A Big Fat Letdown

Never before in the last year of doing this blog have I anticipated something so much, and was let down as much.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  As I am The Diet, I wanted to grill up some shellfish. The Bride expressed interest in either shrimp or scallops, and I found a recipe that I had been holding on to for a while, the Parmesan Breaded Scallops With Lemon Garnish on page 314.  

My word, scallops have gone up in price!  Eight scallops ran me $26.00, which really isn't worth it.  For a dinner party, at two scallops a person for a small course, this would be over fifty dollars.  That's a bit steep.  I hope they come down over the summer.

 Meanwhile, the first step for dinner tonight was to set up a breading station.  In order to avoid cross-contamination, everything would always move the same direction.  Here's my station:

On the far left is the paper towel that was used to dry the scallop.

Following that was the bowl to lightly coat the scallop in olive oil.

From there the scallop went into the breading bowl.

And from there they went to the tray to allow the breading to set.

This really only took a minute or two to accomplish, and they were now ready to go into the fridge!

With the scallops in the fridge, the last necessary step was to pull together the garnish, and then I could move on to cooking the side dish.

The side dish I picked out was actually another non-grill side, but it looked fairly Mediterranean, which is what I was after. Here we have the ingredients (minus the parsley that I forgot to put in the picture) for the Raisin-Pine Nut Couscous.

This is a fairly simple recipe.  Begin this dish by boiling the "wet" ingredients.

From there, you can add the couscous and let it absorb the liquid.  Add in the nuts and mint, and you are set!  The scallops, in the meantime, looked quite good (the bore a striking resemblance to the picture in the cookbook, so I was extra excited).

A quick plating later, I brought The Bride her dish and we sat down to watch The Tudors and enjoy our meal...

...only we didn't.  As I gave away in the opening paragraph, neither of us liked this recipe.  I really can't figure out why, either.  It's a rather simple recipe for scallops, using classic ingredients.  My techniques were solid, and the scallops were perfectly cooked.  It just didn't taste good.  I even enjoy a good contrast in texture, which this had, but even that wasn't all too pleasant.  The couscous had some redeeming qualities, and could become part of something a little more exotic, but otherwise was lost in the meal.  Weber has done so well with the other scallop recipes, and this LOOKS so tasty, but was classified as a "swing and miss" by both of us.  Oh well.

In other news, someone was the lucky 1,000th viewer!  Who was it?

Are You Viewer 1,000?

The time has come, the doctor said, 

To talk of many things.

Of your weight gain and triglycerides,

And the failure of your heartstrings.

Of why your blood pressure is boiling hot,

Any how long you wish to be a live Earthling.

Yeah, so it's time for The Diet to resume.  Oh well.  Look for a lot of fish and chicken posts!  I get red meat once a week, so I will be sure to live it up on those days.  What is especially sad is that this last week was Spring Break, and today was the first day I could actually grill.  Stupid weather.

In more important news, I noticed that my hit counter is approaching 1,000!  Will you be my 1,000th visitor?  If you are, take a screenshot and send me the picture as proof!  Heck, use a camera and take a picture of your screen if you have to!  I've got a prize for you!

Earlier today The Bride picked out two recipes.   I began the preparation today with the side, the Grilled Polenta With Mushroom Ragout on page 85.  

This recipe was going to take a while because you have to make the polenta and then let it set up in the fridge for several hours.  I began by mixing the milk, water, corn meal, and dried thyme.

This began to fluff up immediately, so I prepped its container by laying in some plastic wrap.  This would help with its removal later.

It set up, the cornmeal was fully cooked, and it just needed some time in the fridge.  The next several hours would be spent using a large volume of obscenities at various projects around the house.

A few hours (and a lot of profanity) later, I was ready for dinner.  I pulled out what I needed for the Pork Tenderloin Wrapped in Pancetta on page 181.  

After trimming the silverskin (as seen in an earlier post) I began making the rub.   Using the kosher salt as an abrasive for mincing the garlic is a great technique. Once that was started, I mixed in the pepper and rosemary and continued mincing until I had a nice consistency for the rub.

From here it was easy.  Step one, rub the meat.  Insert adolescent joke here.

Step two, add the pancetta (an Italian bacon made from pork belly).

Step three, tie up with butcher string.

Once those were ready, I made sure I rehydrated my dried mushrooms.   To make a long story short, I had been doing a lot of Provencal cooking this winter, and came across a mushroom ragout that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially when made with an exotic blend of dried mushrooms that I can buy at my local Meijer's. 

As most of these were too small for skewering, it was time to break out a new toy!  Last fall I bought a grill vegetable wok on clearance.  I finally got to use it!

The recipe calls for chicken stock, but in the process of rehydrating the mushrooms, you get this deeply flavored stock.  Why waste it?

For the ragout, begin by sauteing your onions.

While they are doing their thing, you can begin grilling the mushrooms.

If you have timed it well, you can add the grilled mushrooms right to your onions!

Then add in the other liquids (including your chicken awesome mushroom stock).

The tenderloins were on the grill by this time, and were, in fact, nearing completion.  It was time to pull the polenta out of the fridge.  The best tool to cut it, I figured, was my pizza cutter.

Aren't these beautiful?  With these pulled off the grill, and the polenta on the grill, I was almost ready!

The polenta came off the grill looking rather nice, and now it was just a matter of plating!

I plated, poured the wine, and everything was looking like it should!

All in all, this was a nice dinner.  The tenderloin was well seasoned, albeit a little dry.  Pork tenderloin can do this rather quickly, but as you can see in the picture, there were still plenty of juices.  I just think that it needed a sauce more than anything.  The polenta was also a nice touch.  I admit to never making polenta before, but it was easy and made for nice side.  The mushroom ragout, however, was a miss.  The French make a much nicer one, and if I make this again I would use my other recipe.  I will still take plenty away from this recipe, especially in regards to technique.  I like the paste/rub, and the wrapping of protein with pancetta is a nice touch as well.  Using indirect cooking with the pancetta is key, as flare-ups would otherwise be a problem.  So in conclusion, I'm glad I made these two recipes, but neither will be seen (at least directly) by company.  

Don't forget!  If you are my 1,000th visitor and can prove it, I've got a prize for you!

Raging Anger On Fat Tuesday

Today was Fat Tuesday and I had a couple of things going on.  First, this was forecast to be the best weather for the next week.  Second, I had a vicious cold this weekend, and today is the first day in the last 48 hours that I actually had an appetite.  Third, The Bride was out to dinner with her friends, so I had full reign of the kitchen.  Lastly, it WAS Fat Tuesday, so I needed something a little decadent. After school I decided to grill up the Filet Mignon With Crimini-Wine Sauce on page 105.

I faced a problem right away.  I had been lazy.  Instead of driving down to Findlay Market and getting a product in which I could have some confidence, I stopped by Fresh Market right by school.  I asked the butcher to pick me out a nice filet.  This is what he picked out for me.

Looks good, right?  I thought so, until I gently picked up the filet to move it and this happened.

This video pretty much sums up how I felt:

Never again, Fresh Market!  I figure this guy was eager to get rid of a bad cut of meat, and took advantage of me not paying attention.   I would never get this type of treatment at Findlay.  This is unprofessional, uncalled for, and uncool.  This will be my last stop to Fresh Market for this blog.  As Master Blaster said in Mad Max II, "Embargo on!"  After much illicit language, I mixed up the rub.

Instead of sprinkling the rub on the steaks, since they were now small enough, I just dropped them into my prep bowl.

I decided to keep the small piece to see if I could make the best of it.

I also needed a side.  I recently came across a recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Bacon and Potatoes.  This would fit nicely, I thought.

The first step was to mix the olive oil and mustard.

From there I had to slice up the shallot.

I had a small problem.  The recipe called for three slices of bacon.  I grabbed three pieces of bacon, and this where I had the problem.

Yup, a fourth strip of bacon wanted to come, too.

Such is life!  I complied and took the fourth piece.  So I diced up the bacon and potatoes and moved them all to the mixing bowl.

After a quick tossing to coat everything, I dropped it all into a roasting dish.

While it was roasting, I began working on the Crimini-Wine sauce.  By the way, good luck finding a package of crimini mushrooms.  Odds are, you won't.  Never to worry, though!  A crimini is simply a baby portabella.  The first step was to liberate the criminis baby portabellas of their stalks.

Then I added them to the diced leek, carrot, and garlic.

I used a recently-acquired toy that you have seen in the past to grill the caps.

This made sure that no lost soldiers fell victim to The Forge.

Aren't they beautiful?  Halfway through roasting in the oven, I added the brussels sprouts by nestling them into the mixture.

The sauce is simple.  Saute the aromatics, add wine and reduce, add broth and reduce.  Strain, and then add in the chopped grilled caps and parsley.

Keep the sauce warm, and right before serving add some butter magic.

The filets came off the grill, and looked awesome.

The side was also looking good!

Before plating, I cut into the smaller filet.  I had cooked it for a shorter time period on a less-hot part of the grill, but it was still over-cooked.

Still, the flavor was AMAZING!  The rub created a nice bark and the meat, while overcooked, was still moist.

I plated and sat down for my Fat Tuesday meal.

This piece was cooked darned near perfectly for me.  And as for the sauce...

Sweet Baby Jesus this was delicious!  There are few finer ways to top a steak than with a good sauce, and this was a  GOOD sauce.  Long story short, with a few minor modifications, this recipe will be seen by guests.  For those of you interested (and you SHOULD be) in the recipe for the side, here ya go:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
3 to 4 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
10 to 12 medium brussels sprouts (about 1/2 pound), trimmed and quartered

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and mustard. Toss the
potatoes, shallot, and bacon in the bowl until evenly coated with the mustard and oil. Sprinkle lightly with
salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper.
Spread the potato mixture in a baking dish (a 9-inch square pan works) and roast for 20 minutes, stirring
halfway through.
Add the brussels sprouts to the pan and stir so that they are coated in some of the rendered bacon fat.
Continue roasting for about 20 more minutes (stirring once), until the potatoes are cooked through and the
bacon is getting crispy. Salt to taste.