Forking Food

Weber & Me!

Its no secret that my affairs with my Weber grill has been on going every summer and when I can sneak out, a few times in the winter. It’s been so good to me even though I have never purchased anything other than a cover for it. But I decided that it was time to reward it, and I bought a rotisserie (Item # 2290) for it.

It did not surprise me when it returned the favor. I seasoned and buttered up a small organic chicken and cut some small Yukon potatoes in quarters, seasoning them with Merken Spice (thanks to a dear friend who introduced me to this). Placing the potatoes on a small tray beneath the chicken and letting them both roast about an hour give me pleasure that only my Weber could do.
I served a tangy Arugula salad with the crunchy potatoes and succulent chicken and was ready for a good cigarette afterwards. (Good thing I don’t smoke besides food of course, lol)

Buon Natale!

An Italian tradition on Christmas Eve is several courses of dishes consisting of seven varieties of seafood! Since Mario and I decided to stay in New York this year I thought it would be fun to do the Italian tradition.

Fresh Shrimp, Alaskan king crab, Red Snapper, Calamari, Monkfish, Anchovy & Clams were the Seven I decided upon. I started with a few shrimp Fritters, Colombian Pastilles style. I created dough from boiling Yuka and adding flour. Then for the filling, I cooked rice with leeks and chicken stock. Added some chopped boiled eggs and cooked shrimp. Rolled out the dough and cut it into 4 inch circles. I fill each circle with the filling and rolled them into balls. Later I will fry them until golden brown for the starter.

I steamed the Crab Legs and removed the meat. I cooked some fresh Spaghetti and tossed it with the crab, butter & chives. On with the next course, I made a quick salad of Frisee, Shaved fennel and grilled calamari with anchovy vinaigrette, a nice and refreshing bite.

The finale was a Fisherman’s soup consisting of the remaining fish. I made a good soup base of fish stock, aromatic vegetables, cabbage and tomato and added Red Snapper, Monkfish & Clams. Served it with garlic bread & a good bottle of Orvieto wine! A nice sip of espresso put me right to sleep for a long winters nap, at least until tomorrow when I start cooking for Christmas!

Grilled Brunch!

I most likely will use the grill until the snow covers it or I won’t be able to find charcoal any longer, which ever come first will be the deciding point. We invited a few friends over for brunch and it was such a beautiful Sunday that I thought I would use the grill to prepare brunch. I thought of some simple items that could be grilled.

I started with asparagus lightly grilled and finished with homemade Dijon vinaigrette. Then placed a cast iron skillet on the grill and sautéed some sausage links. Using the grease left behind from the sausages I sautéed Crimini mushrooms and spinach. Using them later to make a Goat cheese, mushroom and Spinach Frittata.

Setting the asparagus and sausage aside. I placed a small cast iron skillet on the grill. Once the skillet was hot I whisked together some eggs and heavy cream. Then added the mushroom mixture, goat cheese and S & P. I put a dollop of butter into the hot skillet and poured in the egg mixture. I closed the lid on the grill and let the frittata cook for about an hour. Once the middle of the frittata was firm I removed it from the grill and flipped it unto a platter. Once on the platter I covered the top with goat cheese. The heat from the frittata slightly melted the cheese.

After Slicing a few Heirloom tomatoes that I had purchased at the green market and seasoning them with olive oil, sea salt & freshly ground pepper, I tossed together some fresh fruit and toasted a few English muffins on the grill. I poured some inexpensive Spanish cava together with some orange juice and blueberry POM. A nice combination and twist from the ordinary mimosa.

There we have it. A simple brunch all cooked on the grill and served with blueberry mimosas and a strong pot of coffee with no mess to clean up in the kitchen. Now that’s a great Sunday afternoon!

Bits & Pieces!

Folks, along with the usual blog, I am going to start giving out bits of tips on cooking and entertaining. After watching another bad food network show, I thought I would correct the info and give it to you as I see it! It’s not to say that the shows are wrong but I hear a lot of info that can be corrected with better results.

#1 when blanching, it is best not to "shock" in ice water. Better yet, remove the veggies from the boiling water a few minutes or seconds early and chill on a tray. In this manner your veggies won't get water logged and will retain it true flavor.

A quicky is a good thing!

Who here would panic if a few friends called and thought it would be good to stop by around dinnertime? I felt a rush of joy. Anyone will tell you that I love to entertain. This past summer Mario and I had 18 adults and 5 kids and cooked single handedly for each and ever one. Well, Mario did help with the grill until the flames were about 3 feet tall and had to call me from the kitchen. Even when we lived in a studio apartment in the city, we would have friends over often. Once I did birthday party for 20 people in the apartment in the middle of August. Folks, there is something to learn every time you entertain and that night I learned never to cook in a studio in the city in the middle of august. NEVER! But I do love to cook and prepare for a gathering of friends and family. This weekend with my parents coming in and a few relatives, there will be many dinner parties. Martha eat you heart out. Does she really like to entertain? I think so!

I rushed to Stew Leonard’s and selected some thick pork chops. I love it when a store will cut meat or fish to your own liking. Being spoiled by working at Eli's, I could not think of having it any other way. I would advise everyone to go out there and find yourself a butcher and use him regularly. Every town has a butcher shop; if you can drive thru then you can drive there.

I quickly made a brine and soaked the chops for a few hours. It may not be spring but there is freshness in the air. So I purchased asparagus, baby mesclun & fresh bread. I had some stale Portuguese bread at home so I made the infamous tomato pudding. In my book and a few others I know, tomatoes are king. I will use them fresh or canned. I do prefer the organic canned tomatoes. They seem to have a little ripe sweetness to them. With some bacon and a few mushrooms I found in the refrigerator I will sauté them together as a pseudo sauce for the pork chops.

It is set, pork chops, Smokey mushrooms, asparagus, tomato pudding and salad, and four
out of the five will be on the grill. If you go to all the trouble of getting the grill hot then utilize it. I quick game or a good old fashioned conversation starts the night off just right. Folks, with the smell of hyacinth in the air (never use them or any other fragrant flower around the dinner table, it takes away from the food) and my first hardy perennial planting in the garden I feel that Spring is on its way! Hooray!

Yes, I will have another glass!

Aside for being 1 hour late, we arrived and had a fantastic evening. John and Tom were forgiving host and smoothed it over with a quick cocktail. After starting with melon & Proscuitto, a risk being that it is winter but it worked. We moved on to Filet, asparagus, mashed potatoes & Carrots with a delicious salad on the side. Which is always a good idea to have an acid on the plate somewhere so as to cut the richness of steak. I was amazed that tom was daring enough to prepare filet mignon. Every steak was perfectly cooked, or at least mine was. A plate of assorted pastries were the finishing touch, great idea to make it less complicated so one could focus on the main course, another good idea

If there is one way to end a perfect dinner, remember I am not a big dessert eater, it would be to play a game. We played the new version of LIFE and JENGA. I lost both games but after a few bottles of wine who could win. A strategy that I am sure Jorge used to make it less threatening when playing games with a “over excited person” such as myself.

Hillbilly has it going on!

Folks, I am happy to read that some of you are taking the plunge and cooking something other than from a jar! Sorry momamia! Bacon Wrapped Shrimp are to die for. The slow-cooked roast would be a hit with any veggie. Prehaps some Horseradish sauce or Salsa Verde to lift the flavor. Bon Apetito-Buon Mangia

P.S. Don't forget the Wine!!