Cookina reusable cooking sheets: nonstick comes to the grill

Cookina reusable, nonstick cooking sheets make grilling, cooking and cleanup simple.

Some things are just made for grilling. Chops, steaks, slabs of eggplant. In my experience, though, fish is not. No matter how carefully I scrub the grate on my charcoal kettle or how much I oil it (and the fish itself), the delicate flesh of even comparatively sturdy fish such as salmon often sticks. So I was delighted to be introduced to Cookina reusable nonstick cooking and grilling sheets at the International Home + Housewares Show this spring. Continue reading “Cookina reusable cooking sheets: nonstick comes to the grill” →

Recipes for a delicious 4th of July

Looking for recipe ideas for your July 4th celebration? Here are a number of our favorites from the Blue Kitchen archives.

JULY 4th IS AT THE APEX OF GRILLING SEASON IN THE UNITED STATES. It’s practically written into our constitution that every household shall cook out of doors on this day. So I’m going to start this post with ideas for the meal’s centerpiece. Continue reading “Recipes for a delicious 4th of July” →

There’s a pizzeria in your yard: Grilled Pizza with Red Sauce, Sausage and Arugula

A new cookbook shows how easy it is to turn your grill into a pizza oven. Grilling gives this Pizza with Red Sauce, Sausage and Arugula a crunchy crust and a nice, slightly smoky flavor. Recipe below.

With our friends Melody and Jeremy, we are about to embark on a study of home pizza making, which has been hampered only by my dislike of turning the oven on when the weather is hot. So it was fortuitous that the other day in the mail we received a review copy of a new cookbook, Patio Pizzeria: Artisan Pizza & Flatbreads on the Grill. Continue reading “There’s a pizzeria in your yard: Grilled Pizza with Red Sauce, Sausage and Arugula” →

Guest chef: Chris Turner rocks Grilled Kalbi Korean Beef Short Ribs

Butcher and chef Chris Turner marinates thinly sliced beef short ribs in a mixture that includes garlic, onion, Asian pear, mirin, soy sauce and sesame oil to create authentic Kalbi Korean Barbecued Beef Short Ribs. Recipe below.

On a recent visit to our favorite butcher shop, The Butcher & Larder, we saw butcher Jimmy Shay working over thin slices of beef short ribs with the back edge of a cleaver. When we asked what he was up to, he said he was tenderizing them so that fellow butcher Chris Turner could turn them into the “most amazing, authentic kalbi, Korean barbecued beef.” We immediately asked Chris if he would share the recipe—and story behind it—here. Happily, he said yes:
Continue reading “Guest chef: Chris Turner rocks Grilled Kalbi Korean Beef Short Ribs” →

Flavor, smoke and a little fire: Grilled Sriracha Apricot Chicken

A basting sauce of Sriracha, apricot preserves, hot chili sauce, rice vinegar and fish sauce gives grilled chicken a tangy, slightly spicy kick. Recipe below.

LOOKING OVER MY MOST RECENT POSTS, I realized I’d done two vegetarian dishes, a peach-centric roundup of mostly vegetarian and/or fruititarian dishes and last week’s boozitarian cocktail. It was time to get meaty again. Continue reading “Flavor, smoke and a little fire: Grilled Sriracha Apricot Chicken” →

Six peachy (and apricot-y) recipes for summer

Peaches and apricots each play parts in six breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes that run from sweet to savory and first course through dessert. Recipes below.

Summer is under way, and stone fruits are filling produce shelves. Peaches, apricots and numerous varieties of plums beckon with their rich colors and heady aromas. Sure, they’re delicious to eat out of hand, their juices running down your chin. But they’re also great to cook with. Here are a half dozen recipes from the Blue Kitchen archives that do just that. Continue reading “Six peachy (and apricot-y) recipes for summer” →

Earth and smoke: Grilled Pork Tenderloin stuffed with Mushrooms and Pear

A butterflied pork tenderloin is stuffed with sautéed mushrooms, pear, shallots and sage, then grilled both indirectly and directly. Recipe below.

We’re experiencing the season’s first real bout of don’t-heat-up-the-kitchen weather here in Chicago. So this weekend, I fired up the grill. For my inaugural grilled meat meal of the year, I turned to a recipe inspired by one of our favorite vegetarians. You may remember the recent vegetarian pasta dish based on a side served by our friend Laura. Well, even though she doesn’t eat meat, she knows how to cook it.

Two elemental flavors come together beautifully in this recipe. With two cups of chopped mushrooms, the filling delivers a delicious, earthy taste. And a combination of indirect and direct grilling adds plenty of smokiness to the pork tenderloin. Continue reading “Earth and smoke: Grilled Pork Tenderloin stuffed with Mushrooms and Pear” →

Grilled Pork Chops and Italian Plums: A smoky, seasonal taste of late summer

Brining pork chops with kosher salt, brown sugar, tarragon, garlic and wine makes them tender and flavorful, especially when grilled with Italian plums. Recipe below.

IN MY WORKING CLASS FAMILY, MEAT WAS STRICTLY THE CHEAP CUTS. When I was growing up, beef was chuck turned into burgers or meatloaf or spaghetti sauce—or the occasional pot roast, slow cooked so the fat melted into it and the toughness cooked out of it (as much as it does). Chicken was chicken, all of it relatively inexpensive back then, cooked and consumed with the skin on. And pork was most often chops, well marbled with fat before that was even a term used in households. Which probably explains why I like meat so much. Continue reading “Grilled Pork Chops and Italian Plums: A smoky, seasonal taste of late summer” →

Flavor meets tender: Grilled Asian Flank Steak

Dry brining flank steak tenderizes it. Marinating it in ginger, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, scallions, hot sauce and more makes it a show-stopping main course. Recipe below.

I use the word flavorful a lot here, I know. Sometimes, I think I should reserve it for flank steak. Before going any further, let me share my own idea of what flavorful means. It’s not a one-note taste bud bomb, like a buffalo wing or a lemon wedge. To me, flavorful means engaging multiple corners of the palate at once, bringing layer after layer of tastes and combining them beautifully. If done right, flavorful means stopping conversation at the dinner table with the first bite. Which is what the flank steak pictured here did on Labor Day. Continue reading “Flavor meets tender: Grilled Asian Flank Steak” →

Baked + grilled = easy barbecued goodness with these Chinese Spareribs

Pork spareribs are baked with a simple spice rub, then quickly grilled, basted with a mix of hoisin sauce, sherry, soy sauce, chili paste, vinegar and peach preserves. Recipe below.

For carnivores, barbecued ribs are about as good as it gets. Meaty, fatty, smoky, chewy, salty and slathered in sauce that’s a mix of tangy, sweet and spicy cooked to a sticky, finger-coating lacquer. Unfortunately—for me, at least—they’re also a challenge to cook. Continue reading “Baked + grilled = easy barbecued goodness with these Chinese Spareribs” →