Flavors

I had a flash of "genius" when making my regular chicken salad. I wonder what it would taste like with some blue cheese added? I took a little out of the big bowl, added a few crumbles and LOVED it! (I love ANYTHING with blue cheese!) Brad had a taste, and pronounced it delicious, so I added the rest of the cheese to the large bowl of chicken salad.

Meat from 1 large rotisserie chicken, or 4 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1/2 red onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large bunch red seedless grapes, washed and stemmed
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. cashews
4 oz. crumbled Maytag blue cheese
1/2 c. mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Toss and chill until serving.

I've been making some variation on this recipe for years. this is just how I did it this weekend. Feel free to add and subtract. Some people may like a lot more garlic in the rub. Feel free to play with it.

Grilled Chicken with Rosemary—serves 6

1 whole cut up chicken + 2 additional breasts; breasts cut in half

Brine:
1/2-cup kosher salt
1/3-cup sugar
Strips of zest from 1 lemon
5 smashed cloves of garlic

Mix all of the above with about 5 or 6 cups of water.

Rosemary Rub

11/2 cups fresh rosemary leaves
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1-teaspoon kosher salt
1/2-cup extra virgin olive oil
About 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Brine the chicken by submerging it in the brining liquid for about 1-2 hours.

Make rub:

With the food processor running, drop in the garlic clove.
Turn off and add all the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil. Process until the rosemary is well chopped. It will not look like pesto—the rosemary will just look smaller than it looked whole.
With the machine running, add the oil.

Put the rub into a baking pan and rub all the chicken pieces with it.
Let it sit for about 20 minutes while the grill warms up.

Grill until done.

Enjoy!

I have been really worrying about some of these Fishy 'flavors'. . . not because I don't like fish. It is a proven fact that it is nearly impossible to find good fish at the Piggly Wiggly!

I was talking about this with Chef Rob . . . not a problem he says ~ I'm breaking down fresh fish all the time.

So . . . guess who my guest Chef will be? I have to give the credit to The Tavern of St Clair and Rob. I would never be whacking at this thing in my kitchen!The special tonight at the Tavern is ~

Fresh Sea Bass on Wild Mushroom Risotto with Grilled Asparagus

(recipe by description of the chef...)

Season the sea bass with salt and pepper.

On a hot grill, splash some oil and heat to a slight smoke. With a sprig of fresh thyme, sear the sea bass skin side down. Flash sear until you have a crispy skin and golden color. Flip it once.



Serve over a healthy portion of wild mushroom risotto in a shallow bowl with a slant of asparagus. This is a hot entree and will be gone by the end of the night.

And he was right!

Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

This was the first time I cooked Sea Bass. I wanted to keep it simple, so I left it to Brad to grill the fish, while I created a yummy sauce. I spotted the jar of passionfruit jelly in my fridge, and decided on a Passionfruit Beurre Blanc!

4 Sea Bass Steaks

1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 c. white wine
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. heavy cream
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 T. Passionfruit jelly

Brush fish with olive oil, and grill for 6 minutes on each side (adjust time depending on thickness of fish)

In a small saucepan, cook wine, vinegar and shallots until reduced to 3-4 tablespoons.
Add cream and reduce heat. Whisk in butter two pieces at a time, removing from heat when half the butter has been added. Whisk in passionfruit jam and season with a little salt and white pepper. Pour through mesh sieve, and serve over fish.

I've not been looking forward to squid week. To me it has absolutely no flavor, it gives nothing to me other than the impression of chewing on a rubber band. Breaded, fried, with a spicy dipping sauce I can eat it but other than that it is a struggle.

I was curious to see what the Flavor bible said about squid - I suspected it would be like chicken and the book would list 'everything' underneath the title. I mean, what WOULDN'T go with something with such a delicate flavour?

I discovered through my research that grilling is an excellent way to prepare squid because the quick cooking keeps it tender. Apparently, it's easy to overdo it and end up with a chewy texture, so most authors suggest sticking to 3 or 4 minutes total.

I decided to marinate whole (but CLEANED) squids in a citrusy marinade for an hour and grill it over high heat. Once off of the grill my plan was to slice it into rings and serve it dressed with a simple tomato basil vinaigrette.

The result was delicious. Still not enough to have me ordering up squid on a regular basis but I was able to force it down! High praise, indeed.

Grilled Squid with Tomato Basil Vinaigrette

For the marinade:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 pounds cleaned medium squid (about 4 pounds uncleaned)

For the vinaigrette:
1 medium coarsely chopped tomato
1/2 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt

To make the marinade: In a small bowl whisk together the marinade ingredients.

Place the cleaned squid in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Press the air out of the bag and seal tightly. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade, place in a bowl, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

To make the vinaigrette: In a food processor combine the tomato, basil, vinegar, garlic, pepper, and salt and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil and process until fully incorporated.

Remove the squid from the bag and discard the marinade. Season with salt. Grill over Direct High heat until just cooked, 3 to 4 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Remove from the grill and cut into 1/4-inch strips. Place in a medium bowl and add as much of the vinaigrette as desired. Toss to coat the squid evenly. Serve warm.

Great... All that work, and Movable Type won't post a scheduled blog.
Y'all know, I have said before that the most exciting thing about the 'Flavors' is the challenge. This week the challenge was quite an adventure. It is my week to cook with Squid~ no problem! We Southerners are good at frying things!
The true challenge was to find a fresh squid in Birmingham. When Jan and I were cooking up our Bottarga in Venice... I wish we had bought some of these babies at the Rialto Fish Market and fried them up right then and there.
'Allora'~ I was on a search. My first stop was Snapper Grabber's in Vestavia~ the best place for fresh seafood in this area. (one word of advise... don't go on monday because they are closed)

I ended up at Whole Foods... and ended up with a bag of frozen squid. The best part about these squid are that they are already cleaned!The process of frying the calamari rings is very simple. Pat the rings dry, lightly coat with flour and shake off the excess. Fry in vegetable oil without crowding, drain and sprinkle with salt. . . lots of salt!

Once again, a fun adventure. One that has the flavor of the Pescheria in Venice.
Y'all enjoy~
Sandi

This week was a bit of a challenge. There's not a lot of squid in the desert. I was able to find calamari steaks, so I decided to try something I thought sounded interesting, as I am not a fan of tomato-based sauces. The results were delicious, and I would definitely make this again!

2 large calamari steaks
2 plus 1 T. olive oil
1 bulb fennel, finely chopped
1/4 c. chopped onion
4 oz. hot Italian sausage
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated Romano or Parmigiano cheese
1 cup white wine

In 2 T. olive oil, saute sausage, fennel, and onion until sausage is browned, and vegetables have softened. Remove from heat. In a bowl, add bread crumbs and cheese to sausage mixture. Stuff the calamari steaks, and tie with kitchen string. In a clean skillet, heat 1 T. olive oil. Brown the rolled, stuffed calamari on all sides. Add white wine and cook 30 minutes.

Plate the calamari rolls, add remaining stuffing to reduced wine and pour over calamari as a sauce.