Tales from the grill...

killivolt

Joined Jan 10, 2010
836
We all like cauliflower here - I kind of discovered that while on low-carb lifestyle. Cauliflower turns out to be very versatile and delightful in many dishes. It can replace tons of carbs without degrading a dish and often improving it. Mashed potatoes mixed with mashed cauliflower, for instance, is very good. Anyway thanks for this idea. I really think we'll give it a try.

I wish I had a picture to share of last night's grilling. I'm rebuilding my deck and patio and my outdoor grill is temporarily out of service. I have an indoor electric grill built into my kitchen stove and with outdoor temps over 90°F, this seemed like a pretty good alternative. I can only grill 8 patties at a time with the limited space but otherwise it does a pretty good job.

Round one burgers were nicely done and I got the hungry gang started while I slapped on the second round. Now, the burger I was using was a loss-leader special at Meijer, just $1.77/lb. It was more pink than red, so I knew that fat might be a grilling problem.

Just before time to flip the second round, the fire started. Small and manageable at first, but when I flipped the first couple patties, flames shot up several feet and quickly grew to "concerning" size. :eek: Smoke alarms throughout the house are now screaming. Doors and windows are being thrown open, despite the oppressive outdoor air, to let the smoke out. Wife is looking for the fire extinguisher. Flames are reaching all the way to the exhaust fan port.

It was really quite a scene and would have made a great photo! But I had other things on my mind. ;) Truly a memorable holiday event for all. :D
So, I was standing in line while a girl in front of me had Bok-choy in her cart, I asked how do you prepare it. She said she found this on a vegan site, I changed it up a bit and replaced the tofu which I can't have and don't care for with sweet potato, it adds the needed starch to replace corn starch. I did the rest of the recipe and ate it vegan last night but had it with some left over wild caught salmon I grilled the other day. 35 minutes and your eating I know it's summer but I don't care I like soups.

https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/hot-and-sour-soup-with-bok-choy/

IMG_3362.JPG

kv
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
18,118
So, I was standing in line while a girl in front of me had Bok-choy in her cart, I asked how do you prepare it. She said she found this on a vegan site, I changed it up a bit and replaced the tofu which I can't have and don't care for with sweet potato, it adds the needed starch to replace corn starch. I did the rest of the recipe and ate it vegan last night but had it with some left over wild caught salmon I grilled the other day. 35 minutes and your eating I know it's summer but I don't care I like soups.
That sounds really good and would be a hit in my household. I have some bok choy in the fridge right now - straight from a local farm where we have a u-pick membership.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
18,361
So, I was standing in line while a girl in front of me had Bok-choy in her cart, I asked how do you prepare it.
It's a staple in Asian Cuisine.

My go to lunch is ramen noodles, fast and easy to prepare. I just grab a bunch of veggies from the fridge and any leftover meat (Chinese Sausage or BBQ port are to die for). We almost always have bok choy; like I said, it's a staple for Asian Cuisine.

Some use napa cabbage, but I like the taste and texture of bok choy better.

If you're just making soup (not of the hot and sour variety), try adding some black mushrooms and ginger root slices. Sesame oil if you like it or chili oil if you like it hot.

Authentic hot and sour soup is one of my favorite cold remedies. Had some one time in Japantown in San Francisco (of all places). Had some sniffles when we went in, but was cleared up by the time we left. We had some visitors with us and the soup was too "hot" for them. Traditionally prepared hot and sour soup has a good amount of white pepper floating on the top when it's served. Tiger lily buds, bamboo shoots, wood ear fungus, pork; now I'm hungry.
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,892
I just grab a bunch of veggies from the fridge and any leftover meat (Chinese Sausage or BBQ port are to die for).
How do you bar-b-que port? I can bar-b-que just about anything but never tried to bar-b-que port. :)

Seriously I just treat bok-choy as a type of cabbage and like any cabbage vegetable I like the stuff be it in a soup or as a side cooked with some bacon bits fried.

On a side note we are waiting on my daughter to show up to pick our grand daughter up. While not overly vegan the grand daughter leans toward vegetarian. She however, does like sea food so tonight I figure on an Italian restaurant I like. I want veal and the kid can get the pesche menu. :)

Ron
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
18,361
How do you bar-b-que port? I can bar-b-que just about anything but never tried to bar-b-que port.
Must have been thinking too far ahead and confused my fingers.

My Wife is still trying to perfect her recipe for Chinese BBQ pork, but I'd happily give her the one I learned from my Dad. It's just that there's no written recipe and I do it by smell and taste; the same way he did it. It's hard to teach that...

She used to cook it in the oven, which is how I learned to do it, but I offer to cook it on the weber with some mesquite wood whenever I see her making a batch. That adds a nice smokey flavor. Always have time to fit it in because it needs to marinate overnight.

She got her recipe from YouTube of all places. They use some non-traditional ingredients, trying to improve upon something doesn't need improving, IMO. The only change I'll make is not adding red food coloring. It's just for presentation and I'm more interested in taste. Well, if I'm out of whiskey, I'll use vodka; but those are the only changes.
 
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Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,783
Well, if I'm out of whiskey, I'll use vodka; but those are the only changes.
o_O ... vodka has no taste whatsoever ... it's only water and ethyl alcohol ... and the alcohol will evaporate as soon as it's warmed up ... you could try rum instead, if it's BBQ it has to have sugar already in it, so it wouldn't hurt to try
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,783
It's more for a meat tenderizer than taste. The sugar and five spice pretty much mask any flavor from the whiskey. The mesquite would replace any flavor added from the oak barrels used to age the whiskey.
alcohol as a meat tenderizer ... interesting ... my grandma used to tenderize steaks by beating the hell out of them with a hammer before cooking ... a very effective (if a bit violent) operation ... :)
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,892
alcohol as a meat tenderizer ... interesting ... my grandma used to tenderize steaks by beating the hell out of them with a hammer before cooking ... a very effective (if a bit violent) operation ... :)
Same here, my mom beating the beef with a hammer. Then too, growing up with 3 siblings the beef cuts were not quite what I enjoy today. I still do love a good beef chuck roast every now and then. :) Then too, growing up Long Island fish was a mainstay and a neighbor always had fresh fish or clams. :)

Ron
 

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,783
In theory perhaps, but not in practice! I can assure you the cheap stuff does not taste the same as the the good stuff. If only...;)
yeah, so I've heard from many other respectable friends ... I guess the quality of my palate is not as good as theirs ...
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
18,118
Saturday's here! ... what to do, what to do? ... oh ... I know :):
LOL, you never cease to amaze me with the quantity, quality and variety of your cooks! I'm very intrigued with your leg holder rack. Do I see a similar device holding the ribs? That's usually my challenge, finding enough grill surface area while allowing some of the area for the smoke. I don't usually do chicken but might go back to it if I had one of those gizmos.

My most recent batch below, on it's way out to the grill. I reduced the paprika and doubled all the herbs this time. This is my new baseline and I'm to the point where an improvement in the rub mix would be hard to imagine. Good thing, because I made up a year's worth of rub this time.

IMG_0164.jpg
 
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