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!

Summer Days

It has been such a spectacular summer this year, hot and sunny at most days, just the way I like it.  Even though we have been renovating our kitchen, I was able to cook at least once while away on vacation at a cottage on beautiful Fire Island, New York.

I repeated some of my tried recipes: cream corn salad, Singapore chilli shrimp and beef tenderloin, but I also attempted a new one.  One I have been dreaming about.

Water Melon Bisque


A few years ago, I cannot recall where, I was served a bowl of water melon bisque.  It was a warm day and I thought how perfect that was.  Unless you do not like water melon, but how can anyone not like water melon? (Except for my friend Nick)

A few minutes of prepping and then turning on the blender and you have a perfect summer appertizer.

(Photo by Mark)

We were celebrating Canada Day and how festive it was to have a chilled red soup to start our meal!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/recipes/watermelon-bisque/article647312/

Panzanella


Julius's mother sent me a link to Saveur magazine's website last week and it was full of inspirations.  It also has a section on techniques which is a big plus for the novice in me.

I have never heard of Panzanella but I think I found a new best friend in it.  It was simple and delicious, other than cutting the tomatoes and onions, I tore up basil leaves and Italian country-style bread.  Just like Mamma used to make,  ok maybe not my Mamma, but some other Italian Mamma.

Interestingly,  Julius's mom had the leftover the next day and it turned out to be better when it has sat for a while. "Scrumptious!" was her comment.  The recipe suggests to let it sit for 10 minutes, next time perhaps a few hours will let the ingredients soaks up the dressing for a tastier salad.  And more time to enjoy the gorgeous outdoors.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Panzanella-Bread-and-Tomato-Salad?cmpid=enews072312&spPodID=020&spMailingID=4660310&spUserID=MjcxOTk3MDc1NjMS1&spJobID=279258729&spReportId=Mjc5MjU4NzI5S0

Bisque  9/10
Salad 9/10

Summer Barbecue

It was a double celebration of my mother's 65th birthday as well as Father's Day.  I really wanted to make them something special.  But then one can only plan so much, at the end it is the execution that counts.

Oyster with Sea Urchin and Caviar


I was very fortunate to get a copy of Susur Lee's A Culinary Life recently.  The book is full of his ingenious ideas and one I was glad to repeat.  I have been shucking and eating so many oysters in the past weeks, I was thrilled to serve up something so decadent on this special occasion.

Also on this special day, I opened an sea urchin for the first time.  Under the watchful eye of my father and a pair of scissors, I went for it with full gusto. It turns out the shells, albeit spiky, are very crackable like nuts once snipped from the soft spot in the middle.  To get the delicious part, the "roe", I needed to wash off the rest of the insides, which resembled a mini oil spill, all black and slimy.

Then I topped an oyster (Bluepoint and Virginica) with some Uni and a spoonful of caviar.  I used very inexpensive caviar which costs $7.99 at Diana's.

It was mouth watering good! The saltiness of the caviar and the mix of different texture was simply brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9Kkb3Gfaqg

Planked Seafood Medley with N'awlins Creole Spice Rub


My friend Lee served this at his party and the spiciness was perfect for a summer night.  So I thought why not give it a go?  The spice was easy to prepare and cedar planks were easy to find at the local grocery store. I did marinate the salmon, scallops and shrimps a few hours ahead of time before grilling.

The only excitement was the cedar plank starting to catch fire after a couple minutes, even though I have soaked them in water for hours.  The issue was that I was not familiar with my parents' grill, with flames much closer to the actual grill.  With the garden hose, water mist put out the flames and I repositioned the planks to a higher shelf.  Phew!


The N'awlins spice was just the right amount of spiciness, except for a few seafood pieces that somehow caught more spice than others.  My poor sister had one of those. The smoky flavor from the cedar definitely added more interests.

http://www.flyertown.ca/flyers/longos-experiencemagazine?sf_any=true&flyer_run_id=954&type=1&locale=EN&postal_code=n1G5l5&store_code=25

Stuffed Squids with Prosciutto and Asiago 


This was a lot of work.  It took an hour and a half to prepare and stuff the squids with chopped cooked tentacles, and prosciutto and shredded asiago.  The opening for most of them are so small I had to use the end of a chopstick to tackle the stuffing.  None of that was mentioned in the current issue of Cucina Italiana.

The unfamiliar grill had cooked them a little more well done than my liking but otherwise they were not bad.  I would like to try a different stuffing next time because there are hundreds of variations online!

Oysters 9.5/10
Planked Seafood 8/10
Stuffed Squids 7/10

"Holy CRAB!"

My newest discovery in the city, Diana's Seafood, is my new hot list entry, thanks to my father who introduced it to me.  Oysters galore for less than $2 each.  After last week's visit, I had to go back for more.  And then there were those enticing soft shell crabs...

Soft Shell Crab Sandwich


My experience with soft shell crabs has always been in Japanese cuisine, I never thought I would actually cook them one day.  The fresh ones only come once a year while they have molted the hard shells and the new shells are still soft and completely edible.  They are in season now, so lucky me and not so lucky for the poor crabs.

These cute little crabs look oh so innocent sitting on a bed of ice at the store.  I bought them unknowing of what is in store for me.  First of all, they turn out to be very much alive. An excellent web video showed me how to "clean" them, what really happened was I had to terminate them just before cooking.  There was some minor squealing, from me, as I trimmed off the eyes and the apron when its legs started to move.  It was a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

Back to the good part, Lidia's dressing was remarkably simple since I toasted the garlic instead of roasting them in the oven.  We were hungry.  Even though during that time, 18 oysters were shucked and consumed.  We had Kumamoto, Virginica and Shigoku.  Virginica was added to our new favourite - crisp and meaty.  The Shigoku, not so much, just too fishy.

Cooking the flour-and-cayenne pepper-dusted soft shell crabs was so easy! 5 minutes over medium heat and they were ready.  I was light-handed on the dusting this time but a touch more flour will probably give it more punch.  Final score: 9/10

I think I have gone to seafood heaven! Two weeks in a row and two incredible brunches, I am a happy man.

http://www.dianasseafood.com/
http://video.about.com/fishcooking/Clean-and-Cook-Soft-Shelled-Crabs.htm
http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/1127

Mollusks

One thing I noticed ever since I started cooking: other than learning about food, I am also learning many new words.  Like mollusks, which I usually clump into the shellfish category.  They might live in the sea but they are definitely not shellfish!


Sautéed Whelks with Aioli

While I was cleaning up the kitchen cabinet, I found a newspaper clipping from August, 2010. It was the article on whelks and a recipe.  I remember at the time I thought I should save that just in case I wanted to make it one day.

Well, that day has arrived.  At T&T, there was an abundant supply of whelks.  At my next visit I need to find out if they are seasonal.  The preparation was fairly simple.  I put 1 tablespoon instead of the recommended half of garlic in making the aioli because it was a bit weak.  If you like whelks, this is another perfect summer salad.  Otherwise the snail-like texture may make you say, "Ah! Interesting.....would you like some of mine?" And that was Julius's reaction.


The aioli was so delicious, it must have a place in many dishes that await me to try.  I mean who can say no to a bright yellow sauce? 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/chefs-recipe-sauted-whelks-with-aioli/article1668646/


Clams in Cartoccio


Another simple recipe that required perhaps 30 minutes preparation time.  Until I tried to start our barbecue, when I realized we are out of propane!!  At least we had electricity for the oven.  It took a few try but a combined cooking time of about 20 minutes at 425 degrees, most of the clams welcomed us with their open shells.

The sauce was very flavourable and I decided to pour each packet over a bed of linguini.  It was perfect!

http://www.marthastewart.com/332783/clams-in-cartoccio

Whelks 8.5/10
Clams 8/10