Burgers & Buns on the Grill

Cheeseburgers are amazing.

Seriously, if you don't agree you might be in the wrong place.

There is something about a freshly grilled burger eaten outside on a gorgeous summer day that can't be beat.

I'm a fan of a good greasy burger from my fave burger joint, The Burger's Priest.  They are pretty transcendent, but even they don't compare with a burger made with good meat, cooked in the open air.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter (if you don't, get on it, you won't be sorry) you may remember a couple weeks ago lots of updates about my amazing dinner inspired by a visit to the farmer's market and the gorgeous weather. The short story is that I picked up some delicious beefsteak tomatoes and organic romaine at my local farmer's market. I know for many people that would mean a lovely salad and I'm sure it would have made a lovely salad but my mind immediately went to burgers.  I think partially because we hadn't had them in awhile, but also because I had just seen Zoe Francois' post about baking buns on the grill.  My house is a hot box in the summer, the oven is the last thing I want to turn on, it's that hot.  So the prospect of being able to make fresh baked buns on the grill was amazing.

Knitting & Food: Grill Roasted Baby Potatoes

And we're back with our next installment of Knitting & Food.  April is Baby Month at In the Loop and I tossed around all kinds of ideas incorporating "baby" foods.  Not jarred baby food, but things like baby greens or baby peppers.  The thing is here in the Southern Ontario and in New England where the lovely ladies of In the Loop are, alot of those baby veggies aren't really locally available yet.  They will be this summer, just not in April.  We do have gorgeous little baby potatoes that are easily procured year round.  Once I settled on potatoes I then needed to figure out how to prepare them.  I wanted something that was super simple, that would carry through the spring and summer we are all so desperately wanting to actually arrive. 

We had a couple of gorgeous days here in Toronto, where all you needed was a light jacket.  It was during these days that I decided I wanted to try out some sort of grill roasted potato, one where the prep and clean up was super simple and it could easily be made along with other grilled meats.  The foil pouch is the ultimate in easy clean-up, especially when done on the grill.  

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette

To go with the fabulous and oh so rich Pork Belly we decided to simple and easy on a side dish. The boy's parents had some beautiful asparagus that we decided to grill up. Rather than worry about keeping them hot I decided to do a salad treatment with a delicious lemon vinaigrette. They were the perfect foil to the pork belly and something I anticipate making all summer long.

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette

ASPARAGUS
1 bunch of asparagus
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

DRESSING
1 scallion - chopped (whites and greens)
2 tsps lemon zest
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

1. Preheat grill to medium/medium-low (approx 300F). Gently bend asparagus stalks towards the bottom until they snap, discard the bottoms and rinse the tops. Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper. Lay on the heated grill and cook for approximately 10 minutes, turning as the asparagus browns.
2. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients, except the Parmesan and pour over top of the asparagus. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and let cool to room temperature before serving.


This is a perfectly easy summer dish that really showcases the flavor of the asparagus and is bright and fresh all at the same time. Enjoy!

Pork Belly

This past weekend was the first proper summer-like weekend we have had in TO this year. There have been some nice sunny weekends but still with a bite in the air, this weekend was beautiful. When I first saw this recipe in the New York Times last week, knowing that we were heading up north and that the weather was supposed to be ideal I knew we had to make it. First because it feeds 8 and there is usually about that many people there when we visit and also because it just sounded so delectable and perfect that I couldn't wait more than a few day to test it out. I've been wanting to work with pork belly for awhile, specifically I'd love to make my own bacon, but I was willing to bypass that experiment for this recipe. I sent it along to the boy and being a lover of all things pork he was immediately on board. So, I called my local butcher and ordered a 4 pound pork belly for pick-up on Friday and started to make a grocery list for the weekend. Friday rolled around and the boy went to pick up the meat, only to find out that the butcher didn't receive any of it's pork delivery for the weekend, major bummer for more than just us. While he was there the boy asked what exactly pork belly is (I had "forgotten" to mention to him that it is essentially bacon), well when he found that out he wasn't letting us head north without having this delicious slab of meat. After a quick Google search of "Toronto Butchers" and 20 or so calls later and he managed to find a small butcher shop that had pork belly with the skin. It's amazing how driven he can be when it comes to meat! We of course get to the cottage to find there will only be four of us with a huge hunk a meat, but at least we got it!


Crisp & Unctious Pork Belly
from the New York Times

MARINADE
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
10 cloves garlic - peeled and halved
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 Tbsp sliced serrano pepper (our store didn't have serranos so we used yellow hots which have a similar heat rating)
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

PORK
1 4-pound piece of pork belly - skin on
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp flat leaf parsley - roughly chopped
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp chives, chopped
salt & freshly ground pepper

1. In a blender, pulse marinade ingredients until roughly chopped. Transfer to a 1-gallon freezer bag and add pork belly and 1 cup water. Squeeze to remove air, then seal and refrigerate at least 12 hours.

2. When ready to cook, heat oven to 275 degrees. Place pork in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with marinade, butter and water to cover. Cover with heavy-duty foil, crimping edges tightly. Braise in oven 5 1/2 hours; let rest in pan, covered, 2 hours.

3. Meanwhile, simmer bourbon in a small pan over medium heat until alcohol aroma fades. Stir in sugar, parsley, vinegar and pepper flakes. Cover and set aside.

4. Heat a grill. Carefully remove pork from pan and place in a grilling basket. Grill skin-side down over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until skin is crisp and golden. Remove from heat and brush skin side with 1/4 of the bourbon glaze, then return to heat, skin-side up, for another 5 minutes. Remove pork from heat once more and brush meat side with 1/4 of the glaze, then return to heat, meat-side up, for another 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining glaze on both sides.

5. Dress a cutting board with half the olive oil, lemon juice and chives, and salt and pepper. Place pork skin side up on cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining olive oil, lemon juice and chives, and salt and pepper. Cut into 1-by-4-inch pieces and serve.

Now none of us had ever had pork belly and really didn't know what to expect, but this was delicious and so worth the whole day it took to marinate and cook. The meat just fell apart and was so juicy, tender and flavorful four of us finished a piece of meat that should serve 8! So much for leftovers, I loved how the flavors were layered from the marinade to the glaze to even the final step of dressing the cutting board and sprinkling the meat with spices as it rested. In each bite we could taste every flavor from the spicy to the sweet glaze to the freshness of the lemon. Delish! Do yourself a favor and make this sometime soon. Enjoy!

T&C: Grilled Chicken Wings with a Chipotle Dry Rub

This month is my first time participating in Taste & Create, a blogging event where you are paired up with another blogger and you try a recipe from your partner's site and they try one from yours. I think it's a great idea because not only did it introduce me to a new food blog, but it means someone (that's not a friend or family) has to try one of my recipes!

My partner was Jeff from Culinary Disasters, he tried out my Maple Whiskey Pulled Chicken and seemed to enjoy, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I was torn between the wings and his chocolate covered bacon with extra sprinkles! The bacon was intriguing to me because I recently ate at Animal Restaurant in LA where they have a Chocolate Bacon Crunch Bar, that was a bit disappointing. The flavors just didn't pop for me and I was excited for what I imagined to be a delicious salty & sweet treat. I wanted to try out Jeff's take in an attempt to get the deliciousness I had hoped for. That being said it seemed like an easy way out for my first Taste & Create go. So I went with dry rubbed wings, most because I love chipotle but also because the boy loves wings. I also loved the idea of grilling rather than baking or frying.


Grilled Chicken Wings with a Chipotle Dry Rub
from Culinary Disasters

chicken wings
1 teaspoon paprika
2-3 dried chipotle peppers (I had never worked with dried peppers before so I intended on using 2, but had trouble getting the 2nd one ground down with my mortal and pestle and it was late so I used 1 pepper and 1/2 tsp of ground chipotle chile spice)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of black pepper
4 TB of unsalted butter melted

Combine the dry ingredients, taste, and adjust.

Pat the wings dry, brush on the unsalted butter, and then sprinkle the rub over to coat.

I have found that a medium temperature on the grill is the perfect temperature for grilling chicken wings without torching them and taking half a lifetime to finish. If you don’t have a grill, still getting snow, or to windy then a 350 degree till the wings are done (about 30-45 minutes depending on thickness.

We are a fan of blue cheese dipping sauce in our house so I made some homemade sauce to go with these wings. Not sure Jeff would approve as he seems to be anti-sauce, to each their own.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
3 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Fresh cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients together and set aside in the fridge to let the flavors marry while making the wings. Garnish with a bit of paprika before serving.

These were a massive hit with the boy. He already has it planned for me to make them up at the cottage this weekend and called them "a winner" a compliment that doesn't get thrown around often. I really enjoyed them, but because of the way I made them (with 1 pepper and chipotle powder) they weren't as spicy as I would like. I take responsibility for that as I was making them at 10pm, got frustrated with a pepper in my mortar and pestle (and subbed in the cile powder) and was admittedly being conservative with the spice. There was some heat, about the equivalent to a mild to medium wing, I was just looking for a bit more and will adjust accordingly on the next go. One note on the amount of spice rub, I made about 1 1/2 lbs of wings and the spice rub was just barely enough. I'd say the recipe as written is good for 1 lb of wings if you want a good spicy crust.

All in all I enjoyed my first Taste & Create and will for sure make some of Jeff's chocolate covered bacon in the near future. Enjoy!

Poppers on the Grill

With the NBA finals going on over the last few weeks and being a hardcore Boston fan, there has been alot of game watching at my place. The food that goes along with sports is as much of the experience for me as the actual game. This past Sunday during Game 5 in LA I decided to make some game day vittles for my brother and I to enjoy. Aside from some BBQ chicken with Stubbs Honey Bourbon sauce (I highly recommend Stubbs!), and chips with salsa & guac, I decided to test out a recipe my boyfriend uses for Jalapeno Poppers on the grill. Of course this recipe includes bacon, as he's Canadian and I think most things he likes include some form of bacon!

RECIPE

This recipe makes 12 tasty poppers

6 fresh jalapenos
1 8 oz tub of cream cheese (I used Lite)
12 strips of bacon
toothpicks

1.Wash and dry the peppers. Then half the jalapenos and remove all of the seeds and veins. Be careful with touching your eyes or anything sensitive for a day or two after. The pepper juice stays with you for a bit, even if you wash your hand multiple times! (I learned this the hard way)
2. Fill each half pepper with cream cheese
3. Cut the bacon strips in half, so they are easier to wrap around each pepper.
4. Wrap each pepper with the bacon, they usually take a full strip, then secure the bacon with a toothpick
5. Turn the grill on low heat. Place the pepper, cream cheese side up on the grill. Cook for 30-40 mins until the bacon crisps up.

These are a little time consuming for a quick treat, especially when you see how quickly they disappear. But they are very tasty and well worth it. I may consider trying them with a mix of cream cheese and cheddar cheese next time, just to add a little something extra.

Enjoy!!!