The weather is getting warmer and it’s time to dust off those outdoor barbeques. If you aren’t a diehard griller who has used the outdoor gas grill all winter, chances are you need to do a few safety checks before firing it up. A few simple steps and your on your way to some great meals this season. Not doing these safety checks can cause a very dangerous situation one of which I lived many years ago.

It was a beautiful spring day and my husband went out on the deck to light the grill for the first time that season. We were young and anxious to use our gas grill in our new backyard. As this was one of our first gas grills, we didn’t really know about the dangers that lurk in grills unused for long lengths of time. As it was, some spiders decided to make a home under the cover and in the gas pipes. When the barbeque ignited, it literally blew up. It was very lucky for us that the fire department was only a block away. Things worked out all right and my husband ever determined to not give up on his grill decided to rebuild the grill with new parts and a coat of fresh paint.

Before we move on to some great rub and marinade recipes, you should follow the links below read about grill safety tips:
Gas grill safety courtesy of the Propane Education & Research Council

http://usepropane.com/select/safegrilltips?categories=cooking

Charcoal grill safety from the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association

http://www.hpba.org/consumer/bbq/safety.shtml#charcoal

Grilled foods are so versatile. You can spice them up simply or go all out and put on the heat. Depending upon what you are grilling there is a perfect marinade or rub. Marinades are good for meats that aren’t very tender. Rubs are great for meats and fish that you cook quickly. There are many barbeque experts out there, especially in the Deep South where barbeque is the prevailing style of cooking year round. I am particularly fond of Bobby Flay and Steve Raichlen’s recipes as they use basic skills but powerful flavor combinations. Take a trip to the library and peruse their cookbooks and you will discover many new favorites. And, don’t forget those sides! Grilled meats and fish go great with summer’s produce bounty.

To get you started, here are a few of my favorite bbq recipes. Happy grilling!

Basic Barbeque Rub – good for any meat or fish

6 Tablespoons Paprika

2 Tablespoons Coarsely-ground Black Pepper

2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt (or Other Coarse Salt)

1-Tablespoon Chili Powder

2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar – (packed)

1 Pinch Cayenne Pepper – to taste

Mix the spices in a small bowl. Store the rub covered in a cool, dark pantry or freezer. Yields ¾ Cup

Poultry Rub

3/4 Cup Hungarian Paprika

1/4 Cup Freshly-ground Black Pepper

1/4 Cup Celery Salt

1/4 Cup Sugar

2 Tablespoons Onion Powder

2 Tablespoons Dry Mustard

2 Teaspoons Cayenne

2 Tablespoons Dried Grated Lemon Zest (from 3 to 4 Lemons)

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Store in a tightly sealed jar in a cool dark place. Yield about 1 Cup

Beef Teriyaki Marinade

1 1/2 Pounds Sirloin Steak

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

1/2 Cup Dry White Wine

1 Clove Garlic, minced

1 Teaspoon Ginger

1 Tablespoon Cornstarch

          2 Tablespoons Sugar (or Splenda)

Place beef steaks in a shallow dish.

Combine soy sauce, wine, garlic, and ginger. Pour over meat, cover and refrigerate. Marinate 2 hours.

Broil or barbeque beef 2 minutes on each side (or until desired doneness). Pour marinade into saucepan. Add cornstarch and cook over medium eat, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, stir in Equal. Serve sauce over meat. Chef’s Note: It is very important to boil the marinade after marinating meat to assure that there is no bacteria alive in the sauce.

Thai BBQ Sauce – great with shrimp and chicken

 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce

3 Tbsp. Lime Juice

2 Tsp. Honey

1 Tsp. Fresh Ginger, minced

3 Each Thai or Serrano Chiles, minced

2 Tbsp. Green Onion, minced

1 Tbsp. Cilantro, chopped

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

Add all ingredients to a blender or a food processor with a metal blade. Pulse the ingredients together to mix well. Marinate the food of your choice for at least an hour. Then throw that stuff on the grill!

After having used many brands of garlic presses.  This is the one I highly recommend as a kitchen investment purchase.  To find one just search the internet on “Rosle”.  You will find a variety of places to purchase one!

Chef Mark will record a brief 2 minute tip each day. This podcast is not nearly as produced at the ReMARKable Palate Podcast, nor his Culinary Media Network videos, just a quick note to help you improve the quality of your home cooking! Subscribe in iTunes via the link below, or directly to the feedburner feed. Enjoy!

Subscribe to Chef Mark’s Daily Cooking Tips Podcast in iTunes

Chef Jonathan’s Top 10 Ways to Save at the Grocery Store, ESPECIALLY in These Tough Times  

1. Shop Smart

Make a grocery list and stick to it. Don’t shop when you’re hungry and resist the temptation to buy foods you don’t really need. Use coupons, but only for items you were planning to buy anyway, not for new products you “just want to try.” Resist all those fancy displays, especially at the end of the aisle, and don’t buy on impulse. 

2. Don’t Buy Already Cut-up Produce

While they save you time in the kitchen, pre-cut fruits and vegetables carry a big price tag. You could be paying more than double versus whole produce. Plus many fruits and vegetables start losing nutrients, like Vitamin C, once they’re cut. 

3. Organic vs. Conventional Produce

Even though I’m generally an advocate of buying organic, consider buying conventional produce that uses very few pesticides or whose skins or outer leaves aren’t consumed. Produce with the lowest levels of pesticides include onion, avocado, sweet corn (frozen), pineapples, mango, asparagus, sweet peas (frozen), kiwi, citrus, and bananas. 

4. Frozen vs. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Although I believe in buying fresh and buying local, when fresh produce is out of season it makes more sense, both nutritionally and financially, to buy frozen. Frozen vegetables are picked at the peak of ripeness and flash frozen so they often have more nutritional value than the fresh variety which has traveled a great distance and may have sat on the grocer’s shelf for quite a while. I always buy frozen peas, and frozen berries can be a huge bargain compared to fresh. 

5. Buy Whole Chicken and Cut it Up Yourself

Compare the price per pound for whole chicken, then bone-in chicken parts, then boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  You’ll find you’re paying a lot of money for the labor. Whole chicken is often on sale, and it’s really not very hard to learn to cut it up. If there are some parts that your family doesn’t prefer to eat, just freeze them until you have enough to make homemade chicken stock. It will be far superior to anything you buy canned. 

6. Buy Frozen Fish

Most fish in our markets has been previously frozen, and is required to be labeled as such. Fishing boats are out at sea for long periods of time, and are actually floating fish processing plants. Frozen fish, when handled properly, is often of superior quality to “fresh.” Why would you pay for the grocer to defrost the fish for you? Frozen, uncooked shrimp defrosts quickly and is a versatile ingredient to be used in many recipes.  

7. Canned Beans are a Huge Bargain

Good quality canned beans, such as Eden Organic No Salt Added Beans, are inexpensive and they’re a great source of protein and fiber. Use them in soups, stews, and salads where they may not be the star ingredient, but can have a great supporting role. 

8. Buy in Bulk

Always check the unit price on pantry items to be sure you’re getting the best buy whether you’re shopping at the supermarket or at warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club. If the largest size item saves you money, go for it. Just make sure you’ve got enough storage space, and watch those “best before” dates on the label. If you can’t use the entire amount yourself, share with a friend. 

9. Store Brands vs. National Brands

The usual advice is to buy the store brand because it’s cheaper. That’s not always the case, so compare prices carefully. If you’ve never tried the store brand of a particular item, buy the smallest quantity you can to be sure you like it. Many store brands are so good they’re indistinguishable from national brands. Stop and Shop has introduced an upscale line of products that’s exceptionally good. 

10. Learn to Cook -  Eat at Home!

Sure rotisserie chicken is convenient, but frozen entrees and prepared supermarket foods aren’t always nutritionally sound (just think about the fat and sodium content). Take-out food can also take a big bite out of your food budget. Don’t know how to cook? Hire a Personal Chef who conducts customized in-home cooking lessons. You’ll learn a repetoire of easy, delicious menus –  plus enjoy great dining at home.

Chef Jonathan Taube

Rocky Rill Foods – A Personal Chef Service

Phone: 845-216-4535   Email: rockyrill@aol.com

So my business partner sure does know me well. he was extremely disappointed when he found out I had never had Kobe beef, so for Christmas he gave me 4 Kobe Filets.

Curious what is a good way to cook them. I’ve actually never cooked a Filet before if you can believe that.

After swallowing my envy at CC’s bounty, I typed out a response, and figured that it would make a good article for our dear readers.

Firstly, I should note that while there is no official governmental regulation governing naming of Kobe Style beef (as there is for Champagne, Parmigiano Reggiano, and other recognized heritage foods), it’s still important to discuss naming. Kobe is an area of Japan, in the Kansai region in the Western part of the main island of Honshu. Kobe is a port city, and is known worldwide for its beef. What we know as Kobe Beef usually refers to the style raising of the Wagyu breed of cattle. Kobe is legendary for the pampering given to the cows, from drinking beer or sake, to frequent massaging of the cows during their weeks of “finishing”, to assure for ample marbling of fat amidst the muscle. Much of what people know about this comes from run-away marketing. While these cows are well fed, the image of Geisha girls in full dress gently massaging cows as they sip warmed sake on a tatami mat is just not the reality.

Here in the US, much of what is marketed as Kobe beef really should be called Kobe-style or American Kobe or American Wagyu. Most American producers have cross bred the Wagyu with Angus or other breeds that can do better in the North American climate, so look for labeling that is open and clear about the provenance. Better to support a producer who is clear about what they are selling than to buy from a seller of questionable ethics trying to pass off their meat as raised in Japan.

One such honest seller is Oliver Ranch. We’ll have both audio podcasts and a video podcast soon with Carrie Oliver from Oliver Ranch in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can check out the tasting notes for their Wet-Aged Wagyu-Angus Cross Filet Mignon on their website. Note that they’re not selling it simply as “Kobe Beef”.

An any case, the main characteristic both American Wagyu producers and producers in Kobe are going for is the extreme marbling of fat. In Japan, the beef is graded on a scale of 1-12 to signify the degree and quality of intramuscular marbling. Those on the higher end of the scale look so pale pink as to be nearly white, there is so much tasty fat interspersed among the flesh.

It’s most likely that the Kobe style steaks CC has, or that you and I would find readily available, are on the 4-7 end of the Japanese scale, which would be just slightly better than “Prime”. Beef graded higher than that is likely to be too fatty for most Americans to enjoy in large quantities (and in Japan, these super high end cuts are used in small quantities for special dishes).

One of the ways that alot of restaurants serve Kobe Style beef lately is to slice it thin and sizzle it up on hot river stones. I’m betting that most of you don’t have river rocks laying around suitable for grilling on, but you can use the same idea and grill it.

The thing about Kobe Style beef is that in order to be enjoyed, you have to “activate it”. Just serving it rare, you won’t get the fat to start rendering, and it will just seem like a fatty cut of meat. You won’t get the tenderness that is so special about a Kobe. At the same time, you don’t want to simply melt the fat, or you will end up with a very expensive piece of normal steak, and lots of fat in the pan. The fat should remain sort of solid. Think fried ice cream or Baked Alaska. The outside should be hot and the inside just on the verge of melting, but not melted.

For a Filet Mignon cut, I would let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before cooking. You never want to have it cold, as this will exacerbate the fat not activating.

When you’re ready to grill, preheat your oven to 350 F and get a grill pan nice and hot on the stovetop without any oil in it. You don’t want it to smoke up the place before you start cooking, and it should take a few minutes at high heat to get going. Lightly sprinkle your steaks with kosher or sea salt. I also like to crack peppercorns with the back of a pan, and also sometimes some lightly ground coriander seeds. (Crush the coriander seeds, and roll around in a cloth towel for a bit to remove the husks)

Press the steaks into the pepper and coriander mixture, and then very lightly drizzle with olive oil. The best way to get any steaks brown is to also use some butter, so I put a pat of butter in the pan just 1 second before the steak. Any sooner and the hot pan will send the butter burning immediately. I drop the butter in and plop the steak right on top.

Since your pan is hot, you’ll immediately get some caramelization going, and you’ll start that amazing Kobe Fat softening. Don’t disturb it until you’ve got a nice brown crust on the bottom, 2-3 minutes, then turn over. Once they’re seared and brown on all sides, place in the preheated oven until you’ve reached desired doneness. For Kobe style, I’d say medium rare. Not bloody, since again, you’ll want that fat activated, and not medium, because that will overcook it and you’ll miss the whole point of this amazingly fatty meat.

Remove from the oven and let it rest under foil for a few minutes to let the juices redistribute, and the carryover cooking time to keep working that sweet kobe fat. Serve and enjoy!

(By the way, CC, I’m so jealous of you right now…)

-Chef Mark

For frequent visitors of farmer’s markets or CSA members, the availability of wonderful vegetables is continuous but individuals may find themselves ill-equipped with recipes for the “unknown.” Even if it’s not in the “unknown” category, it may be an ingredient that is not used frequently in one’s weekly diet. So instead of adding these vegetables to a mystery stew where it would briefly surface, why not try to highlight the flavor of the vegetable or herb by cooking it on its own or with very few condiments. Don’t feel like you have to create an elaborate concoction. Let the fresh goodness of the vegetable come out with few ingredients and use the cooking method to heighten the flavor.

Now that summer is winding down, bringing in the fall produce, here is just a list of common items that you might find at your local farm stand or CSA share. This selection seems to be a rarity on most tables because of its odd appearance, variety, or unique taste; but it’s very much part of the season’s harvest of the northeastern region. The idea is to become more familiar with the flavor and texture of these vegetables, then apply it to cooking techniques and recipes that you are familiar. You’ll find that an elaborate recipe is not a necessity.

 To view this article  http://www.canvasli.com/food/cooking-in-the-moment.htm

 Chef Luella Semmes is the feature writer for Canvas Long Island.

I can think of 2 happy memories that hooked me to use herbs. The first was when my husband and I started dating and he showed up at my doorstep with a bunch of fragrant basil instead of flowers. What a great idea…my heart was instantly taken! The second was when I caught an awful stomach bug and couldn’t keep food down. At the end of the second day I was so desperate that I took the advice of a co-worker to mix equal parts of cardamom, fennel, and mint. It tasted awful but it did the trick in just a couple hours. There are so many useful properties of herbs that go beyond potpourri, aromatherapy or garnish. For cooking, herbs can be used as a tenderizer, coloring, flavoring, and to improve health. It’s a smart substitute for individuals that need to watch sodium, sugar, fat, and cholesterol intake. For home use, an elaborate flower garden can get a bit expensive so herbs can be a wonderful replacement or natural accent. Guests will appreciate the natural look and aromas as they walk up to your front door….and what better way than to just step outside your door and pick your own herbs for dinner!

When it comes to cooking, I use the terminology of herbs and spices interchangeably since both come from aromatic plants. The difference is the botanical composition and culinary use. Spices come from the aromatic part of a woody plant, retain its strong fragrance, and are low in moisture. The fact that it comes from a tough part of a plant makes it more difficult to digest. Spices should be used with moderation because of the strong aromatic and digestive properties. Some examples include ginger, cinnamon, bay leaf, nutmeg, mace, cloves, anise, and juniper. Spices are ideal for recipes that require longer cooking time, marinating, or tenderizing.

Fresh herbs come from the aromatic leaves of a plant and the stems that never develop into tough bark. As a result, it is much more delicate and sensitive to heat. High heat or long exposure to it will cause the herb to turn black and lose its flavor so herbs should be added to a dish at the last minute or toward the end of cooking. Examples of herbs include basil, cilantro, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and dill. This applies to fresh herbs. Herbs can also be dried which means that it has a longer shelf-life than fresh ones. Since it is dry, longer cooking time brings out the flavor of dried herbs. It can also be used for dry rubs or marinades.

So now that Herbs and Spices 101 is covered, what recipes would make sense for each one? The answer can be very subjective and challenging. For example, I cannot stand anything floral or even a pinch of sage in ANY of my food. It smells great as a room freshener but I really don’t like to taste anything floral. Also, some people love handfuls of herbs in their dishes where others are fine with just a pinch. Another thing to consider is just like wine pairing, certain herbs and spices fit well with specific ingredients. Oregano and tomato sauce, dill and fish, chile powder and chile con carne. Though these can be typical pairings consider chile powder as a great marinade for fish and scallops while adding a great color to the dish. Sprinkle it over eggs or potatoes. Try to experiment, think outside the realm of traditional dishes and be creative when it comes to accenting a dish.

Below are some herb or spice blends that lend a new level of flavor for various dishes. You can incorporate multiple herbs to one dish depending on what you want to accomplish.

Herb Citrus Blend: reduces the need for strong salt and fat flavors. Good for vegetables, fruit salads, fish, lentil, and grain dishes.

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp ground dried rosemary

1 tspn ground dried sage

1 ½ tsp ground dried orange zest

1 ½ tsp ground dried lemon zest

1 tsp ground fennel seeds

All-Purpose salt-free herb seasoning: substitute for salt

2 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried marjoram

1 tbsp dried lemon verbena

1 tbsp celery seeds

1 tbsp dried minced garlic

1 tsp paprika

Herb blend for soups:

½ cup dried parsley

¼ cup dried lemon thyme

2 tbsp dried marjoram 1 tbsp dried rosemary

1 tbsp dried tarragon

1 tbsp dried lemon verbena

Thai Herb Blend

½ cup dried thai basil

½ cup dried lemon basil

¼ dried peppermint

¼ cup dried cilantro

¼ cup dried chives

2 tbsp dried lemon zest

2 tbsp dried minced lemongrass

2 tsp five spice powder

2 tsp crushed dried mild chile peppers

Chef Luella Semmes