Morg's Bar-B-Que Sauce

I have had a request to post my Bar-B-Que Sauce. I never thought to post it as there are so many "bottled" varieties out there, why go through the effort unless you really want tasty and flavorful BBQ. I have been making it this way for so many years and my family just can't get enough of it.

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup Ketchup (Hunts)
¼ cup chili sauce (Hunts)
⅓ cup red wine
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive Oil
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 small lemon
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
½ Tbsp fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Worcester sauce
4-5 dashes Tabasco sauce

PREPARATION:

Peel and press the garlic. Wash the parsley shaking off the water; cut off the leaves and chop finely. Wash the rosemary shaking off the water; strip and finely chop the leaves. Juice the lemon.

In a medium mixing bowl add the Ketchup, Chili Sauce, wine, and oil. Mix well with a whisk. Continue adding the remaining ingredients and whisk thoroughly. (Should yield about ¾ of a cup or so).

Cajun Blackened Salmon

Pan blackened salmon with a Cajun twist on flavor. With so many ways to prepare salmon, this one is easy as the spicing is all in one container from Zatarain's. Sprinkle it liberally for a great Cajun taste.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Salmon fillets 6 to 8 oz.
Zatarain's Blackened Seasoning
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper
olive oil spray

PREPARATION:

Wash the salmon thoroughly and trim off any fat around the edges, and pat dry with a paper towel. Lay the salmon onto a plate or cutting board and spray a light misting of olive oil spray, or a light coating of olive oil.

Grind on some fresh black pepper and a lot of Blackened Seasoning. It is quite SPICY! The more the better. So give the fish a nice, even coating of blackened seasoning.* Try to get some on the sides of the fillet as well. And finish up with one last misting of that spray olive oil. The spray keeps the spices in place when putting the fish in the pan.

COOKING:

Place a heavy frying pan on the burner and set the heat on medium high (7 to 8)

When the rim is hot, drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil into the frying pan. Allow it to warm, then gently lay the fish into it, flesh side down. Leave it there for a 5 to 7 minutes (1" thick) without moving it.

After 6 minutes, lift the fillets and look at the underside of the salmon. If it’s as dark as you want it, flip it over onto the skin side. Continue frying for 2 to 3 minute or so, then turn the heat down to very low or off and letting the residual heat gently finish cooking the middle, 3-5 minutes should do it. Scoop out and serve.

*Several shakes of the blackened seasoning are needed to get the full flavor.

Grilled Buffalo Strips

As I've said many times, buffalo(bison) is a versatile main dish. Here we slice it thinly, marinate it in an "oriental" marinade, then thread the strips onto skewers and grill it over charcoal. What a different flavor and treat, just don't over-cook them.

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Buffalo (Sirloin or other flat cut)

parsley sprigs for garnish

Marinade:

1 Tbsp Oriental Sesame Oil

2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

½ Tbsp honey

3 Tbsp Soy Sauce - reduced sodium

½ Tbsp dark brown sugar

2 garlic cloves

4 dried red peppers - flaked

PREPARATION:

If you are using Bamboo skewers, soak in water at least 1 hour. (about 16)

 

Wash the Buffalo removing grizzle etc. Cut the buffalo into ¼" thin strips* (flying fingers technique) about 1inch wide by 3 to 5 inches long and place in a Zipper bag.

Peel the garlic and squeeze with a press. (Red Pepper flakes) Cut the red peppers in 4 pieces, remove as many seeds as practical, then crush the pieces; combine with the other Marinade ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Pour the marinade over the meat in the bag and massage to coat all the pieces thoroughly,  refrigerate for 2 hours, no longer.

Prepare the chimney starter and set it ablaze 15 to 20 min. before grilling

Remove the strips from the marinade and thread them onto skewers accordion fashion. Let the skewers rest in the marinate until grilling; then discard the used marinade!

GRILLING:

Dump the starter into the grill spreading the coals a little. Replace the grill grids and allow them to heat for a few minutes. Coat the cooking area with olive oil.

Place skewers on a grill grids and grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side until slightly charred.

Garnish with parsley sprigs. Serve immediately

* I also use a meat slicer to get consistently thin pieces.

Boston Italian Sub Sandwich

Boston Italian Sub, or as it is also known as a Submarine sandwich, Sub, Hoagie, Italian sub, Torpedo, Grinder, or what ever else you may call it, this is the recipe for the Original Boston Italian Sub (cold) before it got adulterated with everything in the refrigerator. It's a simple combination of two preserved Italian cold cuts, hot Capicola and Genoa salami, with what could be called a salad on top served on a elongated roll (baguette)

INGREDIENTS: per sandwich

1 Italian sub roll

8 slices (⅛ lb)  Genoa salami, thinly sliced

4 slices (1/16 lb) Capicola, Hot thinly sliced (As free of fat as you can find)

Dash (Drizzle) extra virgin olive oil

Dash (Splash) red wine vinegar

Real mayonnaise

3 slices of red ripe tomato

2 or 3 leaves lettuce compressed

PREPARATION:

Wash the lettuce leaves, shaking off as much water as you can. Then compress or press (Flatten) the leaves. Cut the center rib out if it is overly large. Wash the tomato and slice it moderately thick (3/16 to ¼"). Set aside. Slice the roll most of the way through on the side lengthwise.

ASSEMBLY:

 

Open the sub roll up almost flat and spread a light to moderate layer of mayonnaise. Now spread the slices of Capicola across the roll followed by salami. They should bridge the "hinge" between the halves of the roll. Now arrange the tomato on the meat toward the top bun. Finish with lettuce to cover the tomato.

Now drizzle a red wine vinegar over the lettuce just 'till it just runs off and out the end of the bun. Drizzle a little olive oil over the lettuce (not as much). Sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Fold the sub roll closed and slice in half on a diagonal.

   

SERVE:

Serve in a wicker basket lined with wax paper for that "Sub Shop" experience. Add a bottle of beer or soda and some half sour pickles

Morg's Spaghetti Sauce

Updated 3/5/2013                                                   Like all my recipes, they have a story with them. The spaghetti sauce was one of my specialties way back when I was in college in the early '60s. It seems that there weren’t many guys that could cook and I found out early on that I could avoid a lot of housework by being able to cook. This sauce was developed after enjoying spaghetti for most of my youth. I came up with this recipe to feed ten or twelve hungry guys and stay away from housework. 

We have continued to make this sauce over the many years of married life (45 of them) often times doubling the quantity and freezing the extra for future meals. The sauce is thick enough to be used as part of the filling in Lasagna.

Just an after thought - resist the urge to add Oregano - It is the primary difference in spicing between Pizza and Spaghetti sauces.

Recipe makes 8 quarts

INGREDIENTS:

2 ½  pounds hamburger (90% +) *

1 pound hot Italian sausage (Anything BUT Johnsonville)

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 med. onion

8 cloves garlic

4 12 oz. cans tomato paste

6 28-oz. cans Italian-style whole peeled plum tomatoes

2 28-oz. cans Italian-style crushed tomatoes

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

6 tsp Fresh rosemary (3 tsp dried)

4 Tbsp dried basil

2 tsp dried thyme

12 bay leafs
reserved tomato juice

2 can 14 oz of chicken stock (reduced sodium)

2 Tbsp sugar

1 cup red wine

 

PREPARATION:

Peel the onion and garlic, chop finely. Drain the plum tomatoes reserving the liquid and crush them (in the can) with a potato masher, just enough to form chunks. Remove the sausage from the casing and break it up with a potato masher (note some of the "sinew" will stick in the masher, just scrape the sausage off the masher with the back of a butter knife and throw away the sinew) . Wash the rosemary if using fresh shaking off the water, strip the leaves and chop finely. Grind the thyme in a mill to release the flavor.

COOKING:

Place the reserved tomato juice in a 4 qt pot and simmer (bubbling) until reduced to 1/3, then add to the pot.

Heat large heavy frying pan over medium heat then add olive oil followed by the onion. Sauté until translucent and slightly browned. Add garlic and stirring constantly for a minute. Add beef and cook, stirring, breaking it up into small bits, until the meat has browned. Drain excess fat and add the beef to the the sauce. Add the sausage to the fry pan and brown it breaking it up into small bits. Again drain and add it to the pot.

While the meat is cooking. Add all the tomatoes, reduced reserved tomato juice, chicken broth, sugar, bay leafs and wine to a large stock pot (15 to 20 qt.) Stirring to combined. Add the meat followed by the tomato paste and spices and cook for 1 minute stirring to combined. Bring to a slow boil and then reduce to low and simmer for 3 to 5 hour, stirring frequently (every 15 min or so). Watch the pot as the sauce has a tendency to burn in the center of the bottom if left unstirred for an extended period of time. If a fat layer forms around the edge while simmering, remove it with a spoon as you go along.

 Serve it over De Cecco Capellini Cut No. 9 (Angel Hair) and with some crusty Italian bread to sop up the sauce, a nice tossed salad and some hearty red wine!

* We had a 2-½ Lb. rump roast ground just for this recipe. Almost no fat.

NOTE: The sauce will be watery at first but  it will thicken after simmering. While the sauce is simmering, DO NOT cover tightly if at all, the water needs to boil off to allow it to thicken. If become too thick, add water as necessary. Or if it's too thin add more tomato paste.

Note 2 : If you have a cut up chicken, it can be added to the sauce while simmering (at least 2 hours) for added flavor and can be served with the meal.

La Truite Grenobloise

Trout in a Lemony Brown Butter Sauce with Capers

Another wonderful way to prepare trout - in Grenobloise, a classic French sauce, composed of lemon, brown butter(beurre noisette) and capers. In France it is called  "La Truite Grenobloise".

Cooking the trout with the skin on (after scaling) helps keep the fillets in tact and doesn't detract from the flavor as it does with salmon. Cooking the fillets on the flesh side until just "Crusted" then finishing up on the skin side yields a beautiful presentation.

INGREDIENTS:

2 6-8 ounce fillets rainbow trout; skin on, scaled
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
½  lemon
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ Tbsp capers
1-¼ Tbsp parsley

White Pepper
Parsley sprigs for garnish

PREPARATION:

Cut the lemon in half, juicing it. Peel the rind off the second half and separate the segments, then dice (brunoise) into ⅛" bits. Wash the parsley, shaking off the water and strip and mince the leaves. Drain and rinse the capers.

Wash the Fillets checking for bones. Dry with paper towels, then scrape the skin in one direction with the back of a butter knife to remove any remaining scales. Rinse again and pat dry. 

Season each fillet on both sides with freshly ground white pepper, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. With thicker fillets, you can go a little longer. Resting allowes the seasoning to seep into the flesh and not simply sit on the skin and surface. As usual, no salt is used.

COOKING:

Set a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the rim is hot to the touch, add the olive oil and heat just below smoking. Place each fillet flesh side down in the oil and cook until just brown about 2 or 3 min. Turn the fillets over and reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for two or three minutes more, until cooked through (135 to 140 deg). Remove fillets to a plate. Tent with foil to keep warm.

Reduce the heat to low. Remove pan and allowing it to cool for a bit. Add butter to pan and return to the burner and simmer until the butter is browned not black. You can tell if the butter is at the brown (hazelnut) stage when it gives off a pleasant, nutty aroma. If it still smells of flour, it is not yet at the noisette stage; if it smells burnt, start over as you've got Beurre noire, or black butter.

Remove pan from heat and add lemon segments and juice. Return to low heat, stir in capers and parsley, stirring to combine. Spoon sauce on and around fillets, garnish with parsley sprigs or lemon slices.

Adapted from a recipe by : Paul D. Smith