A Thursday Night Barbecue

Thursday nights are our family night that we all meet for dinner.  And what would be a better night to have lobsters and wings?

Grilled Lobster with Cilantro Chile Butter

Lobsters have been in abundant supply this summer and the prices are low.  In Maine, lobsters are cheaper than deli meat.  The medium-sized ones I picked up were at a great sale price of $9.99/kg at T & T supermarket, about $12 each.

I wanted them fresh and alive but I also needed to "prepare" them before grilling them.  After some internet research,  I put them in a freezer for 45 minutes, which supposedly should put them in a comatose state. Just in time for me to prepare the Panzanella salad and the cilantro chile butter.

After my experience with soft shell crabs and sea urchins, I was ready to tackle live lobsters. Maybe the freezer was not cold enough or that these crustaceans were ice dancers, they were still moving around a bit when I halved them. I apologized to them for my hungry family who was ready for some serious bonding over food.

The lobsters turned out amazing: butter makes everything taste good.  One minute on the flesh side to retain the juice, and 7 to 8 more minutes on the shell side.  The surprise bonuses were the claws which had no seasoning at all. Once the shell was cracked open completely, the meat was soaked in this sweet and salty juice that was simply to die for.  Never found in boiled or baked claws.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Grilled-Lobster-with-Cilantro-Chile-Butter

Chipotle Mango Barbecue Chicken with Cilantro Chimichurri

This is a  weekend cooking recipe from the Food Network magazine and I understood why after the preparation the night before. Most ingredients were easy to find except for the chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce.  My usual grocery store did not carry it but I managed to find it in the Mexican section at Loblaws,  I was impressed.

The preparation took almost an hour with all the cutting, chopping and blending.  It was so worth it. The sweet, tangy flavour with a little peppery kick was so complex, even without the chimichurri sauce they were divine.

I know things went well when my twenty-month-old nephew, who has just begun to eat regular food, asked for more of both the lobster and chicken meat .  He has a very specific developing palate and he always likes lobsters but not usually chicken. It gave me so much pleasure that he liked the chicken that night. Oh the joy of cooking...

(Apologies for the not so perfect pictures, we were feeling ravenous by that point.)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/chipotle-mango-barbecue-chicken-with-cilantro-chimichurri-recipe/index.html

Lobster 9.5/10
Chicken 9.5/10

Civic Holiday Weekend

Over the civic holiday weekend, our friends Erik and  José  came up for a visit.  I wanted to have a special dinner upon their arrival, after all, they have been driving for 9 hours form Brooklyn, New York.  Having said that, they may not be up for my usual culinary adventures with new and untested recipes, which sometimes do not turn out as planned.  The dinner menu was Panzanella Salad, grilled beef sirloin and ribs and cold cucumber yogurt soup.  I could not help but to test one new recipe with them.

Cold Cucumber Yogurt Soup

I prepared the soup the night before to make sure that it would be perfectly chilled and the ice cubes would be ready to go.  Oh those ice cubes with mint were such a delight!  Unfortunately it was not one of those nights that retain the heat from daytime, the melting ice cube would have added more minty flavour in the soup.

The soup was definitely a success, another new favourite for summertime.  The mosquitoes that joined us during our alfresco dinner, not so much.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Cold-Cucumber-Yogurt-Soup

Grilled Garlic Artichokes and Gilled Skirt Steak

On the holiday Monday I had Lee joining me in the kitchen.  I had been planning and dreaming up an amazing meal of grilled lobsters until we arrive at Whole Foods and discovered that they do not sell live lobsters. Apparently, lobsters are not fed while kept alive in the tank and that was too cruel for Whole Foods.  Eating them is probably a lot more cruel, if you ask me.

At last minute we picked up a beautiful piece of skirt steak because I remember a recipe from Chef David Lee that I had wanted to try.  We also purchased some artichokes for sides -  they always seem to be the most interesting vegetable that one sees.  Too bad about cooking them

The last time I had the artichoke challenge it did not go very well.  It was a lot of work, a little to eat and just simply not worth the trouble.  We decided to give it another chance on the barbecue but sadly I had to say artichokes are better off as decorative items because they did look spectacular.  We followed the recipe but the leaves were hard and the edible section was minimal.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-garlic-artichokes/

Skirt Steak, hanger steak and flank steak: I had tried them all at restaurants but I could not recall the difference, except they are fairly thin but flavourable.  I chose skirt steak upon the butcher's recommendation for that night, it was less than $15 for a sizable piece of beef.  Further research shows their great difference and I really need to try the other two very soon.

http://www.goodfoodstories.com/2012/02/27/hanger-skirt-flank-flatiron-steaks/

Chef Lee's recipe had stressed not to marinate the meat before hand, which I thought was a little odd.  I imagine the reason is to let the flavour to come out on its own.  The cooking time was a bit short too even for someone who loves medium rare, I ended up throwing it back on the grill for almost twice the time.

The meat was definitely full of flavours but there were some small tendons that ran lengthwise that were so stiff that required some snipping with scissors. Next up: hanger steak!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/recipes/david-lees-hanger-steaks/article4204167/

Soup 8/10
Artichokes 4/10
Steak 7/10

Cooking with Andy

My good friend Andy was visiting home after spending a year teaching in India.  My first taste of beef tartare was actually prepared and served by Andy many years ago.  What a better time to spend some time in the kitchen with him?  I did prepare a couple things ahead of time because they are best served chilled.  After all, hot summer days and cold dishes are the best combination.

Yellow Tomatoes Gazpacho

As most people know, I am famous for having the television on while at my "desk at the office".  Patients generally enjoy the distraction and I can focus on my work without having to have a one-sided conversation.  I mean, have you ever tried to chat with your dentist while your mouth was wide open?

One day on the Marilyn Denis Show, Christine Cushing was talking about her version of a gazpacho, with vodka. I could not wait to try it out for myself on a hot summer day. Considering I am still using a hand blender, my first gazpacho turned out pretty close to hers.  I did get a little excited and forgot to add the sweet onion.

Yellow tomatoes gave it a greenish yellow colour which I have to say was not the classic hue, almost a little unappertizing. Andy thought I was too light on the salt department too.  Perhaps I need a classic recipe for next time.

http://m.marilyn.ca/mobile/Segment.aspx?segid=35658

Pork Milanese with Couscous and Cucumber Salad

While I was on vacation with my friends, we took turns making dinner every night and each meal was a special treat.  Jon made a wonderful couscous and cucumber salad that I enjoyed so much I had to try it out myself.  I never knew "cooking" couscous was more like rehydrating it: just add boiling water and wait 5 minutes.  Again, I am shocked how something so simple can yet taste so good!

Last month I bought a copy of the Food Network magazine, I urge you to pick up a copy because it is full of excellent recipes and fun ideas like "snacks that taste better frozen".  It made me drool while flipping through it poolside.

The Pork Milanese from it was perfection.  With some cooking tips from Andy in coating and frying for 8 minutes ("Shake that skillet! Shake it!"),  we had an amazing entree.  How amazing?  Julius joined us after having supper already and still had a whole slice!

(Photo by Andy)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/couscous-and-cucumber-salad/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/pork-milanese-recipe/index.html

Gazpacho 6.5/10

Salad 8.5/10

Pork 9/10

I love summer!