Saturday, July 29, 2006

July 29, 2006. Chicken Fajitas.

Tonight the grill menu included grilled chicken breasts as a part of grilled fajitas.
I always fajitas, and the key is not just grilling the chicken, which everyone does. It's grilling the vegetables, and tortillas.

I used Chiarello's Roasted Red Pepper Olive Oil (which oddly, I could not find linked anywhere...oh well), on the veggies and grilled them over direct flame. Then, I wrapped them in a double layer of paper towels after a nice scorching. This is to remove the skins. Removing the skins doesn't remove the grilled taste at all. It simply removes a part of the pepper that some find hard to digest.

For the chicken seasoning, I used a fajita rub that I had in one of my grill books. I think it was in Smoke and Spice or one of my others....

This was a hit too. Way better than just grilling the chicken.

Remember not to forget some good salsa, beans and mexican rice to complete the meal. Fajitas are a crowd favorite and something no one ever thinks of for a party. Everyone always assumes hot dogs and hamburgers, but creating a party platter of fajitas would be very easy and a welcomed change.

I have yet to find a person who dislikes chicken fajitas. Mostly, I suspect, due to the fact that you can customize the meal to your taste. Provided with enough condiments like sour cream, salsa, mexican cheese, beans, rice, flour and/or corn tortillas, grilled veggies, chicken (or carne asada if you wish), tomatoes, cilantro, and...hmmm, is that everything ? I am sure there are a few other things.

The idea that they can spoon into their tortilla their own personal favs is much more pleasing and generous to your guests than a simple patty of ground beef.

I swear, those Mexicans really know what they were doing when they created these meals ! Add a Corona or Modelo and Bob's Yer Uncle.

July 22, 2006.

Tri-tip.

This time I did tri-tip with a dry rub of my own making, actually a modified version of one I have used before but still, its my own. The reason: too many (mild) complaints about the dry rub I use being too spicy; so this time I reduced the amount of cayenne pepper and used a milder pepper (white). The result: magnifico !

I seared the tri-tip and then let it cook indirectly for about an hour with some russett potatoes. It turned out even more tasty than my tried and true "Al's famous tri-tip rub" !

I couldn't believe it. My guests loved it ! I really didn't pay that much attention and it turned out perfect. Of course, that is the beauty of tri-tip. It may be the most perfect cut of meat for grilling. Enough marbling to keep it from drying out, but not too much to force your attention and skill.

I will post the ingredients shortly.

AC 7-29-06

Monday, July 17, 2006

July 9th. Parmesan breaded sea scallops.

Along with chicken, I tried another experiment with parmesan breaded sea scallops. Removed the muscle and used Reggiano Parmesan. The one thing I screwed up on was the breading. Either I didnt give it time to set or I didnt use enough olive oil. As the pictures sort of tell the story, they kind of fell apart on the grill.

Despite that, these were really delicious ! A definite dish worth re-visiting !






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JULY 4TH. 2006. HOT DOGS AND HAMBURGERS !

Some remarked to me, do you really need a Weber 6 burner platinum series grill ?
I think this picture speaks for itself:




We did hot links and Red dogs from Costco. 2 kinds of burgers, those with Seranno peppers and those without. Those with peppers had a minor kick, but no seeds so they were fairly mild.

I also did Proscuitto wrapped shrimp but no pictures. These were an experiment as I have never done them before. They turned out wonderful. I have done bacon wrapped shrimp using thick hickory smoked bacon and that didnt turn out to well. You need a thin bacon slice. The proscuitto may be a little too thin but they were really tasty regardless.

I should have arranged the dogs and burgers into the shape of a flag for the 4th. Ah well, there is always next year.

Everything turned out fine. If you screw up burgers and dogs (and I have been places where the cook has done this...oi !) then I got no business blogging.



July 1st. The City so nice, they named it twice.....and a slab of meat after it.

New York Steak. mmmmm, good.

The key to grilling a quality steak is dont ruin it, sear it and dont overcook it. well, 2 out of 3 aint bad, and although I cant get my grill as hot as they do at Mortons or Smith and Wollensky's, just a basic chardonnay salt and cracked black pepper rub; then a 500 degree plus grill for 15 minutes total and Bob's Yer Uncle.

We also had some grilled Zuchinni with a roasted pepper rub on it. Some white pepper and black salt for ***** and giggles.


Actually, this didnt turn out to well. Despite quality meat from a quality butcher, the steaks weren't that great. And a little too medium rare and just quite not enough medium. Another 3 - 4 minutes total would have done the trick.

Now I remember why I do so many tri-tips.

June 24th. Pork Chops and Corn on the Cob.

Two chops were made with a mesquite marinade and 2 were made with a basic salt and pepper rub (unspoilt). The corn was nothing special, just soaked and grilled. White corn of course.