Where my fellow cooks at???

[columbia]

The stew...well, it worked out as planned.
Putting in a 1/2 bottle of Shiraz last night didn't hurt.

[shafnutz05]

mmmmmmm

[Hockeynut!]

My level of cooking expertise isn't anywhere close to most of the posters here, so forgive this "rookie" question.

I'm having a family picnic on Labor Day and I want to make grilled chicken kabobs as the main course. I make these pretty frequently, but I usually make 6 at a time. I'm going to have to make around 25 for the picnic. I can't get more than 8 or so on my grill at a time and I also don't really want to be cooking while everyone is around, so I was hoping I could make them an hour or so before the picnic. The problem is that I want to keep them warm without the chicken drying out. Any good ideas on how to do that?

[mac5155]

My level of cooking expertise isn't anywhere close to most of the posters here, so forgive this "rookie" question.

I'm having a family picnic on Labor Day and I want to make grilled chicken kabobs as the main course. I make these pretty frequently, but I usually make 6 at a time. I'm going to have to make around 25 for the picnic. I can't get more than 8 or so on my grill at a time and I also don't really want to be cooking while everyone is around, so I was hoping I could make them an hour or so before the picnic. The problem is that I want to keep them warm without the chicken drying out. Any good ideas on how to do that?

What we did when we went to kenny chesney was pre-cooked the kabobs, then made a marinade and put a little bit in each ziploc bag. Then 5 min on the grill and wa-lah, kabobs

[columbia]

My level of cooking expertise isn't anywhere close to most of the posters here, so forgive this "rookie" question.

I'm having a family picnic on Labor Day and I want to make grilled chicken kabobs as the main course. I make these pretty frequently, but I usually make 6 at a time. I'm going to have to make around 25 for the picnic. I can't get more than 8 or so on my grill at a time and I also don't really want to be cooking while everyone is around, so I was hoping I could make them an hour or so before the picnic. The problem is that I want to keep them warm without the chicken drying out. Any good ideas on how to do that?

What we did when we went to kenny chesney was pre-cooked the kabobs, then made a marinade and put a little bit in each ziploc bag. Then 5 min on the grill and wa-lah, kabobs

That's a good idea.

Another might be to grill them and keep them tightly covered.
Then pop them under the broiler for a very short period of time, to get that fresh off the grill temperature.

[count2infinity]

one of the things i love about family picnics or big gatherings is doing the cooking of things like that on the spot. crack open a beer and cook them. I can guarantee you that people will come over and hang out with you while you cook. other than that, you won't be able to keep them hot or else they will dry out no matter what you do. probably your best move is to either cook them on the spot or serve them warmish by cooking them ahead of time and wrapping them up.

[Hockeynut!]

My main concern with cooking them "on the spot" is that it'll take a good 30-45 minutes to cook them all since I have a small grill. I feel like it would be awkward to have some people eating, other people waiting, etc.

I have a large slow cooker and was thinking maybe I could put them in there on a super low temp with maybe some chicken broth in the bottom (the kabobs on a grate above the liquid). Would that maybe work? If not, I'll probably just go the "warmish" route.

[count2infinity]

yeah, it's not really as awkward as it may seem. kids eat first, adults will eat after that. and if there's that many people there, they aren't all going to be eating at the exact same time anyways. usually at my family get togethers, everyone brings something pot-luck style and we cook something special like your kabobs. people graze on the pot luck stuff and come get a kabob when they're ready. really, fresh off the grill is the best way to go.

[Shyster]

I think I would try wrapping each batch of kabobs in a foil packet as soon as they come off the grill. Then put the packets in an oven set to its lowest setting. I think my oven will go down to 170° or something like that. That should keep them hot and hold in the moisture. I know Alton Brown used the oven-on-lowest-setting method for keeping stuff warm on multiple occasions on his show Good Eats.

[tifosi77]

I think I would try wrapping each batch of kabobs in a foil packet as soon as they come off the grill. Then put the packets in an oven set to its lowest setting. I think my oven will go down to 170° or something like that. That should keep them hot and hold in the moisture. I know Alton Brown used the oven-on-lowest-setting method for keeping stuff warm on multiple occasions on his show Good Eats.

I was going to pretty much type this, so I'll settle for simply quoting it. I'd also add a little of whatever liquid marinade you're using (if any) to the foil pockets.



Get and oven thermometer, don't trust the settings on your oven dial. My oven's lowest setting is 150 F, but there is about 15-20 degrees of rotation on the knob where the pilot is lit and the oven is 'on', but it's well below the temp on the dial. (Usually around 115 F or so) Anyway, just make sure you don't turn the oven up higher than the temp you want to chicken to be and you'll be fine.

[columbia]

I found some quail in the back of the freezer.
I'm going with a butter and herb rub, before roasting them.

I have absolutely no idea how this will turn out.

EDIT: I would have chicken 3-4 times a week, if it tasted like quail. Just finished making some quail stock and will have to think of what to do with that.

[tifosi77]

(Quail + compound herb butter) + heat * time = goodness. Just keep an eye on the birds; they'll go from raw to stringy and overcooked in like 90 seconds.

Last night's festivities:

Pork Chop with Fennel and Sweet Garlic


This is pretty much my favorite quick dinner; if you already have the sweet garlic, this will go fridge to plate in about 25 minutes, the bulk of which is either breaking down the fennel or reducing the liquid to a sauce. Making the sweet garlic takes about 45 minutes, but it's totally passive time so it almost doesn't count.

[columbia]

I also found a cornish hen in the freezer.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[tifosi77]

I'd suggest a trip to Google with the phrase "Poussin recipe, Keller". (Thomas, of course) The guy knows how to cook birds, and I'm sure I have a recipe for poussin or game hens from Bouchon or Ad Hoc.

[columbia]

A friend was in Vegas recently and I tried to convince him to take his wife to Bouchon.
They went to a Hubert Keller restaurant instead. I'm sure it was good, but...

[tifosi77]

Hahaha...... I've been lucky to have eaten at both, actually.

Fleur de Lys (Hubert Keller) is in the Mandalay Bay. Not a bad experience, but it was a little bit of a let down. We had a three-course prix fixe that included the 'bathtub mac & cheese' he made on "Top Chef Masters" which was actually the best dish of the meal. The highlight of the restaurant is its proximity to Rum Jungle, which - if I'm wrong and there actually is a heaven - is exactly what I hope the afterlife is like.

Bouchon (Thomas Keller) is in the Venetian. This was a different planet of eating. I enjoyed the single most delicious bit of food I've ever had at that meal; smoked foie gras terrine with citrus poached olives and sweet onion vinaigrette. Brain-meltingly delicious. There's a Bouchon in Beverly Hills now, and I hope to get up there eventually.

[Godric]

So I was at the studios... and I caught the end of the upcoming show "Beat the Chef(s?)"....

I know who won in the show, but I guess people who actually attended the show can't reveal under threat of 150k fine

[Shyster]

Bouchon (Thomas Keller) is in the Venetian. This was a different planet of eating. I enjoyed the single most delicious bit of food I've ever had at that meal; smoked foie gras terrine with citrus poached olives and sweet onion vinaigrette. Brain-meltingly delicious. There's a Bouchon in Beverly Hills now, and I hope to get up there eventually.

From what I understand, foie gras is illegal to serve in California now.

[PensFanInDC]

Any LGP cooks gluten free? Im looking for recipes.

[columbia]

Stay away from seitan.

[Godric]

Any LGP cooks gluten free? Im looking for recipes.

http://www.letsgopens.com/scripts/phpBB ... =5&t=58731" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[tifosi77]

So I was at the studios... and I caught the end of the upcoming show "Beat the Chef(s?)"....

I know who won in the show, but I guess people who actually attended the show can't reveal under threat of 150k fine

I was at a taping of an episode in the first season of "Top Chef: Just Desserts". The first thing I did when I got home was tell me wife about every dish in lurid detail.

Can you at least tell us who the chefs were? A quick Google search suggested the pros from Dover are actually from Australia. Which is interesting, as I think Oz has perhaps the most exciting food scene in the English-speaking world.

From what I understand, foie gras is illegal to serve in California now.

That's correct, as of July 1 of this year. It is not just illegal to serve it, it is illegal to produce or purchase as well. So if I wanted to go online and order up a lobe from D'Artagnan, I'd have to pay with a credit card with a non-CA billing address and ship it to my in-laws in Las Vegas and smuggle it back home.

Not that I would ever do anything like that....................

Spoiler:

I would.

We are the first state-wide ban of the product in the U.S. (*high five*), and it's completely stupid. Ducks and geese raised for foie are among the best tended to animals in the world of food production. They are hand-fed, for crying out loud. Chickens that grow up to become McNuggets live in absolutely horrific and unsanitary conditions, yet no one is banning that nonsense. But because foie is a luxury item of the 1%ers (and it's French.....) it's low-hanging fruit for some cheap political points.

I think it will be overturned within two years.

[PensFanInDC]

Any LGP cooks gluten free? Im looking for recipes.

http://www.letsgopens.com/scripts/phpBB ... =5&t=58731" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you.

Now I feel that voluntarily going gluten free makes me an *** hole lol.

Very happy you are feeling better.

[Godric]

So I was at the studios... and I caught the end of the upcoming show "Beat the Chef(s?)"....

I know who won in the show, but I guess people who actually attended the show can't reveal under threat of 150k fine

I was at a taping of an episode in the first season of "Top Chef: Just Desserts". The first thing I did when I got home was tell me wife about every dish in lurid detail.

Its going to be some channel called gsn, i think

I don't really know much else about it other than it was dumb and I think its rigged

[jimjom]

I went to Mesa Grill last time in Vegas. Not that Flay should be mentioned in the same breath as Keller and Bouchon. Going back in December, may try Gordon Ramsey's place.

Has anyone ever been to Battistas or Ellis Island in LV? A couple of my off the beaten path favorites. Oh and Bill's has a good steak house.

Top Chef Masters this Wed! Woot! Should I start a thread?