BBQ’d Spare Ribs for July 5th
Posted on 2 July 2008 under Barbecuing, Beachhouse, Grilling, Special Events | 2 Comments
Last year in this blog about this same time of year I lamented that I wouldn’t be able to cook up corndogs and offer them for sale during Luna Pier’s annual Freedom Festival and City-Wide Yard Sale:
In talking to a local restauranteur yesterday, I mentioned selling the corndogs at tomorrow’s sales. What I got back was, “I hope you have a permit!” What it boils down to is this: Just like at Taste of the Nation: Toledo on April 29th at The Docks, any Temporary Food Service Establishment (TFE) requires a local permit from the county health department as per state law. A TFE is defined as, “(A) food establishment which operates at a fixed location for a temporary period not to exceed 14 consecutive days”. The checklist for TFEs in the state of Michigan is located here, and there’s a whole lot a TFE has to comply with.
Well, whaddaya know … I’m on my fourth TFE since early June!
Ok, but here’s the thing: I can’t legally sell corndogs this year. There’s a clause in the beachhouse contract that, since the Freedom Festival is a fundraiser for the Fire Department, I’m not allowed to serve anything they’re making available. And they’re parking a corndog trailer 20 feet from my little place on the beach.
But ya’ know what? That’s fine. With the beachhouse, doing corndogs is inherently unsafe. There’s no vent hood in the place so any “real” cooking has to done outside. And having that much searingly-hot oil near such a major crowd as the city regularly gets that day would make me more than just edgy.
So I’ve ordered enough spare ribs for probably 70 lunchtime servings. Those slabs will get some 15 Million Spice and slow-cook all morning before being BBQ’d on the grill, cut, and served with slaw or potato salad and some baked beans. Our health inspector said Monday she’s kinda sorry she has to miss it!
Lots to do before then! Mayor Mary is spending the week going through literally tons of old stuff in city-owned closets and storage rooms around town, so she’ll be in their tent for the sales till around 2 p.m. Some of the stuff she’s found is actually really cool! Of course, Caleb and I will also have our regular menu at the Luna Pier Dog House the rest of the day as well, and will shut down before the fireworks start at dusk from the concrete pier just outside the front window of the beachhouse.
If you live nearby, Mary, Caleb and I hope you can join us!
How Many Are You Grilling For?, and Flight Deck Picnic Pics
Posted on 23 May 2008 under Barbecuing, Grilling, Holidays, Special Events | No Comments
Click on either photo for a larger version.
Any time I start worrying about how many people I’m cooking for at any given meal, I think back to the day these pics were taken. I wasn’t a cook on the aircraft carrier USS America (I was just a technician in one of the electronics repair labs on the ship) but I saw how hard the cooks worked in feeding a crew of over 5,000 men four meals each day. (As ships operate 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, with two shifts, there’s a fourth meal around 1 a.m. for the night shift.) I took these pics almost exactly 16 years ago on May 22, 1992. We were making the passage from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and the Captain had designated that day “Ditch Day”, a common name for such events. There was BBQ chicken, burgers, baked beans, corn, cole slaw, tossed salad, potato salad, dill pickles, and plenty of canned Coca-Cola for everyone. The day was rather hot, so there were massive water balloon fights and a few somewhat “leaky” firefighting hoses strewn about the deck. Note the band to the left of the first picture. How the drummer managed to get his kit onboard a combat vessel is beyond me.
Before anyone asks, the ship is no longer afloat:
In $22 million worth of “experiments that will last from four to six weeks,” the AP reports, “the Navy will batter the America with explosives, both underwater and above the surface, watching from afar and through monitoring devices placed on the vessel.” … These explosions would presumably simulate attacks by torpedoes, cruise missiles and perhaps a small boat suicide attack like the one that damaged the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen in 2000 … At the end, explosive scuttling charges placed to flood the ship will be detonated, and the America will begin its descent to the sea floor …
According to Wikipedia, the scuttling location on May 14, 2005, was 33°09′09″N, 71°39′07″W, around 250 miles (400 km) southeast of Cape Hatteras. The wreck lies in 2,810 fathoms (5139 metres or 16,860 feet).
So how many are you grilling for this weekend? Navy ships around the world may very well be conducting such a picnic as the one in these photos, with thousands in attendance on a small metal “island”. We can only hope the sailors on those vessels can have as peaceful a picnic as we did that day.
Eat This Blog & Recipe: Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon
Posted on 15 April 2008 under Eat This Blog, Fish, Grilling, Michigan Cuisine, Recipes | 11 Comments
Salmon grilled on a cedar plank. I’ve never done this before, but man is it good!
(Click on any of these three images for a larger version.)
I’ve been meaning to try this for almost a year now. Mary had bought me these cedar planks for grilling fish and such, but as she doesn’t really like fish I’ve held off using them.
Until this evening.
I happened to have this two-pound slab of salmon and decided it was time to go ahead and do this. I’ll tell you what, this is about the easiest grilled fish there is. The fish ends up tender, flaky, moist and flavorful … just right to make for someone like Mary who’s never really liked fish even though she’s grown up right here in a fishing community.
The planks come with instructions, which I promptly read through. There are basic concepts about the plank that are simple. I only modified the seasoning for the fish but it seems the rest is rather straightforward …
Soak the plank in cold water for about 90 minutes. Preheat the closed grill to a temp of 350 degrees F. On my gas grill this was rather close to the lowest-possible setting on all four burners. Don’t go hot just to get it done! You want it to cook slow. Place the oiled-and-seasoned fish skin-side down on the wet plank, put it on the grill and close the lid.
Get some water and place it on standby. If that plank dries out and catches fire, you’ll be ready.
Let the fish cook. Really, don’t open the lid for at least 15 minutes. Start checking the flakiness of the fish at that point. You’ll get a feel for how much longer it will take after a while, so keep an eye on both the fish and the temperature of the closed grill.
Once the fish is able to flake apart easily across the entire filet, use a couple metal spatulas to remove the board and the fish together from the grill. Don’t you dare remove it with your hands … you’ll burn off your fingerprints! Metal … spatulas … get some …
This fish was brushed with olive oil (another part of the basic concepts), then seasoned with Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, granulated garlic, fresh chopped parsley and dill weed. That’s all … nothing else. Use your imagination and you’ll come up with your own combination.
I served this salmon with a pile of cooked brown and wild rices. I’m sure some grilled asparagus with some salt and pepper would have gone well with it as well. Too bad I didn’t have any asparagus or I’d have done just that.
Eat This Blog: Grilled Marinated Turkey Breasts
Posted on 7 April 2008 under Eat This Blog, Grilling | 13 Comments
I love finally having the grill out for the season! Ribs two nights ago, marinated grilled chicken leg quarters last night … and now this. These are Honeysuckle White Rotisserie Turkey Breast Tenderloins, grilled over fairly high heat to get some nice grill marks, then set on the top rack to slowly finish them to 160 degrees F. I served them with real mashed potatoes made with unsalted butter, milk, and salt and pepper, with the potato peels included. It’s a rather simple meal, but it’s oh so good!
Eat This Blog: First Grilling of the Season - BBQ Ribs
Posted on 5 April 2008 under Barbecuing, Eat This Blog, Grilling, Photos | 6 Comments
As it was finally 60 degrees here in Michigan for the first time this year we took the opportunity this afternoon to set up everything on the back deck, including my grill. After getting up fairly late and having a late pancake breakfast we’d picked up these ribs for this evening’s dinner. I made up a quick rub of dark brown sugar, Kosher salt, pepper and granulated garlic. After drying the ribs and rubbing them with the mix I baked them at 275 degrees F for about three hours. I then lit the grill, slathered these things with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce and grilled them over low heat for about an hour. While I did cut them before serving the meat fell right off the bone anyway. Oh yeah, the grilling season has begun! Tomorrow evening is supposed to be the same kind of weather, and there’s chicken waiting in the wings.
(Click on either of the images to view a larger version.)
Review: Dutch Brand Beef Polish Sausage
Posted on 5 January 2008 under Grilling, Michigan Cuisine, Reviews: Products | 4 Comments
Alright already! I’ll be sure to eat them today! Sheesh!
Don’t you just hate when you promise someone you’ll do something … and then, they actually expect it from you? They actually hold you to your word??
Yeah, I know, it drives me nuts, too.
Last Saturday was the first time these Dutch Brand Beef Polish Sausage were available at the Kroger in Point Place, Ohio, north of Toledo. That’s my regular shopping place, so they know me there. The guy who takes care of the lunchmeats, hot dogs, sausages and such asked me to let him know how these beasties were. I told him we’d probably have them that evening, and that I’d be sure to let him know.
Of course, last Saturday was when Mayor Mary was first starting to feel so poorly … the day 13abc’s Zack Ottenstein chewed me out for not making her any “Jewish Penicillin”, which I ended up making the following morning. So no, it didn’t happen.
How many times have I been back to that store this past week? How many times did I get, “Did you try them yet??”
Oy to the gevalt! I’m such a meshuggeneh …
Anyway …
This afternoon for lunch I took the Calphalon panini pan I’d gotten from Chef Tad, heated it over medium heat and added a couple tablespoons of little olive oil. I laid four of the Dutch Brand Beef Polish Sausages on the ridges of the pan at an angle to create pseudo-grill marks. (I also started some Koegel Viennas in a little olive oil in a separate pan for those not wanting to try the sausages.) As the sausages cooked a lot of good juices came through the casing, helping to cook them thoroughly. Once they were cooked, Adam and I tried them with some spicy brown mustard and some of my favorite chips; the green-tinged Uncle Ray’s Kosher Dill Pickle Potato Chips, making this a real Michigan lunch.
Adam and I agree the Dutch Brand Beef Polish Sausages have a strong traditional Polish sausage flavor. The spices are such that the taste is recognizable but not too strong. Adam said he could detect a bit of a flavor like hamburger, but as I pointed out he’s not used to Polish sausages that are all-beef. He’d used to those that include pork, poultry and other ingredients. The Dutch Brand Beef Polish Sausages are decidedly more authentic than what he’s had before.
Dutch Brand Beef Polish Sausages are 6 to a package for $3.99. They’re huge, about 1-1/4″ in diameter and about 6″ long, making them a pretty good deal. You can tell they’re hand-made and hand-packed; On one in our package, there was a length of empty casing still attached. Ok, so they use some pretty nice casings …
This is definitely a sausage we’ll be having again.
Hey you … Kroger doode … how’s that?? 
Recipe: Lamb Burgers with Goat Cheese
Posted on 15 November 2007 under Eat This Blog, Grilling, Recipes | No Comments
Oh yeah. Lamb burgers. These things are so simple. Honest, real food that tastes amazing. Mary and I first had smaller ones at Taste of the Nation: Toledo this past April and they were incredibly good.
With all due respect to that particular chef, these we had this evening were better!
I started with 1-1/3 lb ground lamb and made four 1/3 lb burgers from it. These were seasoned with Mediterranean sea salt and a fresh-ground pepper blend. The burgers were pan-fried gently in olive oil until they were still just a bit pink, but not much.
The crispy kaiser rolls were made this morning at Nehring’s Market at Belsay Rd. and Bristol Rd. up in Burton, Michigan, southeast of Flint. This is also where I picked up the goat cheese. I grilled the faces of the buns in a pan with a little olive oil. A bit of Hellman’s was spread on the bottom face of the bun, the burger added, some slices of goat cheese, with it all topped with the slice of tomato.
I think that, if I owned a restaurant, I could probably charge at least seven bucks for these wonderful beasties.
Hey! Nice Breast!!!
Posted on 13 September 2007 under Food Destinations, Grilling, Shopping | 2 Comments
Really, that’s only half a breast. But what a beauty, eh? Alright, get your mind out of the gutter …
Wild Game: Dixie Dave’s ‘Old Dixie Inn’, Birch Run
Posted on 9 September 2007 under Cookbooks, Game Cooking, Grilling, Hunting, Michigan Cuisine, Restaurant Chit-Chat | 2 Comments
Ok, where do I start here? Right … the beautiful Apple Dumpling with Homemade Vanilla Sauce you see in the above photo. Flaky pastry on the outside, real apples on the inside with the flavor and juiciness you’d expect from real apples, and the vanilla sauce being not too sweet, with just the right amount of vanilla to perfectly compliment the apple dumpling itself.
Longtime readers, check out that card. Yup, that’s the one … the restaurant I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I wasn’t sure was still open. That’s where this wonderful dumpling came from, just this afternoon.
I’m not saying this dumpling was good just because I screwed up. I’m saying it was good, because … damn … this was the best apple dumpling I’ve ever had. Bar none.
It was $3.50. Really, that’s all. It could feed two people, just like the server said. But yeah, I ate it all. I’d eat more of the second one I’d bought, but Mary’s made off with that one …
For new readers, here’s a little history of my screw-up with Dixie Dave’s. Heck, I don’t think Chef Dave Minar, Dixie Dave himself, knows all this yet, but here it is:
- Last year at Cabela’s, I found the 4th edition of Dixie Dave’s wild game cookbook. I’ve never made anything out of it, but decided I wanted to visit the place. Besides, his recipe for Pan-Fried Testicles was a great way to gross out teenagers.
- Dec. 14th, 2006 - Blogged about Gift Cookbook Recommendations, and included Dixie Dave’s book.
- Jan. 4th, 2007 - Included Dixie Dave’s cookbook in my list of the Ten Strangest Cookbooks I own, and included some of the titles of recipes in the book.
- March 5th, 2007 - In my discussion on Scary Foods, I once again mentioned Dixie Dave’s recipe for Pan-Fried Testicles before talking about how Chef Tad sprung Steak Tartare on Aaron and I one evening.
- August 24th, 2007 - This is where I screwed up. While building my Michigan Cuisine web site, Dixie Dave’s web site threw the wrong kind of error. And in trying to call them, the phone company interrupted. I lamented how they might be closed. Really, even though those two things happened on the same day, I jumped the gun and posted it. I won’t do that again, because …
- September 1, 2007 - I received a comment from Chef Dave Minar! Yup, Dixie Dave’s Old Dixie Inn IS open! Other Emails from him followed on the same day.
Darn …
So, to make a long story even longer, after a family reunion up in Millington, Michigan, just this afternoon, and getting up the right kind of courage, I opened the front door of Dixie Dave’s Old Dixie Inn in Birch Run, on the corner of Birch Run Rd. and Dixie Highway, took a deep breath, and asked if the Chef was in.
There he was, cooking for his patrons like any real Chef will.
Chef Dave and I had a nice chat, talking about food blogging, about his work on Mike Avery’s Outdoor Magazine (seen in the Toledo and Monroe areas on Buckeye channel 5 on Saturday mornings), about his being invited to do Taste of the Nation: Toledo but not yet being able to, about his selling 20,000 copies of the cookbook, with a new one on the way … It was a very nice visit, lots of fun, and I’m glad I stopped in to give him the personal apology he deserved.
Unfortunately, this evening Dixie Dave’s web site still isn’t working. Even the link he suggested I use on this page at the Outdoor Magazine web site links back to the Outdoor Magazine web site itself. I hope that gets taken care of soon, as Dixie Dave’s deserves an online presence.
The restaurant itself is very unassuming, tucked into the SE corner of that intersection of Birch Run Rd. and Dixie Highway:
The menu contains a large number of dishes I’d like to try. As Mary and I were just coming from a huge family reunion, where lots of German Lutherans try to out-cook each other (pics tomorrow!), we were full to the gills! But Chef Dave’s menu … how about some Blueberry Walleye? Or maybe Bronzed Pork Chops with Jack Daniels’ BBQ? Or an Elk Steak with Woodland Mushrooms? There’s some stuff on here I just have to try at some point. Like the Sportsman’s Appetizer, “Dixie Dave’s own recipe of elk and venison paté and smoked wild game sausage, served with toasted French bread“. There are dishes you never thought you’d see in Michigan, like Louisiana Bayou Wild Boar, Medallions of Elk Forestiere, and even Wild Game Steak; “Please ask waitperson for the selection and preparation of the steak of the day.” Of course, for those less inclined toward game, there’s Chicken Cordon Bleu, New York Strip, Fish & Chips with Slaw, and even Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. Me, I think I’m headed toward the Al-E-Gator, “Farm-raised gator sautéed with lemon butter“. Thank you, sir, I’ll have that with a side of Fluffy White Rice …
Ya’ know, I’m probably lucky Chefs in Michigan don’t seem to have the egos Chefs do in other areas, or Chef Dave could have come through that kitchen door with a knife! I know, because when I showed up at the Frog Leg Inn this past Friday afternoon through the kitchen door, Chef Tad muttered to Sous Chef Janelle, “… where’s a knife … a really big one …” … and all I could find was a metal ladle …
Thanks for the understanding, Dixie Dave! We’ll definitely see you again!!
Recipe: Tequila-Lime Grilled Deer Venison
Posted on 15 August 2007 under Game Cooking, Grilling, Recipes | 1 Comment
So, what do you do when someone gives you some decent, gorgeous hunks of beautiful, mouthwatering deer venison?
That’s right. Ya’ go out and get yourself some decent tequila. Well, that’s what I did anyway.
Mary and I love the flavor of the mixture of tequila and lime. Back when I was first trying out the various functions of the Canon A560 I use for these photos, there just happened to be a pile of chicken drumsticks lying there. The drumsticks had been marinated in a commercially-available tequila-lime marinade, and then grilled. The end result was so darned purty I went ahead and posted the photo. Unfortunately, when I tried to use the photo for Windows Live Messenger, Jaden quipped, “What’s in that pic … chocolate chip cookies?” Yeah, sure … and they taste like chicken …
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