Jacques of all Trades

Tonight’s autumnal dinner in progress: garlic-roasted chicken, with roasted squash and wild mushrooms.  Super easy to prepare, and then just an hour or so in the oven.

(Also, but not pictured: nice crisp, if not autumnal, green beans!) 

Delish Fish Dish!

Liz has been knocking dinners out of the park this month, and today was no different, as she served up a heap of grilled veggies with this Cod with Tomato Ginger Sauce recipe from Food & Wine.  The dinner was summery fresh, apparently quite simple, and (other than the cod) entirely sourced from the local farmers market.

I’ve been delinquent in food blogging lately, but didn’t want to miss this grilled treat from Adam and Sarah, featuring delicious blue marlin kabobs as the centerpiece, and a chopped radicchio and radish salad (apparently a Mark Bittman recipe) to cool it down.

Another Supper Club favorite, Bhavna made this delicious Smoky Barbecue Chicken recipe, from Tim Love, and we all, well, Loved it.  So tender, so delicious:

INGREDIENTS

• 1. 1 gallon water
  2. 1/2 cup kosher salt
  3. 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  4. Three 3 1/2-pound chickens
  5. 10 pounds hardwood lump charcoal
  6. 9 garlic cloves—6 smashed, 3 minced
  7. 1 bunch scallions, coarsely chopped
  8. 1 fennel bulb, finely diced
  9. 1 jalapeño, finely diced
  10. 1 dried ancho chile—stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped
  11. Tim Love’s Wild Game Rub

DIRECTIONS

1. In a pot, combine the water with the salt and sugar and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the salt and sugar dissolve. Let the brine cool to room temperature.
2. Set three large oven-roasting bags in a large roasting pan. Put a chicken in each bag and pour one-third of the brine in each. Tie the bags and refrigerate for 4 hours.
3. Set up a grill for indirect grilling: Light 5 pounds of the charcoal on one side of the grill and hang a grilling or oven thermometer on the opposite side of the grill.
4. Remove the chickens from the brine and pat dry. In a bowl, combine the smashed garlic, scallions, fennel, jalapeño and ancho. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the Wild Game Rub and stuff into the chicken cavities. Tie the legs together with string. Rub the outside of the chickens with the minced garlic and 1/2 cup of the Wild Game Rub.
5. Set the chickens breast side down on the grill opposite the coals. Cover and cook at 325° to 350° for 1 hour. Add the remaining 5 pounds of charcoal to the grill as needed to maintain the temperature. Turn the chickens, cover and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thighs registers 160°, about 1 hour and 30 minutes longer. Transfer the chickens to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve the chickens and serve.

Along with the steak and grilled baguettes, and a heap of crabs (of which I unfortunately didn’t get a photo), fresh New Jersey produce gave us the two pictured salads: 

• Tomato, green onions and feta, with some olive oil, salt and black pepper
• Cucumber, watermelon, mint, and a bit of diced red onions.

The crowd was happy.  Until we started playing Mafia, anyway!

Grilled baguettes (the near batch just grilled with olive oil and seasoned salt, the far side topped with goat cheese and a rough chopped tapenade) from the Saturday feast at the Shore.

Big Saturday night dinner in North Wildwood was anchored by pounds and pounds of grilled steak, teriyaki-marinated.

This panang curry with tofu was the main course of last night’s Thai feast on our back porch.  We used our standard recipe, and accompanied it with spring rolls and a salad with peanut-ginger dressing.  

Meals to fight off the cold rain, Part 2

The other warm and hearty recipe we made this week was a Creamy Leek Soup recipe from the recently-departed Gourmet.

Yield: Makes 6 (first course) servings with leftovers
Active Time: 40 min
Total Time: 1 1/2 hr
8 medium leeks (3 pound), trimmed, leaving white and pale green parts only, and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 small boiling potato (6 ounces)
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth (24 fluid ounces)
3 cups water
1 Turkish bay leaf or 1/2 California
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream

Wash sliced leeks in a large bowl of cold water, agitating them, then lift out and drain well in a colander.

Cook leeks, onion, carrot, celery, salt, and pepper in 4 tablespoons butter in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, then add to onion mixture along with wine, stock, water, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in parsley and simmer soup, uncovered, 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf and keep soup at a bare simmer.

Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then add flour and cook roux, whisking, until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 cups simmering stock (from soup), whisking vigorously (mixture will be thick), then whisk mixture into remaining soup and return to a simmer, whisking.

Blend soup in 4 batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), about 1 minute per batch, transferring to a 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Reheat if necessary, then season with salt and pepper.

Beat cream in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until it almost forms soft peaks. Serve soup topped with cream.

Cooks’ note:
Soup is best when made 1 to 3 days ahead (to allow flavors to develop); do not whip cream ahead. Chill soup, uncovered, until completely cooled, then cover. Reheat, thinning with water if necessary.

This was, as Liz put it, “one of the best soups we’ve ever made,” and the recipe, while a bit more involved than your average potato-leek concoction, was worth the effort.  (Full disclosure, I didn’t put in any effort on this one, but I fully appreciated the final product).

Click for this week’s other cozy recipe: Boeuf Bourguignon and Crusty French Bread,

here for more favorite recipes from Gourmet, or here to browse through my other recipe posts.