Buffalo Basted Wings on the Barbi

Wing Marinade:

2 dozen Chicken wings

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Salt

Pepper

1/2 t Cayenne

1 T. paprika

Buffalo Basting Sauce:

1/2 stick Margarine

2 T. Honey

3 shakes Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup Franks RedHot

2 T brown sugar

1 to 3 shakes Louisiana Hot Sauce (optional)

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

To prepare the wings cut them at the joints. The tips can be place in the freezer for stock later on.

Start the charcoal on the grill in a chimney coal starter so that it will be ready when you are.

In a bowl place the meaty portions of the wings with the marinade of olive oil, vinegar, and seasoning and let marinade for about 30 minutes.

In a sauce pan combine the sauce ingredients and heat until all is melted and combined.

Pour the coals under 1/2 of the grill grates and close lid so that it heats up nice and hot.

Place the wings around the coals on the grill so that they will cook without burning. Once the first side of the wings start to brown up (about 5 minutes) turn them and spoon some of the sauce over each of the wings. Cook for about 5 minutes and turn again and spoon more buffalo sauce over each wing and cook for another 5 minutes. At this time if some of the wings are still a little light in color start moving them over the heat of the coals until they get nicely browned. Be sure to watch at this point because with the sugar int he sauce the wings can burn easily, this should take another 5 minutes or more. Spoon a little more sauce over each wing as you remove them from the grill.

I Lost My Satay

I am not sure what made me want to try satay I just got hung up on the idea one day last spring, not really the meat but the idea of an Asian peanut sauce. I have had satay peanut sauce before but didn't really care for it, but I should like it, the idea was appalling. I googled satay, satay recipes, satay sauces and more. I read the history of satay on Wikipedia and every recipe I came across, all the videos on the first 5 pages of the Google search. I was ready!

First of all I knew (thought) I did not like coconut milk so any recipe with coconut was out
(this month I am starting realize I like coconut milk) and I knew that is could not be too spicy because the kids would be eating it and that I would have to have an alternative to a peanut sauce because hubby is not a peanut butter fan. I went to work in the kitchen and I ended up with the best two sauces I have ever tasted and you know what I did...nothing I did not write it down, I have no I idea what recipes I read and even Wikipedia information is not the same, it is gone. Needless to say I am bummed but I will do it again, today was not quite the same but it is in the right direction and still failed to measure. shame on me!

The original sauces

Add to a cold sauce pan:

2 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon grated ginger
a few hot pepper flakes
slowly heat until the garlic starts to sizzle a little then add
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
a few shakes fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onion
Bring to a simmer
at this point I pour half of the sauce in a bowl for my husband and then add...
2 tablespoons peanut butter.

whisk until smooth and done.

When I made the peanut sauce today i used it for pad Thai. I have been battling rice noodles off and on for a few years now and they always win, today the tables were turned and i will be filling you in on this in a few days. Okay back to the satay.

For the satay I chose to use pork. I cut it thin and marinated it in (again this was a few months ago and I can't find this either)...

Marinade:
juice and zest of 2 lines
soy sauce
garlic, minced
ginger, grated
a few hot pepper flacks
lemongrass

Meat:

Pork loin or chicken cut very thin.

Marinade the pork for 15 to 30 minutes (too long and the meat starts to cook in the acid), thread them onto bamboo skewers that have been soaking in water and grill over charcoal about 3 minutes each side and serve with the sauces.

Is This Steak?

There was a time when I thought I hated steak. If I had it I would order it well done and when I would try to eat it, I felt as if I were gnawing on a shoe. Steak, YUCK! Then one day, by chance, I had prime rib medium rare. It was not what I had ordered but I was traveling for work and in mixed company so I bit my tongue and ate my bloody meat. I took my first bit and could not believe what my mouth was telling me. Could this be? Was this…Steak? I learned that day that beef was good, now I admit that I still only eat steak 3 or 4 times a year but when I do make one I enjoy it. However, I am only able to eat a few ounces. The steak pictured here was more then enough to feed our family of 4

I simply season the steak with salt and pepper and just a touch of olive oil. I get my grill popping hot and sear the steak for 4 minutes on each side and then let it set covered for about 10 minutes. This almost always gives me the perfect pink, tender, juicy and flavorful.

I admit I do enjoy many other things on the grill such as corn, still in its husk, soaked in water and placed on the grill. Asparagus tossed in olive oil with course salt, pepper and rosemary; onions cut in half and charred to sweet perfection and roasted peppers simply placed over the flames of the coals until blackened on all sides and placed in a sealed bowl until the skin becomes loose and easy to pull off. This all makes for a wonderful dinner.

I have also found that adding blue cheese to a nice steak is a wonderful complement to each other. Below is a steak I made for my Birthday in April.

"Cuban" Burgers

There is a sandwich/pizza shop a few miles from where I live that has a Cuban sandwich that is so yummy. This sandwich is stacked with ham, swiss cheese, and pickles with lots of mayo and mustard. I got to thinking that a Cuban Burger would be really good so I googled it and Bobby Flay thought that a Cuban Burger was a good idea too. In the end I took the information and came up with my own Cuban burger.

3 oz ground beef
3 oz ground pork

3 oz ground veal

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. Ground Cumin (optional)

Salt & pepper

8 slices of ham

4 slices of swiss cheese

1 cup sliced (sandwich) pickles

Mustard

Mayo

Hamburger buns

In a bowl place the ground meats, onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and mix together, do not over mix. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and patty them and place them on a hot grill and cook to medium.

On 4 buns place 2 slices of ham, a slice of swiss cheese, medium cooked burger and pickles. Wrap each in aluminum foil and return to the grill with a weight on them. I used a jelly roll pan and cast iron pans. Cook for and few minutes and turn and cook for a few more minutes. Remove the burger from foil open and add the mayo and mustard. Enjoy.

Sanita at http://sunitabhuyan.blogspot.com hosts a monthly spice event and I have decided to enter my burgers in the August event for Cumin.