Cooking Out

    

                                  

         I always grill over wood or charcoal fire. I will add mesquite or hickory wood to the charcoal fire to create smoke and put the lid on the grill when the meat is cooking. 

Chicken I marinate with Jamaican allspice, garlic powder (not garlic salt), mild paprika, hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco, but less expensive), and soy sauce. Mesquite chips burning and producing smoke is mandatory. 

For pork I just use ground chipotle pepper. I buy pork very red so that as soon as the red is cooked out it is done. 

I cook indirectly with the charcoal in one corner of the grill and the meat in the opposite corner. BBQ sauce is added only when the dish is served, Kansas City style. I normally use Pickapeppa Jamaican style sauce, & Christa uses Kraft Honey BBQ sauce. I buy the family pack and make a project out of cooking so there will be cold leftovers during the week, especially cold pork.

- Eric

Orzo

This is orzos with sauce ramatuelle.

1 lb. orzo set to boil, al dente

meanwhile in a large serving bowl combine:

2 Tbsp olive oil

4-5 large ripe tomato, chopped

1/2 bulb garlic, cloves peeled, sliced, diced, then crushed with the back of the fork in 1 1/2 tsp salt.

1 full cup sweet basil leaves, coarsely chopped.

one 8 oz. can california black olives, sliced.

Fold ingredients into the hot cooked orzo (they will cook slightly by thmselves) and serve.

- Eric & Christa

Our "Chef" Jeremiah

Linguini with Mussels

1 pound of linguini.

1/4 olive oil.

2/3 cup white wine.

6-8 garlic cloves, minced.

2 pounds of live mussels in the shell, scrubbed and de-bearded.

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

1/2 cup finely chopped Italian flat leaf "plain" parsley.

2 tablespoons of butter (optional).

1 cup fresh grated parmesan.

Set 6 quarts of water to boil. Add linguini and cook "al dente". Drain. Heat the oil in a large covered frying pan, add the garlic, but only cook a minute at most, garlic is delicate, do not brown. Add the wine and heat to boiling point. Add about half the parsley,then add the mussels and cover for 5 minutes, at simmering. Then toss in the remaining parsley, serve the mussels over the pasta, liberally adding the juice to the plate. Melt butter and parmesan over the top of the presentation. I recommend a good Jerez (sherry), preferably a Manzanilla or a Fino, for both in the cooking and accompanying.

The means by which careful selection of live mussels which are free from possible contamination will vary from location to location. Check for local advisories. Here we only buy them in the "r" months, e.g., September through April. I make sure the shells are intact and not broken, then scrub and remove "beards" while rinsing in cold water. Shells that do not open when cooked merit discarding the mussel.

- Eric