Easter Egg Salad

My wife and I along with our son were visiting our daughter (his sister), Carlisle,  last weekend in Harrisonburg. One of her roommates happens to be my nephew, Hugh. He is the son of my slightly older sister, Patience. Well, this particular weekend brought her and her husband and one of my nieces, Helen, over to Harrisonburg from their farm in Fork Union as well. We were all getting together to support the JMU Crew Club at their mock regatta. We all met up at the river and watched the boats and then had some hot dogs and burgers. After the event, we all headed back to the apartment to visit and chat. My sister had prepared a couple of things to have at the river, but being as there were plenty of hot dogs and hamburgers, we kept those things for later.

One of the things she had made was her egg salad and it is the best! Anyone who knows me well, knows that egg salad is something I really enjoy. I am sure part of the reason her egg salad is so good is they keep a number of free range laying hens at their farm. That notwithstanding, I called her up last night and got her recipe. It is so simple, here it is:

Grilled Grouper with Tomato Basil & Feta Topping

This recipe is based on one found in AllRecipes.com - Feta Tomato-Basil Fish. That recipe is a bit general, so here is what I did. I grilled the grouper on the Big Green Egg and then I used the broiler to finish off the topping and melt the feta cheese a little. Here is how it went:

INGREDIENTS
Grilled Fish:
    2 garlic cloves, minced    1 tsp. kosher salt
    6 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar
    4 Tbs Olive Oil
    3 pounds fresh Grouper fillets

Topping:
    2/3 c. chopped onion
    2 garlic clove, minced
    2 Tbs. olive oil
    3 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
    2 Tbs. minced fresh basil
    1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese

Matt's Cassoulet

I thought I would try my hand a making a cassoulet. I looked up several recipes and they all called for duck in some form or another. I went out and tried to buy duck legs or breast, but they were nowhere to be found. This is supposed to be peasant food, so the thought of buying a $30 duck to make it did not seem right. I decided to substitute fresh chicken thighs for the duck.  I purchased them from from my butcher along with some of his fresh made Italian sausage and the results were excellent. This is a fantastic winter dish and the smell of it cooking will knock you out. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

    2 lbs.            Chicken Thighs
    1 lbs.            Mild Italian Sausage
    1 1/4 lb.        Pork Chops, bone in
    1 lbs.            Dry White Beans (Navy or other)
    28 oz.           Can Diced Tomatoes
    1/4 c.            Diced Onion
    1/4 c.            Diced Shallots (optional, sub onion instead)
    1/2 c.            Diced Carrots
    1/2 c.            Diced Celery
    1/2 head       Garlic, minced
                        Low Sodium Chicken Broth
    Bunch           Fresh Parsley
    Bunch           Fresh Thyme
                        Bay Leaf
                        Salt, Pepper

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