Beer Butt Chicken - The Controversy.

So I posted a question on chowhound last night and never have any of my threads been quite so popular. As I post this it is sitting at 43 posts and counting. Since I am learning about my grill and all the fabulous things to be made with it I was wondering about the infamous beer can chicken. I have always wanted to try it but J was always concerned with the dyes of the can, and what might come off at such a high temperature. It seems as though the consensus is that is is fine but that if you are really paranoid devices can be fashioned (think soup can) or purchased.

I think we should try it, but I suspect I will be outvoted - at least I will have to eat myself a whole chicken if I go for it. Anyone have any thoughts?

Here is the chowhound thread if anyone is interested: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/406270

And the original book from whence the whole idea came:Beer Can Chicken: And 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill

Lemon Oregano Salmon Skewers

I have never successfully grilled fish before. So I am seeing this as a bit of a mini victory and the first strike against the evil forces preventing me from becoming a grill master. BBQ: three, me: one. We cycled over to the cabin this weekend and I have zero cookbooks over there at the moment so I picked up a copy of Canadian Living's special edition specifically on grilling. It was a great deal because it was full of good ideas including the Chicken Tikka I posted yesterday and this, although I have modified it quite a bit and changed the herb from dill to marjoram. The trick seems to be to really grease the grill down after pre-heating and cleaning and before putting on the fish.


Why Marjoram? Because I am enamored with it, it is growing fresh on my porch at the cabin, and holey moley do I have a lot of it. I think of all the things I have growing over there the parsley and the marjoram are by far thriving the most. So then, why did I call teh post "lemon Oregano"? Because according to multiple sources oregano is marjoram and vice versa, they are simply variations on each other where marjoram is frequently considered the milder herb. Because of that you could easily use any fresh herb in the oregano family for this and because of the lemon you end up with a lovely Greek inspired marinade just in time for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging. I think the particular marjoram I have is fairly close to oregano judging by it's stronger then normal flavour and large leaves.

It is shameful really, I haven't gotten it together to participate in WHB in at least a month because Kalyn only hosts them once a month and I am pretty sure she was hosting the last time I did. Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly event started by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen to encourage bloggers to use herbs and even veggies in their cooking. Don't forget to check out the roundup this coming Sunday on Kalyn's Kitchen.


Lemon Oregano Salmon Skewers (serves 2)

2 salmon fillets, skin removed, deboned
2 tablespoons fresh oregano\marjoram, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1 lemon, thoroughly washed
1 dried chilli pepper
skewers, if they are wooden don't forget to soak them first

1. In a bowl or container large enough to accommodate the salmon combine the oregano, salt, and pepper. Remove the seeds from the chili pepper and add them as well.
2. Grate the zest of the lemon into the bowl and juice half of the lemon into the bowl. Slice the other half and set aside. Add the olive oil and stir thoroughly.
3. Cut the salmon into 3 cm square pieces and toss with the marinade for 10 minutes.
4. Put 3-4 pieces of salmon on each skewer and finish each with a piece of lemon. Reserve remaining marinade.
5. On a greased grill over medium heat place the skewers and brush them with more of the marinade. Grill them for about 8-10 minutes total, with the lid down, turning twice. Check a thick piece after about 7 minutes.

Technorati Tags: Cook, Seafood, Food Porn, Recipe, Grill, Salmon

Hot Deal: KitchenAid Blender and Stand Mixer

Amazon is selling the KitchenAid KSB5MC 5-speed blender in Metallic Chrome for only $44 dollars. That is 65% off, I am just working on the shipping costs (damn Amazon.ca why don't you carry kitchen items?) but if it is reasonable to Canada I am going to pick one up. If you are in the States you are eligible for free 2-day shippin on this plus...



This is also a great deal, as pointed out by Elise on Simply Recipes,the Kitchen Aid Deluxe Stand Mixer is going for only $199. It is a 6-quart mixer, and I am just now doing my research on exactly what model this is. It is not one of the professional series, and it comes with the C-hook rather then the Spiral hook. I made bread this past weekend by hand at the cabin, one of these would certainly help.


Technorati Tags: Deal, Sale

Chicken Tikka

I am determined to learn how to grill chicken thighs properly. It can be done, I know it and I will get there. I have been doing some reading about indirect heat when grilling and I think my only mistake this time was not greasing the grill enough before moving it to the direct heat. So it was a slight bit more charred then ideal though not that much too much. Once I get it perfect I will make sure to post the exact method. Meanwhile I am getting closer and I have discovered another really nice marinade.

This isn't an authentic Indian recipe, I just got my yearly delivery of fresh curry powder straight from India so I used that because it is so fantastic when it is fresh. This recipe was inspired by a recipe I found in Canadian Living magazine.

This is the latest entry in my Cheap Eats series. The chicken thighs cost about $4, plus $1 for yogourt and $1 for garlic, ginger and spices . That makes about $3 per person.


Chicken Tikka
(serves 2)

½ cup plain yogourt
½ lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
3 tablespoons curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 chicken thighs

1. Combine yogourt, lemon juice, oil, garlic, ginger, curry, salt and pepper. Taste for spiciness and seasoning.
2. In a ziploc or marinating container toss chicken in yogourt mix. Marinate for at least 4 but up to 12 hours.
3. Heat 1 burner of BBQ on medium and brush other burner with oil (If you have a 3 burner BBQ heat two burners and grill chicken on the 3rd.). Grill chicken, bone side down, for 20 minutes. Turn skin side down and grill for another 25 minutes.
4. Check to make sure the chicken juices run clear. If at this point the skin isn't crisp enough or you want more grill marks. Brush one of the heated burners with oil and move the chicken onto a direct burner for a couple of minutes, watch carefully.


Technorati Tags: Cook, Chicken, Food Porn, Recipe, Grill, Indian Food

Prawns with Jalapenos and White Wine

I am back from vacation, and what a great week it was. I really got the chance to appreciate some of the fabulous food items that come out of British Columbia. It is with this inspiration that I post tonight's recipe featuring BC spot prawns, wild and fresh from the waters off of the BC coast. I tried after work to buy them right off the boat but they were sold out by the time I got there (which is good, since I was on a bike and they would've been alive, I really didn't think it through...) so these are yesterday's catch and they were not capable of swimming at purchase time.

There are a couple of fabulous inspirations and memories I am taking away from this vacation...

My favorite new grape variety is the Ehrenfelser. Never heard of it? Neither had I. It is a medium-sweet white wine that is a cross between a Riesling and a Sylvaner that falls into the late harvest category. This is a great wine for sipping on a summer evening on the deck or enjoying with cheeses or fruit. I can personally recommend the one produced by Summerhill and the one produced by Gray Monk wineries.

The other favorite of this trip was the Carmelis Goat Cheese Farm . Not only did I walk out of there with $45 of cheese I also discovered goat's milk gelato. Possibly the best thing ever. I am moderately biased because I am lactose intolerant and goat milk products don't bother me but still. It has less fat then regular gelato, is easier to digest and was possibly the best gelato I have ever had, certainly the best I have had outside of Italy. So good.

For the prawn dish I adapted this recipe from Rob Feenie. Do serve it with the spicy mayo - it is really worth it and it turns an otherwise guilt free dish into something a little bit evil which is always fun. You will also want to sop up the juices with bread, cause they are very yummy. You could make this with any shrimp I would think.


Prawns with Jalapeños and White Wine:

1t butter
1t olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2lb of prawns, shelled and de-veined
1 jalapeño, sliced crosswise
1/2C white wine
1/2 lemon, juiced
2T fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1. Put a medium skillet on medium heat and melt the butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and saute until it starts to brown.
2. Add the prawns and saute for 1-2 minutes per side depending on the size of the shrimp.
3. Add the white wine and cook for another minute.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice and parsley. Toss with a few grinds of fresh pepper. Serve right away with lots of fresh bread and the curry mayo.

Curry mayo
Combine approximately 1/2c of mayonnaise to each teaspoon of curry powder. Taste and adjust, more mayo if it is too spicy and more curry if it needs to be spicier!


Technorati Tags: Cook, Seafood, Food Porn, Recipe, Prawns, Shrimp

Vacation and Inspiration

I am still enjoying the sun and R&R in sunny Kelowna and I have discovered how hard it is to cook without any kind of spices. We are lucky enough to be enjoying local asparagus on the BBQ, but it really isn't worth posting over. I could post about some of the lovely wines we have been tasting - and I may do so once I have been to all the wineries we intend to visit.

However I have just finished a great book - The Wedding Officer which is about wartime Naples but it manages to inspire Italian cooking and general food appreciation. In honour of that I am re-posting my lemon pasta or Fettucine al Limone recipe since it is such a classic and is a favorite within the book as well. This is the perfect season for it too since it is really a spring or summer dish. Also check out my variation with shrimp and spinach.

I have made this with home made fresh pasta and it is lovely, but even if you use store bought pasta it is still good.

Lemon Pasta Sauce: (serves 2-4)
1C half and half
zest of three lemons
juice of 2 small lemons
4T butter
salt and pepper
Parmesan and flat leaf parsley for garnish

1. Put butter and cream in a skillet or saucepan that the pasta will fit in later. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling add the lemon juice and stir in. Add zest and continue stirring until reduced in half.
3. Toss cooked pasta with sauce and grate Parmesan over top and toss.
4. Serve garnished with salt, pepper, Parmesan and chopped parsley.


Technorati Tags: Cook, Vegetarian, Food Porn, Recipe, Italian Food, Pasta

Zucchini with Coriander

This is a side dish I threw together to use up a zucchini that came in this week's organic surprise box. I am all into sun-dried tomatoes after my last success with the cornetti so I used some of the oil from that to saute the zucchini.

We are actually on vacation out in BC's wine country (the Okanagan) So my posting will likely not be frequent for awhile. It is quite exciting though we are in biking distance of a handful of great wineries, including Grey Monk, and fully intend to do some sampling!

Zucchini with Coriander (serves 2)

1 small zucchini
2T of of oil from a sun-dried tomato jar, olive oil could be substituted
1t coriander seeds, crushed
salt

1. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and then in 1/4" slices.
2. Heat a skillet over medum high heat and add the oil.
3. Add the zucchini, turn a few times and add the coriander.
4. Continue cooking, turning the zucchini occasionally to avoid burning, but allowing it to brown and not stir fry for about 2 minutes then add a large pinch of salt. Continue for few more minutes until the zucchini is just soft and not mushy.
5. Taste for seasoning and add more slat if necessary.

Check out these other great posts on zucchini: How to grill it, my gratine, sweet chocolate and zucchini cake, or Clothide's fabulous namesake blog.

Technorati Tags: Cook, Vegetarian, Food Porn, Recipe, Vegetable

Cornetti with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans

Someone on the Chowhound forums was talking about this recipe and I was lucky enough to find it over on The Amateur Gourmet so I thought I would give it a shot. What could possibly be easier right? Wrong. I was quite surprised just how hard it was to find a can of cannellini beans! Granted I have dried ones in the cupboard but I was going for an easy (pre-Lost) weeknight meal. I ended up having to go to three stores - the first two would be considered "fancy" grocery stores - and eventually found it at my local corner store, doh. Rest assured the recipe itself was simple.

On my first bite I thought it was only just okay - but by the end I was gobbling it down and I ended up having several more bites while I was packing up the leftovers. It also has temporarily cured me of my dislike of sun-dried tomatoes. Yes this is yet another quest of mine to start liking things I don't. I never really hated sun-dried tomatoes it was just that for awhile you couldn't go out to eat without having the darn things in everything. They were in salads, dips, pastas, on pizzas and in sauces served with meats. The worst part was that I always found that they were overused and that they overshadowed the rest of dish. (Thankfully it would seem that that trend has passed.) This is not the case here - if anything I might have added more tomatoes next time. Other things I might do differently are to save the pasta water to thin out the sauce at the end, add a bit more salt and maybe some more tomatoes. All and all I would highly recommend it - and it is dead easy. You can see the original post from the Amateur Gourmet here, it is originally a Lydia Bastianich recipe. But I scaled down the proportions for the amount of beans I had which is below.

This recipe also falls into my Cheap Eats requirements as the total cost was about $9 for the pasta, beans and tomatoes and will be used for more then 4 servings for sure. I already had the cheese, garlic and rest in the house.


Cornetti with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans
(serves 3-4)

250g cornetti or other small macaroni
3T olive oil
2T oil from sun-dried tomato jar
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1t red pepper flakes, or 2 small dried red chiles crushed
3/4C sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into 1/4" strips
1 small can cannellini beans (2C), drained
1/4t salt
3T fresh parsley, chopped
1/4C Parmesan, grated

1. Put the pasta on to cook, you can do this while you do the rest, just make sure to save some of the pasta water when draining and under cook it by a minute or so. In a thick bottom pot, large enough to hold the pasta later put 2T of the olive oil and all the tomato oil. Bring it up to medium-high heat.
2. Add the garlic and allow it to cook for a minute, stirring. Add the chiles and do the same. Add the tomatoes and allow them to cook for a minute.
3. Drain the pasta if you haven't already and add a cup of the pasta water to the sauce and allow it to simmer until reduced by half.
4. Add the beans, salt and another cup of pasta water and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. If your pasta is cooked add it in in the last minute of cooking, stirring frequently.
5. Stir in the parsley, remove from the heat and add the cheese and last 1T of oil. If you need to thin the sauce add more pasta water and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve with extra grated cheese.


Check out these other sun-dried tomato recipes that I have flagged. A pesto, a focaccia and another pasta. Yum!

Technorati Tags: Cook, Vegetarian, Food Porn, Recipe, Vegetable, Pasta

Minestrone di Romagna

I have discovered how to avoid getting large while being an obsessive cook and compulsive eater - do all your grocery shopping by bike! Even better, decide foolishly to make minestrone from scratch, including the stock, and bike all around town toting veal bones in your backpack. Also, make sure to take the way back from the market that includes a hill so steep that the sidewalk has raised planks to avoid slipping.


So after all my toil I was finally able to make Marcella's minestrone soup from the original Classic Italian Cookbook and I really liked the result. I made the stock last Saturday, the soup on Sunday and then took it for lunch all week. It is hearty enough for a full meal especially if you add bread and really healthy. Plus if you go through the trouble of making homemade broth then you feel like you are eating the most wholesome thing in the world. There is nothing wrong with making it a day ahead - it got even better the next day.

For the broth I made the recipe in her book, it is a pretty standard broth except she recommends a combination of poultry bones and beef or veal. Also this is a great way to use up those rinds of Parmesan in the back of your refrigerator. I followed the recipe pretty diligently but I have re-tweaked the proportions to make a smaller batch and re-written it below. She recommends that you prep the vegetables as you go - and I found this worked out well, you have enough time to do this and this avoids the potatoes turning black etc. It wouldn't be authentic but you could substitute vegetable broth and make this vegetarian.

Minestrone di Romagna: (serves 4)

1/3C olive oil
2T butter
1C onion, thinly sliced
1/2C celery, diced
1/2C carrots, diced
1 1/2C potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2C zucchini, diced
1/2C green beans, diced
1/2 small savoy cabbage, shredded
5C homemade meat broth
the crust from a piece of Parmesan
1C canned tomatoes in their juice, cut up
1 small can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/3C Parmesan, freshly grated


1. In a big stock pot add the oil and onion over medium low heat and cook until translucent and starting to brown. Add the carrots and cook stirring occasionally for 2 to 3 minutes. Do the same with the celery, potatoes, zucchini and green beans one at a time.
2. Add the cabbage and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the broth, cheese rind, tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook at a very slow simmer for 2-3 hours. It should be thick, so you can add more broth or water if necessary to thin it out.
3. 15 minutes before you are done with the soup add the cannellini beans and just before you take it off the heat stir in the grated cheese.
4. Taste and season as appropriate.

Technorati Tags: Cook, Soup, Food Porn, Recipe, Italian Food

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Over at FoodTV Canada's blog Food For Thought Catherine had the brilliant idea of starting a Cooking Club where each month people try a different FoodTV recipe. The best thing about it from my perspective is the motivation to try things you otherwise might not, and this is a perfect example.

The first recipe for the club was Michael Smith, Chef at Home's Buffalo Chicken Wing Salad. Overall I really liked this recipe, J instantly said "this is really good you should make this again". (I suppose sometimes the urge to make new recipes takes over the opportunities to make old favorites. ) It was a great meal for TV night here, there is something satisfying about gorging on blue cheese while watching skinny girls throw tantrums on ATNM. We also thought it would be really good in a wrap. I didn't change the recipe much, I melted the butter and I used a little less blue cheese and ketchup. Next time I might add tomatoes, but I don't think it was necessary. I think start to finish this too me about 30 minutes - and it could've been 20 if I was more organized.

You can see the original recipe here, or my slightly modified version is below. This is also the first recipe of Michael Smiths that I have tried to follow closely and it amused me how little detail was in the recipe. Quantity of oil but not type for example - I don't think this is a bad thing at all but it is certainly in contrast to other chef's who leave nothing up to the imagination.

Buffalo Chicken Salad
(serves 4)

½ cup butter, melted
½ cup Franks hot sauce
3T ketchup
2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
¼ cup flour
Salt and pepper
¼ cup oil
1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and sliced
2 ribs celery, washed excess threads removed, and cut into sticks
Juice of 1 lemon
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled


1. Whisk together the butter, hot sauce and ketchup and set aside.
2. Preheat a skillet large enough to accommodate all chicken at once over medium-high heat.
3. Toss chicken with flour, salt and pepper until well coated. Pour oil into pan and add the chicken. Cook on one side until it's golden brown and then flip and cook the other side until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Remove from the oil and briefly pat with paper towels. Add to spicy sauce mix and toss well to coat.
5. Put lettuce and celery into a salad bowl. Add chicken and any excess sauce to the salad along with the lemon juice. Toss well and garnish with crumbled blue cheese.

Technorati Tags: Cook, Salad, Food Porn

Linguine with Savoy Cabbage

It's time for another Cheap Eats post. This post continues my Italian food kick and uses up stuff that was in the fridge. If you only count non-pantry items then the cost of this meal is about $2 for cabbage and when you divide it by 4 - that is very affordable! I would serve it with hunks of bread and a nice green salad. Now you are looking at $2.50 a person. I made a big batch of Minestrone over the weekend (post is coming) and I had the cabbage leftover so I did a google and found this recipe from Mark Bittman which I followed pretty closely. Cabbage is totally my new favorite thing, I love it when it is cooked down into almost nothing,

If you don't have stock and wine, just use one or the other. The sauce was so good I found myself wiping up the sauce pot with a hunk of bread - very dangerous for the overeating problem. If you have some I think a handful of bacon or pancetta would be nice, but honestly this is so simple that it might complicate it too much.

Linguine with Savoy Cabbage
(serves 4)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1t of anchovy paste
1 dried red chile
1 head savoy cabbage, cored and shredded
1/2c stock
1/2c dry white wine
2t butter
1/4C Parmesan, freshly grated
1 lb. linguine
salt and pepper
fresh parsley, chopped

1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil and put medium heat under a big cast iron saucepan, big enough to hold all the pasta.
2. Put the olive oil, garlic cloves, chilis and anchovy paste in the pot, and cook stirring until garlic just begin to brown. the anchovy paste should dissolve into the oil. Add cabbage and stir regularly until it starts to brown.
3. Put the pasta in the water and add the stock and wine to the pot with a few good grinds of pepper. Allow the cabbage to simmer, stirring while the pasta cooks.
4. When the pasta is cooked, reserve about 1C of the pasta water and drain.
5. Add the pasta to the pot and toss, adding the water to thicken the sauce. Add the parmesan and stir until it melts into the sauce. Adjust for seasonings and garnish with parsley.

Technorati Tags: Cook, Pasta, Italian Food, Food Porn