Coming Beach Menu

1. Honey Jerk BBQ Grilled Shrimp (Recipe for sauce farther down on blog)
2. Athenian Red Snapper
3. New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
4. Ceviche - (shrimp, scallops, snapper marinated in citrus and seasonings and served uncooked)

Blue Cheese Grilled Tomatoes

 

Ingredients

1. 12 medium tomatoes
2. 1 tbsp olive oil
3. 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
4. 3/4 cup blue cheese crumbled
   

Preparation

1. turn on one side of gas grill or build fire on only one side of charcoal grill.
2. remove top quarter of each tomato and scoop out some of the seed pulp.
3. mix breadcrumbs, olive oil and any herbs you might want to add (basil, chives or oregano come to mind)
   

Cooking

1. salt and pepper tomatoes
   
2. place 1 tbsp blue cheese in each tomato then top with breadcrumbs
3. place tomatoes on cold side of grill and cover. cook till tomatoes till they are slightly soft and cheese melts about 12-15 minutes.
   

Fried Green Beans

1. One lb. fresh or frozen green beans
2. 4 - 6 strips of thick sliced quality bacon

Optional
blue cheese crumbles
1 oz. sliced almonds

1. Dice the bacon up and fry until crispy
2. If using the almonds add them here and fry for about 30 seconds in the bacon and grease
3. Toss in the green beans (thaw and drain the frozen) and fry until desired tenderness
4. Place in serving dish and season with fresh ground black pepper, no salt at this time because of the bacon. Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles if desired

Pressed Cuban (College Football Food)

1. Any good bread can be substituted for the Cuban. I tend to use Italian and I change up the mustard. I also use a generous amount of cayenne pepper and often add various peppers. Whatever floats your boat at the time. I don't have a sandwich press, so I use two heavy cast iron skillets and a couple of bricks wrapped in aluminum foil. Get the skillets screaming hot in the oven (bricks also) and put the sandwich in one put the other skillet on top and mash the heck out of it. Place the bricks in the top skillet to help hold it down. In about 5 minutes you'll have a sandwich that will blow your friends away and it was made to go with beer. You may also want to try a couple of tablespoons of sauerkraut in the sandwich.
   
   Note: Construction of a sandwich is an important ingredient in the overall experience. I have shown it to my wife that you can take the exact same ingredients and build the sandwich 3 different ways and it will taste differently each time.
   
   
   1 loaf of Cuban bread
   
   1/2 lb Sugar Cured Ham Sliced Thin
   1/2 lb Pork Roast
   
   1/2 lb Swiss Cheese Sliced
   Mustard
   
   Butter
   1 Dill Pickle Sliced thin
   
   For a real Cuban Sandwich, do not add anything else.
   
   Cut Cuban bread into 7 to 8 inches long sections and slice lengthwise.
   
   Spread mustard on both halves and pile the ingredients, for each sandwich, as follows (do not alter the order): 1 slice dill pickle, 1/3 of the ham, 1/3 of the roast pork, 1/3 of the Swiss cheese and top with another slice of dill pickle. Close sandwich and spread a bit of butter on each side of the bread crust.
   Place on sandwich press. Heat until the cheese begins to melt.
   Serve while still warm.

Cowboy Steaks

I prefer a ribeye for this, but use whatever makes you happy.

1. Take your ribeyes out of the packaging and wrap in several paper towels and place on a rack in your fridge for a couple of days (age the beef).
2. Grind a half cup of coffee beans (you do grind your own don't you) on espresso grind(verryy fine). Mix with quarter cup of dark brown sugar. Rub all over your steaks and let sit while you go light the grill.
3. After the grill is screamin' hot, throw on the steaks and grill to desired state. Rare - medium rare for me. Keep the steak sauce away. Grill sweet corn as a side dish and a fresh salad with cold premium beer.  A hard crusty bread to sop up the juice with is optional.
4. During step 2 you may want to  pulverize a couple of fresh jalapeños and a couple of cloves of garlic along with some fresh ground black pepper. Personal preference is the rule of the day.

Rice Pudding

• 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.
3. In winter you may want to substitute a 1/4 cup of high quality bourbon/spiced rum to add a festive touch to a holiday meal with family and friend
4. Garnish with fresh ground nutmeg
   

Honey Jerk BBQ Sauce

1. 12 oz bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce

2. 1 bottle McCormicks Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

3. Honey to taste (local honey is by far the best)

Combine the chili sauce and jerk seasoning in a bowl and add honey to taste. If you are going to use it immediately, allow it to sit at room temperature for a couple of hours to achieve maximum flavor. This is a small batch that I originally whipped up for a pile of shrimp while at the beach. Make as big a batch as you want and refrigerate for up to a month.

When cooking it on shrimp, brush it on immediately as shrimp cook quickly. When grilling chicken or ribs, cook the meat until almost done and brush on in the last few minutes. The honey will burn if cooked for too long.