Shrimp Tenderloin Dinner

Our daughter Megan is visiting us from College for a week and has demanded I prepare a number of her favorite dishes on the Egg (she misses the egg more than me probably).

Tonight, Beef Tenderloin with Dizzy Dust and Wok Shrimp (flour, panko crumbs, Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Seasoning) wokked in sweet onion and minced garlic and EVOO.

Asiago Apple Chicken Marzetti

Another twist on the old fashioned Midwest Johnny Marzetti, or a variation on my Johnny Orecchiette this is a quick dish feeds 2-3 and is scalable for larger servings. Only requires one pot and a skillet for preparation.

Ingredients
• 12 Oz. Asiago Apple Chicken Sausage, ground
• 8-9 Oz. Large Shell Macaroni
• 5 Green Onions, diced
• ½ Fresh Large Green Pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
• 1½ Cups, Finely shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 14.5 Oz. Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 – 8 Oz. Can Tomato Sauce
• EVOO

Directions
1. Fire up the Egg to Full Flame with Grid in place
2. Boil water and add macaroni, stir frequently until tender (approximately 10 minutes); remove from heat and drain in colander then set aside.
3. Drizzle EVOO into pot and add sausage and brown.
4. Add green onions, green pepper and garlic and finish cooking sausage.
5. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring ingredients up to temperature and then add back the Macaroni and stir.
6. Immediately add cheese and stir until melted, remove from heat and serve.

BBQ Sauce Review

One of the forums I follow (eggheadforum.com) had someone come up with the idea of having a member review BBQ sauces recently.    A daunting task to say the least but a great idea.  However this is such a subjective issue (taste) and with so many hundreds of sauces, where would anyone start anyway?  Ironically, this morning I was thumbing through a new special Grilling edition of the Better Homes and Garden's magazine and saw this review of a few sauces, so I had to scan it and post for all to see.  Keep On Eggin'!

Citrus Ginger Tuna Steak

Tuna steak on the Big Green Egg immersed in a Citrus-Ginger marinade for 4 hours prior to cooking sets you up for a change of pace in cooking tuna steaks. Unlike your basic rubs and sprinkled seasoning mixes this marinade locks itself into the tuna and when cooked adds a special flavor to every bite. Serves 2 but is easily scalable.

Marinade
½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
¼ Cup White Wine Vinegar
2 Tbls. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tbls. Lemon Juice
1 Tbls. Lime Juice
3 Large fresh Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Tbls. Fresh Ginger Root, grated/minced
2 each 7-8 oz.Tuna steaks

Preparation and cooking
1. In a small mixing bowl combine ingredients, whisk and pour over tuna steaks in a 1 gallon zip lock bag. Rotate bag to coat and set bag in bowl to keep tuna soaking well. Refrigerate for 4 hours.
2. Fire up Egg to high heat with grid (pre –oil the grid) raised 6” above fire bowl (fire ring and 2” adapter ring or other device)
3. Remove tuna from bag and discard marinade.
4. Grill tuna, uncovered rotating once until fish flakes easily with a fork (5-10 minutes depending on how ‘done’ you prefer your tuna. Serves 2.

Seen here served with Tomato Bacon Beans...

Tomato Bacon Beans

A nice variation on a veggie side dish, Tomatoes, Green Beans and Onions...lightly spiced and prepared on the grill. 

Ingredients
12 Oz. fresh snipped green beans
2 cups Water
1 14.5 Oz. Can Stewed Tomatoes
½ Cup Sweet Onion, diced
1-2 Tbls. Bacon pieces
1 Tbls. Herb Garlic Butter (or substitute unsalted butter and a dash of garlic powder)
1/8 Tsp. Garlic Pepper

Preparation
1. Snap beans and rinse clean in a colander
2. Place in medium saucepan in water and bring to boil on high heat stirring often until beans begin to soften
3. Drain, and stir in remaining ingredients.
4. Reduce heat or raise grid, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly until you reach crisp tender or your desired tenderness. Remove and serve; yields 4 servings.

Tri Tip (Organic)

Beef Tri-Tip1 - The story behind Tri Tip Beef (a.k.a. Triangle Roast): This cut of meat is limited in availability because there is only one per side of beef. Therefore it is typically ground into hamburger or cut into cubes and sold as soup meat. This often over looked piece of meat is not only relatively inexpensive but also very flavorful and has become a favorite amongst the few in the know. The tri-tip roast or steak (also called a triangle roast) is the 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds of meat that sits at the bottom of the sirloin. It has great flavor and tends to be much lower in fat than most cuts of beef i.e., it's a good lean cut of beef.

The thing to remember is that lean also means it will dry out faster so it is recommended that you prepare with a good marinade &/or Rub. Particularly good flavors for tri-tip are Southwestern or Asian. Because tri-tip is lean, be careful not to overcook it, particularly when preparing the full roast. Medium is as far as you should go with this cut. Use a meat thermometer to monitor often during cooking. If you are used to grilling other cuts, this one can throw some grillers off by appearing underdone when it is ready to serve and by the amount it ‘swells’ when cooked.

Santa Maria/Grilled Soy Lime Style – This simple tri tip recipe utilizes a hybrid marinade that is loosely based on a combination of spices picked up from two different recipes.  It was slightly adjusted from the original posted a few weeks ago, but only slightly. 

Ingredients:
• 2-3 Lb. Tri-tip roast (ORGANIC)
• Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends – Meat Magic
Seasoning Marinade:

• 2 teaspoons freshly ground 4-color pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 Tbls. Garlic powder
• 2 Tbls. Sea Salt (fresh ground)
• 1 ½ Cups Apple Juice (100% pure juice)
• ¼ Cup Soy Sauce (low sodium)
• 2 ½ Tsp. Lime Juice
• 1 Tbls. Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 Tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• ½ Tsp. Fresh Ground Ginger Root
• Optional: Corn Syrup or Honey (3 Tbls.)

Basting Sauce:
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup vegetable oil (or EVOO) (add garlic powder if you can’t find garlic infused oil)


Preparation and cooking:
1. Mix together all marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the tri tip in a 1 gallon freezer bag. Place in refrigerator for 4-8 hours turning occasionally.
2. Whisk basting sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for basting.
3. Lightly oil your cooking grid and fire up BGE to T-Rex. Remove from Marinade and pat dry. Rub each side with Paul Prudhomme’s Meat Magic then sear the tri-tip at 600 to 700 degrees for 3-4 minutes per side.
4. Remove seared tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest while bringing the BGE temperature down to 350 to 400 degrees. Option: During this cool down period consider adding a few oak chunks to your lump.
5. Now set up BGE for Indirect cooking (plate setter) and return the tri-tip back in the BGE and cook to an internal temperature of 125-130 degrees (approximately 35 minutes) for medium rare, basting with the sauce every 5 to 10 minutes (optional).
6. Return the tri-tip back into the BGE and cook to an internal temperature of 125-130 degrees, basting every 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Remove tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest 15 minutes; to serve cut into ½” slices against the grain.2

1 Paraphrased from Beef Tri-Tip, One of the best cuts you are probably not buying, By Derrick Riches, About.com Guide 2 this recipe is adapted loosely from Foodnetwork.com’s website; titled “Santa Maria Style BBQ”

Johnny Orecchiette

A twist on the old fashioned Midwest Johnny Marzetti…this quick dish feeds 2-3 and is scalable for larger servings. Only requires one pot for preparation.


Ingredients
• 12 Oz. Italian Sausage, ground
• 8 Oz. Orecchiette no. 91 Macaroni
• 5 Green Onions, diced
• ½ Fresh Green Pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
• 1½ Cups, Finely shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 6-8 oz. Tomato Basil spaghetti sauce
• EVOO

Directions
1. Fire up the Egg to Full Flame with Grid in place
2. Boil water and add macaroni, stir frequently until tender (approximately 10 minutes); remove from heat and drain in colander then set aside.
3. Drizzle EVOO into pot and add sausage and brown.
4. Add green onions, green pepper and garlic and finish cooking sausage.
5. Add back the Orecchiette and stir; add cheese and stir until melted, remove from heat and serve.

Wok Chicken (General Tso's) - Organic

WOK Chicken w/General Tso’s (Rev 1) - This recipe for three is quick, easy and tasty. If you enjoy Chinese, chicken and Broccoli you’ll love this one and from start to finish you are only obligating about 40 minutes tops! Serves 2 but is easily scalable.

This is really, really simple...Boil Rice, Steam Veggies, Wok Chicken, combine ingredients, stir and serve.  Done!

Ingredients

1.5 – 2 Cups, Instant Rice

1 Head Fresh Broccoli

6 each Small Chicken Thighs – Boned (Organic)

1 strong cup Iron Chef Sauce – General Tso's
1 cup Snap Peas
3 large cloves Diced Fresh Garlic, minced
1 Small Can Water Chestnuts
4 Green Onions, chopped/minced
1/3 Cup EVOO

Preparation Directions
1. Mince garlic and onions

2. Cut thighs into ¾ - 1” pieces (bite sized)

Cooking Directions

1. Fire up the Big Green Egg to full flame (T-REX HOT - Full Flame)
2. Place Pot of water on grid and bring to boil, add rice, stir and set aside.
3. Place Wok on Grid at fire ring level and add EVOO, add 2-3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Place all of the vegetables in Bamboo Steamer and steam until done, remove steamer and set aside.
4. Dump water and return wok to grid, add EVOO and when oil is hot add the diced garlic and green onion and stir for 30 seconds

5. Dump in chicken and wok until done, stirring constantly (5-8 Minutes)

6. Dump on Iron Chef sauce and stir, immediately add add broccoli, water chestnuts and snap peas and stir for 3-5 minutes

7. Remove from heat and serve over rice.

AND FOR DESSERT...OVER SIZED MARSHMALLOWS COOKED OVER THE CHARCOAL!

 

PENNE WITH SAUSAGE AND PEAS

Kansas City Steaks

Cooked up a simple steak and corn dinner for the 4th of July...Kansas City Steak (Missouri Legacy Beef - Organic).  Shown here about 90% ready to go...there is nothing like a good steak!  Sometimes simple is best. 

Pollo Loco (organic chicken)

Pollo Loco - (Free Range)  - Pollo Loco begins with chicken that's flattened then marinated in special herbs, spices and citrus juices and then flame-grilled for flavor that's deliciously different. In this recipe you just use your favorite MOJO sauce then grill over open flame and serve with Pico de Gallo, black beans cooked with green onions and white rice. Servings based on number of breasts prepared.


Ingredients
2 free range Chicken Breasts
12 Oz. Mojo
Paul Prudhommes Magic Seasoning Poultry Magic

Directions – Cover breasts in foil or saran wrap and hammer flat (approx ¼” thick). Remove and sprinkle on Poultry Magic then place in a 9 x 9 pan and soak with Mojo. Cover in saran wrap and refrigerate for 4-24 hours. Remove and cook over open flame. Serve with black beans (cooked with green onions) and white rice.  Top Chicken with Pico de Gallo.

Pico de Gallo (Organic)

In Mexican cuisine, Pico de Gallo (Spanish for "rooster's beak") is a fresh uncooked condiment made from chopped tomato, onion, and sometimes chilies (typically jalapeños or Serrano’s). Other ingredients may also be added, such as lemon or lime juice, fresh cilantro (leaf of coriander), cucumber, radish or other fresh firm pulpy fruit such as mango. Pico de Gallo can be used in much the same way as Mexican salsas or Indian chutneys, but since it contains less liquid, it can also be used as a main ingredient in dishes such as tacos and fajitas.

Ingredients
2 Large Tomatoes - Organic

½ - 1 Vidalia Onion (to taste) or, 4-6 medium Green Onions - Organic

3 Cloves Fresh Garlic (minced)

Juice of one lime

½ tsp. Parsley

1 Tbls. EVOO

1-3 Tbls. Chopped fresh Cilantro (half if using Dry Cilantro Spice)

1 Tsp. Fresh ground Sea Salt

½ Tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper

Optional: 1 Fresh Jalapeno peppers (or more to taste)

Directions - Seed and dice tomatoes. Chop onion and mince the jalapeno and garlic. In a glass bowl add the fresh cilantro, salt, pepper, olive oil and lime, mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Best if served the next day.