Gluten-Free Sandwich Solution!

How do you make a sandwich without bread? After all, bread is the essence of a sandwich. How can something be a sandwich without two surfaces between which to sandwich food? (Unless you’re eating one of those donut bacon sandwiches.)

Eric Ripert this weekend reminded me of the solution, which is of particular interest for those who voluntarily or for medical reasons follow a gluten-free diet. On his PBS TV show, Ripert grilled a couple of heads of romaine lettuce - it was a toss off moment, too, as he was also grilling a couple of incredible looking lobsters.

Have you ever grilled a leafy green? It sounds counter intuitive, like fried ice cream, but it’s excellent. The greens are crunchy and melt in your mouth. I used to eat at a raw food/vegan/local (etc., etc.) restaurant that served a nut paste and veggie sandwich wrapped in a big kale leaf. I copied them at home, wrapping everything from day-old fried pasta to grilled vegetables in them. It’s another dimension of sandwiching. 

Anyway, I watched Ripert’s show on Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening I was to attend a barbecue. I stopped at the grocery store before and bought a package of Field Roast kabobs and, rather than hot dog buns, some romaine. I grilled the kabobs at the barbecue along with the lettuce and combined the two. Try it at your next barbecue; it works with real meat, too. You can even dress up the romaine (or kale or whatever) with soy sauce, salt or oil.

Let's get you grilling (safely!)

I doused the charcoals with lighter fluid and threw on a match. A tall flame exploded from the grill, striving to reach the wooden ceiling of my porch. Within a few seconds, the flames died down. I peered at the charcoals; they were black, as if they had never been lit. Guess I have to light it again, I thought.

I paused as I reached down to pick up the bottle of lighter fluid, wondering whether I should hold off. Would it be safe to re-light these so soon? The thought left my mind as quickly as it came. I tipped the bottle upside down and squeezed.

Boom.

The flames climbed the stream of lighter fluid quicker than my brain could process. The bottle exploded in my hand, flying across the porch; an explosion of hot air blew ash and dirt in a 10-foot radius around me. I stood stunned, wiping dirt off my face and checking to see if my eyebrows were still there.

A dumb grilling mistake that I shall never repeat. Good news is, the rest of the barbeque went fine, and, since no one was around to see me explode the grill, I kept it a secret. (And here’s a link to some good safety tips on grilling.)

I feel the need to retell it, though, because we are at the beginning of grill season. I hope all your barbeques went well over the Memorial Day weekend, and I hope they continue to go well for the rest of the summer. Grilling is one of the most enjoyable ways to cook (and we can cook virtually anything on a grill thanks to improvements in grill tool technology). There are a million great websites out there for grilling; here are two: Saveur’s newest issue is dedicated in part to grilling; also, CNN (of all news outlets) has put together a couple of simple, science-based grilling tips.

Good luck, and hang on to your eyebrows!

The eels

The power of good food writing is funny. I do not eat meat. But I could not help but salivate when I read James Prosek's essay in the May issue of Saveur about wild eels. Just a little bit. The essay explores the unheralded eel as classic American cuisine. Prosek explains that these slippery, wild water creatures spawn in the mysterious Sargasso Sea in the Caribbean, and then migrate to freshwater up and down the Atlantic coast. This part of the essay in particular, describing Prosek’s early eel-catching forays in southern Connecticut, made me curious about eating eel.

“Joe skinned the eels we caught, slicing around their heads and pulling the skin back like a sock from a foot. Then he cut the grayish blue meat into chunks, leaving the spine in the center, dusted it with garlic salt, and grilled it over charcoal. The eels’ copious fat dripped into the flames, causing them to jump and char the meat. We ate each chunk like corn on the cob, chewing around the spine; the meat was dense but delicate, with a flavor like a cross between seafood and meat.”

Maybe it’s not so much the eels that I’m interested in, but the experience he describes in cooking them. I can’t catch a wild tofu brick, skin it and roast it over an open flame, its fat stoking the fire. I probably could not even stir up a bundle of vegetables in the wild without committing larceny. It’s not like asparagus or carrots are growing wild in the Cascade Mountains (maybe they are, but I would not be able to spot them).

If you’re in the mood to try eels, contact Delaware Delicacies Smoke House in Hancock, New York. Maybe they can send you some. Or, depending on where you live, strap on a pair of leather gloves, wade out into your local freshwater headway late at night and try to grab some eels. If it were me, I'd sprinkle on some oregano. But definitely don’t forget the charcoal and garlic salt.

The Hottest Grill Tool Of The Season

The Steak Station from Charcoal Companion has been getting some press lately and it's not even available until late May. All the buzz is due to the fact that the Steak Station is a brand new innovation that allows you to easily monitor up to four steaks at once. Could you imagine the alternative of trying to find room for four different probes at your grill? The Steak Station takes care of other things for you as well. It clearly displays a meter-style reading of "Rare", "Medium" and "Well" for each piece of meat so there's no confusion as to what temperature fits into which category. The probes are also color coated in red, yellow, green or orange so you can criss cross the wires all you need to and still keep track of everything. The Steak Station can also be used in the oven like a regular meat thermometer. Pre-order your Steak Station today

An All-In-One Grill Tool

the Grill Station from Charcoal Companion

Meet your new best friend, the Grill Station from Charcoal Companion. A unique tool that does more than meets the eye, the Grill Station marinates, stores, chills and serves food. The tool caddy attachment keeps all the necessities like thermometers, tongs and spatulas close at hand while the trays keep raw and cooked foods separate to avoid cross contamination. The Grill Station's trays have ridges inside which prop meat up slightly allowing marinade to freely flow and evenly coat all your meat. One lid is included, which fits both clearly marked 'RAW' and 'COOKED' trays. Another great feature of the Grill Station's trays is their ability to be written on. You can use a dry erase pen to write dates or notes on the side of the trays, then simply wipe them off with a mild cleaning detergent or throw them in the dishwasher. Shop all Charcoal Companion products

Srping + Grill + Sliders = Fun!

As the crisp, cold air begins to fade and summer quickly approaches it's hard not to think about grilling. While some wait for the chill to diminish completely, others fire up their gas or charcoal grills and brace the cold. All this just for the delicious flavor, taste and comfort grilled food yields. One of the most popular and timeless grilled food items has always been the hamburger. However, the more recent "slider" burger has been quickly gaining popularity thanks to restaurants and avid home grillers who are serving them up as appetizers or as the small main dish. The name "slider" is said to have originated due to the mini burger's size because they can easily slide down your throat in one or two bites. Whatever the history and reason for their origin, sliders are undeniably great for parties, kids and adults of all ages. With the Deluxe Mini Burger Slider Basket & Press Set from Charcoal Companion you can easily make sliders at home. The set includes a 9 slot grilling basket for easy grilling and flipping, a triple patty burger press to create uniform sliders and a mini-bun cutter to trim full buns down to size. The Deluxe Slider Set also makes a great gift for any lover of all things grilling. Shop all Charcoal Companion BBQ Tools, Grillware and Grill Accessories

The story of Grill Charms(TM)

It all started with an extra hot piece of Jamaican Jerk chicken at a dinner party. Leslie Haywood, founder of Grill Charms™ was hosting a dinner party with her husband when he mixed up the extra hot and mild pieces of chicken, accidentally serving Leslie the wrong piece. After that moment, Leslie got her idea for a new product. Grill Charms™ are a revolutionary new way to keep track of what's what on the grill. They are made of pure stainless steel and have a serrated tip that will hold firm while you flip, rotate and shift your meat on the grill. Some of the many uses for Grill Charms™ include (but are not limited to):   ·distinguishing between Rare, Medium Rare, Medium Well and Medium   ·clearly marking which meats are spicy, mild and medium   ·allowing you to customize each different grill item   ·identifying meats for people with health or allergy concerns Grill Charms™ come in four different packs of 6. The Steak Collection gives you two charms for Rare, two for Medium Rare, one for Medium and one for Medium Well. The Spicy Collection gives you two charms for Hot, two for Mild and two for Medium. The Charmed Life Collection gives you one palm tree charm, one sailboat, one four leaf clover, one crown, one martini glass and one dollar sign. The final collection is more special than the first three. The Pink Collection comes with one ribbon charm, one chef hat, one shoe, one wine glass, one ladie's hat and one swan. But, the thing that makes is special is that 10% of each sale goes directly to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Leslie became a breast cancer survivor after having a bilateral mastectomy in August of 2006. After two reconstructive procedures she says she's feeling better then ever. Shop All Grill Charms™ HERE To learn more about the Breast Cancer Research Foundation follow this link: http://www.bcrfcure.org/