I recently purchased a copy of  The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook: A Treasury of Timeless, Delicious Recipes and it wasn’t  long before I had picked out a recipe to try.  One of the things I like about cooking with cast iron is that I can use many different outdoor cooking devices as a heat source.  As a Boy Scout Scoutmaster I used traditional dutch oven techniques to teach the Scouts how to cook outdoors.  But now I think you could consider me a little non-traditional in my cast iron cooking.

What do you do when you want to cook a steak outdoors on a cast iron skillet and you don’t have any propane for the sideburner on your gas grill?  You use charcoal, of course.  And there’s no better way, in my book, than my charcoal chimney for heating up a cast iron skillet.  I’ve use this technique once or twice before and for me it is a practical and cost-effective way to cook with my skillet for small cooks.

Cooking with your charcoal chimney as the heat source is that it gets really hot, but it does take a while to get up to temp.  It is vital you get the charcoal in the chimney burning completely before putting the skillet on top.  You need to have lots of air flow to get the charcoal hot so make sure you don’t do anything to restrict the air flow.  Placing the chimney on the top grill grate of my kettle works great.  You get top and bottom air flow and the charcoal will get blazing hot.

Using the rosemary sprig as the brush for the infused olive oil is a great way to impart a subtle flavor into the meat and clean up is much easier too!

This steak was fantastic.  There isn’t much in this world that’s better than a great steak cooked outdoors and then basted with melted butter.  One of the things I liked best about the The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook: A Treasury of Timeless, Delicious Recipes is that many of the recipes can easily be adapted to cooking on the grill with very little effort if you don’t have a cast iron skillet.  And with an entire chapter on Corn Bread this cookbook should be on every outdoor cooks bookshelf.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

I love Tri-Tip!

Tri-Tip is second only to Ribeye when it comes to picking my favorite cut of beef.  It’s an incredibly flavorful piece of meat that takes smoking and grilling well.  My preferred method for cooking Tri-Tip is on my Weber kettle using indirect heat until 130 degrees internal and then a quick high heat sear.  After resting you should end up with pretty close to a perfect medium rare hunk of juicy beef goodness.

My “secret” technique is basting the Tri-Tip just before and then during the searing process with a basting mixture heaving on melted butter.  My first Tri-Tip basting mixture was a 50/50 mixture of butter and A1 Bold Steak Sauce.  You get a great caramelized crust on the steak from the sugars in the steak sauce and from the butter.  This time around I decided to try a couple new ingredients I received recently to see if I could come up something a little bolder for my Tri-Tip.

I was in the grocery store the other day and came across a limited edition Heinz Ketchup with Balsamic Vinegar.  My friends at All Spice Cafe also recently sent me some Chipotle Garlic Sauce.   I decided to use these two ingredients to come up with a new basting sauce.  And it worked to perfection.   The taste was great with a nice little heat tingle on the tongue along with the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar.

When I’m not doing Tri-Tip Santa Maria style I like to season the Tri-Tip with just salt and pepper (right).  For me it’s all about the beef flavor and besides I’m getting plenty of additional flavor from the basting sauce.  I cooked the Tri-Tip on my 26″ Weber Kettle at about 450 degrees until the internal temp was 130 degrees (left).  At this point I stoke the coals up as hot as I can get them.  While the coals are getting hotter I baste the meat with the sauce.  Then a quick super hot sear and another coat of sauce.  Turn the meat over and baste again.

Let the meat rest for at least five minutes before slicing.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

Watermelon Rind that tasted good!  Who would have thought that?  Certainly not me.  I was originally going to make a fresh peach chutney to go with this dish but it’s a little early to find peaches in the store.  This led to a little searching through cookbooks and the internet.  I came across a lot different chutney recipes and since I’d just finished cutting up a watermelon and had a bowl full of rinds I figured I’d give it a try.  And I’m so glad I did.

This recipe is a little different from the previous plank grilling recipes in this series.  Normally, you pre-heat the planks until they just start to smolder.  With this one you heat the plank until it actually starts to burn.  You want a nice dark char on the plank.

Once you’ve got the char, turn the heat down and put the brie on the plank.  Close the lid and cook the brie for about 20 minutes or until it gets nice and soft.

Once the brie is soft, plate it and top with the chutney.  Serve with grilled crostini.

What I found was that I didn’t really care for the brie by itself and the watermelon rind chutney was just okay.  But it made for a fantastic flavor when combined.  I really, really liked this appetizer and it will likely become a regular for our family get together. (Giant thank you to Chef Robin White for the inspiration and technique for this blog post)

Watermelon Rind Chutney

Ingredients:

• 6 cups 1/2″ diced watermelon rind
• 1½ cups cider vinegar
• 1½ cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ cup fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 2  tbsps minced jalapeno, with or without seeds.
• 1½ tbsps minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp crushed black peppercorns

Directions:

Remove the watermelon flesh from rind.  Make sure you remove all the pink flesh from rind.  With a sharp knife remove the green peel and discard.  Cut the rind into 1/2 inch cubes.

In a 4-quart saucepan, combine rind, cider vinegar, water, sugar, ginger, cayenne peppers, garlic, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, and stir until sugar dissolves. Simmer 45–55 minutes or until rind is tender and translucent and liquid is syrupy.

Cool chutney and chill in airtight container for 1–3 days to allow flavors to mellow.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

Normally sliced potatoes would take a long time to cook on a plank, but by par-boiling you cut the cooking time down by about 2/3 without sacrificing any flavor.  If you like potatoes and Parmesan cheese this dish is a must to make.

You need a plank that is fairly wide to make this recipe.  The planks I normally like to use were really to narrow.  At about 4 inches wide they just didn’t hold the potatoes on the plank without a lot of juggling.  I think when I cook these again I’ll just go buy me a 6 or 8 inch alder board from Home Depot.  That should do the trick.

Parmesan Herbed Potatoes

(Adapted from The Plank Grilling Cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 2 large baking potatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• Sour Cream

Directions:

Soak plank for an hour.

Parboil potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water over medium-high heat until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes.  Drain potatoes, pat dry and allow them to cool.

In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except sour cream.  Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and coat with Parmesan mixture.

Pre-heat grill to medium-hot.  Remove plank from water and dry.  Coat the plank with a thin layer of olive oil.  Place potato slices on plank.  Close lid and grill for 15 minutes.  To serve, top potatoes with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

I wanted to come up with something a little different for this Meatless Monday post.  I had read several other blog posts and recipes for mushroom burgers and thought that with a little twist they would be great as a Meatless Monday salad.  Back in January I attended the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco and one of the great products I came away with were some croutons from Olivia’s Croutons and I thought instead of using them as a straight-up crouton I could use them as a binder for the mushroom cakes.  My thought process was to make them more like a crab cake instead of a dense mushroom patty.

Unlike the traditional ‘bella mushroom patties where a whole mushroom cap is used in this recipe the mushrooms are chopped very fine.  When combined with the veggies, croutons and pecans you end up with a very light cake.

The cakes are also probably a little to crumbly to grill on their own.  Using a grill basket made it easy to grill them and get a nice char on them.

I plated the mushroom cake with a spring salad mix and a little ponzu vinaigrette.  It worked pretty good.  The flavors melded well with the mushrooms.  I used just a plain button mushroom because I didn’t think with all the other flavors it would really matter much.  After cooking these I don’t think using a more expensive mushroom would really make much of a difference.

The next day I used one of the leftover mushroom cakes as a burger.  With some nice colby cheese and warmed on the grill it made a great burger.  The mushroom flavor even stood up to all the “extras” you put on a burger.  I’m not sure how many times I’d make these, but for those people who are less inclined to eat beef these might make a regular appearance on the menu.

Meatless Monday Mushroom Cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, very finely chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups leek bulbs, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups Olivia’s Multi-grain Croutons, crushed into bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3/4 cups  toasted pecans, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Tamari Soy Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a hot skillet toast the chopped pecans until they are golden brown, set aside.  If you have not purchased toasted sesame seeds, toast them as you did the pecans.

Add olive oil to the skilled and saute the chopped leeks, ginger and garlic until softened.  Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix throughly.  Form into patties.  Place patties on a baking sheet, lined with parchment or wax paper.  Chill formed patties in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Grill the cakes/patties on a medium to medium hot grill until slightly charred and warmed all the way through.  The goal is to cook the mushroom without drying them out.

Serve immediately.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011-2012 Larry Gaian

My BBQ Goal this year is to figure out ways to incorporate Asian flavors into what would be traditional “American Style”  grilling and barbecue.  Tonight’s dinner was grilled Tilapia with grilled swiss chard and grilled baby bok choy.  After grilling the swiss chard and bok choy it was tossed in a flavorful Korean style vinaigrette that sort of reminded me of  a vinegar dressing on cole slaw.

The sauce for the swiss chard has to sit for 30 minutes after mixing so while the chimney of charcoal was getting ready I mixed up the sauce and removed the veins from the swiss chard.

Korean Vinegar Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
• 6 tablespoons Soy Sauce (I used Ohsawa Nama Shoyu, see below)
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons ginger, minced (I used minced ginger from Garlic People)
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons, chopped cilantro
• Thai chiles, finely chopped
• Kochujang, to taste

Directions:

In a skillet, on high heat, toast the sesame seed until they are a light golden brown.  It takes about 5 minutes so watch them, they burn fast…at least that’s my experience.  Mix all the other ingredients together and add the toasted sesame seeds.  Let the mixture “age” for at least 30 minutes.

A couple of things to consider when making this sauce…

Kochujang

Thai Chili

This recipe calls for using Thai chiles and/or Kochujang.  Both of these ingredients are hot.  Each adds a little different flavor.  I used a little of both.  My recommendation is you start with a little finely chopped Thai chili and then add the Kochujang until you get the heat level you want.

Kochujang: A hot chili pepper paste made from red chilies and fermented soybeans. Used in Korean cooking as a condiment, marinade, and flavoring for stir fries, soups, and stews. –(About.com)

Thai Chiles: This is also known as Birdseye, thai chile, Fresh Thai chile peppers and/or thai chile peppers.  These little peppers are about an inch long and very hot. Green ones are not ripe, and red are ripe, but you eat either one and mix them together for color.  Red ones are sometimes dried and ground then put on the table as a condiments. (Thai Table)

I cleaned the Tilapia, fortunately it came with the scales removed, and cut a couple of slits in each side.  The slits help the fish cook evenly and they look nice when the fish has been grilled.  The tilapia was seasoned with just a little salt and pepper.  I probably should have seasoned the fish with something with a little more kick, but it still tasted great.

While the fish is grilling remove the veins from the swiss chard stems and cut the baby bok choy in half.  Make sure they are clean then dry them all completely.  Rub olive oil on each swiss chard leaf and the baby bok choy.  Once the fish is grilled and resting layer the swiss chard and bok choy on the hot grill.  Keep turning the chard until it starts to brown and is fulling wilted.  When the swiss chard and bok choy are grilled put them in a bowl and spoon the Korean Vinegar  sauce over the top and toss.  Plate immediately.  Spoon a little of the sauce over the fish and serve.

Editor’s Note:

I came away from this year’s Fancy Food Show with a bottle of Ohsawa brand Nama Shoyu.  This recipe was the first chance I had to use this soy sauce.  According to Gold Mine Natural Foods, the importer of this product from Japan:

The spring water used to make Ohsawa® Organic Nama® Shoyu comes from a small Japanese mountain village called Kamiizumisui (“God Spring”). Dr. Masaru Emoto, Director of the Hado Institute in Tokyo and author of Hidden Messages in Water, has water crystal photographs from this spring that reflect its beneficial effects. Optimal well-being literally comes from good vibrations. When we take in good vibrations, they correct distorted frequencies within our cells, assisting our health and healing. Kamiizumisui water has been filtered through Chichibu paleozoic granite strata slowly for 1,400 years. It is scientifically proven to be “rare water, full of life-energizing force,” with twice the surfactant potency and 18% more enzyme activity than ordinary water. Its pH is very close to that of the human body. Enjoy Ohsawa® Organic Nama® Shoyu’s full-bodied flavor and exquisitely delicate bouquet, whether you’re using it at the table or in cooking.

• Unpasteurized – Fresh & Alive!
• Made with mountain spring water
• Naturally low in sodium
• Naturally aged over two summers in 150-yr-old cedar kegs
• No added alcohol or preservatives
• Certified Organic
• Certified Kosher by Kof-K

My experience with soy sauce, I will admit is somewhat limited.  Usually my soy sauce decisions are reserved to whether or not I get the green lid or the red lid at the sushi restaurant.  Soy sauce has always been a salty liquid to mix my wasabi in.  That all changed when I tasted the Nama Shoyu.   This stuff is different it has a mellow flavor that doesn’t overpower other foods.  Others have described this soy sauce as having a “delicate bouquet.”  I’ve always thought it was humorous when people talked about foods like they were a wine.  Well, if the truth be known I think it’s funny to listen to people talk about wine.  Anyway,  Nama Shoyu  does indeed have a delicate bouquet.  One of the risks I’m having to learn to deal with when people send me specialty products to try is that I might actually like them.  That’s the case with Nama Shoyu.  I can’t explain it really, but I’ve been totally ruined when it comes to soy sauce.  No more generic, mass produced soy sauce for me.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

When I was growing up one of the meals my mom used to make was a stuffed bell pepper.  Made with ground beef, rice and tomato of some type it was a favorite of hers.  As a kid I was never very fond of eating the bell pepper but my adult pallette is much more agreeable with peppers now.  I decided to use a nice poblano better instead of a bell pepper.

I think this was a good start to what, I hope, will be a great recipe for my friend.  The flavor was a little mild and the BBQ sauce I used for the glaze didn’t compliment the rub I used for the seasoning.  I smoked the whole chub of hamburger so I got plenty of nice smokey flavor along with a sort of “bark” on the meat.  I’ll use this technique again.

I took a whole 1 pound chub of 93/7 hamburger and seasoned it with some rub and herbs.  I smoked the chub for about 90 minutes using cherry wood until it reached 165 degrees internal temp.  The chub was wrapped in foil and cooled.

I picked up some nice poblano peppers and another pepper that was called Red Lipstick Pepper.  I diced up three cloves of garlic, the red lipstick pepper and the pieces removed from the poblanos.  These were sauteed along with some onions until tender.

While the peppers and onion were cooking I rough chopped the smoked hamburger chub and ran it through the food processor to get a fine chop on it.  The hamburger was added to the cooked peppers along with some salt, pepper and the “secret” rub.  After mixing for a minute and heating through I added 15 ounces of tomato sauce and 1 cup of cooked rice.

I cut a triangle out of the top of each poblano with a pair of kitchen shears and removed all the seeds and veins.  A layer of pepper jack cheese was added to the inside of each poblano.  The hamburger and rice mixture was then spooned into each pepper.  The poblanos don’t hold all that much so I piled it up high.  I smoked the stuffed peppers for about 30 minutes at 275 degrees in the smoker.

That’s the first try at this new recipe.  More to come…

Brussels sprouts are a cultivar of the same species that includes cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi; they are cruciferous. –Wikipedia

Brussels sprouts may be the most disrespected and hated vegetable there is.  And certainly if someone likes brussels sprouts they don’t acquire a taste for them until they reach adult hood.  In our house we’ve started eating them on a semi-regular basis and coming up with different ways to cook them is fun.

One of the complaints about brussels sprouts is they can sometimes have a bitter aftertaste.  It’s probably the bitterness that leaves the bad taste in the brussels sprouts eater mouth (sorry, I had to say it).  If you search the internet for ways to remove the bitterness you’ll come up with a multitude of reasons for the bitterness and techniques for removing it. 

When selecting brussels sprouts try to select the smallest ones from the store.  It seems the smaller they are, the less likely they are to be bitter. 

After getting your sprouts home remove the ends.  It’s important when cutting off the ends that you cut off some of the bottom of the actual sprout.  Some people believe some of the bitterness comes from the bottom of the sprout.  Remove any loose leaves and those leaves that have yellow or brown in them.

Heat a large pan of heavily salted water to boiling.  While the water is heating get a large bowl and fill it with a 50/50 mixture of cold water and ice.  When the water is boiling cook the sprouts for five or six minutes.  After cooking, quickly put the sprouts in the ice water to stop the cooking process.  Again, some believe the par-boiling helps cut down on bitterness.

For grilling I cook the sprouts on skewers.  This makes it easier to turn a large amount of sprouts quickly.  Skewering them through the bottom of the sprout seems to work the best.

Make sure your brussels sprouts are dry and all moisture from the water bath has been removed.  Spray the skewers of brussels sprouts with non-stick spray or brush, sparingly, with olive oil.  Season them on all sides with what ever you want.  I like something heavy in garlic.

This time I used a great seasoning from Instant Gourmet called Butter Blast.  This seasoning is fantastic on veggies and gives you a nice garlic butter flavoring without the risk of burning butter.

Grill the sprouts on all sides until done.  Test for doneness by sticking a toothpick into the cut bottoms of the sprouts.  When the toothpick has little resistance they are done.  Some people like them a little firm, so you’ll just have to learn the timing to get yours to your liking.

Serve immediately.

The memory of eating frog legs for the first time is still etched in my memory.  It was at the NCO Club on the Naval Base in Yokuska, Japan.  My dad had just been transferred to Japan to become the Chief Master at Arms on the USS Oklahoma City.  We were living in the base hotel waiting for out housing to be ready and the paperwork processing to take place.    One evening at dinner I noticed fried frog legs on the menu at the NCO Club and decided I had to have them.

My dad was THE stereotypical Navy Dad.   He may not have come up with the “take what want, but eat what you take rule,” but he sure did live by it.  And if this was a meal out that he was paying for that rule was doubly important.  So I knew ordering frog legs was a risky move.   I only remember two things about that meal, 37 years later, the frog legs were huge and they tasted good.  Now, it’s entirely possible my memory has failed and I don’t correctly remember how they tasted, but over the years I’ve eaten frog legs several times and they have never made the same impression on me.

For over almost 40 years I have eaten frog legs whenever I’ve found them on a menu (which hasn’t been very often).  A recent “throwdown” on a BBQ forum I belong to prompted me to give cooking them myself a try.  The result wasn’t what I would call a success.  The funny part of all this is while I’m marinading my frog legs I flipped on the DVR to watch the most recent episode of BBQ Pitmasters and what to my surprise do I find is the special “sidewinder challenge?”  Sure enough, it’s frog legs.  I don’t feel all that bad that my frog legs weren’t all that good.  If these experienced BBQ cooks can’t do them right, then what chance do I have.

The frog legs were marinaded for three hours in a mixture of cilantro, garlic, oregano and lime juice.

I grilled the frog legs on the infrared grill. They don't take very long to cook. Make sure you oil up the grill good so they don't stick.

I served the frog legs with a black bean & rice side dish I came up with.

Even with a marinade that had lots of flavor the cooked frog legs lacked any flavor at all.  The texture was tough and chewy, not pleasant at all.  And let me put one myth to rest, they don’t taste like chicken.

I’m not sure if there is a difference in frog legs, if farm raised is different than wild?  These were frozen, farm raised and imported from China.  There aren’t very many options for buying frog legs in Sacramento so I had to get what I could get.

This wasn’t quite like the great beef shank failure but it sure didn’t rank very high on the “I’ve Got To Try Again” list.

Maybe someday if given the chance I might cook them again, but only if I could bread and fry them like chicken.

So much for childhood memories…

Ingredients:

• 2 baby eggplants
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1/4 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat your grill to high.

With a potato peel remove strips of skin off the eggplant.  Slice the eggplant, long ways, into 1/2 inch slices.  Arrange the eggplant slices on sheets of paper towels.

Season the the eggplant slices with a generous amount of salt on both sides.  This will cause the eggplant to release most of the liquid they contain, removing the bitterness of the eggplant while causing it to be less watery during grilling.  Let the salted eggplant set for about 15 minutes, then pat dry with additional paper towels.

In a bowl mix honey, olive oil, garlic Sriracha, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Dip both sides of each eggplant slice into mixture.  Oil grilled.  Place eggplant slices on the grill, cover.  Grill for about 3 minutes, rotate 90 degrees and grill for an additional 3 minutes.  Brush  remaining sauce on the slices, flip and repeat process.  Adjust heat through the grilling to insure eggplant is not burning.

Serve immediately.