Boil Me Over

For the past few years we have always celebrated March and November birthdays with our friends. This is mainly do to the fact that the majority of birthdays fall in these 2 months, which of course leaves out the summertime birthday folks. So this year we are having our first annual Summer Birthday Celebration!

The weather was perfect - sunny and 85 - for an outdoor party.

As for the menu we chose to do a Louisiana Crab and Shrimp boil. A great way to feed a hungry crowd and best of all - No Dishes. Just pour the food onto the table and everyone digs in with their bare hands! Warning: This method may not be appropriate for a first date:)

menu

Crab and Shrimp boil

Chocolate birhtday cake (made by Cindy)

ice cream

special equipment
large pot
propane burner
butcher paper



Cover the table with the butcher paper, shiny side up. This will protect the table and make clean up a breeze. When finished eating, just roll the paper up and toss.








Louisiana style crab and shrimp boil
ingredients

7 gallons water
1 cup salt
1 cup boil seasoning
16 red-skinned potatoes
8 ears of corn, shucked and cut in 3rds
2 kielbasa sausages
2 andoullie sausages
5 lemons, cut in half
4 medium-sized yellow onions, peeled and quartered
4 heads garlic, halved horizontally
1 bunch celery, well washed and tops removed
5 pounds raw peel and eat shrimp
5 pounds crab legs

directions
Add water to the pot and set on the burner over high heat, cover and bring to a rolling boil. Add salt and spices, let boil for 15 minutes.
With the pot at full boil add the red potatoes, lemons and garlic. Cover the pot, return to fill boil and cook for 7 minutes
Next add the corn, the kielbasa and the andouille. Cover, return to full boil and cook another 7 minutes
Finally add the shrimp and crab, push the ingredients into the pot and stir. Cover and return to boil. Once shrimp turn pink, turn off heat. About 3 minutes.

Lift basket out of the pot and

pour the goodies directly onto the covered tables.

Now it is time to dig in! Cheers!

With every good boil there is the friendly competition of who creates the largest 'pile' at the end of the meal. I may have won this time, with Aaron running a close 2nd.

Aftermath

No birthday celebration is complete without cake and ice cream.

Time to head inside and dish up the dessert. Thanks Cindy for the delicious cake!!

Happy Birthday to you,

cha cha cha

Happy Birthday to you,

cha cha cha

Happy Birthday dear summertime birthdays

Happy Birthday to you,

cha cha cha

See you next week.

Cheers from the gang!!



Heat Wave

So what do you do when the temp is 90, the dew point is 80 and the heat index is 115?? You grill out, of course! We need to take advantage of these beautiful summer days here in Minnesota. And of course this was the weekend Kz and me got bikes. We have been talking about it for awhile so Saturday we went out, bought 2 bikes and all the gear. Tour De Minneapolis is on. Our inaugural ride was a 4 miler to a park and back. We got a little more aggressive on Sunday, even though the heat was in full force. We found a new trail that led us to Fish lake and was a pretty ride. We ended up going about 8 miles and all was going well up to the last mile. That is when the heat started taking it's toll. We made it OK but will take it easy until the heat breaks.

Now on with the Sunday Supper food. Here was the menu for this evening:

menu
fresh fruit - supplied by Rindy
sweet corn
simple grilled potatoes
smoky grilled asparagus - adapted from Food and Wine
marinated grilled flank steak vs marinated grilled skirt steak
note: I grilled a chunk of each to put to the taste test - more later
strawberry shortcake - supplied by Johnny yoga


simple grilled potatoes

yukon gold potatoes

vidalia onion

salt

pepper

olive oil

directions
Slice potatoes, toss in foil or foil pan. Add sliced onion, sprinkle with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover tightly with foil and grill over moderate heat for 20 -25 minutes



smoky glazed asparagus

1/2 c mayonnaise

1/4 olive oil

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 glove garlic, minced

1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tsp kosher salt

1 lb thick asparagus

directions

in a shallow dish,, whisk together all the ingredients. add the asparagus and toss: let stand 30 minutes

grill the asparagus over moderately high heat, tuning, until tendered and blistered in spots, about 6 minutes

marinated grilled flank steak vs marinated grilled skirt steak
ingredients
3/4 c red wine

1/4 c yellow mustard
1/2 c shallots, diced
1 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp parsley
salt
pepper
1 lb skirt steak
1 lb flank steak
directions
mix marinade ingredients in shallow baking dish. add meat and turn to coat. refrigerate for up to 8 hours. remove from fridge and let stand at room temp for 30 minutes before grilling. grill over high direct heat, 5-6 minutes a side for medium rare. remove and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Now put everything on a large platter, dish it up and enjoy!!

Another great night of food and fun.Oh by the way the skirt steak won the battle over the flank steak. Everyone agreed the skirt had more flavor and was a bit more tendor. From now on it looks like we will be grilling skirt.

Cheers from the gang!

See you next week.



Back in the USA

This week we have a double feature. I made it back home after 2 weeks in London (on July 1st) and did not have a Sunday supper since Monday was the 4th of July. So what better way to celebrate then a smoke out? We always grill out and have lots of friends over on the 4th and have lots of fun. This year was no exception and brings us to the first installment of our double feature.

The Fourth of July Smokefest

This year we did the meat and had the guests bring all the sides. Here was the menu:

fresh fruit

potato salad

coleslaw

shrimp cocktail

corn on the cob
5 lb beef brisket
7 lb pork shoulder

So why is it called the smokefest? What do you need? How do you do it?

Well you start with plenty of charcoal and wood chunks. You will also need a lot of time as the smokimg process is low and slow. It will take all day to smoke the brisket and pork shoulder.

Fire up the charcoal in the smoker and get things smoking before adding the meat.

For the brisket -

marinate for at least 2 hours using:

soy sauce

12 oz beer

salt

pepper

red wine vinegar

minced garlic

Put beef in large Ziploc. Mix all ingredients and pour over brisket. Remove from Ziploc and let stand at room temp for 30 minutes before grilling.

For the pork shoulder

rub

chili powder

salt

garlic powder

brown sugar

basil

black pepper

mix all ingredients and rub all over pork. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple hours. Remove from fridge and let stand for 30 minutes before grilling.

Once meat and grill are ready, it is time to smoke!!

Maintain a temp of 225 - 250 degrees for the cooking process. Remember this is a long process. The brisket will take about 1 hour per pound and the pork shoulder can take 1 1/2 hours per pound. When the brisket reaches an internal temp of 185 - 200 it is ready. Remove from grill, let rest 30 minutes before slicing. The pork is done when the internal temp reaches 190 - 200. Remove from grill, let rest 30 minutes then pull using 2 forks.

The meat should look something like this when finished. Today this took 6 hours for the brisket and 9 hours for the pork. A long day of smoking put so worth the wait.

Here is the pork after KZ pulled it. I think she may have strained a muscle before she was finished!

It turned out to be a great party and we fed 16 people! Now on to the 2nd half of the double feature:

The Return of Sunday Supper

This week included the usual suspects - Aaron, Rindy, Johnny, KZ and myself. After a 3 week hiatus, it was great to have Sunday Supper back to start the week off right. Johnny made a batch of his signature bloody mary mix and also brought along some shrimp cocktail. A and R brought along the beer chasers! KZ came up with the menu and also made the dessert tonight. I think she is starting to like cooking!!

menu

shrimp cocktail

grilled corn on the cob

farm fresh fruit

cheesy scalloped potatoes

grilled halibut

fruit medley cobbler with homemade whipped cream

recipe courtesy of USA WEEKEND and columnist Pam Anderson

grilled corn on the cob

ingredients
8 ears sweet corn, shucked
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp basil
black pepper
1/8 - 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
directions
add all ingredients to butter and mix with fork
spread on corn
grill 12 - 15 minutes over direct moderate heat, turning frequently

cheesy scalloped potatoes

ingredients
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2-1/2 cups milk
8 cups thinly sliced red, white, long white, or yellow potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
directions
For sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion and garlic in hot butter until tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

Place half the sliced potatoes in a greased 3-quart rectangular dish. Top with half the sauce. Repeat layers.

Bake, covered, in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 40 to 50 minutes more or until potatoes are tender. Let stand, uncovered, for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 10 servings

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes: Prepare as above, except gradually add 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar, Gruyère, or Swiss cheese (6 ounces) to the thickened sauce, stirring until cheese melts.

Note: We used individual ramekins to cook the potatoes for individual servings instead of the 3 qt dish

grilled halibut

ingredients

2 1/2 lbs halibut,cut into 5 equal pieces

3/4 dry white wine

2 tbsp light molasses

2 tbsp fresh grated ginger

salt

pepper

2 tbsp canola oil

1 orange, cut into 8 wedges

2 lemons, cut into wedges

directions

whisk together wine, molasses and ginger. Pour into shallow baking dish and add halibut. Turn to coat and let marinate for 20 minutes at room temp. Meanwhile prepare your grill. Remove fish from marinade, pat dry. Reserve marinade. Brush filet's with canola oil, salt and pepper to taste. Grill over direct moderate heat 3-5 minutes on first side. turn using large metal spatula and grill 3-4 minutes more. Add sliced orange and lemon and grill for 2 minutes. Remove from grill to platter and cover with foil to keep warm. In the meantime, boil the marinade for 2 minutes. Pour over fish and serve.

fruit medley cobbler with homemade whipped cream

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 cups of sliced fresh peaches or nectarines, or whole blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination of fruits (or a 12-ounce package of frozen berries)
1 tablespoon sugar
Directions
1.Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, and heat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Put butter in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan; set in oven to melt. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven.
3.Whisk flour, 3/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Add milk; whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour batter into pan, then scatter fruit over batter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tb. of sugar.
4.Bake until batter browns and fruit bubbles, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

That concludes this weeks edition of Sunday Supper. Enjoy and we will see you next week!

Cheers from the gang!