New Word: "Cheftestant"

In the world of food TV (not to be confused with the now, mass market, blase Food Network) there is now a ridiculous new word: "cheftestant." This word will need to become part of your vocabulary if you want to talk to your friends/neighbors/coworkers about such TV shows as Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen. The word refers to the contestants on these chef reality shows, of which Top Chef is certainly my favorite.

This newish season of Top Chef is especially fun because there are three two chefs from right here in Atlanta. Hector Santiago, chef & owner of Pura Vida was recently kicked off but there is still hope with Executive Chef Eli Kirshtein of Eno Restaurant and Wine Bar, and the powerhouse from Woodfire Grill, Executive Chef & Partner Kevin Gillespie. Check out the remaining Atlanta guys on Bravo TV, Wednesdays at 10:00 EST.

Lobster Bowl

For Liv's 30th birthday today (and my 31st birthday tomorrow) we decided to splurge for some lobster. As it turns out we didn't have to splurge much at all. This afternoon I went to our nearest Super H Mart to scope out the seafood/lobster selection and much to my very pleasant surprise they were having a one day sale (you'd think I was at Macy's) on lobster! I picked up a few of the big live bugs for only $4.99 per pound. Incredible. At prices like that I felt at ease experimenting a bit tonight for dinner and I did an Asian-style lobster bowl with dashi broth, organic udon noodles, tobiko (flying fish roe), enokitake mushrooms, scallions, and baby bok choy. Dashi broth is kind of like the chicken stock of the Asian world. It is used often in all kinds of dishes and you have most certainly had it in miso soup.

I steamed the lobsters over a bed of seaweed. Seaweed is very cheap and very easy to come by in any Asian grocery store. Steaming is a little cleaner than boiling them because you don't have to deal with large amounts of hot lobster-y water and steaming produces a better final product as well, in my opinion. I steam for 10 minutes per pound and these lobsters were all about 1 pound each. You can do the math.


After steaming I separated all the lobster meat from the sharp, menacing shells. Little bastards can give serious cuts sometimes! Fortunately I escaped with no bloodshed tonight.

After the meat is removed from the shells and the shells are tossed in the trash, be sure and double or even triple bag your garbage. If you have never smelled shellfish stink after a few summer days in your hot garage... well... just take my word for it and double bag the garbage and seal it well. After the cooked lobster is separated, you're free to do as you please; it is really quite a versatile protein.

For our dish tonight I sauteed the bok choy with some scallion whites and garlic while the udon noodles boiled. At the last second I reheated the cooked lobster meat in the homemade dashi broth and when the noodles were done, everything was ready to be plated. I took the lobster knuckles and the little leg meat and placed it in the bottom of the bowl. On top of that came the noodles and then I ladled the dashi broth over everything. The tail meat, the claws, the enokitake mushrooms, the orange tobiko roe, and the bok choy were placed on top. A drizzle of sesame oil and some soy sauce if you please and you have a really nice dinner.

We paired our lobster bowl with a Grenache Blanc from Consilience. The wine was recommeded by my good friend Lloyd Irving at Old Milton Package in Alpharetta.

Garden Time #4: ignitarious de mouthus

I never took Latin in high school but if I did, I might know a better way to say "a hot pepper will singe your mouth." As it is, I'll stick to my best guess.

Anyway, here's an update on our prolific chile de arbol plant. It was giving us so many little red fiery chiles I had to do something with them or else I would risk spoilage before I had a chance to use them all. I contemplated pickling, which is certainly an easy and a worthy thing to do with peppers of all kinds but it required more work than I wanted to do at the time. The next best solution was to dry them. I knew that de arbol chiles took well to drying so all I needed was a needle and thread. I simply picked the ripe chiles and strung a needle and thin thread through the stem end. It is as simple as that. These are hanging over our kitchen sink area but are well out of the way of daily chores.

As you can see in the picture, the chiles are quite wrinkled already but they aren't quite dry enough to crush and crumble into a jar. When they are I will have my own jar of crushed red pepper for use in all kinds of dishes.

Garden Time #3

The tangled mess that are our tomato plants have finally decided that they want to give up their bounty. If you're a backyard vegetable gardener like myself you no doubt know that the tomato season is upon us. There are plenty of green tomatoes still waiting for the extra plant sugars and sunlight to brighten them into their various shades of red, purple, or orange, but at the rate that they ripen it won't take long!

Here's a prodigious bowl of produce from our garden. The red tomatoes are a variety popular in Europe called Carmello, the brownish looking ones are Black Pear, and the small, orange grape sized tomatoes are called Sun Gold. The Sun Gold are my favorite. They have the highest brix level of all the tomatoes that our particular nursery carried. The red chilies are Chile de Arbol: a nice fiery chile related to the cayenne. A little salt, pepper, and perhaps some fresh mozzarella if you're in the mood, and you've got a great salad.

Cooking with Dexter

Over the past several months I have really enjoyed reading a New York Times column named Cooking With Dexter, by Pete Wells. Because it fits in with the food/cook/amateur hunter theme of my blog, (squirrel kill count: 128) I'll mention it.

The column follows the culinary adventures of a sometimes clumsy cook (Mr. Wells) and his son, Dexter. Dexter is a 5 year old foodie obsessed with hoarding food and developing his own recipes among other things. The articles are full of satire and tidbits about Dexter's often ingenious cooking ideas and his quirky, 5 year old perspective of the food world. While it is mostly entertainment for me, the column always comes complete with recipes and good cooking ideas. So, if you're looking for a few laughs and maybe even some ideas for dinner, check it out.

If you would like to read the newest edition, Mummy Dearest, click here.

Grilled Pizza

Grilled pizza is so easy and so superior in flavor compared to most homemade oven baked pizza, it's surprising that people don't do it more often. If you have a grill you CAN make grilled pizza! I suggest that you don't even bother with those pizza stones for the grill. They are quite expensive so why spend $50 or more on something that isn't even necessary? I'll outline the basics of how I make grill pizza.

First build a 2 zone charcoal fire (hot on one side, cool on the other). If you're using a gas grill, preheat your grill by turning half of your burners on medium-high to high and leave the other half off. The objective is to cook the dough quickly on the hot side, take it off, put on your toppings, and then place the topped pizza on the cool side to melt the cheese and warm the ingredients on the other of the grill using indirect heat.

Now I know what you're thinking... Doesn't the dough fall through the grates? Doesn't the dough stick to the grates? Nope, not even close - so set your fears aside and grill some pizza.

Get your dough ready spreading it to about a 1/4 inch thick. If you can go thinner by all means go for it, but be aware that the thinner the dough, the faster it will cook. I also like brushing it or spraying it with olive oil. Below is the raw dough just after being placed on the grill.

Raw dough on the hot side of the grill.

The cooking of the dough/crust goes fast - like, real fast - so DO NOT leave the grill, do not answer the phone, do not get a beer. OK if you're quick you can go get a beer, but walk fast! I would say that this dough (below) was turned after about 45 seconds. I told you it was fast.

I flip the crust probably 3 or 4 times. I want to cook the crust through but I don't want it to burn. By flipping it a few times I'm able to achieve that.

Pizza crust after flipping.

After the crust is cooked, remove it and add your toppings. Obviously the sky is the limit here, so add anything and everything you want! Now place the pizza back on the grill but this time put it on the cool side. Again, you want to warm the ingredients and melt the cheese. This process takes about 4-8 minutes depending on the heat of your fire. When your cheese is melted, you're done. Slice it up and enjoy!

Finished pizza being taken off the grill by yours truly.

Don't Beat Your Meat...

...Grind it!

If you're used to supermarket ground beef, you're in for a revelation when you start grinding your own meat at home. It's not scary, just keep your fingers out of the way! There are lots of advantages of home grinding:

The first advantage of grinding your own meat (aside from being kinda fun) is above all, freshness. The quality of your finished dish is automatically multiplied simply because you have freshly ground meat. You'll be surprised how light and fluffy the meat can be. I know it sounds funny to say that meat can be fluffy but, just believe me.

The second advantage of home grinding is that YOU get to pick and choose the cut of meat you want to grind. As you'll see below, I'm using brisket which has plenty of flavor (fat). Try to use something that has at least an 80/20 ratio of meat to fat. If you're looking for even more flavor and juiciness, look for cuts that will yield 75/25 or even 70/30 ratio. You could use anything from the standard chuck or sirloin to something a little more specialized like flat iron or brisket.

The third advantage that I'll mention is that you can more safely cook your burgers to medium, medium rare, or even rare. I was a little too hungry and I ate my burger before I took a picture, (sorry) but if it's been a while since you've had a fresh, medium rare burger you're in for a real treat! Keep everything cold, keep everything clean, and a medium rare home ground burger isn't as risky as it sounds.

It may not be everyday that you grind your own beef but I think it is most certainly worth the time. If you have a Kitchen Aid or a Cuisinart stand mixer, you're halfway there. Now all you need is a meat grinding attachment that matches your machine. So if you're looking for a 4th of July treat to yourself and your guests, try out a home ground burger!

Raw beef brisket ready to be cut into cubes and ground.

Ground brisket from our grinding attachment on the Cuisinart mixer.

Bird Feeder

Cooper's Hawk after catching a robin.

That's what I'm calling myself: a bird feeder. I feed small birds like bluebirds and cardinals at the suet and sunflower seed feeder but I also feed bigger birds like hawks. Above is a Cooper's hawk. I don't really do it on purpose, but living in a wooded area with lots of prey around, invariably you're going to see some hunting. This is the second time I've seen this bird swoop through the trees and land a tasty meal. The first time was early last Saturday morning when this hawk nailed a bluebird in mid-flight. What was amazing was that it happened about 10 feet in front of me. Now again, this afternoon when I was walking outside to get some thyme from the garden this guy (or girl) swooped down from above and caught a robin. If you look carefully you can see the robin under the hawk's talons. Both attacks happened in about the same spot and both of them happened about 10 or 15 feet from me. This hawk likes to show off.

Chanterelles

If you're out mowing the lawn, sometimes you come across a stray pine cone or stick that grinds and pops under the blade. You may smile and think manly thoughts about the horsepower lurking just inches below your fingertips... Then sometimes you stop dead in your tracks, blink a few times and realize that you have something quite unusual right in your own backyard - literally. Bright orange chanterelles right under your feet!

Here are a couple pictures of some wild chanterelles that decided to grow under our office window at home. I noticed them while pushing the lawnmower between our front and backyard lawn. Pretty damn awesome.

Whole Grilled Fish

When people think of grilled fish, I'd bet that 80 to 90% of people reach for salmon or tuna cuts and don't look any further. Most other fish is looked over because people don't know what to do with it. They are used to farmed salmon and sometimes over-fished tuna because that's what the stores and restaurants have pushed for sale over the past 10-20 years. These cuts can be mighty tasty and often good in all kinds of cooking applications, but I find whole grilled fish to be exponentially better in flavor and moisture. Besides, there's nothing better than tossing a whole, seasoned fish on the grill for a few minutes and impressing your friends with a perfectly cooked dinner - head, tail and all.

I always prefer to buy fish that is approved by the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch because they keep a close watch on what is being over-fished and what is potenitally harmful to your health (see: mercury in fish). If you're not in to tree hugging or preventing brain damage in your unborn child feel free to ignore the list, but I personally find the information useful. Over the years I have found that often, the more environmentally friendly fish like Spanish mackerel or mullet are not only cheaper, but are far tastier as well.

After that rant, tonight we (somewhat shamefully) grilled whole Gulf red snapper. Not exactly on the top of the list of environmentally friendly species, but it sure was good. There were some large Spanish mackerel in the case (one of my all-time favorite grilled fish) at our local Harry's Farmer's Market but the snapper was unbelievably fresh and the size was just right - about a pound each. According to our fish monger they had arrived just a couple hours before we purchased them. I snagged a couple and grilled them whole over a charcoal fire. Topped with a peach salsa and a side of grilled corn and bread, it was a great Saturday night dinner.

So the next time you're in the mood for fish, check out the Monterey Bay guide for sustainable seafood choices and instead of the usual salmon or tuna, try something different - a fresh whole fish. I think you'll be surprised at how great it turns out.

Garden Time #2

See if you can find the three tiny zucchini!

Japanese Eggplant flower

It's amazing what a month of growing can do. Looking back at pictures from the first garden post I'm quite amazed (and pleased) with the amount of growth taking place in our little garden. Much of that can be attributed to our substantial rainfall over the past month combined with the warm Spring temperatures.

The Italian zucchini, for one, is growing very fast... It already has 3 tiny zucchini eagerly awaiting their pollination time. The Japanese eggplant has put out one large gorgeous purple flower and has well over a dozen more getting ready to pop. The tomato plants are really on the move about now with the most ambitious Sun Gold plant reaching nearly 4 feet in height with several clusters of yellow flowers. Even the pepper plants which prefer the hot heat of summer are getting in on the action sending out a few tall, tender branches. Enjoy the pictures!

Garden after one month

24 Hours in New Orleans

The bar at MiLa

Sitting here in the New Orleans airport (yes, again) I figured I would write about my dinner and lunch over the past 24 hours. Last night I had dinner at MiLa. I was originally planning on driving out to Clancy's but MiLa was literally across the street from my hotel. I took that as a sign from the food gods and to MiLa I went.

The chefs of the restaurant are Allison Vines-Rushing, a 2004 James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year winner and her husband Chef Slade Rushing.

The restaurant was pretty empty aside from 2 or 3 couples and a stray flying termite that managed to creep under the front doors. (It is evidently swarm season in the Big Easy) They weren't expecting much business the day after the Memorial Day weekend and I was happy to have plenty of space to spread out on the bar. Entering the space, your eyes are drawn to the huge alabaster bar lighted from underneath. Perhaps the termites found it pretty as well (?). They have a few published signature cocktails on the menu but I decided to let the bartender whip me up an orange something or other. Great drink as an aperitif, he did well. It was a nice balance of sweet and bitter orange. If only I could remember all the ingredients. I started dinner with a complimentary amuse bouche: a goat cheese crostini with tomatoes and a balsamic reduction drizzled on top and a deep green parsley oil underneath. It was OK. The balsamic taste wasn't as strong as I had hoped. Considering you only have one bite, you've gotta pack some punch. All was fixed when the appetizer came along though. I ordered a deconstructed oysters rockefeller. The six or so very lightly poached oysters arrived on a bed of spinach drizzled all over with a white creamy foam and each oyster was topped with a piece of thin, cripsy bacon. The fact that you don't have to wrestle with the oyster shell was a nice change, especially when you've got on a freshly ironed light blue shirt. Everything was well seasoned and the oysters were my favorite part of the meal. Next came the entree; a sweet tea brined duck cooked on a rotisserie, served with roasted beets on a bed of wilted greens and drizzled with a date jus. This was a good idea in theory but there wasn't much tea flavor. Maybe I was expecting something like tea smoked duck, but I felt the flavor could have been more pronouced. The bitter wilted greens were great though, and the date jus was a perfect flavor match with the duck. Overall it was a pretty good plate of duck. For dessert (something I rarely go for) I got a Muscadine wine gelee. The gelee flavor was rather subtle and frankly I would have preferred more muscadine flavor. There is probably a fine line between gelle and grape jelly though, and if I had to choose, I'll take the gelee. It was cool and refreshing nonetheless. Overall the meal was quite good.

Today I drove back to Cochon Butcher for lunch before I left town. I had the muffaletta last time so this time I tried the bahn mi. I thought about it for a minute... why order a Vietmamese sandwich in a Southern Cajun style restaurant? To their defense they do list the "bahn mi" with quotations on the menu and refer to it as a Vietnamese po'-boy as not to offend any hard core food bloggers. Anyway, the sandwich was just OK. It was not as impressive to me as the muffaletta was. The bread was great, it had that thin crust that shatters all over your lap but is yet still super soft on the inside, it had the pickled daikon and carrots, the cilantro, and the jalapeno peppers too, but yet again, the flavor was lacking. The meat of the sandwich was pork liver pate and head cheese - fantastic in theory but they just lacked the pronounced pork flavor that I was hoping for. Still, I really admire and respect what they do there at the Cochon complex so I'll certainly be back when given the chance to try more!