Tag Team eG Foodblog: Light My Fire!

[Susan in FL]

I regret that a family obligation will keep from joining in tonight.  Marlene and Susan have kindly agreed to kebob without me. 

On a happier note, for me anyway, perhaps not for them, I will be back on Saturday for the big butt smoke and I have now confirmed with my local seafood supplier that soft shell crabs will be in this weekend and appearing on a grill at my place on Sunday.

Anyone have tips or pointers on the crabs let me know.  We LOVE soft shell crabs.

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We'll miss you of course, but family oblingations do call at times.

Tips or pointers for crabs... soft shell crabs are a favorite. What do you have in mind? We have grilled, shallow fried, deep fried, braised, used them in pasta recipe, made sandwiches... Do you need cleaning tips or cooking tips? Recipe ideas? If I can make some suggestions, I would be honored to help!

[Marlene]

Did I mention that Friday's were relaxing? What on earth was I thinking? In between dinner prep, I got the dessert made for tomorrow night, but you can wait for those pictures. Tonight's menu was kebabs, pork and beef, rice and grilled asparagus

Marinating the pork and beef:

Pork

Beef

Mise for the kebabs, red peppers, red onions, and pinapple for the pork. About half way through, I ran out of red pepper for the beef kebabs. I had meant to pick up some cherry tomatoes for the beef kebabs, but totally forgot.

And of course, soaked wooden stakes.

Did I mention that kebabs are fiddly to put together? No? They are.

Pork Kebabs waiting for the grill

Beef kebabs:

Asparagus. (I found a use for one of those pizza pans!)

By the time I got the dessert made and the kebabs put together, it was time for a Friday night libation. Scotch for Don and a Manhattan for me (psst. I did not take this picture)

then it was grilling time. Of course, no rain. It wouldn't dare rain on Don while he's grilling.

And finally, dinner:

A question on the asparagus. I've always thought that thinner stalks were better than thick, but I've read here and there that fatter is better. Which is it and why?

[maggiethecat]

I do the plate over bowl thing as well! Also to avoid trash. Do go on  .

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I have a collection of giveaway hotel shower caps that I rinse and reuse.

Susan: Boning chicken thighs is one of my unfavorite kitchen tasks -- it's not that hard but it always seems to take longer than it needs to, and it's slippery. Yeah, I need the bones and all, but I've found that my local carcineria often sells s/b thighs crazy cheap, like 69 cents a pound.

Can hardly wait to compare your butts, y'all.

[Marlene]

Back to butt.  Susan, do you remember how big my butt was?  (just trying to keep Peter happy), last time we did this?  I recall putting in on the smoker at 9:a.m. and pulling it off around 7:30.  Since we aren't brining, will we need more time?  My current butt is 8lbs, no bone remember.  Since we're having company to help us eat this, I'd like to try to be a little more specific about timing.

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Marlene, I think Chris should weigh in on this one for you because as I recall, his cracked butt was a tidge over 8 pounds and was also boneless. He could weigh in on whether you should tie it so we don't see your butt crack!

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I'd certainly tie it. When I smoked my butt, I pulled it out too early after about ten hours, so... 12? 14?

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My butt is tied tighter than a drum. I'm thinking that we'll start a couple of hours earlier, like 7 a.m. (which is going to make my husband adore me I'm sure). We can always wrap it in foil if it gets done early.

[Marlene]

  I thought of a 4 layer devil's food cake. . .

I think of it all the time---that great tall black one in the Entertaining thread.

I vote for that. It's time for another stroll.

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Since I have another dessert planned for tomorrow night, I promise I'll make this one on Monday, how's that?

[Marlene]

I use a plate on top instead of plastic wrap.  I have a real trash fetish.  Ask if you want!

this is why I have bowls with lids.

[maggiethecat]

I use a plate on top instead of plastic wrap.  I have a real trash fetish.  Ask if you want!

this is why I have bowls with lids.

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Princess Bowls.

I go for fat asparagus -- there's more sparrowgrass to love, and the same amount of peel to pare.

[Marlene]

Princess Bowls.

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Count on it, DL. Peel? What peel? I just cut the bottoms off. No?

[Smithy]

Any grilled desserts going to be happening in the future?

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I second the grilled desserts request. I am very fond of grilled peaches and nectarines, drizzled with a slighly sweet, slightly caramelized glaze of balsamic vinegar. I'll bet a touch of pomegranate molasses would work well on that, too.

If all else fails, you could do s'mores.

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Come now. I'm already sacrificing myself for the great blog good by making veggies! You don't really think you're going to see fruits of any description from me do you?

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Well, that's why I mentioned s'mores. However, the 4-layer chocolate cake mentioned upthread would also do nicely.

I do the plate over bowl thing as well! Also to avoid trash. Do go on  .

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I hate trash. I hate having to pitch stuff that you shouldn't have to use in the first place. Those plastic bags at the grocery for produce? I rinse them, let they dry and take them back to the store to reuse. Again and again and again. My kids hate going to the grocery with me, as I come armed with bags -- plastic and paper -- that have been used.

I recycle as much as possible, but much prefer reuse to recycling. That's one reason I spend a lot more money for the milk in the glass jars.

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Brava, bravissima!

Oh, and about the fishing opener: much to my surprise, the roads north were not packed up here. I think the rain and the cold must have discouraged some anglers up this way. I wouldn't have thought that possible before this evening. As they say, you can always tell a fisherman, but you can't tell him much.

Did I mention that kebabs are fiddly to put together?  No?  They are. 

A question on the asparagus.  I've always thought that thinner stalks were better than thick, but I've read here and there that fatter is better.  Which is it and why?

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Marlene, one way to make kebabs less fiddly is to skewer all the meat together (on as many skewers as it takes), all the onions onto a different set of skewers, all the tomatoes on yet different skewers, and so on. The main advantage is that, since everything cooks at a slightly different rate, you can control the cooking - get your meat done properly without carbonizing the onions, for instance. The other advantage is that it's less fiddly. I took to this strategy a couple of years ago after hearing about it on The Splendid Table, or some such. When each component is cooked you un-skewer it onto a serving plate, and each person dishes out servings to please.

...However, after looking at your kebabs, I'm questioning that choice. Yours really are lovely.

As to the asparagus, I lean toward the thin asparagus, myself, but I've read that if you peel the bases of the thick asparagus you get good tender flavor at less cost per pound.

My butt is tied tighter than a drum.  I'm thinking that we'll start a couple of hours earlier, like 7 a.m. (which is going to make my husband adore me I'm sure).  We can always wrap it in foil if it gets done early.

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OK, I confess. My sense of humor is arrested at about age 10.

[snowangel]

My, but we've been busy! Give me a few minutes to download some pictures. I've been coping with disaster after disaster. As happens to me during every blog.

[snowangel]

As I drove home from the plant sale this afternoon in a driving rainstorm and horrid traffic, I thought. Perhaps I should just pull some spaghetti sauce and a loaf of heat and eat out of the freezer? But, no, I went with the plans. Satay. The harbinger was the kids calling me on the cell phone every five minutes (a cell phone which is new and I can hardly figure out how to answer) to whine about each other). Ah, rain. It brings out the worst of us here in Minnesota who expect May to be beautiful and wonderful.

So, I got home, and after I got busy and got the satay in the marinade and in the fridge, I got busy on the cuke and shallot salad (with zucchini instead of cuke, because I was going to be damned before I got behind the wheel of the car again).

The mis:

This is a really simple, really wonderful salad/condiment. Water, sugar, vinegar, salt. Boil, cool. Add shallots, cukes, peppers ( I normally use Thai birds, but the radio, as I was driving home reported a major accident on the route that would take me by the Asian market I intended to get to, so I used jalapenos). It is a much prettier salad with cukes and red birds, but the zucchini worked far better than I thought and I wished I made about 5x as much as I did.

Then, I got the mis ready for the peanut sauce

The recipe I riffed calls for salt, but I opted for fish sauce (Tiparos brand, not pictured). Basically simmer some coconut milk with some curry paste (I toned it down for Peter and his friend), add a smidge of sugar (which I eliminated because Skippy has sugar added), the PB, fish sauce. This stuff is deceptive. It looks so runny in the pan, but a bit of cooking and cooling thickens it up.

So, we waited and waited for the rain to disappate enough for me to start the chimney. Diana and I skewered the strips of chicken, and waited.

We finally fired up the broiler. Lo to begin with to make sure the meat was cooked (rare chicken is a sure puke for me), then to high.

Satay nees to be grilled. The flavor was good, but there was just that something missing. Since I didn't have that option, I should have broiled these on a rack, but I didn't, and it wouldn't have made them like they should have been. Next time, intuitioon. And, as the rain persisted, and I looked at tomorrow, I didn't trust leaving them in marinade until Sunday or Monday nights.

My kitchen karma seems to be on hiatus.

[Pan]

[...]Satay nees to be grilled.  The flavor was good, but there was just that something missing.[...]

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You are right. The wood-baked (really, grilled, but in Malay, bakar ["bake"] has the traditional meaning of "cook over an open wood fire") taste is an important part of really good satay. Then again, decent satay is better than good versions of a lot of other things.

[snowangel]

Way too late, I decided to do dessert. Once I saw the photos and recipe, I was bound and determined to make Ann_T's Silly Toffee Squares.

I feared a disaster and I started out. I had a "bit of" burning on the bottom of the pan when I was doing the filling, but that was OK.

I don't think there are supposed to be bits of burnt caramel in the filling, but I'm determined to forge ahead. I forgot to take a picture of the "crust" which went together like a dream.

Topped and ready for the fridge:

So, a few minutes ago, Peter and the buddy he has over for a sleepover demanded a taste. They weren't chilled enough to cut cleanly, but, the boys and I were ready

At this state, these things are absolutely terrific, and I'm not a sweet eater. Dulche/caramely meets crispy and very slightly chocolatey. We will sleep well tonight! I will report on this most worthy dessert again tomorrow after they've firmed up, but cutting just a bit too early is not a bad thing!

Now, does anyone want to tell me what to do with the pan in which I cooked the filling?

The scotchbrite didn't touch it, and Bar Keepers doesn't seem particularly effective. I should have used a much heavier pan, but given the amount of ingrdients n the filling, this seemed lie the right sized pan. I could just flat toss the pan, but it was my great grandmother's.....

Dear readers, ponder these treats and my pan. It's been a long day and I am off to sleep, perchance to dream...since the masses will want food in the morning!

[rjwong]

At this state, these things are absolutely terrific, and I'm not a sweet eater. Dulche/caramely meets crispy and very slightly chocolatey. We will sleep well tonight! I will report on this most worthy dessert again tomorrow after they've firmed up, but cutting just a bit too early is not a bad thing!

Susan, who says that these toffee squares will be around by tomorrow morning ... hehehe ... ?

[lancastermike]

Good Morning from dank and dreary Millersville PA. However, my butt got moving this morning and my butt is on the smoker. Pictures and comments to follow. Right now back to bed with Maggie for coffee and the newspaper as is our Saturday morning tradition. Smoking butt is important. Other things mean much more

[Anna N]

...

Now, does anyone want to tell me what to do with the pan in which I cooked the filling?

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Fill it with really hot water, add a couple tbs dishwasher powder and stir to dissolve it. Forget it for 24 hours. Bet it comes clean.

[Marlene]

Good Morning from dank and dreary Millersville PA.  However, my butt got moving this morning and my butt is on the smoker.  Pictures and comments to follow.  Right now back to bed with Maggie for coffee and the newspaper as is our Saturday morning tradition.  Smoking butt is important.  Other things mean much more

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I must get my butt in gear and get the smoker going. We are running late this morning and Don is still sleeping. I really hate to wake him up. The forecast calls for a risk of thunderstorms this afternoon, and it's grey and dreary here as well.

I like your Saturday morning tradition.

[Marlene]

Don's up. We're about to fire up the smoker, then Don will go for a run and we'll contemplate breakfast. The lad likely won't surface till 11 or so. After breakfast, I'll get the coleslaw made and the bbq sauce ready. Don will go shopping for me for buns etc. I'm really glad I got the dessert made last night. All that is left to do is whip the cream for the topping and make chocolate curls.

We are also going to try plank grilling a brie for appetizers and carpaccio may make an appearance as well.

[Marlene]

My butt is on. I'm thinking we're going to have to rig up some sort of umbrella to cover the smoker. It's clouding up pretty good here. Sigh. I bet, right after this blog is over, the sun is going to come out and stay out for a month solid.

Mike how do you handle your WSM in the rain?

[lancastermike]

My butt is on.  I'm thinking we're going to have to rig up some sort of umbrella to cover the smoker.  It's clouding up pretty good here.  Sigh.  I bet, right after this blog is over, the sun is going to come out and stay out for a month solid.

Mike how do you handle your WSM in the rain?

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We just had a passing shower, it rained pretty hard for about 15 minutes, I just let it go. I don't have a rain rig. Unless it is a downpour like we has Thursday night, the rain is not a big deal. At least not to me. The sun was out here for a while. But not now. Have just finished uploading pictures to Image Gullet, a tedious task for me. Will be posting shortly

[Ann_T]

Susan, I'm sorry about your pot and the problems you had with the ST Squares. The very first time I made these, many years ago, I ended up with a pot that looked just like yours. I've mentioned in the recipe that this mixture does burn easily, but maybe I need to emphasize it better.

I usually let them sit on the counter for a bit and then finish cooling in the fridge. But I must admit to usually taking a little scoop with a spoon while they are still warm. Just can't wait for the toffee to set.

[lancastermike]

Butt doing well, and the sun has reappeared

A bg of new Kingsford. My first use of the new product. On the Weber Virtual Bullet site

Weber Virtual Bullet

There is huge discussion about this new product and how bad it really is. These guys are serious and they may be a little around the bend about it. This site is a great resource for all kinds of smoking information. My wife thinks that I am perhaps a little obsessive abot smoking. Most of those guys make me look very normal.

Close up of new Kingsford. The grooves cut into it is the new feature. I'll leave it up to others to debate the importance of this.

The rig standing by

Todays wood, some chunks of cherry. This I got from a wood place. In the garage I have a whole bunch of apple I got from my local orchard. However, I have to cut the apple up and at 5:30AM I was not ready to fire up the saw. The cherry came debarked and chunked.

The chimney of Kingsford fired up

Close up of the charcoal with flames for those looking for real fire stuff

My entry in the Darwin Awards contest. Starting a fire on the grill of my gas grill. This could lead to real trouble I guess. Notice also it is about two feet from the house. If this leads to an explosion, since maggiw would have call the insurance agent about the life insurance, she may as well call him about the fire insurance as well.

The butt in question. This is really half a butt weighing in around 4.5 lbs. The guys at the meat counter hacked one for me. This is the perfect size for the two of us. Also no cracking should occour. Sitting on top of the freezer were it went of a few minutes to really chill before going on

The famous Minion Start. The bowl is filled with charcoal and than the hot colas and the wood are placed on top. There are some wood chunks down in the unlit charcoal as well. The hot stuff light the unlit stuff and thus a long even temperture is achieved. This is my favorite way to fire the WSM. No isue with tempterture going to high. Can use the bottom vent to control the temp. I have then each about half way.

starting to smoke

The rig smoking, the cable coming out the side is for the remote thermometer, the plain old one stuck in the top vent gives a good dome reading.

Starting out 41 degrees.

and about an hour and a half later

[lancastermike]

At 11:06AM the butt has been on for 4 hours and the remote thermometer tells me 170.

The beginning smoker would say, 4 hours to 170, Hmm, that baby ought to be ready for lunch. Guess again. I have or will sortly enter the dreaded butt stall. Four hours to 170 and another four, or even more to get 195. Why? The internal stuff in the meat the fats and connective tissues need to convert to a gelatin to make the meat edible. At 170 the pork is cooked but it's not done. I have a way to go here and the good news is the sun is shining.

It's a busy day in Millersville. Maggie went to the monthly meeting of the local historical society of which she is an officer. I am a member as well and enjoy going and hearing the older long time residents chat. They often have very unique versions of the same event.

It is also graduation day at Millersville University. The town is lousy with proud parents happy that they have written the last tuition check. Also full of locals like me who are happy for a couple of months of no traffic, no beer bottles in the street and no drunks using back yards for urinals. We used to live on the other side of town right near the college. One of my favorite Sunday morning activities was throwing the trash from my yard back across the street to the yard of the young scholars who lived there. We moved, I'm glad

Edited May 13, 2006 by lancastermike (log)

[lancastermike]

This mornings breakfast

The Tasty Baking Company of Philadelphia is a local staple of life. Along with the cheesesteak, the pork sandwich with provolone and rabe, Holly Moore,and katie Loeb, Tastykake is one of Philadephis's greatest contributions to the food world. The butterscotch Krimpet, though nothing like the butterscotch pie Marlene is having tonight is one good thing. Recently in a revolutionary move, they are making Krimpets with TWICE the icing. They are available only in the multi pack, however. I like to dunk them in cold milk. They are also a great base for sliced strawberries and whipped cream.

Edited May 13, 2006 by lancastermike (log)

[ChefCrash]

Mike, glad you got a break from the rain.

What temperature are you maintaining in the smoker?

Does the WSM employ a water bowl? Are you using it?

Thanks.