I have a Stainless Char-Broil 4 burner that I picked up at Lowes, and it has been fantastic. I don't think the brand is necessarily a great way to judge the grills, because even decent brands make some cheap junk. Here are my recommendations, in order of importance: -Plan to spend at least $400 for a good grill. -Get a model with at least 4 burners. To really control your cooking, 3 just doesn't seem to cut it sometimes. -If you can afford it, get one with the infrared searing burner. It can make an average guy look like a steak grilling master with just a little practice -Cast Iron grates are much, much better than chromed steel, at least in my opinion. If they're cast iron with ceramic coating, even better. -Pay attention to the Btu's of the grill, both the total, and the ratings of each burner. The more the better generally, but 5 smaller burners with a higher total output is probably better than one with 4 bigger burners but a lower total output. -Check the store to see what type of replacement and service parts they stock. You'll want to be able to get a replacement valve or burner if you need one instead of replacing the whole grill. This means you'll probably want to get a popular brand. -I prefer full stainless steel exterior construction to the stainless top/black painted bottom grills. -Side burners are nice once in a while, but for serious cooking they don't work so well. Trying to boil corn before finishing it on the grill is mind-numbingly frustrating. If there is any kind of breeze, your burner flame won't transfer most of its heat, and even if it does it is usually pretty uneven. If the grill comes with one, great, but don't choose a unit with a slightly lower quality main grill and a side burner over a higher-quality unit without a side burner. Don't forget accessories. Pick up a grill cover, the correct kind of cleaning brush/pad for the type of grates it has (using the wrong kind just once can ruin your grates), a smoke box (small cast iron box you put under the grate/on top of the burners that holds wood chips for adding smoke flavor to your gas cooking), some wood chips, a good electronic thermometer with probe (wireless units are a big plus), a rotisserie kit (don't get a universal, get one designed for the grill), and maybe a protective mat to go under the grill if it's going to be used on a deck or other surface susceptible to grease/food stains. A second propane tank is a nice thing to have around as well. PM me if you have any questions about any of that, or any other questions on gas grills in general.
Are you adding tomato paste at all? It will give it a darker red color, a thicker consistency, and a more acidic flavor. Splurge a little more and get something other than store brand, there is a difference.
Does anyone make salmon or other seafood burgers much? I made some salmon patties with celery and onion yesterday and they were pretty good, but always looking for some new recipes. Would love a good recipe for a scallop and shrimp burger
Marinara is one of the first things I was taught to cook by my Italian grandmother. I don't know if it's a regional thing, but I was threatened under the penalty of a beating if I put oregano in the gravy. Not sauce. Gravy. Good olive oil, about two tbsp. 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 onion, chopped Good red wine, about a cup 28 can of crushed tomatoes (I prefer Tuttorosso, but I can't find them out here so I use Cento) Big handful of fresh basil salt Heat olive oil on high 'til it's gleaming, add onion. Cook until onion is translucent, about five minutes. Add the garlic, cook until it's lightly browned and fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook until it reduces by half, about three minutes. Add tomatoes. Stir. Add about a cup of water. Add basil, either torn or chopped. Let the gravy come to a boil. Boil for two minutes, then lower the heat to medium-low. Cover. Stir occasionally. Let cook for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
I've been eating these salmon burgers like crazy, easy as hell and delicious. 3 cans salmon 3 eggs ~1cup saltine crackers ~1/2 cup chopped red onion ~1/4 cup chipotle mustard juice of one lime cilantro black pepper salt to taste Combine everything into a mixing bowl, making sure to crush all the crackers. Should form about four balls. Pan fry in olive oil, pressing down with a spatula to make them patty shaped. Flip when browned, and enjoy.
This is a great article about the owner of Schwa in Chicago: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-richman/200901/chicago-michael-carlson-schwa-charlie-trotter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-rich ... ie-trotter</a> Check it out, its a great read. Completely interesting story -- and from my friends that have dined there, the boys will take you in the back for drinks. Or just come out and drink with you.
Had a pork tenderloin, wanted some pasta for dinner. Quick Google came up with this recipe: Pork Tenderloin and Pasta in Tomato and Red Pepper Sauce Modified it as follows: Saute the onions, mushrooms and peppers. Add the coated pork tenderloin. Cook until pork tenderloin done. Add a can of crushed tomatoes and half a cup/a cup of milk. Simmer. Cook 5 cups of penne separately and mix together once all done. Pretty damn good. I added a ton of Cayenne pepper because I've been really craving spicy foods recently. Also, I'd probably up the amount of tenderloin, the veggie to meat ratio was maybe a little off for my liking.
The MAN brand: One of the greatest grilling tools ever? I think so. I did a beer can chicken on my birthday. Clearly they're easy enough to make while you're hammered and gah dayum they are tasty.
Breaded Veal Cutlets Breaded Veal Cutlets (Think chicken fried steak, but better) This is something that my Mom used to cook for special dinners. The end product looks like it was really hard to make, but its actually really easy. Good date dinner, IMO. Ingredients: Veal cutlets (Think scallopini) Italian parsley Garlic (1 clove per piece of veal) Seasoned bread crumbs 2 eggs Directions: Thinly slice garlic, arrange garlic and parsley leaves over veal. With tenderizing hammer, beat your meat. Let rest 10 minutes. While your meat is resting, beat two eggs in large shallow bowl. In another bowl pour in enough bread crumbs to cover the bottom of the bowl well. Dip the meat in the egg, then coat in bread crumbs. Fry in 1/4 to 1/2 inch of oil until golden brown on both sides. Serve with a half a lemon, which should be squeezed onto the veal right before eating. Salt is a good idea too. I like a light spring salad as a side dish with this, with some sort of vinaigrette. I've also done the same thing using chicken, same exact recipe, except I wouldn't tenderize the chicken, I tried that tonight and the chicken pretty much got torn to hell. But it was still frickin' good.
Anyone have a good recipe for seafood that's been marinating in petroleum for a couple days? Are there any health benefits?
I plan on doing a fair deal of fishing this summer and Dewerc's recent posts in the Hunting & Fishing thread got me curious... Aside from the slabs of meat you get from freshwater fish (up here that means walleye, northern pike, bass, panfish, and catfish), are there any other cuts worth my time? I distinctly remember my family hosting some Asian neighbors for dinner several years ago and serving some fresh caught northern. They were almost appalled that we didn't cut out the cheeks. I've never tried stuff like that, so I'm curious.
Saw Mario Batali at the Cooking Expo in Atlanta. What an amazing chef. He was entertaining, hilairous, and made the best pasta I've ever tasted. There were 80+ vendors as well, offering the latest in culinary technology.
I went to Morimoto's restaurant in Manhattan a few years back and I chose it over Bobby Flay's and Batali's restaurants and I'm glad I did. One reason is that the food was delicious and was the first good sushi I've ever had. What a way to pop the sushi cherry. Also, Morimoto was in town for some sort of event and we got a seat right next to the open sushi bar/kitchen, so in between cooking, flirting with some waitresses, changing a lightbulb, and shooting a spot for a tv show, he took the time out to have me shake his hand and take a pic. Pretty awesome guy.
Ok so you catch some fish, in this case yellowtail (it is a jack not yellowfin which is a tuna) In a sushi restaraunt yellowtail is Hamachi, yellowfin is Ahi. Here are a few ways that I used the fish from last week. After catching the fish, bleed it by popping a gill and put it on ice and cool it down, once cool cut off the fillets, remove guts and gills, separate heads and collars and you have a pile of usable meat. If you like yellowtail sashimi (hamachi) trim up your fillets and slice thin, add some soy and wasabi and you are good to go. The pile in this pic is not indicitive of what you would get at a sushi place, and they do not serve it on a bait tank. One other thing to do, is BBQ the collar of the fish and BBQ the heads, I did not take a pic of the head but this is the collar. It is BBQed for 15 minutes with some seasoning and then consumed, we dip the chunks in a mix of siracha and mayo and it taste best eaten with fingers or chopsticks while still hot off the grill. Belly, head and collar meat have a much higher fat content than the rest of the fish and taste much better.
Made a mini crawfish boil last night. I was excited seeing it was my first time having crawfish, and I love trying new food. I washed them several times and purged them as instructed. As soon as I pulled one open, the large digestive tract surprised me. It didn't help the tract was baby poo orange. That really disgusted me, so I cleaned each tail and washed it again. Not exactly the way they eat them in New Orleans. I won't be eating them again anytime soon.
I'm not good for much, but I can cook a good steak. Even a brontosaurus steak: Add a nice Duck Pond Cabernet, and YIPPY!
I love french onion soup. I FUCKING love french onion soup. So I decided to give it a shot and it turned out really really well. I don't have a dutch oven (insert joke here) so I had to improvise all on the stove top. Here's what you do. Get a big pot and melt a stick of butter in it, medium heat. When it's sizzling, add 6 chopped onions (I like a mixture of yellow and red, 4:2), garlic, thyme, and a bay leaf. Then, let it cook a long time, like an hour or an hour and a half. Until all of it is beautiful and brown. Then, pour in a half a bottle of red wine, and let it cook down until the wine has pretty much evaporated. Then, sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour on it, mix it around, and let it cook a little longer, like 10 minutes. After that, add one of the big containers of beef broth to it, bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer for 30 minutes or an hour or so. Done. Keep in mind, this soup tastes about 10 times better the second day. Season with salt and pepper. To prepare it, if you have oven-safe bowls, punch out some good bread, like ciabatta or something, with the bowl you're planning to use, put the soup in the bowl, put the punched-out bread over it, sprinkle it with gruyere ideally, or swiss if you're poor like me, and then broil it for a few minutes until it's brown. Otherwise, get some bread, cut it into thin strips, grate the cheese on it, and broil them until they're brown. Then, put them over the soup like croutons. Awesome every time.
Impromptu BBQ on a Friday night when I'm too drunk to go out shopping? No problem. 3 frozen racks of ribs already marinated and coated with seasoning. Put them in a pan with a little water in a foil tent for 2 hours @ 250 degrees. Re-baste with some bbq sauce and finish on the grill for 5 min. Amazing.