Summer and summertime cooking… two things I look forward to. But with a bit of coordination, the two get even better.
The foods of summer… going to the farmer’s market and cooking with in-season fruits and vegetables, all so good…peach pies, grilled corn, and fresh sliced tomatoes. And since it’s often too hot to turn the ovens on inside, it’s a perfect time for grilling outside. This is where the coordination comes in.
We’ve been enjoying many grilled meals this summer. Since the Kamado Joe grill can cook at both high heat (up to 900 degrees) and also smoke something for hours, a little pre-planning can go a long way. Strike while the grill is hot… or something like that.
For example, we’ll have a flank steak marinated and ready to grill at 600 or 700 degrees. Once the steak is done, I adjust the temperature with the daisy wheel on top and bring it down to 400 degrees and grill my chicken, so that we can have grilled chicken Caesar salad the next night. Once the chicken is cooked, I again adjust the temperature to 200 degrees and smoke some salmon, that I save and use later in the week to create a wonderful Salmon and Basil Lasagna (recipe below). And this is where summer gets better – you’re not spending as much time cooking, freeing up time for more enjoying.
Like many other acquired skills in the kitchen, getting the hang of “stoking the Joe” to get the temperatures you need is easy once done a time or two. And unlike conventional grills, the Joes’ ability to get the high temps, and what you can then do with steaks, is amazing.
We have a few left in stock …stop by and take a look.
- 12 ounce salmon filet
- Olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon minced basil
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 Cup heavy cream
- 1/2 Cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
- Sea salt to taste
- White Pepper to taste
- 4 Lasagna noodles
- 1/4 Cup minced basil
- 1/3 Cup Parmesan cheese - grated
- Coat the salmon with oil. Sprinkle the flesh side of the fish with the basil and salt. Cover the filet and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Prepare your Kamado Joe smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 degrees. Place the salmon on the smoker and smoke until cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. (This can be done ahead of time - even a day in advance.)
- While the salmon smokes, make the sauce. Warm the oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and the garlic and saute until soft but not browned. Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients and adjust the heat to allow the mixture to simmer steadily. Stir frequently - cooking until it’s reduced by one-third/
- Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package. Drain and cut the strips into thirds (I also think that you could put this in a 9 x9 pan as opposed to making individual servings)
- Flake the salmon into bite-sized chunks.
- To assemble the lasagna, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the sauce on each plate. Lay a strip of lasagna over the sauce and top with 1 ounce of the salmon. Spoon sauce thinly over the fish and scatter about 1 teaspoon each of the basil and cheese over the sauce. Repeat with a second layer. For the top layer of the lasagna, again layer the pasta strip followed by the salmon. Top with equal portions of the remaining sauce, basil and cheese. Serve hot.
It is peach season, indeed. Everywhere you look, peaches and stone fruits are spilling from bins and stacked shoulder high in crates. Nectarines, plums, pluots, plumcots – juicy, ripe and swoon-worthy. Unless, of course, they’re not. There’s nothing worse than choosing a fragrant peach and biting in to discover mealy mushy yuck. How is a girl (or guy) to know which peach is good and which needs to be composted??
It’s a crazy position for a chef, I know, but when fruit is perfect, I’d rather eat it as-is than cook it. Slice up perfectly ripened peaches, nectarines, and plums, pit and slice a few cherries and toss them on top of bitter greens like arugula or radicchio. Crumble over some fabulous Marché Bleu d’ Auvergne or Feta cheese, add some warm sliced grilled steak or chicken and call it dinner!
Wedding season is year-round at Marcel’s – as we have fun with our customers helping to pick out the perfect gifts for their bridal showers and wedding gifts. A wedding gift is special – it should be a gift that surpasses the ordinary. At Marcel’s, we enjoy helping you select this perfect gift. We want you to find something that celebrates two people starting a new life together, a gift they will cherish forever.
So let’s talk about those One of a Kind special gifts. One of my favorites is a vase from Simon Pearce that has their invitation engraved on the front – Beautiful! Simon Pearce also has hand blown champagne flutes – toasting with these through the years will be so elegant.
Think about those memorable gifts you received or inherited from your family. My Grandmother gave me her hand carved wooden salad bowl and I still cherish and use it today! We also have salad bowls and charcuterie boards that are handcrafted, making a unique one of a kind gift. Le Creuset Dutch ovens are popular shower gifts – just add a hand written recipe card with your gift to make it special.
As an adult, there is still nothing better than ice cream on a hot summer day or on the patio at night, although my tastes have evolved a bit from the ice cream truck days. I now know that ice cream can be made from fresh ingredients and with flavors that are only limited by your imagination – cookie dough, chocolate marshmallow, coffee, mint chocolate chip, etc. And homemade ice cream- whether it be from a favorite little shop, a restaurant, or made at home-is the ultimate treat.
Making ice cream at home has definitely become much easier than the days churning for hours. There are a variety of new ice cream makers on the market that allow you to eat a fresh, frozen treat within an hour of thinking of your favorite flavor, which is even quicker than hearing that first sound from the ice cream truck! Marcel’s carries many of the items that you need to help you make these treats at home.
Marcel’s will also be having a 
Romesco is a rich sauce made with charred peppers, pureed and thickened with nuts. I add chipotle pepper with a bit of adobo sauce for warm heat, as well as lemon juice and parsley for brightness and balance. It is a gorgeous hue that not only tastes fantastic but looks amazing on just about anything. 
I always make at least a double batch (it freezes beautifully), and most often enjoy it on a simply seasoned white fish. However it is also great drizzled over shrimp, chicken, pork or a roasted cauliflower steak. Later in the week I will toss it into cooked pasta or roasted potatoes. With my kids on the go, it will be packed into a snack with pita chips and veggies for dipping. Those summer nights when the neighbors all end up in our driveway or backyard, I will pull it out with sliced baguette to share with a great summer wine. If you try it, you will find even more fabulous ways to work it into your go-to summer repertoire.