mung dal with sauteed onion and ginger

From my Indian cookbook.

2 1/2 cups yellow mung beans
wash beans four times

prepare spice powder:
heaping 1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne

spread powder over beans
pour 6 cups water over beans
bring to boil (about 15 minutes)
reduce heat, cook uncovered

chop 1 cup cilantro. add when five minutes is left on the lentils.

chop 1/2 onion finely.
mince 2 tablespoons ginger. (Don't skimp on the ginger, it tends to get lost in here)
prepare a tarka powder:
2 tbsp coriander
1 tsp cumin

prepare 3 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp butter over high heat.
Add 2 tsp. cumin seeds when hot, let them sizzle
add onion, cook 1 minute
add ginger, cook 1 minute
add tarka powder, cook 30 seconds

add to mung dal.

correct salt seasoning. cracked pepper optional.

Dressing up burgers

I've never been good at dressing burgers, if only because I simply never make them. But they are one of the perfect bbq choices, especially for ten guests aged 18-20 who need to be fed cheaply, but still leave impressed.

So I bought 4 pounds of ground sirloin, dropped it in a bowl, and started splashing in worcestershire sauce, sprinkling in garlic salt, and finally dropping in freshly chopped parsley until it looked like it absorbed enough. Having eyeballed this, all I can say is that ground beef will take a lot before it impacts the flavor too much.

I formed patties about the size of my two cupped hands, which produced a 6-7 oz. burger. This is perfect size, except I have yet to locate the bun to match.

I dropped some mesquite in the egg and got it up to 600. I basted each burger with olive oil and kosher salt (quite a bit), then seared the meat for 2 minutes on each side, put on the lid and cooked the burgers at 400 for approximately an additional 10 minutes. I cut into a test burger when I thought they were done and found it still raw in the middle, but after leaving it a couple of minutes more, they came off medium, and full of juice. NOTE: clear juice is not necessarily a sign of doneness. The burger I tested I ran a knife into the middle, and out poured clear juice, but the middle was not quite there. I could try the paperclip test next time.

The result was woody on the nose, thanks to the mesquite. It was extremely juicy, but brown all the way through. I'm never a fan of leaving hamburger raw, or even undercooked, so I would rate it as perfect. Any more, though, and it will begin approaching shoeleather. The meat was flavorful, but the worcestershire sauce, garlic, and parsley seemed to balance itself well. It could have taken more of each. Also, the chopped parsley gave the burgers an appealing herbed appearance.

Manhattan, with some spice

How about a Manhattan made with falernum?

Mount Gay Rum

On a whim, I bought this white rum from Barbados. If it was a good choice, I'll know by the end of May. In the mean time, here are cocktails to try.

cocktail blogs

A list of cocktail blogs to check out, updating constantly:

Kaiser Penguin

Cocktail Slut

The Kitchn (direct link to "mix your own cocktails" post)

Oh Gosh (direct link to review of aromatic bitters post)

Benito's Wine Reviews (direct link to review of Fee Brothers bitters)

Spirits Review

Good Spirits News

American Cocktails

Fernet-Branca

First ever tasting of Fernet-Branca.

The nose is herbal, but in a surprisingly refreshing, pepperminty, menthol. The taste is everything they claim--hard to imagine, powerful, like chewing on the root of a dogwood, after eating limestone. Its aroma really makes it for me. The bitter herbs are wonderful, but this is an acquired taste.

The Fernet Alexander is one way to make a special end of the evening drink:

equal parts Fernet-Branca, Cream de Cocao, cream. garnish with nutmeg. This is a chocolate martini for a carnivore. There are endless variations on this.

The Fernet Old Fashioned looks appealing, at least to me:

Front Planter, 2011

April 23 planted, left to right (street facing)

Mortgage Lifters
Golden Nugget
Oxheart Pink

The bees balm is coming in like a weed on the west end, which is fine given that the planter is rich in soil and compost. Let it come.

On April 27, it appears that the mortgage lifters and the golden nugget have either been dug up, or withered. I'll check back in a few weeks.

Front Rows, 2011

My two experimental rows successfully yielded a late fall harvest of carrots, green onions, cilantro, and parsley, all grown from seed. The cilantro and parsley has now gone to seed, so I'm knocking them out this weekend and next, and beginning the planting process. Here is the plan, at present. Row 1 is the main row, Row 2 the second row. House facing, left to right.

Row 1: parsley and cilantro, indeterminate amount. Some late plants came from seed, so I may have a couple of producing plants, and I have one cilantro plant to put in the ground. I'll have to update this at a later time once the row is completely planted. Far right end: jalepenos.

Planted April 23:

Row 2:

Cucumber, Marketmore 76 (8-9 inches long, disease resistant, 66 days to maturity)
Cucumber

Row 3:

Taxi Tomatoes
Amish Paste
Taxi Tomatoes

Tomatoes 2011

So I've planted six tomato plants, all seedlings from the Oakhurst Community Garden. The tomatoes go in the same spots as last year. For soil prep, I added Black Kow to the amended soil, which I mixed with some Georgia Clay. I've done nothing to prepare drainage in the plot, which is clearly an oversight on my part. But I didn't have any last year, and the soil seems to be doing okay. Until I raise beds, I'm not going to give it too much thought.

In the stone planter, street facing and left to right, I planted

Mortgage Lifters
Golden Nuggets
Oxheart Pink

UPDATE: two of three were seemingly ripped out. I believe the plants are now:

Tappy's Heritage
Cabernet
Oxheart Pink

In the Triangle Plot (front of Maia's window), house facing and left to right, I planted

Taxi Tomatoes
Amish Paste
Taxi Tomatoes

UPDATE: the last taxi did not come in. I believe I replaced it with a golden nugget, but am not sure.

Ribeye, perfect timing

These ribeyes were about 1 inch thick, although freezing and thawing shrunk them a bit. Once again, the fear is I overcooked, at 9 minutes.

Grill: 600
1 minute 30 second sear, each side.
after second turn, baste with kickass garlic-parsley oil.
close dampers most of way.
Grill at 400
3 minutes then flip
baste that side with kickass garlic-parsley oil.
Grill at 350
3 more minutes
remove from grill. tent for 10 minutes.

Ribeyes turned out perfect. Medium rare, warm in the middle. 9 minutes is looking good, with maybe a couple more minutes in the event that they are thicker.

beans and rice

looking for a good beans and rice recipe. Vegetable broth will be a biggie, so will need to start making the stock. Should not be a problem. Fresh tomatoes will be coming as well. Peppers from the garden.

Here is a simple recipe that seems to be replicated all over. I will be back with some experiments, plus reports on how to best prepare beans from scratch, which I have had difficulty with in the past.

Humberto Barberis Gran Reserva Malbec, 2006

Ansley Park Kroger
$40 ($25 on sale)
Malbec, 13.8%

Humberto Barberis
Malbec 2006
Gran Reserva
Mendoza Argentina

This was a fruity and rich Malbec. Worked well with a ribeye, as it brought out some of the structure, but in the end it is a Malbec. I would have to have a proper tasting in order to discern whether this was worth the big price tag.

Alexandria Nicole Alderdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Cabernet Sauvignon
Ansley Park Kroger
$28

Alexandria Nicole Alderdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Destiny Ridge Vineyards
Horse Heaven Hills

The 2007 was a Double Gold Winner for the Seattle Wine Awards. It promises big fruit, cassis, herbes de Provence, lingering milk chocolate and toffee. Wine Spectator gave it 90 points in its December 15, 2010 issue.

We'll see what the 2008 does.

UPDATE: tasting was brilliant. Big mouthful of fruit on the tongue. Well structured. Nicely balanced. The toffee/milk chocolate finish was very pleasant. This one was a success at our EPGTC tasting.

Clos de l'Eglise Lalande de Pomerol, 2008

Ansley Park Kroger (talk to April)
$25
Merlot 80%, 13% alcohol

The Lalande de Pomerol is an appellation directly north of Pomerol, very much in Pomerol's shadow. It is known as a great value region, and one that adds a rustic touch to its wines. The soil is well-drained gravel.

This wine was a knockout. I find myself gravitating towards the French and Italian styles, increasingly. They are rich and subtle even when big. The EPGTC tasting named this the favorite amongst the wines. It was also the first. But it produced an immediate reaction that made it hard to follow this wine with fruitier, new world varieties.

Kickass Steak Recipe

Michael Lomonaco offers the following recipe for steaks:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves, chopped
3 to 4 sprigs each fresh thyme and rosemary
4 20 oz, bone-in, NY strip steaks, 1 3/4-2 inches thick.
Kosher salt
1/2 lemon

1) combine oil and garlic in small saucepan and warm over low heat for 2 minutes. Cool thoroughly, then add the parsley, thyme and rosemary. Divide the seasoned oil equally between 2 small bowls.

2) brush the steaks with half of the seasoned oil. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes before grilling.

3) make fire

4) season steaks lightly with pepper and liberally with salt (1/2 teaspoon per steak)

5) sear. don't burn.

6) after turning, brush (don't slather) steaks with marinade in second bowl using a clean brush.

7) remove steaks to platter and tent with foil. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the steaks.

Chili Colorado, Double Recipe

Making chili for the parents, who are both in town tonight.

Design notes: Rick Bayless says that the recipe is a half hour hands on. That cannot be true. I sliced and seeded the chilies on Sunday, cubed the chuck roast on Tuesday, and this was still a good hour or two hands on, especially when one considers the massive clean up. The process, however, was very smooth. First I roasted the chilies, while the kettle was heating. By the time the chilies were done, the kettle was whistling. Covered the chilies and submerged with a plate. Chopped an onion and garlic, added the cumin and oregano to the blender. Took the meat out of the fridge and prepared the dutch oven. Added chilies (we are now at the half hour mark). Added reserve chili water. Blended. Put medium-high heat on the dutch oven. Added meat. Began straining chili puree over a bowl. Alternately pressed chilies while turning meat over and over to brown all pieces. This took about ten minutes--like Bayless wants, although my doubling of the recipe makes this a sloppy adaptation. Added chili, kept heat high for another five minutes. Kept scraping bottom. Made flour roux (2 tbsp for 4 cups of water). Added roux. Brought the mixture to a boil, partially covered. Dropped heat to medium. Started cleaning. Lots of cleaning.

3:45: chili simmering nicely.

Doubling the recipe was quite straightforward, with one exception--more difficult to press the chili puree. It left me paranoid, as usual, that I didn't have enough chili in my chili. It is simmering at present. Gives me time to brood.

Chili ratio: 8 anchos and 8 california chilies. They were large, so I didn't opt for more. Frying them did a number on my throat, I have discovered. Almost feel like wearing a mask when working with them.

4:45: Taste Test: Brilliant, but the chuck is still a tad chewy and the sauce a tad watery. Another hour will likely do it. If the sauce gets too thick, I will cover completely in the dutch oven.

Monster Ribeye

I should have taken a picture. 1.2 pounds boneless, 1 1/2 inches thick. Glorious. The rub I used was quite simple: light coat of garlic salt; cracked pepper mixed with sea salt; olive oil brush. Egg heated up to 700, and I let the grill heat for ten minutes or so. Cooking time:

1 3/8 minutes sear, each side.
Close dampers. Temperature dropped rapidly down under 400.
2 3/4 minutes each side.

Pulled it, cut it down the middle. Rare. Very rare. Cool in the center. Back on the grill for four minutes, dampers open to bring the temp up past 300. Still rare, but fabulous.

This was disappointing from the cooking angle. Last time I cooked ribeyes, I cooked under ten minutes and got medium. Granted, a gasket problem kept my temperature a little higher, but that cannot account for the MASSIVE difference in the end product. I needed probably 400 degrees, four minutes a side.

Next time, play with the dampers. get the temperature up to a respectable number, while keeping the fire down.

By the way, the end product was fantastic. The ribeye was fall apart tender, full of juice. Still on the rare to medium rare side, and the crust was much better than the freshly herbed mess I cooked up last time. I'm becoming a big fan of cracked pepper, and am wondering if that with some sprinkled rosemary and sea salt wouldn't make the best rub.

Pulled Pork

I was tempted to title this post "smoking butt" so the adult had to overrule the teenager in me. I rarely purchase the boston butt, preferring instead to get the whole hog shoulder. When the shoulder is split in half, one gets the butt and the picnic. Most butts are supposed to be 8 pounds, but the one I have is 3.5, suggesting that the Farmer's market is dividing the butts in two.

I've been looking up recipes, so might as well catalog them here. Good instructions on smoking are helpful, although the big green egg instructions are what I have followed in the past. A collection of rub recipes live here.

For the rub, I'm modifying a recipe I found online.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons cracked peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons cayenne
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  

The cinnamon is my addition. I've yet to find it in a bbq rub, so it is likely a mistake. It's eastern origins do not make it a likely addition either--I am hardly going native. But it imparts such a distinctive flavor, and in this rub it should sit in conjunction with the heat and the sugar to impart more nose than flavor. We shall see...

I rubbed the butt and wrapped it in plastic and put it in the fridge for two hours. I prepared the grill for indirect cooking, started the coals, and added mesquite wood chunks. (On a side note, I have recently read that mesquite imparts too strong a flavor for smoking meats, so I should probably invest in some hickory.) I put the meat directly on over a drip pan with some water only--I am trying to control all taste variables to see what the rub produces, so no apple juice or beer in the pan.

3.6 pounds, so the butt could be ready in 5 1/2 hours. I'm cooking on the low end of the temperature spectrum, so I'm guessing it will take 6 1/2 hours.

10:45--pork went on. Temperature 100.
11:00--Temperature reached 210.
11:05--Temperature holding at 210.
11:10--Temperature up to 220. Closed dampers a hair more.
1:53--Temperature down to 180. Opened dampers a hair more.
2:15--Temperature holding at 220. Closed dampers a bit.
3:15--Temperature holding at 220.
4:15--Temperature holding at 220. Internal Temperature: 175!!

Pulled it off shortly after 5.

The result was good, but not tender enough. It needed likely one more hour. The next time, I want to try double wrapping it in foil for the last several hours. I have been reluctant to do so, but really do think the result will be superior.

The rub was a hit. And there is much rejoicing.