Home accessories: Schiffer Publishing Ltd

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Foodie Friday Plus Grilling Like a Champion

Summer is like a guest who is slow-moving and hot-tempered. Sometimes she's just too much to handle, and we wish she'd pack her bags so a cooler friend--Miss Autumn--can take her place. Heaven knows we'll miss Summer's warmth. We'll miss her easy-going ways: running around in sleeveless dresses and neon pink flip-flops; grilling burgers under the trees; eating a cold, drippy ice cream cone on a hot afternoon.

For me, the end of summer means the beginning of a new and exciting grilling season.

There's something magical about cooking outdoors on a crisp autumn night. And I have found

the perfect cookbook to keep the magic going year-round: Grilling Like a Champion.

The book is much more than recipes--it's an insider's guide, packed with the secrets of prize-winning pit-masters, all of it put together in a user-friendly format by editor Rudolf Jaeger

Divided into three sections, the book is a comprehensive guide to grilling. Part 1 covers the basics--grilling methods, types of grills, accessories, a guide to spices and herbs, and a clever shopping list.

You'll find recipes in Part 2 (beef, pork, lamb, sausage, fish, poultry, side dishes, and desserts), with step-by-step, illustrated instructions.

Part 3 is an appendix (as a cook and an author, I appreciate the work that goes into an index, and this one is top-notch).

I couldn't decide which recipe to try first. Finally, I settled on a grilled meat loaf.

Don't forget the cole slaw.

(candid photo by Tyler West)

Grilled Meat Loaf

serves: 4 to 6

2 pounds ground beef

1 egg

Mix and place in a large bowl.

...

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic cloves, minced

Mix and add to meat mixture.

...

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Place pepper, chili powder, thyme, and salt in a food processor. Grind into a fine powder.

Add to the onion-carrot meat mixture.

Blend ingredients and shape the meat into a loaf. Place on a flat, tempered glass board or

other thin surface.

Make the Glaze:

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Tabasco

Mix and place in a clean bowl.

Heat the grill. Use indirect heat by pushing the briquettes aside. (You can also put a drip pan beneath the loaf.) Slice loaf onto the grill and cook until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit (or 70 minutes, depending on thickness of the loaf). I added the glaze during the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Remove the loaf from grill. Let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve on buns or French bread.

A Note from Bandwith

"The Chemistry of the Cook"

Searing Meats

"A typical steak (or cut of beef) consists of mostly water H20, roughly 70%. But it is the protein in meat that creates the sear. These proteins can be pulled to the surface by seasoning the meat with salt. This draws water-soluble proteins/enzymes, such as sarcoplasmic proteins, to the surface.

This denatures the proteins and they undergo a chemical reaction, thus creating the coveted "sear."

-- Bandwith, Biochemist and Self-Taught Cook

Resource:

Schiffer Books

Are you contributing a recipe to this week's Foodie Friday?

If so, locate the blue Inlinkz icon in the lower, left-hand portion of this post. Click on the icon and follow the directions. After you complete the process, you will see a red "x" beside your name. This allows you to delete your link if you made an error; the red "x" is visible to you only.

You can read a complete guide to this linky party HERE.

If you'd like to share your food photos--or photos of other FF participants on Pinterest, join the Pinterest foodie board, Consuming Passions. Leave a message on the most recent "pin" if you'd like your name added to the list.

If you'd like to share your food photos--or photos of other FF participants on Pinterest, join the Pinterest foodie board, Consuming Passions. Leave a message on the most recent "pin" if you'd like your name added to the list.

***Participants' photos will be pinned to Foodie Friday's group Pinterest board.

Every Friday, we are joined at this big, virtual table--thank you for stopping by today. I'm grateful to all of you who spend your days cooking. I'm grateful to old and new friends who contribute recipes every week. I'm grateful to friends who leave a comment. I'm grateful for the silent folks, because you are brought here by your love of all things culinary.
The Foodie Friday Link-Up

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Foodie Friday: Home Smoking

Welcome to the July 4th Foodie Friday, where great food is always on the menu.

Bandwidth and I are enthusiastic, year-round "smokers." We've smoked our way through pork, beef, fish, vegetables, and even fruit (peaches--sublime, exotic, hearty).

So when Schiffer Publishing Ltd asked us to review one of their hot new releases, Home Smoking Basics by Maria Sartor, we couldn't wait to get started.

In Chapter 1, you'll learn the basics--equipment, types of wood, and different ways to smoke (how about a wok?).

A peek inside our much-used Weber smoker.

We use a remote temperature probe (see below). It allows you to read the temperature from the comfort of your house, and it has an alarm that alerts you when the temp has deviated from the cooking range.

We've prepared two entrees today--one beef, one pork.

First up...

Smoked Short Ribs

If the angels have a smoker in heaven, they surely eat short ribs every chance they get.

There's nothing "short" about these ribs--they are meaty, moist, and fork-tender. When you add smoke, you end up with steak-on-a-stick (er, a bone). You can be proper and use a knife and fork to eat smoked short ribs, but you'll have to resist the impulse to dig in with your fingers.

Smoked Short Ribs

Printable Recipe

Cooking Time: 5 to 5 1/2 hours

Serving: 1 rib per person (super filling)

What You Need:

2 slabs of whole ribs

Smoker

Lump charcoal

oak wood chunks

Dry Rub:

1 part kosher salt

1/2 part ground black pepper

1/4 part chili powder

1/4 part onion powder

1/4 part dark brown sugar

Prepare smoker. Use a charcoal chimney starter and ignite the lump charcoal. 15 minutes later, add to smoker, along with your choice of hardwood. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients and rub onto the ribs. Place ribs in the smoker on the top rack.

Maintain a temperature of 225 to 250 degrees F. in your smoker.

During the last hour of smoking, wrap the ribs in aluminum foil.

Remove from the smoker and let the meat rest.

Our second dish is...

Smoked Pork Chops with a Fresh Pineapple Compote

What You Need:

Smoker and oak wood chunks

charcoal chimney (starter)

1 can pineapple slices (Note: we used fresh--and they take a good bit longer to cook, so I'm not sure we gained much, flavor or time-wise.)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup water

3 tablespoons grainy mustard

4 (1 1/2" thick) pork chops

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 jar of fruit mustard.

Cut the pineapple into small pieces and bring to a boil in their juice, along with sugar and half of the water. Skim the foam. Simmer for an hour. Pour the pineapple compote into a bowl and cool. Add mustard. Cover and refrigerate (for up to 3 days).

Prepare the smoker. Smoke the pork chops for 3 hours. Remove from the heat. Brush compote juices on each chop. Serve with the pineapple compote.

Super easy and delicious!

How to describe another food that the angels surely eat?

Tender and succulent, with a just-right balance of sweet and sour.

A Note from Bandwidth (the biochemist) about the

Chemistry ("Chem Is Try") Of the Cook:

"When grilling or smoking, the actual chemical reaction of burning is oxidation. The most abundant compound in wood is cellulose (C6 H12 06).

"Sugar + Oxygen + Heat ---> Carbon Dioxide and Water

"But smoke contains well over 100 different compounds, one of which is nitrogen. N combines with air to firm NO2. Nitorgen dioxide is readily absorbed into the surface area of meats. This NO2 absorbs and creates HN)3 (nitric acid) or NO3, which in turn creates sodium nitrite. This final product creates the ever so desirable smoke ring."