Confession Time: I’m not a griller…

It’s grilling week again here at Key Ingredient. Thank goodness some of my blogger friends love their grills! You are going to love their recipes. Read More

Grilled Rock Cod Tacos

Grilling season is almost officially here!  I mean doesn’t it kick off over Memorial Day weekend?  Do you have big plans for a cook-out?  Being in California we are lucky that we can grill all year long, even though we do not take advantage of it as often as we should.

I ask myself the same question every summer, why don’t we do this more often?  Grilling is one of my favorite ways to cook meat and fish for a couple reasons:

• Clean-up is minimal
• Grilling produces a really flavor meal
• Grilling is healthier then cooking your meat or fish in a pan of grease

Did you know there is a difference between “grilling” and barbecuing”?  Grilling is cooking with direct heat at a very high temperature.  The heat source can be either below or above the food that is being grilled.  Barbecuing is indirect grilling, and is high temperature roasting as well the food is always above the heat source at a temperature around 250, barbecuing will tenderize the food.

I bet you thought I was going to share a big juicy steak with you for the kick-off of grill season.  Right?  Instead I am going to share one of our favorite grilled fish recipes.

This recipe for Grilled Rock Cod tacos is a summer pleaser.  The fish is seasoned with cilantro, paprika, cumin and spicy Serrano peppers.  Then the meat is grilled quickly using a fish grill basket.  The grilled fish is slightly smokey with just the right amount of spice and flavor.  Simply serve with warm tortillas and cucumber salad.

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Middle Eastern Hummus

Hummus is one of the greatest dips in the world. I absolutely love it and can’t believe that it can actually be good for you! I have tried many types of hummus, but the one my Lebanese coworker (Go Joy!) made me was absolutely the best! Once she explained the ingredients to me I realized that it wouldn’t be that hard (thankfully) to make the recipe!  Read More

Cocktail Culture- Columbus, Ohio

This week on The Back Burner we’re presenting recipes from around the world. I’m choosing to feature a bar in Columbus, Ohio. Which depending where you live might not seem too far around the world. But sometimes, as Dorothy Gale might say, “…if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard.” Because this bar and this bartender surprised me. Which is my bad, and I vow never to let my big city assumptions color how I think about cocktail culture in America again.

I live in Los Angeles. Backroom speakeasies. Craft cocktails. Handmade bitters. These are the things that define cocktail culture in LA. But it wasn’t always that way. Because there’s a revolution going on in the culinary world and it’s hero is booze. Really good booze. The trend is following the same path as the foodie revolution of the 1980s. The time when people began to look at dinner as more than mere sustenance. It started at edges of the country in cities like LA and New York but it didn’t take long for the word “fusion” to take on a new meaning all across this country. Columbus, Ohio is no exception.

Like the frisée salad before it, carefully constructed, pre-Prohibition era-inspired craft cocktails are becoming big business. And it’s happening everywhere. Don’t tell Carrie Bradshaw but splashing a neutral spirit with something red and calling it a cocktail is quickly going the way of the VCR. Craft cocktails are the new hallmark. Small-batch spirits, unusual liqueurs, housemade syrups and a bitters for every occasion. This is what’s in our glasses these days and Columbus, Ohio is right on board with a master mixologist of their own. Travis Owens.

I’ve spent some time recently in Columbus and sampled a great many of their bars. While this trend towards craft cocktails can be seen at other establishments. It seems to me that no one is embracing this chic, slightly retro style of cocktailing in Columbus, Ohio at quite the same level of sophistication as Travis Owens. However the venue might surprise you– it’s neither a backroom or in any strict sense a speakeasy. Though it is attached to a very unlikely establishment. A pizzeria. Curio @ Harvest Pizzeria.

I spent some time at Curio and on one of those occasions got to watch Mr. Owens in action. His cocktails are all impeccably made. They often sport witty names like Blood & Smoke. Some are riffs on classics and most have a bit of understated southern charm. Making Curio the coolest place in Columbus. From what I can see the crowds are drinking this place up. I’m pleased to say I’ve never seen such a high-end bunch of lowlifes.