Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

KOREAN-INSPIRED BARBECUE, PART 2

Posted: July 21, 2024 in barbecue, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, Food, grilling, Recipes, Uncategorized
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Bulgogi is the name given to the most common form of Korean barbecue. Unlike the daeji bulgogi that I cooked in a previous blog, this one is not based on a chili sauce that can take the roof of your mouth right off.

I used chicken, though this would work with pork as well, and for the best flavor, it’s best to marinate the meat in the fridge overnight.

 

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2/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped scallions
6 tablespoons sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
5 tablespoons fresh garlic, grated or through a garlic press
5 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon black pepper
5 lbs. chicken pieces (I use skin-on thighs)

 

Combine all the ingredients except for the chicken in a bowl and mix well.

Place the chicken pieces in a large Ziploc bag and pour the marinade in. Seal the bag well and squish it around to make sure the marinade makes contact with the chicken. Place the bag in a bowl (to prevent accidental leakage) and keep it in the fridge overnight. Squish the bag around every few hours to make sure the marinade does its job.

When you’re ready to cook the next day, pre-heat the oven to 350 and remove the bag from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Place the chicken on a sheet pan (discard the remaining marinade) and bake it for an hour, or until the meat temperature reaches about 160.

If you want that char and those grill marks, light a hot grill and push the coals to one side of the grill. Place the chicken pieces on the cool side of the grill and close the lid, opening the vents. Every few minutes, turn the chicken pieces over so they get nice grill marks but don’t burn.

 

 

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ZOOKEENEE BREAD

Posted: July 7, 2024 in Uncategorized
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I’m pretty good at keeping the zucchinis in my garden harvested on a regular basis, so they don’t get too big. But once in a while, I miss one, and it gets to be huge. That’s when it’s time to make zucchini bread.

 

 

I was recently told that zucchinis are green…summer squash is yellow.  I use the word “zucchini” interchangeably, but technically, the variety I grow is, in, fact, a zucchini…or both, depending how you look at it!

 

 

Whatever you call it, use it! And make some delicious bread!

I slice the zucchini lengthwise, and remove the center section with all the seeds, because I don’t want that in my bread. Then I grate the rest. This recipe needs about 2 1/2 cups of grated zucchini, about 16 ounces.

When it comes to baking, I use my small kitchen scale to make most of the crucial measurements, because accuracy counts. It’s much more accurate than going by volume. But this recipe has both measurements, so you can try either method.

Substituting gluten-free flour for the basic all-purpose flour, will make this recipe gluten-free. I like to use the all-purpose GF flour by Cup4Cup.

And I like using olive oil as my vegetable oil, because I love the flavor and its health benefits. But feel free to use whatever vegetable oil you like.

 

2 cups (227g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
1 cup (213g) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
scant 3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini (about 16 oz.)

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Grease an 8 x 8“ or 5″ x 10″ loaf pan with some of the vegetable oil. Then line it with parchment paper…it makes it easier to remove later.

In a bowl, mix together the first five ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the zucchini.

Add the grated zucchini to the bowl with the flour mixture and toss it around to coat.

 

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until it’s combined.

 

 

Pour it into the pan. 

 

 

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 to 60 minutes…but it could be even longer. Every oven is different, and different zucchini can have different moisture levels, so you may need to cook yours longer, depending on your situation. Even with all the high-tech thermometers I have, I find the good old-fashioned toothpick method works best.

 

 

Remove the baking pan from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes. Then turn it over on a wire rack, removing the pan, and let the zucchini bread cool completely to room temperature before slicing.

This bread is so good, I just might let the zucchini overgrow more often!

SHISHITOS ARE EVERYWHERE!

Posted: July 5, 2024 in barbecue, fleur de sel, Food, frying, garden, grilling, Recipes, Rhode Island, salt, Uncategorized
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It seems like the popularity of shishito peppers has exploded overnight. Once a rare treat that I could only get on the menu at one of my favorite Boston restaurants, Toro, now they’re everywhere: farmers markets, bistro and pub menus, and of course…my own garden!

Shishito peppers are mostly mild…but you can get hold of a spicy one every 10 peppers or so…kind of a Russian pepper roulette!

Shishitos straight from the garden!

Shishitos are incredibly easy to grow…just like any other pepper. They love a full day’s worth of sun, and lots of fertilizer. If you have success growing tomatoes, shishitos should be on your list. Plus, they’re really quite prolific: it’s not uncommon to find a couple dozen peppers growing on each plant!

Shishitos are also easy to prepare, and take just minutes. Ideally, if you’ve already got a charcoal grill going, you’re almost there. Simply place the shishitos in a bowl and drizzle in a little olive oil. Toss the peppers to coat, and place them directly on the ashed-over coals of the fire. Work quickly turning them over with tongs. You want them to blister, but you don’t want them to burn! They’ll pop, deflate, and get soft. That’s when they’re ready. Simply place them on a serving plate, and sprinkle some really good sea salt (I like Fleur de Sel) over them while they’re still hot.

If you don’t have the time for a charcoal grill, you can still prepare delicious shishitos by placing them in a pan. Sprinkle in a little olive oil, and toss them around to coat them. Turn the burner on high, and cook the shishitos until they’re blistered, but not burned. Cook them on all sides, carefully flipping them over with tongs. Like on the charcoal, they will pop, deflate and get soft. Transfer them to a serving plate and sprinkle immediately with salt.

To enjoy shishitos, you simply grab them by the stem and bite!

“CHIMI” ROASTED CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES AND FETA

Posted: June 21, 2024 in Uncategorized
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I recently discovered a new version of chimichurri, one where I use basil instead of parsley, and I don’t know if I’ll go back to the old chimi ever again!

Chimichurri is a garlicky, herby green sauce usually used with grilled meats. This pesto-like condiment originated in Argentina and is also commonly used in Nicaragua and Uruguay. Though some recipes include cilantro, many people insist the original is made only with parsley. This time,  I decided to substitute basil for the parsley.

I’ve used this new “chimi” on salads, I’ve cooked shishito peppers with it, and recently, I had great success roasting chicken with it. To make the chimi…

 

 

1 large handful of fresh basil leaves, about 4 cups, loosely packed
1/4 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3–4 tablespoons fresh oregano, leaves only (or 1 tablespoon dry)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon crushed bay leaf
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place all the basil and the water in a food processor and begin to chop, pulsing for a second at a time. When the basil is in small pieces, stop pulsing and add the remaining ingredients, except the vinegar and olive oil. Start the processor on a full run now, and slowly pour in the vinegar, then the olive oil. Try not to make it too smooth…leave some tasty bits. Allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes, but overnight in a sealed container in the fridge is best.

 

 

I had a 4-pack of chicken thighs and a 4-pack of drumsticks in my freezer, so that’s what I used for this dish. But it’s just as easy to use a spatchcocked (a butterflied chicken where the backbone is removed so it lays flat) whole chicken, or any parts you prefer.

 

8 pieces of chicken
a bunch of tomatoes, cut into small chunks
3 to 4 oz. of feta cheese

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

 

 

Place the thawed chicken pieces in a baking pan, and rub them really well with a generous amount of the chimi. Get it under the skin where you can, not just the outside. (Just remember that you’re handling raw chicken, so the moment you touch the chimi with raw chicken hands, you’ve contaminated the batch! Use a separate bowl with part of the chimi, so you don’t ruin the rest.)

Let the chicken marinate in the chimi at room temp for a few hours, or in the fridge overnight.

 

 

Grab a bunch of tomatoes, cut them up, removing some of the seeds (but not really worrying about it either way) and mix a little chimi in the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes on the bottom of the roasting pan, and place the chicken pieces on top, so the chicken skin will crisp up while it cooks.

 

 

Sprinkle the cubes of feta cheese all around and place the roasting pan in the oven, baking for about 45 minutes.

 

 

Serve over pasta, potatoes, or as I did, over rice. I simply boiled some jasmine rice, adding a 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning in the rice water before cooking. No salt, no oil.

 

 

 

 

 

BEER MAKES THE BATTER BETTER

Posted: June 9, 2024 in Food, frying, seafood, Uncategorized
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I’m not a big beer drinker, but I do like to cook with it. One of my favorite things in the world is beer-battered fish. And it doesn’t have to be greasy if you do it right. (Scroll down to the bottom to see how to make this gluten-free!)

When you fry at home, you can do things the right way: start with clean oil, heat it to the right temperature, and then throw it out when it’s done. When you go to a fast-food place, that oil has been sitting there all day (if not all week)…it’s been used hundreds of times…it absorbs the flavors of whatever was fried before your food got dropped in there…and quite frankly, it’s beat up.

What got me started with this whole beer-batter-at-home process was stumbling upon some amazing fresh local cod at my neighborhood seafood store: Bridgeport Seafood in Tiverton, Rhode Island. My buddy, Dave, said that the cod came from just off Sakonnet Point that day. Good enough for me!

I use a high smoke point oil like grapeseed oil and, using a thermometer, heat it to 350 degrees. I always watch the temp of my oil…it can get too hot very quickly…and by the same token, the temp can drop quickly if I throw in a whole bunch of fish into the pot all at once. Using one of those deep fryers made for home use is also a good way of cooking and controlling temperature. If I’m using a pot to fry, I’m careful not to put too much oil in my pot (halfway up is fine) or it could spill over, since oil expands as it gets hotter.

Here’s all you need for great beer batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
12 oz. bottle of beer (Sam Adams Boston Lager works for me)
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 3 hours.

Cut your fish into pieces that aren’t too big and will fit in your pot easily. The thickness of the fish may vary and so may the cooking times of each piece. When the oil reaches 350, simply dip the fish into the batter and let as much batter drip off as you like before you carefully place the fish into the oil. Fry until golden brown.

 

beer batter

 

What good is fried fish without tartare sauce, right? Don’t tell me you’re using the stuff in a jar after frying the fish yourself!

1/2 cup mayo
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Frank’s Red Hot cayenne sauce
Grinding of black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped capers
1 teaspoon lemon zest, using micro plane zester

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic and refrigerate for an hour before using.

 

To make beer-batter gluten-free, simply substitute GF flour for the all-purpose flour. (I like Cup4Cup.) And now, you can get gluten-free beer as well. Use it instead of regular beer, and you’ve got a beer batter that’s gluten-free!

A DELICIOUS GLUTEN-FREE BROWNIE

Posted: June 5, 2024 in Food, Recipes, Uncategorized
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Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of many gluten-free desserts or snacks. Gluten-free food isn’t any healthier than a food that contains wheat. It’s just that some people are allergic to gluten–it’s as simple as that.

That being said, this brownie/cake combo is full of great flavor, thanks to ground hazelnuts.

When buying hazelnuts, remember that you want raw nuts. Try to get the best quality you can find. No surprise: Amazon is a great source for that.

 

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9 oz. ground hazelnuts
5 1/2 oz. (2/3 cup) sugar
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 eggs
1 oz. cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder

 

A double-batch bakes a bundt pan perfectly. Make extra: it freezes well!

A double-batch bakes a bundt pan perfectly. Make extra: it freezes well!

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Pour the hazelnuts into a food processor and grind them as fine as you can. It won’t be powdery, like flour, but like tiny particles. Dump them into a separate bowl.

Back in the food processor bowl, add the sugar and butter and pulse until combined.  Crack the eggs in a separate bowl, and add them slowly to the sugar and butter, pulsing to mix in between each addition.

Pour the ground hazelnuts into the mixture a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add the cocoa powder and baking powder, straining them through a sieve to keep out lumps, and pulse again. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it all one last mix.

Pour the batter into a buttered pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. The brownies will rise as they bake, so make sure your pan is deep enough to accommodate the dough rising as it cooks. Otherwise, you’ll get a brownie overflow!

CHAR-GRILLED OYSTERS

Posted: May 31, 2024 in Uncategorized
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It’s been a few years since I visited New Orleans, and it was great to see that many of the old food destinations were still there: the Napoleon House, Café Dumonde, Acme Oyster House, and across the street from it: Felix‘s Oyster House.

My friend, Rick, told me I had to try the char-grilled oysters at Felix‘s. He hadn’t been there, but he read a lot about them and they were supposed to be amazing.  Well, that’s all the encouragement I needed, and I made a beeline to Felix’s that very day.

When you think about it, it’s no great culinary feat to grill an oyster. But yet, I never thought of doing it on my own. The dozen oysters I devoured that day were buttery, garlicky, with a hint of char and smoke that made them absolutely delicious, quite easily the best oysters I’ve ever had in my life.

I knew that as soon as I came home from this trip, I would have to try to make these myself. I have to say I came pretty darn close!

If you don’t use a charcoal or wood fire to make these, you’re simply leaving out one of the most important ingredients to the entire recipe. A gas grill or a kitchen stove can cook an oyster, but the only way you can take it to the next level is by putting it on open flame, a wood-burning flame.

This recipe is good for about a dozen oysters. Using gluten-free breadcrumbs makes this recipe gluten-free.

The first step is to get your hardwood charcoal fire started. I use a charcoal chimney and newspaper–never any lighter fluid.

Once the coals are lit, head to the kitchen…

4 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated (I use Parmigiano Reggiano)
4 tablespoons breadcrumbs






Combine the butter, garlic, parsley, and cheese in a sauté pan over medium heat. All you’re looking to do is to melt the butter, so once it’s melted, take the pan off the heat and this mix is ready to use.

Shuck your dozen oysters. Remember: they will shrink a little bit while cooking, so don’t be afraid to go for bigger ones.

Lay the opened oysters in a pan, carefully trying to preserve as much of the oyster liquor (liquid) in each shell as possible.

When the hardwood charcoal has heated up, and you’ve spread the coals evenly on your grill, you are ready to cook the oysters. You want the grill to be hot.

You don’t need to put the oysters directly on the hardwood charcoal. Putting a grill over the coals is fine, and it keeps the oyster shells from tipping over.


Before placing the oysters on the grill, sprinkle each one with some of the breadcrumbs. Then place the oysters on the grill, being careful not to burn your hands! 


Using a spoon, pour some of the butter mixture into each oyster shell. It will flame up! That’s OK. Use up the entire butter mixture for all 12 oysters.


The oysters are ready when you see that golden brown color all around the edges of the oyster shell, when most of the liquid in the shell has evaporated. Don’t let them dry out completely.

Using tongs, remove the oysters from the flame and enjoy! Just be careful…they can be lava hot!

ASIAN STYLE GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS

Posted: May 26, 2024 in Uncategorized
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Chicken thighs are the best: their fat content makes them perfect for the grill because they don’t dry out like chicken breasts do. And I always leave the skin on for extra crispy flavor. I bought a package of chicken thighs the other day and decided to go Asian with my flavors, baking them in the oven so that they cook evenly, and then finishing them off on the grill to get that delicious smokey flavor and char.

I marinated the chicken thighs in the sauce for several hours before cooking. If you have the opportunity to marinate them overnight in the fridge, that’s even better. Just remember that if you want to use the marinade as a dipping sauce later on, divide it in half from the very beginning. Use half to marinate the chicken, and save the other half for later. If any of the marinade touches raw chicken, you can’t use it as a dipping sauce. (Salmonella!) So keep them separated.

 

3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup Chinese chili garlic sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Use half of it to marinate the chicken, and save the other half for dipping sauce or brushing on to the chicken later.

The Bell & Evans chicken thighs that I bought came in a package that works perfectly for marinating. One less thing to clean up!

If you’re cooking the same day, let the chicken marinate at room temperature for three hours. If you’re marinating overnight in the fridge, let the chicken come to room temperature before cooking.

 

Preheat the oven to 325°.

 

Place the chicken thighs on a sheet pan and bake until they are cooked through.…but not overcooked. If you’re not using the grill, place them under the broiler and watch them carefully, as the sugars in the marinade could burn. Give them some nice char.

If you’re using the grill, light a fire and spread the coals so that you have a medium-hot flame. Grill the chicken thighs until they have a beautiful char on them, being careful not to burn them. Brush more of the marinade on them as they cook, if you like.

Serve the chicken thighs with the dipping sauce on the side.

COCKTAIL SAUCE WITH A KICK

Posted: May 22, 2024 in Food, Recipes, seafood, shrimp, Uncategorized
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Summer’s approaching and we slurp down more clams and oysters in the summer here in New England than at any other time of year. Freshly shucked oysters and clams–or in this case–beautiful boiled wild-caught American shrimp, call for an equally amazing cocktail sauce…and this sauce kicks butt! And it features a key ingredient that you might not expect: vodka. The small amount of vodka in the mix keeps the cocktail sauce from freezing solid when stored in the freezer. Just scoop out what you need, let it thaw, and put the rest back in the freezer.

 

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2 cups ketchup
4 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Frank’s Red Hot, or other hot pepper sauce
5 grinds of fresh black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon good quality vodka, like Tito’s

Combine all the ingredients. Store in a tight plastic container in the freezer. Scoop and thaw whenever you need it!

ASIAN BACON

Posted: May 19, 2024 in bacon, Carnivore!, Food, frying, pork, Recipes, Uncategorized
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Sometimes the happiest of cooking accidents happen with bacon. My original plan was to make Chinese-style honey ribs for dinner. But instead of pulling a nice rack of ribs out of the freezer, I accidentally took out a slab of pork belly. I only realized my mistake after I thawed it, so I decided to use it! The results were pretty damn tasty.

I like maple syrup instead of honey, but use what you like!

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Marinade:
¾ cup light soy sauce
6 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
5 lbs. pork belly
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks (3”)
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
4 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade)
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Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the marinade ingredients. Set them aside.
Cut the pork belly into pieces that are about 2 inches square. Place them in a large pot. Cover them with water and bring the pot to a boil. Boil it for 5 minutes. Drain the water.
Place the warm pork belly pieces on a sheet pan lined with non-stick aluminum foil. Coat them with the marinade. Let them sit for 10 minutes.
Bake the pork belly pieces on the sheet pan in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the pork belly is baking, start the sauce in a large non-stick pan or pot: combine the lemon zest and juice, star anise, cinnamon sticks, maple syrup or honey, and chicken broth. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.
When the pork belly pieces have finished baking, add them to the sauce pot, lowering the heat to a simmer. Simmer (covered) for about 15 minutes or until meat is tender.
Turn the heat back on high, uncover the pot and cook until the sauce has reduced to a glaze that coats the meat. Reduce the heat as the sauce thickens to avoid the sugars in the syrup or honey from burning. When the pieces are sticky and gooey, they are ready!
Devour them just like that!
If you have leftovers, let the pork belly cool, then slice the pieces it to your desired thickness and fry them like regular bacon. They’re great with eggs!
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