Thanksgiving: Hot Italian Sausage Stuffing

 

If you are smoking your turkey on a pellet grill, you'll want to bake your stuffing in the oven. If you are deep frying your turkey, you'll want to bake your stuffing in the oven. If you are roasting a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, you'll want to bake your stuffing separately in the oven. You don't ever want to bake  stuffing in the turkey's body cavity. Let me explain why.

If your turkey is cooked to perfection, the stuffing in the cavity is going to be undercooked. That sort of error leads to salmonella, in which case your guests will suffer horrific gastrointestinal pain followed by death. If your stuffing in the cavity is cooked to 165º perfection, the meat on your turkey will be overcooked and your guests will chew on it as if it were part of the sidewall of a worn Pirelli Formula One tire.

So do the right thing. Bake your stuffing by itself in the oven. It will taste fantastic with no chance of flatlining your guests. This recipe is incredibly easy. It uses simple, store-bought ingredients and comes together very quickly. 

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds hot Italian sausage

2 yellow onions, chopped

6 stalks celery, chopped

16 ounces mushrooms, chopped

10 tablespoons butter

4 cups chicken broth

2, 12-ounce bags Pepperidge Farm Sage & Onion Cubed Stuffing

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat olive oil until it is shimmering. Then add sausage, onions, celery and mushrooms. Cook until there is no pink in the sausage and all of the vegetables have softened (about 8 minutes).
2. In a large saucepan, heat butter and chicken broth over medium heat until all of the butter has melted into the broth.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In a large casserole, add the two bags of cubed stuffing. Add sausage, onions, celery and mushrooms then stir thoroughly to mix. Then add broth/butter mixture and stir again to thoroughly mix.
5. Cover casserole and bake for 60 minutes. Remove cover for last 15 minutes if you like your stuffing browned. Serve.

Warm Bacon and Mushroom Salad

Becky and I like to have a salad with just about every dinner. But with a distinct chill in the air, there are nights when a warm salad is much preferred over a cold one.. This is one our favorite cold weather salads and the two main ingredients, bacon and mushrooms, add comforting warmth and blockbuster flavors to the salad.

I want you to be sure and secure the right kind of bacon. We will have two requirements. First, you want thick-sliced bacon. You need some substance to partner with roasted mushrooms. Skinny bacon is out. And skip hickory smoked. You want applewood smoked bacon...unique for its complex and sophisticated combination of flavors. 

1.  

Next up on our favorite foods list are oven-roasted Cremini mushrooms. A brief flash of high heat will shrink these babies down, concentrating the incredible umami taste into little chewable celebrations of joy. Your palate will be delighted at the fusion of applewood bacon and roasted mushrooms. But wait.....there's more....

To complete the trifecta, we are going to add our very favorite lettuce....arugula. It has a spicy, peppery taste that sits in stark contrast to the bacon and mushrooms. All the salad needs now is a little dressing with lemon, cider vinegar, bacon fat...and a generous helping of goat cheese.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound Cremini mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced thick

1/2 cup olive oil

Kosher salt

1/2 pound thick-sliced applewood smoked bacon, cut into 1/2" strips

1 small sweet yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup cider vinegar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 ounces arugula

3/4 cup walnuts

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425º F.
2. In a large bowl, toss the mushrooms with olive oil. Spread the mushrooms on a sheet pan, salt lightly and roast for 35 minutes, stirring once or twice, until crisp and golden. 
3. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate. Strain the fat into a heatproof bowl and return half of it to the skillet. Add the onion to the skillet and cook over moderately low heat until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the vinegar and simmer until all of the liquid is reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice and add the remaining bacon fat.
4. In a large bowl, combine the greens with the vinaigrette, mushrooms and walnuts, then toss. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Sprinkle with the bacon and goat cheese and serve.

Pairing: Pinot Noir

Party Ribs in the Oven

 

 

When you slice up a rack of ribs and cook them as individual pieces, the dish is called Party Ribs. Party ribs are a favorite because they caramelize the rub and sauce on all 4 sides of the rib. And they are called party ribs because they are ready to party the minute you pull them out of the oven. Appy's anyone?

Besides the advantage of party ribs being a lot more flavorful than a rack of ribs, party ribs cook a lot faster than a rack of ribs. It's a breeze to crank out these ribs in under 3 hours....less than half the time of the standard 3-2-1 method. And sure...you could cook them in a smoker. But your oven is a much easier tool and it greatly lessens your workload. And it's always available...regardless of the weather.

Did someone say party ribs?

This recipe scales up easily. But a word of caution....a wire rack/cookie sheet holds 2 racks of ribs. So if you are looking to cook 3 or more racks, you are going to need another cookie sheet set-up.

The second step, which involves coating the ribs with olive oil, is critical so that the rub sticks to the meat. I would also encourage you to tamp down the rub on the ribs to make sure it sticks.

To save cleaning time and elbow grease, line the cookie sheet with foil before you add the wire rack in both steps 3 and 6.

This recipe will give you "tender-to-the-bite" meat still attached to the bone. If you like your rib meat falling off the bone, increase the cooking time in step 5 by 20 minutes (cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes).

INGREDIENTS

1 rack of baby back ribs, trimmed

Olive oil

Famous Dave's Rib Rub

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce

2 pats of butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut ribs into individual pieces by slicing between the bones.
2. Put the ribs in a large bowl and add 1/2 cup olive oil. Toss the ribs until they are well coated with oil.
3. Preheat oven to 325º. Put a wire rack over a cookie sheet. Place the ribs on their sides on the wire rack so that none of the ribs are touching. Pick up each rib, season all sides with Famous Dave's Rib Rub and replace the rib on the rack. Once all ribs are seasoned, slide the rack/sheet into the middle of the oven and cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove ribs from oven.
4. Increase oven heat to 350º. Layout 2 large sheets of aluminum foil (for double wrapping the ribs). Pour about half of a cup of BBQ sauce on the bottom of the foil. Then lay ribs out in a single layer on the foil (it's OK if they touch). Pour another half of a cup of BBQ sauce over the top of the ribs and add 2 pats of butter to the top of the ribs. Cover the ribs tightly with foil (but not so tight that the bones puncture the foil).
5. Place foil packet in the oven and cook for 1 hour. Then remove ribs from oven.
6. Increase oven heat to 450º. Carefully remove the ribs from the foil, saving all of the liquid in the foil. Put the wire rack back on the cookie sheet and place the ribs on their sides but not touching each other. Using a basting brush, dip the brush in the liquid in the foil and baste each rib with the liquid. Then slide the rack/sheet into the middle of the oven and cook for 5 minutes until ribs are well-browned. Remove ribs and serve.

Pairing: An ice-cold pilsner.

Bulgogi Sloppy Joes

 

When I was attending Edina's Wooddale Elementary School back in the early 60's, lunch was nothing to write home about. Fish sticks on Fridays. Industrial Mac & Cheese (made with paste) on Tuesdays. Warm whole milk...5 days a week. 

Fortunately, Sloppy Joes made it on the menu about every 2 weeks. And my little-7-year old self would marvel at my plate. Look at the lovely carbs in that big, fluffy bun! Real meat from cows! But alas, the ground beef was flavored with ketchup. Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce was not on the government approved subsidy list. Oh....the horror.

But it is 2024 and a very good time to revisit the beloved sloppy Joes of my youth...but this time with a little Korean twist. Lime juice, sriracha, soy sauce, gochugang, scallions and garlic! Ladies and gentlemen...from the incredible people that brought you kimchi and BTS...welcome if you will...Bulgogi Sloppy Joes!

INGREDIENTS

For the Slaw 

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1-1/2 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons sriracha chile sauce 

3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

For the Sloppy Joe

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon gochujang

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 pound 90% lean ground beef

4 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped

4 scallions, chopped

4 sesame seed hamburger buns, split and toasted

DIRECTIONS

1. Whisk together first five slaw ingredients in a medium bowl. Add cabbage and onion; toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature while beef cooks.
2. Whisk together stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, gochujang, and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Crumble beef into skillet and stir in garlic. Cook, stirring often to break up beef into small pieces, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in scallions, and cook, stirring often, until scallions are softened, about 2 minutes. Add reserved stock mixture. Bring to a simmer over medium-high; cook, stirring often, until sauce is thickened and glossy, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Spoon about 1/2 cup beef mixture onto each bottom bun. Top each with about 1/2 cup cabbage mixture and cover with top buns.

Pairing: Try Kloud, a Korean Pilsner

Grogs and Goldie, 1955

Brisket in the Oven

Yes....I know. The best brisket usually comes out of a smoker. But I have a limited shelf life and I do not wish to spend 15 of my very valuable hours tending to a brisket in a smoker. As an alternative, I can simply do 30 minutes of prep, pop the brisket in the oven and then do whatever the heck I want for the next few hours (Call of Duty, anyone?).

In addition to being expedient, an oven-braised brisket is stupid simple. When smoking a brisket, there are about a dozen pitfalls that you will encounter in the process which diminish your chances for a successful cook. Not so when you use the oven....the ultimate test of culinary skill required for this brisket recipe is a very low bar. Can you accurately set the oven temperature to 300º ? Here's your trophy! 

A full brisket typically tips the scales at 15 pounds...enough to feed the population of Manhattan. You can cook for a crowd like that by scaling the recipe ingredients up 3X. But we make this a lot easier by just cooking a smaller portion of the brisket. Beef brisket is comprised of two cuts, the point and the flat. For this recipe, we are going to opt for the flat-cut. It's a breeze to slice it and the flavor of the meat benefits greatly from the extraordinary fat cap. 

Braised brisket is a gift from the gods.

Here in Minnesota, September has just been an extension of August. Every single day has been identical.....80+ degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Fortunately, fall temps take over on Tuesday. So next weekend would be the perfect time to prepare this luxurious, velvety delight. Given that the recipe is so simple, your greatest challenge will be to come up with side dishes worthy of this impeccable feast.

NOTE: This recipe has a Texas BBQ vibe. If you want something closer to a pot roast, check out Jewish Passover Brisket recipes....which is another oven-based alternative to smoking brisket.

INGREDIENTS

For the Dry Rub 

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 bay leaf, crushed

For the Beef Brisket 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

One, 5 to 6-pound flat-cut beef brisket

4 cups beef stock

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300º.
2. Combine dry rub ingredients. Season brisket on both sides with the rub.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add brisket and sear on each side until brown and crusty (about 8 minutes per side).
4. After browning, place brisket, fat side up, on the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add enough beef stock to yield 1/2" of liquid in the bottom of the pan.
5. Cover pan tightly with 2 layers of aluminum foil (you want it air tight) and cook for 3 hours.
6. After 3 hours, remove roast to a cutting board and let cool 10 minutes. Cut entire roast into slices.  Then return slices to the braising liquid in the Dutch oven. Cover the Dutch oven again with 2 slices of aluminum foil and cook for 1 more hour.
7. When done cooking, serve slices with braising liquid over the top as an entree. Alternatively, you can add the slices to a roll and use the braising liquid to dip your sandwiches in.

Wine pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon

Grilled Chicken Breast, Pantry Version

 

In a perfect world, we'd have a grocery store right next to our house. That would make it so easy to figure out what we could have for dinner that night. OK....our main grocery store is only a half-mile away. But there are days you just don't feel like running to the store. What do we have in the house?

We tend to eat a lot of chicken breast, so I stockpile it in the freezer. For buying in bulk, Costco gets the nod. They sell a 6.5-pound bag of frozen, skinless and boneless chicken for just $26.99. If I decide to grill chicken breasts that night, first thing in the morning I put them in a ziplock bag and bathe them in a big bowl of cold water. After 2 hours, they are thawed and ready for the all-important prep..

When grilling beef, I never use a marinade. Just salt and pepper, thank you. But skinless, boneless chicken breasts are also flavorless. I'm a big fan of richly-flavored food, so when there are chicken breasts....THERE WILL BE MARINADE! I pound the breasts flat (so they cook evenly), then pierce them full of tiny fork holes so the flavor is present in every bite.

To make this perfect pantry meal, I grab Ken's Steak House Zesty Italian Dressing. It's my favorite pork and chicken marinade. No measuring. No mixing. Unscrew the cap and pour it on the chicken. For a quick pantry meal, it does not get any easier than this.

INGREDIENTS

2 boneless, skinless, flavorless chicken breasts

1/3 bottle Ken's Steakhouse Zesty Italian Dressing

DIRECTIONS

1. Place a thawed chicken breast in a ziplock bag. Using a meat mallet, flatten the chicken breast so that it is a uniform thickness. Repeat with the other breast.
2. Pierce chicken breasts thoroughly with a fork. Place breasts in a new ziplock bag and add 1/3 bottle of dressing. Let marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.
3. Prepare your grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat.
4. Remove breasts from marinade and dry off with paper towels. Grill chicken for 4 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook 4 minutes more. Serve.

Wine pairing: Chardonnay

2024 has been a rough year for veterans of the Lazy H. The best group of people worked at Hoigaard's Ski Shop during the early 70's. And there were two best friends among us who were beloved by all. Ken Platou, on the left, passed last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Bob Wood, on the right, left us in January after a battle with covid. Two of the nicest and kindest guys you would ever want to meet...and they will be missed. A lot.

Penne Allesandrio

 

I suppose I started this little segue of my boys' favorite birthday meals with Patrick's Fried Pasta recipe last Saturday. So it is only fair that I share Sean's birthday favorite....one that's been popping up for the last 29 years.

This is a classic Italian recipe with classic Italian ingredients: semolina penne, hot Italian sausage, onions, roasted red peppers...along with fennel seeds and red chili flakes. But there is no red sauce here...extra-virgin olive oil takes the starring role as our "sauce". 

Sean loves his hot Italian sausage, so I long ago switched up the sausage quantity from 1 pound to 2 pounds. I would encourage you to sear them in 4 separate batches. To really appreciate the flavors in this meal, it is imperative to put a good, solid char on the sausage.

I used to make the whole recipe in a Dutch oven. Doing that, though, was a bit of a challenge as I wanted more sear on my sausage. So I use a flaming hot wok to brown my sausage and then dump it into the Dutch oven. 

Just a few words about the roasted red bell peppers in this recipe. If you are ambitious, you can roast your own and cut them into strips. I prefer to let someone else roast them so that I can just drain and dump them in. My favorite brand is Cento. Depending on your grocery store, Cento offers both whole cooked peppers and the same in strips. You'll find them in the condiment aisle...same place as jarred olives.

INGREDIENTS

5 separate tablespoons olive oil for cooking sausage and onion

2 pounds hot Italian sausage links, sliced into pieces 1-1/2" long

1 large yellow onion, cut into rings; then cut the rings in half

1, 12-ounce jar Cento roasted red peppers, cut in strips

4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning

16-ounces penne pasta

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more to taste)

Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Grated parmesan (for passing)

DIRECTIONS

1. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large Dutch oven and heat pan to medium-high. Add 1/4 of sliced sausage links and stir until pieces are very well browned. Transfer links to a large bowl and wipe Dutch oven clean. Repeat process 3 more times to cook all of the sausage. 
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add penne and cook until al dente. Drain pasta in a colander and rinse with cold water so pasta stops cooking. Let pasta rest in colander.
3. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and add onions to Dutch oven. Stir until onions are softened. Turn heat to medium low.
4. Add the cooked sausage, pasta, roasted peppers, garlic, fennel, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to the onions in the Dutch oven. Stir to mix. Then add 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil. Turn heat back to medium-high and stir often until all of the ingredients are heated through. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
5. Serve, passing parmesan to your guests.

Wine pairing: Brunello di Montalcino

Fried Pasta

 

If you are watching your diet and trying to minimize carbs, read no further. Move on and be smart about it. There is nothing to see here. If you do stick around, be advised that this meal will put you into carbohydrate-induced cardiac arrest with the first bite. 

There are only two reasons on earth that I make this meal. First, it is my younger son Patrick's very favorite meal. Not steak. Not tacos. Not burgers. Fried pasta is the birthday meal request that I have been given for the last 27 years in a row.

The second reason I make it is that few things in life taste as good as this. I mean this meal is a caloric disaster of epic proportions. Eat this and they will be able to see your ass from the International Space Station. But one bite and you are hooked. Fried pasta, garlic, parmesan cheese...OH, MY! How a few simple ingredients can elevate a meal to heights unimagined.

Creamette, a company started in 1912 in Minneapolis, makes the most perfect pasta for this meal. Dumpling Egg Noodles are always my first choice. They get super hard and crispy on the outside....and they are creamy soft on the inside....almost like eating a crispy, baked potato made entirely of egg pasta.

A word about the best cooking method for this dish. I have always used a large electric fry pan with a cover. I like it because it does a perfect job of maintaining 350º for the duration of the cook and it holds 2 bags of egg noodles with ease. That 350º is the perfect temp to get a crispy exterior and a creamy, soft interior. Also, the cover holds in the heat....crisping the exterior and melting the cheese. You can use any pan with a cover for similar results....the only challenge being maintaining a constant 350º.

The recipe below is the one I use for Patrick. It's a double helping....because Patrick always consumes almost all of the 24 ounces of pasta in a single sitting. If your crowd is a little less hungry, you can cut the recipe in half (if you use a smaller pan).

INGREDIENTS

2, 12-ounce bags of Creamette Egg Dumpling Noodles

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided 

2 tablespoons butter

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided 

Garlic salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook until al dente.
2. Drain pasta thoroughly in a colander.
3. Turn electric fry pan to 350º. When heated, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and butter to the pan. When butter is melted, spread oil/butter across bottom of pan and add egg noodles and spread out in a single layer. Spread minced garlic and 1/2 cup of cheese on top of noodles. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until bottom is crisp.
4. Uncover fry pan and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over pasta. Then flip all of the noodles. Sprinkle turned pasta with another 1/2 cup grated parmesan. Cover pan and cook for another 8-10 minutes until that side is crisp.
5. Uncover pan. Season to taste with garlic salt (go easy....parmesan has a lot of sodium). Cut into 8 sections with a spatula and serve.

Cucumber Salad

 

During these nasty, oppressive summer days, I like to keep all my cooking on the grill so I do not heat up the kitchen. I also prefer to make cold sides to mitigate the heat. Pairing grilled and barbecued meat with cold side dishes can be a challenge...unless you select the one salad that is a perfect accompaniment to all things cooked over fire.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium English cucumbers, unpeeled

1 small red onion

1-1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh dill (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Use a mandoline or knife to slice cucumbers crosswise into a medium bowl (see photo above for thickness).
2. Slice onion at the equator and then use mandoline or knife to slice onion into rings. Cut each slice in half and use your hands to separate the individual rings. Add to bowl with cucumbers
3. Sprinkle salt into bowl and mix to combine. Let rest for 20 minutes.
4. Pour off any liquid from the bowl. Add vinegar and sugar and toss until sugar is dissolved.
5. Taste and season with black pepper to taste. Add dill if used and toss to combine. Serve.

Florentine Steak (Reverse Sear)

 

Bistecca alla Florentina. Without a doubt, this is the most famous recipe from Florence, Italy. It's a steak. And not just any steak. It is four inches thick and drops on the scale at a huge, honkin' four pounds. It comes only from Chianna cattle.....a massive and ancient Tuscan breed...prized for its incredible meat.

You are not going to find this steak at your grocery store....ever. I've bought them online  from several different specialty-meat purveyors. The going price is typically 2 kidneys or a small midwestern home plus your first-born. 

So I typically buy a big stinkin' American porterhouse (for about 20% of the cost of the real thing). The best quality and cheapest price I have found is at Wild Fork:  https://wildforkfoods.com/products/usda-choice-black-angus-bone-in-beef-florentine-steak/. (NOTE: I have no financial interest or affiliation with the site.)

In Italy, the steak is seasoned just with salt and cooked over a wood fire. The entire focus of Bistecca alla Florentina is the meat....just the meat...and nothing but the meat. 

When a Florentine steak is cooked in Italy, it's grilled for 10 minutes while standing upright on the bone. Then each side is grilled for 4 minutes. They rest the steak, then slice and serve. This cooking methodology yields a rare steak. A really, really rare steak. As in the interior has never felt heat.

When I cook a Florentine Steak, I like the finished meat to be medium-rare. This requires a lot more precision, so I skip the grill and just use my oven and stovetop....with a little help from my meat thermometer.

 If you make this recipe, you will be cooking the biggest steak that you have ever done in your life. But by following the simple 5 steps below, you will be cooking the easiest steak you have ever done in your life. A reverse sear gives you perfect results, every single time.

INGREDIENTS

1 Florentine Steak, 3" to 4" thick, approximately 4 pounds

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Fresh ground black pepper

Sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. One day prior to cooking, place thawed steak on cooling rack over a sheet pan. Salt generously on all sides and place in refrigerator, overnight and uncovered.
2. Four hours prior to cooking, set steak on counter and allow it to come to room temperature.
3. Wipe steak dry of all salt and moisture with paper towels. Preheat oven to 250º F. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the steak. Then slide steak into oven. When steak reaches 118ºF (this will take approximately one hour), remove steak from oven and tent with foil. Let the steak rest 10 minutes.
4. Heat a carbon steel or cast iron pan over high heat. Melt butter in pan and add vegetable oil. Remove meat thermometer from steak. When the pan is smoking, add steak to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Then flip steak and cook for 2 minutes more.
5. Set steak on cutting board. Cut each side away from the bone.  Then slice each against the grain (see above photo) and serve with sea salt for passing. 

Wine pairing: Barolo

Grilled NY Strip Steak with Gorgonzola-Garlic Butter

 

When I grill steaks, I prefer to season them with just salt and pepper. I find that most rubs and sauces just get in the way of that great steak taste. However, I have been known to sprinkle a little blue cheese on a finished steak. The contrast in tastes makes that union a very special one. 

Now this compound butter recipe is simply another way of delivering blue cheese (and a healthy dose of garlic) to your steak. I cook the steak as I always do (grilled over blazing-hot lump hardwood charcoal) and add a dab of Gorgonzola-Garlic Butter before serving. 

INGREDIENTS

For the Butter
2 heads garlic, roasted and peeled 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (at room temp)

1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese (crumbled)

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the Steaks
2, 16-ounce NY strip steaks, at least 1-1/2" thick

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

For the Butter

1. Mash garlic in a small bowl until smooth. 
2. Add butter, Gorgonzola, parsley and black pepper. Stir to mix thoroughly.
3. Chill butter for 30 minutes. Then roll into a 1-inch log in plastic wrap.
4. Put back in fridge until ready to use.

For the Steaks

1. Four hours prior to cooking, put steaks on counter to come to room temperature.
2. Prepare your grill for direct cooking over high heat.
3. Season steaks with salt and pepper.
4. Place steaks directly over the coals. Cook for 5 minutes with the grill covered. Then flip steaks and cook for 4 minutes more (grill covered).*
5. Remove steaks from grill and cover with foil. Let steaks rest for 10 minutes. 
6. Slice butter into rounds. Set a round on each steak and serve.

* Cooking times are for charcoal grills. Gas grillers will need to cook steaks a little longer.

 

Wine pairing: Barolo

Happy 100th Birthday, Caesar Salad!

 

In May of 2011, I posted a Caesar salad recipe that I had been using for years. And I was using it all the way up to the end of 2017, when I stumbled upon the original recipe for Caesar Salad. The Caesar Salad I had been making was heavy (2 egg yolks) and very garlicky (4 cloves of garlic). Things changed when I made Caesar Salad using the original recipe. It was light, zesty and very refreshing...a completely different experience.

The original recipe was created by Caesar Cardini on July 5, 1924. Most people think the salad originated in Italy. I know I was shocked to find that the salad was created in Tijuana, Mexico. Mr. Cardini opened his restaurant, Caesar's, in Tijuana. Tijuana was a popular destination then as many Americans crossed the border to escape Prohibition.

Caesar's became one of the most popular restaurants in Tijuana. And it's most popular menu item was the incredible Caesar Salad. It was a salad made with romaine lettuce, lots of anchovies and a surprise ingredient...lime juice. Yes, you read that right. I had been making Caesar Salad with lemon juice for the last 45 years. The original recipe used lime juice...and it absolutely transforms the salad!

The salad was served on a plate with several large croutons. There were no utensils accompanying the salad....it was meant to be eaten by hand like a plate of French fries. For the croutons, I find it best to use a baguette of crusty bread. A hard crust and chewy interior makes the best croutons. And they should be big. As you can see in the photo above, I cut a 1-1/2 inch slice from the loaf and then cut that into 6 large croutons after toasting the bread in a skillet. Each person should get 3 to 4 croutons on their salad. This recipe makes 4 side salads.


INGREDIENTS

For the Croutons
1/2 baguette, cut into 1-1/2 inch slices
1 garlic clove, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

For the Salad
1 clove garlic, minced
8 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained and finely chopped
1 large egg yolk
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 cup olive oil
1 head chilled romaine lettuce, leaves separated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


DIRECTIONS

1. Make the croutons. Rub bread with garlic. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bread in a single layer and toast until crisp and golden, 2 minutes per side. Remove from heat, sprinkle with salt and Parmesan. Then cut into croutons.
2. Make the dressing in a large wooden bowl. Use a spoon to mix garlic with anchovies to form a paste. Add egg yolk and squeeze lime over egg yolk and then stir to blend (the lime juice will partially "cook" the yolk). Add the Worcestershire, mustard, pepper and half of the grated cheese and mix to form a loose paste. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, vigorously stirring until dressing is thick and glossy, 2 minutes.
3. Make the salad. Gently roll whole lettuce leaves in bowl with dressing until coated. Transfer to  salad plates and top with the remaining Parmesan and croutons. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pairing: Anchovies and lime juice make this salad very difficult to pair with wine. Any red is certainly off the table. Wine drinkers would best be served by selecting a very dry, white wine like Mer Soleil Unoaked Chardonnay ($19.99 at Total Wine). If you fancy beer, this salad goes great with a Belgian-style blond ale like Duval.

Me and Goldie, 1956