Use Them While They're Hot!: Learning to Grill Ahead

Last night I sat outside at the dinner table, noshing with utter abandon on this glorious baba ghanoush made straight from the grill (thank you once again, Melissa Joulwan!), when I had an epiphany:

It's summer, it's hot, and cooking outside on the grill is really the way to go. Food magically tastes twice as good cooked over smoky charcoal. But I have to be fair to Grillmaster Reiton. Standing over 600° coals in 90° weather night after night probably isn't as much fun as sitting on the deck with a chilled glass of rosé in hand (which is what I do). Sooooo (here comes the epiphany)...

Why not grill several meals' worth of stuff all at once? Use those coals once for a week of food?

It's kind-of like that cooking fad that my mom and aunt got into about ten years ago, where you would do this huge shop and cook like a mad woman for an entire day to make meals that would last you a month.

Except I love to cook. And I love to eat fresh. And, call me impractical or inefficient or what-have-you, I don't really freeze a lot of food. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I find that the freezer changes the texture of foods in ways that I don't like, so instead I tend to grocery shop for the week.

So if I shop for the week, why not grill for the week?

For example, my dinner menus for this week call for a number of things that I could have grilled last night and then reheated or eaten cold. Here's a snapshot of my notes for dinner this week:

(Yes, I had a dinner party Sunday!)

A more efficient grill could look something like this: before Grillmaster Reiton grilled our chicken and eggplant for last night's dinner, we could have grilled the ribs (later reheated at low heat in a foil packet in the oven), the butternut (finished cooking the mash in the oven), the steak (grilled slightly underdone and reheated it in a cast iron skillet) and the burgers (also slightly underdone and finished in a skillet).

Then Chef Reiton could also be sitting with a chilled glass of rosé, eating this silky, smoky dip with crisp, cool veggies as an appetizer, now that a decent chunk of time was added back to our summer evenings.  

I think I'll give this a go and see what we think, then I'll get back to you to let you know if it's successful.

I hope it is. I mean, really, I'd rather not be drinking alone...

A Foodie's Obsession: Webstaurantstore.com

I have a confession to make. My kitchen and I have a new addiction in our life, and it is called...

Webstaurantstore.com.

The name is cheesy, I know, but this site has become my go-to for all things kitchen-y. It's a restaurant supply store, and it has EVERYTHING for amazing prices.

Check out the mongo, commercial-grade, I'll-grind-anything-you-feed-me blender I just got for $199!

Look at the size of the motor:

For a third of the cost of a Vitamix, I got more horsepower, all-metal gears, a larger motor AND an extra polycarbonate canister.

Note the super simple, no-frills control panel. No more wondering what exactly it means to "frappe" and if I should have done that instead of "grind..."

And as for how well she works? She blitzed my marinade made of whole (fat!) garlic cloves, ginger root, soaked dried chiles and yogurt into a gorgeous mess in seconds.

If you decide to go buy this exact blender,  you will also get FREE SHIPPING. Am I serious? Yes, sir, I am. Normally you have to pay a fairly hefty shipping charge as a residential customer (which is why I usually make a list and order a bunch of stuff I need at once or split an order with a friend), but with certain items like this, the shipping is free. Wooot!

A few notes that may be of interest or concern regarding the Avamix:

• This is a commercial blender. There are no safety latches/mechanisms/features. The canister drops onto the base, you flip the switch, and it goes. So if you have curious little kids running around your kitchen, you might want to be especially careful or save this purchase for another decade. If you want to reenact the scene from Goonies and scare little kids with a running blender, you will be able to do so with this blender.
• The measurements on the canister are metric. There are no standard measurements.
• This thing is BIG. You will not be able to leave it on your kitchen counter. If you can because your kitchen is that big, I hate you.
• This baby is heavy. If your arm strength is somewhat lacking, either don't buy this baby or DO and use it to do some bench-presses in the kitchen. I won't ask questions, I promise.

Another side note that may be of interest and get you to shop at my fantasy store: if you write a review or submit a photo or a video of a product after you receive it, Webstaurantstore.com will give you WEBbucks to use on a future purchase. And I'm talking $2 for a written review, $4 for a photo and $10 for a video! Serious! It's a really generous perk, and I've gotten quite a bit of free stuff because of it.

SO. If you haven't discovered it already for yourself, go visit Webstaurantstore.com. Now go make your list of kitchen things you need (bulk spices? cast iron skillet? pizza peel? silverware? mongo blender? bamboo cocktail picks? kitchen towels?) and get ready to save some serious money on your kitchen needs!

P.S. If you want the recipe for the marinade in the picture, you will find it in Bon Appetit's June 2017 edition under chile-and-yogurt marinated chicken. 

Yvonne's — Boston, MA — A Restaurant Recommendation

Yvonne,

I know we've only just recently started getting to know each other, but I feel that there is something I need to say: 

We've spent the evening together, what? Three times now? And every time you've been just spectacular. No matter what the evening brings, you always make me feel special. I can't help but leave you with a smile on my face. 

But this last time was different. Why? Because it was the night you truly stole my heart. It wasn't your dark, glittering beauty or your cheeky coquettishness or even your voluptuous menu. Although the baked oysters were divine, the bavette steak mouth-wateringly tender, and the Enchanted Catnip a fiery sight to behold—you had me completely when I overheard your server say to another guest, "I'm sorry; we don't have flavored vodkas. But we do have plain vodka that we flavor with our own housemade syrups."

My dear girl. You are the one.

With all my heart,

Rachael

P.S. You made it into the CAF recommended restaurant travel guide for Boston!

Grain-free Granola: A Delicious Anomaly

Chef Reiton and I had the pleasure of having one of his sisters visit us for a night on the way home from a business trip a week or so ago. After years of living close to each other, I didn't realize how much I missed her until we sat into the wee hours of the morning, catching up, reminiscing, drinking probably too much really good wine—and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

One thing we always talk about when we are together is food. Not only do we all love to eat, but quite a few people in Chef Reiton's family suffer from celiac, and so we are always sharing new meals or snacks or desserts that we have discovered that are gluten-free.

During this visit, Brenda pulled out a bag of grain-free granola that one of her friends had introduced her to. She let us try it, and wow! It was quite good!

Then she let us know how much that little bag of grain-free granola cost.

I believe I may have accidentally snorted a few pecan pieces in response. Why, oh WHY, do health food companies find it necessary to drastically overcharge for a product that they promote as necessary for all? We all know why: fad = $$$. But for many consumers , it's not about a fad. Their diet is based around a serious health condition, and there is NO reason that anyone should have to pay crap-tons of money to avoid going into anaphylactic shock. It's outrageous, and so I decided to give the health food companies the ol' one-two and come up with my own damn grain-free granola recipe.

The "start-up" cost for making this granola may seem high, I understand. But a whole bag of nut parts is going to make a whole lotta granola. And you are ultimately going to be spending a LOT less than the $8 pre-packaged bag of grain-free granola you buy at the store!

This is not a terribly sweet granola. It's got a warm spice and salty flavor, but it's not going to be loading you up with sugar. And I would call this a snacking granola, not a cereal. You aren't going to need much.

If you don't like honey, you may want to try agave syrup, instead. And a few tips on nuts: don't look for nuts in the baking aisle. Look for the "generic" nuts that are sold in the bulk section or in the produce section. They will be cheaper. Also, look for broken pieces, slivers, or slices, instead. Whole nuts tend to be more expensive because they have to be prettier and so take more work to get out of the shell. And feel free to substitute the type of nuts used; go for what you already have. Or add some dried fruit or a teensy bit of brown sugar if you want it sweeter. You regular readers know what I think: you are the one eating it. Make it what you want. There is no one "right" way to make most recipes!

Ingredients and directions:

In a medium bowl, blend with a whisk:
• 1/8 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/8 cup honey

Add to bowl and blend again:
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Add to bowl then stir very well to coat:
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup cashew pieces
• 1/4 cup pecan pieces
• 1/8 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Add:
• 1/8 cup coconut flour

Blend well with whisk again. Place a piece of parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour granola out onto paper and spread evenly. Break up any large clumps into smaller chunks.

Bake at 325° for 10 minutes. Toss. Bake for another 10 minutes until golden. Remove pan from the oven and place on a wire rack. Cool granola completely.

Yotam Ottolenghi's Cauliflower Steaks: A Vegetarian Dinner for Meat Lovers

Summer is coming fast. Maybe a bit too fast. My backside is, like, seriously not ready for it. So last night I made steak for dinner.

You heard me. STEAK. But not steak from a cow or a bison or even a pig.

I made steak from a cauliflower.

Ewww, I just heard you say.

Yeah—NO.

My go-to "I-want-to-be-vegetarian-tonight" recipe writer, Yotam Ottolenghi, has a definite place in my kitchen. When I get tired of simply sautéing my veggies, I jazz them up Ottolenghi-style. His wide use of Middle Eastern spices and flavorings add a depth to vegetable dishes you just don't see elsewhere in the veggie world.

Like these cauliflower steaks shared in Bon Appétit (April 2017), for example. Ottolenghi transforms a vegetable that many only tolerate, cutting it into thick slices then alternately pan-frying and oven-roasting it into a deep, dark caramelized hunk of beefy deliciousness. Who would think?

Laid on a simple bed of puréed cauliflower laced with lemon and tahini, it is then topped with a "salsa" made from more lemon zest, parsley, olive oil and nuts.

If you want to make this a vegan dinner, simply swap out the tiny bit of butter in the recipe for more olive oil. I think the butter contributes to the beefy taste, but it will still be frickin' fantastic to be sure. 

I did make a few adjustments because I didn't have what I thought I had... Ottolenghi suggests using walnuts and a Fresno chile for the salsa. I didn't have either, so I used pine nuts instead and skipped the chile but brushed my cauliflower slices with harissa paste (both very Middle Eastern in origin). Remarkably good, oddly satisfying, and SO being made again the exact same way.

[I can still hear some of you saying "Ewww." Just—shut up and go try it. You and your butt will be thanking me and Ottolenghi. Promise.]

Want some more suggestions of what to try from Ottolenghi? Check out his veggies-only cookbook, Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes, or his team-up with his buddy, Sami Tamimi, in Jerusalem: A Cookbook. I think you and your behind will be going vegetarian more often, too.

Rachel Alabiso's Shrimp Tacos

There is nothing in the world like next-door neighbors who pull you out of a slump...

I recently thought I was going to have to put my Marley boy down all of a sudden (I thought I had jinxed him by finally writing his book), and after all of the loss that we've had with our family and friends this past year, it was the straw that just kind-of did me in. I found myself slipping into a kind of soul-hibernation. That, and I sprained my foot, and Marley was put on major drugs—so I was holed up, anyway.

Well, the other night, our next-door neighbors, Annette and Justin, decided that I needed a break from the house and invited the three of us over for our long overdue Taco Night. They also invited over "the other Rachel" and Mike of our Thursday Night Crew.

To contribute to the dinner, Chef Reiton and I brought over some cookies (I came up with a lemon-pistachio baby that the girls gave a thumbs-up; I'll make them again and do a post later). Rachel and Mike, however, brought over the most delicious shrimp concoction for shrimp tacos that I have ever had. EVER.

I know, right?!??! And you know what I love? Rachel WINGED THE RECIPE. She thought about what flavors would taste great with shrimp—salt and black pepper, of course, with some garlic, ancho chile powder, cumin, paprika, and dried orange peel (she makes her own powder by peeling and drying just the orange part of the peel and then grinding it up).

Next, she peeled a couple pounds of fresh shrimp (fresh really does make a difference, if you can get it near you), sprinkled them with the above seasonings (no measuring, just eyeballing it) and then tossed it all to coat with a bit of frozen corn. She let the shrimp marinate and the corn thaw until we were ready to cook, and then she just sautéd the shrimp for a few minutes until they reached that perfect, just-pink curl, squeezing some lime over the whole thing when they were done and serving them on a banana leaf.

Can you say that a non-French food has je ne c'est quoi? The blend of seasonings was perfect. You couldn't figure out what made them so damn good. All you knew was that you could not stop eating them.

Sigh. Thank God for next-door girlfriends. I'd be turning into a potato by now. And I never would have experienced Rachel's shrimp tacos.

So, remember our lesson for today: DON'T BE AFRAID TO WING IT. If you don't feel like you are good at discerning what tastes good with what, go buy yourself a copy of The Flavor Bible. Believe me, it will change the way you cook. Recipe writing will suddenly be something you can do. Swears.

And now, I'm off. I've got some oranges to peel...

Fast, Fake-o Caesar Salad Dressing

If you've read my blog over the years, you know that I am in chef-love with two people: John Besh (our honeymoon of foodies) and Mark Bittman. Either one of them I would fly five thousand miles to cook with and welcome into my kitchen any time. I imagine that sharing a kitchen with these guys would be relaxed, full of laughs and, yes, a major learning experience. But a good one.

Just this past week I made (yet again) Besh's chicken and sausage gumbo from his latest cookbook, Besh Big Easy. Even Marley, our dog, loves it. And Bittman? Bittman is the most popular reference book in our house. We crack open (and have given away) How to Cook Everything more times than I can count.

One of our go-to recipes of Bittman's is his Caesar salad. It's the real deal, with anchovies and lemon, coddled egg and big, fat croutons. The problem: it does take, like, 10 minutes of forethought to make it (coddling the egg, not to mention the croutons), and the other night, I didn't have an extra 10 minutes. I needed to throw everything in a jar, shake it up, and be done. Company was coming.

So I cheated—big time. Yes, I used romaine lettuce and lots of finely grated (with a pinhole grater) Parmesan cheese, but no croutons. And the dressing? This is what I threw together:

• 1/2 tsp. oil from an anchovy tin (if I had time, I would have minced up an anchovy, but I didn't)
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. each of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• juice from 1/2 a large lemon
• 2 Tblsp. champagne vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

I shook that like crazy in a jar, and voila! Fake-o and fast Caesar dressing—liked so much by my guest that I was asked for the recipe, so here you are!

Things I think I would try next time, continuing in super-fast, cheater fashion: add a bit of garlic powder to get a bit of that garlicky flavor in there. And maybe a couple drops of Worcestershire sauce to add a little depth. Bittman puts that in his Caesar dressing, and I think that's why. 

Speaking of salad dressings, if you want to nix another item from your shopping list because 1) it's full of crap and 2) it's a total waste of money, make it salad dressing. Spend the money, instead, on a variety of different vinegars (balsamic, red wine, white wine, champagne, rice wine, apple cider) and some Californian olive oil (don't buy Italian unless from a trusted source; you aren't guaranteed to be actually getting what you think you are buying) and make your own at home. Dressings are generally about 3 parts oil to 1 part acid plus a little bit of an emulsifier, like Dijon mustard, egg, honey, mayo...then seasonings. Even drizzling your salad with olive oil, tossing, then drizzling with a little vinegar, and tossing again is shockingly good. My Grandma Paola taught me that.

And something else I have learned to do that really makes a difference with salad: salt it, don't just pepper it. I actually take a pinch of kosher salt and give my salad a decent sprinkle before I toss it. It's amazing how it really brings out the flavors of the dressing and whatever you've got in the salad. Give it a try. I think you'll like it. 

So! Screw bottled salad dressing! Print the recipe below, and the next pizza or lasagna night you have where you find yourself suddenly scrambling for a green salad, chop up some romaine, grate or shave on some Parmesan cheese and throw this dressing together for a last-minute Caesar; I think you will find it's a pleaser!

(Sorry.)

Grain-free, Sugar-free Banana Blueberry Muffins

I just went to make these muffins this morning and almost fell over when I realized I had never blogged about them! Gee-zoo! Sorry about that! 

Those of you who don't have any food allergies or food restrictions will probably shy away from this recipe, I know. But there are a lot of you out there who have gone more than just gluten-free. You can't or won't eat a number of things besides gluten: grain of any kind, sugar, legumes, dairy. And finding good recipes that aren't just a complete mockery of the phrase "baked good" can be really hard.

While Chef Reiton and I are not diehard "primal" eaters (we won't force you to eat like us when you come over for dinner or ask us over), we do our best to limit grain and legumes as much as possible in our diets. We've both just felt so much better cutting them out, and so we take the "healthy-ish" route, for us, and leave grains for a treat when we really want pizza or pasta. That all being said, I came up with this recipe for blueberry muffins a couple years ago when I was really figuring out how to be happy in the kitchen while cutting out all my baking (which I still miss, but I've found cooking in general just makes me happy). 

These are about as close to a real muffin as I could get while still keeping it grain- and sugar-free. A lot of the primal and paleo muffin (or baked anything) recipes I've tried turn out really eggy and squishy. While these are moist and still have egg, they have a lot less egg than some, and they hold up better than the rest. They have that crumb you are looking for in a muffin, you know? They are a lot less sweet, too, being sweetened only by the banana, coconut flour and blueberries. Give them a try and let me know what you think. 

If you want to change it up, swap out the blueberries for 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, or, if you don't care so much about a bit of sugar, swap in some bittersweet chocolate chips...

Tools Needed: muffin tin, muffin liners (parchment are best, but you may have to order them), spatula, small scoop, cooling rack

Wet ingredients:

2 large, extremely ripe (black) bananas (the fermentation actually increases the flavor)
6 Tblsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. whole milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tblsp. plain whole yogurt

Dry ingredients:

1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. potato starch, unmodified
1/4 c. coconut flour
1/4 c. tapioca flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 c. wild frozen blueberries (smaller) OR 1/2 c. dried wild blueberries (I love Trader Joe's, but these will add some sugar)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 10 muffin tins with liners.
2. Blend all the wet ingredients well in a mixer (or by hand), slowly drizzling in the melted butter so that it doesn't harden up in the cold ingredients. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Be sure to break up lumps and blend the flours well. 
4. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then turn it back on for a few seconds to mix in those last bits of flour. Scrape down the paddle and bowl, then add the wild blueberries. Fold in by hand with a spatula until evenly dispersed in the batter. 
5. Scoop heaping spoonfuls of batter into the liners with a small ice cream scoop. Pat the batter down with the spatula to level it out some. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and dry. 
6. Immediately remove the muffins from the tin (I use a small fork to wedge them out without burning my fingers) and cool them completely on a wire rack.

Don't forget you can click below to print the recipe! Happy baking!

Carpano Antica, I Love You

I was just about to write a love letter, but I realize I do that a lot, so I decided that this post is simply going to be a request/command/plea to all of you out there (especially RESTAURANTS) who are still using Martini & Rossi for your sweet vermouth:

PLEASE, STOP.

I want to introduce you to a dear friend of mine. She is a game-changer. A stop-you-in-the-middle-of-your-sentence-upon-tasting-her-for-the-first-time delight. A moment you will look back on and wonder at your cocktail life before it. She is:

She has beautiful depth of color and flavor, and, while she is a bit more expensive and elusive than your Martini & Rossi crap (I can say that; I drank it for WAY too long), I PROMISE you—she will change your Manhattan (and every other cocktail she is in) forever. When you find her, BUY HER.

And then comment here and tell us all what you used her in and how much more amazing it was...

Special thanks and love to Richard and Drew (the other R & D) for introducing me to her. Sigh.

Carpano Antica Formula. The sweet vermouth who will change...EVERYTHING.

The Luxury of Leftovers: A Weeknight of Fun and Games

I had an epiphany in the middle of the kitchen Wednesday night. I was lamenting the fact that I didn't get to cook because I had put "Leftovers" down for the evening meal when...BAM!

What was that epiphany?

Wait...since I'm just reheating leftovers, that means we're going to have so much more free time tonight. That means it's Fun Friday on a Wednesday!

Use those leftovers in the middle of the week, baby, and make a family party out of it! God bless "waste-not-want-not!"