Fire Up the Grill-5/27/10

Ah, the smoke of the grill means summer is just around the corner.  Let's call tonight a warm-up since all I had to do was finish off some ribs I'd slow cooked this afternoon.   I invited some friend's over so it was best I didn't need to spend lots of time tending the flames.  I'm never very vigilant and stuff gets black.  Tonight, I actually let Richard man the grill and he did well.  The recipes I cooked tonight came from a party menu in this month's Food and Wine that was hosted by a television star I've never heard of.  Honestly, I find it a bit irritating that Food and Wine loves to name drop in their articles.  I'm not really into food superstars and even less into movie stars...but I digress. 

The Pincho Ribs weith Sherry Glaze were a bit hit with every one but Rebecca.  As our group's only vegetarian, she is very tolerant of the presence of meaty ribs at dinner.  These pork ribs were incredibly tender and the glaze was very flavorful.  I venture to say, maybe a bit too flavorful.  The kids weren't sure about the heat but the adults gobbled them up..at least the ones that eat meat.

The pickled Cherry Tomatoes with Fennel was another entrant into the somewhat perplexing fascination with including something pickled with large party menus.  I get that incorporating each flavor is important but I'm rarely that impressed by the recipes.  Maybe I'm not gourmet enough but a little side dish of Vlasic's baby dills would be just as good.  The cherry tomatoes and fennel were pretty good but I never thought, "Wow, I want to eat this again!".  It was pickled tomatoes and fennel, just what you would imagine.

I added one recipe that wasn't a part of the prescribed menu.  Ribs call for a summer side dish like potato salad so I made the Potato Salad with Hummus-Yogurt Dressing.  The use of yogurt was a great fat-cutting measure and didn't affect the flavor much.  The hummus added a rather odd sesame flavor but I think it was more about something new.  I made the mistake of overcooking the potatoes and that affected the flavor but that wasn't the fault of the recipe.

The Tamari Almonds that were included with the menu as a cocktail snack were good but I didn't taste the tamari.  They didn't taste a whole lot different than salted roasted almonds.  I like salted roasted almonds but the extra work didn't deliver extra flavor.

The dessert, Chocolate Stout Tiramisu, was interesting.  The chocolate-stout cake was not very sweet, almost bitter, and I was worried when I tasted it by itself.  The marcarpone filling was very sweet and it balanced out the bitter cake.  There was not enough reduction to really soak all the layers of cake.  So in short, I liked the cake but wouldn't make it again.  The flavor was distinctive but not memorable. 

As an extra touch, I made a special dish for Rebecca, who doesn't eat meat.  The Grilled Tofu Steaks with Piquillo Salsa Verde were really pretty good.  Grilled tofu is just smoky-tasting tofu but the piquillo salsa verde was really yummy.  The peppers, capers, and vinegar gave it some good tang and flavor.  The tofu held together pretty well on the grill too which sure helped with visual presentation.   I think Joel and Rebecca will come back.

Grilled Tofu Steaks with Piquillo Salsa Verde-B

Pincho Ribs with Sherry Glaze-A-

Tamari Roasted Almonds-C

Pickled Cherry Tomatoes and Fennel-B-

Potato Salad with Hummus-Yogurt Dressing-B

Chocolate-Stout Tiramisu-B