Mesquite grilled lobster

Oh, man, it doesn't get any better than this.  Simple elegance.  If you get a female lobster, save the roe and serve as caviar.

THE RECIPE

Mesquite charcoal

1 lobster, approximately 2#

Olive oil, as needed
Smoked paprika
Garlic powder, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste

1 stick butter, melted and clarified, warmed over low flame
Hot sauce, to taste

Build a fire in a BBQ grill.  Split carapace and clean the lobster.  Baste with oil on both sides of the lobster.  Season, and grill,

baste with oil as needed.  Re season as needed and serve with spiced drawn butter.  Serve with steamed white rice and the vegetable of your choice.

Mesquite-grilled rib eye steak with brie sauce

(Click on image for larger view) Finished product, vegetables just off the grill.

Here am I with a rare summer day off, and grilling season is open.  I am not as practiced on the grill as I should be, so I approach these projects with enthusiasm - and some trepidation.

I blame today's overindulgence on the supermarkets with their 50% off meat sale, and their 3-inch thick cut steaks in the meat case.  I locked onto one, and suddenly I was Mike Myers in Wayne's World..."oh, yes...it will be mine..."

How to make it more decadent? you may ask  (OK, maybe that was me.) - the answer is simple - MORE FAT.  Oh, and tons of freshly ground black pepper.  A splash of Cognac can't hurt, either.

I paired this steak up with grilled vegetables and skin-on white rose potatoes; bonus round -- after searing the steak, I finished it up on indirect heat and seared my sides directly over the mesquite coals in a cast-iron grilling basket.

THE RECIPE

Rib Eye (or your favorite) steak, brought to room temperature

Worcestershire sauce, sea salt, Tabasco and freshly cracked ground black pepper to taste.

Season the steak on both sides, turning every 20 minutes until grilling time.  Sear over hot coals then set on the opposite side of the grill until you reach your preferred temperature, then let rest for 10 minutes.  While the steak rests, start the sauce.

BRIE SAUCE

3-4 slices thick pepper bacon, fat reserved (cook and cool this ahead of time)

1 medium shallot, minced
1 large clove garlic, grated
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t capers, minced
2 T Cognac

+/- 2 T butter
+/- 2 T flour (adjust the roux as needed)


1 wedge brie (I found a nice double creme brie with mushrooms), rind peeled
 3-4 T cream
Coarsely cracked black pepper, to taste

Chop the bacon for garnish; set aside.

Sautee shallot, garlic, basil and capers briefly in one teaspoon of the rendered bacon fat.  Add and cook off the cognac, 3-4 minutes.  Transfer to another pan.  Combine the butter and flour to create a roux, whisking continuously for 4-5 minutes to cook the flour well.  In the second pan, melt the cheese over medium heat with the first ingredients.  Stir to prevent scorching.  Add the cream, roux, and season.  Stir over medium heat until proper consistency is reached.  Pour over the steak and garnish with bacon.

**keep the cream at hand, and add more if needed to smooth out the sauce.  This batch took nicely to a little fresh beef stock as well.**



THE SIDES

I took corn, carrots, white rose potatoes and parboiled them.  To these, I added onion, celery, jalapeno pepper slices and broccoli, drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt and lots of black pepper.

First turn; I ended up with a nice char for the plateup.

This will either make three great meals, or two plus incredible hash tomorrow for breakfast!  Let me know if you try this one.

Cuban Hamburgers

This a recipe I have seen on a few sites recently; I HAD to try it as I need to finish off the dry-cured chorizo left over from the recent "Cassoul-aint" project. I am (as I often do) creating a hybrid of a couple recipes while inserting my own preferences. I used a shortcut, as I didn't have too much time - I fired up the cast iron grill pan rather than charcoal in the grill.

Grilled meat, fried potatoes, ham and swiss cheese -- what's not to love?

THE RECIPE

1/4 lb. ground beef
1 lb. bulk sausage, spicy
1/4 lb. chorizo, casing removed
1/2 small onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t dried cumin
1/4 t cayenne powder
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
2T seasoned bread crumbs
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

1 large russet potato
Your favorite hot sauce, to taste

Work above ingredients together; do not overmix. Form into 4 patties; press a hole through the center of each with your finger. Allow to rest and come up to room temperature.

Meanwhile, peel and grate one large russet potato; pat dry excess moisture with a paper towel. Heat 4T oil in a skillet. Fry the potato until golden brown. Remove from heat, drain on a paper towel and season with hot sauce.

Grill burger patties (well done).

4 bakery buns or torta rolls
mayonnaise
HP sauce (try to find it; it's worth the search) or barbeque sauce
8 thick slices of deli ham
8 thick slices of swiss cheese
dill pickle slices (I had a survivor from the super garlic homemade batch)

Toast buns lightly in oven; slather the bottom pieces with mayo and add pickle slices. Coat the top bun pieces with HP sauce, lay 2 slices each cheese and ham on these and broil quickly. Layer patties and potatoes on bottom pieces. Finish with the bun tops, settle back and call your doctor to schedule an angioplasty!

This is almost a Primanti Brothers sandwich -- next time I'll have to add some slaw!

Until next time; enjoy!

CEM

Wild Alaskan King Salmon with phenomenal root vegetable relish

Okay, we'll start with the cover photo...This is a case of the cart before the horse. I built this dinner around the side dish. I ADORE beets, and found some great organic beets at Bristol Farms. Jackpot -- there were some beautiful red and gold ones loose in one of the bins. When all was said and done, the checker could not verify the pricing (as they were not in bunches, with their little official sticker) for them. SO, she sent over the bagger to investigate. The line lengthens...I grow impatient. No luck. She called the produce manager (I grow more impatient, my temper approaching a Krakatoa-like level) who could not verify the pricing either. RESULT: my beets were FREE, because for whatever ungodly reason they had been snipped from their stalks??? Which is just as well because of the BF pricing structure...but I digress.

Once I saw my red and gold beauties, I scooped up some herbs, fennel and parsnips, checked over the meat / seafood cases, and landed upon a beautiful fillet of wild Alaskan King salmon. Here's the plan: grilled salmon (I prefer charcoal; fruit wood chips or a cedar plank can enhance the flavor as well) with a root vegetable relish.

FLIGHT - it was all wonderful. FLUB - I should have gone with all golden beets (and gone back after that Cashier ended her shift to buy up the rest of the loose beets)! The red beets dyed the rest of the ingredients and I lost presentation points.

THE RECIPE

Grilled salmon:

2 - 8oz. wild salmon fillets
As needed EV olive oil
To taste grey Fleur de Sel (or sea salt)
To taste fresh cracked black pepper (as in mortar and pestle)

Root vegetable relish

2-3 red beets
2-3 golden beets (use 4-6 golden to avoid my blunder, or cook the red ones separately)
3 parsnips, 1/4 in. dice
1/2 small onion, 1/4 in. dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bulb fennel, 1/4 in. dice
3 sprigs basil, leaves cut into chiffonade
1 sprig tarragon, chopped
As needed, EV olive oil
2T seasoned rice vinegar
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Trim beets, being careful not to nick the root end. Boil beets and parsnips in lightly salted water until soft when pierced with a fork. Allow to cool, then peel beets and dice into 1/4 in. pieces. In another pan, sautee onion and garlic 5 minutes, until softened. Transfer vegetables to a bowl, cool, then toss with herbs, enough oil to coat ingredients, vinegar and KSP. Taste, adjust seasoning and refrigerate.

Greens for garnish:

1 cup baby greens (I had a bag of baby ruby reds)
Dash lemon juice
Drizzle of truffle oil
Toss and place in one quadrant of dinner plate

Preparation:

Season salmon and allow to come up to room temperature. Grill, cavity side first. After approximately 2 minutes, turn 90 degrees for a nice cross-hatched pattern. Flip after another 2 minutes, repeat for the other side. Cook to a medium - medium rare temp for best flavor (whichever works for you, just don't cremate this beautiful creature!). Serve over greens alongside the root vegetable relish.

You can serve the salmon right off the grill, or at ambient temperature. Enjoy!