Tell us what you have cooked lately (that's interesting)

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7172

Hell yes, my dude, that looks like a great shared meal. Nicely done :-D

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I tried to make up a pasta. It didn’t turn out how I wanted, but it’s still pretty good.

Sauteed sliced garlic, minced red chili, and halved cherry tomatoes in olive oil, then added in some crab meat, stirred it around, and deglazed with white wine. Splashed in some water from my boiling linguine pasta (which I added halved asparagus spears to with 1.5 minutes to go) into the mix for thickening, brought it to a simmer to reduce, and then added in the cooked pasta and asparagus, as well as some thawed-out, pre-cooked extra-small shrimp. Salt, pepper, and fresh parsley to taste, then plate.

It’s. . . fine. Probably too much pasta, but I got nervous and wound up adding the whole box when I shoulda done 1/2 or 3/4. The shrimp aren’t as nice as something like muscles would be, but I’m cheap. The crab shredded up into tiny clumbs of crabbiness. The garlic slivers browned just a little too much, then got soggy in the wine.

But the taste? Taste is pretty excellent. I kinda made this up as I went along, so I’m happy to revise, refine, and try again someday.

7173

I couldn’t taste it obviously, but it looks like the sauce is a bit thin in that one. I would have added some Better than Bouillon (looks horrible but it is a great product) or rehydrated dried shittakes to drive up the umami, then mounted butter to thicken.

7174

Looks good to me and sounds good as well, like a pasta version of paella. I would have only added a little lemon juice to brighten it.

When I try to make stuff like that I usually fail trying to time out when to add each thing to get it perfect by serving time. Your’s looks pretty darned good, man.

7175

Ooo, I like the dried shiitakes suggestion a lot. Keeping that in mind for next time. And yeah, that was an area kinda lacking. I wonder if the more “traditional” Italian thing would be to mince up a couple of anchovies into the base with the garlic and chilies.

@Skipper, in terms of texture, I was pretty pleased. The asparagus was old as fuck, and I overcooked the tomatoes a bit, but it all worked out alright. But yeah, it’s just. … missing something. Can’t place it. Maybe it is the umami thing and thicker sauce.

7176

I do!

I subbed in some onions instead of olives, but it’s one I’ve made a few times. Very flavorful.

7177

Anchovies would also have been amazing, toss in some olives and lemon zest too and you’ve got a Calabrian pasta.

I do recommend trying Better than Bouillon, it is a surprisingly delicious “cheat”. It ain’t your gramma’s bouillon cubes.

Bon Appetit thought it was comparable to boxed stocks in many cases, and better in some.

7178

Oh hell yes. This is perfectly timed. We got the home “condo” garden going last weekend so I have some really nice fresh rosemary. I won’t have tomatoes for a bit though.Thank you, Craig.

7179

I make something very similar to that, without the crab and with samphire instead of asparagus, pretty regularly. I’m curious why you put the crab in before deglazing.

As for something else to try with crab, I direct you to my crab fried rice way up in the thread.

7180

Genuine answer:

My chilies and garlic were moments away from burning, and I forgot that my cheapo wine was a twist-off cap, not a cork, so I needed something I could quickly toss into the pan to absorb the excess heat.

7181

The Better than Bouillon stuff is great. In use the chicken one all the tone for soups.

7182

Okay. Deep breath.

I’ve posted over on the Grills and Grilling thread about a birthday party we are throwing this weekend, because I needed to resurrect a gas grill and needed advice. Great success resurrecting the grill. I’ve never used a gas grill before, so I’m super happy that it seems to be working out.

Now I need some advice on shopping for the party. I’m not used to throwing parties involving grilling these days. I can put together a few pasta dishes and stuff like that, but I’m not sure on quantities for the grilling.

The invite asks folks to bring some of their own stuff for grilling, but we cannot rely on that to feed everybody. So we plan to provide burgers and dogs and some vegetarian options for others. About 30 people (kids and adults) are coming. We are thinking of burgers and other stuff for maybe 10 or 15, to fill the gap.

How much meat for burgers for 10 people? How many steaks and what cuts would you get, just in case?

What kind of fish might you consider for a cookout?

I’m working on a shopping list now, I’d just like some advice on some things you all have found that generally fall through the cracks in throwing an event like this. I’m nervous, but high right now because I successfully got the grill working…and that feels very cool.

Any ideas you all have are welcome. I promise to repay with pictures from said event! :)

-xtien

7183

I’d say a rough approximation of 1/3lb ground beef for burgers per person. So for 15 people that’s 5lb.

The big thing to watch is condiments. Since you are doing an open invite to bring things, have a decent selection available. Mustard (I usually do a yellow, and a brown or Dijon), ketchup, relish, bbq sauce, pickles in both relish and chips or spears, onion slices, lettuce, tomato slices, and buns and rolls.

I’d also probably plan on some grilled corn or squash. Grilled zucchini or asparagus is delicious.

If you’re grilling fish I’d generally go for things like salmon, tuna, or swordfish. Your white fish tends not to hold up while grilling, and generally lacks flavor. A tuna steak is meaty enough to grill, and has a good flavor. Same with salmon with a rub and some lemon. Good flavor, solid fish. Though do be careful, if it sticks to the grill it might start to fall apart, so starting it on some aluminum foil to cook, then finishing with a sear is not a bad plan.

Steaks… I don’t do much red meat, but we usually buy a beef tenderloin and butterfly up a bunch of small cutlets for steak.

7184

Thank you, Craig. I totally would have overlooked corn, and that is a huge favorite around here. I love grilling it, but more importantly, I have three viable options related to it if I’m low on grate space. I can do killer corn in the oven and the microwave. It’s one of the few things I really love using the microwave for.

Also that reminds me I need to get butter.

Great call.

-xtien

7185

Salmon is great on the grill. I like a nice smoky teriyaki or a simple lemon and herb thing.

7186

Grill grates aren’t the most supportive surface for burgers, and grilled burgers are gonna shrink up something fierce, so count on 1/3 - 1/2lb burgers being the most stable and bun-appropriate post-cooking (pat fairly flat, but still healthy/thick enough to not crumble on the grates, pressing down a thumb into the middle, to account for shrinkage). If everyone gets a single (they’ll be kinda fat no matter what–again, can’t pat ultra flat like you might for skillet-cooking), then you need at least a pound for every three people. If folks are gonna double up or go back for seconds, increase accordingly.

You can supplement with all beef or chicken/turkey hot dogs. Just make sure to check how level your grill is with something round and roll-y ahead of time. It’s prettier to have the grill marks crossing them perpendicular, sure, but if your grill’s tilted enough that you have to spend 80% of your time fighting the hot dogs to stay in place and not roll off, you’re better off just wedging them parallel to the grates and accepting a little less beauty.

Don’t forget to grill your hamburger buns especially–little softened butter and on they go. Just keep an eye on 'em.

Grilled corn is excellent. Consider grabbing some mayo, garlic, paprika, and cotija cheese so guests can lather up some elote for themselves. Asparagus is also great, but cooks pretty fast; again, worth watching. Long, on-the-bias slices of squash or zucchini is nice, as well. Eggplant, if you salt and drain ahead of time.

If you’re not the only one manning the grill, or even if you are and wanna be safe, consider getting something to visually and immediately ID the meat-utensils vs. vegetarian-utensils. We kept mixing them up and having to go inside and wash them last weekend, d’oh.

Another seafood option is some marinated shrimp (bit of garlic, oil, lime, chilies, salt and pepper) on skewers. Very tasty.

If you want more fun world flavors, consider marinating a couple of pounds of chicken in half a cup of greek yogurt mixed with 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp chili powder (pure, not the cumin-chili-pepper blend–cayenne is a good substitute–and increase or decrease based on diner preferences), and either 2 tsp cumin and 1 tbsp coriander, or 1.5 tbsp of curry powder, plus the juice of a lime. Marinate for 1-4 hours. Grill. If breast, chop into chunks and skewer. Otherwise, thighs and drumbones work great, too. Delicious chicken tikka.

Baked potatoes are a nice and easy side for you–bake a couple of sheet pans-full ahead of time and toss out with knives, butter, sour cream, cheese, chives, maybe some faux-bacon, etc. in a “bar” setup like your burger toppings.

7187

Seconding this. Easy, tasty, and fast. Cooking for a crowd, I’d lean toward them rather than steaks from the bigger fishes–which can be awesome on the grill, but trickier.

For chicken, I’d get boneless breasts and skewer them too. Thighs and drumsticks are tastier IMO, but bone-in chicken is fiddly. Lower heat for a longer time, and is it done yet? Hell I don’t know. Go away, kid.

Baked potatoes are a great idea, and they’ll take some of the stress off the grill (and you).

7188

First of all, I knew I could count on you @ArmandoPenblade to give me a thoughtful breakdown. I really appreciate all of what you said. The more details the better. It helps me calm down as I prepare.

I didn’t think about baked potatoes. That’s a pretty cool idea. How do you keep them warm? Do you wrap them in foil if you do them in advance?

I freaking LOVE this idea. And not just because you, YOU, suggested I use dark meat! Are you messing with me?

We’re doing our major shopping tomorrow, and I’m putting this idea in my back pocket as a nice surprise. This is such a cool suggestion.

I’d love to do this, because shrimp are so fast on the grill, but my girlfriend can’t eat shrimp (or shellfish, or pork), because she’s Jewish. Also since she’s a vegetarian, I’m careful about that as well. Which is why…

…this is a fucking excellent tip. I’ve already been considering trundling over my charcoal grill so that I can have more space to separate such things. This tip is hugely helpful.

Your corn (elote) thing totally turns me on. Sorry. It does.

I was interested in your layout for your friend’s birthday. Thinking of stations for tacos and whatnot. Corn as well. And I would love that. But I think it might be too complicated for this particular crowd.

Thank you so much.

-xtien

7189

I so prefer thighs to any other thing. Even though I can cook the hell out of chicken breasts or, heck, a whole chicken. But you’re right about managing the doneness. I’ve only got one probe thermometer.

As I said to @ArmandoPenblade, I love this idea. I was thinking stupid, like frozen french fries, but I like this option much more.

-xtien

7190

I dont know if you have sous vide but its a great tool for grilling. You can get cheap steak cuts like chuck steak and prep them in a sous vide bath ahead of time. You will get fantastic tender steaks for half the price of a high quality cut and you can sear finish them on the grill in just a few minutes, cutting down your grill time. I did this last summer for my brother who is a food snob. He couldn’t believe the results I got with chuck steak. He was so impressed that he went out and bought a sous vide the following week.

Bonus points for the shrimp suggestion. Simple, tasty and will satisfy even people who do not like fish.

Also boneless skinless chicken thighs are a great option for chicken on the grill. If you want a great marinade for chicken, marinade them over night in a bottle of Italian Dressing. Its does amazing things for chicken kabobs.

Finally, grilled fresh pineapple is a must for any of my grilling endeavors. Either on a kabob or on a grilling mat. It really adds to the meal. I usually do it like this:

Make a marinade of 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce, 1/2 tsp honey, 3 tbs butter and a dash of salt.
Place the pineapple rings in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the marinade. Seal bag, and shake to coat evenly. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight. Grill for 3 minutes per side on a grill mat.
Very tasty!

7191

Yeah, foil does work, though it makes me sad, since it makes the skins lose their crispness (I always bake my potatoes after rubbing them with canola oil and kosher salt all over for extra crispy skin), but you’ve gotta make some concessions for cookouts (see also above about fat burgers, which I generally dislike notably).

If you really dig the chicken tikka, take a look at naan recipes online. As a yeast risen dough, it’s always gonna be kinda finicky, and obviously you’ve already got lots going on, but having a grill fired up is as close as most of us are ever gonna get to a real tandoor oven…

And d’oh, sorry on the shrimp thing. My experience with kosher rules is only not zero because of your last post about cooking for the lady friend–that’s a limiter I’ve just not encountered in my personal cooking adventures.

Personally, I’d skip the seafood then, but that’s me. Trying to juggle multiple preprepped, throw-on-and-go foods is already honestly pretty overwhelming, especially if you’re also entertaining a big crowd. Monitoring something more sensitive and delicate like fish alongside burger, dogs, chicken, veggies, bread, toppings… It’s a lot.

Re keeping the utensils straight, when I cook at my friend’s annual cabin party (coming up in two weeks!), I wrap red rubber bands around the handles of my stuff so we can keep it separate from the junky tools in the cabin itself when packing up afterward (esp since other people usually do dishes–very easy to tell them how to pick my stuff out). Doing a couple of these apiece might work for you not just as a visual distinction, but even a textural one! Hand grabs extra grippy handle: Ah! This one is for veggies only.

One more organizational tip, but if you can’t afford chafing trays (I’ve misspelled that, haven’t I?), an open slow cooker is a decent substitute in a pinch. Again, it’ll contribute to modest sogginess if you put, say, burgers in there, but if it’s a long party, it’s good from a good safety perspective.