Grill Every Day: 125 Fast-Track Recipes for Weeknights at the Grill

302 Pages·2008·10.86 MB·English

by  Diane Morgan

GRILL EVERY DAY
125 FAST-TRACK RECIPES FOR WEEKNIGHTS AT THE GRILL
by Diane Morgan
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
E.J. ARMSTRONG
To Greg, Eric, and Molly, you enrich my life and make me happy every day.
Text copyright © 2008 by Diane Morgan.
Photographs copyright © 2007 by E. Jane Armstrong.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without written
permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN 978-1-45212662-3
Food styling by Patty Wittmann
Designed by Alicia Nammacher
Typesetting by Connie Bigelow The photographer wishes to thank
Super Duper Kitchen Styling Backup: Charlotte Omnes
Super Assistant / Digital Saviour: Lance Hofstad Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A true pleasure at the end of writing a book is taking time to thank all the people
who have guided me, advised me, supported me, and kept me on track.
To Bill LeBlond, my editor at Chronicle Books and dear friend, for all his
expert guidance, support, and time. It’s a professional relationship beyond
compare and one I cherish deeply.
To Lisa Ekus, my agent, for her amazing advice and enthusiasm. And to Jane
Falla and everyone else at The Lisa Ekus Group for their dedicated support.
To Amy Treadwell, Leslie Jonath, Andrea Burnett, Peter Perez, and the others
at Chronicle Books, who have inspired, supported, publicized, and otherwise kept
my projects on track. You are all delightful to work with. To Sharon Silva, many
thanks for copyediting my book with such care and precision. Alicia Nammacher,
your book design enhances the words on the page—thank you.
To Cheryl Russell, my fabulous assistant, I don’t know what I’d do without you!
We’ve grilled together through rain and shine. You make developing and testing
recipes both a pleasure and loads of fun.
To my friends Harriet and Peter Watson, who have eaten more test recipes and
given me honest feedback for more books than I can recall. I can’t hug and thank
you enough. Your friendship and unswerving support bring me joy and much
laughter even when deadlines are looming.
Many thanks to my friends, family, and colleagues: David Watson, Paola
Gentry and Eric Watson, Richard and Barb LevKoy, Domenica Marchetti, Charlie
and Jeanne Sosland, Bruce and Ellen Birenboim, Steve and Marci Taylor, Sukey
and Gil Garcetti, Roxane and Austin Huang, Karen Fong, Sherry Gable, Margie
Sanders, Ken Sanders, Priscilla and John Longfield, Brijesh and Ann Anand, Deb
and Ron Adams, Summer Jameson, Kam and Tony Kimball, Mary and Jack
Barber, Sara and Erik Whiteford, Tori Ritchie, Josie Jimenez, Joyce Goldstein,
John Ash, Monica Bhide, Denise Bina, Judith Bishop, Carolyn Burleigh, Ericka
Carlson, Lisa Hill, Jamie Purviance, Rick Rodgers, Lisa Donoughe, Kathy
Campbell, Barbara Dawson and Matthew Katzer, Tony Gemignani, Braiden Rex-
Johnson, Alma Lach, Michael Wehman, Janine MacLachlan, Laura Werlin, Andy
Schloss, and Cathy Whims.
Special thanks to Antonia Allegra and Don and Joan Fry for their professional
guidance and encouragement. Whether in France or at the Greenbrier, it is always
treasured time when we are together.
Finally, this book wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun to write without my
loving and nurturing husband, Greg, sharing in all I do. To Eric and Molly, my
children, thank you for all your love and caring every step of the way.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 GRILLING BASICS FOR THE WEEKNIGHT COOK
CHAPTER 2 THE GRILL PANTRY
CHAPTER 3 BEEF, BUFFALO + LAMB
CHAPTER 4 PORK
CHAPTER 5 SEAFOOD
CHAPTER 6 POULTRY
CHAPTER 7 VEGETABLES + VEGETARIAN MAIN COURSES
CHAPTER 8 TREASURED SIDES
CHAPTER 9 THE GRILL PLANNER—SECOND HELPINGS
CHAPTER 10 FIRE-ROASTED FRUITS + OTHER SWEET TREATS
SOURCES
INDEX
TABLE OF EQUIVALENTS
I DIDN’T CONCEIVE OF THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS FOURTEEN
YEARS OLD, BUT THAT’S WHEN I BUILT MY FIRST LIVE FIRE.
I was spending a month at Camp Barney Medintz in northern Georgia, making
friends, building skills, singing spirited songs, and generally enjoying days of
structured activities away from my family. I had been an eager camper from the age
of six, starting with day camps and then maturing to overnight ones. But I was
particularly excited about this summer camp because it included “survival”
training, or as much as any camp was going to risk with a bunch of teenagers. Still,
we were taught all the skills we needed to exist for one long night in the woods
alone. The most important was building a fire—specifically, mastering the one-
match fire. I excelled.
Digging a little pit with a shovel and gathering tiny dry twigs, then bigger ones,
and finally dead, fallen branches large enough to sustain an ongoing fire for
cooking and keeping warm—this was the goal. We were given plenty of instruction
and then an in-camp test, our final hurdle before setting off into the woods with
minimal provisions, sleeping bag, and tarp. For the test, each camper received
three matches, and I immediately started arranging little twigs in a crosshatch
pattern, building layers and allowing for critical airflow. Crouched down on my
knees, my elbow and forearm resting on the dirt, my cheek next to the ground, I
lit a match, placed it under the twigs without hitting the dirt, and waited a minute
for the sticks to catch fire. As soon as I saw red-glowing wood, I blew ever so gently
to spread the flame without extinguishing it. I did it with one match, and then I
was ready to survive on my own, at least the eating part.
After we’d hiked about four miles as a group, the counselors gave us our final
instructions and handed out our meager food supplies—a hot dog, a raw baking
potato, a package each of instant hot chocolate and oatmeal—and three matches.
We all carried a small shovel, ball of twine, Swiss Army knife, whistle, water, metal
cup, and spoon. We were separated and told we were to “survive” from afternoon
until morning. If something went desperately wrong, we could blow our whistle to
signal for help.
I felt rugged, ready, and capable. I was in touch with that primordial link to my
prehistoric roots. I gathered wood, built a lean-to for my night’s shelter, and
began to dig the fire pit. Fortunately, I didn’t have to hunt for my dinner! A one-
match fire fueled my ego, so to speak, but it also meant I could grill a hot dog on a
stick and wrap my potato in leaves, letting it bake under the coals. I watched the
stars and sang to myself well into the dark, smoke-scented night. Sleep was fitful,
as I was sure I was going to be eaten by a hungry creature. I couldn’t wait for
daylight, and the chance to start another fire.
This was the beginning of my love of building fires, but it took time to
translate this youthful passion for flames into grilling. When I was growing up, my
father manned the backyard grill, and I was assigned the boring job of setting the
table and folding the napkins. When my culinary career began, I was an apartment
dweller without a place to put even a hibachi. This was Chicago, and we all know
what happened when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over the lantern. Fire laws were
strict, so you couldn’t put a grill on any fire escape. It wasn’t until I moved to
Portland, Oregon, that I began my outdoor culinary adventures. My husband