It's the Fourth of July............. Let's Get Ready To G-RRRumble!!!

It's that time of year again, folks! 

The time to dust the cobwebs off that grill, if you haven't already started your official grilling season, what are you waiting for? If not now then when?

Yep, it is summertime & the living is easy.

I don't know about the jumping fish or how high the cotton is.

I mean I live in San Francisco, not in Scarlett O'Hara's beloved Tara. 

Hell, I doubt if the most devoted Atlantan could tell you anything about cotton these days other than what the bid is on the commodities market, and, even then, only if they were financially inclined.

Nope, the traditional lazy, hazy days of summer don't really apply here in Bagdhad by the Bay. It feels more like November than July, but I'll be darned if we are not just as patriotic as you guys that are sweltering in the heat of the dog days of summer.

Why July 4th is incredibly meaningful to us! Sure we grumble about the frozen tundra the city is in July & August. But, hey, we get out our down jackets, our gloves & scarves and excitedly gather around the beautiful Golden Gate to watch the fireworks reflect magnificent colors off the water. 

You may wonder why choose not to look up in the air when we view these pyrotechnic marvels.

Well, that's simple. It's a three letter word that really makes you want to use as many four letter words as possible when it is in our midst. Carl Sandburgh who was probably drunk off hid gourd when he composed this little ditty, says of it:

"The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on."

Doesn't that sound lovely?

Yeah right, until your fingers are blue from it while standing in 55 degree weather motionless while the city spends a gazillion dollars of tax payer money so you can ooohh & ahhhh at the colorful reflections in the bay's dark waters. 

To make it clear to the meanest intelligence: it is too damn foggy to ever see the fireworks in San Francisco!!!

But somehow, every year throngs of thousands clog the street arteries of the Northern waterfront of the city, expectantly & exuberantly hoping for a miracle. Yes, they fervently hope that whatever deity they pray to will see fit to allow the foggy equivalent of  parting of the Red Sea, just long enough for them to see flashes of light exploding in starriest climes. Never has 25 lousy minutes meant so much to so many. 

Lucky for us we don't have to join the huddled masses yearning to be free from fog to have a spectacular view of the display (if the weather ever permits it), we can watch from the comfort of our cosy little apartment. 

I do feel, however, a pang of pity for those who drive all the way over here from some godforsaken place just to spend their holiday with us. Thinking that somehow this is the place to be for the spectacle.

Silly rabbits, Trix are for kids!

Here's what the fireworks look like on a really good clear July 4th:

Now I know most of you are looking at the pretty bridge right now. 

Fuggetaboutit! 

I'm not talking about pretty lights on the bridge. 

It's the Fourth of July, people, I want to see a dazzling light extravaganza.

I can see the lights on the Bay Bridge every night.

No!!!! I'm talking about the puffs of smoke on the left side of the picture. 

That, my friends, is the 4th of July fireworks display in a good year!

So consider yourselves forewarned. 

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, plan a trip into San Francisco for the fourth of July unless you are a blind Eskimo because then, at least, the 50 degree weather in July won't chill the marrow of your bones &  the fact that it's too foggy to see won't bother you either. I mean you'll be able to hear it, so if you're blind this is the perfect place to experience the fireworks because you know you won't be missing anything!

Well one way you can still celebrate the same way as the rest of the country is by grilling.

This July 4th weekend, I thought would be great to grill burgers but give them a slightly  healthier twist.

 

So the hubby & I will be making: 

Chicken Jalapeno Cheddar Burgers with Chipotle Mayo

 Ingredients 

For the burgers:

• 1 lb. of ground chicken breast
  
• 4 oz. of extra sharp white cheddar or Manchego Cheese, shredded or thinly sliced
  
• 2 roasted jalapeno chilis, seeds & membrane removed and cut into small dice (blackened on the stove top or grill until blistered then cooled)
  
• 2 whole scallions, lighter green parts only, finely minced
  
• salt & pepper to taste
  
• 2 pickled jalapenos, sliced thinly (for garnish)
  
• 4 slices of Brandywine or your favorite thick juicy tomato
  
• 1/2  avocado, thinly sliced into eighths
  
• 4 hamburger buns (I like to use brioche-like buns)

For the chipotle aioli:

• 1 canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped into a paste
  
• 4 tablespoons of Best Foods Low fat Mayo (aka Hellman's on the East Coast)
  
• 1 teaspoon of lime juice
  
• 1/2 garlic clove smashed & minced into a paste.
• 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
  
• salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
  

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the Chipotle Mayo in a bowl until well combined. Taste for seasonings & acidity. Adjust seasonings.
2. Then place in a serving bowl & set aside.
3. In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, scallions, roasted jalapenos, salt & fresh ground pepper & combine thoroughly but do not overmix.
4. Divide the chicken evenly into four and, using your hands, shape them into round 1/2" thick patties. Remember the patties will swell in thickness & shrink in diameter as you cook them, so shape them accordingly.
5. Set them aside until you are ready to cook them. Then prepare the shrimp & then the lamb burgers, if serving them as well.
6. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap & water.
7. Turn on your grill & preheat it for at least 20 minutes. Do the same with your broiler.
8. When you are ready to cook the chicken burgers, place them over medium heat, & cook them on one side for 5 minutes without touching them. Then give them a 1/4 turn on your grill or griddle, leaving them to cook on the same side for an additional 3-4 minutes.
9. Then flip the burgers over to the other side, cooking for an additional 3-4 minutes. After which, you will give them another 1/4 turn for the last 3-4 minutes. This will provide with pretty grill, crosshatched grill marks.
10. The chicken needs to be cooked all the way through until well-done & there is no sign of pink. When it doubt, take a peek by cutting through the center of one.
11. Remove from the heat, on a foil lined baking sheet, place your four buns, cut side up & top each half with cheddar. Broiling for 45 seconds or until the cheese is melted to your liking. Place a bottom half of the bun on a plate.
12. Place a chicken burger on the bottom half of each bun. Garnish the burger with the tomato, pickled jalapeno & avocado slices. You may want to mash the avocado slightly with a fork if you couldn't cut it into thin fans.
13. Serve with the Chipotle Aioli on the side. 

This recipe serves 4 independent-minded patriotic revelers.

You can serve with a simple mixed green salad or potato salad.

Keep it simple! 

A icy cold Corona goes well with this but so does a maragarita.

We'll be drinking a 2001 Leroy Auxey-Duresses, but it's your party & you can drink what you want to... drink what you want to.... drink what you want to...

Shrimp Scallion & Ginger Burgers with Sriracha Aioli

 

Lamb Black Olive & Feta Burgers with Tszatiki Sauce. 

All served on brioche buns & pitas with slices of Brandywine Heirloom tomatoes & slices of avocado.

Sounds weird & complicated, right?

Anything but!

BTW, all of the recipes are mine, but none of the photos are mine. 

I'll replace the food shots when I cook the burgers this weekend.

Thanks to Google images for providing a little color to the blog.

A food blog without the pics is like fireworks in the fog..... POINTLESS!

Happy Independence Day!

Long Live the Stars & Stripes!!!

A Puerto Rican Primer for the San Francisco Comical, I mean, Chronicle: Arroz con Pollo y Gandules

Just read a column in the S.F. Chronicle that reaffirms my view of the new-wave liberalism sweeping the coasts of this nation.

Essentially what we have is a group of reactionary people (i.e. people who react before they think) who cloak themselves in the self-congratulatory rhetoric of politically correct jargon and think that by doing so it makes them de facto warm, sensitive, superior human beings.

The arbiters of truth & morality of all they survey. Nevermind the factual correctness or relevance of their statements; you can't let the facts get in the way of the afterglow of a little mental masturbation. It feels too good to stop!

A case in point is John Carroll's column today, April 19, 2007.

John is a man who prides himself (& makes a living) on his broad, unabashedly liberal, humorous point of view. He supports all the right (or I should say, left) issues, is anti-all things Bush, has a gay daughter, is a doting grandfather, cat-lover and all around good guy.

This gives him carte blanche in a city like San Francisco where your credibility rises as your tolerance for so-called "conservative" issues falls. You don't have to prove or qualify anything you say as long as you end every statement with a perceived anti-republican slur.

You are then brilliant, one of the fold; showing your solidarity and obvious intelligence by your mutual disgust & penchant for anti-g.o.p. slogans & bumber stickers (Republicans: The Other White Meat; ha, ha, ha hilarious). It's always so negative but oh so effective.

Take Carroll's column today.

He starts off by discussing the tragedy that occurred Monday at the Virginia Tech campus. He very properly, in my opinion, took the news media to task for exploiting a tragedy for their own mercenary ends. But instead of continuing his commentary on the very real & disturbing trend of news reporting based on a need to fill airtime & endorse ( & probably extort on a hot news day) their sponsors to support their ever growing bottom line, he digresses & starts a rant on the neo-cons of this country taking the opportunity afforded them by an immigrant mass murderer to promote their anti-immigration agenda. He then ends with what he considers an homage to immigrants in the USA & probably felt, he made an excellent contribution to the national dialogue on race relations.

In doing this, he also made the ridiculous gaffe of including a young Puerto Rican male among some of the immigrant victims of that tragedy.

Make no mistake, Juan Ramon Ortiz was from Puerto Rico & he, also, was tragically murdered on campus.

What he was not was an immigrant.
As a native born Puerto Rican, he is also an American citizen.

Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States (just like Washington, D.C.) & has had this status for a century. This makes all Puerto Ricans citizens of this country as soon as they move to the U.S. mainland with the same rights and obligations of all good citizens.

They need not apply for citizenship for this status; it is afforded to them as soon as they step foot in the country. If they choose to remain in Puerto Rico their entire lives, however, there are some important distinctions such as the inability to vote in the national presidential election & relief from paying federal taxes.

Can you see what I mean? Here is John Carroll, humorist & S.F. columnist, acting as an expert on the immigration problem with 7 large paragraphs on the alarming anti-immigrant trend in a 10 paragraph column purportedly about news media abuses & exploitations of tragic stories; showing us his best super-sensitive, hyper-aware, friend of the downtrodden, I'm-such-a- nice-person nature.

Then Mr. Politically-Correct, Morally-Superior shows us he doesn't even know that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. What's worse is that he & his ilk will say it doesn't matter, it's the context of the article that matters: those ignorant, xenophobic, bad guy neo-cons must be stopped (whose alleged views, by the way, were not mentioned in any of the myriad of news stories I was subjected to about the Virginia Tech massacre; everyone was more focused on the call to disarm gunowners & increase gun-control which I don't disagree with) .

Ten million Puerto Rican citizens don't matter???

because he's a liberal nice guy it's okay for him to be so ignorant & racist????

Details don't matter, they just get in the way of a good fabricated story!!!
He didn't mean any harm, he's not racist, he just got carried away with his rhetoric.

Isn't that what happened to Don Imus??? No, I forgot Don Imus leans slightly to the right when he walks his lines. So being a republican, Imus must be a racist, right? Right, says all the self righteous arbiters of truth & morality. What a double standard! What a joke!

John Carroll & his readers would have been better served if he had stuck to the subject he is more qualified to pontificate on (he being a person in the news business subject to its vicissitudes): the disturbing trend of the news media to exploit and aggrandize these tragedies, ad nauseum. Saturating the airwaves & printing presses with their "up to the second" "24 hour a day" unconscionable excesses in the name of news coverage. Creating stories where none existed.

He missed a prime opportunity to shed light on a trend that grows increasingly hysterical & ever more powerful and in the process, marring the credibility &, ultimately, the viability of the third estate.

After all, if all the news networks are going to degrade into nothing more than a series of rants & raves, why would people continue to tune in when they can get even more colorful, unedited varieties of information from bloggers & YouTube without the stupid ads or commercial interruptions?

Well for the uninformed like John Carroll who think Puerto Rico is some alien nation, I submit this tasty & simple dish from Borinquen, La Isla del Incanto: Arroz con Pollo y Gandules aka Rice with Chicken & Peas to expand their horizons. This dish is for you, Juan.

Note:
Traditionally, pigeon peas (gandules) & sweet (not spicy) scotch bonnet peppers are used in the dish; however, they are not always readily available especially here in San Francisco where seemingly every other latino country's staples are available except amazingly those from the only U.S. latino nation, the land of my grandmother: Puerto Rico. No wonder Johnny boy had no clue! Do I sound bitter?

Arroz con Pollo y Gandules

Ingredients

For the chicken:
2 cloves of garlic
2 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon lime juice
2-1/2 lbs. of chicken pieces (with skin & bone for additional moisture & flavor)

For the rice:
1 ounce pancetta or salt pork, cut into small dice
2 ounces prosciutto or other lean cured ham, cut into small dice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, seeded & finely chopped
3 sweet (not spicy) chili peppers or one red pepper, seeded & finely chopped
1 tomato, seeded & chopped
half a handful of cilantro leaves, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
10 spanish olives, stuffed with pimientos, cut in half
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1/4 cup of tomato puree or tomato sauce
2 tablespoons of achiote (annato) oil or 2 tablespoons canola oil mixed with 1 teaspoon of paprika
3 cups of long grain rice
3-1/2 cups of water or low-sodium chicken stock, heated & reserved
1 can of gandules ( pigeon peas), drained or 1 cup of frozen green peas, thawed
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained for garnish

Directions:

For the chicken:
Place first 7 ingredients in a mortar or food processor & mix into a paste. Cut chicken into equal sized pieces & rub all over with the garlic paste (known as adobo) marinating the chicken in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

In a dutch oven or large braising pan heated over med-high heat, add olive oil & rapidly brown the pork fat & ham. Reduce heat to medium, add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, searing all sides of the chicken.

Reduce heat to low, & add the onion, green pepper, sweet or red pepper, tomato & cilantro (known collectively as the sofrito). Saute for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Increase heat to medium, then add the salt, olives, capers, tomato sauce, achiote or paprika oil and rice. Mix well & cook for two or three minutes, stirring rice mixture occasionally.

Add the reserved heated water or stock to the mixture, mixing well then cook uncovered over medium heat until liquid evaporates and rice is dry.

When rice is dry, turn it over once from top to bottom using a fork.

Lower heat to lowest setting, cover rice with tightly fitting lid or use aluminum foil to create a seal & cook for 20 minutes, turn rice over again with a fork & cook for an additional 20 minutes. (40 minutes in total)

Add peas, folding them into the rice carefully with a fork, and cook for 15 minutes. Then remove pot from heat, allowing rice to stand with lid firmly in place for 5 minutes more.

Meanwhile, heat large platter or plates for 1 minute in microwave or 5 minutes in oven. Serve rice on warm platter and garnish with roasted red peppers & sprigs of cilantro. A simple little salad of sliced avocado, tomato, cooked green beans & lettuce with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil & fresh lemon juice makes a nice accompaniment to the dish. Serves 6-8 hungry people. Buen Provecho!

A Rainy Saturday Lunch for One

Ahh, April in San Francisco: sounds so lovely... camellias in full bloom, the fragrance of jasmine everywhere, hummingbirds flitting from flower to flower, making the occasional guest appearance at the windows that face the garden, delighting us with their fleeting but welcome presence; all so perfect if only it would STOP RAINING!!!!!

Just like that great blues artist, John Lee Hooker, I'm moaning "Rainy days, rainy days, I think it's raining all the time.." because it is raining all the time!! John should know. He lived in San Francisco, too. No wonder he sang the blues.

So what is a woman who is single for the weekend while her husband is on a three day alcohol-fueled, gas-guzzling orgy to do on such a miserable day? ( did I mention, he went to an NHRA event in Vegas with his "work associates" rubbing elbows with the most illustrious members of the beer belly & tube-top crowd )

Watch depressing films & eat, of course!

My day started with Haagen-Daz's latest marketing gimmick "Extra Rich Light Ice Cream" (are they brilliant or what?) which was so rich yet so light that I proceeded to eat the entire pint while watching the darkly comic & extremely depressing (hence the need for mood-elevating enhancer in Caramel Cone flavor) biography of Peter Sellers, very aptly portrayed by Geoffrey Rush.

It's called "The Life & Death of Peter Sellers". See it if you're a true movie buff & Peter Sellers fan like I am. Otherwise, don't bother.
As for the ice cream, buy Breyers or Dreyers on the west coast because that is what it tasted like. The "Extra Rich Light" Haagen-Daz is nothing more than plain old supermarket variety ice cream that they have managed to sell at a premium ice cream price because of the brand label.

If you're going to pay for premium ice cream then get the regular Haagen-Daz not the "light" version. The regular one has much better texture & flavor for the same price (yes, I tried both in the same flavor, dutiful consumer advocate that I am).

If you want to cut calories & pennies, buy the supermarket brand or better yet eat a peach.

Two hours & 1000 calories later, I was in a position to re-evaluate my nutritional needs for the day; none of which had been met except for my total fat & saturated fat requirements which had far exceeded the RDA's daily recommendations ( thank you, Haagen-Daz!!)

Some nutritional experts claim that people who eat unhealthily continually overeat because their bodies are clamoring for missing nutrients; so the poor fat slob's brain keeps impelling him or her to eat until these nutritional wants are met.

Once they are met, the hunger is sated and the food impulse ends. Often they are not met and so the endless cycle of junkfood eating continues, making us fatter but nutritionally starved.

Sounds logical, no?

I have one thing to say to that: NONSENSE!!!

One hour after my depression-induced calorie fest, I decided to test this theory of compulsive eating by drinking two glasses of water & taking one very potent multi-vitamin designed especially for women, jam-packed with the latest in essential everything meeting the nutritional requirements of ten bionic athletes.

The result.....HUNGER.

Still hungry even after a mammoth dose of anti-oxidants mated with all those nasty, fully-loaded, energy-zapping, atom-killing , wrinkle-inducing, predatory, & uncoupled things known as free radicals that all the diet gurus & dermatologists keep preaching about to us .

So...maybe I still need to reach my requirements for dietary fiber.

With this in mind, here's a healthy & tasty lunch entree that is easy to make and would even win the approval of the good doctors: Perricone, Sears & Agatson (avatars of, respectively, the Perricone Prescription, the Zone Diet & the South Beach Diet). Being alone on a rainy Saturday afternoon with a Woody Allen movie blaring in the background (Annie Hall is my first choice) is not an absolute prerequisite for preparing or enjoying this meal but let's face it: if you were with your significant other on a beautiful sunny day would you really spend it inside your kitchen cooking a healthy pasta dish? Right, I didn't think so.

Note:
Use farro pasta, an ancient whole grain that is low on the glycemic index (Rustichella d'abruzzo, a luxe supermarket brand now makes it) to make the dish extra healthful and flavorful and add a little extra left coast appeal. Heirloom cherry tomatoes also add a nice touch.

Of course, you can substitute your favorite vegetable for the broccoli rabe: asparagus, spinach, peas, arugula or mushrooms all would work equally well. I just happen to like the bite & heft of broccoli rabe. Get a whole rotisserie chicken cooked from your favorite grocer or meat purveyor (Bryan's is the best in S.F.) unless, of course, you have a rotisserie oven at home, then go for it!!! You can get a roasted chicken but rotisserie chicken is beautifully moist, evenly cooked & much less fatty. You can also substitute grilled Italian sausage or poached salmon for the chicken or skip the meat altogether & add feta to the dish for a vegetarian twist. Isn't cooking wonderful?? You are in total control! This recipe will serve one very bored, ravenously hungry person with enough leftover for another rainy afternoon or 4 moderately hungry people in any kind of weather.

Pasta with Rotisserie Roasted Chicken Breast, Broccoli Rabe & Cherry Tomatoes



Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta (farfalle, penne rigate or fettuccine work well)
1 bunch of broccoli rabe (washed, dried & roughly chopped into bite-size pieces)
1 rotisserie chicken breast (skin & bone removed, cut into 1" bite-size chunks)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes ( cut the larger ones in half)
2 medium-sized garlic cloves (finely diced)
1/2 cup dry white wine (something decent & potable, taste it, if you can't drink it don't cook with it!)
1/2 cup good quality, low-sodium chicken stock (or vegetable stock, if you must)
1/4 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 whole lemon preferably Meyer's, juice & finely grated peel only (no white pith, too bitter)
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated by hand (plus more to taste for garnish)
1/2 bunch parsley (leaves & soft stems only, finely chopped)
1/8 tsp of salt & pepper, to taste
small handful of basil, leaves only, chiffonnaded
1 large pot for pasta
1 large saute pan with lid

Start a large (at least 6 quart) pot of lightly salted water to boil for the pasta. When the pot reaches the boiling point, add pasta, stirring briskly to prevent it from sticking. When water returns to the boil, lower heat slightly and cook according to the package directions, or until al dente. Drain pasta in colander. Keep pasta in colander, place colander back in pot & cover loosely with towel or foil to keep warm.
While pasta is cooking, place a large saute pan or wok (12" or 14" in diameter) on med-high heat. Add the 1/4 cup of olive oil to the pan, wait a few seconds, add 1/8 tsp salt and red pepper flakes, then give pan a quick stir to evenly distribute seasoning. Add all of the broccoli rabe, allowing it to sit in pan without stirring for 45 seconds to a minute.
Give the broccoli a quick stir, exposing uncooked areas to the bottom of the pan. then add garlic & saute mixture for another minute or two until all of the mixture appears to have absorbed the oil evenly then add the stock, cover the pan & steam broccoli for 2 minutes until slighly wilted.
Remove lid from pan, add the cherry tomatoes and the wine then turn up the heat until most of the wine evaporates. Turn off heat, add chicken, pepper, parsley, lemon juice & peel; stirring to incorporate everything. Add pasta, cheese & additional olive oil. Toss well. Taste. Adjust seasoning, adding additional oil or stock if pasta appears to dry. Serve in warm bowls using the microwave to warm them. Garnish with basil and more cheese, if desired.