Gathering Around The Grill

Charlotte and Wayne's Paella and Spatchcock Chicken

2012-03-05T10:09:00.000-05:00


Ruby, Wayne, Charlotte, Kyle, Jade and Rose

Our friend "Wayne from Spain" loves his new Broil King Keg. In addition to owning and operating The Barbeque Shop, he and his wife Charlotte having been creating some fabulous meals on the Keg and their Broil King barbecue for their beautiful family. They were kind enough to send us these recipes.

Paella

4-6 people

3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 Chorizo sausages, sliced
2 onions, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 handful green beans, trimmed
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon paprika plus more to season the chicken

2 pinches saffron

1 ¼ cups rice

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 lb mussels

1/2 lb shrimp

Lemon wedges

Prepare the Keg.
Once the charcoal is ready for cooking, turn the diffuser support upside down and place an all metal paella pan upon it. Add olive oil.

Rub the chicken pieces in paprika. Add tothe pan, cook until brown, then add Chorizo and cook for 5-10 minutes.
Remove chorizo and set aside until later. Add onions, pepper and beans to thepan filled with juices and saute gently.
Add the garlic, teaspoon of paprika seasoning, 2 pinches of saffron and rice. Mix well.
Add back the chicken, chorizo and stock (vegetable or chicken). You mayneed to add more water later on as the rice begins to cook. Simmer for 20minutes. Add mussels and shrimp. Cover with aluminum foil, so the rice steamsfor 10 minutes. Add lemon wedges and serve.

Spatchcock Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

2 lemons,quartered

1 mediumsized chicken

2 onions

8 mediumcarrots

Bunch ofgreen beans

Paprika

For the Marinade:

½ cuptomato ketchup

1 tablespoonhoney

1 teaspoonsoy sauce

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoonmustard

For the Sauce:

¼ cupunsalted butter

1 tablespoonred wine

½teaspoon salt

Splashlemon juice

Pinchpepper

1 teaspoonmixed herbs

1 teaspoonEnglish mustard

Preparethe Keg.

Fill thediffuser with water and add lemons.

Cutchicken in half and rub in paprika.

Placechicken in foil tray.

Sliceonions and place in top of the chicken.

Pourover marinade.

Placeonto the keg grill and close lid.

Cook forapproximately 3 hours.

Blanch carrots and green beans until tender-crisp.

Drain and rinse under cold water 10 seconds to refresh.

Melt thebutter mix in a saucepan, and add the rest of the sauce ingredients.

Lay thecarrots and beans on a grill topper, and brush with half the butter mixture.

Grillthe vegetables over direct high heat on a preheated barbecue with the lid openuntil lightly browned for 3 -5 minutes, turning occasionally.

Transfer the vegetables to a platter andbaste with the remaining butter mixture.

Serve hot.

2012-02-27T17:06:00.000-05:00

Krisand I have both been on mountain holidays this week, enjoying sun, skiing,friends, family and great food. In AspenColorado we paused for lunch in some scenic mountain-top havens: Bonnie’s, Gwyn’s High Alpine, Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro, and Lynn Britt Cabin. In town we dined at The Wild Fig, Steakhouse 316, and Gisella. All were delicious and offered wonderful ambience,but some of our best memories are of the dinners we put together in thekitchens we borrowed for the week.

Nora and Reid at the Lynn Britt Cabin


Doug and Janet warming their toes by the fire

Ted assumes post-lunch nap position

Bev, Doug, Andrea Nora, Reid, Janet and Tim

An al fresco lunch in the sun is such a treat!


Doug provided after-dinner entertainment

Our first night Ted brushed the snow off a barbecue andgrilled some chicken to serve with a simple salad and broccoli. On Shrove Tuesday we had the wackiestcombination of ribs, beans, potatoes, pancakes and macaroni ..... a little bitof everyone’s favourites. And our lastnight in, Tim made two incredible pots of chilli: one with bison and pork, and the other was aonce-around –the –kitchen special featuring the leftover grilled chicken. Tim is a very intuitive chef and can createmagic with whatever is on hand.

Tim’s Grilled Chicken Chili

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into¾” chunks

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 large onion, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 red pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

1 habanera pepper, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

3 tablespoons chilli powder

1 teaspoon ground chipotle peppers

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup ground tomatoes

1 cup chicken stock

1 can coconut milk

2 cans beans: black, kidney, navy or a combination

1 small zucchini, sliced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

Handful fresh oregano, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Garnish:

Chopped fresh cilantro

Grated cheese: cheddar, or Monterey jack

Avocados, cut into chunks

In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onions , celery, carrots and peppers and sautéuntil the onion is tender. Add garlic,stir for 30 seconds, then add the spices. Stir until fragrant, then add tomatoes, stock and coconut milk. Simmer for ½ hour, or until all the vegetables are tender and thesauce is beginning to thicken. Add thechicken and beans and heat through. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large sauté panover high heat. Add the mushrooms andzucchini and cook until mushrooms are dense, and zucchini is lightlybrowned. Add them to the chilli potalong with the fresh oregano. Season totaste with salt and pepper.

Serve over rice and add garnishes.

Valentine's Beef Oxtails on the Smoker

2012-02-20T06:00:00.004-05:00

This Valentine’s Day Mark and Ted were distracted byhockey games and business trips, so the celebrations had to be postponed. Fortunately, Pluto remembered and sent long-stemmedroses to some of his favourite girls. Heis a bit of a hopeless romantic.

However, the next day we lovingly created and produced aspecial menu using the Broil King Keg. Little did we know that the grand conclusion of the evening was going tobe watching UFC......!

Valentines Boxing Day Menu

Smoked Oxtails andMushrooms with Demi-Glace

Risotto Heartsstuffed with Blue Cheese

French Green Beanswith Oven Dried Cherry Tomatoes

Heart-shapedBraised Carrots

Chocolate Souffléswith Raspberry Sauce

Smoked Beef Oxtails

Note: applyrub one night before cooking

4 beef oxtails, about 3” thick

For the rub:

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sugar

4 thick slices onion

Handful fresh thyme sprigs

8 ounces cremini mushrooms

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup veal or beef demi-glace

The night before serving, mix all the rub ingredients andcoat the oxtails generously. Cover withplastic wrap and refrigerate.

The next day, around noon, light the Broil King Kegfollowing the instructions in the techniques section. Sprinkle glowing coals with soaked maple woodchips. Fill the diffuser with warm water.

Place the oxtails on the grids and smoke for 3-4 hours,maintaining a temperature of 200° F.

Prepare 4 sheets of heavy aluminum foil large enough tosurround the oxtails. Place one slice ofonion and a few sprigs of thyme in the centre of the foil. Top with oxtail, wrap tightly, and place onthe outside edge of the smoker. Toss themushrooms with oil, vinegar, herbs and spices, and place on the grids in thecentre of the smoker. Continue to cookfor 2-3 hours at 200 F.

Serve with heated veal or beef demi-glace

Risotto Hearts stuffed with Blue Cheese

1 ½ cups leftover beet risotto (see future posts for beetrisotto, but any leftover risotto can be substituted)

2 ounces Blue d’Auverne cheese

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

Using a sheet of parchment paper, shape risotto into 4heart shaped-mounds. Hollow slightly,and sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese. Cover with another layer of risotto. Sprinkle with panko bread crumbs. Using a flat spatula, turn carefully and sprinkle with more panko. Place on a flat platter and refrigerate untilready to cook.

In a large non-stick skillet, melt the butter and oliveoil over medium-high heat. Place theprepared risotto hearts in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 5minutes per side.

Braised Heart-Shaped Carrots

3 large carrots, sliced into desired shape

(If you wish to make them heart-shaped, use a vegetablepeeler to create the pointed edge along the whole carrot and a knife to cut theimpression at the top. Use the peeleragain to round the shape, then cut into thick slices)

½ cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 375°. Spread the prepared carrots in a single layer in an 8” x 10” pan. In a small bowl whisk together the rest ofthe ingredients. Pour over carrots, andcover with foil. Place in oven for 45minutes, then remove cover and cook for another 15 minutes, until golden brownand tender.

Chocolate Soufflés

4 individual soufflés

2 teaspoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar, divided

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

4 large eggwhites, at room temperature

3 large yolks

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Preheat theoven to 400° F. Using the butter, grease 4 large individual ramekins and sprinklethem with about 1 teaspoon sugar per ramekin.

In a largemetal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring itwith a whisk from time to time. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from theheat and let cool slightly.

In anotherbowl beat the egg whites with 1/4 cup of the sugar until stiff and glossy.

Whisk theegg yolks into the chocolate one at a time, add the orange liqueur, and whiskin the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Fold in the egg whites and whisk untilthoroughly blended.

Pour thechocolate mixture into the prepared ramekins, place on a baking sheet, and bakeuntil they're puffed and somewhat firm, for about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove fromthe oven.

Raspberry Sauce:

1 pint raspberries

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Place a food mill over a small bowl. Pour in raspberries, and churn until all thejuice is extracted. Discard the seeds,and add sugar to the raspberry pulp. Spoonover chocolate soufflés and garnish with fresh raspberries.

We all show our love to different people in differentways, but one of the very sweetest expressions is taking the time to bake withlittle ones. Hayley and Brooklyndiscovered their inner-bakers this week and produced some spectacular anddelicious Valentine’s sugar cookies for Brooklyn’s school party.

Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Fondant, kneaded with your choice of paste colour

Piping gel, to “glue” the fondant to the cookies

In a large bowl,cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir inthe flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least onehour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on flouredsurface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Dust countertop with icing sugar or corn starch and rollthe fondant fairly thinly, about 1/8”. Using the same shape cutter as you used foryour cookies, cut fondant shapes.

Lightly brush cookies with piping gel. Apply the corresponding fondant shapes ontothe cookies.

Herb-Stuffed Boneless Leg of Lamb for Mark's Birthday

2012-02-13T11:50:00.001-05:00

Mark slicing smoked Wolfe Island duck breast.

Herb-Stuffed Boneless Leg of Lamb with Grainy Mustard Crust

We cooked this lamb roast on our smoker, The Broil King Keg, because we wanted to highlight the rich flavour of the lamb. It could just as easily be done on a gas barbecue, as long as the temperature control can be set to cook constantly at a fairly low temperature. We cooked this at 250⁰F for 2 hours and finished the roast at 300⁰F for another 30 minutes.

1 4-pound boneless leg of lamb

Fresh Herb Stuffing:

4 clovesgarlic, chopped

¼ cupparsley, chopped

6 sprigsfresh thyme, chopped

6 sprigsfresh oregano, chopped

1 tbspMexican seasoning

1 tbsp chilipowder

1 tbsp drymustard

1 tbsp blackpepper, freshly ground

1 tsp chilipepper flakes

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp extravirgin olive oil

GrainyMustard Paste:

¼ cup grainymustard

¼ cup brownsugar

¼ cup canolaoil

1 tbsp granulargarlic powder

2 tbsp chilipowder

2 tbspMexican seasoning

Honey-BalsamicGlaze:

½ cup honey

¼ cupbalsamic vinegar

1 tbsp lemonjuice, freshly squeezed

3 tbsp freshparsley, chopped

1) Combineall of the ingredients for the fresh herb stuffing in a large glass bowl. Spread open the leg of lamb and pat the herbmixture on the inside of the roast. Roll lamb and tie with kitchen twine,folding in the small open end. Combineall ingredients for the Grainy Mustard Paste and pat over the surface of therest. Set aside for 2 hours to allowflavours to develop.

2) Meanwhile, setup the Broil King Keg to cook at a constant temperature of 250⁰F.

3) Whenready to cook, throw 2 handfuls of soaked hardwood chips or chunks (for lamb,we like oak, hickory or pecan) on the coals. Place a drip pan, lined with foiland filled with water, over the coals. Place the lamb roast on the grids andclose the lid. Check that the temperature of the grill is constant at 250⁰F andallow the lamb to cook slowly for approximately 2 ½ hours, until the internal temperature of the roastis 130⁰F for medium/rare. One half hour before removing the roast from thesmoker, brush the glaze carefully over the surface of the lamb.
4) Wheninternal temperature has reached 130⁰F, remove from smoker and cover with foiland allow the lamb to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Bev made Mark’s delicious Birthday cake this year, using arecipe from Lucy Waverman and James Chatto’s wonderful book: A Matter of Taste.

Chocolate Passion with Mango LimeSauce

Chocolate Passion

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup water

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ancho chilli powder

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup butter, melted

Mango Lime Sauce

¼ cup sugar syrup (see below)

2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger

1 ripe mango, peeled and coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon grated lime zest

1 tablespoon lime juice

¼ cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a non-stick loaf pan and line the bottom and sides with parchmentpaper.

Melt chocolate and water in a heavy pot over lowheat. Cool slightly.

Whisk eggs, sugar and chilli powder until light. Beat in flour. Slowly whisk in chocolate and meltedbutter. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Place loaf pan in a larger baking pan. Pour boiling water into larger pan untilwater reaches halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until the loaf is firm ontop and a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool and refrigerate in pan until set.

Turn out loaf onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Fold paper over dessert, wrap in foil andfreeze.

Prepare sauce by pureeing sugar syrup, ginger, mango,lime zest, lime juice and cream in a food processor.

Remove cake from freezer about 15 minutes beforeslicing. Slice and serve withsauce.

To make SugarSyrup:

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine water and sugar in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes, oruntil a light syrup forms. Add lemon juiceand remove from heat.

Happiness is.......relaxing at the end of a busy day.

Superbowl Steak

2012-02-06T11:08:00.000-05:00

For those of us whose primary interest in the Superbowl began and ended with the halftime show, we have an anti-football menu that would be appropriate for any night of the week. (Requires a knife and fork!).

It was a treat to have Reid home from Montreal! He grilled for us on his Gran's terrace.

Grilled Flank Steak

Serves 4

We bucked the chicken wing trend for Superbowl Sunday,and instead elected to grill some lean beef. Flank steak is a healthy choice for your grill, and is particularly tasty when marinated for 24 hours, infusing delicious flavour and resultingin juicy tenderness.

1 2-pound flank steak

For the Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of ½ lemon

1 teaspoon sambal olek (asian chili sauce)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine marinade ingredients and pour over the steak. Allow to marinate 6-24 hours in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before grilling.

Preheat barbecue on HIGH, then reduce heat to MEDIUM. Meanwhile, remove the flank steak from the marinade, pat dry with paper towels, and brush lightly with vegetable oil.

Place on the barbecue, and grill for 2 minutes. Flip to the other side for 2 minutes. Following directions for Perfect Grill Marks, continue cooking 2 minutes per side for a total of 8 minutes for medium rare. At the same time, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil until slightly thickened.

To get the most out of your flank steak, using a sharp knife, cut a cross-hatch pattern into the surface of the meat. This allows the marinade to penetrate deeper.

Resealable "Ziplock" bags are ideal for marinating flank steak and other meats.

Coconut Jasmine Rice

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon minced freshgingerroot

1 cup jasmine rice, rinsedand drained

1 can coconut milk, plusenough water to measure 2 cups

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil

In a medium saucepan witha tight-fitting lid, heat canola oil over low heat. Add gingerroot and sauté about 1minute. Add rice, and stir to coat withoil. Add the coconut milk, honey and sesame oil, and increase heat to bringto a gentle boil. Reduce heat to LOW,cover with a tight-fitting lid for 20 minutes, then turn off heat and let stand5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork. Serve with grilled peppers and a steamed green vegetable.

For dessert, we went to Sabletine,the most marvellous French bakery in Waterloo, for Ventoux cakes, andchocolate pecan tarts.

There is also the traditional way to celebrate the Superbowl. In Kingston, our friend Geoff and his buddies fired up the Broil King Keg and smoked a sirloin roast. This was accompanied by nachos loaded with cheese, and a very creative football pizza. Thanks to the boys of Aberdeen for sharing these photos of their creations.

Maple Glazed Smoked Pork Belly

2012-01-30T12:58:00.001-05:00

Andrea and I love good food and also have a great interest in creatinga healthy lifestyle for ourselves and our families – which probably contributed to mypursuit of food and nutrition studies in university. It is the perfectbackground to have when developing recipes for food cooked on the smoker. At the top of our minds are always 2 goals -creating food that is both healthy and delicious. SO here goes with this recipefor smoked pork belly using the Broil King Keg. We combed over a lot of recipesfor braised pork belly in the process, including some that called for the addition of large quantities ofoil to the pork belly while marinating, cooking andfinishing*! DO you really need to add more fat when cooking pork belly?? We decided to try to moderate on thisingredient, and make sure that each ingredient that we used was essential for delicate,flavor packed, mouth-watering pork belly.

* Lang, Adam Perry, 2009. Serious Barbecue, Smoke, Char, Baste, & Brush Your Way to Great Outdoor Cooking, Hyperion.

Maple Glazed Smoked Pork Belly

Important to know: 1) You will need to marinate the pork bellyat least 12 hours ahead of cooking and 2) Cooking Time is 7-8 hours

One 3-4 pound pork belly piece

Marinade:

1 cup water

¼ tbsp olive oil

¼ tbsp lemonjuice

¼ tbsp apple cider vinegar

8 clovesgarlic

2 tbsp freshrosemary leaves

2 tbsp freshthyme leaves

¾ tspkosher salt

1 tbspfreshly ground black pepper

2 tbspcrushed red chili peppers

1 cup water

Maple Glaze:

½ cup Jack Daniels

½ cup maple syrup

2 tbsp Dijonmustard

¼ cupItalian parsley, chopped

2 tbsp applecider

½ tsp dried chili pepper flakes

Final seasoning:

1 tbspchopped parsley

1 tbspchopped green onions

1 tbsp applecider vinegar

Freshly groundblack pepper and kosher salt

Marinate pork belly:

12-24 hoursahead of time, combine marinade ingredients in food processor and blend untilgarlic is finely chopped. Place pork belly in a large resealable plastic bagand pour over marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

Cooking the pork belly:

Set up the Broil King Keg with enough lump hardwood charcoal for 8 hours of cooking at 275⁰F. Soak 1-2 cups of fruit wood chips forsmoking. This is also be cooked using the gas barbecue set on low (275⁰F). Be very vigilant of watching for flare-ups during the final stage of grilling, when applying the glaze. Place the pork belly into a similar sized rectangular disposablealuminum tray and pour marinade and 1 cup water over top. Cover with heavy-dutyaluminum foil and seal edges tightly so that steam does not escape. Place in the smoker and cook at 275⁰F for 5 ½ hours.

Remove panfrom smoker, and with foil still sealed tightly, allow pork belly to rest inthe liquid in the pan for 2 hours.

Smoking and glazing:

Add soakedwoodchips to smoker and open vents to bring oven temperature to 375⁰F. Remove pork belly from pan and reservecooking liquid. The pork belly willbe quite delicate at this point and will require gentle handling during thefinal grilling process. In order to facilitatethis, organize to have a wire grilling basket on hand. The basket will helpmaintain the rectangular shape of the pork belly and prevent the skin fromsliding around. If not available, use awire rack and a very large spatula for carefullyturning the pork belly on the grids. Place pork belly skin side down on a wire grilling basket . Place onsmoker and allow skin to crisp for 15 minutes. Monitor for flare ups. Meanwhile,prepare glaze by combining Jack Daniels, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, choppedparsley, cider vinegar and red pepper flakes in a glass dish. Carefully remove pork belly from smoker andbrush all over with glaze. Return tosmoker and cook for 5 minutes, carefully turn, apply remaining glaze and cookfor another 5 minutes. The pork belly will be finished when the glazecaramelizes on the meat and is a beautiful glossy dark brown.

Finishing:

Scatterchopped parsley , green onions, salt and pepper on the cutting board andsprinkle with apple cider vinegar. Carefully remove the pork belly from thebasket or wire rack and place on top of this mixture. Allow to rest for 10minutes. Turn and rub mixture on the other side. Gently cut into one and a half-inchsquare cubes, continuing to dredge in the finishing mixture.

Sauce:

The reservedcooking liquid can be used as a flavourful sauce, once the fat has been pouredoff. Pour reserved liquid into a largeglass measuring cup. Pour off the fat that has floated to the top. Skim orspoon off the final inch or so, using a tablespoon. Add any remaining glaze to this mixture. Pourinto a small saucepan and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat and cookfor another 10 minutes. This sauce is delicious poured onto the prepared pork bellyand simply boiled new potatoes and wilted kale cooked with garlic and lemonjuice.

We enjoyed it again on Sunday for lunch, in a delicious Canadian sandwich featuring pork belly, Old Canadian cheddar cheese and thinly sliced apples. It was the perfect meal to get us ready for an energetic ski around the golf course!

Nora, Bev, Briar and Pepper

And now we're back to cooking in the snow!!!

Home Sweet Home: Smoked Prime Rib of Beef

2012-01-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

The past two weeks were spent on a very specialmother-daughter adventure, setting sail from Florida, cruising through thePanama Canal and reaching our final destination in Lima Peru. We were treated to many wonderful meals atsea and on land, and we hope to bring to you some of the exciting SouthAmerican flavours in future posts.

Arriving home the first order of business was restocking avery empty pantry, and preparing a family dinner on the BroilKing Keg. Nothing says “home” like aroast beef dinner, and this evening’s smoked prime rib was one of the best we’veever tasted. The low and slowtemperature results in an evenly cooked, tender and delicious roast.

Smoked Prime Rib of Beef

1 5-pound PrimeRib Roast

¼ cup Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon grainy mustard

1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 ½ teaspoons dried rosemary

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chipotle chilli powder

Pat the meat dry with paper towels.

Mix the mustards, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic in asmall bowl, and brush generously all over the meat. Combine all the dried herbs and spices in asmall bowl and sprinkle generously over the mustard. Allow to sit at room temperature while youlight the coals in the Broil King Keg.

Set the temperature to 350°F, with the top control dialledto 3 and the bottom to 2. Place theprime rib on the smoker without a drip pan and let smoke for 4 hours. During this time, the temperature of thesmoker should gradually fall to about 250°F. Test the internal temperature of the meat with a meat thermometer: it should reach 135°F.

Slice thickly.

Acorn Squash on the Smoker

1 acorn squash, halved andseeds removed

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup maple syrup

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch salt

Combine the butter and maple syrup in a small bowl andmicrowave 45 seconds. Stir until buttermelted, microwaving again if necessary. Add the nutmeg and salt, and divide between the two halves ofsquash. Brush the mixture around theedges as well.

Place on theprepared smoker for 3-4 hours.

And finally, a big happy birthday wish to Abby. She is lots of fun, and an extremely accomplished baker. We will be sure to feature some of her pie recipes in future blogs.

Jordan, Charu and Abby enjoy some grilled salmon with asparagus and lentil salad

Crostini with Grilled Vegetable Tapenade

2012-01-16T13:57:00.008-05:00

We have so much to be proud of with all of our children, and look forward to celebrating their successes and accomplishments. One of those moments brought us back to New York city this week, where Ben had 2 shows opening. First we joined him at the James Fuentes Gallery in the Lower East Side. It was a wonderful evening - so beautiful and such great energy about his work.
On Thursday night, his second show opened at the Martos Gallery in Chelsea. There was a lot of buzz around that show too, with a recommendation : 9 things to do in New Yorks Ar/?t World before Jan. 16 and an interview

As always, we ate a lot of good food on our visit. We are so often inspired by food that we eat while traveling. The secret to duplicating a complex, sophisticated restaurant meal is to start with a simple base, like a grilled steak or scallops and serve it with a great sauce. We have a bit of product development to do over the next few weeks because these sauces pictured here were delicious!!

When you are in Chelsea, visit the Red Cat, we had a great lunch there. In the Lower East Side, we loved 'inoteca. Also had some delicious wine and cheese at 88 Orchard before the opening.

Coming home is always a let down. You open the refrigerator and yikes!??!!?! Faced with all of the leftovers and dregs (of Christmas!!) I decided to take the best of the vegetables that I had, added a lot of fresh herbs for a marinade and made a grilled vegetable tapenade to serve with goat cheese on crostini.
We took it for friends for dinner on Saturday night and had it in wraps for a light dinner on Sunday night.

Grilled Vegetable Tapenade with Goat Cheese on Crostini

This marinade/vinaigrette is a version of pesto that is so versatile. Make a big jar of it and use it often, as we do for this dish.
Marinade:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh herbs, chopped (try a combination-parsley, basil, fennel, sage, tarragon work well)
1 shallot, peeled
1 large garlic clove, peeled
1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

2 tbsp chopped walnuts
salt & pepper, to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and puree.

Grilled vegetables:
1 large eggplant, halved lengthwise

3 portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 each yellow, orange and red pepper, cored

1 tomato
1 red onion, quartered

Marinate vegetables for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat barbecue on HIGH for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to MEDIUM and grill vegetables 6-7 minutes per side. Reserve marinade. Leave peppers on barbecue for 5-8 more minutes until blackened. Place peppers in a paper bag for 10 minutes to loosen skins - this will make peeling them easier. Peel the skins off of the tomatoes and remove the seeds. Dice all of the vegetables into 1/4 inch pieces and place in a large glass bowl. Combine with 1/3 cup of reserved marinade. Add more chopped fresh basil and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Crostini:

1 baguette
6 ounces goat cheese

Slice baguette on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices. Take the remaining marinade, should be 1-2 tablespoons left and combine it with 1/2 cup of olive oil. Brush baguette lightly on both sides with this olive oil mixture and place on grids. Grill for 3 minutes per side. Remove from grills. At this point, you can set everything aside to assemble later, or assemble and eat them right away! Spread with goat cheese, top with 1 tablespoon of grilled vegetable tapenade and place back on barbecue for 5 minutes on MEDIUM.