[ExtraMSG]

Been photographing some of the meals I've made lately for a friend and thought I might as well start a thread here on summer cooking. I hope others will chime in with their experiments and recipes and photos.

One of the more fun things I made for my wife was a watermelon and cherry soup. Got some chelans from the farmers market and a watermelon from the grocery store. Couldn't find any with seeds which tend to have more flavor, I think. Scooped out the innards of half a watermelon, pitted about 15 cherries, and tossed them together and pureed them with some honey and fresh ginger. Passed it through a fine mesh strainer. Then I pitted and halves some more cherries and put them in a bowl with some of the soup. Shredded some poached chicken and garnished with some mint from my herb garden. Very easy, very tasty, and very refreshing for a warm summer evening.

[ExtraMSG]

A couple days later, I went with gazpacho. I geared it towards more Mexican flavors than Spanish, using cilantro and avocado, eg. Cook's Illustrated and some other sources recommend using tomato juice and bread for a thickener. I decided to just use tomatoes and no thickener and see how it came out. Basically, I pureed about a pound of seeded tomatoes (on the vine, hydroponics, not bad, but well short of what we'll get later on), half an english cucumber, a clove of garlic, a little cilantro, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice and passed it through a fine mesh strainer. All we had was some mediocre TJ's extra virgin olive oil and I think it imparted a bit of a bitter taste. Probably should have gone without it. Added some sugar to offset it. Kind of kicked up the tomato flavor anyway which was lacking. Diced some more tomato, the rest of the cucumber, and half a large avocado and put the mix in the center and throughout the soup. Then added some shredded poached chicken breast. Garnished with cilantro and sour cream. My wife loves sour cream and I thought she would like the addition, but she thought it was totally unnecessary. I think I'll hold off on gazpacho until I can get better tomatoes.

[ExtraMSG]

Brian of Apizza Scholls has been letting Ken and I borrow his smaller Cookshack smoker to practice with and test flavors/recipes with. I took it down to my friend's south of Eugene and we made some very good brisket with it. I'll be doing that again when the weather gets better.

But the other day, I made two big pork shoulders. Took some to my dad one day and he really enjoyed it (along with some ribs I made which had too much rub on them, imo).

The same day I made that first shoulder, I had rubbed another (they were half the price per pound in one big cryovac as opposed to individually) and put it in the fridge to "cure". It was basically just kosher salt, brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne. The one in the fridge I had lifted up so juices would drain away.

I smoked it a couple days ago and it came out even better than the first. I think it went about 11 hours at 225 using hickory chunks. I just feel it with my hands to see when to take it out. The last couple hours I had fresh pineapple slices that I smoked over the top of it. It got a much better bark on it than the one where I just rubbed it right before smoking it. Also, the flavor of the cure penetrated into the meat a lot better.



Shredded it and served it sans sauce along side a quick coleslaw I made (cabbage, mayo, vinegar, salt, pepper, Tapatio) and some of the smoked pineapple. Really, really good BBQ. I think I let the pork go just a touch long. It wasn't mushy, but I like it a little firmer. The pineapple could have used a little less smoke, too.





I had a lot of leftovers but my wife doesn't really like BBQ'd meats. But I thought of a dish, based on Esparza's, that she did enjoy: BBQ pork nachos. Made the chips by quartering white corn tortillas, spraying them with cooking spray, and tossing them in one layer in the oven at 350 for about 13 minutes. Then when they cooled and crisped up, I took some grated cheese and place it on them along with a little shred of pork. Cooked them only a few minutes until the cheese was melted and then placed them in a double layer around some guacamole I made (just mashed avocado, lime, salt, cilantro, and diced tomatoes), plus some dollops of sour cream. She devoured it.



Not sure what next. Have some corn, avocados, tomatoes, black beans, brisket waiting to be smoked, etc.

[Amanda]

Those pork nachos sure look tasty! And your summer soups, too.

Best regards,

Amanda

[katez0r]

Wow, that pork...

I've been eating a ridiculous amount of potato salad, which I just discovered that I like. I just make oil/vinegar/dijon dressing. I'm going to try this one tomorrow: http://smittenkitche...uds-most-worthy


I also bought an ice cream maker on Friday, along with David Lebovitz's new book, "The Perfect Scoop." So far I've made chocolate, creme fraiche* ice cream, and I'm about to make strawberry frozen yogurt. I also made ice cream cones, which are about a thousand times better than the store-bought stuff. Next week I'm going to make a few sorbets.

*I also made my own creme fraiche, which is super easy, just two cups of heavy cream, a quarter cup of buttermilk, and let it sit on your counter for about 24 hours.

Now to whip up some strawberry freezer jam!

[Calabrese]

I've been busy with my new Weber gas grill.

Yesterday, I made BBQ shrimp. Uwagimaya was having a sale on some large, beautiful prawns and I found this Soy-Garlic-Lime Marinade on the FoodNetwork site:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_28491,00.html

I also marinated some summer squash in the same marinade and grilled that. It takes longer so I got a bit of char on it and then moved it to slow heat to let it cook longer. Some were not quite done when the shrimp was.

I also made a tricolore shell pasta salad.

[pyrofemme]

A little while back we made a fantastic tilapia recipe. It's got a light panko crust and a spicy lime butter. We ate it with green beans and sprinkled toasted almond slivers over the whole thing. I'm having trouble posting the picture.

[tammi]

In the summer a staple in my home and a huge favorite for my clients is gazpacho.

My method for small batch

2 1/2 cups Knudsen tomato juice (available at New Seasons) it tastes like fresh tomatoes. Never use V8 or cheap tom juice results are not worth eating
2 Tablespoons sherry wine vinegar + 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 large cloves of garlic minced
fresh pepper maybe 1 teaspoon or so
1/4 cup nice fruity olive oil

Put these ingredients in a blender

dice 3 Farmers market or your own home grown toms
1 large asian cuke (2 small if Japanese) semi peeled seeded and diced
1 small sweet red onion minced about 1 cup
1 small red bell pepper minced

toss this together and throw about 1/3 in the blender with the other ingredients. Puree. Mix remaining veggies with blender contents. Salt and more pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

I serve it with diced avocado, fresh crab, or just by itself. It lasts beautifully about 1 week

[tammi]

BTW MSG

That meat looks amazing! Who do you feed it to if your wife doesn't like BBQ? Looking for victims? I'd like to be on a tasting panel

[Toad]

I just got a new Smokey Mountain Weber and been trying my first smoking. Just like they always tell you with smoking, don't start because it is addicting! My first Pork butt. Also made the baked beans and coleslaw, always have to eat the coleslaw on the sandwich!




More images here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toadkiller/se...157600386153482

[tejon]

Tammi, your gazpacho sounds heavenly! And all the glorious pork above....drool. We've been eating pretty lightly - grilled shrimp, salads, stir fries, lots of fresh produce (especially cherries and strawberries).

[ExtraMSG]

tammi, on Jun 24 2007, 06:55 PM, said:

BTW MSG

That meat looks amazing! Who do you feed it to if your wife doesn't like BBQ? Looking for victims? I'd like to be on a tasting panel

Perhaps. I have a 14 lb brisket I'll be doing soon. Probably will cure half as pastrami and do the other half as BBQ brisket. (Lean half for pastrami.) I gave a couple pounds to my dad and gave a couple pounds to mczlaw. Basically, if you meet me for a meal the day after, you're golden.

Toad, that pork looks really good. Nice bark. My dad just got a bullet on my recommendation. (Now I sort of which he would have got a Cookshack just for the ease for him.) We're thinking about doing a BBQ dinner for The Dalles Community Meals. Last time I helped him we did red wine braised pot roast and mashed potatoes and they went crazy for all that meat. So many people just do it as cheap as possible buying frozen lasagnas from Cash & Carry.

I need to break out the ice cream maker soon. My wife's been going through a pint of HD or B&J every couple days.

[allison]

I just whipped up a batch of strawberry & honey jam last night, I used most of a flat of Hoods.



And pesto using basil from my CSA bin:

[ExtraMSG]

Nice. Last year I made huckleberry jam and used it for rugelach at the deli. I've got some hoods I've frozen. I need to make some jam. Recipe?

[John DePaula]

katez0r, on Jun 24 2007, 05:10 PM, said:

Wow, that pork...

I've been eating a ridiculous amount of potato salad, which I just discovered that I like. I just make oil/vinegar/dijon dressing. I'm going to try this one tomorrow: http://smittenkitche...uds-most-worthy


I also bought an ice cream maker on Friday, along with David Lebovitz's new book, "The Perfect Scoop." So far I've made chocolate, creme fraiche* ice cream, and I'm about to make strawberry frozen yogurt. I also made ice cream cones, which are about a thousand times better than the store-bought stuff. Next week I'm going to make a few sorbets.

*I also made my own creme fraiche, which is super easy, just two cups of heavy cream, a quarter cup of buttermilk, and let it sit on your counter for about 24 hours.

Now to whip up some strawberry freezer jam!

Kate, David's Chocolate Sorbet is unbelievably rich but DO use good quality chocolate. I recommend Valrhona Guanaja 70% bittersweet. Just about any good chocolate should work.

Let us know how your Creme Fraiche ice cream comes out. I've made the CF from Julia Child's book (my fave) The Way to Cook and it's a wonderful staple to add to your "cold pantry." Only thing is, you need 2 days.

You may have seen the thread on eGullet:
The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz' Splendid Ice Cream Book

[trio]

all of this looks delicious!

some good summer meals i've made recently:

for lunch: chilled black bean soup. I think it took me a total of seven minutes. I pureed, in the blender: leftover black beans (about half a can), leftover red enchilada sauce (I made cheese and portabello mushroom enchiladas last week), and water to thin it. After tasting it, I squeezed in a half a lemon, added chipotle hot sauce, chili powder and salt and re-pureed. Topped with chopped onions and sour cream, and ate it with two corn tortillas warmed right over the gas burner (I liked the burn marks it makes). Very good, healthy, and a complete protein.

for breakfast: blueberry pancakes with homemade rasberry syrup, both using berries u-picked from sauvie island

for dinner last night: warm potato salad with small new potatoes, asparagus, green onions from the csa box, hard boiled eggs. tossed with olive oil and tomato vinegar (my dad brought it from argentina). topped with slivers of smoked spicy tomatoes (also from argentina). served with ken's baguette.

[Cat Lancaster]

trio, on Jun 26 2007, 09:15 PM, said:

for dinner last night: warm potato salad with small new potatoes, asparagus, green onions from the csa box, hard boiled eggs. tossed with olive oil and tomato vinegar (my dad brought it from argentina). topped with slivers of smoked spicy tomatoes (also from argentina). served with ken's baguette.

That sounds awesome!

Cat

[ExtraMSG]

Sounds good. Reminds me that I have some black beans to make. Tonight I made chicken-apple salad with bacon sandwich for my wife. Tomorrow I'll make potato salad now that I have the bacon. I just put about 7 lbs of brisket in the smoker.

[katez0r]

John DePaula, on Jun 25 2007, 01:58 PM, said:

Kate, David's Chocolate Sorbet is unbelievably rich but DO use good quality chocolate. I recommend Valrhona Guanaja 70% bittersweet. Just about any good chocolate should work.

Let us know how your Creme Fraiche ice cream comes out. I've made the CF from Julia Child's book (my fave) The Way to Cook and it's a wonderful staple to add to your "cold pantry." Only thing is, you need 2 days.

You may have seen the thread on eGullet:
The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz' Splendid Ice Cream Book

Good to know about the chocolate sorbet. I found the chocolate ice cream not to be chocolate-y enough for me, but maybe that has to do with the quality of chocolate.

The creme fraiche ice cream was absolutely ridiculous -- rich, creamy, and tangy. It's not a subtle flavor, either, it's pretty bold. I loved it. I think making your own creme fraiche is so worth it. It's cheaper, and much more flavorful than store bought.

I don't read egullet, so I haven't seen it, but I'll check it out. David makes me swoon, his books are great.


As for summer (not)cooking, I made zucchini carpaccio the other night. It was pretty and delicious, I wish I had pictures to share.

[ExtraMSG]

Made my second BBQ fatty brisket in the Cookshack. I put it in at about 10pm last night and pulled it out for the first time (more on that in a minute) about 10:30am. It felt pretty good. I pulled it out and began slicing it. It was too undercooked, though. It was still decent and better than you can get in 90% of BBQ joints, but the fat wasn't quite melted enough for my taste. It needed to be just a little more falling apart. You can see the pictures here. The fat is still too opaque and chewy. It needs to melt in the mouth. So I put it back in. I checked the temp when I pulled it out and it was about 185. I checked it again in about 2 hours. It was at 200 or so now and the fat seemed to be more melty. I pulled it out and sliced it up. Some parts were a little dry and I wished I hadn't sliced off so many of the more mediocre pieces earlier. I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10. Made a quick coleslaw of cabbage, pickles, mustard seeds, and tapatio (mayo and vinegar dressing). I've been tasting commercial BBQ sauces lately. This is Buster's (yes, the local chain) which I got at Fred Meyer's. Pretty decent:



You'd think this was a modest meal for me: two slices of brisket and some slaw. Well, it belies the four slices of brisket I had before I put it back in the smoker. I need a nap.