Category Archives: Recipe Review
In-N-Out Animal Style Burgers at Home
Look at all that meat! Wait, you don’t see it? My food photography skills are still building. Slowly.
How ’bout this shot?
I call this one, “Burger Basking in the Sunlight, About to be Swallowed by Lettuce or Strangled by Glowing Onion.” My talent doesn’t really lie in writing photo titles either.
At least you can see the meat. Ain’t nobody comin’ at me with a “Where’s the beef?” attitude. Uh uh. I ain’t havin’ that.
See? That’s why I love you guys. You let me get my saucy, sassy, ghetto-lite style out. Thank you. My kids and husband don’t love it the same way you do.
Alright, enough nonsense, let’s talk about burgers. We don’t eat a lot of burgers around here, because my husband isn’t in charge or meal planning. If he was, it would look something like this:
- Monday – Burgers
- Tuesday – Steak
- Wednesday – Burritos
- Thursday - Steak Burrito
- Friday – Pizza
- Saturday – Burgers
- Sunday – Steak Burgers
Red meat is something my man needs for emotional survival. I can only be a kill-joy so much before I shop for dead cow. These burgers consist of organic, grass-fed, $7.99/lb. ground beef. The recipe calls for two pounds. We all know my math skills are weak, at best, but I’m pretty sure I could have bought an entire cow for the price of these hamburgers. Not saying you shouldn’t make them, you totally should. Just saying, you might have to sell some of your gold teeth. Or, your silver teeth for you poor folk.
These are Rachael Ray’s version of an In-N-Out Burger, animal style. If you don’t live near Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas or Utah, then you are going to need to spend some time Googling the wonders of In-N-Out Burger. So awesome, so tasty.
Unlike many of the recent bbq posts around here, this recipe is actually fast! Sauteing the onions takes the longest, but is well worth the wait. Don’t skip that step! Also, good ole’ Rach doesn’t tell you to toast your buns. Uh, hello?! That is the In-N-Out trademark! PLUS, aren’t toasty buns always better than chilly buns?
- For the Sauce:
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 round tablespoons dill pickle relish
- For the Onions:
- 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 large onions, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup beef consommé or beef stock
- For the Burgers with Dijon:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- A handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Kosher salt and coarse black pepper
- EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
- ½ cup Dijon or grainy Dijon mustard
- 8 slices Swiss cheese or Comté
- Sliced bread and butter pickles
- Sliced tomato
- Chopped lettuce
- Brioche or other hamburger buns, split
- Mix sour cream with vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in ketchup and relish, and reserve.
- For the onions, heat EVOO, a couple of turns of the pan, in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook to light brown, 15 minutes, add stock and cook 10-15 minutes more until very soft and tender.
- Combine beef with garlic, Worcestershire, parsley, Kosher salt (specifically Kosher salt gives meat a good crust) and pepper. Form 8 4-ounce, thin patties. Drizzle with EVOO to coat lightly then sprinkle with a little extra salt. Top each patty with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or grainy Dijon.
- Heat a large griddle pan over medium-high heat. Cook patties, mustard side up, 4 minutes, flip and cook 2-3 minutes more. Melt cheese over patties in the last minute or 2 of cook time.
- Stack 2 patties with onions between them on buns and top with pickles, tomato, lettuce and special sauce. Set bun top in place.
Moon Pies
Fourteen homemade Moon Pies took me approximately 37 hours to make. Giver or take 33 hours.
Nothing was going to stop me from making the party favors from scratch. Nothin’.
The first go around was yummy, but a bit of a messy, squish cookie.
Looks more like an ice cream sandwich, right?
My first go-round involved a crummy (and crumby) graham cracker recipe, marshmallow fluff made without a candy thermometer and Costco chocolate chips. Overall decent, but nothing super special.
Second attempt worked out much, much better.
I found a graham cracker recipe that rocked. Grabbed a $6 candy thermometer from Sprouts and learned the power of sugar boiled to 240 degrees. Scored a super salivating caramel recipe and finally, bought the expensive chocolate chips for melting into ganache.
The result? Something truly naughty. One bite is enough, seriously. I’m not saying it the way some people say, “I just have to remind myself to eat!” kind of way. One bite really is enough. You won’t stop there, though. You’ll probably eat half a pie before excusing yourself to lie on the couch. Unless of course you are one of the “I just never remember to eat” kind of people. Then, you may actually stop at one bite. Whatever to you.
Back to making 14 Moon Pies.
I did it.
I had to freeze them overnight, so they wouldn’t melt by party time. My kitchen has felt the pains of war. My glutes are insanely sore from a Yoga Strength Fusion class I took yesterday. One of those things is not like the other.
Here we go. Get your aprons and stretch those Hammies. This ain’t easy, friends.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & ⅓ cups graham flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and honey, and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended and the dough comes together, about 30 seconds.
- Transfer the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press into a 7-inch square, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a ⅛-inch thickness and cut.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and then rotate the baking sheet. Bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cookies are dark golden brown and just firm to the touch. Let cool for a minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely (they will crisp up as they cool). Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a small pan, mix together sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, making sure it does not touch the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Begin to whip on medium speed using the whisk attachment.
- Meanwhile, turn burner on high and put the pan with the sugar mixture on the heat. Allow mixture to come to a boil and heat to 240 degrees, stirring occasionally.
- The goal is to get the egg whites whipped to soft peaks and the sugar syrup heated to 240 degrees at close to the same time. Just stop whipping the egg whites when they reach soft peaks.
- When the sugar has reached 240 degrees, turn mixer on to low. Add a small amount of the hot sugar mixture and allow to mix. Add another small amount of the sugar mixture. Continue to add mixture slowly so you don’t scramble the eggs.
- Once all the sugar has been added to the egg whites, turn up the speed of the mixer and continue to beat mixture for about 7-9 minutes or until the fluff is stiff and glossy. At about the 5 minute mark, add vanilla extract.
- Use fluff immediately or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 8 Tablespoons (4-ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ½ cup heavy cream, not ultra-pasturized
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes (kosher salt can be substituted)
- In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan add the sugar and evenly pour the water over top.
- Place the pan over medium-high heat and swirl the pan gently until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear.
- Avoid letting the syrup boil. Increase the heat to high, cover the saucepan with a tight fitting lid, and boil the syrup for 2 minutes.
- Uncover the saucepan and continue to boil the syrup until it begins to darken around the edges.
- Gently swirl the pan until the syrup turns a deep amber and begins to smoke. Remove from the heat and add the butter.
- Gently stir the mixture until the butter is incorporated.
- Add the cream and stir to combine. If the sauce becomes lumpy with hard clumps, set the pan over low heat and stir until smooth.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
- 8 oz. good quality semi-sweet chocolate
- 4 oz. heavy cream
- Melt both ingredients in a small pot, over low heat, stirring often. A double boiler can be used, if desired. If you choose to microwave melt, be sure to stir every 30 seconds.
Assembling your moon pies is where the mess comes in. Embrace the sticky mess, you have no choice.
Be sure your cookies are cooled. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper and be sure you have room in your fridge to fit the pans.
Take one cookie at a time and spread the top and bottom of a with plenty of marshmallow fluff, drizzle as much caramel as desired over the top, then sandwich it between two more cookies. Place on lined pan. Repeat until all cookie sandwiches are created. Next, pour cooled ganache over each stack of cookies, ensuring there is enough chocolate to cover the entire cookie and drip over the sides.
Let the cookies set in your fridge overnight, or as long as you can stand it.
Get some Wet Wipes and go to town.
Seriously, walk to town. These have so many calories. Then, walk back. There, you’ve burned off half.
Juicy, Herb Grilled Chicken
Please excuse my alien looking lemon. Still working to master food photography with an iPhone. If there are any camera companies out there willing to sponsor my food blogging endeavor, email me. I’ll give you my home address and happily take any SLR off your hands. If there are any weird men (or women) out there who plan to pose as a camera company, I’ll still give you my address. Because, I won’t know otherwise.
I will let you know this right now though. I have been doing Jillian Michael’s Fast Fix Kickboxing for about 6 weeks now. So, yeah, you better think twice. I may not be a professional kickboxer yet, but don’t say you weren’t warned. Also, I’ve gone to four heated power yoga classes so far, so I’m totally fearless at this point. AND, I’m not afraid of not smelling good.
So crazy person, think twice.
Phew. Can’t be too careful, right?
I am really hoping that all these meat recipes aren’t driving away my vegetarian friends. I have lots of fun recipes in the works, most of them only deal with animal milk or eggs.
But today, we talk dead chicken.
Grilled chicken breasts are usually the worst. Dry, stringy and coated with barbecue sauce from the jar. Nothing to write home about.
I’m still cooking the hoodie-ha out of Adam Perry Lang’s Serious Barbecue book. This chicken however, came from one of Adam’s visits to Good Morning America. You’ll need to set aside at least an hour to let the chicken brine. If you skip this step, you should just sell your grill and start buying Marie Calendar’s frozen dinners, because your taste buds must not dormant.
Brining is where the magic happens. It’s Disneyland for meat. The husband is tired and our computer is in our bedroom. I’ve gotta let him hit the hay. Which, by the way, is so hard for me to not say like this…”Haaaay!” I’m off to catch up on my Once Upon a Time (Sundays, ABC, friends) and read Mindy Kaling’s tweets. Goodnight!
*First note, now that we are in full grilling mode, I’m going to create a BBQ section of Food It Forward to keep all the recipes together.
**Last note, we used rosemary instead of marjoram in our version.
- 6-8 9-oz. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- For brine/marinade
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 2 tbsp grated or finely chopped red onion
- ½ tbsp chopped scallions
- 1 bunch fresh marjoram
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 4 cups of cold water
- For baste/glaze
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
- 2 tbsp chopped scallions
- 1 bunch fresh thyme, leaves only
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp grated or finely chopped garlic
- 2 tbsp grated or finely chopped shallots or sweet white onion
- Combine all the brine/marinade ingredients in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag. Mix and crush the ingredients with your hands, directly or through then bag, squeezing them to release the maximum flavor.
- Put the chicken in the brine, transfer to the refrigerator, and brine for at least 1 hour, and up to 24 hours.
- Preheat the BBQ to medium-high. Drain the chicken and dry with paper towels.
- Glisten the breasts with canola oil.
- Put a griddle on the grill, add the 1 tbsp butter, and let it melt. Add the chicken to the griddle, smooth side down, and cook, turning once or twice, for about 6 minutes to set the protein.
- Meanwhile, combine the baste/glaze ingredients in a foil pan or heatproof pan, set it on the grill, and stir occasionally to melt the butter.
- Continue, to cook, moving the chicken back and forth between the grill and the baste/glaze pan, turning to coat it, until the chicken is cooked through. It should register 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Transfer to a platter or cutting board.
- Bring the remaining baste/glaze to a boil, and pour over the chicken.
Spareribs. Man Food Done Right.
When I titled this post Man Food Done Right, I wasn’t really talking about the sweet potatoes in the photo, those are mine. My husband prefers his potatoes white and completely lacking in nutrients.
Well, guess what? I have another ridiculously complicated BBQ recipe for you. Hurray! Isn’t that just what you wanted? I’ll take the liberty of answering that for you. Yes! It is. Once you’ve gone multi-step grilling, you’ll never go back to slapping Costco frozen patties on a grill. We all know that the number one no-no in grilling is doing that thing, that thing where you press on the burgers to get some of the juices going. If you don’t know that, now you do. If you don’t know that, you also need to start watching Food Network. Unless it’s Rachael Ray. So over her.
So, we didn’t actually complete this entire recipe. By saying “we”, I am being nice. I’m not going to finish this paragraph. It’s Friday and I’m not looking to rain on any wedded bliss just yet. That’s what Mondays are for.
The ribs still turned out amazing at 80% compliance, so I can only imagine what 100% may taste like!
Get the grill going this weekend, friends! Happy Friday!
- 4 racks pork spareribs, about 3 pounds each
- Mustard Moisturizer
- 1⁄4 cup prepared yellow mustard
- 1⁄4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Seasoning Blend
- 6 tablespoons mild chile powder, preferably Chimayo, Ancho, or Hatch
- 3 tablespoons sweet paprika 3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 11⁄2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 21⁄4 teaspoons garlic salt
- 21⁄4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 21⁄4 teaspoons coarsely ground fresh black pepper
- 3⁄4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- About 1 cup Apple Juice Spray
- Wrapping Mixture
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup honey 1⁄4 cup apple juice
- BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup APL BBQ Sauce, or your favorite BBQ sauce
- 1⁄4 cup water
- Preheat an indirect barbecue with a drip pan and fruitwood (preferably apple), a ceramic cooker with deflector plate and fruitwood (preferably apple), or a charcoal or gas grill with a box or packet of fruitwood (preferably apple) to 250°F.
- Combine all of the mustard moisturizer ingredients. Combine all of the seasoning blend ingredients. Rub a thin layer of the moisturizer on all sides of the racks and lightly sprinkle with the seasoning blend on all sides. The remaining seasoning blend will be used later in the cooking.
- Cooking Method
- If using a ceramic cooker, place the ribs an inch apart on a rib rack. They might need to be trimmed to fit the cooking surface so that the lid can close. If using a larger indirect or direct barbecue, no additional trimming is necessary. Place the ribs in the cooker, spraying with the apple juice spray every half hour after 2 hours of cooking. Cook for 4 hours.
- Meanwhile, combine the wrapping mixture ingredients.
- Tear off 8 sheets of heavy- duty aluminum foil. Working with 2 sheets of foil at a time, place a quarter of the wrapping mixture on the foil, top with a rack of ribs, meat side down, and wrap in the foil, crimping to seal. Wrap with the second sheet of foil. Repeat for the remaining 3 racks of ribs. If using a ceramic cooker, stack the packets on top of each other. If using a smoker, place the ribs on sheet pans for easier movement. Place the packets back in the cooker, meat side down, and cook for 11⁄2 hours, flipping halfway through.
- Remove the racks from the cooker and let the ribs rest in the foil packets for 20 minutes.
- Remove the ribs from the foil and dust lightly on both sides with additional seasoning blend. Place back in the cooker, meat side up, for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the BBQ sauce and water.
- Remove the ribs from the cooker and brush with an even, but not too thick, layer of sauce. Place back in the cooker, meat side up, for 25 minutes to tighten up the glaze.
- Paint a cutting board with some of the remaining sauce.
- Remove the ribs from the cooker and place on the prepared cutting board, adding additional sauce as needed to cover, but not excessively coat. Spray twice with apple juice spray. Cut the ribs from the racks and dredge to coat the exposed sides with the remaining BBQ sauce.
- © 2009 APL Creative Inc from Serious Barbecue
Apple Date Snack Bars
Don’t these snack bars look yummy? Have you noticed the influx of fake homemade style snacks in the granola bar section of stores? I have! These are so simple and quick, you’ll have no reason to buy the prepackaged variety. I found the recipe in my Whole Foods app and was really surprised just how yummy they turned out. I think experimenting with whole wheat and gluten free flours would be pretty fun.
- 5 Tablespoons butter
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons 2% milk
- ¾ teaspoons baking soda
- 1⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup walnut pieces
- ½ cup dried dates, pitted and chopped
- ½ cup apples, peeled and chopped
- 1 large egg
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12 X 9 inch pan
- Cream the butter and brown sugar. Mix in the egg and milk. Stir in the apples.
- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, mix thoroughly. Stir in the nuts and dates.
- Spread dough into greased pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into 2-inch square bars.
We enjoyed our Easter weekend and hope you did too, whether or not you celebrate. The kids are on a serious sugar come-down and these bars have been a sneaky way to help pull them out.
It feels strange to write so many posts that are just straight up about yummy food. What happened to the laughs of yore? I’ll tell you.
- Last week was Spring Break and having kids full time made me remember why I like coffee and date nights.
- I’ve been reformatting and working this blog and it has kind of killed all the humor in my brain.
- I’m so annoyed at Target for lowering their selection in almost all departments.
- The grumps have taken me over this morning after reading annoying Facebook posts.
- Basically all the first world problems you can think of that totally don’t matter are bothering me this morning.
Now that I am thinking about it, I know what’s up!!!!
I have been drinking tea instead of coffee the past two days. Here is how I just cheered myself up, I suggest you do the same!
Spice-Crusted Thick Rib Pork Chops
What’s that you say? You would like another complicated grilling recipe for the files? Sure! Let’s do it!
This dinner came to be for two reasons. The first, I have this amazing book I checked out from the library. I’ve put it up in my Amazon store in case you aren’t a library hound too. It’s Adam Perry Lang’s Serious Barbecue. There were, of course, multiple Bobby Flay books on the library shelf. What made me check this fat book out instead, was the review from Jamie Oliver.
Adam is the most inspiring barbecue chef in the world. – Jamie Oliver
Uh…ok. Sold!
I am so mad at myself for not taking a photo of my favorite part of this recipe. While grilling, you brush melted butter on to these pork chops with an herb brush. To create a brush, you wrap sprigs of thyme to a wooden spoon or dowel with twine. How fun is that! I promise to photograph the next fancy-pants herb brush!
The second reason we made this chops for dinner was because I’m so chickened and beefed out! Sometimes walking through the meat section of the grocery store just starts to ick me out. Hmm, which dead animal am I hungry for today? I usually walk away from the pork section, because I was once told that pigs are as smart as 3 year-old humans. How sad is that? Wilbur, Babe, those smart three little house-building pigs! Alas, I pulled the trigger and bought us some intelligent meat.
Usually pork is dry, dry, dry. These fat pork chops are wonderful and it’s mostly because of the brine. I’ve brined poultry before, why hadn’t I thought of brining pork? I only had 7 hours to let my chops soak, so I can only imagine how much more juicy they would be, had I let them soak for the suggested 12-24 hours.
Before sharing the recipe, I thought I’d break up all the text with a photo of Max. He was so proud to be allowed to use a knife for buttering his bread. We are on Spring Break here and I took the boys out to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Dallas wanted to know what the white things were. After explaining that they were cloth napkins, Dallas let me know that we were at a really fancy restaurant and he felt like Sofia the First.
- For the brine:
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons boiling water
- 4 cups apple cider
- 2 cups cool water
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Six 1½-inch-thick pork rib chops (8 to 10 ounces each)
- For the seasoning blend:
- 2 tablespoons mild chili powder
- 2 tablespoons mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- For the dressing:
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 medium shallot, peeled and finely grated
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 bunch thyme sprigs, tied together in a bundle
- Fleur de sel or kosher salt
- Finely ground black pepper
- In a large bowl, combine the red pepper flakes and boiling water. Let sit for 1 to 2 minutes to rehydrate the flakes. Add the cider, cool water, salt, brown sugar and garlic. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Place the chops in an extra-large food-grade zip-close plastic bag (or divide between 2 large bags). Pour the brine over the chops, squeeze out any excess air, then seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or up to 1 day.
- When ready to cook, heat one grate of a well-oiled charcoal or gas grill to medium-high and the other to medium-low.
- To make the seasoning blend, in a small bowl mix together the chili powder, mustard powder, garlic salt, black pepper and cayenne. Set aside.
- To make the dressing, in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, honey, shallot and garlic. Shake well, then set aside.
- Remove the pork chops from the brine, letting any excess brine remain in the bag. Discard brine. Lightly pat dry the chops with paper towels. Sprinkle the seasoning blend evenly on all sides of the chops.Using your hands or a brush, evenly but lightly coat the chops with the canola oil.
- Place the chops on the medium-high grate, and grill with the lid open until they are well marked and lightly charred, about 3 minutes. Flip, still over medium-high, to a clean part of the grate, then grill with the lid open for another 3 minutes.
- Brush the chops with butter using the thyme bundle. Move to the medium-low grate and close the lid. Open the lid every few minutes, turning and moving the chops as needed.
- Cook until the desired doneness.
- Give the dressing a quick shake and drizzle about half on a clean plate or cutting board. Top with the chops and let rest for about 5 minutes.
- Cut the chops to separate the meat from the bone and slice the meat on a diagonal into ¼-inch slices, drizzling with the remaining dressing, and making sure all slices are coated. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and pepper.
Honey Garlic Glazed Tri-Tip
Are you searching for one of those recipes? You know, one of those, it’s gonna take up my whole day shopping and prepping type? One of those that turns your Sunday into a culinary adventure?
I’m gonna stop sugar-coating it and get real.
This recipe is a pain in the butt.
Aren’t the best ones always the biggest hassle-makers, though?
Now that we have our gifted Weber up and running (thanks again McCords!), we are officially opening our family’s grill for the season. I picked two cookbooks up at the library, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (which I have checked out at least six times now) and Adam Perry Lang’s Serious Barbecue. I’ve mentioned before how Food Revolution is my favorite cookbook, I need to just break down and spend the money on my own copy already! Then again, garage sale season is creeping near and the library always has at least one on hand.
So yes, back to the pain in the bootay tri-tip recipe. It will blow your minds, friends. Tri-tip is tasty on it’s own, we know this. With the ridiculously elaborate four steps of Adam Perry Lang, it changes from tasty to “You better call your mom and tell her you love her, it’s so good you just might die,” delicious.
Check this out, you rub down the meat with a paste, then you season with a rub, then you oil it down. NOW you can finally start grilling, then you’ll be glazing each side before you lie the meat down in it’s fourth set of flavors on the cutting board. Not one step is overkill either. They all work so well together. And what do you think about the last step, the final dressing step? I have never thought of creating a dressing on a cutting board for my meat to lay on. Genius!
You are going to want to print this out and have it ready for summer, take my word!
- Flavor Paste:
- ¼ cup chile powder
- 1 T. Worcestershire
- 1 T. soy sauce
- 1 T. beef base, such as Better than Boullian
- 2 tri-tip steaks, 2-3 pounds each
- Seasoning Blend
- 1 T. garlic salt
- 1 T. lemon pepper
- 1 T. ground black pepper
- 1 t. cayenne pepper
- Honey Garlic Glaze
- 2 T. apple cider vinegar
- 1 t. crushed hot red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup apple juice
- ½ cup honey
- 1 T. Worcestershire
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled, halved and grated
- 4 T. unsalted butter
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- Finishing Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 T. finely chopped lemon zest
- 1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup finely chopped chives
- salt
- Preheat one grate of a well-oiled charcoal or gas grill to high and another to low. Stir the flavor paste ingredients together and spread on all sides of the trip-tips. Combine all of the seasoning blend ingredients.
- Combine the vinegar and pepper flakes for the glaze in a container with a tight-fitting lid and let sit for 1-2 minutes for the flavors to develop. Add the apple juice,honey, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic to the container. Melt the butter and pour over the top. Shake to combine the glaze ingredients and set aside.
- Sprinkle the seasoning blend evenly on all sides of the tri-tips. Using your hands or a brush, evenly, but lightly, coat the tri-tips with canola oil.
- Place the tri-tips on the high temperature grate, keep the lid open, and do not move them until they are well marked and have a light char, 2-3 minutes. Flip, keep the lid open, and repeat on the second side. Move the meat to the low temperature grate, close the lid, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Give the glaze a quick shake and then brush the meat. Continue to brush with the glaze until desired doneness. 6 minutes for rare, 7 minutes for medium, and 9 minutes for well-done.
- Drizzle the olive oil on a cutting board. Add the zest, juice, chives, and fleur de sel. Top with the meat and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice the meat, against the grain, into ¼ inch slices, dredging them in the dressing.
I can’t wait to share with you my new favorite beverage that should be outlawed. Don’t worry, it’s just coffee, but it is an eye-twitch inducing mug of yum!
Lemon Vanilla Sugar Cookies
For all you baking volunteers out there, I have found the best sugar cookie recipe! I’ve been on my church’s baker list for a number of years now, which means I’ll get an email a few times a year, asking for some baked goods to be donated. I’ve made butter cookies in the past, but wanted something new for this go around. Whenever I need a no-fail recipe, I usually search through The Pioneer Woman’s site. While this is not a PW recipe, it came highly recommended by her, which was good enough for me!
I have made the original version of these cookies, which are vanilla-almond flavor and they turned out just as well. I’m sure you could have a great time playing around with different extracts. Lemon seemed to be a perfect touch for my Palm Sunday donation to church.
If you are looking to make some frosting or icing, royal or buttercream, I have a suggestion for you. Rather than killing yourself with those four bottles of food coloring that come in the McCormick box, head over to a craft or baking store. The Wilton icing colors are amazing. If you want violet, you add a drop of violet. You aren’t adding two drops of red, then one of blue, then wait, two more blue, then “Oh no”, maybe orange? Check out how much easier life can be…
- 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 sticks (salted) butter, cold & cut into chunks (I use a grater for mine)
- 1 egg
- ¾ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp lemon extract
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.
- The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl for rolling
- Roll on a floured surface to about ¼″ to 3/8″ thick, and cut into shapes. (Bridget suggests freezing them for 5 minutes, which I found to be helpful)
- Bake 10-12 minutes.
Hopefully you are enjoying your Saturday and not spending it running errands! Kim
Korean Beef
So you have some ground beef (or turkey) in the fridge and the only things that come to mind for dinner are meatloaf, hamburgers or meatballs. You could try a taco route, but you don’t have all the ingredients. Same goes for a pasta dish. What else is there left to do with ground meet? Korea-fy it!
Granted, there probably is no Korean person I know that would call this a traditional dish. In fact, this recipe comes to you from one of the whitest girls on the internet. Lizzy Writes is a fun blog I found through Pinterest and it is also where you can find the recipe for Korean Beef.
- 1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)
- ¼ - ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- ½ – 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers
- salt and pepper
- 1 bunch green onions, diced
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.
My kids loved this as did my husband. I found it a little sweet, so next time I’ll take it a bit easier on the brown sugar. That said, Korean Beef has won a place in my menu plan as a once a month dinner.
Time to put the littles to bed. They are seriously excited at the possibility of trapping a Leprechaun overnight. Happy St. Patrick’s Eve, friends!
Fisherman’s Soup
I found what looked to be a delicious soup on Pinterest and could not wait to give it a whirl. So much of the time, what you find on Pinterest is pretty much just a pretty photo or novel idea. Not this time! I had a feeling about Cookin’ Canuck’s recipe for Fisherman’s Soup and my instincts set me in the right direction.
Every so often, I develop a new blog crush. My longest one-way relationship was with The Pioneer Woman. My newest? Cookin’ Canuck of course! I love that she is super down to earth, totally adorable and she’s been through a weight loss journey herself.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ⅛ – ¼ tsp dried (crushed) chile flakes
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 can (28 oz.) petite diced tomatoes (juices included)
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1¼ lb. firm white fish (such as tilapia), cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ lb. medium shrimp, shelled
- 2 tbsp capers
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, red bell pepper and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and peppers are tender, 7 to 8 minutes.
- Add the oregano and chile flakes, and cook for 1 minute. Add the parsley and white wine, and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Add the tomatoes and vegetable broth, and bring to a simmer.
- Add the tilapia pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fish is almost cooked through, about 4 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and continue to simmer until the shrimp is barely cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in capers and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
The worst part of this soup was peeling the shells of the shrimp. Follow the recipe and get shelled (meaning no-shell) shrimp. I could have never married a food critic or adventure loving eater like Anthony Bourdain. Shelling the shrimp was super traumatizing.
Now, off to get in a workout. Dallas is helping me stay on track with exercising; we have a calendar to mark all our workouts. One month and I’m rewarded with a mani/pedi and he gets a new Wii game. After my four month (16 week) DAMY plan is over, I have made Jy promise me a big, fat, long date in San Francisco. Time to go sweat and forget about the WORST picture of me posted on my dentist’s Facebook page. Seriously, the worst. I had to ask them to take it down it was so awful. Talk about a tearful motivation.
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