Herbes de Provence →

This is a wonderfully flavorful spice mix to add to any poultry dish. Sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons over the meat before cooking, or add to any sauce accompanying poultry.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons dried savory

• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary

• 2 tablespoons dried thyme

• 2 tablespoons dried oregano

• 2 tablespoons dried basil

• 2 tablespoons dried marjoram

• 2 tablespoons dried fennel seed

Preparation:

1. Add all the ingredients to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a coarse consistency.

2. Store with your other spices in a tightly sealed container in a cool dry place.

Montreal Dry Rub →

Photo c. foodblogchef 2020 Dry Rubbed Grilled Lamb Chop with Israeli Couscous

MONTREAL DRY RUB
Ingredients:
1 Tbs. dehydrated garlic
1 Tbs. dried thyme
1 Tbs. dried rosemary
1 Tbs. dried fennel
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. dehydrated onion
1 tsp. crushed red pepper

How to make it:
1. Add the ingredients to a spice grinder and grind to the consistency you like to sprinkle on the meat.
2. Rub or shake-(I shake, rubbing forms globs of seasoning) 1 Tbs onto 1 lb of meat before grilling or broiling.
3. Store the seasoning with your other spices in an airtight shaker in a cool dry place.

This is a great rub for your steaks, lamb, or pork. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel before shaking on the rub. If grilling put the meat in the fridge uncovered for 3-4 hours up to overnight. This will dry out the surface of the meat and give you a nice crust. Remember to bring the meat to room temperature for about a half-hour before cooking.

Romesco Sauce →

Rich colorful Romesco sauce features almonds, olive oil, peppers, and tomatoes….ingredients widely used in Spanish cuisine. It’s not surprising almonds and olive oil are popular ingredients in many Spanish dishes: Spain the number one producer of olive oil in Europe and second to the United States in producing almonds. Serve the sauce with fish or shell-fish and/or grilled vegetables, or on crostini. It is also an excellent dip for crudités (assorted raw vegetables).

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2019 - Romesco Sauce Ingredients

Yield: about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 medium red pepper, and

• 1 orange or red Cubanelle pepper roasted, peeled, seeds and membranes removed

• 3 medium tomatoes or 4 Roma tomatoes (about 3/4 pound)

• 2 thick slices (about 2 ounces) baguette or country-style bread, crusts removed, lightly toasted

• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled

• ½ cup toasted almonds, or a combination of almonds and skinned toasted hazelnuts (I use ¼ c. of each)

• 1 to 2 teaspoons pure ground smoky ancho chile powder, or regular chili powder to taste (*Note: 1 tsp. is mild; 2 tsp. has a bit of heat)

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika or Spanish smoked paprika (pimentón) (*Note: use regular paprika if you use smoky ancho chili powder; use the smoked pimentón with regular chili powder.)

• Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste

• Freshly ground pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoon sherry vinegar

• ¼ to ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Preparation:

Preheat the broiler and cover a baking sheet with foil.

1. Lightly toast the bread and nuts and set aside.

2. Cut the tomatoes in half, core, and seed them; do the same with the peppers and quarter them.

3. Place the tomatoes and fresh peppers skin side up on the baking sheet and place under the broiler at the highest setting. Broil for two to four minutes, until skin is charred. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. The skins on the tomatoes should peel off easily; you may have to scrape off the pepper skins after a few minutes. (see *Note about peppers)

4. Add the garlic cloves to a food processor and process until the garlic is chopped and adheres to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine, and scrape down the sides. Add the toasted almonds (or almonds and hazelnuts), bread, and chile powder to the bowl and process to a dry paste.

5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the peppers, tomatoes, parsley, paprika, salt, and pepper, and process until smooth.

6. With the machine running on slow, add the vinegar and olive oil in a slow stream, beginning with the smaller amount of olive oil and adding more until you achieve the consistency you want. Increase the speed and process until well mixed and scrape into a bowl.

7. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt or chile as desired.

8. Allow the sauce to stand for an hour or more at room temperature to meld the flavors before using.

9. Left-over sauce will keep in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container for several days.

*Note: if you don’t want to bother roasting, peeling, and seeding the peppers, an acceptable substitute is a 12-ounce jar of Roasted Peppers, drained and patted dry. Proceed as above.

Beef Marinade →

This is a flavorful marinade to use with any lean cut of beef that can benefit from tenderizing (eg.Flank Steak, Sirloin, Round). The acid in the marinade tenderizes the meat and the other ingredients lend great flavor to the grilled beef. Marinate the steak 4 hours or longer. Note: use a dry rub like Montreal Steak Rub or Coffee Rub to add flavor to more tender, marbled cuts of beef like Porterhouse, Strip, or Rib Eye. If you’re not preparing a sauce for Filet Mignon, the filet will benefit from the flavor of a dry rub as well. Bring the meat to room temperature before placing on the grill. Cold meat cooks unevenly on the grill and will be tougher than meat that has been brought to room temperature before grilling. To prevent flare-ups on the grill, don’t forget to pat the meat with paper towels to remove excess marinade.

Ingredients:

• ½ c. olive oil

• 1/3 c. soy sauce

• ¼ balsamic or red wine vinegar

• 2 cloves of crushed/minced garlic

• 2 tablespoons Lemon juice

• 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoons dry mustard

• ¼ teaspoon pepper

• ½ teaspoon. sweet basil (see note)

• ½ teaspoon thyme (see note)

*Note: you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon each of rosemary, thyme and fennel broken-up with the back of a spoon, or coarsely ground with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.

Adapted from: Weber Grill Cookbook

Chicken Marinade →

This marinade comes from the Weber Grill Cookbook It is a great marinade for grilled chicken. Remember, to prevent flare-ups when grilling, pat the chicken dry with paper towels before placing on the grill.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce

• ¼ cup olive oil

• ¼ cup red wine, sherry, or balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon oregano (see note)

• ½ teaspoon sweet basil (see note)

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder or two cloves of garlic crushed/minced

• ¼ teaspoon pepper

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (optional)

*Note: substitute 1 ½ teaspoons Herbes de Provence for oregano and basil, or 1 teaspoon each of ground dried thyme and dried rosemary.

Herbes de Provence- from Emeril Lagasse

• 2 tablespoons dried savory

• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary

• 2 tablespoons dried thyme

• 2 tablespoons dried oregano

• 2 tablespoons dried basil

• 2 tablespoons dried marjoram

• 2 tablespoons dried fennel seed

*Note: grind the dried herbs with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Spice mix keeps well stored in an air-tight container. Excellent used on Roast Chicken.

Red Wine and Wild Mushroom Sauce →

This is a delicious, rich, umami-laden sauce that is made for beef….filet mignon, porterhouse, rib-eye, flank steak, etc. Your choice. Enjoy!

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons. olive oil

• 1 small onion chopped

• 1 small tart green apple unpeeled, chopped

• 1 celery stalk, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 750 ml bottle Cabernet Sauvignon or other dry full-bodied red wine

• 1 cup ruby or tawny port

• 1 cup beef stock

• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, or a ½ teaspoon dried thyme

• 5 tablespoons butter

• 1 lb. assorted wild mushrooms wiped clean, stemmed and sliced (shiitake, crimini, oyster, beech, etc. I often use 1/3 shitake and 2/3 crimini.)

• 2 tablespoons minced shallots

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)

• ½ teaspoon cornstarch mixed in a tablespoon of cold water (optional

Directions:

1. Saute the first 5 ingredients.

2. Add the wine, thyme, port and beef stock and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to about 1 ¼ cups.

3. Strain through a medium wire mesh strainer, pressing down the vegetables to extract as much flavor and juice as possible, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. In a separate pan, melt 2 tbs butter and sauté mushrooms and shallots until golden brown

5. Add wine reduction to the mushrooms and bring to simmer.

6. Remove from heat and whisk in 3 tablespoons butter and the Dijon.

7. If you want a slightly thicker sauce, whisk the cornstarch and water to create a smooth slurry and slowly whisk it into the wine sauce. Bring sauce to a simmer to thicken and remove from heat.

Gingery Grilled Vegetable Marinade →

There are many recipes for sesame, soy, ginger marinades. This is my favorite 5 Tastes marinade for veggies. Use it with portobellos, zucchini, summer squash, egg plant, etc.

Ingredients:

• ½ c. white wine vinegar

• 1/3 c. light soy sauce

• 6 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 large cloves garlic crushed/minced

• 2 teaspoons pepper sauce

• black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Slice the squash lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices.

2. Wipe portobellos gently with a paper towel and remove the stems.

3. Marinate veggies 30-60 minutes.

4. While the veggies marinate, preheat your grill and oil the grates.

5. Remove the veggies from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel to prevent flaming on the grill.

6. Grill veggies and mushrooms for a few minutes each side until tender.

7. Serve as a great starter, or as a side dish.