JoeSoChallenges Update: The Month of May

Hooray for sunshine!

For the month of May -- perhaps the greatest month of the year, what with its flowers abloom and sunshine aplenty -- I decided to challenge myself to not watch any non-sports television. This choice made sense for several reasons. I have kickball and softball games 2 or 3 nights a week, the NHL and NBA playoffs kick into high gear, baseball season lazily rolls into Summer, my yarden needs lots of work, travel season opens, and people start cooking out on the regular. What a month! What a perfect time to ditch the TV! No crime documentaries, no stoned South Park marathons, no random Netflix browsing. I also had a chance to re-up on all my favorite podcasts, so I can fall asleep listening to 99% Invisible or Science Friday instead of Disappeared or Family Guy. What a great month! I violated my challenge once (because I had a bunch of Bob's Burgers episodes in my Hulu cue about to expire) and I felt like I had earned it after driving back and forth from the Hipster Capital of the World.

Joe's Amazing Chicken -- First Cook Outs of the Season

Yeah Buddy! Cookouts have returned to Heady Place! (Oh, by the way, some people refer to my house as Heady Place.) Temperatures topped out around 50 degrees a few times last week so I fired up the ol' grill.

The first cookout of the year featured Joe's Amazing Chicken (of course) and vegetable skewers: one of red pepper, one of zucchini. For the chicken, I used giant boneless breasts, marinated overnight in soy sauce and painted four times per side with Joe's Amazing Sauce while slow cooking for about 45 minutes. I sliced the zuke in wheels, sprinkled with coarse sea salt, and lined 'em all up on a skewer. I cut the red pepper in large chunks and skewered them, cooking unseasoned. Red pepper grills so well without seasoning, and the zuke really just needed a light salting. The grill brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetables. 

Joe's Amazing Chicken

This version of Joe's Amazing Sauce included roughly equal portions of: sriracha, teriyaki sauce, corn syrup, and olive oil. The key to Joe's Amazing Sauce lies in the four categories that these ingredients represent: spicy, salty, sweet, and stretch. You want a spicy ingredient (e.g., sriracha or hot sauce), a salty ingredient (e.g., teriyaki or soy sauce), a sweet one (e.g., corn syrup, brown sugar, stevia), and something to stretch the sauce and give you enough to coat the meat several times (such as olive oil, lemon juice, wine or beer). Heat one side the grill to high and the other to low, keeping the meat on the low side. Cook slowly, turning and coating with sauce often. Each layer of the sauce will cook into the chicken, or even start to glaze depending on your choice of sweetener. This re-coating and glazing makes the chicken ... amazing. As you continue to cook and add more sauce, try to drip or spread the sauce down into any crevices the meat might have. Depending on your meat you can find lots of little places to cook the sauce into. For example, bone-in thighs with the skin on make a great choice for grilling with this technique. Peal up the skin and spread the sauce underneath. Repeat every time you turn it, and you will have ... well ... Amazing Chicken. Finish it up over high heat to give you a nice set of grill marks across the meat.

The following day I made a jerk seasoning dry rub for cookout numero dos. You can make a really easy, delicious jerk seasoning with: ground cloves, salt, sugar, black pepper, cumin, and a little chili powder or hot red pepper flakes. Do not skimp on the sugar -- try brown sugar or stevia and little cinnamon too. The salt, sugar, and cloves make up the bulk of the seasoning. First rinse and pat the chicken dry. Then cover the chicken in the seasoning and press it gently into the meat. Turn and repeat a few times -- you want to coat the chicken completely. Grill the chicken as described above, or over a higher flame if desired.

Of course, as the season change comes along, so does my cold. It seems like every year both the Fall and Spring season change knock me out with a major cold. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

Cookout with Av and Mick

word to your mother

Avniel decided to drive out to Pittsburgh for a visit this weekend and we ended up assembling an epic cookout feast Saturday night. We got fresh sausage -- 1 pound each of hot Italian and spicy Sicilian -- sweet red peppers, and old style whole grain dijon mustard from Donatelli's in Bloomfield. At the grocery store we picked up all natural chicken thighs, yellow squash, green peppers, and a sweet red onion. I had asparagus, zucchini, and potatoes from the Bloomfield farmer's market, and we used cilantro, oregano, and mint (for mojitos) from the garden.

I skewered and brushed the potatoes with olive oil and Old Bay seasoning: 

Av chopped the onion, green peppers, and squash into large kabob chunks and tossed them with olive oil, coarse sea salt, fresh ground rainbow peppercorn medley, and fresh herbs from the garden. I used my Amazing Sauce on the chicken. 

I sliced the zucchini lengthwise and just brushed it with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I grilled the asparagus in foil with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and just cooked the sweet red pepper plain and whole on the top rack of the grill. The chicken of course I cooked slowly, turning and re-applying sauce half a dozen times.

I made more mojitos with the mint from the garden.

Solo Cookout for Game 7

Last night I cooked out alone for Game 7 of the NBA Finals. I loaded up at the Bloomfield Farmer's Market. I made my amazing chicken sauce to grill with bone-in thighs. I made my grilled broccoli recipe with goat cheese, which tasted spectacular. Plus I grilled asparagus and potatoes as well. Tremendous. I timed everything perfectly. I got the chicken on the grill during the second quarter of the game. By the time half time started I put the veggies on, and as the second half got underway, everything finished cooking. Absolutely perfect. I had a couple of fine Newcastle brown ales while I cooked.

My chicken sauce requires four ingredients: something spicy, something thick and viscous, something spreadable and/or sticky, and something sweet. Use these in roughly equal parts. For this one I used soy sauce, siracha, dijon mustard, and brown sugar. I brushed the asparagus with grape seed oil, course salt, and ground black pepper. I coated the potatoes with Old Bay seasoning and a little oil. And I tossed the broccoli with balsamic vinegar, grapeseed oil, salt, and pepper.

I use high heat on the left side and a lower flame underneath the food on the right side. Once something cooks, I move it over to the hot side to get a little char (if desired).

I sprinkled goat cheese on the broccoli. Amazing.

Cook the chicken slowly. It should take about 45 minutes for bone in thighs. Keep turning it over and spreading more sauce, over and over. You'll want to straight up lick the sauce by the time you finish cooking...

Enjoy....

Cooking Out Often Lately

I've already dipped balls deep into cookout season over here, so I want to share some pictures from recent meals. 

I'll do a full recipe post for my Amazing Chicken some time soon. You just need chicken and four other ingredients of your choice to make an amazing sauce. 

sweet n spicy chicken

I like grilling my vegetables raw, especially when I have high quality veggies. Red and green peppers, corn, and other veggies supply their own great taste when grilled properly, in my opinion, and don't need anything else.

Hebrew National hot dog grilled corn and green pepper

I make a flavorful curry paste for mixing into burgers, which I really enjoy. I use curry powder, hot sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and a few other choice ingredients. I should do a post for that as well. When I moved into the apartment on Penn a couple years ago, and we got the gas grill, I started working on my own recipes for burgers, chicken, pork chops, etc. So I've had a lot of practice with some of these.

Joe burger with avocado and banana peppers

cheddar cheese, avocado, banana peppers

relish and yellow mustard

When I grill corn I leave it in the husk. If I have a chance, I soak it in water for a little while before grilling. I actually peal away a few pieces of husk, leaving maybe 2-4 layers rather than, say, 6-8. I firmly believe in slow grilling -- for almost everything. You can make the corn quickly in about 10 minutes, or go slowly for 20 or more.

grilled corn on the cob and Joe Chicken

sweet and spicy Joe Chicken

For an almost instant meal that takes no preparation, try grilling chicken sausages and whole red peppers. I get the peppers at Donatelli's Italian grocer in Bloomfield for like $1.19 for a bag of 8. Throw them on the grill for about 10 minutes over medium to high heat. I cook the red peppers whole then cut 'em up and serve with the sausage on a roll.

chicken sausages from the store

sweet red pepper -- perfect grilled plain

Double Hot Dogs

Double Dogs!

I've been eating hot dogs this way for a couple of years. It is, in my opinion, the way to eat hot dogs. You want Hebrew National all beef franks.  They're long, skinny and delicious. So you need two. But not two dogs in two buns -- you want to double 'em up. A pair of Hebrew National all beef franks fits perfectly into a sausage roll. Top with your favorite condiments and enjoy. Personally, I like pickles or relish, Heinz ketchup, and yellow mustard. Lightly toast the bun on the top rack of the grill -- toasted on the outside but still soft inside. So freaking good. Tonight I made this with some grilled green pepper on the side.

Double Dog & Grilled Green Pepper

Devour it!