Our Valentine’s Day Meals

While Bev was hanging out in Gatlinburg, I read the post from Catherine Mayhew for Grilled T-Bone Steaks with Crab and Hollandaise on the Char-Broil Live site and decided this would make a delicious Valentine’s Day meal.  Then I remembered the whole beef fillet in our freezer and decided it would work well for this meal, so out it came for thawing and trimming.

We also had a package of King Crab in the freezer to use for that part and we decided on some asparagus and a Caesar Salad to round out the meal.  This is the amended recipe as we made it.

Grilled beef Filet with Crab and Hollandaise Sauce – Adapted from Char-Broil Live

Ingredients:

5 Filet steaks, 1½“ thick  

1 pound King Crab legs, meat removed and roughly chopped

For the hollandaise sauce:

2 egg yolks

1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

6 tablespoons butter

One bunch asparagus, trimmed and steamed until just tender

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill to medium high.

2. Let the steaks come to room temperature and season with your favorite seasoning – Montreal Steak for us.

3. Warm the crab in a small skillet on low heat with 2 tablespoons butter and reserve.

4. To make the hollandaise sauce, add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to a blender and blend for 5-10 seconds. Melt the butter and, with the blender running, slowly stream the melted butter through the top of the lid. Taste and adjust the seasonings. The hollandaise can hold at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

5, Grill the steaks to you desired level of doneness, remove to a platter, and loosely cover them with aluminum foil for 10 minutes to rest.

6. Top the steaks with some of the hollandaise a few spears of asparagus, the warm crab, and a little parmesan.

It was a delicious meal for me and the four Valentine ladies who shared it with me.  And to show that I’m not the only one who can whip up a breakfast form leftovers, this was Sunday’s meal ALA Bev.  We had combined the leftover Hollandaise and crab so the meal was comprised if toasted English muffin, over easy eggs, nuked asparagus, and the crab/sauce.

Needless to say, it was delicious.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

2/14 & 2/15/15 meal dates

2015 Blogger Party and Breakfast From Leftovers

Greetings fellow bloggers – We are happy to announce that the 6th rendition of our annual blogger party will be held at Almost Heaven South during Memorial Day Weekend.  Chris (Nibble Me This) and I still have the final details to work out but wanted to tell you the possible dates (most likely May 24) in hopes you would pencil it in on your calendar.  We would appreciate if you would mention it on your blogs as well so more people will be aware of the event. 

Date: Memorial Day Weekend (popular recommendation from last year’s attendees)

Time: TBD

Place: Almost Heaven South in Greenback, TN

Theme: Tapas Party (another popular recommendation from last years attendees)

Many of you have expressed a desire to come in the past so why not make this your year – before I get too old to host them.

More details will follow in March.


Another Dippy Egg Meal From Leftovers 

Referring back to my previous post on how I cook dippy eggs, I mentioned they could be used in other ways and my favorite is with potatoes and onions.  I kicked this one up a little by adding some other ingredients and using the leftovers from the previous night’s meal. 

I started the breakfast meal buy slicing some onions, julienning a green bell pepper, chopping a seeded jalapeno and cooking them in olive oil (drat I realized as I was typing this that I forgot the garlic).  After they had been tossed a few times, I added the cubed leftover potatoes - I love that I took the time to learn to toss a skillet full of ingredients. 

After the potatoes had cooked to nearly ready, I added the diced the pork chop and a couple pieces of diced breakfast sausage (cooked previously) and cooked until they were warmed through.

In the meantime I cooked the eggs as I did in the previous post and topped the potato mixture with them.

Where you go from here is a personal choice, but this is what I do.

This meal was totally delicious and I liked the way all of the flavors worked together, including the BBQ sauce on the pork chop.  It was a great way to begin the day and I ate it using the same goal as with dippy eggs - minimize the yolk that gets left on the plate for Coco.  You've likely figured out that the runny yolk is my favorite part of an egg.  In case you were wondering about bread, there was no way I was going to use up valuable stomach space when I needed it for the potatoes and eggs.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

2/9/15 event date

Steelhead Trout with Pasta Alfredo

We had a couple of pieces of Steelhead Trout in the freezer and a half jar of Alfredo sauce in the fridge and decided to combine the two into a meal – Steelhead are related to Rainbows and similar to Salmon in taste.  Bev also found a bag of shrimp and some mixed vegetables in the freezer to add to the dish.

The trout and shrimp (on skewers) were given dusting of Old Bay and grilled over high heat and basted with melted butter after flipping.   The pasta and vegetables were cooked together in water, drained, returned to the hot pan, and the Alfredo sauce was stirred in.  We plated the pasta mixture and topped with the trout and a few shrimp then added some fresh grated Parmesan.

This made for a very tasty and easy semi-homemade dish – perfect for those of you who need a quick weeknight meal.  Of course, it could be gussied up by using fresh vegetables and homemade Alfredo sauce.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/4/14 event date

A Little Trip To WV and Swordfish

Now that Madison is back in school, we are pretty tied to her schedule and for her fall break we made a short trip to WV where we visited with my relatives in Fairmont and she stayed with her mom’s family in Wheeling.  In addition to visiting, we did the normal Fairmont things that included some hot dogs from Woody’s and pepperoni rolls from Colasessano’s and we checked out the Stonewall Jackson State Park campground for its ability to accommodate our RV.

A couple of unusual’s for our trip:

It’s not often my cousin gets to mow his grass shirtless in mid-October.

This guy was helping out next door.

And we were not aware that they use helicopters to trim the power line right-aways with ten 24” diameter circular saws – you can just see it in my shot or go here for more views.

I didn’t have my long lens with me.

From Fairmont, we went up to Wheeling to pick up Madison and while there, we went to Market Centre for a famous fish sandwich from Coleman’s Fish Market and while there we checked out the fresh fish counter and were shocked at how low the prices were compared to our place.  So we had to buy some to bring home and Madison picked out Marlin, Shark, and Swordfish ($10/lb) while I went for Flounder and King Salmon tail pieces ($7/lb).

After we got home all but the Swordfish went into the freezer and I went in search of a unique Swordfish recipe, eventually discovering Sicilian Style Swordfish, which was the runner-up in a contest.  We only had two pieces of fish, but I made the full sauce recipe and I grilled the Swordfish rather than pan cook it so I changed the instructions.

Sicilian-Style Swordfish – Adapted from cucinettaNYC - Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

¼ cup pitted oil-cured black olives coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons salted capers, well rinsed and coarsely chopped

¼ cup dry white wine, preferably Sicilian

Crushed red pepper to taste

4 x 6 ounces swordfish steaks

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat, add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. After a couple of minutes, season swordfish with salt and pepper, oil, and begin grilling it over high heat – I flipped it after 5 minutes. We did some chicken and asparagus as well.

3. When the onion is lightly browned, add sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, wine and generous pinch red pepper flakes; stir together and cook until warmed through.

4. When swordfish is done (note), plate, top with sauce, sprinkle with roughly torn basil (which I forgot) and serve.

Note:  From what I read, the fish should be cooked to 145* for safety’s sake, so I cooked it to 140* knowing with the carryover heat and sauce topping it would get above that level.

Everything done and headed for the kitchen.

We served the fish with a Knorr's Pasta side and grilled asparagus.

I thought the Swordfish was delicious and would serve it in my restaurant, if I had one.  The topping was flavorful and complimented the flavor of the fish without hiding it.  All-in-all a very good meal from the grill.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/11- 10/17/14 events dates

OMG Dill Sauce

Bev had bought some salmon just to have with dill sauce and I went about a web search to find a recipe and ended up with one from Taste Of Home for both the salmon and the sauce.  The recipe is for baked fish but I did it on the grill - given a choice, I always choose the grill as my grilling season is 12 months a year.

This is the recipe for the dill sauce and we made it the day before to allow the flavors to marry well.

Dill Sauce:

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

3/4 teaspoon dill weed

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Pepper to taste

Combine the sauce ingredients until smooth.

For the skinless salmon, I seasoned one side with S&P and light coating lemon pepper followed by a light coating of mayo.  I put this side down over a pretty hot charcoal grill and treated the new top side the same.  After cooking for a couple of minutes, I flipped, spread on a good coating of the dill sauce (so it could warm up and set a little), closed the grill lid, and cooked to the desired 135* internal temp.  The salmon was removed, plated and topped with a mound of capers and some chopped chives.  The capers were not in the original recipe but since we love them I wanted to try it this way.

I first tried a couple of bites with just the sauce and then with the capers and I thought it was delicious both ways so it depends on if you like capers whether or not you use them but I thought both were OMG delicious – the search is over for a dill sauce at our house as I cannot imagine a better one for my tastes.

We sided it with some 2012 home-canned green beans and added some frozen 2012 shelly beans (October beans) along with some diced Benton’s bacon and they were very good unto themselves but they were even better topped with some of the dill sauce.  I believe I should use what fresh dill we have to make into this sauce and store it - then put it on everything - hopefully you've taken the hint by now - I loved this sauce.

And what about Bev and Madison you ask - Bev went to the store and bought some more salmon so we could have it again the next night - we just mixed some capers in with the sauce for this one, warmed it in a bowl of hot water, and sided with reheated beans.

I snapped the shot before Bev added chopped red onion to her beans so here is mine - I omitted my not so good fish shot.  As I mentioned above, we like our green beans to have plenty of beans, we cook them to well done, and they may even be better the next day - we totally fail at gourmet green bean preparation J.

The gourmet version, lifted from the web, which are definitely much prettier.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/07 & 10/8/14 meal dates

Pork Tenderloin and Salad

Since this was such a simple meal of grilled pork tenderloin, salad, and garlic cheese toast, I had not intended to post it, but since both the meat and Bev’s salad looked so good, I couldn’t resist.

I pulled the meat from the grill at an internal temp of 138* in the thickest part, tented, and let it rest about 10 minutes.  It was very juicy and just a little pink – just the way I like it – and the small end went to those who prefer theirs more done.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/28/14 meal date

Birthday Dinner & Football

Like most families, Bev grew up in one that insisted your birthday meal be something special and she still likes to do that – ala Pat’s recent meal.  She’d been asking me what I wanted and several things were considered but I finally decided I wanted something good but very easy for both of us with little mess.

And a couple of days before the meal, rotisserie chicken with vegetables, all cooked on the grill, showed up on Penny’s blog at Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen and it looked like a great solution to my meal criteria.

I decided to cook two chickens and followed the recipe laid out by another Penny on her Comforts of Home blog with a few adaptations – more thyme into the cavity and fresh thyme and rosemary into the veggies along with the Herbs de Provence.  Please stop by both Penny’s blogs for photos and recipes.

I prepared the chickens and added them to the spit butt-to-butt, tightly to keep the goodies inside - I tightened them after this shot and once during cooking.

Add the veggies to a disposable pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with herbs and toss to coat.

The main idea behind this recipe is to follow these direction – “Place a disposable pan underneath the chicken filled with sliced potatoes, carrots and leaks,” so the drippings can season them and it is a great idea, but I failed to look at my grill closely prior to cook time.  As it turned out, my spit was not high enough to let the pan sit on the grill grates and I had to set it clear down on the burners.

Unfortunately this put them below the heat and I improvised by putting them over low, direct heat and added a separate pan to catch the dripping which I added to the veggies as they cooked - this did require them to be turned regularly.

I cooked the chicken to an internal breast temperature of 165*-170* and it turned out moist and tender.  Unfortunately, by the time I relocated the veggie, there was not enough time to get them totally cooked when the chicken was done.  We just picked out the more tender pieces and I thought they were very good, especially the leeks.

It was a good and easy meal, but the chicken needed more flavor so next time I’ll brine it and put flavorings under and on the skin, and I'll cover the pan with foil and start the veggies over direct heat sooner – removing the foil when the veggies begin to get tender.

It was a fine birthday (68 if you're wondering) and special by my standards - surrounded by loved ones, no demands made upon me, getting to do just what I wanted, and a good meal - not sure it gets much better.  Getting to do what I wanted mainly meant watching college football and WVU’s win over Maryland – it was ugly and frustrating to watch, but still a win.  Unfortunately, that evening, Tennessee’s young team, especially the offensive line, was totally manhandled by Oklahoma - WVU will likely have a similar experience this week.  Since coach Nick Saban and I share a hometown, maybe I'll become a Bama fan or I've always liked Auburn.

I hope all of your birthdays are special and you get to do just what you want.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/13 – 9/14/14 meal date

Steak, Green Beans, and Horses

The other night, I was in the mood for steak and Bev found some green bean bundles in the freezer from last year’s garden.  I grilled them both on the charcoal grill to get this.

We have a vacuum sealer and I continue to be impressed with the more-than-a-year-old food that we discover and eat.  The beans were as fresh and tasty as they would have been after just a month in the freezer and they were very good grilled - everything is better wrapped in char grilled bacon.  The steaks had been in there awhile as well and I consider the vacuum sealer a must for our lifestyle - we wore out a FoodSaver and now have a commercial grade one from Cabela's. 

On another subject, the small road to the dog groomer takes me through a rural area and past a couple of horse farms and on this trip I just happened to have the camera with me.  I can’t think of many views more serene than the horses leisurely grazing in a lush green pasture.

Another field contained a couple of moms and their little guys.

The farm belongs to Mike Wahl Performance Horses and I understand they train horses from around the world. 

In addition to the real farmers/ranchers, there are also a few gentleman farmers along the road - nary a critter inside their fenced area.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/6/14 meal date

Fish On The Grill Ala George

I follow several RV blogs, mostly full timers, and one I read daily is Our Awesome Travels which follows the journeys of George and Suzie, a full time Canadian couple who split their time between Canada and the USA.  George writes about their travels and his daily dinner creation (he was a restaurateur), which is nearly always cooked on a Weber Q – I once commented that he could be the poster boy for this grill.

He frequently cooks fish using an easy method for the grill by making a foil pan, seasoning the fish, topping with lemon slices and cooking with the lid closed (I assume) - I don’t know if he cooks over direct or indirect heat.

I wasn’t sure how it would work with this method but it’s a mild white fish and we were having a southern meal, so I used catfish – hey this is the South you know and I’m making a major departure by not frying it.

I decided to do a little taste test while I was at it and cooked four different filets – two spread with soft butter and two without and one of each with a different spice – toothpicks and whole or halved lemon slices tell me which is which.  Ready for the grill.

Since this was a southern meal, we also had fried okra and fried corn – thereby offsetting any health benefits of the non-fried fish.

I cooked them over indirect heat to an internal temperature of 140*.

I tasted a bite of all four but couldn’t pick a clear winner and I liked them all, telling me I don’t need to add butter in the future.  Bev had a preference and it was the one that had gotten a heavier coat of spice than I had intended – another lesson learned.  I will definitely use this method again and while they were not as good as fried catfish (is anything?), they were still very good and way healthier.  Thanks George for the inspiration and the technique.

Oh, and did I mention that Bev turned the last of our blueberries and some peaches into a pie that went down awfully easy with a scoop of Bluebell peach and vanilla ice cream.  So if the corn and okra didn't blow the diet, this sure did.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/15/14 meal date