Green Beans and Potatoes

This dish takes me back to my childhood. Whenever my mother had extra “gravy” (tomato sauce) she would mix it with some fresh green beans and petite potatoes and top it with some grated cheese. It became one of the comfort foods from my youth that I still crave today. It’s easy to make and compliments a grilled pork chop or a roasted chicken. I even took a plate of it for lunch.

Makes 8-12 servings

1 lb Petite White Potatoes*

1 lb Fresh Green Beans (trimmed)

2 C Marinara

Salt and Pepper

Grated Romano Cheese*

Place the cleaned potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Continue to cook for an additional 10-12 minutes or until you can easily insert a fork into the potatoes. Do not allow them to get mushy. Drain and put back into the pot with the heat off.

Wash and trim the ends of the green beans and either boil them or steam them for 10-12 minutes or until crisp tender but not fully cooked. Drain and add them to the pot with the potatoes.

Add the 2 cups of marinara to the potatoes and green beans. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. Place in a large bowl and top with some grated Romano cheese.

* Pronto Substitutes

Petit White Potatoes – You can use cleaned, unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes cut into 2 inch cubes.

Romano Cheese – Substitute Parmesan

Cooking Green Beans

The best investment you can make in your kitchen is a vegetable steamer. The vegetables retain their nutrients, taste better, and it’s easier to tell when they are cooked.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Green Beans & Potatoes.

Butternut and Red Pepper Soup

Makes 8 bowls of soup

1 3.5 lb Butternut Squash

2 TBS Olive Oil

1 stalk Celery (finely diced)

1 Medium Carrot (finely diced)

1 Small Onion (finely diced)

¾ to 1 tsp Kosher Salt *

1 Clove Garlic (minced)

4 C Chicken Broth

2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar *

1 12oz Jar Roasted Red Peppers (drained)

Croutons (optional)

Place the butternut squash in a microwave rated plate. Poke 12 sets of holes into the top of the squash using a fork so that steam can escape during cooking. Microwave on high for 20 to 30 minutes or until a fork can easily be inserted into the small end of the squash showing that it is completely cooked. Let the squash cool for 10 minutes then cut in half. Scoop out the seeds then scrape the flesh into a bowl and mash with a fork.

Heat the oil in a medium pot. Sauté the finely diced celery, carrot, onion and salt until soft. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds. Add the butternut squash, chicken broth, balsamic vinegar and the drained roasted red peppers. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup or pour into a food processor to puree. Serve topped with croutons.

This soup can be made up to two days in advance and can be served warm or cold.

* Pronto Substitutes

Kosher Salt – Substitute ½ tsp table salt for the kosher salt

Balsamic Vinegar – You can substitute sherry for the balsamic vinegar

Cooking Butternut Squash

You can either microwave the butternut squash as described in this recipe or roast it in the oven. Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, and lay it cut side down in a roasting pan. Cook at 350°F for 1 hour or until soft.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Butternut and Red Pepper Soup.

Dancing with Stoke & Smoke

This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a food event that is restricted to a few – a sanctioned Kansas City Barbecue Society Competition in Rocky Mount NC. The skills, timing and practice necessary to participate was like being on Dancing With The Stars. If you are serious about winning, you must have perfect timing, you must be flawless in execution, and your food must dance on the tongue like a Paso Doble, sharp, tangy and tender with passion.

Butt just out of smoker

I was lucky enough to fill in for a member of “Stoke & Smoke” and experience the drama first hand. The BBQ teams arrived Friday morning to set up but the real drama starts at midnight when the Boston Butts go in the smoker. Low and slow is the rule when preparing the perfect smoked butt. The smokers range from 55 gallon drums to sophisticated computer controlled smokers. For the cooks, this means getting up several times throughout the night to check their smokers and the temperature of the butt. No sleep for the weary during this competition.

Applying the barbecue sauce

Timing is critical. The meat must be tender, flavorful and finish cooking at the right time. Competitors can compete in 4 meat categories: Chicken, Ribs, Pork (Boston Butt), and brisket. The meat must be presented to the judges on a very specific schedule and within a ten minute window.

Pulled chicken

Ribs

Final preparation of each meat is critical. Did you put enough barbecue rub on the meat, was it cooked at the right temperature, did it cook too fast or too long, did you have a good cut of meat. For this competition we cooked 3 racks of ribs to end up with just 6 perfect ribs. Two of the racks sat side by side in the smoker, were cooked the same amount of time and were coated with the same rub and barbecue sauce yet the results were noticeably differently. While both racks tasted the same, one was cooked to perfection tender while the other was tough. Sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw in which piece of meat you bought.

The final preparation was nerve racking. Starting with chicken at 12:00 and ending with Brisket at 1:30 we had 30 minutes to shred, cut, sauce, present and turn in each meat. This is a very short time when you have to taste, pull and decide what to serve the judges. By 1:30 I had tasted so much barbecue that I could not eat another bite of food.

Brisket

Presentation, just like the costume worn by a dancer, is a critical element in the competition. You must use the Styrofoam clam shells provided and the meat must be presented on a bed of either parsley or lettuce (see photos).

If you would like to experience and taste the best barbecue in the country, you can purchase BBQ Bucks ($1 each/$10 minimum) on site to buy sample size portions from competing BBQ teams and vote for you favorite barbecue team. You can also enjoy some great bands and watch the teams prepare for the competition. Go to the KCBS web site calendar of events to find out when the next event is coming to a town near you.

Turning in the food

In the end we did not win anything but I had a great time, except for the cleanup. I promised not to reveal any of the teams’ secrets but you can try my own recipes for a barbecue rub and a balsamic barbecue sauce.

Italian Grilling Rub

This grilling rub is a cross between an Italian and a Mexican grilling rub.  It’s spicy and can be used to grill everything from chicken to pork to zucchini.  I usually make large batched and keep it in a sealed container in my pantry so that I always have it on hand.

Single Use Ingredients (makes ¼ C)

• 1 TBS Kosher Salt (do not substitute table salt)
• 1 TBS Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Chile Powder
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano


Batch Ingredients (makes 2 C)

• ½ C Kosher Salt (do not substitute table salt)
• ½ C Brown Sugar
• 1/3 C Ground Black Pepper
• 1/3 C Garlic Powder
• 8 tsp Chile Powder
• 8 tsp Dried Oregano


In a medium bowl mix the ingredients. Sprinkle on your meat or vegetables. The more you put the hotter the dish will be. If you are making a batch of rub store in an airtight container and store in your pantry.

Shrimp e Pane Tostato

My wife bought 4 pounds of shrimp on sale and challenged me to be creative, so I started to thumb through some cookbooks. What I found was a traditional southern dish that originated in Louisville Kentucky called Shrimp Hot Brown. In my quest to give Americas’ favorite dishes an Italian flair I took this hot open faced sandwich and changed the spices and the cheese to give it some bravissimo. What I came up with was garlic shrimp on a bed of toast smothered with a savory béchamel sauce topped with a slice of tomato, melted Fontina and Gorgonzola cheeses and crowned with crumbled bacon. It may structurally look like Hot Brown but the taste has definitely been elevated adding a depth and richness to something that can sometimes be bland.

 

Makes 2-4 Servings

4 slices Bacon (cooked & crumbled) *

4 slices Sandwich Bread (toasted) *

2 cloves Garlic (minced)

¾ lb. unpeeled medium shrimp (peeled and deveined)

4 TBS Unsalted Butter

3 TBS All-Purpose Flour

1 ½ C Whole Milk

2 tsp Dried Parsley

1 Tsp Dried Basil

Table Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

¾ C Shredded Fontina Cheese *

¼ C Shredded Gorgonzola Cheese *

1 ripe Tomato

Preheat oven to 450°C. Clean and devein the shrimp (make sure you remove the tail). Shred the cheese. Lightly toast the bread until golden brown.

Cook the bacon in a medium sized frying pan. Place the cooked bacon on paper towels to drain then crumble. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and drain the pan. Wipe the pan with a paper towel then return the tablespoon of bacon fat to the pan along with 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. Heat until the butter foams then add the garlic and the cleaned and deveined shrimp. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink, stirring frequently. Remove the shrimp to a bowl.

In the same saucepan, add 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Once the butter is melted add the 3 tablespoons of flour and stir until smooth. Continue to stir for 1 minute to cook the flour. Add 1 ½ cups of milk and bring up to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened. Add 2 teaspoons of dried parsley and one teaspoon of dried basil to the sauce. Taste then add salt and pepper.

Place the 4 slices of toast on an oven proof dish. Top evenly with the shrimp. Spoon the sauce over the shrimp. Top each with a slice of tomato and the shredded Fontina and Gorgonzola. Bake, uncovered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

* PRONTO SUBSTITUTE

Bacon – Substitute diced pancetta.

Sandwich Bread – Substitute slices of Italian round loaf

Fontina – Substitute shredded mozzarella

Gorgonzola – Substitute blue cheese

To print this recipe, go to Shrimp e Pane Tostato