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.

The Cuban Pizza

Printable version

I love Cuban sandwiches.

Unfortunately, they are not as prevalent on menus here in Fort Wayne, Indiana as they are in New York City, which has forced me to create my own several times since relocating two years ago.

After roasting a pork loin for a Christmas eve dinner I had a decent amount left over. As we were cleaning up I bagged the leftovers and instantly thought of making Cubans with it. Instead of making sandwiches I thought it would be fun to change it up and turn it into a gourmet pizza.

The pizza turned out magnificent.

The star of the show was the pickles. I chopped up dill spears to about the equal size of the cubed ham. The combination of the savory meat, tartness of the mustard and pickle with the creamy cheese made for a delicious experience. I mixed equal parts Swiss cheese with mozzarella so it would melt better, the Swiss alone wouldn't get as creamy. I will be making this again for sure. Most likely for a Super Bowl or football playoffs party in the next few weeks.

BEHIND THIS BITE
Every July when I lived in New York my Mom would come and visit for a week. She would always bring a friend so that they could explore the city during the day when I worked. I would usually meet them for dinner after I was finished. I liked taking them to different types of restaurants so they could experience different cuisines.

One of the places I took them was a small Latin place in my old neighborhood near the 36th Avenue stop of the N train in Astoria. We got there late and the place was about to close, but the manager said it was ok to order. Apparently the cook wasn’t pleased that we were going to keep them a little while longer. My Mom ordered a Cuban sandwich and when it came to the table she said there was way to much garlic on it. I thought she was exaggerating because she never eats garlic and just a little bit is to much for her. Any amount will turn her away because she has an allergic reaction to it, especially when it’s raw.

My mom is not one to complain about food especially after closing time, so she didn’t return it to the kitchen. She is a veteran of restaurants, having waited tables part-time for nearly 30 years and she will never trust a cook who ruined her order the first time. She did the smart thing and had the manager take the sandwich off the bill. They never took it away and we ended up boxing it up.

I hauled it to work the next day for lunch. I really thought it was just a special sauce or garlic bread that had turned Mom away, like I said, she can’t really eat any garlic. I heated the sandwich up and I noticed the heavy garlic smell. I took a bite and nearly puked. I bet there had been 10 cloves of raw minced garlic smeared on the sandwich – it was inedible.

Clearly the cook was pissed at us for making them stay late, thank God mom didn’t return it - I can only imagine what that bastard in the kitchen would have done then – and I hope he didn't do anything that went unnoticed to any of our other plates. I never returned to the place despite being only a block from my apartment.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Make 2 12” pizzas; 30 minutes
Divide over 2 12” pizza crusts
3/4 C Mustard
3 C Swiss & Mozzarella Cheese, shredded (1 1/2 C each)
1/2 lb Roasted pork, shredded
1/2 lb Ham
1/2 C Dill pickles, chopped

Assemble and bake pizza
On pizza crust layer mustard, most of the cheese, shredded pork, ham, pickle and the remaining cheese. Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

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.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Bits of Toffee

Recenlty my aunt, who is also a good friend and mentor, was informed that she was in for a pretty tough fight, health-wise. This prompted those who know and care about her to organize a benefit to help with the cost of expensive medicines and treatments that she will need to prolong her life.

Printable version

Part of the benefit involved a bake sale. I really don’t have much experience with baking. Most of the dishes I make seem to be what one would typically eat while watching football. I took the bake sale as a challenge and decided to make cookies.

My favorite candy bar is a Heath Bar – made of chocolate covered toffee. My favorite cookie is peanut butter. For this recipe, I combine the two, and create a peanut butter cookie with chunks of toffee covered in milk chocolate. It took me a couple of tries to perfect, but in the end, I was able crank out a large quantity for the bake sale and every one of them sold. The benefit was a great success and it inspired me to create a yummy new cookie recipe.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Recently on this blog, I mentioned that I was back living in New York City. I had been there for almost a month with my girlfriend when my aunt got sick. I decided (with my girlfriend's blessing) that it was a good idea to be around my family to help out with the situation. I packed up my belongings and returned to Churubusco, Indiana.

My aunt was diagnosed with lung cancer and given 18 months to live.

It was a huge shock to our close-knit family.  Everyone is dealing with it well and my aunt has settled into her treatments and is doing great, given the circumstances. I've been spending Wednesday evenings with her. We hang out in the kitchen and I've used those nights to experiment with recipes.

This cookie recipe was created in her kitchen.

The first batch was a disaster, the second was good. The third try - well, this is the third try. These cookies are outrageously good and you get lots with this recipe. After all, it's designed for a bake sale. For a snack version at home, just use half of all the ingredients.

Life can throw a punch from time to time, so you always need to be prepared to remain upright once one lands. I'm grateful to be in a situation that allows me to spend time in New York and then, if I need to, back in Indiana with my family. I hope my aunt can defy the odds and make it through this disease, and I hope to make many more recipes with her.

Eat well, cook often ...