Mussels with white wine, garlic, and basil

Mussels have long been a staple of diets in Europe. It seems to me that currently in the U.S. mussels remain an under utilized item. Mussels are now readily available fresh in most of our modern supermarkets. Here is a simple and delicious application for one of my favorite mollusks.

Plan on using about 1 pound of mussels per person. When you get the mussels home wash them in cold water. Discard any that are open, or do not close when tapped on the counter. You may also have to tear of their "beards". Mussels have a small stringy extension outside of the shell that they use to attach themselves to things in the ocean.

There is not much of a recipe here just a list of ingredients. For two pounds of mussels, I start by sauteing one half of a finely diced red onion, and 8 cloves of crushed garlic, in olive oil over medium high heat until softened in a large stock pot. After a few dashes of salt and pepper, slide in the mussels, and 1 finely diced medium tomato into the stock pot along with 2 cups of white wine and cover. I usually prefer to use a nice chardonnay for this. The wine does get sweeter as it cooks so you want to start with something that is a little on the dry side. Let the mixture cook for 5 minutes, stir, and add 1/4 cup of finely sliced fresh basil and continue cooking for 5 more minutes or until all of the mussels have opened and the liquid has slightly reduced.

The best presentation for this meal is with some warm and crusty french bread and the same nice white wine that the mussels were cooked in. Be sure to serve with extra broth as it is great for dipping the bread in.

Beef Brisket

Beef brisket is a very affordable and forgiving piece of meat to bbq. The brisket comes from the chest of the cow so it is a very large and tough muscle that requires long and slow cooking. 

I start with the large primal cut that comes in its original packaging. These usually weigh 12-18 lbs. I would say that the main factor that limits when you can cook a brisket is the cooking time. I started with a 15lb brisket and ended up with a total cooking time of about 12 hours. Start by washing the brisket and seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You can also use your favorite bbq rub in this step. Keep in mind that most commercial bbq rubs contain a large amount of sugar that will burn on the grill. This will require you wrapping the brisket up with foil to protect it sooner than normal. 

For cooking such a large piece of meat the grill needs to be well preheated. We are looking for 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit. I use both the side fire box and the main chamber on my grill. Once the grill is up to temperature and the dampers are closed down it will maintain its heat for several hours at a time. Having the extra coals in the main chamber come into handy for cooking appetizers or other side dishes over direct heat if so inclined. You will need to check and add fresh coals to the to the grill every 1-2 hours during the cooking process to maintain a constant temperature. The first 2 times that I add fresh coals I also add some mesquite wood chips that have been pre-soaked in water. 

Above is the brisket after 8 hours of cooking with indirect heat. At this time you will notice that the outside of the brisket starts to form a thick layer that is called "bark". To prevent the brisket from overcooking and also to further aid its cooking, we wrap it in foil. This process is known as the "Texas Crutch" on the competitive bbq circuits. This is similar to the process I use with my ribs. I wrap the brisket up in heavy foil with equal parts apple cider vinegar, apple juice, and water. Make sure that the brisket is well wrapped and no liquid escapes. The brisket is then left on the grill over indirect  heat for 2-3 more hours. After a few more hours on the grill the brisket should be done. I like to unwrap the brisket and give it one last quick sear over direct heat to give it a good final crust on the outside. Remove the brisket from the grill and tent with foil to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  

Thinly slice the brisket across the grain to serve. It will be pull apart tender, and juicy. You can serve it with your favorite bbq sauce if you want, but it really does not need any.

***Notice the pink ring around the outside of the meat. This is from the smoke penetrating the meat while cooking.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

The votes were tabulated from the poll I had on my blog and the dish that people most wanted me to make was herb crusted rack of lamb. This lamb dish gets seared on a hot grill, coated with lots of fresh herbs, and then finished in the oven. The end result is super tender lamb with a crispy flavorful coating.

We were serving 4 people so I started with 2 small racks of lamb. The racks had already been frenched, meaning that the extra meat and fat around the bones had been removed. Having the bones exposed makes for a more impressive plate presentation as well as making them easier to handle and cook evenly.

The lamb was given a good coat of salt and cracked black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil to get it ready for the grill. We grilled the lamb over high heat on all sides. What we are looking for here is adding some good color and flavor to the meat. The lamb is removed from the grill while it is still rare and set aside to rest while we make our herb crust mixture.

I start the herb crust with some fresh bread crumbs. I used a store bought loaf of French bread that I sliced, toasted in the oven, and ground into crumbs using a food processor. The crumbs get set aside so that we can next make the herb mixture in the food processor. I started with a handful each of fresh mint and flat leaf parsley. I added in the leaves from a few sprigs of fresh rosemary 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/4 cup of fresh shredded parmasan cheese and gave it a few pulses. Next I added in 3 cups of the fresh bread crumbs and began to combine while adding a drizzle of olive oil to bring it all together. The end result is a bright green speckled breadcrumb mixture.

It is now time to bread the racks of lamb. I began by well coating the lamb with dijon mustard. The mustard is the glue to hold on the crumb mixture. Then I coated the lamb with the bread crumbs and pressed them tightly with my hands. The lamb is now ready to be finished in the oven. I placed the lamb into a 375 degree pre-heated cast iron skillet with a light drizzle of olive oil. After 10 minutes of cooking, I flipped the lamb and continued to cook in the oven for about a total of 20 minutes. I used an instant read thermometer to make sure we pulled the lamb from the oven when it was about medium rare. After allowing the meat to rest for about 10 minutes, I sliced the lamb into individual chops and served.

We served the lamb chops with a porcini mushroom risotto, mashed potatoes with parsnips, and toasted sesame seed asparagus.

Chicken Tinga Tostadas

Chicken tinga is a traditional Mexican recipe that was taught to me by two friends that I met while living in Virginia. They loved this recipe and made it quite often since moving to the U.S. from an area near Acapulco, Mexico. This is a quick and easy recipe that delivers big authentic Mexican flavors. This recipe is made by first poaching 3-4 bone-in chicken breasts with the skin removed in chicken broth with a mixture of 1 chopped onion, 4 chopped tomatoes, garlic, and oregano.

When the chicken is cooked all the way through it is removed from the broth, shredded and set aside. The broth mixture goes into a blender with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The amount of chipotles you put in is up to your own personal taste. The broth mixture gets well blended and then poured into a pan.

The chicken and the chipotle sauce are combined and brought to a simmer on the stove. Once some of the liquid has evaporated and the chicken mixture has thickened it is ready to serve.

I serve chicken tinga on a warm tostada with onion, cilantro, queso fresco, sour cream, avocado, and a lime wedge. It is also equally delicious if you choose to serve it as a filling for tacos or burritos as well.

Green Curry Chicken

If you are looking for huge complex flavors in a simple to prepare dish, curries are a great place to start. Here is a taste of the green curry that I made. I used a canned green curry paste as my base and its primary ingredients are ground green chiles, shallots, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass. The heat of this dish can be altered to taste based on the amount of curry paste you wish to add. We prefer ours a little spicy so we use a ratio of 4 teaspoons of curry paste to 1 can of coconut milk.

My ingredients were sliced chicken breast, red onion, red, orange, yellow, and green bell pepper, baby eggplants, Thai eggplants, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro, Thai basil, lime, green curry paste, chicken broth, and coconut milk. Perhaps the hardest to find ingredient in the list is the lime leaves but they are worth a trip to an Asian supermarket. They have an intense citrusy lime aroma that is hard to compare.

I started by simply stir frying all the vegetables in a very hot wok until they began to soften. Then a couple teaspoons of the curry paste and all the other aromatics such as lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and kaffir lime leaves go into the wok. Heating the curry paste up with the vegetables will give it a chance warm up and bloom its flavor a little bit.

Next we add the chicken broth, coconut milk, basil and cilantro. Once this mixture comes to a simmer we add the sliced chicken breast allow it to poach in the liquid until it is done. The lemongrass stalks can be removed from the mixture and a fresh sprinkle of basil and cilantro can be tossed in to finish the dish. I served it with lime wedges and a fresh scoop of rice from the rice cooker.

Pad See Ew

Last weekend I took a trip to the Asian supermarket. I found some great ingredients that will keep me cooking for a while. I brought home some Chinese broccoli, baby bok choy, Thai eggplants, Thai basil, lemongrass, baby purple eggplants, fresh bamboo shoots, fresh bean sprouts, fresh rice noodles, green and red curry pastes, coconut milk, garlic-chili sauce, and dark sweet soy sauce.

I decided the first dish I would put together would be Pad See Ew. Literally translated it means "fried with soy sauce." It is a stir fried rice noodle dish that is popular both as street vendor food in Thailand, and as a traditional Thai restaurant staple here in the United States. The basic ingredients are fresh sheets of rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, garlic, eggs, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and chicken or pork. It is a process similar to making fried rice. It can be made all at the same time in your wok or in a series of steps. I prefer to cook each ingredient separately at first and set it aside as I go so that I can make sure each is cooked the way I want it.

<---I start making the sauce by sauteing garlic in toasted sesame oil. To that I add a few tablespoons each of light and dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce. I bring it to a boil and then taste for seasoning. I usually add about a tablespoon of sugar to lighten up the taste a little bit.

The chicken, Chinese broccoli, and rice noodles take their turns getting stir fried in sesame oil.

Once the chicken, Chinese broccoli, and rice noodles have been stir fried we can assemble the dish. Everything gets tossed back into the hot wok along with the sauce. I make a opening in the bottom of the wok to add an egg. The egg gets scrambled in the wok and mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. You have to work everything together as fast as you can as the noodles will begin to soak up the sauce and the mixture will begin to thicken up quickly.
Here is the finished product. It is served with traditional Thai condiments such as sriracha (ground chili and garlic sauce).

Italian Beef Sandwiches

During my time in Chicago I was introduced to something that is as Chicago as the hotdog is but without the same notoriety. I am talking about the classic Italian beef sandwich. It can be found at corner hot dog huts and sandwich stands across the city. The first names that usually come to mind are Portillos or Al's #1 Italian Beef. Both of these companies have multiple locations across the Chicagoland area. The idea for the sandwich is quite simple really. It consists of very thinly sliced roast beef that is soaked in a rich beef stock that is heavily seasoned with Italian spices. The meat is piled high on fresh Italian buns. Toppings are optional and are limited to cheese and a choice of peppers (sweet bell or hot giardenara).

My choice cut of beef for this recipe is the eye of round roast. Its a little leaner than some of the other options and if you prepare it properly it makes great Italian Beef. For this recipe I started with a large 6-1/2 pound roast...I know thats big but hey its Superbowl Sunday!

How Is It Made???

First I rinse and trim the roast of any visible fat. Then the meat gets a light coating of vegetable oil followed by heavy doses of dried oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. I then sprinkle with a very light amount of salt. I give the roast a quick rub to distribute the spices evenly, and its ready for the oven.I put the roast on a rack and into a 475 degree oven for 7 minutes per pound, so 45 minutes total for this bad boy. After 45 minutes, I removed the roast from the rack and placed it in a pan with a few cups of good beef broth. I then insert my digital thermometer, wrap with foil, and return to the oven at 325 degrees. I watched the readout of my thermometer and pulled it out of the oven when it read 125 degrees in the center. I allowed the roast to rest on top of the stove under its foil tent for 30 minutes and the temperature continued to rise until it peaked at 142 degrees in the center, which is perfect for what we needed. The larger the cut of meat the more the temperature will tend to rise after pulling from the oven. I put the pan with the roast and broth into the fridge to chill until we were ready to eat. It is much easier to thinly slice meat once its given a chance to cool. In the meantime I prepared the sweet peppers by steaming green, yellow, and red bell pepper strips in a little bit of reserved beef broth.

C'mon...Lets Eat!

I removed the roast from the fridge and combined the juices from the pan with the juices from the peppers into a large pot and brought just to a boil. I then turned the heat to low. Meanwhile, its time to get out the heavy equipment. There is nothing like using a real meat slicer for when you need to finely shave meat. I have made this recipe by hand before, it just takes a little extra effort and a sharp knife. I thinly sliced the beef and added into the broth mixture to heat back up to temperature as well as soak up some of the flavors in the broth. A toasted Italian roll with provolone cheese is the perfect place to stack this creation. Pile the meat as high as you can and top it with some of the sweet peppers. Authentic Italian beef houses in Chicago will give you the option of having your bun dipped in the "gravy" or what we called the broth. We usually opt to serve the sandwich with a little cup of the broth on the side for dipping. This is big city comfort foot at its finest.

Babyback Ribs - Two Ways

In Search of Perfect Ribs.....

I decided Saturday night would be rib night. I received Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA cookbook for Christmas and it was time to try some recipes. I went with 2 different recipes. A dry rub style and a jalapeno jerk style with a homemade pineapple-ginger bbq sauce. I did each recipe with one rack of baby back ribs- back membrane removed. Here are my results...


The jerk ribs were marinated in a mix of pineapple juice, jalapenos and cilantro for 4 hours. To the right is a picture of the bbq sauce started with pineapple juice, fresh ginger, and cilantro.

Rubbed and ready...

Starting the coals... I use a mix of natural lump hardwood charcoal and traditional briquettes to get the best of both worlds. The lump burns quicker and hotter, while the briquettes will last a little longer.

The perfect smoking temperature. 225-250F. 3-4 hours at this temperature delivers perfect results.

I cooked these using indirect heat on a rib rack over a water filled drip pan. Twice during cooking I added some wet mesquite wood chips to the coals.

The perfect rib? Juicy, pulls away from the bone, and there is a noticeable pink smoke ring.
We came away very impressed with both recipes. The dry rubbed ribs were great and Trisha said that the jalapeno jerk ribs were the most flavorful meat she has ever tasted.