Garlic, Black Pepper, and Fennel-rubbed Flank Steak with Grilled Oranges - aka Party Steak!

You have to love the flank steak; so easy to cook, almost no trimming, relatively lean, and perfect for a party since it’s slight change in thickness from one end to the other allows for slices of medium rare and medium well off the same piece of meat. This very interesting recipe has something I always appreciate in a dish; it makes its own sauce. As you’ll see in the video recipe, we used the juice from some grilled oranges with the natural juices from the steak to create a fabulous looking, and tasting platter of beef.

While this dish may appear to be inspired by Italian or Spanish influences (which it is), it’s also a take on one of my favorite Chinese dishes; spicy orange beef. I love to grill flank steak with a highly flavored rub of garlic, fennel, salt and black pepper. I wondered what would happen if I added a little orange to the marinade, and then I got the idea to caramelize some orange halves on the grill, and squeeze the juice over the meat after it was cooked and sliced. It was an amazing combination, and one you must try. I did a recent video recipe with some orange and fennel grilled chicken thighs, that was very good, but this went to a whole new place. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 flank steak (about 2 pounds)
1 tbl fennel seeds
2 tbl black pepper
2 tsp salt
3 oranges
2 tbl olive oil
4 sprigs rosemary
4 cloves garlic
cayenne pepper to taste

Garlic, Fennel and Orange Grilled Chicken Thighs – When your brain wants Chicken, but your heart wants Italian Sausage

You’re about to see a delicious culinary compromise. I was craving some grilled Italian sausage, but had a package of chicken thighs in the fridge waiting for me to grill them. What to do? My Uncle Bill (he of the now famous homemade pasta and chicken D’Arduini video recipes) makes a great Italian sausage scented with fennel, garlic and a touch of orange zest. He makes these before Christmas, cures them in his cellar, and cooks them on Christmas Eve after Midnight Mass. They are sublime. So, that’s really what I wanted, but as I said I had chicken to work with. I decided to use the same basic flavors to marinade the chicken to see if I could impart some of the magic of those sausages I was dreaming about.

Did it work? Yes and no. The chicken turned out to be very delicious. Anything grilled on a fire, after being marinated in garlic, fennel and orange is going to taste great, so on that level it was a great success. The only problem was it made me crave my Uncle’s sausage even more! By the way, if you’re wondering how I prepped my grill so the skinless chicken wouldn’t stick, go check out the Tandoori Chicken video recipe clip. Also, I like to garnish grilled meat dishes like this with the same fresh herb that I use in its dry form in the marinade. Since there was some dried oregano in the Italian herb mix, I finished my platter with some beautiful flowering oregano. This is just another great reason to plant some herbs, whether it’s in your backyard, rooftop, or windowsill. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
10 boneless skinless chicken thighs
4 cloves garlic
1/2 orange, zest and juice
1 1/2 tbl kosher salt
1 tbl dried Italian herb mix (oregano, basil, rosemary, marjoram, thyme)
1 tbl sweet paprika
1 tbl black pepper
2 tbl fennel seed
1 tbl olive oil

Black Mission Figs, over a Fire, under the Fog

It was one of those San Francisco evenings when the fog comes in disguised as a light mist. Easier to feel than see, I could hear its tiny sizzle as it slowly floated down onto my quickly dying coals.

The flank steak had been grilled and was resting, but my work was not over. I had fresh figs to grill before the damp evening claimed my fire. Not just any figs; deep dark purple, perfectly ripe, sweet and juicy Mission figs.

A drip of olive oil moistening their soft skins, on the grill they went. As the heat from the glowing embers began to expand the soft interiors, the surface of the figs tightened and became shiny. Soon small cracks appeared, and the sound of their sweet syrup dripping into the coals told me they were done.

Back inside the steak was sliced thin and scattered atop a tangle of wild arugula. The still warm figs joined the plate, as did a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. A grind of black pepper and pinch of sea salt were the only garnishes needed. We ate in smiling silence as the fog disappeared into the darkness. There is no video record of this extraordinary meal. Some things are better left to the mind’s eye.

Prosciutto Wrapped Prawns – Sorry Pancetta, we’ve met someone else

Yes, another "I'm still in New York" re-run, but as soon as I'm done with this post I'm going to finish editing a very nice Key Lime Pie recipe that my Mom made today. It's an old family tradition, 2 days before any major shoulder surgery the patient makes pie for good luck. This pie will go perfectly with the Prawn recipe below. This was originally posted here way back in February, so keep in mind none of the new A/V equipment was around then. It's really easy, and can be done on the stove top or on a grill. Enjoy!

One of my favorite summer time food moments is that first perfectly sweet, ripe and juicy melon, wrapped with a thin slice of Prosciutto. This recipe is inspired by that same combination, only this time the cold sweet melon is being replaced by hot sweet prawns.

I’ve seen this dish on many menus, but the prawns are usually wrapped with Pancetta (Italian bacon). I find that Prosciutto works so much better since it cooks, and crisps up faster, and allows for us to not over cook the prawn. The Pancetta is usually thicker and fattier and by the time it’s cooked through the prawns are overcooked, and have suffered severe “shrinkage.”

Please note in the clip I don’t salt the prawns before wrapping. When we pan sear the skewered prawns, the salty Prosciutto is all the seasoning we need. Also, watch for a trick I’ve used several times before, using a smoked paprika to give the final product a “char-grilled” character.

As far as seasoning, I went very minimalist this time. Other additions to this recipe can include garlic, hot peppers, and fresh herbs like basil or tarragon. I love serving this on “beans and greens” (pictured in photo above) which is a side dish I learned from my Uncle Bill and can be seen here!


Ingredients:
1 pound prawns, peeled and de-veined
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbl orange or tangerine zest
2 tbl olive oil
8 thin slices of Prosciutto

Tandoori Chicken – The Busy (Lazy?) American Version

Tandoori chicken gets is name from the clay oven it is traditionally cooked in, the Tandoor. The chicken is marinated in yogurt and an incredibly complex mix of spices, and then roasted in the extremely hot tandoor oven. The results are one of the world’s great culinary experiences.

Indian chefs spend hours carefully preparing their spices for this dish. Most make their own version of a “Garam Masala,” which translates to “hot spice.” There are literally thousands of variations, but the most common ingredients are; cumin, coriander, green cardamom seed and/or black cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, mace, dried hot chili peppers, sesame, mustard seeds, bay leaves, and turmeric.

To do this properly, the chefs buy whole seeds and pods of the various spices, carefully toast and/or roast them, and then grind them right before they're used. Some even grind them by hand using a mortar and pestle. Of course, we busy American cooks don’t have time for all that (or so we claim), but luckily we can buy pre-mixed Tandoori spice. Look for the words “Tandoori Spice” and/or “Garam Masala,” or as my package was labeled, “Tandoori Masala.”

These spice mixes are available at the major supermarkets (or specialty food stores, if you’re lucky enough to live near a large city), but can really vary in quality. Please make sure you check the label carefully, and that it contains most, if not all, of the spices listed above. Some of the cheaper, lower-quality versions are nothing more than hot pepper and turmeric.

Also, don’t feel bad if you don’t have a Tandoor clay oven sitting in the back yard. The good old Weber charcoal grill will work just fine, as you’ll see in today’s video recipe clip. By the way, this can be done using whole, cut-up chicken on the bone, but for speed and lower-fat content, I chose to use boneless, skinless thighs. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 tbl plain yogurt
1 1/2 tbl tandoori spice mix
1/2 lime, juiced
extra salt and hot pepper to taste

“Hot Smoked” Salmon – Fresh Fish, Old Coals, and a Squeeze of Lemon

This video recipe was actually thrown together after some testing I did filming in outdoor light, and also some more tests using the new digital camera. I had just grilled some chicken and vegetables, and wanted to try to “hot smoke” a couple of salmon filets with the left-over and quickly fading coals. I had already soaked some wood chips that I never ended up using for the chicken, so I was ready to go. I figured I would bring the camera outside and experiment while I smoked the salmon. Well, when I was done, the clips turned out better than I expected, so I edited it together. While not my best work, it still turned out pretty good.

One thing I didn’t film was how to fold up an aluminum foil “pan” hold the filets, but I’m sure you can manage that once you watch the clip. Just be sure to use 5 or 6 layers so it’s nice and sturdy. The rest of the clip is pretty easy to follow, and really is a nice trick to use those dying coals for one more gourmet application.

The term “hot-smoking” refers to a higher heat method, using wood chips to smoke and cook fresh fish in a relatively short time. “Cold-smoked” salmon (the softer, buttery textured kind you get at the deli) is cured first and then smoked at much lower temperatures. It is almost impossible to do at home since the low and even temperature is extremely hard to control. Of course, we solved this problem with the now famous “Smoked Salmon “Gravlox” video recipe clip I did a few months ago. If you want to create a “cold-smoked” style cured salmon check out that clip. It works great! But this time it’s all about the hot-smoked method. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 six-ounce salmon filets
salt and pepper to taste
fresh lemon
wood chips soaked for at least 1 hour
heavy duty foil

Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chop with Fresh Mint Jelly

Growing up, one of my favorite “special occasion” meals was grilled lamb chops, and of course the always present, bright green, jar of mint jelly. What a great combination! Now, this just wasn’t my Mom’s secret combo, every restaurant we ever dined at, that served lamb chops would always serve the same green (artificially colored of course) jelly, just like at home. So, you can image my surprise and confusion, when arriving in San Francisco to start my culinary career, discovering that there was no green mint jelly.

I remember talking about a lamb special that was going on the menu of a Café I was working, and the Chef and a few of us cooks were throwing around ideas for a sauce. I said something like, “what about a classic green mint jelly?” Wow, they all looked at me like we were at a heavy metal music convention and I just suggested throwing on some Bee Gees. Apparently green jelly was something only housewives still served with lamb and we were way too culinarily advanced to consider such a clichéd pairing. How embarrassing! I learned that day that it’s not enough that certain foods taste good together, but you also have to consider the fashion of the times.

By the way, if you still use the green jelly right out of the jar – stand proud! There’s nothing wrong with you. But, in certain circles (like the entire state of California) you just can’t pull out a jar of mint jelly, so today’s clip is a fine solution to avoid any embarrassment with the food snobs among us (they're everywhere). You’ll see me do a new take on the classic mint jelly, and turn an old cliché into a great, and flavorful, and socially acceptable sauce. Also, I’m grilling lamb shoulder chops, which are a nice, and much cheaper, alternative to the more popular lamb loin chops.



Ingredients:
2 lamb shoulder chops (8 oz each)
3 sprigs rosemary
4 cloves garlic
2 tbl pomegranate juice
olive oil
salt and pepper

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 tbl white wine vinegar
1 tbl water
1/2 bunch fresh mint
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes