GRILLED LEMON-DILL WILD-CAUGHT SALMON

There is a notable difference in the taste and texture of fresh wild-caught salmon versus frozen and thawed.  I buy salmon all year long, so I'm not against frozen and thawed, so long as it's US (preferably Alaskan) fish. I never buy farm-raised salmon.  Besides the higher PCB count, it's also been fed antibiotics.  And, anyway, it doesn't taste anything like wild-caught salmon.  Wild-caught salmon is delicate but full of flavor.  (True disclosure:  Wild-caught salmon is started in a controlled environment, then released to the "wild" at puberty so it can be "caught."  While it is not as nutritious as 100% wild salmon, it's affordable for the masses and better than 100% farm-raised salmon.)  


I buy wild-caught salmon at Harris Teeter.  Fresh Alaskan salmon is only available for a select number of months a year, roughly May to September.  After that, it's frozen, but still very good.  There are many ways to cook salmon, but I usually look for something easy and quick and preferably for the grill.  The flavors of lemon, dill and garlic marry perfectly with the mild, flavorful salmon.  Any leftovers make a great sandwich the next day, or can be chopped up on a tossed salad.

Grilled Lemon-Dill Wild-Caught Salmon
Rating:  9.5 out of 10


INGREDIENTS:  For each 4-6 oz. serving piece of salmon, use the following:
1 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
3/4 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1-1/2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 clove garlic, grated finely
1-1/2 tsp. finely chopped dill weed + sprig of dill weed for garnish
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt or Diamond kosher salt
2 big pinches of white pepper
lemon wedge

In plastic resealable bag, combine juice, zest, oil, garlic and dill weed.   Salt and pepper both sides of salmon, then add to marinade bag.  Refrigerate 15 minutes, or up to 30 minutes.  Any longer and the citrus will start to cook the fish.

In the meantime, start the grill and get it to hot, about 400-425F.  Oil the grates with a paper towel folded over and dipped in vegetable oil.  Hold the paper towel with long tongs and rub over the grates to season them.  (There may be a flareup, so be careful.)


Place the fish on the oiled grates.  Close lid.  Cook 2-3 minutes per side, depending on thickness of fish and desired degree of doneness.  I like my salmon rare.  If you like yours medium or well done, leave on grill 3-4 minutes per side.  Transfer salmon to a plate, so it can rest for 5-10 minutes and finish cooking, just like a piece of meat.  The microwave oven (turned off, of course) is a great place for that.  Serve garnished with a dill sprig and a wedge of lemon.

EL TACO LOCO

If you haven't tried El Taco Loco yet, don't wait any longer.  This is real Mexican food, not part of any chain.
Mostly everything is made in house, and Carmen (the owner), who hails from California, knows how to cook.  The food is ridiculously cheap and amazingly delicious.

Forget atmosphere.  This is basic dining like McDonald's, but with better food.  Place your order at the counter (or call in for takeout).

The menu is on the wall just like at other fast-food eateries.  But that's where comparisons end.

Lunchtime during the week might be busy because all the Mexican workers eat at El Taco Loco.  What does that tell you?  (The recession has shortened the lines though.)

Soft, thin, tender corn tortillas are used for tacos.  You can have them with steak, pork, chorizo, chicken or tongue.  The "Taco Loco" has beef, pork, bacon, Chorizo and Ham.  And there's also taco salad.

On Saturdays and Sundays, you can get chicken or pork tamales.  (Also available on Saturdays and Sundays:  Tripe Soup, Shrimp Soup and Shrimp Cocktail.)

If you've never eaten sopes, give them a try.  With a cornmeal base, I call them "Mexican pizzas."

If you order a sub or a burrito, better have someone to split it with because they're way huge for one person.  Consider El Taco Loco for your next party.  A friend recently celebrated his 80th birthday, and Carmen catered a fabulous feast for the small group of friends who gathered in his honor at his home.

El Taco Loco has my highest recommendation.  The restaurant is clean as a whistle, the food is wonderful, and the prices are extremely reasonable.

EL TACO LOCO, 2408 MLK Blvd, New Bern (252 633-3326
HOURS:  Sunday, 10AM - 5PM; Monday - Thursday, 10AM - 8PM; 
Friday & Saturday, 10AM-10PM

BLUEBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES

Right now, it's hard to go anywhere in New Bern and not see blueberries.  The Farmer's Market has locally grown blueberries from several farms.  Prices range from $3.00 to $3.50 per pint.  Last week, I found organic blueberries at Harris Teeter, usually $4.99 per pint, marked 2/$3.00, and they were fresh. Wal-Mart has some good prices on blueberries, but they're not as fresh as I would like.

The best overall price for day-to-day shopping in New Bern is at the Lowe's Blvd. stand.  They're selling Nelson's blueberries 2/$5.00, and he's having a hard time keeping them in stock.  If you want some, better go early.  (Please note that Nelson's does use pesticides.)

If you stock up on blueberries and have too many, you can always freeze some for later.  It's easy:  just put the pint container in a freezer bag and freeze.  Never rinse blueberries before freezing!  When you're ready to use the blueberries, take out the amount you want, dump them into a strainer and rinse under cool water.  Blueberries don't stick together in the freezer and the quality of the berry doesn't change much.  They don't get terribly mushy the way strawberries do.

If you want some good blueberry desserts, I've collected some of my best recipes for you.
Lemon Blueberry Cheese Tart,  

Blueberry Swirl-Lemon Shortbread Bars, 

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars, 

Cook's Illustrated Blueberry Pie, 

Bon Appetit's Blueberry Sour Cream Pie, 

Blueberry-Raspberry Crumb Pie, 

Wholegrain Blueberry Cobbler, 

Blueberry-Coconut Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping, 

America's Test Kitchen Blueberry Muffins, 

King Arthur Flour's Classic Blueberry Muffins, 

Buttermilk Berry Muffins

 and Limoncello Apple-Blueberry Pie  -- 

these are all recipes that I've tried and given top ratings.  Click on this link to find all the recipes.  Well, what are you waiting for?

PEPSI-COLA BBQ SAUCED CHICKEN AND RIBS

New Bern is a Pepsi town, a fact I discovered in 1992 during our first visit.  We went for lunch at the Chelsea Restaurant downtown and I ordered a Coke.  "We only serve Pepsi here," was the waitress' reply.  Then I spied the huge Pepsi mural on the wall behind the bar, painted by the now-deceased and much-revered New Bern artist, WillieTaglieri.  A 1984 postcard immortalized this beautiful painting.

The reason we're a Pepsi town is simple:  it was invented here.  Created and developed in 1898 and introduced as "Brad's Drink", it was later renamed as Pepsi-Cola on June 16, 1903, then to Pepsi in 1961. 

In honor of Caleb Bradham's creation, I've developed a recipe for barbecued chicken and ribs using Pepsi.

The BBQ sauce is sweet and spicy with mild vinegar undertones and a perfect balance of flavors.  It pairs nicely with my rub to make a succulent BBQ dinner.  There's a bit of work involved here, but the good news is you can start ahead of time by making the BBQ sauce and rub a week or more ahead of time.  You can also rub the chicken and ribs two nights ahead, and roast them both the next day and refrigerate overnight.  Then, the day of your BBQ feast, all you have to do is put the pieces on the grill with the BBQ sauce for the final cooking.  Why not give this a try for the upcoming 4th of July?

Pepsi-Cola BBQ-Sauced Chicken and Ribs
Rating:  9 out of 10
Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

Pepsi BBQ Sauce:
1-1/2 tsp. garlic, grated
1/8 tsp. Diamond kosher salt, or table salt
1-1/2 cups Pepsi
1/4 tsp. dry powdered mustard
1/4 tsp. Grey Poupon
3/4 cups ketchup
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
1-1/2 tsp. McCormick's hot New Mexico chili powder (or 1-3/4 tsp. chili powder)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
2-1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

In small saucepan, combine all ingredients except lime juice.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, about 45 minutes.  Cool slightly.  Stir in lime juice.  Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt, pepper and/or hot sauce, as desired.  (Can be made up to a week ahead and refrigerated.)

Chicken and Ribs:
2 tsp. Diamond kosher salt, or table salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. Mexican oregano, crushed
2 tsp. chipotle chile powder

1 rack of Baby Back Ribs
1 whole chicken cut up, or 2-1/2 to 3 lbs. of chicken pieces 
(If chicken is no-water-added, it should be brined for one hour first in a solution of  1/4 cup salt and 2 Tbsp. honey or sugar to 1 quart of water plus garlic and any herbs of choice.)

In small bowl, combine salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano and chile powder.  Blot chicken and ribs well with paper towels to remove all excess moisture.  Lay chicken pieces on large baking sheet.  Lay whole slab of ribs on another baking sheet.  Sprinkle each with rub; turn over and sprinkle underside with rub.  Use up all the rub.  Cover each baking sheet with plastic wrap well and refrigerate at least 5 hours, or, preferably, overnight.

Remove plastic wrap from ribs.  Pour 1/2 cup water or chicken broth into pan; cover with tinfoil.  Place in 325F oven for about 2 hours, or till tender.  

Remove plastic wrap from chicken.  Pour 1/2 cup water or chicken broth in pan; cover with tinfoil.  Place pan in 325F oven and bake 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake additional 20 to 30 minutes, or till tender.  

Meats can be prepared in advance up to this point and refrigerated a day ahead, if desired.

In the meantime, heat a gas grill to 400-425F.  Cut ribs into pieces.  Pour some sauce into a small bowl, reserving some for serving.  Oil the grates well and place ribs and chicken on hot grill.  Cover grill lid and cook about 5 minutes.  Baste with sauce.  Cook another 5 minutes.  Turn pieces over.  Baste with sauce.  Cook 5 minutes.  Repeat so that both sides are basted twice.  Transfer to serving platter and serve with extra sauce.  Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen.

MOON PIE FOLLOW-UP TO MY SWOON PIES POST

Several months ago, I met a fellow food blogger from Raleigh, Pat Palmer.  Pat, a tried and true Southern gal, was in New Bern for the antique show and looked me up after having found my blog while surfing.  We spent a few enjoyable hours together, chatting away about food and blogging.

Pat has her own blog, "Gadding About with Grandpat."  Though I don't visit it as often as I would like, it's a good read.  When I posted about Southern Living's Swoon Pies, Pat left me a comment that it was serendipity because she, at almost the same time, was posting about moon pies.  It's a small blogging world, after all.  Check out Pat's post on moon pies.

SWOON PIES

Coming from the Northeast, I had heard of whoopie pies (origin Pennsylvania, or perhaps New England, depending on which story you believe).  Moon pies, though, were a new one on me.  Southern Living's February 2012 issue brought me up to speed on one of the South's most beloved sweet treats.  But they decided to put their own S'more's twist on moon pies, by making a graham cracker cookie sandwiched with marshmallow filling, then dipped in melted chocolate and chopped nuts.  The photo (above) looked so inviting -- so "swoon" worthy -- that I decided to make them.

Southern Living insisted the swoon pies, like the original moon pies, paired well with an RC cola, but I passed on that idea.  While I was swooning over the swoon pies, a friend came over.  Originally from the deep South, he said he was transported back to his childhood, when he and his friends ate moon pies and swigged down RC colas.  I'm not recommending anyone repeat that tradition, as there's plenty of sugar in these delightful cookies without the added cola.

These cookies are amazing and well worth the trouble of making them.  I wrapped up the leftovers individually in plastic wrap and froze them.  Thank you, Southern Living, for another great recipe.

Swoon Pies
Adapted from Southern Living Magazine, February 2012
Rating:  10 out of 10
Click for PRINTABLE PAGE


INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. Diamond kosher salt, or table salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used 1 Tbsp. NuNaturals Stevia + 2 Tbsp. sugar)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used my homemade extract.)
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream (I used plain non-fat Greek yogurt)
Parchment paper
Marshmallow filling (recipe follows)
6 oz. (about 1/2 pkg.) semisweet chocolate morsels
2 tsp. shortening (I used butter)
Toppings:  chopped roasted salted pecans, chopped crystallized ginger, sea salt

Heat oven to 350F.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; stir in graham cracker crumbs.

Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with paddle attachment of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, beating until blended.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream (or yogurt), beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat at low speed until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Bake at 350F 13-15 minutes or until set and bottoms are golden brown.  Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Make Marshmallow Filling:  Beat 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened unsalted butter with electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, beating well.  Add 1 cup marshmallow creme and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.  Beat until well blended.

Turn 12 cookies over, bottom sides up.  Spread each with 1 heaping tablespoonful Marshmallow Filling.  Top with remaining 12 cookies, bottom sides down, and press gently to spread filling to edges.  Freeze on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet 30 minutes, or until filling is set.

Pour water to depth of 1 inch in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer; place chocolate and shortening (or butter) in a medium-size heatproof bowl over simmering water.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 5-6 minutes or until melted.  Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove cookies from freezer, and let stand 10 minutes.

Dip half of each cookie sandwich into melted chocolate mixture.  Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with desired toppings and freeze 10 minutes or until chocolate is set.  Cookie sandwiches may be covered with plastic wrap and stored in fridge up to 24 hours.  Or wrap each sandwich individually in plastic wrap and place in freeze container for longer storage.

WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR TENDER DRY-AGED RIBEYE?!!!

I've written about home dry-aging of beef before, several times.  Hubby and I have been doing it for a few years now.  In New Jersey, we had a butcher who provided us with phenomenal dry-aged beef.  After several years of trying to find that beef in or near New Bern, we finally decided to do it ourselves.

Since the ribeye is the easiest cut to dry-age at home, that's what we usually buy, though we have done a combination of wet and dry aging for filet mignon.  Sam's Club has been our favorite supplier of a whole ribeye, though we have bought a few at Harris Teeter when they go on sale, usually around Christmas time.  I'll admit it, the ribeye is a heart attack on a plate.  It should be consumed infrequently, for sure.  (Try telling that to my other half.)  All that fat marbled in the meat is what makes the ribeye so tender, juicy and flavorful.

Anyway, there is a story to tell here.  Recently, we made a trip to Greenville Sam's Club to purchase a ribeye.  The case was empty.  Hubby called the person on duty who said he would get one.  He opened a box, weighed the meat, labeled it, and off we went, meat in hand, to start another aging routine.  Twenty-three days later, we looked at the meat we just butchered:  twelve beautiful steaks stared back at us, though we both remarked that they didn't look like ribeyes.  We weren't sure what they did look like, though.

We separated scrap meat from the fat.

The scraps were cut into chunks.

 Then we ground them in the food processor.

The scraps yielded seven lovely, juicy burgers.

As for the steaks, our first bite was disappointing, to say the least.  These were not tender and juicy like previous steaks had been.  What was wrong?  It's not that the steaks were tough and dry, they just weren't as good as expected, and our senior jaws and teeth weren't happy.  The steaks were definitely chewy.

A few weeks later, on a trip to Greenville, we stopped into Sam's Club and talked to Daniel, the Meat Manager, about our disappointing steaks.  After a long discussion, Daniel told us the person on duty the day we bought the "ribeye" mistakenly sold us a loin.  Then he took us to the meat case where the loins and ribeyes sat, side by side.  Both are top-quality Black Angus, boneless and look identical, except for the labeling.  A closer inspection revealed one distinguishing pattern on the ribeye, where the ribs had been removed.  The loin had no such marks.   Daniel said it took him a few months to be able to quickly tell them apart.  Daniel admitted that, even with dry aging, the loin can never be as tender as a ribeye.  

Because Sam's Club wants to be known for the quality of its meat, Daniel gave us a new ribeye at no charge.  (I presented him with our receipt, of course.  Usually, Sam's Club also requires that the meat be returned, but I explained to Daniel that it was home in our freezer.)  We appreciate Sam's Club standing by its products, and we especially appreciate Daniel's thoroughness in analyzing what went wrong.