Annoyed Shrimp

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Dave

I have to confess, cooking has been such a pain lately that I was going to call this dish “Angry Shrimp.” But it’s not all that hot, and besides, I’m really feeling more stressed out and annoyed rather than out-right angry. It seems like I’ve suddenly lost my knife skills, am getting way better at spilling than stirring, my temperature control is iffy, and I can never find the ingredient I need when I need it. Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

But since this blog is called “Food & Fire” not “Food & Therapy” let’s get on with the cooking…

This recipe started out as Weight Watchers Sesame Noodles with Chicken, but I switched to shrimp, bumped up the veggies and heat, and stir-fried the whole works.

6 ounces gluten-free spaghetti
1/2 cup uncooked scallion, green parts only, chopped
1 pound raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrots, shredded
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 gluten-free soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (get the real stuff made with plums if you can)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon chili sauce with garlic
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper or Szechuan peppercorns
2 tsp sesame seeds

Arrive home with barely enough time to make dinner before heading out to yoga class. Change clothes and head to the kitchen to discover that your dear wife has the veggies chopped and the water boiling.

Thank dear wife.

Realize that the peeled and deveined shrimp aren’t. Prep shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and stash in the fridge.

Snap spaghetti in half, sending broken bits flying across stove top. Cook noodles according to package directions. Hunt for colander with one hand while trying to hold sauce pan full of boiling water in the other hand. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce, honey, and corn starch. Find out that you don’t have enough rice vinegar. Call to dear wife to see if there is any more. No. Curse. Make do. Whisk to combine, making sure to break up and corn starch lumps that just don’t seem to want to break up.

Heat oil in a wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Dump in the still wet broccoli and bob and weave to avoid the splattering oil. Curse. Dig for the slotted wok spoon and stir to coat with oil. Sauté for about a minute. Add the carrots and sauté for another minute.

Add the soy sauce mixture to the pan. Bring to a simmer and add the shrimp. Simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes, or until the shrimp is pink and just cooked through.

Remove pan from heat and add the noodles, which have congealed into a stringy lump. Try to break pasta apart with tongs – no go. Look in three different places for pasta scoop. Break up noodles, add scallions and mix well to combine. Serve with more sesame seeds and some Sriracha hot sauce.

Pause, breathe, enjoy the meal, smile at dear wife, and then run off to class.

The Verdict:
This is a very tasty dish that even shone through despite the rushed and disorganized cooking process. Love the sweet and tangy sauce that has just enough heat to make it interesting. For the next version I’m going to try grilling the meat and making the pasta and veggies as a side dish.

However, I was not at all happy with the whole prep and cooking process – too much stress and mess, not enough fun. It’s my hope that a combination of better menu planning, sharing some of the sous chef duties, taking some more yoga, and making a big effort on my part to get my cooking act together (the French call this mise en place, look for a post about this soon) will make it fun again.

The Nutrition:
Makes about 4, 1 1/2 cup servings at 10 Weight Watchers points per serving. I think you could easily add more veggies to this dish to make it even healthier.

ONE YEAR AGO - Chicken Thighs & Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

TWO YEARS AGO - Pulled Pork – Hot & Fast Butts

Gluten-Free Biscuits & Gravy

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Dave

Mother’s Day is fast approaching. I won’t be cooking since we’ll be out of town, but if I where this is what I would make for my dear wife.

2 cups Bisquick Gluten-Free mix
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup milk
3 eggs

1 pound pork breakfast sausage
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons Bisquick Gluten-Free mix
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oven to 400°F. In a medium bowl, combine Bisquick mix and butter. Cut in the butter into the mix using pastry blender or fork until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and eggs and mix just until a soft dough forms. Try not to over-work the dough.

Drop dough by large spoonfuls onto an cookie sheet. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Do not drain. Add the Bisquick and cook over low heat for 5 minutes until it forms a roux and begins to brown.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the milk a little at a time. Scape the bottom to get up any brown bits. Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally until gravy comes to a simmer and starts to thicken, about 10 minutes. Add the hot sauce, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Remove from heat and ladle over warm biscuits.

Happy Mother’s Day!

While the Wife Was Away Wings

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Dave

I really have done my best to avoid tempting us with much non-diet-friendly food. But my dear wife was out of town for the weekend, so I had to make up a batch of hot wings.

1 1/2 pounds chicken wings (about 6 wings)
1 – 2 tablespoons of your favorite barbecue rub (General Purpose Rub v1.5, in this case)
1 cup cider vinegar
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons raw sugar

Set your grill up for a raised direct cook at 350°F. On the Big Green Egg I used an extender to move the grate up to the level of the rim, putting the chicken further away from the heat.

While the grill is heating up, season the wings with the barbecue rub. Make the hot sauce by combining the vinegar, butter, Worcestershire, peppers, salt, garlic powder, balsamic vinegar, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, until it has reduced a bit and thickened up. Remove sauce from heat, but keep warm.

When the grill is ready, put the wings on the grill and cook undisturbed for 30 minutes. Flip and cook for another 20 minutes, or until brown and crispy.

Pour about three-quarters of the sauce into a large bowl, reserve the remaining sauce. Move the wings from the grill to the bowl and toss to coat well. Move the wings back to the grill and cook for another 10 minutes. Move them back into the bowl again, toss them with the sauce, and then move to a plate to serve.

Serve with bleu cheese dressing and the reserved sauce for dipping.

The Verdict:
Again, I am really liking General Purpose Rub v1.5, but I was not a fan of the sauce. Between the heat of the rub and the heat of the sauce, it was just too much. Not head-explodingly hot, but it reminded me of one of my ex-inlaws – thin and bitter with not enough other redeeming qualities to make it worth the heat.

Also, despite the allure of batching it for the weekend, it’s never much fun to eat alone .

ONE YEAR AGO - Alice Springs-ish Chicken

TWO YEARS AGO – Tiger Sauce Shrimp

Honey Hog Barbecue Sauce v2.0

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Dave

The latest version of my home-made barbecue sauce. I switched to a little less honey, and a little more raw sugar (in place of the brown sugar I used to use), and used my General Purpose Rub v1.5 as the seasoning base.

The raw sugar makes a huge difference in the taste. The sauce had a kind of fruity/floral sweetness that rocks when balanced with the heat from the peppers.
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate or pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons Barbecue Seasoning Base

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until all the sugar has dissolved and the sauce starts to thicken a little bit (about five minutes).

Bottle and store in the fridge. Makes about 2 cups.

Have Ribs, Will Travel

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Dave

I recently had the opportunity to cook up a mess of barbecued baby back ribs for some friends. The only kicker was that we were to bring them over to their place. No problem.

The ribs need to be almost fully cooked, travel for 30 minutes, and finish cooking in our friend’s oven. Since I wanted to make sure there were leftovers for everyone, I figured on one rack of baby backs per adult, so 5 racks total.

The first thing I did was rub the racks heavily with my General Purpose Rub v1.5. Then I set the Big Green Egg up for an indirect cook at 250°F

When the Egg was up to temp, I added both a plate setter and a drip pan to diffuse the heat and keep the ends of the racks from burning. I added a little hickory wood for smoke and when it burned clean I loaded up the ribs.

This is more ribs than I’ve ever tried on the Egg, and an inverted roasting rack really came in handy to keep the ribs from crowding each other so they’d cook as evenly as possible.

I let the ribs cook for an hour and then flipped the racks end for end. I let them go another hour and then rotated the whole roasting rack 180°. I let them go an hour and a half undisturbed, then moved them out of the rack and onto the grate and sauced them.

Honey Hog Barbecue Sauce v2.0
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate or pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons General Purpose Rub v1.5

I sauced the racks fairly heavily and let them cook for another 30 minutes. I then sauced them one more time and moved them to a large baking pan. I sealed the pan up with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil and we hit the road.

Once at our friend’s house, the ribs went into a 350°F oven for an hour.

The Verdict:
I have to say that I am really liking General Purpose Rub v1.5. It’s got a lot of flavor, a bit of heat, some herbiness, and it all works well together. The Honey Hog Barbecue Sauce v2.0 is also a winner, with all the goodness of the rub plus a tangy, almost fruity, sweetness.

The ribs? They were tasty, but they were big baby backs (average 2 1/2 pounds per rack) and I overestimated how much they would cook in the foil while being transported. They ended up good, but chewier than I would have liked. On the plus side, a rack per adult was way too much food, so we all enjoyed leftovers.

The Nutrition
Ribs never will be diet food. A four bone serving is 600 calories and 10 Weight Watchers points with the rub and the sauce.

ONE YEAR AGO - Corned Beef Hash

TWO YEARS AGO - Tri-tip Roast

Chicken & Chorizo Fajitas

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Dave

It was 74°F Saturday and today it’s spitting snow!?! Go figure. It’s been one crazy spring, but never let it be said that I am one to waste a chance to grill and eat outside. So before Mother Nature had a chance to change her mind, I whipped up a quick batch of fajitas while it was still nice out.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken pieces (I used tenders, but breasts or thighs work great, too)
8 ounces Mexican chorizo
3 bell peppers, sliced into strips
1 yellow onion, sliced into strips
4 cloves garlic (chopped to go in the veggies)
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
3 cloves garlic (whole for the marinade)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire or soy sauce
2 tablespoons achiote oil (or 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon paprika)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded

Toss lime juice, 3 cloves of the garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, worcestershire, oil, and jalapeño into the food processor and blend to combine.

Put the bell pepper, onion and chopped garlic in zip-top bag and cover with half the marinade. Do the same with the chicken. Stash both in the fridge while you get the grill fired up.

Set your grill up for a direct cook over high heat (450°F). You can use a grilling basket or pan to cook the meat and veggies, but I like using a cast iron griddle.

Set the griddle on the grate and let it heat up for about 15 minutes.

Fry the chorizo on the griddle. I rolled the meat up into little balls, but you could also break it up. When it’s browned, move the meat off to a warm plate.

Put the chicken on the griddle and cook until until browned on both sides and cooked through, about three to five minutes per side. Remove from the griddle and put with the chorizo.

Put the veggies on the griddle. Cook, stirring often, until they are soft and nicely browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.

When the veggies are done, add back in the chorizo and chicken. Stir and cook until just warmed through, about 2 minutes.

Move the whole works off to a serving platter. Serve with warm tortillas and some guacamole or sour cream.

The Verdict:
Lightly charred veggies, tender meat, and just the right amount of heat from the marinade came together to make this a very tasty dish. It’s similar to, but not as greasy as, the parrillada platter at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. The only thing that would have made this better would have been to crumble the chorizo and fry it loosely so it would be distributed throughout the dish.

The Nutrition
Two fajitas with corn tortillas are 361 calories and 9 Weight Watchers points, so if you go easy on the sour cream this is a very healthy, veggie-packed meal.

ONE YEAR AGO - Lemon Pepper Chicken

TWO YEARS AGO - Spring Sirloin & Asparagus

General Purpose Rub v1.5

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Dave

This is the second version of what I hope will be a stock barbecue seasoning that I can use as the base for a variety of recipes. For the code geeks out there, this is a “dot release” with a few little tweaks, but no major changes. I increased the sugar and salt, dialed down the lemon zest, added some thyme and chili powder, and bumped up the allspice.

3 tablespoons raw or turbinado sugar
2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried lemon or orange zest
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Combine everything in a shaker jar and stir to combine and break up any lumps. Makes about 2/3 cup.

The rub smells and tastes great, but the real test will be when it meets a rack of ribs. Soon, very soon…