Teriyaki Beef Kabobs

Printable version

There is something awesome about food on a stick. I’m not sure what makes it so awesome – all I know is no matter how old I get, I’m still a sucker for corn dogs and popcycles.

One of my favorite stick foods is kabobs cooked on the grill. I make them differently depending on the meat I’m using. When I opt for chicken or pork, I separate the veggies from the protein so that I can cook the meat all the way through and not over-cook the veggies in the process. I don’t worry about that when I make beef kabobs. I like my steak rare to medium-rare which is the perfect amount of time to make the veggies al denté, or a little bit crunchy.

For this recipe, I use a New York Strip steak for the meat along with red peppers, red onion and mushrooms. I brush on teriyaki sauce for a marinade and season it with salt and pepper. After a nice sear on the grill, the end result is juicy chunks of steak with a nice variety of vegetables – served all together on a stick!

BEHIND THIS BITE

Teriyaki Beef Kabobs

In my 12-plus years living in New York City I devoured a lot of street cart food – it’s as convenient as fast food is in the Midwest. My first apartment was near the 36th Ave. Stop on the N train in Astoria. Right underneath the stop (the N train is elevated in Queens) was a small Irish bar named McGrath's that was in business for more than 80 years, but closed in the summer of 2001.

I used to stop there for beers on my way home before it closed its doors. Every Friday and Saturday night an Eastern European man would set up his Kabob cart just outside the bar near the stairs to the train. He didn’t have much variety. Just an all-beef kabob with a piece of toasted bread, which really hit the spot after a few cold ones.

I’ll never forget being at McGraths one night when I noticed one of the regular patrons facing the corner and crunched over. She was a rather large lady and her body language seem to indicate something was wrong and she didn't want anyone to notice. I approached her to see if everything was ok, when she turned from her hidden spot in the corner I noticed she was chewing a mouthful of something with an empty kabob stick in one hand and a toasted piece of bread in the other. She nodded to indicate everything was ok and seemed a little embarrassed.

I had interrupted her clandestine swaray with a beef kabob from the snack peddler beneath the train stop!

I felt as though I had accidentally walked in on a roomate having sex — Which is comparable to the rush one would get from a grilled beef kabob after a few pints of beer near the 36th street stop in Astoria.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Teriyaki Beef Kabobs

Serves 2; 30 minutes
1 lb New York Strip, steak cut into 1-inch cubes
1 Red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 oz Baby bella mushrooms
1/2 Red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 C Tyriaki sauce
8 Skewers

Assemble and grill
Alternately place onion, peppers, mushroom and steak on skewers. Brush with teriyaki sauce, season with salt and pepper to taste. Let marinate 20 minutes then cook to desired doneness on a prepared grill. Rest 10 minutes, then serve.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Printable version

The final seven years I lived in New York my favorite burger and beer joint, named Sunswick, was just down the block from my apartment. The little establishment had the most beers I have ever seen on tap. Trying to drink a glass of all of them in one sitting would most likely have resulted in an arrest or a ride in an ambulance.

I loved going there on Thursday nights for karaoke or stopping by before heading home after a night of Big Apple debauchery. The burgers were the star of their menu, but my favorite item was their spinach and artichoke dip.

This recipe is inspired by the Sunswick’s recipe, but it contains my own gourmet twists. I’ve added red peppers, garlic and shallots and I make a cheese sauce from scratch, which provides an extra creamy and cheesy base to bind it all together. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat spinach and artichoke dip and not be reminded of great times at the corner of 35th avenue and 35th street in Astoria, Queens.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I mention in the intro that Sunswick had so many beers on tap that it would be impossible to drink one of each kind in one sitting. Well, that might be true for most, but there was one night back in 2005 that Sunswick decided to have a contest to see if people could do exactly that.*

I didn't enter the competition but my cousin, who was visiting from out-of-town, decided he would give the challenge a try.

Long story short, he was kicked out before finishing.

Because the owner knew me, it was not done with force, he asked me nicely to take him home, he told me I could stay, but made it clear that my cousin was going to be removed if I didn’t get him out myself. Luckily, he listened to me and we left without incident. He came to visit me often over the years I lived in New York and we always had a great time. (On one particular occasion, I found him explaining to my Brazilian friends what the slang term “tossing your salad” meant.)

*There was one guy at the Sunswick that completed the challenge. I am told he was walked home to make sure he didn’t fall down or take a nap on the stoop of an apartment building, but he completed the challenge and drank for free that night.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Appetizer for 6; 30 minutes
1 Tbs Unsalted butter
1 tsp Garlic, minced
2 Tbs Shallot, minced
1/2 C Red pepper, diced
1 Tbs Flour
2 C Milk
1 C Spinach cooked, chopped
1 C Artichoke hearts, cooked, chopped
2 C Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 C Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
Tortilla chips

Sauté vegetables, make roux
In a large sauce pan over medium heat, sauté garlic, shallot and red pepper in butter until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in flour, then cook another 2 minutes.

Add milk, thicken, add spinach, artichokes
Add milk to the pan and simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach and artichokes, simmer another minute or 2.

Add cheese, serve
Add cheese 2 tablespoons at a time. Stir until it is completely melted and then add another two tablespoons. Repeat until cheese is gone and incorporated. Adjust seasonings if needed. Place in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

A Greek-style Homemade Gyro

Printable version

New York City might be the capital of mobile food. The hot dog carts are famous but that is just the most basic food stand on the sidewalks of the Big Apple. Nearly every type of cuisine imaginable can be found on a mobile kitchen somewhere within the five boroughs.

I lived in the Astoria section of Queens for more than 12 years and there was one cart in particular that was there when I arrived in 1997 and is probably serving food right. The cart specialized in gyros, kabobs and other Greek and Mediterranean foods. I must have eaten 300 gyros from that place and probably paid the light bill for the guy who set up, took down and cleaned his food cart night after night at the corner of 32nd and Broadway in Astoria.

For this recipe, I make a homemade gyro. I replace lamb with beef and use a few Mediterranean spices to enhance the flavor of the meat. It’s topped with feta cheese, tomato, cucumber and a sauce that is a simple version of the tzatziki sauce found on traditional gyros.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I loved the street food in New York and the vendor I mention in the introduction was one of the many that I frequented while living in the Big Apple. While New York has had street vendors for decades, it’s great to see it finally coming to this area.

The street food or food truck movement has hit Fort Wayne and several carts and trucks run by good chefs have popped up around the Summit City. I admire these entrepreneurs, because they are really taking a chance with the concept. Most people in the midwest associate mobile food with carnivals and festivals and consider the cuisine “a guilty pleasure,” with products loaded with calories like elephant ears, cotton candy and fried snickers.

The Ragin' Cajun grand opening.

That’s not what these guys are serving. I went to the grand opening of the Ragin' Cajun truck last week and the food was absolutely amazing. I have been working with the Chef, Big John for a few weeks now. I have cooked with him at the Shiloh reception hall and had tasted his cooking for large wedding parties (which was outstanding), but the cuisine John was whipping up on the truck was truly his comfort zone.

I had a blackened shrimp taco and Jambalaya. The taco was high-end, as good as any cuisine found at any restaurant in town. The shrimp was succulent and spicy but the heat was was tempered by a creamy cilantro-lime sauce that balanced the flavors perfectly.

Then there was the Jambalaya.

Two words.

Pure comfort!

It tasted as if someone had been brewing it up on the stove all day. There were so many layers of flavor from the sausage and chicken, fresh herbs, tomato sauce and perfectly tender rice. I could have eaten an entire bucket.

Overall, the taco and jambalaya was the best meal I’ve purchased in Fort Wayne all summer and I look forward to eating from the Ragin Cajun’ again.

I hope all the trucks popping up stay true to providing gourmet cuisine, because if one starts frying Twinkies and snicker bars it might taint the reputation of the trucks in general and that would be sad for the owners. Big John has a legitimate restaurant on wheels and he has the chops to provide some of the best food in town. I hope all the trucks can live up to the kind of standard that John is setting with his cuisine.

In the coming weeks you will here more from me about the food being served from the different trucks and mobile food vendors in Fort Wayne's growing mobile food movement.

Eat well, cook often ...

HOMEMADE GYRO RECIPE:
1 C Greek yogurt
1 Tbs Dill minced
1 tsp Garlic minced
1 Lemon juice and zest
1 1/2 lbs Ground beef
1/2 C Onion diced
1 Egg
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Marjoram
8 Pita breads
1 C Tomato diced
1 C Cucumber diced
1 C Feta cheese crumbled

Make sauce, season meat In a bowl, mix together yogurt, lemon juice and zest, garlic and dill, cover and refrigerate to let flavors meld.

Make gyro meat In another bowl, mix together ground beef, onion, garlic, egg, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. Form into patties and grill over medium heat until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Rest meat, assemble gyros Let meat rest five minutes then cut into slices. On a warmed pita, layer meat, tomato, cucumber, feta cheese and drizzle with sauce.