Keep It Simple, Stupid

When six out of seven days in the forecast involve rain, you have to take advantage of every opportunity to grill outside.  Today, although the temperature is dropping into the thirties, was still fairly sunny in the afternoon.  I have had a long week, however, and wanted something quick, light, and easy.  The Simple Salmon on page 298 looked to fit such a bill.  

As advertised, this is simple.  Whisk together the marinade, and set the fish in for half an hour.

While that is going on, I gathered together everything necessary for the side, the French Green Lentil Salad With Mustard Vinaigrette on page 365.  I chose this because it looked quick and I happened to have extra lentils from an earlier recipe.  Also, both recipes involved Dijon mustard, so there would be the added benefit of continuity between the recipes.

What I found unique about this recipe was that you needed to boil the lentils in an aromatic liquid, so in went the cinnamon stick, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley.  I brought that to a boil, and introduced the lentils.

As I approached about fifteen minutes left on the lentils, I placed the salmon the grill, this time opting for The Phoenix instead of The Forge, because I only needed about ten to twelve minutes of cooking time, and didn't want to hassle with the charcoal.  

Less than forty-five minutes after I began, The Bride and I were eating.  This was simple, this was quick, this was easy, but most importantly, this was tasty.  The salmon was exactly what I was craving, as I hadn't had a healthy dinner in quite a few days.   It actually fell good to eat something light.  The mustard and horseradish were prevalent but not domineering.  This marinade packed a large amount of flavor for its short bathing time.  The big difference that I noticed between cooking salmon on The Phoenix and The Forge is the cooking temperature and resulting texture.  The Phoenix just doesn't get nearly as hot as The Forge, so you have to cook the salmon about two minutes longer, and you don't get the nice texture difference between the outside and inside of the fish.  Instead, the entire piece of the fish, while delicious, is the same texture throughout.  The lentils were okay at best.  I certainly liked the other recipe a lot more, although I think I cooked the lentils a little better than I did before.  For lentils, from what I have discovered, it really comes down to the final dressing, and this one just wasn't as nice as before.  In summation, the salmon recipe will be filed away for a later date, but the lentils will just be another notch on the headboard.

Taco Thursday!

Tacos rule.  End. Of. Discussion.

Tonight I was in the mood for some chicken (not really, I still want a cheeseburger) because tomorrow is another Lenten Friday where I will have fish.  The Bride wouldn't be home until much later, so I wanted something that I could eat and easily reheat for her.  I went to the store to get what I needed for the Grilled Chicken Tacos on page 256. 

Tacos should be easy.  They should be delicious.  This was both.  Boning the chicken thighs went quickly due to my recent experience, and then it was on to whisking together the marinade. 

After four years, my gas grill was just about kaput.  I got approval from The Bride to order some new replacement parts.  They arrived today!  Just for comparison, I put them next to each other.  The heat dispersion vents (especially the one on the far left) were in particularly bad shape.

The salsa was super easy, with the only problem being that I kept snacking on it while the chicken was getting its flavor.

The new equipment worked amazingly well.  I decided to rename my gas grill to The Phoenix, as it has literally risen from the ashes to work just like it did when I bought it.  The chicken looked exactly like I had hoped it would.

I started to assemble the tacos, facing the difficult decision of just how many I was going to scarf down.

I settled on three!

I just so happened to LOVE this recipe!  Let me break down the reasons why this was so good: 

(1) It was boneless, skinless chicken and yet it was super tasty

(2) I am supposed to have avocado at least three times a week on The Diet and again, this was super tasty

(3) It was quick, easy, and required so little effort

(4) This was the first meal in a while where I didn't feel like I was on a diet

(5) Tacos rule.

The hard part will be avoiding the temptation to repeat this recipe when there are so many other recipes ahead of me.  But this will be filed away for a time when I need something quick and don't feel like putting in too much time and energy.

Anyone Out There Speak French?

Tonight I faced a couple of obstacles.  First, I had to figure on dinner for one, as The Bride is out of town.  This meant that I had to scale down the recipe.  Second, I had decided to cook trout, something I had never had and knew very little about.  I stopped by Hyde Park Fish Market because I had seen trout there numerous times.  When I arrived, I looked in their display case and realized that they had not just one, but two different types of trout: white rainbow trout and ruby trout.  I asked the fishmonger to describe them to me, and he said that the biggest difference was in the sweetness and oiliness, with the ruby higher in both.  I was intrigued to learn that the ruby trout was higher in Omega-3s and fatty acids.  The Diet that I am on requires me to eat oily fish at least three times a week, so I opted for the ruby.  At Kroger I came across my third concern: they were out of red onions.  I did notice, however, that they had some at the salad bar, so I grabbed some from there.  Thus, I had everything I needed for the Smoked Trout With French Lentil Salad on page 284.

Fourth concern: The Bride recently had a contact of hers in France come to visit, and he brought us some nice olive oils from Provence!  I am super pumped about them!  My concern is that I don't speak French in the slightest.  I gathered that the one I picked out (on the far left) is extra virgin, but can anyone out there tell me the differences between these?  Maybe my "olive guy" Sean might have some insight?  If so, could someone leave a comment with an explanation?

With the marinade made, I spread it over the trout.

Fifth concern: I've also never cooked lentils.  In fact, I can't tell you the last time I ate lentils.  I didn't know to they were supposed to taste, what kind of texture is best, how to cook them, etc.  I pretty much just followed the directions on the package, but I think there were just slightly overcooked.  The had the texture of canned lima beans, which I was less than thrilled about, but they had the advantage of tasting significantly better than lima beans. The rest of the salad came together pretty quickly, and just needed a quick mixing in the bowl.

The trout is also simple in that it requires indirect heat and soaked wood chips to create nice smoke.  It started with a little smoke...

and finished with a LOT of smoke.

Tongs started to tear the fish apart, so I had to run inside very quickly to get a spatula.  It looked good!

And so here was my dinner!

It must have smelled terrific to this guy, as he refused to leave me alone.

Overall, it turns out that I like trout.  It is not my favorite, but it doesn't taste at all like I had perceived it would.  For some reason I had built up in my mind something gamey and just "fishy" but this turned out to be far more subtle than I had anticipated.  The marinade is nice, has a nice velvety factor, and does not overpower the fish at all.  It also compliments the lentil salad well.  There are still one to two other trout recipes in The Guide, and now I am less hesitant to use them.  Thanks, Weber!

Oh, one last problem, I dropped my camera the other day, and it is in the shop.  For now, I am using my cell phone and emailing myself the pictures.  It's a hassle.

Thai-ing One On

Still daydreaming of my meal last night, I went to the grocery store to pick up what I needed for today.  Sundays, until summer rolls along, are my days to cook chicken recipes that require a long marinade.  In looking at the recipes that had such a requirement, and after confirming with The Bride, I purchased what I needed for the Butterflied Thai Chicken on page 244.

For this recipe I got to use a toy I picked up during the holidays: my mortar and pestle.  

In went all of the marinade ingredients except for the fish sauce (a REALLY smelly but terribly good and essential ingredient in Thai cooking).

Pound, pound, pound...

With the paste created, I added the fish sauce until I had the consistency I desired.

With the paste ready, it was time to butterfly the chicken.

This is rather gross, but you have to solider on.  First, use your shears to cut along one side of the backbone.

Then cut along the other side to remove the backbone.  Wipe away any "goodies" that have now been liberated.

Turn the bird over, and press down to flatten the chicken as much as possible.

As this will be resting in the fridge skin-side up, I rubbed the paste on the bottom first.

I then placed the chicken on its tray and rubbed in the rest of the paste.

Eight hours later, I started the coals and began my side, the Black Rice and Snow Pea Salad on page 369.

Cook the rice according to the directions, and when it is ready you can begin boiling the snow peas.  They will only boil for a minute.  

After boiling for only that one minute, you will need to transfer them to an ice bath to "shock" them.  This stops the cooking and keeps the snow peas at that desirable bright green color.  If you don't do this step, they will continue to cook and turn a duller green.  

I measured out what was necessary for the dressing.

Then I whisked like mad.

I chopped up the snow peas, along with the other salad ingredients.  I added everything to the bowl and stirred.  I had a salad!

The chicken was done in just under an hour, and looked good.  In fact, it was a little difficult to remove from the grill because it wanted to come apart, which is a good sign.

Normally I would plate the dinner and describe it a little.  Today, however, The Bride and I went out to lunch and I ate way too much.  Neither of us were hungry enough for dinner, so I cut up the chicken and arranged it and the salad for lunch tomorrow.  I did taste a wing, and from what I ate this was nice.  The flavor is subtle, and frankly, when I eat Thai food I want it to punish me a little, capsicum-wise.  I will have to add a little tomorrow during lunch.  The rice is nice, but a little oily.  If I make it again, I will probably use about half of the recommended oil.  Otherwise, it has good depth of flavor and a nice brightness to it.  Lunch should be good tomorrow!

Go Big Or Go Home

The way I look at it, if you are only going to eat red meat once a week, you should do it properly.  The Bride expressed a desire for filet, and so filet she should have!  Wouldn't you know it?  The only recipe left for filet was the Filets and Crab With Bearnaise Sauce on page 104.

I had to work Saturday morning, but I stopped by Findlay Market on the way in to pick up the filets, which they were cutting to order from the tenderloin.  I asked for two nice filets, and this is what the butcher gave me.

Do you see this Fresh Market?  Do you?  Take a good look!  THIS is how you should treat your customers!

Asparagus has two nasty habits.  First, it makes your pee smelly funny.  Second, it LOVES to fall through the grates.  Learning from earlier grilling sessions, I began this recipe by making a "raft" using wooden skewers.  Then I drizzled the raft with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

The rub for the filet called for a mixture of red and black peppercorns.   Into the spice grinder they went!

In order to use my technique of dipping the filet into the rub, I was going to need a bigger bowl.  I mixed in the salt, and I was ready to go.

The picture below has the filet with one side already dipped, and soaking up the rub for the other side.  I like this method because the meat grabs exactly the right amount needed.

Everything was now ready for the grill, and I thought it just looked lovely.

The grilling would not take long, and the sauce still needed to be assembled.  I had never made a Bearnaise sauce before,  but all of my experience with sauces told me to make darned sure I had my mise en place ready, as sauces can be finicky, and you don't want to be caught without your next ingredient ready.  Otherwise, bad things can happen to your sauce.

So, Corey, how do you make a Bearnaise sauce?  Well, you begin by simmering your shallots, tarragon, and pepper in your saucepan.  I believe this is called making a court bouillon.  

Next, whisk your egg yolks.  This denatures the fat molecules so they can better surround and absorb other flavor compounds.  

 

If you added the egg yolks directly into the saucepan, you would soon have scrambled eggs.  This is less than desirable for your sauce.  Instead, you have to "temper" the egg yolks by adding in a small amount of your court bouillon.  This will ensure that your eggs come up to temperature slowly and do not curdle.  Whisk away!

Now that your eggs have been tempered, you can add them into your saucepan (with the heat off) and whisk to incorporate.  

When this mixture takes on the consistency of mustard, you are ready to incorporate the butter.

You must add the butter slowly.  If you dumped it in all at once, you would have a mess.  Instead, you must drizzle in only a little bit of butter at a time, whisking the entire time.  You are creating an "emulsion."  Drizzle a little, whisk, emulsify that amount, and then add a little more butter, and repeat.  If you see a layer of butter floating on the top, you must not add any more butter and keep whisking until it is fully emulsified.  When it is all said and done, you should have a sauce that now has the consistency of mayonnaise.

With the sauce ready, I was ready to grill!  Gorgeous!

With the steaks still cooking the crab and asparagus came off the grill.  

I plated the asparagus before  taking on the crab.

I don't have crab all that often in the house, so I didn't have those fancy crab-cracking thingies.  So I improvised.

I checked the temperatures of the filets, and they were at 135 degrees in the middle, which is perfect for medium rare.

All steaks that come off the grill need to "rest," so I continued working with the crab.  Here you can see a nice piece that I got from its shell.

I plated the filets at an angle almost perpendicular to the asparagus.  I felt this looked cool.

Continuing the cool plating, I placed the crab at yet a third angle.  Fancy, huh?

Finally, I sauced the whole meal.  As I had my alcohol for the week last night, it was time to open up a nice 2011 Grape Kool-Aid.

Take your fork, grab some crab, get some filet, and make sure you get some sauce.  Praise the heavens.

I cannot, and thus will not, describe the awesomeness.  The Bride even caught me chewing silently with my eyes closed, in deep reflection of just how wonderful this meal was.  I'm going to go ahead and say it right now...this is the best recipe so far.  It is the most "company worthy" recipe yet.