Quick Easy Dessert Grilled Peaches

So the burgers, chicken, and dogs are all done. But the grill is still hot and you need an easy dessert.

Here's a cheating one I made tonight using a store bought Angel food cake.

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 ea peaches, pitted and cut into sixths
4 slices angel food cake

Make a simple syrup by mixing the sugar and water together in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat.

Toss the sliced peaches with 2-3 Tbsp of the simple syrup.

Then place on a preheated 350f grill. Cook for 1 minute and then flip.


Cook for another minute and remove to a bowl. Toss with the remaining simple syrup and allow to rest.

Place the slices of angel food cake on the hot grill grate and cook just long enough to get sear marks. This took about 15 seconds a side for us. (NOTE: Make sure your grill is very clean before doing this. You don't want "greasy grate marks" on your cake. You want to see bare hot metal searing the sugars in the cake.)

Serve the cake topped with the peach and syrup mixture.

The grilling brings out the best of the natural sugars in the peaches. Resting the grilled peaches in the simple syrup create a peach nectar that drips with flavor.

Ever notice that I don't do a lot of desserts on here? That's because I don't care for them and rarely eat them. I don't like peaches either. But guess what. I LIKED THIS!

Burger Throwdown: Spicy Cheddar Stuffed Burgers

Do you remember the scene in Liar! Liar! when Jim Carey's character is having to injure himself to get out of court? He's in the bathroom hitting himself when someone walks in and asks what he is doing. In a deranged state, he yells, "I'm kicking my own ASS!"

That's kind of what this post is. I did a burger throwdown against myself last night. The July issue of Southern Living had a Top Rated Burgers article. I decided to make two of them and try them head to head. Either way I win. Either way I lose. I'm kicking my own ass!

I cooked the Editors Choice recipe, Fig Glazed Burgers with Red Onion Jam, for my post over at Our Krazy Kitchen. Click on over there.

Here is the challenger...


Spicy Cheddar Stuffed Burgers
Source: Southern Living July 2010

1 can chipolte peppers in adobo sauce
2 lb ground beef (80/20)
2 tsp Montreal steak seasoning
6 thick slices sharp cheddar cheese
6 buns

Tex-Mex Secret Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup ketchup
4.5 ounce can green chiles, chopped
1 tbsp cilantro, fresh chopped

Mix the secret sauce together and let rest in the fridge.

Puree the chipolte and adobo sauce in a blender. (Note: You will only use 3-4 teaspoons for this recipe, save the rest for something else.)

Mix together the beef, seasoning, and chipolte puree. I had to add an egg as a binder because it wasn't wanting to hold together.

Divide into 12 thin patties about 4" in diameter. Top 6 of them with cheese and then top with the remaining six patties. Seal the cheese in between the two patties by pressing the edges together, like a Juicy Lucy burger. Chill for 30 minutes to 8 hours.

Grill on a 350-400f grill for 6-7 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the center. Next time I'll go back to my normal cooking times and temps instead. They were done at this temp/time, but I like more searing on the outside (4 min per side at 450-500f w/ two minute flips).

Serve on a cheddar bun, Tex-Mex Secret Sauce, and desired toppings.

Where the fig burgers were a bit too sweet for me, these Spicy burgers were almost a bit "too heat" for me. I like spicy but I went a little too heavy on the adobo sauce. The Tex-Mex sauce was surprisingly not hot, it was sweet and helped offset the spicy burger.

Results
The burger fight went the distance, with neither scoring a knock out. The reigning champ's sweet style was countered by the strikingly different spicy punch of the challenger. Let's go to the score cards.

Round 1 - Creativity/Presentation
Figs on a burger edge out a cheese stuffed burger, but a close round. 10-9 Fig Burger.

Round 2 - Taste
Two contrasting styles, but the fig was too sweet for me. I have to go with the Spicy Cheddar. 10-8 Spicy Cheddar.

Round 3 - Texture
Almost too close to call. The onion jam was a great burger topping. But biting through the Spicy burger and into the cheese was a pleasure. 10-9 Spicy Cheddar.

The winner by majority decision - Spicy Cheddar Stuffed Burger.

What's going on your grill this 4th of July weekend?

Brick Grilled Chicken with Blackberry BBQ Sauce

Go ahead and sing it. You know you want to.

"She's a brrrrick.....house! Mighty mighty! Letting it all hang out."

I've been wanting to try a brick grilled chicken recipe ever since I first saw Alton Brown do one. You know, when you grill a chicken breast pressed between the grill grate and a pre-heated, foil wrapped brick.

Tonight I made John Besh's Brick Grilled Chicken with Blackberry Barbecue Tortilla Wraps (Click for the recipe), which is his contribution to the Everybody Has A Hand In Safe Grilling campaign.

I didn't have a brick handy but I needed something heavy and able to absorb heat. Hmmmmm....how about a cast iron corn bread mold? Poifect!

I wasn't crazy about the brick grilling technique. It was OK but it didn't really add anything to my grilled chicken. It also gave false high temp readings on my remote probe thermometer. No big deal, I just ignored it and went by look and feel.

The blackberry bbq sauce is a definite keeper for me. I usually don't like extra sweet sauces so I was wary of this one, but the ginger and red pepper balance it out. Alexis and I both loved it. It's a thinner sauce, even after I let it simmer for a while.

I also like how Besh recommends serving this family style. This is supposed to be an easy weeknight dinner and family style is fast and flexible. We subbed romaine for bib and added some tomato from our garden.

The wraps were an excellent summer meal. They'd probably even be good served cold, picnic style. They are sweet, tangy, and have that blend of texture and taste that you expect in a wrap.

We will definitely be making this one again. But next time, I'd forgo the "brick" part and just grill the chicken how I normally do (375f-400f, raised grid, x 20-25 minutes). I'd also baste some of the sauce onto the chicken in the last 10 minutes. I don't like just putting bbq sauce on meat after it has been grilled, I want it to cook onto the chicken.

Speaking of John Besh,
1) Don't forget to enter the giveaway for his book.
2) Have you seen his new show on TLC - Inedible to Incredible? Pretty funny stuff. I feel bad for the cooks but even worse for their families and the food that they have been eating for years! Ick.

The Turkey Call Sandwich

The heat was sweltering as we laid by the pool and noon approached yesterday morning. I was tired of tasting the humidity and wondered aloud if we should start thinking about lunch.

"I just picked our first tomatoes last night," Alexis offered, "We could do BLT's."

"We don't have any lettuce and I don't feel like driving to the store. I have those turkey cutlets, I could grill those for a sandwich," I suggested just as the splash of a child's cannonball brought a welcomed relief.

"If it's not a BLT, what would you call it, a TBT?" she countered.

"I dunno," I stammered, "I'd call it.....I'd call it....a TURKEY CALL!"

Turkey Call Sandwich
Source: Nibble Me This
4-6 servings

6 slices bacon
2 ea Honeysuckle White turkey breast cutlets
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp garlic pepper
1/2 cup honey mustard sauce (I prefer Blues Hog Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce)
1 ea tomato from my backyard (substitute a local one if you aren't nearby)
3 slices bacon, cooked
2 slices Swiss cheese
1 loaf french bread

Cook bacon to a crisp.

Pound cutlets to 1/4" thickness with a meat mallet. Season with salt and garlic pepper.

Grill over a 350f fire (medium heat) for 2 minutes. Flip and brush the top with the honey mustard sauce.

Cook another 2 minutes. Flip and brush the top with honey mustard sauce. Cook another minute and remove.

Top the sliced French bread with sliced grilled turkey and a drizzle of the honey mustard sauce...

some thinly sliced tomato and kosher salt.....

the crisped bacon....

sliced Swiss cheese....

Then hit the top piece of bread with some mayonnaise. Put it all together and toast in a panini press or make your own panini press by grilling it in a hot pan topped with a heated cast iron pan. Cook for 5- 8 minutes.

Yeah, I know it's just a turkey sandwich, but it's a darn good one! The layers of texture and flavor played well together. The crisp sandwich shell and bacon contrasted sharply against the tender tomato, cheese, and turkey. The saltiness of the bacon and tomato's acidity are already perfect together so the grilled turkey was an added bonus.

Don't forget to enter my July Giveaway (CLICK HERE TO ENTER) for John Besh's My New Orleans - The Cookbook.

Grilling Safety & Cookbook Giveaway

Update: There were 71 entries and Random.org selected #42 as the winner of this giveaway: Holly. Emailing you for addy, Holly. Check spam filter if you don't get it.

Don't use matches or lighters to check for propane leaks.

That is on the Safe Grilling Checklist from the folks at the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), I'm not kidding. Sounds ridiculous right?

Not really. My educational and professional background are in occupational safety and health. From experience, I can tell you for every seemingly ridiculous "safety rule" there is at least one Darwin Award candidate that actually caused the need to state the obvious.

I promise you that someone has tried to use matches or lighters to check for propane leaks.

This is prime grilling season for most people (of course my grill knows no season) and the folks at PERC are currently running a campaign to remind us that "Everyone Has A Hand In Safe Grilling". They have teamed up with the talented Chef John Besh and loaded their website up with an interactive safe grilling guide, tips for getting kids involved in grilling, a safe grilling checklist, and some recipes.

Give Away
Part of their campaign is sponsoring this give away. Up for grabs is an autographed copy of John Besh's My New Orleans - The Cookbook.


This give away hurts, because I want to keep this one for myself. This is a hard-cover book with almost 400 pages of luring recipes, food tips, photographs, and stories.


John Besh is an award winning chef, a highly successful restaurateur, a father of four and he pours all of that into this book. Pam of Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner wrote a detailed review of My New Orleans this past Wednesday but she summed it up by calling it a "masterpiece". I couldn't agree more.

One of the things I like about it is that it is good for someone who follows recipes step by step but it is also suited for someone who uses them for inspiration. That whole pork tenderloin creole with grits that I made this week all came from Besh's Basic Creole Spices on page 13.

I could go on and on about this book, but lets get down to brass tax. Here's the giveaway rules and how to enter.

1. To enter, leave a comment below. (If you use the "anonymous comment" option, be sure to leave your screen name in the comment so I can contact you if you are the winner. Something like "EggerinFL from the Egg Forum" or "swibirun from the BBQ Brethren forum" is enough.)
2. One entry per person.
3. BONUS ENTRY: If you tell a brief story about a close call grilling accident or the most unsafe thing you have seen done on a grill, your entry will count twice in the drawing.
   
4. Drawing will be held Sunday, July 4th at 12:30pm Eastern.
5. Comments will be numbered by order received and random.org will generate a random number for the winner.
6. Limited to Continental US unless you wish to pay the extra shipping charges.
7. I am the final judge regarding any discrepancies, interpretations, grievances, etc about this drawing.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Don't use matches or lighters to check for propane links.

Creole Pork Tenderloin and Grits

I was probably in my late teens before I realized that Creole was more than a lyric in the Dire Straits song Sultans of Swing.

They don't give a damn,
'bout any trumpet playing band
It ain't what they call rock and roll
And the Sultans played Creole
(remember how deep Knopfler's voice was when he repeated Creole?)

Then when I did learn about Creole food, for years I thought it was synonymous with Cajun. If you just heard a "thud" that was Katherine fainting over at Smoky Mountain Cafe.

I did finally learn the error of my ways and repented years ago. But those memories drifted across my mind tonight when I grilled a Creole pork tenderloin with grits.



Creole Pork Tenderloin and Grits
source: This one is kind of tricky. I used a very slight variation of John Besh's Basic Creole Spices. I loosely adapted the Creole sauce from a shrimp recipe in Joy Of Cooking (97 version). Then Nibble Me This has to get some credit for coming up with the dish and executing it :)

Creole Sauce
1/2 ea onion, peeled and diced
1/2 ea green pepper, seeded and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 tsp thyme, dried
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ea roasted red pepper diced
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup canned diced tomato, crushed while cooking
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup red wine

Basic Creole Spices
(will make 1/2 cup but you will only use 2-3 Tbsp, store rest for later use)
1 3/4 Tbsp celery salt
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp coarse sea salt
1 Tbsp black pepper, finely ground
3/4 Tbsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp minced garlic (the dehydrated flakes)
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp allspice, ground

1 ea pork tenderloin

1 cup stone ground grits, slow cooked to directions

Green onion and cheese to garnish

Make the sauce first, you can even make it ahead of time and reheat. This is a mouth pleasing Creole base that could be used for shrimp, rice & okra, or anything.

In a hot cast iron pan, heat about 2 tablespoons of "menage-a-fat" (equal parts butter, oil, and bacon fat....sorry, I love that term and it's all mine!). Saute the onion, green pepper, celery, thyme and salt over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes until softened.

Add in the garlic and roasted red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add in the tomato paste and tomatoes, stirring to mix in well, cooking for another 5 minutes. Make sure to crush the tomatoes up as you stir.

Add the wine and beef broth. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. If they get done before the grits and pork are done, just drop the temp as low as you can and keep covered. That probably even makes it better.

While that is cooking, cook your slow cooking grits according to directions. Seriously, you HAVE TO USE COARSE GROUND GRITS or don't bother. These are not your wimpy, blandy, soupy grits that most people associate with the idea of grits. These will have a nice thick texture and will serve as the base to this kick ass dish.

At the same time, you want to get your grill cooking at 350-375f. Rub your pork tenderloin with the creole seasoning to give it a good coating. I guess I used about 2-3 tablespoons. Grill it over direct heat turning every 5-6 minutes, until the internal temp hits 140f. That takes about 21 to 24 minutes for me but rely on your instant read thermometer.


Your grits and pork should both take about 30 minutes to cook, start to finish and then they can both rest for about 10 minutes. This will let the pork finish cooking and thicken up the grits.

Plate a large spoonful of the grits to the side of a deep plate. Ladle some of the Creole sauce on the rest of the plate. Top with thin slices of the pork and garnish with cheese and green onion.

The sliced pork by itself was so good that it could have disappeared at the cutting board. Thick stone ground grits always make me happy. I was worried the sauce might not be a suitable match since it was adapted from a shrimp recipe but holy crapoly, I couldn't have put together a better combination.


The best part? We have creole sauce leftover and I'm grilling shrimp tomorrow night!

Bamboo Skewer Tip

Ever have one of those weeks where you try so hard and come tantalizingly close but keep hitting a wall?

I tried for three days trying to convert the Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich into a kabob for the summer grill. We were going to call it a "Top Down Hot Brown" (great name idea from Alexis) but I just couldn't get the kabob to end up as a fitting conversion of the original. Eight different configurations ranged from almost edible, to edible, to almost good. But none were "it". I finally just walked away from it.

On the bright side, tonight's Thai grilled turkey breast came out exceptionally well. It's for a project I'm working on and you'll see in a few weeks, but we were very happy with it.


Tomorrow night, I'm working on a real post, but in the mean time, here is a tip for soaking BBQ skewers for grilling. It's not a huge revelation, but it is something I learned after trying to soak them a few other ways.



Help me feel better. Tell me about the hardest you have worked for a recipe that just ended up not working out to your expectations.