Grilled Squid with Spicy Asian Chili Sauce (Sotong Bakar)

s2

Whenever I think of squid I think of the classic fried calamari at most Italian restaurants. The other day I saw a recipe for grilled squid in Cooking Light magazine and adapted it with what I had available. Instead of making the chili sauce I used a chili garlic sauce you can find in most grocery stores then added a few spices and other things to it. This dish is very simple to make. You throw the marinade together, put the squid in it and let it sit, then start up the grill and cook the squid for 2 minutes a side.

s1

The squid came out with a great texture, not the rubbery overcooked texture you find out there. It cooks very quickly so the 2 mins a side will give the squid good grill marks and cook it perfectly. If you are looking for a new way to have squid or calamari give this a shot!

Grilled Squid with Spicy Asian Chili Sauce (Sotong Bakar)

Advertisement

Crab Feast 2013

crabs2

This past weekend I went down to Baltimore with my roommates from college for our annual crab feast. The past few years we have gone to a crab house but this year we decided to buy the crabs from a seafood market and have them at our buddy’s house. We got the crabs from The Crab Depot, The crabs were steamed perfectly and the crabs were all quite sizable.

crabs1

To go with the crabs we grilled up some corn and other veggies then put down the newspaper and started the feast. It turned into an epic battle of man versus the sea and lasted over 3 hours. It turned out to be a great weekend full of good food, good beer, lots of beer, and good friends. I can’t wait till next year!

Tandoori Grilled Chicken

photo 2

While living in England I grew to like a variety of Indian food. One of my favorite dishes was Tandoori grilled chicken. This recipe can be made on either a grill or roasted in the oven. When marinating the chicken it is best to let it sit for 24 hours to allow the flavors to fully develop and sink into the chicken. I have found that the chicken turns out best when grilled over indirect heat. I gave instructions for grilling over indirect heat in the recipe. If you are looking for a new grilled chicken recipe this summer give this one a try. Enjoy!

Tandoori Grilled Chicken

Arnold Palmer a True Classic

photo-2

With the US Open at Merion last weekend I made up some Arnold Palmer’s from scratch. I used the lemonade recipe I posted last week and then brewed some iced tea and mixed the two. It was delicious and refreshing and made for a nice change of pace in between beers while smoking the ribs we had for dinner. With summer officially starting this weekend mix some up and enjoy!

Lemonade

Iced Tea

Candied Bacon

photo(50)

This post is short and sweet. My dad loves bacon, so for Father’s Day I made him candied bacon. The recipe is very simple and adds a nice sweet touch to salty flavor of the bacon. This works well as a side with breakfast or as a nice party appetizer. Enjoy!

Candied Bacon

Pan Seared Scallops with Maple Bacon Reduction

photo 1

So seafood took over this week on my blog and this is the last shellfish entry for this week I promise. Last weekend I picked up some incredible slab bacon form DiBruno Brothers in Philadelphia and wanted to work it into a dish. I chose scallops because they go so well with bacon. Instead of wrapping the scallops in bacon I slowly reduced the fat out of the bacon and used that to pan sear the scallops. Then made a maple bacon reduction to drizzle over the scallops. The dish turned out great. When cooking it just be sure to make sure you get the pan very hot before placing the scallops in the pan in order to get a good sear on them. Make these for your dad on Father’s Day he’ll enjoy them!

Pan Seared Scallops with Maple Bacon Reduction

Steamed Littleneck Clams in a Beer Garlic Broth

photo 2

This week has unofficially turned into shellfish week. I was in the grocery store and saw littleneck clams for sale and figured I’d give them a go. This is my first time ever cooking littleneck clams. I was debating on whether to cook them on the grill but in the end I decided to steam them. I used beer, garlic, lemon, Old Bay, and parsley to make a broth then steamed the clams in this mixture. I was surprised at how easy the clams were to prepare. You just throw them into the pot then check to see when the shells have popped open. These clams would go great with a beer on a relaxing weekend. Enjoy!

Steamed Littleneck Clams in a Beer Garlic Broth

Mussels Marinara

photo 5

Last night I decided to mess around and attempt to make one of my favorite appetizers, mussels marinara. Now I like my marinara sauce on the spicier side so I added jalapeno peppers to this batch. However if I were to make it again I would use Italian hot peppers instead of jalapenos. All in all the recipe was very simple to follow. Before cooking the mussels be sure to submerge them in ice water for a few minutes to get rid of any dead ones. After cooking them be sure to throw out any mussels that have not opened. You can serve this over pasta or use bread to dip into the sauce. Enjoy!

Mussels Marinara

Philly Beer Week: Saturday June 8th

photo 3

On Saturday I went into Philadelphia for the home brewing contest at Triumph Brew Pub in Old City. The contest was organized by beer type then the top two beers of each style advanced to the final tasting. Our friend Jerry Caruso brewed a fig Belgian beer that I thought should have won best of it’s category but the judges didn’t see it that way.

photo 1

After the judging rounds everyone was able to go around and taste all the various beers that were in the contest. After Triumph we moved over to Fado’s Irish Pub for a few drinks.

After Fado’s we went over to The Dandelion. I love The Dandelion for their cask ale selection. Saturday was no different. They had three on cask that were delicious. However it was a session ale by Victory Brewing that turned out to be the highlight of Philly Beer Week for me. The beer was called Melon Session Ale, it had a sweet start but finished like a good pale ale.

photo 2

After talking to our bartender Chris we learned the unfortunate news that Victory may not make this beer again. If you have had the pleasure to try this beer, or if you have not but would like to try in please shoot Victory and email at brewmaster@victorybeer.com and let them know you would like them to keep making this great summer beer.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

photo-1

With the weather getting nicer and summer almost here I had the urge to make lemonade this past weekend. I first learned to make lemonade out of necessity when I lived in England. To the English lemonade is a lemon flavored soda and not the refreshing summer drink we know in America. This recipe is simple but takes a bit of work to juice the lemons. To make the job easier I would highly recommend buying a hand held lemon press. This drink is very refreshing and hits the spot on any warm summer day. Drink it by itself or mix it with some iced tea to make up a nice Arnold Palmer. Enjoy!

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade