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| Power Style Wellness Connections |
The Way to Get Grill Marks And Other Tasty Tips
By Kimberly Crum
Photos by Ewa Wojtkowska
Baseball games, naps in the chaise lounge, and backyard barbeques: these are
stereotypical images of summer. Chefs wear “Kiss the Cook” aprons as they carry trays
of meat outside. Grilling is a favorite American pastime.
According to the 19th Annual Weber Grill Watch Survey, 71 percent of Americans grill
outside. The popularity of outdoor cooking should not be surprising. Cooking indoors is
a solitary endeavor. The family might stop by to grab a snack from the fridge or ask
when dinner will be served. But the cook is soon left alone at the chopping board.
In contrast, outdoor cooking is a communal event. Friends and family assemble to
pass judgment on the heat of the fire, the state of the steaks, the fate of the chicken.
At the start of summer, I invited two accomplished cooks, and a few hungry husbands,
to join me on the patio. Among the cooks are my friend Leslie and my guest expert,
David Domine. David is a food writer for Kentucky Monthly magazine and the author of
one of my favorite cookbooks. Adventures in New Kentucky Cooking is a guide to using
traditional Kentucky ingredients in nontraditional ways. For tonight’s cookout, David
has adapted four cookbook recipes from his cookbook.
Having a cookbook author at my side is a rarified experience, one I have only imagined
while standing at the stove stirring sauce that will not thicken, or discovering (too late)
that a liquid measuring cup should not be used to measure dry ingredients. On this
evening, I make the latter mistake. As a result, the spoon bread batter resembles
plaster, when it should look “like porridge.” Luckily, both Leslie and David have a flair
for improvisation. They quickly discern and correct my error, adding eggs and milk to
the batter.
As a home chef, I am not skilled at improvisation. What I contribute are the essential
ingredients: beef, wine, and my husband’s Weber Performer charcoal grill with propane
ignition, as well as an assortment of gadgets. I have a cast iron sauce pot with a
nesting basting brush, a stainless steel cooking tray for fish and/or vegetables, giant
suede gloves that a welder could use, and four miniature individual steak thermometers.
Outdoor cooking does not excuse the executive chef from basic food preparation. By
the time the guests arrive, I have soaked six 4 oz. filets in a bourbon/lemon juice
marinade, and I have rubbed each filet with salt and light brown sugar. (David says
these will add both flavor and texture to the grilled beef.) I have grated the Gouda,
mixed the vinaigrette and chopped and organized the spices, herbs and vegetables. I
have sautéed (and sampled) the country ham crumbles. And Leslie has agreed to
whisk sweet peaks of bourbon whipped cream.
The choice of the grill is mine. My husband and I prefer the smoky taste of meat
cooked with charcoal. While it is harder to control the temperature of a charcoal grill
and the coals tend to burn down quickly, we believe that charcoal is superior to gas.
One can’t easily replicate the smoky tastes — like outdoors flavor created by charcoal.
And charcoal grills enable the cook to easily use indirect heat (and soaked hickory or
mesquite wood chunks) to create a memorably tender piece of meat.
On this summer evening, it is cloudy and sprinkling, but the precipitation does nothing
to dissuade the small party from crowding around the grill in their hooded jackets. “Don’
t turn the steaks so often,” David warns. “You want to see the grill marks.” Searing (as
opposed to charring) comes from cooking the beef tenderloin on high heat for 4 to 5
minutes, and turning them only once. The coveted grill marks add to both the visual
appearance and the appealing crunchy-yet-tender mouth-feel.
Why white asparagus and not green? David explains that white asparagus is milder
than green, which complements the sweet vinaigrette and the salty country ham. This
complexity of flavors delights the diners. Sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh ground
white pepper, and drizzled olive oil, the asparagus browns nicely on the grill tray. We
take turns turning the pale stems. Meanwhile the steaks, cooked medium rare, are
removed and covered with foil, while the creamy mustard bourbon sauce reduces in an
iron skillet.
As the sun begins to set, we gather around the dining table. The filet is flavorful, and
tastes even better with the sauce. The mild earthy taste of the white asparagus is a
pleasant companion for the sweet vinaigrette and salty ham crumbles. Grilling seems to
enhance the natural sweetness of the peaches, and the bourbon whipped cream is
intense. Bourbon has a uniquely sweet bite. And the spearmint leaf garnish makes this
dessert taste like a peach julep. Group consensus is that the food is fabulous. Perhaps
the meal tastes better because it was prepared outdoors. Or maybe this eating
experience is enhanced by the fact that the dinner was cooked in tandem with
conversation. In any event, we agree that the process of cooking outdoors is (almost)
as enjoyable as the final product.
RECIPES • Compliments of David Domine
Grilled White Asparagus with Country Ham Crumbles
and Bourbon-Molasses Vinaigrette
2 pounds fresh white asparagus, cleaned and trimmed
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup roughly chopped country ham
To prepare the crumbles, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron skillet on a
medium grill and fry the country ham until brown and crispy. Remove the pieces and
drain on a paper towel to crisp. Brush asparagus spears with olive oil, sprinkle with a
pinch of salt and place on a hot grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to a serving
dish. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together mustard, vinegar, molasses, bourbon,
salt, pepper, and shallot until incorporated. Slowly drizzle in all but a tablespoon of the
olive oil in a thin stream, continually whisking until the mixture has emulsified.
To assemble the dish, drizzle the vinaigrette over the grilled asparagus and sprinkle
with the country ham crumbles.
Bourbonnaised Filet Mignon
Six to eight 4-ounce filet mignons
11/4 cups bourbon
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoons brown mustard
3/4 cup heavy cream
Lay the filets in a single layer in a shallow dish and pour in the bourbon and lemon
juice.
Place the dish in the refrigerator and let marinate for four hours, turning each filet over
at least once. Remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel.
Season each side with salt and rub with
a bit of the brown sugar. Sear each filet for
4-5 minutes on each side on a covered, medium-high grill. Remove the steaks to a
plate and cover with aluminum foil. To make a sauce while the steaks cook, place a
cast iron skillet on the grill and add the leftover bourbon marinade. Once it begins to
boil, whisk in the mustard and cream and reduce the sauce by half. Add juices from
cooked filets.
Grilled Peaches with Honey and Bourbon Whipped Cream
6-8 ripe peaches
1/4 cup bourbon
Pinch of salt
11/2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup local honey
Mint sprigs for garnish
Wash and halve the peaches, removing the stone. Heat the grill to medium high.
Brush each peach half with a bit of bourbon and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Grill for 4-5
minutes on each side. While the peaches cook, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
Add the remaining bourbon and confectioners’ sugar and stir well. To serve, place two
peach halves on a plate, drizzle with honey and top with a generous spoon of bourbon
whipped cream. Garnish with mint.
Kimberly Crum is a regular writer for Today’s Woman. You may email Kim at
kcrum@iamtodayswoman.com.
Thanks to David Domine and the grill expert owners grill at the Brownsboro Hardware
By Kimberly Crum
Photos by Ewa Wojtkowska
Baseball games, naps in the chaise lounge, and backyard barbeques: these are
stereotypical images of summer. Chefs wear “Kiss the Cook” aprons as they carry trays
of meat outside. Grilling is a favorite American pastime.
According to the 19th Annual Weber Grill Watch Survey, 71 percent of Americans grill
outside. The popularity of outdoor cooking should not be surprising. Cooking indoors is
a solitary endeavor. The family might stop by to grab a snack from the fridge or ask
when dinner will be served. But the cook is soon left alone at the chopping board.
In contrast, outdoor cooking is a communal event. Friends and family assemble to
pass judgment on the heat of the fire, the state of the steaks, the fate of the chicken.
At the start of summer, I invited two accomplished cooks, and a few hungry husbands,
to join me on the patio. Among the cooks are my friend Leslie and my guest expert,
David Domine. David is a food writer for Kentucky Monthly magazine and the author of
one of my favorite cookbooks. Adventures in New Kentucky Cooking is a guide to using
traditional Kentucky ingredients in nontraditional ways. For tonight’s cookout, David
has adapted four cookbook recipes from his cookbook.
Having a cookbook author at my side is a rarified experience, one I have only imagined
while standing at the stove stirring sauce that will not thicken, or discovering (too late)
that a liquid measuring cup should not be used to measure dry ingredients. On this
evening, I make the latter mistake. As a result, the spoon bread batter resembles
plaster, when it should look “like porridge.” Luckily, both Leslie and David have a flair
for improvisation. They quickly discern and correct my error, adding eggs and milk to
the batter.
As a home chef, I am not skilled at improvisation. What I contribute are the essential
ingredients: beef, wine, and my husband’s Weber Performer charcoal grill with propane
ignition, as well as an assortment of gadgets. I have a cast iron sauce pot with a
nesting basting brush, a stainless steel cooking tray for fish and/or vegetables, giant
suede gloves that a welder could use, and four miniature individual steak thermometers.
Outdoor cooking does not excuse the executive chef from basic food preparation. By
the time the guests arrive, I have soaked six 4 oz. filets in a bourbon/lemon juice
marinade, and I have rubbed each filet with salt and light brown sugar. (David says
these will add both flavor and texture to the grilled beef.) I have grated the Gouda,
mixed the vinaigrette and chopped and organized the spices, herbs and vegetables. I
have sautéed (and sampled) the country ham crumbles. And Leslie has agreed to
whisk sweet peaks of bourbon whipped cream.
The choice of the grill is mine. My husband and I prefer the smoky taste of meat
cooked with charcoal. While it is harder to control the temperature of a charcoal grill
and the coals tend to burn down quickly, we believe that charcoal is superior to gas.
One can’t easily replicate the smoky tastes — like outdoors flavor created by charcoal.
And charcoal grills enable the cook to easily use indirect heat (and soaked hickory or
mesquite wood chunks) to create a memorably tender piece of meat.
On this summer evening, it is cloudy and sprinkling, but the precipitation does nothing
to dissuade the small party from crowding around the grill in their hooded jackets. “Don’
t turn the steaks so often,” David warns. “You want to see the grill marks.” Searing (as
opposed to charring) comes from cooking the beef tenderloin on high heat for 4 to 5
minutes, and turning them only once. The coveted grill marks add to both the visual
appearance and the appealing crunchy-yet-tender mouth-feel.
Why white asparagus and not green? David explains that white asparagus is milder
than green, which complements the sweet vinaigrette and the salty country ham. This
complexity of flavors delights the diners. Sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh ground
white pepper, and drizzled olive oil, the asparagus browns nicely on the grill tray. We
take turns turning the pale stems. Meanwhile the steaks, cooked medium rare, are
removed and covered with foil, while the creamy mustard bourbon sauce reduces in an
iron skillet.
As the sun begins to set, we gather around the dining table. The filet is flavorful, and
tastes even better with the sauce. The mild earthy taste of the white asparagus is a
pleasant companion for the sweet vinaigrette and salty ham crumbles. Grilling seems to
enhance the natural sweetness of the peaches, and the bourbon whipped cream is
intense. Bourbon has a uniquely sweet bite. And the spearmint leaf garnish makes this
dessert taste like a peach julep. Group consensus is that the food is fabulous. Perhaps
the meal tastes better because it was prepared outdoors. Or maybe this eating
experience is enhanced by the fact that the dinner was cooked in tandem with
conversation. In any event, we agree that the process of cooking outdoors is (almost)
as enjoyable as the final product.
RECIPES • Compliments of David Domine
Grilled White Asparagus with Country Ham Crumbles
and Bourbon-Molasses Vinaigrette
2 pounds fresh white asparagus, cleaned and trimmed
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup roughly chopped country ham
To prepare the crumbles, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron skillet on a
medium grill and fry the country ham until brown and crispy. Remove the pieces and
drain on a paper towel to crisp. Brush asparagus spears with olive oil, sprinkle with a
pinch of salt and place on a hot grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to a serving
dish. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together mustard, vinegar, molasses, bourbon,
salt, pepper, and shallot until incorporated. Slowly drizzle in all but a tablespoon of the
olive oil in a thin stream, continually whisking until the mixture has emulsified.
To assemble the dish, drizzle the vinaigrette over the grilled asparagus and sprinkle
with the country ham crumbles.
Bourbonnaised Filet Mignon
Six to eight 4-ounce filet mignons
11/4 cups bourbon
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoons brown mustard
3/4 cup heavy cream
Lay the filets in a single layer in a shallow dish and pour in the bourbon and lemon
juice.
Place the dish in the refrigerator and let marinate for four hours, turning each filet over
at least once. Remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel.
Season each side with salt and rub with
a bit of the brown sugar. Sear each filet for
4-5 minutes on each side on a covered, medium-high grill. Remove the steaks to a
plate and cover with aluminum foil. To make a sauce while the steaks cook, place a
cast iron skillet on the grill and add the leftover bourbon marinade. Once it begins to
boil, whisk in the mustard and cream and reduce the sauce by half. Add juices from
cooked filets.
Grilled Peaches with Honey and Bourbon Whipped Cream
6-8 ripe peaches
1/4 cup bourbon
Pinch of salt
11/2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup local honey
Mint sprigs for garnish
Wash and halve the peaches, removing the stone. Heat the grill to medium high.
Brush each peach half with a bit of bourbon and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Grill for 4-5
minutes on each side. While the peaches cook, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
Add the remaining bourbon and confectioners’ sugar and stir well. To serve, place two
peach halves on a plate, drizzle with honey and top with a generous spoon of bourbon
whipped cream. Garnish with mint.
Kimberly Crum is a regular writer for Today’s Woman. You may email Kim at
kcrum@iamtodayswoman.com.
Thanks to David Domine and the grill expert owners grill at the Brownsboro Hardware
Grilling Gadgets and
Accessories:
Wood chunks, chips and
planks are available in
many types of wood such
as mesquite for beef,
cedar or alder for salmon,
cherry or hickory for pork.
A Weber poultry roaster is
the ideal tool for infusing
chicken with beer or fruit
juices. Is also a space
saver, because the
chicken roasts vertically.
Lump charcoal burns less
quickly and creates flavors
superior to that created
with charcoal briquettes,
which often contain
chemical additives.
A charcoal chimney
eliminates the need to use
lighter fluid, which is both
dangerous and affects the
taste of food.
A solar grill light or lighted
tongs for nighttime
cooking.
A "Pig Tail" , a stainless
steel tool with a sharp,
spiral snare that will easily
turn meat or vegetables on
the grill.
A stainless steel or cast
iron wood chip smoker
(especially useful for gas
grills) can be used to give
meat a smoky flavor.
A stainless steel slotted
tray is ideal for cooking
more delicate items, like
fish or vegetables.
Accessories:
Wood chunks, chips and
planks are available in
many types of wood such
as mesquite for beef,
cedar or alder for salmon,
cherry or hickory for pork.
A Weber poultry roaster is
the ideal tool for infusing
chicken with beer or fruit
juices. Is also a space
saver, because the
chicken roasts vertically.
Lump charcoal burns less
quickly and creates flavors
superior to that created
with charcoal briquettes,
which often contain
chemical additives.
A charcoal chimney
eliminates the need to use
lighter fluid, which is both
dangerous and affects the
taste of food.
A solar grill light or lighted
tongs for nighttime
cooking.
A "Pig Tail" , a stainless
steel tool with a sharp,
spiral snare that will easily
turn meat or vegetables on
the grill.
A stainless steel or cast
iron wood chip smoker
(especially useful for gas
grills) can be used to give
meat a smoky flavor.
A stainless steel slotted
tray is ideal for cooking
more delicate items, like
fish or vegetables.