Another Pint Please...

Indian Summer Brewing

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:14:00 +0000

As I alluded to earlier, although my grilling has been minimal, my brewing has been on target. The Oatmeal Stout from last month (was it last month?) turned out great. Now, with October’ meeting of the Backyard Brewing Society on deck, I needed something festive, so I decided on pumpkin ale.

The Drew was kind enough to host our “session” (What else do you call a 9 hour stretch of brewing, frying, & grilling?!) because he has a beautiful house overlooking the ocean bordered by a monastery and a nature reserve. Ahhh, who am I kidding? He was host because he has this:

Yes, Drew’s 3 tap kegerator was the centerpiece of the day. It also paved the way for my own fridge/keg conversion (Thank you Zoe!). Now take note of the ABVs of Drew’s fine brews. Not exactly session brews, are they?

The rest of the day was typical brewmania: loud noisy burners, sweet smells of wort, and good food. With 6 of us brewing, the day was in constant motion. I struggled a little bit with my mash temp, but was able to overcome my problems…I think. Drew relished in his new burner and Dave had his second all grain batch down pat.

The food, thanks to Mike and his amazing frying ability, was stellar. Although I don’t have any pictures of the grub (it was dark…and other reasons relating to balance and focus), it looked the same as brew days past: succulent wings, a killer pork loin, and an onion loaf the size of a small man.

Outside of a joint taste of one of Drew’s older vintage brews, the funniest part of the day came from Drew’s daughter who was thrilled, disappointed, and then thrilled with our all day event.

With cold weather definitely on tap (no pun intended), the Backyard Brewers will be moving to the garage in the coming months. None to worry, a roof over our heads doesn’t take away the fun, it simply adds to our chance of carbon monoxide poisoning.

I’m back!

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:02:00 +0000

Well after weeks of neglect, I’m back. Unfortunately, the real world takes over from time to time and puts the hurting on my non-stop fun of 3 hour weeknight dinners and long weekend brew sessions. Well maybe the dinners have been on hold, but not the brewing. A man must have priorities after all.

Suffice to say, I have worked very hard on a personal mission the last two months and I am happy to report I was successful (No, my name is not now Michelle, nor was I successful in re-launching Hands Across America). This recent mission of mine, and subsequent perma-smile on my face, doesn’t even touch on the fact I recently sold a picture to a certain company I respect immensely or spent the last weekend visiting with my sister & brother in California and getting a tour of the Stone Brewing Company. Yes, life has been that good.

So, in order to dip back into the blogging pool, let me remind you, and also myself, of what this blog is all about:

and this:

Feed Me!

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:14:00 +0000

As Ninette at Big, Bold, Beautiful Food pointed out this summer, if you don’t feed your blog, it gets grumpy. Well my blog is beyond grumpy, it’s downright pissed. Posts have obviously been light the last couple of weeks. OK, light is an exaggeration…try non-existent.

This is not to say I wasn’t trying to get something online. I tried a new pizza setup on the 26 inch kettle…it failed. I grilled up a 2 pound Porterhouse last weekend and the pictures sucked, even though the meal was great.

On top of all of this, I am super busy in “the real world” and most likely will have intermittent posting over the next four weeks. However, once mid-November rolls around, I will be back on track looking for my next meal, and my next pint.

In the meantime:

I am excited to have two recent blog posts highlighted on Saveur.com’s “Sites We Love”, the next Backyard Brewing Society brewday is right around the corner, and Arrogant Bastard Week is less than a month away…which, by the by, I will start at Stone Brewing Company in California and end at Boston’s here in Dayton. I can’t wait.

What’s on the Grill #151

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:52:00 +0000

Grilled Salmon in Cork Husks! OK, first things first. Fennel. You know, the magic herb which looks like the offspring of sister dill and brother onion. You know, the primary ingredient in absinthe. Well, in case you didn’t know, it’s great grilled. In fact, it’s not just great, it’s amazing. I thank my friend Gregg who turned me on to this deliciously grilled treat.

Cut the the bulb in half and rub with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Grill direct for 10 minutes (flipping half way through) and the another 15 indirect. You will not be disappointed, promise.

Sorry for the detour, back to the main course. This is actually the second time I have tried this. The first time it turned out great, but the picture sucked. This time it turned out great, and the pictures were…meh. I find there is something incredibly difficult about photographing this dish while making it look…appetizing. I’m not sure how much better I faired this time, but it will work.

I turn, once again, to Fish & Shellfish, Grilled & Smoked, for the recipe. It’s easy, but the prep takes a little bit of time.

Take four ears of corn, peel the husks and remove the corn. Cut the kernels off of two of the ears of corn, and place in a bowl. Add 1/2 diced red pepper, 3 tsp of capers, and 4 diced green onions. Mix. Take 4, roughly 6 ounce, salmon filets and place them inside the peeled husks. Then add the corn mixture, evenly, to the inside of each of the 4 husks. Top each corn pile with 1 tbls of butter and then tie the husks shut.

Grill the husks for approximately 10 minutes direct and 10 minutes indirect. The printed recipe called for less time, but I found mine over charcoal needed longer. Once done, peel back the husks and eat.

The corn mixture cooked inside the husks was amazing. In fact, the whole thing was. You could easily make a double batch of these for guests and do all of the prep in the morning. They are easy, but look difficult and fortunately, they look good and taste good.

One side note. Yes, I had to use farm raised salmon. I know, the color gives it away. I was lazy on Sunday and couldn’t bring myself to drive any further than Meijer, which as usual let me down in spades. I promise, it will never happen again. Also, thanks to the following dinnertime supporting players: sweet potato, zucchini, and traditional grilled salmon. It could not have been a meal without you.

Brew Day come and Brew Day go

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:07:00 +0000

We lost count, not surprisingly, but I think this is our 5th month of brewing since Spring. We are getting our processes down and having a blast…quite a blast. As I indicated before, we held this meeting of The Backyard Brewing Society at Dayton’s premiere spot for craft beer, Boston’s Bistro.

One of the aims of this session, unfortunately timed at the same time as Oktoberfest, was to meet up with other homebrewers. Fortunately, we fulfilled our mission as we hooked up (in the meeting sense) with several local brewers, as well as my fellow Twitter friend, Mike.

We discussed bringing the Trojan horses with us, but Dave & Drew decided on using Drew’s truck, which worked quite well. I think Drew only rightfully threatened me once about melting the paint on his tailgate with my burner.

Today was deemed even more special for us because it was Eric’s birthday and Dave’s maiden all-grain brew. Eric brewed a double IPA, which he plans to cellar for a year in order to wait and open it next year on his 40th birthday. I ~~think~~ know I would have a hard time with his timeline. Dave brewed an IPA, I brewed an Oatmeal Stout, and Drew brewed “ManNight Ale”…which reminds me, we need to schedule a new ManNight!

One of the benefits of Boston’s was good beer. Not that our typical homebrew is good, but here we were dealing with a known quantity. On tap was Founder’s Breakfast Stout, Southern Tier’s Harvest Ale, Flying Dog’s Imperial Gonzo Stout, and of course, Stone’s Arrogant Bastard.

We realized, although the summer weather is nice, winter will really be our brewing time. Without the distractions of “outside” work that so occupies our weekends, brewing can take central stage…in the garage, of course!

The Backyard Brewing Society

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Well, our rag-tag bunch of homebrewers have a name. It’s not a great name, but it’s certainly better than the team name of “Butterflies” Eric suggested. We are assembling today for a homebrew “demonstration” at Boston’s Bistro. We kick off around noon, so if you are in the North Dayton area and want to watch our less-than-polished-hopefully-it-turns-out brewing process, stop by.

I think we are a little apprehensive brewing “off site”, but as I am often known to say, “If monks brewed in caves hundreds of years ago, we can brew in a parking lot”.

In the end, hopefully today turns out better than when I dropped the wrong sized stopper into my starter flask the other night. Hopefully…

What’s on the Grill #150

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Bourbon & Honey Glazed Planked Salmon! Harmonic convergence must be setting in, because for once in my life I have planned two dinners for two consecutive nights. This never happens. Tonight’s dinner was especially fun because it involved not only a trip to the grocer, but a trip to The Home Depot! Normally I am just excited to buy food, but when you include a trip to the hardware store too, I travel with the aid of Angel’s wings (After all, they are quiet AND energy efficient!).

I love to plank things (on the grill). However,I do not believe in buying prepackaged cedar planks for $9. In 12 inch sections, this breaks down to about $4.5 a liner foot. To make my money go further, I buy a 8 foot section of UNREATED cedar plank for $12. This breaks down to about…hold on, let me get the calculator…$1.50 a linear foot. Quite a deal. Now I say “untreated” because the last thing you want to do is accidentally pick up some pressure treated lumber and throw some fish on it. Outside of the strange green smoke your grill will put off, come morning you may discover you’ve grown a third arm. Not good. Also, I can cut my planks to fit my grill. In my case I make them 18 inches long which allows me to place them either on the 22 or 26 inch kettles and perpendicular on the Summit.

I buy my cedar from the “hobby” wood area. Although a piece of cedar fencing may be untreated, I feel more comfortable buying a 3/4 inch piece of cedar destined for inside use. I also like the thickness of my plank compared to the fencing because I can really crank the heat up on the grill and not fear this.

Tonight’s salmon was wild sockeye. I make it a point to only buy wild salmon. One look at the deep red color of wild salmon versus the light pink of farm raised is all it takes. Buy the wild.

Planked salmon is incredibly easy to make. First, soak your plank in water. With my thick plank (OK, not to delve into toilet humor, but I was just proofing this post and that last unintentional sentence really made me laugh out loud…anyway), I let it soak for an hour. Pre-heat the grill to direct medium high.

Ready your glaze. It seems to be a booze and grill weekend. Friday it was gin, tonight it’s bourbon. Take one ounce of bourbon and mix it with 1/3 cup of honey. Get a little more gin if you plan on sipping any on the way to the kitchen.

With your plank soaked and your grill heated, place your salmon filet on the plank skin side down. Brush a generous portion of glaze across the salmon and then place the planked salmon on the grill, over the flames.

Your total cook time will be around 20 minutes depending on the thickness of your plank and the size of your salmon. Feel free to brush on more glaze about halfway through the cook. The salmon is done when it flakes and before the board catches fire (seriously).

As a side, I used a mixture of 1 cup sour cream, 1/3 chopped fresh dill, 1/2 cup goat cheese, and 1 minced garlic glove. It is a nice fresh sauce which nicely balances the sweet and sassiness of the salmon.

That’s it for tonight. Tomorrow, Thai…

What’s on the Grill #149

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Martini marinated filets with grilled carrots and cheese & spinach soufflé! After what seems like an abnormally long time away from the grill, I finally returned to what I enjoy best: grilling meat (and drinking beer..it IS Octoberfest season!). To make this meal even better, we prepared it for our 10th wedding anniversary. For our celebration, we made dinner and I gave Zoe a medal because frankly, she deserves it.

Armed with two pounds of center cut tenderloin filets and the Weber Charcoal grilling cookbook, I placed the filets in a marinade of gin, olive oil, and lemon zest. While they were happily marinating away, Zoe worked on the soufflés and I prepped the grill and carrots. As I said on Twitter, any marinade that starts with a trip to the bar is a good marinade.

It seems as of late, I have been solely grilling steaks on the Summit. Partly because it is quicker and second, I just love the grill marks I get on the Summit’s grates. Tonight I decided to grill everything on the kettle. The heat output in the two zone fire was great. However, the grill marks are just not the same. Also, I realized I really need to buy both a new top grate and a charcoal grate. Hello, Amazon…

The filets were marinated for an hour. The carrots were prepped with melted butter with nutmeg and red wine vinegar. With the filets about done, I placed the carrots on the grill. They were parboiled, so I only grilled them to add some marks, flavor, and heat. With everything finished, the meat took a brief rest and the carrots were mopped with more butter. Did I mention I also like butter?

To plate, the filets were topped with blue cheese crumbles and speared olives. The carrots were topped with some fresh Italian parsley from the herb garden. Zoe worked her magic on the soufflés and voila…dinner.

What’s on the Grill #148

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:42:00 +0000

Grilled Stuffed Peppers with Bison & Blue Cheese! Although I have been grilling a lot, it seems nothing I have done has been blog worthy. Coupled with the fact the “real world” is keeping me incredibly busy as of late, I almost decided not to blog about these. (Also, just because I was in Chicago with Eric last night catching U2 at Soldier Field has nothing to do with my lack of energy tonight.) The real problem? The peppers were good, but not great.

With an abundance of peppers growing in the garden, I knew at some point I would revisit grilled stuffed peppers. In order to change things up, I used ground bison and blue cheese as my cheese. I cut back on the tomatoes by just adding some chopped grape tomatoes instead of a can of diced. Although I am not a huge fan of tomatoes, the grape toms just weren’t enough. I added in some chipotle puree, Worcestershire sauce, sautéed onions, jalapeno, rice, salt, and pepper.

The end result was a good meal, but lacking. Fortunately it is relatively easy (I love to stuff and grill things), so I am sure I will pull it out again soon to re-tool.

Runner-up!

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:04:00 +0000

Thanks for everyone who voted for my Instructable’s entry, I am happy to report I am one of the 10 runner-ups. As a prize, I get an autographed BBQ cookbook from Gary Wiviott! Thanks to Steve who tipped me off about the contest to begin with. Although I am thrilled with the book, Steve thinks I was robbed!

It was a blast to participate with all of the other entries and thanks for all of your kind words and help in securing a new cookbook for my shelf. When it arrives, I will take a poll as to what recipe I will try first!

Happy Labor Day!

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Since I worked today, the weather sucks, and my grills are dormant, I thought I would do the next best thing other than host a cookout: post a picture of something grilled from earlier in the week! On Tuesday, I threw a roto bird on the kettle. It was stuffed with lime and basil and rubbed with lime zest, curry powder, salt, & pepper. An easy and satisfying feast. Bypass those roto birds at the store and grill your own. You will be glad you did.

From my backyard to yours, I wish everyone a happy and safe Labor Day!

Finalist!

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:17:00 +0000

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who “voted” for my entry on making pulled pork on a kettle for the Instructable’s Low and Slow BBQ competition. I learned today I was selected as a finalist!

There are some great entries, so at this point I am just hoping to win one of the cookbooks. And if I do, I will post a poll as to what my maiden recipe should be. The official judging ends on the 7th. I will keep you posted!

Thanks again!

Mike

AleFest…a few thoughts

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:25:00 +0000

AleFest is a large beer tasting event held annually in Chicago, Columbus, and Dayton. It is dedicated as a celebration of craft beer which makes it difficult for me to explain why this was the first year we’ve attended. Nonetheless, I’m glad we did. For thirty bucks, you are armed with a commemorative pilsner tasting glass, 20 “tasting tickets”, a map, and 4 hours to cram it all in. With perfect weather, it really made for an ideal afternoon.

I wish I would have brought my camera, but that would have cut in to more of my tasting time. Also, I didn’t get “all the guys were the same clothes memo” that Brian and Gary apparently received.

With over 200 beers represented, you are really spoiled for choice. Oddly enough,the first line I waited in earned me a glass of…Schlitz. Yes, Mike attends a craft beer festival to get a taste of Schlitz. Whoops. All of the “beer tables” are set up in tents with numbers above them. Our job was to look at the number of the table and find the corresponding number in the book to figure out what beer was where. I failed this simple challenge first time out.

On the plus side, I enjoyed some good draft beers including Hobgoblin from Wychwood, The Poet from New Holland, and Founder’s Porter. I also enjoyed Brooklyn Beer’s Local 1 which I had not tried before. The key words in the last sentence were “not tried before”. For the life of me, I could not figure out why the lines were so long at locally established breweries like Magic Hat. I like Magic Hat’s styles plenty, but I wanted to try things I had not before.

The only downside to the event was the quantity of ~~restrooms~~ port-a-potties. I think I counted 15. For an event of several hundred people that only lasts 4 hours in which the primary focus is the consumption of a beverage that makes you want to “hit the loo”, one would think there would be a few more restrooms. Yes, I’m sure the rental of those things cuts into the bottom line, but so does my dry cleaning bill when I can’t hold it any longer. I spent at least 45 minutes of my time there waiting in line. Not good.

We had a great time, even with my bladder issues. In fact, it was almost too big to really fit everything in. Arriving late didn’t help either. The Drew, who was also there, arrived early and told me it was like being a kid in the candy store. Indeed it was.

What’s on the Grill #147

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:39:00 +0000

Grilled Scallops with Baby Bok Choy and Soy-Ginger Beurre Blanc! Well needless to say the menu was more of a mouthful than my actual meal. Translation: I should have made more! I absolutely love scallops. Now I wouldn’t recognize a scallop in it’s natural habitat even if I stepped on one. Seriously, even if that is possible…I honestly have no idea what a scallops looks like outside of how the fishmonger puts them on display. I highly doubt that when you go diving into the deeps on a scallop hunt, you spot them by the $12/pound plastic stick stuck in the ground. However, what I do know is that I like them in my stomach. Enough said.

For my birthday earlier this year, my Dad bestowed upon me Fish & Shellfish, Grilled & Smoked by Karen Adler & Judith Fertig. I have known my Dad to turn to this book for several years (with great success I might add), but since the only color photograph in the book is on the cover, the book has rarely held my interest past a few page turns. No, I’m not that shallow, it’s just that my “self-prescribed ADD” like’s to look at succulent picture of food porn. It’s just how I am.

With the book in hand, I finally started to give it a serious look. Simply put, I was impressed. This is a grilling book after all which, while huddled in my parent’s kitchen, was a fact that flew right over my head. When eating with my folks I am usually too busy stuffing my face with appetizers of smoked sausage and cheese then to read fine print indicating things like “grill book” or better yet, “best before 1998” on some old salad dressing.

Alright, enough back story. I knew I wanted scallops for dinner so I ended up with this recipe. Why? Well, I love scallops, I love baby bok choy (and adult bok choy…adolescent bok choy? Not so much.), and I had no idea what beurre blanc was. Turns out, Beurre blanc is a hot butter sauce with a wine reduction. Or as I initially identified it, a buttload of butter with some other stuff in it. Regardless, it’s great, easy, and I suggest you try it sometime. In fact, try the whole thing. It is really quite simple and really quite astounding.

Grilled Scallops with Bok Choy & Soy-Ginger Beurre Blanc

Fish & Shellfish, Grilled & Smoked

24 sea scallops
3 small heads baby bok choy, bottoms intact cut lengthwise
olive oil
salt & pepper

For the Beurre Blanc:

2 cups dry white wine
2 tbls rice vinegar
2 tbls peeled & grated fresh ginger (this is why I always keep ginger root in the freezer!)
3 shallots, minced
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tbls soy sauce

1. For the beurre blanc, bring the wine, vinegar, ginger, and shallots to a boil in a medium-size, heavy saucepan over high heat. Reduce until only 2 tbls of liquid remain.

2. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the butter, a piece or two at a time, until you have a smooth, emulsified sauce. Whisk in the soy sauce and keep warm until ready to serve.

3. Heat up your grill to direct high.

4. Brush the scallops with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the scallops and bok choy on the grill. Note: If you have wide grates, you might want to use a grill screen. Grill the bok choy about 1 minute per side, just enough to wilt and slightly char the leaves. Transfer to a platter to keep warm. Grill the scallops 2-3 minutes per side, until firm & opaque and still juicy, not dry.

5. Place a half head of bok choy leaves on the plate, then place 4 scallops on the leaves. Top the scallops with some additional sauce.

Completely Self Serving Post

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:00:00 +0000

In order to be totally transparent, if you do not want to help me when a new Weber Smokey Mountain, skip right over this post. If, however, you feel the slightest urge from deep inside your heart to give a little clicky-clicky love, then please check out my entry on how to grill a pork shoulder on a Weber kettle over at Instructables.com. Voting (I think you have to register to vote) takes place over the next couple of weeks.

First, my thanks to one of my readers, Steve, for pointing out the contest to me. Admittedly, I was a little hesitant at entering, only because there are so many different ways to cook a shoulder. However, I had fun putting the post together and choosing pictures. Plus, if there was any chance of introducing this type of cooking process to someone who has never grilled before, I was all for it.
If I win, I will take a poll for what should be the maiden cook. If I lose, I will take a poll on what to cook on the kettle I already own. At this rate, we are all still winners. Thanks for reading. This is my completely self serving post signing off.

Brew Day & Grill Day…all in one

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:05:00 +0000

Saturday was yet another brew day. With the upcoming homebrew contest at the Dayton Art Institute, we had no time to waste. We had to get our brew going.

While Drew, Eric, & I brewed, Dave spent the day building his wort chiller and mashtun. Coupled with Dave’s new burner, all of his “toys” put the rest of us to shame.

Dave used 50 feet of 3/8 inch copper versus my 25 feet of 1/2 inch. The additional surface area on his immersion chiller kills mine. In fact, I won’t even touch the fact I deployed my older counterflow chiller to “meh” results.

Brew Day also gave a Drew a chance to use his beer gun. The device allows him to bottle beer from his corny keg. A quick blast of CO2 followed by beer and voila…bottled beer minus the typical homebrew bottling mess. Did I mention I need one of these?

By the end of the day, the sun peaked out allowing us to enjoy the “grill part” of the day. Mike again blessed us with his magical deep fried wings. We also had another onion loaf which was devoured in minutes. Also, for the first time at brew day, I grilled BBQ cabbage. Although this might not look like much in the pictures, it is simply divine.

(Based on a recipe from Raichlen’s BBQ USA) Take a medium to large head of cabbage and core out the top to a depth of about 3-4 inches. In a skillet, sauté a diced jalapeno pepper and half a small onion. Add approximately 8 ounces of chorizo and cook. Once done, transfer the meat mixture to a strainer and collect the draining fat. In a bowl, add the meat mixture to 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Place the meat/cheese mixture in the head of the cabbage and top with more cheese and a tablespoon of butter.

Grill the cabbage for approximately 2 hours. If the cabbage begins to darken too much, loosely tent some aluminum foil over it. When you can stick a skewer all the way through the cabbage, it’s done. Remove from the grill, cut into pieces, and serve.

The true winner of the day, however, was the 18 lb boneless rib roast Brian picked up. At first, everyone gave Brian grief for deviating from the Brew Day pork ritual…but that was until they saw the side of cow he brought along for the ride on the rotisserie.

The outside of the beef was seasoned with fresh rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. From there, we placed it on the rotisserie and mounted it on the Summit. I was a little worried about the size. At one point, I did a 16 pound turkey which just fit. Fortunately, although the beef weighed more, it was better distributed along the spit. The only downside was that it was too big for a drip pan. It looks like I have some cleaning to do later.

The meat turned out good, if not cooked a little too long. This was another example of taking on too much in too small of a window (ie brewing & cooking). Most of us prefer medium rare meat. With the size of the roast, the middle should have been much more rare with the not-so rare folks enjoying the ends. Not today, the whole thing was more medium. But, still good and still amazingly large!

The next brew day is already set for September. We all can not wait.

What’s on the Grill #146

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Since first talking about Bison back in January, I have done a bit more experimentation (read: eating). I have had bison sirloin at home: good, bison ribeye at Ruth’s Chris: alright, bison (& turkey=burkey) burgers at home: incredible, bison ribeye at Stone Brewing’s Bistro: sensational, and the other night, thanks to Mike, bison filets at home: smashing.

Admittedly, I was a little worried after my Ruth’s Chris experience that perhaps bison was not all it was meant to be. However, the ribeye last month at Stone and the filet from the other night renewed my faith in this thousand plus pound wandering beast.

The biggest benefit of bison is the tremendous health benefit versus beef. A 8 oz bison ribeye (which yes, is kind of small), only has 10 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, and 53 grams of protein. A comparable piece of beef has over twice the amount of fat and saturated fat, and only a slightly higher amount of protein.

Mike stopped by to bottle beer and brought two fresh bison tenderloin filets that his buddy butcher at Dorothy Lane Market cut for him. Since bison is so lean, I was really wondering how it stand up as a tenderloin filet.

I am hot and cold on filets because of their inherent lack of fat content, but I have to tell you, I really enjoyed the bison. Yes, it was lean, but the flavor to me stood out and made it quite enjoyable. No, it’s not “gamey”, it’s just different…different and good. I new feel comfortable that there will be much more of this “healthy” meat in my future.

What’s on the Grill #145

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:49:00 +0000

Grilled & Smoked Apples Stuffed with Sausage & Sage! I stumbled across this recipe towards the back of Steven Raichlen’s BBQ USA. Although I love grilled apples, I was little curious, if not dubious, as to how they would taste stuffed full of sausage instead of butter and raisins. Thankfully my curiosity paid off, they were great. According to Raichlen, this dish is a New England tradition. I now hope to make it a tradition at home.

After an hour on the grill, the apples really take on an interesting medley of taste. You get a the savory smoky taste of sausage, followed by the sweetness of the maple syrup, surrounded by the tart hint of apple. To me, it was really neat exploring those flavors. It was one of those meals where I concentrated on each bite trying to determine exactly what I was eating, even though I already knew. It was that much of an adventure.

Fortunately the apples are easy to make, so you can experiment with this new treat in your own backyard. I am curious as to what you think.

Baked Apple Stuffed with Sausage and Sage

Adapted from Steven Raichlen’s BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes from All Across America

3 tbls butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 pound of sausage
4 fresh sage leaves, minced (right from the garden!)
salt & pepper
4 tbls maple syrup
6 large apples

1. Add 1 tbls butter to a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the sausage and sage. Increase the heat to high, and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Cook until brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Transfer the stuffing to a strainer set over a bowl to drain off the excess fat (of course in my opinion, is there really such a thing as “excess” fat?!), reserving the fat for basting (now we’re talking!). Let the stuffing cool to room temperature.

3. Using a melon baller, corer, knife, or perhaps a very strong finger, remove the core from each apple creating a large cavity (the larger the better). Just be sure not to cut all of the way through the apple. We want a container, not a sieve.

4. Spoon the stuffing into the apples. Next, top of the apples with equal amounts of maple syrup. Then, top the apple with the remaining butter.

5. Brush the outside of the apples with the excess fat you collected .

6. Soak wood chips (I used maple) in water for approximately 30-45 minutes. Set up your charcoal grill for indirect medium grilling (A gas grill can be used instead too).

7. Once your grill is at temperature, drop your soaked wood chips on the coals and close the lid. When smoke appears, place your apples on the grill. Remember, you are grilling indirect so the apples should not be over the coals.

8. Grill the apples until soft, approximately one hour.

If you are looking for something different, I can guarantee these apples will do the job. They can make a great meal by themselves, or serve as a great side. For me, the apples were a side. Why? My main course was this:

Along with this:

What’s on the Grill #144

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:45:00 +0000

Cheese & Jalapeno Stuffed Hotdogs! With all of this uber hot sticky weather we have been experiencing in southwest Ohio this weekend, I determined that it would be an outdoor day. Since I knew I was going to be outside, I figured I would not only plan on grilling dinner, but also lunch.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been craving a good grilled hot dog. However, not being content with just having a hot dog, I thought back to a hot dog I saw pictured in Steven Racihlen’s How to Grill. This stuffed hot dog has been in the back of my mind for several years. For some reason though, I never made it. Until now. This is super easy and puts a delicious twist on an old staple.

Take a hot dog and slice it down the vertical edge being careful not to slice it all the way through.

Take a slice of cheddar cheese approximately 1/4 inch thick and place it in the slit. From there, thinly slice some jalapeno peppers and place them with the cheese in the slit.

With butcher’s twine, bind the hot dog together to keep the stuffing intact.

Over medium high heat, directly grill the hot dogs for approximately 10 minutes. After you develop some grill marks, you may want to move them over indirect heat to finish.

All in all, really, really good. This is what daytime summer grilling is all about.

What’s on the Grill #143

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:59:00 +0000

Shrimp & Chicken with Chili Paste & Basil! OK, a word of warning. If you don’t like spicy food, don’t try this…or at least dial down the chili paste. My head is still sweating and if you have ever seen a bald head sprout water like the falls going over Niagara, it is not a pretty sight.

I feel like it has been forever since I have done a WOTG post, so I am sliding back into this slowly. By slowly, I mean only using the side burner of the grill. I have also been on a Thai kick as of late. The other night I cooked up shrimp, rice, and pineapple and tonight, it’s shrimp & chicken. We also had Thai takeaway twice while visiting Anne. I absolutely love Thai food…if that isn’t obvious by now. For the most part it is incredibly easy to make. The difficult part is always the preparation. Since wok cooking is hot, fast, & quick, you have to be ready. Mise en place is a must.

They say a hot work is the key to great wok cooking. I am currently bound by the lackluster 12000 BTU of my side burner. I have hope to plumb in a true wok burner some day. In the meantime, I am thinking about placing the wok in charcoal to boast the temp. Regardless of the method, it is always a fun way to cook.

One last thing. This has been my best year for herbs. I have a killer stash of basil and Thai basil. Both were the impetus for wanting to do something with basil. The pots are literally overflowing.

Shrimp & chicken with chili paste & basil

based on the recipe from Nancie McDermott’s Quick & Easy Thai

3 tbls vegetable oil
1 tbls chopped garlic
1/2 lb shrimp (peeled & deveined thank you)
1/2 lb chopped chicken thighs
3 tbls chili paste (I used Sambal Oelek…seriously consider 1 tbls if heat is an issue)
2 tbls fish sauce
1/3 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1 cup fresh(!) Thai or Italian Basil

1. Heat the oil in your wok until you toss in some garlic and it sizzles. Add the rest of the garlic and toss. Try not to let it burn. Add in the shrimp & chicken and cook until the shrimp is opaque and the chicken won’t kill you (2-3 minutes).

2. Add the chili paste, fish sauce, water, sugar. Continue to cook and toss until the fish & chicken is completely cooked and covered in sauce. Add the basil leaves, toss and serve.

Ready the kettle!

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:00:00 +0000

We learned this week (we, meaning our rag tag bunch of homebrewers) that the annual Oktoberfest celebration at the Dayton Art Institute will host a homebrew competition. The Drew is already on course with a brew in mind. I am also fairly certain that I will enter, as will Eric, Dave, and most likely Mike too.
Here are the relevant facts:

Intended for home brewers of beer made with non-commercial equipment, judging will be conducted by a panel of non-professional judges in three categories: Pale Ale/India Pale Ale, Wheat Beers (German or American) and Porter/Stout. The First Place Winner and Runner Up in each category will compete for Best in Show.
To even further reinforce the idea that all forms of creativity are art, each category will also be judged for Best Label, with those winners taking part in the Best in Show judging. Home brewers are encouraged to design their most creative labels reflective of their personalities and the style of their brew.
The entrance fee is $25 per entry - all proceeds benefit The Dayton Art Institute! Prizes include:

One First Place Winner and one Runner Up Winner in each category shall be chosen by the judges. Each First Place Winner will receive a large Oktoberfest mug and will be eligible for the Best in Show tasting. Each Runner Up will be eligible for the Best in Show tasting.

The winner of the Best Label in each category will receive a small Oktoberfest mug and will be eligible for the Best in Show tasting.

A Best in Show winner will be selected based on a second tasting of all First Place, Runner Up and Best Label brews in each category (up to 9 brews). This tasting will be Sunday afternoon of Oktoberfest weekend, with the formal announcement of Best in Show occurring at 4:00 p.m. Best in Show will receive a Warsteiner Glass Beer Boot and bragging rights for one year!

My first observation is that there is no do doubt we are using “non-commercial” equipment. Have you seen my cart? Second, the categories are great. I am leaning Porter. Finally, if anything, I know we can come up with some good labels. In fact, I can only imagine what Eric will come up with!
So, we shall plan our next brew session quickly. If you are a local homebrewer, make plans to enter. Seeing this is the first time out for the competition, let’s make sure there are enough entries to warrant the 2nd Annual Homebrew Competition! It should be good times all around.

Lego’s, Giraffe’s, & Rockets

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:03:00 +0000

I’m back, and as of today life is back to normal. It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks visiting family in California and Texas. As summer’s typically go with Bean, we packed a lot in. This summer even more so. While in California with Anne we went to Legoland (blah), the San Diego Wild Animal Park (most excellent, even if I was molested by a large male giraffe), Stone Brewing Company (most, most excellent!), a Russian Sub (comrade cool), and Vegas (always fun). The following week we zipped down to Houston and while visiting Matthew (and somehow Anne ended up there too!) hit an Astros game (a blast) and the Johnson Space Center (Space Center blah…historic mission control, very, very cool).

The best meal of the trip was at Stone, quickly followed by The Brick House in Houston. The brick house was not haute cuisine, but really, really good pub grub with a “man” influence. Plus, they had an extensive draft/firkin selection and served the beer at each table in “bongs”. These “bongs” were large clear cylinders with a tap handle. This is the first time I have seen something like this and when it come to gimmicks, I’m hooked.

When it goes to cooking/grilling, I am proud to report that I used my first Foreman grill at Anne’s. We made quick and easy Grilled Chicken Caesar Wraps which were…quick and easy. At Matthew’s, I was proud to help him assemble his first Weber grill. He picked up a Weber Sprit 310 which we assembled during a thunderstorm, ant attack, and 93 degree heat. I wasn’t sure if the water running down my face was tears of pride, or sweat. It was probably a little of both.

On Vacation!

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Although we are still away on our romp through Southern California, I could not but help post the fact we had dinner at Stone Brewing Company last night. I will have a lot more to post about it upon our return, but needless to say I found it a religious experience. It was simply amazing. The beer, the food, the ambiance...I wish I didn't live so far away from it and I hope to return.

Getting our brew on!

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:34:00 +0000

Saturday was once again Brew Day, and what a day it was. So much went down in our 8 hours together that I am having trouble organizing my thoughts to talk about it! First off, we had a brew day record with 4 people brewing. Our efforts garnered us 25 gallons of homebrew. 10 gallons is courtesy of The Drew & Dave. Dave bought all of his supplies and then “used” The Drew to make a double batch for them both to enjoy. I have a feeling by the next brew day Dave will have his own kettle and burner.

Drew, Eric, and I all made IPAs. Mike made a porter. 24 hours later, Eric and I have both suffered blown fermenter lids. Eric’s sounds like a real missile launch. Mine wasn’t too bad. Figures the one time I don’t use a blow off tube and instead use an airlock bubbler, I get Sputnik.

Everything moved along rather well. As is Brew day tradition, we enjoyed some of the fruit’s of our last brew get together. The hefeweizen I brewed last time was kegged and we “floated” the corny keg in no time flat. Homebrew come, and homebrew go…

Towards the end of brewing, it became readily apparent that my immersion wort chiller sucks. It took forever to cool my wort. It looks like I may try to go back to my counterflow.

Although we were stuck in the garage because of the rainy weather, it didn’t dampen our mood. We decided to start marking brew days by writing on the brew cart. We are pretty good about writing pithy comments that we still find funny years later and the wife’s don’t find funny now or later.

It would not be brew day without fried food. Besides the obligatory pork shoulder, Mike worked his magic on chicken wings and an onion loaf. You cannot have all of these gas burners around and not fry something. The wings were down and dirty. Mike breaded them in some Hooter’s breading and then fried them in oil. He only deviated from the recipe by not donning the orange shorts that came in the package.

The wings were tossed in wing sauce and were great. The onion loaf…ahhh the onion loaf. Always a crowd pleaser and there is never enough.

Well the basement smells like a brewery right now with all of the airlocks bubbling away. Hell, Drew’s was already showing activity before he left last night! I seriously can’t wait to see how they all turned out. Now, time to plan our next brew day…

What’s on the Grill #142

appblog@gmail.com (Mike) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Ribeye Friday! Alright, I had a number of things I wanted to post this week, but it’s gone too fast and I haven’t been able to keep up. So, before I start with the most important tradition I have around here, let me share my new toy: My Canon EF 70-300mm lens. I love it…and when this thing is extended, it look as though it could launch rockets!

The lens will take some getting use to, and was bought less for food and more for “other stuff”. I have been bouncing between a 50mm lens and the 300mm and with our trip to California next week, I opted on the latter. Plus, I know Zoe will get a lot more use out of this lens too.

Now even though I didn’t get the lens for food and beer, I used it tonight for food and beer! I just love the bokeh it produces. However, with the long focal length, I have a learning curve ahead.

BTW, the Magic Hat Wacko Seasonal can be best described as forgettable. At first the red beet color scared the hell out of me. I found the ale crisp, with a slight tart finish. In the end though, it just didn’t do anything for me.

Anyway, back to dinner. I had two nice well marbled 18 ounce boneless ribeyes. I made a garlic paste with some kosher salt and then added some fresh rosemary from the garden. I added salt and pepper to both sides of the ribeye and then just smeared the paste on the top. I grilled the ribeyes over high heat, about 6-7 minute a side. I finished off one steak over indirect to satisfy the “non medium rare” crowd in the house.

It was nice to have the ribeye back in rotation. It was even better knowing that brewday was coming Saturday and all of this was a precursor to a great weekend of bbq, beer, and friends.