Amateurs with Knives

I’ve been craving bolognese. It’s an intense wanting that has been going on for weeks now. The other night I almost ended up going to a good Italian restaurant and getting my fix, but it didn’t work out. And by that, I mean we called to find out if we needed a reservation, the lady on the phone told us if we came right down we could sit right down, and when we showed up five minutes later we were turned away because we needed a reservation.

So I still didn’t get any bolognese.

I always think it’s better at an Italian restaurant than anything you can make at home. There’s a little je ne sais quoi in the tomato based sauce that I’ve never been able to replicate at home. In fact, I had abandoned the idea of making bolognese a long time ago because it always disappoints.

Until last night. On a whim, I was checking through the Food Network website’s recipes for something good, and I came upon a few bolognese recipes. But I was jaded. I had tried before, opening my heart to the possibility of a good bolognese recipe only to have my hopes dashed to the ground, spat upon and then danced that stupid “Hey Macarena!” dance on it — that’s right, my previous bolognese attemps weren’t even good enough for a decent dance to dance upon them.

Then I found Wolfgang Puck’s recipe. I thought to myself: Wolfgang Puck owns restaurants. Wolfgang Puck also has a bolognese recipe.

It was like the chocolate and the peanut butter coming together in one great, glorious masterpiece, people. I printed the recipe, ran to the store and BAM! VOILA! (sorry Emeril) in about an hour, I had a delicious, restaurant quality bolognese sauce. And I’ll tell you the secret of the delicious sauce: It’s the V8 juice. Seriously.

I took pictures but I left my camera at home, so you’re just going to have to settle for the picture provided by the Food Network.

Chicken Bolognese with Penne
Courtesy of Wolfgang Puck

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
Pinch chili flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup tomato juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)
1 pound penne pasta

Here’s a quick discussion on ingredients. For the sodium conscious, I used the low sodium cans of V8 juice. For the dry white wine, I used the generic store bought white wine - Wegman’s brand. (Sorry, wine snobs! I couldn’t get to the wine store last night!) Instead of taking the time to dice up hard, crunchy carrots, I stuck them in the food processor and pulsed them until they were a rough, fine chop.

Now for the directions from Food Network and Wolfgang Puck, modified slightly by yours truly:

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground chicken and cook until well browned, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, and chili flakes and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Carefully deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Reduce until the white wine is almost completely evaporated.

Add the tomato sauce and juice and simmer until a thick sauce consistency, about 20 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Cook the penne in boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside. Add the drained pasta to the sauce along with the Parmesan and toss well. Serve in a large bowl garnished with parsley leaves.

Okay, so I went on vacation to St. Thomas and when I came back I was in slacker mode. I’m still in slacker mode, but at least I’m back on the site and cooking! My return is marked with a new favorite weeknight dish that I’ve put on my weekly rotation. It’s another find from Recipezaar, but on the site it’s called 10 Minute Szechuan Chicken Recipe. We’re going to play Dr. Seuss today. There are two things wrong with this title, but we’re going to go with the obvious first. Can anyone spot what it is?

Can you guess what's wrong with this?

Here’s the answer:

Okay, so I knew this wasn’t going to be a 10 minute dish because, unless you’re an experienced serial killer, you need that long just to cut up the vegetables.

Freddie's next career: Sous Chef.

Secondly, the dish isn’t spicy. The person who shares the recipe (and I apologize for picking this person out, because I have a few recipes from them and the dishes are great) admits that this dish surprisingly mild, due to it being a szechwan dish. The reason for that is because there isn’t any spice in the ingredients list!

Due to this, I have changed the title of the dish to reflect the appropriateness of the dish:

Not 10 Minute Un-Szechuan Chicken
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1 carrot, julienned
1 small zucchini, julienned
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 bunch scallion, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces

Also, I added red pepper flakes as optional in case you want to make it spicy. It’s delicious without, but some days it deserves a little kick to it. If you do add the red pepper flakes, then you can change the “Un-Szechwan” back to “Szechuan.” What can I say, I’m a giver.

I served this with a cup of Jasmine Rice. As with all of my stir fry dishes, I started the rice before I started on anything else.

Feel free to add additional vegetables to this dish. I also added baby corn. It was awesome.

Heat the oils in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Toss the cubed chicken breast in a bowl with the cornstarch to coat. Add the chicken and minced garlic to the pan and stir-fry until the chicken is lightly browned. Don’t cook the chicken all the way through - the dish is still going to cook for another 5 minutes or so, and you don’t want to dry out the chicken. If you only brown the outside of the meat, the rest of the chicken will continue to cook after the sauce is added. Reason being is that the sauce will be absorbed into the chicken during this additional cooking time, and the chicken will be moist. There’s not much worse than eating tough, dry chicken.

Add the remaining ingredients except the scallions. Cover and cook for three minutes.

Add the scallions. Cover and cook for two more minutes. Serve over rice.

Dig in!

I’m not opposed to a last-minute change of dinner plans, due to being swept up and away by an exciting new recipe. What can I say, I like the adventure. That’s why I put the epicurious.com “Recipe of the Day” in my reader. Every day, a new contender for my kitchen appears. While some of them can seem a little too outlandish for a weeknight dinner, once in a while, a gem arises.

Yesterday’s recipe did that to me, and I rushed out to the store to pick up the ingredients.

Oreccchiette with Salsa Cruda and Ricotta - photo courtesy of Epicurious

We’re nearing the end of the summer - it’s far too warm and I’m feeling far too lazy to cook up an elaborate meal that sticks to your ribs. If you have tomato plants and you’re looking for something to do with them, this is it.

Orecchiette with Salsa Cruda and Ricotta
1 medium shallot, minced
2 small garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
1/3 cup coarsely chopped basil
1 pound dried orecchiette
3/4 cup ricotta (preferably fresh)

The term “salsa cruda” is claimed by both Mexican and Italian cooking and means, to both cuisines, “uncooked sauce.” Beyond that, they couldn’t be more different. For Mexican cuisine, it is pico de gallo. In Italian cuisine, it is uncooked sauce that is served over pasta. The only part of the dish that is actually cooked is the pasta itself.

Stir together all ingredients except pasta and ricotta in a large bowl with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Let stand, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.

Couldn’t be simpler. Or maybe it could if you threw some tomatoes at the wall with a handful of salt and went at it a la Willy Wonka’s lickable wallpaper. If you’re looking for something cleaner that requires a fork to eat, try the salsa cruda instead. Here’s a shot of the loveliness:

Back in the spring, Citizen Chef and I were both debating whether or not to buy some tomato plants. I didn’t, but the whole time I was making the salsa cruda, I wish I had. You’re looking at Tomatoes on the Vine in the bowl, and they were delicious, don’t get me wrong - but fresh tomatoes would have made this out of sight. If you’re growing tomatoes, pick a few and get chopping.

Now, you may think that this sounds like a boring topping, but let me assure you while the flavors of the garlic, basil, shallots, etc. are mingling together for 20-some minutes, something very special is happening. Even after 10 minutes you can stick your fork in there and get a taste of what’s going on - the flavors are melding together in a fresh array. It’s divine.

Meanwhile, cook orecchiette in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 qt water) until al dente.

Alton Brown sometimes refers to the little pastas that are shaped like an ear - the orecchiette is it. “Orecchio” literally means “ear” in Italian. They do look a little like ears, don’t they?

I had a hard time finding orecchiette. I guess I thought it odd because I hear it mentioned so much on food shows, so I assumed it was a little more common. If you needed, you could use pasta shells, but they are hardly the same consistency as the orecchiette. The orecchiette are thicker, and don’t have that ultra sleek and smooth processed consistency that a pasta shell has. Still, if you can find it, great, if not, use whatever you can get.

Drain pasta and toss with tomato salsa. Season with salt and pepper and dollop with ricotta.

Serve with a small loaf of bread and a side of garlic butter. Bon Appetito!

To wrap up AwK’s BBQ month, I was going to share another submission from the Build A Better Burger Book. The final was a winner of a creative award and looked really interesting. So, the burger was made. I had photos. I had materials. I was ready.

Photo courtesy of Build a Better Burger

Then I got busy and forgot from fighting terrorism, blowing up small villages and getting to da choppa with Arnold Swartzenegger. The AwK BBQ month has officially ended, but I’m still going to share this quirky little burger.

As I already said, this burger is the winner of the creativity award in 1996. Most of the creativity award burgers are just that - very creative. When you take your first bite, it’s hard to know what to expect, so keep an open mind. I was looking for something very different when I made it, so I was prepared.

Patties
1 1/3 pounds ground lamb
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt

I want to give you a glowing review, but because it’s the creativity award burger, you know it was a little weird. If you walked into an authentic Indian restaurant and asked them to make you a hamburger, this is exactly what it would taste like. Since I enjoy Indian food, I did like the taste - it was just odd having it as a hamburger.

To make the burgers, just take the ingredients and mix them together. Handle the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it. Grill, turning once until done to preference - 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare.

The burger is to be accompanied by a banana-yogurt sauce called “raita.” Before you get weirded out, just keep in mind that Indian food usually contains a lot of sweet flavors and is usually yogurt or tomato sauce based. The raita, while sounding odd on top of a hamburger, makes sense from an Indian cuisine standpoint.

Grilled Banana Raita
Vegetable oil for brushing on the grill rack
2 very firm bananas, peeled
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

After reading through the ingredient list, you see right away this is going to be very sweet. Most people associate Indian food with 5-alarm spicy, but that isn’t always the case. A lot of their food has a lot of sweet, fresh flavors to balance that out, similarly to what you’re seeing with the raita.

To make the raita, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the bananas on the grill and cook, turning carefully, until lightly browned all over. The book says it should take 1 - 2 minutes, but on a skillet, it took a little longer. At first I was worried the banana would turn to mush over the fire, but the inside stayed firm. As soon as it turned a little brown, I flipped it over. Any longer than that and it would have been destroyed - so keep watching it while you’re cooking it.

While the bananas are cooking, place 1 teaspoon garam masala and the cumin in a fireproof container and toast on the grill for about 1 minute. Since I was using the Foreman, I didn’t do this part.

Dice up the banana into small cubes and mix with the rest of the raita ingredients. Stir well and set aside until the burgers are finished cooking.

To assemble: On each bun bottom, place 4 cucumber slices, a tomato slice, a patty and an equal portion of the raita. Add the bun tops and serve.

Here’s a shot of my finished burger as I was serving.

This concludes the Build A Better Burger series. If you liked what you saw, go pick up a copy!

I have a weakness: Orange Chicken from any Chinese restaurant. I don’t know what my problem is, but I see it on the menu and I must have it. It’s delicious and makes me happy. The downside to most orange chicken dishes is that they’re breaded, deep fried and have more sodium than Scrooge McDuck has money. So, for the past year, I have been on a search for orange chicken dishes that I can make at home and won’t eventually kill me.

If that wasn’t hard enough, it turns out our distinguished web admin does not like orange chicken. That’s unfortunate since I do all the cooking in our house so he has to eat whatever I make, like it or not. I try to do my best in finding a good compromise, but I’ve ended up serving him a variety of orange chicken dishes that he didn’t like. He prefers other, more savory dishes.

Last night, I cooked up the perfect compromise and, dare I say, we are now on a b0×0r r0xing alert. Consider yourselves warned.

The orange in this dish is not too strong, giving it just the hint of citrus that I was looking for. This was balanced nicely by a savory soy/sherry mixture that did not compete with the citrus. I originally found this recipe on Recipezaar about a year ago, and it sat in a pile that I recently went through. This is my version.

Orange Szechwan Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
4 green onions, diced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced and peeled
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup jasmine rice

According to the recipezaar nutrition chart, this makes 4 servings. Each serving has 4.2 grams of fat, 159 calories, 32mg of cholesterol and 582mg of sodium. If you want to bring the sodium down even more, use low-sodium soy sauce and omit the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and still get tasty results. I think the serving size is wrong. Last night I served this on top of jasmine rice and did not serve it with sides. As a stand alone dish, it was 2 - 3 servings.

Now for the directions. As it is with all of my stir-fry dishes, get your rice going first. Follow the package directions.

In a medium bowl, mix chicken, soy sauce, sherry, green onions, red pepper flakes and ginger.

In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch, sugar, salt and orange juice. Cover and refrigerate.

Put the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Let the oil heat up for a few minutes before you put your chicken in there. If you aren’t sure whether or not it’s hot enough, carefully place a piece of chicken on the pan. If it sizzles right away, you know it’s ready. If not, then wait until the piece starts to sizzle. Add the chicken mixture to the pan and stir fry until the chicken is browned on all sides and is tender, about 4 - 5 minutes. Once it started to cook, the soy/sherry aroma wafted up and made my stomach grumble.

Whisk the orange juice mixture. I say whisk because getting cornstarch to break up and dissolve in liquid can be difficult with a fork. If you’re having trouble, whisk it. Add it to the chicken and cook until mixture is slightly thickened and coats the chicken, about 3 - 4 minutes. The faint citrus scent made my mouth water - I couldn’t wait to dish this up and try it.

This was delicious and light, and I couldn’t stop eating it. Even after I was full, I had to keep eating. The orange flavor was just a tease in my mouth, and went well with the soy and ginger. This is going in my dinner rotation and will be made until everyone is sick to death of it… and probably still after that.

If you like your chicken extra “orangy” then add 1 teaspoon of orange zest to the chicken and soy mixture before adding it to the frying pan. Overall this took me about 20 minutes to make, and that includes prep time. Not too shabby! Serve this over hot rice and dig in!

It’s time, once again, for the weekly Build a Better Burger Contest, uh, burger.

Yes, I’m still trying to entice you to buy this book. If you’re into experimental and less traditional burgers, this is a great resource. The winning burgers from 1990 - 2004 are listed: The Grand Prize, First Prize, Second Prize and, always a quirky burger, the Award for Creativity. Today’s burger is the Grand Prize for the 1996 competition and the first burger by a female contestant to win the competition, proving once and for all that chicks like fire, too: Mulligatawny Burgers.

Photo courtesy of Build a Better Burger

This burger is paired with Sauvignon Blanc.

What originally drew me to this burger is that I love apples and curry together, and the sound of it with a souped-up chicken patty was irresistible.

Mulligatawny Burgers

Curried Apple Mayonnaise
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons peeled and finely chopped tart apple
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Pinch of ground cayenne

Patties
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 pounds freshly ground chicken
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons minced green onion
1/2 cup peeled and finely chopped tart apple
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup fine, fresh bread crumbs
1 teaspoon curry powder

You may or may not have noticed that I keep marking these burgers for the “Weeknight Cooking” category. Often times, I think the home cook rules burgers out because they should mostly be a “grilling” item, which involves a whole production with a BBQ. You’re waiting for me to bring up the George Foreman - and you’re right, I am! I have whipped these up on a Foreman grill for a delicious weeknight meal. Also doable in a pan, although you know I am partial to the George.

To start, make the curried mayonnaise: Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to blend well. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to medium-high. Toast the almonds. You can either do this in a fire-proof skillet right on top of the grill, something on your stove or, as I mentioned yesterday, in a toaster oven. Set aside to cool.

Combine chicken, egg white, green onion, and apple in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the rolls. Finely chop the toasted almonds (or give them a quick whirl in a food processor or coffee grinder) and combine with the bread crumbs and curry powder in a shallow bowl, stirring well. Coat both sides of the patties with the almond mixture, pressing gently to adhere.

Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and cook, turning once, just until the juices run clear when the patties are pierced in the center - about 4 minutes on each side.

Serve with lightly toasted sourdough rolls, fresh spinach leaves and some of the curried apple mayonnaise.

First impressions about this burger (I’ve made it a few times now, so I’m trying to think back to when I took my first bite): Admittedly, this was the first real non-traditional burger I had ever tried and after my first bite, I was a little conflicted. I had to think about it while mulling over the mild, fresh flavors in my mouth until I could decide that I was completely and totally sold. The nuts were a surprise. I’m not usually a huge fan of nuts in anything other than cookies, so to come in contact with the nuts was a shock, but not off-putting. Toasting them makes them a little soft, and that’s why I didn’t mind them. The curried mayonnaise goes fantastically well with the burger - the sweetness of the apple with the mayonnaise and a hint of spice marries the patty nicely.

Verdict: Make it this weekend!

As you know, July is AwK’s BBQ month! It’s that special time of year when we get to talk about the things that are near and dear to my stomach:

Summer food.

I’m talking BBQ, Potlucks, Picnics, Family Gatherings, Friendly Get-Togethers, anything at all that requires getting outdoors and heating up the grill.

Or, at the very least, plugging your George Foreman into the socket on the back deck.

I’ve talked about the Build A Better Burger book before when I reviewed my 4th of July burger, Tuscan Burger Bruschetta. Now it’s time to talk about one of my absolute favorite burgers in the book: Napa Valley Basil-Smoked Burgers

The combination of fresh basil, minced red onion and sun dried tomatoes with a little pesto mayonnaise — It is so savory. And yes, when it’s the middle of winter and I’m jonesing for a delicious, flavor-packed burger, I have broken out the George Foreman. I have no shame in admitting it!

Burger Patties
2 pounds ground sirloin
1/4 cup Zinfandel
1/4 cup lightly packed minced fresh basil
1/4 cup minced fresh onion
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
8 sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, finely chopped
2 teaspoons garlic salt

This burger won the Grand Prize in 1990. I have made it repeatedly and always with fantastic results.

Light some fire - preferrably in a grill with a cover. If you don’t have fire or you aren’t allowed to be anywhere near it, try for a stove or the George Foreman grill. If using a gas grill, preheat to medium-high.

The recipe tells you to mince the onions and basil, and finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Instead, I just toss those into my food processor and give it a whirl. It saves time and minces things beautifully — this is an especially good trick if you’re serving this dish to someone who doesn’t like to feel an onion in their mouth. The onion is minced up finely so that it lends to the flavor, but isn’t obtrusive.

Take the minced mixture out of your processor and put it in a bowl with the rest of the patty ingredients. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the rolls.

When the grill is ready, brush the rack with vegetable oil. If you’re using a George, you don’t have to do this because the George is perfect in every way. The Foreman Grill is like the Fifth Element, but of food.

Too much?

Okay anyway. Moisten 8 large basil sprigs with water, then put them directly onto the fire - this is the basil smoked part. I don’t do this because there’s already basil in the burger, and I’m fine without going through the trouble of adding basil smoke. Also, it’s pretty pointless if you’re cooking on the George because there is no fire. Same thing with pan cooking the patties — there’s no point. Place the patties on the rack, cover and cook, turning once, until done to preference (5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium). During the last couple minutes of cooking, place some large sandwich rolls, cut side down, on the rack to toast lightly. During the last minute of cooking, top each patty with a slide of Monterey Jack cheese.

To assemble the burgers, use some pesto mayonnaise:

Pesto Mayonnaise
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto

You can see where we’re going with this. Put the pesto mayonnaise ingredients into a bowl and mix. I really do like the taste of this, and it does add some complementary flavor to the burger. Do NOT use Miracle Whip. I wouldn’t anyway but in case you were thinking about it, I really just don’t think the sweetness of the Miracle Whip can do anything other than obliterate the pesto, much less the savory flavors of the burger.

To assemble: Spread the mayonnaise over the cut side of the rolls. On each roll bottom, place a lettuce leaf, a patty, a tomato slide, an onion slice and a basil sprig. Add the roll tops and serve.

Amazing.

When this month’s Magazine of the Month, the July 2008 edition of Bon Appetit, hit the shelves, CC and I both looked inside and zeroed in on the same page: Mixed Grill with Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce.

Now there are many, many ways in which CC and I differ in our cooking techniques. The biggest one to note in this case is CC actually likes to spend hours of elaborate cooking while I like to simplify.

Case in point, I have turned the Mixed Grill with Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce recipe into a Weeknight Cooking segment! Behold: the REDUX!

And now for the confessional portion of this post. I have a guilty pleasure in the kitchen. It’s probably not something I should admit to, but I just can’t help myself. When I want a meal out quickly, and it involves grilling meat, there is one man that I turn to, one who never fails, one who is a lean, mean, grilling machine.

Oh, George. You rock my world.

I love my Foreman grill. In fact, I’m thinking about starting a whole George Foreman category for this site - that’s how much I love it.

For my birthday last year, I bought myself one of the new “G5 Next Grilleration” grills with 5 removable plates. I love it. The plates can be popped right off and tossed into the dishwasher. If you use a George Foreman, something with removable plates is the deal.

The only thing I’m not sold on is the whole “5 plates” that it came with. Truth be told, I only use the two grilling plates so I think I would have been just as happy with a cheaper model. To anyone who wants to pick up an affordable George, there’s a Next Grilleration 4-Burger Grill with Removable Plates available on amazon.com for only $40 plus tax and shipping. (The link goes to the grill on the amazon.com page if you’re interested.) If you want your George to be a little more classy in the “Platinum” look, you’re going to have to shell out $75. In my opinion, do your wallet a favor and settle for white - this way you can pay more for good food.

I wish I had taken more pictures of this and I’m not sure why I didn’t. Sorry. Since I was only cooking for two, I pulled out two boneless skinless chicken breasts and thawed them. While they were thawing, I put together the BBQ sauce. This is what takes the longest, because it will need time to simmer in the pot and thicken.

Cherry Cola BBQ Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 12-ounce bottles (ketchup-style) chili sauce
1 12- to 13-ounce jar cherry preserves or jam
1 cup cherry cola (regular, not diet)
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon (or more) hot pepper sauce

The directions from epicurious.com - it’s pretty straightforward:

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until golden, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Stir in chili sauce, preserves, cherry cola, brown sugar, and vinegar; bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until reduced to 4 cups, stirring often to prevent scorching, about 50 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more hot pepper sauce, if desired. Transfer to bowl and cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Basically sauté the onions and garlic, then toss in the rest of the ingredients except for the hot pepper sauce, then stir it up and simmer until it is a nice saucy thickness - about an hour.

I forgot the hot pepper sauce, but it was still good. This sauce is pretty forgiving in terms of eyeballing ingredients and adding more or less of the ingredients you like. I eyeballed the jam, adding a little more than it called for. Go ahead and play around with it. Also, because I was making sauce for only two chicken breasts, I cut the sauce in half. That needs to simmer for about an hour, and it will get a nice thick texture.

I debated doing the rub and in the end I went with it. I’m so glad I did - the rub is the spice and salt needed to contrast with the sweet sauce. It’s really easy, too.

In a small tupperware container, I mixed together the following spices for the rub:

Spice rub:
2 tablespoons smoked paprika or hot smoked Spanish paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
2 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In hindsight, this was a lot of rub for only two chicken breasts. Next time I will cut the spices in half.

After my chicken thawed, I patted it dry with some paper towels, then I set it down on a plastic cutting board. To spread the spice rub on, I just took a little bit of it in my fingers, sprinkled it on the chicken, and then rubbed it around. The spice rub coated the chicken nicely and stuck on there just fine. So if you’re a first time spice rubber (okay, that came out a little weirder than I intended) never fear - the spices will stick, even though you’ve patted your chicken dry.

I then threw the chicken breasts on my George, which was set for medium. The lid was closed so I could get the spicy flavors of the rub into the chicken first. After about 5 minutes, I opened the lid and started basting with the sauce. The lid stayed open after that, and both sides got basted so it did get slightly messy - but that’s what the drip pan and dishwasher safe plates are for! As long as you aren’t glopping it on it won’t be a huge disaster - so don’t go crazy!

So there it is on the George, cooking away. Periodically we would flip them over and baste with a little more sauce, but after the sauce starts going on, the chicken only takes another 10 - 15 minutes more to cook.

I was really, really pleased with the outcome. The mess the whole dish makes is minimal and, with clean up, there’s not a lot of effort going on here. To make it feel even more like an outdoor event, we took our meals to the patio and ate them with a side of sweet corn and leftover cherry soda. Now that I’m looking at the picture, I think cornbread would have rocked with it. Hrm. Next time…

It’s (pseudo) BBQ, ya’ll!

July is grilling month here at Amateurs with Knives, and I’m going to kick it off by reviewing what went on my Weber this past Independence Day.

These babies:

Photo courtesy of Sutter Home

A couple of years ago I received a book called “Build a Better Burger”. The book is a compilation of the winning burgers from Sutter Home Winery’s Build a Better Burger Contest.

This is a pretty nifty book to have. If you like to grill and you like burgers in a wide, creative variety of proteins, this is definitely one to have on your shelf. Each burger has a photograph (ok, I like pictures in my books - go ahead and make jokes) and the instructions are very simply laid out so as not to intimidate even the most novice chef. Each burger also has a wine pairing listed.

Each BBB contestant must be an amateur, otherwise they are not eligible to win the prize. Still, that doesn’t stop professional chefs from entering, and the published book does note some of the professional burgers, even though they were not prize winners. Still, the most exciting and creative awards have gone to the amateurs. This is one of them.

Tuscan Burgers Bruschetta

Tomato Topping
1 ripe tomato, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Patties
1 scant cup loosely packed crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons chopped onion
2 pounds ground round
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill rack
4 thin slices prosciutto or unsmoked ham slices
1/2 pound coarsely grated Fontina cheese

Bruschetta
1 oblong loaf crusty Italian bread, sliced diagonally into 12 (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick) slices
Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing on the bread

This particular burger won third prize in 1993, and is paired with Shiraz (Syrah).

There’s really not much to making a burger. Fire up your grill, mix up your burger stuff and throw that sucker on the fire!

Instruction #1: “Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.”

I love these sorts of instructions because the whole “medium-hot fire” thing sort of makes me laugh. It’s fire. Fire hot! I really can’t set it to anything other than flaming inferno. Maybe this is why the AwK admin does all of our grilling…

To make the topping, combine all of the ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste, in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

The topping rocked. In fact, I had some leftover so the next day so I stuck it on top of a piece of ciabatta and ate it. All that was missing was a glass of wine. True story.

To make the patties, combine the Gorgonzola, parsley and onion in a large bowl. Add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the bread slices.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the patties and cook 4 minutes. Place a slice of proscuitto on each patty and top with Fontina, dividing equally. Cover the grill and continue cooking the patties until done to preference, 1 to 4 minutes longer for medium.

To make the bruschetta, while the patties are cooking, brush the bread slices on each side with olive oil. Place on the outer edges of the grill rack, turning once, to toast lightly.

Yes! A photograph that didn’t come out blurry!

To assemble the burgers, spoon half of the tomato topping on 6 of the bruschetta slices, then top with the patties, the remaining tomato topping, and the remaining bruschetta.

Dig in!

While typing up yesterday’s post about adventures in food, I did a quick internet search on Ellie Krieger so I could properly link her and her cookbook. During my search, I came across her listing of recipes on the Food Network website. Since I had not yet made any of her recipes, I was curious about her recipe ratings and did a quick scan down the page to see how she fared. My attention was drawn, not only to her many 5 star reviews, but to her Pork Medallions with Balsamic Cherry Sauce.

Photo courtesy of Food Network

I’ve never cooked pork before and I don’t like cherries, so I don’t know why I suddenly wanted to make this dish. Maybe I was just so caught up in my speech about a culinary adventure that I decided to do it. Who knows? I ran to the store after work and picked up a few ingredients, and started cooking as soon as I got home.

A mere 15 minutes later (that includes prep time), I had Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Cherry Sauce. Because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, I also made some garlic smashed potatoes on the side. Looking back, that was very heavy and I should have paired the pork with a risotto instead.

The pork was delicious.

Pork Medallions with Cherry Sauce

1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/2-inch thick medallions
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dried tart cherries

This main course took me all of 15 minutes to put together - and that includes the prep time. No, I am not exaggerating.

I’ve never cooked pork before so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to the store. Would I have to cut it into a pretty shape to get the medallions? Stupid city slicker that I am, I really didn’t even know what I was buying. According to my vast research (wikipedia):

Pork tenderloin refers to the Psoas major muscle along the central spine portion, which more or less hangs between the shoulder blade and hip socket. This muscle tissue does very little work, so it is the most tender part of the animal.

Sounds good! Sign me up for some of that.

Okay. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Take your tenderloin out of the package and cut it into 1/2 inch thick medallions. Season the meat with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Place them in the frying pan and cook the meat “until there is just a slight blush in the center about 3 minutes per side.” Because I had never cooked with pork before, I set my timer and cooked 3 minutes on each side and it came out beautifully.

Remove them from the frying pan and set on a plate. Tent the plate with foil.

Now for the cherry balsamic sauce. I am not a big cherry fan and, although the recipe calls for “dried tart cherries” all I could find were bags of dried sweet. In my mind, they’re tart regardless of what the package says, hence why they aren’t my favorite. However, in my mind I figured balsamic and cherries were probably a great combo, so I was willing to give it a go.

Add the remaining teaspoon of oil and shallots to the frying pan and saute until the shallots begin to soften, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the cherries and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes.

Becomes…

The recipe says to season with salt and pepper to taste, but I honestly thought it had enough flavor. Add the sauce to the pork medallions and serve.

You’ll have to forgive my (yet another) blurry picture and ignore that blob of smashed potatoes that really doesn’t belong on the plate. The pork was delicious and, even though I’m not a fan of cherries, the sauce delivers.

I am in love with this dish! It has everything I could ask for: Fast, not messy to cook, nutritious, and absolutely delicious. I just wish I had a nice glass of wine to go with it. Next time I will probably put some risotto on the side — hey, if we get lucky, maybe Citizen Chef will review his amazing risotto for us…