Catch-up Carnage du Jour - 03 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 448

Micah 6:8
Romans 13:1-7
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today's Carnage du Jour is actually from Monday - we're catching up, not using catchup (catsup? ketchup? it doesn't matter, we're not using it). 

What we had was a lovely beef tenderloin cooked on the grill. Mostly indirect heat with a small tub of applewood smoking chips to add that certain savour to the flavour. The beef (about a four pound tenderloin) was simply seasoned: salt, dry mustard, and thyme rubbed on all sides, then into the covered grill working at about 425F for about 45 minutes. Before cooking the beef, I did a mixed grill/roast of root vegetables - potatoes and golden beets - and onions as well as reheating some leftover grilled asparagus.
While the meat rested I reheated those vegetables (including the asparagus) and we added a simple kale slaw for a nice meal.
mmm mmm good!
I would eat this frequently - highly recommended.


In passing, let me mention that today is Impersonate Authority Day. A better way to think of that may be that one should assume the authority necessary to completing the tasks for which one is responsible. Please, assume no more than necessary - we all know what happens when we assume.
This reminds me of my High School career. I had no official positions in any club or organizations, but - simply because I acted as though I belonged there - I was able to do pretty much whatever I wanted in the school office. (Being nice to the secretary didn't hurt, I'm sure.) That was a real life lesson for me there. If you look like you know what you're doing, and like you belong there, almost no one will ever challenge you.




Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Memorial Day - 31 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 445

Micah 6:8
John 15:13
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is Memorial Day in these United States. It's the day when we remember those who gave their lives that we might live, and live free.
I have several family members and ancestors who served in the military [my son-Army, my dad-Navy, my great-great-grandfather-Union Army (US Civil War)], but I'm not aware of any who made that final sacrifice.

This once was called Decoration Day - the day when we would decorate (and clean up) the graves of our fallen. Somehow it's devolved into a long weekend of grilling and furniture sales. I guess that's still part of what they died for - so that we can be jerks and worry about our pleasures and convenience rather than what's important. I just pray that we'll also remember the real reasons they died - to keep us free. Not just free to play around and enjoy ourselves - that's part of it for sure - but from oppression in all its forms.

Today also is the ninety-somethingth birthday of my late father-in-law. He was a wonderful man, and I miss him all the time - especially when it's grilling season (pace what I wrote above) and we break out the bratwurst, as it was Dad who taught me how properly to grill those little wonders. I love you Dad - see you one of these days. RIP, Del Schneider.


Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

First Bratwurst of Spring - 22 March 2021 - Plague Journal Day 375

Micah 6:8
Isaiah 44:19
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

At last, the weather was conducive to firing up the grill, so fire it up we did!

The first bratwursts of Spring were a very nice treat for the first Sunday of Spring. Even if we had given up brats for Lent, Sundays don't count! (and who would be so foolish as to give up brats for Lent? sure, it's supposed to be a sacrifice, but it should be something that one can actually do - not an invitation to failure.)

If you want to learn how to cook brats properly, just enter "how to cook bratwurst" in the search box here on the blog. You'll be glad you did (and so will I).

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

10 July 2020 - Plague Journal Day 120

Micah 6:8
Psalm 119:102-105
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Friday is a good day for dessert, no? If you didn't have a chance to make that beef tenderloin on the grill yesterday (you did read my post yesterday, didn't you?), then maybe today would be a good day to do that.
Why not fire up the grill, roast that nice tenderloin, maybe a few potatoes and some asparagus (those are both great on the grill, you know), and then you can whip up a quick dessert afterward on the residual coals.
What dessert can you make on the grill? I'm glad you asked. Have you ever had grilled angel food cake? If you have, you're ready to have it again. If you haven't, it's high time you joined the cool kids and get with the program, so to speak.
It's really quite simple. Take a store-bought angel food cake (I assume it's possible to make them at home, but I've never had the inclination, I guess) and cut it into eight (8) wedges. Spray them with a little cooking spray and place them on the grill cut side down. (Yes, there are two cut sides - we'll get to that shortly.)
Once the first side has toasted - don't let it char! - flip to the other cut side for a similar amount of time and toasted-ness. That's it - unless you want to toast one of the other sides, but that's probably more heat than that little piece of cake wants to take. Remove from the grill and serve on a dessert plate.
Ideally you'll have some homemade black raspberry sauce and whipped cream to adorn the cake, but any sauce (even chocolate syrup) will work. Once you've done this, you won't really want the original, un-grilled version anymore.
You're welcome.


Oh, and be careful not to step on a bee!

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.

Carnage du Jour - 01 November 2016

"Do we have anything we can do on the grill? It's a beautiful night."

I love being asked questions like that.

The answer was that we had smoked sausage, hot dogs, and half of a beef tenderloin.
I also got to use my new chimney-type charcoal starter, so double bonus!

The sausage and hot dogs were just the normal "put them on and cook them, smearing mustard (Nance's) on the smoked sausage as it cooks" kind of thing, but what you really want to know about is the beef tenderloin.

I made a rub of dry mustard, rubbed thyme, onion powder, and a touch of salt. I rubbed that on the beef and let it sit a bit before taking it to the grill.
The beef got cooked over semi-indirect heat (semi- because I wanted a bit of a crust on it, but not too much) while we also grilled some rainbow carrots and golden beets.
(There was also a pot of yellow rice going inside with a half can of Red Gold diced tomatoes with chipotle added toward the end of the cooking.)

Once everything was done, the beef rested briefly and then sliced, Heidi took her plate to the table while I finished filling my own. Before I could join her, she came back and told me the extra little piece I had dropped on her plate was the best piece of meat she had ever put in her mouth.
I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, but oh my was that a delicious tenderloin.

Highly recommended.

Carnage du Jour - 01 July 2016

We had a nice roasting chicken in the refrigerator and it was next in line so what to do?
I had cleverly had my butcher cut out the backbone (retaining it for stock purposes, of course), so it wasn't going to take terribly long to cook in butterfly (or spatchcock) mode. The weather was great and the Weber grill beckoned.

While the coals got ready, I remembered having seen a recipe for Persian spiced chicken, but didn't seem to have any ground allspice (I know, really?), so I went into improv mode.
I made a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, Hungarian paprika, chipotle powder, and garlic salt and rubbed that onto the very lightly oiled skin of the chicken.
It started skin side up over a cool part of the fire, then flipped a couple times, moving around to get a crispy skin and a fully cooked interior.
Rice and corn made for a nice pair of sides and the chicken was very tasty - juicy and crispy with a slight afterglow of spice with each bite. It was spicy in the sense of flavourful, but not in the sense of hot as it seems to be used today.

Delicious and highly recommended - definitely one to be repeated.

Carnage du Jour - 04 June 2016

Tenderloin - but this time it wasn't pork, it was beef.

I had bought a whole beef tenderloin some time ago and cut it into two two-pound-ish roasts, cooking one and freezing the other.

Well, as I said, that was some time ago and it was time to cook the remaining, now-thawed portion.

Since my trusty Better Homes & Gardens cookbook told me that tenderloin should be roasted at a higher temperature than most cuts (it might have been 425 rather than 350?), I thought I'd do it on my (also trusty) Weber grill.

The fire was doing its thing, getting ready in the chimney starter, so I pulled out the roast and gave it a liberal rubbing of kosher salt, dried thyme, and dry mustard. At the same time I was lightly marinating some fresh Michigan asparagus in a mixture of balsamic vinaigrette and green goddess dressings, as well as preparing some cheese-stuffed mushroom caps for the grill.
Simply grilling it for something on the order of 25 minutes (turning it every 5 or 10, eventually checking with my instant read thermometer for an internal 140) with the other items joining after a few minutes was all it took.

I have to admit that this was one of the most successful beef tenderloins I've ever done, and the sides were so good as to evince the comment from Heidi that she didn't know which of the three items was her favourite.

Delicious and highly recommended.

Cornage du Jour - 21 June 2015

I know, my normal usage would be for this to be a Vegage du Jour, but this corn was good enough for its own coinage.

Corn on the cob on the grill.
Sure, it's trendy, it's hip, it's all those things I normally avoid.
Still, it's also delicious, so I had to ignore my normal behaviour and do it anyway.

When I have grilled corn in the past, I have simply soaked the corn (still in the husk) and grilled it until it was done - basically steaming it until it almost smokes from the char on the husk.

I may have noted here in the past that when I boil corn on the cob, I like to add sugar and chipotle powder to the water to give the corn a bit of extra flavour.

The corn we had was partly shucked, so I knew I couldn't do it quite the way I always do, but it wasn't going to be all that different.

It being Father's Day, my flavour consultant, Christian, was in the house.
Something had been said about something or other that made me think of coconut. I have no real recollection of what that might have been, but hold that in mind for a moment.

I decided to soak the partially shucked corn in my normal water with sugar and chipotle before dropping it on the grill. Then inspiration struck.
Do you remember the coconut? Well I did, and I asked Christian to check the combined scent of the flavours, and he concurred: this could be great.

After about a 10 minute (15?) soak, the corn went on the grill (covered, wet husk side down) with some rotation and such - including a final flip to corn side down - until it was steamy hot and delicious.

Oh, did I mention it was delicious? It was.

This is definitely to be repeated, and is highly recommended,
Enjoy!

Carnage du Jour - 02 June 2015

Lamb chops.

Better: lamb chops on the grill.

I was perusing some old carnages des jours passés and came across a few things that made me want to try them again.
Well, almost - I seldom actually repeat a full recipe.

In this case, I've merged and modified a couple different carnages to create this wonderful dish.

• Start the grill (charcoal, of course).
• Lamb chops (at room temp before cooking, of course) seasoned with salt, pepper, and curry powder on the first side.
• While those chops took in that flavour, a bunch of asparagus was drizzled with a bit of olive oil and tossed with some herbes de Provence, then straight on the grill (away from the direct flames, of course).
• As those green spears approached roasted perfection, on went the chops (seasoned side down, of course) and a second dose of the same seasonings went on the second side.
• The chops got rotated for nice marks (it didn't really work though) and when they were flipped, I grated the zest of half a lime across the four chops, watching that beautiful green stuff basically dissolve into the juicy surfaces.

A bit of left-over rice was being warmed (it had been cooked in a really delicious mushroom stock a couple days earlier and this was some of the best rice I've ever made), and when the chops came off the grill (the asparagus having preceded them by several minutes), I gave the rice and asparagus one last dose of microwaves to make sure everything was piping hot and served it all up with no butter, no sauces, just the inherent flavours of the ingredients.

Heidi (who likes lamb quite well, but isn't really a lamb chop lover) said it was probably the best lamb she had ever had.

Who am I to argue?
Delicious and highly recommended.

Carnage du Jour - 28 June 2014

Ah, burgers.
Burgers on the grill.
Burgers on the grill on a Summer evening.

That's pretty darned good, but what if we make the burgers better?

That's just what we did this past weekend, made the burgers better.
A 50/50 mix of ground lamb and ground beef (chuck) was the base, but then we went to town.
Added into the meat were the following:
Old Bay and chipotle powder (a sort of North American harissa, if you will), pine nuts, and capers.
We mixed it all together, but without over-mixing, and onto the grill the patties went (about 6oz patties as an estimate) to cook to perfection.
An added benefit was the mayo with Old Bay and beau monde smeared on the buns.

Oh dear, these were quite the tasty burgers.
Highly recommended.

Carnages du Jour - 23 April 2014

Well, the weather was nice enough to fire up the old Weber, and so I did.

As always, it seemed a waste to simply cook what we would eat that night, so a quick scan of the available foodstuffs was undertaken, and in addition to the day's burgers and cauliflower, a pork tenderloin was found and prepped.

First, the pork.
A quick blend of a small amount of cornmeal, some ground cumin seed, dry mustard, and beau monde was spread on the pork, and it was put over a slightly less hot part of the fire to roast without getting too charred. The pork was joined by a slightly broken-down head of cauliflower with a nice dose of butter and minced garlic, all rolled up in aluminum foil.

As those two roasted under the cover, I prepped the burgers:
Into a pound or so of ground chuck went a generous bunch of extra hot horseradish, some sesame oil, salt and pepper, and a couple tablespoons of capers.
Once it was all mixed nicely, three nice patties were prepped and cooked.

Everything finished up about the same time (including the bowtie pasta that hadn't been mentioned until now - dressed with a sauce of greek yogurt and cumin) and the burgers were greatly enjoyed with the cauliflower and pasta.

The next night, the pork was reheated along with the rest of the cauliflower and some peas with pearl onions dressed with greek yogurt . A yogurt and cumin sauce accompanied it all and all was delicious.

Both highly recommended.

Classic Post Reposted: How to Cook Bratwurst

(This post is a repeat from May 13, 2011. It has proved to be the most popular single post ever on this blog, and based on my experience, it has every right to be.)

As promised, I'm going to expose the secrets to perfect brats. First, though, let me take you, if I may, on a journey - a journey back to how I first learned the basics of this highly-favoured endeavour.

Perhaps you already know that my wife and her family hail originally from Wisconsin. Moving from Sheboygan, Wisconsin - sausage capital of the US - to the Detroit area meant some significant lifestyle changes, not least of which was the basic lack of what they had come to know and love as bratwurst. What to do?
Well, my ever-resourceful then-future father-in-law found a way to have real Sheboygan brats flown into Detroit, and massive quantities were received each year to the delight of all and sundry.

When the time came for me to ask him for his daughter's hand, I had already been introduced to the glories of properly-prepared bratwurst. He and I sat down in the living room, where I told him that I had an important question for him. "I was wondering," I asked, "where you get the brats?" The cool thing is, he told me the whole story about getting them flown in via a perhaps-then-illegal interstate meat transaction. With that out of the way, I told him that I wanted to marry his daughter, and he averred that he thought that was a good idea.

Sadly, the Sheboygan Sausage Company of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin is no more, but the recipe was (supposedly) purchased by the Johnsonville company, and that is now the brat of choice.

(An interesting side note here: we did find what we considered to be vastly superior brats on a trip through Sheboygan at the Miesfeld's Triangle Market - several times State Champions, in fact - but the cost of shipping so far outweighed the cost of the sausage that it will remain a "when we pass through we're buying a bunch" kind of thing. But I digress.)

It was at a family reunion here in town that I learned at the elbow of my father-in-law just how it was done. (Note the past tense there, it actually gets better!) The brats must be boiled a bit in a mix of beer and water before going on the grill. This lets them release some of their fat before hitting the fire, the which can be an exciting event.
A squirt bottle of water was the tool of the day for keeping down the flare-ups that did arise, although the beer held in the other hand would do quite nicely as well. Care should be taken to avoid stirring up too many ashes - they can stick to the brats and make for a grittier-than-desirable experience (and yes, that does mean that charcoal is the preferred heat source).
There you have the basics of brat grilling. Condiments and bunnage are best left to the individual's taste, but mustard, onions, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut make up my starting point.

Now to reveal the secret to my enhanced bratwurst cooking process.
Into the pot of beer and water (I generally use Molson Canadian) I add an onion cut into wedges, and a healthy dose of nutmeg. These additions add just the right notes to the already-delicious flavour of the brats, and the kitchen smells glorious all the while too.

Now please, go and enjoy your bratwurst, but enjoy them responsibly.

Carnage du Jour - 05 April 2013

At Last!
The weather had decided that it was time for me to break out the Weber grill. I hesitated not one bit, because this also meant I could try my new chimney-type charcoal lighter!

I grabbed some nice multi-grain buns and got the other ingredients out of the refrigerator.
For the burgers I mixed 2 pounds of ground chuck, a few tablespoons of extra hot horseradish, and a teaspoon or so of sesame oil.
Before making up the patties, and while the fire got started, I let the mixture sit in the bowl so all those flavours could meld together.

mm mm good. No, that's not just for soup anymore.

As to the chimney-type charcoal starter: well, now that I know how it works, it's going to be great.
I was waiting for the flames to die down before dumping out the flaming charcoal - just as I would have waited for the flames to die down a bit before putting the meat on the grill.
It turns out that the flames are pretty much the indicator that it's time to dump it and let the fire settle in the grill.
A lesson learned.

Carnage du Jour - 09 June 2012

It's been a while since I've written about a good chicken meal, and this one was too good to skip. Granted, I've waited well over a week, but I can still remember it well, so it must be worth a post.

Manhattan Grilled Chicken Breasts.

Sounds interesting, no? Well, it's much more than that - it's delicious. Oh, and it has nothing to do with clam chowder or a style of cooking from the East Coast (as far as I know).

It's called Manhattan chicken because the marinade for the boneless, skinless breasts is simply a Manhattan cocktail with a bit of oil added in.
That's right - into a plastic bag I added a nice dose of Southern Comfort and some sweet vermouth (aha!) along with a dash of garlic juice and a bit of olive oil.
The chicken marinated in the marinade for almost an hour while the fire got ready in the Weber kettle in the back yard (it's charcoal only chez nous, mes amis). The fairly huge breasts cooked nicely over the fire, picking up some of that smoke flavour to go with the Manhattan that had soaked in, leaving a wonderfully juicy piece of meat.
I sliced them into about 1/4 inch slices, and added them to some pasta along with the juice that had accumulated on the platter. A dollop or so of quark made it creamy with a nice tang, and then a batch of spinach was stirred in with a few mushrooms to make a nice single-serving-dish meal.

Tasty, simple, elegant, and easy.
Try it, and enjoy!

How to Cook Bratwurst

from grandteuton.blogspot.com

As promised, I'm going to expose the secrets to perfect brats. First, though, let me take you, if I may, on a journey - a journey back to how I first learned the basics of this highly-favoured endeavour.

Perhaps you already know that my wife and her family hail originally from Wisconsin. Moving from Sheboygan, Wisconsin - sausage capital of the US - to the Detroit area meant some significant lifestyle changes, not least of which was the basic lack of what they had come to know and love as bratwurst. What to do?
Well, my ever-resourceful then-future father-in-law found a way to have real Sheboygan brats flown into Detroit, and massive quantities were received each year to the delight of all and sundry.

When the time came for me to ask him for his daughter's hand, I had already been introduced to the glories of properly-prepared bratwurst. He and I sat down in the living room, where I told him that I had an important question for him. "I was wondering," I asked, "where you get the brats?" The cool thing is, he told me the whole story about getting them flown in via a perhaps-then-illegal interstate meat transaction. With that out of the way, I told him that I wanted to marry his daughter, and he averred that he thought that was a good idea.

Sadly, the Sheboygan Sausage Company of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin is no more, but the recipe was (supposedly) purchased by the Johnsonville company, and that is now the brat of choice.

(An interesting side note here: we did find what we considered to be vastly superior brats on a trip through Sheboygan at the Miesfeld's Triangle Market - several times State Champions, in fact - but the cost of shipping so far outweighed the cost of the sausage that it will remain a "when we pass through we're buying a bunch" kind of thing. But I digress.)

It was at a family reunion here in town that I learned at the elbow of my father-in-law just how it was done. (Note the past tense there, it actually gets better!) The brats must be boiled a bit in a mix of beer and water before going on the grill. This lets them release some of their fat before hitting the fire, the which can be an exciting event.
A squirt bottle of water was the tool of the day for keeping down the flare-ups that did arise, although the beer held in the other hand would do quite nicely as well. Care should be taken to avoid stirring up too many ashes - they can stick to the brats and make for a grittier-than-desirable experience (and yes, that does mean that charcoal is the preferred heat source).
There you have the basics of brat grilling. Condiments and bunnage are best left to the individual's taste, but mustard, onions, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut make up my starting point.

Now to reveal the secret to my enhanced bratwurst cooking process.
Into the pot of beer and water (I generally use Molson Canadian) I add an onion cut into wedges, and a healthy dose of nutmeg. These additions add just the right notes to the already-delicious flavour of the brats, and the kitchen smells glorious all the while too.

Now please, go and enjoy your bratwurst, but enjoy them responsibly.