WGBH - Grilling RSS

Smoky Tomato Soup

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:15 PM +0000

Yields 4

A combination of bacon and smoked paprika gives this tomato soup a strong profile that goes perfectly with a gooey grilled cheese sandwich. Go with the sweet pimentón for a rich taste with little heat, or try the hot for a spicier kick in the soup.

Ingredients.

1 Tbs. olive oil
3 thick strips bacon (about 3 oz.), thinly sliced
1 large yellow onion, diced (about 1-1/2 cups)
Kosher salt
1 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. sweet or hot pimentón (smoked paprika)
One 28-oz. can whole tomatoes and their juices (3 cups) (preferably San Marzano)
2 cups lower-salt chicken broth
2 Tbs. heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Put the oil in a large saucepan, add the bacon, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon renders most of its fat, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels; let drain and cool, and then coarsely chop. Add the onion and 1/2 tsp. salt to the pan and cook, stirring, until the onion softens and starts to brown lightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, 2 tsp. thyme, and the pimentón, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and the flavors meld, about 15 to 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender or working in batches in a regular blender, purée the soup. Return the soup to the pan, stir in the cream, and bring to a boil. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed, ladle the soup into serving bowls and serve sprinkled with the bacon pieces and the remaining thyme.

Serving suggestions:

What better partner for tomato soup than a Classic Grilled Cheese? Or to mix it up a little, try a Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwich with Tapenade.

Susie Middleton is editor at large for Fine Cooking magazine.

How To BBQ, Four-Seasons Style

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:59 PM +0000

Aug. 8, 2011

BOSTON — It’s not often you get the chance to share the kitchen with a five-star chef, but once a month, Four Seasons Executive Chef Brooke Vosika opens his doors and recipe book to the public with a cooking class.

“Tonight we’ve got a BBQ class. It’s probably one of our most popular classes,” said Vosika. “We’re going to touch on gas barbeque verses charcoal barbeque, we’re going to touch on the different varieties of barbeque, whether it be a southern style, it can also be a Kansas City style, Texas style, North Carolina style.”

For $150, these eight students get a personal lesson on the art of barbequing. It's a lesson student Sarah Donovan said can’t come soon enough.

“I just got married and someone gave me a grill and it’s sitting on the deck. I haven’t even taken the tarp off,” Donovan said as she put on her apron. “So I’m here to learn how to grill.”

The classes are held in the middle of the Four Seasons Aujourd’hui kitchen. Everyone quickly finds their place around a square table, butcher blocks in front them and a glass of wine in hand.

First up, a lesson on Vosika’s self-described “volcano” sauce. For the past two weeks, Vosika has kept the chilies buried under mounds of salt. He says the salt draws the moisture out of the chilies while at the same time adding some saltiness to them.

“The process then is to wash off as much of the salt as possible, pick the stems off and then we’re going to blend it,” Vosika explained.

Everyone pitches in, in between sips of wine, pinching stems before the chilies are blended with vinegar and water.

Next up, the main course is the ever-daunting ribs. The first thing Vosika shows are baby-back ribs.

“The difference between the baby-back and the regular ribs is that it’s a smaller animal they come from,” he says. “And also they’ve been trimmed down so it’s the center of the rib. You’re not leaving that fat portion on the bottom.”

Vosika boils his ribs for 40 minutes before throwing them on the grill, giving him just enough time to get his Kansas-City-style barbeque sauce together. He starts by chopping some garlic.

“Ketchup is the next one and that’s our base,” he says while pouring it all into a mixing bowl. “Adding our vinegar, chili powder, paprika, olive oil which is important for coating and of course, our volcano sauce,” Voskia says, laughing.

Now it's time to hit the grill. Vosika says this is the point when people make their biggest mistake, using either too much heat or too little heat.

“There’s a fine line between burning something and char-grilling it, really making something so charred that that flavor takes over everything,” Vosika said.

Student Ernie Jones says he's definitely made that mistake. “Not paying attention to the grill when I was doing a low, slow cook and it just got way past the point of when it was done,” Johnson said.

After dousing the ribs with sauce, Vosika grabs them with tongs, demonstrating perfect technique.

“So I’m going to take this side, the side that we’ve done that has the BBQ sauce on it. We’ll lay that right on top. While that’s there, we’ll take some more barbeque sauce.”

After a few minutes sizzling on the grill, it’s time for the best part of the class. Chef stands at the table, doling out the goods: Baby back ribs-regular ribs, wings, homemade potato chips and good conversation.

At the end of the night, students say they’re taking home a lot more than just leftovers. “It was really easy to see how to make different things and with recipes I will actually be able to follow,” says Kara Silvia.

“I loved it,” adds her sister, Kristina. “It was so good, but we’re so full at this point,” she adds, laughing.

Full with a meal that’s finger lickin’ good.

Swordfish-Bacon Kebabs with Cilantro Gremolata
By Ming Tsai

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:09 PM +0000

Ingredients
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 lemons, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, finely minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 slices of bacon
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 pounds center-cut swordfish, cut into 1x1-inch cubes
4-8 long satay skewers, soaked in water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooking spray

Directions
Prepare a hot grill, sprayed slick.

In a bowl, combine the cilantro, lemon zest and juice, garlic, lemongrass and extra virgin olive oil. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Assemble the kebabs by first skewering one end of the bacon and following with swordfish cube.

Weave the bacon in between the swordfish and tomato as you thread each onto the skewer.

Lay the kebabs in a dish and take 1/3 of the gremolata and rub all over kebabs. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Season the kebabs with salt and pepper and grill until bacon is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Plate using a satay plate and serve with remaining gremolata in dipping bowl.

__________________________________________________________

Ming Tsai is the host and executive producer of public television series Simply Ming and chef/owner of Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Mass.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak By Annie Copps

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:39 PM +0000

If you are a coupon clipper or circular reader, flank steak goes on sale quite often. It's a little tougher than some cuts, but we love the flavor and its forgiving nature when it comes to rare or well-done.

We keep our grill going all year, but you can use your broiler indoors to whip up this fast and flavorful steak dish.

Into a large zip-top bag, place a 2-pound flank steak, some red wine, a chopped onion, a few cloves of garlic, a few sprigs of thyme and a bit of sugar. Mix well to coat the steak and pop in the fridge for a few hours—you can do this before you head out to work in the morning or up to 3 days. Sometimes I buy this on sale, mix it in the bag, label and freeze for a few weeks. But if you are ready to cook it now, fire up the grill or broiler and cook the steak 3 to 4 minutes per side. Let it rest, then you are ready to slice into a flavorful steak.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
1 2-pound flank or skirt steak, trimmed
1/2 cup dry white or red wine
1/2 red or yellow onion, sliced
4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Place all ingredients through sugar in a large zip-top plastic bag. Toss to coat well. Refrigerate two hours or up to 3 days if you prefer.

Prepare grill or broiler to medium-high. Remove steak from marinade and shake off excess. Place on grill or under broiler about 4 minutes per side (for medium rare). Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Grilled Turkey

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:02 PM +0000

Want to add some fun and flavor to the cooking of your holiday turkey? How about cooking it on the grill?

Not only is grilling a turkey fun, but cooking it over live wood adds a ton of flavor and frees up your oven for roasted vegetables and more pies.

Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 27 hours
Yield: 10 servings

Directions
Start the day before by brining your bird in a herb and salt solution which helps tenderize the meat, you'll grill it unstuffed, which shortens the cooking time and allows the smoke to move through the cavity and permeate the turkey.

Place turkey breast side up in a large disposable aluminum baking pan and place on the grill. If using charcoal, place pan on opposite side of the fire for full circulation of heat. Cover grill tightly. Check turkey every 30 minutes and baste with any pan juices. Charcoal grills may need to have extra charcoal added to maintain heat. Grill turkey about 2 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into thigh registers 170.°

Heat grill to medium (about 375° to 400°). If using charcoal, build fire on one side of grill. Remove turkey from brine and discard brine. Rinse and pat turkey dry, then place fresh herbs and bay leaves inside cavity. Place turkey breast side up in a large disposable aluminum baking pan and place on grill. If using charcoal, place pan on opposite side of fire for full circulation of heat. Cover grill tightly.

Check turkey every 30 minutes and baste with any pan juices. Charcoal grills may need to have extra charcoal added to maintain heat. Be careful not to let grill flare up (the pan ought to catch any drippings). Grill turkey about 2 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into thigh registers 170.°

Let turkey rest at least 30 minutes before carving.

Curried Butternut Squash
By Annie Copps

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:25 PM +0000

Squash is everywhere this time of year, but what to do with it? First the good news. Squash lasts a long time, so no rush to figure it out. Second, more good news, gourds are super versatile, delicious, and packed with all kinds of vitamins.

From soup to dessert, there are any number of delicious things to do with all kinds of squash and here in New England, we have dozens of varietals. One of my favorites is butternut squash and one of the ways I like to prepare it is as a curry. And like many seasonal recipes, this one makes for a quick yet deeply satisfying vegetarian (and vegan if you like) meal.

Cut the squash into small pieces and simmer it with onions, cumin, ginger, curry, and a bayleaf until it is soft and flavorful. Add some rice and stir in raisin, pistachio nuts, and a chopped orange and you have dinner on the table in no time.

Total time: 45 minutes
Prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3 cups cooked rice
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup toasted pistachios or pinenuts
1 orange, peeled and roughly chopped
Garnish: 1 tablespoon chopped scallions or chives

Directions
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté butternut squash and onion in oil until slightly softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add spices and bay leaf, stir well, and cook about 2 minutes longer, stirring ingredients a few times (spices will become very fragrant). Add stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer, cover pan, and cook 8 to 10 minutes.

Black Pepper Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple
By Ming Tsai

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:44 PM +0000

I used to make my own soy syrup, but it was very delicate and had a tendency to break like an aioli. But one day my Indonesian sous chef Budi introduced me to Kechap Manis, a great sweet soy syrup from his country. I said, "Wow, Budi, you just saved me a lot of steps!" And now I use Kechap Manis all the time as a base for glazes and sauces... like my Black Pepper-Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Satays, a terrific grilled appetizer you can serve any time you're looking for tasty finger food. Serves 4 as an appetizer

Ingredients
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 small pineapple, cut into 1-inch cubes
2/3 cup kechap manis
2 oranges, zested and juiced, minced zest for garnish
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
1 bunch scallions sliced thinly, separate white and green
Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooking spray

Directions
Assemble satays by alternating chicken and pineapple. In a large bowl, combine kechap manis, orange juice, ginger, black pepper and scallion whites. Add satays and marinate for 15 minutes.

Prepare a hot grill, sprayed slick. Remove satays from marinade, reserving marinade. Grill satays until chicken is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, boil marinade for a dipping sauce and use some of it to brush onto satays while cooking.

Serve in bamboo satay plate with dipping sauce garnished with scallion greens.

Garnish satays with orange zest and scallion greens.

__________________________________________________________

Ming Tsai is the host and executive producer of public television series Simply Ming.

Seared Haddock with Beans and Greens
By Annie Copps

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:21 PM +0000

Not sure what to have for dinner tonight? I have a quick, easy, healthy and inexpensive meal that will put dinner on the table in 30 minutes. The main ingredients – local white fish and fresh field greens.

Serves 4

Ingredients
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 pound fresh, local white fish (cod, haddock, or whatever is on sale)
1 can of cannellini or garbanzo beans
4 cups of fresh field greens (spring mix, baby romaine, arugula)
Juice from ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Saute 2 cloves of very thinly sliced garlic in olive oil (about ½ cup—it’s a lot, but you can use the oil after for other things). Start with cold oil in the pan (it tends to burn if you start with hot oil) and let the garlic cook until just lightly golden brown — about 3 minutes, but keep your eye on it (dark brown or burned means bitter).

Drain the garlic onto paper towels. Pour all but 1 tablespoon of the oil into a bowl and set aside.

Cut the fish into portions, season with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides. Just put it in the pan and don’t move it for 2 minutes; then turn it and cook until it’s cooked through (depends on the fish and the thickness, but 3 minutes oughta do it).

Rinse well and drain 1 can of white beans (I used garbanzo, but cannellini or gigante are great for this, too). In a medium bowl, combine four cups of spring mix or baby romaine with beans, toasted garlic, the juice of half a lemon, and about 1 tablespoon of the cooled garlic oil. Season with salt and pepper. Divide onto four plates and place the fish on top.

___________________________________________________________
Annie B. Copps is a senior editor at Yankee Magazine. Annie oversees the magazine’s food coverage, both as an editor and as a contributor of feature stories and columns.

Seared Curried Butterfish with Warm Olive Chutney
By Ming Tsai

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:39 PM +0000

You may have a hard time wrapping your brain around pairing madras curry and olives, but if you think about it a moment, it really works. The French regularly use many of the ingredients that are in curry with olives—you’ve probably tasted the combination and not even known it. But you’ll see for yourself how well these potent ingredients harmonize in my Seared curried butterfish with warm olive chutney.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons madras curry powder
1/4 cup rice flour
4 pieces butterfish or other fatty white fish
3 shallots minced
1/2 cup mixed olives, pitted, minced
1 large tomato, 1/4-inch dice
Juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Canola oil for cooking

Directions
On a pie plate, combine the curry and rice flour. Season fish with salt and pepper. Dredge the fish fillets on both sides into the rice flour mixture. In a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat coated lightly with oil, sear the fish until golden, brown and delicious, about 8 minutes total. Remove fish and wipe out pan. In same pan coated lightly with oil, saute the shallots, then add olives, tomato and orange juice and heat through. Toss with cilantro and serve 1 heaping tablespoon over each fillet. Serve on banana leaf.
________________________________________________________________
Chef Ming Tsai is a local restaurateur and host of Simply Ming.

Grilled Peppers
By Lidia Bastianich

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:26 PM +0000

Peter Piper picked a peck of…delicious peppers!

When you go shopping at your local reputable market, get yourself some peppers especially when they are in season. They are delicious, colorful, plentiful, nutritious, and usually inexpensive in the summertime! So what do I do with them, you ask me? It’s simple!

Directions
Grill whole peppers over an open flame, turning periodically until all of the skin blisters.

Set them in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap and let cool.

Peel and scrape off all of the skin under gently running water. Remove the stems and seeds.

Take these delicious morsels and put them in a casserole dish with sliced garlic, olive oil, salt, and fresh or dry oregano. Let steep for half an hour, and when you are ready to serve, add a drizzle of vinegar.

Serve these delicious peppers like we do at my Lidia’s restaurants, as an appetizer, side dish, or sandwich stuffer. Now go pick your peppers!

___________________________________________________________
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich was born in Pola, Istria, on the northeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. She is a cookbook author, restaurateur, and TV chef extraordinaire. Watch Lidia’s Italy Saturdays at 1:30pm on WGBH 2 or Sundays at 4pm on WGBH 44.

WGBH - Grilling RSS

Smoky Tomato Soup

How To BBQ, Four-Seasons Style

Swordfish-Bacon Kebabs with Cilantro GremolataBy Ming Tsai

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak By Annie Copps

Grilled Turkey

Curried Butternut SquashBy Annie Copps

Black Pepper Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple By Ming Tsai

Seared Haddock with Beans and Greens By Annie Copps