Tag Archives: Kosher salt

To the dads, grilled mac and cheese


Well father’s day is upon us. With this in mind I thought of a simple yet delicious recipe that dads would love. I’m thinking  grilled mac and cheese with chorizo, fire roasted onions, chiles and corn, maybe some left over on some grilled bread for a great sandwich!
Father’s day grilled mac and cheese

Coarse salt (kosher or sea)
2 cups (about 8 ounces) elbow macaroni
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 ears sweet corn, shucked
1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons butter
Freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 New Mexican green chiles or Anaheim or California peppers, or
2 to 4 poblano peppers
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups half-and-half, light cream, or milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated smoked cheese, preferably smoked Cheddar, smoked pepperjack, or equal amounts of both
1/4 to 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs (preferably homemade)
6 ounces crumbled spanish chorizo

A cast iron skillet, aluminum foil roasting pan or drip pan, or grill-proof baking dish (about 9 by 12 inches), sprayed or brushed with oil; 2 cups wood chips or chunks (preferably hickory); soaked for 1 hour in mock burbon/water to cover (1 cup water to 1 tablespoon vanilla makes 1 cup mock burbon), then drained

Bring 8 quarts of lightly salted water to a rapid boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook until al dente, about 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the macaroni in a large colander, rinse with cold water until cool, and drain again. Toss the macaroni with the oil to prevent sticking.

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.

When ready to cook, lightly brush the corn and onion with half of the melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Place chorizo in a small metal pan and brown after putting the corn and onion on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side (8 to 12 minutes in all) for the corn, and 3 to 4 minutes per side (9 to 12 minutes in all) for the onion, turning with tongs as needed. Add the chiles and peppers to the hot grate and grill until the skins are charred, 3 to 5 minutes per side (6 to 10 minutes in all) for the New Mexican chiles, or 3 to 5 minutes per side (12 to 20 minutes in all) for the poblano peppers, and 4 to 6 minutes per side (16 to 24 minutes in all) for the bell peppers. Transfer the corn, chorizo and onion to a cutting board and let cool.

Transfer the grilled chiles and bell peppers to a baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Let the peppers cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes (the steam trapped by the plastic wrap helps loosen the skin from the peppers). Scrape the skin off the cooled peppers, then core and seed them.

Cut the corn kernels off the cobs using lengthwise strokes of a sharp butcher knife. Thinly slice the onion quarters crosswise. Cut the chiles and peppers into 1/4-inch dice.

Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook until soft but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the corn kernels and grilled onion, chorizo, chiles, and bell peppers. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the half-and-half and increase the heat to high. Let the mixture boil for 3 minutes, stirring well; it should thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the mustard and cooked macaroni, followed by the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; the mixture should be highly seasoned. Spoon the macaroni and cheese into the cast iron skillet or oiled aluminum foil pan. Sprinkle the top of the macaroni with the bread crumbs and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter over the bread crumbs.

Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium-high. If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and run the grill on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium-high. If using a charcoal grill, preheat it to medium-high, then toss all of the wood chips or chunks, if desired, on the coals.

When ready to cook, place the macaroni and cheese in the center of the hot grate, away from the heat, and cover the grill. Cook the macaroni and cheese until the sauce is bubbly and the top is crusty and brown, 40 minutes to 1 hour. Serve with dad’s favorite beer, a grilled meat that he likes, and some grilled potatoes with gravy. What better way to say we love you dad then a whole meal made on the grill for him?

Maybe slap some on some nice toasted garlic bread for a sandwich.

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My raw or grilled oysters


I love these…I can never get enough. Lots of you are probably going ew…well that maybe…but oysters are a man’s best friend, and a woman’s best friend. For men, it’s vital to get zinc. Zinc is required for a healthy prostate…which does help in bed in numberous ways…which I will not go into. For women, if your man is having a little trouble. Oysters are an aphrodisiac. These are just so good reguardless why you eat them.

Grilled or raw oysters with citrus lime butter sauce

1 cup butter, softened
4 teaspoon Sriracha
8 teaspoons Shallots finely minced
2 tablespoon Lime juice
2 tablespoon Orange juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons minced cilantro
4 dozen oysters on the half shell

Mix the butter with the shallots, sriracha, lime, orange, salt, and cilantro. Let set up in the fridge. It doesn’t have to set up completely but it should be more solid than liquid. If you want to eat them raw, melt this in the microwave until liquidy and just add a tablespoon full on the oysters. If you want to grill them continue below.
Meanwhile, heat the grill (or broiler) until very hot. Toss each oyster with a dollop of butter. Grill (or broil) for 3-4 minutes. I know I shouldn’t have to say this but….THE SHELLS ARE HOT! BE CAREFUL!

Yes 4 dozen oysters…mmm bet you can’t stop at 1, and don’t knock it till you try it!

my fiery srirachas


sriracha is….a thai pepper sauce. The name means rooster sauce. I make my own. There is two kinds. Fresh and fermented. I make 2 versions of fresh and 2 versions of fermented. I will share with you all 4 right here right now!

sriracha number 1-fremented

  • 1 1/2 lbs red jalalpeños, stems snipped off, leaving green tops intact
  • 1 1/2 lbs scotch bonnet peppers, stems snipped off, leaving green tops intact
  • 12 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 8 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 1 cup distilled white vinegar

Place peppers, garlic, sugar, and salt in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until chilies are very finely chopped, stopping to scrap sides of bowl as necessary. Transfer mixture to a clean jar, cover, and let sit at room temperature. (mason jar with lid works best, unscrew lid every day and then tighten it back on finger tip tight..use only the tips of your fingers to screw it back on)

Check jar each day for fermentation, when little bubbles start forming at bottom of jar, about 3-5 days. Stir contents each day, continuing to let ferment until chilies are no longer rising in volume, an additional 2-3 days. If any white mold grows thats fine just remove it. If the mold is green or black toss it out and begin again and make sure everything is clean.

Transfer the fermented chilies to the blender, add in white vinegar, and puree until completely smooth, 1-3 minutes. Transfer to a mesh strainer set atop of a medium saucepan. Strain mixture into saucepan, using a rubber spatula to push trough as much pulp as possible, only seeded and larger pieces of chilies should remain in strainer.

Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauce thickens and clings to a spoon, 5 or 10 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to 6 months if it will last that long.

sriracha number 2-fermented

  • 2 pound red jalapenos or cayenne chiles
  • 10 fresh Thai birdseye chiles
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 4 teaspoons nam pla (thai fish sauce-soy sauce will work too)
  • 2/3 cup rice vinegar
  • Water, as needed

Snip the stems from the chiles but leave the crown, and roughly chop the chiles.

In a food processor, combine chopped chiles, garlic, salt, fish or soy sauce and rice vinegar for 1 to 2 minutes until mixture is a rough purée.

Transfer the chile mixture to a glass bowl or jar. Cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature for a few days, specifically until small bubbles have formed under the surface. If fuzzy mold forms on the top of the chile mixture you can remove with a spoon and discard.

Over high heat, bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer for a few minutes before removing from heat to cool.

Transfer chile mixture to a food processor, blending until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, if necessary, to mixture if it’s too thick.

If desired, put the sauce through a strainer to remove seeds from chile sauce. Mixture will keep in the fridge for one month if you use fish sauce. 6 months if you used soy.

If in a rush, I make the following 2 fresh srirachas.

sriracha number 3-FRESH

  • 2 pound red jalapenos, stemmed and roughly chopped
  • 16 medium cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 2/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons palm sugar (or light brown sugar if palm sugar isn’t in supply)
  • 4 teaspoons Kosher salt

very simple….just mix everything in a blender until very smooth. Transfer mixture to a mesh strainer set atop of a medium saucepan. Strain mixture into saucepan, using a rubber spatula to push trough as much pulp as possible, only seeded and larger pieces of chilies should remain in strainer. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauce slightly thickens, about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

sriracha number 4-FRESH-I dub it, the gut grinder

1/2 pound trinidad scorpion peppers

1/2 pound scotch bonnets

8 cloves crushed garlic

2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cup white distilled vinegar

1/4 cup equal parts lemon and orange juice

4 tablespoons palm sugar (or equal light brown sugar)

 again,very simple….just mix everything in a blender until very smooth. Transfer mixture to a mesh strainer set atop of a medium saucepan. Strain mixture into saucepan, using a rubber spatula to push trough as much pulp as possible, only seeded and larger pieces of chilies should remain in strainer. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauce slightly thickens, about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.