Dancing Spoon

Bermuda Fish Chowder

Chowder Simple

by J. Michael Wheeler
This Fourth of July Grill brought together friends, food, drinks, and even an impromptu bagpipe serenade! Joe, the piper, is also Joe the sailor, and he just recently completed the 2010 Newport (Rhode Island) to Bermuda (Sailboat) Race. It’s a 635 mile ocean race, most of it out of sight of land, and can last anywhere from three to six days. (If you’re into sailing, Joe sailed on a Hinckley 70!)

Besides his pipes, Joe also brought a big pot filled with a taste of the race destination: Bermuda Fish Chowder. It’s a locals’ recipe using local ingredients, but as with many fish stews, use whatever local, fresh fish is available. There are two very unique ingredients to this fish stew however: the local Outerbridge’s Sherry Peppers Sauce for kick, and Goslings Black Seal rum as a topper. 

Here are two tasty and similar recipes (Joe says use either one). The first recipe is from Outerbridge’s of the Sherry Peppers Sauce, and the second is from Gosling’s Rum.

Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers

Grilling Simple

by J. Michael Wheeler
Goat Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Grilling season opened this weekend here in New England and I was ready with my 1963 Vintage Charbroil charcoal grill. The cooking surface of this old workhorse is solid cast iron and as big as a restaurant grill. For me, the first grill of the season is all about loosening up and getting my chops back, so I like to keep it simple.

We had good friends over and while the day felt like burgers, I was disinclined to go for heavy beef burgers, so I opted for turkey. What I decided on was Goat Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers. As these burgers cook, the goat cheese melts and kind of oozes inside. It adds a great tang and a bit of body to an otherwise lightweight burger.

This technique of burger-stuffing works for all types of ground meats, and all types of cheeses and other stuffings. Try it with meatballs sometime!

Ingredients
Serves 8

3 pounds ground turkey. I used ground dark meat turkey.
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (Out of crumbs, I put a several handfulls of Whole Foods Tortilla Chips in a plastic ziplock bag and let my 7 year old son pound away at 'em till they were good and fine. That's how you teach boys to like cooking!)
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tsp fresh grated lemon zest
2 tsp chopped thyme, or rosemary, or whatever sounds good to you. (I even thought about sneaking in some red chili flakes, but I worried about the kids and some of the womenfolk.)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
4 oz goat cheese
4 tsp vegetable oil
Combine everything in a bowl, except the oil, with a wooden spoon.

How to Stuff 'Em

1. Divide your ground meat (beef, turkey, lamb, whatever suits your mood) into your own regular burger portions. Then divide each of those portions in half. You now have burger tops and bottoms.
2. Shape each half to the correct size and place about an ounce of cheese (or other stuffing) on the bottom half. Put the top half on the bottom and pinch the edges together.
3. Reshape I like to then reshape the entire burger, making sure the the stuffing doesn't try to sneak out the top. Shape the burgers round and flat. To keep them flat during grilling, put a thumb-indentation right in the center of both top and bottom sides. Now wash your hands.
4. Refrigerate Place the stuffed/formed burgers on a baking sheet or in a plastic container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but better for 6-8 hours. This lets everything firm up before the fire.
5. Grill Get your grill hot: gas grill to high, or charcoals glowing red with a white ash. Brush your burgers with the oil, and grill over direct heat for 7-8 minutes until browned on that side and then turn 'em over and do the same on the other.

Happy Grilling!

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Manly Cupcakes

Trends Food

by J. Michael Wheeler
Butch Bakery
Rum & Coke, Mojito, Beer Run, B-52, Driller, Jackhammer, Tailgate: Dude, muscle your way up to the counter and grab a cupcake?

Yeah, these ain’t your granny’s cute little fussy cupcakes, these are MANLY CUPCAKES made for MEN! The Butch Bakery in Manhattan has a mission:

Our objective is simple. We’re men. Men who love cupcakes. Not the Frilly Pink-Frosted-Sprinkles-and-Unicorns kind of cupcakes. We make MANLY CUPCAKES for MANLY MEN.

David Arrick, formerly an attorney for a major Wall Street law firm, felt it was time to combine a masculine aesthetic to a traditionally cute product: the cupcake. When a magazine article mentioned that cupcakes were a combination of everything "pink, sweet, cute, and magical,” he felt it was time to take action, and butch it up.  He decided to create a company where "Butch meets Buttercream.” No "golf tee" cupcakes, or "baseball" cupcakes, but products that guys would love.

  WE BUILD A BETTER CUPCAKE. See plans below.

Butch cupcakes are topped with a macho chocolate disk like the Woodland Camo, Wood Grain, Houndstooth, Plaid, Checkerboard, or Marble. They’ve got Dude-flavors like Beer Run, a chocolate beer cake with beer-infused buttercream topped with crushed pretzels, or the Driller, a maple cake loaded with milk-chocolate ganache and topped with, what else, crumbled bacon!

Butch Bakery cupcakes are made to order in New York City commercial kitchen, and delivered directly to homes or offices within Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn.  Butch Bakery plans to open a commercial bakery storefront by Spring, 2010.

Here Dude, have a Mojito (rum-soaked lime cake with mint white-chocolate ganache). Butch Bakery.

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Super Bowl Skewered Shrimp

Irishman The Healthy

by Chef Gavan Murphy
Asparagus Skewered Shrimp
This is another easy recipe but looks great on any buffet. I’ve used these a lot on parties and they always have a good wow factor. Estimate for 2-3 shrimp per person and that’ll help you figure out your quantity.

Ingredients

1 lb 21-30 P&D’s (See Below)

Pencil asparagus-1 spear per shrimp

¼ cup olive oil

1 lemon - zested

S&P

P&D's Get medium sized peeled and deveined shrimp (P&D’s). 
You want to get what’s known as 21-30’s, which means you get between 21 & 30 shrimp per pound. (Pretty obvious now that I told you right?)

Directions

1. Rinse the shrimp under cold water and drain.
2. Cut each asparagus spear 2 inches from the tip and shave a piece from the end as if sharpening a pencil (I’m showing my age now!)
3. Lay each shrimp flat on your cutting board and form into a U shape.
4. Using a small paring knife pierce the shrimp through the main body, place the asparagus through the hole, shaved end first. See Photo.
5. Once all the shrimp are skewered refrigerate until needed.
6. Mix olive oil, lemon zest, S&P together in a small bowl.
7. To cook: Brush skewers with lemon olive oil and grill on hot grill pan or if you prefer cook in the oven for 10 minutes on 400 F (200C).

TIP Don’t toss the remaining asparagus. Even without the tips they’re great in soups, salads, stir-frys or simply sautéed.

Slainte!

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Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

thehealthyirishman.com

Copyright © 2008 The Healthy Irishman. All rights reserved.

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Roast Sausage & Fennel

Fare Winter

by David Shepherd

Roast Sausage & Fennel
This recipe is a no-name mid-winter weekend comfort food special (think Sunday Football in front of the TV), ideal for being a fast, one-pot prep, ready to roast in the time it takes you to chop. Nothing fancy here, not a lot of thought required; the ingredients are left deliberately chunky, cacciatore style. The fennel is what separates this dish from an otherwise fairly typical preparation. Roasting it releases a subtle sweetness, a pleasing counterpoint to the licorice flavors this vegetable is known for, as well as to the boldness of the hot sausage. Overall, the roasting time gives you to the time to get ready for the big game. If you've got a crowd coming, over double the recipe. Use a disposable roasting pan for easy post-game clean-up.

Ingredients
Serves 2-4.

3-4 small to medium Yukon Gold potatoes
1 lb. good-quality Italian sausages (a mix of hot and sweet is good)
1 small fennel bulb, stalks discarded, trimmed
1 small red pepper
1 small zucchini
1 small Valida onion (though yellows or Spanish will suffice)
4-5 oz. large whole mushrooms
3-4 large garlic cloves
3-4 tablespoons of cooking-quality olive oil
Dried Italian seasoning
Dried rubbed sage
Dried rosemary
Salt, pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400°

1. Rough-peel the potatoes, if at all. Slice into thick steak-fry shape. Repeat with the fennel, and the pepper and zucchini. Cut sausage links into 1” pieces. Cut mushrooms into thick slices. Coarsely chop garlic and slice onion. Tranfser the pile into a very lightly oiled roasting pan (I take a quick wipe with a paper towel moistened with olive oil; a light spritz of an olive oil cooking spray would also work) large enough to hold everything (I use a large glass Pyrex, but any roasting pan will do); make sure all ingredients are more or less evenly distributed. Season with salt, pepper and very healthy pinches of dried herbs to taste.

2. Drizzle with olive oil; do not stir to mix. (Note: you could hold out the zucchini and perhaps the mushrooms as well for the first 20 minutes or so of roasting, because they’re not as robust as the other items. But it’s not absolutely necessary. The zuke will break down a bit, but remember, this is a no-worries dish, so who cares?)

3. Place pan on rack in center of oven. Roast for 30-35 minutes, remove, stir ingredients, loosening any that might be sticking to the pan, return to the oven for another 40 minutes. Roasting time is dependent on your oven, of course. Figure 75 minutes, and adjust accordingly. Everything should be nicely browned and crisped at the edges of the pan.

4. Remove, let it sit for 5-10 minutes; just slightly cooled, more of the flavors become noticeable, I think. Serve with a nice big hunk of crusty Italian bread, a glass of a simple quaffing red, and you’re in business.

This dish is fine as it is, and, despite the potatoes, it makes a great sandwich, too, on that same loaf of Italian. It’s also open to interpretation: substitute something, if you’d like--green pepper for the red, change up the seasonings, add a dash of red pepper flakes for extra heat, maybe toss in some chopped black olives 15 minutes before roasting is complete. As I said, it’s a casual dish. Truth of it is, the leftovers are probably better in flavor than when everything first comes out of the oven, but you’ll be hard-pressed to leave enough left over to find out.

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Super Bowl Mini Sliders

Irishman The Healthy

by Chef Gavan Murphy
Mini Beef Sliders
Imagine a bite sized burger well: that’s all there is to it. You can lower the fat content by buying a good quality minced beef.

1. The easiest way to portion is to use a ¼ cup measure for each burger.
2. Each burger will weigh between 2-3 oz each, which means you’ll get approx. 4-5 sliders per lb.

TIP You can do this ahead of time and refrigerate until grill time.

3. After you portion all the meat, season each burger with S&P.
4. Preheat a grill pan or your BBQ on medium high heat.
5. Once ready, cook burgers for 3-4 minutes each side for medium.

The toppings are up to you so don’t be afraid to get creative. I love to add caramelized onions on mine. You can serve with or without buns. Where do you find little buns for little burgers I hear you ask? Call your local bakery and ask for mini/slider burger buns as I do and you’re all set. These are great for kids, too.

Slainte!

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Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

thehealthyirishman.com

Copyright © 2008 The Healthy Irishman. All rights reserved.

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Two Skewer Kebabs

Tips Grilling

by J. Michael Wheeler
Wrestling Skewers
Grilling shrimp, veggies, and other small tasty kebab items on skewers is a great technique: until you’re ready to flip the skewer. Then, often the skewer will turn but some, or all, of the those kebab-ers won’t budge. They just spin on the skewer or try to escape entirely. Here’s the secret: thread each piece of food with two parallel skewers. Then when it’s time to turn the food, you can use tongs to turn the skewers. The food stays put, cooks more evenly, and the kebabs are easy to handle.

Grilling Recipes
We've got some very tasty summer recipes at Dancing Spoon Magazine. Try Kate Gooding's Grilled Shitake Encrusted Buffalo Rib Steaks & Warm Black Fly Vinaigrette Salad, Smoked Duck in a Raspberry Sauce is from her new Dancing Spoon column Out of the Ordinary. Gloria Bakst brings us Black Cod or Sable Grilled in Miso Marinade and Nori Topped Summer Salad an inventive, refreshing salad using a world of ingredients.
Find more grilling recipes, Click here.

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EZ Smoke BBQ 3-pack (1 each: Hickory, Mesquite, Apple).

EZ Smoke BBQ 3-pack (1 each: Hickory, Mesquite, Apple)
Peel off the seal and put the flavor into your meal with EZ Smoke BBQ! Four varieties of natural wood chips flavors your meats, poultry, fish or vegetables with a unique smoky taste with no mess or fuss. Re-usable up to 3 times. Quick and easy! No soaking, no mess, no flying ash. Produces natural wood smoke in about 2 minutes. Use on gas or charcoal grills. Ready to use in seconds, and can be used throughout the year. Compact and easy to transport, great for boat and RV owners, capers, tailgaters, hunters and fishermen. Easy to use! Simply remove the label, place can on coals or lava rocks, and within minutes it begins to smoke. Grill as you normally would. Easy to store! One can of EZ smoke produces the same amount of smoking time as a 180 cubic inch bag of chips. EZ Smoke BBQ chips adds flavor to foods when gas grilling.

Hand selected grills and grill accessories are at Foodie's Emporium!
Click here.

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Grillin' Basics Part Two

Tips Grilling

 by J. Michael Wheeler
Grill Greener
In L.A. where I grew up, it was always grilling season. Here in New England it isn't. (There are exceptions: see Shep's Winter Grilled Turkey.) So when the last of the snow is gone and any bit of vegetation merely thinks the word sprout, we break out the grillin' gear. This year we're also concerned with grilling greener. How do you lessen your carbon (bare)footprint? Here are a few ideas and some links for more info:

• Gas grills have lower emissions than charcoal or electric grills. A gas grill emits about half as much CO2 as charcoal grills and about one-third as much as an electric grill.

• Use sustainable-farmed charcoal or chips. If you do use a charcoal grill, the Forest Stewardship Council certifies producers that follow good resource management.

• Avoid lighter fluid which releases Volatile Organic Compounds. VOCs are hazardous to health. Use a chimney starter instead.
Check out these Grill Greener links: The Sundance Channel's The Green Blog and Treehugger How to Grill Green.

Tips: Grilling with Cedar Planks
Using wooden planks for grilling adds moisture and flavor to your grilled food. Grill with the lid closed: it's the best of both worlds, steaming and grilling combined. Turn thick pieces of fish and chicken. Thinner cuts like baby red snapper don't need to be turned during grilling. Using a cedar plank will take a little longer than regular grilling.

You can purchase cedar planks that are sold for specifically for grilling, (like the Camerons Products Cedar Planks pictured here) or you can go to your local lumberyard and buy untreated cedar planks. You can buy them as 1 x 4 inch planks in varying lengths. Ask to have them cut it into 12" lengths, which would handle two or three pounds of fish or chicken.

Soak the planks in water for one hour or longer before grilling. When the grill is hot, put the plank on the grill, smooth side down and char. Turn the wood over and then place fish or chicken on top to cook. The planks maybe reused.

Buy cedar planks for grilling. Click here.

Easier Grilling
Time to uncover the grill, find the super-long tongs, and fill the beer tub with ice, beer, and maybe a nice Spanish Albarino: it's grilling season. And while we can all get over-the-top with complicated, time-consuming preparations and fussy ingredients, sometimes keep it simple is just the way to go.

Thin is In Grill thin cuts of marinated meat. Marinating starts the cooking process and because the meat is so thin, it cooks quickly.

Organic Timers Grill foods that tell you when they're ready. It's easy to know when most shellfish is done: Shrimp curl and turn pink, and clams open.

No Fuss Foods Grill foods that are hard to under- or overcook. Salmon is great served rare or medium.

Common Cooking Temps If all the ingredients in a meal cook over the same temperature, then you can grill them all simultaneously.

Read more grilling articles, Click here.

Grilling Recipes
We've got some very tasty summer recipes at Dancing Spoon Magazine. Try Kate Gooding's Smoked Duck in a Raspberry Sauce is from her new Dancing Spoon column Out of the Ordinary. Gloria Bakst brings us Black Cod or Sable Grilled in Miso Marinade and Nori Topped Summer Salad an inventive, refreshing salad using a world of ingredients.
Find more grilling recipes, Click here.

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Weber 22-1/2-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Blue.
Qualifies for FREE SHIPPING!

Weber 22-1/2-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill
Weber Gold Series, 22-1/2" Dark Blue 1 Touch Charcoal Kettle Grill, Heavy Gauge Porcelain Enameled Steel Lid & Bowl, High Capacity No Rust Ash Catcher, Patented 1 Touch Cleaning System, Heat Resistant Nylon Handles On Lid & Bowl, Hinged Cooking Grate, 10 Year Limited Warranty.

• Charcoal grill with heavy-gauge porcelain enamel to prevent rust
• Nickel-plated cooking grate includes 2 hinged side openings for easy re-fueling
• Tripod base, nylon handles, and all-weather wheels provide easy maneuvering
• One-Touch stainless-steel cleaning system; removable high-capacity ash catcher
• Measures approximately 23 by 27 by 35 inches; 10-year limited warranty

Hand selected grills and grill accessories are at Foodie's Emporium!
Click here.

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Grillin' Basics Part One

Tips Grilling

 by J. Michael Wheeler
Grillin' Basics Part One
Cooking on an open fire goes all the way back to prehistoric Barbecue-Man. And while he probably wasn't clutching a can of Budweiser in one hand and a can of charcoal starter in the other, the basics of cooking over an open fire remain the same.

I admit that the start of each grilling season it takes me a while to get my chops back. I'll over cook the salmon or under cook the sliced potatoes. So in the interest of loosening up for the grill we present some Grillin' Basics.

Paint it black and the kettle grill pictured here looks pretty much like the one in over 85 million American backyards today. But this one is the very first. Read more...

Burn Baby, Burn
Of course if you use a gas grill for your outdoor cooking your selection of fuels is, well, gas. But for those of us who prefer to cook on real fire, there are more choices. Here are some of them:

Lump Charcoal Usually made from softwood. It comes in a variety of sizes. Easy to light, but quick burning.

Charcoal Briquettes Slow burning, easy to find. Some claim they give food an unpleasant taste.

Self-igniting Charcoal Briquettes or lump charcoal treated with a flammable substance. Easy to light. Let all of that flammable substance burn away before cooking.

Wood Hardwoods like oak and olive burn slowly and the aromatic smoke imparts a great taste to the food. Wood fires must be tended carefully to keep an even and steady heat.

How Hot is Hot Enough?
"Heat your grill to medium-high and place the . . ." How do you determine the temperature of your grill? While some grills have built-in temperature gauges, and there are even infrared heat seekers to tell you how hot your grill is, you've got a couple of built-in thermometers yourself: your hands.

Place your hand, palm facing down, just above the grill where you'll be cooking. (Please don't wear long, loose-fitting clothing while grilling.) Without being too macho about it, hold your hand over that spot and count how many seconds it takes before you say "ouch" and have to take your hand away from the grill.

Here's a chart to help you determine your grill's temperature. If you can hold your hand above the grill for this long, the grill is that hot:

· Two seconds is high heat
· Three seconds is medium-high heat
· Four seconds is medium heat
· Five seconds is medium-low heat
· Six seconds is low heat
· Seven seconds or more means you have time to open another beer

Read more grilling articles, Click here.

Grilling Recipes
We've got some very tasty grilling recipes here at Dancing Spoon Magazine. Kate Gooding's Grilled Wild Turkey with Apricot Glaze on Basmati Rice is from her new Dancing Spoon column Out of the Ordinary.  Gloria Baskt is very much into cedar planked grilling. She's got several tasty recipes like Cedar Plank Grilled Snapper and Lime Ginger Marinade for Cedar Plank Grilled Chicken.

Steak lovers might want to try David Haley's Chimichurri Grilled Flank Steak. He has some great wine suggestions too. And for something really over the top check out Steak & Truffles: Wow. As part of his Super Bowl Shuffle, Chef Gavan Murphy gave us grilled Mini Beef Sliders and Asparagus Skewered Shrimp.

Find more grilling recipes, Click here.

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Weber 22-1/2-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Blue.
Qualifies for FREE SHIPPING!

Weber 22-1/2-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill
Weber Gold Series, 22-1/2" Dark Blue 1 Touch Charcoal Kettle Grill, Heavy Gauge Porcelain Enameled Steel Lid & Bowl, High Capacity No Rust Ash Catcher, Patented 1 Touch Cleaning System, Heat Resistant Nylon Handles On Lid & Bowl, Hinged Cooking Grate, 10 Year Limited Warranty.
• Charcoal grill with heavy-gauge porcelain enamel to prevent rust
• Nickel-plated cooking grate includes 2 hinged side openings for easy re-fueling
• Tripod base, nylon handles, and all-weather wheels provide easy maneuvering
• One-Touch stainless-steel cleaning system; removable high-capacity ash catcher
• Measures approximately 23 by 27 by 35 inches; 10-year limited warranty

Hand selected grills and grill accessories are at Foodie's Emporium!
Click here.

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Grill With Seaweed?

Cooking Outdoor

by J. Michael Wheeler
Burn Baby, Burn
Of course if you use a gas grill for your outdoor cooking your selection of fuels is, well, gas. But for those of us who prefer to cook on real fire, there are more choices. Here are some of them:

Lump Charcoal Usually made from softwood. It comes in a variety of sizes. Easy to light, but quick burning.

Charcoal Briquettes Slow burning, easy to find. Some claim they give food an unpleasant taste.

Self-igniting Charcoal Briquettes or lump charcoal treated with a flammable substance. Easy to light. Let all of that flammable substance burn away before cooking.

Wood Hardwoods like oak and olive burn slowly and the aromatic smoke imparts a great taste to the food. Wood fires must be tended carefully to keep an even and steady heat.