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the life and times of J T Frey
The first time I went to Buffalo Wild Wings I chose the chicken tenders with a flight of sauces: my favorite among the three was their jerk sauce. Spicy, herbaceous, sticky — it was great. Years later I made-up a jerk spice blend that wasn't quite so strong on the scovilles. Fast forward a few more years and I had some passion fruit pulp on hand that I was having with yogurt. Put it all together, and you get my favorite recipe for jerk chicken.
Once upon a time, there was a virus that scared the world so much that we were told to stay home for two months and not go anywhere. Juliet and Abby took to helping with dinner from time to time, to the point of Juliet's deciding she would make dinner one night. As a side to go with her mushroom and sausage lasagna she made (with a little help) fried polenta — but only after she found out that polenta is Italian for "grits."
Circa the summer of 2002 I travelled from Newark, DE, to Newark, NJ, to see my first movie in a digital-projection theater. It was "Attack of the Clones" and an old college friend was my host. After the film he treated me to dinner at Outback Steakhouse, where I tried something new: Toowoomba Pasta. Fan-tas-tic. Cut to summer 2021 at the OBX Brewing Station where a special on that night's menu was a take on that long-departed down-under dish, and I knew I had to be able to make this dish when the mood should strike me. This is an adaptation of several copy-cat recipes I found online.
While these kebabs could be done under a broiler, authentic flavor absolutely comes from a fast, super-hot sear on all sides on the grill. The dipping sauce is optional, naturally, but is a perfect compliment to the flavors in the meat.
What better way to kick-off a new year (especially after 2020) than with a rich soup. I've made lobster bisque before starting from whole lobsters, and that was an extremely involved process that was probably worth it. This soup is a lot simpler and very tasty, with plenty of lobster flavor and meat. I like it with crusty ciabatta bread for dipping.
Yes, the name of this recipe is very close to something served seasonally by a well-known fast-food restaurant. Why wait all year for a delicious porky patty? On top of that, why eat one that's full of who knows what kinds of preservatives (and "meat") and was formed and frozen who knows when?
Please note that this recipe uses sous vide to cook the formed patty low and slow.