Can-do grilling
Do we need another cookbook on cooking outside? Yes, when it fires up the fun and imagination.
By JANET K. KEELER
Published May 25, 2005
'Tis the season for cookbooks on outdoor cooking.
Bobby Flay is Grilling for Life, Kansas City's Barbecue Queens have their Big Book of Barbecue and grand world champion pitmaster Mike Mills gets groovy with Peace, Love and Barbecue. Then there's Reece Williams' Fearless Guide to Grilling, and The All-American Cowboy Grill, which features recipes from the country's "greatest cowboys," including the late Ronald Reagan. Even Betty Crocker has polished her tongs for Grilling Made Easy.
That's just some of what has been published in time for Memorial Day, the starting-gun holiday for nationwide grilling. In Florida, of course, we never wheel away our 'ques.
Does the world really need another grilling cookbook?
Probably not, but that has not stopped John Pivar and Mark Heimann, the No. 1 and 2 chefs, at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg, from writing Fire It Up: Grill With Flavor, Flair & Fun. The book comes through on the title promise, with 150 recipes and an enticing color photograph on every page.
We like Fire It Up for what it includes (great, flavor-packed recipes), and what it does not (tedious tips on equipment and basic techniques). Thankfully, Pivar and Heimann assume we know how to work our grill, and that we need a spatula to flip burgers.
These are not grill wonks, but guys who want to get you cooking. They have 40 years of professional cooking experience between them, so you can be confident that they know what flavors go with what meat, fish and poultry.
"This is how we cook at home," Pivar says. "It's a realistic cookbook."
That said, these authors are chefs, and sometimes they forget to remind us what pan to use or how long it takes to parboil potatoes. So this book is not for beginners, but rather intermediate home cooks who want to raise their game.
The chefs teamed with Susan and Charles Eanes of Espichel Enterprises in Clearwater to publish the book. Charles Eanes photographed each dish as it came off the grills (both gas and charcoal) in Pivar's back yard. Susan Eanes wrote the recipes as the chefs worked.
Our favorite party idea is Heimann's Your Own Seafood Boil. Guests write their names on new, uncoated paint cans and fill them with lobster tails, clams, shrimp, mussels, scallops and sausage, plus parboiled corn on the cob and potatoes. Clam and lemon juice, white wine and other seasoning are added. The lid is perched on top, and the can is placed on a hot grill for 20 minutes to steam the contents.
When done, each guest has his own party in a pail, with more lobster or less corn, depending on personal tastes.
Warning: Don't secure the lid tightly or built-up steam will launch it during cooking. Also, if you're nervous about using hardware as cookware, line the can with aluminum foil.
One of Pivar's favorite recipes is Chicken Under a Brick with White Cheddar Grits and Tomatillo Sauce. A whole chicken is butterflied and marinated, and then weighted down on the grill with hot bricks. (Those can be wrapped in foil, too.)
The tangy tomatillo sauce is served alongside and the grits feature white cheddar, from Vermont if you can find it. The chicken can be served hot or at pool-side temperature.
We are partial to burgers and a tablespoon of cracked pepper divided among four half-pound patties imparts delicious heat in the chefs' simple recipe. The killer condiment is the Cherry Vidalia Onion Ketchup. Dried cherries and Vidalia onions mingle with hints of ground ginger, cinnamon and clove. This burger doesn't just sing; it dances, too.
Simple food with a chef's flair. That's what Pivar calls it.
We agree, even in the season of grill book overload.
- Janet K. Keeler can be reached at 727 893-8586 or krieta@sptimes.com
WHERE TO BUYFire It Up by John Pivar and Mark Heimann is $24.95 and can be purchased at Haslam's Book Store and Simply Splendid in St. Petersburg, the Outdoor Kitchen Store in Tampa and in other local bookstores. The chefs' Web site, www.moodychefs.com launches June 1.
Burgers With Cherry Vidalia Onion KetchupFor ketchup:
1/2 Vidalia onion, diced small
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/4 cups tomato sauce
Salt to taste
For burgers:
2 pounds ground beef
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 sourdough buns
To make cherry onion ketchup: In a skillet, sweat onions in oil over low heat until translucent. Add cherries and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add dry spices and black pepper; stir to combine. Add vinegar and reduce mixture until almost dry. Add sugar, tomato sauce and salt to taste. Lower heat to a simmer; reduce by 1/3 and chill.
To make burgers: Mix ground beef with salt and pepper, then form into four patties. Grill over high heat for 3 minutes on each side for medium rare, or longer until desired doneness. Serve on toasted sourdough buns with Cherry Vidalia Onion Ketchup. Serves 4.
Source: "Fire It Up: Grill with Flavor, Flair and Fun" by John Pivar and Mark Heimann (Espichel Enterprises; $24.95).
Your Own Seafood Boil2 lobster tails, split
1/2 pound clams
1 pound jumbo shrimp
1/2 pound mussels
1/2 pound sea scallops
1 pound chorizo sausage, cut into chunks
4 large red-skin potatoes, quartered
2 ears of corn, halved
12 garlic cloves, peeled
4 8-ounce bottles clam juice
2 cups white wine
1/2 cup seafood boiling spice such as Old Bay
2 lemons, quartered, for garnish
4 new, uncoated paint cans and lids (see note)
Parboil potatoes and corn by cooking in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Divide ingredients, except lemon quarters, between cans. Place cans on hot grill and rest lids on top. (Do not close them tightly or the steam inside will build up and send them flying.) Grill over high heat for 20 minutes or until seafood is cooked through. Serve with lemons.
Serves 4.
Source: "Fire It Up: Grill with Flavor, Flair and Fun" by John Pivar and Mark Heimann (Espichel Enterprises; $24.95).
Chicken Under a Brick With Tomatillo SalsaSalsa:
10 tomatillos
1 poblano pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic gloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt to taste
Marinade:
1/4 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Corona beer
3 1/2- to 4-pound whole chicken
To make salsa: Toss the tomatillos and peppers in oil and roast over medium heat, turning occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly caramelized. Remove from grill, cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Peel and seed peppers. Place all ingredients in a blender and puree. Season to taste. Chill until ready to use.
To make marinade: Puree ingredients in food processor.
Prepare chicken by removing the backbone with kitchen shears and smash bird flat. Place in pan and pour marinade over the top; cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Place chicken on the medium-hot grill skin-side down and lay hot bricks on top to keep flat. (Place bricks over direct heat for about 15 minutes to heat.) Cook for 1 hour. Serves 4.
Source: "Fire It Up: Grill with Flavor, Flair and Fun" by John Pivar and Mark Heimann (Espichel Enterprises; $24.95).