At the apartment building where we live, Anne and I have a number of friends who get together once a month over the summer, throw some meats on the grill and hang out.  I tend to play grillmaster.  Someone brings burgers, someone else brings some dogs.  Joyce brings a tray of ribs which are always excellent.  I spend the time at the grill cooking things (or heating things up).   Salads are brought.  As is beer.  A good time is had by all.  Now I’ll be honest, I enjoy cooking, but making burgers, dogs and the like really isn’t a challenge so sometimes I like to make something that’s different.

This past weekend we had one of our gatherings (now with Social Distancing) and the night before I had a hankering for an apple pie.  I know it’s not apple pie season but I was in a mood.  So I decided I was going to make one on the grill.  I know that might sound odd to some folks, but one thing I learned is that if you cover your grill and control your temperature, your grill becomes an oven.   I know that on my grill. If I keep 2 of the 4 burners on medium and avoid any grease flare ups, once it gets to temperature, my grill maintains 375 degree heat.

I have to be honest, bakers will be offended how I did this, it’s store bought pie crust and canned pie filling.  But that this article is more about thinking of different ways to use your grill, not the actually recipe.  Use your best  pie filling recipe if you like.  Spend hours making your best scratch puff pastry.  

I just decided to be lazier still and do a pan dowdy.  Instead pf a nice uniform crust, pieces of the puff pastry are mixed in.  There’s no reason your can’t cut and a proper crust to the pie, but this is a BBQ, not Thanksgiving dinner.  People are slopping themselves up and eating charred meat with their hands, no need to get fancy.

Ingredients

• 2 cans Apple Pie Filling.
• Butter
• 1 roll refrigerated puff-pastry

Steps

Setup the pan dowdy.

1. Grease the inside of a #10 cast iron skillet with butter (or crisco).
2. Add the cans of pie filling to the pan
3. Take the puff pastry and tore it into 1” or so pieces and scattered them over the pie filling.  

Grilling

1. Make sure your grill is clean.  Grease flare up can cause the temperature to spike and drop which won’t be good for the baking process.
2. Setup your gill to cook at 425 degrees.  This is going to take experimentation on your part.  On my grill if I set 2 of the 4 burners to between medium and high I can get the temperature to be a constant 425.  But your grill will probably be different.
3. Cover the skillet put it on the grill close the top and bake for 40 mins.  
4. Remove from the grill
5. Optional - sprinkle some confectioner's sugar.
6. Share and Enjoy!

Although not the fanciest dessert, I felt like it was enjoyed, here is the after photo.

I do this for Anne and myself often.  I have to admit to using some shortcuts (pre-prepped veggies).  But it’s a dish were I get to cooking quickly and have a good meal with minimal effort.  We often eat it by itself or over pasta.

Ingredients

1. 1 lb sweet Italian sausage (6 links)
2. 10 - 12 tomatoes diced (or 1 28oz can of diced tomatoes).
3. 4 bell peppers (or 2 bags frozen peppers and onions (might be tabled “stir fry’).
4. 1 large onion, diced (if you’re using the bags in step 3, you don’t need it).
5. 2 cloves fresh garlic minced (or 3 tbs dried garlic).
6. 3 tbs Italian seasoning
7. Olive Oil
8. Salt and Pepper to tasts

Steps

1. Preheat a #10 (12”) cast iron skillet with medium low heat.
2. When skillet is hot, add 2 turns of olive oil.
3. Add sausage to skillet brown for 4 or 5 mins on all sides.
4. Slice the sausage into bit sizes pieces (I do this for 2 reasons, I like adding some of the fennel to the sauce and it allows me to skim some of the grease to make this a little healthier).
5. Add the peppers and onions, cook down for a few minues
6. Add tomatoes, cook down for a few mins
7. Add the Italian seasoning and garlic.  
8. As this all cooks, you’ll start to get liquid from the ingredients, let it simmer for 45 mins.  Stir occasionally.
9. Skim some of the grease so it doesn’t wind up in your arteries.  
10. Serve over Pasta, Rice or on a Roll.

Notes

• The photo was does using Anne’s Father’s #8 Le Creuset.  I didn’t realize it was a #8 until I was far into the dish so I had to hold back on some peppers.  Still eats good.
• Don’t limit this to sausage, the same technique can be used with chicken, beef, or other proteins

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 Over the last year or so, Anne's been taking care of family problems so I've been cooking less and hence, posting fewer recipes.

At a socially distanced Memorial Day bbq today someone brought short ribs.  We got to talking other ways of prepare short ribs and I mentioned this recipe.  I was going to send it out to the group and realized I never blogged it.  So, although it's almost summer and not oven at 325 for 3 hours season, I thought I'd post it.  Share and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 6-8 beef short ribs, preferably bone-in
• 2 onions, large chop
• 5-6 carrots, large chop (about 2 cups)
• 8 oz. mini golden potatoes, cut in half (or more if desired)
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 cups organic beef stock (preferably low-sodium) 24oz
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• kosher salt and black pepper as needed
• light olive oil as needed

Steps

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Season the short ribs heavily on all sides with salt and pepper.
3. Combine the chopped onions, garlic, carrots, and potatoes in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set aside until needed.
4. Heat 3-counts of the oil in a 12" (or larger) cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the short ribs on all sides until a nice brown color forms, about 8-10 minutes. Add the vegetables and toss to combine in the pan-juices. Add the tomato paste and cook while distributing the paste. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add 2 1/2 to 3 cups of the stock until the vegetables and short ribs are just about (but not fully) submerged. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.
6. Cover the skillet with the skillet's lid or foil and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 1/2 hours. Peel back the foil and if desired, add in the mushrooms. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes or until the beef is tender.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Chicken Thighs
• 10 oz. Fresh Leaf Spinach
• 1/4 cup Marsala Wine
• 1/3 cup Chicken Stock
• 1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 3 tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 tsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 tbsp. and 1/2 tsp. Minced Garlic, Separated
• 1/2 tsp. Paprika
• 3/4 tsp. Ground Thyme
• Dash Garlic Powder
• Dash Sea Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 8 oz. Fresh White Mushrooms, chopped up.
• 5 tbsp. Butter
• 8 oz Cherry Tomatoes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set oven to 400 degrees to pre-heat.
2. Pre-heat a 12" cast iron pan to medium heat
3. Season chicken with paprika, salt and pepper
4. Add 3 tbsp of butter and 1/2 tsp of the minced garlic into heated pan.
5. Add chicken quarters and brown the skin side for 7 minutes then the back side for 5 minutes. Once done, remove chicken from stove top and set aside.
6. Remove most of the excess liquid from pan
7. Add the other 2 tbsp of butter. Add 1 tbsp of minced garlic, marsala wine, pepper and chicken stock to pan and allow to cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape off any burnt on pieces of chicken while it cooks.
8. Add heavy whipping cream, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, ground thyme and mushrooms (optional) then allow to cook for 2 minutes. Add fresh spinach and dash of garlic powder and allow the spinach to cook down for 2 minutes or until wilted.
9. Place the chicken thighs back into the pan with ingredients with the skin side up and remove from heat. Add the tomatoes between the pieces of chicken. Place pan into the oven for 20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven, allow to cool then serve
11. Share and Enjoy!

Nothing better than apples and any pork product.  Here's a quick and simple dish I made last night and served with green beans and rice.  

Ingredients 

• 1 - 2 lb ham steak
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 apple cut into cubes (I used a Fuji Apple)
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

1. Preheat a 12" (number 10)  cast iron skillet under medium-low heat.
2. Add the butter to the pan allow it to melt
3. Add the ham steak to the pan.  Fry from 3-4 mins on each side.  Remove from pan.
4. Add the cider, apples and cinnamon to the pan. Deglaze the pan (Scrape up and bits of ham that stuck the pan).  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5-10 mins (depending on how hard / soft you want the apples)
5. Combine the water and cornstarch in a bowl.  Add to the pan and stir as the mixture thickens.
6. Return the ham to the pan,  Flip and stir to cover the ham with the apple mixture.  Let it cook for a couple of minutes.

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I'm not a person who generally cares for Brussel Sprouts.  This was yummy (although I did bribe myself with cream and bacon fat).  Real discussion with my better half:

BH:  "Butter, Cheese, Cream, Bacon ... that's a lot of fat".

Me: "You want me to eat brussel sprouts, right?

Ingredients

• 10 ounces (300 g) bacon, cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 20 oz Brussel sprouts (I used frozen ones if you use fresh cut them in half)
• Salt and pepper to season
• 3 Tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 heavy cream
• 1/3 cup grated mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Fry the bacon in a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat until crispy. I used my 12" cast iron pan.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel lined plate to soak up some of the oil. Set aside.
3. Drain most of the bacon fat from the pan, leaving about 1-2 tablespoons for added flavour (adjust this amount to your liking). In the same pan, melt the butter, then add the Brussels sprouts and season with salt and pepper. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and cook while stirring occasionally, for about 6 minutes. The edges should start crisping and slightly charring. 
4. Add in the garlic and stir it through the sprouts for a minute, until fragrant. Pour in the cream, reduce heat down to low and allow them to simmer until tender (another 3-4 minutes).
5. Add the bacon in and give everything a good mix to combine all of the flavurs together. Top the sprouts with the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake until cheese is bubbly and sprouts are done to your liking (about 15 minutes).
6. Season with a little extra pepper before serving.

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Edit: 12-1-2018

Potential Alterations:

• Use fresh sprouts and cut them in half
• If it's a little thin before you put it in the oven mix together 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water into a slurry and add if before you put it in the oven.
• Anne felt I should've reserved some bacon and used it as a topping when it was done.
• Before you pull it out of the oven put turn on the broiler for 2-3 mins to brown the cheese.

Made a Leg of Lamb for Easter

Ingredients

• 1 (5-lb.) boneless leg of lamb, rolled and tied
• 3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 5oz jar of minced garlic in olive oil

Directions

1. Rub salt, pepper and rosemary into the roast
2. Cover roast in the minced garlic
3. Let roast stand for at least 30 mins
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
5. Put roast in oven
6. Roast for about 1 hour (until the internal temperature is around 135 degrees
7. Let roast stand for 15 mins before slicing

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