enjoy!

Teaberry is a brand new establishment in downtown Fargo that offers Boba teas.  These drinks are mixtures of tea, flavorings, milk, and little chunks (or balls if you like) of tapioca starch that sit on the bottom of the cup.  A very large straw is then used to suck up the chunks of tapioca along with the tasty drink surrounding it.  Teaberry also serves some cocktail-like tea beverages (non-alcoholic) and a few sandwiches. 

It is a very zen-like inside.  The owner told us that all of the construction had been done by his wife, his business partner, and himself.  I was impressed.  Everything inside was clean and soothing with just the right amount of decoration to keep things interesting.  Here’s a picture:

There are a number of flavorings that you can choose for your Boba tea.  If memory serves, green tea, strawberry, taro, green apple, passion fruit, and raspberry are on the menu (along with many others that I cannot remember).  We inquired as to what the owner’s favorite Boba tea was and he said it was a combination of green apple and passion fruit.  Katelyn ordered that one and I chose the taro (another recommendation).  Both of the drinks were wonderful.  The green apple and passion fruit was pretty sweet but with a bit of tartness from the green apple and the presence of the neutral flavored tapioca chunks, it really worked.  The taro was less sweet and had sort of an earthy feel to it, which probably shouldn’t be surprising since it is the root (or corm to be more precise) that is primarily used as a foodstuff.  It thought it elegant in this drink as it added just the right bit of sophistication.  And they were both great on a bike ride on a summer’s day.  Here’s what the drinks looked like:

The second picture is of me using a straw (which I generally eschew with vigor) to drink the Boba tea in Island Park in Fargo.  The wide straw is absolutely necessary because the tapioca chunks would plug up any normal-sized straw.

We also had one other drink.  It was a white gourd cold tea “cocktail.”  (It can be seen in the picture above.)  It may have been the most refreshing thing I have ever tasted.  Sure, I was very thirsty from the bike ride I was on but this drink was amazing.  Just a hint of sweetness was matched with orange and what seemed like green tea (I could very well be wrong here).  And then, on top of all of those flavors, was the white gourd which was, much like the taro, a bit earthy and understatedly full-flavored.  We both loved it. 

Teaberry is found in downtown Fargo in the space where Salad Express used to be.  The address is 119 Broadway, Fargo, ND 58103.  I hope that everyone will go out and support a great little business like this that serves wonderful stuff. 

It’s no secret that I am quite fond of putting butter atop my steaks.  Last night (which was one of the few perfect nights North Dakota weather will permit in a year) I wanted to do the steak and butter thing but I wanted something a little bit different.  I tossed some ideas around in my head and I finally decided I wanted something like Ribeye Steaks with Billionaire’s Bacon Butter.  In particular, I wanted a marriage between something sweet and the richness of the butter.  To do this, I thought some lightly caramelized shallots would add just a touch of sweetness and to up the sweetness a bit (and add some more complexity) I used a bourbon reduction as well.  It was simply amazing.  Here’s the recipe:

Grilled Rib Eye Steaks with Bourbon-Shallot Butter

2 thick Rib Eye steaks, about 13-16 oz each

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 shallots, sliced thinly

1/4 cup bourbon, preferably Maker’s Mark

4 T good quality butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat a very hot grill.  (I prefer to do some of the cooking right on my charcoal chimney, see this post for an explanation.)  Meanwhile, rub the steaks with a bit of olive oil and season liberally with Kosher salt and pepper.  Let sit out, covered, at room temperature while the grills heats. 

Heat a small saute pan over medium-low heat with a bit of olive oil.  Cook the shallots in the pan until they become browned and just slightly crisp, about 20-25 minutes.  Keep a close eye on them as they can burn.  Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the bourbon (use some caution here).  Place the pan back over the heat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bourbon has completely evaporated.  Remove the pan from the heat and let cool a bit.  Then mix the shallots with the butter.  The butter should melt slightly.  Season to taste with Kosher salt and pepper.  Set aside at room temperature until the steaks are done.

Grill the steaks to your desired doneness.  Remove from the grill and tent with aluminum foil.  Let rest for 5 minutes.  Then plate the steaks and slather on the butter mixture.  Serve immediately.

The resulting butter mixture is just plain delicious.  As you eat it, the components of it come a bit at a time.  You first taste the sweetness from the bourbon and then the sweetness from the shallots.  And then there’s just a bit of sharpness left in the shallots that lingers on the tongue every so lightly.  Finally, the richness of the butter brings it all together and meshes it all with the beefy flavor of the steak.  And over all of it, the butter mixture has a ephemeral smokiness to it (from the  charred barrels in which it is aged) that pairs wonderfully (of course) with the smoky flavors from the grill.  Here’s a picture:

I served it with Grilled Asparagus.  Enjoy!