Author: The Blind Guy Cooks

Simple Side: Grilled Green Beans with Garlic and Lemon Zest

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I love grilled vegetables. There is something about the caramelization that occurs from the high heat that makes them delicious. Grilling larger vegetables is easy; they can be placed directly on the grill grates. Smaller vegetables, like green beans, will require a basket or grilling pan. I prefer the latter. Mine is a square, three-sided stainless steel device that allows me to use a wok paddle to work the vegetables. Here is what I did for tonight’s green beans that were served as a side with a prime cut rib eye.

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced to a paste
1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cumin
1 pound green beans, stem ends cut
1 lemon for zesting
Salt to taste

Directions

Heat grill to high and place grill basket or grill pan on grill. Whisk olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and cumin in a large bowl. Add the green beans and toss until they’re uniformly coated.  Transfer to grill basket or grill pan and cook till they’re slightly charred and tender. Remove to a serving dish, season with salt and finish with freshly grated lemon zest

Lobster Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce

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I understand that making your own ravioli isn’t the hardest thing in the world, but when you get home at 7:00 pm and you’re hungry, you certainly don’t have the time to make it. Times like these call for a little cheating. Target sells a brand of good refrigerated pastas called Pasta Prima. It bills itself as 100% natural and their website extols their green energy production; both admirable qualities.

A tip on boiling your stuffed pastas like ravioli and tortellini: do not boil it hard. Bring your water to a boil, add the pasta, and when it begins a gentle boil, turn the heat down to maintain the gentle boil and not a rolling boil. This is also the time to begin timing the cook time. A refrigerated or fresh pasta should only need about four or five minutes of boiling. Also scoop your stuffed pastas out of the water rather than pouring into a colander to drain. This helps prevent splitting any of the ravioli open.

Here is what I did for tonight’s dinner.

Ingredients

2 8oz packages of refrigerated lobster ravioli
1 14.5oz can roasted, diced tomatoes with garlic
½ Cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
¼ cup reserved water from ravioli plus any lobster filling that may have come out of ravioli

Directions

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and add ravioli and reduce heat to sustain a gentle boil. Meanwhile, in a skillet, simmer can of tomatoes and cayenne pepper about five minutes. Add cream and simmer until sauce begins to thicken; about 10 minutes. When ravioli is cooked, scoop out ravioli and drain with a pasta ladle. Reserve about a quarter cup of pasta water. Carefully pour out remaining water so any bits of lobster that have come out of the ravioli remain in the pan. Add any of the loose lobster to the sauce and then add back enough of the reserved pasta water as needed to make a smooth, creamy sauce.

It’s National Lasagna Day!

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Sure it’s the end of July. It’s hot and humid. What better time to heat up the oven and kitchen with a pan of lasagna. But by the time the dish is finished cooking, the house will be filled with unbearable goodness and you’ll be more than ready to enjoy a big piece of lasagna. I’m sure of it.

Ingredients

1 lb. Italian sausage (casings removed)
1 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes (Italian Seasoned)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 t dried basil crushed
1 t dried oregano crushed
¼ t Fresh ground pepper
6 dried lasagna noodles
1 egg beaten
1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
¼ C grated Parmesan cheese
3 T fresh parsley
1lb sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

For Sauce: Cook sausage in large saucepan along with onion and garlic until sausage is no longer pink. Drain fat if needed. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano and pepper. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile: Cook noodles for 10 to 12 minutes or till tender but still firm. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.

For Filling: combine egg, ricotta cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Layer half the cooked noodles in a two quart rectangular baking dish. Spread with half of the filling. Top with half the meat sauce and half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Bake in 375° oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 10 – 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

A Simple Summer Supper: Classic BLT and Grilled Iowa Sweet Corn

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I love this time of year when the first of the tomatoes start coming on. My mouth begins to water for those red jewels of summer. Meals get more simple yet somehow more satisfying. For instance, tonight was a classic bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich along with fresh-picked, grilled Iowa sweet corn. Feel free to add other items to you BLT. One thing I like to add is a couple slices of avocado turning an BLT into a BLAT.

Classic Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato (BLT)

Ingredients

4 slices Applewood smoked bacon
2 slices good, hearty whole-grain bread
slices of fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes
Romaine lettuce
Real mayonnaise

Directions

Fry the bacon to your desired crispness. Meanwhile, toast the bread. Assemble the sandwich. I prefer this order: slice of toast, mayonnaise, lettuce, bacon, tomato, and finally the second piece of toast. Doing this prevents two slippery items like the lettuce and tomato from being directly next to one another which can lead to a very messy sandwich.

Grilled Corn Recipe

Ingredients

sweet corn with husks on
softened butter
chili powder
coarse salt and black pepper

Instructions

Pull back the corn husks and remove as much of the silk as possible. Don’t worry about getting it all. What remains will typically burn off on the grill. Rub each ear of the corn with softened butter and then sprinkle each ear with salt, pepper and chili powder. I like to mix the three ingredients together prior to sprinkling it on the ears. Pull husks back to cover ears of corn. Grill the corn until they browned all over, turning as needed. The husks will typically become charred. Remove the corn from the grill, husk the corn, and serve at once.

This is the perfect summer supper in my opinion. Enjoy!

There’s an app for that: Prosciutto wrapped, cheese stuffed dates

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This quick appetizer goes together very quickly. Your guests will be very impressed and think you spent way more time making them than you actually did.

Ingredients

2 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature
2 ounces) mascarpone cheese, a room temperature
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 dates, pitted
8 thin slices prosciutto, halved lengthwise
16 toothpicks or cocktail picks

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses and basil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Gently pull the dates apart and stuff with about ½ teaspoon of the cheese mixture. Close the dates around the filling. Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each date and secure with a toothpick.

Arrange the stuffed dates on a platter and serve.

Grilled Catfish Tacos

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Most people do not think of seafood and fish when they think of Mexican cuisine. They are sadly mistaken. Mexico is bordered by two large bodies of water and has miles and miles of coastline. In some places like Veracruz, seafood is ubiquitous and beef, pork, and chicken are hard to find.

One of the easiest Mexican dishes to prepare using seafood is tacos. Most any type of seafood from shrimp to cod can be used. Since I live in Iowa, catfish is plentiful and that is what I chose to use. Another thing most do not think about is grilling fish but here again it is something so easy and it has the benefit of not filling the house with the smell of fried fish.

The sauce

Ingredients

½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
1 lime
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon ground hot Mexican chili powder
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon capers, minced
1 jalapeno
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and mayonnaise until well blended.

Squeeze the juice from one lime into the mixture, then whisk thoroughly. You’ll want the consistency of a pourable, creamy salad dressing. If still too thick, add more lime juice. If too runny, add sour cream.

Add all of the spices, whisking to mix thoroughly. Add the capers, minced pepper and cilantro, and whisk thoroughly.

Cover the bowl with wrap and refrigerate the sauce for at least one hour — the longer the better.

Grilled Catfish

Ingredients

4  Catfish fillets
1 tablespoon hot chili powder or your favorite Cajun seasoning blend
1 tablespoon grape seed oil or other high heat oil like refined canola
1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice

Prepare grill to medium heat. Combine chili powder, oil and lime juice in a small bowl; brush over both sides of fillets. Arrange in a wire grilling basket coated with cooking spray or other suitable grilling rack.

Place grilling basket on a grill rack; grill 6-8 minutes on each side until catfish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Remove and slice in strips.

Assembling the tacos

Additional Ingredients

Slaw mix
Fajita size flour tortillas (warmed according to directions)
Sliced avocado

Place approximately ¼ cup of slaw mix on warm flour tortilla. Place a few slices of grilled catfish on slaw. Then top with above sauce and slice or two of avocado.

Badonkadonk: Beer Butt Chicken

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Beer Butt Chicken right off the grill.

Beer removed and ready to carve.

If you have never had a beer butt chicken you are certainly missing something. This is some of the most moist chicken you will ever eat. Because the beer that is inserted up the chicken’s butt adds moisture while the chicken cooks, it is nearly impossible to end up with a dry chicken. Another nice thing about this, is that seasoning is only limited by your imagination. You can season it with anything. Maybe you are wanting to go with a herbed Italian flavor, or maybe something more southern, or maybe you want to spice it up and go full out Cajun; the choice is yours.

Here’s what I did tonight:

Ingredients

1 whole chicken 4 – 5 lbs
1 12 ounce can of your favorite beer
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Teaspoon onion powder
2 Teaspoons garlic powder
2 Teaspoons dried basil
2 Teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 Teaspoon Spanish paprika

Directions

Preheat grill to approximately 350° F. If using a charcoal grill, arrange coals for indirect grilling. On a gas grill, I suggest preheating the grill with all burners on high but then adjust according to your grill that will allow you to grill the chicken using indirect heat. If that is not possible, I would suggest turning the burners down to low directly under the chicken and the others low enough to keep the heat at a fairly consistent 350° F. Although it is not entirely necessary, one other piece of equipment to have is a special made rack that will hold the chicken upright without worry of it falling over. These racks can be found almost anywhere grilling supplies are sold. The one I have is a double rack that allows me to grill two beer butt chickens at once.

Blend all the seasoning together in a bowl and set aside. Thoroughly rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle seasoning all over the chicken and gently rub into the chicken. Gently lift the skin from the chicken breast and rub some additional seasoning directly on the flesh of the chicken under the skin. Open the beer and promptly drink approximately ¼ to ½ the beer. Using an old fashion style can opener, puncture a couple more openings in the top of the can. Place a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken breast. Make sure that you do not insert the probe in too far and hit the rib cage. The thermometer will give you an incorrect reading.

Roast the chicken using indirect grilling until the chicken reaches approximately 165° to 170° F. A good rule of thumb is to allow approximately 20 minutes per one pound of chicken.

The trickiest part of cooking a beer butt chicken is removing the can. The can will be very hot and the beer inside will be equally hot. I suggest using a long carving fork to insert through the backbone of the chicken and lifting straight up. I also suggest wearing a rubber dishwashing glove on the other hand and using a thick potholder that you might not mind getting dirty and possibly ruined. Once the chicken is lifted up, use the other hand to firmly grasp the beer can and twist as you pull it out. Be careful not to squeeze the can too hard or you will possibly crush it and very hot beer will burn your hand. Once the can is removed you may carve the chicken and serve.

Cedar Planked Steelhead Trout

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Here is an insanely simple recipe that is very delicious. The most time consuming part is soaking the cedar plank, but with a little forethought that can be negated. I made this tonight for “boys night” with my son Gregory. He absolutely loved it. I think his exact words were, “Dad, you can make this every night.”

Ingredients

Cedar plank
1 pound Steelhead trout filet (AKA Steelhead Salmon)
Cajun seasoning
Dry white wine

Directions

Soak cedar plank in dry white wine for 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile take the steelhead out and season with Cajun seasoning and allow to come to room temperature.

Arrange coals in a charcoal grill to cook with indirect method of heating. When ready, place steelhead on cedar plank and place in the middle of the grill. Cover and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Garnish with lemon and serve with lemon slices.

Additional notes

The cedar planks can be soaked in a variety of things ranging from water to juices to liquors to wine. The fish will steam on the plank and pick up the smokiness of the grill along with the woodiness of the plank and what ever it was soaked in. This will be some of the best salmon you have ever put in your mouth.

Crème Brûlée – So simple, so rich, and always praised!

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This is the second recipe from the prom dinner I made for my son Gregory and his friends.

The English, Spanish, and French all take credit for the creation of this wonderful dessert. Thankfully for us the French translation of the English name for this dessert is the one that became common place. Burnt cream just doesn’t have the same appeal. The Spanish name for this is crema catalana.

Ingredients

8 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup granulated white sugar (for the caramelized tops)

Directions

Preheat oven to 300ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add cream and vanilla, and continue to whisk until well blended.
Divide mixture among 4 to 6 4.5 inch, flat ramekins. Place ramekins in a large pan and then create a water bath by filling the pan with hot water until the water comes up to just below the top of the ramekin. Bake until set around the edges, but still loose in the center, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and leave in the water bath until cooled. Remove cups from water bath and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. When ready to serve, sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of sugar over each custard. For best results, use a small, hand-held torch to melt sugar. If you don’t have a torch, place under the broiler until sugar melts. Re-chill custards for a few minutes before serving.

Here are a few other tips to help make the best crème brûlée:

Eggs – This is one recipe where the volume of eggs makes some difference. Use large grade A. Make sure they are well chilled before separating. Chilled eggs are easier to separate as the yolks will be firmer.

Cream – Use only heavy whipping cream.

Vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract and not imitation. If you can, use a Madagascar Bourbon extract. It should be available in most specialty gourmet shops.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

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A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of preparing a prom dinner for my son Gregory, his date, and several of their friends at the Benton County Historical Society’s Ray House in Vinton, Iowa. The dinner menu had a very classic theme: A roasted red pepper soup for a starter, filet mignon with a herb steak butter, herbed potato mashers, green beans almondine, and finally a crème brûlée for dessert. This soup can easily be made vegetarian by substituting the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

I will be sharing a couple of the recipes from this dinner in my next couple posts. First is the roasted red pepper soup.

Ingredients

4 Red Bell Peppers roasted, seeded & peeled
2 tablespoons Butter
1 Red Onion Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves Minced
4 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Kosher Salt And Pepper to taste

Directions

Saute onions and garlic in butter until soft. Add red peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 20 minutes. Add lemon juice. Process in food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Place back on stove until ready to serve.

Additional note

This soup can easily be made the day before, but if you roast the peppers in advance it goes together very quickly. Serves 4-6. I float a sprig of basil or parsley on top for a nice colorful touch. I often add a dollop of crème fraîche when serving but it’s great naked!