It’s been a long week. You’re tired. You might even be cranky (I won’t tell). I’ve got good news. Now is the perfect time to put on your superhero cape and make kababs on swords. (Ok. They aren’t really swords. They’re sword-like skewers. But they might as well be swords because they are that wonderful. You can buy them at your local Middle Eastern market and you’ll be forever glad you did.) Iranians – and people all across the Middle East – love to use these mega skewers to make their kababs – meat, tomatoes, all of it! After cooking, they slide the sausage-like portion either into pita bread or next to rice. Koobideh is almost always served with whole grilled tomatoes (on the skewers). Serves 4-6 Ingredients: 1 onion 2 lbs ground beef or lamb 1 Tbsp turmeric 1 Tbsp sumac 1 or 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1 egg, beaten Method: Today’s stove top travel takes us to the old city of Kharanaq. The golden tan against the deep blue sky bursts …
Read More
Serves 2-4 Do you get hungry late, late, late – in the dark corners of the night? Does your stomach growl? Your mind race? Do you ever feel like you need a big bite of goodness before you can roll over and snooze? Me, too. Indonesian Beef Satay is just the ticket. Believe me when I say I would turn on my grill at midnight to eat this satay. Here’s the truth: I’ve never simply sat and eaten a half pound of meat in my entire life. I’m just not that into meat. Until today. Completely, and without remorse, I ate an entire half pound and would have continued on to eat more skewers, if I could have weaseled some away from Keith and Ava. The Satay are rich and sweet from the kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), wonderfully fragrant, and incredibly addictive. Apparently I’m not alone because many Indonesians are known to eat up to 6 skewers in one sitting. Ingredients: 1 small onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 1/2 tsp minced ginger …
Read More
Stars poke holes in the black sky. Crickets chirp. A campfire crackles. A few dear friends sit in a circle, chattering. They laugh until they cry and cry until they laugh. And, since they’re Hungarian, they’re holding bacon. Giant cubes of bacon. On sticks. Welcome to Hungarian summer. Campfire bacon kabobs, a.k.a. Gypsy Bacon (Cigany Szalonna) are an integral part of any Hungarian barbecue. In Planet Barbecue Steven Raichlen states: There once was a time – perhaps it’s true still – when Hungary had the highest per capita calorie intake of any country in Europe. Lard and Goose fat undoubtedly helped Hungary achieve this distinction, but the real culprit was […] grilled bacon. Now I know why mom and brother, Damien, always loved to “chew the fat” – literally. Our Hungarian roots all but require it. Here’s how it works: 1. Buy the biggest piece of rind-on slab bacon you can find. Unsliced. I had to call about 5 butchers before I found it at Perry’s in Tulsa. Even then, they tried to slice it up …
Read More
Serves 4 Guyanese love a good curry. Since we’re in the middle of intense summer, I’ve adapted a traditional curry recipe for the grill. Instead of stewing the chicken with the curried Green Seasoning, I simply marinated the chicken in it and threw it on the grill. An easy way to get the heat out of the kitchen, although you’ll still feel it in your mouth. Big time. P.S. To eat this like you’re in Guyana, serve with Chow Mein. Seriously. Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, sliced into strips 1 cup Caribbean Green Seasoning 1 heaping Tbsp homemade curry powder salt & pepper to taste Method: Ask your butcher for four chicken breasts. The friendship between a woman and her butcher is a thing of beauty. Make friends with your butcher and they’ll give you all the good cuts. I promise. Slice the chicken into strips and place on skewers. The best way to do this is to cut the breast diagonally. If you don’t feel like messing with it, feel free to just marinate the …
Read More
Serves 4 When I started this Adventure I was seriously grill-challenged. Today, I am a new woman. I’ve learned how marinades can transform bland meat into craveable hunks of goodness, as with the intensely lemony Georgian Chicken recipe we made a few weeks ago. And now, today, I bring you Greek lamb… I would choose to eat these lamb chops over eating out any day of the week. The key is to slowly marinate the meat until it practically tingles from the inside out with garlic, lemon and a hit of rosemary. Ingredients: 2.5 lbs lamb, any combination of: Lamb Rib Chops Lamb T-Bone Chops Leg of Lamb, cubed (for kabobs) For the marinade: 4 cloves garlic 1-3 sprigs fresh rosemary 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp pepper 2 strips lemon peel, or 1/2 a lemon zested 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup lemon juice Method: Run to the store and buy some potted herbs. Plant them here, there, and everywhere. They’ll make your garden so gorgeous. An herb garden is unbelievably easy to grow and …
Read More
Serves 2-4 I’ll be honest. I don’t have great luck with grilled chicken. Usually it’s bland, overdone and, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m usually to blame. Naturally, I was delighted when I found this foolproof Georgian recipe in Laura Kelley’s The Silk Road Gourmet: Volume One: Western and Southern Asia – it’s a giant bright bite of lemony goodness. The crazy strong flavor comes from an extra long marination – 24 hours. If you’d rather a milder flavor, try just a few hours instead. Adapted from The Silk Road Gourmet: Volume One: Western and Southern Asia Ingredients: 2 lbs chicken leg 1 cup lemon juice 3 Tbsp Georgian Five Spice 1/3 cup peanut oil salt Method: Hello sunshine! Time to juice some lemons. Beware paper cuts… this won’t be pleasant for you. Add in the Georgian Five Spice. And peanut oil… Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. To quote Emeril, these chicken are “getting happy.” Grill on each side over medium-low heat, turning once. …
Read More
Serves 4 Barbecue, called coupé coupé, is all over Africa. This sandwich is inspired by Gabonese love for smoked meats piled into crusty baguettes. I posted this recipe in diary format because, well, it was a little bit of an Adventure. Ingredients: 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 1/2 tsp powdered chicken bouillon 1/4 tsp cayenne salt pepper 1 1/2 lbs flank steak grilled poblano peppers, skinned and cut into strips 1 onion, sliced and grilled (I grilled in foil with olive oil) 1 baguette 2 cups hickory wood chips Method: 8:00 am Woke up to a perfect day. Methinks one should always smoke meat under a blue sky and budding trees. 8:01 am Realize we don’t have any wood chips. Keith runs off to get some. I go back to sleep, ignoring blue skies and budding trees. 8:30 am I wake up to my hero, sneaking in with arms full of hickory wood chips, aluminum trays, and cat food. Nice. (Cat food for cats, not for sandwiches. Double nice). Soak wood chips for about …
Read More
Serves 2 You’ve seen them at the fish market. Whole trout. Somewhat intimidating, but also intriguing. Friends, if you’ve never ventured in the world of whole fish, I highly recommend it. Cooking them is beyond easy and the flavor is exceptional. Today we stuff them with peppers, onions, and fresh lemons – flavors characteristic of Equatorial Guinea. Slightly spicy and super fresh – make this for a special occasion or just for fun. Ingredients: 2 whole trout, cleaned 1/4 cup thinly sliced poblano 1/4 cup thinly sliced onion 4 lemon slices salt pepper Method: First things first. Light a candle. The flickering light is warm and inviting, and does a great job of eating up fish smells. I burn candles daily, fish or no fish. Gather your ingredients and preheat the grill to medium. You won’t need too much onion and pepper, unless your fish are huge. Rinse and pat dry the fish. Then season the cavity with salt and pepper – preferably fresh, coarse sea salt. Add thinly sliced onions and poblanos… for a little …
Read More
Serves 4 Loads of garlic, butter, and sea salt make this tuna leap for joy. Forget tuna in a can. Fresh tuna steaks are as good, if not better than salmon. Bold and intense, this recipe will transport you to the flavors of East Timor and an incredible meal, as remembered by Karen Coates of Rambling Spoon. Read Karen’s story – the inspiration for our recipe. Perfect for Valentine’s day, or any special occasion. Ingredients: 4 Tuna steaks 4 Tbsp butter 3 cloves garlic coarse sea salt Method: Timorese Grilled Tuna Steaks are perfect for special occasions and as easy to make for 1 as for 100. In my humble opinion, however, two is ideal – after all, Valentine’s day is just around the corner. Gather your ingredients. Only four are required (the sea salt is not pictured)! I love the simplicity. Crush the garlic over softened butter… Breathe in deeply. Smile. Give the mixture a stir until the garlic is thoroughly combined… At this point you have two options. 1) Smear the mixture on a tuna …
Read More
Serves 4 Steaming fish in banana leaves – extremely common in Africa – results in a light, healthy dish. Liboke is a congolese word (in the Lingala dialect) for packets of food cooked in banana leaves. Ingredients: 4 fish fillets (I used tilapia, you can use any white fish you like) 4 banana leaves (or sheets of aluminum foil) 1/2 onion, thinly sliced 1-2 tomatoes, thinly sliced lemon juice, to taste salt cayenne pepper Method: First, prepare the banana leaves. Trim off the tough side of the leaf. Then run the leaf quickly over a flame to soften it and make it more pliable. When it changes from dull to shiny, it is soft enough. Next, assemble the liboke. First the onions. Then, a few tomato slices. Jewl red and just as juicy. A pristine fillet of fish. No square, pressed fish here! Sprinkle with a bit of cayenne, if you dare! Or just a bit of lemon juice. Once you have everything in there, fold up the leaf like a burrito. Top down. Then, …
Read More
Serves 4 This traditional African dish combines peanut butter with goat, two of the most common ingredients in many parts of the continent, especially west and central Africa. Hot peppers and cayenne add kick. Ingredients: 1 lb goat meat, cubed 1/2 onion, sliced thinly 1 poblano pepper, sliced thinly 4 12″x12″ banana leaves (or sheets of aluminum foil) For the Sauce: 3/4 cup peanut butter 1 Tbsp bouillon 1/2 tsp cayenne water, as needed (I used 5 Tbsp) Method: Cube up some goat meat. The butcher cut me two pieces from the leg, with little bone. Next, mix up the ingredients for the sauce. First up – peanut butter. I open the jar, and my husband comes running. He loves the stuff. Some bouillon powder. Cayenne, for heat. Feel free to omit this or use less… but I hope you don’t. Finally, add water and mix all the ingredients together until a smooth sauce forms. I used about 5 tablespoons. Next, add in the meat. And onions. Make sure you slice them as thinly as …
Read More
Serves 6 If you’re looking for a quick and easy marinade, forget the supermarket bottles, loaded up with high fructose corn syrup and chemicals. Our sweet, natural glaze is made with dijon mustard, crushed garlic and rich maple syrup. Special thanks to Kevin from Toronto whose recipe Maple Dijon Grilled Chicken inspired our version. If you haven’t already checked out his blog “Closet Cooking,” you are in for a treat. This guy is an inspiring cook and photographer. Ingredients: 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/3 cup Dijon mustard 2 garlic cloves, crushed Method: For the marinade: 1. In a small bowl, mix together mustard… … maple syrup… … and crushed garlic. I love how the mustard seeds give the marinade a little texture. Pour over the chicken and marinade for a few hours (overnight is best). Turn once to ensure even coverage of the chicken. To Grill: Preheat a clean, oiled grill to high. Lay on the chicken and let cook a few minutes per side, or until done. The maple …
Read More
