HC baby tears might be successful this time!

All the plants are in!

Just added the dwarf baby tears, the Anubias Afzelii, and Anubias Pygmy Nana. This is the 2nd time I’ve tried growing the HC (dwarf baby tears), hopefully they’ll actually do well with all that light.

Vietnamese Pork Chops

Marinate pork chops in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, some chinese cooking wine, a bit of Mirin cooking wine, lots of ginger + garlic. You can actually freeze the pork chops and just defrost them when you assemble the marinade in a ziplock bag and just defrost it the day you want to grill. Marinate for at least a few hours.

Sear over high direct heat for 30 seconds a side, and then move to indirect medium heat with the grill cover on. Flip every 6-8 minutes until internal temperature reaches ~147F. When it starts getting close to that, start mopping with a mixure of half fish sauce and half honey. At 147F, transfer to direct heat and finish it up with the vents at the bottom closed, so you minimize heat and avoid burning the sugar as much as possible. Take off grill when internal temperature reaches 155-157F.

Top with sautéed green onions. Dip or also top with…

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup warm water

1/4 cup fish sauce (Viet Huong Three Crabs brand)

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 of a lime, juiced

3-4 cloves of garlic , minced

2-3 Thai chili pepper, minced

Directions:

1) In a small sealable jar, combine water and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add fish sauce, vinegar and lime juice and mix. Adjust flavors to taste.

2) Add garlic and chili pepper. The sauce can be stored at room temperature, if served the same day. Otherwise, store it in the refrigerator.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Greek Chicken

Marinade:

Lemon juice and olive oil equal parts

Oregano

Salt and pepper

Note that you should let the chicken marinate for a minimum of 1 hour, but probably no more than 2. The lemon juice will cook the meat, and it won’t be good. If you want to prepare this the night before, just add the lemon juice an hour or two before you grill.

Grill until thickest part of meat is 160F over indirect heat. You may transfer to direct heat at 150F to brown it.

Rack of Lamb

Score the rack of lamb in a crosshatch pattern

Brush rack of lamb with olive oil

Rub down with salt and pepper

Marinate with rosemary and fennel to taste for several hours. Remember, rosemary and fennel is quite strong, so don’t overdo it. You can prep this and stick it all in a plastic ziplock bag the night before.

Tip: Wrap the bone tips in foil to keep them from burning and turning into charcoal

Sear rack over high, direct heat for about 15-20 seconds per side. Grill on indirect medium heat with the cover on, flipping every 7-10 minutes until the thickest part of the meat reaches 150F. Then present over direct heat to finish it up, taking it off heat when the temperature is 155-157F. Let rest and tent loosely with foil for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Seasoning for grilled steaks

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

The key is scoring the meat and rubbing the salt and pepper in.

After that, get yourself a digital thermometer and check it often. You’ll soon learn what temps are what doneness. Swear by the thermometer, it will help you get consistently good results. Flip often. I will prepare steaks the night before as well.

Cedar plank shrimp

Costco shrimp are the best. Big, beefy, and de-veined and easy peel.

Marinate shrimp in lemon, salt, pepper, and parsley for 30 minutes to no more than an hour before grilling.

Be sure to soak your cedar plank for a minimum of 3-4 hours before grilling.

When the grill is ready, place the cedar plank cooking side down over direct high heat for 30 seconds. Then flip over and spread your shrimp evenly over the surface, no overlapping.

Cover the grill and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Check periodically but not too often to see if they are done. When all parts of the shrimp have turned orange and white, they’re cooked.

General burger mix

Fresh thyme, worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper. The key is to use your nose and smell if it is seasoned well enough. Do NOT over mix–your burgers will be really dense and dry. Remember that burgers tend to pull inward when they cook, so be sure to make your patties slightly thicker along the edge.

Fat chance.

Waiting on the tarmac… Delayed because of snow in chicago

What? English?

Best pizza in the world.

Wicked, at the ford center for the performing arts oriental theatre. Look at that stage…

Her first ball game!