Gingered Brussels Sprouts

This dish was once the vegetable of the day at Vegetate, a really nice vegetarian restaurant here in DC.  As one friend described it, it's more of a "restaurant that happens to not have any dishes with meat in them" than a vegetarian restaurant.  According to their website, they are now in the process of moving and their 9th St location is closed.  I hope they open again soon, and in Southwest!  Anyway, these brussels sprouts were grilled and just bursting with juicy gingeryness and were amazing.  So good, in fact that I am working out the recipe.  What follows is my first attempt.  It needs work, but I will refine it the next time I get my hands on some good b-sprouts.

Gingered Brussels Sprouts
First tasted at Vegetate DC

Pick smaller, dark green, tight sprouts.  If you can find them on the stalk, they are probably fresher. Rinse your sprouts and remove any yellowing outer leaves if they happened to get in your bag.  Trim off  just a sliver of stem to remove the dried part but not cut any leaves.  Place them in a medium bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes.  Move on to the marinade.  In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp fresh grated ginger, 1 Tbsp honey and bring to a boil.  Continue boiling to reduce by half.  When cool, cut the sprouts in half and dress with some of the liquid.  Heat a small amount of olive oil on high in a pan and toss in the brussels sprouts, cut side down.  Brown for a minute or two, then turn off heat and mix in remaining liquid, tossing to coat.  Serve hot.

I need to try this a couple more times to refine the amounts and get the ingredients and technique better.  I would love to try this on the grill the way it was intended.  I may need a return trip to Vegetate.

Simple Grilled Veggies with Polenta

When I do get a chance to grill, I put as much stuff as I can over the coals because I can always use it later, and you can't get the smoky flavor many other ways.  So beside the octopus were a poblano pepper, a red bell pepper, portobello muchrooms, pipian squash, and cauliflower.  Today I reheated them in the oven and mixed up some polenta to go with.  Polenta is really nothing more than cornmeal, so it's on hand and easy to do.

Octo Feast

Inspired by some excellent marinated octopus we had in Portland Oregon several years ago, the recent NPR article that contained this recipe, my trip to the Eden Center, I had to try an octopus recipe.  The recent discovery of grills-in-the-park in Arlington and 70 degree weather last Saturday made this possible.  I have spared you pictures of the cute baby octopi that defrosted so nicely.  Needless to say I had to clean them myself.

Nine octopi were marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette and made three kebabs.  They cooked for three minutes a side just until the tips were charred.

Yummy.   I didn't get the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness I hoped for, but they were pretty tasty and not rubbery.  If these guys weren't overfished I would do this more often.  But seeing as these guys came from Thailand, I'm probably not going to do this again for a long time.

Pork Shoulder Chops

I am a big fan of pork on the grill. My favorite is jerk pork, but I decided to give this Martha Stewart recipe a try. The premise was good: use meat from the shoulder that is a bit more marbled than the lean loin chops, marinate in lager, and grill with a good BBQ sauce. I found these in the store called Boston Butt Chops - but while I like a good roast Butt, the chops weren't spectacular on the grill - I think a brined loin carefully not overcooked would be better. (By the way, the Boston Butt and Picnic Roast are both cuts from the shoulder.)

Chicken Diavola

So this is the chicken that I brag about. The skin is burned, yes, but it has done its job... protecting the meat, and giving the meat a hint of a smoky taste. If you have never butterflied a chicken before, you must. Cut out the backbone and put it in the freezer for making stock later. (More on this soon, I made stock this past weekend). Then flatten the chicken out and it's perfect for grilling or roasting without drying out the white meat and undercooking the dark. See how the leg meat has started to pull up the bone? I like my legs that way because I like leg meat really cooked firm. And the breast is still juicy! Another tip from Cook's: Put the spice rub under the skin. Diavola is a bit spicy - the rub is a cooked garlic-red pepper-black-pepper mix. Thanks to Howard and Lauren for the use of the grill!