Grilled Prime Rib

I love the BBQ season!  I usually extend it as long as I can cooking well into the winter.  It is the light that finally stops me as I have a hard time seeing properly once it is too dark…maybe some new deck lights …hmmmmm.  This is so simple and simply delicious!  This is from Food and Drink Summer 2015.

1.75 to 2.25 kg Prime rib or sirloin tip beef roast
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp peppercorns, coarsely cracked
2 tsp kosher salt

Pat beef dry with paper towels.  Rub roast with oil, cracked pepper and salt.  Bring to room temperature.  This will take 1 hour if fresh from the store, 2hours from the fridge.

Preheat BBQ to medium high.  Reduce heat on one side to low.

Using medium high side of grill, brown meat all over, about 5 to 10 minutes per side.  Place roast on low temperature side of grill.

Reduce temperature of medium high side of grill to medium adjusting heat so that barbecue maintains 350F.

Barbecue beef until an instant read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat reads 128F (54C) for medium rare.  This will take anywhere from 40 to 70 more minutes depending on the thickness of the roast and if it has bones.  Check roast occasionally, keeping in mind that the internal temperature may rise while its resting.

When done, remove roast to a carving board.  Loosely cover with foil.  Let rest for 15 to 25 minutes.

Luxe Seafood Pie with Rosti Topping

The original recipe called for individual pies…which would be great except I didn't have 6 - 2 cup oven proof dishes so I made 1 pie and it worked just fine.  I just used my cast iron frying pan.  I like the Arctic Char, Trout and Lobster are all sustainably caught species and the combination of the three is rich and delicious.  From Food and Drink Autumn 2011.

FILLING
1 medium onion
2 cups whole milk (I used 1% and it was still rich)
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
500g Arctic char or pickerel fillets
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
250 g smoked trout or mackerel fillets
250 g cooked, shelled lobster meat
1/3 cup all purpose flour
Pinch cayenne
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained
1/4 cup each finely chopped parsley and chives
1 tbsp drained capers
4 small cornichons, drained and finely chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

ROSTI TOPPING

4 yukon gold potatoes, each 3 inches, peeled
1/4 cup unsalted butter; melted
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1/4 tsp each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. For filling, cut a thick slice from onion and finely chop remainder.  In a medium saucepan, combine onion slice, milk, peppercorns, bay leaves and nutmeg.  Bring milk to a simmer over medium high heat.
2. Cut Arctic char fillets into large pieces sized to fit the saucepan, and add to simmering milk.  Reduce heat to low and poach, covered, 5 to 10 minutes or until fish is opaque throughout.  Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a small skillet, heat 1 tbsp butter over medium heat.  Add chopped onion and cook, stirring often for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened but not browned.  Add garlic and cook, stirring for 30 seconds or until fragrant.  Add wine and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes of until wine has reduced by half.  Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Strain Arctic char, reserving milk but discarding flavourings.  Flake Arctic char into bite size pieces, discarding any skin and bones.  Put in a medium bowl.  Flake trout into bite-size pieces, discarding any skin and bones.  Cut lobster into bite size pieces.  Add trout and lobster to Arctic char.
5. In a large saucepan, heat remaining butter oer medium heat.  Add flour and cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes or until the flour and butter roux looks dry and is fragrant (do not brown). Gradually whisk in reserved milk, then cream.  Cook for about 2 minutes, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens and is smooth.  Remove from heat.
6. Stir onion mixture into sauce, then add fish mixture, peas, parsley, chives, capers, cornichons and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir gently.  Season with salt, pepper and more cayenne if necessary.  Divide mixture among six 2 cup individual baking dishes.  If you're not completing the pies immediately, cover and refrigerate them until ready to proceed, removing them from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before adding the topping.
7. For rosti topping, preheat oven to 400F.
8. Put potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover them.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside until cool enough to handle.
9. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate potatoes into a large bowl.  Add butter, parsley, salt and pepper and mix with a fork until well combined.
10. Spoon potato mixture on top of seafood filling to cover it completely, dividing evenly.  Put dishes on a large baking sheet.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until potato is starting to brown and filling is bubbling.

Serves 6

Pork Roast with Green Peppercorn Crust

Pork Loin stays juicy and flavourful under this spicy crust.  Serve with oven roasted potatoes and squash.  From Food and Drink 2001

Roast:

1.5 to 2 kg boneless pork loin roast

1/4 cup butter softened

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard

2 tbsp mustard seed

2 tbsp dried mustard

2 tbsp coarsely ground green peppercorns

2 tbsp coarsely ground black peppercorns

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp dried leaf thyme

Sauce:

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups apple cider or juice

1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 325F.  Heat a large frying pan over medium heat until hot.  Add roast, fat side down, then sear on all sides.  Place in roasting pan.  Make a paste with butter, flour, mustards, peppercorns, sugar and thyme.  Spread over top and sides of seared meat.  Roast uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 155 to 160 F and juices run clear.
2. Place roast on cutting board.  Skim most of the fat from roasting pan and discard.  Place pan over medium heat and sprinkle in flour.  Cook 1 to 2 minutes.  Whisk in cider, vinegar, sugar, mustard and salt.  Simmer 5 minutes or until thickened.  Serve slices of roast drizzled with sauce.

Serves 8

Chicken Adobo

This is the national dish of the Philippines - which I have never gone to, and know nothing about :)  But eating this chicken makes me think I need to get there some day!  The recipe came out of Food and Drink 2005 Summer and it actually is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day.  So do a little extra cooking on Sunday and you have a fantastic dinner for Monday.

1.5 kg chicken, cut in 8 pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped garlic
salt to taste
2 tsp cracked peppercorns
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp Asian Chili Sauce
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cups baby spinach

1. Marinate chicken with garlic, salt, peppercorns, vinegar, bay leaves, soy sauce and chili sauce for 30 minutes.
2. Add to casserole or pot along with water arranging chicken so that it is mostly submerged in cooking liquid) and bring to boil.  Simmer uncovered until chicken is just tender, about 25 minutes.  Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.  Skim fat from cooking liquid.  Pat chicken with a paper towel to dry the skin.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat.  Add onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes.  Add chicken and brown each side (about 5 minutes).  Remove chicken and onions back to casserole.  Add cooking liquid to skillet, bring to a boil and boil 1 minute, scraping bottom of pan with a spoon to dissolve any brown its.  Stir in spinach.
4. Pour contents of skillet over chicken and onions.  Cool and skim fat.  Refrigerate until needed.  Reheat on top of the stove for 10 to 15 minutes or until everything is hot.

Maple Glazed Asparagus Bundles

Very fancy looking with minimal work!  Great with anything on the Barbecue!

1 large bunch asparagus, about 24 to 32 spears, trimmed
1/2 red pepper, sliced into long thin strips
8 slices trimmed, thinly sliced black forest ham or prosciutto about 125 g
1/3 cup Diana Sauce, maple flavour
2 tsp coarsely cracked mixed peppercorns
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp each lemon juice and melted butter

1. Preheat the grill to medium high.  Blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for 3 minutes.  Rinse under cold running water until cool.  Drain well and pat dry.
2. Divide the asparagus into 8 bundles.  Add a few strips of the red pepper to each bundle.  Wrap the ham tightly around the base of the asparagus.  Secure each bundle firmly together with a toothpick.
3. Stir the sauce with the lemon zest, juice and butter.  Brush half of the sauce over the bundles.  Sprinkle the ham or prosciutto evenly with cracked pepper.
4. Grill the bundles for 2 minutes.  Turn and brush with remaining sauce.  Grill for 2 minutes, turning as needed, until the vegetables are marked ad the ham or prosciutto is crisp.  Remove the toothpicks before serving.