Friday, July 29, 2016

This Week's Menu: Barbecued Pizza and Buttermilk Pancakes



Nothing says summertime like cooking outside. Pizza is a baked item but no one wants to turn on a hot oven in the kitchen during this hot season...especially in our neighborhood where over-100 temps are the norm this time of year.



But pizza is still a great summer food, especially with an ice-cold beer in your hand.  If you have a gas grill with a lid, you've basically got an outdoor oven...perfect for baking.



We'll use that to make our pizza.



For breakfast, we put up our third pancake recipe, this time it's the very classic buttermilk pancake recipe.



Everything you need are at the links below.





BREAKFAST: Buttermilk Pancakes






DINNER: Barbecued Pizza

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

DINNER: Barbecued Pizza


Well, technically, grilled pizza but we're cooking it outside on our gas barbecue grill.

Dough is premade from Trader Joes and so are the canned San Marzano tomatoes (which I substitute for fresh tomatoes in our regular pizza sauce recipe...click on that link).



After rolling the dough and spreading it out on the baking pan, I ladle on and spread the San Marzano tomato sauce evenly on it.



A layer of shredded prosciutto, mozzarella, and Parmesan go next.



Finish with another layer of mozzarella and Italian sausage.



Get the temp on the grill to 400. This is a little hot so we need to turn it down a bit.



Put pan on grate.



Cook covered for ten minutes.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Friday, July 15, 2016

This Week's Menu: The Magic of Compounding - Pan Fried Rib Eye Steak with Compound Butter and Chilaquiles con Huevos

Picture by Letty Musick - copyright 2016


We're doing our pan-fried rib eye steaks again on the gas barbecue but the catch this week is adding a bit of compound butter on top to compound the taste.  This is a very easy way to add a deeper level of flavor to the meat.


For Breakfast, it's one of my favorite Mexican specialties, Chilaquiles con Huevos (or tortilla chips and eggs).


Recipes at the links below.




CONDIMENT: Compound Butter




DINNER: Pan-Fried Rib Eye




BREAKFAST: Chilaquiles con Huevos


Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Saturday, July 2, 2016

An Amalgamation of Classics


Sometimes, in my kitchen or even the bar, I'm kind of like a Dr. Frankenstein...mixing different things together to get a hybrid result. Or would that be Dr. Moreau, crossing different species to rush along evolution? Anyway, this dish...very suitable for a sunny, summer day barbecue...is one of those creations


Go to Minnesota and you need to try a Juicy Lucy (or 'Jucy', depending on where you get it). This burger is a specialty here where the cheese is put inside the meat patty before cooking.

Here in Southern California, there's another local chain that has made its mark with the 50~50 burger. This burger features a patty that is half ground beef and half bacon.


Here at the Sunday Sauce blog, we figure why decide between one or the other? We'll make both, hence the 50~50 Juicy Lucy.


INGREDIENTS


1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork
2 strips cooked bacon, cut into thirds
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Slap ya' Mama
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheese
6 slices of colby jack (or your favorite) cheese



Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (except for the bacon and cheese), cover and let chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.




I cover a large cutting board with wax paper and do the same with a handy plastic bowl.  Years ago, my cousins gave me a burger press, one of the handiest gadgets I own.  I'll be using that to press out the patties.


I'm doing double burgers with two quarter pound patties.  I put about an eighth of a pound down on the wax-paper covered cutting board and sprinkle a bit of the shredded cheese on it. Another same-size bit of meat goes on top.


I press down with my press as hard as I can. Some meat will squeeze out the bottom. I lift up, put that meat back in the middle and press again.



This is the patty I get as a result.  With my fingers, I press gently all around the patty to spread it out a bit.  I like to have a finished patty that's about an inch wider in diameter than my bun because it will shrink that much in cooking. That way, I'll have perfectly sized patties for the bun.



Put the finished patties on wax paper in the plastic bowl. I'm doing six patties for three double burgers. In the end, I think maybe one patty for each one would have been plenty but make as much or little as you'd like.


Cook over the coals in direct heat for two minutes per side.


Finish with 4-6 minutes on each side over indirect heat, covered, putting cheese on top for the final few minutes.


Garnish  as you would your favorite burger and enjoy. I also put some bacon on ours.


Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved