Charlie and Zoe's Beef Tenderloin and Pimm's

Charlie and Zoe were the chefs of the night!

Charlie left rainy UK to arrive during the only precipitation of the summer in Ontario (meanwhile it had turned to 30° and sunny in London!).   However, Charlie spread his own special sunshine here at the cottage.  Halfway through his vacation, Charlie’s friend Zoe joined us by way of South Korea, and the two of them treated us to a beautiful meal.  It started with Pimm's Cocktails, and featured Smoked Beef Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce, roasted potatoes and braised kale from our garden, roasted cauliflower, and a delicious Slow Roasted Cherry Tomato and Avocado Salad.

 



Pimm’s Cocktails

1 ounce Pimm’s

1 ounce gin

Chilled lemonade (Sprite in Canada-speak)

Cucumber spears, sliced strawberries and mint, for garnish

Pour Pimm’s and Gin into a glass filled with plenty of ice.  Add the Sprite and garnishes.  Repeat. 

 


Smoked Beef Tenderloin

 

1 whole beef tenderloin, trimmed

1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Dash ground cloves

Freshly ground black pepper

 2 cups Mesquite wood chips

Combine the spices in a small bowl and rub them all over the tenderloin.  Let the beef come to room temperature for ½ hour while lighting the Broil King Keg.  Meanwhile, soak the wood chips in water.

Once the coals are lit, drain the wood chips and scatter them over the coals, then place the tenderloin on the grids and close the lid.  Position the upper and lower vents to maintain a temperature of about 350, probably 2 ½ and 3 respectively.    

Rotate the tenderloin every 10-15 minutes for a total cooking time of 30-45 minutes, depending on the circumference.  Test with a meat thermometer, and take it off when it is just below your desired endpoint temperature.  Cover with foil and a kitchen towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.  The temperature will continue to rise.  Slice thickly and serve with mustard sauce.

Mustard Sauce

2 small shallots, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ cup butter

Juice of 1 large lemon

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Heat a small skillet on LOW and add a small amount of the butter.  Add the prepared shallots and garlic, and sauté until translucent and very fragrant.  Add the remaining butter, lemon juice and mustard and whisked until melted and combined.  Serve warm.

Slow Roasted Cherry Tomato and Avocado Salad

1 quart slow roasted cherry tomatoes, see directions below

2 firm-ripe avocadoes, cubed

1 large ball buffalo mozzarella, cubed

4 green onions, thinly sliced

Handful fresh basil, finely chopped

8 cups fresh baby greens and arugula

For the Vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the tomatoes:

1 quart assorted cherry tomatoes, halved

1 teaspoon Maldon salt

Pinch sugar

1  teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Arrange the tomatoes cut side up on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt, sugar and thyme, then drizzle with olive oil.  Place them in the oven, turn off the heat and leave them in the oven for 6 hours or overnight.

Arrange the greens and other vegetables in a salad bowl.  Pour the dressing ingredients into a tightly sealed glass jar and shake well to combine.  Dip a salad leaf into the dressing to taste and adjust seasonings.  Pour over the salad and toss well.  

One last bit of fun wake surfing before heading back to the UK.

The Never Ending Birthday

Our hike to The Crack in Killarney,  with a forest fire smouldering in the background.

It seems the festivities surrounding Andrea’s 50^th birthday have been going on FOREVER and it’s just about time for them to wrap up.  It started with a beautiful birthday dinner made by her Mom and kids at the cottage, followed by a picnic at Blueberry Island, then a wonderful surprise party hosted by Nancy, and it finally wrapped up with a hiking and glamping expedition to Killarney. 

Of course, food and grilling were central to all of these events, but especially on our glamping trip we kept everything as simple as possible.  Our plan was to start with a hike at The Crack, spend a night at the Killarney Mountain Lodge, then to paddle and sleep in tents for 2 nights, and then to have a grand finale at the Mill Lake Lodge, a rustic hunting and fishing lodge on Colin’s Inlet. 

  We set off full of optimism in our canoes and kayaks loaded with food and supplies.  The initial little river leading out from Chikanishing was calm, and the skies were only a little threatening, but once we got into the bigger water the situation changed.  We were still in pretty good humour as we powered on through headwinds gusting to 40 kilometres per hour.  But six miles into our journey, when the heavens opened above us, Charlie led in the revolt.  Much to Brian’s dismay and embarrassment, we pleaded with him to call for a rescue. 

Things were much less fun when the rain started.

We were all ready to kiss Gerry when he came with his big steel boat to ferry us to his Mill Lake Lodge.  So instead of cooking our first dinner over a fire as expected we were able to grill our steaks on a barbecue, and cook our vegetable hash on a stove.

We love you, Gerry!

Vegetable Hash for Glamping

This was the perfect dish for a first night of camping, because we froze the corn and peas and together they worked as cold packs for our coolers.

3 tablespoons olive oil or butter

2 onions, chopped

2 red peppers, chopped

10 cobs corn, grilled, husked and cut off the cob

1 bag frozen peas

Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil or butter in a large saute pan and add the onions and peppers.  Cook until tender, then add the thawed peas and corn.  Heat through and season with salt and pepper.

Fortunately the next day the weather improved enough the next day for us to go fishing, and Reid and Brian caught some beautiful pike.  On our paddle home we stopped on a beach and Brian prepared a traditional fish fry over a campfire for everyone.

Brian’s Fish Fry

Freshly caught fish, filleted and boned

Gluten free Bisquick baking mix

Salt, pepper and steak spice

Lots of vegetable oil

Heat an inch of vegetable oil in a deep skillet over a campfire.  Dust the fish fillets with Bisquick mixed with some salt.  Add the fish to the oil, and cook to golden, about 4 minutes.  Sprinkle with pepper and steak spice.  Dig in!

Thanks, Mom!

BEER BRISKET

Do you ever find that those quiet days of summer are something of a legend? People talk about them, but who actually experiences them?  Around here, summer is usually a blur!

 When family and friends start to gather, we first head to the garden and see what we have available to help feed the masses. We find that by this time of the summer, fruit is great for extending a meal. A watermelon and a couple of baskets of peaches from a friends orchard really helped fill out the buffet the weekend of the family ball tournament. And the wild blueberries from the bush are delicious in everything from salad to dessert!
This weekend, we decided to prepare our usual crowd-pleaser: beef brisket on the smoker, but somehow, someone was uncharacteristically unorganized (oops!) . Upon checking the smoker when we returned home after the first game, we realized that we had not put the brisket in the smoker, so here is what we did:

BEER BRISKET

We had rubbed the 8 lb. beef brisket in our favorite rub the night before, and had set up the smoker in the morning.
 Realizing that I hadn't put the meat on, I filled the water pan with water and turned up the heat to 300°F. I put the brisket on the grids, closed the lid and let it cook slowly for 3 hours. Then, I simply opened up a bottle of beer and poured 1/4 cup of beer over top of the brisket every 30 minutes for the next 2 hours. At that point, we wrapped the brisket in foil, pouring another 1/4 cup beer into the foil wrapper, placed it back on the grids, turned the heat down to 250°F and let it sit for another hour. The end result when the team came back to the cottage was a delicious, moist brisket.

Was it ever refreshing served with a couple of salads and slices of fresh peaches!

Firm resolve is needed to win this game!

Happy to have finished the day without any trips to emerg!

Luckily, we had left someone else in charge of making this gooey, fruity grilled cake in the afternoon. 

GRILLED UPSIDE DOWN BLUEBERRY-PEACH CAKE

                 

     1/4           cup  butter

     1/2           cup  brown sugar

     1/2      teaspoon  cinnamon

     1/2      teaspoon  fresh ginger,grated

     1           teaspoon  lemon juice

      3 peaches, peeled and sliced

      1 cup wild blueberries

                                   

                       

 For the batter:

     1/3           cup  butter

     1/2           cup  sugar

      2             eggs, beaten lightly

      1/2          cup milk

     1/2           tsp  vanilla

     1/4            tsp  salt

     1 1/4        cups  flour, all-purpose

     2              tsp  baking powder

• Preheat barbecue on HIGH for 10 minutes. Reduce heat setting to MEDIUM, so that oven thermometer consistently reads 350°F(177 °C).

• Mix together the butter, sugar, cinnamon and ginger, and spread on the bottom of a heavy grill-proof 10" baking pan (preferably cast iron or coated cast iron). Arrange the sliced peaches and blueberries on top.

• In a separate mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla and salt and stir until smooth.  Add flour and baking powder and beat for one minute. Pour the batter over the fruit layer.

•  Place pan on the left side of the grill and turn off left burner. Close the lid and cook until the top of the cake springs back, about 45 minutes. As always, monitor the oven temperature while cooking and adjust as required, to maintain a temperature of 350°F(177 °C). Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. 

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

WHAT'S GRILLING TONIGHT?

 
For us, summer is a wonderful time to gather for long days with family and friends. However, for some of our children, nieces and nephews, it also involves the count down of the days before they head back to college or university. Luckily, they are in the right place when it comes to getting food and cooking tips to take back with them when they return to their own apartments in the fall. Grilling always features foremost when we are planning the lessons, and around here, there is never a shortage of a willing panel of judges. This week, Ubayda was inspired by an article in Mens Journal Magazine to try a new recipe. Needless to say, he got an A+ for his Smoked Jamaican Jerk Chicken!!

EMMA and KRISTINE wait anxiously!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Marinate the chicken pieces overnight, roast them slowly on the smoker, then finish them off over hot coals for juicy and tender chicken with an intense fusion of flavour: smoky, sweet and spicy.  

6 lbs bone-in chicken pieces

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Juice of 1 lime

Jerk seasoning paste:

1 red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

2 scotch bonnet peppers

1 scallion

2 tbsp molasses

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp fresh thyme

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cinnamon

1 lime, juiced

In a large glass mixing bowl, combine chicken pieces with apple cider vinegar and lime juice mixture. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine red onion, garlic, scotch bonnet peppers, scallion, molasses, bay leaves, salt, thyme, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and lime juice, and blend to create a paste.  Gently massage chicken pieces and rub jerk spice paste under the skin and all over each piece of chicken. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare smoker to cook at 225°F. Add soaked wood chips to coals and water to the diffuser pan. Place chicken pieces on the grids, skin side down. Close smoker lid and cook 1 ½ hours. Set aside the chicken pieces on a platter and remove diffuser pan from the smoker. Open the vents and allow the internal temperature of the smoker to rise to 400-500°F.  Replace grids and set chicken, skin side down on the grids and grill over hot coals for 10-15 minutes, basting with remaining jerk paste and a quick splash of beer if desired.

We served it with this rice and red kidney bean dish and fresh green peas!

Rice and Beans:

6 slices bacon

1 green onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups water

2 cups long grain rice

Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup fresh peas.

Fry bacon in a large cast iron pot over medium heat until lightly browned. Add green onion, garlic and thyme and sauté for 3 minutes. Add rice, salt and pepper and stir until coated. Add beans and water, stir and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Fluff and serve with fresh steamed, buttered green peas.