Fire For The Barbecue

 Barbecue food can be somewhat routine. It's the same old burgers and dogs or ribs and chicken. The salad are blah as are those ears of corn. What do do ? Add some spice and fire to your grilling.

Fiery marinades are nothing new. They've been in Asian cooking foe centuries, livening uup all sorts of meats and veggies.One such ingredient chili crisp is becoming flavor of the summer with many home chefs adding it to their menus.It's actually an easy make and can be used in not just grilled food but to liven up omelets and even spaghetti and pizza sauces.It starts with frying shallots and garlic in peanut oil. Since it;s the crisp part that makes it so special, you can also add some peanuts or sliced ginger. Add to tat sugar soy sauce and the appropriate heat.Gochugaru, or Korean chili flakes is highly recommended but if you can;t find it a mix of cayenne and paprika will do the trick..Also add a cinnamon stick and star anise which brings some sweetness as does the sugar to the chili crisp. The peppery mix is added to the shallots and garlic after they've been removed from the oil.This allows them to  crisp up and give the mix that nice crunchiness. They're added back into the oil while the cinnamon stick and star anise pods are taken out. The entire oil is them left to refrigerate , usually overnight. Use a few tablespoons of this on burgers or even slather ribs in it before grilling.

Of course sriracha also works well in spicing things up. Add a few drops of it to ketchup to liven up sliders and any sausages. Sriracha mustard is another great condiment that can be drizzled on dogs or added to any potato salad. It's an easy make by combining a cup of yellow mustard with a quarter cup of the hot sauce, two tablespoons honey and a teaspoon of lime juice. Mix and serve how you like. Simple salads such as macaroni can easily get a lift from diced pepperoni. Spiced ham can also be added to this to make it more substantial. A teaspoon of pepperoncini flakes can also bring up the heat and make any salad  - even three bean much more interesting.Even grilled seafood can get a lift from some tasty fire. Whip up some bang bang shrimp sauce that's a signature Bonefish Grill dish.It's combining  half a cup of mayonnaise with two tablespoons Thai chili sauce (this can be found in your grocery's international aisle) with one tablespoon Sriracha sauce . A teaspoon of rice vinegar is added to thin it out. This is also good on grilled crab legs too.

Liven up your Memorial Day barbecue by adding some heat.  There's nothing like  some zing with the hamburgers or hot dogs, ribs chicken or shrimp. It's makes for a more exciting grill.

Just For Me

 Cooking for yourself can be blissful. There's no plethora of ingredients to chop dice or mince. There's only one person to satisfy - and best of all you can make whatever you like whenever you like.

Regular contributor Genvieve Ko wrote about this joy of cooking for self in yesterday's New York Times Food section.There's something soothing about being caught in the moment of making the perfect egg or sandwich. It's you alone in the  kitchen. Chef Ko offers tips to make cooking for one easy but delicious. First of all figure out what you like which should be easy.If you examine what you truly want , then it's less tempting to order in. The second question should be: whatever you make should be worth the time, energy and dollars.Even if you;re craving fries or something high end and fancy , then eat out. The recipes that make the most sense are the streamlined ones even if they're steak or scallops.For simple daily sustenance ask yourself if it;s worth having oatmeal for breakfast seven days a week or simple quesadillas once a week??C an you make stuffed mushrooms maybe twice every week without getting sick of them?It's also important to stock up when you can. Build a shopping list of your basics and choose the right quantity. Remember that even food on the verge of going bad can still be used  such as stir frying wilted lettuce.

Chef Ko offers three easy recipes that can easily be made and  two can be eaten the next night if you're not that hungry. One is curry roasted half chicken and peppers This is a sheet pan dinner in which half a chicken is rubbed with a homemade curry oil. Chopped peppers and onion are also tossed in it . Everything is spread over a parchment lined pan and roasted for about thirty-five minutes in a 400 degree Farenheit oven. You could squeeze lemon juice over it.Another is perfect for a Sunday brunch for one. It's basically using a biscuit cutter to make a hole in t the middle of a slice of challah or brioche and then plopping the egg into it.  Put the slice of cheddar n the other slice of whole  bread , Fry both in butter and then use them to sandwich bacon ro Taylor ham.There's also a tzatziki tuna salad perfect for a light lunch or dinner. THis is an easy make. Tzatziki can be made using Greek yogurt along with fresh dill, lemon juice and a minced garlic clove. Then it;s adding tuna in oil with yellow mustard and mix well. Serve on any kind of lettuce.

It's easy to cook for one.know what you like and cook with it.Every meal will be satisfying and delicious.

The Rise Of Omakase Sushi

 Sushi is not just sushi anymore.In most cases it's now omikase  in which  diners thoroughly trusts the chef to decide what they should eat.It's becoming popular with wealthy young men.Are omikase sushi houses becoming the next steak house? Possibly

Regular contributor Brett Anderson wrote about this in today';s New York Times Food section. Omikase sushi is the culinary trend that'[s growing stronger and not limited to just the East and West Coasts anymore.Omikase means "I leave it up to you" and it's at the chef's discretion what to serve. It's usually expensive and fresh ingredients, sometimes frown in straight from Japan.it's also making an impact on men, from their twenties to their forties as well. It's even garnered the nickname "bromokase" because it's such a male bonding experience. These sushi houses are now as popular as steakhouses. They are popping up all across the country. A short five years ago omikase sushi restaurants were only located in New York . Now Austen Texas is home to the popular SUshi Bar ATK, frequented by  popular podcaster Joe Rogen. Austen has become the American capital of omikase., also having it become part of mainstream American dining.

Omikases have been glammed up. Some have cocktail lounges, hip-hop soundtracks and colorful sauces. Some sushi chefs have even infused their personalities into  their restaurants. Chef Saine Wong of Toshokan is even known to pull out his guitar and to lead singalongs after nigiri, a mound of rice topped with different ingredients. His include potato  pave, a kind of scalloped potato and braised short ribs.These new school omikases are similar to previous sushi restaurants. They are extremely high priced and have limited seating. This is turning them into steakhouses which have always been known for their exclusivity and top notch ingredients.There is some criticism regarding this.Ryan Sutton, ANew York City restaurant critic  disapproved of this in his podcast " Free Food Podcast". A dinner for two in New York can easily top one thousand as he implies that omikase restaurants are aimed squarely at the financial industry and the super wealthy. They don't contribute to the food culture in any meaningful sense. Yet they are still popular .

Will omikase restaurants replace regular sushi bars? Possibly. They appeal to a certain type of wealthy young male.They can succeed with that following.

Fruity Desserts

 It's definitely time to put away all those cold weather ingredients.leave the cinnamon for the fall. It's too hot to fool with chocolate . Your best bet is fruit. There's nothing like a sweet treat loaded with the bounty of the season.

Strawberries are always a good addition to any cake, cupcake, muffin and even bread. Just keep in the mind that the berries should be pulverized then cooked down over a low flame.let this cool and you can fold into the batter. You can do the same for strawberry frosting too.(Keep in mind this is also wonderful on chocolate cake and cupcakes too. Another lovely and colorful treat is strawberry bread.This is perfect to make for Sunday teas or showers. It can be topped off with a vanilla glaze icing if you like , if not it's good on it's own,It's a quick bread so there'[s no yeast involved, just baking soda and baking powder for rise.Many home bakers low baking a strawberry and rhubarb pie. This is combining another harvest of the season, rhubarb with the berries for a sweet and tangy flavor. You can add just a teaspoon of orange juice to punctuate the other two's flavors. It's just stirring the cut rhubarb and berries with brown sugar, orange juice , cornstarch (for thickening, vanilla and salt. BAke in a traditional rolled out pie crust.

Of course the other star of the season is the blueberry. We're almost upon it here in New Jersey where it will last for three months until August. Again they're as versatile as the strawberry. Most home chefs love creating a Sunday morning stack of blueberry pancakes to start the day. Yet it can also work in another breakfast staple -  strata. Think a bread pudding scattered with the berries and then topped off with a home cooked  blueberry sauce. Use cubed French bread for this, layer it over blueberries and cream cheese. Then let it soak in an egg , milk and maple syrup overnight. While the strata is baking make the syrup. THis involves cooking down the berries with a mix of cornstarch, sugar and water.  Butter is added to this for richness and then poured on individual slices of the strata. (you could also save the syrup to pour over vanilla ice cream too).Peach season is also coming up. There are so many wonderful recipes to try with this ripe, plump fruit.They wonderful in such old fashioned desserts as buckles and crisps.A buckle is an easy egg free batter that just consists of milk ,f lower baking soda and salt.It;s wicked together and then spread in a pan .Layers of thinly sliced peaches are placed on top of it.A buckle is good with a blob of vanilla ice cream or freshly made whipped cream.

Fruit is the star of the season. Try any Berry or peach in a sweet dessert.It;'s tasting the bounty of Spring

Two Veggies Plus Rice Equal Dinner

 There's always a quandary when it comes to creating a tasty dinner.What do you make that satisfying and good for you.Do the math.it it takes is two veggies and some rice. You could also add a protein too.

Today was one of those days for me. I had no idea what to make and got inspired on a Lidl haul. Lidl has the best baby bella mushrooms.  I added their  brand olive with a whopping two tablespoons of Country Crock

Flavor ing was just a simple sprinkle of garlic powder.

Lidl also has excellent Roma tomatoes and I added three sliced one to this. 

Mushrooms and tomatoes cook up quickly. It took about fifteen to twenty minutes for everything to cook up nicely.

  The rice I used was Lidl't precooked packages which only take about ninety seconds in the microwave.

Together all three made a tasty and quick meal. Both the mushrooms and tomatoes have flavor but also the first offers protein which the second offers lycophrehe. I liked this and can even see it over pasta.

All it takes is two veggies and rice  to make a tasty and quick meal. This is perfect for dinner or even a hot lunch. Try it for something fast and different.

Piedmonte's Stufffed Agniolotti

 Piedmonte has many delicious foods. There's polenta with a good tomato cacciatore, pescoi polenta stuffed into Savoy cabbage and of course that anchovy rich treat bagna calda. Yet there's also agniolotti , ravioli.Yes it's made through Italy but stuffed pasta reigns here along with the rest of Northern Italy.

  Former editor of Bon Appetit magazine Dawn Davis The new York Times Travel Sunday magazine wrote about it in tomorrow's paper. Agniolotti de Plin or stuffed ravioli. According to Ms Davis friend Karina Moyer-Nocchi . a professor at the University of Sienna theorizes that ravioli and other variations came about during the Middle Ages as an off shoot of torta  ,a meat pie stuffed with veggies and different meats. They liked to miniaturize food among other things and want a smaller- bite sized version of pie.ravioli itself comes from riavolgere or to wrap, it was first written about by a Thirteenth Century friar Salabiene de Adam wrote about them A lot of Piedmontese like to stuff their agniolotti with rabbit - a common meat there along with pork or chicken. Another staple of Piedmontese cooking, Savoy cabbage, a fragrant, chewy cabbage is shredded and added to the filling. Spinach is sometimes added as well.The name itself has many origin stories. Some believe that it was named for a chef called ANtonio while others believe that it comes from lamb -agnello.Other believe it;s named after the instrument ugliot in dialect to cut the dough.

Like so many upper class dishes agniolotti de plini made its' way  into the homes of the ordinary ,Some restaurants like Guido's in Costiglie d'Asti there's an almost religious reverence and way of serving the stuffed pasta.It's served two ways,  thanks to Chef Ugo Alciati, Guido' thirty-seven year old chef.one in a shallow bowl with a rich veal sauce topped with grated Parmesan.The other way is that they're made bite sized with a nutmeg filling, heaped on a large linen napkin - a local custom) which is a nod to the Eucharist and the Last Supper.Many Piedmontese connected to the dish during the economic boom of the 1960's as a way t  remember their distant past.Is it easy to make in today's kitchen .It is. It's just making the dough , rolling it out and cutting it into squares.It's then pinching the dough  hence the name plini. It's hard to get rabbit here but you could easily use lamb which was used or chicken , along with a combination of spinach and Savoy cabbage. A simple brown butter sauce works with this,

There will always be good food in Piedmonte. Agniolotti is one of these tasty ones, enjoyed the world over. These ravioli are stuffed with goodness and flavor.

A Yummy Boost

 if you feel tired mid day or after lunch maybe you need a yummy boost. It could be anything from a handful of walnuts to a refreshing glass of ice green tea. This is what's needed from keeping you crashing at your desk, whether at a home office or a a more traditional one.

Anything can cause fatigue. It could be an underlying illness like diabetes or sleep apnea. Mostly it's our addiction to our devices. We stay up late answering e mails, watching the latest Tiktok videos or scrolling through social media. The morning is fine. we get up, have that breakfast and bounce about. Yet after lunch we may feel the need for a good long nap. This is perfect on a weekend with nothing to do but it can be a pain when you have papers to look over or kids to pick up from school.One of the top boosters are nuts. These can easily be bought in a package or a jar and kept in a handy drawer. A handful of almonds can help as can any other nuts. You can try the flavored ones for a different taste however the ones lightly salted with sea salt work just as well.Even peanut butter can be used for an energy booster. Make a plate of cracker sandwiches with them for a tasty snack. vary this with spreadable cheeses because dairy is  definitely fatigue fighter as well.  Having Brie or Gouda is a lovely way to enjoy a break. Another dairy rich snack to try is cottage cheese. Cut up either fruit or vegetables for a tasty cup.

Veggies also provide a lift as well as giving.extra nutrition.Try cut up carrots , broccoli and green peppers dipped in a fun oil and red wine vinaigrette. Add seasonings such as oregano and thyme to spice it up. You could even create a small salad with the addition of grape or cherry tomatoes. Any fruit is excellent for keeping away mid day tiredness. A fruit snack is also a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth(stay away from  any processed baked goods when you;re feeling sluggish - these will only add to the problem). A handful of cherries or grapes is always great for a quick bite. You could also make a fruit salad with them along with chunks of melon and apples . Drizzle a mix of honey and Greek yogurt over them to make them a bit more interesting.Add some grated dark chocolate or chocolate chips -another fatigue fighter. You could also have a bar of very dark chocolate to munch on as well.This and a hot cup of tea is a treat as well, perfect for keeping you bright eyed and awake.

Don;t worry if you're droopy and drowsy in the afternoon.There are yummy boosters that can revive you. Try them to make the most of your day.