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10 Legs in the Kitchen

~ Food. Dogs. Life!

10 Legs in the Kitchen

Monthly Archives: June 2015

“Fly” Fishing

28 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Stacey Bender in family gatherings, the kitchen

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Alaskan King salmon, food writing, recipes, smoked cherries, smoked king salmon, smoked salmon on a Mak 2 Star General pellet grill

IMG_3503

I have never been fly fishing.  I have been fly-in, then fish-fishing though and do realize how lucky that is.  I recently saw a picture of my nephew with his first-caught fish.  I smiled at the image because it reminded me of my first-caught fish which (by the way) was bigger than my then seven-year-old self and, I believe, weighed considerably more than me (yes, that sounds fishy to me too).  I did truly “catch” the largest salmon on that fishing trip though, even if my Grandpa had to help me reel it in!

IMG_3532What ‘ya got there Derek?  Need a hand?

derik
…ok, you got this one by yourself?

Among many other things, Grandpa is a pilot (as is John and for that matter, my Mom).  When I recall fishing in Alaska, I recall flying to the destination.  I hate to fly in general, still to this day, but I liked flying with him (or is that why I am now scared of flying; upside-down flying and all?).  Truth be known, I am not that crazy about fishing now either.  I like the idea of it though.  It sounds pretty cool for someone who loves eating and cooking fresh fish.  My Mom always baited my rod for me and when I reeled one in, she was the one that got dirty taking it from the hook.  I wasn’t a “girly” girl, but I didn’t like to get my hands in the guts (yuck) either.  Good thing I had Mom for that.

IMG_3531Grandpa taking off

In any case, I am much more interested in cooking than fishing now, but I’m lucky to have Grandpa, John, Mom and sometimes my brother Mark, to fly-in and catch it each Summer.  I am also lucky because Mom and John just came to town, bringing (in addition to fried chicken from Grandpa’s restaurant) king salmon + sockeye, caught literally the day before.  Sorry Gemini, it just doesn’t get fresher than that, for me!

Grandpa still flies himself (!!!) to fish for salmon, at, well, lets just say he’s had over 90 years on Earth, let alone the years in the air!  How many people can say that?  He brings it back to his restaurant and fries it up for the Lucky regulars sitting around the counter (who likely caught wind of what George was up to that day).

Grandpa in action: 

So, for our little eight legs, two medium legs and Tom’s larger legs, we scurry to the grill to cook up the rest of the catch brought by hand, by way of commercial airlines, insulated bags and cold packs, just in time for an unconventional heatwave in Seattle’s June summer.

Mom cooked her signature salmon for us a few nights ago (see below).  It awaited for us upon our return home from work, at the ready, for flash-cooking and begged to be devoured quickly along with sweet corn, grilled asparagus and whole Rainier cherries bitten from their pits and spit into the garden in hopes of cherry trees next year (of course, we do this every Summer and the squirrels usually just haul them off, and alas, the two decades-old “planted” cherry trees in the yard, are non-fruit bearing).

ps_salmon platterThanks for the great dinner Mom!

We brined the fish, smoked the sockeye and pre-smoked the king.  At the end of the day…we had fish.  Smokey, yummy fish.
PS2_hot smoke smoking
King Salmon smoking…

PS hot smokedHot-smoked King (salmon, not Elvis)

IMG_3492
Hot-smoked Sockeye

Sorry, no photos available of the grilled king salmon with smoked jalapeño cherry sauce – I know you can use your imagination for this though.

Gin and Tonic Smoked Salmon

Today’s weather is a reprieve from a 91+ degree F heatwave that day (a paltry 88 for the high predicted).  I brined my sockeye fillet in a mix of gin, tonic, lime, lemon, sugar and salt.

INGREDIENTS

2-3 lbs fresh salmon fillet (mine were sockeye, skin on… Mom didn’t want me to smoke the king – oops, did a little bit anyway… ssshhhhh).

1/4 cup turbino sugar
1/8 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup gin (I used Tangueray)
1 cup tonic water (I used Q-Tonic)
Juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 a lime

Fennel fronds (or whatever herb you might want it’s scent imparted)

Prepare 

Making a brine is easy and requires less fuss than one would expect from the things I have read on the internet.  Simply mix the brine ingredients in a Ziploc freezer bag,  stir well to let the sugar dissolve and then add the fish.

The fish should be rinsed and patted dry.  The skin can be left on or removed.  You will want to let it brine for 4-6 hours or overnight for a real immersion.

Set your smoker to “smoke”.  *We use our new Mak 2 Star General wood pellet grill for our smoking and the grill temp was between 180-200 degrees at that setting.  Let it smoke until the thickest part reaches 140 degrees F.  For us, it was 3 hours.

Easier than you thought, eh?

You can eat this straight from the bone or add to a cracker with dill sauce or creme fraiche + drink a gin & tonic (again, use your imagination, sky is the limit).

IMG_3507

But whatever you do, do try this!  It is outstanding!  Smokey, but not too smokey.  As spicy hot as you want it to be (1 jalapeño with seeds removed worked for me but go with your gut, it may or may not thank you later).

smoked cherry

Smoked Jalapeño Cherry Sauce 

This was a bonus because I had a bag of cherries and a fire-pot of smoke.  I simply emptied them onto the grill (in my side cold-smoker tray) and let them smoke alongside the hot-smoking salmon.   The jalapeño tagged along for the ride.

IMG_3481Hmmm…not sure where that eggplant ended up?

The cherries were perfect for eating with a cheese plate in that they were still raw but contained a mild smokey quality.  I wanted to make a sauce though and the smoke was to be more assertive, so I took the cold-smoked cherries and threw them directly onto the grate with the king salmon as I smoked it the next day and let them smoke away (this is starting to sound like a Cheech and Chong movie).

Two hours later, I pulled them off, pitted them and threw them into my Blendtec with just enough water to make them saucy (1/8 cup?).

That’s it!  De-lish!  Stay tuned for rack of lamb with this sauce….

…or use your imagination!

buddy + gingerMeanwhile…Buddy & Ginger are back to the observation deck awaiting their next meal.

Red Rover

21 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Stacey Bender in the kitchen

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

recipes, rice and beans, Tomatillo chicken thighs

PS_ginger on marimeko

I never liked games like dodgeball in school.  I always got hit.  Hard.  Red Rover was equally un-satisfying because I was often the kid that didn’t get picked.  I didn’t mind not being picked, but it still made me hold my breath as each name was called.  I hated to draw attention to myself, but somehow I always did.  Not knowingly, but did.  Not during this game though; it showed me no love.

I don’t pay much attention to my blog statistics, but okay, I peak, now and again.  I get really excited when I have a new number (of followers).  That sounds kind of creepy when I say it out loud.  What I mean is, people who choose to follow new Posts on my Blog.  It was climbing rapidly and then all of a sudden went backwards.  I got hung up on one number.  124.  I loved number 124.

But then, it became 123 once again.

123, no, 124, no, 123, 124…123, again!

Red rover, red rover, send 124 right back on over.

Number 124, I am talking to you!   You know who you are.  I couldn’t help but notice you un-followed me, four times!  I understand.  No, really, I do.  I’m not in this for the numbers, I like the love though, don’t you like the love?  Did you really mean to hit the “unfollow” button?  Let me take just a moment to break this down a bit.  Is my Blog not your style?  Are Ginger and Buddy not cute enough?  Perhaps it is my food.  Is it my food?  My food is too fussy, isn’t it?  Wait, is it not fussy enough?  I can make it really fussy.

What if Ginger and Buddy cooked instead?  Hmmm, that might be challenging though.  I can take your requests.  I will cook just for you!  I bet it is my writing, not my cooking at all.

Is it my writing?  I can be too wordy?  Do I offend?  What if I write you a poem?  Can I beg you to come back?  Oh wait, I make it a habit not to beg.  Ginger and Buddy have less scruples though and are wondering, “What will it take to bring you back?”!!!  They say they will stop snarfing (well, I don’t think they will, you can’t really count on that!).  They say they will be cuter (but nobody is cuter than them)!  They will talk less and be cute more (ha)!  What if they start wearing hats?

Buddy_Ginger in Hats_cropped

What if I talk less and cook more?  Take better photos?  How about no photos at all?  Oh well, like I said, I am not in this for the numbers.  I do like the love though.  So, to show you the love, I will cook more and talk less, just this once.  Just for you number 124!  I’m cooking this for you, only you!

Tomatillo Chicken Thighs over Jade Rice and Pinto Beans

I’m not chicken to ask you to come back number 124!  This is full of flavor and completely satisfying.  Served over jade rice and pinto beans, with a few leaves of quickly-grilled romaine lettuce and a dollop of yogurt; I think, even you might agree to come back.  This is not fussy, light on words and full of love.

INGREDIENTS

3-4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in

Sea salt and pepper
2 tsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
2 tsp cumin
Squeeze of lemon juice
3 TB plain yogurt
Olive oil for browning
1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (good-quality purchased or home-made)

Serve with rice and beans, romaine lettuce, tomato slices and yogurt – see below.

PREPARE

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry.  Season lightly with salt and heavily with pepper.

Mix the oregano, chipotle powder, cumin, lemon juice and yogurt in a medium bowl or freezer bag.  Add the chicken and let marinade for at least a 1/2 hour and up to a day, before cooking.

Heat an oven-proof pan, large enough to hold the chicken in one layer, but small enough to keep it snug.  Add enough olive oil to coat the pan. When hot, add the chicken, skin-side down.  Let the chicken sit, undisturbed, until browned.  When the chicken is ready to release itself from the pan without tearing away the skin, turn it over.

Add the salsa, mostly around the sides with a little dollop on top.  Transfer, uncovered, to a 350-degree oven.

Cook approximately 30 minutes.  The chicken should be cooked all the way through and very tender.  The top should be beautifully browned.

MEANWHILE – make the rice and beans

While the chicken is cooking, cook the jade rice (I use a rice cooker with a 1/2 cup rice to 1 cup water and a dollop of salsa thrown in).  Mix with 1 cup drained, cooked pinto beans (I cook mine in a pressure cooker with a good amount of chipotle powder and cumin).  One cup dried beans with 3 cups water, cooked on high-pressure for 20 minutes produces a slightly spicy bean.  Season with salt after cooking and add a splash of vinegar.  You will want to strain the beans out of their liquid for this dish.

Mix one part rice to one part beans and serve under the chicken with a few leaves of grilled romaine lettuce.  A dollop of sour cream is always welcome in our home.
PS_IMG_3189It was too yummy and late to photograph the first night and clearly too late the second.  I know I am not helping my case here, but the photograph I did get is grainy due to the dark night.  I reheated the thighs in a pan with the rice and beans.

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