Category: On the Grille (Page 10 of 15)

      Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

      July 20, 2011 /

      A few years ago when we lived in Nashville, we were a bit disappointed with their farmer’s market. It was not as nice or easy to get to as the one I remembered from my days living in Ohio before that. But then my wife and I went to an Earth Day festival three or four years ago and there were booths for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) from local farms. We talked to a few farmers and were extremely intrigued. Of course, we’d heard of CSAs before but the thought of not having a say in what we picked up for each share turned us off–temporarily. That all changed when a farmer that day told us how it’s a matter of eating what is in season and fresh. We were sold. So we did our CSA for two seasons and absolutely loved it.

      Then we moved to Madison, Wisconsin in April of 2010. Madison, of course, is home to the greatest farmer’s market known to man, the Dane County Farmer’s Market. I’m not exaggerating here, it’s awesome. It goes all the way around the Capitol on Saturday mornings and has farmers who grow produce as well as meats, and there are cheeses, baked goods and all kinds of other amazing local foods. So last year we just enjoyed what the market had to offer.

      But this year, we had the CSA jones again. A friend told us about Driftless Organics, and after visiting their website once and reading about the farm and their CSA…well, let’s just say I wrote the check and mailed it that day.

      There is a small bit of difference in the Driftless CSA than the Nashville one–they grow a very diverse and interesting set of crops at this farm, and encourage you to try things you haven’t tried before. We’ve had pea vines, green garlic, baby fennel and kohlrabi. We’ve also had some of the best green beans we’ve ever tasted, and some incredibly sweet beets. We are, of course, looking forward to summer favorites like peppers, tomatoes and sweet corn.

      The photo above is of a meal we made a few weeks ago that included some fresh yellow squash from our CSA; and some roasted beets with sauteed beet greens. And once I find the time and creative energy to develop some more interesting recipes using our share, I will post them here. Meanwhile, if you haven’t yet tried a CSA–let me tell you, you’re missing out. There is no better feeling than the feeling of supporting a local farmer, eating what’s fresh (and I do mean fresh), and enjoying produce that is 100% organic.

      Green Living, Healthy, Ingredients, On the Grille, Your Kitchen

      Low carb breakfast special

      July 15, 2011 /

      I’m trying to lose a bit of weight, so for the moment I’m cutting back on carbs. But as I looked at a South Beach Diet cookbook this morning, I decided that I was just going to whip up my own recipe. So I made an egg sandwich using fried ham as the “bread,” and used mashed avocado and hot sauce as condiments. It was awesome. Here is how I did it and how you can, too….

      Fry up two slices of ham until crisp, but not burnt. In another skillet, scramble two eggs and add salt and pepper. Cook until just set. Meanwhile, mash half an avocado with some salt. Lay ham on a plate next to each other, place a slice of swiss (or any cheese you have on hand) on one slice of ham, and spread avocado on the other. Then slide the scrambled eggs onto the slice with the cheese. Shake some hot sauce, on, assemble the sandwich and eat. As my wife said, it might be low-carb but it’s not low-fat. That’s okay though, I was only looking to cut carbs in my breakfast, and I succeeded.

      Healthy, Ingredients, On the Grille, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Mikey’s Tips for Summer Foods

      July 8, 2011 /

      I’m a firm believer in eating lighter and/or eating less during the summer months. Naturally, we are more active during the summer anyway, but it’s harder to be active when you’ve tacked on 10 to 20 or more pounds over the winter months. Eating lighter in the summer makes sense because, well, it’s too freaking hot to be gluttonous. I’m not saying I don’t chow on burgers, fries and shakes occasionally, I just do it less in the hotter weather, or eat less of what’s on my plate. But here are a few more tips for you….

      1. Eat cold food. Salads, pasta salads, or sandwiches are not always girly. In fact, I think I need to do a few posts on sandwiches that are dude-friendly. But as I showed before, pasta salad can also be dude-friendly.

      2. Eat my freaking gazpacho. Seriously, you have to try this. I think I’m going to whip some up this weekend.

      3. Drink fruit smoothies. These are refreshing and and great in the summer with melon and berries in season. And hey, I won’t stop you from adding alcohol if you feel like it.

      4. Stay hydrated. This is good for two reasons–you won’t keel over from dehydration, and you’ll eat less.

      5. Heck, eat ice-cream for dinner. Unless you’re trying to set an example for your kids, why not? Plus, there are all of those awesome soft serve stands open in the summer.

      6. Cut back on carbs. Grill some meat, grill some vegetables, and cut back on the bread and rice and potatoes. You will feel lighter, trust me.

      Healthy, Ingredients, On the Grille, Your Kitchen

      Michael Symon’s B Spot

      July 5, 2011 /

      Chef JimI’m not going to profess being a restaurant critic, nor even a trendy food blogger. What I am is an average Joe with a food blog who knows good food when he eats it. And two Fridays ago when I had lunch with a buddy and business associate in Cleveland, we ate at Michael Symon’s B Spot and as you might expect, the burger I had was phenomenal.

      I lived in Cleveland for 11 years, but I never went to Symon’s famed Lola Bistro in the Tremont section of town. Symon, of course, had his career blow up when he became a Food Network Iron Chef, and regular contributor to the network on shows such as “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” And I had the opportunity to chat with him for Bullz-Eye last year.

      Anyway my buddy Jason is a vegetarian, but he told me to order the Symon Says burger, which one of his co-workers said was awesome. And it was…..a burger with a thick slab of fried bologna, some cole slaw, American cheese and whip sauce (a nifty blend of…wait for it…mayo and mustard). Everything about this burger was delicious….everything separately and everything together in harmondy. And the fries were thin and crispy with just a touch of salt and rosemary (and my wife will attest that I don’t like rosemary!). Washed down with a pilsner at lunch time, you can’t get any better than an Iron Chef-recipe burger and fries and beer. And next time we get to Cleveland, I plan on trying more of the burgers (they also specialize in bratwurst, bologna sandwiches, bar snacks, big salads and “badass” shakes–hence all the B’s)!

      Chefs and Restaurants, Food TV, On the Grille, Product Reviews

      Hot Dog Friday (Tuesday): Mikey’s Buffalo Dog

      June 28, 2011 /

      Whew. I was on vacation last week, so my apologies for the lack of posts. But since I also did not post a hot dog recipe on June 17, here is one now. Then I’m going to give you a new one for 4th weekend.
      I will also fill you in later this week on some of the food we had on vacation, including Tony Packo’s in Toledo and Michael Symon’s B Spot in Cleveland. And I’m pasting a photo below of a chili dog I had from one of those awesome dairy dip places that are all over the place in summer. Nothing beats a chili dog (or 2 or 4) on a hot day, followed by a thick shake.

      But meanwhile, here is my Buffalo-style dog recipe…..

      Mikey’s Buffalo Dog
      I know, it seems like I have a buffalo chicken theme for just about every recipe. But that’s because I’m positively addicted to wing sauce, and the flavors that go along with wings—the sauce, blue cheese, and celery. And I know many of you are too! So it stands to reason that we just have to have a buffalo hot dog, right? Right. So here it is….

      Ingredients
      4 hot dogs, any kind
      4 hot dog buns
      1 cup Buffalo chicken hot sauce (I like Buffalo Wild Wings medium sauce)
      1 cup cole slaw mix
      2 small celery stalks, cut into match sticks
      ½ cup mayonnaise
      ¼ cup blue cheese
      Juice of half a lemon
      2 tsp. red wine vinegar
      Salt & pepper to taste

      Directions
      Place dogs in a pot of boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain, and then add wing sauce to pot, and let dogs sit off heat in the wing sauce for a few minutes. Meanwhile, make the slaw. Combine cole slaw mix, celery, mayo, blue cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and stir to combine. To assemble, place dogs in buns and top evenly with the slaw. Drizzle with a little more wing sauce.

      On the Grille, Recipes, Tailgating, Your Kitchen

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