We’re going to be busy getting ready for a trip next week, so we took advantage of a deal on crab legs and had an early Valentine’s Day dinner.
About an hour out, my dear wife set the oven at 350°F and put the foil-wrapped potatoes in to bake. I took the steaks out of the fridge and set the Big Green Egg up for a direct cook at nuclear temperature – 700°F plus.
I seasoned the steaks on both sides with a generous amount of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. When the grill was ready, I put the crab in the oven and the steaks on the grate over the hottest part of the fire. I closed the lid and gave them a good 90 seconds of undisturbed searing. Then I flipped them, closed the lid and gave them another 90 seconds.
These New York strips were so thick that I flipped the steaks up onto one edge, closed the lid, and let them go for another 90 seconds. Then flipped them onto their other edge and did the same thing.
I like steak medium-rare, which is just about exactly what these were when I pulled them off and put them on a warm plate and covered them with another plate, and let them rest for 15 minutes while the crab finished cooking and I grilled the romaine.
Just about a minute on each side with the lid open to give them a little char, then rough chopped with some tomatoes and into the salad.
Steak, crab, baked potato, and salad with home-made Caesar dressing.
We decided to cook an early Thanksgiving dinner with some friends since we’re going to be visiting family for turkey day. This is our first gluten-free major holiday meal, so we wanted to share some of the side dishes we made to go along with the spatchcocked turkey.
Gluten-Free Stuffing
This is a sage-heavy stuffing recipe that we love. Stuffing is an easy dish to make gluten free as it’s mostly just about replacing the bread, soup, and stock with GF versions. We found that it also helps to dry the bread cubes in the oven at 325°F for approximately an hour or so until the cubes are very dry like croutons.
2 loaves bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and dried (we used Pamela’s Pamela’s Gluten-Free Bread Mix) 2 cans gluten-free cream of celery soup (we used Healthy Valley)
2-3 cups chicken stock (we used Pacific Natural)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon sage
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic, and celery and cook for about 10 minutes or until onions are translucent, but not browned.
In a large bowl, add the veggies to bread cubes and stir to mix. Add the soup and stir again. Add the sage and broth and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir one last time.
Mound stuffing into a buttered 13×9 inch baking dish, adding more stock over the top if it is too dry. Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole
An update on the classic recipe from the side of the Campbell’s soup can. Caramelized onions replace the usual french fried ones.
4 cups cooked green beans
1 cans gluten-free cream of mushroom soup (we used Healthy Valley)
1 large onion, sliced into rings
1/2 pound white mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon gluten-free soy sauce or Bragg’s Aminos
1/4 sliced almonds
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes). Sprinkle with a little salt and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden brown (about 20 minutes).
Remove half the onions and set aside. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to brown and lose their moisture.
Remove pan from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Add the soup, soy sauce, and beans to the pan. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then pour into a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Top with the reserved onions.
Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until it is hot and bubbling. Top with the almonds and bake for 5 minutes or until the almonds are golden brown.
Manchego Potatoes
Adapted from an old Rachel Ray recipe (gotta love that mole). This recipe is inherently gluten-free and a great change from regular mashed potatoes.
4 pounds baby red-skinned or baby Yukon gold potatoes
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into 4 or 5 chunks
1/2 – 3/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 cups shredded Manchego or Pecorino Romano cheese, about 3/4 to 1 pound of cheese
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Halve large potatoes, leave the small ones whole. Put potatoes and garlic in a large stockpot and cover with water. Put the lid on and bring to a boil. Uncover, add the salt, and cook until tender (about 15 minutes).
Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. Add the potatoes, garlic back to the hot pot. Add butter, cream, cheese, rosemary, reserved cooking water and mash the potatoes to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Gluten-Free Gravy
Pan drippings and scratch-made stock are the keys to the great flavor of this recipe. You can make the stock well advance and put the gravy together as the last thing you do before serving the bird.
Neck, backbone, giblets and trimmings reserved from the turkey
2-3 quarts water
2 medium onions, quartered
2 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup gluten-free flour (we used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sage
2 bay leaves
Put the turkey bits, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic into a large stockpot and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 2-4 hours. Strain, add the herbs, and bring to a low boil. Cook until the stock has reduced to about 4 cups. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set someplace warm until the turkey is done.
Drain off the dripping from the turkey roaster. SAVE. Put the roaster over a burner on medium-high heat. Add the butter and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown bits of fond as the butter melts. Slowly add the flour, using a whisk to work it into the butter. Keep stirring until all of the flour is worked in and you have a smooth roux with no lumps of flour.
Pour as much fat as you can off the reserved pan drippings. Whisk the remaining drippings into the roux. Bring the stock to a low boil and slowly stirthe roux into the stock. Keep stirring as the gravy thickens. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until it reaches the thickness you want.
Happy Thanksgiving! With some planning ahead, it’s easy to have a gluten free holiday that everyone will enjoy.
My dear wife and I enjoyed adapting this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated (free online membership required). I know it looks a little putzy and time-consuming (that’s Cook’s Illustrated for you), but the soup is exceptional, and by caramelizing the onions in the oven you really cut down the hands-on time. To make it even easier, we split this into a 2-night cook; preparing the onions the first night while we made dinner, and then finishing the soup in about an hour on the stove top the next night.
It’s been so cold, dark, and rainy around here this week that this soup really hit the spot – rich and filling with a clean onion flavor. It’s so good that the only change I would make (other than maybe trying in on the Big Green Egg ;)) would be to caramelize double the amount of onions and freeze half of them off for a quick meal later.
The Soup
3 tablespoons butter
6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds)
2 – 3 cups water
1/2 cup dry sherry or red wine
4 cups chicken broth (we used Pacific Natural, which is gluten free)
2 cups beef broth (Pacific Natural)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
The Topping
1 small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices and lightly toasted (we used Pamela’s Gluten-Free Bread Mix)
8 ounces shredded raclette or swiss cheese
Directions
Heat oven to 400°F and adjust the rack to the lower-middle position.
Halve the onions and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Try to stick with yellow onions as this dish needs their lower sugar and stronger, more complex flavor.
Grease a large Dutch oven and add the butter, onions, and salt. Put in the oven and cook, covered, for 1 hour. Remove the pot from the oven and stir the onions, making sure to scape the bottom and sides. Return the pot to the oven with the lid slightly ajar and cook for another hour. Again, remove the pot and give everything a good stir. Return the pot to the oven with the lid slightly ajar continue to cook until the onions are very soft and golden brown (about 30 to 45 minutes).
Remove the pot from the oven. At this point you can let the onions cool in the in the pot and refrigerate for a day or so before continuing with the recipe.
Move the pot to the stove top over medium-high heat. Continue cooking the onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until all the liquid evaporates and the onions brown (about 15 to 20 minutes).
Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the pot bottom is coated with a dark crust of fond (about 6 to 8 minutes). Scrape the tasty brown goodness back into onions.
Deglaze the pot with 1/4 cup water, scraping the pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until the water evaporates and pot bottom has formed yet another dark crust (another 6 to 8 minutes).
Add another 1/4 cut of water and deglaze the pot again, cooking until the water evaporates and pot bottom has formed yet another dark crust (another 6 to 8 minutes).
One more time – deglaze and cook until the water has evaporated and the onions are very dark brown. Stir in the sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until the sherry evaporates (about 5 minutes).
Stir in all the the broths, 2 cups of water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any remaining bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot.
Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
Adjust oven rack 6-8 inches from broiler. Set individual broiler-safe bowls or crocks on baking sheet and fill each about 3/4 of the way up with soup. Top each bowl with a few baguette slices and a heavy sprinkle of cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and gotten a little brown ‘n’ bubbly around edges (about 3 to 5 minutes).
We ended up a with just a small crop of jalapenos and habaneros this year. Not enough to pickle or make hot sauce from, but more than what we’d go through before they’d spoil.
I washed our harvest, and (wearing gloves) trimmed off any bad spots, slit the pods lengthwise, and laid them out on a perforated pizza pan.
I set the Big Green Egg up for an indirect cook at low heat (200°F) with a couple of pecan chunks for smoke. I smoked them for 3 hours and then moved them to the oven at 170°F for 5 hours. I turned the oven off and let them sit in it overnight.
I the morning I tossed my little leathery bits of heat and smoke into a glass jar for storage. I see them lighting up a batch of chili and staring in some jerk marinade in the near future.
I like this setup for a quick summer meal. The chicken juices drip onto the veggies (making them extra tasty), and the pan full of veggies protects the chicken from direct heat so it stays juicy.
Honey Mustard Chipotle Chicken
4-6 bone-in,skin-on chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 chipotle chile in adobo, chopped fine
1 teaspoon lime juice
Combine the honey, mustard, salt, chile, and lime juice in a large container with a lid. Mix well. Place the chicken in the container, seal, and turn until well-coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight, turning the pieces occasionally.
Mixed Veggies
1 large zuccini, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh ground back pepper to taste
Combine all of the ingredients in a disposable foil pan. Mix well.
The Cook
Set up your grill for a direct cook over medium (350°F) heat.
Set the pan full of veggies on the grill. Place a small wire rack or grill grate on top of the pan. Lay the chicken breasts skin side up on the grate above the veggies.
Close the lid and cook for 30 minutes. Lift the grate with the chicken on it off the of the pan and give the veggies a stir. Add more oil if they are starting to stick. Put the grate back on the pan and flip the chicken. Close the lid and cook until the breasts reach 160F internal (about another 30 minutes).
My version of another fine recipe from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse cookbook. Not your typical Sunday picnic potato salad. The mustard and the hot sauce gives this version a welcome kick. Dinosaur makes this with asparagus, but fresh green beans make a fine substitute.
1 pound red new potatoes
1/2 pound green beans
1 large red bell pepper, seeded
1/2 medium red onion, slivered
1/4 cup spicy brown or Creol mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
11/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
Louisiana-style hot sauce
Scrub potatoes and cook in boiling salted water until tender, 20-30 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, cut into 3/4 inch chunks, and toss into a large bowl.
Trim beans and cut into thirds. Blanch in boiling water for a minute until tender-crisp and bright green. Drain, rinse with cold water, and toss into the bowl with the potatoes.
Slice red pepper into strips and cut strips in half. Add to the bowl along with the onion.
Combine mustard, vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl and whisk well to combine. Taste and add hot sauce as needed.
Combine veggies and dressing and give the salad a good stir. Refrigerate at least half an hour to let the flavors mingle. Let come to room temperature before serving.
This is yet another grilled chicken recipe that really benefits from the marinade. In this case it’s a simple, tangy Argentinean chimichurri that combines herbs, lemon, and garlic to deeply flavor the chicken and keep it moist.
Ingredients
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh Italian parsley
Juice of 1 large lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
6-8 chicken thighs
Instructions
Put the salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the remaining ingredients, except the chicken, and give them a whirl until they are well-combined.
Put the chicken in a freezer bag and coat with the sauce. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.
Set your grill up for a direct cook over medium (350°F) heat. I like using a raised grid on the Big Green Egg to help even out the cooking temperatures. Put the chicken on the grill and close the lid. Cook for about 10 minutes, then flip. Flip again every 10 minutes until the thighs hit 180°F internal – about 40 minutes.
Paella is Spain’s classic dish of saffron-infused rice combined with various meats and seafood. I love making this simple version on our Big Green Egg. It’s one of my favorite dishes to make for guests as an early dinner on Sunday afternoons.
It looks a little complicated, but it’s really only about a half hour or so of prep work, and another 45 minutes or so on the grill.
Ingredients
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound small raw shrimp, shelled
1/2 pound cleaned calamari, cut in rings
1/2 pound bay scallops
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 inch chunks and lightly salted
1/4 lb of Spanish cooking chorizo, cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 2 inch strips
1 1/2 cups Bomba or Calasparra rice
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons of sweet smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon of saffron
Olive oil
Lemon wedges, to garnish
Heat the broth with the saffron and the paprika. Keep warm and nearby.
Get your grill up to medium-high (about 400°F). You want to provide a wide, even heat that can be maintained with the lid open. You don’t want any hot spots. You can do this on most grills by cooking indirectly, or by using a diffuser like a pizza stone under the pan.
Use a shallow metal pan with about a 13-14 inch bottom. I really like this enameled paellera, but you could also use a chef’s pan. Add enough olive oil to cover to the bottom well. Heat the oil for a few minutes and then add the chicken pieces and fry until brown. Remove the chicken to a plate.
Add the chopped onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is soft. Add the tomatoes and cook until they break down and the mixture thickens and darkens. Add more oil if needed. This is the sofrito – it adds a lot of depth to the dish and provides a base for the rest of the dish.
Add the rice and chorizo and saute 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the chicken broth and try to spread the rice out as evenly as possible. Once you have a relatively uniform layer, leave it alone. The rice needs to sit undisturbed on the bottom of the pan to developed the tasty brown crust called the soccarat.
Arrange the browned chicken, scallops, shrimp, calamari, pepper, and peas on top of the rice. Try to make it even and pretty. Close the lid and lower your grill temperature to 350°F degrees. Cook undisturbed until all the liquid is absorbed – about 30 minutes.
Once the liquid is gone, bump the heat up to 400°F and start listening closely. The paella will start to crackle, and you might smell a toasted odor that tells you the rice is browning and forming the soccarat. Test by running a spatula under the rice to feel for a slightly bumpy bottom. Once you feel this, remove the paella from the heat.
This marinade produces some of the tastiest chicken I have every grilled, and the sweet potatoes and peppers are the perfect side dish. Don’t be afraid to use the full 2 tablespoons of salt. It seems like overkill, but the chicken is heavily spiced enough that it really brings out these other flavors.
Yogurt Chicken
1 cup plain yogurt (preferably whole-milk)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Aleppo or Ancho chili powder
1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Combine the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, salt, and spices, then add chicken and turn until coated well. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight, turning the pieces occasionally.
Sweet Potatoes
1 large sweet potato, peeled, washed, and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
Combine the pepper, onion, oil, lime juice, salt, and spices, then add sweet potatoes and turn until coated well. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
The Cook
Set up your grill for a direct cook over medium-high (400°F) heat.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables to a vegetable basket or griddle, reserve the marinade. Grill the vegetables for about 6-8 minutes, until grill marks appear and they begin to soften. Turn and grill the other side for another 6 minutes. Return vegetables to the reserved marinade, toss to coat and set aside.
Remove the chicken pieces from the yogurt marinade and put on the grill. Grill for about 40 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes or so, until the juices run clear or when a meat thermometer reads 180°F when inserted in the thickest part of the thigh.
