| Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Volume 1 Number 035 - November 2, 2001. Forum, Subscribe & Unsubscribe Information are at the end of this message. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Good Morning Recipe Club. Hey, It's Friday! I'd like to thank Martin Kimeldorf for his contributions this week. I've tried a number of his recipes and loved each one, I hope you have as well. Today, you'll find Fish Grilling Tips at the bottom after the shopping list. You might want to read them before attempting the Salmon recipe he includes for this menu. I'd like to mention that all the profit Martin Kimeldorf makes from the sales of his e-book, Grill Play, The Art of Leisurely Grilling, goes to breast cancer research and to help survivors. His book is available on our site and only costs $7.95. If you like what you see here, click here for more: http://marketplace.chef2chef.net/c2c/ Have a great weekend! Chef David Nelson ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seafood Delights Surprising as it may sound, next to burgers, fish may be the next most popular food bought for the grill. (I read that somewhere, don't ask me where). To get your quotient of healthy Omege-3 anti-oxidants some people recommend grilling fish twice a week. This menu offers a marinade, which can be used with a variety of seafood. The West Coast appetizer sets up the meal for a marinade using ginger and sweet vermouth. Oh how California! The dessert is my favorite and requires one day of preparation in advance. Appetizer Arty's Choke Ingreeds 1 cup finely chopped ham 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 tsp. Worcestershire 1/2 tsp. garlic salt 2 dashes Tabasco 2 tsp. capers (optional) 4 large artichokes 1 lemon Steps Prepare "chokes" by cutting off the pointed top 1 inch with a knife. This is hard to do with a dull knife. Cut off the stem, near the base of the plant. If you want avoid issuing an OSHA safety warning about the thorns on the end of the leaves, cut these off using a kitchen scissors (or any scissors will work). Generally, I don't worry about the thorns except when serving to "newbies." Cover "chokes" with water in a large pot. Add 1 tsp. salt and juice from 1/2 lemon. Bring to boil and put on lid, reduce heat to medium high (or whatever your pot can stand). Let it cook for 30 minutes. Then check periodically by removing a leaf, which comes from the submerged (bottom) side of the choke. Sample it. If it is not tender leave on another 5 minutes. Be careful not to cook too long or the vegetable will get mushy. When done remove and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking process. Turn upside down to drain. Chill for at least 30 minutes if you have the option. Chop ham in food process until it is granular, don't leave on too long and turn into a paste. Set aside Prepare artichoke sauce by blending by hand in a bowl: sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, garlic salt, Tabasco, ham, capers, and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Stir in the ham by hand unless you want a paste consistency in which case, use a food processor. Let the sauce sit in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, 24 is preferred. Then go about dipping the artichoke leaves in the sauce. Note-If you find chokes are not available, any vegetable will do. Rice and Grilled Peppers and Onion, Side Dish Ingreeds Rice 2 Green or Red or Yellow Bell Peppers 1 large onion Steps Start rice and let it cook while you prepare the grilled vegetables. To grill an onion, I peel it and cut it into 1/2 inch thick slices. These are sprayed with virgin oil. It takes at least 20 minutes per side to char-cook these babies. Bell peppers must be cored, cleaned, and lightly oiled. They cook much more quickly on the grill. Dice grilled veggies and add to rice. Set aside in warming oven and bring to table when ready. Sweet Vermouth & Ginger Fish Marinade This slightly sweet marinade works well with many different kinds of fish, especially those which can easily be grilled like tuna, salmon, swordfish, shark, and some cuts of halibut. To make handling the fish easier, use a fish turner. Or if the fish is delicate and hard to turn and keep intact, use a fish screen or wire basket. The special marinade works well if you give it time to cure, least 3 hours. It turns into a brine-marinade when you increase the salt to 1 teaspoon and leave it to cure overnight. Method and Preparations Use direct heat to sear, and for cuts over 1 inch thick, finish with indirect heat. Marinate for 3+ hours. Ingreeds 1-2 lbs salmon fillets, cut 2 inches wide 1 Tbs. golden raisins 1 Tbs. fresh ginger, grated 2 cloves, crushed garlic 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup sweet vermouth 1/2 large lemon, juice 2 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. lemon zest (rind) 1/2 tsp. kosher salt Steps Rinse and pat dry salmon. Salmon should be cut across its length, about 2 inches apart. On the thin end, give it 3 inches. Your goal is to make the fish easy to manipulate, like small steaks. In a food processor or grinder process the raisins, then add ginger and garlic until it is a bit pureed. Place this concoction in a jar. Add the soy, vermouth, lemon, zest, and salt to the jar, put on a lid and shake it up, baby. Place the salmon and this sauce in a non-reactive bowl, skin side up to insure the flesh is totally coated. Let it sit at room temperature about 10 minutes and then put in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Occasionally rotate or flip the fillets. Remove fillets from marinade and put on a plate. Brush oil on both sides. Oil the grate. Place salmon skin side up, and lightly baste with marinade, then sear for 2 minutes. For fillets an inch or less in thickness sear quickly over a hot grill. Thicker cuts will take longer, therefore, use a lower temperature to avoid burning. Alternately, you can sear both sides and then finish off with indirect heat. Turn over and baste with sauce. Cook until done, about 2 to 6 minutes depending on temperature and thickness of fillets. (Throw out remaining marinade). Serve with lemon on the sides on the side. Choco-Cherry Almond Ice Cream Sundae This recipe will become a favorite if you can find the time to seed and chop up the cherries. The carpal tunnel will be well worth it. Three hours before the meal prepare 1 cup of Bing Cherries for a liqueur marinade. Begin by splitting cherries in half, removing the pit. Then place cherries in a food processor and pour enough cherry liqueur to cover the cherries by 1/8 inch. Chop briefly because you don't want a puree. Let the mixture soak for at least 2-3 hours in a refrigerator. Fill dessert dish with 3 scoops of chocolate or coffee flavored ice cream. Pour a generous amount of the cherry-liqueur mixture over scoops of ice-stuff. Top with 2 dollops of sweet whipped cream. Sprinkle crushed almonds over the entire affair. You just went to dessert heaven! Shopping Lists 1 cup finely chopped ham Sour cream Mayonnaise Worcestershire Garlic salt Tabasco Capers (optional) 4 large artichokes 1 lemon Rice 2 Green or Red or Yellow Bell Peppers 1 large onion 1-2 lbs. salmon fillets, cut 2 inches wide Golden raisins Fresh gingerroot Fresh garlic Soy sauce Sweet vermouth 1/2 large lemon Sugar kosher salt Fish Cooking Tips Don't Overcook Perhaps the greatest sin in seafood grilling is to overcook and dry out the fish. Learning when the fish is done to your liking comes from practice. For instance, when cooking salmon, one learns to watch for beads of juice forming on the topside. One formula used suggests about 10 minutes per inch thickness. Another formula calls for grilling jumbo shrimp about 4 minutes total over medium heat, just until it turns opaque. Through experimentation you will develop your own proven methods. Tricks for Turning Fish with Less Sticking Cleaning and oiling the hot grate before placing the fish on the hot metal will greatly reduce the amount of sticking that occurs. Since fish can be delicate or fragile, it should only be turned once. Try to leave skin on the fish because it helps to hold it together. Evie Hansen, who is a member of the National Seafood Educators association suggests begin by searing fillets quickly for 2 minutes to establish grill marks and seal in the juices, then flipping. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Simply the best daily recipe Club on the Web! Free delicious recipes delivered daily via email. 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