Post Superbowl Ribs

The butcher at Whole Foods said to "rub 'em with the"rub," wrap 'em in foil and cook 'em for 90 minutes between 325 and 350, then take 'em out and let 'em sit for 5 minutes before taking them to the grill. Take 'em out of the foil and grill 'em on medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes while brushing on the "sauce" and they should be good!" He was SO totally right!

In short: The Rub.

...and the Ribs.

This is just the skinny... More to come on how they came to be.

Further Adventures in Griddling: ¡Viva La Quesadilla!

After our hamburger experiment with the Griddler earlier this month, we deemed the appliance worthy of further testing. Or, perhaps I should say I deemed the appliance worthy. For some reason, Mario seems inexplicably wary of it, although he is fully supportive of my experimentation. At any rate, I was looking for something quick and easy and, knowing Mario’s fondness for Mexican food, decided quesadillas would be perfect. The labor on these is heavy on the prep work, but once you have everything ready to go, they come together quickly.

8 8-inch flour tortillas
4 teaspoons butter, melted
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
½ cup green onion, sliced
½ cup tomatoes, chopped
shredded cheese of your choice
guacamole
sour cream
salsa

Our first step was to cook the chicken, which we did by simply sautéing in a bit of butter with a pinch of kosher salt over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes a side.

While the chicken cooks, chop your tomato and onion and hold in prep bowls until you’re ready for assembly.

Pre-heat the Griddler to 350 in the closed griddle position.

Let the chicken cool until it’s comfortable to handle. Chop or shred and hold in a prep bowl along with your other ingredients.

To assemble:

Brush one side of the tortilla with a bit of melted butter.

Place buttered side down on your work surface and build your filling, placing it all to one side of the tortilla.

You will be cooking two tortillas at a time. Fold each tortilla in half and place on the bottom griddle plate.

Close the griddle and bake until cheese is melted and tortillas are light golden brown and crispy. For me, it was about 4 minutes, although I admit that I may not have fully mastered the temperature controls on the Griddler at this point, so just keep a close eye on things.

One way to tell when you’re getting close is that you might hear the sizzle of the melted cheese hitting the griddle plate. This is also a good place to note that you should try not to overfill your tortillas. I found that I was surprised by how little filling half of an 8-inch tortilla could take. Not that a little overflow is a terrible thing, but if you want your quesadillas to stay perfectly neat, err on the side of less filling.

I admit I did try an alternate method, where instead of filling one side and folding the tortilla in half, I filled the whole tortilla and laid another one directly on top. I’m not exactly sure why, but this method did not work as well.

You can hold your completed quesadillas in a warm oven (175-200) until you are finished making the whole batch.

Slice and serve with your choice of condiments. We only had sour cream and guacamole on hand for this first batch, and although Mario gave them very high praise, they’d probably be even yummier with a kick of spicy salsa.

Chicken Chicken Soup!

“With the winter chill upon us,
And snow upon your stoop,
We think you will find comfort
In our chicken chicken soup!”

Mario hardly ever gets sick. I don’t know how he does it, but then again, I’m the one who works in a big office building and takes public transportation, so maybe it makes some sense that it seems to be me who always catches the cold, or the flu, or whatever happens to be going around. So I know for a fact that Mario first made this soup for me because I was sick. (Yeah, he’s a big ol’ softie!) And because Mario has music in his soul and likes to make me laugh, he usually sings silly little songs while he cooks. Hence the short verse quoted above to open this post.

1 ½ to 2 lbs chicken thighs, skin removed
1 small bunch celery, trimmed and chopped
1 bag carrots, chopped
1 onions, chopped
1 head of garlic, chopped
3-4 cubes chicken bouillon or chicken broth
2 potatoes, chopped (optional)
1/2 lb pasta or 1 cup rice
Kosher salt

There is some disagreement on what type of meat to use for chicken soup. Skinless, boneless thighs; skinless, boneless breasts; thighs with skin and bone; all have their proponents. We’ve made this soup many different ways in our quest for perfection, and we’ve come to the conclusion that skinless but on the bone thighs yield the best results.
Although the boneless, skinless thighs make for an easier-to-eat meal, the bones do provide a nice boost of flavor.

Cover chicken with 2 inches of water in large stockpot.

Add garlic, onions and pinch of Kosher salt. Bring to a gentle boil; lower heat and simmer for 45-50 minutes.

We know this may be blasphemy to a hard-core chicken soup loyalist; however, along with the usual celery and carrots, we like to add potatoes for a heartier soup.

Add celery, carrots, potatoes, and bouillon. Simmer for another 45 minutes.

We haven’t mastered (ok, we haven’t even attempted) homemade stock yet, but if you prefer to use homemade or canned chicken broth or stock, just start with that instead of water. Add pasta or rice (we’ve made it both ways) and simmer for 20 minutes. If using rice, we suggest cooking the rice separately before adding it to the soup. This will make the finished product a little less starchy.

Even better if served with a loaf of crusty bread!

Adventures in Griddling

It’s 10:00 on a Thursday night.
We’re about to do up a round of our soon-to-be-famous hamburgers on rye. They’re quick, and we’re hungry. But first, Mario has been excited all day, and he can’t wait to tell me about his idea to link certain products that we write about to a website where people can read reviews, comparison shop, and even make a purchase if they’re so inclined. This website, of course, is Amazon. I poke around a little bit on the Amazon site, doing some quick test searching for various tools of our trade, and I remember that we actually own a Cuisinart GR-4 Cuisinart Stainless-Steel 4-in-1 Grill/Griddle and Panini Press.

We received it as a gift a couple of years ago and just didn’t really have the counter space in our old apartment for it. And then we moved, and it found its way into the back of our pantry, and I realize sadly that that we’ve never used it. But the product shot on the box actually depicts it being used to cook hamburgers! Perfect, right?

It’s now 10:15 on Thursday night and I am about to take the Griddler on its maiden voyage. Mario has gone from excited to nervous and has the fire extinguisher at the ready.

We have enough ground beef in the fridge for 3 perfectly-sized burgers.

Mario suggests cooking two of the burgers using our traditional stovetop method (more on that in a future post), saying that since this is a test run with the Griddler, we should only cook one on it. That way, if it’s a disaster, we’ll still have something to eat. I reluctantly agree.

So here we go.
Step 1. Read the manual. Here is where I come to the deflating realization that we might have to postpone our Griddler test drive. The grilling plates on the appliance are nonstick, which means NO METAL UTENSILS. In a fit of culinary frustration a few weeks back, Mario got a little angry and took it out on our sole non-metal spatula. (He still owes me a new one!) However, tonight he is determined that since we’ve unpacked this appliance, washed all the parts, and set it up, we’re going to try it! It comes with a little plastic tool that’s supposed to be used for cleaning the grill plates, but it’ll suffice as a makeshift hamburger turner in a pinch.

Step 2. Turn on the Griddler. The manual warns that there might be a slight odor and smoke when using it for the first time. It says this is normal and common for nonstick appliances. Thankfully, there’s no smoke, although we did notice a distinct odor and opened a kitchen window because of it.

There are several ways you can use the Griddler: with either the grill plates (ridged) or griddle plates (smooth); and in completely open, half open, or closed positions. For its first run, I opt to use it in the half-open position with the grill plates. Mario’s nervousness is contagious, and I’m a little anxious about using it closed. Plus, I want to see how the burger is cooking.

Step 3. Cook the burger. I carefully place my one lonely hamburger patty in the middle of the grill plate and wait.

For a few minutes, it appears nothing happens. But then I hear a slight sizzle and I can see that the bottom is cooking!

I’m unsure about the cooking time, though, so I end up flipping it several times and erring on the side of caution. Finally, we both agree that it’s probably done.

Step 4. Eat. As this is just a trial run, and Mario is concurrently cooking our “real” dinner in a pan on the stove, we don’t even dress the Griddler burger with anything, not even a bun! We simply put it on a plate between us and each cut a bite-sized piece.

Step 5. Verdict. It’s not terrible. It’s a bit dry, probably because I overcooked it a bit, but we also realize that because the Griddler is a non-stick surface, there’s no added lubrication like the butter we use for the stovetop burgers. The Griddler method probably makes a healthier burger, but it does take some of the flavor and the juiciness away. One note is that the grill plates are made with a corner spout for drippage, and it comes with two drip cups that you place underneath the spouts to catch what drains off.

The cups, however, don't attach to the Griddler at all; they just sit on the counter positioned under the spouts. Seems a slightly odd design choice, but the good thing was that this burger didn't even require the use of them at all. The grease that it did generate just ended up in tiny spatters all over the front of the appliance and on the counter around it.

Overall, this was a worthwhile experiment. There will be more to come from the Griddler, it just won’t be burgers. But that’s ok. The cats enjoyed it.

Whole Roast Chicken

This past Thanksgiving in Mario’s Kitchen was different. Sadly, our traditional Thanksgiving chef (not Mario) was feeling under the weather and was not up to the task. So, it fell to us to cook our first turkey ever. Exciting! And a little bit intimidating. While not an epic failure, that particular bird was not quite a resounding success either. But it did inspire us to pick up a couple of whole chickens to practice on.

They’re smaller than a turkey and practically a steal at about $9 for a package of two chickens at our local membership-only wholesale club (ok, it’s BJ’s). I admit I was still intimidated by a 5-pound chicken, but the process is actually very easy, and a great way to stretch your food dollars if you worry about that sort of thing.

1 whole chicken
½ cup butter, melted
1 small onion, quartered
5 or 6 cloves garlic, whole
½ lemon, quartered
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp rosemary
1 Tbsp sage
1 Tbsp thyme
Kosher salt
Black pepper, freshly ground

Pre-heat oven to 335.

Next, we throw on our Playtex Disposables CleanCuisine Gloves - Medium:
30 Count (Mario is a freak about handling raw chicken!)

Start by removing giblet package from cavity; trim neck if needed. Rinse chicken well with cold water; Pat dry with paper towels.

Place chicken in your Pyrex Grip-Rite 3-Quart Oblong Baking Dish Clear coated with non-stick cooking spray.

Sprinkle cavity with ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, and spices (bay leaves, rosemary, sage, and thyme). Stuff cavity with onion, garlic and lemon. Fold wings back and tie legs together with kitchen twine. Brush outside of chicken with melted butter; season generously with more kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Roast at 335 for about 2 hours (for about a 5 lb. bird). After the first hour, about when the jucies start collecting on the bottom of your cooking vessel, you may baste every 10 to 15 minutes until done.

And here is the bird after just under 2 hours.

Note: Our chicken packaging says to cook it at 375 for an hour and 10 minutes, until juices run clear when pierced with a fork and a meat thermometer registers 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh. However, we found that with our oven at 375, it was burning the outside of the chicken, so we experimented a bit and cook ours at a slightly lower temperature for a longer amount of time. You should never cook chicken at a temperature lower than 325 degrees and a bird like this will take at least 2 hours at that temperature.

You could serve this with rice, potatoes, a nice green salad… but for us it’s just a challenge getting it onto plates and sitting down at the table with knives and forks! So you may be tempted to just eat it standing up at the counter, pulling it apart with your fingers!

Our Beautiful Disaster - Tacos!

Happy New Year, everyone! Wow, time sure flies when you're having fun, but six whole months? I suppose "fun" might be stretching it a bit considering all that has transpired in our lives since my last post on July 4th. The summer was long and lazy. It came and went without a hitch, but as fall approached, so did numerous domestic necessities and challenges. There was the refinishing the stairs project; the giant hole in our living room wall I needed to mend because of a cracked pipe (not to be confused with a “crack pipe”!); a total exterior renovation of our home; and then the holidays.

The good thing is that these liaisons with fate haven’t stopped us. We’ve continued to remain hard at work here in the Kitchen, perfecting and destroying all kinds of dishes, documenting the good and touching up the bad. Despite all that has been going on, we’ve continued to keep things cooking, remembering always that the most important ingredient is fun.

We’ve decided to mix things up a bit here in the Kitchen for 2011. For one, I will be introducing meals that give more bang-for-the-buck. Everyone knows what it’s like to want to stay within a budget. Most of the meals we create can be made for little money and will easily feed a family of 4 to 6.

Next, my wife Carolyn will be doing a lot more writing. Trust me, you will appreciate that. Considering she reads more books in one week than I have read in the past several years, I'm sure you will find her literary prowess enjoyable. Besides, my superiority lies behind the camera and in front of the stove.

So without further ado, I now introduce you to my lovely wife, Carolyn!

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My life is pretty good. I have an adoring husband who makes me dinner every night. I’m not entirely sure how it worked out that way, since it isn’t as if I hate to cook. Sometimes I think it’s because he’s a somewhat picky eater and can be stubborn. And sometimes I get sentimental and remember that in the very early days of our relationship, he wooed me by coming to my apartment laden with shopping bags, taking over my tiny kitchen, and whipping up an impressive dinner for two, so maybe it was just meant to be. This is not to say, however, that the kitchen is entirely his domain. It may be “Mario’s Kitchen,” but even Mario can use the help of a prep chef and dishwasher!

Here in the Kitchen, we try to make an effort to cook seasonally-appropriate food. This means a lot of outdoor grilling in the summer; chicken soup when someone is sick; and hearty, warming, comfort foods when the New England winter starts to set in. So, as we wandered the aisles of our local supermarket one day in late fall, wondering what to make for dinner, I mentioned that it was getting to be chili time again.

It should have been easy. We’ve made many, many pots of chili before. It was almost foolproof. But then, the unthinkable. Mario got distracted - took a phone call, went upstairs, or just walked away from the stove for a minute - and burned the chili. But with a full pot of the stuff, we didn’t want to just toss it. Knowing that chili is usually better the day after it’s cooked anyway, and saved by the fact that only the bottom had burned and hadn’t been loosened up and stirred back into the pot, we carefully put it away and hoped it would be palatable the next day. But as Mario walked somewhat sadly out of the kitchen that night, inspiration struck. “I think this would make much better tacos,” he said. And he was right.

3 lbs. ground beef
1 onion
kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp butter
1 can Pastene or Goya black beans
1 can Pastene or Goya kidney beans
1 can Pastene Kitchen-Ready canned tomatoes
1 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder

Start by melting 2 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Saute onions until translucent (5-7 minutes) being very careful not to burn them. Add ground beef and mix in 1 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Brown the beef completely (9-12 minutes). Add canned tomatoes, beans and spices. Bring to a gentle boil for about a minute, then bring down to simmer on low for about an hour, stirring occasionally to make sure that nothing sticks to the bottom. If you can, let it sit for a day. It’ll be even tastier.



Serve on your choice of hard taco shells or soft tortillas with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole!

Grilled Wings with Vodka Sauce

I can't really take any credit for this next recipe. I learned how to grill the wings online and my good friend, Alan Moorhouse, showed me how to make the vodka sauce, but it's just too good not to share, especially now with grilling season in full swing.

I must make mention here again of BJ's Wholesale Club. This place is just, well, pretty darn awesome! The amount of savings is well worth the membership fee. If you are the type of household that enjoys entertaining guests, this is the place to shop. I got a bag of 30 whole wings for just $14.00 and bag of 30 chicken thighs for around $10.50. I'm not a huge advocate of freezing meats, but at these prices, I make an exception.

The wings.

Unless we are cooking for guests, I only use 15 of the 30 wings, and if I'm not going have them again for a couple of nights, the rest go in the freezer. Start by washing the wings in cold water and place on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Dry the excess water from the wings by patting them with more paper towels. Once dried of excess water, coat the wings with a light layer of extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle on a light dusting of kosher salt and then add on some fresh ground black pepper. You don't need a picture, right? Good because I didn't take one. I figured you've all seen enough pictures of raw chicken laying on trays at this point! Next, pre-heat your grill and set for low heat. You want to make sure you don't get any flare-ups as chicken grease is highly flammable (I've already had 3 grill fires this year!) Once your grill is up to temp, around 300, place the wings skin-side down. Turn the wings every five minutes for a total of 25 to 35 minutes. Start brushing on the sauce during the last 5 to 10 minutes of that time.

If you are uncertain how to tell when wings are done, there are many indicators. I go by look and feel, as you can feel a distinct firmness to them as they start to approach readiness. You will also see less smoke rising from your grill, an indicator that your starting to burn off meat as opposed to grease. As with the steaks, it took me several tries to get them just right, and as you learn your grill and your own technique, you will perfect wing cooking as well. I found that cooking when I am hungry produces the best results because I don't want to screw up my food, therefore I pay extra close attention to it! Also, there are countless websites out there that can tell you different ways of grilling wings. It's totally up to you how you want to go about it. Just remember the basic philosophy; it's better to over cook chicken, than to under cook it.

The Sauce.

Prepare the sauce well before you begin the wings as it takes about 30-40 minutes in itself.

In a medium sauce pan add:
1 cup plain vodka
1 quart ketchup
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tbs ground cumin
1/2 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cayenne pepper
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup salt
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice

Mix and simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes. This recipe makes about 3 cups of sauce so make sure you've got some Tupperware handy to store it in your fridge for later use.

This sauce is great for all kinds of chicken parts and goes great on ribs as well.

Everybody say, thanks Al!