Prime Rib Roast with Cracked Pepper on the Grill

For my Mother's Birthday my Dad and I decided that we would cook a boneless prime rib roast on the grill. We picked one up at the grocery store that weighed in at about 10 lbs. It was well marbled and had a nice fat cap on it, not too thick. It was tied up into a compact shape.

INGREDIENTS
    5-10 llb Boneless Prime Rib Roast
    1/4 c. Black Whole Peppercorns
    1/8 c. White Whole Peppercorns
    3 Tbs. Whole Mustard Seeds
    Kosher Salt

Scalloped Potatos

I recently made these for my Mom's birthday get together and they came out very well. As usual, I started with a great recipe from Allrecipes.com called "Scalloped Potatoes and Onions" and made some changes to improve the recipe. The nice part of this recipe is that it uses a velouté sauce instead of using a sauce based on milk or cream. This results in a much lighter tasting dish where the taste of the potatoes, onions and the topping can shine through.

INGREDIENTS
    5 large russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
    3/4 c. finely chopped onion
    3 Tbs. butter or margarine
    1 Tbs. olive oil
    1/4 c. all-purpose flour
    1 3/4 c. chicken broth (low sodium)
    2 Tbs. mayonnaise
    3/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
    1/8 tsp. pepper

Topping:
    1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
    1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese
    3 Tbs. Butter

Temperature and the Art of Grilling Chicken

I am good at grilling chicken. That statement sounds simple, but for those of you who regularly grill food, you know what it means. It means that you have mastered the task of cooking chicken from raw to cooked over an open flame. It means that when the chicken hits the table it is cooked through, but still juicy. This is no small feat. The cards are stacked against you: the pieces are usually of different sizes and shapes, they sometimes start off at different temperatures, the fire in your grill may be uneven. This makes the job of getting each piece up the correct temperature, and not too far over, much more difficult. I liken it to hitting the bulls-eye; even an inexperienced griller can hit very near the bulls-eye occasionally, it is not impossible. The trick is consistency, can you hit the mark every time you take a shot?

Homemade "Dijon" Mustard

Dijon style mustard is one of my favorites. My Dad used to make sandwiches with a peppered ham, tomatoes and cucumber slices. He would add a little "Jane's Crazy Mixed-up Salt" and some hot Dijon style mustard. Those were very good sandwiches, especially when the cukes and tomatoes came from our garden! I found a recipe in my new favorite reference book "Paul Kirk's Championship Barbeque Sauces" for a Dijon style mustard. As usual, I put my own spin on it and the mustard came out amazing! Here is what I did:

Naan Bread

My brother, Tad, showed me this recipe and it is easy and fun on the grill.

Check it out: Naan Bread

Matt's ABTs

ABTs, or Atomic Buffalo Turds have been around for awhile. They are especially popular with the owners of smokers because they can be cooked low and slow and get a nice smokey flavor added to them. That does not mean you can not do them on your Weber kettle grill or gas grill too, just remember to try to cook them slowly and make sure to account for the bacon fat that will render out of them.

Matt's Pad Thai

This is my take on Pad Thai. It is taken from Alton Brown's version with a change, I do not use the  tofu, my family prefers chicken. I have used the tofu, but you have to be very careful with the marinade that Alton uses, if you marinate the tofu too long, it comes out way too salty. I have modified this recipe to use dark meat chicken and for the marinade, I use low sodium soy sauce and water to cut down on the salt in the dish.

Grilled Chicken with Uncle Matt's Marinade

Some of you are familiar with the marinade I have been bottling. The following are directions on how to most effectively use the marinade.

ABOUT THE MARINADE:
The marinade is apple cider vinegar based with spices, onion, garlic, oil, natural sugar and some other stuff. It does not contain meat tenderizer, MSG, nor any peanut by-products. It was developed from a recipe that is used on the eastern shore by the volunteer fire departments for their grilled chicken fundraisers. The basic recipe has been used many times in the past at Sargent Family 4th of July parties and other celebrations. I have taken that basic recipe and added some other ingredients that I have found improve the flavor and performance. My nieces and nephews, who inhabit our pool during the summertime, have named the chicken I prepare for them "Uncle Matt's Chicken" and they seem to like it a great deal.

Shrimp Risotto

Friday is fish day now that the Lenten season is upon us. Here is a great recipe that you can do for the family on Friday night. Don't just save this for Lent, however, it looks great anytime.

I had never done a risotto before, but I found the recipe easy and the results were excellent! As usual, I have taken the recipe that is referenced and made it my own by changing a few things. First, I replaced the clam juice with oriental fish sauce. It is a great substitution and you will only notice a deeper and richer seafood flavor. It is optional, of course, you really do not need either the clam juice or the fish sauce. Second, I fixed the ingredient list, adding the Parmesan cheese that is called for in the directions but not listed in the original ingredients. Lastly, I call for you to add the broth in 3 additions instead of two. I think it makes the cooking a little more controlled and easier to manage.

Boston Baked Beans in Ceramic Pot

Hey gang, I needed a place to post my recipes so I decided I would start a blog. So the first recipe is, fittingly, taken from my big brother, Tad. This is a variation of the recipe that he and his wife gave us along with the authentic ceramic bean pot as a Christmas gift this year. I have made beans in the pot several times and I use his specified preparation of the beans, onions and salt pork. The changes I made are in the sauce preparation.

This recipe calls for an authentic ceramic bean pot with lid. My brother and his wife gave us an antique one, they being pretty abundant on Flea-Bay. You can also find them at kitchen stores new, like this one. The is recipe will fill a 3 quart pot.

Chilpotle and Black Bean Chili

I used this recipe without the meat and beans to create a great chili starter, canned in pint jars and accompanied by a small packet of ground hot peppers, made it a great gift for friends and neighbors.

Ingredients

1. 1.5 lbs. ground beef or turkey
2. 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
3. 3/4 c. diced onion
4. 3/4 c. diced green pepper
5. 1 Jalapeno Pepper, minced
6. 3 cloves Garlic, minced
7. 2 Tbs. chili powder
8. 2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
9. 2 tsp. ground cumin
10. 2 14 oz. cans of chicken broth (reduced sodium)
11. 1 16 oz. jar of Chunky Salsa (I like Pace, medium)
12. 1 15 oz. jar of black beans, drained and rinsed
13. 1 15 oz. jar of white hominy, drained and rinsed
14. 1 6 oz. can of Tomato paste.
15. 1-2 chilpotle peppers prepared as described below
16. 1 tsp reserved adobo sauce prepared as described below
17. 2-4 Tbs. fine ground cornmeal or masa harina.

Preparation of the "Chilpotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce":  The peppers come in a small cans (7 oz.) and can be found in most markets including Walley World. You may want to wear gloves for this step as the chilies are very hot. Open the can and remove 1 or 2 of the chilies. Split them lengthwise and scrape out the membranes and seeds as best you can - they are the really hot parts. The peppers will be soft and in a dark sauce so work carefully. Take the peppers and mince them very finely. For the Adobo sauce, just use a small teaspoon to dip out the needed amount from the can. Place the remaining peppers and sauce in a small tupperware container and save the fridge.