Cats, Sheep, & Penguins

It’s finally gotten nice enough outside to stand in front of the grill for a protracted period of time. Not that we didn’t grill in November, but that was slow-cooking, and burgers? Burgers demand attention. I went down to Cole’s Market to exchange our second tank of propane (we like to keep one on deck), and to Whole Foods for some fresh meat and Zomick’s Bakery Challah rolls. I decided on a ratio of 1:1 beef and lamb. Adding in my special ingredient, I mixed the meats together, shaped them into normal-size patties (I’m wont to make giant burgers, Gary always tells me to scale it back) and brought them out to Gary.

They sizzled as they hit the grill, the fat dripping down onto the “flavorizer panel” below. Soon enough, they were ready for eating.

Today is my birthday and thanks to my sisters, Lynn & Carol, and my lovely wife, Lysa I have some really cool things to write about. Prominently featured in the photograph is a 100ml bottle of the best vinegar in the world . Minus 8 is ice wine vinegar made by a couple of Canadian foodies near Niagra Falls. Once only available to professional chefs, it’s probably still not available in your local market; the stuff isn’t cheap ($30 for a 100ml/3.38oz bottle) but it makes common vinegar taste like something mopped off a factory floor. I plan to acquire more quality vinegar but after reading about Minus 8 I decide to start with the best: as you can see I couldn’t wait to open the bottle, and I was not disappointed.

Just behind the vinegar is another example of superlative quality. Olvida nickel plated, cast iron cookware combines the cooking advantages of cast iron with the memory free durability of nickel sulfide. It doesn’t require seasoning, it’s dishwasher safe, it’s nonstick, and you can scrub it, scrape it, even hit it with a hammer and you won’t damage the nickel surface. Olvida doesn’t come cheap either, but I figure this will be the last 13” skillet and grill pan I ever own. More importantly, the nickel alloy is non reactive (but it will oxidize- dry it well) so it’s a healthier option than the average non-stick cookware.

Blocking off the background glare are a few bottles Lysa and I picked up last week at Applewood Winery in Warwick, NY. We’ll have more to say about these as we open them.

One of the big differences between Lysa and myself is that I love vegetables and she thinks the ‘Fruit & Vegetable’ food group ought to include green M&Ms. She does, however, enjoy a nice juicy Vidalia onion so as an appetizer tonight I decided to grill some onions, portabello caps, eggplant, yellow squash, and zucchini. Josh, our guest, was delayed and when we finally got ’round to grilling we completely forgot about the mushroom caps, but everything else grilled nicely with generous amounts of extra virgin olive oil and Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt; although next time I think I’ll return to my usual garlic salt.

We bought about five pounds of country style (fatty) pork and slow grilled it with a Chinese BBQ sauce (Honey, Hoisin, Soy, & Sherry). These shots are from the last night, tonight we’re making pork fried rice , and I expect to use the leftovers for a stir fry.

The other white meat…

This was a lovely rub with lots of organic garlic, pepper, Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt, and a fresh herb “poultry mix.” Left to sit in the fridge for several hours, and then warmed up to room temperature before grilling. Served with fresh garlic bread (also grilled). I would definitely order this again in a restaurant.