tortious cooks

Cedar Plank Grilled Tenderloin with Pineapple Salsa (Courtesy of McD)

McD says:
I would love to take credit for the tenderloin recipe
this past weekend, but the reality is that Weber is
the author; the link is here:

http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/recipe/view.aspx?c=pork&r=160

I grilled on my trusty Weber kettle in near freezing
temperatures (I had a Weber Gas Grill once, but since
it wasn't nailed down, it was MIA when I reoccupied
the homestead). The recipe calls for a 3-3.5 lb
tenderloin to be grilled for an hour. My tenderloin
was near 4 lbs, and given the low temperatures as
well, I grilled it for 1 hour, 15 minutes, which
worked out very well.  I was a little concerned the
first 30 minutes, as the cedar plank wasn't smoking
much. But once I flipped the loin and added a few
fresh briquettes to the fire, the smoking became first
rate. As the salsa recipe suggests, there was some
excess liquid from the pineapple, so just follow the
directions on cooking it down. Per tortious'
suggestion, I did add some extra cumin, which was the
perfect touch.

I do wish I had a taken a picture of the loin when she
came off the grill; the darkened skin, the sizzling
juices, and the charred edges of the plank made quite
the picture. Enjoy!

Smoked Salmon & Goat Cheese Frittata

1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
12 extra-large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces fresh goat cheese (crumbled)
1/2 pound smoked salmon, chopped*
3 scallions, chopped, white and light green parts
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the onion and butter in a 10-inch oven-proof omelet pan (or just a deep skillet) over medium-low heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the heavy cream, goat cheese, smoked salmon, scallions, dill, salt, and pepper and combine. Pour the mixture over the onions and give it all a gentle stir to settle out all the yumminess therein. Place the pan in the center of the oven. Bake the frittata for about 50 minutes, until it puffs and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

This is not one of those frittatas that will come out beautifully if you invert it onto a platter. Serve hot from the pan. It's so fluffy that all you should need to cut it is a nice (non-stick!) spatula.

*Use the good salmon. Cheap grocery salmon = not tasty. I recommend Ducktrap if you can find it. In our small town we had to go to the butcher to get it, but apparently in some places you can get it at the grocery. Check here to see where it's available near you. It can be expensive but you could easily cut this to 1/4 lb (it comes in 4 oz packages) and the frittata would be just as good.

Baked Gruyere Cheese Grits

Works just as well with the more traditional cheddar you'd find in this southern dish; you can do either 1 cup of sharp and 1/3 cup of mild or vice versa depending on your preference; you could also use Monterey Jack, Colby Jack - really whatever you like. And you can really get away with upping the amount of cheese to about 2 cups total depending on how cheesy you like them. I like mine very cheesy and use about 1-1/2 cups gruyere plus the parm; or about 2 cups total of mixed cheddar. Your call!

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick grits (not instant)
1 egg
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Gruyere (up to 1.5 c to taste)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart casserole with 2 tablespoons of butter.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup butter, water, and salt in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. When mixture comes to a simmer, add the grits, stirring until thoroughly combined. Continue to cook the grits at a simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk together egg, cream and pepper. Stir into cooked grits along with cheese. Pour mixture into prepared casserole.  Bake until set, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Cream Biscuits with Dill

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped dill
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk the 2 cups of flour with the dill, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the cream and mix with a wooden spoon just until a dough forms.
2. On a lightly floured work surface, gently knead the biscuit dough just until it comes together and pat it into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Using a floured 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out as many biscuits as possible. Combine the scraps and repeat to make more biscuits.
3. Transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 22 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until lightly golden on top. Serve hot or warm.

BBQ Shrimp for Shrimp & Grits

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco
• 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the ketchup, bourbon, cider vinegar, molasses, honey, Tabasco, thyme and cayenne. Simmer over low heat, until thickened, about 40 minutes.
• Transfer the barbecue sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. (If you have a food processor, I'd recommend that over the blender; although for use with the shrimp & grits, this sauce doesn't really have to be pureed and you can skip this step altogether, which leaves a nice texture for the dish.) Season with salt and pepper. (I put the sauce back into a small saucepan to warm later for serving with the shrimp; you can also toss it into a container and refrigerate, it keeps for up to a week.)
• Preheat a grill pan. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and brush (I do so generously) on both sides with the barbecue sauce. Grease the grill pan with the oil. Grill the shrimp over moderate heat, turning once, until cooked through, about 4 minutes.
• OR: If you don't have a grill pan, this works just as easily if you saute it in a nice heavy skillet, and I like to add a few tablespoons of the sauce into the saute pan once the shrimp is almost done, and then cook it down over high heat for a minute. tasty. (just for a minute though, don't leave the shrimp in more than like 5 minutes total else it will get a bit tough and chewy. = not as tasty.)
  
• Serve with sauce (however much you like) over (piping!) hot cheese grits - I like to garnish with fresh thyme (esp. now that the BF and I have it growing in the kitchen - glorious!) The flavor works well, as does the dash of green - it plates and presents well.

 

Comments

[Michelle & the City]

damn woman, you can cook!

[lfar]

SUPER impressed

[erin]

i want that frittata now....