The Latest Meal was...
A+ (or 5 out of 5)
Superhero Sesame-Ginger Tuna.
After taking a break last weekend (Rachel was out of town) I finally redeemed myself with Tuna. Once again the recipe has the cooktime for tuna steaks set way too long but this time I ignored it. I went 1 minute on each side on a medium grill and they turned out excellent!
A (or 4 out of 5)
The Ginger-Lime Coleslaw Revolution.
I paired the asian marinaded tuna with this asian styled coleslaw (no mayo). I used Korean chili sauce for the hot sauce in the recipe and it turned out really great and complemented the tuna nicely. I grilled some more corn ears (I had some more lime butter left over that I wanted to use) and Rachel made some nice mustard-mayo potato salad. So we were well-covered for sides.
A (or 4 out of 5)
Lula's Lucious Little Banana Pudding Pie.
This banana pudding uses nilla wafers but is unlike the traditional banana pudding. It turned out rich and yummy but I learned some very valuable lessons. 1-Making homeade pudding (not instant) is a bit of a pain. 2-Coddling egg yolks before putting into a hot liquid is a necessity and must be done systematically (or the eggs will cook seperately inside the liquid). 3-If you get any yolk at all, no matter how little in your egg whites, you can beat them all day long but they will never, ever form peaks. You must have pristine egg whites. 4-If you have trouble with your eggs, don't freak out and throw them on the floor.
F (or 1 out of 5)
Grilled Tuna with Jamarama Pineapple Relish.
The book failed me bigtime. The recipe for this great dish said to cook the tuna for 4 minutes on a medium grill. That is way too long! The tuna turned grey throughout. No pink flaky bits (not to mention no red interior). That is wrong. The relish was good on this and was a suprising complement to the tuna. Rachel was a sport and said she liked it but I know that this was completely overcooked. And tuna steaks are expensive!
F (or 1 out of 5)
Burning Spears.
I got a new book, Patio Daddy-O At The Grill. I've decided to do more mix and match for side dishes and continue with the project since I've cooked almost all of the dishes in Patio Daddy-O. I wanted to do Asparagus Spears for Rachel since she didn't love the cowboy steak (and I'm not fond of asparagus) but this was odd. The spears were burnt. And they didn't taste too bad. At first I thought this was another problem with the book's cook times but after re-reading the description I'm convinced that they intended this. Although it's pretty good for someone like me who doesn't like asparagus, it really isn't acceptable.
B (or 3 out of 5)
Summer Camp Shake.
This was just a chocolate shake with a heath bar in it. I'm not really that crazy about candy bar crumble shakes. Most of the crumbles wind up in the bottom. This really needed malt and something to push the chocolate flavor over the top.
X (or X out of 5)
Mondo Bongo BBQ Chicken.
Can't remember.
B (or 3 out of 5)
Spo-Dee-O-Dee Chips again.
This time I was working on my new ranch-mixed bbq sauce (Kool Kat BBQ sauce) and it came out terrific! So I paired it with these homemade potato chips and they tasted really good. Served as hors-de-ouvres they're a lifesaver when you're really hungry.
A (or 4 out of 5)
Grilled Pound Cake with Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce.
This was really great. I made the pound cake ahead of time and then gave it a sear on the grill. The caramel sauce was fine but next time I might want to try making it with caramelized brown sugar instead of the storebought caramel squares. Maybe whipped cream would send it over the top. Hmmm.
A+ (or 5 out of 5)
Cracklin' Sugar-Charred Cowboy Steak.
This was an amazing top sirloin with a rub that had a lot sugar. This made a surprising sweet crust on the delicious steak. I was in heaven but I don't think it appealed to Rachel's tastes. I was blown away though. Next time I'll make one for me and a different rub for her.
A (or 4 out of 5)
Dragonbreath Corn on the Cob.
An odd butter mixed with grated lime rind, a modecum of cayenne and some fresh lime juice makes a great spread that cooks onto the corn. With the steak, some crusty bread and a nice red wine, it was wonderful.
A+ (or 5 out of 5)
Dr. Bosker's Boogie-Woogie Brown-Sugard Barbecued Bananas.
To die for! Grilled bananas with brown sugar and I poured some Tuaca in the split. I had some Mounds Sundae scoops left over from last weekend so I added a scoops and covered it all with some of the warmed homemade chocolate sauce. This entire meal is engrained in the pleasure center of my brain.
B (or 3 out of 5)
Love That Kabob.
It was lamb kabobs with a bed of Basmati rice and a watermelon wedge. The veggies (also on skewers) were mushrooms, onions and eggplant. Rachel really loved the grilled lamb. I thought the lamb was uneven with some pieces wonderfully tender and others a bit tough or overcooked.
A (or 4 out of 5)
Mounds Sundae.
This dessert was wonderful. Scoops of ice cream were infused with toasted coconut and drizzled with a great bittersweet chocolate sauce. The sauce called for almond extract and I was out so I substituted Amaretto and it was terrific.
B (or 3 out of 5)
She-Devil Dogs.
This is actually just italian sausage in baked beans (classed up a bit). The recipe actually calls for canned beans and I don't believe in that kind of lameness. Why don't I buy some McDonald's burgers, put them on my own buns and prentend they're my homemade burgers? So I put on some great northerns in my dutch oven. Of course that pretty much takes all day (at least 6-8 hours). I was also trying to smoke a brisket but some friends dropped in and nothing was ready yet. I ended up pulling the brisket early and it was too tough. Another failure! Eventually the beans were done and they were acceptable (but not exceptional). One thing I did get out of this recipe is that you can use tomato juice in the sauce (instead of tomato paste or some other condiment) and it works pretty well. I might use that again in the future.
A+ (or 5 out of 5)
Pink's Grill Chili.
This was a homerun out of the ballpark. The best chili I've ever made and the best chili I've ever tasted. It's not any wonder since it calls for a grilled steak to be sliced finely and added to the sauce. I also found some whole Ancho peppers, boiled them and scraped out the pulp to make a paste for use in the sauce. (In the future I plan to filter through a sieve instead of scraping). This made some complex and wonderful flavors. I'll be making this again for Jeff's chili cookoff. Marvelous!
C (or 2 out of 5)
Back Shack Blueberry Corn Bread.
I make a kick-butt sweet Boston Market-style cornbread and this aint it. Kind of dry and not very sweet, this recipe was pretty mediocre. The blueberries were a nice addition but not enough to save the merely average side dish.
A+ (or 5 out of 5)
Patio Daddy-O Burgers
This was amazingly good! The best burgers I've ever made. I had made some of my sweet Boston-market style corn muffins and they wound up sticking to the muffin pan (silicon sprayed with pam. Not one to waste, I scraped the ruined remains into a baggie of crumbs. It was these cake crumbs I sustituted for breadcrumbs in this recipe. Additionally it calls for the making of an herb butter, hardened in the fridge, then sliced and inserted into the center of each patty. Grilled and topped with a thin slice of havarti, it was unbelievable!
B (or 3 out of 5)
Spo-Dee-O-Dee Chips.
These are homeade potato chips and I like them. They are baked so they aren't amazingly crisp like they would be if deep fat fried. They're hand cut so they aren't tissue thin so some have a little chewiness that is less than perfect.
|
