Just in Time for the Fourth: Kira's Not So Secret Dry Rub

If you know anything about barbecue, specifically Southern barbecue, you know it's a method of cooking steeped in tradition, ritual and secrecy.  Any barbecuer below the Mason-Dixon line preaches "low and slow" and will recite sonnets about smoke rings and brisket bark.  But there is one principle that is absolutely paramount, above anything else: You do not, under threat of death, share your recipes.  It doesn't matter if The King himself is offering his blue suede shoes.  The recipe dies with you.

Well, I'm a Yankee and I like sharing.    

Years ago, I started watching southern barbecue competitions, and I needed some.  It was a mouth-watering, belly-rumbling need.  But I'm up north, and I don't like baseball-sized misquitos and choking humidity.  So f the Yankee can't go to the food, I was going to bring the food to the Yankee. 

My dad was also experiementing with smoking and different types of wood chips and charcoals at the time, so I started thinking about seasonings.  As you know, I have a severe aversion to barbecue sauce (unless it is my own), so I had to think dry, as in dry rub. It's strange to admit, but I committed to this Memphis-style rub because I was (and still am) an...enuthsiastic fan of a certain Memphis-born musician who may or may not have brought sexy back.  This recipe is fantastic, and I have no idea where I got it.  I've been using it for at least four years with nothing less than fabulous results. 

So when you're grilling this 4th of July, whip up this rub and add a little sexy to your next barbecue!


*Who wants to look at a bowl of spices?  Here is a Drunk Chicken with Kira's Not So Secret Dry Rub.  Chicken was washed, dried, rubbed with 2 servings of rub.  It sat for about 15 minutes.  Then placed on a rack with a 2/3 full can of beer.  It was grilled over high heat to lock in flavors and add color, then pushed back to over indirect heat.  And turned once for even color.  Expect some of the sugar in the rub to burn.  Cooked for about 1 hr 35 minutes or until 180 degrees in the breast.  Best.  Chicken.  Ever. 


Kira’s Not So Secret Dry Rub
*Makes 1 slab of Baby Back Ribs



6 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder*

¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper*

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix spices together in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add to ribs, chicken or meat of your choice, and let sit until meat begins to sweat, at least 20 minutes. Sear meat over direct heat for color, then move to indirect heat.

*With the Chili and Cayenne spices, start with a teaspoon or two and add as needed. The spice does fade a bit during the cooking process, but you don't want anything to be overpowering.

Chef's Note: I make four batches of this rub and store it in an airtight container.

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

I like a variety of different foods--fried, Italian, French, comfort--but there is nothing more delicious than a wonderfully messy plate of tacos.  I usually make my tacos with ground turkey and leave those unhealthy sauce packets at the store.  For my father's 55th birthday dinner, however, I changed it up a bit and went to the seafood counter for Tilapia, one of his favorites. 

The fish taco is something that has intrigued me since I heard about them, and it has taken more than a few recipes to find a good, simple, healthy one that doesn't require deep frying. 

This Ellie Krieger recipe, with a few Saturday Chef tweaks, is a surprisingly flavorful and filling meal that is of course a bit of a mess, but that only makes it taste better.  The cabbage adds a needed heartiness while the corn supplies a pop of sweetness.  The best part about it is that it can be ready in snap, making perfection for a summer weekday meal or even a birthday celebration for a guy who loves to eat his presents.




Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream
Adapted from Ellie Krieger's recipe at foodtv.com

Ingredients


Fish:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound tilapia filets

Chopped parsley

Chipotle cream:

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 to 2 teaspoons of adobo sauce

Tacos:

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage

½ cup sweet corn (thawed if frozen)

Directions

Line a strainer with a paper towel. Place strainer over a bowl and add yogurt. Let sit for 20 minutes to drain excess moisture and thicken.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pour over fish and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place a skillet over medium heat and add a few turns of olive oil. Remove fish from marinate and add to skillet, cooking about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Fish may fall apart a bit which is fine. Once all fish is done, flake with a fork and season with chopped parsley for color and season to taste if needed. I add a bit of seasoning salt and a pinch of cayenne to my fish and reheat in the skillet for 1 minute.

In a small bowl combine the thickened yogurt, mayonnaise, and adobo. You may add some chopped chipotle peppers if you like extra spice.

Heat tortillas according to package directions.

Build tacos as you wish and top with 1 tablespoon of chipotle cream.

A Saturday Chef Original: Cooking School Chicken (Braised Chicken with Leeks and Potatoes)

I don’t like change. I never have. I like old towels, worn-in jeans, misshapen sweaters and old-fashioned comfort foods. I adjust, of course, but slowly, and that falls into my culinary tastes. Even when it’s 90 degrees with sweltering humidity, I still crave the delicious richness of a brasied meat and potatoes. But I started this blog as a way to broaden my tastes, change my eating habits and to learn.


There are infinite things to learn about cooking: techniques, knife skills, information on thousands of ingredients, how to salvage recipes gone wrong. Every recipe teaches me something, as does every mistake. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that cooking is a labor of love, a gift to the senses.


Chefs on reality shows and the super-chefs of the Food Network nearly bludgeon viewers with their big idea of Cooking With Love, the use artful and creative preparation of food as a way to express affection to family and loved ones. It is a beautiful sentiment, and realistically, a fantastic and wholesomely marketable way to promote celebrity chefs and their shows, and sell Food Network cookware.


But it’s also true.


The act of cooking serves a paramount purpose: nourishing the people close to you. It is a simple task that can be incredibly profound, and it’s never more apparent than when you discover or create a recipe that inspires much more than just yummy noises. A simple meal can be the bedrock of tradition and nurture celebration. My understanding of the Cooking With Love concept has once again been reinforced by creating. It is everything I love: rustic braised chicken suspended in a rich sauce studded with potatoes. It is warming and hearty, and can be made in about just an hour.


I have dubbed this dish Cooking School Chicken as I get to practice a lot of techniques—braising, deglazing, chopping—and because it has taught me the biggest cooking lesson there is and one that will never change.


 
Ingredients


1 pound baby red potatoes, cut in bite-size pieces

6 to 8 chicken thighs (with bone and skin)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Flour for dredging

Olive oil

1 ½ to 2 medium leeks, washed and finely chopped

1 cup dry white wine

2 to 3 carrots, peeled, cut in edible pieces

4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or juice of ½ lemon)

2 tablespoons Half & Half

Salt, Pepper

Parsley Flakes (optional)

Cut potatoes into even bite-size pieces, halves or quarters for the larger spuds. Rinse. Pour potatoes into a medium pot, cover with water and place over medium-high heat to boil while you chop vegetables and prep chicken. Boil potatoes until they are soft but still a bit firm, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain. Season conservatively with salt, pepper and a pat of butter.

Wash and finely chop leeks. Set aside.

Peel and rinse carrots. Quarter carrots lengthwise, then cut into roughly 2-inch strips (Note: You can use baby carrots to decrease prep time. I have used both. I find that larger carrots impart more flavor. And I really like peeling them).

Rinse and pat chicken dry. Season with salt, pepper and dried thyme on both sides. Dredge in flour seasoned with same spices. Be sure to tap chicken gently to remove any excess flour.

Place the biggest skillet you have (16” or bigger) over moderately high heat and add enough olive oil to coat bottom of the pan. When oil is hot, place chicken skin-side down and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. You may need to work in batches as not to crowd the pan. Transfer chicken to plate.

Drain off oil, chicken juices and darkened flour and reserve in measuring cup. Carefully wipe out any burnt bits from bottom of pan.

Place skillet over medium heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of reserved oil, then leeks. Sweat until leeks are soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper. Deglaze with white wine. Cook until liquid begins to bubble at the sides. Add carrots and 1 teaspoon of thyme.

Add 2 cups of chicken broth and stir to combine, allow to cook until liquid is boiling and has reduced a bit. Add chicken, skin-side up, and juices from plate. Cover and simmer chicken on low until meat can be easily removed from the bone with a fork and carrots are done, about 30 to 40 minutes. Shake the pan peridocially while simmer.

When chicken is done, transfer to plate. The leftover liquid should now be thicker and even formed a brown crust in some spots (don’t panic, it’s flavor!). Increase heat to medium. Add remaining chicken broth and stir. Let sauce thicken and reduce for about 10 minutes. Season with pepper and thyme if needed. Add potatoes and two palmfuls of parsley flaskes for color.

When sauce has thickened to desired consistency, add lemon juice to brighten and Half & Half to thicken. Check and adjust seasoning if needed*. Add chicken back to skillet and leave on heat for a few minutes to marry flavors.

Serve immediately. This can be made a day ahead of time.

Recipe Notes

*Lemon juice will bring out the flavor of salt, so use it conservatively when seasoning sauce and vegetables.

*Also, I almost always use Half & Half in place of heavy cream unless I'm baking. It’s readibly available, and a bit healthier. Feel free to use cream if you wish.

*Recipe originally posted on http://www.foodieslikeusblog.com/ as a guest blog by yours truly.

Mom's Chicken with Coffee Barbecue Sauce (Grill Not Required!)

There are a lot of things people will do for family, take a bullet, flip a car, walk through fire.  My personal, heroic sacrifice was to make barbecued chicken for my mom's Mother's Day present.  Barbecued chicken on a rainy, cold Saturday in May. 

Honestly, I'd rather walk through fire. 

Because I don't like barbecue sauce.  It's messy and cloying and the smell of it makes me sick.  However, when I started this blog, I did it with the intention to broaden my culinary horizons and even prepare things I loathe.  One of my mother's favorite stories to tell is how she revived Christmas dinner in the 80s with a pan of barbecued chicken.  So instead of taking her out to breakfast, I started researching barbecue sauces.


I found dozens of recipes with at least 15 ingredients...molasses, brown sugar, weird peppers I have no hope of finding.  Then I stumbled upon this recipe by Michael Chiarello.  It had rave reviews, and it was distubingly simple.  I didn't even have to buy anything.  So I started cooking, making my dad taste it.  He said it was too sweet and not tangy enough.  And I wanted to add all of those funky ingredients.  But I didn't.  I trusted the recipe, the reviewers and Mr. Chiarello.  This sauce is made to be baked.  It marries the flavors and it becomes something sweet and bright and amazing.  I ate two pieces...and I actually dipped my chicken in it.  I'm a believer in the BBQ!  But only this one.


After the dinner was done, after my mom ohhed and awwed and yummed, she kissed me on the cheek and declared that this recipe was hers. 



Coffee Barbecue Sauce
Adapted from Michael Chiarello



Sauce

4 tablespoons mashed and minced garlic, can use crushed garlic

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 cups ketchup

1 1/3 to 2 cups honey

½ to ¾ cup of stronger coffee or 2 demitasse cups espresso

Mash garlic with the side of a knife and then mince finely to release oils or use crushed, jarred garlic to save prep time and weeks of garlic hands.

Add olive oil to a preheated saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until it gets light brown, about 1 minute. Add cider vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey and coffee and whisk to combine. I recommend adding 1 1/3 cup of honey as mixture will be very sweet. The coffee will help curb the sweetness. You can adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, but it honestly doesn’t need it. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 to 30 minutes, stirring and tasting ocassionally.



Chicken

2 lbs of chicken thighs or your favorite cut

Salt

Black Pepper

Cumin

Garlic Powder

Cayenne

Paprika

Preheat oven to 375.

Season chicken with the spices on both sides. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to barely cover bottom of pan. When oil is hot, add chicken skin-side down. Brown thighs thoroughly on both sides, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Place chicken on foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken measures 150 degrees. Pour 2 cups of sauce into a bowl and submerge chicken to coat. Place chicken back onto sheet and cook for 20 more minutes, basting with sauce every 10 minutes. Thighs internal temperature sure measure about 165 to 170 degrees when done.

Let chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Use the remaining sauce as for dipping or…drinking. It’s that good.  Freeze the remaining sauce.

Coconut Pavlova with Chocolate Chantilly Cream and Strawberry Coulis

*This recipe was revised on November 3rd*

I wrote a novel two years ago and I need to re-start the difficult process of selling it.  Yesterday, I went to a seminar on query letters. I walked in feeling extremely shy and nervous and like a misfit (because I was the youngest person in the room, probably by decades) and walked out feeling an incongruous combination of inspired and terrified. The woman hosting the seminar published a book eight years ago. While it wasn't a best-selling jaggernaut like Twilight or Eat Pray Love, she had what we all wanted: a published novel. But the speaker was breathless with angst over her currently stalled new manuscript and discouragingly candid about how hard the publishing world is.


Afterwards, I desperately needed security in my passions. I found it in both the kitchen—ironically with fire and knives—and in beautifully intriguing words like "pavlova" and "chantilly" and "coulis." I'm still nowhere closer to the perfect query letter or literally agent, but I did create something: the best dessert I've EVER had. It is light yet decadent. It is chocolatey and sweet and tangy. And it's reassuring that if I can make this tiny dream tangible, then maybe I can take on the bigger ones.





Meringues

Adapted from recipe at epicurious.com


Toasted Coconut, recipe as follows
6 egg whites (about 1 cup of egg whites)
1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup boiling water
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment.
Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites, cornstarch, vinegar, vanilla and salt until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup boiling water, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until whites are stiff and glossy. Pipe or spoon meringue onto baking sheets in circular shapes about 4 to 5 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.  (NOTE: If you have a piping bag or piping tips, it will be easier to make the meringues uniform, but a spatula works too).
Bake meringue for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 200°F and bake until dry and crisp outside and just cooked through inside, about 1 hour, although it may take a little longer. My meringues were a dusky light brown on the outside and squishy like marshmallows in the middle.  Turn off oven. Let meringue stand in oven 1 hour and leave in oven until completely cool and ready to serve.
Store between layers of parchment in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
Toasted Coconut
1 ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spread coconut on a baking sheet. Toast until a light golden brown, stirring every few minutes to prevent burning, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Do not leave the kitchen.  It will burn very quickly.  Cool.
This can be made the day before.  Store in an air-tight container.
Chocolate Chantilly Cream
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
Chill metal mixer bowl in freezer for about 5 minutes.  Sift sugar and cocoa together in bowl or onto parchment paper.  Whisk heavy cream at high speed, gradually adding cocoa mixture while beating.  You may need to scrape the bowl a few minutes to full incorporate cocoa and sugar.  Whipped cream should be the consistency of shaving cream.  (NOTE: Mixture should not be overly sweet.)  Refrigerate any leftovers.
Red Berry Coulis
16 ounces fresh or frozen strawberries (if fresh, hulled and cut in half)
6 oz fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup sugar plus more if needed
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
*If using frozen berries, make sure they are thawed.
Add all ingredients into a saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until it boils slightly at the sides.  It only takes a few minutes.  Taste and add more sugar if needed.  Transfer to blender and blend until smooth.
This can be made the day before.  Refrigerate until ready to use and up to a week.
Chef’s Note:  It won’t last a week.  It makes fantastic margaritas, toppings for pancakes or base for smoothies.
Assembly
Remove a meringue from cooking sheet.  Place onto saucer.  Spread a generous dollop of Chocolate Chantilly Cream on top.  Drizzle with Coulis.  Sprinkle on toasted coconut.  Repeat process.  Garnish with chopped fresh strawberries, if you have them.  Enjoy!

Simple Wonders: Homemade Challah Bread

In the world of awesome electronics—have you seen the iPad?!—and 24-hour supermarkets, simple wonders have been lost to the ever-expanding reach of modernity and convenience. And I think that is a little sad. Yes, Amazon's Kindle is cool and playing with the iPad might make you feel like the Jean Luc Picard, but can it replace the feeling of curling up with a real book or magazine on a rainy day, feeling the grain of the pages with your fingers? For this writer, it doesn't. 


I don’t consider myself a baker. My cakes are usually messy, yet tasty disasters. And I have an allergy to too much heavy cream.  To my own credit, I have made pretty good soft pretzels, bagels and cinnamon rolls. So I’m not a complete novice and I'm baking more than ever. Whenever I use yeast, I am always quietly awed and exubertantly giddy when the dough rises. It is a little majesty, like the sparkle of fresh snow, that is worth the work and the patience baking requires. It seems impossible that a little packet of dry powder are actually microorganisms doing incredible things to flour and eggs and water.  Tell me that's not cooler than sea monkeys?!

Challah is one of those fantastic chance buys that changed my expectations of bread. I was looking for brioche—a fancy bread that the celebrity chefs covet for french toasts and bread puddings. My local grocery store didn’t have brioche, but they had challah. I was taken by the glossy finish, festive braid and the slightly sweet taste. I buy it almost exclusively now.

So it was only a matter of time before I started looking at recipes. I spent a day blending, kneading and braiding, and I fell in love with breadmaking in the process. There is something cathartic about working the dough and seeing it take shape. It’s also great cardio. I may have jumped for joy when the loaves came out of the oven and were actually bread-like, hearty but fluffy and totally Challah-esque.

If you’re at home on a rainy day and happen to have a bucket of flour and a packet of dry yeast, let those little buggers free and behold a little culinary magic.



Challah I

By Joan Calloway
Makes 2 Large Loaves

2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup honey

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 tablespoon salt

8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions
In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. I used a meat thermometer to test the temperature of the water. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt in a strong mixer with a large bowl. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition. By the eighth cup, the mixer—my Kitchen-Aid—could barely incorporate the last cup of flour. Remove it from the bowl and place on immaculate, floured countertop and knead to incorporate.

Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed, about 5 to 8 minutes. If the dough tears or seems dry, dribble a bit of warm water over it with your fingers and continue to knead. Cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.

Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half (my halves were about 1 lbs, 12 oz. Yes, I measured). Knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle.

Either leave as braid or form into a round braided loaf by bringing ends together, curving braid into a circle, pinch ends together. Grease two baking trays with shortening and place finished braid or round on each. Cover with towel and let rise about one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40 minutes. (NOTE: I convect baked bread, and my loaves were done in 25 minutes). Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.

Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

Chef’s Note: This bread has no preservatives and will spoil faster than regular bread. It also produces two gigantic loaves. I suggest halving the recipe or giving the extra loaf to co-workers or your boss. You might get those days off you wanted.

 
Challah in Pictures:


Before its first rise.


Braiding is easy.

 
Proofed and polished.

 
Ready for its close-up.

Lemon-Scented Cake with Blueberry Compote

I have started many an entry professing my love for the ingredient of the week. This post is the antithesis of such musings. I hate blueberries. I love the color, and I don't even mind the flavor. I just hate the texture. It's squishy and gross and they literally make me gag.

I was at the store on Saturday, shopping with inspired glee as I normally do, and I found pints of organic blueberries ON SALE. Before I could chastize myself for not making a list and sticking to it, they were in my cart. I thought I'd make blueberry muffins or something. My mother loves blueberries and my dad will eat anything.

Then I was struck with the idea to make a cake or quickbread and a fruit compote to go with it. Spring is arriving faster than it ever has, and it seemed like a lighter, spring-y dessert. So I made it. The recipe is pretty much as is, except I nixed the lemon zest in both dishes.

I thought about halving the recipe, only making one cake, but trust me, you'll need that second cake. I promise you. And surprisingly, I loved the compote, but I still hate blueberries.




Lemon-Scented Cake

by Ina Garten


Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided

4 extra-large eggs

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup lemon juice

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired.

Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cake cool.



Blueberry Compote
Lillian Chou

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar
2 cups blueberries (10 oz)

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Boil water and sugar in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in blueberries and simmer, stirring occasionally, until blueberries begin to burst, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Serve warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: Compote will be pretty thin, but still insanely flavorful!