use real butter

Over the weekend, we did a little sampling of a few dining establishments. It’s nice to be able to eat out again without the worry of getting sick from ice, utensils, garnishes, and even the food itself. I’m no longer neutropenic! We dropped by Wild Mountain Smokehouse in our own little town because Jeremy was in the mood for some Tennessee style pulled pork (where he spent many a summer of his youth).

i love me a little piggy

a third rack of ribs

The last time we ate here was after a chemo infusion (because I could usually stomach one meal before everything went to hell in a handbasket). I distinctly remember feeling so disappointed because the barbecue didn’t taste particularly good to me, and I assumed it was my chemo. It wasn’t my chemo… I really wanted to believe that the ‘cue was good here, but it isn’t so. My barbecue kicks its ass and I don’t even smoke my meats. Jeremy was disappointed with his pulled pork sandwich (and the reason for that might be because I had made him a pulled pork sandwich earlier in the week - Carolina style). And something is just amiss with their sauces - at least the Tennessee (vinegar-based) and their Texas (tomato-based) sauces.

The next morning we hoofed it on down to friggin’ Denver (I never like going into Denver - I never like heading East). We had two of our buds in tow with us because dim sum should always be enjoyed in multiples of 4 or 6 to maximize the sampling. I had searched online for the best dim sum in Denver and came up with Superstar Asian (I know… who names these places? Those *crazy* Asians…). They serve dim sum all week, but folks advised going on weekends when turnover is high and the output is fresh.

my chicas ready to chow down

Best in Denver. I suppose it may very well be the best in Denver. My problem (and I realize it is MY problem) is that I have eaten dim sum almost exclusively in Los Angeles and San Francisco - and Denver is neither of those. Not even close. I rate Superstar a C overall, but with grade inflation on the rise and this being Colorado (i.e. the middle of BFE as Asian cuisine goes) you could slide that scale to a B. They carried many of the standards that we enjoy like taro dumplings, shrimp and Chinese chive potstickers, riblets, bbq pork buns, braised pork and vegetables wrapped in tofu sheet, turnip cake, Chinese broccoli, tofu flower (sweet) and some of the items that I don’t dig (but my parents like): tripe, stomach, braised chicken feet, etc. But everything I ate was made in a crude fashion, the flavor either inferior or slightly off because of the addition of some random and odd herb. The bbq pork buns (a standard) were downright wrong. At least all of the ladies carting food around understood mandarin (well, they understood my mandarin) and they were as pushy as the best of them (a good sign). The clientele was mostly Asian, perhaps the single largest concentration of Asians I’ve seen in Colorado outside of Super H Mart thus far.

I avoided fish for the past 5 months. Obviously I couldn’t eat sushi because of my compromised immune system, but I also just didn’t eat cooked fish. They said if you really love a food, to avoid it during chemo just in case you get sick on it and have bad associations afterward. But I have the green light now. And green means GO.

oh, you beaut

I read somewhere that the Boulder Whole Foods sells the highest volume of seafood of all the Whole Foods in the US. There is always a line at the counter and their seafood is surprisingly gorgeous and fresh for being 1000+ miles from the ocean. It’s where we picked up a pound of luscious wild Copper River salmon for $30! I couldn’t resist. It sang to me from behind the display case.

simple lemon and dill

I like talking fish at the counter because people never expect a chick to know her fish, but I do. I began fishing at the age of 3 and we fished freshwater, brackish, salt water. I fished ponds, streams, rivers, piers, surfs. Once some dude was asking about a special shipment of bluefish and I made a face. He asked me why I was grimacing and I explained that we used to catch blues in Virginia and I would never eat one older than a few hours dead - because the flesh turns powdery in no time flat. So why on Earth would you eat one that was sitting on a plane for hours on its trip to Boulder? And then there was the time someone asked me to explain why the belly is so desirable for sushi lovers… [A totally hot guy in line after me. Yes Mark, there I go again - but he was impeccably polite, tall, and handsome - Jeremy will confirm this!]

to the grill!

We grilled that delightful hunk o’ salmon with a sprinkle of salt, lemon slices, and fresh dill. Just a quick, simple, and satisfying way to serve a lovely fish. I used to get nervous grilling fish without foil underneath (that fear of watching it fall apart and down through the grate of the grill). Then ten years ago, my parents were visiting and while I was admiring a Williams-Sonoma fish grilling basket, my dad walked by and grabbed it from my hands and bought it for me. I love it and I love grilling fish with it because I can get the direct heat and all of the flavor without my fish sitting in a pool of liquid. I like the crunchy, crispy bits too. In any case, it was worth the wait.

fan-friggin’-tastic

Simple Grilled Salmon

1-2 pound filet of fresh salmon
2 lemons, sliced thin
2 cups fresh dill sprigs
salt

Layer lemon slices on fish basket. Set salmon over the slices (skin down). Sprinkle salt over salmon, layer with dill, then layer with more lemon slices. Close the basket. Grill over medium high heat, skin-side up for ~8 minutes (depends on thickness of your fish). Flip over and cook another 5 minutes or until done. Serve hot.

Having grown up in Virginia, the butt of our local jokes was usually West Virginia. When I headed to California for college, I began to hear a lot of jokes about Texas - especially after I met Jeremy, the native son of New Mexico. The one I heard most was:

Why is it so windy in New Mexico?
Because Texas sucks and Arizona blows.

I’m sure you can replace the states in that with any set of neighboring states, but it’s quite amusing to see how tickled folks from New Mexico are when they deliver the punch line… every time. The point is, it is not cool to love anything about Texas in the company I keep.

Well, I have to make an exception - two, in fact. I love Kathryn, who is a Texan transplanted to Norway, and I LOVE Texas-style barbecue beef brisket à la Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas Bar-B-Que (in Van Nuys, CA no less!). My former house president and good friend, Jack (oops! another Texan… make that three things I love about Texas), introduced me to The Doctor. It’s a hole-in-the-wall joint nestled between skanky billboards advertising gentlemen’s clubs and adult bookstores on Sepulveda Boulevard [8136 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys, CA (818) 902-9046]. The waitresses are strapping ladies, not a single one under size 14 or shorter than 5 feet 10 inches, who can haul pounds of barbecue chicken, pork ribs, beef brisket, hot links, and the most delicious and decidedly non-vegetarian baked beans. Come to think of it, I don’t think a single thing on their menu is vegetarian… except possibly the lemonade and iced tea.

The Doctor is one of our favorite go-to eats when we visit So Cal, and their beef brisket is one of our favorite items on the menu. It sells out on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, you name it. F’ing Good Stuff. A couple of weeks ago, a magazine editor contacted me asking if I had a nice photo of barbecue beef brisket. Um, I didn’t have any good ones and I usually barbecue pork because I am from Virginia where Pork is King. Ever since that email exchange, I have had barbecue beef brisket on the brain.

4.5 pounds of brisket with a healthy slab of fat on the other side

None of my barbecue books (all two of them) have Texas-style recipes. Believe it or not, I settled for a recipe on the (Pittsburgh) Post-Gazette Food section website. But hold on! It’s a recipe for Texas Beef Brisket from Celebrating Barbecue by Dotty Griffith. I had to give it a go.

a simple rub: salt, paprika, pepper, garlic powder

coat that baby well

I’ve actually done quite a bit of grilling/barbecuing the past couple of days. It’s just that time of year, you know? Good thing too, because today - Memorial Day - is cold, foggy, and drizzling outside, but my fridge is full of leftover galbi and beef brisket, and I have some pulled pork finishing in the oven (to give to our neighbors).

charring the fatty side on the grill

set in a baking pan and cover with foil

I know barbecue purists will argue for charcoal and smoke, but I can’t do that here without risking the very real danger of burning down my entire town and then some. It’s dry, it’s windy, we have a bark beetle infestation killing our pine forests, and my house is made of wood. Luckily, this recipe has a fail-safe technique which I took liberties with in using my gas grill. After charring the fatty side, it goes into the oven for 4-5 hours. I’m including both techniques in the recipe below.

prep the lone-star barbecue sauce

At this point, I usually want to mess with the recipe or swap out a different sauce. I like the Mutha sauce from Dinosaur BBQ, but I also love a sweeter Kansas City barbecue sauce recipe I got from a (tall and handsome) business school student neighbor when we were in grad school. But I was good and I stuck with the sauce in this recipe. I like that it calls for 1/4 cup of pan drippings in the end.

trimming off the layer of fat

slice the brisket against the grain

That is some good brisket. It’s not quite the same as Dr. Hogly Wogly’s, but it’s close. The sauce at The Doctor’s is spicier and I think the beef is juicier. Perhaps I should have used the wet mop? Will require more research (i.e. trip to So Cal and to see The Doctor), but for now, this recipe works for me. I hope it works for you too.

carnivores rejoice!

Texas Beef Brisket Barbecue
Celebrating Barbecue by Dotty Griffith

8-10 lbs beef brisket, untrimmed (thick layer of fat on one side) (I used a 4.5 lb slab)
Texas Dry Rub, or salt and black pepper to taste
Texas Wet Mop, optional
Lone Star Barbecue Sauce

texas dry rub
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp garlic powder

In an airtight container with a lid, combine the salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Shake to mix well. Sprinkle over the entire surface of the meat, concentrating on the fat layer. Rub or press into the fat and meat. Makes 1/2 cup.

texas wet mop
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsps paprika
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large (or 2 small) bay leaf
1 tsp red pepper sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 1/4 cups beef stock

In a medium saucepan, combine the salt, dry mustard, chili powder, paprika and vegetable oil. Stir to make a paste. Add the remaining ingredients slowly, stirring all the while. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until ready to use. Brush the mop on beef or ribs while barbecuing over dry (no water pan), indirect heat. Makes 1 quart.

lone star barbecue sauce
1 1/4 cups ketchup
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or pan drippings from barbecue

Combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, mustard, water and garlic in a medium saucepan. Place over very low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. For really smoky flavor, place on the grill away from the heat source during the last hour of smoking. Stir in the butter or drippings and cook 15 minutes longer. Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate to store, up to 2 weeks. Makes about 3 cups.

Note: To obtain pan drippings, place a drip pan under the brisket during cooking or save the juices that collect while the meat rests during slicing. You can also heat some of the fat trimmings to obtain some fat drippings. If using the fail-safe technique of barbecuing brisket, as described with the accompanying recipe, the meat drippings collect in the foil and can easily be spooned up and added to the sauce.

Beef Brisket Long Technique: Generously coat all sides of the brisket, particularly the fat layer, with the rub or salt and pepper. Cover and let the meat come to room temperature, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare a fire by lighting wood or a combination of wood and charcoal in the firebox of a cooker or at the end of a barrel smoker opposite the end with the vent or chimney. Or light the coals in a water smoker. Or preheat a gas smoker/grill. When the fire has burned down to glowing embers or the coals are covered with gray ash, place the brisket on the grate but not directly over the coals. Or place a full pan of water over the coals or hot lava rocks, then add the grate and brisket. The fire should be low, 225 to 250 degrees. Cover the cooker and smoke the brisket, turning every hour or so, until it is tender and the internal temperature reaches 180 to 190 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 8 to 10 hours. Tend the fire by adding wood (or wood embers from a separate fire) or coals to keep it from going out and to keep the temperature inside the cooker between 225 and 300 degrees. If using a mop (basting is advisable only when cooking without a water pan), brush it on when turning the brisket or after tending the fire. When the brisket is charred and tender (a fork should insert easily), remove it from the cooker and allow to rest about 20 minutes. Trim off the fat layer and cut brisket in thin slices across the grain. Serve with warm barbecue sauce, if desired. Or stack several slices in a sandwich bun spread lightly with sauce. Add more sauce, as desired. Serves 10-12.

Beef Brisket Fail-Safe Technique: The following technique produces smoky, tender brisket and cuts the time almost in half. Generously coat all sides of the brisket, particularly the fat layer, with the rub or salt and pepper. Cover and let the meat come to room temperature, about 1 hour. Light a fire in a charcoal grill that is big enough to hold the brisket. Allow the coals to burn until covered with gray ash. Place the brisket on the grill, fat side down. Grill the brisket about 45 minutes or until the fat is charred, turning when necessary to stop fat from dripping into the fire. Squirt flare-ups with water to douse the flames. Remove the brisket from the grill. *Jen’s Note: I grilled over gas flame (medium) directly for 20 minutes until the fat side was charred then indirect heat for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the brisket on a double thickness of aluminum foil in a shallow roasting pan. Wrap it tightly and bake for 4 to 5 hours or until the meat is very tender. Remove the brisket from the oven and peel back the foil. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Return the brisket to the oven and roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes to crisp the top layer of fat. Allow the meat to rest for 20 minutes. Trim off the fat layer and cut across the grain into thin slices. Serve with barbecue sauce.

My favorite weather to hike in is overcast and cool (50s F). That was the forecast for Boulder this morning, my last “good” morning before my body is overrun with side effects from: my primary drugs, my secondary drugs (to treat side-effects), and my tertiary drugs (to treat side-effects from the secondary drug side-effects). Even so, round #5 wasn’t quite done with me and I’ve gained 10 pounds of fluid in the form of swelling over the last 2 days. Uncomfortable, painful… annoying as hell.

But I wasn’t to be deterred because I knew if I didn’t go wildflower peeping, they might up and bloom and wither away before I am well enough to see them after chemo #6. Jeremy knows how important this is to me - to get out right before I go down for the count. He offered to spend the morning with me and chaperone the pup (deprived of her rightful hiking all winter and spring) while I got my fix.

signature boulder: the flatirons in clouds

We were early, as in the wildflowers are just beginning to ramp up. Three years ago we wandered to this same spot after closing on our beautiful house in the mountains - our first home - ours. Although the Flatirons are a gorgeous location, it gets too hot for us winter-lovers past early May and we typically stick to our beloved high country, just out of our backyard. Today, the weather was perfect and I was able to spy out the early-blooming local inhabitants among the damp grasses.

golden banner

wild plum

cherries

bluebells

I relished the smell of the blossoms hanging in the air which was heavy with moisture - uncommon for Boulder. The mud underfoot accumulated on our trail runners, building up platform shoes which we gleefully kicked off in cakes every hundred yards. Jeremy, ever-concerned about my health, inquired as to how I was feeling. I felt happy. This is my medicine, to be outside and breathe this air and see Beautiful Nature around me in her unsurpassed glory. This is my place of worship. If I couldn’t step outside into the mountains and the woods ever again, I would know it was time to check it in. My body ached with the swelling, but it didn’t matter because my heart was soaring.

being a good girl (for once)

There was a lovely Kiwi we met in New Zealand a few years back. He was a guide for a paddle and hike we did on Milford Sound one afternoon. Have you ever been to Milford Sound? It’s magical. The sight of it made my friend, Laura, cry tears of joy. It was pissing rain when Jeremy and I were there. I mean it was pissing rain by New Zealand standards (over 23 feet or 7 meters of precipitation annually). And it was breathtaking. As we walked through the sopping wet, lush forest, Sam paused by some ferns and explained what they represented to New Zealanders. The pride and reverence he felt for the native Maori was obvious. Did I mention he was a hottie? Hottie aside, what struck me most was when he told us why he remained in New Zealand. With all of the sincerity in the world and perhaps a tear emerging in his eye (or was that the pissing rain?), he said the Maori have a saying, “Stand where your heart is strongest.” Jeremy and I took that to heart and shortly after returning to the States, we decided to make Colorado our home. Home is where your heart is. I feel this is where my heart is strongest.

toms and cukes

Now on to that salad we served at the chocolate tasting. Nicole had requested the tahini-yogurt (yogurt-tahini, whatever) dressing recipe and she is not a woman to deny a request. Are you nuts?! :) The beef from the other night was flank steak, but here I’m using skirt steak. I love them both and I dare say so will you.

slice into decent-sized chunks

skewered for the grill after a 24-hour soak in marinade-goodness

While I am a huge fan of delicious chunks of feta, I push this feta through a sieve to achieve a snowy, light texture. Do what you want, but the fluffy feta is really amazing.

maybe i like it because it reminds me of snow… salty, creamy, snow

The tahini-yogurt dressing doesn’t come from Aladdin’s in Ithaca, NY. I had to fudge this recipe myself because they never gave it to me (well, I never asked). I searched a few online recipes and futzed around until I got something Jeremy approved of. Tahini, full-fat plain yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, coriander, crushed garlic, honey. It’s thick. I added olive oil to thin it up, but eventually water did the job much more efficiently and without adding a million more calories. The salad also tastes great with a balsamic vinaigrette.

mixing the tahini and yogurt

My salad is the real thing. Jeremy’s salad is an imposter because he doesn’t dig on tomatoes or olives. What is up with that? Now you have an idea of what an amazing stud he must be for me to still get all a-twitter over him in spite of these insults to my culinary sensibilities. See you guys on the other side.

teh salad

Greek Beef/Chicken Salad with Tahini-Yogurt Dressing
inspired by Aladdin’s Souvlaki/Chicklaki plate

salad greens
ripe tomatoes
young cucumbers
kalamata olives
feta cheese
chicken kebabs or beef kebabs
tahini-yogurt dressing

beef kebabs
1 pound skirt or flank steak
1 lemon, juice of
3 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
oregano

tahini-yogurt dressing
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup lemon juice (to taste)
1/4 cup honey
pinch of ground coriander
1 clove garlic
salt
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
water to thin

Beef kebabs: Slice the beef into large cubes. Place in a ziploc bag with the rest of the ingredients and mix well (squeeze out the air, seal the bag, and massage the ingredients around). Marinate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Skewer the beef without packing the pieces too tightly. Grill over high heat to desired doneness.

Tahini-yogurt dressing: Smash the garlic clove under the flat side of a sturdy knife. Mince the garlic and sprinkle some salt over it. With the flat of the blade, mash the salt into the garlic until it resembles a paste. Scoop that up and place it in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients (except for the water). Stir it all together and taste it. Adjust ingredients to taste. Add water to achieve the pouring consistency desired.

Set a bed of greens down on a plate or bowl. Add cucumber, tomato, and olives. Sprinkle with some feta. Top the salad with a skewer or two (depending on quantity) of the beef or chicken kebab. Serve with dressing.