What do you think about tri-tip? Like it? Not? Too gristly? Flavor? 

A post from Carolyn.  I’ve not ever been a big fan of tri-tip. Too tough, usually. The flavor was always good – good, strong, beefy flavor; but the texture was chewy; usually too chewy for my taste. I mean, I love-me a good ribeye. That’s my fav. But I was feeding a crowd and served grilled Italian sausage and this tri-tip. My friend Dianne fixed this beef a few weeks ago when she invited Taylor and me to dinner, and I really liked it. It happened that the slices I had contained next to no fat or gristle. Not so much when I made it myself (above). But the flavor was great. I liked the marinade. The tri-tip happened to be on sale at one of my local markets . . . now I suppose I could have gotten one that wasn’t trimmed as well . . . I don’t know.

You do need to trim the meat of visible fat and gristle. And there’s a piece of silver skin on one side that also needs to be removed. That takes a bit of hand labor. But worth the effort. Marinate the meat for 24 hours if time permits. This recipe came from an ancient Sunset Magazine and is still available online. Dianne had a copy of the faded page from the magazine as she’s been making this for a bunch of years.

As I type this, I’m serving it again this week to a different gathering – my granddaughter’s nursing school graduation party. I’m expecting 18 people – some family and a bunch of my friends who have gotten to know (and love) Taylor since she’s lived with me. It’s been hot-hot here in our neck of the woods, so we may be eating inside (I don’t know where I’ll seat 18 people – it’ll take some ingenuity). I’m doing another coil of sausage (see cooked sausage coil at left), this tri-tip and also a full slab of slow-roasted salmon with a garlic vinaigrette on top. Then with tons of sides and salads. And daughter Sara is bringing a cheesecake (lemon strawberry is what Taylor requested). A few people are bringing something to help out.

So I read, tri-tip isn’t a cut of meat available in all areas of our country. A lot here in California. But in other places, they’ve never heard of it. It’s from the bottom sirloin and has a triangular shape with a long tapered end, hence tri – – tip(s). Most people dry roast it but it can also be marinated and grilled like a steak. That’s what we did. My son barbecued the meat for me as I was busy in the kitchen. He also grilled a complete round (coil) of Italian sausage with Mozzarella cheese in it. SO SO good. We have a good Italian restaurant in Newport Beach (Sabatino’s) that has a butcher department attached to the restaurant. The coil was $42 – probably about 2 1/2 pounds. Not sure, I didn’t weigh it.

Back to this tri-tip. It’s marinated in a very simple solution – reduced sodium soy sauce, dried oregano, garlic, a jot of liquid smoke, pepper and a bunch of fresh cilantro. But first, you cut some long 1/2″ deep slits in the roast so the marinade can get into the crevices. Next time I’ll poke it all over with a fork, too. Into a plastic bag it’ll go, and several times over the 24 hours turn the bag over and over. There really isn’t much marinade, so you need to continue to flip it over in the frig numerous times. Let is sit out for 30 minutes or so, then it goes onto a medium-high grill for about 10 minutes per side, or until it gets to 125°F in the center, to get that meat a lovely medium-rare. It needs to rest for about 5 minutes (foil-covered) then you slice it SUPER-THIN across the grain. If people prefer more well done, the tapered end will be more well cooked. I served it with an ancho chili dip/sauce (posting in a few days).

What’s GOOD: Good, beefy flavor, needs marinating so don’t skimp on the 24-hour time. Cut into super-thin slices, it’s a very nice steak type entrée. Some people prefer a more chewy beef texture – this is it. Love the flavor from the marinade. The meat would like a sauce to go with it.

What’s NOT: making time for the marinating is about it. Don’t expect this to taste like ribeye, though, because it’s far from it. If you don’t live in California you might have trouble getting the cut of meat – you’d have to ask a butcher to cut it.

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This is the best chicken makhani (butter chicken) I have ever eaten. Bar none. Can you tell I love cilantro?

A post from Carolyn. The various types of chicken curry I’ve eaten, that I’ve made myself and/or really enjoyed out, include khorma, butter and makhani, plus an old recipe I used to make from Dinah Shore (it’s here on my blog too), as it was an early iteration of curry that I made in my early cooking years, called Chicken Curry Without Worry. Perhaps they’re one in the same, just by different names; I’m not enough of an expert of Indian cuisine to know. But this recipe, which may become my all-time favorite and will be made in my kitchen with regularity from here on, is just so stunning in flavor.

The original recipe for this came from one online, and my daughter-in-law Karen’s sister Janice sent it to me (thanks again, Janice). She made a few changes to it, and when I made it; I did too. Again, not because I’m an expert at Indian recipes (for surely, I am not). A couple of ingredients I didn’t have in my pantry –  curry leaves and fresh serrano chiles (just didn’t want to make a trip to the store for those).  Janice’s husband is Indian. Actually he’s British, but has Indian heritage, so their family make and eat a lot of Indian food. Janice has become a really good Indian cook (though she’s not Indian at all). She introduced me to methi, which are fenugreek leaves. Not the seeds/pods, but the leaves. Methi chicken will often appear on Indian restaurant menus. And it’s a unique flavor; something I like.

This iteration of chicken curry relies on a huge variety of herbs and spices, used in different ways. First, there’s a yogurt-based marinade that includes ginger and garlic (such huge standards of Indian cooking), garam masala, turmeric, cumin, chile powder (and I used Kashmiri). A side note here, Kashmiri chile powder may not be something you’ll find at the grocery store. I bought mine on amazon (see link). Kashmiri chile is mild – and imparts a really red color, more red than some chile powders. It doesn’t have much heat. But it does have some, so don’t be misled that you can add a lot and not heat up the dish.

Chicken thighs were what I used – though you can use breasts if you’d prefer – just don’t cook it as long. I removed some fat from them, then cut them up into bite-sized pieces. The more surface available for flavor is what I was looking for. Into a ziploc bag went all of the marinade (yogurt, etc.) then I added the chicken. The practical part of using a plastic bag for this is you can smoosh the bag to get all those flavors all over the chicken pieces. Just move, squeeze, smoosh away. Into the frig for several hours (I did about 6 hours – but you can do overnight too) before beginning the cooking of the curry.

The sauce: the chicken pieces are added to a medium hot skillet to brown (with oil and butter first) and turned to get some good dark brown crust. Then onions are added plus more garlic and fresh ginger, then a plethora of additional spices. And some canned crushed tomatoes, more Kashmiri chile powder too and CREAM. Oh yes, the cream. An integral part of chicken curry in my book. The mixture is simmered briefly, then the chicken is added back in and simmered some more. Don’t let it get dry – add water if needed. That simmering time gives those flavors an opportunity to bloom throughout the sauce.

Meanwhile, I made a batch of rice in my Instant Pot (so easy — 2 cups rice, 2 1/2 cups water, 1 tsp salt; pressure for 3 minutes, rest for 10 and it’s done to perfection). That’s the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. Into that bowl it went with a couple of spoonsful of the curry on top and some chopped cilantro. That was dinner. Since my granddaughter Taylor has moved back home, I’ve been making a few things that I knew she didn’t like – specifically curry!

What’s GOOD: everything minute thing about this dish was fantastic. Can’t use enough superlatives here. Full of flavors – you can’t pick them out, just a beautiful homogenous sauce with abundant flavor.

What’s NOT: only if you don’t like curry or spices (several of my friends do not). Oh well, more for me!!

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This may be my new favorite way to fix fish.

A post from Carolyn. A few weeks ago I was watching Ina Garten’s new TV show, Be My Guest (I think that’s what it’s called), and she had Julianna Margulies visit her, in Ina’s lovely Long Island kitchen. I’ve been such a fan of Julianna Margulies since she was on The Good Wife. So sorry that show ended. I didn’t know that Julianna loves to cook, and she prepared halibut for Ina.

Julianna explained that this is her signature company dinner entrée. With that kind of a recommendation, I knew before she started that it would be something I’d prepare. They had the most beautiful 1-inch thick halibut steaks, probably the kind you can’t get unless you go to a fish market or caught the fish yourself and asked for 1-inch thick slices. My Costco has fresh halibut right now, so that was the impetus for making it. And let me tell you, this preparation is so very EASY! The down side is that halibut is ferociously expensive. I bought a small piece (that I was able to get 4 small servings out of) and after making this, I vacuum-sealed the other three portions – with a little plastic wrap packet of the herb butter stuck on top of the halibut.

First you make up an herb butter. What I had (fresh) was sage and chives (both survived last winter and continue to provide this summer) and Italian parsley. You also add garlic to the mix.

There at left you can see the various components. Sage leaves have such a different texture to them.

The butter needs to be at room temp and you carefully chop up the herbs and garlic and add it to the butter. With a bit of lemon zest too. Mix it well and set it aside. If time permits, do this an hour or so before you’re ready to begin cooking the halibut.

The halibut is salted and peppered before starting. And a note of caution – the rest of your meal needs to be completely ready to go and serve. You’ll have no time for other kitchen prep once you start the halibut. The stovetop grill pan is heated to high/medium-high and you drizzle a bit of EVOO on it before laying on the halibut steaks. At that point set a timer. My halibut steaks were about 3/4″ thick (not the 1-inch called for) so I knew they would cook in less time. Do set a timer – I know I said this before – but it’s worth repeating. The recipe indicates you melt the herb butter at this point – I didn’t, as the herb butter was so soft it was almost melted in the bowl! Once the fish is turned over (it should have a beautiful golden glow on it) you turn OFF the heat and slather on, or pour most of the herb butter on top of the halibut. If you used the soft butter, it melts in seconds. Cover the pan with a lid or a piece of foil and set a timer again. This time you set it for 3 minutes (if your steaks are 1″ thick). I set mine for 2 minutes. Everything else was ready to plate, so I slid the halibut off onto a plate (or heated platter if you’re doing several) and poured what little herb butter was in the pan itself (my grill pan does have a handle) and the remainder I had set aside. It melted immediately. Sprinkle with lemon zest, the little curl-type. Serve.

What’s GOOD: oh my, so good. But then, I love the lovely big flakes of fish that come from halibut. The fish was beautiful to look at and serve, (the lemon zest on top adds a lot – that happened to be something Ina added to the recipe) and so tender and moist. This cooking method is genius. I’d serve this to guests anytime. Just know you’ll be making a big dent in your wallet to buy several hunks of 1″ halibut steaks.

What’s NOT: only that you want to make this with halibut (or maybe sea bass). All expensive. I’ll try it with cod too – it might be nice.

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Do you wonder how to pronounce it? It’s ch-tee-pee-tee. It’s Turkish.

A post from Carolyn. It’s been years ago now that one of my granddaughters, Sabrina (the one who has just started med school in South Carolina) and I flew to Washington, D.C. with my son, Powell (her uncle), who needed to be there on business. In between business he took us places and made some touring arrangements for us. Sabrina and I flitted around to various monuments and museums during the daytime and then we’d meet Powell in the evenings. One night he took us to Zaytinya, a well known restaurant (by Jose Andres) which serves Turkish, Greek and Lebanese food. So kinda-sorta Eastern Mediterranean food. Among the outstanding dishes we had that night, this one stood out to me. An appetizer served with pita bread or pita chips. I couldn’t get enough of it. Once I got home, I found the recipe online somewhere, somehow, and until now I hadn’t gotten around to making it. Not sure why as it’s so easy to do.

If you have abundant red bell peppers, by all means, char or roast them yourself. I had a big jar of them in my pantry, so used them instead. You mix up a vinaigrette of shallot, garlic, red wine vinegar and EVOO or just OO, then mix in crumbled Feta, some fresh thyme leaves and you’re done. So easy. I made it the day before, and actually, it kept for a week. Some of the feta had begun to disintegrate, but the flavor was still there and it tasted fine. The picture I found online shows a more homogenous mixture (you couldn’t see the cheese or peppers, it was just a solid red), but I like the differentiation with mixing it this way.

What’s GOOD: how easy it is to make if you’ve got some jarred bell peppers. Keeps for several days; obviously a good make-ahead appetizer. Very tasty with the bell pepper and cheese combo. Altogether delicious. I served it with pita chips.

What’s NOT: nothing that I can think of.

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These toasts, cute as can be, and quite delicious. I’d have this for lunch. Dinner even, if you didn’t want a hearty meal.

A post from Carolyn. So this recipe came from my friend Cherrie. She subscribes frequently to “Hello, Fresh,” that delivery service that gives you everything you need for a meal (several meals in a week, actually), all you have to do it put it together. I’m not sure whether this was an appetizer, or if it was a vegetarian type light dinner. She made it, took a taste of her husband’s but decided she wasn’t hungry enough for it and when I came for dinner that night she gave me a package of these. Already put together – all I had to do was warm them up a bit. She liked it enough she plans on making it herself sometime soon, and she sent me the Hello, Fresh print-out they sent her for the preparation.

Going online, I discovered this recipe was in Bon Appetit in 2014. So neither she nor I can claim anything about creating this recipe. It’s just that with tomatoes in season right now (and so very tasty) this can make a lovely light meal, or served on smaller toasts, as appetizers. However you serve them, they’re really tasty and not difficult to make.

There’s the photo I took of the ones my friend Cherrie made. She used pine nuts in hers, not walnuts. You do need to have ricotta on hand, some good tomatoes (cherry or grape type), some fresh herbs (chives, dill, thyme, maybe, or basil) and good bread to serve it on. Oh yes, balsamic glaze too. Knowing this recipe was just up my friend Joan’s alley, I sent it to her and she made it that very evening (her picture there at top). She raved about the good taste of the tomatoes (charred) and the garlic too. I concur – love tomatoes and garlic, and the charred tomatoes have that wonderful umami flavor.

What’s GOOD: the tomatoes (charred makes such a difference), the garlic, the cheese, texture of the nuts, the herby ricotta. Everything good.

What’s NOT: nary a thing – fresh herbs are needed here.

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So very easy, you will hardly believe it. No, there isn’t any lavender in it – Taylor was using photo props to make the picture more beautiful.

A post from Carolyn. My dear granddaughter Taylor will only be living with me for another week or so by the time this recipe posts. Oh sigh. I’ll miss her so much! She made this bread. Four ingredients. During her last clinical hospital work (12-hour shifts at a local hospital, in their post-partum department) she befriended all of the nurses in the department and wanted to do something nice for them on her last day. She’d made this bread before (a recipe from her friend Quinn – thanks, Quinn!), and it’s so very easy.

The dough is mixed up in a stand mixer (with dough hook if possible). I couldn’t FIND my dough hook. (Where in the heck has it disappeared to?) So she used the metal paddle for awhile until it got to be labored in mixing, then she kneaded it a bit by hand. It sat out on the kitchen counter (covered with plastic wrap) for about 15 hours until it had more than doubled in bulk. She punched it down, then formed it into a nice big loaf shape (on the counter is fine, just cover it with a big bowl or a damp tea towel). When she was ready to bake it, she preheated the oven to 450°F AND put the big ceramic Dutch oven into that cold oven so it heated up while the oven did. You could use a cast iron Dutch oven too, or a regular lidded pan – just grease the container so it pops out easily.

Then she very carefully picked up the loaf and put it in the hot-hot Dutch oven, with the lid. It baked for 15 minutes. Then the oven temp is turned down to 350°F for 20-30 minutes. Then you remove the lid from the bread and allow it to bake further for 10 minutes until the crust has turned a golden brown. Once out of the oven you can carefully tip over the Dutch oven to let the bread pop out, then right it and let it sit on a rack until cool. Wait at least an hour before trying to slice it.

She was serving it with artichoke dip, so I cut up the bread for her into thicker slices, then into elongated cubes, about 3/4″ side and 2 inches long. I ate a few edges with a little butter. Yum. I think back to decades ago when I used to bake bread every week (sourdough, with a starter) and the hours it took. This is just so easy to do, letting the overnight rise do all the heavy lifting, so to speak!

What’s GOOD: how easy this is to make, and when fresh and warm, altogether delicious. You could use this as a bread bowl too. Am sure this could be made into 3 smaller boules also as long as you have the containers to do them in. Adjust the baking time, obviously. The bread texture is on the firmer side – this isn’t a tender bread (no fat or milk in it, notice!). So a French style, rustic texture.

What’s NOT: only that you need to be at home when the 12-18 hour window is up, and continue to be there for the 2nd rising and then the baking time.

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I’ve done so much cooking of late I’m having a hard time keeping track of what I’ve posted or what I haven’t.

A post from Carolyn. It’s been a couple of months since I made this – – rhubarb was plentiful at the grocery store, and I was having a moment with almonds – either in almond paste form, or almond extract in things. I do love almond flavoring in whichever form. This galette (which means rough pastry with fruit) was so very simple to do. I had a Pillsbury sheet of pie dough. And just an FYI: I don’t buy store brands of pie dough – – I just think they’re inferior. If I were really doing this right, I’d have made my own pie crust, but I was lazy and bought the ready-made.

First I combined the fresh cut rhubarb with some sugar and lemon zest and set it aside. The pie crust was put out onto a Silpat (or you could use parchment paper) on a big sheetpan. Then I made the frangipane (almond flour, sugar, salt, egg, orange liqueur and almond extract). That was pureed in the food processor and I poured/scraped it out onto the center of the pie dough and spread it evenly leaving an ample border as the pastry gets rolled inward. Then the rhubarb went on top – note that I cut some of the rhubarb in long chunks and mostly short ones. No reason, just thought it would look more interesting. Then you gently bring up the sides of the dough. Do this gently – do NOT under any circumstances try to stretch the dough. You might note that my crust cracked on one side and some of the rhubarb and filling oozed out a bit. Not so attractive, but it made no difference in the end result. Crimp the edges so the dough will stay in place (hopefully) and HOLD the frangipane and the fruit inside.

Melted butter is brushed over the edges of the dough and any remaining you can drizzle on top of the tart. Sugar is sprinkled all over the top, then the galette is baked for about 35 minutes, or until it’s golden brown on the pie dough edges. It needs to cool some before serving (warm is perfect). Then make some whipped cream with a few drops of almond extract and sugar in it. You could add vanilla too, but I prefer the almond. The recipe was adapted from one I found at Alexandra Cooks.

What’s GOOD: everything about this was delicious. Loved the frangipane (almond filling) with the rhubarb. Loved the almond flavoring in the whipped cream too. And then, there’s rhubarb, which I am crazy about anyway.

What’s NOT: only that you need rhubarb on hand to make this.

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Bars that are kinda cookie, kinda dessert, a happy match of the two.

A post from Carolyn. It’s been years ago that I downloaded this recipe from a now-defunct food blog called Alpineberry. It’s been long ago enough that I don’t remember the writer’s name, just that I remember her blog’s name, and I’d made a note of it in my recipe, and I have a few other recipes from that blog too. This recipe is a keeper, for sure.

It does require the making of three layers (a crust, an apple layer and a cream cheese filling). None is hard to do – the most tedious is probably the peeling, coring and slicing (thinly) the apples. The crust contains the usual things plus some cream cheese AND both almond and vanilla extracts. Some of it is set aside to make the topping. The filling is a cream cheese, egg, sugar and lemon juice combination. You can barely see it on top of the apples in the picture above. It’s not a thick filling – just enough to provide some nice creamy texture to the finished bars.

The crust is baked, cooled some, then the apples are added (you use Granny Smith so the apple filling doesn’t turn into applesauce) and gently smoothed out. Then the cream cheese filling is poured on top and gently spread out. Then the topping (the remainder of the crust plus some almonds, flour and more sugar. Sliced almonds are added on the top. That’s it. Baked for about 50 minutes.

What’s GOOD: loved the apple flavor, the texture, the little creamy layer and the crunch of the almonds. Altogether delicious bar or dessert. My granddaughter Taylor loved these. They’re especially nice served with some vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream. But they don’t need embellishment – served as is would be fine too, even out of hand.

What’s NOT: nothing at all.

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Wanting something to serve alongside some Italian sausages, this was in my to-try file. 

A post from Carolyn. My granddaughter Taylor, the one who’s about to graduate from nursing school (and move home – so I’ll be an empty nester again) asked me to fix her favorite dinner, the sheetpan sausage one I wrote up a couple of months ago. I said sure enough, I’d do that. I didn’t have asparagus this time, but did have summer squash, a sweet potato, plus a big red onion. I wanted something to go with the sausage, a sauce, or something. This one was in my file to try, so I did. Although I changed the ingredients a little bit and added Castelvetrano olives (if you don’t already know about these, you should – they’re a green ripe olive, Italian, so good). I love capers and liked that they were in this mixture too. So easy with some EVOO, balsamic, lemon juice plus a few Italian herbs.

If time permits, make this a few hours ahead – I didn’t, as it was last-minute, so I made it while the dinner roasted in the oven. The flavors will meld some if you let it rest on the counter for a bit. It’s a very easy concoction to make – and gave the sausages some good oomph. If you like spicy, add some red pepper flakes to the mixture.

All the ingredients I had on hand – I keep those Castelvetrano olives in my frig all the time, and capers, and I try to have red onion on hand. Also, Italian parsley. I still have Meyer lemons on my tree, so that was easy, and EVOO and balsamic. So easy, all of it.

What’s GOOD: went so well with the Italian sausages, but would be good with chicken, pork chops, even hamburgers. Not sure about fish, unless it was a fairly flavorful fish like swordfish. Halibut would work too. Altogether delicious sauce, and am glad I still have some leftover.

What’s NOT: only that you need to have Italian parsley – I have it on hand always, along with cilantro. Our weather is too hot here to grow it or I would!

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Make most of this ahead, then just spread them up at the last minute.

A post from Carolyn.  You’ll recall I had a wine tasting at my house awhile back – this was another of the appetizers made that evening. I’d found the recipe online and my good friend Linda made them, then she and I quickly put them together just before serving.

Caramelized onions aren’t hard to make – but as anyone who has made them knows, it takes a whole lot of onions to make a batch that yields about 3/4 cup of so, as onions are comprised of a lot of water. As they simmer and sizzle away, they wilt and then become golden brown, then deep mahogany brown. Be careful you don’t cook them too long (they will burn eventually), but make sure they are dark golden.

In this case, we spread the toasted baguette slices with goat cheese (a soft, spreadable type), then carefully added some of the caramelized onion on top, then sprinkled chopped up rosemary on top of that. Went beautifully with the rose wine sangria we served.

If you happen to have Boursin on hand, you could easily substitute that for the plain goat cheese, although I’d go really easy on the rosemary in that case, since the garlic/herb Boursin is already seasoned well. Maybe substitute a bit of parsley on top instead.

What’s GOOD: if you have all the ingredients on hand, this is a very easy appetizer to make. Double the batch of onions – they’re good on so many other things.

What’s NOT: only that it requires a bit of spreading and prep just before serving.

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