While there long has been a cadre of home cooks willing to defy the elements and fire up their outdoor grills in the midst of a storybook frigid Chicago winter, most of us used to relegate our grills to storage about the same time we put away our golf clubs.
No longer.
More Chicagoans are cooking outside year-round, due in part to improved equipment such as the easy-to-start gas grills. Then there’s the realization that grills or kettles with hoods or curved tops function very well as ovens. Roasting or baking in them requires very little time in the out-of-doors. Lighter winter garb makes it less awkward to work at the grill.
But wait! The simple, compelling reason more of us are spending more time outdoors between Dec. 21 and March 21 is that Old Man Winter has been acting like a wimp in recent years. Here on the Riviera of the Rust Belt, we can prepare beautifully charred ribs or gently smoked turkey without risking frostbitten fingers, ears or toes. There is one drawback, though. The sun sets early in this quartile of the year, tempting hosts and hostesses to entertain at lunch on weekends. (How to accommodate a weekend lunch and TV football on the same day is beyond the scope of this column.)
My challenge was to come up with a menu for a milder, gentler mid-winter’s meal using the grill to prepare the main dish. Here’s what I propose.
The deep ruby-colored sangria, poured more or less continuously at the Mambo Grill on Clark Street, recalls summer pleasures. Butternut squash contributes texture and a bright fall color to the soup. The salmon burger recipe delivers a mouthful of sunny flavors from spring-evoking ingredients. It walked off with top honors at the 2001 “Build a Better Burger” competition at Sutter Home winery in the Napa Valley. The preparation of couscous is nearly instant and the vegetables folded into it may be cooked on the grill before the burgers. Irish chef Joseph Friel created this version of apple crumble when he was at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. It’s true that the whipped cream topping may remind some of snow. But snow, like chopped parsley, makes a charming garnish–as long as there isn’t too much of it.
MENU
Apple cider
Sangria*
Selection of dip, crackers and crudites
Butternut squash soup
Salmon burgers cooked on the grill*
Couscous with roasted garlic and grilled vegetables
Irish oatmeal apple crumble with Irish whiskey cream*
*Recipes follow
RECIPES
MAMBO GRILL’S RED SANGRIA
Six servings
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup Triple Sec
1/4 cup brandy
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 each orange, lemon, lime
Ice and soda water
1 each mango and apple, peeled and sliced
1. Pour wine, Triple Sec, brandy and pineapple juice into a pitcher. Squeeze juice from orange, lemon and lime and add to the mixture; cut orange, lemon and lime rinds into pieces and add them. Fill pitcher with ice and stir.
2. When chilled, pour into individual glasses. Top with soda water as desired. Garnish each glass with optional mango and apple slices.
SALMON BURGERS
Four servings
For the aioli sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the glaze:
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dry white wine
For the burgers:
1 egg
2 tablespoons aioli
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon bottled hot sauce
1 1/4 pounds skinless salmon fillets, chopped finely
2 green onions, the white and some green thinly sliced crosswise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil
4 sesame buns, split
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut lengthwise into thin strips
Radish or soybean sprouts
1. Prepare grill with a medium fire for direct-heat cooking.
2. Make aioli: In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic, ginger, lime juice and salt. Reserve 2 tablespoons and chill remainder.
3. Make glaze: Combine soy sauce, honey and rice vinegar in a small, heavy saucepan. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 1 tablespoon wine until smooth and add to soy mixture. Place pan over grill and stir mixture until glaze boils and thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Set glaze aside.
4. Make burgers: In large bowl, whisk together egg, aioli, sour cream, lime juice and hot sauce. Stir in salmon, onion, mint, breadcrumbs and salt until combined. Coat hands with vegetable oil and form 4 patties.
5. Brush grill with oil and grill patties until browned on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn patties and brush cooked side with soy glaze. Cook 3 minutes, turn, and brush the other side. Grill just until done, an additional 4 to 6 minutes, turning and brushing with glaze several times. If desired, toast buns.
6. Place cucumber strips on bottom half of bun. Top with burgers, aioli and bun tops. Add optional sprouts.
IRISH OATMEAL APPLE CRUMBLE WITH IRISH WHISKEY CREAM
Six servings
6 apples, cored and peeled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking Irish oatmeal, uncooked
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 sticks cold butter, 1 cup, cut into small pieces
1 cup cold whipping cream
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Irish whiskey
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the apples into 6 pieces each and pack the pieces into an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.
2. Combine flour, sugar, oatmeal, ginger and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the butter pieces and, with a pastry cutter or fingers, work these ingredients into a mixture that resembles coarse sand.
3. Cover the apples evenly with this mixture and bake for 40 minutes, or until apples are tender and crumble is golden.
4. Remove crumble from the oven and allow to cool to warm or to room temperature. Meanwhile, whip the cream until nearly stiff. Combine honey and whiskey and fold into the cream.
5. Portion crumble onto plates. Spoon cream atop each portion and serve.
