The tender cuts great for grilling are the loin steaks: rib eye, T-bone, Porter House, New York Strip, Sirloin, and Filet Mignon. These cuts are naturally tender and should be well-marbled with fat. In general, all steaks should be grilled over medium heat. For a ribeye, Chef Erika recommends seasoning with salt & pepper or a rub if you like. Cook for 5-6 minutes each side. Your final internal temperature will be 130-135 for medium rare and 140-145 for medium. Be sure to rest for no less than 5 minutes before serving.

Instead of fat, the tough cuts suitable for grilling have lots of striated connective tissue in them: Flank steak, Hanger steak, and Flat Iron steak. The trick to these latter cuts is to cook them very quickly on the outside, serve them no more than medium rare, and slice them very thinly across the grain. The odd beast in this menagerie is the tri-tip.

Tri-tips are actually a small roast and originated as a cut in Texas, but didn’t find popularity until reaching Santa Rosa, California where it became hugely popular. It gains its name from its triangular shape and that results from being cut from the end of two different muscles. It can be tough, so look for plenty of marbling, but is packed with beefy flavor.

We hear more and more about the merits of grass-fed versus grain-fed beef. This is literally “a matter of taste.” Grass-fed beef usually has a deeper, richer flavor than grain-fed beef and is higher in good fats and lower in bad fats, but it’s usually not as well-marbled and not as tender (the breed of cattle can make a big difference here: Angus and Hereford are the best choices for grass-fed beef). La Cense is one well established brand of grass-fed beef that ships directly to consumers. Grain-fed beef is uniformly more tender, partially because the cattle are kept in small lots and can’t exercise, but also milder in flavor. The best beef in world - Kobe and Wagyu from Japan - graze on grass but are also fed some grain.

Welcome us to your backyard!

Chef Rod Woodley is ChefsLine’s resident grill master. Subscribers to ChefsLine’s premium membership can book live phone or webcam consultations with him to learn the finer points of charcoal and gas grilling techniques. Rod also hosts a Fish and Seafood Grilling class that you can purchase and experience - it’s just $15.95!

Chef Jackie offers a cooking class on Homemade Oils, Rubs, and Marinades - that is a great way to explore adding flavor to a whole host of cuts of beef for grilling.

Kitchen Guy’s Pasta Primavera Recipe
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 pint half and half
1/2 pint cream
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/8 freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 pound linguine
1 small leek, washed and finely sliced
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 medium red bell pepper, julienned
1/4 lb. sugar snap peas, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
2 ounces prosciutto, julienned
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Lightly saute the vegetables in olive oil, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Make a roux with the butter and flour. Add half and half and cream, along with garlic, nutmeg and salt and white pepper to taste. Cook until nicely thickened, simmering for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wire whisk. Flavor with julienned basil.

Cook pasta in lots of boiling, salted water until al dente. Top with julienned vegetables and then with sauce. Add julienned prosciutto and shredded Parmesan cheese.

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Pastitsio (Greek Pasta Casserole) Recipe

Ingredients
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 lb. large elbow macaroni, cooked
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Meat sauce: Brown ground beef and onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Chop and add tomatoes with their juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Egg Sauce: In a small saucepan heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in hot milk and continue whisking until the mixture comes to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp white pepper. Let cool a bit, and then stir in the 2 eggs.

Place half of the macaroni in the bottom of a glass baking dish and top with meat sauce. Top with half of the cheese, then the rest of the macaroni. Pour the egg sauce over the macaroni and top with the remaining Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, in 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until casserole is lightly browned.

And one of the very easiest foods to grill is, believe it or not, whole fish. Whether the fish comes from the fishmonger or the end of your fishing pole, follow a couple of simple preparatory suggestions and you’ll be grilling whole fish anytime the sun comes out. So get ready to put a fresh fish twist on the old 4th of July cookout.

If you’re not too comfortable with a boning knife, have no fear. Grilling whole fish requires minimal carving.

My favorite fish to grill include trout, snapper, bass, sea bream, just about any medium-sized whitefish will do, as well as some smaller fish like mullet, bluefish, mackerel, and butterfish.

Salmon is also a great choice.Avoid flounder, sole, fluke, cod and similar fishes because they can be too delicate.

When selecting your dinner, select a fish with clear eyes, shiny scales and a non-fishy smell. Once you’ve got your hands on a fresh whole fish, here are the 10 easy steps to grill it:

1. Clean the fish: de-scale it by scraping the dull side of a knife against the grain of the scales until it’s smooth. Cut off the fins with a pair of kitchen shears and discard. Then cut along the entire bottom of the fish, remove the guts and discard. Rinse the fish clean.
2. Score the fish with 1/2 inch-deep cuts on both sides, about 1-2 inches apart. This helps the flavors of the marinade (and smoke if applicable) to better penetrate the meat of the fish.
3. Marinate the fish for 1-3 hours in your choice of marinade. If you are using a marinade that is acidic (i.e. with lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) only marinade for 1 hour to avoid “cooking” the fish (as in ceviche).
4. Preheat the grill, or let charcoal ember to flame-less white briquettes.
5. Brush the clean grill and fish with a thin layer of canola oil, peanut oil or any other neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point, to prevent the fish from sticking.
6. Remove the fish from the marinade and wipe it clean to prevent the fish from sticking (save the marinade). Salt and pepper both sides. Optionally, you can stuff the inner cavity of the fish with herbs and pieces of lemon).
7. Grill the fish for 7-12 minutes (depending on the size) in the hottest part of the grill (unless serving salmon rare – 4-5 minutes). Optionally, you can also dip some rosemary or dill sprigs in oil and use them as a bed to grill the fish on if sticking is a concern.
8. Turn the fish over gently with one or two large spatulas. Optionally, you can turn it over onto a large piece of aluminum foil and then slide it onto the grill.
9. Baste the fish with the leftover marinade, and let it grill about as long as the first side.
10. Carefully remove the fish from the grill and place it onto a serving platter. Serve with grilled lemon and enjoy!

Once the fish is cooked it will flake easily away from the spine (again, rare salmon is a special case), and it should be simple enough to avoid any of the smaller bones. You can run a knife along either side of the spine, and then you should be able to slide the knife under the cooked fillets with no problem.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact one of us on the cooking hotline!

Have fun grilling!

Kitchen Guy’s Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients
9 Tbsp. canola oil, divided use
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3 chicken breasts
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups carrots, julienned
2 cups cucumber, julienned
1 cup jicama, julienned
2/3 cup green onions, sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup sugar-snap peas in pods
1 6-oz, can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Method

For the marinade: Mix together 1 tbsp oil, garlic, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and ground ginger.

Place chicken in marinade, turning pieces several times for at least 1 hour. Remove from marinade and bake at 400 degrees until just cooked through. Let cool, shred and set aside.

In a large bowl, add all of the vegetables and toss. Mix the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and shake vigorously to emulsify. Add chicken and toss. Pour dressing over salad and toss again. When serving, top salad with toasted sesame seeds and toasted almonds.

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Kitchen Guy’s Grilled Carne Asada Recipe

Ingredients
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 red bell pepper, julienne sliced
1 green bell pepper, julienne sliced
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lbs. flank steak
1/2 Tbsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano (Mexican if you have it)
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lemon, juiced
1 lime, juiced
12 flour tortillas
1 cup salsa
2 small avocados, sliced
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cilantro

Method
Trim any fat from meat and score the meat. In a small bowl, combine salt, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf. Rub mixture into both sides of flank steak. Rub in the garlic. Pound the meat, gently at first, then working seasonings into meat. Place meat in a shallow dish. Squeeze the citrus juices over both sides, and refrigerate.

Sauté bell peppers and onions in vegetable oil over medium high heat until tender and beginning to brown. Heat tortillas covered in a low oven. Grill the meat until it is medium. Serve on top of tortillas with salsa, cheese, cilantro and sliced avocado.

Featured recipes include:

• Charmoula Grilled Chicken Breasts
• Grilled marinated flank steak with chimichurri sauce
• Susan’s Asian Grilled Chicken Salad
• Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Grilling Tools
The best place to begin is with grilling tools. While there are lots of grilling “toys” on the market, a few good essentials are all that you will need to be fully prepared. Here is a list of the tools that I keep at the ready.

• A good quality instant-read thermometer, analog or digital (your choice).
• Stainless steel hinged locking tongs, preferably a long and regular pair.
• A good basting brush, silicon recommended for heat tolerance.
• Two sets metal skewers- one thicker for meats and one thinner for vegetables, ideally the skewers should be flat so the meat or vegetables won’t rotate.
• Wider spatula - necessary for fish.
• Sturdy cleaning brush.
• Optional but useful: grilling basket for veg/fish.

Prepping the Surface
Brush a hot, not a cold grill, to clean off debris from previous use. Do this prior to oiling the grill. Always oil your grill lightly before putting the food on, but ONLY oil the area that you plan to use. Oiling an unused area of the grill can lead to gummy buildup. Easiest and least messy way to oil grill, is to pour a little oil on a folded cloth (just enough oil to be visible, but not drip) and grasp with tongs. Brush oily area quickly over the grill grate. Never spray anything with propellant (i.e. pan spray) directly into a lit grill.

The Right Grill Temperature
A key to successfully grilling meats is to begin their cooking at the right temperature. Preheating is essential. Generally, gas grills need about 15 minutes to be heated to hot, and charcoal requires about 30 minutes. To check your grill temperature, hold your hand above the grate and above the coals or heat source. If you can only hold it there for around a second or two, your grill is “hot.” If you can stand it for 4 or 5 seconds it’s medium. Although most gas grills and the better charcoal grills have a built-in thermometer, these gauge the temperature inside the grill (like an oven) rather than the grilling surface so use the hand trick. The right grill temperature to start with is almost always hot.

Advance Prep: Marinades and Rubs
Another question we see frequently is regarding marinades: “What is the right proportion of oil to vinegar for a marinade?” In general, a marinade will need about 1 part acid (vinegar or citrus juice (lemon, orange, pineapple…) to three parts oil. If you add wine, treat it as an acid. Although an acid tenderizes meat, marinades don’t penetrate deeper than 1/2 inch into the meat at the most - so a marinade isn’t very effective as a tenderizer. Instead concentrate on flavor when making a marinade and match your acid to the herbs and spice you add to the mixture. Brining is a different matter, the high salt levels in brine make it penetrate much more deeply so if you want to get deep flavor into a chicken or pork loin, flavor the brine.

Most wet marinades will work just as well for all meat and vegetables. One instance where you may want to consider a lighter or milder marinade with less acid if you are grilling a mild fish. You will want to choose a marinade that doesn’t overwhelm or overpower the fish’s delicate flavor. Also, make sure that whatever you’re marinating is fully covered, it takes about a ½ cup of marinade per pound of meat.

For a dry rub, use one to two tablespoons of spice rub seasonings for a pound of food. When using a dry rub, you will need to gently shake off any excess, especially if it contains sugar, as that will burn quickly on the grill, leaving behind a rather bitter flavor. To apply a rub, sprinkle it over your foods then lightly rub into the surface with your hands. Alternatively, you can toss your rub into a storage bag, add your food, and shake. Let the food sit in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Wait to brush on any sugar-based barbecue sauce or other glazing ingredients until the final 5-10 minutes of grilling. This allows the smoky flavor to penetrate your food first, and prevents the sauce from becoming charred black.

Au Natural
Of course, you do not have to marinade your foods at all! In general, brush almost everything your grill with canola oil (or another high heat oil which has a flavor that compliments your food) and be sure to season your items with salt and pepper. Also, a lot of flavor, nutrients, and “protection” is found in the skins of vegetables and of some meats. Leave them on if you can and then remove (in the case of poultry and fish) before serving.

Grilling 101
You almost always want to start your foods in the hottest area of your grill using direct heat (above the flames). So you will want to heat a fire / area that is wider than the space needed for the things you’re grilling. Searing your meats when grilling doesn’t seal in juices as some think, but it does build great flavor. Searing is done over high heat (between 500 – 600 degrees F) and you will be ready to flip your food when it releases easily from your grill and the food’s grill marks are a deep brown. One of the biggest culprits of sticking food is moving it too early. Leave meat (and especially fish) in original placement until it comes up easily with no tugging or pulling. If it’s a thin piece of meat such as a flank steak the entire cooking process may be over high heat, but for thicker steaks, roasts (including whole chickens and Cornish hens), and poultry such as chicken you want to sear first, then move it to a cooler portion of the grill to finish cooking. Vegetables and fish should usually be grilled over medium heat, at between 400 - 500 degrees F.

What’s Not to Grill?
Finally, who doesn’t appreciate having their entire meal prepared on one surface? Grilled vegetables and fruit can extend your grilling from appetizer through dessert. Just like meats, getting your vegetables cooked properly and to the right temperature and texture takes skill and practice. Everyone probably remembers having vegetable kebabs on which some of the veggies were overcooked and others practically raw. In general - try to keep your vegetables separate when grilling - you can use grill pans or make separate kebabs of each vegetable so you have much better cooking control. When grilling vegetables, also be sure to cut or slice them evenly and generously, especially squashes and eggplant. Otherwise they will shrink to the point that they may fall through your grate or off of the skewers. Uniform sizes of vegetables also help you to avoid under or over cooking. If you are new to grilling, you can pre-cook vegetables, including artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, carrots, parsnips, potatoes and winter squash to shorten grilling time and ensure that the inside and outside cook evenly. Steam or blanch until just barely tender, then dry. With all vegetables, brush lightly with canola or grape seed oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat and move to the cool side of the grill as needed. Grill until completely tender and lightly browned. Here are some rough guidelines for vegetable cooking times: Squashes: cut end to end in fairly thick strips- 8-9 minutes, Onions: thick cut whole slices- 10+ minutes, Bell peppers: halves – 8+ minutes, Corn (very outer husks removed) 9+ minutes, Mushrooms: small button 9+ minutes. Grilled fruits including pineapples, strawberries, and mangoes are prepared just like your veggies but I like to use a high heat.

Is it Done Yet?
Most of us do not and cannot know by time, touch, smell, or instinct alone when anything is cooked to perfection on a grill. Conditions when grilling and cooking outdoors are always changing – just as much as every cut of meat, unique marinade, and brand of charcoal can change your cooking “elements.” Cooking is an art that takes a lot of practice and even the most experienced of us will face a bad grill day. To learn your life lessons in grilling and continue to be a creative grill cook – do a few things. Buy yourself a nice instant read thermometer, comfortable tools, remember your cooking fundamentals, and be willing to taste consistently along the way! Cook beef to 130 degrees F and remove from grill for medium rare, chicken to 155 degrees F and remove, pork to 140 degrees for medium, hamburgers to 135-140 degrees and fish for 4 to 10 minutes total and until it appears opaque and flakes. Seafood will really depend on the size – small shrimp may take 2 minutes a side while larger shrimp might need 4 minutes per side of cook time.

Have a great time cooking this weekend. Your grill coaches (ChefsLine Chefs!) can be reached by calling at 1-800-977-1224 for last minute recipes and personalized advice.

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Kitchen Guy’s Whiskey Glazed Ribs Recipe

Ingredients
3 pounds pork spareribs

Glaze:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup bourbon whiskey*
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1/8 cup molasses
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 Tbsp. minced orange zest

Dry rub:
2 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Method
Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and heat for 2 minutes. Add onion and sauté until pale golden (about 5 minutes). Add ketchup, whiskey, vinegar, orange juice, maple syrup, molasses, Worcestershire, pepper, liquid smoke, and salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Reduce to a medium-low heat and cook until mixture is thick and glossy, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add orange peel and cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Rub pork spareribs with a mixture of sugar, allspice, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover and let stand at least 45 minutes.

Prepare barbeque grill (medium-high heat). Lightly oil the grill. Place ribs on grill and sear 5 minutes per side. Move ribs to the outer edges of grill. Cover with grill lid or heavy-duty aluminum foil and continue grilling until meat is tender (about 30 minutes), turning ribs occasionally. Brush the ribs with some of the glaze during the last 5 minutes of cooking. These ribs can also be made in the oven, using your broiler first to sear each side of the ribs. Then lower the heat to 325, cover tightly with foil and roast for about 45 minutes until the ribs are very tender. Uncover, baste with glaze and cook uncovered for another five minutes.

Notes
* You may substitute 1/3 cup of warm water mixed with a 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.

Kitchen Guy’s Curry-Basted Shrimp
Serves 4

Ingredients
16 large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp. curry powder (your choice of hot or sweet)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup toasted coconut
8 wooden skewers

Method
Peel and devein shrimp. Rinse well and pat dry. Arrange shrimp on skewers, placing one skewer through the thickest part and one skewer at the opposite end. This will prevent the shrimp from curling. Mix together lemon juice, melted butter, curry powder, salt and pepper. Brush shrimp with curry basting mixture, store on a plate covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for about half an hour. Reserve the remaining basting mixture in a small container in the refrigerator.

Grill the marinated shrimp and continue basting until the shrimp are opaque and firm. Serve with toasted coconut, raisins and chopped peanuts as garnish.

To celebrate Mother’s Day, we want to offer you a BONUS service. Purchase a three month gift subscription and our chefs will develop a completely customized one month menu plan for you. Imagine an entire month of carefree, fun meal preparation with our help! Your month menu plan includes a weekly shopping list set to your personal budget, weekly menus including exclusive recipes scaled to your family size AND a prep schedule.

Your Mother’s Day Gift Includes

• Up to five live cooking sessions by phone on the culinary hotline every month. Just call the hotline at 1-800-977-1224 to be connected to a chef consultant. Hours are every day from 9 am - 11 pm EST.
• An introductory ‘Cook More’ private cooking class with Chef Erika.
• Access to our chefs online using our LiveChef Chat every day.
• As a Cook More member, customized services and cooking classes are $12 per 30 minute, private consultation.
• BONUS. A one-month menu plan with weekly recipes and shopping list.

Wild vegetables can be found in in the woods, fields, and meadows of rural and even suburban areas. In fact, you can grow some of the more popular varieties in a shade garden in your own backyard. However, finding them is fun and requires only a personal commitment to self-education, a great photo manual, and a willingness to explore.

There are a few mail order sources for wild vegetables. I recently ran across a reference to MarxFoods‘ Wild Produce Sampler, so I picked up the phone and gave them a call. I spoke with Justin Marx who, with his two brothers and father, own and run the New Jersey-based company. I gratefully accepted shipment of the sampler within a week - just in time to entertain guests for this year’s very early Spring Easter dinner.

The sampler included fiddleheads, stinging nettles, ramps, and miner’s lettuce. These are all plants that grow wild (to the best of my knowledge none are cultivated commercially) and are among the first spring greens.

Fiddleheads have an asparagus flavor to them. It’s not a precise match, but they’ll remind you of really fresh asparagus. They can be tough so some precooking is called for. They are medium to dark green and stand on a short or tall slender stalk. They edible part is the “fiddlehead” - so named because the coil looks like the scroll of a violin. They taste great raw, in a stir fry, or with pasta. Although wild, they are popular in the Northeast and can be found at local farmer’s markets.

Ramps are essentially wild leeks that taste like a perfect cross between onion and garlic. They grow and then disappear / take a new form very quickly so they can look like a small scallion to a larger, flat leafy scallion. Their odor and flavor is more potent, but becomes milder when cooked. They are a great choice for grilling and other high-heat cooking methods such as sauteing. Ramps are readily available in the Southern US where they grow in hardwood forests. They are such a treat! be sure to ask for them at your farmer’s market or take a hike before the end of May.

Miner’s lettuce is similar in flavor and cooking character to spinach, but milder in flavor. It’s great raw or cook this delicate green gently and quickly. It grows in the Northwest US. Notice it only gets a minute in a skillet in the recipe below.

Wild Vegetable Medley Recipe
Chef Kevin Weeks
Serves 6.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb fiddlehead ferns - picked over, trimmed, and cleaned
• 1/2 lb ramps - trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces including the lower part of the greens
• 1/4 lb pancetta -cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 2 anchovy filets - minced
• 1/2 lb miner’s lettuce

Method
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook fiddleheads for 5 minutes. Transfer ferns to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, drain, and pat dry. At this point the fiddleheads can stored in the refrigerator overnight.

Cook the pancetta in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until the fat begins to render - about 2 minutes. Add ramps and minced anchovy and cook, tossing occasionally, until ramps begin to brown - about 3 minutes. Add miner’s lettuce, cover, and cook 1 minute longer until lettuce begins to wilt. Serve immediately.

There is no salt called for because both the pancetta and anchovies provide salt. The pancetta I used was my own and was cured with herbs and spices so I didn’t add any additional flavorings. If you use store-bought pancetta adding a bit of chopped rosemary and thyme as well as some pepper would be a good idea. Last, MarxFoods hadn’t gotten in any ramps yet and so I subbed scallions.

Stinging nettles are smallish green plants (about 12-inches tall) with mint-shaped leaves and small spines along the stems. These spines are like hypodermic needles and when they prick you deliver a stinging chemical - so why did anyone think to eat them? They’re one of the first green vegetables to appear in the spring and fortunately a short bath in boiling water (around five minutes) disables both the spines, which get soft, and the stinging chemical. Cooked, they have a flavor most reminiscent of spinach but slightly wilder. They really are delicious and if you’re careful to wear dish-washing gloves while handling them you won’t get stung. As for the nettles, I cooked them just for myself dressed simply with butter and a splash of cider vinegar. Delicious.

More fun in the woods:
Foraging education with Steve Brill
Edible Flowers
How to Forage for Wild Edible Plants

Cinco De Mayo Menu Espectaculo
Salted Tortilla Chips with Spicy Avocado Cilantro Salsa
Tossed Mexican Salad with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette
Pan Seared Black Refried Bean Tacos with Cilantro Key Lime Salsa and Chevre
Whole Roasted Chicken Mole Poblano
Pina Colada Tres Leches Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream

Read more about Puebla’s Cinco De Mayo celebration > > >

Kitchen Guy’s Black Bean Soup Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups dried black beans
1 small onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 small jalapeño peppers, minced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 medium tomato, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 cup medium hot salsa

Method
Pick through beans for stones and bad beans. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook at a gentle boil for 10 minutes, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand undisturbed for at least 1 hour.

Sauté onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, cilantro, and jalapeños in butter over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic and continue to cook over medium heat for 5 more minutes.

After beans have soaked, drain and place in large saucepan with sautéed vegetables, and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered until beans are tender. Stir occasionally and add water if needed. Let cool.

Drain beans and vegetables, reserving liquid. Puree beans and vegetables in batches along with a small amount of liquid in the food processor (if desired you can reserve some beans and vegetables for texture). Mix in enough of the reserved liquid to create a soup-like consistency; then add cumin and salsa to taste.

Kitchen Guy’s Cheddar Cheese Biscuit Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups bread flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup whole milk

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 2 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar, sugar, and the cheese. With a pastry blender or fork, cut in the shortening and mix until it resembles coarse meal. Add the milk all at once and stir with a fork until the dough forms a ball. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 14 times. Pat out the dough until it is a half-inch thick. Cut into 2-inch rounds. Place them in the cake pans touching each other and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.