I like touching my meat on the grill

Dear Bobby,

It wasn't the recipes that I was paying attention to this weekend, but the skills needed to grill. The little things like a little olive oil on the quesadilla so they don't stick to the grill. De-silking the corn but keeping the corn covered by the husk so that the kernels don't burn. Finally, learning how to make a hamburger.

All the things that I used do wrong, flipping the burger 5 or 6 times, squeezing the patty so all the juice runs out. Cutting the meat with a knife to see if its done. Wrong,Wrong Wrong.

It takes a little getting used too, learning to poke cooking meat with your finger to gauge how its doing. What one considers firm, what one considers spongy varies. Since the meat patties are of different sizes, they cook differently as well. Learning how to slow the cooking of one down also takes a little bit of practice.

Had a wonderful weekend of visiting with close friends(family really), watching football, sitting outside by the kitchen and enjoying a very nice South Florida Day!

So, I made some quesadillas, quickly on the grill and they went quick. Did corn on the grill, which also went. Finally, cheeseburgers on the grill--- I turned them once, poked them with my finger for doneness and never squeezed them with the spatula--- they came out pretty good!

You have some wonderful recipes in your book, "Boy Gets Grill" and they can be pretty complicated and a little esoteric. Still, a simple meal cooked properly can really make a good day great.

By the way, while not officially grilling, you have some drink recipes in the beginning of the book that I have started to make. My Mojito recipe is a little different from yours, but the ladies enjoyed them!! For those who are reading the blog, let me know if you want the recipe!

Gonna start working on grilling vegetables in the next week or two. Since I am not a big vegetable eater, this is going to require that I expand my palate abit. Will see how it goes.

Until later

David

Learned to Roast Peppers- Hoorahh!

Dear Bobby,

I hope you're not expecting a blog everyday. The day job can keep me pretty busy. I take 24 hour call ( usually a 30 hr shift) at my hospital and ours is a pretty busy place. It is a 63 bed unit and we have had up to 55 babies in our unit at any given time. I work with a great team of Doctors, Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, Pharmacists, Nutritionists, just among the many people who make our unit run. So there will be times where work takes over and fast food gets the call.

Anyways, I have made progress on a couple of fronts. First, is learning how to cook corn on the grill. I have noticed that you like corn alot in your recipes. I, too have enjoyed the combinations of corn and other ingredients in some of the recipes. My pepper and chile roasting continues to improve and I have made a white bean-chili dip that was a big hit at work. The staff at my hospital will hopefully be willing guinea pigs along with my family.

The shrimp and corn quesadilla with pesto sauce came out really well. The pesto was very hot, probably have something with the 8 jalapeno peppers called for in the recipe. I also plopped it on the quesadilla pretty well. I do have some pictures of the charred corn and the quesadilla and when I learn how to post them on the blog I will do that as well.

Things I have learned along the way.... A little olive oil on the quesadilla goes along way to keep it from sticking to the grill

Prep,Prep, Prep

Dear Bobby,

Learned how to roast peppers, and toast nuts. Not to difficult to do, especially the roasting peppers part, because you cook them till there black on all sides and stick them in an airtight container. let them cool and peel off the black skin, get rid of the seeds and cut them up.

What I am learning is for any good recipe you gotta due the prep work. My wife who is at pilates, is not getting a meal tonight ( Grilled Quesadillas with Sweet Corn, Grilled Shrimp and Jalapeno Pesto), because I got behind on getting my prep-work done to cook the meal. I got the Pesto made(to those who read this- is all Pesto Cilantro based??), but then I got busy helping my youngest daughter Julia navigate through some college admissions and fatigue set in. Nothing else was ready, I had to feed Julie and my motivation dried up.

If I had everything cut up and ready to go......

Well , learning how to read the recipe and determine what can be prepped ahead of time and what doesn't helps with the timing of serving the meal. Hopefully, Sue won't mind going out for a quick meal!!.

For those who follow this, I'll be as honest as I can, warts and all. Afterall, if I was perfect at this, then what would be the point of doing this blog and given everyone a little laugh now and then. Until later

David

First, a little perspective

Dear Bobby,

I suppose a little history is in order before I go thru with this. It was over a year ago that I relocated my wife, some of my family to South Florida to take a really great job. I was offered the Medical Directorship of a Neonatal Unit in Fort Lauderdale. This is a large unit, one of the largest in the State. It is also where a public-traded company called Mednax got it start. The Neonatologist who their first Medical Director started the unit.

Now moving and relocating and starting a new job is a really big deal, especially when you are almost 50. Chicago had been my home since birth. I had my friends there, my wife's family was there, my kids were raised there. Having been a Neonatologist in the Suburbs for 15 years, I was ready for a change. I was offered a leave of absence and I took it. I was able to care for my father for the last part of his life and said goodbye to my mother who had been ill for years. Then I got to look for a job that offered opportunity and professional growth...Hello Ft. Lauderdale.

Sooooo...... new job, new house, both parents passed away, uproot the family, try to sell the house in Illinois... that's a lot of stuff.

Well, like I said its been a year and my wife, (by the way, not easy on her as well) has started a new company and begun to adjust to South Florida. I got to thinking, what is something I can do on a long-term basis that would improve our lives here in Florida.....

Well I have always been a very inconsistent cook. Yeah I could make a couple of things, but mostly we ate out alot. Some my friends from Darien and Lincolnshire, now they can cook, and their wives really liked that about them. So I thought, why not. Maybe I can be a great,OK maybe good cook and BBQ guy. Perhaps this is something I can do for Sue (the wife) as well as for myself. When you make a new home for yourself, you need something to ground you, to make you a part of where you are. When your young with children, your children ground you and help keep your life centered. Now with 2/3'rd's of our kids off to college and one a year away from going, it's time to explore ways to make a life and home. I'm gonna try to be a good cook. We'll see what happens after that

David

A BBQ chef is born

Dear Bobby Flay,
As I attempt to channel your skills on the BBQ, Iwill from time to time share my experiences with the Facebook public. Much like the movie , my plan to to go through your cookbook "Boy Gets Grill" from cover to cover.
I cooked for Labor Day with much help from my family. I made a Charred Corn Guacamole, Grilled Asparagus and rice with Goat Cheese and Spicy Black Olive Vinaigrette. For the main course, I made a Butterflied Chicken with Rosemary-Lemon-Garlic Oil, Parmesan and Black Pepper.
Lessons I learned--- It takes a lot longer to cook 1 6 lb butterflied chicken than two 3 lb chickens ( Allie had to eat and run to catch her flight!). If your family is not a fan of olives, no matter how much you puree them, they wont eat it. If you back off the serrano peppers in the guacamole, then you need less lime. Still the guacamole was very tasty and the chicken was excellent; moist and flavorful. Finally, learning to cook with an indirect flame on the grill and temperature control continue to be a challenge.
I am learning to Roast peppers, garlic, toast spices, nuts and chiles this week. Until next time
David