A grill, a molcajete & a Cookbook: Holy Guacamole!

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Bonnell, chef and owner of the Zagat recognized Bonnell's Fine Cuisine in Fort Worth, Texas, because...get ready for this...he will be coming to my hometown for a Cookbook gala later this month. Yeehaw!

As part of the assignment, I had to peruse both his cookbooks (yes, I love my job). While both had merits, my spatulas-down favorite has to be Texas Favorites.

"Texas flavors tend to be big and bold, not a thing timid about it."-- Jon Bonnell.

Well this cookbook is Texas bold.

He brings together ingredients and processes that are surprising at first, yet combine to deliver maximum flavor.

Flipping through this cookbook has been multi-sensory, synapses firing experience. The photographs are mouthwatering. It's food porn, but classy food porn. The kind you want to wine & dine...& heat up the kitchen with.

The recipes and the photographs together had be salivating and itching to cook.

I started with a simple and classic Texas favorite: Guacamole.

Bonnell has three guacamole recipes in the cookbook -- smooth & creamy guacamole, chunky traditional guacamole, and --BAM!--Molcajete Guacamole with Hatch Chiles. Yeah, the chef's got game.

Of course, I chose to work with the last because it involves some good basic culinary tools -- the grill & the molcajete (a rustic type of mortar & pestle)-- and the flavors plain intrigued me.

Molcajete Guacamole (adapted from Texas Favorites by Jon Bonnell)

1 small sweet onion, peeled and thickly sliced
2 Hot Hatch chiles
1 large fresh jalapeno
1 dried chocolate chile (I happened to grow these this summer & had them on hand)
1 large vine-ripened tomato, cut in half
1 ear of corn, peeled and cleaned
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 limes, juiced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of cumin
pinch of coriander
pinch of Mexican oregano
pinch of ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Grill the onions, peppers/chiles, tomato (skin side down) and corn until nicely charred on all sides, but not overdone. The charring adds a nice smoky flavor and depth to the finished dish.

2. Take the chiles of the grill and place inside a sealed plastic bag or paper bag. Let them sweat there for 10-15 minutes. (Next time I will increase the amount of peppers too)
3. Scrape the skins of the peppers and remove the seeds with the back of a knife, then rough chop. (The original recipe has you add the peppers into the molcajete, but I wanted them to remain chunky).
4. Using a sharp knife, cut the corn of the cob. Set aside.

5.Rough chop the onions and tomato and add to the molcajete with the salt. I added the toasted chocolate chile too. Pound until in small pieces. (Warning, the tomato makes it a bit messy so wear an apron. Also, if my molcajete had been large enough, I'd have added in at this point too).

6. In a large dish, mash the avocados into rustic, chunky pieces (I used 6 small avocados), mix in the tomato-onion mixture, spices, lime juice, cilantro, chiles and corn. Mix gently. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Serve with your favorite corn chip.

Targeted to the home cook, Texas Favorites features everyday, no fuss recipes that could help make a wholesome family meal, as well recipes with a special twist fit for tailgaiting and/or other gatherings.

 For more information about Bonnell or more of his recipes, check out my article in The Standard-Times.

No-labor grilled veggie recipes for Labor Weekend

So we're in the middle of a 3-day Labor Day weekend and many of us are gathering around a grill. It's sort of like a last big "Hurrah!" School has started, the temperatures have started to drop (Yay!)and we are saying good bye to summer.

When grilling is mentioned, many people immediately think of some sort of meat -- large cuts of steak, stings of sausages or skewers of kababs. Not me. I offer you veggies.

My favorites are sturdy vegetables that don't fall apart on the grill, like squash, onions, bell peppers, asparagus and okra. A mix adds a rainbow of color and flavors to your meal. Grilling adds a smoky depth to the veggies, and brings out a natural sweetness. All with only a minimum of fuss.

Step 1. Marinate the veggies.

Step 2. If using bamboo skewers, remember to presoak them. Also, using two skewers makes the veggies easier to handle, esp. in case of long veggies.

Step 3. Grill time! Remember cooking time will depend on various factors: the type of vegetable, the thickness of it, and personal preference regarding doneness.

Step 4. Serve!

Recipe for mixed veggies

2 medium zuchhini, cut into 2" pieces then halved lengthwise
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces
8 to 10 pearl onions, sliced in half from top to bottom
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS lemon juice
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper to season
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush grate with oil.

2. Toss the cut veggies with the marinade ingredients.

3. Get a bowl ready for cooked veggies.

4. My indoor grill didn't have a lot of space, so I had to grill in batches. The Zucchini and onion will take longer to cook than the peppers. About 5 to 6 minutes.

5. Finish off the veggies by sprinkling the goat cheese on top and serve with pasta, couscous or pita bread.

Grilled Okra Recipe

15 medium-sized young okra
2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable, canola or olive)
Juice of half a large lemon
1 rounded teaspoon of Cajun seasoning or curry powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper (optional)

6 bamboo skewers, presoaked

Directions:
1. Preheat grill.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the okra, oil, lemon juice and spices together until all the okra is well coated.
3. Thread about five okra pods onto two parallel skewers (sort of creating an okra billboard).
4. Grill each set of okra about 15 minutes (turning once half way through).
5. Serve with ranch sauce (optional)

Grilled Naan & More

Earlier this year, I had the fun experience of recipe testing for a friend, Carolyn Hughey. She's got a book coming out Aug. 5: SHUT UP AND KISS ME.

Doesn't the cover & title make your mouth water? You can learn more about the book here. Anyhoo, the book I recipe tested for is Dishing Up Romance (available February 2012). Now back to the food :) Let me tell you, the recipes she includes will both make you smile and your tummy happy!

Carolyn had me try two recipes: Naan of this, and Naan of that Bread and the Nutty Apple Cake with HOT Caramel Sauce.

With the Naan recipe, Carolyn attached this little note: "You can probably make the Naan in your sleep, but I thought cooking it on the grill might be a nice change--give it that smoky taste. Tell me what you think."

Um, total head*to*desk moment. Yes, I'd grown up enjoying naan and kababs and chicken tikka, but I'd never considered grilling them. Yes, I live in Texas, and grilling tops the list of my favorite summer activities, and I'm always trying to bring the Bengali kitchen of my childhood together with the West Texas kitchen of my marriage...yeah, head-to-desk.

So what did I think about grilling naan? Abso-freaking-lutely brilliant! Oooh, there's nothing like watching the breads puff up on the grill while inhaling the aroma of freshly-cooked bread. Yeah, I swooned. :)

And yes, the Nutty Apple Cake with the Hot Caramel sauce was good too.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and my family enjoyed every bite...so anyone need a recipe tester?

Recipes? Sorry, you'll have to get the recipes from Carolyn's DISHING UP ROMANCE when it's out...but here's my recipe for Naan (which is a modified version of Madhur Jaffrey's)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup hand hot milk
2 teaspoons caster sugar
2 teaspoons dried active yeast
3 3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon caraway seed
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup natural yogurt, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons of minced chives (optional)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Put the milk in a bowl. Add 1tsp sugar and the yeast. Stir to mix. Set aside for 15-20 minutes or until the yeast has dissolved and the mixture is frothy.

2. Sift the flour, salt, caraway and baking powder into a bowl. Add the remaining 1tsp sugar, the yeast mixture, 2tblsp vegetable oil and yogurt,egg and minced chive (if using). Mix to form a ball of dough.

3. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and satiny (I did this in a stand mixer). Form into a ball. Pour 1/4tsp oil into a large bowl and roll the ball of dough in it. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and set aside for 1 hour until doubled in size.

4. Preheat your grill. (Lightly oil the grill)

5. Punch down the dough and knead again. Divide into six equal balls. Keep covered when not working with the balls of dough. Roll the ball of dough into a tear-shaped naan, about 10-inches long and 5-inches wide at it's widest point.

6. Brush one side of the Naan with melted butter and place on a hot grill cooking for approximately 3 minutes or until it puffs and is lightly browned. Flip it over and repeat the same thing with the other side.

7.Wrap the naans in a tea towel or foil. Make all the naans this way. Serve hot. You can reheat them in the microwave for 40 seconds or so.

Enjoy!