Summer BBQ Theme

Each theme meet-up, I think to myself, "it can't get any better" and each time, it does! I am so impressed given our busy lifestyle and schedules, that we can still manage to update this blog, do homework, and meet up every month or so for fabulous food and conversation. This was the original intent of course, but to actually make it happen is amazing. Kudos to everyone!

What I loved most about this theme were the vibrant colors generated from the recipes we chose (colorful relish, orange peaches, yellow corn, etc), the freshness of the food, and the fun aspect of "cooking" it together on the grill in a festive outdoor setting.

Looking forward to September's Washoku theme which I'm sure will be challenging and fun at the same time.

Grilled Peaches and Cream with Shortbread Cookies and Corn Ice Cream: Piecing Together Elements

Grilled Peach with Cream, Shortbread Cookies, and Corn Ice Cream

When we decided on the theme for this next club meet-up, Lee and I were at a loss for what to do. "Grilled" desserts aren't broad-ranging in recipes when you do a search online. Nor is it easy to find much in most cookbooks. After searching, I did notice a few themes for grilling sweets: Fruits, S'mores, and using the grill as an oven to bake breads and cakes were the majority of concepts out there. After perusing a bulk of the recipes, I felt a little disappointed that the recipes I found were almost too simple--the idea mainly being that grilling brings out the natural flavors in fruits, and there's not much else to it.

So, feeling the lack of a challenge in the found recipes, I decided to test my palate by piecing together a few extra elements to one of the recipes to make a grander recipe. We wanted to do a fruit, and peaches sounded like a great flavor to start with. Then using the concept of "peaches and cream," I wanted to add an ice cream to add some creaminess, and I thought corn would go well with the cream flavor as well. So, we decided to try a corn ice cream. Also, at a previous dinner, my sister-in-law had made some great tasting shortbread cookies, and I thought that might add to the dish. I procured the recipe from her. It also turned out to have nuts in it as well, which I thought would work with the butter, corn, cream, and peaches.

Before grilling the peaches, we had to get the ice cream and the shortbread ready since the peaches would be served immediately off the grill.

Two days prior, we made a batch of the corn ice cream. Overall this was easy, having made a few rounds of ice cream batches in the past. One of the problem areas when making ice cream is during the mixing of the egg (yolks or whites) with the hot cream. If not done properly, the eggs can cook and clump up. Ice cream recipes will tell you to whisk the yolks/whites as you slowly pour in the hot cream mixture. This is easier said than done, as one hand is whisking and the other is holding a potentially large saucepan that's pretty hot. There's room for human error. A solution that worked for me was to put the eggs in a blender, and turn it on low speed. With both hands free, you can slowly pour in the cream mixture as the blender does the mixing for you. Another thing I added into the mix for this batch was some salt and vanilla extract. I might have added too much salt, and not enough sugar. After finishing, I tried it out and I'm not sure if it was sweet enough. It tasted like corn, but not so much like a dessert. However, when eaten with the sweetness of the honey and the peaches, they balanced out to work fairly well. I started another batch tonight, and adjusted the sugar level to make it more sweet. We'll see how that goes at the club meeting.

Prepping the corn for infusion with heavy cream and milk.

Adding sugar.

Adding heavy cream and milk.

Separating the egg yolks from the whites.

Adding sugar to the yolks.

Bringing the corn/cream mixture to a boil.

Blending the yolks with the hot corn/cream mixture in the Vitamix.

Thickening up the custard.

Straining out the skins.

The ice cream maker at work.

Corn Ice Cream!

Yesterday, we made the shortbread cookies. The recipe's pretty simple, basically just mixing all the ingredients together, which results in a crumbly dough. Then the heavy cream is added to get it to stick together. One thing I found is that you shouldn't add too much as you still need to roll the dough out, cut it, and be able to pick it up so you can place it on the baking pan. So if it's too wet, that's very hard to do. We tried cutting them into circles of various sizes, with a few thoughts of placing cookies under the peaches and/or into the side of the ice cream. In the end we tried both, and found that both was overkill both in presentation as well as texture/taste. For the offical BBQ, we'll probably do one or the other.

Starting the Shortbread Cookies with butter and sugar.

Mashing it all up.

Adding in finely chopped walnuts and flour.

Adding in heavy cream to get the dough to stick.

Cutting the dough into circles.

On the baking pan and into the oven.

Shortbread Cookies.

Tonight, we put all the pieces together. We got the grill going, then ate dinner. Lee halved the peaches, pitted them, oiled the cut sides, and placed them on the grill. Then after about 3 minutes, I flipped them over so the pit was upright, and we were able to put honey over the top, then a small mound of cream cheese with nuts into the recession of the pit. We also placed two different sizes of the shortbread cookies on the grill for a few minutes to warm them up. As the peaches were finishing, the larger of the shortbread cookies were placed on the plates. Then each plate got a scoop of the corn ice cream to accompany the cookie. The smaller cookies stood on the ice cream as the peaches came off the grill and landed on top of the large shortbread platform. We topped the cream cheese with a few blueberries, and the dish was complete!

Firing up the grill.

Grilling the peaches open face down.

Adding honey after the peaches are done on the pit side.

Adding cream cheese.

Final plating.

Overall, the dish came together pretty well. The nuttiness of the cookies worked well with the corn-flavored ice cream which balanced out the natural sweetness of the peaches and the honey. Now to figure out a beverage pairing...

Grilled Peaches and Cream and Nutty Shortbread Biscuit (with Optional Corn Ice Cream)

We combined a few recipes from different sources to make the ultimate grilled dessert.

Part 1 (Prep prior to Part 3):

Nutty Shortbread
Source: (Amy Marie Joh’s Family Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar, 12 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

2 cups flour

half and half (or whipping cream if you want it to be extra rich)

Directions:

Cream the sugar and the butter together.

Add in the chopped walnuts and flour.

Mix dough until you get a crumbly texture.

Add just enough half and half (or whipping cream) to make the dough stick together.

Roll out the dough and cut it with cookie cutters

Place cut dough in a glass baking pan or pie dish.

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes or until done (depends on thickness).

Part 2 (Optional):

Sweet Corn Ice Cream

Source (Epicurious By Claudia Fleming; www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sweet-Corn-Ice-Cream-102304)

Ingredients:

4 ears fresh corn, shucked

2 cups milk

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

9 large egg yolks

Directions:

Using a large knife, slice the kernels off the corn cobs and place in a large saucepan. Break the cobs into thirds and add them to the pot along with the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, then turn off the heat. Using an immersion mixer or a blender, puree the corn kernels (not the cobs). Infuse for 1 hour.

Bring the mixture back to a simmer, then turn off the heat. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Add a cup of the hot cream to the yolks, stirring constantly so they don't curdle. Add the yolk mixture to the saucepan, stirring. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spoon, about 10 minutes.

Pass the custard through a fine sieve, pressing down hard on the solids, discard solids. Let the custard cool, then cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

Part 3:

Grilled Peaches and Cream

Source: (www.allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grilled-Peaches-and-Cream/Detail.aspx)

Prep Time: 15 Min

Cook Time: 8 Min

Ready In: 23 Min

Recipe Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

4 peaches, halved and pitted

2 tablespoons clover honey

1 cup soft cream cheese with honey and nuts

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat a grill for medium-high heat.

Brush peaches with a light coating of oil.

Place pit side down onto the grill. Grill for 5 minutes, or until the surfaces have nice grill marks. Turn the peaches over, and drizzle with a bit of honey.

Place a dollop of the cream cheese spread in the place where the pit was. Grill for 2 to 3 more minutes, or until the filling is warm.

Serve immediately with ice cream and shortbread cookie.

Atún Asado con Salsa Mexicana a la Antigua

"A grill, which is, in short, but a roast on an open fire, stands, in my opinion, as the remote starting-point, the very genesis of our art."

— Auguste Escoffier, Le Guide Culinaire

Suggested Pairing:
Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc or Oregon Pinot Gris

Serving Size: 6 servings

• 8 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
• Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 2 Serranos or 4 Jalapenos), stemmed
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
  
• Salt
• 6 5 oz. to 6-oz. fresh tuna steaks or skinless, meaty fish fillets, about 3/4-inch thick
• 3 cups chopped (1/4-inch diced) heirloom tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
• 1 small, red onion, finely chopped
• 2 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, plus a few sprigs for garnish
• Olive oil or vegetable oil for brushing or spraying the fish

Preparation Notes:

• Or Rather, Non-Prep. There is little in this recipe that can be done in advance - except the marinade, which will hold for a day or so in the refrigerator if well covered. If the fish spends more than three or four hours in that limey marinade, it will get pickled. Beautiful tomatoes with salt and lime on them also begin to wilt after an hour or two.
• Atún Alternatives. Other substitutions for tuna might be snapper, grouper, wahoo, marlin, or salmon
• Herb Amounts. The intensity of the herb(s) you choose will dictate quantity. Cilantro is predictably delicious, a touch of mint is springy, a little lemon thyme or lemon balm or lemon verbena adds sunshine, and basil - well, who doesn't like basil?
• Evaluating Heirlooms. Think about a variety of heirloom tomato colors and flavors, from Black Prince to Green Zebra to Sun Gold to Brandywine

Preparation:

Prepare the Marinade/Flavoring. In a small dry skillet, roast the unpeeled garlic and the chiles over medium heat, turning occasionally, until soft (the skins of both will have blackened in spots, which is okay as long as the flesh doesn't burn), 5 to 10 minutes for the chiles, 15 minutes for the garlic. Cool, then peel the garlic. Place both garlic and chiles in a food processor or blender along with the lime juice. Run the machine until the mixture is as smoothly pureed as possible. Season highly with salt, usually about 3/4 teaspoon.

Marinate the Tuna. Scoop two-thirds of the marinade into a large, non-aluminum, baking dish. Lay the fish in the marinade and smear the mixture on all sides of each piece. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the salsa.

Make the Salsa. Scrape the remaining marinade into a medium bowl. Mix in the chopped tomatoes. Scoop the onion into a small strainer, rinse under cold water and shake off the excess; and add to the tomatoes. Stir in the herbs. Taste and season with additional salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.

Grill the Fish. Heat a gas grill to medium-high or light a charcoal fire and let it burn until the coals are covered with gray ash and very hot (the fire feels almost intolerably hot to most cooks when they hold there hand 4 or 5 inches above the grill grates for 5 seconds). Set the cooking grate in place, cover the grill and let the grate heat up, 5 minutes or so. Remove the fish from the marinade, brush or spray with a generous coating of oil and lay on the hot grill. Cover the grill and cook 3 minutes. Uncover, flip the fish over, cover once again and cook until the fish is as done as you like - 1 to 2 minutes more is all that's needed for medium-rare tuna.

Transfer the fish to dinner plates, spoon on the beautiful salsa and decorate with herb sprigs - and you're ready to eat.

Recipe Source:
Website: Rick Bayless
Rick Bayless is chef of Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, and Xoco in Chicago, creator of Frontera gourmet foods, cookbook author, and host of Mexico - One Plate at a Time.

P.S., I'm happy to say that we are now the proud owners of a gas grill, which came with our new home, which closed last week...homework, here we come!